AstroBoy

This was really solid. Dinsmore did a good job of holding things together. It's kind of one of those matches where nothing wowed me about the performances from the wrestlers but the match just told a nice story and led to a nice stretch run. They get a really nice nearfall off the loaded punch and some storyline advancement on the finish itself. Dinsmore has really nice natural heel charisma.

Fun hossy sprint. I've never been a huge Benoit fan but he seemed to be keeping this one on course a bit. It's a fun match but I never feel like I get much nuance from Benoit matches. Here he is intense, he hits hard, cuts a good pace, etc. It just doesn't add up to anything more compelling than "solid" to me. I always mark out for Tenzan's mongolian chop for some reason. He landed directly on his head on that rana from the top which was really scary.

I watched this thinking that Kanemoto maybe had broken his jaw or gotten a concussion early on or something. This was shocking and brutal. Honestly I kind of enjoyed it as a change of pace knowing it was a conscious decision to go this way. I totally understand the undermining quality of what it does to Kanemoto but just as a standalone match I kind of wish more things would crop up like this. Liger was absolutely laying shots in during this match.

Rikishi arguably should have had a bigger main event role. He walked the line between lovable and credible with great precision here, never losing the fans as he and HHH have a very fun TV match. Agreed that HHH was in the zone here looking vicious and dangerous while not appearing unbeatable. I thought it was a brilliant finish where HHH doesn't have to go over Rikishi but still looks good in the process and Rikishi doesn't win clean but seems destined for that possibility. Both guys came out of this looking better.

HHH was actually a ton of fun really bumping around and taking a nasty hiptoss over the barricade to the floor that had to hurt. Something about Big Show just seemed so sterile and awkward here. Him going for that big elbow off the second just seemed so odd and unnecessary. I did really love him shrugging off the early work by HHH and just killing him with a big headbutt. For a title switch it just felt so under-the-radar and flat at the end. I really did enjoy HHH here though outside of his crappy knee offense and that was a pleasant surprise.

I preferred this to the other AJPW six-man on the same day. Kanemaru looked ridiculous but added some fun comedy with the groin spot and the hip swivel. I really liked seeing him and Asako kind of taking the spotlight of the story. Akiyama's rapid fire kicks to the knee were vicious looking and he seemed lasered in and comfortable here. Omori came across pretty inspired as well. Fun match.

I thought Kikuchi's face in peril work stood out big time. The frog splash from Misawa looked incredibly painful and this was solid but I'm just struggling to find much to say about it. A pretty listless match.

Bobby Roode comes across like an insufferable broad Will Ferrell character to me. I think he's okay and get why he's in the main event but it's not my thing and I can't see it having a long shelf life. I actually think the show should be real interesting and want to see what DIY can get out of Authors of Pain. Roddy vs. Almas should steal the show.

Oh man this might be my favorite match of the month so far. It took a bit to heat up but when it did it got good. It also felt like it a match that built and progressively amped up as opposed to something that just meandered or went too long. To start, the cross armbreaker spots were so geniusly integrated. The move itself is not even something I care for but it was used in such a valuable way here, the ace in the hole for the Tanaka and Kashin team. So it created this feeling that even defense is a dangerous offense. Instead of deviating from the plan Takaiwa just lariats everyone to death and Ohtani comes out on top in his exchanges, adding some dickish behavior as he does it. I adored Takaiwa getting caught by a flash head kick from Tanaka to end a big strike exchange in the body of the match. Tanaka did indeed look solid here if unspectacular. The finish did not bother me much because although they got lost for a moment they just followed it up with a brutal spike right on Kashin's head and erased any awkwardness right away. This was really excellent. For comparison's sake I watched this right after Delphin vs. Togo from Osaka Pro and I preferred this. I thought the build was better, less needless kickouts and extra nearfalls, and just more interesting work.

This was a total blast with Spanky going a mile a minute at the start and staying one step ahead of Rudy Boy. After some control by Rudy Boy, Spanky makes a comeback with a sweet reverse DDT out of a pumphandle slam attempt. Spanky did do some goofy cartwheel kick thing that looked kind of odd but he combined his charisma and flying with a lot of fire that translated into something much more "serious" and threatening. The way he worked in this made him feel like not just a silly weird skinny guy but a daredevil who can hurt you bad, very quickly, when he uses his arsenal and pace. Rudy Boy feels like an unsung guy just from the two matches I've seen him in so far. Very fun match, not much more you could ask for from a 10 minute TV match. Super high on this match.

Kind of a charming fun match but I thought it was a lot sloppier than has been mentioned. Spanky and Rudy Boy have some really ugly exchanges at different points and Bonecrusher was kind of awkward at least early in the match. I got the sense here that Dragon and Spanky were really trying ambitious things as much as possible and just couldn't integrate them perfectly all the time. It's that same ambition that makes the match fun though. The referee gets in the way of Dragon's dive so he just moves on and hits a crazy moonsault to the floor. Spanky looks to nearly kill himself on his own dive. Rudy Boy was better than Bonecrusher and I liked this less than some it would appear.

It's going to be hard for me to dislike a match worked within these story confines. Bucanero jumps Tarzan Boy and just beats on him without Tarzan really getting any hope for the first fall. TB uses a fluky kind of reversal to steal the second fall and put himself back into the mix -- not strong on his feet but now a glimmer to make a fiery comeback. And then the tercera which completes his comeback in bloody fashion. It's an easy narrative to follow and one that is hard not to enjoy on a basic level. I thought both guys sold blood loss well with wooziness, wounded animal selling, etc. There were some momentum stopping moments in the tercera but many have already pointed out that the inherent drama and bloody spectacle of the match helps to sand down those rough moments a good bit. I would certainly call this a very good match.

I sort of really dug this. BAD Barry Horowitz is cool as a bully type grinding down Silver King before King uses flashiness and speed to put him away. Definite moments of awkwardness in this one, especially the weird plancha to the floor that just comes up short and leads to Horowitz clubbing King in the kidney. But they just work through the rough patches and it has a fun kind of endearing sloppiness to it. They pack a lot into the short timeframe. Horowitz uses a cool bridging knucklelock suplex. King hits a nice springboard moonsault for the win.

Wrestling needs more guys like Trailer Park Trash. Guys with overinflated perceptions of their fighting ability who are kind of outclassed when matched up with real athletes. This was solid. I thought Trash's offense looked kind of soft but that's really the only thing that bothered me. Character-wise it made sense but it was funny to see Bradley slap on a chinlock in the middle of the streetfight. Bradley does indeed look promising, although kind of bland. Finish was a bit confusing as Cornette appears to be distracting the ref long enough for Trash to not get the pin but the ref just turns around and counts the pin after a short delay.

Oh boy. If I was being kind I would call myself a lucha novice. Realistically I know very little lucha and still find the style to be a bit jarring at times. Not to say I don't enjoy it or didn't enjoy this. Initial impressions are hell yeah Zumbido is awesome in this. Beautiful moonsault, awesome crazy bump over the top to the floor. It's always interesting to see someone for the first time and come away with such a strong impression. I want to know if it will carry over as I watch more of him throughout the year. I suspect as I watch more of this style I'll be more able to pick out things I like and dislike instead of trying to comprehend it. I will say that the missed spinning kick spot in the tercera was all kinds of ugly. Of course the botched dive too. Other than that I did enjoy it. I'm getting my feet wet here but I have never found that I dislike lucha when I delve into it. It will just take more familiarity.

3 Count's dancing is atrocious but I love the gimmick. They fit some cool things into the short time they got. Shane Helms busts out some pretty flashy offense and stands out a bit. Finish came so quick and kind of out of nowhere but a fun little match. Evan Karagias has such a dislikable heel charisma.

It almost feels like Tajiri is the killer heel and Guido is the underdog trying desperately to fend off the unstoppable attack -- except the heel/face roles are reversed. So you have Tajiri killing Guido with shots and Guido grabbing desperation submissions, using the Sicilian Slice and other quick momentum-changers. . . but it only serves to delay the inevitable. Sal gets involved and takes a few fun bumps. Tajiri just oozes charisma here and captures this amazing blend of likability with killer instinct. I have not seen nearly enough Tajiri from this time-frame and cannot wait to see more ECW stuff. Very good match.

I actually thought Dragon looked pretty good here. Spanky is frighteningly skinny but his mixture of charisma and wild bumping makes him stand out here. Going to be very interested in seeing these two improve together throughout the year. Aside from the weird botch at the beginning and the stop-go kind of feeling, this was a perfectly good little match.

After doing some rewatching and thinking I think i would have to say no wrestler has been better this year than AJ Styles. Some will vouch for Hero or Riddle or someone else entirely but I don't think I would take anything over my favorite four AJ matches of the year: the two PPV matches vs. Roman (especially Extreme Rules which I find to be transcendent in the way it turned shitty overbooking into a positive dramatic tool) and also the two PPV matches with Dean for the title. Hero has also been great. So has Riddle. So has Trevor Lee. I feel like I'm totally blanking on other candidates for the best wrestler in the world. Zayn/Nakamura from Takeover was always going to be my match of the year largely because on first viewing it was such a special personal experience that I can't view it without a lot of subjectivity. Of course it holds up as a great mach on its own. Both Revival/DIY matches are fantastic and would probably land in the top 5 of the year for me as well. Roman/AJ from Extreme Rules would be up there. I did enjoy a handful of others that feel like they should be at the very top of a year in review type thing: Heroes Eventually Die vs. Sami Callihan/Zack Sabre Jr. comes to mind. Trevor Lee vs. Andrew Everett. Canis Lupus vs. Trauma I. Black Terry Jr. vs. Wotan.

Borne has an off kilter way of moving about the ring that I enjoy. I thought this was a pretty weak performance from Regal. There was a moment in the third fall where Borne had to physically turn himself around and throw himself into the corner so that Regal could take over on offense. Other parts of the match Regal was okay but his whole performance felt poor. Borne on the other hand was really enjoyable. I enjoyed his aggression, running over to stomp Regal before he could get up, attacking him after the bell. I liked his jumping butt splashes to the sternum and his work over the midsection in general. It was a pleasant surprise to see him win this semi-cleanly as well, with Regal celebrating what he thought was a win only for the ref to have counted the pin for Borne. Rocky Johnson comes down in a huge sport jacket after the match and runs off Borne. I may have to rewatch some matches because this feels like the first time that Regal has irked me so much on this set.

This is the 15th anniversary of Portland wrestling and an extremely interesting match because the post comes undone midway through the second fall changing the complexion of the whole match. How they work around that moment and integrate it into the story is a real treat. Match starts fun enough with Rocky, Hack, and Regal using their quickness and staying one step ahead to work over the Army, primarily with armbars and armdrags. Good guys get a flash pin off a sunset flip to take the first fall. I don't want want to forget Matt Borne being awesome in this, showing up late to the first fall, constantly avoiding being tagged in, and shrinking away any time the faces (particularly Regal) want to get their hands on him. The post breaks and the match breaks down for a few moments but this leads to the Army taking control on Rocky. Borne uses the turnbuckle for a few very smart cheap shots that lead directly into the finish. The use of the turnbuckle was so well sewn into the match that I wondered for a moment if it could have even been by design. That seems unlikely as the final fall takes place with no ropes and the partners all hilariously just standing behind an invisible rope waiting to be tagged in. Rocky seems pretty silly in this fall, overselling to an insane degree from stomps to the face. Borne gets in some cheap shots and the heels work on Sawyer's back. Finally in a schmozz the Army crotches Rocky into the post and the match is thrown out. Regal and Borne brawl and it gets broken up. This was fun and a really cool novelty if only for the ring post situation. I could not imagine many modern workers finding such a cool way to not only get around that but use it to their advantage.

So 2016 is finishing up. Who has thought about year-end awards like wrestler of the year, match of the year, etc. . . I'm still thinking on certain topics but rewatching a lot of stuff from earlier in the year, trying to figure out what stuck out to me the most. Where do we think wrestling is headed in 2017? And what has 2016 personally meant for everyone as a wrestling fan -- what did you all do this year? I know for me that my girlfriend and I finally got out to a few shows, met some very nice people including some from this board, and started watching more wrestling more regularly than I ever have.

Big time breakout performance from Jaka in EVOLVE. They really have something if they can build on this immediately. I have been pretty down on the booking for the second half of the year but hopefully they see that they did a great job of making him here.

We get sporting mat work to start. Eventually Super Black Ninja asserts some control and returns to holds but only after using some rough tactics to do so. Ninja hits the familiar power drive elbow. I'm a bit confused when Invader just punts Ninja in the balls and takes over to great fanfare. Invader's chops are really great here. A big schmozz at the finish when Invader III brawls with Ninja's second at ringside. I'm shocked when Invader kicks out of the moonsault but they add a big dropkick off the top and the finish comes when Invader gets his foot on the bottom rope and it gets pushed away to allow the three count. This was pretty fun and a good slow build to a cluster of a finish.