Superstar Sleeze

John Cena vs AJ Styles - WWE Summerslam 2016 Theres a reason I do my reviews ten years later takes a lot of the emotion out of it. I understand where I was coming from in 2016. I was not mad; I was sad. Two of my favorite wrestlers of all time have a match universally praised. They are getting their flowers and I don’t like it. It really bummed me out. Now watching it ten years removed, I don’t think it was as bad as I thought but I would hesitate to call it great. It is decidedly worse than Money In the Bank match. It is also sad that it really hurts the argument that 2016 is a year I can point to as an AJ styles fan to being something that can contend with Flair in 89 or Taue in 95. Alas there is something to be said about having the best match in a style I don’t care for the Indy Superworker Dream Match style that is universally praised. The match is better than the Cena/KO match because while this match is very My Turn, Your Turn the transitions are at least a little more interesting. Cena goes for the STFU leaves himself exposed for the counter. Styles crashes and burns on the 450 and Cena pounces. Cena/Owens was straight up button mashing my turn now bullshit. This had a little more thought. You very rarely get a Cena control segment but I really liked his control segment. The Punch after AJ showboated on the dropkick was so good. He busted out the dropkick and lots of good punches and worked through AJ’s offense. I thought the Pele out of the FU into Styles Clash was so good it should have been saved for the finish. If that was the way he got into the Styles Clash instead of just hopping down from Cena’s shoulders in the end it would have been electric. I would still have polished off with Phenomenal Forearm so you still get the one-two punch but the Pele Kick should have been at the finish. That first Styles Clash and the kickout from the Top Rope FU were the best parts I forgot who won and I actually bit on that. I don’t mind bomb throwing But the transitions need to be better. Sometimes they were good and sometimes it was just people hopping in and out moves at will. I am going *** 3/4 just under great. I remember Rumble 17 being even more finished spammy we shall see if that is the case.

John Cena vs AJ Styles - Money in the Bank 2016 My recollection was this was the best of the three matches as the other two are more bomb throwing spotfests. This one was not as good as I remembered but still great. They went with the Cena as Misawa formula but instead of a Punk-style match this veered into Kevin Owens-style My Turn, Your Turn bullshit. AJ has way better offense and execution than KO so it is not a total shit show but it is the 4.5+ star match I remember. The story is that John Cena can’t get anything going against part of this is Ring rust first match in 2016 and part is AJ just being phenomenal. I love a cutoff happy match. These matches like Roman really focus on the consequence of the move. However sometimes I feel like the earning was more symbolically. You get the classic AJ cutting off each part of the Cena comeback a formula I like. Thats part 1 but part 2 is how does Cena come up with a way to unlock each segment. I feel like in the Punk matches it is more interesting. Here it is just lip service to the narrative. AJ hits the dropkick to block the shoulderblock but after the chinkock here come the shoulder blocks. So there was disconnect of how Will Cena change. A flip example is that AJ takes his nutty bump where Cena evades a dive to the floor and AJ just lands hard all on his own and who does the next offensive move AJ. So it is shit like that knock it down. But on the flip side, you have John Cena selling the Calf Crusher like he is crippled AJ ferociously kicking the legs and Cena just rips off a DESPERATION MEATHOOK CLOTHESLINE and Five Knuckle Shuffle in place. So Thats 5 star shit! The whole beginning of the match rules because it was not just AJ had Cena scouted it was also AJ WAS BLASTING CENA WITH STIFF ELBOWS TO THE HEAD! The head rocking was opening up AJ’s offense. There were also really good spots of Cena scouting AJ. The match is awesome but the above paragraph just explains why it is not tippy top. The layout was there but execution was not top notch. I thought the finish came out great. Dueling submissions. Then the dueling bombs of the FU and Styles Clash. I love that it took Cena crashing and burning on a high risk top rope leg drop and a Pele to set up the Styles Clash. THATS HOW YOU EARN IT! 450 eating knees was cool. I like that Phenomenal Forearm was not hit in the Ring. Leaves something for the rematch. The finish does suck. Gallows & Anderson hit the Magic Killer after the ref bumps on a FU attempt. AJ needed to win the first match after two straight losses to Roman but Cena as the babyface needs protection but this was the most trite way to do the finish. Something really high level stuff and then me picking nits but this is an incredible match looking forward to the next two! **** 1/4

Waited ten years to mess with the memories here we are… WWE Champion Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles - WWE Extreme Rules 2016 No DQ My brother and I were at this live in Newark because the Payback match was so good convinced my whole family to do an NYC trip and went to Liberty Island. I thought the Payback match was always better but this is even better than I remembered! We were angled off behind the announce table that didnt get broken and these type of matches are actually hard to watch in person because sometimes the barricade interferes with your sight line which was true for the Roman spear through the barricade. I remembered the Phenomeal Forearm off the Kickoff Panel and the Back Body Drop through table and the Newark crowd chanting You Still Suck at Roman even though it was a badass spot. Watching these matches back to back the Newark crowd was way more hostile than Chicago to Roman. I was in a pro-Roman period but AJ is my favorite 21st Century wrestler so I was rooting hard for my boy! I think this match did a lot of things really well. They did not deviate from the Payback formula they just adapted the formula to a Street Fight. They also didn’t get caught in all the Feng Shui bullshit. They used the announce tables that were already there instead of setting them up and one chair. Not a million props. If they did take too long to set up something up the other made them pay for it. The high spots were all super big and memorable. It was an intense championship match with stiff shots but it wasn’t a hate-filled brawl because the storyline didnt call for it. I liked that they took time to re-establish the cat & mouse dynamic. If AJ sticks and moves, he could make in roads by catching Roman with some stiff sick rights. I love his punches thought these looked better than Payback. Anytime AJ stood flat footed and tried to tee off Roman made him pay. I loved that. AJ bumps so big so it made Roman look like real life Hercules out there. Roman chair shot to the stairs was a good transition to AJ taking over. That was another interesting wrinkle. There was no real control segments but it never felt my turn your turn or noisy. In fact that might be the most novel aspect of the match! Phenomenal Forearm off the kickoff table paid off the arena brawl well. I liked the rest of the match was just them trying to finish the match But it just took 10-15 minutes. It was like an extended All Japan finish run. AJ tries so hard to hit the Styles Clash on the exposed floor and the announce table only to eat a massive back body drop onto the English announce table which is my most vivid memory of the match. It proves my point that it was all about finishers but also AJ was going for a complicated move that required him to stand still for too long allowing Roman to hit a massive right. Im late for my 2pm meeting so we are going to speed run this. AJ taking out the leg and Roman roaring back with a pendulum swing into the Ring barricade and MONSTER POWERBOMB WAS SICK! ROMAN SPEAR THROUGH BARRICADE WILD! Roman Superman Ounch on AJ during Phenomenal Forearm! SUBLIME! That bump was crazy! The interference was meh but the only low point and not enough to hurt the match. The Styles Clashes after all that buildup and one on the chair was wicked! AJ going BEZERK with the CHAIR! ROMAN SPEARING AJ OUT OF THE FUCKING SKY WITH GROUND TO AIR MISSILE WHAT A BITCHIN FINISH! BOTH MATCHES ALL THE STARS ***** BOTH ARE TOP 10 WWE MATCHES OF ALL TIME! BEST MATCH I HAVE EVER SEEN LIVE!

WWE Champion Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles - WWE Payback 2016 A match so fucking good I convinced my whole family to drive from Boston to Newark to see the rematch at Extreme Rules. A match so fucking good that AJ Styles became a made man earning a John Cena feud and multiple world championships. A match so fucking good I thought it was the Best WWE I had ever seen. This was all ten years ago can a match live up to these memories yes because this match is so fucking good. Absolutely sublime performance from both men but Roman Reigns makes this match. There are so many details that come together to make this match but if there was one detail it was Roman’s selling. It was dual selling of both the head and the leg. He sold being knocked for a loop, concussed so well. You really believed AJ had a chance in this match due to his head rocking strikes. Which is also a testament to Roman BECAUSE THIS WAS THE FIRST PPV AFTER MANIA! He just won the title from HHH at Mania this is a throwaway defense everyone and their mother knew he would win but goddamnit did they get you to buy into AJ winning. The second selling component was the leg between the kicks and the Calf Slicer This set up AJ for big offense down the like. Roman’s comeback incorporates all this cool nuanced selling and it feels like he is overcoming all this pain to deliver big offense. You feel his back against the wall and he will not be denied. He wrestled KING-SIZED in this. AJ wrestles this match pitch perfect. After a rocky start to his WWE tenure with Jericho he gets this opportunity that would make him or break him. Talk about rising to the occasion. The beginning of the match is all about establishing AJ’s speed vs Roman’s power. Roman just stuffs AJ at every turn lock up, headlock, waist lock. Roman feels like a mountain. I have never felt Roman work this big before. Everything is snug. AJ Resorts to hit & run tactics quick kicks to the leg, powdering and forcing Roman to chase. It creates this amazing cat & mouse dynamic. The lariat from Roman is MACK TRUCK! Then Roman starts to show off. Powerbombs from crazy position. He is a Lion playing with his kill. UNTIL BANG~! The kick to the head on the Superman Punch that rocks him. I LOVE that Roman doesnt bump. AJ gives him a tornado of strikes but doesnt bump. It takes the Calf Crusher to set up Roman really selling the leg to powder and create the opportunity for the Phenomenal Forearm to the outside. I don’t see the McMahon restarting the match as a detriment au contaire it is an ENHANCEMENT because it serves as chapters. The first chapter ends with AJ winning the battle. Roman can’t even make it back to the Ring with AJ’s help because speed & guile has bested brawn. Roman took AJ too lightly and now with a restart looks like he will falter. AJ wisely knows too much time has elapsed to simply pin Roman so he wants a big move but Roman moves. So AJ hits another tornado of strikes but punctuates with a Pele Kick which gets me pumping my fist. He goes up top but eats knees on the 450. Now it is the scramble who can regain control and Roman accidentally maybe punches AJ in the nuts coming off the top. Was it accidental? Was it just in the heat of the scramble that he hit low OR was he so desperate? I love him when matches make you question like that. Again the restart acts a chapter. Now Roman has an advantage unlike after the first restart but his bell is still Ring and his leg is fucked. The way he throws AJ up top and knocks him was sick. His reaction was ALL MAN! I loved that! He was overcoming the pain. He didn’t stop selling. He was playing through the pain. AJ comeback on the outside with the knee drop on the announce table was sick. The Roman bump over the railing was gnarly. I thought Gallows & Andersons and USO’s added to the drama of the match. The Magic Killer and the Phenomenal Forearm was a great combo with Roman’s foot on the ropes. The best spot of the match was Roman’s insane no hands over the top rope plancha onto the pile but no AJ who pops up out of nowhere with the Phenomenal Forearm. The Springboard 450 I bit hard on. If Roman was more established I think AJ should won here and dropped it back at Extreme Rules but Roman was too fragile to play games like that. The Phenomenal Forearm into the Spear was a superb finish. AJ was game to the bitter end and Roman was stretched to his absolute opening but saw slighted opening and BANG~! ACCELERATED THROUGH THE HOLE FOR THE WIN! I thought this was more Japanese than a typical WWE match. I think most classic WWE matches have a very clear hook like you sum up why it is amazing in a sentence or two. This was incredible because they stayed true to their characters knew their roles and then reacted to what the match gave them. These weren’t out of Ring characters like Hulk Hogan the Superman or Stone Cold the take no shit badass. These were wrestling roles a power wrestler versus a tactician great at strikes and aerial assault. As power wrestler negates the tacticians ability to land his offense the tacticians comes up with ways to negate the power wrestlers offense through head rocking strikes and leg attacks. Now the Power wrestler has to overcome a weakness and the tactician has to figure out how to hit his bombs in a way that the match gives it to him. So it is very detailed oriented and very technical. So rewarding. Bravo! Is it the greatest WWE match of all time? No I think Bret vs Stone Cold is. It is definitely Top 10, it might be Top 5 I’d have to look. This match is so fucking good. *****

NXT Tag Champions The Revival vs DIY - NXT Toronto 11/19/26 2/3 Falls First Fall: 5 efficient minutes. Demonstrate the quickness of Johnny G with cradles and roll ups. Dax as the bruiser, good chops. Like quick tag and the simultaneous dropkicks by DIY. Eye rake solid transition. Hard hitting. The Dax suplex Into Cash legdrop was cool. Johnny G hot tag leaves a lot to be desired. He has pretty bad offense. I like how he got caught with a fish Shatter Machine. Revival goes up 1-0. Good stuff. Second Fall: Man DIY Cant buy a good hot tag. I liked the heat segment on Gargano. Lots of good chicanery with two people messing with the ref using the ropes. The missed hot tag spot should be in all tag title defenses it’s such a good spot. They way they had DIY discombobulated and hit Hart Attack was great. Johnny G reversing the weight on a super belly 2 back Suplex was great transition to hot tag. I thought Ciampa would have a better hot tag than Gargano. Still too much do see do bullshit. Some good Nearfalls with the knee to the head and the crossbody from the top and Meet In The Middle wins the fall. I wonder what will win the match??? Tied 1-1. Third Fall: Both of these matches benefit from red hot finish stretches on bodies that are great but aren’t exactly special. Until Gargano hit his foot on the title belt on that awful kick this was pretty forgettable. But then it kicked into overdrive and it never let up. They run the Brooklyn finish but of course this time Johnny G gets the ropes. They run each other finishers But FTR hits themselves and Shatter Machine is successful but no three count. Great barrage of near falls. The double submission victory is a great fist pumping end. To paraphrase Bob Seger, “Today’s wrestling just don’t have the same soul”. This is a very solid body with a red hot finish stretches tacked on taking into great category. They make the right choices and incorporate a lot of what made 20th Century wrestling great but there’s something about the execution. It doesn’t have the same oomph or zing or charisma that oldies but goodies has. It just doesn’t have the same soul. HOWEVER they do excel at finish stretches and so many of those 80s matches you wish had better high octane fireworks grand finale finishes but they never happen. But we get that here. I think August match is better in all ways but this isn’t far behind. **** 1/4

IWGP Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan- NJPW 10/9/06 Twenty years to the day! Perfect booking coming out of the 2006 New Japan reset. You strap your hottest young talent have him beat the big, bad gaijin. Now you put against biggest traditional native star of the last 2-3 years. Follow that up with a defense against his major generational rival, Nakamura. The big 1/4 Dome show you go to the most obvious play in the puroresu interpromotuonsl against All Japan and the most recent ex-Triplr Crown Champion, Taiyo Kea. Then drop the title to a former Ace, Nagata, to set up a big inter generational rivalry. Thats pro wrestling booking 101 right there. Simple but oh so effective. If you were judging this match off points, Tenzan wins a landslide. But it ain’t about who dominated the match, it is who got the pin. It is who can win the ugly game. Who has the heart of the champion? This was perfect booking of a young champion. It is one thing to get to the top, it is another thing to stay on top. It is not like over night Tanahashi became this world beating sensation. He is still young and against a hard hitting bruising veteran like Tenzan he is the underdog. He is cast as such. Tenzan is a mountain for the plucky Tanahashi to climb and scale it be would. I have grown fond of the lunkheaded Tenzan the ultimate Nasty Boy. I loved him just letting Tanahashi bounce off him like a pest. Walking through all of Tanahashi’s offense. Every time Tanahashi was defiant he would blast him with a head butt and tell him with a Mongolian Chop. It was Tenzan in all his clubbering glory. Tanahashi play the role of plucky counter wrestler well. Almost every Tenzan submission was countered instead of a rope break. There was a smattering of roll ups and cradles as well. He tried his hand at clubbering but that didn’t go his way. I liked how Tenzan escalated from clubbering and submission to riding Tanahashi down like a surfboard into the railing and from the top. Hurling his body at Tanahashi with a spinning heel kicks. Tanahashi was still finding himself. There was no knee work. There was a Kojima style Ace Crusher, a Mutoh Shining Wizard, Kawada Enziguiris and a crazy Capture Suplex. There was still a barrage of Sling Blades a uniquely Tanahashi strategy but we were still watching him evolve into the Ace of the Universe which is really cool. Tenzan Driver into Anaconda Vice was a good near fall so to speak. Tanahashi moves out of the way of Tenzansault and as Tenzan was reeling from that. BANG~! Shining Wizard! That felt like a major turning point. Tenzan would get one more Anaconda Vice but after that head rocking knee Tanahashi shows him his ability to use guile and speed to turn the match in his favor. He ripped him down with a sick capture suplex which you never see from him. Sling Blade barrage this time we do see the High Fly Flow for the win. The 2004 match of theirs is the classic but this is still great. Veteran vs Youbg Lion match done to a tee. Tenzan establishes himself as a mountain to climb and wrestles King Sized here. Tanahashi is finding himself and what works for him and wrestles a great plucky counter wrestlers match he finds a Shining Wizard and a Capture Suplex late and never looks back. Really strong stuff **** 1/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Giant Bernard - NJPW 7/17/06 Vacant IWGP Champion To answer my question from 12-13 years ago, this is the match for the Vacant IWGP Championship. The resurrection of New Japan to MOTYC juggernaut begins here with Albert and Tomko lol. Antonio Inoki and Brock Lesnar have been ousted and New Japan abandons Inoki-ism and Shooters and guys with legit credentials opts to go the Sports Entertainment/WWE route. In a way, this was the route All Japan was currently practicing with the Voodoo Murders and relying on older native stars like Mutoh, Sasaki, Kawada and Tenryu. NOAH was still doing the All Japan Kings Road style turned to 11. I would say the key difference between New Japan and All Japan is New Japan had the youth movement with Tanahashi and Nakamura. Even Nagata and Tenzan didnt feel quite as old as the All Japan main eventers. This is a very WWE-ified New Japan match. In a way I guess it is fitting that Giant Bernard is in the match. Tomko trips up Tanahashi twice in the beginning and gets thrown out by the ref. There’s a ref bump and a visual pin by Tanahashi. This was smart because in America that is the death knell for the babyface if a babyface gets a visual pin in a match theres no way he is winning the title. A steel chair gets involved Tanahashi smashes it back in Bernard’s face and then has to fight off Bernard’s goon. Then wins with a barrage of Sling Blades. New Japan didnt become the darling of internet until 2012-ish again when they went for a modern take on 90s New Japan but it seems funny to trade in Inoki-ism for Vince-ism. I don’t know what the reaction was to this. I liked the bloody Nagata/Makabe match next year but that also feels American and the Tanahashi/Nagata story from 2007-08 is a bit more Japanese-style. It is a combo of WWE and more traditional puroresu I would say. Also I am really glad that Tanahashi added the High Fly Flow as a finisher as a barrage of Sling Blades is just anti-climatic. As for the body of the match I really enjoyed it. They had a match in June a month before this where Bernard bloodied Tanahashi but was hoisted on his own petard smashing his face into the exposed turnbuckle and Sling Blade Tanahashi wins. Bernard establishes his size advantage Bur Tanahashi gets on a run. His fast break offense overwhelms Bernard as I mentioned Tomko trips up Tanahashi twice and gets thrown out. I really liked the transition to heat. Bernard wiggles the top rope and Tanahashi falls on his nuts. Big Pump Kick sends him careening to the floor! I thought Bernard was going to try to bust him open again but opts for shoulder neck work on the post. He escalates to an F-5 which Tanahashi kicks out of which I am sure was a shot at Inoki/Brock as Brock still had their title and it would get reunified when Brock dropped his version to Angle and Angle lost to Nagata. Tanahashi kicks out of the Baldo Bomb, the Vader Bomb and the Last Ride. Bernard just using a smattering of famous super heavyweight finishers and Tanahashi kicking out of them was a neat idea. Tanahashi did dropkick the knee for a hope spot but Albert quashed that quickly. So no leg/knee work from Tanahashi who is still evolving. It was a lot of Sling Blades and fighting spirit. The finish was covered up. I thought it was a very entertaining David vs Goliath nothing earth-shattering but a solid addition to the genre. Trading in Inoki-ism for Vince-ism while strange, it was also a clear hard reset that New Japan desperately needed. Strap up the hot new young babyface that is polar opposite of Inoki-ism against a gaijin is a throwback to traditional puroresu while being very fresh in the context of rebelling against Inoki-ism. It would pay off as Tanahashi/Nakamura, Tanahashi/Nagata and Nagata/Makabe were all highly acclaimed IWGP championship matches. A very good start to rebuilding New Japan. *** 3/4

NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival vs DIY - NXT Takeover Brooklyn 8/22/16 After all these years, I finally watched this. I generally like The Revival/FTR. I am not huge on Ciampa & Gargano although the current angle with Zayn/Gargano/LaRae has made me a pretty big Johnny G fan as a character. I had an open mind to this match because I know this and the Toronto rematch have been hyped. I thought this was great and very fun. I didnt think it was spectacular or best match I have ever seen. I thought The Revival were easily better than Ciampa & Gargano. I preferred this version of Ciampa to the huffy puffy, super serious, ultra-intense guy we got now. Johnny G wrestled how I expected him to wrestle so I think I am pretty even on him. They immediately get great marks because they waited like 8 or so minutes before they went into heat. Already I am a fan of this match. I was worried I was going to have sit through a ten minute heat segment. I thought Shine was really well done. Ciampa & Gargano dont have all time great shine offense but instead they worked it around mini-battle where DIY kept winning. The Revival is supposed to be a throwback, but yet they were losing wristlock exchanges, chop/strike exchange and generally their bullying was not working. The best part was the Revival's catchphrase is No Flips, Just Fists, but yet when Ciampa & Gargano had their fists cocked and ready to fight The Revival bailed. That is just genius stuff. Exposing the heel and the heel showing ass is so refreshing. It proves that The Revival does get what made the 80s work and that is a selfless heel who is not afraid to look like a chump. The double dive was a good punctation mark on the shine. I thought the transition to heat could have been more emphatic. The slingshot-y back suplexes looked cool, but I would have liked something that really said ok Ciampa is fucked now. The heat segment was solid. Absent of any limb work, the chinlock and body scissors are ok. They didnt stay in heat too long and there was quite a bit of struggle. I liked how Dax cold-cocked G to prevent a tag. I wish G sold that more. Cash falling into the ring to distract the ref was a neat heel trick. The Johnny G hot tag is where this just kinda went south for me and prevents me from going ultra-high with my rating. His offense is just so indy-riffic. I just didnt find myself pumping my fist like I would if Rick Martel was taking that hot tag. The nearfalls did ramp up quite nicely. Even I started biting on them because I incorrectly assumed DIY won the titles here. So with each nearfall, I was biting harder and harder. I think what took this to the next level for me after the nearfall barrage was the chopblock on Johnny G with like two minutes to go, the nasty crash landing of Cash on the legs of Johnny G and then going right into the finish with the reverse figure-4 submission victory. I actually prefer this immensely compared to the leg selling for 10-15 minutes that people do a ll the time. First because it is fresh. Two minutes, three spots, bang victory. Efficiency is beautiful. Two is far more realistic. If your knee is fucked, you are probably going down in 2 minutes. This puts over the chop block way more as a nasty, heel tactic. It is heels that know they are about to be beaten so they flip the game board over and just do a nasty, low down tactic to win because they would rather win cheap than lose as warriors. I think it is a brilliant finish. Honestly as I write my review I come out with a higher impression of this match and I think the finish is so novel it should be rewarded. I think if they did arm work on Ciampa in the heat segment to give themselves a hook there and Johnny G just had better offense they would have had the all-timer a lot of people claimed they had. I think it is safely away from **** 3/4 - ***** territory which needs to move me emotionally. I will go **** 1/2 on the strength of such an innovative, efficient finish. I wish more and more wrestlers would think do something like that more. A late-game wrestling injury that leads to a quick finish. Very impactful. The way it was done as they were heels that were on the verge of losing that nearfall barrage made it look like it was only a matter of time for the Revival to lose or for them to do a low-down chop block enhances the finish even more. Genius stuff. **** 1/2

Sheamus vs Cesaro - WWE Clash of Champions 2016 I remember loving this series when I was watching it live in 2016 easily my favorite thing on RAW after the Brand Split. Just Bill Watts style wrestling two big uglies hitting each hard and throw each other around. This was like the 21st Century version of Garvin vs Valentine. This felt very much like a Crockett match. Everything is snug and tight, hard-hitting but it is also fast-paced with a ton of struggle. They work a lot of high spots that you don’t normally see out of them because this is the 7th match in a Best of 7 series. Sheamus hits a crazy spinning heel kick in the corner that feels more like a full body attack. Cesaro busted out the 619 and this crazy dive where he basically piledrove himself on the floor. The beginning set the tone for the whole match. So stiff so much struggle. I loved how Cesaro fought through Sheamus’ offense to earn his offense and really shone and showed out. Matches like this make you wonder how they missed Cesaro. He has such a great offensive arsenal. He figured out how to make power-based, strike-oriented offense fun for a shine. This was a tremendous shine. Nasty bump on the top rope when Sheamus sweeps out the leg. Sheamus injured Cesaro’s back in the second match and This becomes the target for the rest of the match. Whenever Cesaro mounts a comeback, Sheamus Irish Curse back breakers or Texas Cloverleafs that ass. There was a crazy Irish Curse Backbreaker from an Argentine position. Cesaro of course hit the big staples of his offense like the Swing, Sharpshooter and the Neutralizer. When Sheamus does back pull up which is such a crazy spot Cesaro just Rocks him with Uppercuts and Dropkicks. I was going wild. Sheamus fights him off. Battering Ram to the floor NO CESARO UPPERCUT!!! Crazy! White Noise on the floor! Just as it is getting real good. Cesaro clothesline over the barricade and they call the match because both wrestlers are toast. BOOOOOOOOO Wicked lame finish. I am not against a no contest finish. But that was just a lame way of going about it. Make it more emphatic. More creative. Yes that was hard-hitting and a physically draining match BUT you want the match to reach a rousing climax. Go through the Ring, jump of something high, something a little extra not just a clothesline over a barricade which we have seen a million times. A kickass match and series. Loved this and love it now! This would lead them teaming together in The Bar in a run that I remember enjoying and look forward to revisiting. The finish makes the match feel incomplete and knocks it down a peg. **** 1/4

WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz vs Cesaro vs Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens - Extreme Rules 2016 Was at this live in Newark because of how good AJ vs Roman was at Payback and needed to the see the rematch live. My brother says this stole the show but I didn’t think so then and definitely dont think so now. The crowd heat was off the charts but this was a match that was better live and in my memories than on rewatch. It is a very good spot fest but not among the all-time greats. Cesaro looked like the Superstar of this match! His offense was firing on all cylinders and he just felt King Sized in this match. The Uppercut Train hell all the Uppercuts especially the one that stopped a Zayn Helluva Kick were insanely good. The Swing, Sharpshooter and Neutralizer all came off great. He looked like the Cant miss star of the match. The Bar was not a bad trajectory to go with him but they should have elevated him after. Kevin Owens played the role of spoiler well interrupting crowd pleasing spots like the Tower of Doom, first attempt at the Swing and a Helluva Kick. Owens went on to have his best year Kayfabe wise winning the Universal title and main eventing RAW against Rollins and Reigns. Zayn was sort of the afterthought of the match and his best work came reprising his great 2013 feuding with Cesaro. He had the biggest crowd support but they did the least with him in 2016. Finally the Miz was the opportunist hitting SCF when he could and when Owens/Zayn got too distracted beating each other up he swooped in and pinned Cesaro after a Helluva Kick. He would continue to have the best year of his career in the Dolph feud. Very good match but not emotionally stirring. Entertaining mindless fluff. *** 1/2

WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler - WWE No Mercy 2016 I am not surprised this match is considered better than Backlash but in my mind the Backlash match is the clearly superior match. But this match has the more pronounced leg work, more bells & whistles during the finish and Maryse in White WOAH oh and the babyface gets the big triumphant victory. However, it think the body of the Backlash match is far more interesting. They work with more urgency and the character work is better in Backlash. The Hair Spray finish is more tasteful as well, I thought the first ten minutes were fine but more in a routine Smackdown match way. I liked all the callback psychology. Ziggler lands on his feet on the catapult. He avoids the clothesline in the corner on the Danielson dropkicks. He avoids the Slingshot Powerbomb not once but twice. I thought the transition to heat was weird. I really liked Miz punting the ropes into Zigglers nuts but then Ziggler snaps off a dropkick. So then a Bret Bump in the corner settles us into heat. It was off. Miz is not as interesting in what and there are less hope spots. I thought the cutoffs and hope spots were all over the place. I liked how Miz had to earn the Slingshot Powerbomb using the exposed Buckle. Miz getting done by his own hubris with his shitty It Kicks resulting in the Zig Zag was a great spot. Strong Nearfall liked the tenacity on the Sleeper. The Hair Spray and Skull Crushing Finale hitting too close to the ropes was a little too cute. Though Miz going all Bockwinkel and attacking the leg that wronged him was cool. He rips off the boot and Superkick with da stinky feet! Here comes the Spirit Squad. I am all for extracurriculars but this was lame. Kenny never gets hit and they don’t do anything and the ref just throws them out. Why didn’t he just do that to begin with? He kicked out of Skull Crushing Finale for one last near fall. Superkick win. They give this the big main event treatment even though it was an IC match. But didnt really land. They really went for EPIC but their reach exceeded their grasp. it is safely great But what makes the September match a classic is they are present in the moment reacting to each other trying to win the by product is a classic match. When try for Classic the by product is usually falling short. ****

WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler - WWE Backlash 2016 Two boys from Cleveland proving they can do it just as well as anyone has ever done it. Holy fucking shit! I can’t believe how good this was! This was the most Crockett match I have seen in the 2010s. This is how you do a fast explosive upbeat match BUT it is not a spot fest or overly choreographed dance routine. The two minutes where Ziggler wrestles like Kent State Golden Flash Nick Nemeth was amazing. He was a tornado of violence. If he wrestled like that his entire career he would one of my favorites of all time. It was amazing amateur grappling with right touch of hate. Miz kept up so well. Miz played the traditional heel to a tee. Taking the those short cuts. He is not going to wrestle he is going to kick you in the knee, punch you in the face, side step you (great splash bump by Ziggler into the corner), throw over the top rope to the floor and from the Midnight Express School of Heeling a Fucking Slingshot Powerbomb. Nothing fancy, but oh so delightfully effective. Ziggler doesnt keep up the Kent State Golden Flash But instead morphs into best 1980s White Meat Babyface the 21st Century has ever seen throwing dropkicks like his life depended on it, wrapping sleeper holds in desperation, selling the leg for all its worth. I don’t think I have seen Miz work so well on top. Bow & Arrow, Surfboard with knee stomp. This was during the weird Talking Smack feud with inactive Daniel Bryan so he was stealing his shit for heat like running dropkicks in the corner. I love how all of Ziggler’s high spots miss at first but then he goes back and gets them all like Rocker Dropper and his version of DDT. They throw in some short But sweet leg work that Miz does really well and Ziggler sells well. Which plays into Miz using the Figure-4 which works as a strong “nearfall” late in the match. Ziggler has a shit super kick but he sells how badly he wants to hit it so well so even though it looks like shit Ziggler and Miz get it over with their selling. Miz trying to get counted out and Ziggler wrestling him back in so good. Then the cherry on top, the hottest woman in recorded human history besides my wife of course does the Precious Hair Spray gimmick into the Skull Crushing Finale for the win. Be still my beating heart. I knew this was fucking good because I remember it coming out of nowhere But I was not prepared how fucking good it would be. And this isnt even the one every one points to as good. I don’t know how they top this. This is like the best possible Jimmy Garvin w/ Precious vs Kevin Von Erich match. WOW just wow! **** 1/2

Kota Ibushi vs Brian Kendrick - WWE CWC 8/26/16 Another excellent 90s workrate match in 2016. I don’t know if they boys were putting these together or if there was a specific agent but man if every Penta match or AEW spot fest was this good I’d never complain. I thought of the big Ibushi matches in Thai tournament this really showcased him as an offensive dynamo. On three occasions his kicks made me audibly go wow. The Pele was killer! He was going off with moonsaults and missed Phoenix Splash. The German from the apron over the ropes into the Ring showed off his strength. Yet it never felt like overkill. They let the spots breathe. On the flip Side Kendrick added his salt & pepper took this match to the next level. He filled in the gaps with absolutely massive spots starting with the big transition the reverse neck breaker on the exposed buckle. Ibushi looked like he was running away with the match and now Kendrick was in it. He let Ibushi shine But he made sure he got his with well-timed high spots like Sliced Bread, ripping Ibushi by the neck into a Bulldog Choke and a NASTY BURNING HAMMER! The missed Phoenix Splash into a Bulldog Choke ruled so hard. I love Ibushi’s reaction on escape play time is over bitch HEAD KICK-> LAST RIDE POWERBOMB! These are like the best possible Nitro Cruiserweight matches but reaching heights they never reached! Another banger! **** 1/4

IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada vs Naomichi Marufuji - NJPW 10/10/16 I LOVED their G1 Climax match this match is really hyped up. So I was pretty stoked for it but it fell flat for me. I thought G1 Climax was the far more interesting match. I don’t think this is bad I just think it is very good. Im a bit confused what makes this. MOTYC. There are some bigger high spots for this one I enjoyed most taking place on the outside. That Bulldog on the railing by Marufuji was nasty. He kept going for the head after that I thought we were going to get some nifty psychology but that was dropped. Okada just kinda took over with back elbows. Ok. Okada got this sick crossbody over the railing. Marufuji just kinda came back with kicks. Ok. Marufuji got this sick Piledriver on the apron and a sick springboard dropkick as Okada dove in the Ring. Okada Flapjack and runs through this normal comeback sequence. Ok. Marufuji grabs a crazy submission hold then it is Rainmaker Sliced Bread Heaven. The finish run is a lot of fun even if I hate the Sliced Bread. I did pop when he finally hit because it took like four tries across two matches to do it. Rainmaker out of Sliced Bread was cool. TOMBSTONE~! I do love me an Okada Tombstone. Okada hitting Emerald Flowsion on the NOAH guy was pretty sick and Rainmaker for the win. A match is a lot more than the finish run. Stellar finish run takes this up a notch But everything before was just good, solid, fine you get the drift. *** 3/4

Kazuchika Okada vs Naomichi Marufuji - NJPW G1 Climax 7/18/16 Will wonders ever cease? Marufuji is one of my least favorite wrestlers. Is he the one I have to blame for those terrible Question Mark Kicks? Okada is someone I think who can be carried to a great match but not someone I expect to have a great match when I think he is better wrestler. Well KO and behold this is a great match But the catch is my Okada Theory holds true Marufuji was the better wrestler on thsi night. Pretty standard Okada opening he goes to set Marufuji on the top rope for his dropkick but Marufuji kicks him off and like Ohtani/Samurai crashes down on Okada’s arm as he is holding the top rope. They never look back. Okada’s selling is pretty good and consistent throughout which is his contribution to the match but Marufuji runs this match like a pro through the arm. Really enjoyed the outside Arm work to establish Okada’s bad wing with the post and railing. Okada seems to get the advantage when he puts Marufuji in motion back body drop and Flapjack but it is never for long as Marufuji just keeps working that arm. There is a great slingshot over the top rope crashing down on the arm to the floor loved it. Marufuji wrestled this match weighty as a heavyweight and kept his annoying junior tendencies of the 2000s to a minimum. Even though the obligatory strike exchange is better because Okada crumples to the match because of his bad wing. Oh interesting note they worked the right arm which is Okada’s dominant Arm his Rainmaker arm. Great springboard dropkick to the arm. Really crashing into it. Marufuji goes for Sliced Bread twice and both times fails why because he deviated from his strategy gave his back to his opponent and gave Okada precious space. Loved that psychology. The first time Okada hit White Noise and Top Rope Elbow but the bad arm! Grits his teeth through a tough RAINMAKER POSE~! What a hero But Cant hit the Rainmaker and Marufuji goes back to Sliced Bread this time we do get the Dropkick to the Back on top rope. Nice how they worked that in there. Goes for the Tombstone, nope! DROPKICK~! Can The Champ pull out the Rainmaker Nope KNEE TO THE BAD ARM! Ugh question mark kick and knee to head! Crazy Emerald Flowsion thing for Marufuji the win! Shock upset to start the G1 Climax over the reigning Champion! Great finish! 2016 is all about heating up new challengers now obviously Thats Omega and Naito but they needed one challenger for October and who better than an outside invader with some name cache who wins one match at G1 Climax and bang you got yourself and October Title Defense Main Event! Great booking! Such a great first match. No Rainmaker. No Sliced Bread. So you leave yourself a lot to work with on the rematch. Arm psychology was great and the finish run was efficient and logical! Awesome match! **** 1/4