Superstar Sleeze

Becky has ice on her leg!!! SUCK IT HATERS!!!

Yeah Orton actually seeming comfortable was great. Definitely made the segment entertaining. I still love Jericho on the mic

Hey El Dragon, we are the same page on this one! 😄

You curmudgeons keep your hate to yourself. This was pretty fun. It was long but Jerucho was pretty entertaining and Orton actually looked comfortable for once. The crowd was laughing throughout. Show us still way too long but that is entertaining.

I forgot about Jericho/Orton...these shows are way too long

Wow. Glad you enjoyed it but just didn't connect here at all. Logic was sound but I didn't find Nattie's work on the leg compelling and Lynch even stopped selling it for a while until the finish. Card placement didn't help but this was a real disappointment. What did I miss?? I thought Becky sold well throughout. I loved Natties finish kicking the leg through refs leg then Sharpshooter. Maybe rewatch sometime. I got it at ****. Besides Becky/Charlotte at Rumble and the MANIA triple threat which I also have ****. What's been better on main roster? The opener. A solid tag match that perfectly executed Booking 101, but no great shakes. It was double FIP with the logical finish. Hardly the makings of a great match.

Wow. Glad you enjoyed it but just didn't connect here at all. Logic was sound but I didn't find Nattie's work on the leg compelling and Lynch even stopped selling it for a while until the finish. Card placement didn't help but this was a real disappointment. What did I miss?? I thought Becky sold well throughout. I loved Natties finish kicking the leg through refs leg then Sharpshooter. Maybe rewatch sometime. I got it at ****. Besides Becky/Charlotte at Rumble and the MANIA triple threat which I also have ****. What's been better on main roster?

Loved Nattie/Becky! Best main roster women's match of the year! Awesome transition to hear. Nattie worked great heat, Beckys selling impeccable and hope spots great. Awesome progression to finish! My favorite match of the night!

Classic! Best ZAYN/Owens match in WWE! Great shit! Excess done right!

Three good matches in a row. Love Rusev, I think they can get a main event run out of him by the end of year. Roman vs Rusev is very tantalizing. Feels like a very good RAW

Yoshihiro Takayama vs KENTA - NOAH 01/15/11 Have always loved their 2004 match. I thought this match was not as fun as that match because Takayama has lost a step, but this is still entertaining. It is because Takayama has lost a step that KENTA has a chance in this match. In 2004, it was the scrappy, undersized underdog against Goliath when Goliath was at his peak. Now seven years later, Takayama is on the wane. KENTA bumrushes Takayama and hits a double stomp to get two. Takayama seems overwhelmed actually. When KENTA picks up Takayama, I think that's a bad idea, but KENTA is still overwhelming with speed. Then he does the one foot cover. OH SHIT! Now you disrespected the giant. Takayama brutalizes him with knees and sends him into hard metal objects. Takayama blasts him with a headbutt so hard that Takayama gets busted open hardway. Nasty. It knocks Takayama loopy allowing KENTA to apply an STF to sap Takayama's energy. The cool highspot of the match is KENTA's double stomp to the floor. KENTA becomes obsessed with trying to Go 2 Sleep on the monster, which is just stupid because Takayama is HUGE! Takayama drops KENTA on his head a bunch ending with the Everest German. This match felt nostalgic to me. Like I was watching two of my old favorites have one last shootout at the OK Corral whereas 2004 it felt modern. It was nice to see NOAH still in a decent size building. Fun David vs Aging Goliath match. ***1/2

Weakest PPV on paper since MANIA. I think Rollins is a slam dunk to win tonight.

Makoto Hashi vs Rui Hyugaji - FUTEN 5/30/10 This reminded me of the fights my sisters had years ago growing up. Ok that might be a little disrespectful, but there was a lot of slapping, which I found more humorous than violent I have to admit. Hyugaji charging at Makoto at the opening bell was a great start. He was gassed after that and Hashi grabbed a leg bar. Then they slapped each other really had for like three minutes. Hyugaji hit one of the all time deadliest closed fists I have ever seen. They trade suplexes and Hyugaji gets the worse for ware. He is out on his feet. Easy pickins for Hashi who slaps him around a bit before choking his bitch ass out. It was good, but pretty surprised this was considered a top ten Japan match of 2010. ***

Usuda & Hikaru Sato vs Mashimo & Yamamoto - Kana Produce 4/29/10 You know you are a diehard pro wrestling fan when you can put on an indy Japanese shoot style match from 2010 where you know none of the competitors and enjoy the hell out of it. I had literally no clue who was who in this match. All I knew is it finished 10th in Ditch's poll for 2010, which was dominated by shoot-style. This was promoted by Kana, now Asuka in NXT and not by FUTEN which was surging in 2010. It is done in the BattlArts style, which means a little more pro wrestling-y, but usual shoot style rules about pinfalls don't matter and need to win by KO or submission. Reading Ditch's blurb (come back Ditch, we miss you!), Usuda is the older dude in gray and orange that loves headbutts and Yamamoto is a jabroni in green. They are the main characters in this tag. Mashimo looked cool with pants and long hair, but sort of took a backseat to Yamamoto. Even not knowing who was who I got the feeling Yamamoto was lower on the totem pole given how Sato won the early round of grappling. Though Yamamoto did get a heel hook to force a tag out. Mashimo clearly the largest of the four threw Usuda down, but made the mistake of trying to win a headbutt war with him and tagged in Yamamoto. Yamamoto proceeded to get his ass kicked. Great heat segment on the arm. Really cool shoot style shit. He eventually slapped the piss out of Sato to tag out. The finish stretch was great with Usuda (who I think I watched a match of once) against Yamamoto. He hit this gnarly headbutt and then kicked Yamamoto right in the face. Sometimes as wrestling fans we say so and so kicked him right in the face, but it was worked in a safe way. Usuda KICKED Yamamoto RIGHT IN THE FACE! LIKE WOW! Yamamoto caught one of Usuda's kicks to the head and actually converted into a heel hook. Yamamoto actually started to build momentum catching these kicks into heel hooks. Submissions in a shoot style tag leave you open to interference which happens liberally. On the last one Usuda converts to a cross armbreaker on Yamamoto's hurt arm, but Mashimo saves. As they grappling, Usuda kicks Yamamoto in the head and gets an arm triangle to win. Usuda uses T-Rex's 20th Century Boy as his theme song. Buh bye Maxel Hardy, new Sleeze favorite! We need more shoot style in this world. Great match. ****

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 3/4/12 About 21 months later, these two would have a match at the Tokyo Dome where they would throw a zillion dropkicks and no fucks would be given. Much to my surprise, this actually a damn good match to the point where I say it was Okada's best match until Invasion Attack 2013 and his best non-Tanahashi match until G1 Climax Finals 2014. This is worked much in the same vein as the Tanahashi matches from 2012, but I think Okada's selling is a lot better in this. Naito uses his speed to set up the leg work. Okada responds with a big time Tombstone piledriver, which hurts his knee, but gives him valuable time and significantly derails Naito's plans. I just feel Okada and Naito's selling are meeting the work better. I like the hope spot of Naito firing up in the corner, beating up Okada trying to rally the fans only to eat a dropkick. Nice roller coaster ride. Another good example of this was Naito missing a dropkick to the knee and Okada immediately following up with a senton. Loved the transition back to Naito's leg work with him sweeping the leg and then a missile dropkick to the knee. I thought he was ferocious on the outside working the knee climaxing with a dropkick to the knee on the railing. Gedo said best when he says "Shit!". Kneecrusher and an inverted figure-4 and looks like the young champion is in serious trouble. Well what's the one thing Okada can always rely on to get him out of trouble. His dropkick and he nails one while Naito is on the top rope. Even after that, there is still plenty of time before Okada finally nails the Rainmaker. He gets all these nearfalls off those suplexes that never finish anyone off. I just feel you don't always have to go through these rituals and there were more organic ways to finish the match. I would say if they edited the ending to keep the focus on the knee vs neck rather than shoehorning in a big Naito finish run this would feel a lot better. I thought the limb work and selling here were totally top notch. Just need to tighten up the finish. ****1/2 What did Okada use to win the title just a month prior to this? A tombstone on the floor and so in desperation that is exactly what he hits even though his knee has gone to shit. Great selling by both. Okada goes for a neck submission and then a big elbow. Looks like Rain is Imminent, but Naito gets a drop toehold into a leg submission, which Okada sells so well. I actually felt like this was a sufficient big time nearfall for Naito and that Okada using the big elbows to Naito's injured neck set up the Rainmaker well. Still they felt the need to do a big Naito finish run before missing the Stardust press. It felt excessive and obligatory.

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 10/14/13 The series is at 2-2-1, but with Okada as champion going into the match and being 1-0-1 in the last two you can tell Tanahashi was feeling the pressure. He starts off more conservative with a headlock base. Then he even feigns a knee injury. He really milks it and even I think it is going to lead to an Okada heat segment so he had all fooled. He was prancing around doing air guitar to a big pop in the crowd and with me. He goes after the arm, but misses the somersault splash. Okada works the neck with the usual offense, the key highlights being the dropkick to the floor and the Hangmans DDT from railing. The match picks up when Tanahashi press slams him from the top. So if Tanahashi ever wrestles Flair people cant say Flair forced him to do that spot. Tanahashi needs a strike exchange, missed dropkick before he can take over with arm work. This is some vicious arm work. You can really feel the desperation in Tanahashi that he needs to win this match as he brutally attacks the arm. The transition out is pretty lame with Okada hitting his two weird suplexes that he always hits. Okada sells the arm on the Rainmaker pose. Tanahashi gets a neato pinning combination to avoid the Rainmaker. RAINMAKER~! Woah! That was early. Okada arm hurts too much ala Invasion Attack. The submission move he uses is called Red Ink, but he tries that, but cant hold due to the bad arm. Tanahashi should stick with the arm strategy in future matches. Tanahashi hits a wicked Dragon Suplex and then Sling Blade. High Fly Flow to a standing Okada, but Okada rolls to the outside, but there is no escaping Tanahashi as he hits one on the outside. I think that's the best use of the High Fly Flow to the outside I have seen. Okada nails a Tombstone on outside! BALL GAME! They really milk this spot. They really do protect the Tombstone. It comes down to Tanahashi trying to use his arm work to save the match with Okada trying to nail a Rainmaker and both of them are pretty much out of it from all the punishment. If the tombstone is not enough, Okada hits two picture perfect dropkicks, which should be enough. RAINMAKER~! Wait that was a Tanahashi Rainmaker! He gets a nearfall, here comes the High Fly Flows, but Okada got his knees up. TOMBSTONE~! BALL GAME~! RAINMAKER~! This is the inferior version of the Invasion Attack match. It is a better template than they were using before, but the problem here was it was lacking the transitions of Invasion Attack and the drama. Instead they substituted bomb throwing. Here it felt my turn, your turn. Invasion Attack Okada's control was tenuous due to a bad wing, but Tanahashi could never really overcome the hole he was put in by the DDT on the apron and then subsequent headrops. Here, it was Tanahashi worked the arm really well and Okada sold, but then lets do bomb throwing. It sounds like I am being harsh, but I do think this is their second best match together because it is just plain more exciting than the previous ones and did think selling was great. I thought selling down the stretch was awesome. ****1/2 With six out of eight watched here are the rankings: 1. Invasion Attack 2013 ***** 2. Kings of Pro Wrestling 2013 ****1/2 3. G1 Climax 2013 ****1/4 4. Dominion 2012 ****1/4 5. New Beginnings 2012 **** 6. Wrestle Kingdom VII ****

Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW G-1 Climax 2013 Did Gedo learn English from Chris Jericho? He sounds a lot like him when he was screaming from ringside. Going into this match they were all knotted up at 2 apiece so this would be the rubber match. Given this was just a G1 Climax match with no championship implications it made sense for them to go to a draw and then have the real rubber match in October. I thought this was their second best match together thus far and just a smidge better than Dominion the previous year. Again they start out with the I know you. Tanahashi avoiding the Okada dropkick and Okada avoiding the Tanahashi dropkick to the knee. Tanahashi slaps the mat in frustration as Okada points to his head. Classic. Tanahashi gets a armdrag out of the corner looks to work the arm like at Invasion Attack, similar good stuff. He ends up on the middle rope, but knows the dropkick is coming, blocks, but still gets a Hangmans DDT. Okada is in his element working the neck. Tanahashi has a brief hope spot going for his somersault splash, but he flaunts and Okada dropkicks him to the floor where he works the neck again. Pretty standard Tanahashi/Okada is great, but it feels like it has been done before. I think where this gets better is on an Irish Whip attempt Tanahashi finally dropkicks the knee and goes to town on the leg. Okada's selling of the leg here is so much better than before. He was collapsing on Irish Whip attempts and falling down in strike exchanges. That was the one great thing about Tanahashi/Okada matches is NO strike exchanges! Well this match featured strike exchanges for the first time and yeah these two should avoid them. Like the Invasion Attack, it is the flapjack that kickstarts Okada's run. The flapjack is so lame. The strike exchange is here I will say Okada's selling is exquisite and hits the DDT to win that and put him in the drivers seat. Elbow drop and it is Rainmaker time. They start throwing moves out at each other, which is uncharacteristic for them as usually there are better transitions. Tanahashi restores order with a Texas Cloverleaf. Okada tries as he might could not avoid Sling Blade, but did avoid the High Fly Flow. Okada wants the Tombstone. The Tombstone has been the key to all their matches. He nails it! He is going to win just needs to...Tanahashi HITS THE RAINMAKER?!?!?! The count is on, but they get up at seven. I would have done the double countout there. Dragon Suplex and Styles Clash do not lead to High Fly Flow succeeding. Dropkick, but Tanahashi ducks (perhaps collapses) the Rainmaker. Great match. If you have read my reviews, you noticed how I have picked up on the importance of the Tombstone in this series. I think the draw should have gone off with both men struggling over the Tombstone. Tanahashi/Okada have chemistry and it is impressive that they have no stinkers. ****1/4

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada - NJPW 4/7/13 Okada missed his true calling in life as a chiropractor. Definitely the best match they had together that I have seen so far. I agree with NJPW faboys that this is indeed ***** and the MOTY 2013 (sorry Tanahashi/Ishii). It was superb and the match they needed to have for this feud to ever be considered great. It is no Flair/Steamboat, but this match does launch them up because the previous matches were great, but now they have that big time classic. I liked the character work in the beginning of the match. It adds to the chippiness. Okada has Tanahashi's leg work (dropkick, dragon leg) scouted, but Tanahashi thinking on his feet gets an armbar takedown and wrenches the arm. The refrain of the match is definitely Tanahashi destroying Okada's arm and it is his Rainmaker arm using that to save himself and set up his offense. You see Tanahashi going back to that repeatedly. This adds a new wrinkle because it is usually Tanahashi looking to attack the leg, but he had to adapt because Okada had it scouted. The other major story of the match is that Okada has lost two matches in a row to Tanahashi and he really cant afford to lose a third. I think Okada does wrestle with more urgency because of this. They end up on the apron and Okada wins the battle with a DDT on the apron. Okada is able to be in his zone working on his body part of choice, the neck. He pulls out some gnarly submissions the coolest one was the seated Crucifix hard to explain need to see. Tanahashi was trying hope spots like a reverse crossbody and body punches, but Okada was going back to the neck. Big time running dropkick to a seated Tanahashi's neck sends him to the floor. Okada wants to finish this with a tombstone. He who hits a tombstone first wins the matches in these series. Tanahashi counters by attacking the arm and then sending into hard metal objects. High Fly Flow to the floor cements his control. Loved the dragon arm screws from Tanahashi and great selling from Okada. An interesting subplot as while this weakens Okada considerably, Tanahashi really does not have much in his arsenal to take this to victory so he still will have to rely on his usual finish sequence, but that is something Okada has scouted. Okada hits a flapjack, my least favorite Okada move to transition into the long finish stretch that is very well done. The highlights here are Okada switching the elbow pad to the bad elbow so he can hit his elbow drop (and selling the arm during the Rainmaker pose), but he still sells. Debuting a new submission crossface, but not quite getting it due to a bad arm. Of course, the big shot was the use of the dropkick to squelch any Tanahashi's comebacks (normal dropkick and the dropkick to the floor). Okada hits a Hangman's DDT from the railing. I felt like this was taking the place of the Tombstone to the floor as the final turning point in Okada's favor. They milk the count all the way to 19. We do see Tanahashi working the arm to avoid the Rainmaker, but really selling the effects of this DDT as he is very woozy. After much wrangling, Okada hits the Rainmaker, but is in too much pain to cover immediately. His inability to capitalize cost him at this moment. This was a great nearfall to accompany all the strong arm work from Tanahashi and at the same time really puts over how much damage Tanahashi has taken with his deadweight selling. Okada is still in charge, but you really feel in the home stretch. Okada goes for the coup d'grace, Tombstone, but Tanahashi wiggles out, but Okada puts him in that nasty crossface. The ref makes this spot! You really believe Tanahashi may submit based on his reactions. It is very dramatic, but Tanahashi does make the ropes. Okada wants the dropkick to the top rope, but Tanahashi has it scouted and Okada leaves his arm prone and Tanahashi dives on it. You knew we would get it. Here comes the Tanahashi run! Can Okada survive? Standing HFF, Sling Blade, Dragon Suplex, HFF on the back and High Fly Flow EATS KNEES!!! OH SHIT! Okada has to dig down deep. Dropkick to back of the head, that's Okada's bread and butter. Smart move. Tombstone reversals you can feel the drama whoever hits this will win the match. I LOVE SPOTS LIKE THIS! Tanahashi attacks the arms and he is going to hit it NO Okada reverses TOMBSTONE! BALL GAME! RAINMAKER SEALS THE DEAL! 1-2-3! NEWWWWWWW IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION! Tanahashi changes his game plan because Okada knows what's up. The constant refrain of Tanahashi attacking the arm to save himself and set up his moves is repeated throughout the match right up until the end. We see how Okada uses headrops (DDT on apron, from railing and Tombstone) & his dropkicks to gain control and ultimately win. There are great payoffs like first Rainmaker ending with Okada writhing in pain. There is awesome drama like the Okada submission, Tanahashi's last gasp and of course the Tombstone struggle. It is a cool match where Okada felt in control since the DDT on apron, but had a weak link in his arm that Tanahashi could attack, but Tanahashi never really could gain full control. That dynamic made for a dramatic, high tension match. *****

Maxel Hardy is my new favorite wrestler. Rent Sky is a total hottie with a body. I really liked Senor Benjamin. I like camp a lot and this was very campy. It feels like the Hardys are the last carnies in the business. The birthday party was awesome! The Matt Hardy making Jeff's lawn #Broken was up there for one of the greatest vignettes in history. I did not like the match until Jeff's big bump off the tree. I was not not feeling the hatred until then. The fireworks were great and loved the use of the DILAPIDATED BOAT as a shield. Matt pinning Senor Benjamin was really great. Working the birthday candle unto the finish was great but it did feel flat. I would like to see more vignettes and backstory like that. But I'm a traditionalist let's keep the wrestling the way it is. Big thumbs up for character work and and angle development!

Is there anything I need to watch get some context before I watch The Final Deletion?

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW 11/9/13 There is something very reassuring about Tanahashi matches. So many wrestling fans now will declare "this is wrestling" during these athletic exhibitions when I just feel the moves is all that matters. The wrestlers are invested in the moves and the fans are invested in the moves. The investment more often than not is not about the victory. There is something just so traditional about Tanahashi that I just love. I don't think he knocks it out of the park everytime, but what he gives is a match that is pro wrestling. To me, Tanahashi matches are how I view pro wrestling. It is about build, about consequence and ultimately the victory. What he and Ishii did in a random G1 Climax in 2013 was incredible in this atmosphere in 2013. He got me so invested in who would win. That was through the fundamentals of pro wrestling. So I was excited for this rematch. Without even looking up the results, I was confident Tanahashi would get his win and he did. I thought the match was very good, but not even close to the G-1 Climax match. I think they did not really build upon the first match. I don't think they had to work the match this way, but I think a lot of the reason Tanahashi lost was because he let Ishii wrestle his match. Tanahashi is the antithesis of a Bob Backlund, He doesn't beat you at your own game he forces to play his. That's how you can explain the loss to Ishii he let his pride get the best of him and try to go blow for blow with Ishii and came up short. His game is target the knee. This was the time to execute the Tanahashi formula match. There was times when they looked they would, but they did not. I will never hold it against a match that they did not follow my expectation, I just wanted to put out there. My problem with the match was that the segments felt too abrupt. Going back to what I said earlier, Tanahashi being a pro wrestler that works pro wrestling matches in the traditional actually has transitions in and out of segments. It is not my turn, your turn. I just think there was a lot left unexplored in these segments. Tanahashi still smarting over his loss to Ishii in G1 Climax and losing to Okada the previous month just starts slapping Ishii around showing this cocky douche has learning nothing. Ishii beats the shit out of him. Tanahashi tries the motion tactic, hurling his body at Ishii. That does him some well until Ishii catches him with a German off a reverse crossbody attempt that leaves Tanahashi writhing in pain. Really good selling that I thought was going to lead to the first control segment. I think there was a ton of interesting things they could have done and told a really cool story of Tanahashi having to overcome this. Instead, Tanahashi targets the knee and applies a Texas Cloverleaf. He does sell the neck and they tease another German off a skin the cat. I would have liked it if they went back to the neck. They never did. Instead, Tanahashi pulls a page out of Flair's book and has Ishii dropkick him in the knee and dragon leg screw him. Another interesting story to be told here with Tanahashi losing by his own moves, but there is no leg work after this. Then they do this reset after a Ishii lariat with Tanahashi slapping Ishii. Tanahashi goes back to the knee and again with the Cloverleaf so now it is time for the Tanahashi finish sequence. They repeat the G1 Climax spot with Dragon Sleeper into an elbow with Ishii selling the neck. There is a great part where he is holding onto Tanahashi's foot to prevent him from hitting High Fly Flow. Then tries for Superplex, but Tanahashi hits HFF on a standing Ishii. There was this horrible hit a move, no sell bullshit. No matter how much I like Tanahashi it is 2013 this type of bullshit happens. Ishii does hit his superplex and a lariat, but no win. They trade headbutts and Tanahashi hits a lariat (pretty good one) then Styles Clash (telegraphing AJ's debut seems early) and High Fly Flow. Nothing felt fleshed out or fully explored. Tons of interesting paths, but Tanahashi basically beat Ishii at his game. He did not really do all that much different. It was the headbutts and lariat that set up his win, which is not Tanahashi. It lacked drama down the stretch. Individual segments were great, but didn't come together. Still enjoyable. ***1/2

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kota Ibushi - G-1 Climax 2013 Kota Ibushi is the total package 2010's wrestler. He has the flips, but backs them up with stiff kicks and some really good selling at time. I don't know if he has the psychology, but unfortunately that is not what the 2010's wrestling fan is into I will say he is definitely one of my favorites of this era because his highspots are actually breathtaking (see Asai Full Twist/Layout and Missed Kick/Standing Full Twist&Layout) and he backs these up with badass kicks. I definitely prefer Nakamura to the ultra-boring Okada, but he is someone I can usually take or leave. I think Ibushi totally outworked him in this match for instance. This is actually a great contrast to Tanahashi/Ishii match, where I think Tanahashi gave a much better veteran performance than Nakamura did here. The match is the 2010's take on the blowjob babyface having to prove his mettle against that mean, nasty brawling heels by spilling buckets of blood in a brawl. Superficially, Ibushi is a pretty boy with lots of flips. Here he has to prove his mettle as a pro wrestler against the King of Strong Style. Nakamura's gimmick is that he is essentially the best pure, technical wrestler on the roster. He has the best strikes and submission ability and in New Japan that means he is the best at technique. Tanahashi compensates through his strategy of taking out a body part. Okada compensates with his dropkick/Tombstone combo. Everyone else gets blasted pretty much. Here, Ibushi has to prove he can go toe-to-toe with Nakamura. Nakamura nominally put up enough of a challenge to make this work. He proves he is the better grappler, but he gets cocky and misses a big boot in the ropes. Ibushi dropkicks him out, but cant maintain the advantage. He gets the worse of it on the outside eating multiple knees. Nakamura gets his shaky leg, but again that's cocky bullshit so when he goes to run in Ibushi makes him pay by hitting a reverse elbow and then Pele. Ibushi uses his kicks to set up his big offense like the Asai Full Twist Layout to the floor. Ibushi's offense is great but I don't think Nakamura meeting him in terms of selling or really making these spots stand out. I agree this is a great climax and that should move on and Nakamura sets up his knee in the corner well by taking him out on top. Then they totally lose me and Ibushi is just as much to blame. It was just total bomb throwing not much rhyme or reason. Ibushi's stuff looked great. Admittedly, they got me back in a big way. I thought the finish run was fantastic. Ibushi eats knees on the Phoenix Splash so Nakamura quickly strikes with a Boma Ye to the back of the head. Then he gets pissed and just stomps Ibushi relentlessly until he has nearly kicked him out of the ring. That's what I am talking! That's the domineering veteran performance we needed. The reason the Tanahashi match worked is Tanahashi never lost that swagger. He gave Ishii a lot, but you always felt like Tanahashi was the Man and would win. So the fact Ishii was doing well felt special. Nakamura has to be the one who brings that feel. Once you lose that feel, the whole veteran/upstart dynamic is lost and now it could be any two wrestlers wrestling. It is parity. There is no obstacle. Ibushi proving himself does not feel special. Now wants he starts to stomping him like an asshole, he feel that dynamic again. It sucks you in and so when Ibushi stands up to this asshole with palm strikes and then ultimately PUNCHING him straight in the mouth. It is a rush! Huge Lariat! Ibushi kicks his head off, but only gets two. Now Ibushi playfully kicks Nakamura's head. He makes the rookie mistake of giving his opponent the high ground. Nakamura creates separation and hits a couple dropkicks and then Boma Ye. One count->Stagger, before Final Boma Ye wins it. I am tired of the extra Boma Ye/High Fly Flow/Rainmaker, it is really not necessary. The energy is in the nearfall and not the finish! The beginning was great, the middle was meh and the finish was fantastic. I think this was the exact match Ibushi needed in New Japan and he delivered in spades. Nakamura did not show up until the last three minutes, but when he did it was in a big way. My critique is Nakamura should have never treated Ibushi as an equal. He did not in the beginning or the end, but he did in the middle. Once he reclaimed his command, Ibushi's offense became electric and you could feel Nakamura's desperation. Had all the trappings of a classic, just falls short. ****1/4

Lol, really guess I got egg on my face. I misread the name. Yeah that sounds difficult. I'll cut them some slack then.

Watched the first episode last week. Boy, did they get some green people just to make this truly international. I love camp and hamming it up, Alejandro Saez was not good at it. Gran Metallik seemed fine. Ho Ho had no business advancing. Good natural babyface, but green as grass. I actually liked the Cedric/Petoit match, probably the best match of the first night and I had it **1/2. It was hilarious to me that no could pronounce a basic French name. Benoit =Ben-wah, Petoit=Pet-Wah. Jesus, I thought Ranallo was supposed to be good! Matula was meh, his only spot worthwhile was the superkick, which was a great one. It was a decent exhibition for Ibushi, but I think they should have just had hit run through his crazy spots and not worried about a competitive match. Hate to be a spoil sport, but the first episode was meh. Hopefully once they get the riff raff out this will pick up.

Hiroshii Tanahashi vs Tomohiro Ishii - G1 Climax 8/2/13 Tanahashi was born to play cocky heel douche role. It is when he is at his best. He knew the crowd would love the underdog in Ishii and he just hammed it up to great effect. I think the Tanahashi naysayers would be way bigger Tanahashi fans if this was how he always wrestled. Just a pitch perfect beginning. I am a mark for really well-done beginnings to matches. There is so much emphasis on the finish, but without a good beginning to set the table then it is all meaningless. This was a great beginning. Tanahashi crowding on the ropes to get a cravat. Then showboating. Trying to go toe to toe with the hard-hitting Ishii only to get his ass kicked was great. There is a great moment where Ishii is beating the piss out of Tanahashi's chest so he tries to fire back. The crowd is having none of it and is booing and Ishii is no selling like that all you got chump and then rifling back. It sets up the story perfectly. Ishii has come to fight and is going to kick ass. Tanahashi is going to have step up his game. Then we see Tanahashi just start hurling his body at Ishii full speed in an attempt to make up what he lacks in striking ability. Eventually he catches Ishii with patented death combo the dropkick to the knee/dragon screw leg whip. This is where Tanahashi really turns it up, baseball slide and just because he can, he skins the cat and then crossbodies him to the floor. It is that really touch of hot dogging that makes it! He goes for his somersault off the middle rope, but first takes time to taunt the crowd. Ishii makes him pay by moving. Perfect! Just an absolutely great beginning to the match. It makes you want to see the Ishii Cinderella story really come true. Everything comes to head in a strike exchange again where Tanahashi stupidly thinks he can go toe to toe with Ishii and gets the taste slapped out of his mouth and then powerbombed to hell. This is exactly what every Tanahashi hater wants to see. That's what Tanahashi so great is that he can change it up and has different variations of his match to fit his opponent. What they don't want to see the Sling Blade! As a Tanahashi fanboy, I am ready for Tanahashi to crush some dreams as he cycles through his finish sequence. Ishii backs into the ropes on the High Fly Flow. No biggie, you knew he never just straight runs through this. Monster superplex by Ishii! He goes for his finish, the Brainbuster, but Tanahashi reverses into Dragon Sleeper (I forgot he had that in his arsenal!). Ishii hits a NASTY headbutt & big time lariat! Ishii cant put him away needs that Brainbuster and again Tanahashi reverses into Dragon Sleeper and then drops an elbow. Ishii got a stinger! He is flexing his arm! He is writhing in pain! I forgot Ishii's bread and butter is selling the neck. Tanahashi drops him on that bad neck with a Sling Blade and TWO Dragon Suplexes and kick out?!?! I am actually kinda annoyed at this point. I am like why are they going for the bloated finish run. Ishii is selling the neck great it is perfect for the finish with the Dragon Suplex. Ishii put up a great fight, but a bad break caught him. Oh well here is the High Fly Flow to end the match WAIT Tanahashi missed it?!?!? La Magistral Cradle gives Ishii one more nearfall. Ishii cant even stand. He stumbles and collapses. Strike exchange, fer fucks sake. Ishii blitzes him with elbow combos, SICK NASTY TANAHASHI HEADBUTT! Dragon Suplex->Ishii hits back headbutt. Tanahashi SLAPS him. Ishii enziguiri. NO WAY! This is not happening. Brainbuster -> kick out. Oh cmon! No! NO! NO! STEINER SCREWDRIVER! ISHII WINS! Fuck it this is excess done right. They totally had me fooled. Totally. Ishii selling the neck, I was all in on the Tanahashi win. I was like Ishii put in a nice little blue chipper performance. If he had hit the Brainbuster he might have won, but Tanahashi countered and a bad landing fucked him. That would have been great. But Ishii would not be denied. They went in a different direction and I think they covered for it well. Tanahashi missing High Fly Flow gives Ishii the opening. He hits the desperation headbutt to stop the Dragon Suplex that would have killed him and then hits the enziguiri on the rocked Tanahashi to set up his two big bombs. You really cant do a better job of transitioning from he is fucking dead to winning a match. The beginning of this is excellent. There is some stuff in the middle with people no selling shit and my general distaste for strike exchanges that keep this from *****, but off the top of my head this is the third best New Japan match I have seen from this era (2012-2015), only behind Tanahashi/Nakamura Invasion Attack & AJ/Minoru Suzuki. Really incredible. ****3/4