KANEKO TAKASHI VS POLLY POCKET
SINGLES MATCH
GRADER: NONE
Kaneko Takashi wins by no-show.
MARK STOREY VS DANTE CROSS
SINGLES MATCH
GRADER: Snoopz
Mark Storey: Pretty good start to the match, going with something other than the typical collar-and-elbow tie-up. Your description is good, but there's just something off about it. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it doesn't feel as good as I've seen from you. Probably because you've got some rust, though. Nice storytelling, though, with Mark getting frustrated early on by his own ring rust causing Dante to get the bottom rope. The head targeting is also a cool thing to see. I always like when someone targets a specific body part. The barricade-run Hurricanrana was a nice way to use that move. I also liked how you had the referee stop counting as he was worried about the wrestlers. The ending was pretty good. I liked the counter leading up to the finishing move. I'd say this was a decent post. Nothing great. The action was good, but not amazing, just like the descriptions. You used Mark's character very well, but didn't seem to put much focus on Dante's character. Still, it was a good post, just not as good as I'd expect from you. Like you said, you've not done this in some time, so that's expected.
Dante Cross: Good descriptive ability from you. I really liked the little bit of a history lesson you had in your post, talking about the experience Dante and Mark have and how Dante hasn't held gold since 2010 in XWA. The Single Leg Boston Crab was very well done. Dante using kicks, not to get out of the hold, but to distract Mark so he could get to the ropes was actually very smart. The whole series leading up to Dante going head-first into the corner of the commentary table was very good. The spot where Mark goes through the commentary table was kind of weird. In my mind, how I'm picturing it would be Mark getting hit with the television monitor and that stopping him in mid-air instead of him continuing to dive forward into the table. I'm also not sure how I feel about the table being broken in the second match of the night, on a regular Vendetta. I liked your ending, with Dante stealing Mark's move. This was a good post, much-like Mark's. The only real problems I had with it were that table spot and a lack of crowd reactions. While I thought the table spot was a bit overkill for a match such as this, the crowd still should've done something after it happened.
Verdict: This was a pretty close match. I definitely feel like you two both could've done a tad better. I've seen some amazing stuff from Mark in the past and heard very good things about Dante's ability. While both posts were good, neither was really great. That said, I gotta give it to Dante Cross. I just felt he did a better job in most aspects of the match, even if only slightly.
CRYSTOV RAZETTI VS JAMES CARLISLE
SINGLES MATCH
GRADER: NONE
Double no-show.
AZRAEL VS VLADIMIR STRIFE
SINGLES MATCH
GRADER: Meth
Azrael: I can tell you’ve been working on your move description, as it’s coming off well in this post. I know you weren’t very well and you had writer’s block for this post, but honestly; you shouldn’t berate yourself. It’s not a bad match by any stretch of the imagination. There is a block of text where you almost repeat the exact same spot in a short space of time. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but your execution was flawed and it ended up hurting the flow of the match a little bit here. Your characterisation is well executed too. Azrael is a true sociopath and his disappointment at the GodKing taking a beating exemplifies Azrael’s love of violence and fighting. You also got a glimpse of that cockiness that radiates from Vladimir through your match. The ending was… interesting to say the least. I had to go over parts of the last paragraph twice just to get the image in my head, but I think that was fatigue on my part more than anything else. The fact that I’m getting an image at all is testament to that move description I mentioned. You’re still lacking when it comes to describing reactions, or pacing of the match though there’s definitely elements of these things there, I just feel like there could be a bit more.
Vladimir: Not your best stuff, I must say. Nevertheless; it’s good. Your description is nigh-on impeccable once again and you somehow manage to squeeze a brief hardcore spot in there, keeping up with the war on XWA and invasion of violence story you’ve got going on which is good. Your characterisation of Azrael was well thought out, it seems like you’ve read a lot of Az’s stuff or you talked his character through with him so you had a good understanding of what Decep is going for. From my point of view, however, your characterisation of Vlad seemed a little ‘off’. Literally any other writer and I would have had major qualms with this, but since he’s your own I suppose you can portray him however you want, but it honestly didn’t seem quite the Barbarian Lord I’m familiar with. Same as with Azrael’s match, I struggled a bit with the imagery of the closing segments of your match, but honestly that could be fatigue (like I said with Azra). Not much else for me to tell you Vlad, I’m sure you know it wasn’t your best but you also know what your strengths are.
Verdict: Despite the tone of my grades, I’m giving this one to Vladimir Whereas Decep’s match wasn’t as bad as he makes it out to be, and Vlad’s match was sub-par compared to his usual stuff (in my opinion at least) a sub-par Strife match still ain’t a half-bad match. I’m a sucker for imagery and description which is why people like Vladimir, Chilly and Kani’s matches resonate so well with me. Chin up though Decep, honestly think you’ll be carrying your own title before long if you keep developing the way that you have been.
MADDOX PAINE VS BIG JIM
SINGLES MATCH
GRADER: NONE
Maddox Paine wins via no-show.
DC HENNIG VS AKIRA KOBAYASHI
SINGLES MATCH
GRADER: NONE
DC Hennig wins via no-show.
ROB CHAPMAN VS DANNY DIAMOND
SINGLES MATCH
GRADER: NONE
This ended up becoming a storyline match.
Subject: Vendetta #88 Grades 
