NXT: Grimes/Riddle, Dijak/Keith/Roddy

WWE NXT 10/23/19

Cameron Grimes vs. Matt Riddle

Oh HELL YES. Goes about 5 minutes & every bit of it rules. That doesn't surprise me because Riddle was the best sprint guy when he was in the indies, and Grimes can do it all; 5 minutes, 20 minutes, 60 minutes, 104 minutes. Here Riddle destroys him for most of it in an extremely awesome, violent fashion -- Cameron sells great, and all of his brief hope spots are tremendous, especially that classic moonsault twist press slam thingy of his, which created a legitimately amazing nearfall. What a badass time this match was. ***3/4

Dominik Dijakovic vs. Keith Lee vs. Roderick Strong

Dijakovic & Keith Lee do their thing, which is being athletic monsters, and then there is Roddy who brings the energy & urgency into everything he does, while also being the shithead heel getting destroyed by those said monsters. Roddy rocks that role brilliantly, and this match actually low-key reminded me of his 2015 PWG run, which just happens to be one of my all-time favorite runs by any wrestler ever. So safe to say I liked this very much! ***1/2

BRYAN & NAKAMURA oh theres reigns and corbin as well

WWE SmackDown 10/18/19

Baron Corbin & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns

Obviously the main selling point of this match (for me anyways) is Bryan & Nakamura on opposing teams, and the match actually was, for the most part, those two going at it! Hell yeah. Nakamura hasn't been exciting in what-feels-like forever & the last great ****+ match of his happened over 3 years ago (imo of course), but that doesn't change the fact that in 2014 & 2015 I was salivating over the dream match that was him vs. Bryan on paper. Their chemistry here was very fun, and while this overall was a very basic TV-match tag, I still enjoyed it a ton because of the Bryan & Naka interactions. Very much here for the possible singles match between the two for the IC Strap! ***

Omega vs Fenix

AAA Heroes Inmortales XIII

Kenny Omega vs. Rey Fenix

Great in some small parts, but mostly "just" good. I thought it felt a lot longer than it was. The middle-section of it dragged badly, BUT the positives outweigh the very minor negatives -- the beginning was absolutely awesome, as was Kenny taking over by destroying Fenix's back w/ a couple of big moves, and then the ending few minutes were pretty fantastic. Good match! ***

AEW Dynamite Episodes 2 & 3 -- the STUFF

Private Party vs. The Young Bucks

An honest spotfest at heart, but the match also had a nice dynamic of The Bucks being the cocky favorites-to-win veterans going against the younger, relative unknowns in Private Party. Good stuff. ***

Adam Page & Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley & PAC

This was some real good stuff all around w/ them doing a great job of hyping up the Omega vs. Mox singles meeting + also setting up Mox vs. PAC for next week at the same time. Very fun action throughout. My personal favorite bit was probably the dive sequence -- goddamn do I love Hangman's Orihara Moonsault. ***1/2

Chris Jericho vs. Darby Allin

I kinda knew I was gonna love this. It's a good ol' TV World Championship match with the classic setting of a nasty, confident heel champion defending against a wonderful underdog. Jericho plays his role more-than-well throughout & Darby OF COURSE rocks the shit out every moment in the match with his brilliant never-say-die underdog babyface act. Jericho dishes out pain in very compelling fashion, and Darby is one of the best in the world at getting destroyed, so it's great. ****

AEW DYNAMITE #1

Cody vs. Sammy Guevara

Cody was the right man to put on first in AEW's TV-debut, as his charisma & energy came through wonderfully through the screen. The super hot crowd obviously helped to make the match standout, and the action was very good throughout w/ Guevara getting to show off his athleticism & cocky swagger while Cody looked to slow him down. Good match! ***1/4

Brandon Cutler vs. MJF

A 3-minute match to establish MJF's persona inside the ring. I liked it! He was the shithead he is known to be, and I dug the little arm psychology throughout. Cutler also looked good with the few bits of offense he got -- that tope especially was a thing of beauty. **1/2

Adam Page vs. PAC

I'd definitely say this was better than their match from the UK earlier in the year. Maybe felt a tad bit too lengthy, but it didn't end up becoming bad in that regard. Pretty much slugs all around being traded w/ some bombs thrown in there as well, and it was the good stuff. ***

Nyla Rose vs. Riho

The highlight of the first ever Dynamite. The natural David vs. Goliath dynamic between the two worked extremely well with Nyla being a rock solid monster from start to finish, and Riho being a pretty excellent underdog. That finishing stretch was awesome. ***1/2

Chris Jericho & LAX vs. The Elite

The Elite run wild for a hot minute, but then it's MOXLEY time, and after that the match essentially becomes a 2-on-1 handicap bout. Matt FIPs most of it, and it's good stuff w/ them teasing the hot tag a few times really well, and then when Nick ultimately does get the tag, it sure is a HOT tag, indeed. Jericho coming in & cutting it off w/ that Codebreaker outta nowhere was real awesome as well. Good match & angle to end the show with. ***

KOPW stuff: BATTLE LIGER!

Jushin Liger vs. Minoru Suzuki

The build to this match has been absolutely amazing, and while the match they did here wasn't as hate-filled & 'hot' as one could've & would've imagined, it was still a one helluva contest. Minoru largely dominates, but Liger gets lots of time to shine & deliver an asskicking as well, and it's very, very good stuff. Two pros going at it, making every moment mean something. And then there's the post-match too, which was legitimately touching. ***1/2

El Phantasmo vs. Will Ospreay

This was boring as hell. Some of the bad-guy-stuff Phantasmo did help it be at least somewhat more memorable than your usual Ospreay workrate matches, but that doesn't mean it was any interesting, 'cause it sure wasn't. Apart from those mentioned minor heel shenanigans, this was your usual flippy floppy athletic workrate stuff, going almost 30 minutes to boot. Their BOSJ match smokes this all night long, as that one had much more soul & personality to it. This was just a big ol', generic yawnfest. *

Juice Robinson vs. Lance Archer

I don't want to call this disappointing, because I wasn't going like "oh hell yeah, this is gonna be a guaranteed banger", BUT I def would say that it was less fun than I expected it to be. Not a bad match by any means though, but I do think they have a better one in them. **1/2

Thatcher vs. Kingston

Beyond Uncharted Territory #2.02

Eddie Kingston vs. Timothy Thatcher

Well OF COURSE this was great. There was basically no chance it was gonna be anything less than very good after all. Eddie Kingston & Timothy Thatcher are very different, but also very similar in their styles at the same time, and their philosophies clashed beautifully here. They did what they do best and made it look like a beautifully ugly fight -- there was a wonderful struggle in everything they did, the selling was great, the strikes were absolutely hellacious -- basically EVERYTHING about this was just great, which indeed doesn't come to me as a surprise. ****

NXT: Lio/Gulak, Roddy/Swerve, WALTER/KUSHIDA

Drew Gulak vs. Lio Rush

This was really good, which doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Gulak is awesome smacking Lio around with his strikes & trying to keep him grounded with them holds, and Lio is equally, or maybe even more awesome w/ his always-great babyface from underneath work. Absolute banger. ***1/2

Isaiah Scott vs. Roderick Strong

Swerve is still as uninteresting & generic as ever, but they keep the thing pretty short n' tight, so it's far from bad. And while I didn't care for Scott, Roddy on the other hand was unsurprisingly great. They def had a good dynamic going with that solid, classic TV-storytelling with a relative no-name/newcomer pushing a champion to the limit as well. **3/4

Kushida vs. WALTER

Mauro going "...just remember all caps when you spell the man name" when big daddy WALTER was making his entrance is his first actually good pop-culture reference in a long ass time. The match was real good, too! Looked real intriguing on paper, and it sure delivered. They went with the most natural dynamic between 'em, which was WALTER mostly dominating & Kushida having to truly fight an uphill-battle from underneath -- WALTER was real good on top, all of his usual brutal offense looked even more devastating due to the big size difference between the two, and then Kushida was on FIRE with his comeback sequences. Very good performances by both & what seemed like natural chemistry = very good match. ***1/2

HIAC: The 2 Interesting Looking Matches

Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks

Comparing it to the first ever women's HIAC match in Sasha vs. Charlotte from 2016, this is nowhere near that level. The storytelling isn't nearly as strong (or loud, you could say) & the action isn't as compelling, but it's still very enjoyable stuff for sure. They go at it in pretty intense fashion, using the HIAC gimmick + all the weapons well. On par with their Clash of Champions meeting. ***1/4

Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan & Luke Harper

Harper & Rowan are a solid bulldozer duo with their work in this match getting better w/ each passing minute, and then of course Bryan & Reigns are a great babyface alliance. Real good action throughout & then fantastic last few minutes, especially with Bryan & Harper going at it. ***1/2

EVOLVE Gives A Real Gem

EVOLVE 136: Kassius Ohno vs. WALTER

These two have never had that one truly great match against each other; their NXT UK match was VERY underwhelming to say the least, and while their wXw & PROGRESS matches have been very good, they still haven't hit that level I would think they could've given who are involved. That all changed here though, as this was absolutely GREAT. WALTER does some of his most compelling work in all of 2019 here, as his beatdown of Ohno is superb, and then he does a great job of being the 'wounded bear' when Ohno goes to town on his hand & arm. Ohno's work over that hand (& the arm as a whole) is just terrific in every way -- it's vicious, it's focused & it's creative. Absolutely adored the finish too, it's very simple & fit the bout perfectly; just when it looked like Ohno had WALTER in big time trouble w/ that gameplan of his, he makes the mistake of going to the top, probably to try & pull off the Moonsault, but that leaves WALTER enough time to recover, resulting in him following Ohno to the turnbuckle & pulling off the win w/ that big belly-to-back superplex. Tremendous stuff. Extremely tight match. ****1/4

NXT: Cole/Riddle, Io/Mia, Candice/Shayna

WWE NXT 10/02/19: Adam Cole vs. Matt Riddle

After seeing the gif of that one no-sell sequence float around, I almost didn't watch this, but my curiosity ended up getting the best of me. I sure am glad it did, because this was actually really damn good. Now that said sequence sure was awful & the kind of shit I don't like, but overall, this ruled. A red-hot sprint'ish championship bout in front of a thunderous crowd w/ one of my favorites in Matt Riddle kicking all kinds of ass. Loved pretty much EVERYTHING he did, and he sure got to showcase most of his lovely arsenal here. Banger of a match. ***1/2

WWE NXT 10/02/19: Io Shirai vs. Mia Yim

Mia's times on the offense are already pretty good, but with how great Io is at selling all of it, it's so much better. Io of course brings it big time on the offense herself, making sure everything looks impactful & pretty nasty. Real good match, with every bit of it being compelling. ***1/2

WWE NXT 10/02/19: Candice LeRae vs. Shayna Baszler

Natural pairing with natural chemistry with their natural dynamic of Shayna being the violent bully confidently on top, while Candice does what she does best, which is fight from underneath. It's a banger. ***1/2

ROH DBD: Lethal/Gresham, Taven/RUSH

Jay Lethal vs. Jonathan Gresham

Some extremely generic "technical" work in the early exchanges -- it's of course not bad since it's these two, but it's not interesting at all tbh. Things thankfully do get better & A LOT more compelling pretty quickly though, as Gresham starts dishing out the punishment w/ his limb targeting. He's even more vicious than usual, playing off of the angle leading up to this bout. They overall do a good job of playing off of that said angle, as it translates well to a guy like me who hadn't been watching or paying attention to the build at all. Good match! Missing some of the spark of their best matches against each other, and the first few minutes of the 50/50 "technical wrestling" weren't interesting, but overall, the thing ended up being good. ***1/4

Matt Taven vs. Rush

What a fascinating looking pairing on paper, like as in, I wasn't sure what to expect from the two in terms of match quality, but this was absolutely AWESOME. Taven was GREAT dishing out the punishment when he had the control -- he was extremely compelling all the way through, and more than matched Rush's explosiveness + viciousness. The whole thing also had this great feeling of a FIGHT that's not too common in ROH World Title matches or for that matter, any main event World Title matches anywhere. This was great. ****