MOTW 123: AJ Styles vs Walter
"M.O.T.W. #123: AJ Styles vs. Walter" - ink & digital illustration
Today marks the 123rd edition of our Chris Things Art 'Match of the Week' illustration series! And this week we travel to Saudi Arabia (never thought I'd be saying that!) for one of the best 'Fed' matches & maybe the best 'career on the line' match I've ever seen!
This tremendously physical, heart-wrenching PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING match took place this past week on January 31st, the the Royal Rumble in Riyadh, Saudi-Arabia - with AJ's 'career' on the line.
So firstly, I need to acknowledge that this was a weird one to pick for this series. Please don't take this as any sort of support for the Saudi leadership or the up north territory's political connections. As I am very much not a fan of either of those things. Simply put, this series is meant to be about the match that I happened to most enjoy on that particular week. And on this week, this was clearly the match!
For my tastes, it doesn't get much better than this! Such a beautifully physical match, but also one that gets you in the feels in a big way. It is not lost on me the importance of seeing a match like this setting, presented with the time & importance it deserved. This was pure Pro Wrestling as it gets for me and that made me very happy to see. The fans in attendance being so over the top enthusiastic for it & biting on every big moment was also such a nice surprise . ...this kinda felt like the crowd reaction of watching a Big Van Walter match back in wXw at the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen!
I honestly loved the whole story of how AJ was goaded into putting his career on the line against the final boss but all the heart he could muster just not being enough. I felt everything about this was just so perfect. It was gruelling, hard-hitting, passionate & suckered me in like few other matches I've seen in the longest time.
Long-time AJ TNA days referee Rudy Charles was also just superb!
...If this really is it for AJ, I can't think of anyone who has ever gone out on two final matches that were this great!
Highly recommended!
ENJOY!!
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