Woof

I've been tending to use mic work as a way to balance out the booking issue that I have between Japan and the US. Most of the high-end Japanese workers benefit from being in a system that focuses on ring work, so they are put in a position to constantly be having longer, more meaningful matches. Their American counterparts are often handcuffed because they're required to do more low-end matches and angle driven stuff that may not be of the highest in-ring quality because it's goal is to put over a larger story at the expense of "action". Once the monthly PPV schedule kicked into gear there became a very set pattern of having "big" matches once a month in the US, whereas in All Japan, for instance, they could have multiple big matches in a month thanks to a tour. For example, Randy Savage's early WWF run includes a lot of shitty matches against George Steele. I'm sure some folks will knock him for those matches because he wasn't able to elevate Steele to anything above "entertaining crap". But that's a bit unfair to Savage, because he was doing what was asked of him, and at the time, those matches were a big part of the overall WWF entertainment package. All of his stalling and shenanigans may not have done much for his workrate, but he got that angle over and whipped fans into a frenzy. If I compared Savage to Kawada straight-up in terms of pure in-ring work, I don't think it'd be close. Kawada's 90's run is just match-after-match of greatness. But I'll have Savage higher on my list because I feel like he made up for a lack of epic matches (in comparison) by excelling at the job he was tasked with, a great deal of which is thanks to his mic work. It's probably not going to help someone like Hogan because when he was placed in a position to have great matches, he usually didn't deliver. The best Hogan matches I generally think to myself "wow, that was really good... for a Hogan match", and that's not enough for me. So I think mic work counts to a degree, but it won't elevate a mediocre worker to greatness. It's more likely to spackle over some resume holes for an otherwise excellent worker with a patchy booking history.

Well ECW is already up and has been since the Network's inception. They definitely have Florida, because they aired some of that on the old On Demand service. You have to think they have Central States since that was bought out by Crockett (although what there is worth airing is beyond me). I'm not sure, but don't they own Georgia Championship Wrestling as well? Getting up a bunch of old Mid-Atlantic shows from before the WCW debut would be nice too, since they teased us with a few back in the old days.

Added another shit ton of matches today, mostly based on reviews found over at phoenixplexreview.net that cover a lot of Japan and US indies. My conclusion: there's too much wrestling out there.

Imagine if I described a wrestling show as follows: ~1 hour show (so 45 mins of actual time) ~first 25 mins are an angle recap including lengthy replays from the previous week with a super cheesy pre-taped video segment added for good measure ~on screen (and off-screen) authority figure shoehorning himself into a program with a top character and dominating the show ~a video package highlighting the career of said authority figure, aired twice on the same broadcast ~one advertised match that was a total bait-and-switch and didn't occur ~a second advertisted match that went all of a minute before becoming a total schmoz ~roughly three minutes total of actual bell-to-bell wrestling, two of which were a jobber squash People would probably lose their minds if you presented that today, and yet the second episode of Mid-South they have up (forget the date, sorry) is exactly that. It was also a hell of a piece of business, so I'm not complaining. Taken in a vaccum it reads like every bad opening to Raw from the last 15 years, but because it was the exception and not the norm for MSW, it's fine. WWE could learn so much from all this archival footage if for no other reason than it shows a zillion different ways to approach TV without falling into a stale formula, to the point that what LOOKS like stale formula on paper isn't, provided it's mixed in on occassion and not the standard format.

As much as we love Joe and were psyched to see a return to form last night, I think a lot of credit for that performance has to go to Ciampa. He took the fight to Joe and forced him to respond. Most of the big exchange battles began with Ciampa getting in Joe's face - talking trash, slapping him. He's a super intense performer and he clearly is trying to prove himself during his trial run (or whatever it is) with NXT. Props to Joe for responding in kind and not totally guzzling him, but I think that match had more to do with Ciampa's approach to wrestling Joe than it did Joe suddenly just "returning to form". Totally agree with NotJayTabb about the Nia Jax-Bayley deal. Bayley's had three feel good moments with the 2 wins over Sasha and then the win over Eva Marie last week (which I was convinced she was losing due to the set-up, so good on NXT for playing me). Now have her lost to a monster thereby giving her a new obstacle to overcome. Her character works as much thanks to the adversity she has to face as to the success she achieves. Her response to Nia's non-verbal "challenge" was great, as you could see the total "I'm in over my head, but that's how it goes" look on her face. You know, right up until Jax grabbed and hurled her through the door (which was phenomenal). Loved the promo from Dash & Dawson, BTW. If they weren't so painfully short they'd have a big future, Tremendous heel logic by saying that Enzo & Cass hadn't earned squat, because from a kayfabe perspective, they haven't. This would be the perfect time for your on-screen authority figure to pop in and say, "perhaps they haven't, but you two seemed to consider them such a threat that you blindside attacked them and injured Cass, so here's a title match just so you two can prove how unworthy they are". Week-in, week-out, this show delivers exactly what I want from a wrestling show. Decent matches, storyline progression (that's almost exclusively win-loss driven), and little surprises (Bayley through the door being this week's example). The champ wasn't anywhere to be found on this episode and it didn't matter. Great stuff.

Agreed. NXT thread has been created.

And let me begin by saying that Samoa Joe-Tommaso Ciampa match tonight was a badass piece of work unlike what you usually see from WWE - no matter what the brand. Ciampa can come across as a dick at times, but man, he is willing to take as well as he gives. And it made Joe look like a monster. Great stuff.

Since it seems like there's a bunch of us who follow NXT but don't really care to have our discussion on the yellow brand buried in the morass of the weekly WWE TV threads, I thought I'd start one where we can just talk about all things NXT, so here it is. Have at it, boys.

First episode of AWA on ESPN just got uploaded. My heart is exploding.

Davari managing Kurt Angle is my all-time personal head-scratcher. I still don't get it.

Yeah, in my haste to get it up I dumped it in the wrong folder by accident. If somebody in power wants to move it, feel free.

Quick update with tholzerman's recommendations as well as a few other for the Scenic City Invitational (finally got off my ass and tracked down some reviews) and a couple more Evolve matches from over the summer. Also bolded all matches that got at least one 4.5 star rating, just so they pop a little more for those just skimming the list.

Over on Twitter earlier today Charles sent up a flare looking for a list of the best matches of 2015, so I thought I'd throw one up here. I've been working on cobbling together a spreadsheet of the "greatest matches of all time", which is basically just a documented list of any match that got significant praise at some point in time. It's extensive, but not all-inclusive. For instance, for the 2015 stuff below I have included any match that was nominated on the Voices Of Wrestling Match Of The Month columns they've been posting; any match that received a 4 or better star rating on any online recap I may have read; and anything that I may have personally seen and really enjoyed. I try to cross-reference as many ratings as I can find, but the idea is once it's on the list it's on the list, even if only one person ever had it as a recommendation. As a result a lot of the stuff on here can range well below 4 stars in the general consensus. I'll try to update it with November's matches in the next week or so and ditto with December once that's come and gone. If anybody can think of a match that has been left out, feel free to let me know and I'll try and add it to the list when I update. Thanks. (FYI: Dates are live as opposed to "aired", at least to the best of my knowledge. Corrections welcome.) (matches in bold received at least 1 vote of 4.5 stars or better in my research) JANUARY 2015.01.01 PCL El Hijo del Fantasma/Fenix/Pentagon Jr. vs. El Hijo de Fishman/Flamita/Sky Man 2015.01.02 BJW Daisuke Sekimoto/Yuji Okabayashi vs Kohei Sato/Shuji Ishikawa 2015.01.02 CMLL Mascara Dorada vs Negro Casas 2015.01.03 AJPW Go Shiozaki vs Joe Doering 2015.01.04 NJPW AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito 2015.01.04 NJPW Alex Koslov/Rocky Romero vs Alex Shelley/Kushida vs Bobby Fish/Kyle O'Reilly vs Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson 2015.01.04 NJPW Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada 2015.01.04 NJPW Kazushi Sakuraba vs Minoru Suzuki 2015.01.04 NJPW Kenny Omega vs Ryusuke Taguchi 2015.01.04 NJPW Kota Ibushi vs Shinsuke Nakamura 2015.01.04 NJPW Togi Makabe vs Tomohiro Ishii 2015.01.06 CMLL [ Pequenos Reyes del Air ] 2015.01.06 WWE Nikki Bella vs Paige 2015.01.09 EVO Ricochet vs Timothy Thatcher 2015.01.10 NOAH Masato Tanaka/Takashi Sugiura vs Mikey Nicholls/Shane Haste 2015.01.10 NOAH Naomichi Marafuji vs Satoshi Kojima 2015.01.12 DGJ Eita vs. Jimmy Kagetora 2015.01.14 NXT Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn 2015.01.16 DGJ Big R Shimizu vs Jimmy Susumu 2015.01.16 DGJ Hulk/Mochi/Dragon Kid vs Tozawa/Shingo/Sachihoko BOY 2015.01.17 AAA-LU Cage vs Johnny Mundo 2015.01.19 CMLL Cavernario vs Rey Cometa 2015.01.24 AAA-LU Johnny Mundo vs King Cuerno [steel Cage] 2015.01.25 AAA-LU Fenix vs Mil Muertas [Grave Consequences] 2015.01.25 WWE Brock Lesnar vs John Cena vs Seth Rollins FEBRUARY 2015.02.02 BJW Shuji Ishikawa vs Yuji Okabayashi 2015.02.05 DGJ BxB Hulk vs Jimmy Susumu 2015.02.07 AJPW Go Shiozaki vs Zeus 2015.02.08 AAA-LU Angelico/Ivelise/Son Of Havoc vs Big Ryck/Killshot/Mack vs Cage/King Cuerno/Texano Jr. 2015.02.08 AAA-LU Angelico/Ivelise/Son Of Havoc vs The Crew [No DQ] 2015.02.08 AE/LE Fuerza Guerrera vs Negro Casas 2015.02.08 ANARCHY Fred Yehi vs Slim J 2015.02.10 WWE Cesaro vs Sin Cara 2015.02.11 NJPW AJ Styles vs Hiroshi Tanahashi 2015.02.11 NJPW Alex Shelley/Kushida vs Bobby Fish/Kyle O'Reilly vs Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson 2015.02.11 NJPW Kota Ibushi vs Tomoaki Honma 2015.02.11 NOAH Davey Boy Smith Jr./Vance Archer vs Mikey Nicholls/Shane Haste 2015.02.11 NXT Adrian Neville vs Finn Balor 2015.02.11 NXT Bayley vs Becky Lynch vs Charlotte vs Sasha Banks 2015.02.11 NXT Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn 2015.02.13 NJPW Bobby Fish/Kyle O'Reilly/Mascara Dorada vs Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson 2015.02.13 NJPW Tomoaki Honma vs Tomohiro Ishii 2015.02.14 ROH ACH/Cedric Alexander/Matt Sydal vs AJ Styles/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson 2015.02.15 DDT Konosuke Takeshita/Tetsuya Endo vs Daisuke Sekimoto/Yuji Okabayashi 2015.02.15 Inspire Pro ACH vs Lance Hoyt vs Ricky Starks 2015.02.15 NJPW Harashima vs Kota Ibushi 2015.02.15 RPW AJ Styles vs Will Ospreay 2015.02.18 IWRG Alas de Acero vs Aramis vs Black Angel vs Dragon Black vs Voltar 2015.02.21 AAA-LU Drago vs Prince Puma 2015.02.21 CMLL Euforia/Niebla Roja/Último Guerrero vs Mistico/Valiente/Volador Jr. 2015.02.21 ROH Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Matt Taven/Michael Bennett 2015.02.21 ROH Kyle O'Reilly vs Roderick Strong 2015.02.22 K-DOJO Kengo Mashimo vs Yuji Hino 2015.02.22 WWE Daniel Bryan vs Roman Reings 2015.02.22 WWE John Cena vs Rusev 2015.02.28 DGJ Akira Tozawa vs Kzy MARCH 2015.03.01 DGJ BxB Hulk vs Uhaa Nation 2015.03.01 NJPW Bobby Fish/Kyle O'Reilly vs Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson 2015.03.01 ROH ACH vs AJ Styles 2015.03.01 ROH Cedric Alexander vs Matt Sydal 2015.03.01 ZERO-1 Daisuke Sekimoto/Kohei Sato vs Dangan Yankees 2015.03.01 ZERO-1 Hideki Suzuki vs Masakatsu Funaki 2015.03.06 DGJ Dia Hearts vs Jimmyz vs Mad Blankey vs Monster Express 2015.03.06 DGJ Dragon Kid/Mochizuki vs Flamita/T-Hawk 2015.03.07 CMLL Blue Panther/Blue Panther Jr./The Panther vs Puma/Tiger/Virus 2015.03.08 EVO AR Fox vs Matt Cage 2015.03.08 EVO Chris Hero vs Drew Gulak 2015.03.08 WRESTLE-1 Kai vs Keijo Muto 2015.03.08 WXW Andrew Everett/Cedric Alexander vs The Mack/Uhaa Nation 2015.03.08 WXW Axel Dieter Jr. vs Tommy End 2015.03.11 FEW AJ Styles vs John Hennigan 2015.03.13 ROH ACH vs Samoa Joe 2015.03.13 TNA Ethan Carter III vs Rockstar Spid 2015.03.13 ZERO-1 Daiki Inaba vs Shinjiro Otani 2015.03.15 NJPW Kota Ibushi vs Tetsuya Naito 2015.03.17 NOAH Davey Boy Smith Jr./Vance Archer vs Mikey Nicholls/Shane Haste 2015.03.17 PCL Resistencia vs Tortugas Ninja 2015.03.20 TNA Kurt Angle vs Lashley 2015.03.21 AAA-LU Fenix vs Mil Muertas 2015.03.21 BJW Twin Towers vs Yuji Hino/Yuji Okabayashi 2015.03.22 AAA-LU Cage vs Drago vs Hernandez vs King Cuerno 2015.03.24 DGJ Akira Tozawa vs Flamita 2015.03.25 NXT Finn Balor vs Kevin Owens 2015.03.27 AJPW Atsushi Aoki vs Kotaro Suzuki (added:12/1) 2015.03.27 AJPW Go Shiozaki vs Kento Miyahara 2015.03.27 EVO Biff Busick vs Chris Hero 2015.03.27 EVO PJ Black vs Ricochet 2015.03.27 EVO Timothy Thatcher vs Tommy End 2015.03.27 ROH Andrew Everett vs Caprice Coleman vs Cedric Alexander vs Matt Sydal vs Moose vs Tommaso Ciampa 2015.03.27 ROH Bobby Fish/Kyle O'Reilly vs Matt Taven/Michael Bennett 2015.03.28 ANARCHY Fred Yehi vs Slim J [best of 3 Falls] 2015.03.28 CMLL Dragon Lee vs Kamaitachi [Mask vs Mask] (added:12/1) 2015.03.28 EVO Chris Hero vs Drew Gulak 2015.03.28 ROH Kyle O'Reilly vs Samoa Joe 2015.03.28 SHIMMER Athena vs Mia Yim 2015.03.28 WWNL Chris Hero vs Timothy Thatcher 2015.03.28 WWNL Drew Galloway vs Johnny Gargano 2015.03.29 STARDOM Io Shirai vs Kairi Hojo 2015.03.29 WWE [ Intercontinental Ladder Match ] 2015.03.29 WWE Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns 2015.03.29 WWE Randy Orton vs Seth Rollins 2015.03.29 ZERO-1 Masato Tanaka vs Shingo Takagi (added:12/1) 2015.03.30 WWE Daniel Bryan vs Dolph Ziggler 2015.03.31 BJW Daisuke Sekimoto vs Shuji Ishikawa (added:12/1) APRIL 2015.04.01 WRESTLE-1 Kaz/Kondo vs Team 246 2015.04.02 AAA Angelico/Parka/Psycho Clown vs Dark Cuervo/Pentagon/Texano 2015.04.03 PWG Roderick Strong vs Zack Sabre Jr. 2015.04.05 AJPW Go Shiozaki vs Takao Omori 2015.04.05 AJPW Jun Akiyama/Ultimo Dragon/Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Kento Miyahara/Katoro Suzuki/Yohei Nakajima (added:12/1) 2015.04.05 JWP Arisa Nakajima vs Kayoko Haruyama 2015.04.05 NJPW AJ Styles vs Kota Ibushi 2015.04.05 NJPW Bad Luck Fale vs Kazuchika Okada 2015.04.05 NJPW Kenny Omega vs Mascara Dorada 2015.04.05 NJPW Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs Rocky Romero/Trent Beretta 2015.04.09 DGJ Akira Tozawa/Shingo vs BxB Hulk/Kyz 2015.04.09 DGJ El Lindaman vs Super Shisa 2015.04.09 DGJ Jimmy Kagetora/Jimmy Susumu vs Masato Yoshino/Shachihoko Boy 2015.04.10 AAW ACH/Davey Vega/Mat Fitchett vs Johnny Gargano/O14K 2015.04.10 AAW Eddie Kingston vs Ethan Page 2015.04.10 AAW Tommaso Ciampa vs Tommy End 2015.04.10 AJPW Go Shiozaki vs Suwama (added:12/3) 2015.04.10 CMLL La Sombra vs Volador 2015.04.11 AAA-LU Johnny Mundo vs Prince Puma [No DQ/No COR/Iron Man Match] 2015.04.11 CZW Jonathan Gresham vs Mike Bailey 2015.04.11 SHIMMER Athena vs Mia Yim [best of 3 Falls] 2015.04.12 CHILANGA Avisman vs Virus 2015.04.12 K-DOJO Hiro Tonai vs Taka Michinoku 2015.04.12 K-DOJO Kaji Tomato/Shiori Asahi vs Tank Nagai/Yuki Sato (added:12/1) 2015.04.12 K-DOJO Kengo Mashimo vs Yuji Hino 2015.04.12 SHIMMER Aja Kong/Dynamite Kansai/Kyoko Kimura/Mayumi Ozaki vs Hiroyo Matsumoto/Tomoka Nakagawa/Misaki Ohata/Kellier Skater 2015.04.15 NXT Rhyno vs Sami Zayn 2015.04.17 EVO Davey Richards vs Johnny Gargano 2015.04.17 EVO Roderick Strong vs Timothy Thatcher [best of 3 Falls] (added: 2/12/16) 2015.04.18 AAA-LU Cage vs The Mack 2015.04.18 EVO Biff Busick vs Roderick Strong 2015.04.18 EVO Timothy Thatcher vs TJ Perkins 2015.04.18 ROH Cedric Alexander vs Michael Elgin 2015.04.19 AAA-LU Alberto El Patron vs Johnny Mundo 2015.04.19 AAA-LU Mil Muertas vs Prince Puma 2015.04.19 AAA-LU Pentagon Jr. vs Vampiro [Hardcore Match] 2015.04.19 AJPW Go Shiozaki vs Kengo Mashimo 2015.04.19 WRESTLE-1 Kaz Kayashi vs Yusuke Kodama (added:12/1) 2015.04.23 NOAH Daisuke Sekimoto/Kazuki Hashimoto vs Mikey Nicholls/Shane Haste (added:12/1) 2015.04.23 STARDOM Haruka Kato vs Kairi Hojo 2015.04.23 STARDOM Koguma vs Mayu Iwatani 2015.04.26 DGJ Jimmy Kagetora/Jimmy Susumu vs Masato Yoshino/Shachihoko Boy (added:12/1) 2015.04.26 WWE Big E./Kofi Kingston vs Cesaro/Tyson Kidd 2015.04.26 WWE Big Show vs Roman Reigns [Last Man Standing] 2015.04.29 DDT Daisuke Sekimoto/Yuji Okabayashi vs Keisuke Ishii/Shigehiro Irie 2015.04.29 DDT Harashima vs Kota Ibushi 2015.04.29 NJPW Togi Makabe vs Tomohiro Ishii MAY 2015.05.03 NJPW Bobby Fish/Kyle O'Reilly vs Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs Rocky Romero/Trent Baretta (added:12/1) 2015.05.03 NJPW Hirooki Goto vs Shinsuke Nakamura 2015.05.03 NJPW Kota Ibushi/Yohei Komatsu vs Sho Tanaka/Tetsuya Naito (added:12/1) 2015.05.03 RPW Matt Sydal vs Will Ospreay 2015.05.05 DGJ Akira Tozawa vs Dragon Kid 2015.05.05 WRESTLE-1 Kaz Hayashi vs Minoru Tanaka (added:12/1) 2015.05.05 ZERO-1 Ikuto Hidaka vs Minoru Tanaka (added:12/1) 2015.05.08 DGJ Akira Tozawa vs Shingo Takagi 2015.05.08 DGJ BxB Hulk/Kzy/Masaaki Mochizuki vs Jimmy Kagetora/Jimmy Susumu/Ryo Saito (added:12/1) 2015.05.08 DGJ T-Hawk vs Yamato 2015.05.09 CZW Andrew Everett vs Trevor Lee (added:12/3) 2015.05.10 NOAH Minoru Suzuki vs Naomichi Marafuji (added:12/3) 2015.05.12 ROH Adam Cole vs AJ Styles 2015.05.12 ROH Kushida vs Roderick Strong 2015.05.13 ROH Adam Cole/Matt Taven/Michael Bennett vs AJ Styles/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson 2015.05.13 ROH Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Roderick Strong 2015.05.15 ROH AJ Styles/Doc Gallows/Karl Anderson/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs Hanson/Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe/Raymond Rowe/Roderick Strong 2015.05.15 ROH Cedric Alexander vs Kazuchika Okada (added:12/3) 2015.05.16 ROH AJ Styles/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs Kazuchika Okada/Rocky Romero/Trent Beretta (added: 2/12/16) 2015.05.17 DDT Akito vs Shigehiro Irie 2015.05.17 STARDOM Kairi Hojo vs Mayu Iwatani 2015.05.17 WWE Dean Ambrose vs Randy Orton vs Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins 2015.05.17 WWE John Cena vs Rusev [i Quit Match] 2015.05.20 NXT Becky Lynch vs Sasha Banks 2015.05.20 NXT Finn Balor vs Tyler Breeze 2015.05.21 NOAH Atsushi Kotoge/Taiji Ishimori vs Daisuke Harada/Genba Hirayanagi (added:12/3) 2015.05.21 NOAH Isami Kodaka/Yuko Miyamoto vs Hitoshi Kumano/Naomichi Marafuji (added:12/3) 2015.05.22 CMLL Dragon Lee vs Negro Casas 2015.05.22 CMLL Gedo vs Ryusuke Taguchi (added:12/3) 2015.05.22 NJPW Jushin Liger vs Yohei Komatsu 2015.05.23 ROH Jay Lethal vs Kyle O'Reilly 2015.05.25 PROGRESS Will Ospreay vs Zack Sabre Jr. 2015.05.28 BJW Daisuke Sekimoto/Yuji Okabayashi vs Kohei Sato/Shuji Ishikawa (added:12/3) 2015.05.29 TNA Austin Aries/Bobby Roode vs Davey Richards/Eddie Edwards 2015.05.30 DGJ Masato Yoshino vs T-Hawk (added:12/3) 2015.05.30 EVO Chris Hero vs Trevor Lee (added: 2/12/16) 2015.05.30 EVO Mike Bailey vs TJ Perkins (added: 2/12/16) 2015.05.30 WRESTLE-1 Jiro Kuroshio vs Seiki Yoshioka (added:12/3) 2015.05.31 CMLL Negro Casas vs Volador Jr. [best of 3 Falls] 2015.05.31 DDT Harashima vs Kudo 2015.05.31 EVO Biff Busick vs Mike Bailey 2015.05.31 EVO Drew Galloway vs Roderick Strong (added: 2/12/16) 2015.05.31 WWE Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins (added:12/3) 2015.05.31 WWE John Cena vs Kevin Owens JUNE 2015.06.03 DGJ Eita/T-Hawk vs Naruki Doi/Yamato (added:12/3) 2015.06.03 NXT Adam Rose vs Tyler Breeze 2015.06.05 NJPW Masacara Dorada vs Rocky Romero (added:12/3) 2015.06.05 NJPW Trent Baretta vs Yohei Komatsu (added:12/3) 2015.06.06 NJPW Gedo vs Kyle O'Reilly 2015.06.07 NJPW Kushida vs Kyle O'Reilly 2015.06.09 NOAH Naomichi Marafuji vs Yuji Nagata (added:12/3) 2015.06.09 WAS-G K.E.S. vs Ten Cozy 2015.06.10 BJW Daisuke Sekimoto/Yuji Okabayashi vs Kohei Sato/Shuji Ishikawa 2015.06.13 CZW Conor Claxton vs DJ Hyde vs Nick Gage 2015.06.14 AAA Aerostar vs Bengala vs Daga vs Drago vs Fénix vs Hijo del Fantasma vs Laredo Kid vs Steve Pain vs Súper Fly vs Súper Nova 2015.06.14 RPW Big Damo vs Tomohiro Oshii 2015.06.14 RPW Matt Sydal vs Will Ospreay [best of 3 Falls] 2015.06.14 RPW Roderick Stong vs Shinsuke Nakamura 2015.06.14 STARDOM Kairi Hojo vs Meiko Satomura 2015.06.14 WWE Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins [Ladder Match] 2015.06.14 WWE John Cena vs Kevin Owens 2015.06.15 ROH AJ Styles/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs Kazuchika Okada/Rocky Romero/Trent Beretta 2015.06.16 CZW Conor Claxton/Frankie Pickards vs Drew Gulak/Tracy Williams 2015.06.19 (MIO 5) Arisa Nakajima vs Mio Shirai 2015.06.19 NOAH BIG IN USA vs Davey Boy Smith Jr./Vance Archer 2015.06.19 ROH Adam Cole/Matt Taven/Michael Bennett vs AJ Styles/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson 2015.06.19 ROH Jay Briscoe vs Jay Lethal 2015.06.20 ROH Roderick Stong vs Shinsuke Nakamura 2015.06.21 AJPW Akebono vs Kento Miyahara 2015.06.21 AJPW Hikaru Sato vs Kotaro Suzuki (added:12/3) 2015.06.22 WWE Roman Reigns vs Sheamus 2015.06.23 WWE Cesaro vs Luke Harper 2015.06.28 DDT Kazusada Higuchi vs Yukio Sakaguchi (added:12/3) 2015.06.28 DDT Konosuke Takeshita vs Yukio Sakaguchi 2015.06.28 NJPW [ 10-Man Elimination Match ] 2015.06.29 WWE Cesaro vs John Cena JULY 2015.07.02 DGJ Akira Tozawa/BxB Hulk/Shingo Takagi vs Big R Shimizu/Eita/T-Hawk 2015.07.02 DGJ Cima/Matt Sydal/Ricochet vs Masato Yoshino/Naruki Doi/Yamato 2015.07.04 NXT Finn Balor vs Kevin Owens 2015.07.04 WWE Chris Jericho vs Neville 2015.07.05 NJPW AJ Styles vs Kazuchika Okada 2015.07.05 NJPW Hirooki Goto vs Shinsuke Nakamura (added:2/12/16) 2015.07.05 NJPW Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazushi Sakuraba 2015.07.05 NJPW Kenny Omega vs Kushida 2015.07.06 WWE Cesaro vs John Cena 2015.07.07 BJW Daisuke Sekimoto/Masato Tanaka/Takashi Sugiura vs Harashima/Yuji Hino/Yuji Okabayashi 2015.07.08 AJPW Atsushi Aoki/Joe Doering/Suwama vs Go Shiozaki/Kento Miyahara/Yohei Nakajima (added:12/3) 2015.07.10 AAA Daga/Steve Pain vs Fireball/Ludxor 2015.07.10 EVO Chris Hero vs Trevor Lee 2015.07.10 EVO Drew Galloway vs Timothy Thatcher 2015.07.10 EVO Roderick Strong vs Zack Sabre Jr. 2015.07.11 EVO AR Fox vs Mike Bailey (added:12/3) 2015.07.11 EVO Chris Hero vs Timothy Thatcher 2015.07.11 EVO Drew Galloway vs Trent Baretta 2015.07.11 EVO TJ Perkins vs Zack Sabre Jr. 2015.07.13 NJPW Daichi Hashimoto vs Yuji Nagata (added:12/3) 2015.07.16 ZERO-1 Ikuto Hidaka vs Isami Kodaka (added:12/3) 2015.07.16 ZERO-1 James Raideen vs Shinjiro Otani (added:12/3) 2015.07.28 NOAH Atsushi Kotoge vs Taiji Ishimori (added:12/3) 2015.07.18 NOAH Minoru Suzuki vs Yoshihiro Takayama 2015.07.19 DDT Daisuke Sekimoto/Hideyoshi Kamitani/Yuji Okabayashi vs Daisuke Sasaki/Kota Ibushi/Sugure Miyatake (added:12/3) 2015.07.19 DDT Shigehiro Irie vs Yukio Sakaguchi (added:12/3) 2015.07.19 GUTS Daisuke vs Mr. Gannosuke (added:12/3) 2015.07.19 GUTS Tatsuhiko Yoshino vs Yuko Miyamoto (added:12/3) 2015.07.19 WWE John Cena vs Kevin Owens 2015.07.20 BJW Daichi Hashimoto/Kazuki Hashimoto vs Koji Kanemoto/Tatsuhito Takaiwa (added:12/3) 2015.07.20 BJW Daisuke Sekimoto vs Yuji Okabayashi 2015.07.20 BJW Kohei Sato/Shuji Ishikawa vs Isami Kodaka/Yuko Miyamoto (added:12/3) 2015.07.20 DGJ Akira Tozawa vs Eita 2015.07.20 DGJ Cima/Don Fujii/Gamma vs Dragon Kid/Kzy/Masaki Mochizuki vs Genki Horiguchi/Jimmy Susumu/Ryo Saito (added:12/3) 2015.07.20 DGJ Matt Sydal/Ricochet vs Naruki Doi/Yamato (added:12/3) 2015.07.20 DGJ T-Hawk vs Masato Yoshino 2015.07.20 NJPW AJ Styles vs Katsuyori Shibata 2015.07.20 NJPW Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kota Ibushi 2015.07.20 RPW Marty Scurll vs Will Ospreay 2015.07.23 NJPW Tomoaki Honma vs Yuji Nagata (added:12/3) 2015.07.24 NJPW Gedo/Kazuchika Okada/Shinsuke Nakamura vs Ryusuke Taguchi/Tomoaki Honma/Yuji Nagata (added:12/3) 2015.07.24 NJPW Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan 2015.07.24 NJPW Katsuyori Shibata vs Tetsuya Naito 2015.07.24 PWG Chris Hero vs Mike Bailey 2015.07.24 ROH Jay Lethal vs Roderick Strong 2015.07.25 CMLL Dragon Lee vs Kamaitachi 2015.07.25 NJPW Kazuchika Okada vs Tomoaki Honma 2015.07.26 NJPW AJ Styles vs Kota Ibushi 2015.07.26 NJPW Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito 2015.07.26 NJPW Katsuyori Shibata vs Togi Makabe 2015.07.26 PROGRESS Hunter Brothers vs Sumerian Death Squad 2015.07.28 NJPW Kazuchika Okada vs Satoshi Kojima (added:12/3) 2015.07.29 NJPW Katsuyori Shibata vs Kota Ibushi AUGUST 2015.08.01 NJPW Hirooki Goto vs Kasuchika Okada 2015.08.01 NJPW Michael Elgin vs Tomoaki Honma 2015.08.01 NJPW Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii 2015.08.02 DGJ Jimmy Saito/Jimmy Susumu vs Naruki Doi/Yamato 2015.08.02 ZERO-1 Daisuke Sekimoto vs Kohei Sato (added:12/3) 2015.08.02 ZERO-1 Daisuke Sekimoto vs Masato Tanaka (added:12/3) 2015.08.03 CMLL La Sombra vs Volador 2015.08.03 WWE Neville vs Seth Rollins 2015.08.04 NJPW Tomohiro Ishii vs Yuji Nagata 2015.08.06 DGJ Cyber Kong/Naruki Doi/Yamato vs Eita/Flamita/T-Hawk vs Genki Horiguchi/Jimmy Susumu/Ryo Saito 2015.08.07 E-PW (SCI) Anthony Henry vs Jimmy Rave 2015.08.07 E-PW (SCI) Caprice Coleman vs Jason Collins 2015.08.07 NJPW Kazuchika Okada vs Tomohiro Ishii 2015.08.08 E-PW (SCI) Anthony Henry vs Joe Lynch 2015.08.08 E-PW (SCI) Corey Hollis vs Gunner vs Jimmy Rave vs Kongo Kong 2015.08.08 NJPW Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata 2015.08.09 AAA Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Myzteziz (added:12/3) 2015.08.09 NJPW Hirooki Goto vs Tomohiro Ishii 2015.08.09 NJPW Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomoaki Honma 2015.08.12 NJPW Kazuchika Okada vs Yuji Nagata 2015.08.12 NJPW Tomoaki Honma vs Tomorhiro Ishii 2015.08.12 NXT Bayley vs Becky Lynch 2015.08.14 NJPW AJ Styles vs Hiroshi Tanahashi 2015.08.15 EVO Chris Hero vs Mike Bailey 2015.08.15 EVO Timothy Thatcher vs Zack Sabre Jr. 2015.08.15 NJPW Hirooki Goto vs Yuji Nagata (added:12/3) 2015.08.15 NJPW Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura 2015.08.15 NJPW Michael Elgin vs Tomohiro Ishii 2015.08.16 CHILANGA Dr. Cerebro vs Virus 2015.08.16 CHILANGA Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Guerrero Maya Sr. 2015.08.16 DGJ BxB Hulk/Masaaki Mochizuki vs Dragon Kid/Flamita (added:12/3) 2015.08.16 DGJ Genki Horiguchi/Jimmy Kanda/Jimmy Susumu/Naoki Tanizaki/Ryo Saito vs Cyber Kong/K-ness/Mondai Ryu/Naruki Doi /Yamato [Elimination Match] 2015.08.16 EVO Biff Busick vs Timothy Thatcher [No Holds Barred] 2015.08.16 NJPW Bobby Fish/Kyle O'Reilly vs Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson 2015.08.16 NJPW Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura 2015.08.16 NJPW Kushida vs Ricochet 2015.08.21 ROH Jay Lethal vs Roderick Strong 2015.08.22 NXT Bayley vs Sasha Banks 2015.08.22 NXT Finn Balor vs Kevin Owens [Ladder Match] 2015.08.22 ROH Kazuchika Okada vs Roderick Strong 2015.08.22 STL-A Davey Vega vs Gerald James (Gary Jay) 2015.08.23 DDT Daisuke Sasaki/Kota Ibushi vs Daisuke Sekimoto/Yuji Okabayashi 2015.08.23 DDT Kudo vs Yukio Sakaguchi (added:12/3) 2015.08.23 SMASH Candice LaRae vs Johnny Gargano (added:12/3) 2015.08.23 SMASH Chris Hero vs Tarik (added:12/3) 2015.08.23 STARDOM Io Shirai vs Mayu Iwatani 2015.08.23 WWE Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper vs Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns 2015.08.23 WWE Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker 2015.08.23 WWE Cesaro vs Kevin Owens 2015.08.23 WWE John Cena vs Seth Rollins 2015.08.25 WWE Kevin Owens vs Neville 2015.08.28 CMLL Atlantis/LA Park/Volador Jr. vs Dr. Wagner Jr./La Sombra/Rush 2015.08.28 PWG Fenix vs Matt Sydal 2015.08.28 PWG Mark Andrews vs Will Ospreay 2015.08.28 PWG Marty Scurll/Tommy End/Zack Sabre Jr. vs Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/Roderick Strong 2015.08.29 AJPW Go Shiozaki/Kento Miyahara vs Jun Akiyama/Takao Omori 2015.08.29 AJPW Kotaro Suzuki vs Ultimo Dragon (added:12/3) 2015.08.29 PWG Aero Star/Fenix vs Drago/Pentago Jr. (added:12/3) 2015.08.29 PWG Andrew Everett/Biff Busick/Trevor Lee vs Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/Super Dragon 2015.08.29 PWG Angelico vs Jack Evans (added:12/3) 2015.08.29 PWG Chris Hero vs Timothy Thatcher 2015.08.29 PWG Drew Galloway vs Mike Bailey 2015.08.29 PWG Richochet vs Zack Sabre Jr. 2015.08.30 PWG Brian Cage vs Jack Evans 2015.08.30 PWG Chris Hero vs Mike Bailey vs Zack Sabre Jr. (added:12/3) 2015.08.30 PWG Marty Scurll vs Trevor Lee (added:12/3) 2015.08.30 PWG Marty Scurll vs Zack Sabre Jr. (added:12/3) 2015.08.30 PWG Matt Sydal vs Will Ospreay 2015.08.30 PWG Mike Bailey vs Tommy End 2015.08.30 PWG Pentagon Jr. vs Zack Sabre Jr. SEPTEMBER 2015.09.02 TENRYU Genichiro Tenryu/Katsuyori Shibata vs Minoru Suzuki/Takashi Iizuka (added:12/3) 2015.09.02 TENRYU Kuuga/Tomohiro Ishii vs Minoru Fujita/Yuji Hino (added:12/3) 2015.09.06 PROGRESS Mark Haskins vs Will Ospreay 2015.09.13 SMASH Courtney Rush vs Jessica Havok (added:12/3) 2015.09.13 STARDOM Hudson Envy vs Io Shirai (added:12/3) 2015.09.15 UNION PRO Seiya Morohashi vs Shuji Ishikawa [Last Man Standing] (added:12/3) 2015.09.18 CMLL Atlantis vs La Sombra 2015.09.18 ROH Bobby Fish vs Jay Lethal (added:12/3) 2015.09.18 ROH Cedric Alexander vs Moose [No DQ] 2015.09.18 ROH Jay Lethal vs Kyle O'Reilly (added:12/3) 2015.09.18 RPW Big Damo vs Tommaso Ciampa (added:12/3) 2015.09.18 RPW PJ Black vs Will Ospreay (added:12/3) 2015.09.19 NOAH Daisuke Harada vs Taichi (added:12/3) 2015.09.19 NOAH Minoru Suzuki vs Takashi Suguira 2015.09.20 WWE John Cena vs Seth Rollins 2015.09.23 NJPW Kenny Omega vs Kushida (added:12/3) 2015.09.23 NJPW Kota Ibushi vs Togi Makabe 2015.09.27 NJPW Alex Shelley/Kushida vs Bobby Fish/Kyle O'Reilly 2015.09.27 NJPW Bad Luck Fale vs Hiroshi Tanahashi 2015.09.27 NJPW Hirooki Goto vs Shinsuke Nakamura 2015.09.27 NJPW Katsuyori Shibata vs Tetsuya Naito (added:12/3) 2015.09.27 GUTS Daisuke vs Shota (added:12/3) OCTOBER 2015.10.02 RPW AJ Styles vs Marty Scurll vs Will Ospreay 2015.10.02 RPW Big Damo vs Shinsuka Nakamura 2015.10.02 RPW Jimmy Havoc vs Josh Bodom (added:12/3) 2015.10.02 RPW Kushida vs Kyle O'Reilly 2015.10.02 STARDOM Hudson Envy vs Kairo Hojo (added:12/3) 2015.10.02 STARDOM Io Shirai/Mayu Iwatani vs Dash Chisako/Sendai Sachiko (added:12/3) 2015.10.03 RPW AJ Styles vs Jushin Liger (added:12/3) 2015.10.03 RPW Kazuchika Okada vs Will Ospreay 2015.10.03 WWE Chris Jericho vs Kevin Owens 2015.10.03 WWE John Cena © vs Seth Rollins (nt) [steel Cage] 2015.10.03 WXW Bobby Fish/Kyle O'Reilly vs Michael Dante/Tommy End (added:12/3) 2015.10.04 AAA Angélico and Jack Evans vs Daga/Steve Pain vs Joe Lider/Pentagón Jr. (added:12/3) 2015.10.04 AAA Brian Cage/El Mesias vs Drago/Fenix (added:12/3) 2015.10.04 DGJ Don Fujii vs Shingo Takagi 2015.10.04 NOAH Atsushi Kotoge/Daisuke Harada vs El Desperado/Taka Michinoku 2015.10.04 WXW AJ Styles vs Tommy End (added:12/3) 2015.10.04 WXW Bobby Fish/Kyle O'Reilly vs Big Daddy Walker/Zack Sabre Jr. 2015.10.07 NXT Baron Corbin/Rhyno vs Finn Balor/Samoa Joe (added:12/3) 2015.10.07 NXT Bayley vs Sasha Banks [iron Man Match] 2015.10.07 TNA Austin Aries vs Ethan Carter III 2015.10.08 DGJ Akira Tozawa/Masato Yoshino/T-Hawk vs Dragon Kid/Flamita/Kzy 2015.10.08 DGJ Cima/Don Fujii/Gamma vs Cyber Kong/Kotoka/Shingo Takagi 2015.10.09 AAW Eddie Kingston vs Tyson Dux [Last Man Standing] (added:12/3) 2015.10.09 AAW Ethan Page vs Johnny Gargano [best of 3 Falls] (added:12/3) 2015.10.09 AAW Silas Young vs Trevor Lee (added:12/3) 2015.10.10 ROH ACH vs Matt Sydal (added:12/3) 2015.10.11 STARDOM Dark Angel vs Io Shirai (added:12/3) 2015.10.11 STARDOM La Rosa Negra vs Mayu Iwatani (added:12/3) 2015.10.12 DNA Katsuhiko Nakajima/Kazusada Higuchi vs Kota Umeda/Yukio Sakaguchi (added:12/3) 2015.10.12 DNA Koki Iwasaki/Shunma Katsumata vs Mao Inoue/Ryota Nakatsu (added:12/3) 2015.10.12 NJPW AJ Styles vs Kazuchika Okada 2015.10.12 NJPW Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito 2015.10.12 NJPW Kenny Omega vs Matt Sydal 2015.10.17 DGJ Dragon Kid/Flamita vs Naruki Doi/Yamato (added:12/3) 2015.10.17 EVO Ethan Page vs Johnny Gargano 2015.10.17 ROH Adam Page vs Jay Briscoe 2015.10.18 EVO Caleb Konley/Tony Nese vs Rocky Romero/Trent Baretta (added:12/3) 2015.10.18 EVO Timothy Thatcher vs Trevor Lee (added:12/3) 2015.10.18 PROGRESS Mark Haskins vs Tommaso Ciampa 2015.10.22 GUTS Daisuke vs Masked Mystery (added:12/3) 2015.10.23 FIP Alex Mason/Rudeboy Riley/Sonny Kiss vs Corey Hollis/Ethan Case/John Skyler 2015.10.23 FIP Bull Bronson/Devin Cutter/Mason Cutter vs John Wayne Murdoch/Reed Bentley/Trik Davis (added:12/3) 2015.10.23 FIP Jake Dirden/Kerry Awful/Nick Iggy vs Jason Cade/ Jayson Falcone/Sideshow (added:12/3) 2015.10.23 ROH Jay Lethal vs Roderick Strong (added: 12/15) 2015.10.24 NJPW Alex Shelley/Kushida vs Matt Sydal/Ricochet 2015.10.24 USACW Jerry Lawler vs Terry Funk 2015.10.25 DDT Harashima vs Yukio Sakaguchi (added:12/3) 2015.10.25 RPW Drew Galloway vs Will Ospreay (added:12/3) 2015.10.25 WWE Bray Wyatt vs Roman Reigns [Hell In A Cell] 2015.10.25 WWE Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker [Hell In A Cell] 2015.10.26 WWE Alberto Del Rio vs Dolph Ziggler vs Kevin Owens vs Roman Reigns 2015.10.28 NXT Chad Gable/Jason Jordan vs Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa 2015.10.31 ROH Adam Cole vs AJ Styles vs Kyle O'Reilly (added:12/3) NOVEMBER 2015.11.01 DGJ Akira Tozawa vs Kotoka vs Naoki Tanizaki 2015.11.01 DGJ Masaaki Mochizuki vs Shingo Takagi 2015.11.01 DGJ Masato Yoshino/T-Hawk vs Naruki Doi/Yamato 2015.11.02 WWE Big E./Kevin Owens/Kofi Kingston/Seth Rollins/Xavier Woods vs Dean Ambrose/Jey Uso/Jimmy Uso/Roman Reigns/Ryback [Elimination Match] 2015.11.03 NOAH Minoru Suzuki vs Shelton X. Benjamin 2015.11.07 EVO Caleb Konley vs Drew Galloway 2015.11.07 EVO Drew Gulak vs Johnny Gargano 2015.11.07 EVO Johnny Gargano vs Timothy Thatcher 2015.11.07 NJPW Hiroshi Tanahashi/Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazuchika Okada/Kazushi Sakuraba 2015.11.07 NJPW Karl Anderson vs Shinsuke Nakamura 2015.11.07 NJPW Matt Sydal/Ricochet vs Rocky Romero/Trent Baretta 2015.11.07 NJPW Tomoaki Honma vs Tomohiro Ishii 2015.11.08 NOAH Naomichi Marufuji vs Shelton Benjamin 2015.11.08 NOAH Taiji Ishimori vs Zack Sabre Jr. 2015.11.09 WWE Cesaro vs Sheamus 2015.11.10 GUTS Daisuke/Masked Mystery vs Isami Kodaka/Tatsuhiko Yoshino 2015.11.12 SENDAI Io Shirai vs Meiko Satomura 2015.11.12 SENDAI Io Shirai vs Sendai Sachiko 2015.11.12 SENDAI Kairi Hojo vs Meiko Satomura 2015.11.12 STARDOM Io Shirai vs Sendai Sachiko 2015.11.12 STARDOM Kairi Hojo vs Meiko Satomura 2015.11.14 ROH ACH vs Christopher Daniels vs Jay Briscoe vs Michael Elgin vs Silas Young [Elimination Match] 2015.11.15 STARDOM Kairi Hojo vs Mika Iwata 2015.11.15 STARDOM Mayu Iwatani vs Meiko Satomura 2015.11.15 TENRYU Daisuke Sekimoto/Kazuyuki Fujita vs Suwama/Yuji Okabayashi 2015.11.15 TENRYU Genichiro Tenryu vs Kazuchika Okada 2015.11.16 WWE Cesaro vs Roman Reigns 2015.11.21 NJPW Hirooki Goto/Katsuyori Shibata vs Shinsuke Nakamura/Tomohiro Ishii 2015.11.21 NJPW Hiroshi Tanahashi/Michael Elgin vs Kazuchika Okada/Yoshi-Hashi 2015.11.22 NJPW Hiroshi Tanahashi/Juice Robinson/Michael Elgin vs Shinsuke Nakamura/Tomorhiro Ishii/Toru Yano DECEMBER 2015.12.09 NJPW Evil/Tetsuya Naito vs Tigo Makabe/Tomoaki Honma 2015.12.11 PWG Kenny Omega vs Mike Bailey 2015.12.11 PWG Trevor Lee vs Will Ospreay 2015.12.12 PWG Marty Scurll vs Timothy Thatcher 2015.12.12 PWG Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay 2015.12.13 WWE Big E./Kofi Kingston vs Jey Uso/Jimmy Uso vs Kalisto/Sin Cara [Ladder Match] 2015.12.16 NXT Bayley vs Nia Jax 2015.12.16 NXT Finn Balor vs Samoa Joe 2015.12.18 ROH AJ Styles vs Jay Lethal 2015.12.18 ROH Adam Cole vs Kyle O'Reilly

For the love of... just DIE already, TNA! I don't even watch your crappy show but I feel compelled to read recaps about it just so I can keep current and even THAT is a chore. The wrestling world won't miss you, honestly.

Some NXT thoughts after last night's show. It's kind of staggering the difference between The Ascension in WWE and The Ascension in NXT. The same two guys wearing the exact same gear and using the exact same mannerisms come across as two giant out-of-touch dorks when they're on the big stage, but tucked away in the confines of Full Sail they look like a perfectly reasonable badass team. I mean, they're still no great shakes in the ring, but they just FEEL so different. They seem to have an endless supply of female jobbers right now. Since Takeover: Brooklyn they've rolled out: Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Sarah Dobson, Evie, Shazza, Kay Lee Ray, Marley, Deonna, and Mary Kate. Weird. I generally love the Full Sail crowd because they make the show's fun and keep the energy high (which is even more appreciated after I sat through an Evolve show yesterday where the crowd brought almost nothing and it was absolutely jarring), but they really need to pick their spots. The "HEYYY WE WANT SOME BAY-LEY!" chant is fun and it seemed to feed her during her comeback against Alexa, but they pretty much killed Jordan's hot tag with the "JOR-DAN" chant (to the Kurt Angle theme). Save it for their entrance, because it's a flat chant. Dash & Dawson are really growing on me if for no other reason than it's so refreshing to see guys who are willing to work such an old school style without succumbing to the urge to add "cool" stuff to their repertoire. Week after week I find myself finishing the show and thinking, "that was damn near a perfect show". The matches are always tight and concise and all seem to have a point. The promo work is quick and - again - meaningful. They don't muck around with the hidden camera bullshit. The stories are almost 100% focused on success in the ring and wanting to be the best/champ. Yeah, being a develomental promotion there are occasional issues with people not being quite as smooth as they need to be (and the commentary team aside from Graves needs work), but it's just such a purely enjoyable 1 hour of wrestling. I never feel like I wasted my time sitting through it and it's the only regular show I give my full attention to when it's on. That being said, Eva Marie is in WAAAAAY over her head right now. She was completely flumoxed by the crowd this week and came off so horrible to me. I get that they like her look, but does she bring ANYTHING to the table that's actually wrestling related? The little promo bits from "France" the past month were fine, but outside of those bits of sarcasm, she seems to be fundementally unable to grasp anything when she's in front of a live audience. She's like Kelly Kelly without the bimbo charm. What a disaster.

Yeah, that's why he reminds me so much of Styles. AJ in the early 2000's used to cram so much stuff into his matches and his selling was always spotty. He seems to have cleaned both of those up quite a bit as he got older.

Re: the talk about Will Ospreay eventually winding up in NXT, I get this vibe off of him that he could wind up being WWE's version of AJ Styles. He's incredibly smooth and exciting and seems really polished for such a young age. He has that "wow" factor that I don't quite get from Finn Balor (so far at least) in terms of moveset. It took AJ a number of years to really figure out how to best use his skills to build a match without it being nothing but crazy highspots, but once he got there he became one of the best in the world. Ospreay has that feel. If he can cut a promo as well as you guys say he did, he could be a megastar, because he has the in-ring flashiness of somebody like Neville but with a good young babyface look. He's also built in such a way that he looks like he could add weight as he gets older and feel like a main eventer (sorta like Randy Orton did when he first was brought up) without looking like a bloated cruiserweight (like Neville). I'm really interested to see where his career goes.

I think the point Capetta was making was that Simmons would also be suspended if Reed didn't unmask, not that Reed needed to unmask (since he already had). The unmasking seems pretty clearly planned, although I think they messed up the spot. It looks like Rick was meant to take the mask with him when Reed pushed him off of the headlock. Rick looks like he's trying to take it with him but loses his grip on it, so after he hits the ropes he just sorts of runs by Reed and yanks the mask off to cover.

This is essentially what I was trying to say but of course it took me three paragraphs and an accidental emoji to do it. I probably shouldn't be allowed near a keyboard.

Fair enough, but I'd argue the Iron Man Match being non-title is the one that makes no sense. Multi-fall matches should be for the title. Falls Count Anywhere, not so much.

Aw, man, the band broke up. *kicks dirt* *shuffles off with his head down*

I'm gonna go ahead and disagree with you on this one, Shoe, for two reasons. One, we very rarely get non-title matches where the champ wins (that don't involve an outright jobber), which tends to telegraph the result. "Oh, it's non-title? Guess the champ is losing here." So having one on a PPV where the champ actually prevailed was a nice change-up. Also, because Cactus could be seen as not necessarily being deserving of a title shot but the two guys wanted to tear each other apart anyway, it gives a little value to the title itself. It's like the matchmakers are saying, "ok, we're gonna let these two go at it, but this is not a worthy challenger (at the moment) and this type of match is not representative of how we feel that title should be defended". Current day product has so badardized that concept of the stipulation match that we just take it for granted the title is always on the line, but in reality, most non-traditional matches shouldn't be for the title. They're meant to settle differences, not decide champions. It would actually be a useful tool for current WWE's style of booking rematches over multiple months. Heel challenges babyface in first match, but loses. He does something nefarious in the weeks that follow to really get under the babyface's skin, eventually leading to the babyface demaning the non-title stip match. Heel wins, giving him leverage to demand a second title match which the babyface then wins cleanly. You get the same three-match cycle you want, but you don't have to: A) burn through two stips to get there; schmoz up the end of the stip match with some contrived finish in order to justify the third. Plus you get the added bonus of every now and then having the heel goad the babyface into putting the title on the line in the stip match (against the promotions wishes, of course), thus allowing the heel to win the title in a "less than traditional" manner (again necessitating a rematch). Sadly we're at the point now where they just keep having rematches with different stips until the babyface finally wins in a satisfactory way, ending the feud and as a result making the heel look impotent because no matter how many wins he gets overall it's apparently only the last one that matters.

Eva Marie was so awful on NXT this week I actually thought to myself: "ugh, just call her up to Raw already so she's not ruining NXT with her shit wrestling". At which point I reminded myself that *NXT* is supposed to be the developmental company feeding Raw and not the other way around. Sad.

This was my exact thought as well. Although if it leads to Duane Gill's return as "Gillback", I might be on board. *fingers crossed*

I've been reading for so long now how Hansen is one of the greatest of all time and if you only think of him as a big messy brawler, you haven't seen enough Hansen. Yet prior to watching this match that was exactly what I saw: a big messy brawler who admittedly showed incredible fighting spirit. He may lose on occasion, but he always goes out in a blaze of glory. This is the match I've been waiting for, but honestly, wasn't sure existed: a match where Hansen the man shows immense vulnerability. His selling down the stretch here was no Hansen I've ever seen before. He was out of it, just clinging to whatever thread of survival he could find from the moment Gordy hit the DDT until the end. I have almost zero historical understanding of AJPW going forward and have only been working my way sporadically through the 80's to get a feel for Jumbo and Misawa/Tiger Mask (and a little of Kobashi and Kawada) so that I could hit the ground running with 1990 and beyond. So I had no idea that Hansen was winning the Triple Crown here. It was completely unexpected because I had just watched Gordy win it a few days earlier (for me) and it certainly didn't feel like another change was imminent. With the way the match progressed - Hansen being down and out - I was totally surprised by the ending. When he hit the lariat I had a genuine moment of "WTF?!". The match isn't great (the clipping holds some secrets), but it's certainly memorable for me because it showed me a side to Hansen I wasn't convinced existed and managed to surprise me with a finish a good 25 years after it occured. I love when wrestling does that.