MOTYC rewatchings p2

ROH/NJPW Honor Rising - Day 2: Bullet Club vs. Golden Lovers
This still rules big time, and the storytelling is even more great than it was the first time around. It's the first time Kenny & Kota have tagged in a 2-on-2 contest in years, and here their teamwork isn't as tight as it used to be. Because of that Cody & Marty get a lot of the match. Absolutely love the energy the match has from start to finish - Golden Lovers truly brought some LOVE to Korakuen that night. ****1/4


ROH 16th Anniversary Show: SoCal Uncensored vs. The Hung Bucks
There's some sequences where I think the match became a little too "cute", but all in all, this was an absolutely great weapons trios warfare. The SCU lads especially did such a good job selling the gimmick of the thing w/ their viciousness. Great, brutal spot action w/ some really great psychology with the continuity of Matt Jackson's banged up back. ****1/4


ROH 16th Anniversary Show: Dalton Castle vs. Jay Lethal

The best ROH match in years. Fantastically physical, with the story of the veteran Lethal essentially "making a man" out of the fresh champ in Dalton Castle. It's fantastic. They beat the crap out of each other w/ some terrific selling in there. ****3/4

wXw 16 Carat Gold: Ilja Dragunov vs. John Klinger vs. WALTER

All 3 men play their roles perfectly & the emotion of Ilja's return + story boosts it to even greater heights it already is at w/ it's spectacular action. ****1/4

wXw 16 Carat Gold: Absolute Andy vs. David Starr

This is such a masterful match that told the tales of both characters of Absolute Andy & David Starr perfectly. Everything they did in the tourney lead up to this - Andy was a complete bastard beating the crap out of Starr & trying to cheat, and Starr rocked that babyface role excellently. ****3/4

 

MOTYC mid-year re-watchings p1

With us being almost halfway through the year, I thought why not re-watch all the matches I've rated ****1/2+ this year, to make a very nice mid-year list!

Wrestle Kingdom 12: Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega

This did not hold up too well on a re-watch. Not that it was bad, it was really damn good, but back in January I thought it was a bonafide classic & had a legendary performance by Chris Jericho, but that's all changed now. I think Kenny absolutely SMOKED him performance wise; his selling, bumping & overall superb babyface performance is what makes the match as enjoyable as it is. I still very much like the sense of chaos in the first third of the match, with them going at it right away & the outside madness that went on. Once they return to the ring, the action still remains very enjoyable, but it's at least 95% because of Kenny. Jericho didn't really do it for me when he was in control. Right around the One Winged Angel nearfall, the match starts to drag pretty damn badly, too. It's definitely a really good match, but certainly not the MOTYC I saw it as when it happened. ***3/4

WWE NXT Takeover: Philadelphia: Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano

Such a brutal match; both guys, in particular Gargano, take such a helluva beating. Sometimes that's all you need to have a classic championship match - just two guys trying to destroy each other over it. Gargano's babyface work in this is just wonderful, Almas' is absolutely nasty with his offense + the whole Zelina/Candice deal was executed perfectly. ****1/2

PROGRESS Chapter 62: Timothy Thatcher vs. WALTER

The best tag team in the world delivers one of the greatest matches of all-time when they go 1-on-1 against each other. Ringkampf represents pro wrestling greatness. This was vicious action from start to finish - Thatcher refusing to shake WALTER's hand was a fantastic start, and set the tone, that while they're teammates, this is not gonna be a friendly sparring session, but a real championship fight. There's so many amazingly brutal moments such as WALTER chopping Thatcher in the fucking face, WALTER stomping Thatcher's soul out of him & of course all THE CHOPS in general. The story with Thatcher trying to neutralize WALTER's chopping arm was terrific, Thatcher was absolutely superb with his arm targeting & WALTER sold it fantastically. Pretty much perfect performances by both guys; WALTER was a killer with his offense & sold just enough of Thatcher's work over him + Thatcher showed why he's an all-time great FIP w/ his selling & facial expressions, and his targeting of WALTER's arm was really great, as I mentioned before. Die Matte ist Heilig. ****3/4

Possible MOTY

OTT Homecoming - Belfast: Keith Lee vs. Timothy Thatcher

Keith Lee's random ass Hogan & Rock comedy tribute spots really killed the flow of the match just as it was reaching excellent status, but other than that, this was really damn good. Thatcher's performance was just fabulous - his work over Keith is what really truly made the match. ***3/4

CMLL 06/22/18: LA Park vs. Rush

Maybe the least-wild match of their rivalry, but still pretty goddamn wild. Black Skinhead blasting, Umbrellas, crowd going wild for Rush taking his shirt off, mask ripping. The good shit. ***3/4

EVOLVE 106: Darby Allin vs. WALTER

Well HOLY FUCKING SHIT. Originally this was supposed to happen at NOLA, but Darby got injured so it didn't happen - I was super bummed out, because it sure was one of the matches I was most looking forward to; in the top-3 alongside Bryan's return & Riddle/Ki (until that got cancelled as well). Happy to report that it certainly lived up to the crazy potential it had on paper & then some more. AND THEN SOME MORE, MY GOODNESS. There's so much to write about, but I honestly can't even. The pace, WALTER's brutal work over Darby, WALTER's baffled reactions when this small face paint having fella refused to die & brought the fight right at him, Darby's madman bumping, Darby's hand targeting - in particular that spot where he punched & goddamn headbutted it - I got some damn Necro Butcher vs. Samoa Joe vibes from it because of how wild it was, the crowd was rockin' & the sense of urgency was through the roof. We'll see how it stacks up when I do a high end MOTYC re-watch session towards the end of the year, but as of right now after 2 viewings, this might just be the best match of the year. *****

BIG VAN DADDY

 wXw True Colors 2007: Big Van Walter vs. Takeshi Rikio

Fun hard hitting stuff. Walter plays the rookie underdog against Rikio, who was a bonafide NOAH superstar at this point. ***1/2

wXw Back To The Roots VII: Big Van Walter vs. Bryan Danielson

I have never heard anyone talk about this match, but goddamn it's absolutely amazing. The early stages see Danielson annoy Walter greatly; he pretty much outclasses him in their grappling exchanges, but he does it while talking shit & delivering some cheapshots to the big lad. Walter gets more & more pissed, but as he starts to get some offense going, Danielson attacks his knee. He targets it like an assassin throughout the match - all the while talking shit & breaking rules, too. Walter gets some brief comebacks as the match goes - even unleashing some of those brutal chops he is now famous for, but ultimately Danielson's in ring generalship is too much; he just cuts off every comeback Walter gets very quickly. Amazing stuff. Terrific psychology & an absolutely great performance by Dragon. Kind of a gem, because as I said, I've never heard ANYONE talk about it. ****1/2

wXw True Colors 2008: Big Van Walter vs. Low Ki

A very good David vs. Goliath match w/ both guys playing their roles greatly. ***3/4

wXw Broken Rulz IX: Big Van Walter vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Very similar to their epic PWG meeting that happened 8 years after this one. Of course neither one of the 2 were as polished w/ their in ring work & personas as they are now, but you can see flashes of what’s about to come for both guys. Walter dominates with his hard hitting move-set & strength advantage while Zack tries to chop down the bigger man w/ his strikes. It’s a great match between a pairing that could produce one in their sleep. ****

wXw 16 Carat Gold 2010: Big Van Walter vs. Chris Hero

A very good match. The beginning w/ Hero firing Walter up set rest of the match perfectly - he got a little too fired up himself & hurt his hand in the process of beating Walter down. Walter sure took notice & started to work that arm throughout the thing. Hero played the underdog role very well from that point on w/ some very good, brief comebacks w/ those glorious strikes of his. ***1/2 

wXw Broken Rulz XI: Big Van Walter vs. Axeman

This ruled. Started off in very energetic way as Axeman jumped Walter right away - they kept that same energetic pace to it for the whole thing. Axeman plays the role of an underdog who stunned the champ right away, but ultimately the champ gains the control & makes him pay for it. Awesome stuff. ***3/4

wXw 16 Carat Gold 2012: Big Van Walter vs. Daisuke Sekimoto

This is often pimped as one of the absolute best, if not THE best match in wXw’s history. Finally watching it for myself, can’t say I was disappointed. Two wrestlers who share same philosophies as in what they want from big wrestling matches to look & feel like putting on an absolute classic. It’s nasty, hard hitting stuff with Walter doing most of the work on top while Sekimoto fights from underneath. Worth the hype. ****1/2

wXw Live In Hamburg: Big Van Walter vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

WALTER has said that he feels like his chemistry with ZSJ works so well because all of their matches feel like FIGHTS. I think none of their matches against each other showcase that better than this one, right here. It's a classic David vs. Goliath FIGHT w/ ZSJ being absolutely excellent as the scrappy underdog, fighting with his heart to try & beat the Goliath - and WALTER is of course absolutely tremendous in his role, just bullying ZSJ around, striking him down & throwing him around. It's a wXw classic. ****1/2 

wXw 13th Anniversary Tour: Big Van Walter & Robert Dreissker vs. Axel Dieter Jr. & Da Mack

Well this was quite something. Let's get to the negatives first - most of the offense that Da Mack & Dieter Jr. hit doesn't look very good & the match drags a bit by the end. The positives though, are far bigger than the negatives; the emotion in the match is perfect & Jr. rocks the color in amazing fashion as he bleeds A LOT throughout the thing. Walter & Dreissker are absolutely amazing in it too, just bulldozing through Hot & Spicy w/ their monstrous offense - ADJ's FIP segment was unbelievably great. Like I mentioned, he rocks the color fantastically & he takes such a terrific beating from the big lads. Amazing stuff. ****1/4

3-Way Dancing

Fortune Dream 5: Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Io Shirai vs. Meiko Satomura

This was a lot of fun. Io & Meiko are of course two of the best women's wrestlers on the planet, but this was my first time seeing Hiroyo Matsumoto in action, and she impressed me quite a bit - her offense was every bit as brutal as that of Io's & Meiko's. ***3/4

WWE 205 Live 06/19/18: Buddy Murphy vs. Hideo Itami vs. Mustafa Ali

This match had it's moments, with Ali pulling out some very cool flippy stuff + Hideo & Murphy trading some stiff strikes, but overall I thought there wasn't much of a flow, sadly. I would still call the match pretty good, but that said lack of flow is what keeps it from being more than that. **3/4

R.I.P. Vader

It's time, it's time, it's Vader time!

NJPW 04/24/89: Big Van Vader vs. Shinya Hashimoto

First of all, Vader doing his smoke-from-the-armor pre-match ritual which lead to Hashimoto having a "really?" look on his face was amazing. Then the match starts w/ both guys looking to gain the first control of one another - Hash ends up on the winning side of things, but he doesn't keep Vader contained & eventually Vader goddamn BLASTS him with a big backhand. Hashimoto's selling of this was amazing & he really comes off as a wounded bear after he received that one. Vader does his thing, beats the crap out of Hash on top. That sets the tone for rest of the match - it's mostly Vader on top, giving Hashimoto a beating, but Hash refuses to go down easily & every time he manages to get some offense going, the Dome goes unglued. Absolutely loved how he targeted Vader's arm throughout, he was relentless & wasn't gonna leave the place without destroying that left arm of Vader's. Hashimoto's selling is absolutely incredible throughout, but so is Vader's - he sells all of Hash's arm targeting & offense in general perfectly for his role in the thing. One of my favorite Tokyo Dome & NJPW matches - just two all-time greats demonstrating why they are exactly that via delivering all-time great performances. The way they conveyed the drama, the struggle & the emotion is simply unreal. Actually not just one of my favorite Tokyo Dome & NJPW matches, but one of my favorite matches of all-time, period. *****

NJPW 02/10/90: Big Van Vader vs. Stan Hansen

There aren't many matches with a more genuine feel of chaos & danger than this one. Just two asskickers beating the crap out of each other. It's amazing. ****1/2

NJPW 08/10/91: Big Van Vader vs. Keiji Muto

Vader is tremendous as always beating the taste out of his opponent & Mutoh is absolutely awesome with his punches and overall offense. Great fiery babyface performance by the man. ****

WCW Starrcade 1993: Big Van Vader vs. Ric Flair

Love the story leading up to this one, and they wrestle according to it perfectly. Vader gives Flair a classic Big Van Vader beating while Flair does some of his finest babyface work with those PUNCHES & CHOPS. Fantastic dynamic, fantastic drama, fantastic match. ****1/2

UWFI 06/10/94: Super Vader vs. Kiyoshi Tamura

This match - THIS MATCH! An absolutely outstanding 7 minute sprint David vs. Goliath sprint where Vader clobbers the shit out of Tamura & Tamura answers to it by kicking the shit out of Vader, in particular his leg. It's all super heated & just lovely, lovely stuff. 100% my jam. ****1/2

ALWAYS.

R.I.P.

SmackDown Gauntlet

Big E vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Rusev vs. Samoa Joe vs. The Miz

Big E vs. Bryan was a fantastic opening to the thing - Big E was absolutely awesome with his work over Bryan, the best he has EVER looked. Bryan's selling was simply phenomenal & overall they told the story of Big E's power vs. Bryan's in ring smarts & "technicality" so well. It was the Fight of the Century next, and it was just great. Joe looked like the killer that he is & Bryan rocked the babyface role the way only he can. The Miz coming after the Bludgeon Brothers attack was PERFECT. Him throwing Bryan out of the ring like a prick was a wonderful cherry on top of the cake. Sadly the Miz vs. Rusev finals portion of the match wasn't very interesting in my eyes, a couple of awesome singular spots, but overall certainly the weakest segment of the package. Even though that one wasn't interesting, overall this was such a tight package. Fantastic performance by Bryan, Big E looking the best he ever has, Joe being a boss. Hell yea. ***3/4

MITB

Big Cass vs. Daniel Bryan

I enjoyed the Backlash match a lot, but it was clear that was 100% a Daniel Bryan carryjob. It felt like he was wrestling a goddamn tree. Here though, Big Cass seemed almost like a completely different man from that night - he felt super motivated & his performance was on point. Dude showed very good swagger with his work on top, and that said work on top was actually GREAT this time. Of course it helps that Bryan was bumping & selling his ass off for him, but Cass looked very, very good. Bryan's performance in general was absolutely incredible I thought - amazing selling & he looked like an absolute killer with his offense; that leg targeting was brutal & that Missile Dropkick from the top to the back of Cass' neck is a spot that will stick with me for a long time. Also the Chicago crowd was on fire, which helped the match be even more energetic than it already was by the great work of the 2 men in that ring. One of my favorite WWE matches of the year. ****1/4

Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn

There really wasn't anything wrong with this match, it was fine, but just pretty disappointing considering how much potential a match between Bobby Lashley & Sami Zayn looks to have on paper. **

Seth Rollins vs. Elias

Rollins from underneath only works when his opponent working the heat on him is actually interesting. Elias certainly wasn't. *1/4

Women's MITB

Great pace & flow, really good big spots - just really good action from start to finish. ***3/4

Jinder Mahal vs. Roman Reigns

I actually really enjoyed this one. The crowd certainly wasn't into it at all, but I don't think that took anything away from the match, really. It was a very enjoyable one w/ Jinder doing some very solid work on top while Reigns busted out pretty good comebacks. *** 

Carmella vs. Asuka

This match actually legitimately frustrated me. I just don't find Asuka selling for any of Carmella's offense believable at all. I know it's wrestling & all, anything is possible, but goddammit this pissed me off. DUD

AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Definitely the best match of their WWE rivalry. Loved the sense of physicality & urgency here, and even though the match went over 30 minutes, it didn't drag at all, like their previous PPV meetings, which also were shorter. ***1/2

Nia Jax vs. Ronda Rousey

First of all, while the most amazing thing about this is the fact that it was Ronda's first EVER singles match, let's give it up for Nia. I've liked her work as the big monster against Asuka, Sasha & Bayley, but here her performance was on next level from those. She was on that Vader shit, so to say. Great stuff. And then, AND THEN! Ronda FUCKING Rousey! It's absolutely unreal that this is her first singles match EVER. Her performance was outgoddamnstanding; she rocked the scrappy underdog role so well - fantastic bumping/selling + facial expressions & it's not just that, it's the little things that she did so well. The Bear Hug spot is a legitimate contender for spot of the year because of that - the way she tried to actively fight her way out of it was such a little, simple thing, but yet so beautiful. She also nailed all of her big spots absolutely PERFECTLY. Perfect timing, perfect execution. That Judo throw was gorgeous & the bit where she hulk'd herself up & went ham on Nia w/ those strikes is something that could've been very cringy, but it was actually superb. Unreal performance, ESPECIALLY when you take into consideration that it was her FIRST. SINGLES. MATCH. EVER! I do think the ending, while it was a really well executed angle, does take a bit away from the match quality, but damn, what a match it still was. ****1/4

Men's MITB

This flowed even better than the women's MITB. Very good spots & very good action throughout. ***3/4

Takeover: Chicago

The Undisputed Era vs. Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan

Red hot crowd & awesome hard hitting action from start to finish. Loved the Burch FIP segment, Kyle targeting his arm throughout the match was pretty great (loved that big Armbar drama), the ONEY HOT TAG was goddamn terrific & Roddy was his usual fantastic self, loved his facial selling & him on the offense is always a violent joy, and here he was going against two fellas who also bring it big time w/ their offense. Great match. ****

Ricochet vs. The Velveteen Dream

A good match that told a very fun story of them trying to one-up each other by using each other's moves & going for similar spots. Dream's Prince Puma tights too, my goodness. Absolutely brilliant. ***1/4

Shayna Baszler vs. Nikki Cross

At first I wasn't feeling the whole "Nikki has Shayna baffled with her insanity!" -thing, but as it went on & Nikki got to shine, I got into it. Very enjoyable stuff. **3/4

Aleister Black vs. Lars Sullivan

This was pretty damn good. Very solid David vs. Goliath action w/ Aleister bumping his ass off for Sullivan & being awesome with his strikes. ***

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa 

So much better than their NOLA match. Here they actually sold their hatred for each other - the action was violent throughout & never dragged. ****

WWE MOTYC

WWE UK Championship Tournament First-Round: Drew Gulak vs. Jack Gallagher

This rocked my world. 6 minutes of fantastic, gritty back & forth wrestling with a terrific sense of urgency + really great selling and amazing looking strikes. One of my favorite ones of the year. ****1/2

STUFF

FCP Dream Tag Team Invitational - Day 3: Meiko Satomura vs. Pete Dunne
One of those matches on paper where I think to myself: "is there even a chance this won't rule?" - especially with the video of it only being about 13 minutes long. Absolutely #blessed. The match did indeed rule; you got PETER delivering an absolutely tremendous nasty, cocky bastard heel performance, showing no respect to the veteran. His work over Meiko was fantastic, and his facial expressions & body language, as usual, were terrific. This might honestly be Pete's finest hour in portraying his character in the ring. One slight complaint about the match is that, in the end, I thought that Meiko should've got some more & stronger comebacks in - I liked the story of Pete cutting her off in most of her comebacks attempts, and Meiko just refusing to give up on trying, but what the match needed to hit that ****+ level was a full on Meiko comeback with her kicking the shit out of the cocky bastard that had been working all over her & showing no respect. ***3/4

WWE SmackDown 06/12/18: Daniel Bryan vs. Shelton Benjamin
Literally nothing better in wrestling than waking up on a Wednesday morning knowing that you got a Daniel Bryan TV match banger waiting for you. Shelton has, off the top of my head, only had 2 matches that I'd consider better than this; vs. HBK & Shibata, and this might be the best single match performance of his. He was SO focused w/ his work over Bryan's left leg, I especially loved those single leg crabs. Bryan's leg work was of course great as well. Really good dueling leg work battle. ***3/4

OTT ScrapperMania IV: Jordan Devlin vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
A good match. Thought that by the end it drifted too much into the 50/50 stuff, but I very much enjoyed it from start to finish. Devlin unleashed some very good leg kicks & ZSJ was a treat on the offense, as always. ***

PWG All Star Weekend 14 - Day 2: Matt Riddle vs. Timothy Thatcher
Riddle vs. Thatcher is always a good time. As usual, they had some shoot style elements here, mixed with some big pro wrestling moves. ***

WWE NXT 06/13/18: Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O'Reilly

Other than the last 15 or so seconds, this was pretty awful. The strikes of both guys were hilariously bad for what they were trying have the match come off as; funnily enough, the match I watched before this one was Riddle vs. Thatcher from PWG, and in many ways, this felt like a shitty indy version of it. Quite ironic. *1/4

DOMINION

Hirooki Goto vs. Michael Elgin vs. Taichi

This felt very awkward for most of the time w/ no flow whatsoever, but after the striking sequence between Elgin & Goto, which ended up with Goto headbutting Elgin's shoulder, the match really picked up. Taichi was awesome with his always sneaky heel work & Elgin's offense managed to go from pretty shitty to very good & energetic. OK match. **

EVIL & SANADA vs. The Young Bucks

Lovely pacing from start to finish, great energy & some pretty damn good psychology w/ Nick's foot. Really good, borderline great match. ***3/4

Cody, Hangman Page & Marty Scurll vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jushin Liger & Rey Mysterio Jr.

TANA. LIGER. REY REY. What a TEAM! This was such a lovely time. ***1/2

Will Ospreay vs. Hiromu Takahashi

Everything between the explosive start & the Triangle spot was pretty dull, and I was ready to call the match a big disappointment, but after that Triangle spot they went absolutely nuts. Superb stuff from that point on till the finish. If only the full package didn't have that needless, slow mid-section. ***1/4

Tetsuya Naito vs. Chris Jericho 

Loved the chaotic start w/ Jericho jumping Naito right away, going crazy with the trashtalk, putting Naito through tables, picking up cameras (just like at WK) & all. Eventually the match lost it's unique feel of a chaotic fight though, as it drifted into more of a "normal" wrestling match with Jericho working on top & Naito fighting from underneath - I still enjoyed it quite a bit, but it never reached "more-than-just-good" -levels for me. Jericho did a very good job portraying his character, and just like at WK, I'd say he was the star of the match, easily. Naito certainly isn't at his best when fighting from underneath, but Jericho's top on work was very good against him - just wish his comebacks would've been better, and not so robotic. ***

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega 

The first fall was legitimately great. Great sense of struggle, urgency & physicality. The offense of both men looked VIOLENT. The greatness continued in the first moments of the 2nd fall with Okada putting on that tremendous cocky face of his, showing how proud he is of getting that first fall. Omega showcased great desperation, all the while selling the fatigue of the 1st fall big time. At some point during the 2nd fall though, the match lost all of the urgency & that great character dynamic of it. Started to drag like I feared (& honestly expected) - basically lost all interest in the thing. There was a few cool moments after that, like Kenny doing the Styles Clash & Ibushi telling him to go for the Phoenix Splash. Other than those 2 moments though, the action wasn't any interesting whatsoever. Kudos to them for going over an hour, but what they did confirmed what I already was pretty damn sure of; Kazuchika Okada & Kenny Omega certainly aren't Ric Flair's, Bryan Danielson's or Trevor Lee's. **1/4

Io/Momo II, Hiromu/Ishimori, PWG RINGKAMPF

Stardom Gold Star: Io Shirai vs. Momo Watanabe
Not as great as their match from February, but still a really good one. Fantastic offense by both women (especially Io) & just all around very fun bomb throwing w/ a good sense of urgency to it. ***3/4

NJPW BOSJ XXV - Finals: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori

This had a wonderful start; great pure spotfest action with a fantastic sense of urgency & Hiromu being superb with his explosive offense. Once they got down from the crowd though, the match sadly didn't remain very interesting. I did love the submission drama w/ (especially) the LeBell Lock & the Triangle, but other than that stuff, the match did not grab me at all. I think it was overall definitely a good one w/ some flashes of greatness in it, but unsurprisingly it also was long as a mofo & had lots & lots of dull/meh stuff in there. ***

PWG All Star Weekend 14: Ringkampf vs. Violence Unlimited

Brody & WALTER beating the crap out of each other, fantastic finishing stretch & maybe my favorite bit of the whole thing; Ringkampf giving Bateman an absolute whooping during his FIP segment. Awesome match. ***3/4

BOSJ Day 13: Start of something beautiful?

ACH vs. Tiger Mask

Energetic & hard hitting w/ a really good flow. Especially loved those vicious kicks Tiger Mask unleashed; ACH sold them like death. ***1/2

Dragon Lee vs. El Desperado

This felt like a start of something that could very well end up being very, very special. The match slowed down & lost it's intensity once Despy started having trouble keeping the remains of his mask on, but before that, it was such a fascinating, intense battle where they just beat the crap out of each other, showcasing their dislike of each other. Certainly made me want more stuff between these 2 guys. ***3/4

Flip Gordon vs. Will Ospreay

I was expecting a dry movezfest, and while this sure did have a plenty of those MOVEZ~!, Ospreay & Flip sure let all of them breathe just enough before going to the next one. Good story of Flip pushing Ospreay to the absolute limit, forcing him to dig down deep. Good match. ***1/4

Marty Scurll vs. SHO

This was very solid. Really liked Marty's work on top during the beginning stages of the match, and as the match became more back & forth as it went on, it still remained very enjoyable. A good ol' war of attrition, if you will. ***

Hiromu Takahashi vs. KUSHIDA

As always, KUSHIDA & Hiromu delivered the goods. Hiromu with that explosive move-set of his & KUSHIDA with that always awesome arm targeting of his. The Triangle drama in the end was absolutely fantastic as well. ***3/4