Superstar Sleeze

Bray Wyatt is a great offensive wrestler. Always said that. More often than his matches are good. His gimmick is so toxic that I can't care about his matches, this maybe the worst main event gimmick ever. The character has ZERO motivations for his actions.

I want Sonya Deville to win because I am a huge mark for her. I think Alexa Bliss will win. I think Sasha should win aka who I would book to win. My mom wants Bayley to win.

NEVER Openweight Champion Tetsuya Naito vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW 2/11/14 First fifteen minutes: The story seem to be going for here is that more agile Naito trying to play Ishii's game and winning. At first he does not fare too well and a dropkick gives Naito his first advantage. The crowd is booing Naito hard and they love Ishii as the underdog. Naito is suffering the backlash pushed WWE babyfaces usually face. Naito regains advantage by headbutting Ishii into submission. I get you want to prove Naito is tough, but he does not look tough and it comes across as an inauthentic story. Naito flying around with dropkicks and splashes looked way better than going toe to toe with Ishii and winning. Ishii had some great offense as usual, delayed superplex and powerbomb looked great. Ishii is the master of selling the back of the neck. Naito gets a firm advantage with a German and Ishii does a great job selling it. Naito fucks up a Top Rope Frankensteiner. He is a lackluster performer. Just not a lot of presence. Ishii is carrying this. Another great German from Naito. Ishii lariats him out of his boots, but they go back to the stand up strike exchange and Naito wins again. I get the story. I just don't believe in the story. Last ten minutes: Welp that was a lot of strike exchanges. Yeah. Naito misses a Stardust press. The crowd goes bonkers! Ishii hits a MASSIVE SUPERPLEX! Huge pop! 1-2-NO! That should have been the finish. Naito Kappo Kick->Dragon Suplex gets two. Hey another strike exchange that's exactly what this match needs. Naito headbutts Ishii hard. I mean real hard. Ishii kicks him back of the head. BRAINBUSTAHHHHHHH and Ishii wins and the crowd is pumped. I guess you can say Naito played Ishii game and that's why he lost, but they kinda dropped the ball there at the end to really drive it him. That Stardust Press miss->Superplex was a molten sequence. Ishii is the King of the Superplex. Overwrought at times, but still hot as hell down the stretch. ***1/2

NEVER Openweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW Power Struggle 11/8/14 It is funny I cant explain it but Ishii looks like a great midcarder. Like an Arn Anderson. Ishii is going to rock the midcard and give reliable performances. You aren't disappointed when he doesn't crack the main event or loses a big match because he is a compelling midcarder. Yet someone like Hirooki Goto is looked at as a disappointment. Even in this match, I thought Ishii was a definitively better wrestler. Better offense, better selling, better at getting over the bigger moments. But I am not disappointed in Ishii not making the main event. I am disappointed in Goto. It is weird. I cant articulate why that is. As far as the "let me stand here and let you hit me" matches, this is probably the best of that genre. There is a moment in the beginning where Goto was taking punishment but starts to hulk up and Ishii does a fantastic job getting over the concern that Goto is hulking up and then when Goto blasts him with a chop or lariat (forget which at this point) Ishii sells it so damn well. That's what I meant earlier about Ishii being better at getting over those big moments. Ishii's offense looked damn good. Two of the best superplexes I have ever seen. Just the perfect amount of delay to really make them feel grand. At the end of this was two midcarders doing Hashimoto vs Choshu. Hashimoto and Choshu earn the right to do that match. The defiance, the lariats, machismo. I like watching two dudes hit each other really hard too, but it is disposable if you don't have the gravitas of Hashimoto and Choshu. Those lariats were ferocious. There were some INSANE headbutts. The penultimate lariat Ishii hits should have been the finish. I thought he caved in Goto's chest. BRAINBUSTAHHHH takes it for Ishii. These are big, dumb, fun matches but ultimately they have no staying power and there is nothing wrong with that. That's why the midcard exists. ***3/4

Damnit, I didn't realize there was a February match. GHC Heavyweight Champion Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Minoru Suzuki - NOAH 12/2/16 This was during the period where NOAH was a satellite promotion of New Japan where NJPW sent Suzuki & Suzuki-gun to NOAH and NOAH sent Marufuji and Nakajima for the G1. Nakajima is the champ and this is a One Night Cruise in Korauken Hall. I love Japanese event names. I had high expectations for this match while I thought this was great, I didn't come away thinking this was a match of the year contender. There were a lot of strike exchanges while it was finally paid off with Suzuki punching himself out and Nakajima going all Misawa on his ass. There were just too many. I enjoyed Suzuki's leg work but I had no illusions that it would be meaningful. I love Nakajima but his bread and butter is his kicks. I always like a good chair shot to the knee though. I thought the transitions in the match were lacking. People were not missing moves rather people were just saying it is my turn now. Nakajima kicks Suzuk a bunch and then sleeper and brainbuster. I liked the use of the sleeper to setup offense. More people should do that. Nakajima kicks Suzuki's head off and it is sold as such. Then Suzuki dropkicks him out of nowhere. Great dropkick but it felt wrong. Suzuki uses the sleeper to try to set up the piledriver, but it didn't work. Nakajima dropkicks now. Then Suzuki shoves the ref into Nakajima. At this point the match goes from solid hard hitting into wrestling and taking it next level with good storytelling. Suzuki punches Nakajima in the face while the ref is discombobulated. He calls for the troops, but no one comes out. Nakajima recovers. Now here comes that strike exchange I referenced earlier with Suzuki punching himself out. Great selling from Suzuki and then Nakajima lights him up like he is the Second Coming of Misawa. Great elbow combinations and then Roaring Elbows. Nice German, finishing combination is kick his head off and then the Brainbuster for the win. I thought the body of the match was entertaining but didn't really have a hook. Nakajima was not really proving himself to Suzuki. Suzuki worked a body part but there was not much drama. There were a lot of strike exchanges. The finish run is very strong and tells a great story of Nakajima rising to the occasion to defeat a legend of pro wrestling. ****

Pete Dunne vs Mark Andrews - WWE UK Tournament 1/15/17 Pete Dunne pulls off a completely opposite performance than his quarterfinal match. Instead of being a bumping heel that takes advantage of an opportunity, he is a bruising heel working on top and feeding great hope spots to the babyface. Mark Andrews is your traditional high flyer from Wales. He was grabbing his neck before the match. Andrews' big move is the shooting star press. Dunne gets a bodyslam early and goes for a cover. Love it! Nasty chinlock. I love how they pepper in hope spots. Andrews gets a great dive over the top. Dunne goes after the nose and fingers. When he tries to stomp the hand on the steps, Andrews snaps off a rana. I am loving this pacing. The perfect blend of bruising heel on top and high flying babyface hope spots. Dunne gets a nasty suplex/bodyslam on the apron. Another in the ring. On third attempt, Andrews does an indy-riffic counter. 1-2-NO! Shooting Star? Eats knees. I would have loved that as the finish, but I understand wanting to put Dunne over more definitively. They give Andrews some more hope spots down the stretch, but it was clear that Dunne was taking this. Great three move combination to polish off the high flyer: German into the buckles, Suplex/Bodyslam and then his finish. I don't like his finish because it is very indy, but I am definitely a Dunne fan. He is a mean, nasty heel. He can let the babyface take most of the match or he can work on top. I like that versatility. There was more modern wrestling that crept into this match (stupid shit like Dunne blasting Andrews with a forearm and then Andrews snapping off a rana), but for the most part it was a strong exhibition of bruising heel on top and a babyface snapping off hope spots and then the heel snuffing it out. Loved the pacing. ****

Tyler Bate vs Wolfgang - WWE UK Tournament 1/15/17 All good things must come to end. This was a return to Earth for the tournament. A perfectly serviceable match but nothing to write home about. Wolfgang is much bigger and burlier than most of the competitors of this tournament that look like juniors. They do play up the size differential but Wolfgang just is not that menacing of a heel. It is very basic stuff that isn't really followed up on. Wolfgang may have a broken nose going into this match as it was bloodied in the Seven match. There was a good punch by Bate again not followed up. Bate dropkicked the knee again not followed up. There were pieces of a great match but did not materialize. Wolfgang misses his Swanton Bomb, but gets a spear. I feel like those moves should have been flipped in the order. Bate gets a Tiger Driver '97 to advance to the Finals. Not a bad match just average.

Tyler Bate vs Jordan Devlin - WWE UK Tournament 1/15/17 Another great match from this tourney! Why is it great, you may ask? Because it focused on time-tested tradition of babyface/heel dynamics. This is the Quarters. Bate is a surprise 19 year old success. He has a moustache which makes him look older than he is. He is a crowd favorite. Devlin is an Irishman and is naturally the heel in England. The previous night he busted open his opponent with kick to the back of the head and knocked him out post-match. Devlin was a great heel in this. Bate is having fun. He is 19. He is happy to be there. He shows up Devlin by faking shaking his hand. So Devlin is pissed and attacks. Bate fights though this attack and EARNS his suicide dive. I love watching Devlin RETREAT in the ring into a corner. Then thumb Bate in the eye. These are BASIC heel things that everyone should be doing. Babyfaces move forward and heels move backwards. I forget who said that. But God is it genius! Devlin takes advantage and goes on offense but in doing so he showcases Bate's neck strength with a bridge spot. Bate gets a monkey flip. Goes for an airplane spin always a crowd pleaser. They do a good job teasing big moves like a Bate Tiger Driver and a Devlin moonsault. Devlin gets in that wicked kick that busted open his opponent the previous night, but Bate is not as injured as the ref is checking him which loses valuable time for Devlin. Devlin takes the BAIT of the right and Bate nails him with the left. TIGER DRIVER '97!!! Im all in on this UK Tournament. Traditional pro wrestling lives! ***1/2

Pete Dunne vs Sam Gradwell - WWE UK Tournament 1/15/17 Holy shit! This was awesome! How has no one talked about this? Pete Dunne is a little shit that calls himself a Brusierweight. Sam Gradwell is a hometown boy from Blackpool. This is the Quarters. Dunne attacked and injured Gradwell the previous night of the tournament. EXCELLENT BABYFACE SHINE! In 2017, not only did we get a babyface shine, we got a great one. BUMPING HEELS STILL EXIST! Gradwell is pissed and is taking no shit. I love not only the fire and intensity of Gradwell, but I love how Dunne is still fight back and GRADWELL IS FIGHTING THROUGH DUNNE! Gradwell great suicide dive. Dunne suplexed him on the ramp last night. So Gradwell suplexes him on the ramp. Love the revenge spot. Gradwell his a missile dropkick, but lands on the bad back. OH NO! Dunne hits a German suplex, but Gradwell is still fired up and keeps coming. Dive to the floor again. Gradwell is on fire and Dunne is actually a good bump n run heel. Did I wake up in 1986, this is incredible! Dunne pushes Gradwell off the top rope injuring the back and Dunne bodyslams Gradwell into the turnbuckles to win the match. Dunne got three moves of offense. THATS HOW IT SHOULD BE! The babyface should be kicking ass. The heel does a bullshit thing like knock him off the top rope to take advantage of injury and quickly win the match. He didn't hit his finish. He hit a violent move that took advantage of the injury. This blew my expectations out of the water. This is pro wrestling! ****

Katsuhiko Nakajima vs KENOU - NOAH 10/14/17 I love this type of pro wrestling. Just ultra-stiff, beat the shit out of each other wrestling. If I am going to watch mindless pro wrestling I would much rather watch this than a bunch of flips or overdramatic selling. This is apart of the Global League, I think, NOAH's version of the Champions Carnival. KENOU is an M-Pro wrestler that I have seen face Fujita Jr Hayato. I always thought he was good not great. Nakajima is one of my absolute favorites and had the chance to see him in 2009 in person for ROH against Kenny Omega of all people. KENOU would go on to win the GHC Championship in December from Eddie Edwards and is the reigning champion as of this writing. Nakajima was the person Edwards had beaten. Very KENTA-style juniors match but with even more emphasis on strikes. These two absolute blow away KO/Zayn lame paddycake specials that they always start their matches off with by absolutely trying to knock each other's heads off with forearms. The kicks in this match were breath-taking both literally and figuratively. I could watch Nakajima kick all day. You watch this and New Japan needs to stop with the strike exchange in every match. Tanahashi, Naito and Okada just cant do that well. These two show you how you do a strike exchange. They were just blitzing each other with kicks. I wish they wouldn't do headbutts since what happened to Shibata. I loved the suplexes on the outside. There was some leg psychology in there, but lets be honest this was all about trying to cave one and another's chest in. I think Nakajima clearly has more charisma of the two and is more interesting to watch, but he needs a rival and needed a break from being the champion. So I think KENOU makes sense to build up. Fujita Jr Hayato has not wrestled since April of 2017, but he should be brought in. I thought the struggles over suplexes was good. I thought the match had plenty of struggle and urgency. It was just the lack of transitions and overall narrative that hurts it. This was a balls to the wall 25 minute sprint that never lets up. No lame Oscar-bait selling to take up time. Just kicking ass. The struggle over the suplexes shows that if these guys could hit suplexes it could be over. At the end when Nakajima hits that roundhouse kick to KENOU's head I thought it was over. BRAINBUSTER! Time limit draw. One of the best draws ever because they never telegraph it they just go all out. Instead of a spotfest, I would call this a stiffest, very BattlArts in that way and very enjoyable to watch. ****1/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 8/11/17 Watched this still amped up from that insane Russian Figure Skating Final. Alina Zagitova is the GOAT! But now I am fading so lets keep this short & sweet. Naito beat Tanahashi at WrestleKingdom. Tanahashi beat Naito for the I-C title in June. This is the rubber match. Not as good as Dominion better than WrestleKingdom. Very similar to Dominion but lacks the heated start and the great heeling from Naito. The arm work begins when Naito dropkicks the arm on the reverse crossbody attempt. Remember the WrestleKingdom heat segment began the same way but dropkick was to the knee instead of arm. I thought the arm work was not as tight here. Tanahashi got the same transition catching the dropkick into a dragon leg screw. HIGH FLY FLOW to the outside always a Martin pleaser. Naito stopping a dragon leg screw in the ropes by wrenching the arm into the ropes and then a dropkick to arm was a good spot. They repeat the Top Rope Frankensteiner into a Tanahashi rollup. Pop-up Dragon Leg Screw from Tanahashi. I feel like the body of this match means less than Dominion. Dominion they were really trying to debilitate one another. Here things just aren't as a tight. Where they make up a lot of ground is the finis stretch. I would say this has a better finish stretch than Dominion and it is one of the best home stretches I have seen in a while. Dramatic and economical. Naito goes for the Destino off the ropes. Pretty much that was the move that won him Wrestle Kingdom. Tanahashi blocks with a dragon leg whip off the top into a Texas Cloverleaf, which is the submission hold that won him the Championship at Dominion. Awesome play there. Naito gets the ropes. So you got to feel that Naito's turn now. He hits the Destino, kick out. Which is similar to WrestleKingdom. He just needs to hit it again, but Tanahashi counters into an Overdrive, not once, not twice, but three times! Tanahashi calling for SlingBlade, which is the precursor to High Fly Flow. Naito catches Tanahashi in the SlingBlade and counters into an Destino. Hits one more Destino for good measure. You would be hard pressed to find a better finish stretch. Great callbacks, exact right amount of twists and turns to lead to a climatic finish. Thought the body of the match was not as good as these two are capable of. Really amazing finishing stretch, I can see if you can care more about the back half of matches rating this the highest of the three. ****1/2

IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 6/11/17 First Fifteen Minutes: Fucking eh! Best first fifteen minutes I have seen out of New Japan in 2017. Hatred, intensity, energy and great psychology. I love that Tanahashi jumps Naito while Naito is still in his entrance get up. We see a pissed off Tanahashi. I don't think I have seen that before. I loved Tanahashi dropkicking him off the apron. Tanahashi has a sleeve on the arm. He European uppercuts Naito and favors his arm. Naito takes advantage. I love how the crowd is booing everything Naito does. Naito goes for an armbar takedown and is able to dropkick the arm. He takes off his entrance gear to do his signature pose! I love it! Naito does a great job of mixing strong psychology with heel tactics. Holding onto a short arm scissors in the ropes, getting boobs. Spitting on Tanahashi, slapping him in the back of the head. Tanahashi cant take it, double legs him and wails on him and they boo! I love the consistency from the audience. One Japanese teenager gives Tanahashi a polite golf clap as he spits on Naito. Awesome! I love Tanahashi getting gnarly. He goes for the leg, but Naito fights it off. Springboard dropkick to the arm. NICE! Naito goes for that signature Jeff Hardy like mule kick in the corner and Tanahashi CATCHES HIM INTO A DRAGON LEG WHIP! I marked out so hard. Single leg trip to the outside. Dragon leg screw. HIGH FLY FLOW TO THE OUTSIDE! Tanahashi goes for the Texas Cloverleaf, but cant get it. Another dragon leg screw, but Naito blocks and wrings Tanahashi down by the arm. I am loving Naito commitment to the arm and being a heel. SWEET running dropkick to the arm. He gets his mule kick right to the arm. Last Ten Minutes: Naito continues the good arm work, holds, attacking in a chickenwing, backbreaker on the arm. Top Rope Frakensteiner, but Tanahashi rolls through. Good hope spot. HIGH FLY FLOW! Crashes and burns. Amazing selling by Tanahashi. I have to say that throughout this match great selling by Tanahashi. Slaps are exchanged. I always forget that a strike exchange has to happen. Tanahashi gets a great Human Capture Suplex out of this. His arm cant hold up. Naito gets a tornado DDT, German Suplex and a Destino. Three head drops, BUT Tanahashi survives! Naito goes for Destino again like at 1/4, but Tanahashi's arm cant hold up. The arm work worked against Naito! Sling Blade! Nakamura's taunt?!? HIGH FLY FLOW! 1-2-NO! TEXAS CLOVERLEAF! Naito taps out. What the hell! A submission victory in Japan, when the hell does that ever happen. New Japan MOTY of 2017. Hiroshi Tanahashi does it again. He is the greatest of his generation. ****3/4

I agree with Sek, the first pop that came to my mind was the pop Austin gets for coming out to help Mankind is insane because it is NOT just the noise, it is the visual of every single person POPPING out of their seat too.

IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW 11/5/17 First Fifteen Minutes: Tanahashi 101 in all its glory. I could watch Tanahashi do his thing forever. It is such great meat & potatoes pro wrestling. It is all set up by a very even start on the mat. Ibushi thinks he as an opening for his Triple Jump Moonsault to the outside, but it is way too early for that. He comes down and BAM Tanahashi dropkicks his knee while Ibushi is on the apron. Great transition. Great selling from Ibushi. It is classic Tanahashi legwork. There is a great spot where Tanahashi misses an elbow drop then Ibushi does the whiff kick and goes for the standing moonsault, but Tanahashi moves and he drops down straight leg on his knees and then does a great sell. Another great spot is when Tanahashi goes for that classic baseball slide and Ibushi instead hits a double stomp. Good Ibushi fire while still selling the leg on his dropkicks and kicks. Frankensteiner sends Tanahashi out now he hits the moonsault to the floor. Tanahashi gets the dragon leg whip in the ropes. Deep Texas Cloverleaf and Ibushi makes the ropes. This is just great classic pro wrestling. It is something Tanahashi truly excels at. Ibushi is striking the right balance between selling and not dying with good hope spots. Very solid thus far. Final Fifteen Minutes: Ibushi keeps going for bombs too early. Here is a German from the apron back into the ring. Tanahashi fights out this leaves him prey to the dragon leg screw in the ropes. HIGH FLY FLOW TO THE OUTSIDE! I love that spot so much because he is lands so high up on the body. Tanahashi goes for the High Fly Flow in the ring, but Pele Kick knocks him loopy. Now it is time to go for bombs: Top Rope Frankensteiner. HE LAUNCHES TANAHASHI LIKE A LAWN DART INTO THE TURNBUCKLES. Crazy spot! He gets that German he was looking for. Phoenix Splash for the win??? Crashes and burns. Really damn good strike exchange. Those slaps were great and varied they told a great story of Tanahashi trying to demoralize the defiant Ibushi and Ibushi trying to stand up to the Ace. One of the best strike exchanges I have ever seen. Ibushi hits a Last Ride. There is a weird miscoummunication. Tanahashi gets the Sling Blade, Dragon Suplex and two High Fly Flows to capture the win. Just a great Tanahashi outing. His formula executed perfectly, Ibushi made mistakes going for big moves early. He would get the big moves later which showed he needed patience. Ultimately, Phoenix Splash miss did him in and even though he remained defiant, Tanahashi was the one who strung together his winning combination to take the match. Stellar match. ****1/4

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW 4/9/17 Don't know how long this goes, but on the off chance we are going long. Lets break this up. First Fifteen Minutes: Thank God for Shibata! A dude who when he has a wrestling gimmick actually wrestles. Unlike 95% of the people where "wrestler" gimmicks just means workrate. The opening section seems to me to be where Shibata is trying to get into Okada's head by showing Okada that he is clearly the superior wrestler. This can negate a lot of that championship advantage by eroding away Okada's confidence. Shibata was countering and taking Okada down at will. Full mount ride. Inviting Okada to mount him. Cross armbreaker attempt. Tricked out escapes. Shibata showed up the champ. Okada is the International WRESTLING Grand Prix Champion and Shibata just showed the whole world is a whole lot better at wrestling than Okada. So what is Okada to do? In my mind, I am thinking dropkick. To me, that's his great equalizer. Okada goes a different route. He does not give a clean break and goes for forearms in the corner. Normally, I would say punching someone in the mouth is a good strategy, but you are playing right into Shibata's hand. Shibata says you want to play that way I can play that way. Shibata proceeds to kick off Okada's head and win a forearm exchange pretty handily. For some reason, Shibata is committed to the ground attack. Figure-4, Inoki Indian Deathlock. Taking out the legs should take out the dropkick, the biggest Okada weapon. Of course, the Okada dropkicking his opponent off the top rope comes here. Didn't love it. Okada needed something, but I think a more out of nowhere dropkick to the head would have been better, but I completely agree that Okada needed offense to avoid dying. Okada presses the advantage and gets a Hangmans DDT off the railing. This is what you need to do against shooters. Create advantages and hit bombs. Okada ends the first fifteen minute with one of his neck cranks. I love the layout thus far. I think Shibata's nonchalant shooter attitude is great. Okada is slipping between good Okada (great selling) and bad Okada (apathy). What is killing me right now is I am not seeing a lot of intensity. It definitely felt more like a sparring exhibition early and it feels like some things are being down at half-speed without urgency. I definitely don't see a perfect match right now, but with a strong finish run I think MOTYC is very possible with this strong of an open. Second Ten Minutes: Okada holds onto the neck crank extra long even in the face of the rope break. I think that demonstrates that Okada takes Shibata seriously. The whole Shibata inviting Okada to elbow him and then Shibata fells him with one blow was a perfectly fine spot, but it doesn't go anywhere. Okada ends up taking control a couple minutes later with a big boot. I like how Okada has to earn his finish run. Shibata blocks the top rope elbow drop and tombstone before Okada hits the flapjack and then Okada gets the top rope elbow drop. Rainmaker->Shibata STO. Then they go into a strike exchange where Okada fares a lot better. I think this is to show Okada is getting tougher and Shibata is fading. Okada gets a neckbreaker and then a missile dropkick, but Shibata gets a double wristlock out of nowhere as we close out the second ten minutes. The layout is good. Some superfluous stuff but that is fine. Just does not feel exciting to me. Everything feels routine and nonchalant. Last Seventeen Minutes: Here they crank it up! After the double wristlock some really good kicks to the bad arm and then that wicked THWACK to back of Okada's head. Okada has had enough of this fucking disrespect. They sit cross legged and just slap the shit out of each other. Okada finally fires up! This is the fire I have been waiting for. BOMBFEST ensues and it is a damn good one. Okada goes for Rainmaker fights through strikes and Shibata eats it, but doesn't go down. Shibata HEADBUTTS Okada. This results in a career-ending injury. Which is a shame because shoot headbutts never look that great and really aren't worth it. Shibata gets an Octopus and then a sleeper. Okada is selling these for all they are worth. Shibata with a Rainmaker Slap! I LOVE IT! Shibata holding onto the wrist and delivering those kicks was great. Shibata is so damn good at kicking. Shibata goes for the big one and turns his back to run and Okada holds onto the wrist RAINMAKER~! MARK OUT CITY! I loved the last Rainmaker with Shibata cocked and loaded on an elbow but Okada lands the Rainmaker Lariat for the win. Too much filler in the middle to call this a perfect match. They were wrestling at half speed in the front half while it was a good layout. It was mostly superfluous. They could have just went from the opening matwork to the finish and had an amazing 20-25 minute match. I thought Shibata's offense did not really progress until the last seventeen minutes. I liked Okada's performance a lot. Great selling and great at putting over how much of a threat Shibata is. Okada slowly making in roads and slowly becoming tougher was great. The finish run was intense, high energy fireworks spectacle. Shibata was the cocky shooter that did not take shit seriously until it was too late. He could have put Okada away early but kept toying and in doing so sapped his own energy. Okada started gaining more and more confidence. Even though, Shibata looked to have it in the bag, his arrogance did him in as he mistakenly let Okada grab his wrist. Great story of a shooter's hubris and the resiliency of a pro wrestler. ****1/2

I saw this thread and I was like Holy Midcard, Batman! Then it dawned on me that I watched this match and was fucking atrocious. So many stilted spots and everything just seemed out of sorts. Totally forgot about this match and how terrible it was. I popped for "It's not hot!"

Phil calling this CrossFit wrestling and deriding it is exactly what I have been trying to articulate. So thank you and yes this style sucks. What is so annoying about this style is that it is both too fast and too slow. Way too much dramatic selling in between spots. But then during the action there is NO struggle so it is too fast. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega - NJPW 1/4/17 I have reached Pro Wrestling Nirvana...I don't know what to do now...lol...nah. Long match lets break it down First Fifteen Minutes: I have not seen Okada since 2015. Dude has improved LIGHT YEARS! Way more expressive. He is no longer a stone-faced, apathetic douche. He is interesting, sympathetic babyface. Very happy to see that. Kenny Omega's Terminator entrance was pretty good, not as good as Hunter's but a good try. Strong perfunctory New Japan opening matwork. I liked the solid side headlock and the nearfall attempts. Omega avoiding Okada's dropkick, Okada avoiding Omega's finish, then Omega avoiding the Rainmaker Lariat was a good sequence. Big complaint about the match: NO STRUGGLE! Omega gets back in and then gets kicked in the head in seated position. How did Okada earn his position on top? In fairness the next big spot, which is like a minute later (way too much over dramatic selling) Omega does block the suplex only to eat a Hangman's DDT. I really liked Okada crossbody over the railing on Omega. I thought Okada wrestled really strong in the first third. Omega's was not doing too much. Again, Omega does NOT really earn his heat segment. It just sort of happens. Okada is AMAZING at selling those forearms to the back. Neither guy should be doing a strike exchange. Get another Omega finish tease. Omega hits the AJ Styles dive to the outside. Then bodyslams Okada into the apron. Okada is pretty much ruling everything right now. Omega looks like every other video game wrestler. Second Fifteen Minutes: I am in utter shock this got six stars. I was expecting something like Cena/Owens on steroids. This is so plodding and meandering. Omega hits a dropkick to the back of head. Looked awesome. I hate moves where people stand around and look dazed. Dean Ambrose elbow to a standing opponent comes to mind. Match meanders until Okada hits a suplex thingy out of nowhere. Okada's fire is great on his comeback. He really does look awesome. Omega has a funny way of feeding for him. He just keeps running at him full speed. He seems like a massive toolbox. I have to be fair Okada applies and absolutely terrible submission. He does not wrap the legs right at all and then gives Omega a shoulder massage. What the fuck. Anyways, Okada misses the elbow drop. Backbreaker. People made a point to talk about the back psychology but I don't really feel like it has been present. This is definitely about the few and far between high spots. Okada ends up over the railing, Omega does a cool moonsault. I am not trying to be an asshole. It is legitimately cool moonsault. DOUBLE STOMP ON TABLE! Ok, we are getting better. Powerbomb->1-2->KICKOUT! They do the big sell. Okada is dead. Omega cant believe it and there bodies are entangled. THERE IS TWENTY FUCKING MINUTES LEFT IN THIS MATCH AND THEY GO FOR THAT SELL! ARE YOU SHITTING ME? More stuff happens. Okada hits that dropkick to an opponent perched on the top and Omega takes a nasty spill. FINALLY! A good transition. They tease Okada putting Omega through a table that does not happen. Last Fifteen Minutes: I lost track of everything. Things I remember: Omega taking a nutty backdrop over the top rope through a table. Awesome spot. There was a super Dragon Suplex. Awesome spot. A Dragonrana. Great spot. I thought this was definitely the best fifteen minutes because they dropped all pretenses and just had a spotfest. There was some unnecessary melodrama here and there, but they tightened thing up for the most part and delivered an exciting finish. There was even some struggle with Okada hitting a Rainmaker through a barrage of kicks. Omega stealing all of Okada's stuff was kinda lame. I was actually pretty happy Okada won because he is clearly a better wrestler and Omega is a tool. All in all, I feel like I should apologize to Cena & Owens. I bitched and moaned about their spotfest, but at least it was exciting and action-packed. This was both too fast and too slow at the same time. Tons of downtime trying milk drama but nothing had any consequence. Then when the spots did happen they usually happened way too fast without any struggle. Omega just running at Okada to feed almost every spot was hilarious. You look like a fucking moron, dude. There were enough good highspots from Omega to say and enough good work from Okada to say this is good, but not even great. Okada does look like a world class pro wrestler now. Great selling, great fire, damn good moveset. It is not even the opponent. Omega could be a good wrestler. The layout was brutal. I actually believe these two can go 45 minutes. They have enough stuff. It is just the pacing was terrible and nothing had any consequence. Yeah there was some loose back psychology and the fact that Omega was desperately trying to unseat Okada, but nothing mattered until the end. Why not just do a ten minute sprint? Length does not mean strength. ***1/4

IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 1/4/17 GO ACE! When did Tanahashi get old? Tanahashi is chicken soup for the traditional pro wrestling fan's soul. I saw this was going to go about 30 minutes from the timestamps and I kinda groaned. I never checked the time again. They had me the whole time. There is something just so logical about Tanahashi's matches that keeps me engaged and never lets my mind wander. They don't do the perfunctory amateur wrestling open (has that been scrapped?). Instead they opt for showing up each other. Naito forces Tanahashi to duck outside the ring so he does his signature taunt. Back in Tanahashi tags him with a dropkick and Tanahashi does his air guitar taunt. Naito was a fabulous heel in the front half of the match. Sadly that waned over time. We got an irreverent attitude with plenty of cheating: hair pulling, eye rakes and spitting. I hate spitting so that's an easy way to get over as a heel in my book. Tanahashi goes for a reverse crossbody, but Naito dropkicks the knee. Tanahashi does a great job selling and feeding the knee for Naito's offense. There is some cute shit like having the ref hold Tanahashi's leg while he kicks it, but it is mostly traditional hard work. Naito does a great job working in those aforementioned heel tendencies. Tanahashi never dies. WWE wrestlers need to learn this lesson. Naito uses the knee as a cutoff. Now anybody who has watched Tanahashi knows what is coming. Tanahashi attacks the knee. It is Tanahashi 101. I loved the SlingBlade on the apron (GREAT SPOT) and then a fucking FANTASTIC HIGH FLY FLOW from the top rope to the floor. He really wipes out Naito. It is modern pro wrestling so there are some things I would switch the order of, but overall it is good work. I really liked the Naito keylock on the bad knee (think a short arm scissors but on the leg) and then Tanahashi converting this into a Cloverleaf. Once Naito makes the ropes, Tanahasi goes all in on the High Fly Flow. I love people that jump into the High Fly Flow. He misses the second one. Since turning heel, Naito has a new shitty finisher. Ugh. It is like an even worse version of Selena Del Sol. he gets one, but on the second one Tanahashi hits a Drift Away. I hate that move too. Strike exchange. These two just should not do strike exchanges. They kick each other's knees. DRAGON SUPLEX! Tanahashi hits High Fly Flow! Second one, eats knees! Naito ENZIGUIRI! Destino (I think that's name)-> Kick out! Destino again gets the victory. I loved the first twenty-twenty-two minutes of this. Just great escalating action with strong body psychology and strong face/heel dynamics. Last five minutes was alright. I am not going to hold the Destino against Naito even though I don't like those moves I can check that at the door. I think the Destino off the ropes should have been the finish. I actually thought this was very tasteful in regards to false finish. It was really just that Destino and then second did Tanahashi in. There was really no big Tanahashi nearfall. I feel like the last five minutes was kinda tacked on to an excellent match and it didn't really climax, but they lost that face/heel dynamic that was really driving the heat early. Enough excellent work early on to make this an easy recommendation. ****1/4

Antonio Inoki vs The Great Muta - NJPW 5/1/84 Fukuoka Dome To me this was the whole point of over one year long Great Muta IWGP Title Reign was to set up this match for Inoki's Final Countdown! Think about it Chono never gets this match. Hashimoto never gets this match. Keiji Mutoh does not get this match. The Great Muta gets this match. The Great Muta is the last great character of the Inoki era. Inoki vs Muta main events the Fukuoka Dome drawing 53000+ showing that Muta is a worthy challenger. One of things I like about Inoki is clearly likes the theatre elements of pro wrestling. Even though he is a strait-laced shooter and loves shooting, he also loves wildmen characters. The Great Muta is the last of his kind. On paper, you would think this is probably going to suck, but you also know there is an outside chance this is going to be incredible. It is not the hidden gem that is Great Muta vs Tatsumi Fujinami from 1991. Lots and lots of stalling from Muta in the beginning. Inoki is clearly getting up there in age and he has to work around his limitations. Early matwork is tepid. The match picks up at the ten minute mark when GREEN MIST~! OH NO DOUBLE MIST~! Suplex on the ramp, running lariat on the ramp, which is silly, but I like it. Piledriver on the table! Muta claws open Inoki's forehead to get some blood flowing. It is pretty slow in between spots, but Muta is building drama and is getting violent. Violent Muta >>>> Stalling Muta. Inoki gets an enziguiri on the floor and then a kappo kick in the ring. He has life. There is this stupid rope ladder. That Muta tried to climb early in the match and know here he tries to use it dropkick Inoki does not work. At least he chokes him with it. Inoki grabs a sleeper, but the ref declares it is a choke and makes him break. Inoki reaches down to pick up Muta GREEN MIST~! OH SHIT! BACKBREAKER! MOONSAULT 1-2-NO! BACKBREAKER! MOONSAULT! 1-2-NO! The Dome is rocking because Inoki is knocking! Inoki sidesteps the back handspring elbow. Choke->pin 1-2-3! That actual finish was a bit anticlimactic, but that mist->backbreaker->moonsault run was hot! If they JIP this ten minutes in right at the first Mist, you could be fooled into thinking this is a good match. Mist, blood, piledrivers this was the bare minimum to send everyone home happy. Inoki just didn't seem to have much to offer and Muta did the best he could. Still a HUGE match in the grand scheme of things. It shows how BIG The Great Muta character had become. He wrestled HULK HOGAN and ANTONIO INOKI in back to back Donakatu Dome Shows (Early May Dome Shows). Goes to show you that The Great Muta character was a huge deal in Japan.

IWGP Tag Team Champions The Steiner Brothers vs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki - NJPW 5/31/91 Crash The Super Heavy! The Steiners lifted the tag belts off Hase & Sasaki at the Dome in March. This is the rematch. The Steiners are in matching pinstripes, which is unusual for the Steiners. Hase is fired up. Crowd is behind Hase. Inoki is in attendance. Hase and Scotty are always a good pairing. Lots of great amateur sequences early. I love the heel pick ups and counters. Hase ahas the best when he nails an enziguiri sending Scotty out of the ring. Hase misses a dropkick. I love the urgency from Scotty with that quick elbow drop. Big Oklahoma Slam on Hase. He sets Hase on the top rope never give your opponent the high ground. Hase makes him pay. Hase rocks him with a punch. Nasty hotshot by Scott on Hase. This is an electric opening. Scott goes for multiple covers. Nice bridge by Hase. I love bridges. Hase gets a spinning heel kick, but Scott gets a throw tags in Rick. Rick barks at the moon! Sasaki in. Rick Steiner has ONE OF THE BEST German Suplexes you will ever see! Sasaki sells this by teasing a countout loss on the outside. That German deserves all the selling in the world and Sasaki does it justice. Scotty throws Kensuke back in. Sasaki bullies Rick back into Hase's corner and they hit a double clothesline. Good tag strategy especially after eating that German. Hase grinds Rick's arm. Rick breaks free with punches and then a belly to belly. I really don't think Sasaki & Hase can win a bomb throwing game. SASAKI WITH A BULLDOG! Maybe I am wrong. He is going for a tombstone. The old tombstone reversal and Rick DRILLS Kensuke into the mat. Sasaki fires back with some great punches. He is teeing off and Rick does a great job making Kensuke earn the pop and that leads to a bigger pop. Scott comes in before the tag. There is a great scuffle here. Scott is worried about Rick. In the fracas, Rick and Kensuke clothesline each other. Rick tags in Scott. It is a pump handle slam. This had to be Sasaki & Hase's biggest worry a fresh Scotty Steiner. They do the hoist up and elbow drop for two as Hase saves. They have Sasaki firmly in their corner. Things get chippy between Scotty & Hase. Scott bowls Sasaki over with the POUNCE! Period. I liked Monty Brown. Scott applies a Dragon Sleeper. This has been great tag wrestling from Steiners. Really keeping Kensuke in their half. Over head belly to belly. Now it is Rick's turn and it is from the middle rope. Chinlock. I would say that this has been better than Dome due to more zip on the moves and more chippiness. It seems more like a struggle than the Dome. Kensuke gets a superplex and then Hase does his best Beautiful Bobby impression flying into the screen with a diving kneedrop on Scotty. Kensuke applies the Scorpion Deathlock. Bad idea. Should have tagged. Hase wipes out Rick from interfering. Lots of drama as they fight on the floor. Rick breaks free. Kensuke breaks hold to LARIAT RICK! Kensuke re-applies the hold! I love it! Big struggle over the ropes. That was well done. Scotty nails a Tiger Driver. Yep it is the Steiners and I love it! Tag to big brother Rick. Inverted Oklahoma Stampede. Rick drops Kensuke on his head with an inverted suplex. Kensuke responds with his own powerslam. Kensuke needs a tag in the worst way. Double tag! Scotty hits a tilt-a-whirl slam. So much for a Hase hot tag. The crowd has been quenched. Uncle Slam from the top rope. Top rope over head belly to belly. Hase hits an urnage! Northern Lights! 1-2-no! Kensuke dropkick. Hase/Scotty dropkick at the same time. Rick puts Hase on his shoulders Top rope DDT! Sasaki saves! WHAT THE FUCK?!? FRANKENSTEINER! 1-2-3! Some people say that this had better structure. I think I know what you all mean, but it is not the word I would use. I thought this had better energy. Everything had zip on it. Everything felt urgent. The chippiness between teams. The constant flesh on flesh, knockdown drag out fights gave this some extra heat. Definitely one of the better Steiner matches. Some really damn good power spots and I LOVE power wrestling. ****

Shinya Hashimoto vs Tony Halme - NJPW 9/23/91 Different Style Fight SWEEP THE LEG SHINYA! This feud was very instrumental into giving Hashimoto that legit badass credibility he needed to draw in New Japan. In no other promotion was it more important to be legit. Losing two in a row to Halme and getting KO'd in the second fight and missing four months was actually a big boon to Hashimoto because it gave him a mountain to climb. This is the revenge match! Tony Halme looks like Brock Lesnar and Brian Knobbs had a baby. He is wearing boxing gloves. Again I love his presence in the ring. Very imposing. Shinya Hashimoto looks like a sexy Bray Wyatt at the point in his career. He is all business. Halme's punches are a bit better. I don't left his left jab. It is not always straight. He kinda slaps with it in a poor backfist. When he threw it straight it was better. Hashimoto gets some nice single leg/back heel trip takedowns. But Halme always makes the ropes. Hashimoto makes good in roads by targeting the legs with kicks. This is less interesting in the first because it is all about Hashimoto winning and Halme does not land any really big shots in the first two rounds. At the end of the third round, he clubs Hashimoto in the back of the head which draws a chorus of boos to which Halme yells "Fuck you too!" I love it. Scorpio and Benoit are his cornermen! That's crazy. Fourth round is quick. Hashimoto rocks him with an elbow, Halme tries to show it does not phase him by taunting him by giving him his chin so Hashimoto SWEEPS THE LEG! Pro wrestling time Rainbow heel kick...picks him up...DDT...cross armbreaker, quick tap out. Hashimoto vanquishes the Finnish brute. As a vehicle to cement Hashimoto as a star this was fantastic. Not a terribly interesting match. But there needs to be more discussion around these type of important, star making matches in Japan even if they are not technically good, but they are important.

I fucking love Chad like it is my fucking problem! Roman is way too low, but you can make the argument that he is still making his case. So I'll let it slide. But on the same token, AJ Styles should not be above him. I love AJ to death. If I was doing a straight up GWE right now I have him in my Top 10 of all time easy. You could make a case on inputs that he is the GOAT, but his WWE run is too limited to put him above Roman. On the flip side, I am very happy that my love for AJ has been validated after all these years and that he is getting the credit he deserves. I was hoping Sheamus would crack the Top 50. He is awesome. Chris Benoit is my highest to drop so far as I had him at #11 right under Hulk Hogan at #10. Not surprised. Very polarizing. I don't begrudge anyone who did not vote for him.

Shinya Hashimoto vs Randy Thurton - NJPW 5/31/91 Different Style Fight Shinya Hashimoto path to redemption begins here. He has not wrestled since being KO's by the Finnish bruiser, Tony Halme back in February. I think it was smart to have his first match back be against a new opponent in a Different Style Fight. He gets to regain some credibility en route to beating Halme later in the year. Thurton is a black American kickboxer. I'm surprised he didn't go places. Tall, good looking, in good shape and good presence. Clocking in at ~5 minutes great spring. Tons of energy. Thurton threw some good kicks and wailed on Hashimoto with punches. He bloodied him pretty good. Hashimoto was smart going for takedowns which Thurton evaded. Hashimoto bloodied found a weakness at the end of the first. I love Mutoh as Hashimoto corner man. Hashimoto spits his mouth guard at Thurton at the beginning of the second and it's on! Hashimoto in the flurry pops Thurton good with an elbow. Floors him. Best rainbow spinning heel kick, wipes him out. Head drop duplex and cross arm breaker. Hashimoto is back, bitches! He is coming for you, Tony Halme! ***1/2

Shinya Hashimoto vs Tony Halme - NJPW 2/5/91 Different Style Fight Tony Halme, better known as Ludvig Borga, is a Finnish tough man with some boxing experience. He was brought in by UWF as The Viking, as a sort of big, burly blond brute. New Japan picked him up in 1990 and put him over Shinya Hashimoto in a Different Style Fight on 12/26/90. A big victory over the up and coming Shinya Hashimoto. A Different Style Fight is code for a worked shoot match. It is supposed to be an MMA match before MMA. Obviously, Inoki who made his career on the back of these is a big fan. Hashimoto more than any of the other Musketeers was treated as a legitimate tough guy. I would hesitate to call Hashimoto a shooter, but he was presented as more legitimate and more of a shooter than his contemporaries. I was surprised to find New Japan promoting "Different Style Fights" as early as 1991, I thought that was more of an innovation in the late 90s with Naoya Ogawa, the rise of PRIDE FC and Inokiism. I watched this match while in a boring meeting, shhhhhh don't tell my boss. I finally shelled out for NJPW World. I will say Halme has great presence. He looks like Brock Lesnar. He has boxing gloves on. Hashimoto is in normal wrestling attire. So this is being treated as Wrestler vs Boxer and it is a three round fight. Halme punches don't look great. Big and loopy. He is not putting his hips behind them. Like I said he is menacing but not convincing as a shooter. Hashimoto takes him down and gets a cross armbreaker. God, I hate how this is sold. Jesus even in a Different Style Fight they don't respect the cross armbreaker. Halme starts landing body shots. Hashimoto does a great job selling these body shots. Coughing and looking like the wind is knocked out of him. Hashimoto gets a side mount and a double wristlock. Again poor selling in holds. Halme lands more big shots. In the last round, Hashimoto gets a big throw, which looks awesome but doesn't do much. Halme catches a kick throws a wild haymaker and clips Hashimoto. Draws an eight count. Halme hits a big right forearm shiver way better than his punches. Halme whiffs on a punch but that's the KO blow. Halme goes over Hashimoto again and KOs him. Hashimoto would not wrestle again until May 31st after this match, which I believe was a way to further put over Halme that he put Hashimoto on the shelf for almost four months. It adds some serious drama to their rematch. I like it. This is obviously building to Hashimoto getting his big win back. It was interesting, but it felt more like Brawl for All rather than high level shoot style.

IWGP Tag Team Champions Rick Steiner & Scott Norton vs Hiroshi Hase & Keiji Mutoh - NJPW 11/5/91 Injury Update: Scott Norton is subbing in for the injured Scott Steiner so that they can drop the tag titles. Hiroshi Hase's normal tag partner, Kensuke Sasaki has been out since August and would not return until June of 1992 so Keiji Mutoh is replacing him. Hase & Mutoh do make a great tag team. I think this would a good next step for Mutoh. He is the runner up to Chono in the inaugural G-1 Climax and as Great Muta picked up a big win over Fujinami. I think the next logical step was picking up a title and tag title makes sense. Rick Steiner is an awesome wrecking force. At the end of the day, it is New Japan and selling just doesn't matter in this promotion (major exception in this match). Once you resign yourself to that fact, you can just watch the great offense. First it is Hase taking a beating. I think in Hase's heat segment. Norton shined more. Big lariats. A great bodyslam on the floor. Great energy. Steiner hit his trademark bulldog. I thought Hase's selling was pretty pedestrian. The transition was terrible as usual and I cant remember what it was. Mutoh's hot tag was great. Dropkicks galore. Back handspring elbow! He goes up top and Rick Steiner hits an overhead belly to belly. Then it is just the Rick Steiner show! Belly to belly on the outside. They tease a possible countout finish Mutoh is selling. What is going on? Actual selling! RELEASE GERMAN! Mutoh is dead and he is selling it. Again, the transition was terrible, but hey there was actual selling and it was from Mutoh of all people! Hase comes in. He is all piss and vinegar. Great dropkick. Then he eats a Rick Steiner RELEASE GERMAN! I could watch Rick Steiner kill bitches dead all day. STEINERLINE! URNAGE OUT OF NOWHERE! ANOTHER ONE! Mutoh hits his moonsault. FRANKENSTEINER ON NORTON! NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX ON RICK STEINER! 1-2-3! NEW IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS YAHOOOOOOO! Ok, I added that Yahoo. Pretty much from the Keiji Mutoh hot tag this is gold. Sure there is selling and transition issues, but that does not mean this is not a ton of fun. Mutoh had great energy and Rick Steiner was a suplex machine. The finish run was a total bombfest that I loved. ***1/2