With Daniel Makabe in the last weeks of “the year Daniel Makabe Broke,” it’d only be fitting to go back and have a look at the complete series of matches between Makabe and Timothy Thatcher.
This was a series that put elevated Makabe’s standing in the indies, a series that’s been covered by similar sickos, and until wXw and DEAN~~! put some cherries on top, a series that all took place in Seattle’s defunct 3-2-1 BATTLE!
Timothy Thatcher vs. Daniel Makabe
This was back when Timo had his own place in Essen, but sadly we’re not getting his remixed EVOLVE theme. Just the classic RINGKAMPF entrance. Oh, and a grumpy man who rightfully demanded a “real fucking ref, not a lifeguard.” Yeah, 3-2-1 BATTLE! was much in the vein of ATTACK! in as far as having themed shows. This one was a beach party. Indoors. On a Friday night. In Seattle.
The roar for just Makabe’s introduction here was something to behold, accompanied by “Teenage Kicks.”
Missing with a front kick at the bell, Thatcher’s quickly clocked with a Big Unit punch as this one almost ended in a hurry. Kicking out, Thatcher scurries into the corner to collect his thoughts, returning to trip Makabe and go for a half crab, only for that to be countered out of as the pair looked to grab the other’s arm.
Rolling out of some headscissors allowed Thatcher to get back to his feet, but rather than take advantage he allowed Makabe back to his feet. Have I said how much the crowd was eating up the simple stuff here?
A knucklelock takes Makabe to the mat for a two-count, prompting Thatcher to add a knee onto the shoulders… but Makabe spins free and snaps Thatcher’s arm between his legs to break free. Another trip from Thatcher takes Makabe down as he went to work over the knee… then block an attempted cross armbreaker escape, rolling up Makabe before they headed into the ropes.
Roughing things up, Thatcher goes for the nose before mounting Makabe en route to a cross armbar. Quickly escaping, Makabe switches into a leg lock, this time forcing Thatcher to the ropes, but it was a short-lived respite as Thatcher took him back down for a chinlock, clamping that hold on tight.
Body blows from Makabe earned him a European uppercut as he was taken into the corner to have a mudhole stomped in him, while a knee to the ribs hardly helped matters. Thatcher ups the ante with the Karelin lift into a gutwrench suplex, before mounted forearms to the face kept Makabe in trouble.
Back to his feet, Makabe lands a forearm of his own, but an attempt at a Saito suplex is thrown aside as Thatcher went right back to the armbar, forcing Makabe to swivel into the ropes for another break. The upper-hand remained with Thatcher, whose strikes led to a side Russian legsweep into a grounded Octopus stretch… it’s countered out of, but Makabe’s back in trouble again as Thatcher rolled him into a half crab.
Breaking the hold, Thatcher goes right back to strikes from above, before a short-arm clothesline and a German suplex snuffed out Makabe’s brief fightback. Right hands and palm strikes roughed up Makabe some more ahead of a rebound belly-to-belly off the ropes, but it’s only enough to get a two-count, so Thatcher stays on him with elbows into the corner.
An armbreaker from Makabe finally allows him to build up momentum, following up with a running dropkick into the corner and a back suplex out of it, before he tried to manipulate Thatcher’s arms for a Cattle Mutilation. It comes off, but Thatcher’s able to roll to his feet, forcing Makabe to counter back with a Manjigatame of his own.
Thatcher throws him off and goes for an ankle lock, but that’s kicked off so Makabe could just lay in with some right hands. Another Big Unit’s punched away though, as Thatcher switched up for a butterfly suplex to almost snatch the win. A sleeperhold from Thatcher’s countered a la Bret Hart in the corner, but it’s only enough for a near-fall as Makabe surged ahead with a bridging German suplex… which Thatcher kicked out of as he quickly went back to the arm, first with a double wristlock, then a cross armbar.
Makabe’s got the same idea though, prompting Thatcher to roll him up for a two-count, before dropping him in the middle of the ring with a Fujiwara armbar. Trapping the leg allows Makabe to roll free, scoring some two-counts in the process, before hammer elbows, a headbutt to the shoulder blades, and the lesser-spotted Makabe Lock π forced the submission.
Result: Daniel Makabe submitted Timothy Thatcher in 16:33 (****)
Of course in hindsight, this was the start of a trilogy in 3-2-1 BATTLE! – and a series that would eventually roll into five matches. Here though, having weathered the storm, Makabe managed to dig deep and make Thatcher submit to the seated cattle mutilation… leaving both men exhausted, but with differing emotions. Elation from Makabe, exasperation from Thatcher, who refused a handshake before the sound guy finally took the hint and killed the music.
Declaring “the mat is sacred,” Thatcher handed Makabe a “die Matte ist Heilig” scarf, which Makabe adorned before heading to the back. Daniel Makabe – the member of RINGKAMPF that we never quite got…