WingedEagle

If that were a one fall match it just might've been a MOTYC. That third fall was so fantastic it almost overcame the first two falls which were just there, and a second fall finish that sucked. But wow were those last 20 minutes phenomenal.

Ha it happens. I just expected the incredible match that many seemed to see, and instead got a very good 3.5-3.75 affair.

Perhaps I'm in the minority but that was a far cry from either of the first two matches. Too balanced and back & forth as opposed to letting either man, particularly Walter, establish a real run. It was a stiff and strong match but didn't come close to expectations.

This show is out of this world through 2 matches. Dream/Riddle was just there for the first half, but absolutely tore the place apart in the back.

War Raiders would be a lock for my tag team of the year if they even had one big match a month to showcase their stuff. Such chemistry together and on their own, and manage to work big and small while always making their opponents look like real competition regardless of their size. Just phenomenal.

Kawada, can you at least pop into the thread that day to drop some Brazilian hot takes here? Its vital on Mondays so no clue how a 7-8 hour Mania is going to fare without it.

Thanks!

Unfortunately it looks like most of these links are dead. Does anyone have these shows preserved elsewhere?

I'm starting to sour a bit on Miyahara. Yes, he's very good. But he doesn't belong in the conversation with the best in the world. Far too often concerned with getting in his signature spots and poses, even where they add absolutely zero to the match, and his inability or unwillingness to deliver any sustained selling has become pretty blatant. It says something when my takeaway here was that Nomura was more responsible for this match delivering than the proverbial company ace. He committed to selling to the point that Miyahara couldn't rush through his spots as he usually does, and showed GREAT fire down the stretch before eventually coming up short. Give me more of that young man. It may sound like I'm down I'm on the match because of my issues with Miyahara but that's hardly the case. There was strong offense and a hot finishing stretch that may very well have elevated Nomura going forward. This was a very good main event. But Miyahara's flaws are such that this is his ceiling unless he's in with an opponent like Shuji Ishikawa who will absolutely force him to slow down and fall into simply checking off boxes. ***3/4

Very possibly my second favorite match of the tourney behind Naito/Ibushi. Both Tana and Sabre used limb work as a base with Tanahashi relying on dragon screws and dropkicks to work the leg (including the awesome sequence SmartMark mentioned above where we worked Sabre in the ropes) while Sabre was picking apart Tana's arms and legs while seamlessly moving from hold to hold on the mat. He also hit one PK that absolutely nailed Tanahashi in the face to the point I half expected him to be out cold. A terrific finish that played off Tanahashi's approach while also clearly protecting Sabre. What continues to stand out in Tanahashi's matches is the pacing. They never come to a halt or have dead spots where it appears as though the wrestlers are killing clock, but rather milk every pause and allow every spot and hold to breathe so as to make them count even more before continuing to build the match. Curious to see in a few what he can do with the typically lifeless Sanada. ****1/4

Good stuff, will check them all out. Thanks!

Thanks, will give those a look as well as the AWA one as that seemed to be well reviewed.

Thanks, sounds like I need to check it out. Will dive in with the latest ep and see if I can make any progress on prior ones.

I'm still thinking about buying my way into Takeover or the MSG show, but watching from the couch doesn't sound too shabby given I've got a new infant at home. It'll be a game time call but I'm stoked for a big couch weekend. Very disappointed by the Evolve/WWN lineups as those look unusually weak, and I can't say WXW's or DDT's have blown me away either. There doesn't seem to be a killer show outside of the big ones.

This is me 99% of the time, to the point that I usually avoid intergender altogether. But then something like the recent Fight Club Pro show in Tokyo catches my eye with Meiko Satomura and Akira Tozawa returning to Japan in the same tag match. I had to watch that and loved it. Can't justify it, but somehow it didn't leave me feeling like a criminal at point.

This one jumped the shark for me months ago, probably coinciding with when they went big and became about merch, live events and dedicated this to hawking and trashing on Meltzer. A real shame but its nice to have some room in the rotation. Is the Bischoff show strong? Never checked it out.

Everyone should go out of their way to see Cobb vs. Taylor from the Anniversary show. Two big dudes throwing bombs and their weight around with near perfect pacing. Just a terrific match for what it was and one that vastly exceeded expectations.

This is basically what we have here. Difficult to call such a match with sound, skillful work disappointing, but its possible it was relative to expectations and the talent involved. A match that unfortunately never really raised its game by featuring greater urgency or intensity. It could've been much more. ***1/4

Does all this talk about Ambrose's contract mean he's sticking around?

On the other hand, that (AJ/Orton) is a simple Mania angle I can get behind. Looking forward to that.

Well that match was a disappointment. Lazy booking as well. Regardless, the Mania triple threat should be a blast.

Maybe, maybe not. Last month ended well before 11, no? Given the timing and intros/videos still to come it feels like we're going to get close to 11 without any shenanigans. Bryan/KO/Ali may not have exactly won the crowd over but Ali again did his best to bump like a maniac and Bryan's work was top not as always which made sure this was a damn good affair. KO even stayed enough out of the way.

While this didn't approach their 2017 G1 match in Korakuen Hall, it was another worthy outing from these two. Unlike that affair the first 10-15 minutes here were solid but unspectacular and highlighted by Elgin's stiff chops and arm work. Unfortunately the latter didn't play a factor down the stretch but they built to some major bombs and near falls that made for a pretty great finishing stretch. ***3/4

Thanks so much for this! Really hope I can make time to catch it this weekend.