PAC vs Kenny Iron Man

AEW Dynamite 02/26/20: Kenny Omega vs. PAC

The action is pretty spectacular in the first 10-or-so-minutes. It's explosive & vicious, just like you'd expect from the two. I liked PAC giving the first fall to Kenny w/ that chairshot -- it's the oldest Iron Man trick in the book, but it usually always works, and it definitely did so here. It created a nice uphill-battle for Kenny to overcome for the rest of the match, as most of the rest of the bout was w/ PAC on top dishing out punishment. And PAC certainly rocked that role excellently -- he had so much intensity & meanness behind every thing he did to Kenny. Made Kenny's big comeback feel all the more rewarding. Both guys def put on some pretty damn great big match performances here, no doubt. Very good stuff all around! I never watched their 2nd meeting, but I'd put this on par w/ the All Out match between the two. Oh & that Kamigoye by Kenneth sure popped me :') ***1/2

Finally watched IMPERIUM vs UNDISPUTED ERA

WWE Worlds Collide 2020: Imperium vs. The Undisputed Era

A hoot of a lil' stable-warfare. Started off very rough n' awkward w/ Wolfe getting knocked out, but they recovered quickly & the action got more chaotic as the match went on, which was just lovely. WALTER & Roddy definitely get the MVP honors -- both kicked SO MUCH ass throughout, but that doesn't come as a surprise. ***1/2

AEW Dynamite stuff

AEW Dynamite 02/19/20: Jeff Cobb vs. Jon Moxley

I loved their G1 outing so I was definitely gonna be watching this one as well. They once again didn't disappoint! Was a pretty great showcase for Cobb in his AEW debut, as he got to dominate most of the match w/ that powerhouse offense of his. A really fun Moxley performance as well w/ good selling & all around lovely scrappy babyface work. ***1/2

AEW Dynamite 02/19/20: Adam Page & Kenny Omega vs. The Lucha Brothers

A quality spotfest. Nothing looks weak or too cute either, everything is actually pretty vicious & explosive all the way through, and I definitely appreciate that. A very good match. ***1/2

AEW Dynamite 02/19/20: Cody vs. Wardlow

A very fun angle-driven match. Wardlow is solid ragdolling Cody around, but Cody definitely is the star of the match w/ that babyface magic. Some very, very good looking PUNCHES by him, and that match-ending Moonsault sure was SOMETHING, as well. ***1/4

HiSu vs Nakajima

NOAH 02/16/20: Hideki Suzuki vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima

The match starts with some matwork & it takes the first 10-minutes or so. It starts off kinda meh, but as they continue going at it with them holds & looking to truly gain control over one another, it gets better as it goes. You can see Hideki's focus is Nakajima's neck & he works over it in quite nice fashion throughout. Now once Nakajima finally gets back into the thing w/ them lethal kicks, the match gets considerably more brawl-y, and they have a damn good fight outside the ring. Once they make it back to the ring, it's still a fun slugfest, but the runtime definitely starts to show itself there, as it does drag by the end, and it does feel like it goes on for some-minutes too long. Definitely a good match all in all -- some bits sure were meh, but some bits were GREAT & most of it was at least good. ***1/4

I watched a FULL show! TakeOver: Portland

Dominik Dijakovic vs. Keith Lee

The same ol' song & dance with these two. It's the exact same match they always do, and it has long lost its charm & impact on me -- this time it went on for way too long too, making it all the more forgettable. **

Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox

Good little Street Fight with them playing up their feud in it very well; good sense of disdain & dislike throughout + I do think the ending w/ Raquel Gonzalez coming out of nowhere to help Dakota get the W was handled in very good fashion. ***

Finn Bálor vs. Johnny Gargano

This was absolutely awful. Gargano is a complete nerd w/ how he emotes & acts throughout, and then you got Bálor, who is dull as shit w/ everything he does, a complete robot (with the exception of the finishing stretch, which was actually pretty neat) -- and OF COURSE they go almost 30 minutes. Of course. Neither guy feels like a pro-wrestler as they have no in-ring presence or charisma -- or at least they showed none here. Easily & by far my least favorite match of the night. *1/4

Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley

This was actually my favorite match of the night. It might be getting a boost because it followed the garbage that was Gargano vs. Bálor, but hell yeah this was very good. Bianca got lots of time to shine & delivered one of her finest performances to date, and it actually felt like both women had something to prove & wanted to WIN throughout -- those are a couple of simple things that many "big" matches in NXT are lacking these days. Awesome post-match as well. ***1/2

The BroserWeights vs. The Undisputed Era

I wasn't into this as much as I had hoped I would be, but it was definitely a good match. Riddle's hot tag was excellent, O'Reilly was great throughout & actually my favorite moment of the entire match was when he delivered that top rope knee drop to Riddle's knee, followed by a knee-submission for some awesome drama. The finishing stretch was some good stuff as well. ***1/4

Adam Cole vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Nowhere near as bad (wasn't bad at all in my eyes actually) or ridiculous as I thought it would be. The beginning with Ciampa kicking Cole's ass all over the place was awesome; Ciampa was his usual intense self & it just works in sections like that. Cole getting back into the thing with that sickening Wheelbarrow Suplex was great in all of its brutality -- now Cole sure isn't all that interesting on top, but Ciampa from underneath rules. They do go into the full on bomb-section shortly after, and sure there's too many nearfalls & some bad selling of those said bombs, but comparing this to Cole's matches vs. Gargano for an example, it's nowhere near as silly or bad. Or bad at all, really. The bombs are actually pretty damn awesome & like I implied, while they go into the overkill-zone with them nearfalls, I am just thankful they didn't go into Gargano-levels w/ 'em. Enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. Maybe my 2nd favorite match of the night. ***1/4

Oh & Moxley vs Suzuki too!

NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2020: Jon Moxley vs. Minoru Suzuki

Good match although probably not as good as it could've been. Fun fight with them brawling all over the place and making good use of them gimmicks in the chairs & the table. One slight negative was that I gotta say the way Moxley shrugged off most of Minoru's forearm strikes bothered me -- it was pretty much Minoru who was doing the big selling moments in those exchanges, and that felt a little weird & wrong considering how much more lethal his strikes look (& sound) compared to those of Moxley's. ***1/4

Naito & KENTA for the HebbyQ

NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2020: KENTA vs. Tetsuya Naito

The stalling that started off the match definitely went on for a bit too long, but all in all, this was very good. KENTA delivers when kicking ass on top, and Naito is willing to throw himself around for sure. Especially everything after the ref bump & Switchblade interference was absolutely excellent. Naito definitely rocked that crimson mask well, too. ***3/4

Taichi vs Okada

NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo 2020: Kazuchika Okada vs. Taichi

Had a proper chance to be something unique & special, given the participants & the whole setting between 'em, but this sadly was just too much of "the same", so to say. Of course it went over 30 minutes too, definitely overstaying its welcome. A couple of awesome TAICHI-moments, but all in all, a disappointment. **1/4

RUMBLE stuff

Women's Royal Rumble Match

Fun match! Good flow throughout & didn't overstay its welcome -- the highlights include Mercedes Martinez being included in the thing, OTIS coming out of nowhere & saving Mandy, Naomi & Kairi being awesome, and then of course Shayna getting that time to shine before ultimately getting eliminated last. ***1/4

Daniel Bryan vs. The Fiend

Even better than their already-excellent SurSer meeting. A "psychological thriller" in a pro-wrestling ring of sorts, and the kind of a match that I feel like not many could make work, but you just knew the greatest of all-time had to do it again. ****

Asuka vs. Becky Lynch

Started off VERY dull, but once the knockout-tease happened, things kicked up a notch big time & the action remained fantastic till the very end. Definitely liked this more than their match from the previous year. ***1/4

Men's Royal Rumble Match

The most fun Rumble match in recent history. Brock's domination was awesome, and it built perfectly to the moment of him getting his shit kicked by McIntyre. Speaking of McIntyre, now he's an awesome winner, making the ending of the match satisfying as well. Oh & and of course -- EDGE! What a damn moment. Super fun match from start to finish. ***3/4