I have just got into using Torrents, which has enabled to keep up with the much-missed pro-wrestling that I no longer can watch in my Sky-less home. I was watching this week's episode of Smackdown, which featured a wonderful 12 minute Finlay vs. Benoit match. Dave Finlay and Chris Benoit are two guys that I absolutely know are going to deliver whenever they are matched up, which, joyfully, has happened at least five times in the past 18 months.

The first thing you notice about these matches is the manliness. There is manliness going on all over the place. The strikes are convincing, the chops are vicious, the holds have that extra edge of legitimacy. The second thing that seperates them from almost everyone else on TV is the lack of moves or spots. Each match has built around the notion of creating a true sporting contest. In this case, Finlay was targetting a weakened leg and so they hit the mat for large chunks of match, with Finlay working holds and Benoit trying to counter and fight out. Then, when the throw in a suplex or they go outside the ring, it seems a lot more meaningful and important to the story of the match. In the WWE, no-one wrestles this sort of match on a regular basis apart from these two, which is a shame, because this really is the next level up. On the indy scene, there aren't many that could be quite so confident in such simple match-building.

The match was obviously serving as a plot device for the Benoit-MVP match tonight, thus the non-finish. Conseqently, this match didn't reach the levels of last May's Judgement Day or the preceding KOTR qualifier. It's hard to feel disappointed though.