Bryan vs Sheamus for the first time since 2015!

WWE SmackDown 05/29/20

Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus

It's fun to see these two go at it once again, and it sure was a very solid match. They went with the classic Daniel Bryan underdog dynamic, and it obviously works w/ him being a wonderful underdog & Sheamus being a pretty good bully as the bigger man and all. I gotta say though that this sure wasn't Sheamus' strongest performance in that role -- his work on top at first felt very generic, but thankfully Bryan's awesome comebacks & selling kept me entertained through that, and that said work of Sheamus' got better as the match went on, too. ***

Thatcher vs. Riddle in a PIT FIGHT

WWE NXT 05/27/20

Matt Riddle vs. Timothy Thatcher

I fucking love these two, and this unique PIT FIGHT presentation fit them like a glove. Every stomp, every kneestrike, every kick, every SMACK is treated like a big deal & they truly look n' feel gnarly throughout. That Showtime like kick by Riddle off the cage was absolutely sick & I love how it was sold w/ Thatcher spitting out those teeth & bleeding from the mouth. My goodness his selling was amazing in the match overall -- I've said it many times before, but here we go again; he might just be the greatest seller in the business today. They of course go to the mat quite a bit as well with them being them & this being a KO or Submission to finish match, and it's great stuff; it's scrappy, everything looks painful & there's great struggle in everything. Just an absolute hit in every way, this one was. Really couldn't ask for a better match to put over Tim Thatcher & his brand of pro-wrestling in NXT. ****1/4

Drake Maverick vs Kushida seriously rules!

WWE NXT 05/20/20

Drake Maverick vs. Kushida

This was awesome. It's a total Kushida punishment showcase with him totally destroying Drake throughout; his focus on the arm is extremely vicious & compelling, and Drake sells it pretty big, which of course makes it all the more better. A very good underdog tale with some pretty great work by both men from bell-to-bell. ***3/4

ROH THE EPIC ENCOUNTER

ROH THE EPIC ENCOUNTER 04/12/03

Bryan Danielson vs. Paul London

The first fall is great & sets the tone for the match perfectly; the work on the mat is competitive & tight, looks & comes off as really great. Some very fun mind games that make the match get meaner eventually with London calling Danielson a BITCH, which causes him to get his ass kicked -- BUT it did eventually pay off for London, as he countered Dragon's signature back bodydrop from the top attempt into a pinfall to make it 1-0. Great first fall. They continue right where they left off in the 2nd fall with Bryan accepting London's handshake, but then starting to blast him right away with strikes. London gets some comebacks here n' there, but it's mostly Bryan on top, and it's oh so fantastic. The major moment of the 2nd fall was when London was going for that SSP, but Bryan recovers quickly enough to dropkick his knee to stop that from happening; from then on, Bryan's target is on that knee, and the attack on it is obviously fantastically vicious, focused & compelling. That fall ending half crab, which looked kind of like a Liontamer was such a brutal looking hold. Terrific 2nd fall. The 3rd & final fall is also absolutely amazing with Bryan continuing that attack on the knee -- Bryan continues to be an awesome aggressor, London's selling is superb & it creates for some superb drama w/ the half crab. That finish is all kinds of awesome as well with London's truly great selling. It's a really fantastic way to finish this classic; it's always been one of my favorite matches, and that ain't changing. It keeps you, or at least me, hooked for the entire 40-minute duration of it. Pure brilliance. It really probably is the best match ROH had up to that point, even though Danielson/Styles & especially Danielson/Ki give it some extremely tough competition. ****3/4

AEW DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2020

AEW DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2020

Casino Ladder Match

This felt dead for the entire duration of it. Extremely lengthy too which didn't do it any favors. Solid AEW debut for Cage I guess, but not a good match at all. *

Jungle Boy vs. MJF

This match felt kind of all over the place? It had a very basic heel vs. babyface dynamic, with some good stuff like MJF faking that injury early on & going after Jungle Boy's arm throughout, but it also felt like a shitty generic indy match at the same time. No selling Destroyers & chops galore like its Kobashi vs Sasaki or something. Dragged like a motherfucker too -- I guess they went like 20 minutes, but it sure felt like 40. If it indeed was 20 minutes, that's 10 too many for the material the two had here, in my honest opinion. *1/4

Cody vs. Lance Archer

I was a little disappointed in Archer's tournament match vs. Dustin, but this one delivered THE GOOD STUFF in spades. Arched looked like a true monster throughout with his heavy blows & easy throwing-around of Cody. Him shutting down Cody's attempts at mustering up a comeback were great as well, and on the topic of Cody's comebacks, I do think that his eventual big one would've had so much more juice behind it had there been a crowd. Still good though. I was ready to call this a flat-out great match all around, but the stuff w/ Arn, Jake & Iron Mike towards the end didn't go well with the flow of the match, and kinda stopped its momentum for a bit. It was still really damn good though. Extremely good showcase for Archer & a very good underdog performance by Cody. ***3/4

Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose

Good match! Really liked Shida's performance; she was fiery throughout with her work, and I in particular really dug all of those different knee attacks she utilized. The whole deal w/ the kendo stick being in the center of the match was solid stuff too & created for some fun moments. ***1/4

Jon Moxley vs. Mr. Brodie Lee

This was badass as hell. Felt & looked like a true pro-wrestling fight between two guys who don't like each other very much. Brodie was just so great brutalizing Moxley with his superb looking offense, and Mox himself also brought the goods with his vicious offensive arsenal. The finishing stretch has to be one of my favorite scenes of 2020 with Brodie kicking out of those Paradigm Shifts, and Mox going into a killer mode because of it, totally destroying MISTER Brodie by relentlessly targeting that cut on his head & slapping in that tight choke for the W. ****

Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Ortiz, Sammy Guevara & Santana vs. Hangman Page, Kenny Omega, Matt Hardy, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson

Hangman arriving & chasing Sammy with a horse, the whole LAX vs. Matt bit, the bar brawl between Hager & Hangman + Omega, Jericho killing that mascot w/ the Judas Effect, Jericho's epic fight vs. Aubrey, Matt's Northern Suplex rampage on Sammy, Rick Knox eating a Superkick like it's the good ol' days in Reseda, Matt & Kenny chasing Sammy w/ that golf cart AGAIN, that amazing finish w/ that big One Winged Angel. This was an absolute spectacle & a blast. When it comes to these "special presentation" (I struggle to call this a cinematic match tbh) matches that have happened recently, this was on a level above. This has been a truly tragic & sad week for pro-wrestling, but this was an amazing, smile-inducing way to end it. And for that I salute The Elite, Matt Hardy, The Inner Circle & AEW as a whole. ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS OF THE YEAR

SMACKDOWN: Bayley/Flair, Styles/Nakamura

WWE SMACKDOWN 05/22/20

AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

These two haven't been a good pairing in the WWE, and this further continued to demonstrate that. They wrestled it like it was a generic "crowd popping" bigger match w/ a lot of strikes & nearfalls, and them even busting out some REAL big moves, such as that one-armed Styles Clash, which was admittedly pretty neat & the highpoint of the bout. Other than that, this was very dull. I have a hard time calling it 'bad', but it just left me ice cold. Really wished that they would've delivered something more fitting for the empty arena setting, because while most of their WWE matches have been extremely boring, the chemistry is still there. **

Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair

This had a nice little competitive flair to it, and the work by both women was filled with a sense of wanting to prove something to one another. Good physical action & nice focus on the trashtalk, which was very fun throughout. Good match! ***

ROH NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS

ROH NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS 03/22/03

Christopher Daniels vs. Doug Williams

This is a ROH classic that doesn't get the appreciation it deserves. The meat of it is Williams' focus on Daniels' neck & Daniels' counterattack on Williams' ribs, and it's excellent stuff. The selling of both men is great, and so are those mentioned focused attacks on those body parts. There's some great drama involving Doug's submission holds on Daniels' neck, and of course the whole apex of the match is the finish where he finally hits that Chaos Theory for the win, making his gameplan complete. It's an amazing finish, and the journey there was absolutely terrific. ****1/2

AJ Styles & Amazing Red vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe

This is largely a spotfest, and it's a good one. Everything looks good, and with AJ everything comes with a nice aggressive flavor. The finishing sequence is pretty nuts even in 2020 when tag team spotfests are overdone to death. I do think they could've sold some of the moves a bit more, as it felt like they moved onto the next ones a bit too fast at times, but yeah, all in all this was very good & fun. ***1/4

Jody Fleisch vs. Low Ki

This is somewhat comparable to Ki's excellent match vs. The Amazing Red from Road to the Title, as it follows a fairly similar formula, and there's quite a few similarities between Red & Jody Fleisch. Ki puts Fleisch over big throughout, by giving him a lot of the match & selling big for him, making this feel like a true star-making moment/match for the man, as he totally hangs in there w/ THE major asskicker in the town in Low Ki. It's a charming story to tell, and they tell it wonderfully with badass action -- some notable highlights for me were that awesome springboard sequence where Ki gets the control by evading Jody's springboard attack, and then answering with one of his own immediately, that springboard SSP-piledriver thing Jody did - it didn't look pretty at all, in fact it could be called VERY messy, but it also looked vicious as hell. And I sure prefer it that way when it comes to these super highflying movez -- messy, but vicious looking >>> overly pretty & choreographed. And then of course the match ending super Ki Krusher, which was just killer. Excellent match. ****

Ace Steel & CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana & Raven 

Very solid, angle-driven match. The action is fun throughout, nothing overly memorable or anything, but fun stuff, and the match more than does its job in furthering the feud between CM Punk & Raven. ***

Samoa Joe vs. Xavier

So ends Xavier's infamous title reign! I thought this match was ALMOST booked to perfection. Most of it is Joe just eating Xavier's lunch & laughing to him about it, but there's also quite a bit of Xavier on the offense, and ultimately I thought there was too much of that. His heat segment isn't very interesting, but I can at least appreciate the focused attack on Joe's neck, even if Xavier's output isn't the most interesting stuff, and Joe's selling was extremely good. It was still a bit too much of Xavier on top though, as I think Joe should've dominated him EVEN MORE than he already did, and he sure already did toy with him for a good duration of the thing. It's a good match for sure though, and an important one in ROH history. ***

ROH EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

ROH EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED 03/15/03

CM Punk vs. Raven

This is a good clash of personalities w/ interesting mind games showcased throughout, and the action is also rock-solid from start to finish. It's a good match & a very good way to kick off this iconic rivalry in the ROH folklore. ***

ROH ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY SHOW

ROH ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY SHOW 02/08/03

Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe

Not quite as awesome as their ROH singles match from 2002, but it's still a very good one. Has a very good sense of competition between the two brothers throughout, and they sure loved to brutalize one another with them stiff looking strikes & big bombs. A good time, for sure! ***1/4

Homicide vs. Steve Corino

This is more famous for the whole crowd-brawl angle rather than the match itself, but Homicide & Corino have a good little match here. It's pretty heated from start to finish with no dull moments -- Homicide was fiery all the way through, and Corino was his usual charming self, slowing things down at the right moments when controlling things. ***

CM Punk vs. CW Anderson

A pretty solid match. CW sure brought his own flavor into the scene at this point, and I liked what I saw of him here. His work over Punk's arm was solid, and overall his control periods were pretty good. Punk was good from underneath as well with his more fast paced comeback chains, which were a good contrast to CW's work. Not an overly memorable or a blowaway match by any means, but certainly not a bad one either. **1/2

Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe

Their first ever ROH 1-on-1 meeting from the month prior was already bordering on it, but this one I thought was totally great. It's just filled with fantastic wrestling, coming with great feeling of caution, urgency, one-upmanship & pride. In the early going, they just go at it, locking each other in submissions any chance they got, while also busting out those vicious strikes to one another for good measure. It's great stuff, and once we move on to Joe's control seg, it's also great stuff; he just completely brutalizes Danielson & it's awesome. Danielson has to fight from underneath from that point on, and as I'm sure most of us know, he is excellent at that role. All of his comebacks are terrific, and so are Joe's cut-offs of those, continuing the trend of violence that this match is full of. Pure excellence. Also a fun sidenote is that this was actually the first time Bryan used the ring-name of "Bryan Danielson" in ROH. ****

AJ Styles vs. Low Ki vs. Paul London

This match is just exceptionally good when it comes to 3-way spotfests. It starts with a big pace right from the get go, and it never lets up; the action stays incredibly exciting & compelling from bell to bell. They are so innovative & creative with the 3-person spots they do, and all the bigger spots in this match hit me as a viewer beautifully. And of course with this involving Low Ki & AJ Styles (London brings it as well though!), there's plenty of awesomely mean & intense striking involved as well. As of this viewing, I would honestly put this above the legendary Daniels/Danielson/Ki 3-way dance from The Era of Honor Begins. It's that good. ****1/4

Paul London vs. Xavier

This starts right after London beat Styles & Ki in that excellent 3-way dance, giving it a nice dynamic of exhausted-underdog London going against the asshole champ. London is still fiery with all of his work over Xavier, but he sells the exhaustion of that triple threat very well throughout, and his overall selling was pretty great as usual. Xavier is a good foil against that with his heel tactics and those vicious moments such as him busting London open, dumping him through a table, that nasty German Suplex to stop his momentum, etc. There's some really great nearfalls in the match too; it really felt like it was destined to be London's moment with those and how the thing was laid out, which then made the finish with Xavier reversing his roll-up into one of his own feel pretty underwhelming, but it is what it is, innit. It's a very good match for sure, even better than their also-very good meeting from Final Battle a few months prior. ***3/4

Bryan vs Gulak II

WWE SMACKDOWN 05/15/20

Daniel Bryan vs. Drew Gulak

It's a rematch from their March MOTYC, and it's unsurprisingly absolutely terrific. I like how the dynamic between them has changed from that PPV match of theirs to this one - they had respect for each other back then, but now they're FRIENDS, and it created for this nice little charming vibe between them here, especially in the early going w/ the fantastic back & forth grappling. Gulak establishes the first real control of the match by dumping Bryan outside, and from then on it seems like his main gameplan is to soften up Bryan's neck. Loved how he didn't give up that tight headlock when Bryan started to slam him with those shin breakers -- it took 3 of them for Bryan to get out of that damned headlock, and I thought that was some fantastic pro-wrestling right there. After that Bryan finds a gameplan of his own by going after Gulak's leg w/ a series of dragon screws, and that ankle lock into a German Suplex, which was vintage Bryan. Gulak returning into things after Bryan's assault on his leg was quite something; that modified Michinoku Driver looking move where he just dumped Bryan on his head was brutal. And Bryan returned the favor right back at him with that vicious release German! Extremely lovely stuff all match long. That finishing stretch was wonderful as well w/ Bryan delivering that second dragon screw by the ankle, after Gulak had reversed the first one, but was still hurting bad. That move gets the "move of the match" honors, as it looked vicious as hell. And then of course to make all the work in the match feel like it actually mattered, Bryan gets the win with the Heel Hook! Excellent, excellent stuff. Not on that top-top-top MOTYC level of their first match, but still one of the finest matches I've seen in 2020. ****

NXT Stuff! Grimes/Balor, Thatcher/Riddle

WWE NXT 05/13/20

Cameron Grimes vs. Finn Bálor
Goes about 6-minutes & it's pretty awesome. Grimes is just lovely with everything he does; he smashes Bálor with some vicious kicks, elbows, knees, clothesline while growling wildly, and it's fantaaastic. Bálor himself works well from underneath in this one -- none of his weaknesses get time to "shine", as they keep it nice n' tight in its structure & runtime, so it's a jolly good time all the way through. Big fan of the result, too. ***

Matt Riddle vs. Timothy Thatcher
Always loved this pairing, so I unsurprisingly loved this. It's almost all contested on the mat with some great grappling throughout, plus of course there's also some gnarly strikes thrown in there as well. Every exchange in the match rules & comes with a good sense of urgency. It's essentially Thatcher & Riddle doing Thatcher vs. Riddle, and it's real lovely stuff. ***3/4

Enter 2003! ROH REVENGE ON THE PROPHECY

ROH REVENGE ON THE PROPHECY 01/11/03

CM Punk vs. Michael Shane

A "basic" match that follows a simple dynamic & formula, but it's a real good one because both Punk & Shane rule. Punk is full of energy and comes off as nicely fiery in his times on the offense, and Shane himself is real good slowing things down and working the heat during his control periods. ***

BJ Whitmer vs. Colt Cabana vs. Homicide vs. Paul London

This is such a well paced & built spotfest. It gets hotter & hotter as it goes on, and ends just when it hits its peak. Everybody gets their big stuff in, and it rules -- everything looks impactful, vicious & crisp. Definitely a standout match of its genre. ***1/2

American Dragon vs. Samoa Joe

Their first ROH match, and it's a pretty great one. Real intense from start till finish, as the tensions between the two had been building for a bit. Lots of brutal strikes, some really good work on the mat, some brief knee targeting by Bryan -- they just brutalize one another & it's some real good stuff. Joe locking in that STF & maniacally yelling "I OWN YOU!!!" was such a fantastic moment. ***3/4

AJ Styles & Low Ki vs. Christopher Daniels & Xavier

This is a good match all the way through, but nothing blow-away or anything close to that. Like I mentioned, it's good stuff for the whole duration of it, with the action hitting that 2nd gear when the babyfaces just start to totally kick the asses of Daniels & Xavier in the last 5 minutes or so, getting that *cough* Revenge On The Prophecy and all. ***

ROH FINAL BATTLE

ROH FINAL BATTLE 12/28/02

CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana

Not as good as their previous ROH match, but still a pretty solid one. I liked how there was some neat match-to-match storytelling in this with Cabana having the stuff Punk tried & did in the last match scouted (e.g. that 'rana), and all in all the action was energetic throughout. **1/2

Paul London vs. Xavier

Xavier is getting a shitload of heat from the crowd at this point, and London is THE babyface underdog going, so this unsurprisingly ruled. All of Xavier's work on the offense is very good, and his gameplan of softening London up by the neck was fun to follow. London's performance from underneath was really good as well, all of his comebacks ruled & his selling n' bumping was great. Good stuff all match long, with everything from the London win-tease w/ that Xavier rope-break on being red hot great. ***1/2

American Dragon vs. Low Ki vs. Samoa Joe vs. Steve Corino

A good comparison to this would be the Crowning A Champion 4-way, because this is also a true long boy, going to the 45-minute time limit draw, but much like that said match at Crowning A Champion, this is also absolutely excellent. The 45-minutes fly by, as the action is very good & compelling throughout, with the peaks of the match being straight up great. Corino was on fire with his character work & he brought his own old school-ish flavor to the thing which fit it super well, and then of course Dragon, Ki & Joe just killed it. Every combo in the match just WORKED and created for some damn fine professional wrestling throughout. A terrific way to close out Ring of Honor's 2002. ****

MITB '20 STUFF

WWE MONEY IN THE BANK 2020

Cesaro vs. Jeff Hardy

Cesaro has had one helluva 2020 thus far, and this was a yet another rock-solid performance by the man. He largely dominated, and was obviously very good doing that, and his cut-offs of Jeff's attempts at mustering up a comeback were pretty great. Now Jeff on the other hand wasn't very interesting at all, at least compared to Cesaro, and the match of course suffered a bit because of that, but it didn't affect it much, 'cause it was still very, very good. ***1/4

Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins

The highlights of this match, that wasn't good, were easily the bits with Drew just manhandling & throwing Seth around. Other than those, this was a bore. Seth wasn't interesting in the slightest with his control work, and I largely didn't care for most of Drew's stuff either. On top of that, they also of course had to do those "classic" Seth Rollins indy-spots -- shout out to that awful finishing stretch with big move no-selling, rope-bouncing. I don't want to call it disappointing because my expectations weren't high at all to begin with, but both guys had WAY better empty arena PC matches at Mania for sure. *3/4

Asuka vs. Carmella vs. Dana Brooke vs. Lacey Evans vs. Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler

Was a fun time, even if it didn't come close to matching the men's version when it comes to the pure wacky fun factor of it. Overall I'd say that this is the weakest of these cinematic matches WWE has done in this empty arena era so far, but it was still FUN!

AJ Styles vs. Aleister Black vs. Daniel Bryan vs. King Corbin vs. Otis vs. Rey Mysterio

Hahaha, this was just an absolute blast from start to finish. Totally on par with the Boneyard match for me. So many great moments like the boys arriving at the gym where the match started off, AJ seeking revenge at Rey, those flashbacks to the Boneyard match, Bryan delivering those repeated YES Kicks to Corbin while Otis does the chanting right next to him, Corbin throwing Rey & Aleister casually off the roof, AJ going "STOOOP!!!" when Otis celebrated his victory, and of course then the highlight of it all -- Bryan & AJ brawling themselves into Vince's office. That bit was amazing. The whole thing was just SO MUCH FUN

AEW w/ the Hardy & Kenny vs Le Sex Gods Street Fight

AEW Dynamite 05/06/20: Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara vs. Kenny Omega & Matt Hardy

The moment that is getting meme'd a lot w/ Hardy & Kenny chasing Sammy in that golf cart was indeed pretty hilarious, but other than that, the match wasn't as good & wacky as I hoped it would be given the hype. Standard brawl'ish action in the ring before they start wandering around the arena, and while on paper them going full-HCTP w/ the gimmick sounds funky in the best way possible, it wasn't as interesting that I had hoped for. It was still pretty solid though - didn't go on for too long, and the action was good enough for the whole duration of it. **3/4

ROH NIGHT OF THE BUTCHER

ROH NIGHT OF THE BUTCHER 12/07/02

CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana

A very solid exhibition-y match with good energy & good work throughout. Thought that Punk was on low-key fire in this w/ his awesome, creative (but brief) attack on Colt's arm, and then all of those 'rana's he busted out. Good shit. ***

American Dragon vs. Chad Collyer

The first third is them just going hold-for-hold in charming fashion, wrestling over the control. After a while of that, Collyer sees that Dragon clutches his knee after a bad landing on a suplex, and then it's a full-on attack on that knee. Collyer's work over it is fantastic; he really comes off as a calm, cool, collected, laser focused ice-cold killer -- an ICEMAN if you will. Dragon sells the knee & being in trouble pretty damn fantastically, and him fighting out of Collyer's firm control created for some great moments. I'd say one of my favorite things about this whole thing was the contrast in the two characters that were American Dragon & Chad Collyer -- they're pretty similar with their wrestling, but they are also very different with how they react & answer to stuff happening. Truly a great, charming encounter. Would call it somewhat of a gem too, seeing as nobody ever really talks about it. ****

American Dragon vs. Paul London

They are pretty even in the early going, but once Dragon gets the control, he sure doesn't give it up easily. He beats the brakes out of London, and it certainly is a winning dynamic with these two, because London was such a great FIP & Bryan destroying fools is always superb. Bryan is a mean motherfucker throughout, and London matches that intensity in his fiery comeback bursts, and it all culminates in that big finishing stretch where Bryan climbs up to the ropes over & over again, making London truly work if he wanted to put him down, which he eventually does. Great build-up to that finish, and a truly great match. ****

Abdullah The Butcher & Homicide vs. DeVito & Loc

Abdullah The Butcher in ROH in 2002 is a SIGHT to say the least, and a few minutes in, he has already busted Loc open badly by the forehead, and that FORK is being put to good use, obviously. This is such an entertaining, messy, ugly and bloody brawl, and I loved every second of it. You could call it an extended squash even, because 95% or more of it is just Abby & Homicide going to town on the Carnage Crew, and goddamn it was entertaining! Homicide was great with his violence-filled performance, and ABBY being ABBY in a setting like this was just wild. ***1/2

ROH SCRAMBLE MADNESS

ROH SCRAMBLE MADNESS 11/16/02

Homicide vs. Samoa Joe

They go about 10-minutes, and while it doesn't reach the best-possible-sprint between these two levels, it's still a helluva good time. Very "strong style" influenced as Gabe spams on commentary for the entire duration of it. Lots of good strikes, slamming each other n' all that. My favorite moment of it all was Homicide's urgency in that real big first comeback he got; he went for the STF, but Joe kept on crawling away, so he frantically started busting out them nasty crossface shots. ***1/4

AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels

Their first ROH meeting at Road to the Title wasn't anything special (but a good match for sure), but this makes it look like a real standout. Of course this was technically good since it's these two, but goddamn it also was a bunch of absolutely NOTHING. Stuff happened, but really nothing happened. Gentleman's **

American Dragon vs. Doug Williams

A 30-Minute Iron Man match, and it's a really good, borderline great one. The first third or so is all about some good ol' scientific, technical wrestling w/ neither really establishing control over one another. It unsurprisingly of course rules since it's these two. Eventually Dragon starts getting a bit more mean w/ his work, and he starts sneakily doing some work over Williams' neck. It pays off big when he gets the first (& only) fall of the match to his name by delivering a couple of vicious Dragon Suplexes. That happened at around the 18-minute mark (shout-out to Gabe for informing us about that), and after that, the urgency keeps on rising & rising. Williams knows he is losing, and the clock is ticking, so he starts wrestling with bigger urgency than earlier in the match, and it's really good stuff. The little drama revolving around his big finish in the Chaos Theory rules w/ Dragon kicking out of one, and then surviving from the 2nd one with that rope-break. Awesome match -- the 30-minutes flew by, the wrestling was compelling throughout. I'd put it a notch above their also-awesome Road to the Title meeting. ***3/4

ROH ALL STAR EXTRAVAGANZA

ROH ALL STAR EXTRAVAGANZA 11/09/02

Amazing Red vs. American Dragon vs. CM Punk vs. Michael Shane vs. Paul London

This is a GAUNTLET match. The first match of it is Michael Shane vs. the debuting CM Punk. It's good stuff! It actually surprisingly ends up being the longest match of the Gauntlet, but I ain't complaining about that, since it was indeed rock solid. Punk got to look very good in there, and Shane was his usual charming self. Really liked how Punk noticed Shane clutching the arm, which caused him to go work over it. PSYCHOLOGY~! and all that. Shane getting the win by grabbing Punk's shorts was nice too, a classic sleazebag move fitting for the man.

Then out comes Paul London, and I'm definitely here for him & Shane duking it out. It's an all-action scrap, with Shane ultimately viciously beating down London -- only for him to fall into London's trap of acting like he's more hurt than he actually is, resulting in him delivering a quick DDT for the pin. Great callback to their Boston match where Shane faked an injury to small package London for the win. They went under 5 minutes, but all of it ruled. After Shane refuses to shake London's hand, out comes Tommy Dreamer for a pretty lengthy mid-match segment. I enjoyed it to be honest.

Red vs. London is the weakest segment of the match, but it's still good. The best parts were London just roughing Red up, notably with that one pop-up forearm strike in the early going, and then swinging him into the barricade later on.

The final entrant in the Gauntlet is the American Dragon, and unsurprisingly, his & London's match is the best of the bunch. Dragon dominates most of it, and he is so compelling w/ his matwork & hellacious strikes. That finish with him dumping London with that Dragon Suplex & then locking in the Cattle Mutilation was badass.

Extremely fun match all around! Each segment was strong. Had a good time with the thing from start to finish. ***1/2

Christopher Daniels, Donovan Morgan & Samoa Joe vs. Doug Williams, Homicide & Low Ki

This is an absolute belter of a 6-man tag with everybody getting their shit in without going overboard with it. It gets hotter & hotter as it goes on; EVERYBODY gets plenty of time to shine & look great, but you can see that Joe is designed to be THE star of the thing, and he certainly comes off as exactly that with his killer work throughout. ***1/2

Jay Briscoe vs. Xavier

This is Xavier's first title defense, and it's a good one. It's him on top for the absolute majority of it, while the 18-year old Jay Briscoe has to fight from underneath -- it's a simple dynamic that works well with these two. Xavier's control work is solid, Jay's comebacks are solid & all of Xavier's overall DASTARDLY HEEL work w/ the help of Simply Luscious & the steel chair, is also solid stuff. Very much liked Jay getting busted open & Xavier immediately going to work the cut w/ them vicious stomps. Good match. ***

American Dragon vs. AJ Styles

Bryan vs. Styles is one my favorite wrestling pairings ever. This is their first ever singles match, and the first time they've been in a same match, period. Pretty notable in that regard, and it's also notable how in their first ever meeting, they already produced magic. It has that signature amazing, intense matwork you'd expect from them -- Dragon & Ki are the most hailed mat-wrestlers of this era, but AJ brought his own, fantastic flavor into that game as well, and it's in full showcase here w/ his brilliant aggression & intensity. They of course bust some great, brutal looking n' sounding strikes throughout as well, and it must be said that AJ's selling of Dragon's uppercuts was 5-outta-5. LOVED Bryan's attack on AJ's arm too -- he got the control back by kicking that arm, so he naturally saw a target in it afterwards, and his work over it was just tremendous. Nasty stomps, vicious holds, those headbutts. Hell yeah. Bryan eventually gets busted open NASTILY from his left eye -- it creates for some awesome visuals, and I loved how AJ's urgency rose after he sees the cut; it's in full showcase in that Muta Lock sequence (grrreat one btw) that followed. They start busting bigger & bigger bombs from then on -- the back bodydrop by Bryan definitely deserved that "holy shit!" chant it got, because AJ's bump off it was pretty crazy. I absolutely ADORE the finish w/ the Styles Clash struggle too; AJ REALLY had to work to get that move in. It's the perfect way to close this tremendous, classic match. Just behind Danielson vs. Ki for the ROH MOTY honors. ****1/2

Low Ki & Steve Corino vs. Masato Tanaka & Shinjiro Otani

Just an extremely fun main event. The Japanese stars always felt BIG in ROH, and such was the case here with Tanaka & Otani. They got to play their hits, but Ki & Corino gave them one helluva fight to say the least. ***1/2

ROH GLORY BY HONOR

ROH GLORY BY HONOR 10/05/02

James Maritato vs. Tony Mamaluke

A very good match between the FBI lads. It is pretty much a total exhibition of matwork, mostly submission exchanges, and it's good! ***

Amazing Red vs. Ikuto Hidaka

They present this as two men on equal athletic level & all that jazz, so it's a very 50/50 match in terms of both guys getting their stuff in. It's not my favorite match structure to say the least, but Red & Hidaka pulled it off solidly, with the match being pretty good for sure. Some neat sequences, and Hidaka especially brought some good personality & charm into the thing. **3/4

Low Ki vs. Samoa Joe

It's Samoa Joe's ROH debut, and he sure came to the company with a BANG. This is a complete strikefest with them beating the absolute shit out of one another right from the get go, with an occasional power move or submission, and it's the good stuff. I've never really been on the "it's a classic" boat for it, but it's definitely one helluva match. ***3/4

ROH UNSCRIPTED

ROH UNSCRIPTED 09/21/02

American Dragon & Michael Modest vs. Chris Divine & Quiet Storm

Goes about 6-minutes, and it rules. Bryan's exchanges with both Quiet Storm & Chris Divine in the beginning going are pretty great, and the awesomeness follows into Divine's in-peril segment w/ Dragon & Modest doing awesome work over him. Modest had some really nice looking forearm strikes. Also love the chaotic nature of the finish w/ Bryan fighting against Storm outside the ring, while Modest finishes Divine off inside the ring. Not a high-end match by any means, but a quality time from start to finish. ***

Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan vs. Dick Togo & Ikuto Hidaka

Morgan is kind of a background player in this one, and it is only right, since the real selling point of this thing is Daniels' interactions with Hidaka & especially Togo. It's VERY fun action as you'd expect, with The Prophecy being good heels throughout, and the babyfaces looking great on the offense. I do think it had potential to be even better, but I certainly am fine with how it ended up being. ***1/4

Low Ki vs. Xavier

I actually had never fully watched this match prior to this, and I gotta say that I am pleasantly surprised. Everybody knows about the end result, and it certainly is the most memorable thing about this, BUT I think the match was actually really fucking good. Does Xavier's offense look weak as hell, especially compared to that of Low Ki's? 100%. In this case, it adds to the match though, as Ki just shrugs off most of Xavier's weak strikes & then shows him how it's done w/ those classic hellacious strikes of his own. It's such a charming dynamic -- Xavier wasn’t good. But he was still good. He played his part of the story told excellently. Ki on the murder is always great, and such was the case here. Xavier got his occasional power moves in, but ultimately, it felt like he was out of his depth in this title match, mostly getting the shit beaten out of him by the champ -- that is of course until Daniels came out to distract Ki & Xavier took advantage of that, going after the previously worked over leg, revealing that he had joined The Prophecy in the process. The plan came to fruition, and I gotta say that the journey there, in this 25-minute match (which didn't even feel that long at all!) was unique, charming & very compelling. Was it a bad booking decision? Maybe, but I do think this match straight up ruled. ***1/2

Michael Shane vs. Paul London

Incredibly wild & pretty innovative for 2002 standards, and it still is really effin' wild in 2020. Michael Shane & Paul London sure weren't afraid to go nuts with them added weapons. The birth of the "PLEASE DON'T DIE" chants too - it's always fascinating to hear Gabe's & the other commentators confusion upon hearing those, and the finish that followed w/ London delivering that Shooting Star Press off the ladder rules. An important match in the ROH lore, and it still stands the test of time. ***3/4

American Dragon & Michael Modest vs. Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan

There are quite a few cool little moments in this, such as Dragon selling the work on the knee done by The Prophecy, when locking in the Cattle Mutilation, but all in all, this was just pretty damn hollow. Technically very good for sure, but it just didn't grab me in any way, except for a few moments here n' there. Disappointing. **1/4

SmackDown: BRYAN vs. CORBIN

WWE SmackDown 05/01/20

Daniel Bryan vs. King Corbin

Daniel Bryan continues his Wrestler of the Year 2020 campaign with a yet another TV banger. I've always wanted to see a lengthy singles match between him & Corbin, and here they get a nice amount of time, and it was indeed pretty great. Bryan does what has worked against bigger men for him in the past -- he starts targeting Baron's leg right away, and his attack lasts through the entire match-up. These days nobody brings the kind of focus he does when it comes to gameplans & executing them, and it's truly a joy to watch. His work over that leg is great throughout with brutal sounding kicks & submissions. Corbin's selling is rock solid; he doesn't sell it in a very dramatic way or anything like that, but he doesn't do anything to imply that he ISN'T in extreme pain. Him scrapping his way out of Bryan's control periods by using his size advantage felt natural & was awesome -- his extended control segment certainly wasn't the highlight of the match, but I thought it was solid enough & didn't go on for too long, and the sequence that lead to Bryan mounting a comeback w/ that suicide dive n' all was fantastic. The DQ finish is what it is, but I loved the way we got there. The match was awesome, and the sequence leading to Corbin throwing that ladder was great; he grabbed Bryan by the throat in his suicide dive attempt, but Bryan immediately started kicking that worked over leg to get out of his hands. Like I said, I feel like there really isn't anyone wrestling with the kind of focus that Bryan has, and it's just one of the many things that make him the best in the world, in my eyes. ***3/4

ROH HONOR INVADES BOSTON

ROH HONOR INVADES BOSTON 08/24/02

Michael Shane vs. Paul London

They have that famous Street Fight match at the next ROH show, but this is such an awesome match too -- one that doesn't get talked about at all. Michael Shane is such a compelling bastard in this, and London is of course a ROCKING babyface from underneath. All of London's comeback chains are really good, and so is Shane's work on top & cut-offs of those said comebacks. Him pushing London from the top rope into, and THROUGH the barricade was amazing in all of its viciousness. Also I loooooove the finish with him faking that ankle injury, only for him to small package London when he least expected it. ***1/2

American Dragon vs. Donovan Morgan

This goes to a 15-minute time limit draw, and it's some really good stuff. It's all about the battle of Morgan's superior power going against Dragon's technical expertise. That's always a very fun dynamic to work with, and these two definitely create a very nice story & match out of it. Love all of Bryan's work, especially all of that targeted towards Morgan's arm, and Morgan was on his element throwing Bryan around every chance he got. ***1/2

Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe

A pretty damn great showdown between the two brothers, and more-than great ROH debut for the younger one in Mark Briscoe. The early back & forth is really good, and once Jay gets busted open, things kick into a higher gear. Mark goes after the cut with those already-awesome looking punches of his, and Jay sells it greatly. Him getting back into things by briefly going after Mark's knee was very nice too, and it created for some neat moments w/ Mark selling it after delivering some of his bigger moves + him clutching the knee when going for that Moonsault gave Jay enough time to recover & get out of the way to swift the momentum, which I thought lead for a great sequence with Mark ultimately kicking out of that DVD. I think on surface you could call this a spotfest, but it's a damn good one to say the least + there's the storytelling of Mark, the younger of the two bros, wanting to show his older brother, even going as far as making him bleed & not giving him an inch w/ that cut. Definitely my pick for the MOTN honors. ***3/4

AJ Styles vs. Low Ki

Their first ROH meeting was good, but a bit disappointing considering it's AJ Styles vs. Low Ki. It was definitely better than this match though. I have a hard time coming up with anything that I disliked about this, but to put it bluntly, the middle just feels very hollow. I did like the beginning where they do some pretty great work on the mat, and then I did like the last 3-5 minutes of the match -- especially that one fantastic bit where Styles gets FIRED UP by Ki's Kawada Kicks and unleashes a hellacious, aggressive flurry on him, but when it comes to everything between that said beginning & that last 3-5 minute stretch of the match, nothing really registered or clicked with me. Not a bad match at all, but far from the quality I'd want out of this pairing, especially in a setting like this. **3/4