AEW WRESTLEDREAM 2024

AEW WRESTLEDREAM 2024

Adam Page vs. Jay White
One of those matches that's "mechanically" extremely solid, but just fails to capture any emotion out of me whatsoever. Solid work from both Hangman & Switchblade, but absolutely nothing to remember. A gentleman's **

AEW Women's World Championship
Mariah May vs. Willow Nightingale
Just a rock-solid match with clearly defined roles. Willow is a pretty rockin' babyface all the way through here, and Mariah is solid with her character work as well and has some slick moments on the offense. ***

AEW TNT Championship
Jack Perry vs. Katsuyori Shibata
The bits where Shibata is just kicking Perry's ass are great, and while some of Perry's arsenal looks super weak, it works well within the context of the match given the nature of Shibata's entire shtick. A super solid & a good match. ***1/4

AEW International Championship
Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ricochet
I am not very much into any of these wrestlers & or this kind of a match, but it definitely was a good spotfest. Everybody had big, fun moments with Takeshita looking like a beast throughout. Some silly Ospreay moments with his facial expressions & a boring finish, but other than that, this was pretty enjoyable. **3/4

Best Two out of Three Falls
Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos
Has some neat singular moments, but man this dragged & was completely heatless for the most part. It is a very inoffensive midcard number & has some cool stuff as mentioned, but its certainly absolutely nothing to remember. **

Brody King vs. Darby Allin
It is a natural pairing, and they produce some fun-ass wrestling. Creative punishment taken & dished out throughout by both men. Though as with many of the other matches on this card, I feel like it could've been better had it been a bit tighter, but alas, it's still a very good match. ***1/4

AEW World Tag Team Championship
The Young Bucks vs. Private Party
A very paint by the numbers Young Bucks match, which means that it was very solid. Private Party's comebacks (other than Zay's final moments) weren't the most exciting, which obviously eats away from my enjoyment of the match & the finish fell flat, but it was still solid. The BTE Trigger nearfall was terrific, deserves a shoutout of its own. **1/2

ROH World Championship
Mark Briscoe vs. Chris Jericho
This, at many points of the match, had such an off-vibe that most Chris Jericho matches do, but man, Mark mothafuggen Briscoe worked his ass off. Terrific energy from him start to finish & a superb babyface shift all around. Completely made the match worthwhile. This ended up being legitimately really good (which is something you rarely can say about Y2J matches), and all I can say is Mark Briscoe! What a performance, what a babyface, what a wrestler! ***1/2

AEW World Championship
Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley
Aka the death of the American Dragon. Lots of feelings about this one, given it is my favorite wrestler of all-time in a retirement-type match. I loved it. It is crushing in the best ways possible. You just know he is gonna get decimated by Moxley by the end of it, but come on, Dragon doesn't go down without a fight. It is a beautiful, classic babyface performance by the greatest ever. Moxley is also absolutely superb in his current role - he comes off as such a menacing, vicious, dangerous man. Upped the violence brilliantly with his offense. There's a few moments by him that I think fall a bit flat (the bulldog choke is the biggest example), but overall he was brilliant. Him countering Bryan's dive attempt into a Death Rider on the floor was a legitimate "OH NO" holy-shit-spot. The ending is absolutely soul-destroying. Beautiful sadness. As of now, there's no guarantees on what this REALLY means for Danielson's pro-wrestling future -- meaning that there's no official word on if he will ever wrestle again, but given the billing, it is an absolutely beautiful way to end his career as a full-time pro wrestler. ****3/4

ROH MANHATTAN MAYHEM

ROH MANHATTAN MAYHEM

Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness
Loved their match from the Third Anniversary Celebration show earlier on in the year. I do think that match was better than this one, but this is a yet another very fun match-up between the pairing. Solid charming technical wrestling all the way through with a good plot in Nigel being frustrated by Cabana's usual antics. ***

ROH Tag Team Championship
BJ Whitmer & Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jack Evans & Roderick Strong
This is a very fun, fast-paced tag match. Everybody has seen a dozen matches like this by this point, but this still offers a very enjoyable viewing experience. Great team-moves, exciting pace that never lets up - it's just fun. ***

ROH Pure Championship
Jay Lethal vs. Samoa Joe
This is a really good match with its Pupil vs. Mentor dynamic. Love how Joe lost his ropebreaks with the punching, and then Lethal in all his emotion did the same thing. Good shit. Good, competitive wrestling. ***1/2

Dog Collar
CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave
It is not the feud-ending classic it could've been, but I love this match. Punk's babyface performance is just terrific. Truly one of the great bleeders in wrestling. ****

ROH World Championship
Austin Aries vs. Alex Shelley
I keep overusing the word "competitive" when talking about these old ROH matches, but man, this was a yet another terrific match that showcased that brilliant competitive spirit that pumped in the promotions heart at the time. Exciting action with vicious offense by both men all the way through. They wrestle at such an exciting pace from start to finish, but without it never feeling too cute as there is a great sense of urgency (& you know it, COMPETITIVENESS) in everything. Just a fantastic match. ****1/4

Homicide & Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal & Samoa Joe
It is a pretty solid impromptu match, but I must say that it kinda amazingly manages to drag a bit even with it being sub-10 minutes. Enough badassery by The Rottweilers to make it worth a while for sure though. **1/2

ROH STALEMATE

ROH STALEMATE

El Generico vs. Roderick Strong
This is a banging match. Generico is already a great babyface, and he gets a lot of time here to showcase that. Roddy is of course superb as well with his destruction-fueled arsenal. A super fun midcard match, a terrific showcase for both guys. ***3/4

ROH Pure Championship
Jay Lethal vs. Spanky
Ruled. Energetic, fiery, hungry wrestling with good, compelling strategies being in play by both Lethal & Spanky. Very good. ***1/2

ROH World Championship
Austin Aries vs. James Gibson
This was quite disappointing. I enjoy Aries' work over Gibson's back - he's focused & mechanical with it, and it's good continuation from Gibson's match vs. Aries' stablemate from a few weeks back. I was very annoyed by Gibson's complete lack of selling when it came time for him to get his shit in though. It very much looked like as if Aries hadn't been working over his back the entire control seg of his. The match really is just generic 50/50 finishing gear stuff after that, with a lame finish to boot. Not a good one. *1/2

Lumberjack Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide
Match #4 in their best of 5 series. Ends up dragging by the end with its finishing stretch, but this was a yet another very good match between Dragon & Homicide. There's some absolutely awesome arm-wreckage by Danielson, and I very much enjoy once the match totally breaks down and they go outside. ***1/4

ROH BEST OF THE AMERICAN SUPER JUNIORS TOURNAMENT

BEST OF THE AMERICAN SUPER JUNIORS TOURNAMENT

Bryan Danielson vs. Spanky
A terrific match here. Danielson puts on an absolute clinic at wrecking Spanky with the arm-targeting in particular being vicious as fuck. Spanky as the crafty underdog rules - I love the way he bumps, sells & finds ways to get back into things. Once he fully gets back into the thing, the home stretch is just extremely good with its exciting, fully earned action - that Cattle Mutilation-reversal nearfall was soooo good. ****

James Gibson vs. Roderick Strong
These two would go on and have a much more famous match later on in the year, so watching this is pretty interesting. It's a very good match, and works especially well in its tournament setting here. I enjoy Roddy's focused & vicious attack on Gibson's back. It sets a natural dynamic of Gibson fighting from underneath very nicely. ***1/2

Black Tiger vs. Bryan Danielson
Yeah this ended up ruling. At the start I thought some of Black Tiger's offense looked weak, but as the match went on, his strikes & suplexes were pretty great. Dragon is just absolutely lovely here with his output; he is vicious, he is focused & he wrestles with a good urgency. It's a really good match! ***1/2

ROH World Championship
Austin Aries vs. Homicide
The Burning Hammer spot is ridiculous & just flat out fucking sucks. Everything before that is extremely dull and has no interesting hook whatsoever. It is a very meh World Title match. *3/4

ROH BACK TO BASICS

 

ROH BACK TO BASICS

CM Punk & Spanky vs. Jay Lethal & Samoa Joe
Not a fan of the finish whatsoever, but this is a great tag team match otherwise. The first Punk vs. Joe interactions after their legendary rivalry are awesome & Lethal as the fip rules. The attack on the ribs by Spanky & (especially) Punk is so good. I really wish this would've ended with Punk delivering that Pepsi Plunge after the fantastic spot where he catches Lethal mid-air with that dropkick. The Stevie Richards finish definitely ended it with a sour note. ***3/4

ROH TRIOS TOURNAMENT

 

ROH TRIOS TOURNAMENT

Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe & Vordell Walker vs. James Gibson, Nigel McGuinness & Spanky
This is just a super fun trios match with awesome exchanges between everyone. Also worth to note that it is the first time Danielson & McGuinness share a ring together! ***1/2

Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe & Vordell Walker vs. Homicide, Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero
Good continuation to the ongoing feud between Dragon & Homicide. Bryan is a great fip & the Rottweilers are in their element here. It's a pretty fun one! ***

ROH THIRD ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION - PART 3

 

ROH THIRD ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION - PART 3

Falls Count Anywhere
Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide
Match #3 in their best of 5 series. I think it's the weakest of this series so far, but it's still very fun. They honor the stipulation very nicely by spending most of the match fighting outside with good brawling & fun spots. I do think some of that section loses its impact since they already did it in their previous match though. The finishing stretch inside the ring is pretty good. Oh & gotta give a shoutout to Homicide's Cattle Mutilation - looked terrible, which fits him & his character perfectly. It's a good match. ***1/4

CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave
This rules. I love Rave's heel work here with the constant cheating scumbaggery - the entire shoelace thing, which lead to the match being restarted, was so much fun. Punk is also terrific at being the ass-kicker at the 2 beginnings of the match, first at the very beginning & then when it gets restarted. He is also class at selling for Rave's work on top. It's a great match with both guys playing their roles wonderfully. ****

ROH World Championship
Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe
Big time rematch for the title here. I must say that at first I wasn't feeling Aries acting like a comedic cowardly heel at the start of this match (even though it is fitting given how they built the match up), but it actually ended up working as the match built on that. Once Aries gets busted open & starts fighting as the bleeding underdog? Ooh it's so good. Joe's monster performance is just amazing here: nasty killer work over the cut & in general everything he unloads is vicious as hell. I do dislike the finish though, especially hate the low-blow by Aries, but it's still a terrific match. Well worth the watch, especially if you're into some prime murder-mode Samoa mothafuckin' Joe. ****1/4

ROH THIRD ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION - PART 2

 

ROH THIRD ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION - PART 2

Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness
This is a very good midcard match. Cabana & Nigel compliment each other quite well with their signature in-ring styles. Charming competitive technical wrestling throughout with good little comedic moments in there all in the name of said competitive technical wrestling. ***1/2

James Gibson vs. Spanky
Gibson's ROH debut here. It's a very good showing for him, wrestling a very "ROH style" match & looking pretty great doing so. Really dug his attack on Spanky's arm. Awesome counter to Sliced Bread as well. Sadly I didn't care for Spanky's control work very much, and ultimately that is what makes the match not be greater than it is for me. He has some cool singular moments on the offense, but coming after Gibson's awesome armwork, it falls a bit flat in my eyes. It's still a good match overall though. ***

Alex Shelley vs. CM Punk
It is not often when I find CM Punk the less compelling wrestler in a great singles match of his, but Alex Shelley was really great here. His selling of the arm is consistent & terrific all the way through, and his work over Punk's mid-section rules. I actually think that Punk could've & probably should've done a bigger selljob regarding the ribs given the volume of Shelley's attack over em. If he had done that, this more than certainly would've been truly great, rather than being "just" a borderline great match. Hell of a Shelley performance. ***3/4

Austin Aries & Jack Evans vs. Bryan Danielson & Samoa Joe
This suffers from its unnecessarily long length, but it is a pretty good match regardless. Lots of comedy involving Evans, including the Joe slap which is kind of a famous gif in the wrestling folklore. I liked parts of the comedy stuff (that slap bit for an example), but I do think they ran with it a bit too much, and the match suffered from that when it got more "serious" as it went on. Evans definitely knows how to make everything look extra vicious though between his willingness to bend & bump his ass off. Good teasers between Aries & Joe in preparation for the next night as well. **3/4

AJ Styles vs. Jimmy Rave
It's AJ's first ROH match in a year, and he brings his usual (lovely) tenacity & aggressiveness into the thing. Now I must say that the match never truly hooked me except for the very beginning: that wrist-control sequence was just amazing with AJ holding onto it & sending Rave flying outside. After that the match is just kinda there - both guys have a couple of really nice moments with Rave matching AJ's dynamic offense nicely, but I just never, except for the mentioned very beginning, truly got into what they were doing as an overall flowing n' moving thing. I prefer their 04 ROH match by a mile. **1/2

ROH THIRD ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION - PART 1

 

ROH THIRD ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION - PART 1

No Rules
Roderick Strong vs. Steve Corino
This is a pretty hot number. Very spint-ish in its pace & energy. Fun work on the offense by both, good selling, just good action from bell to bell. ***

Jay Lethal vs. Jimmy Rave
It's a fun match-up with a clear heel & face dynamic going for it. Lethal is really fun as the young fiery babyface, and he had a great showing regarding that here. ***

ROH Pure Championship
John Walters vs. Jay Lethal
This is immediately following Lethal's match vs. Rave, so the dynamic is clear. A beaten up babyface Lethal vs. the opportunist heel champ Walters. It's a solid match, yet I think it could've been much better. The continuation of Walters targeting Lethal's ribs, which were softened up by Rave, is good stuff, but Lethal could've done better selling them. I also think Lethal's comebacks were missing some fire. With a more spirited babyface performance, this could've been a big hit, but as it is, it's "just" a pretty good match. **1/2

CM Punk vs. Spanky
This is a very intriguing 1-on-1 match-up on paper, and it was a great one! Love how Spanky finds his first real opening with that dropkick & then Punk's leg becomes the main story of the match. Spanky is perfect in his role here being ratty, fast & crafty at finding openings. Punk's selling is class all the way through. The way the targeted leg seals the deal in the finish is brilliant. Really loved this one. ****

Taped Fist Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide
The 2nd match in their best of 5 series. Kind of an anti-climatic finish, but I enjoyed this a lot. It's not quite as excellent as their submission match from the previous show, but it's really good. The crowd brawling is very fun in its chaotic nature, and it fits both guys really well. Lots of great punches thrown throughout the match - I say hell yeah to that, brotha. Awesome airplane spin counter by Homicide. I can see people wanting this to be more heated/wild, but I thought they brought the feeling of dislike into the thing quite well - even when things got more "traditional" once they hit the ring. ***3/4

ROH World Championship
Steel Cage
Austin Aries vs. Colt Cabana
Did not care for their previous match one bit. This one was thankfully MUCH better. Now it ain't no Jay Briscoe vs. Samoa Joe, but it's a badass cage match for the title in its own right. Cabana getting busted open & Aries working the cut made for an awesome dynamic, and both guys definitely upped the brutality with their bombs & strikes, which fit the nature of the match perfectly. Awesome big spots & counters. Some very good finish-teases throughout & the actual finish is very neat to boot. A major upgrade from their first title match! ****

ROH IT ALL BEGINS

ROH IT ALL BEGINS

Nigel McGuinness vs. Samoa Joe
This is a great showcase for Nigel. He gets to showcase a lot here against the top dog in Joe, and it's awesome. Joe obviously offers plenty of his always-great violent tendencies as well. It's a very good little match! ***1/2

Tap Out Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide
The first match in their Best of 5 series. Low Ki & Homicide did a real number on Danielson's arm at Final Battle, so one would expect this match to have a lot of arm-targeting, especially with it being a submission match. And you do get plenty of that! It's Homicide's main target, and he does a very good job working over it throughout. He's not someone you would classify as a "limb-targeting guy" at a first glance, but he brings great focus & nice viciousness into his attack here. Dragon's selling is really good as well & he brings such terrific intensity into his work on the offense - whether it be him taking things to the mat, the knee targeting, going for the airplane spin or blasting 'cide with those glorious uppercuts, Danielson brought it. It is a pretty major upgrade from their previous meeting, which while extremely solid, was very forgettable. This is a great match. ****

ROH World Championship
Austin Aries vs. Colt Cabana
This is just... kind of boring. Nothing wrong with it & nothing bad about it, but it just does absolutely nothing for me. The "classic" kind of a match where it's super inoffensive, but also very forgettable with maybe a good spot or two in there. *3/4

ROH FINAL BATTLE 2004

ROH FINAL BATTLE 2004

Bryan Danielson vs. Low Ki
This is pretty widely considered to be disappointing, and I think that's fair because going into this Ki vs. Danielson had delivered some early 2000s indy classics. This is definitely not one of those classics, but it's still a good match! The finish foooor sure takes away from it, but I enjoyed everything that happened beforehand. Great work on the mat in the beginning, really good arm-targeting by Ki with Danielson's selling of it being good as well + the big Danielson comeback before the match ended was awesome. Shame the match wasn't more & had an angle-heavy ending, but oh well. Still enjoyable. ***

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries
Honestly an incredible fucking match & the perfect way to end Joe's epic title reign. The way the match slowly establishes that Aries is FOR REAL in this as it progresses is just superb. Everytime he survives Joe's bulldozing some more & puts together his explosive combinations, the crowd reacts more & more. It's some real special stuff with a special atmosphere. That final sequence after he escapes Joe's Muscle Buster attempt is amazing. Take a bow, both men. One of the greatest title reigns of all-time fittingly comes to an end in a classic. ****3/4

ROH ALL STAR EXTRAVAGANZA II

 

ROH ALL STAR EXTRAVAGANZA II

Austin Aries vs. Low Ki
A first ever match-up here between a very intriguing pairing on paper. It's a 20-minute time limit draw, which makes sense since Aries ain't gonna lose just before he is about to beat Joe for the World Title, and Low Ki is Low Ki. It's a very good match. Ki is just great here with his work on top & combining that with his arrogant heel attitude. Aries from underneath is natural given the pairing, and he rocks the role well. It is not the epic I could see these two having, but it's a very good, competitive match between two terrific wrestlers. ***1/2

Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide
Not as good as their match earlier on in the year, but it's still a good one. Suffers from the length, as it deeeefinitely could've been trimmed some, but I did indeed still have a good time with it. Danielson looking for revenge is fun as he controls most of the match, and Homicide plays the counterpart to that really well. Really good finishing stretch. The referee bit when Homicide was removing his boot felt quite silly & weird though. ***

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk
It's a tremendous ending to a legendary trilogy. I do prefer their 2nd match by a bit as watching Punk's gameplan play out there was just so, so, SO compelling, but this one is complete greatness as well. Punk's cut brings such a brilliant twist to their dynamic, and it's just red hot action with them perfectly playing off of their previous matches. ****3/4

ROH WEEKEND OF THUNDER (BOTH NIGHTS)

 

ROH WEEKEND OF THUNDER

Jay Lethal & Samoa Joe vs. John Walters & Nigel McGuinness
This was a lot of fun! Joe's complete dislike towards the Pure Title and its champion is awesome to watch, and both Nigel & esp Lethal get a lot of shine here. ***1/2

Austin Aries vs. CM Punk
This rules. I love Aries' work over the knee here. He's focused, greatly vicious & creative with it. Punk's selling is on point with it being a big part of his (also awesome) comebacks. Great stuff. The early section of the match with Punk kicking Aries' ass all over the place was a lot of fun as well. There's some unfortunate technical issues with the lights going out in the middle of the match, but I thought it took nothing away from the thing. It's a great match. ****

Bryan Danielson vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
Liger coming to ROH is a great moment. It is a great match too. Danielson is excellently entertaining with his work on top being an arrogant prick going after Liger's mask while beating him up with his brilliant, vicious arsenal. The match has just the right amount of him doing his thing & then Liger playing the hits. Great moment, great atmosphere, great match. Super fun! ****

NIGHT 2

Jay Lethal vs. Jimmy Rave
This is a solid midcard match with two charming personalities going at it. Just some pretty fun, energetic wrestling all the way through w/ a fun ending a la Embassy. ***

No DQ
Ace Steel & CM Punk vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong
A very entertaining & wild no dq match here. Great usage of the ladder & all people involved, including Jack Evans, bump their asses off. There's a little period here where the action isn't all that entertaining, but it's just a few minutes off of an otherwise awesome match. It's a very good one. ***3/4

Bryan Danielson & Low Ki vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Samoa Joe
I would put this about on par with the Liger vs. Danielson singles bout from the previous night. Extremely fun from start to finish. Ki being there was a lot of fun with him just being the arrogant, hard-hitting prick that he is. ****

ROH JOE vs. PUNK II

 

ROH JOE vs. PUNK II

Homicide & Rocky Romero vs. Jack Evans & Roderick Strong
This was a fun tag match. Looked like it could have a real fun dynamic when looking at it on paper, and it sure delivered on that. Evans is awesome taking a whooping from the Rottweilers, Rocky & esp Homicide are very solid delivering that beating & Roddy is a pretty good hot tag. ***

I Quit Match
Alex Shelley vs. Jimmy Jacobs
This is a banger. Jacobs takes a shitload of punishment, with him & Shelley bringing some nice creative ideas with all the weapon gimmicks. I do think the ending feels a bit rushed & lowkey anti-climatic, but it's still a wiiild match. ***3/4

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk
It's been about 8 years since I last watched this match, and I honestly forgot just how amazing it is. It builds off of their first 60-minute time limit draw so beautifully with Punk continuing right where he left off, but being even more focused with his work. Punk's performance overall is just outstanding - watching him execute his gameplan is SUCH compelling pro-wrestling & makes the match fly by. It absolutely does not feel like an hour-long match. Joe is also absolutely terrific between his great selling, amazing character work & brutal offense. It is a legendary match well worth its legendary reputation. Going through ROH chronologically, it's the best match the company has held up to this point. *****

ROH GOLD

 

ROH GOLD


CM Punk vs. Homicide
Just like their previous 04 singles match in ROH, this just does close to nothing for me. Feels unnecessarily long & I never get fully interested in what they're doing. They do keep up a nice energy throughout though, meaning the match definitely isn't bad, but it's certainly not something you truly *need* to watch. Gentleman's **

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe vs. Rocky Romero
It's a solid title defense in Joe's reign. Rocky gets some pretty fun bursts of offense in, probably just the right amount, and then Joe just beats him down. Nothing very memorable, but a solid match. **3/4

AEW GRAND SLAM 2024: Bryan vs. Nigel one more time

 

AEW DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2024

Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness
It's beautiful to see this match happen. A special encore chapter in their legendary rivalry. Both Nigel & (especially) Bryan are just tremendous throughout with their facial expressions & body language, Nigel continues right where he left off all those years ago with good armwork, Bryan's selling is tremendous and most of the technical exchanges between the two are pretty wonderful. I do think that some of Nigel's offense looked pretty weak, and that unfortunately takes away some enjoyment from the thing, but I still thought this was awesome. The ending with Nigel thanking Bryan before tapping out is the kind of a thing that can come off as suuuper corny, but knowing the history & the story behind this match, it was perfect. ***1/2

Darby Allin vs. Jon Moxley
This is a pairing that I really like, but I just did not care for this match. There's some alright singular spots, but for really the entire match I just wasn't into Moxley's work on top, which then as a result sucked all the energy right out of Darby's comebacks. It's unfortunate, because as I said, generally I really like this match-up, but here the energy just wasn't there. *3/4

ROH MIDNIGHT EXPRESS REUNION

 It's been years since I have continued my viewing of peak ROH chronologically, but damn, I have caught the wrestling bug now, so I will go back to it right now! We'll see how long I'll keep at it, but let's continue from where we left off.

ROH MIDNIGHT EXPRESS REUNION


Jay Lethal vs. Low Ki
(reviewed in 2021): Obviously the end-goal here was to make Ki look like a killer as his heel run continues, but Lethal actually got way more than I thought he would. And it was for the better! He totally ruled as the fiery underdog babyface bringing the fight to the odds-on favorite. I thought that his punches in particular looked really good & fit his role perfectly. All of Ki's offense looks awesome too, obviously. It's a fun match. Didn't need to go for as long as it did, as it does feel like it drags a BIT at times, but it's not a real complaint or anything because it still didn't go on for very long & both guys delivered, so yeee. ***

ROH World Championship
Samoa Joe vs. Bryan Danielson
Real famous & revered match in ROH lore here, with the two most important wrestlers in ROH history going at it. It's a classic. Just like in the CM Punk trilogy, it is so much fun watching Danielson try and crack the unbeatable champ that is Joe. He wrestles a brilliant match: I love the leg-targeting, his cat & mouse games and one of the best moments of the match is him delivering that thumb to Joe's eye. Every time Joe gets to really unleash on him, it feels like such a suffocating beatdown - Joe is just an absolutely terrific asskicker here. Great selling by both men as well throughout, really makes the dynamic between them work beautifully. They fill the (almost) 40 minutes fantastically. Doesn't feel its length whatsoever. It's a classic. ****3/4

BRYAN vs. NIGEL: The Complete ROH Rivalry - FINAL PART!

 

Battle of the Best
"ROH's greatest rivalry has come to Japan!" - a fun tagline by Prazak there. It is a very fun match! Nowhere near their best, but it didn't need to be. Lots of fun work on the mat by Danielson early on, as he busts out some awesome, vicious looking creative holds. The match very naturally builds with its intensity too, as by the end they're trading some terrific big strikes & bombs. I fuck with this match quite a lot. More so than I remembered. It lowkey feels like a touring version of their big match, which combined with the unique atmosphere of it being in Japan makes it a very charming deal all around. ****

Rising Above 2008
Nigel defending his ROH World Championship here. It is a great match. I do not love it as much as I used to, but I do still think it's great. Nigel's legwork is a good twist to his usual arsenal - he isn't as naturally vicious with it as he is with his signature armwork, but he still brings it in terms of nice focus & moments of nastiness. Bryan's selling for the most part is pretty great, as he spends most of the match fighting from underneath after Nigel starts targeting that knee, but I do think that he could've sold that said knee a bit more in a couple of key moments. His comebacks are great, especially the one towards the end where he delivers those fiery slaps to Nigel. The blood added quite a bit to that & the entire finishing stretch. ****

Glory By Honor VIII: The Final Countdown
The perfect ROH farewell for both men. I love this match. All the nods to their previous battles are so much fun, Danielson rocks the crimson mask brilliantly & the match kicks up to an excellent 2nd gear once he starts bleeding. Nigel gunning for the kill while literally yelling "DIE" at multiple points, that's that shit. It is not their best match, but it is a terrific way to cap off their legendary ROH rivalry. ****1/4

BRYAN vs. NIGEL: The Complete ROH Rivalry Part 2

Driven
It's a number #1 contender match for Morishima's World Title. It is their 2nd most famous match against each other. And for a good reason! It's just an all out war. Pure brutality with Bryan delivering nasty blows to Nigel's nose, that suplex onto the guardrail, slaps & headbutts galore. Action-packed to the fullest with it being incredibly compelling in its brutality from start to finish. ****3/4

Survival of the Fittest 2007
First round match-up in the SotF 07 tournament. It is a 20-minute time limit draw. Bryan's gameplan of wrecking Nigel's leg is extremely fun to watch, Nigel's selling is very good + his counter armwork is great & all the matwork in the match is just excellent. I could say that the match is a bit of gem, given that no one really ever talks about it. The time limit draw finish is definitely quite anti-climatic, but it is still a great match even with that. ****

6th Anniversary Show
They are at it again for the ROH World Championship, but this time with Nigel as the defending champ. It can be intimidating/scary going back & re-watching matches that you thought were your favorites. What if it doesn't hold up or make you feel the same way it did at some point? Well, this match has never had that problem with me. I get sucked into it every time. Bryan is the perfect babyface ace in the companys big anniversary show, honoring the special rule about not attacking Nigel's head. The way the match builds with Bryan completely owning Nigel, to Nigel taking over & then getting owned again, leading to THAT moment of him unleashing the headbutts on Bryan in what may be my favorite single match moment of all-time. The whole thing just feels like pro-wrestling euphoria to me. Pure bliss. Whenever I hear the question "what is your favorite match of all-time?" my mind always instantly goes to this one, and it's been like that for years now. It is perfect to me. *****

BRYAN vs. NIGEL: The Complete ROH Rivalry Part 1 - The 2006 Saga!

 I have not watched most of these matches in years, but the entire Danielson vs. McGuinness saga is up there as one of my favorite rivalries ever, if not the favorite. Figured it would be a very good time to revisit these in preparation for their AEW meeting!

Weekend of Champions - Night 2
This is for both Bryan's World Championship & Nigel's Pure Championship. Which means it's contested under the Pure rules. The first chapter in a legendary rivalry, and it is an excellent match. The way they wrestle with the Pure rules & the way it builds to the exciting, fantastic finishing gear - it's just brilliant. All the hold exchanges are awesome. Bryan's cravate-control is terrific & I love how it tied into the Pure rules with it forcing Nigel to use a rope break. Same goes with Nigel baiting Bryan into punching him with closed fists, just brilliant stuff. Perfect usage of the Pure rules. I also usually always find Nigel's armwork very compelling & there's plenty of that here - he is great with it, and Dragon's selling is also great until the very end. Watching this it is clear that there is some special chemistry in there right from their first singles match on. ****1/2

Generation Now
Coming off of their first match at Weekend of Champions, this rematch is for Bryan's World Championship since Nigel did beat him via count-out in that said previous match. I do think that their first match is a tad bit better, but man this thing rules so much as well. The competitive energy is just off the charts with the match feeling like a constant cock-fight with Bryan & Nigel trying to prove to one another that they truly are the best in the world. The match is compelling wrestling from bell-to-bell with the action beautifully building towards the end. Awesome, creative finish as well to boot. Terrific 2nd match in their rivalry. ****1/4

Unified
For both of their titles, hence the name of the event. It's the famous one. It's a classic. They once again make beautiful use of the Pure ruleset & it builds the match up so nicely to the incredible climax that it reaches in the end. I will say that having watched both of the matches on the same day, the battle over the ropebreaks isn't quite as compelling here as it is in their Weekend of Champions match, but it's still really good, and as mentioned, the peak of this match is simply incredible. The famous ringpost-spot is sickening, but it absolutely makes the match as it leads to fantastic drama in the finishing stages. Nigel rising up like a zombie, coming back & hitting that brutal rebound lariat is a thing of beauty in all of its glory prowres violence. The finish with Dragon completely brutalizing Nigel with his signature elbows is visually stunning as well. After this viewing, I am not quite feeling the full five on this one, but it's still an undeniable classic in my eyes without a doubt. ****3/4

Epic Encounter II
The finale of their 2006 saga, 2-out-of-3 falls for Bryan's World Championship. It's a one hour draw, so a real long boy. The first fall is alright. My favorite parts were in the very beginning with Bryan insisting on using the headlock. Good crowd engagement there, and as a someone who loves his PWG match vs. Claudio from this same year, I really enjoyed that. Other than that, it's indeed #veryalright. Solid wrestling, but without much of a catch & it doesn't have the same intensity Danielson vs. McGuinness usually does. It is understandable given that they are still gonna be wrestling for another 35 minutes, but it doesn't help make it any more interesting. The 2nd fall is better. Bryan is pretty awesome doing work on top, methodically dominating Nigel & in a clear highlight he even busts Nigel's nose open early on with a nasty strike. Good shit. He also continues with the headlock stuff and it's amusing. The final fall before they hit the time limit draw is alright. Kind of like what I said about the first fall: solid wrestling (duh), but just doesn't have a hook or something to truly catch you. Overall it is a match worth watching if you're into Danielson and/or McGuinness, but it is definitely one of their weakest matches. It's still (obviously) extremely solid though as there's enough really good moments in there, such as the headlock stuff or Bryan busting Nigel's nose open & all the other callbacks to their previous 3 meetings, but it's not something I ever really feel like re-watching. ***

AEW ALL OUT

AEW ALL OUT 2024

Daniel Garcia vs. MJF
This was alright. Garcia's in-ring work doesn't resonate with me all the way through and there was a few misses here regarding that as well, such as the no-selling fighting spirit spot he did, which came off as very cosplay-ish. Other than that & a few other moments, this was indeed alright. Quite lengthy, but they had a simple dynamic & a good story to boost the dynamic in the ring. Definitely felt too long by the end though & the action isn't as interesting in the last third when they kick it into more "epic main event"-style with a bunch of false finishes and big emotions. **

Tag Team Championship
The Young Bucks vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta
Now this was good! Classic tag structure with the babyfaces getting an awesome shine at the beginning w/ the Bucks selling excellently, followed by a good FIP segment, and then a brilliant hot tag by Claudio. All finished with a great, hot finishing gear where the action is exciting back & forth. A really damn GREAT tag match. ****

International Championship
Will Ospreay vs. PAC
A good match. There's of course some poor selling by Ospreay that I am not a fan of, but for the most part, this match was just about him & PAC brutalizing one another with sick bombs in their arsenals. I had a solid time with it. ***

Chicago Street Fight
Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale
This was a good street fight with a good amount of hate put into it. Big spots, violence. It's a fun one, yet never really clicked with me on a higher level. ***

Continental Championship
Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Orange Cassidy
This was very much *just there*. A couple of spots that could be called cool I guess, but absolutely nothing memorable whatsoever. The Okada vs. Takeshita teases were fun. Definitely not a bad match, just a match that happened & served its purpose on the card. *3/4

TBS Championship
Mercedes Mone vs. Hikaru Shida
This just felt... off? No heat whatsoever in Mercedes' work, which kills a lot of the match. Very much felt like her & Shida didn't have much chemistry in there, which is unfortunate. There's some solid stuff in the last 5-6 minutes or so, but still nothing very good and/or interesting. Super underwhelming match all around. *1/2

World Championship
Bryan Danielson vs. Jack Perry
I thought that this was good. Jack Perry isn't interesting at all times, as seen here when it was him working on top, but he did have some really fun shithead-heel moments throughout the match, to which the GOAT answered accordingly. Danielson is of course wonderful between his superb selling & joyous times on the offense. It is not a great match, and probably not an ideal match for this Danielson run, but it is a good one. ***

Lights Out Steel Cage
Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland
It was always gonna be very hard to top their amazing death match from last year. This was good, but certainly didn't even come close to that said death match. Hangman & Swerve are good at conveying hatred for one another, which always makes for a good viewing & all the gimmicks, including the cage, were good fun. The needle was naaasty. A good match. I did think they went a bit too cute with the nearfalls & that took me out of the match at a few times though. ***1/4

WWE BASH IN BERLIN

Another show happening at a perfect time for us Europeans, so why not watch it!

WWE BASH IN BERLIN

WWE Championship
Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens
This felt like a pretty generic big WWE match. The whole KO-not-pulling-the-trigger -angle was not something I cared about whatsoever. Owens wasn't compelling at all when briefly targeting Cody's mid-section & Cody's comebacks were hollow. Then the match is just soulless big move trading & nearfalls for the most part. Combine that with the mentioned silly drama. Very uninspiring overall. *1/2

Women's Tag Team Championship
Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn vs. Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill
Kind of exactly what one would expect I think. Nothing much & certainly not something anyone will remember, but it did its job. Solid hot tag by Cargill. *3/4

Strap Match
CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre
Now this was more like it after the SummerSlam match! A very good dislike-fueled fight. Punk rocked it all the way through with his masterful selling & great moments on the offense. The only real fear going into this was that they would pack the match with the bracelet-melodrama, but they thankfully kept that to the minimum & had a sweet, pretty damn kick-ass grudge match. ***1/2

Liv Morgan & Dominik Mysterio vs. Rhea Ripley & Damian Priest
This was a fun tag number. Dominik is great at getting whooped, and I enjoyed him & Liv gaining momentum via heel tactics. Priest & Rhea were good at delivering an energetic beatdown, especially Priest. Even the Judgment Day shenanigans in the last third of the match were done really well and in a way that it added to the match. Fantastic crowd as well definitely added to it all. A good time! ***

World Heavyweight Championship
Gunther vs. Randy Orton
This was real good. Long & methodical, but it fit these two very well. The match built as it progressed with Orton displaying a great strategy with him compellingly going after Gunther's arm, which Gunther answered to by selling it big throughout & having to adjust his gameplan(s) on the fly. Now I will say the match took a while to get going, but once it did, it was just some really good, compelling wrestling perfectly fit to be wrestled for the Heavyweight Strap. ***1/2

AEW ALL IN: THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

Gonna be watching this live, as it is happening at a beautiful time for us European folks. Feeling a lot of emotions about the main event, where my favorite wrestler of all-time is putting his career on the line.

AEW ALL IN 2024

Ladder Match
The Patriarchy vs. House of Black vs. Bang Bang Gang vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta & PAC
I always pop for a multi-man ladder match opening a huge show like this. It's the perfect spot for a match of this kind. This was a really fun one! Everybody got shine & time to do their big spots - Nick Wayne & The Gunns in particular had a couple of really nice, big, brutal ones. Shoutout is in order for Claudio too who was, unsurprisingly, also firing it up with his always wonderful offense - that 3D counter ruled big time. ***1/2

AEW Women's World Championship
Toni Storm vs. Mariah May
Some poor selling here n' there in this match after supposed-to-be big moves, but other than that, I enjoyed this very much. One of the best feuds of the year & they delivered a big-time match here. Both women rocked their roles so well with Toni as the classic babyface with exciting offense & Mariah as the sneaky yet nasty & merciless heel. ***3/4

FTW Championship
Chris Jericho vs. Hook
This was alright. Hook has some nice throws & solid strikes. Felt like this match was just about the perfect length too, didn't overstay its welcome & served its purpose. **1/4

AEW World Tag Team Championships
The Young Bucks vs. The Acclaimed vs. FTR
A super uninteresting match on paper, and a super uninteresting match it ended up being. Felt like there was no kick or heat to it, and it was lacking in ANY stand-out moments. *1/4

Casino Gauntlet
NIGEL MCGUINNESS. Man, what a moment. Goosebumps when his theme hit. And just look at all the wrestlers involved in this, shit is crazy. Nigel's exchanges with Kyle, Okada & ZSJ were all just bliss, Jarrett showing up & showing everyone that all-timer punch of his, Ricochet debuting, CHRISTIAN!! - man. Shit was crazy. Pure pro-wrestling joy. ***3/4

AEW International Championship
MJF vs. Will Ospreay
Missed most of this. NR

AEW TBS Championship
Mercedes Mone vs. Britt Baker
This sadly wasn't very good. Mercedes had some neat moments when controlling things, like that big avalanche slam, but Britt just wasn't very interesting fighting from underneath with her selling not being very good/sympathetic & her comebacks not being exciting at all. Would've loved to see Mercedes have a better match on a stage like this. **1/4

AEW TNT Championship
Jack Perry vs. Darby Allin
Darby takes a shitload of innovative & visual punishment (as one would expect). It's brutal & tight. Good match. ***1/4

AEW World Championship
Title vs. Career
Swerve Strickland vs. Bryan Danielson
This was perfect. Amazing, stadium wrestling with both guys being perfect. Bryan Danielson is my favorite wrestler ever, and in my opinion the greatest wrestler ever, so this made me feel big emotions all the way through. It felt like a match that will live on forever. *****

AEW Double or Nothing 2024

 

AEW DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2019

Roderick Strong vs. Will Ospreay
The first Will Ospreay singles match I saw was versus Roderick Strong, and it's still one of my favorite Ospreay matches ever. This one was not quite as great, but it was still very good. Roddy does some very fun work controlling things with his always great looking offense, and having Ospreay (truly) fight from underneath hides a lot of things that I do not like about his wrestling, so this was a very nice opener all around. Obviously didn't care about the Kingdom stuff, but thankfully that was kept to the minimum. ***1/4

Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita
A pretty good, physical match-up here, yet I echo everyone who thinks it was booked questionably. Takeshita dominates most of the match, and looks good doing it with Moxley's selling also being solid, but the finish sucks the energy out of the thing. **3/4

Mercedes Mone vs. Willow Nightingale
This was my first time seeing Willow Nightingale & she impressed with her performance. Some really good, fun power moves in her arsenal. Mercedes was good as always. Great bumping & the overall dynamic of her all around in-ring smarts vs. that referenced power-game of Willow - it was quite nice. A very good match. ***1/4

Swerve Strickland vs. Christian Cage
This was an alright match. Always enjoy watching Christian do his thing - he's a wonderful, savvy slimebag. Swerve's work usually leaves me cold, and such was the case for most of the match here - other than the pretty cool finishing sequence, I really didn't care for his offense here. **

Anarchy In The Arena III
For the 3rd year in a row, Anarchy In The Arena delivers a wonderful, violent spectacle. So much fun from start to finish with beautiful amount of violence & great moments. ****

2024 MOTYC (****+) LIST

★★★★★
Bryan Danielson vs. Swerve Strickland (AEW 08/25)

★★★★¾

 Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW 01/04)
Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW 02/11)

Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley (AEW 10/12)

 ★★★★½

Darby Allin & Sting vs. Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson (AEW 03/03)

Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW 07/10)

 

★★★★¼

Blue Panther vs. Bryan Danielson (CMLL 04/05)

Mark Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong (ROH 07/26)

★★★★

Hook vs. Samoa Joe (AEW 01/17)

Bryan Danielson vs. Shane Taylor (AEW 03/09)
Bryan Danielson vs. Katsuyori Shibata (AEW 03/16)
Blue Panther, Mistico, Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr. vs. Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley & Matt Sydal (CMLL 03/29)

Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns (WWE 04/07)

Chuck Taylor vs. Trent Beretta (AEW 04/27)

Anarchy In The Arena (AEW 05/26)

Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta vs. Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson (AEW 09/07)

WM40 NIGHT 2

 

WWE WRESTLEMANIA 40 - NIGHT 2

Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre
They kept this pretty fast & really furious with big moves galore from the very beginning. It's a pace that suits both guys, and they referenced Rollins being banged up from the night before pretty nicely throughout. It's a solid match. I do think they definitely went overboard with all the signature move kickouts though, and ultimately it's something that takes a bit away from the match for me, buuut it was still an extremely solid opener. **3/4

Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits vs. The Final Testament
This was kind of a heatless mess before Bubba got involved. After he got pulled into the action, the match hit some good notes with a couple of awesome spots, but ultimately this was a very forgettable, yet harmless match. Gentleman's **

AJ Styles vs. LA Knight
This was good fun! Knight delivered as the fired up babyface & AJ delivered one of his better WrestleMania performances (& matches). Traditional dynamic fit for the simple story they have told in their feud. Really good midcard Mania match. ***

Logan Paul vs. Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton
A banger. I enjoyed this all the way through - the comedy stuff hit with the Orton & KO alliance, and once that alliance broke, the action was ideal 3-way dance stuff with a fast pace & awesome spots/moments. ***1/2

IYO SKY vs. Bayley
Iyo is just incredible. The way she makes every bump she takes look brutal as hell, her eloquent athleticism, her amazing offense. What a wrestler. This was a good match. I didn't think it was quite as epic as it could've been & I would've liked to see them explore the Bayley's knee-story a lot more than they ended up doing. Amazing performance by Iyo though, as mentioned. I don't want to call this a carryjob by any means, but when I think about what made this match so enjoyable for me, it's all about Iyo Sky and what she delivered in every department. ***1/4

Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes
This was a beautiful WrestleMania main event. Their match from the year before was already really good, but with an awful finish, and here the meat of the match was arguably even better plus you got the perfect finish. All the run-ins were amazing & so was the finish. Such a great big time main event. ****

WM40 NIGHT 1

WWE WRESTLEMANIA 40 - NIGHT 1

Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch
This was a good opener. Both Rhea & Becky busted out some pretty cool big match offense and wrestled a very physical back & forth match. Good selling, fun arsenals showcased by both. A good match. ***

The Judgment Day vs. #DIY vs. Awesome Truth vs. New Catch Republic vs. Austin Theory & Grayson Waller vs. The New Day
This was a fun car-crash multi-man ladder match. Didn't overstay its welcome & featured neat spots throughout. Kind of exactly what it needed to be. ***1/4

Andrade & Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar
This was a solid little midcard number. Action packed from start to finish. Certainly nothing memorable in any way, but a pretty good one. **3/4

Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
I don't think this was as awful as most of the people seem to be calling it, but it definitely ended up being a bit ridiculous. At first I thought they were actually having a solid little match, but then they upped the melodrama to almost-overkill levels. *3/4

Damage CTRL vs. Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill & Naomi
This was awesome! Textbook tag action with the entire match being great build to the eventual tag to Jade. Damage Ctrl did awesome work throughout controlling things, that said eventual tag to Jade was pretty good & Bianca was an absolute beast overall. She casually reminded everyone that she has one of the deepest, best bags in the entire women's division. ***1/4

Gunther vs. Sami Zayn
I wasn't really feeling this until the moment Zayn kicked out from the 2 powerbombs. After that, the match reaches a beautiful apex with Gunther's beatdown being wonderful, Sami's selling being equally wonderful & the drama just hitting all the right levels. BRAINBUSTAAHH was a cool as hell moment as well & a fitting ending to Gunther's reign. ***1/2

Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns & The Rock
This definitely showed its runtime in some periods of the match, as I found myself bored & not interested in the thing, but all in all I thought this was a pretty good main event. Some really good moments & the last 10 minutes or so were especially quite good. **3/4

WRESTLE KINGDOM 18

 

NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM 18 IN TOKYO DOME


Bullet Club War Dogs vs. Catch 22
TJP's entrance attire was really goddamn cool. I'm not very familiar at all with the WAR DOGS-duo going into this match, and I feel like I'm not very familiar with them coming out of the match. It was a very "nothing-saying" match, which has been the case for maany jr. heavy tags when it comes to their Tokyo Dome outings. It did it's job though as the fast-paced opener to get the crowd going & didn't overstay it's welcome. *3/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
A pretty charming little number. Zack is a great opponent for Tanahashi at this stage of his career, because Zack can just do his thing around him & even with Tana past his prime n' broken down, he still compliments ZSJ's style nicely. This wasn't epic or very memorable by any means - in a very blunt description I would call it a touring house show version of the very best Tanahashi vs. Sabre Jr. matches, but it's still a solid time. **3/4

Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura
Now this was an awesome mid-card Tokyo Dome banger! Two young hungry guys going there & showing what they got with 10 minutes or so. Yota showed great personality in everything he did - all of his big moves hit with this great sense of swagger to 'em. Yuya's fieriness shone through as well, making this a really good showing for both. ***1/4

David Finlay vs. Jon Moxley vs. Will Ospreay
This was what it needed to be. A fast moving, action packed, exciting three way dance. Ospreay excels in matches like this, Moxley can do anything & Finlay found his role quite well in this dynamic. It's not exactly my type of a match, but I did find it consistently good. The 20+ minutes flew by, really. ***

Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada
This was beautiful. Bryan is out for revenge after he broke his arm in their first meeting, and the agenda is clear. He wants an eye for an eye. He goes after Okada's arm ruthlessly in the most vicious ways you could imagine; he stretches it with violent intentions, he kicks the shit out of it (his kicks seriously looked more vicious than usual), slams it around. It's the American Dragon special & he is doing it to the face of the company at their biggest show of the year. Saying it's a beautiful sight would be an understatement. When I was an angry teenager my big complaint about big Okada matches was that it always felt like the work before the finishing stretch felt like hollow filler, but here the work before the (excellent btw) finishing stretch was my favorite wrestler of all-time punishing the shit out of him while Okada himself delivers one of his finest selling performances? I mean come on. The post-match was absolutely amazing too. Felt big just like the match did. There is nothing like a classic match at the Tokyo Dome, and The Rainmaker vs. The American Dragon was a classic at the Tokyo Dome. ****3/4