January 4th hype: TANA vs. OMEGA, New Beginning '16

NJPW The New Beginning in Niigata: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kenny Omega

These two got me sucked into their story leading up to January 4th, 2019, so I've been itching to go back to this match, their first meeting, and well, let's bring on the new year w/ it. I actually didn't like this match AT ALL when it happened, but I hadn't re-watched it since, so I was pretty curious to see how I feel about it now, almost 3 years later. And my opinion on it couldn't be more different than it was then - right now I think this is one of the best NJPW main events of this current era. It starts pretty slow, and the highlight of the beginning stuff was Kenny telling Cody Hall & Yujiro to go away because the smart marks aren't fans of interruptions in their New Japan main events. I thought that was legitimately pretty funny - these days Kenny's star rating obsessed gimmick shtick is just tired & annoying, but it fit his goofy villain character here so well. Shortly after that, the match REALLY gets going; Tana goes for a couple of Nakamura signature moves on the corner, but Kenny counters that by going after Tana's right arm. Now, Kenny Omega doesn't come off as a natural "limb-working wrestler", but he actually is really goddamn great at it here; loved the Danielson elbows to the shoulder & I actually don't know what is it's official name, but the bending-your-back-on-top-of-your-opponents-arm -thing that Nigel McGuinness used to do, was so awesome. Kenny playing air guitar w/ the Naito entrance mask on was another awesome thing during his control segment. Of course Tana eventually rallies a comeback in by going after Omega's leg, to counter the arm work. Kenny sells the big Dragon Screw brilliantly, and that brilliant leg selling of his continued throughout the rest of the match. FANTASTIC moment when after Tana did the HFF on him on the outside, Kenny tries to enter the ring, but then Tana gets a hold of his leg, Kenny starts fighting immediately, trying to get out of it by repeatedly striking Tana; DA ACE masterfully milks that to the maximum, and then delivers that signature roar of his & busts out another big, fantastic Dragon Screw. And talking about great moments, Omega busting out the Styles Clash was yet another one - not only was he mocking AJ Styles, the man he betrayed a month earlier, but also Tana, who also uses Styles Clash as a signature move. Two birds, one stone. The last third is straight outta attitude era w/ all the run-in's; I wasn't too into the Bullet Club ones, but overall it fit the character/gimmick so it's OK. Didn't take too much away from the bout. Big Mike coming in & just carrying both Jackson's out was badass though. Overall this was an excellent, classic match - Omega truly delivered a match & performance to remember in his first major one as a New Japan heavyweight & Tana added yet another great big match performance to his resume w/ his terrific work fighting from underneath. Here's to hoping they come out w/ another banger at the Dome! ****1/2

5-STAR RE-WATCH: Memphis, WWF, WCW, AJPW

CWA 04/06/81: Jerry Lawler vs. Terry Funk
Always been a hard match to rate w/ dem STARZ, but it is one of the best things ever. Lance Russell puts on an all-time great performance as he plays his role perfectly - him & Funk have AMAZING chemistry when they're bantering around, waiting for The King to arrive. And of course, the Funker. What can I even say? He's the best & this is his show. A must see, unique spectacle. ****3/4

WWF In Your House 18: Badd Blood: Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker
I've always loved the vibe this has as they're first locked inside the cell & Taker just starts slowly walking towards Michaels, knowing that he will get his hands on him soon & that there's no place for HBK to hide. It's pretty dark - it reminds me of the ol' movie cliche-dynamic w/ there being that one high school bully who makes fun of the different "weirdo" in class. This time, here in the World Wrestling Federation, the weirdo is a huge asskicking monster who is about to show why you should not make fun of him. It's a feeling that is truly unique & hasn't been replicated before or since. Taker just kicking HBK's ass is so good & HBK's bumping is at it's best here; doesn't go overboard with it one bit. HBK's brief hope spots ALL rule, and then his eventual heat segment on Taker (& the cameraman) rules big time. My favorite of the whole package is Taker's last asskicking segment tho - he just beats the crap out of HBK all over the place, and it's WONDERFUL. Then when HBK is bloody & just straight up DONE, having received the asskicking of his career? Enter KANE. The debut is something that could've brought the match quality down quite a bit, but it actually adds to it & the finish so much; HBK, half dead & all, pinning Taker & then leaving as the winner always makes me smile. It's a perfect ending to a perfect match. *****

WCW Halloween Havoc 1997: Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Between Eddie's incredible, vicious work on top, Rey's excellent comebacks & selling + the pace & energy from start to finish, this truly is the perfect cruiserweight match. *****

AJPW 07/24/98: Jun Akiyama vs. Kenta Kobashi

Some of the exchanges in this look super scrappy which absolutely RULES. Then the big story of the match, which is Akiyama's attack on Kobashi's banged up knee, is fantastic. Kobashi sells masterfully & Akiyama is super focused on his attack - the drama revolving around his submission holds, in particular that one Figure-4 inside the ring is superb. ****3/4

5-STAR RE-WATCH: Kobashi/Misawa, Bret/Austin, CHOSHUUUUUUUU

NJPW G1 Climax 08/02/96: Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto

The goddamn amazing lock up that starts the match sets the tone for the rest of it; it was gonna be a hard hitting, badass, dramatic bout where EVERYTHING feels BIG. Terrific psychology & atmosphere, fantastic selling, superb facial expressions, an all-time great finish w/ CHOSHUUUUUUU. One of my favorite matches ever. *****

AJPW 01/20/97: Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa

42 minutes of perfect pro wrestling. It's so compelling right from the start w/ Misawa's shine, to Kobashi's work over the mid-section, to Misawa injuring his arm & Kobashi working it like a man possessed, to Misawa's absolutely fantastic selling - I can see the arguments about him being a little too elbow heavy by the end, but as many have pointed out throughout the years, I thought he sold the pain he was in amazingly after every elbow he threw & Kobashi hadn't been focusing on the arm that much towards the start of Misawa's big comeback run - he abandoned the gameplan & Misawa made him pay for it w/ one of the greatest single match comebacks of all-time. That FRANKENSTEINER. Those desperation lariat attempts by Kobashi in the end w/ him trying to get on his feet were so good too, fit the scene perfectly & looked perfectly imperfect for what he/they were going for w/ 'em. Their best match against one another, one of the greatest matches of all-time & a real contender for the best AJPW match ever. *****

WWF WrestleMania 13: Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin

One of those matches, much like 06/03/94 & 06/09/95, where it's reputation is so big that it almost feels dumb trying to explain why it's so legendary. But yeah, this truly is one of the greatest matches of all-time. A clinic in in-ring psychology w/ Bret's work over Austin setting up the double turn perfectly & Austin sells his ass off, earning every bit of offense he gets. Bret's performance is just one of the best there has ever been - he tells the double-turn story perfectly without going overboard with it. Just something missing from it for it to be a 5* match, but it's close. ****3/4

5-STAR RE-WATCH: More PILLARS! & Nakamura v Ibushi!

AJPW 04/15/95: Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa

Misawa's elbows look too damn good here - maybe the best they ever have, which is saying something. Taue is such a bastard by going after the face/eyes constantly too. It's all just terrific. One of my all-time favorite matches. *****

AJPW 06/09/95: Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa

It's the mothafuggen 06/09 aka the best tag match ever. Literally wrestling perfection. *****

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9: Kota Ibushi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Loved the mental games throughout, and the match kicks into a high gear that never goes away once Ibushi counters Nakamura's Boma Ye attempt w/ a high kick. After that it's just fireworks - favorite bits would have to be them just PUNCHING the shit out of each other & Nakamura being a dick by stomping the face. The only reason it's not a 5* is because I feel like there was some dead stuff in between the mental games of the start & the Ibushi high kick. ****3/4

AJPW 12/06/96: Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jun Akiyama & Mitsuharu Misawa

This is just too good. My favorite thing about it was the performance of the one Dynamic T - after the Kawada vs. Misawa exchange that ends with both of them laying on the ground, Kawada making the tag & then Taue coming in & just stepping on Misawa's face has to be the actual GOAT moment, right? His overall role in this, as kind of Kawada's big brother is just phenomenal; Kawada loses most of the exchanges vs. Misawa, but then Taue is always around the corner, ready to help his tag partner get the job done. The ending with him being like "yeah, you go son" & patting Kawada on the back after he pinned Misawa sealed the deal as this being an all-timer performance by the man. *****

 

Best Matches of 2018!

Got done re-watching all that needed to be re-watched, and I think there's no more must see rasslin to watch before the year ends unless something real random pops up, so here's my


TOP-20 BEST MATCHES OF 2018

20) WALTER vs. Will Ospreay - OTT 10/13
There are a couple of issues I have with this match; I think they went quite overboard w/ the nearfalls by the end & the whole restart deal was very silly, BUT that just says how great the thing was otherwise since it's still this high on my favorites of the year list. Ospreay bumps like a madman & delivers hard hitting & highflying comebacks as WALTER gives him a classic WALTER-style mauling with some really awesome heelish touches added to it, given his relationship w/ the OTT crowd.

19) Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey - WWE 06/17
Everybody likes to throw shit at her, and while some of it is warranted, I do think that Nia low key rules tbh. She has always delivered in the monster role when she has gone against terrific babyfaces such as Bayley, Sasha & Asuka - and here, in her first match vs. Ronda, she delivered quite possibly her best monster performance yet. I wrote "she was on that Vader shit, so to say" the day after it happened, and I still like that line, so LET'S PUT IT HERE AS WELL W/ THE QUOTATION MARKS. And of course: Ronda F'N Rousey! In her first ever singles match she delivers a fabulous scrappy underdog performance w/ her bumping, selling & facial expressions. The Bear Hug spot is still one of the best things in all of wrestling in 2018 - it's such a simple, small thing, but Ronda actively trying to fight her way out of it while Nia squeezes the life outta her was amazing. Absolutely unreal that someone delivers a match this GREAT in their singles match debut. My personal women's wrestling MOTY.

18) Absolute Andy vs. Timothy Thatcher - wXw 03/11
This is a simple match that tells the tale of two characters wonderfully; the dynamic between Thatcher's stoic technician who's motto literally is "the mat is sacred" going against Absolute Andy's wily veteran who is willing to be the biggest scumbag cheater he can to get the W makes for one of my favorite bouts of the year.

17) Austin Aries vs. Moose - Impact Wrestling 07/22
A pretty damn unique main event world championship match; very rarely you see such a match in that spot w/ this kind of a sprint pace & energy from start to finish. Aries was excellent with his overall performance from his bumping, to his hard hitting chops, to his sneaky veteran tactics & Moose was, well, Moose. Solid with his power game. A great reminder of the talent that Aries is.

16) Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW 08/04
There's some generic New Japan big match stuff in the middle, but overall the match had such a great dynamic & Ishii's underdog performance was so amazing that it can't be denied. Omega being a cocky prick to start things off was wonderful, and Ishii's response to that was absolutely priceless with him just playing with Omega's hair to show that he can play those games too. The damn crazy Cruficix counter too, what a great moment - A true standout spot in a wonderful bombfest war. The match also showed the improvement of Kevin Kelly to the maximum; dude went from being one of my least favorite commentators to quite possibly my favorite one - what a phenomenal call in "I'm telling you he's unbeatable, Omega is UNBEATABLE!"

15) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - NJPW 03/21
The first 2/3 of the match are mostly spent on the mat, and while Tana does do quite well & hangs with Zack, it's clear who has the advantage. Zack just gradually wears him down, limb by limb, until Tana becomes truly desperate in the finishing stretch & tries Zack's signature pin against him, in a move that sealed his inevitable destruction in the match. It's all just wonderful stuff from start to finish.

14) Hangman Page vs. Minoru Suzuki - NJPW 08/05
It was tough choosing between this & Tana/ZSJ as my NJPW MOTY, and while I might still change my mind, right now I am putting this one above the other. A wonderful underdog tale told perfectly w/ Hangman proving that his potential as a babyface gaijin is unlimited, and MiSu adding yet another killer performance to quite possibly his career year & delivering the best match of his for the year.

13) Absolute Andy vs. David Starr - wXw 03/10
The way they built this finals match for the 16 Carat was unbelievably great; you got the favorite, the ultimate babyface in David Starr looking to achieve his dream, and then on the other corner you got Absolute Andy, the man who cemented himself as the biggest cunt in wXw in his journey to the tourney finals. Andy delivers a hellacious beatdown throughout & Starr works that babyface magic of his, refusing to die easily. It's great as a standalone match, but it's a goddamn classic when seen in context of what was the journey of both guys in 16 Carat Gold 2018.

12) Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano - WWE 01/27
Both guys deliver their career performances w/ Almas being vicious as hell w/ his offense, and John boy, while still showcasing some of that shitty indy offense of his, delivers a babyface performance to remember w/ his selling & comebacks. In some ways it resembles an indy epic, but without the worst tropes, and the tropes they go with, they actually make look GREAT. Magic in the air that night in Philly, I tell ya.

11) Drew Gulak vs. Jack Gallagher - WWE 05/10
Clocking in at just under 7 minutes, I think this is one of the coolest things to have ever happened inside a WWE ring. It's just lovely, intense grappling w/ a great sense of urgency all the way through w/ them selling big moments (leglock) big time, and then some amazing looking strikes in the finishing gear.

10) AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan - WWE 04/10
The first match between the two since 2006 & they continued right where they left off at w/ their first WWE classic in the books. Excellent back & forth grappling, fighting over control to start things off, and then ultimately Bryan gets the control by going after AJ's arm, and boy oh boy, was it a joy seeing the Greatest of All-Time do his thing, torture some limbs once again in his first singles match in 3 years. AJ's of course sells excellently, because he's AJ Styles, duh, and he eventually gets back into things w/ a Dragonscrew, and he goes to town on Bryan's leg. Then it's a classic dueling limb work battle till the Nakamura run-in finish. The shit finish aside (which I can't even be mad at because of the match quality), it was an absolute joy watching the two go at it again.

9) Jordan Devlin vs. WALTER - OTT 08/18
What puts this over the top as a classic is the whole Jordan Devlin character arc that the company had built. The Irish Ace hadn't been pinned for 22 months till he met WALTER in a tag match, and here w/ the whole crowd by his side, he was looking to avenge the only true pinfall defeat of his current run. It's too bad that the man he was facing was & is the ultimate monster boss of indy wrestling, and he sure delivers a beating to Devlin, all the while all of the crowd is booing the crap out of him. It's a terrific dynamic & WALTER's work on top is of course tremendous, and they timed all of Devlin's comebacks perfectly, not giving him too much, but also not making him look like a complete loser. He just ran into a man who is on that other level. The finish was absolutely perfect too - there's no fancy, shitty, generic finishing run w/ 10000 counters & dramatic nearfalls, it's just WALTER first choking Devlin out & then dumping him on his head, 123, new champ. Perfect ending for the story they told.

8) AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan - WWE 10/30
It's like their 04/10 match, but this time there's no interference endings & they get to tell their story fully. It's two masters of the graps doing the dueling limb work thang w/ excellent selling & excellent work on the offense by both. Exactly my kind of rasslin. Tells something about them when the whole crowd is going nuts from start to finish, and there's ZERO finisher nearfalls.

7) AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan - WWE 12/16
OOPS THEY DID IT AGAIN. This time Bryan is even more vicious than in their previous WWE meetings & he goes for the ribs - he works them over in ruthless fashion, and AJ more than returns the favor by brutalizing Bryan's leg. All of that once again w/ excellent selling throughout by both. And of course the knees to head during cravate & I HAVE TILL 5. My favorite of their WWE saga so far, but that could change any time they lock it up. Could watch them literally every week.

6) Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong vs. Trent Seven & Tyler Bate - WWE 06/21
Kyle & Roddy are like Minoru Suzuki, but Trent Seven is thankfully not Okada, as he actually sells the leg perfectly throughout! Fantastic drama revolving around that, and Bate delivers the mother of all hot tags in 2018 when Seven finally gets to make it. A legitimate contender for the best tag match to ever happen in the US soil.

5) Ilja Dragunov vs. WALTER - wXw 05/05
This has strangely gone somewhat under the radar, but I think it's by far their best match against one another. Right from the get go Ilja says "fuck that, I am not doing that chopping shit tonight" & goes to work on BOTH of WALTER's hands (eventually targeting the right one more) - Ilja's fantastic on the attack, and WALTER sells greatly, and eventually answers back by giving Ilja's neck an absolutely BRUTAL beating throughout. It's up there w/ Danielson/Hero from 16 Carat '08 as a candidate for the best wXw match ever.

4) WALTER vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - PROGRESS 04/07
The story they tell in this one is something I could write so much about, and I have done that a few times, but now I'll just say it's my favorite match of theirs against each other by far, and that's something, because WALTER vs. Zack Sabre Jr. has been a pairing that has always produced greatness throughout years.

3) Darby Allin vs. WALTER - EVOLVE 06/23
This had a real throwback-to-the-good-ol-indy-days-of-2000s -feel to it. I remember being super bummed about their WM match being scrapped, but my goodness was it worth the wait. Darby delivers a masterpiece of a performance w/ his body language, bumping & fantastic laser-focused attack on that chopping hand of WALTER's. WALTER's character work is also terrific throughout, him just throwing Darby around & chopping the shit out of him of course rules, and he sells perfectly for the much smaller man.

2) Timothy Thatcher vs. WALTER - PROGRESS 01/28
A brutal masterpiece between the two members of the best tag team in wrestling right now. Great feeling out process to start things off; the mat work & the way they battled over the control felt so natural & looked pretty gritty, which I obviously loved. Quickly after it's the WALTER show; he just mauls the shit out of Thatcher - I've said it many times before, but I'll say it again: Thatcher is quite possibly the best FIP in the biz, so of course it was a joy watching him sell his ass off for the brutal beatdown he received. He eventually gets the control by doing the classic "chopper-chops-the-ringpost" -bit, and after that it's Thatcher on the attack, super focused targeting that chopping hand of WALTER's. WALTER sells great & Thatcher rules on the attack - loved how the dynamic flipped from WALTER being the absolute grizzly bear just MAULING Thatcher to then being hurt & fighting like it shows; the hunter became the hunted, so to say. The last third of the match is more 50/50, with them fighting with a great sense of urgency - the way it escalates to the eventual finish is amazing. Ringkampf lads delivering a true classic against each other. Bless. Die Matte ist Heilig.

1) Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan - WWE 11/18
Literally my biggest dream match of all-time, and something I thought we'd never see, even with Bryan returning to wrestling in the WWE. It somehow lived up to the crazy expectations I had for it, but then again, with it being Brock goddamn Lesnar vs. Daniel f'n Bryan, how could it not? It's just perfection from the entrances on, loved everything about it. Might be my favorite WWE match of all-time tbh. The clear MOTY in my eyes.

TREVOR EFFIN LEE

PWG Smokey and the Bandido: Darby Allin vs. Trevor Lee

Two of the best guys in the indies clashing! This wasn't gonna be anything less than very good. Trevor's pre-match promo was absolutely brilliant. One of his best ones yet. Darby gets a nice little shine to start things off, but quickly it's Trevor on top, and it's really damn good; Trevor works over Darby's back throughout, and Darby's small stature & commitment to bumping like a maniac makes every backbreaker look super destructive. They do the Darby vs. Page EVOLVE deal w/ Trevor taping Darby's hands behind his back, and much like it did back in February of 2017, it rules here as well - Darby's comeback with NO HANDS is so great & it has so much urgency in it. Awesome match. ***3/4

AAW Unstoppable 2018: ACH vs. Trevor Lee

Wasn't sure what to expect from this since it's a 60-minute draw, but Trevor is one of the best when it comes to putting on loooong matches & ACH usually always impresses. And it turned out to be a great match! The whole story of the thing was that Trevor was working the crap out of ACH & getting the better of him in most of the exchanges - as the match goes on & ACH keeps on refusing to go down, Trevor gets more & more frustrated though, and that leaves ACH some windows for comeback flurries. Both guys deliver in their roles between Trevor's great work on top + character work & ACH's great comebacks & really good selling. Some of the highlights for me were Trevor doing the classic heel-trying-to-bribe-the-ref -bit w/ him shaking his hand, hugging him & even raising his hand, ACH countering Trevor's signature Penalty Kick on the apron by planting him face first into it, Trevor's big backbreaker from the apron to the guardrail, Trevor's promo like 40 minutes into the match, ACH's subtle selling before hitting the Frog Splash that missed & then selling it big time. ****

 

5-STAR RE-WATCH: Bret/Owen & PILLARS!

WWF WrestleMania 10: Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart
This flows beautifully from start to finish, the storytelling is great, Bret's selling is superb & both guys', especially Owen's character work is top notch. ****1/4

AJPW 05/21/94: Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa
Dangerous K, man. Another legendary performance by him in yet another classic tag bout featuring these four men. Absolutely love how calm, cool & collected he comes off as; such a killer vibe, and fits into the thing perfectly w/ the Misawa Triple Crown match looming on the near horizon. Kobashi as the FIP is of course amazing, and the knee destruction of his by Taue & Kawada is terrific. Kawada's body language cannot be praised enough during that, but little did he know that if he was gonna be a prick, Kobashi was gonna answer right back - the dropkick to Kawada's bum knee was such a terrific moment. Misawa's hot tag was also terrific; ELBOW SUICIDA~! - also loved how Kobashi continued the kneework on Kawada outside the ring during it. Then after a while of Misawa running wild on Kawada, Taue coming in & being a nasty bastard, just throwing Misawa around like nothing was one of my favorite things about the whole match - also that spot was brilliant where he has Misawa set up for the chokeslam, only for Kobashi to come in & break it up, which then lead to Taue making him pay for that by kicking him right on the back of the knee that he & Kawada had been working on all match. So much amazing stuff in this match! Perfectly paced & structured, and superb performances from all 4 involved. *****

AJPW 06/03/94: Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada

Kawada is hell-bent on getting that title by smashing Misawa's face in w/ those damn kicks of his. Misawa has no problems answering to that by going after the knee. It's a true war, and puroresu at it's best. Truly the "El Clasico" as many have dubbed it. *****

 

5-STAR RE-WATCHES: PILLARS edition!

AJPW 05/22/92: Akira Taue, Jumbo Tsuruta & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada

This is probably my favorite of the 6-man tags these fellas had against each other throughout the years. All of the segments in this one rule big time (Misawa FIP, Kawada FIP, Taue getting his ass kicked by the babyfaces, finishing stretch) & the heels vs. babyfaces dynamic is pretty damn amazing. All three heels deliver great performances, but Jumbo in particular is the biggest dick he can in this one - just constantly coming in & breaking holds by the babyfaces, stomping & beating the crap out of them. Might be my favorite performance of his. Kawada was also terrific w/ his usual Kawada-badassery - great selling & work on the offense by the man. Loved the moment when he went to double team Taue on the corner first w/ Kobashi & then w/ Misawa as the ref was arguing with Jumbo & Fuchi; he made the dicks taste their own medicine. ****3/4

AJPW 05/25/92: Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi

One of the best crowds of all-time - seriously that shot of Kikuchi hitting a couple of leg lariats & the crowd jumping up from their seats is legendary. There isn't much to say about this one that hasn't been said yet, but it's indeed one of those matches where everything just CLICKED w/ Kikuchi's amazing underdog performance, the fans being crazy for him, Kobashi's explosive kick-heavy hot tags & the nasty work on top by The Can-Am's. One of the best crowds of all-time, one of the best matches of all-time. *****

AJPW 12/03/93: Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa

Kobashi is a really, really great FIP; love how he got out of the situation too by going after Kawada's bum knee - that first kick to the knee popped me (& the crowd) big time. Misawa coming in & elbowing the crap out of Kawada was awesome & then Taue coming in and just throwing Misawa & Kobashi around was even more awesome, but what truly puts this over the top as a true classic is the story of that damn knee of Kawada's - he sells it perfectly throughout, and it creates for some great, great drama. Basically everyone played their roles to perfection, but Kawada was on that one level above the rest w/ his all-timer performance. Classic tag match. *****

5-STAR RE-WATCH: Slaughter/Sheik, Bock/Hennig, Jumbo/Misawa

WWF on MSG 06/16/84: Sgt. Slaughter vs. The Iron Sheik

Fun characters, amazing atmosphere, great punches, awesome selling, violence, blood - YAY! Pretty much everything about this is just superb. The Sheik delivers Slaughter a helluva beating, making Slaughter truly earn that eventual big comeback & win - the way they milk the crowd here by teasing Slaughter's comebacks only for Sheik to cut him off is simply masterful. Some of the best milking & timing in wrestling ever. They build it to the climax that is Slaughter's big comeback & the finishing stretch perfectly. One of the best WWE matches of all-time. ****3/4

AWA 11/15/86: Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel

Some of the best limb work ever, amazing selling, PERFECT pacing & structure. The best match of the 80's, and very high on the all-time list as well. The kind of a match that gets better on each viewing. *****

AJPW 09/01/90: Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa

The action is good for the first 15 minutes with them trying to one-up each other, but it certainly isn't great. It isn't until Jumbo goes "well, fuck this shit" & starts delivering a grumpy badass beating to Misawa that the match truly picks up. After that it's 10 minutes of explosive, high energy action w/ a very good sense of urgency. Shame that the build up to Jumbo exploding wasn't as great as I remembered. ***1/2

TeeeLCee

Alicia Fox & Jinder Mahal vs. Carmella & R-Truth

A match. *

The Bar vs. The New Day vs. The Usos

I feel like this was the most lively performance from Sheamus in quite a while - pretty much all of his offense had good energy behind it, everything looked very good. Everyone else had good performances too (in particular Kofi & Cesaro), but Sheamus just stood out to me in that. Good match. ***

Baron Corbin vs. Braun Strowman

A well executed angle. NR

Natalya vs. Ruby Riott

This was exactly how a WWE match w/ this kind of an angle behind it would end up being. And that is not a good thing. Slow pace, some "dramatic" talking-to-your-opponent-followed-by-smiles -stuff. Bleh. Liv Morgan sure took one hell of a brutal bump. *1/2

Drew McIntyre vs. Finn Bálor

The finish w/ Bálor delivering that gorgeous sudden shotgun kick was awesome, and his overall performance fighting from underneath was very solid, but McIntyre was very hit & miss w/ his work on top - when he was just throwing Finn around & ragdolling him, it ruled, but when he was slowly beating him up & talking trash, it wasn't very interesting. So that dragged the match down a bit, but it was still pretty good overall. **1/2

Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio

Wow, Orton sucked the life out of this one. I shouldn't be surprised, but here we are. What a slow, plodding, boring as shit heat segment by him on Mysterio. Other than that, this was very much "the usual" between Rey & Randy, just them doing their thing. Rey did a few cool things, but for the most part, this was oh so boring. *1/4

Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax

Not quite as great as their first match, but Ronda vs. Nia II still ruled big time. Nia just ragdolls Ronda as Ronda bumps like a maniac & it's just goddamn awesome. All of Ronda on the offense is great as well, and I loved the big "pro-wrestling spots" she pulled off in the crossbodies from the top & then the huge powerbomb towards the end. Lovely stuff. ***3/4

Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles

These boys done did it again, another classic between 'em. Amazing, brutal as hell work over the ribs of AJ by Bryan & AJ's selling is of course terrific. AJ returns the favor by doing brutal work over Bryan's leg & oh my goodness I loved how over the half crab got. Shows what kind of masters these two are when they got that feeling as a legitimate finish in the match. Bryan's selling was superb too, that Calf Crusher looked & felt so vicious, because of that + AJ really cranked it back violently. Also I HAVE TILL 5 & the knees to the head in the cravate before suplexing AJ = GOAT. And I absolutely loved the finish - always great seeing Mr. Small Package pop up once in a while. ****1/2

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose

Weird match layout given the feud behind it - certainly not the ideal one for them on this night, but it worked on parts; the match came off as a real tale of two performances for me. Really dug Ambrose's work on top - he brought good intensity & all of his holds were pretty snug. His acting was real good too, that's not a surprise. Rollins on the other hand was absolutely awful. If you're gonna have your surgically repaired knee (TM) as the focal point of the match, at least bother to sell it when you're delivering your shitty MOVEZ. And holy shit don't even let me get started on his acting. What a cringefest on his part. Ambrose ruled though. Very glad he's a heel now. **1/4

Becky Lynch vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair

Wow, these three sure laid into each other with those kendo stick & steel chair -shots. Absolutely brutal stuff. The big spots (leg drop through the announce table, spear through the barricade, senton through the table) were explosive & really brutal as well. And on top of that, this was really well paced from start to finish w/ no dull moments, and they kept it at a good length. Really good match. ***3/4

FINAL BATTLE STUFF

Eli Isom vs. Kenny King

This followed your classic young boy match formula, and it was pretty good. Isom looked rough at points, but for the most part he had some solid comebacks; in the first one he delivered some very good looking flippy stuff. King was good on top w/ his cocky work as well. **3/4

Jeff Cobb vs. Hangman Page

Now THIS was the shit. Terrific pace right from the start & they kept it till the end - very good sprint bombfest action w/ a nice little story of power & athleticism going in it. ***3/4

Jonathan Gresham vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

I haven't seen their much hyped Beyond stuff, but this was exactly what it promised to be. A match filled with some very nice, slick mat work w/ sneaky counters, nice intensity & some really good strikes thrown in there as well. ***1/2

Mustafa Ali vs Daniel Bryan

WWE SmackDown 12/11/18: Daniel Bryan vs. Mustafa Ali

Mostly dominated by Bryan as Ali fights from underneath. It was the dynamic that was to be expected, and it was a dynamic that worked greatly with the 2. Loved Bryan's work over Ali, in particular the leg destruction towards the end was really awesome & Ali's comebacks were terrific; the first one w/ him delivering 2 superkicks was oh so good - even the superkick back to the head, which usually looks like crap when delivered by certain wrestlers (hello Marufuji) looked like an absolute shotgun shot or something. Very good stuff even w/ the commercials killing the thing's flow at times a bit. ***1/2

 

Ciampa/Dream, Taichi/Ospreay, Ohno/Strickland

WWE NXT Takeover: WarGames II: Tommaso Ciampa vs. The Velveteen Dream

I originally had no plans watching this match, but after reading one particular review, I got very intrigued by it. So naturally I decided to give this shizzat a shot! The match was very good. I wasn't into the fighting over the HOLLYWOOD bandana -stuff, but once that was done with, things got good. Ciampa on top was pretty damn enjoyable - that headlock spot which the Dream sold via SPIT was wonderful. Great image & loved how tight that headlock looked. Dream's work over the leg was pretty great - the Figure-4 spot in the ring was absolutely superb. Perfectly done drama. Ciampa's selling was fantastic for the most part, but once it was time for him to get back into things, he dropped the selling; him delivering Project Ciampa perfectly fine bothered me quite a bit. Around that is when the match essentially kicked into it's finishing gear, and that was real good; some really great nearfalls, with the 2 delivering them via some pretty clever ways. ***1/2

NJPW World Tag League 2018 - Finals: Taichi vs. Will Ospreay

Some of Taichi's ruthless work over Ospreay's banged up ribs made me legitimately think "holy crap, that was BRUTAL", and Ospreay's selling & overall work, fighting from underneath, was him pretty much the best I personally like him. Excellent match. ****

EVOLVE 116: Kassius Ohno vs. Shane Strickland

This had a promising start with Ohno completely eating Shane alive, but then Strickland got back into things, and his shitty offense killed the good build Ohno gave it w/ his own killer offense. All of Strickland's comebacks were just awful, and the only saving grace of the match was Ohno. Thank goodness Ohno has Darby Allin lined up for his next EVOLVE appearance! **

THIS BIRD YOU CAN NOT CHANGE

PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2006: Necro Butcher vs. Super Dragon

Almost an half hour of straight up violence. The pacing is a bit awkward at times, but it honestly kinda adds to the charm of this spectacle. A wild, chaotic brawl. Just like a match between Necro Butcher & Super Dragon should look like! ****1/4

PWG Giant-Size Annual #4: Necro Butcher vs. Bryan Danielson

This has always been one of my favorite PWG matches, and it still remains exactly that. It tells the tale of the in-ring styles of Bryan Danielson & Necro Butcher perfectly; Danielson tries to ground the match right away, and he succeeds in that quite well & gets to control the first stages of the bout - then eventually Necro HEADBUTTS himself back into things; his forehead opens up by those headbutts & that leads to maybe my favorite moment of the match - Danielson scratching the cut w/ his fingers while he has Necro in a chokehold. Brutal & straight up nasty stuff. And then it's like Necro REALLY wakes up after smelling his own blood; he goes to town on Danielson, classic chaotic Necro style outside the ring, slamming him on chairs & trying to suffocate him w/ a plastic shopping bag. That of course pisses Danielson off even more & after that, every strike he delivers to Necro comes w/ extra intensity & stiffness behind them. A perfect example of how wonderful a true styles clash can be in pro wrestling. ****1/2

DANIELSON + Suzuki vs. ZSJ in the WTL

PWG An Inch Longer Than Average: American Dragon vs. Frankie Kazarian

They start it off by battling over control and the way they convey the STRUGGLE in the lock up is just absolutely masterful stuff. Absolutely blew me mind how good that was. Dragon eventually gets the upper hand after some fantastic, intense back & forth w/ just the right amount of urgency in there. Loved Kaz going back to that front facelock again & again; it was a gameplan that worked well for him until Bryan did indeed establish his dominance by going after Kaz's arm in simply RUTHLESS fashion. He shows tremendous intensity, anger, viciousness & focus as he goes to town on that damn arm. Kaz's selling is pretty damn good too & his overall work fighting from underneath was rock solid. The dynamic flowed perfectly between that & Dragon's incredible work on top. Never did I expect Frankie Kazarian to have a match like THIS in him. Now I am not too familiar with his pre-TNA singles work, but if he has a better match than this in his catalog? Then I've been missing out on some VERY good stuff. ****1/2

UWAI STATION 12/03/06: Bryan Danielson vs. Fujita Hayato

This has a great, scrappy fight feel to it - it's lovely work on the mat w/ some nice grit in there & then some stiff strikes thrown in there. Danielson has an edge for the majority of it & they go with the formula of Hayato fighting from underneath, and he certainly rocks that role superbly. He gets more & more into his comebacks as the match goes on; Danielson is great at cutting him off, and overall he fed for Hayato's big comeback towards the end excellently. It's some very nice stuff all in just under 10 minutes. Great scrap. ****

NJPW World Tag League - Day 10: Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.

This ruled. Had a very "Suzuki-gun feel" to it, in that it felt very chaotic, in an authentic way. The MiSu/ZSJ exchanges rule & are a great teaser for a possible singles match at some future G1 tourney (please) - and Iizuka! Goddamn that spot where he got the choke on ZSJ was wonderful; Korakuen was going nuts & for a good reason. That was an absolutely excellent sequence w/ ZSJ's selling adding quite a bit to it. Very good match overall. ***1/2

SURVIVIN' THE SERIES'

Bayley, Mickie James, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks & Tamina vs. Asuka, Carmella, Mandy Rose, Naomi & Sonya Deville

The Asuka vs. Sasha battle towards the end was awesome, but everything else was pretty bleh. **1/4

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

This felt & looked like a very generic, long TV-match. Really not sure what else I could write about since it was so forgettable I came away from it with just nothing. *

AOP vs. The Bar

What in the absolute WHAT was that ending? So random. The match was very, very basic w/ Cesaro being the FIP, which was mostly spent in a headlock, and then Sheamus got the hot tag & the match went into it's finishing gear. They kept it short, simple & forgettable - I wouldn't call it bad,  but oh so very, very forgettable. *1/2

Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali

This was good & it followed the same dynamic most of the Buddy vs. Ali matches have followed. It was all about Buddy dominating with his power, and destroying Ali while Ali fights from underneath, takes some sick bumps & does his flippy stuff. Nowhere near their best match together, but still good. ***

Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre & Finn Bálor vs. Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, Shane McMahon & The Miz

This was fun action from start to finish, with the highlight being the awesome Finn vs. Rey sequence. Definitely the better of the 2 SurSer tag gimmick matches on the PPV. ***1/4

Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey

This was built pretty well, but I can't help, but to think that it ended just when it really got going. Some nice psychology throughout w/ Charlotte doing work over Ronda's legs to prepare her for the Figure 8 & Ronda's comebacks were very good as well. A bit longer and this would've been ranging from very good to possibly great (***1/2+). ***

Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan

The match gets me already during the entrances. Brock is walking down, Bryan with a cocky look on his face starts taunting him. Absolutely brilliant. Then the bell rings, Bryan charges at Brock's knee the same goddamn second. Then he quickly cements his character in this match as a little shit; he makes Lesnar chase him outside the ring, only for him to go inside & then mock his signature jumping taunt. That's when THE BEATDOWN began, and my goodness, it was the most brutal a Brock Lesnar beatdown has felt like since SummerSlam 2014, I'd say. W/ Bryan's history of neck problems & concussions, those German Suplexes looked even more brutal than they usually do. And Bryan's incredible selling helped there as well. Also you know that Brock is feeling the match when he is constantly talking shit, STARTING CHANTS & busting out BEARHUGS. Then kicks in the 2nd half of the match, and WOOOOO BABY was it a wildride; the low blow + Busaiku Knee SmackDown callback for a nearfall was legitimately one of the best nearfalls, if not the best nearfall of the year. Bryan's kicks look more brutal than usual as well; much of the credit goes to Brock for that, his selling is incredible, and for my money, he is a contender for the best salesman ever. And speaking of that, the sequence where Bryan does his charging corner dropkicks & Brock catches him on the F5 position, only for him to crumble down because of the work Bryan had done on his leg = just YESSS. That followed by the YES Lock where Bryan starts punching Brock in the goddamn face to keep it locked on, my GOODNESS. Best sequence of the year hands down. And even in the finish, Brock f'n Lesnar still SELLS. All of that capped off w/ that beautiful post-match shot of Bryan smiling like a madman. A gritty, violent masterpiece. The Match of the Year. *****

BOLA N2 stuff!

Marko Stunt vs. Trevor Lee

The promo before the match w/ Trevor acting like a total douchebag in his TNA SUPERSTAR mode, and then Marko answering accordingly was incredible. Then the bell rang & they went with the dynamic that was the most obvious one, and simply the best one for the pairing; Trevor just ragdoll bullies the much smaller Marko, and Marko does his flippy comebacks. So much fun! ***3/4

Darby Allin vs. Jeff Cobb

This was just Cobb throwing Allin around & Allin bumping like a maniac. What a damn awesome dynamic, exactly what the match needed to be. ***3/4

Timothy Thatcher vs. WALTER

Nowhere near the level of their January PROGRESS MOTYC, but this was indeed like a tournament version of that one. A very nice exhibition of struggle & beating-the-crap-out-of-one-another. ***1/2

Takeover live reactions

Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler
These 2 deliver as usual. The first fall was very solid w/ great fire shown by Kairi, she got a very good shine right from the get go. The 2nd fall was mostly about Shayna on top, and she sure is absolutely awesome twisting & straight up torturing Kairi. Kairi from underneath rules big time as well - there's this one super SCRAPPY striking exchange she started w/ Shayna & I so loved it. Also that big comeback of hers towards the end of the fall where she wiped out Shayna's buddies was superb. I think all the interference stuff was done pretty well in the last fall - they kept it to KIND of the minimum, and Io doing badass dives is something I can always dig. Very good action from Shayna & Kairi throughout it. Maybe their 2nd best match against each other so far. Still nowhere near the MYC Finals classic though. ***1/2

Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano

I feel like I have so much stuff to say about this, but at the same time, it left me kind of speechless. There I was, watching the show live happily in the cold morning hours when this shit happened. It didn't start off as bad; I was amused by Gargano's super cringe heel acting in the hype video & his entrance, and then the match began. It actually was OK, but then it went on & went on & went on. It was to be expected, and in it's structure, it was your basic 50/50 indy movez~! & sequencez~! -stuff - basically nothing that I haven't seen at least a goddamn million times already, right? Well, then their monologues got louder & louder & louder... I don't even know. I had it written originally that it was HBK tier stuff, but honestly HBK was never this fucking embarrassing w/ his "dramatic" acting. Gargano was already looking & sounding like the biggest nerd of all-time w/ his comicbook villain shit, and then Aleister Black starts w/ his edgelord stuff. I don't even know. This match kind of broke me. Perfect storm of the 2 things I think I hate the most in pro wrestling; shitty match structure & embarrassing acting & drama. I am writing this about 1 hour or so after the match happened & I still feel dirty (???) - it's kinda like when as a teen you would, while jerking off, watch something goddamn kinky and/or weird & then you have that weird disgusted feel after you nut. That's how I feel after watching this shit. First time I have ever been embarrassed about watching the graps. I don't even know my dudes.God bless. God fucking bless. DUD & WORST MATCH OF ALL-TIME

yes that is where my live viewing of takeover ended

ZSJ in Spain, AJ's face stomped in

Triple W Total Rumble 8: A-Kid vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

This felt like kind of a mix between "the usual" ZSJ match & then a generic "epic" indy match. It was very enjoyable for the most part, even though towards the end it started to drag badly. The atmosphere is something worth mentioning too, added some nice heat to the bout. ***

WWE SmackDown 11/13/18: AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan

A fantastic heel turn angle in the closing moments & then the post-match. You can argue it came out of nowhere, but I loved it. Fantastic acting by Bryan there, and him stomping AJ's face in, old school American Dragon style was goosebumps worthy. The actual match wasn't on the level of their October & April TV-classics, but it was still an absolute banger. They went with the dueling limb work story once again, and as always, it was a pleasure watching those two masters go at it. Bryan's arm work in particular was VICIOUS as shit. A match to remember for it's quality & then the angle that was executed in it. ***3/4

WALTER/ZSJ, MiSu/Ishii, Almas/Rey

PROGRESS Chapter 77: WALTER vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
I don't think this came even close to their previous PROGRESS meeting, which was a classic & one of my favorite matches of the year, but as always w/ WALTER & ZSJ, this was a very good time from start to finish. Love how they referenced to that NOLA match here w/ the commentators bringing up the fact that Zack's gameplan in that one was almost like a suicide mission, so here he had to try & change it up. And that he sure did, but it did not go according to the plan, at least not right from the start; WALTER dominated most of the match by not letting Zack get too close - gave the man a mauling, and those submissions by him just look absolutely brutal on Zack, due to their size difference. Aloved the cocky swagger he showed by imitating a few of Zack's signature moves, like the neck twist to a grounded opponent. Zack though, sneaky as usual, managed to get back into things by sneaking in his hard hitting strikes & a few submissions to try n' wear the big man down, so by the end, this was a full on war w/ both guys desperately trying to put one another out. Very good match by a pairing that always delivers. ***3/4

NJPW Power Struggle 2018: Minoru Suzuki vs. Tomohiro Ishii
There were parts here where I thought to myself that "damn, this is looking like one of the best New Japan matches of the year" - but then they drifted it back into the generic NJPW & Ishii formula. Still a really good match, but had shades of something so much greater. Some of the standout moments were literally all of MiSu's times on the offense; I could watch him forearm people's faces off & knee people's ribs to oblivion all day long. Most of the strike exchanges that usually feel very masturbatory & filler are actually goddamn AWESOME, because of how amazingly violent MiSu makes them feel. Ishii had a solid performance too - loved his selling, one of my favorite moments of the match was when him & MiSu started their slapbattle, he did the delayed Kawada selling where he felt the effect of MiSu's slap, and that lead to MiSu laying into him w/ those deadly slap combinations. But yeah, while he was solid for the most part, I wasn’t feeling him on the offense really at all, so as a result this was pretty much a complete Minoru Suzuki show for me. An absolutely awesome one at that. ***3/4

WWE SmackDown 11/06/18: Andrade Almas vs. Rey Mysterio

Andrade is pretty damn vicious w/ his work over Rey, and Rey Rey of course still effin' rules fighting from underneath. A very enjoyable TV match. ***

80's NWA & 2010's NXT

NWA Clash of the Champions IX: Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk

Two GOAT's beating the crap out of each other is a winning formula. A total violent spectacle w/ AMAZING punches, red hot crowd, superb overall heat, stiff chops, phenomenal selling & psychology + classic Funker crazy old man character. Always been one of my favorite matches. *****

WWE NXT Takeover: Toronto: Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa

Superb energy, heat & pace throughout; great, classic tag team psychology done to borderline perfection w/ some neat callbacks to their previous Takeover meeting & amazingly well defined heel & babyface roles - simply phenomenal work by both teams there. One of the best tag team bouts of all-time. ****3/4

World Championship Match Like It Should Be

WWE SmackDown 10/30/18: AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan

This met the high expectations I had for it, but with it being a match between two of the very best in the world, and 2 of the greatest EVER, how could it not? This was 110% my kind of pro wrestling; a dueling limb work story told to perfection w/ both guys being vicious w/ a big V with their work over one another, superb selling & a great sense of urgency. A true war of attrition. Just 22 minutes of straight up pro wrestling like it was meant to be - I mean, it's a WWE Championship match w/ ZERO nearfalls (except if you count the Triangle) & the crowd is going goddamn crazy all the way through. That's pretty unheard of in this day & age. I think it was already clear from their previous match in April, but now it's even more clear: AJ Styles & Daniel Bryan truly operate on a entirely different level from everybody else in the business. Legends. ****1/2

DANCING SKELETOR

MLW Fusion Episode 28: LA Park vs. PCO

It's exactly what it promises to be on paper - two crazy old men having a crazy old men battle. Their combined age is over 100 years old, and here they beat the absolute crap out of each other w/ some ridiculous spots. Hell yea! ***3/4

MLW Fusion Episode 25: LA Park vs. Pentagon Jr.

It takes them about minute & a half to get to the mask ripping, and then it's just awesome brawling w/ them using every weapon they can find in the arena. Insert some more classic lucha sleaze in it, and it would've been a classic MOTYC. ***3/4

WWE Evolution

20-Woman Battle Royal

Ember Moon's booking in this was really good, but other than that, this was quite the sloppy mess until the final 5 or so. Ember really brought it up a notch w/ her stellar performance. **

Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm

Twas a great showcase for Io & a very good match. Was great seeing the crowd get more & more into it as it went on. Very fun, high impact sprint w/ very good pacing. Io is so, so smooth with everything she does. ***1/2

Bayley, Natalya & Sasha Banks vs. The Riott Squad

Some damn solid trios match psychology in this one - Sasha rocked her FIP segment, and the Riott Squad were absolutely awesome doing some brutal work over her. The finishing stretch was real good as well. ***1/4

Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler

The dynamic of the emotional, high impact offense, babyface Kairi going against the torturous limb destruction of Shayna just WORKS. On par with their Takeover title match & the best match of the night. ***1/2

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

Boring pace, "epic" "big" spots, melodramatic "STAY DOWN! " yells, kendo sticks + chairs & a 1 hour runtime. Also known as every WWE Last (Wo)Man Standing match ever. You either like them or don't, and unfortunately, for most of the time I don't, (there are exceptions though - most recently AJ & Nakamura had a very good one even with those usual tropes that I mentioned + Asuka & Nikki Cross had one of the best ones in history last year) and here I just couldn't get into this. A couple of minor positives: the start with Becky & Charlotte trying to outswag each other was cool and the leg drop through the announce table was actually a really good spot. **1/2

Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella

Nikki wasn't any interesting in control, but at least they gave the control to her in the match in the best way possible, which was via Brie's interruptions. Really dug Ronda's bully antics, and she was a blast on the offense, as usual. Pretty good match. **3/4

WALTER/Bate + OTT greatness!

PROGRESS Chapter 76: Hello Wembley: WALTER vs. Tyler Bate


I am not seeing the MOTYC hype in this one, sadly. Went far too long for my taste; I feel like if they had shaven 1/3 off of it, it would've been a far better match. BUT with that being said, it was still a good one - WALTER delivered with his monster offense & Bate had a few very, very good babyface moments. *** 

OTT Fourth Year Anniversary: KUSHIDA vs. Tomohiro Ishii
This is a match I've been wanting to see for years, and I'm happy to report that KUSHIDA & Ishii meshed up very well together, just as I expected. KUSHIDA was great in the beginning w/ his cocky character work, getting a few over Ishii - that rock solid character work continued in the later stages of the match too w/ him becoming more desperate due to Ishii refusing to go down & becoming more dominant. Some very good targeting of the arm, and Ishii of course sold it very well. Would LOVE to see a re-match for the NEVER Openweight Title in Japan some day. ***1/2

OTT Fourth Year Anniversary: Minoru Suzuki vs. Timothy Thatcher
Two nasty hard hitting, master grappler bastards having a match w/ stiff strikes & great work on the mat. Gritty just like Timothy Thatcher vs. Minoru Suzuki should be. A dream match that totally delivered. ****

OTT Fourth Year Anniversary: WALTER vs. Will Ospreay

An absolutely epic David vs. Goliath bout w/ WALTER delivering a main event level mauling & Ospreay bumping like a madman. WALTER being even more brutal than usual, because of the dynamic between him & the OTT crowd was awesome - great monster heel work by the man. The restart deal was a bit silly & they went a little overboard with the nearfalls by the end, and those things did take a bit away from the overall greatness of the match, BUT it still kicked ass big time. ****1/4

A cuppa of Shin Nihon Classics

NJPW 04/29/96: Nobuhiko Takada vs. Shinya Hashimoto

This represents everything that is great about "big fight feel" w/ 65,000 fans going crazy for their ace beating the shoot style invader to restore the honor of the biggest prize in the company, IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Masterclass of a performance by Hashimoto - I think Takada could've done a bit of a better job in selling & some of his "big" submissions could've been executed better emotionally, but Hash more than made those work with his amazing selling, emotion & perfect work on the offense. Those damn comebacks. Those. DAMN. COMEBACKS! One of the best Dome matches ever. ****3/4

NJPW 09/23/81: Andre The Giant vs. Stan Hansen

I've always thought of this match as a response to the question of "what would happen if King Kong met Godzilla?" - such a wild one, it was; the psychology of Andre trying to completely neutralize Hansen's lariat-arm was fantastic - he worked it over precisely & viciously, and Hansen's selling was superb. Hansen's overall fighting from underneath performance was just terrific stuff. Both men were simply on point & produced magic to the maximum w/ their pairing. ****1/2

NJPW 06/11/96: Black Tiger vs. Wild Pegasus

This has always been one of my favorite NJPW junior heavyweight matches, but as of this, the latest watching of it, it is THE favorite of mine. Some very good, very grounded work to start off things - after the first third, what would become the big story of the match kicks in; Benoit's tight Sleeperhold. He makes it look about as vicious as a Sleeperhold can look in a pro wrestling match - Eddie's hope spots get the crowd going, and the way Benoit cuts him off just at the perfect times to get heat on him is simply masterful. My favorite part of the match is when Eddie gets his first somewhat extended comeback in after the Sleeperhold festival began, and just when the crowd is going crazy for his energetic, highflying offense, Benoit cuts him off & puts on that tight ass sleeper once again to big time boos by the crowd. Absolutely brilliant. Eddie's selling of the whole thing is rock solid, too; he would look all dizzy & tired while getting his stuff in. They bring out the big bombs in the finishing stretch, and there's some really great storytelling in there, too with Benoit kicking out of all of Eddie's signature moves (Frog Splash, Black Tiger Bomb) - which meant Eddie had to bust out something real big to get the job done, and that he sure did with that Super Brainbuster. A masterpiece. *****

Joe/Styles, Bryan/Shelton

WWE Super Show-Down: AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe

This was painfully unenergetic. Joe can be very good in that kind of situations though - I usually really enjoy watching him on top, but here for whatever reason, he wasn't doing it for me. AJ was straight up cringy as the BABYFACE FIGHTING FOR HIS HONOR™ - he's such a natural babyface w/ his in ring work, but when he tries too hard with the character stuff in the ring, it just doesn't work. Just a real miss in almost every department, this one was. The Emerald Flowsion was cool tho. *3/4

WWE SmackDown 10/02/18: Daniel Bryan vs. Shelton Benjamin

Not as good as their borderline great match from a few months back, but still really good. These two have such good chemistry w/ one another; Shelton was ruthless with his targeting of Bryan's ribs, and Bryan of course rocked his role fighting from underneath. ***1/4

Gresham/Lethal Iron Man

ROH TV 09/07/18: Jay Lethal vs. Jonathan Gresham

This was such a massive disappointment. Far from a bad match - it was actually pretty good, but hearing the hype & reading the rave reviews for it, I badly wanted it to be the classic many thought it was. I also really liked both of their previous matches against one another, so that adds to that as well. I felt absolutely nothing watching this one, until the first fall, after which there was a very nice sense of urgency & drama; in particular the 5-minute overtime was very, very good. Sadly the first 27 or so minutes of the match were super dull. **3/4

HIAC

Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton
Jeff inside the Cell means he's gonna go crazy, and that's what he did (that ending spot, holy shit!) + you got Randy delivering the most vicious & sadistic beatdown he has done in a looooong time. That stuff w/ the screwdriver was legitimately disturbing. Awesome violence. Certainly one of the most memorable HIAC matches of the PG Era. ***1/2

Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch
This was a very solid match match, with some very good storytelling; it was all about Becky proving that she can hang with Charlotte in a straight up rasslin' match, and that's exactly what happened. ***1/4

Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre vs. The Shield
Very good tag team wrestling! Very good structure, pacing & energetic performances from all involved - in particular Dean Ambrose was on absolute fire. The finishing stretch was very exciting & the finish w/ the Claymore Kick was legitimately very creative & awesome. ***3/4

AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe

I actually liked this a tad bit more than their SummerSlam match. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles just doesn't go wrong; they put something everything to everything when they face off against one another; stiff strikes, amazing selling & bumping + one of the things I love the most is how brutal Joe's submission look on AJ, because of their size difference. Awesome stuff. ***3/4

Brie Bella & Daniel Bryan vs. Maryse & The Miz

This was laid out in the best way possible. They made the absolute best out of the brief Brie vs. Maryse interactions; by the end, as Brie got the hot tag & then ran wild on Maryse, I was really into it. The only really sloppy thing about their stuff was the ending pinning sequence, but other than that, both of them did really well. And of course Bryan & Miz rocked when they were against one another. Very fun match. ***3/4

Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss

Ronda's just too good, man. Another amazing big match performance by her, and a completely different one from the previous 2 - here the match started off with her giving Bliss a wonderful asskicking, just throwing her around, much like in their SummerSlam bout. But then via some heel shenanigans, Bliss gets the control & starts targeting Ronda's ribs in relentless fashion. Ronda's selling of this is borderline perfect - she didn't drop the selling at any point, and the hulk up towards the end was maybe the best example of it; she gets the adrenaline going because of Bliss' extended trashtalk segment, but right after she drops her w/ a big slam, she sells the damage perfectly. Just an outstanding performance. Best match of the night. ****

Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman

The clusterfuckery in the ending was what it was, but even before that, this was extremely meh by Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns standards. **

WAAAALTEEERRRR

Defiant Stacked 2018: WALTER vs. Will Ospreay

This was great, unsurprisingly. WALTER beat the shit out of Ospreay & Ospreay bumped his ass off for him. Just great David vs. Goliath action throughout - lots of great moments, but my favorite one has to be when Ospreay started bleeding, WALTER lived up to his nickname & started targeting that cut right away. Great stuff. ****

OTT Wrestlerama 2: Jordan Devlin vs. WALTER

This was just a perfect storm of Devlin having been the ace of Irish Wrestling & building his legacy there for quite a while going against WALTER, who has become an absolute star in just a few years, tearing through the indy scene w/ his fantastic monster work. It's rare to see WALTER get booed, but my goodness did it add SO MUCH to this match - Devlin got the full on ace treatment from the fans & the commentators, while WALTER was the invading monster, who had given the champ his first pinfall loss in a long ass time. You could feel the emotion every time Devlin managed to kick out of WALTER's big bombs; one of my favorite things of the whole thing was seeing fans hug each other after one of his big kickouts. So masterfully laid out - every kickout was milked to the max, and all of Devlin's brief comebacks were done perfectly, especially during the finishing stretch of the match. A masterpiece of David vs. Goliath wrestling, storytelling & drama. ****1/2

ALL IN

Matt Cross vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman


An awesome opener. MJF impressed with his work on top - some very nice shoulder/arm targeting by him, and Cross' selling was fine throughout, as well as his flippy comebacks were very good. Good match. ***
 

Christopher Daniels vs. Stephen Amell

A pretty hard match to rate, but I thought Amell (just like at SummerSlam a few years back) looked impressive, and he clearly wanted to give the fans a show, so you just gotta respect that. Daniels is a stud inside the ring, that is for sure. **


Britt Baker vs. Chelsea Green vs. Madison Rayne vs. Tessa Blanchard


Pretty awkward in it's pacing & structure for the most part, but there were a few good sequences here & there. Tessa was clearly the best performer. An OK match. **



Nick Aldis vs. Cody
Cody winning the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is one of the coolest moments in all of wrestling in 2018. Loved all the pageantry - in particular those MMA style walkouts popped me big time. The actual match was really good, too. Aldis did most of the work on top, as Cody was 200% the babyface here in this setting, and it worked. Aldis was really good working the heat, specifically targeting the back, which Cody sold greatly. His overall babyface performance was pretty damn awesome. Very good match. ***1/2

Hangman Page vs. Joey Janela
Some absolutely insane spots in this one - Joey Janela sure is one crazy ass mofo. Overall a good one, with a bit of an awkward pacing for the first half or so. ***

Jay Lethal vs. Flip Gordon

This sure wasn't good. Seeing the Black Machismo back in action was fun & all, but as the match went on, the gimmick took away from the flow of it. Not that there was much of that without it either, though. Flip was just absolutely awful in this one. *1/2

Kenny Omega vs. Penta El Zero

A very generic back & forth stuff, with both guys doing their shtick & "greatest hits". Wasn't much of a good match, never really clicked for me. It certainly was far from a bad match though. **1/2

Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll

This had it's moments of dullness, but overall I thought it was a good match that told the story of Marty having something to prove against THE Heavyweight in Kazuchika Okada very well. The ending was pretty badass. ***

The Golden Elite vs. Bandido, Rey Fenix & Rey Mysterio

After reading the reports of this one being cut short due to a few matches before going overtime, it truly was clear as I was watching it. Started off pretty rough w/ stuff that felt overly choreographed & there wasn't much of a flow. Once the Ibushi vs. Mysterio standoff happened though, that's when things got good. Flips, flips & some more flips. While the match being cut short did bring out a few negatives in the match, it also had a good effect in it, as in it helped to give it a nice sense of urgency when they started to go crazy with all the dives. Very good match! ***1/2

Darby/Riddle, WALTER/Ishii, 205 Tornado Tag

EVOLVE 110: Darby Allin vs. Matt Riddle
I haven't watched a Matt Riddle match since the OTT one vs. Ospreay - he has picked up some annoying indy tendencies in the last 1.5 years or so & that was a match that highlighted that, but here he was 100% THE Matt Riddle that instantly became one of my favorites in 2016. He's on his way out of the independents, but before that he wanted to make sure that Darby Allin will never forget his name - he gave Darby a vicious beating, that only got more & more brutal as Darby kept on surviving. There's nobody in wrestling who takes a beating like Darby, so Matt Riddle in his most vicious form vs. him is an instant hit. ****

RevPro Summer Sizzler 2018: Tomohiro Ishii vs. WALTER
They went with the Ishii underdog formula & it worked very well, with WALTER on top for majority of the match. He chopped the shit out of Ishii & Ishii's selling was glorious as usual. Very good stuff. Badass post-match moment too with WALTER wanting a handshake, but Ishii refusing to give him one & asking for a chop instead, and even after receiving one, a very deadly one from WALTER, still refusing to shake his hand. ***1/2

WWE 205 Live 08/21/18: Buddy Murphy & Tony Nese vs. Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado

Very good stuff here. Really fun dynamic with Murphy & Nese dominating w/ their power advantage, doing some nasty work over the Lucha House Party, and then the Lucha lads, in particular Gran Metalik, busting out some really awesome, flippy comebacks. ***1/2

SUMMERSLAM

Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins

I did not sit through their Iron Man match, but this was just about exactly how I would envision a match between Dolph Ziggler & Seth Rollins going. And that is not a positive thing in my eyes - just forgettable wrestling from start to finish, with weak looking offense by both & the usual indyriffic big movez by Rollins. Not my kind of rasslin'. *

The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The New Day

Xavier Woods' FIP segment that started the match was painfully boring, but once Big E got the hot tag & he started throwing the Bludgeon Bros around, things got good & remained that till the end. **3/4

Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens

That was a solid squash - Owens sure bumps like a madman to make Braun's moves look even more violent than they already do. That Chokeslam was absolutely BRUTAL. **

Carmella vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

Rough & awkward for the first half, but it did get going, and by the end it was a solid match. The post-match angle was definitely the highlight though. **

AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe

Got a kick out of the chants of "TNA!", gotta admit. Very cool seeing these two go at it for the richest prize in the biz in one of the biggest wrestling shows of the year, and they sure brought their classic chemistry to the thing - Joe with his all-time great offense work, and AJ with his legendary bumping. Very good match. ***1/2

Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz

First things first; this did not come close to their NOC '10 classic, and they had a better match few months back at a house show in Newcastle, but it definitely still was one helluva bout. Great storytelling with both guys' characters inside the ring; Miz wanted to prove that he can hang with Bryan's rasslin', and Bryan had an answer & a way out of basically everything the man did, which of course then played into the finish perfectly with Miz having to cheat to get the W. The IT Kick hulk up & the slaps that followed were beautiful. ***3/4

Baron Corbin vs. Finn Bálor

Not a very interesting squash. *

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jeff Hardy

I was almost dreading the thought of watching these two go at it for over 10 minutes, but boy were those thoughts wrong, because this match absolutely rocked. Great swagger & charisma between the two brought a fun dynamic - Nakamura was vicious with his work on top, and Jeff was in his element fighting from underneath with his brilliant bumping & comebacks. Played into both of their strengths greatly. ***1/2

Alexa Bliss vs. Ronda Rousey

Best squash of the night goes to KO/Braun, but this was also OK. A couple of amusing moments & some killer offense by Ronda, but very bleh overall. At least Bliss wasn't booked to go 50/50 against Ronda, that is what I was most worried about. *1/2

Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns

A very good, bombfest sprint. Really nothing else to add, since it was basically just a big move after big move after big move. Brock's selling was great as usual, as well. ***1/4

Takeover: Brooklyn

The Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain

The weakest of their trilogy, but still very good. Felt like somewhat of a blend of their previous 2 matches w/ some psychology over the knee of Bate, and then the red hot sequences, with everyone, in particular Bate, going crazy. Somewhat awkward in it's pacing at some moments, but that didn't eat away too much from the quality. Roddy & Kyle as the sleazy, yet vicious heels is just a blessing. MOTN. ***1/2

EC3 vs. The Velveteen Dream

This started off pretty great, but by the end, it was dragging like a motherfucker, so it's overall quality dragged down because of it. Loved the beginning w/ them telling the story of EC3 being the more powerful & experienced of the 2 - EC3 was very good on top, and Dream's bumping was like something straight out of the 80's. After the Dream gets back into things, he starts targeting EC3's neck, and after a while of that, the match starts to drag, as I mentioned. Pretty good overall w/ a great first half or so. **3/4

Adam Cole vs. Ricochet

A pretty good match - very indyriffic at parts, but also toned down nicely overall too, didn't go overboard. **3/4

Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane

A very good match w/ a simple, yet super effective dynamic. Shayna is an awesome bully, twisting Kairi's ankles, toes & everything in brutal fashion, while Kairi brings great emotion & fire with his babyface work. Nowhere near their MYC tournament finals classic, but a very good match nonetheless. ***1/2

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano

These two sure aren't afraid to beat the living crap out of each other, and I very much appreciated that in the first third (or so) of the match - great intensity & violence, especially on Ciampa's part; one standout moment definitely was the Angel's Wings on the steel steps. Brutal stuff. Shortly after that though, the match starts to drag & the drama start to felt way too forced. It's a good match, I'd definitely rank it over the NOLA one, but it didn't reach the overall greatness of their Chicago Street Fight. ***

G1 FINALS, 2K18

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi

I really wasn't feeling this one until the sequence where Ibushi went to that murder-death-kill -mode, and Tana showed great fire, while Ibushi was absolutely baffled by it. After that the match was just very good, bombfest-y action. On par with their IC Title match from 2017. ***3/4

Day 18: farewell B block '18!

Tama Tonga vs. Toru Yano

Solid stuff with Tama being a nasty bastard to Yano, who tries to straight up, cleanly, wrestle him. Far from the best stuff that Yano had during his tournament run, but very easy-to-watch stuff. **

Hirooki Goto vs. Juice Robinson

A very enjoyable & solid match. Nice work on the arm by Juice (good continuity from the Goto/ZSJ match) & some very good selling by both men. ***1/4

SANADA vs. Tomohiro Ishii

A pretty intriguing styles clash on paper, and it ended up being a good match. Fun counters all the way through. ***1/4

Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

An absolutely tremendous match. Loved Zack being so pissed off at Naito for some reason; he really sold his sense of dislike towards him brilliantly. Even more brutal than usual with some of his work over him. Naito was really great too, with his mind games, trying to irritate Zack even more so than he already is - some awesome work on the neck too during his comebacks, and Zack sold it greatly; great spot in that when he went for the Manjigatame, he couldn't apply it fully, because of the damage Naito had done to his neck. The best of the 3 matches they've had against each other so far. ****1/4

Kenny Omega vs. Kota Ibushi

As expected, the Golden Lovers absolutely brutalized each other in an athletic, vicious back and forth match. Enjoyed it as much as their 2012 DDT meeting. ***3/4

Day 17: a good Canadian Destroyer spot!

Michael Elgin vs. Togi Makabe

Both guys had decent runs in the tourney, and they closed it off w/ a nice hard hitting sprint'ish bout. Good stuff. ***

Hangman Page vs. YOSHI-HASHI

Hey, a Destroyer spot that isn't stupid! Hell yeah! Not only that, but this was a really good match overall, too! Most of it is with Hangman on top, doing good work over YOSHI-HASHI & showcasing very nice swagger & charisma while doing so. YH was solid fighting from underneath, and Hangman brought some good fire out of him. Happy to report that both guys closed their tournament runs out with a bang. ***3/4

Bad Luck Fale vs. Minoru Suzuki

This was well on it's way to becoming one of the best matches of the tournament, but then the interference gimmick kicked in. Before that happened, this was such a wild, violent fight. Oh well - still a really good match overall, but it most likely would've hit the 4*+ status without such a long interference segment. ***3/4

EVIL vs. Jay White

Very good sense of urgency from Switchblade to start things off; he was pretty vicious with his work over EVIL & EVIL was a damn good FIP. Once EVIL's comeback starts, the match goes down in quality though, as it seemed like all the sense of urgency & standout physicality went away - still a pretty good one overall, but had they kept a couple of aspects from the beginning stages, this could've been something more. **3/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada

Tanahashi spends at least half of the match working over the leg of Okada, and of course he rules at it - the standout spot of the match was certainly the Cloverleaf one; they milked it to the max & it was such well done drama. Okada's selling was, well, certainly just as expected, which is not a good thing; he did the usual Okada limb "selling" where he does all of his movez like nothing, then grabs his leg a bit. Sigh. Another thing that disappointed me greatly was the lack of urgency from Okada, especially in the last 10 minutes or so; the whole thing about the match was that Okada needed THE WIN to go to the finals, Tana would be okay with the draw, but if I hadn't known that, by watching the final 5 minutes of the match, I'd feel like their actual roles would be reversed; Okada wrestled like he always does, but it was Tana who showed masterful levels of urgency. Great performance from him, "the usual" from Okada (which I am not a big fan of) & a very generic/expected match structure. **

Day 16

Juice Robinson vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Most of the match is just a complete slugfest w/ Juice & Ishii trading chops, forearms & punches, and both of them just happen to excel at that, so of course it's a very good time. ***1/2

Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Goto is always good when he fights from underneath, with his hard hitting comebacks & ZSJ of course rules on top. ***1/2

Kota Ibushi vs. Tama Tonga
Most of this is with Tama on top, because of the sneak attack he did on Ibushi during his entrance, and while he does a very forgettable job at it, Ibushi's comebacks are very good. All the interferences were done pretty well too. An OK match. **

Kenny Omega vs. Toru Yano

A super fun comedy match; definitely the best Omega vs. Yano bout yet. ***1/2

SANADA vs. Tetsuya Naito

A very good back & forth match between two stablemates - very good flow & swagger to it. ***

Hangman/MiSu RULES

Bad Luck Fale vs. YOSHI-HASHI

The David vs. Goliath dynamic in this one brought some personality, fire & charisma out of YOSHI-HASHI - he put on a very good fiery underdog performance, and I usually always enjoy Fale's Goliath work on top, and such was the case here. Good match. ***

Hangman Page vs. Minoru Suzuki

He got called a boy multiple times in this match, but after the match, Hangman Page is now a made MAN in New Japan. I am not sure what I was expecting this match to be like, but one of the best matches of the year sure wasn't that; Hangman put on such a phenomenal babyface performance, and Minoru played his role perfectly. Loved the quick start w/ Hangman going right after Suzuki, not waiting for the entrances to be complete - that Moonsault was simply beautiful. This of course pissed Suzuki off, and you could see from the first wristlock on that Hangman wasn't gonna have it easy this night. His beatdown was even more grumpy & vicious than usual; brutal work over the arm & those strikes of his are beautiful in the most violent way possible. Hangman's selling was pretty damn great, and his brief comebacks ruled; I love me a good, well timed & done SPIT SPOT, and here the one Hangman delivered to Suzuki was just awesome. Another thing I loved about the match was Suzuki's amazing selling of Hangman's lariats - Hangman throws a good one in general, but here Suzuki helped to make them look truly devastating. The finish too, so, so, so good. Perfectly done upset victory. Excellent stuff all around. "COME ON FUCKING BOY!" ****1/2

Jay White vs. Togi Makabe

This was actually very enjoyable with Switchblade being a total dick to Makabe, and Makabe answering with his bruiser offense. ***

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Michael Elgin

A very solid dynamic with Elgin being the obviously more stronger of the 2, and using that against the always-banged-up Tanahashi. They built the match with that, and then by the end, it turned into the usual dramatic big movez back & forth -fest. A good one. ***

EVIL vs. Kazuchika Okada

Started off in very good, energetic fashion, and it continued to be very good & energetic until about halfway through; that's when things started to drag, and it felt like another generic New Japan main event. Far from the worst example of that though, as overall it was pretty good. **3/4