A very noteworthy SmackDown; Reigns/KO, Bryan/Uso, Zayn/E

 

WWE SMACKDOWN 12/25/20


Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns
Didn't care for their TLC match much at all, and I'd put this on about same level. Not a bad match; by all means it was a solid bomb-heavy slugger, but Owens & Reigns certainly aren't the most interesting ones doing that kind of stuff, or any stuff really, making it an extremely forgettable match all in all other than the fact that it's a Steel Cage World Championship match on a weekly show. **

Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso
This is the best of the three singles matches they've had against each other this year. The pre-match attack by Jey set the tone for Bryan to be the underdog in this match, and as everybody should know, that man sure can rock that role magnificently. That he did, and I also thought that Jey's performance working on top was rock-solid. He had some nice, nasty & vicious moments in there. There's also a few good bits where they tease the Bryan comeback, only for Jey to not let that happen, and it made the eventual moment when the big comeback started feel all the more better & bigger. The comeback was great, and I loved the leg-injury after Bryan dumped Jey outside -- brought some nice focus to Bryan's attack, and I in particular really liked him transitioning from the LeBell Lock to the half crab. The scrap on the mat which lead to the finish was also absolutely awesome. Just a really good match all around. ***1/2

Big E vs. Sami Zayn
The whole build-up has been really fun as the two characters involved clash with each other so wonderfully, and I thought this match played out almost perfectly according to those two factors; the characters & the build. Zayn delivered another strong heel performance, and one moment in particular that I really liked was the eye-poke one; he really came off as 'the master strategist' with the way he dragged that ring-skirt into the ring so the ref would get distracted & he could deliver the thumb to the eye. Big E powering, throwing him around was good stuff as well, and overall the lumberjack gimmick was worked really well into the bout. A very good, fun, feel-good match. ***1/4

WWE TLC 2020

 

WWE TLC 12/20/20


Big E, Chad Gable, Daniel Bryan & Otis vs. Cesaro, King Corbin, Sami Zayn & Shinsuke Nakamura
A pretty damn packed match-up on paper, and it sure was a pretty fun one. Fun exchanges between Cesaro & Gable + Cesaro & Bryan early on, good continuity of the Zayn vs. Big E story w/ their interactions being awesome, and I also like the Otis n' Gable pairing in my first time watching them together. ***

AJ Styles vs. Drew McIntyre vs. The Miz
This was actually so great. I could just sum it up by saying that Drew McIntyre throwing AJ Styles around like a small child is so much fun & AJ countering that bulldozer-work by going after the bigger man's knee is some extremely good professional wrasslin'. McIntyre's selling was pretty outstanding throughout the whole thing, and AJ had his big match boots on - to say the least - as far as selling & bumping of his own goes. A total match made in Heaven, those two are or at least were here. The last third w/ The Miz cashing in that briefcase wasn't as flat-out amazing as the singles match it "followed" (if you can call it like that?), but I thought it was also solid, and they played it very nicely into the finishing stretch of the match w/ the 3-way gimmick bringing some nice flavor into the ladder/TLC match trope of climbing & fighting on top of the ladder(s). ****

Carmella vs. Sasha Banks
This was solid. Nothing blow-away or close to it, but Carmella looked probably the best I can recall her looking in there, and Sasha was solid as always. The match got better & better and more exciting as it went on too. **1/2

Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin vs. Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods
This was some rock-solid tag team action from bell-to-bell. Nothing very memorable in the grand scheme of things, but a strong, good match nonetheless. ***

Asuka & Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler
Not all that interesting, but solid enough action from start to finish. The highlights surely were the interactions between Asuka & Shayna, as those two easily were the performers w/ the most interesting output here. **

Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns
There's no denying the punishment these two (especially Owens, who always goes nuts in matches involving ladders) took; they put on a match that played to its gimmick very nicely w/ quite a few visually impressive spots. I didn't care for the absolute majority of it, though. The slow-flow it was on, which is something all of Reigns matches do these days, just didn't grab my attention at all + all the run-ins by Uso didn't interest me either. With that being said, it certainly isn't a bad match. If you like this type of matches in general, you'll probably really like this one. **

Randy Orton vs. The Fiend
No idea lads, no idea.

PETER Dunne vs Kyle O'Reilly

 

WWE NXT 12/16/20

Kyle O'Reilly vs. Pete Dunne
Had to watch this one after really loving their Ladder match a few weeks prior. That match was creative & just a lot of dumb fun, which both are things I can’t say about this one. Boring, soulless, more-of-the-same action which seemed to be designed to get those Fight Forever and This Is Awesome chants going, all without a true hook or a compelling catch to it. Of course it also dragged as a result, because when the action is that dull, it only can & WILL drag. Stuff like the beginning “scrap” & their version of the Nigel-Bryan post-spot was just bad. *1/2

Kenny vs Laredo Kid in AAA

 

AAA TRIPLEMANIA XXVIII 12/12/20

Kenny Omega vs. Laredo Kid
There's some nice charm to this kind of a "Kenny Omega as the touring champ" type of match, and him as a base for an exciting luchador works more than well, so this definitely looked to be a promising match-up already on paper. I thought it was a real good match. Kenny pretty much brutalized Laredo Kid any moment he got a chance to do so, including big spots on the apron & the guardrail. Very enjoyable work by him on the offense in all of its viciousness. Laredo Kid also delivered with his fun lucha moves, but what I liked the most about him in this match was the legwork; the way he started it early, and especially the way it came into play in the closing stages of the match w/ terrific amounts of great drama, it was pretty great stuff all in all. Kenny's selling was also on point; they milked those what-I-assume-are Laredo Kid's signature submissions extremely well. ***1/2

NJPW BOSJ Finals - Desperado vs. Hiromu

 

NJPW Best of the Super Jr. XXVII 12/11/20

El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Much of the match is centered around El Desperado's work on Hiromu's knee, and I thought he did a nice job targeting it & Hiromu sold it well enough throughout. It was kind of the usual NJPW bodypart-selling, with him still hitting his movez & all, but I thought he sold it really well in some bigger, key moments & Despy's work towards it wasn't ALL that vicious, so it probably didn't require much more dramatic selling. Other than that legwork, there's also of course some good, explosive bombs à la Hiromu Takahashi showcased through it all, and it's indeed good stuff. The whole unmasking sequence was also extremely badass, including the full-on wild scrap they went on to have after the mask got thrown away. All in all it's a very good tournament finals feeling epic, and it doesn't feel forced at all. ***1/2

WWE NXT TAKEOVER: WARGAMES

 

WWE NXT TAKEOVER: WARGAMES 06/12/20


WAR GAMES: Team Blackheart vs. Team LeRae
This wasn't much. There's maybe one or two pretty cool moments in the whole match. And even those moments weren't really that neat in all honesty. The action upped a little bit once Io entered the match, but still wasn't very interesting. The nicest thing I feel like I can say is that I thought it flowed nicely & didn't drag, so there's that at least. Gentleman's **

Timothy Thatcher vs. Tommaso Ciampa
This was easily the most appealing looking match-up from the show on paper, and I thought it ended up being kind of a best possible match between Timothy Thatcher & Tommaso Ciampa. Meaning it was fantastic. Loved the early work on the mat - felt slick, looked tight & violent + there's a good struggle behind it all. Awesome stuff, as was Thatcher's big control seg w/ him targeting Ciampa's neck. Thatchman brought lots of nice, focused, creative, vicious work there, and I thought the whole gameplan was sold extremely well w/ Ciampa feeling like he was in true peril. Ciampa's big comeback w/ that clothesline flurry was very nice as well, and the spot & the visual with him locking in that badass looking choke (Ciampa legit has one of the best looking chokeholds in pro-wrestling imo) w/ Thatcher bleeding from the ear, 'twas badass. Also loved the whole finishing stretch; beautiful amount of grit, struggle n' brutality there. It ended this match perfectly. It was a great one. In many ways it was the Timothy Thatcher show, and boy what a glorious time it was, but at the same time I don't want to say that, because Ciampa was also really good, suited the style extremely well & simply brought it. ****

Cameron Grimes vs. Dexter Lumis
Dexter Lumis isn't very interesting at all, but Cameron Grimes was so good throughout, this match ended up being good as the result as well. He put it all into making Dexter look good by bumping big for each move he ate, and he also brilliantly used the strap-gimmick in awesome, interesting ways as he gained the control multiple times via using it. What a man. As far as my enjoyment of the match goes, he certainly was the driving force behind it all. And I sure did enjoy the match quite a lot. ***

Damian Priest vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Leon Ruff
The whole dynamic with Leon Ruff being the champ, but being overlooked by the other two, especially Damian Priest, was really fun. There's some nice moments in the match centered around that, with Ruff bringing the fight & getting thrown around, and it's indeed fun stuff. Priest & Ruff both looked overall really good throughout I thought. Gargano was also there; he didn't stand-out like the other two, but he also did his thing & looked solid - the fast-paced spotfest nature of the bout certainly fit him pretty well, and funnily enough, I actually liked his talking here, as the bit with him teaming up w/ Ruff for a while to beat the bigger man up in Priest was one of my favorite moments of the match. The whole ghostface-mask-dude invasion at the end was pretty wacky & I do think it sucked some energy out of the match which it was shining with beforehand, but even with that, it was still a really good and fun match all in all. ***1/4

WAR GAMES: The Undisputed Era vs. Team McAfee
Comparing this to the women's War Games match, this one was much better. They portrayed the dislike between the teams pretty nicely throughout, with the match at its best feeling like a chaotic brawl, doing the gimmick solid justice. However, unsurprisingly with its 45-minute runtime, there was some periods of time where things weren't as interesting as one would hope. For the most part I enjoyed it very much though. It was a good one. ***1/4

Sakuraba vs Kenoh

 

NOAH The BEST ~ Final Chronicle 2020 ~

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Kenoh
This was the same kind of charming fun that Sakuraba's match vs. Go Shiozaki was. Kenoh was an interesting opponent to go against him, as he nicely portrayed a guy who did hang well in there against Sakuraba, but there was quite a few times where Saku put him in real trouble, both in the striking department & the mat-game. The finish demonstrated that excellently with Saku locking in that unique, super neat submission & Kenoh turning it into a desperation pin for the win. Very fun 10 minutes! It had that Sakuraba charm w/ it feeling a little messy, and while not being chaotic, still feeling a little chaotic with its structure. I enjoyed it. ***1/4

A Couple of Moxley Title Defenses I Missed

AEW Dynamite 08/05/20: Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin
A bit of too much melodramatic TALKING by Moxley for my liking, but other than that, this was a pretty darn awesome underdog bout. The opening of the match with Moxley making Darby bleed with the very first punch delivered was badass, Moxley's control section was solid - of course made all the better by Darby's great bumping & good selling, as well as his always lovely, explosive comebacks. The finishing stretch after the MJF interference was real good too, with nice urgency by Darby & great selling by Mox. ***1/2

AEW All Out 2020: Jon Moxley vs. MJF
This actually ruled so much, damn. The dynamic was that MJF is the better pure wrestler of the two, while Moxley destroys him when it comes to brawling on the outside. They played that dynamic brilliantly into the match throughout, and I thought it was a really cool, clear, interesting narrative between two different characters. There's also some pretty great armwork by MJF throughout, which Moxley sells wonderfully + the whole stip w/ the Paradigm Shift being banned was played extremely nicely into the match with that one sequence where Moxley almost went for it, but as he contemplated a little too long, MJF took advantage & went back to that arm with his Fujiwara Armbar finish. I do think it dragged a LITTLE BIT towards the end, and that's what separates it from being "great" rather than "very good" - I'd actually say it's one of the best very-good matches of the year. ***3/4

AEW Dynamite 10/14/20: Jon Moxley vs. Lance Archer
Wow, this sure was a disappointment. Their Wrestle Kingdom match remains one of the best matches of the year, but this was such a far cry from the greatness of that bout. Slow, painfully unenergetic & plodding. Literally nothing good or interesting about this one. *

MOXLEY vs OMEGA

 

AEW DYNAMITE 12/02/20 - WINTER IS COMING

Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega
The result, or actually the way we got there & what it implies, is pretty cool. The match itself might just be the most disappointing one of 2020. The "brawling" (if you can call it that), which filled the first third or so was extremely uninteresting. As was the filler kneework done by Kenny - his targeting of the knee wasn't interesting in the slightest and lead to nowhere. Complete filler, which is what Moxley's selling also said about it. The last third is where the action gets more exciting on paper, but in reality it just continued the trend of this match feeling completely uninspired for the most part. I did like the sit-down punch-trading & the V-Trigger destruction scene towards the end though, but that's about it for the whole match. Moxley has been one of the best wrestlers in the world since leaving WWE & Kenny usually always delivers when he is against wrestlers of that caliber + both guys have had very good years in-ring wise this year, so this was indeed super underwhelming any way I look at it. *3/4

ROH DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR II - PART 2

 

ROH DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR II - PART 2 07/24/04


Chad Collyer vs. Rocky Romero
An absolutely awesome opener here. Lots of nice technical work in the early going, but what I truly enjoyed the most about this was Rocky Romero & his amazing KICKS. Watching him the tar out of Collyer here, and in particular target that arm of his was simply lovely. ***

Jack Evans & Roderick Strong vs. John Walters & Matt Stryker
Solid paint-by-the-numbers tag stuff. Nothing particularly stood out, but this was good action from bell to bell. **3/4

Austin Aries vs. Doug Williams
Early on Aries outsmarts the champ & the ref by hitting Williams with closed fists behind the refs back, to which Williams answers back with some punches of his own under the refs eyes, which results in him losing one of his three rope breaks. I thought that was such an extremely fun, great new twist worked into the Pure rules. It brought some rarely-seen intensity in Doug's work later on too, as when he gained the control back after the little brawl on the outside, he was fully set on making Aries use all of his rope breaks by viciously stretching him in those submissions. That all lead to the great finish where he locked in the armbar for the win on the ropes, as Aries had indeed used all of those rope breaks. This was so much fun! Beautiful, strategic wrestling. Pretty much exactly what I love about the Pure Division. ***1/2

Low Ki vs. Mark Briscoe
Low Ki's first one-on-one match in ROH in almost a year. I thought this was a very good match. It did a great job further establishing Ki's new character in the company going forward; he dominated most of the match, just kicking Mark's ass all the way through with some dirty tactics & The Rottweilers shenanigans thrown in there. Mark got just enough offense of his own in too, so he didn't look like a scrub or anything close to that - this was just a match he was never going to win with Low Ki riding a wave of momentum with his stablemates. "Ain't no cops here tonight, kill him!" - Julius Smokes for president. ***1/2

Homicide vs. Jay Briscoe
Comparing this to Ki vs. Mark, this just couldn't compare. It had a nice, intense start, but after that it became kind of a generic workrate-match of sorts. Just not an interesting match in the slightest, sadly. *3/4

Colt Cabana vs. Samoa Joe
Nice little underdog story with Joe bullying Cabana for most of the match, but Cabana starts getting some nice comeback chains later on in the match, which lead to some nice sequences. Good match. ***

Ace Steel & CM Punk vs. BJ Whitmer & Dan Maff
There's PLENTY of brutality in this featuring lots of blood, chairs, ladders, tables, barbed wire. It's a good street fight indeed & lives up to the expectations of the gimmick, but it does also go on a bit too long & doesn't flow as magically as something like Homicide vs. Steve Corino, as that would be a pretty suitable comparison given the nature of the bout. The crowd throwing their chairs in the ring is still a helluva scene, and so is the wrestlers trying to fight it out in the ring afterwards in the sea of those said chairs. It's a good match with some memorable moments. ***1/4

ROH DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR II - PART 1

ROH DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR II - PART 1 07/23/04


Alex Shelley vs. Doug Williams
Doesn't match the greatness that was their bout the week before at Reborn: Completion, but this was a really good one as well. This felt like a good follow-up to that said previous match of theirs, as it felt like both guys, especially Alex Shelley, had learned from that match & came to this w/ a new mindset. I really liked how Shelley seemed much more focused here - he was still cocky as hell of course, but it felt like he wasn't gonna let Doug expose any weaknesses this time around. His work over Doug's neck throughout to soften him up for his finishing submission was some good stuff, as was Doug's performance being in peril for most of the bout. ***1/4

BJ Whitmer & Dan Maff vs. Low Ki & Rocky Romero
This started off with way too much Whitmer & Maff on the offensive side of things. They're not the most interesting duo anyway, but watching them dominate the early sections of the match was very unappealing ESPECIALLY with this being Low Ki's first match back after turning heel & joining The Rottweilers. Pretty baffling stuff in all honesty. This did become a very good match by the end of things though, because thankfully Ki came in & took charge of things, leading up to a really nice Maff FIP segment, which then lead to a pretty great BJ Whitmer hot tag. Awesome finishing stretch as well + the finish was was really nice considering the fact that Rocky & Ki did target Maff's shoulder quite a bit. ***

Austin Aries, Jack Evans & Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Jacobs, John Walters & Matt Stryker
A yet another banger of a tag match featuring Generation Next. They did such a compelling job cutting the ring in half, so to say, here; really enjoyed their work over Stryker's leg - watching them execute their number on the bodypart with frequent tags & great teamwork was a joy. I thought that Jacobs' hot tag at first was a bit weak, but the Gen Next lads cut that shit off very quickly by utilizing their great teamwork to distract the ref & triple-team to gain the advantage back. Jimmy's FIP segment was really good with all three Gen Next members looking good dominating him - in particular Roddy looked really good in there almost ragdolling Jimmy around. Everything from Jacobs' hot tag afterwards is some chaotic, fun stuff too, even if it is a bit annoying that it mostly is with everyone involved fighting in the ring - this match had some great bits revolving around the ref getting distracted & the heels using that to their advantage, and that certainly made that said finishing stretch w/ all six men being in there feel extra silly, but as mentioned, it was still a fun & chaotic conclusion to the bout. Mark Nulty on commentary also covered for it really well with him explaining what-might-be the reasons for the ref to allow it happen, so a shout-out to him as well. ***1/2

Homicide vs. Samoa Joe
Sadly this didn't reach the greatness that was their meeting at Generation Next. I would put this on par with their Reborn match, meaning it's a good one. It didn't truly hook me in like that said match of theirs at Generation Next, but with this being Homicide vs. Samoa Joe & it having such a heated, hot angle behind it? Of course it was good shit. Lots of violence as they peppered into each other throughout with brutal strikes & bombs. A couple of real nice nearfalls towards the end as well. ***

CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe
This completes the 2004 trilogy between these two teams. It's a very good match. It goes almost 40-minutes, and it doesn't really feel like it because of how well it naturally builds from fall-to-fall-to-fall. I loved how the first fall ended with The Briscoes brilliantly isolating Punk; Punk manages to get the hot tag to Cabana though & they run wild on The Briscoes for a bit, but THEN Punk makes the crucial mistake of tagging himself in, which ends up in him eating the Jay Driller moments later for the challengers to go 1-0. A pretty great way to get this match going, that whole fall was. 2nd fall wasn't as interesting as the first one w/ its action, but it's still solid stuff & continues the good story they're telling so it's all good. And the final fall completes that story very nicely with the action obviously hitting that second gear once Punk returns. Quality stuff. I would probably rank this as the weakest of their matches, but that just goes to show you how good of a tag team pairing The Briscoes & The Saints were. ***1/2