AstroBoy

I really think they have something in No Way Jose. I have high hopes for that match with Aries.

I'm super psyched for Trevor Lee vs. Kamaitachi.

Strong vs. Riddle was indeed very good. I'm all in on Riddle but this match really felt like a huge feather in Roddy's cap and showed what he can be and should be doing all the time. I really hope he's back in the future. Actually gonna say that I liked TJP vs. Tim Thatcher better than any match all weekend. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was a concise, gritty, focused, and pretty hateful match that came across as a real competition. Also a smart finish keeping both guys strong. The news that WWNLive was able to sign Ospreay to an exclusive deal is also a huge coup. Ring of Honor is just a mess right now. The rich get richer and I would rather see Ospreay against this group of guys than against the ROH group anyway.

I think his problems have much more to do with his presentation than with his talent.

I attended the NXT in Highland Heights last night and it was a really fun time. No Way Jose vs. Hugo Knox was a fun opener. Knox looked pretty green and rough around the edges, most notably almost landing on his head a few times taking hiptosses and armdrags. He worked hard to engage the crowd and No Way Jose is very good in his role. Angelo Dawkins got a hometown win over Cien Almas in a fun match. Good on them for letting Dawkins shine a bit here, and the crowd was pretty rough on Almas though he took it in stride and really handled himself as a pro. Dawkins is pretty fun and I wish he'd make more TV for them. Asuka and Alexa Bliss had a fun match for the women's title but a drunken misogynistic fan really detracted from a lot of it. Bliss has a lot of little things down now and it feels inevitable she'll get her chance to carry the division in the future. The crowd was way into her and she hung with Asuka. Main event turned into Joe and Revival vs. American Alpha and Nakamura and it was a fantastic, fantastic match. Everyone was on point, there was a double face in peril on Gable then Jordan. Joe carries himself with tremendous presence. Dawson is the ultimate Arn guy right now and Dash was really really engaging. One of my favorite matches of the year and the show was an easy thumbs way up.

I hope you get a chance to check out the Revival vs. American Alpha 2/3 falls tag match from NXT as well as the Trevor Lee vs. Andrew Everett match from CWF Worldwide, both air date from last night. I had both right around the 4 1/4* range and would be interested to see what you thought of them.

I'm pretty excited for Roddy Strong vs. Matt Riddle on July 16th. Strong should help fill out that roster in a great way, hope he is around as a regular. And between BOLA and SCI along with all the hype, this is shaping up as the summer of Riddle.

I'm not too familiar with current ROH but I checked out Best in the World out of curiosity. Here's my scattered thoughts. I really liked Kyle O'Reilly vs. Kamaitachi and thought the limbwork and selling was really solid the whole time. It felt like a perfectly done opening match. O'Reilly is not really a favorite but I think ROH would be smart to get behind him. Silas Young doesn't do much for me and ACH seems criminally underused so I was satisfied with the result of their match. Young looked off to me though. I liked Roddy vs. Mark and it felt like a nicely placed match on the card with a decent backstory but both guys deserve bigger things. The crowd sending Roddy off was a nice moment and I guess I'll see what's next for the Briscoes. The tag match was fine but hopefully sets up interesting roles for White and Kamaitachi which would be nice to see. Daniels and Kaz just do nothing for me though, and the MCMGs aren't really my cup of tea. I actually missed most of Corino/Whitmer but I miss this kind of match in the current landscape. Regardless of what you think of either guy, they both bring something to brawls like this and I'll see what if anything comes out of the Sullivan thing. TV title match just felt a little flat and especially the finish was underwhelming. I think maybe I'm lower on Fish than most as I just find him infinitely bland. This company needs to be pushing Dalton Castle before he gets away from them entirely. I like the Bullet Club's act as its own thing but I can't justify what it really does for the ROH roster. Still a fun spotfest and the ROH guys looked fine, just overshadowed and insignificant. I was really looking forward to the main event and it was a good match, it just felt a little hollow and I didn't care at all for Lethal kicking out of everything while Briscoe goes down to the single Lethal Injection. Fun show but I tried to describe to my girlfriend that all the ROH stuff I catch has really nice production and looks great but just feels like a totally soulless husk of a promotion. Maybe it's just me, and that's not even to say I won't keep watching their shows because I will. Thumbs up show I think, for sure, just one that has zero sense of momentum about it.

Yeah I initially thought the Catch Point/Bravados tag veered way too much into the super long closing sequence territory but I guess it went on long enough and kept building enough to bring me back around if that makes sense. Particularly the way it teased the half crab finish and built up Hot Sauce as a super tough guy. By the end it really FELT like a war to me, not just an overly ambitious match. I kind of figured the no-sell suplex spot would be polarizing from Hero but I will say it at least fit into the context of that moment, so for that spot I think it was about as well done as possible. I did start watching 63 but only watched Yehi vs. Alexander so far, which was another great notch to point to for the Yehi supporters out there.

Did anybody catch EVOLVE 63? I haven't seen many opinions of it around from the usual suspects. I caught 62 and I don't really try to figure out star ratings but I thought Riddle/Cedric, Hero/Thatcher, and the tag title match all were at or above the four star level. The Bravados in particular won me over big time with their performance. Hero vs. Thatcher felt like a heavyweight boxing slugfest and ended without going into any overkill. . . if anything I felt it was missing a nearfall or two. Everyone raves about Riddle but he felt on an even higher level against Alexander. Just his aura, his bumping, his expressions were all amazing. And Cedric was really strong in the match too. Fred Yehi vs. Anthony Nese was also really good but I think I was a little lower on it than some.

Yeah I got tickets to NXT in Cincinnati coming up in July. They are advertising the main group of Nakamura, Joe, Balor, Bayley, Asuka but I imagine this might be kind of the last loop for some of those main talents. This summer is going to be interesting in terms of what NXT can do to remain hot and fresh.

Really looking forward to checking out the Scenic City Invitational this year. So. . . any guesses on who the final entrant is going to be? I really have no idea but I'm intrigued.

Really looking forward to Riddle/Alexander and Riddle/Lee at the Florida shows next month. Those both sound like they could be really great.

Virus vs. Hechicero (Lucha Memes 5/15) - YES The matwork was so slick. Hechicero has impressed me every time I've seen him this year and he threw a couple really awesome looking strikes too. Great steady build to a nice finish, loved it.

Trying to dip my toes into Lucha some more this year, and I gotta say that I really enjoyed Hechicero vs. Casas. I especially thought the leg cramp spot toward the finish was really cool and well done. For someone his age, Casas looks to be in tremendous shape.

Nominate: Tracy Williams/Drew Gulak vs. TJP/Fred Yehi (EVOLVE 5/6/16) - A blast of a tag team match. These four obviously match up with each other very well. Fred Yehi's face in peril segment is really well done and his exchanges with Tracy Williams are great. They even build to a really cool and sensible four men down spot. Plus the stretch run doesn't feel bloated or clunky like a lot of modern indy tags. Chris Hero vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (EVOLVE 5/6/16) - A slow building match with Hero trying to take off Sabre's head and Sabre trying to rip Hero's arm off, but they throw a lot of neat wrinkles into it. A worthy followup to the WM weekend match with a completely devastating finish. Sabre carried himself strongly in this as well and they are building a great dynamic between these two. Hero might be the wrestler of the year. Zack Sabre is a great wrestling version of Andy Murray not able to get his major breakthrough over his toughest rival.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW 2/24/16) - YES Good dueling limbwork match with logical selling and a nice pace to it. The shenanigans at the end fit the match fine and I'm not as low on Omega in general as some others. Will Ospreay vs. KUSHIDA (NJPW 4/10/16) - YES KUSHIDA's attack was nice and focused and Ospreay sold well. I think Ospreay is pretty good at picking his spots and his highspots came across nicely here. A really good concise juniors match that makes me want to see more of this matchup. KUSHIDA vs. Jushin Liger (NJPW 5/3/16) - YES I did have my issues with KUSHIDA's selling of the knee but still a really strong match. Liger pouncing on the champ when he had the opening was great stuff. His big Liger Bomb and the leg submission work were great credible offensive runs, and in the end this felt like a fight for survival more than a standard match. Drew Gulak vs. Timothy Thatcher (PWG 1/2/16) - YES Gulak blew me away in this with his detail work. Watch him get gutwrenched and still try to attack the knee of Thatcher before he gets thrown. Nice body part attacks, really good selling. Gulak has been on fire this year and Thatcher gave a really good showing as well. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn (NXT 4/1/16) - YES A match where everything just converged perfectly. Zayn brought the fight to Nakamura and the striking exchange fit perfectly in the context of the match. Once this went from a feeling out process to two guys trying to kill each other it resonated on such a deep level. The near fall off the Blue Thunder Bomb was off the charts especially for a move that doesn't win matches. You had both guys stomping each other in the face with no regard, incredible drama, and an atmosphere that probably can't be topped this year. Easy yes and a top 3 match of the year for me. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Will Ospreay (EVOLVE 4/1/16) - YES This felt like the perfect exhibition of these two. Cool spots, nifty matwork and holds from Sabre, a super hot crowd making this feel like a special moment. Maybe most importantly, they built to a crazy heated finish but ended it at the right moment, before it had a chance to get out of hand or overstay its welcome.

The specific spot in question I was referring to was the springboard back elbow (I think it was a back elbow) after KUSHIDA initially hurt the knee. Like I said, kind of a minor nitpick and I actually did dig the the double limb attack by Liger. Just personally, the vibe I got from the opening of the match was that the current top dog hurt his knee, thus giving Liger a legit shot to capitalize and possibly win the title. The fact that I personally read that spot that particular way just led me to view the selling afterward in a bit of a different light. Also agree that wrestling is subjective, love seeing different points of view on stuff.

I thought KUSHIDA vs. Liger was a real strong match but I kind of struggled with KUSHIDA's selling of the leg in it. I have a hard time watching him running around doing handsprings and then just grabbing his knee while sitting on the mat. Not having a go at peoples' opinions, just thinking maybe I had a different read on some of it than others who are praising it so highly.

WWE Brock Lesnar vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns (Fastlane 2/21) - NO I just don't think the story of them taking out Brock was executed in an interesting enough way. After the first table spot, it became entirely predictable. Reigns just popping up and killing Ambrose with the spear wasn't a great finish and made Ambrose look like a total chump. Fun match but not more than fun. Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio (2/3 Falls, Fastlane 2/21) - YES They have paired for arguably my favorite series of matches this year. Some might call it convoluted but the double stomp spots in this at least hit two important checkpoints: they were pretty sensibly set up, and they looked brutal in execution. Kalisto has been great all year and he and ADR play off one another really well. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch (Wrestlemania 4/3) - NO I felt like the only person who didn't like this a ton when it happened. Absolutely a pretty good match, and a huge feeling moment. But I struggle to see it as more than a fun, kind of sloppy collection of spots with some really special moments sprinkled throughout. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (Payback 5/1) - YES They got a grim crowd back into the show through strong work. It's cool to hate on Kevin Owens now but whatever. . . the guy keeps the crowd engaged and invested in his matches at all times. Zayn hasn't connected in as big of a way on the main roster yet but after getting going here he had them also. I don't care about the popping up to hit a clothesline spot. Yes Owens has his move trading tendencies but of all matches to care about that, I don't care about it here. The story is two lifelong friends/rivals going to war on a big stage after all these years. I absolutely will buy them going back and forth like that in this context. The strike exchanges feel real between these two and the finish was a great bully getting one last bomb in and sneaking a win. Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles (Payback 5/1) - YES Probably my MOTY so far. Styles LAYS IN his forearms. The table spot was a legit crazy moment and one of my favorite table spots ever. The selling of the ribs and leg, respectively, were sublime in certain moments and never more than strong throughout the duration. You knew Styles wasn't winning but the route they took to get to the inevitable was so logical, so effective, and they milked so much drama out of such a wacky situation. They've done a hell of a job building up the Spear as the move to trump all moves, and here they built and built to it until the satisfying ending. Pumped as hell for Extreme Rules and the rematch but I'll be surprised if it can live up to how good this was.

A few thoughts after working my way through EVOLVE 54 and 55. . . My God Rocky Romero might be my least favorite wrestler of all time. How can somebody be so bland and devoid of personality. Saying "azucar" or wearing an eyepatch doesn't equate to charisma. God. Trent Baretta is about as bad but I like the way he bumps. This is more related to WM weekend shows but I'll say that I like Will Ospreay a lot. I think there are far more egregious flyers on the indie scene than him. I think he makes an effort to sell and he is still young. And for instance I don't see him popping up after a Zack Sabre DDT as a no-sell, I see it as a counter. Not sure if that's the intent, but that's totally how I see it. I think his kicks and strikes are fine and it's not like he relies on them a ton. He doesn't resemble Matt Sydal in the way he sells, but I would say he does in the way he uses pretty simple and crisp looking flying offense. Tommy End is another guy I just don't get at all. I can't see anything he does that well other than throw fun intricate striking combos and it's not like there aren't enough guys whose character is "great striker". He seems well suited in tags and he also has the world's worst chant specific to his character. Sami Callihan/Zack Sabre had a pretty fun and underrated match on 55. Built around dueling limb work and felt like it had a nice build to a pretty nasty finish. I hate hate hate Callihan burning through such a nasty head drop as a false finish but the cinder block forearm as an immediate exclamation point works for me. Bravado Brothers seem underappreciated and very solid. Sidenote: I could do without ever seeing another tag match run through the same chain of strikes that end with all four guys lying in the middle of the ring to applause toward the end of the match. This seriously infuriates me. Matt Riddle has the best theme music in wrestling.