I appreciate your input ChronoJoe. I’ve been real back and forth with this matchup. First i thought it was 6-4 Rashid. Then i thought it was 5.5-4.5 Rashid, then 6-4 Necalli, then 8-2 Rashid, and now I’m back to 6-4 Rashid. This is simply how I approach the matchup in regards to how I play, not an end all be all for Rashid vs. Necalli.
Rule #1 in the matchup: No seismos! Don’t let that man seismo. V trigger Necalli can fight Rashid way better than non v trigger Necalli. Thing is that its gonna happen regardless if he seismos or not, but at least if he gets vtrigger by getting his ass beat, well he got like 30-40% health left. One crush counter combo or 2 solid combos can end the match at this point. Rashid has so many normals and special moves that can combat seismos. L mixer of course, eagle spike, st. Roundhouse, cr. Fierce, shit, jump lol. You can avoid seismos with back dash and if you are limber enough, you can like run at him in anticipation of a midscreen or far seismo and get a full ground combo. Necalli players are looking to seismo. Once you neutralize that option for them, they have to start thinking about approaching and/or playing the midranged game.
Rule #2: Don’t let Necalli get you into the corner. Cause you’re right, its not fun to be in the corner against Necalli with Rashid. The best thing about Rashid tho is that his v-reversal is EXCELLENT against Necalli’s moveset. Anytime Necalli stomps and you need some breathing room or if Necalli does anything bigger than a st. Jab, v-reversal. Get outta there! Let Necalli chase you and then blow him up.
Rule #3: Grab. Force Necalli to make a bad defensive move by mixing up your frame traps and your grabs. You want him to DP.
Rule #4 (probably the least important but again more to think about): mix up your combos. Putting Necalli in different situations tests your opponents knowledge. Something like knocking down with L mixer the first 2 combos, then keeping them standing for a throw reset, is good enough to make Necalli wanna do something dumb afterwards the next time, like trying to tech a grab or jabbing or DPing. Depending on how you wanna play this matchup, end your combos accordingly. If you wanna keep him at a distance, end with eagle spike. You want him closer, end with L mixer. Personally, i only wanna end with mixer in the corner and a few situations in the beginning of the match. Every other time, i end with spike for the distance.
Rule #5: anti air with H mixer. Please please pretty please. Its so good especially against Necalli. You can meaty off it or throw a meaty fireball and be lame. Deals with all of Necalli’s air options.
Rule #6: Don’t over extend yourself in the corner. When you feel like you need to chill and let him kill himself, you’re probably right. In scramble situations, get the fuck away. Though Rashid is good at scrambles, Necalli does it better cause of that meterless DP and his damage.
Rule #7 and final rule: Don’t jump at him. No need to approach him by jumping. You can simply approach him by doing L Mixer, running at him, etc. Necalli honestly has to jump at Rashid more than Rashid has to jump at him.
I got some Necalli vids on my ps4 and on twitch that i wanna show because trust me you’re not the only one that thinks Necalli beats Rashid. I was a 13k Ultra Platinum Rashid until i picked up Ryu again and went down all the way to 9k till i worked back up to 11k. The best Necalli player in my scene (Michigan) is like an ultra gold online, but he does extremely well at our locals and even did great at a Midwest regional (i think got 4th or 3rd?). I’ve also played Squall and Yipes in the matchup and it didn’t seem to bad although they have a winning record against me.
Pretty much, i feel like a patient Rashid who uses cr. Fierce annoyingly, has good footsies and not scared to run up and grab give Necalli tons of trouble.