ShittyLittleBoots

It's the first singles meeting between the two since 2005, and it's kinda cool that now they're the World Champions in the biggest wrestling company in the world facing off. It's a very neat little tease of what was about to come between them later on in the year, too. A helluva TV-match w/ compelling wrestling all the way through. Bryan is all kinds of awesome on the offense w/ terrific strikes, some Regal-esq work with those knee drops to the face and continuing working the hand & arm while having that knee on the face of Punk -- him twisting & bending Punk's arm all over the place was of course extremely enjoyable, and Punk's selling is really good, unsurprisingly. I really liked how he had to switch to the better arm in that signature move-combo of his in that running knee into the bulldog one. The finish w/ Jericho kinda comes just when the match was kicking into another gear, but hey, I can't really complain about it knowing that Bryan & Punk got to have those PPV matches later on in 2012. Like I said, this more than did its job as a teaser for those matches that would eventually happen. ***3/4

Everything from when ADR first handcuffs Punk on is such awesome action. They use all of the gimmicks well with a couple of great, big table spots, ladder smacks + ADR going crazy w/ the chairs during his little (awesome) rampage run. I also really love the finishing stretch w/ Miz handcuffing Punk again -- it's some creative, very good stuff. Definitely a quality TLC bout. ***3/4

A good TV-match. Ziggler actually controls most of it, and the whole dynamic of him, as a hot mid-card act pushing the new World Champ to the limit, was fun. Such good energy surrounding the whole thing & the action is solid from start to finish. I'd say the highlights for me were Ziggler's GTS counter, and then a bit later on Punk paying him back w/ that Fameasser counter. ***

First of all, Punk having The Fink as his personal ring announcer for the match ruled. The match itself is overall very good, but it also had a pretty dry and dull middle-section w/ Del Rio on top. He just didn't grab me at all with his work, and it sounded like the crowd would agree with me, because they went pretty dead for that section of the match. I definitely can appreciate the fact that he went after the arm though -- even if his work over it was EXTREMELY basic & uninteresting, it's always nice to see stuff that makes sense, ya know. What helped that tremendously was the fact that Punk's selling was absolute top class. Made it feel so much more important & better than it was. Things thankfully also really picked up after Del Rio's heat segment is done, and the last third of the match is legitimately pretty great. I'd say that the thing had a good start, dull middle, and then a great last third to cap it off. ***1/2

Prior to this, I actually hadn't watched this match since it happened in 2011, and I am VERY surprised at how great this thing actually was. They showcase their pure disdain of one another brilliantly right from the get go as Punk jumps HHH during his entrance, and from then on, it's just a pure fight all over the place w/ nothing cute or lame about it. It's just them going at it, and I think what surprised me the most was that there wasn't any dead, dull moments in the thing -- in almost every lengthier WWE No DQ main event match like this, it feels like they could be trimmed quite a bit, but here Punk & Trips filled every second they got greatly. You can just feel the bitterness they feel for one another, and it's awesome. I actually also really enjoy all the shenanigans, starting from the Awesome Truth run-in -- they work in the context of the storylines going at the time, and I enjoy the super chaotic feel of it all. Kinda reminds me of Foley vs. Austin in that sense. Now the result is what it is -- it's what the match is mostly known for, and it sure is the wrong result in every way imaginable, but the actual match is pretty damn great in my eyes. ****

MITB certainly wasn't just lightning in a bottle. They were never gonna match or top that match when it comes to the overall magic of it, but their PPV rematch here was absolutely great. It feels like two titans clashing with all the counters throughout, and that feeling is especially on play after the count-out tease bit with Trips throwing them both back in the ring. It's some damn great big time main event wrestling. The finishing sequence w/ Punk absolutely CHARGING Cena with that ugly, yet goddamn awesome knee, followed by Cena getting fired up & punching n' pummeling Punk up, all leading to Punk eventually getting him with that GTS, is so awesome. Maybe my favorite bit/sequence/thing of the whole match. ****

It's a 30+ minute epic, but when you have such a hot angle, or THE hottest angle of the 2010s may I say + the perfect overall setting, it all called for that 30+ minute epic. Does it have a shitload of big movez & nearfalls? Sure does. All of those big movez & nearfalls felt like they happened organically though, and most importantly, they felt earned. And the bombs they bust out are actually really fucking great all the way through -- nothing looks CUTE; it feels tense 'cause of the stipulation & everything is done w/ the purpose to try and put the opponent away. The whole sequence where they go from Punk's GTS attempt to Cena's STF, which Punk ultimately counters into the Anaconda Vice is something that could be oh so cheesy, but they milked the drama from it excellently, and it felt like a real struggle. It's one of my favorite bits of the whole match. Now is the wrestling a little sloppy at times? Absolutely. The most notable points would be Punk's crossbody where he lands on Cena's knee, and then the AA reversal where he doesn't quite land on his feet -- the thing is, those DEFINITELY didn't take anything away from the match. If anything, it made it feel all the more scrappy, organic n' intense. As an overall package, this thing really is just pure magic; the lead-up, the pre-match video package, the entrances, the atmosphere the entire way through, the absolutely superb in-ring action by both men, the ending. Pure magic. *****

Right from the get go they establish Ridgeway's strikes as something to fear w/ him delivering some leg kicks, which Makabe sells big. It's not long after when he starts to just kick the shit out of Makabe, to put it bluntly. And it's lovely. All of his kicks look super lethal, and as Makabe annoys him w/ a lil' slap, he changes it up & delivers a much more brutal looking n' sounding slap of his own, and then quickly after that, he just destroys poor Makabe with some absolutely devastating forearms to the mid-section. Absolutely LOVED his work as on the offense here, as he came off as a complete killer. Of course much of it is also thanks to Makabe's amazing selling of those said strikes. It's a pretty great match, and definitely a fitting finale for the tournament. ***3/4

Two 50+ year old mad men from Japan might just come to Germany to beat the absolute piss out of each other. What a WILD effin' time this match was. Brutal kicks, slaps, forearms, punches, headbutts galore. And then throw some viciously tight looking submissions in there as well. A Super Fight, indeed. ****1/4

One of my favorite matches of all-time. Everybody who knows about this match knows about the last 5-6 minutes w/ Nigel getting busted open hard way as Bryan pulls him repeatedly into the post. It's one of the most brutal things I have ever seen, and knowing everything that happened to the two years after the match, it's extremely uncomfortable as well. I don't want to call it stupid (even if it is), because ultimately, it was their choice to do it, and they're the artists painting that picture, you know. And it sure created for some unforgettable art, to say the least, as those last 6-minutes or so are indeed some of the most magical I've witnessed in a wrestling ring w/ Nigel rising like a zombie after beating the refs count, roaring & shaking like a maniac while the crowd goes crazy. The actual finish w/ Bryan absolutely destroying him with those elbow strikes is one of the most legendary scenes in ROH history too, and for a good reason; it's an amazing visual, and I think an underrated part of it is the ref having to come in & stop Bryan from continuing with them elbows -- it's not the usual heel like stuff w/ him just being a dick to continue beating his opponent after the bell, but it felt like he had to dug so deep to finish this English madman that he was just doing anything & everything to put him away, and he was so focused on that. It's a very powerful ending imo, and very fitting for one of the greatest matches of all-time. Even before the ringpost-spot, everything is extremely compelling all the way through w/ them playing up to the Pure rules amazingly & busting out callbacks to their previous 2 meetings. It all excellently builds to that bloody, brutal climax. *****

This sure has some beautiful technical wrestling throughout. I like how Bryan tried to get into Lance's head by being mean w/ that slap early on, but to the champs surprise, Lance just shrugged it off & gave him one back. Bryan continues to be lil' nasty as the match goes on by using the lace of his boots to grind on the side of Lance's face, choking him, trashtalk n' slaps. It's very good stuff and it showcased Bryan's frustration very well, because he sure wasn't liking how Storm was hanging w/ him, and even showing him up in their exchanges. If I had to pick one singular moment to point out as my favorite from the match, I'd probably go with the Surfboard bit. Loved how much fight & struggle Lance brought into it, as he never stopped trying to fight out of that thing. It's a real good, borderline great match overall. ***3/4

They open it up w/ some wonderful technical rasslin' -- it's pretty even throughout, but to use somewhat of a commentator cliche here, I'd say that if it was scored on points, Danielson would be in the lead. There's a true feeling of competition in everything they do, and I like the little playfulness in their exchanges; it demonstrates that feeling of competition & one-upmanship perfectly. I also like how, as the match progresses, things get meaner & meaner between the two; stomps, knees to the face, trashtalk, etc. One spot that I absolutely adore is when Danielson goes to drop an elbow on Gibson who is on the ground; Gibson ducks, so Danielson looks to go for another one, but as he is going for it, Gibson keeps on rolling away & starts to get up, so Danielson stops himself from doing that elbow drop & instead blasts an uppercut to Gibson, who was now standing. It's so brilliant in all of its simplicity. Gibson gets the first real work-over segment of the match, and he's really great punishing Bryan -- he nastily drops him rib-first on the guardrail, launches him into the corner w/ a lot of force behind it, busts out some excellently brutal looking backbreakers & neckbreakers. They swift the momentum to Bryan beautifully -- just a bit earlier, there was a moment where Gibson started striking Bryan, which essentially woke Bryan up to strike him back & almost win the exchange, so here Gibson makes that mistake again after getting a bit too cocky about his control; once again, as Bryan is on the corner, Gibson goes to strike him, but he took his time with it, which he pays for as Bryan strikes back & gets back into things. Now Bryan is pretty much in control, and oh man is he brilliant. His main focus goes to Gibson's arm, and he is superb going after it w/ all kinds of violent work over it. Goddamn I also love the bit where he goes to pin Gibson multiple times in a row, just to tire Gibson out some more. And of course the whole finishing stretch rules w/ Gibson escaping the Cattle Mutilation, only for Bryan to lock-in his new ultimate weapon of choice in the Chickenwing. Brilliant wrestling all the way through. It's the kind of a match where I find something new to love about it every time I watch it. ****1/2

This has such an honest heel vs. babyface dynamic to it, and I can't help but love it. Daniels is a wonderful dick throughout; him on top is great, as he puts so much soul into everything he does, and stuff like him raking Generico in the eyes to get the advantage, dropping him throat first into the ropes, chanting "I still got it!" at himself, acting like he was gonna do a springboard 450, etc, it's superb stuff. Absolutely loved his performance here, and then you of course got El Generico, who is an awesome babyface w/ his great selling & fantastic times on the offense. That whole finishing sequence was so damn good too. Great match! ****

The culmination of a year-long build. I would honestly call this one of the greatest grudge matches of all-time; it just feels like everything simply clicked here. The build was amazing, the atmosphere was amazing, and both guys delivered some of their finest performances. Steen is such a compelling nasty bastard throughout with his sadistic beatdown - might actually be his best performance ever now that I think about it, and then there's Generico, who's selling of that said beating is simply masterful & all of his times on the offense feel so fulfilling, especially that ending where the story from Final Battle '09 to Final Battle '10 comes to a full circle. Extremely compelling storytelling in the form of pro-wrestling violence all the way through. ****3/4

Generico looks to slow Ibushi down as his gameplan -- he is lovely just dropping him w/ those great looking backbreakers & Michinoku Drivers. Ibushi sells every move well, and all of his comebacks are intense, fast-paced + come with a nice sense of urgency. He basically does those IBUSHI THINGS, ya know, and it's great. After they come face-to-face, things get even more intense & essentially the match kicks into its finishing gear, and it's pretty damn fantastic. Such a banger of a match. Ibushi ends his ROH tour on an absolute high note. ****

Jay Lethal defends the ROH World Title. AJ's coming into this with some well known back problems, and that ends up being the big story of the match. Lethal first goes to it as he drops AJ on the apron, and after that the target is clear. Lethal's work over the back is really good, and AJ's selling is just faaantastic. During this time period, this was a very different type of a match for Styles, with him being the Bullet Club leader & top heel in NJPW; but here he was the babyface who was forced to fight from underneath because the champ took an advantage of his injury. It created for such a great struggle for AJ throughout; he was so good at gaining that sympathy from everyone, selling that damn back like the legend that he is. Really can't praise it enough. He got some really great counter hope-spots too, some examples of those would be the forearm smash to Lethal as he went for that 3rd dive, evading Lethal Injection & giving Lethal a good ol' Pele Kick, etc, etc. AJ's performance was just absolutely top tier in every way, I thought. I also love how just when it looked like he created somewhat of a 2nd gear flurry for himself & he went for the Clash, Lethal just DUMPS him outside the ring through that table. What a brilliant spot, and what a brilliant match. ****1/4

Definitely one of the top matches that Matt Sydal has ever had. They tell a great underdog story throughout, and as they do that, they even play up to the size difference in some nice, subtle ways. Styles is just wonderfully NASTY all the way through, and Sydal sure knows how to take a beating in compelling fashion. Love the finish too -- it in some ways perfectly sums the match up imo; at first Sydal looks to do something BIG from the top, but AJ easily counters that into the Styles Clash set-up, which Sydal counters w/ that ultimate rana, from which Styles rolls through to get the pin. Sydal busted out some fantastic counters throughout, but just like in that finish, Styles was one step ahead the entire time. ****

Daniel Bryan & Cesaro having an empty arena match for the WWE, with Triple H on commentary + Drew Gulak, Sami Zayn & Nakamura hanging at ringside. WILD. This was a goddamn blast, to no one's surprise. They got like 5-minutes, but every second of those 5-minutes or so was filled with great, intense wrestling. The lads just beat the crap out of one another, to put it simply. Gotta love the ending too, with Cesaro trying to be cute n' sneaky w/ that crucifix pinfall attempt, but he sure wasn't prepared for MR. SMALL PACKAGE making him pay for that, baybay. This won't be making mine or probably any MOTYC lists, but for more reasons than one, it will be one of the more memorable matches from this year, at least for me I'm sure. ***3/4

Tyler Black defends the ROH World Title. This is Steen at arguably his most nastiest & violent form, and here he was looking to change Black forever. Him opening up the match with that stiff sounding SLAP was great, and it very well set the table up for what was about to come in the next 20+ minutes. Steen is awesome on top, delivering a beating to Tyler & even bloodying him up -- eventually Steen himself gets his face bloodied, and I gotta say that both of them rocking that color definitely made this match even more memorable than it already was. Tyler's babyface performance is also all kinds of very good w/ him busting out some awesome hope spots, comeback flurries & he sold for Steen's beatdown quite well, gaining that sympathy of the crowd. It's a great match, and probably one of the best singles ones of both men's ROH careers. Somewhat of a "gem" I'd even say, as it's usually not talked about at all. ****

Both guys feel like absolute rockstars here. The Hammerstein crowd eats everything they do up, and honestly, so do I. This was a kick ass match. They play off of each others personalities excellently, the action is bomb-heavy right from the get go, and it's just lovely. The match being under 15-minutes is just about perfect too. And I absolutely love the finish w/ Steen kicking out at 1 from the sliding Boma Ye, and then Nakamura finishing him off w/ a standing one right away. ***3/4

Punk is such a great cocky heel prick in this. Between his in-ring work, the taunting to Joe & Gibson + the way he controlled the crowd throughout, this truly was a terrific performance by the man. Roddy was a great opponent to go against him too -- I looooooved the way they built the match up from the beginning w/ Punk avoiding Roddy's chop-heavy onslaught for as long as he could, so once Roddy finally got to unleash those sick chops of his, it was like a true "finally!" moment. Great match. ****

This is one of those classic ROH World Title matches + also one of the greatest moments in the history of the company. I've always loved it. The whole package -- from the presentation of the deal w/ it being billed as CM Punk's last ROH match, to the atmosphere, to the in-ring work done by the two, to the legendary post-match stuff. It's that mid-2000s ROH/indy magic that cannot be re-captured. Punk controls the first portions of the match -- everyone knew Aries had a banged up neck going into it, so Punk naturally goes after it w/ them dropkicks, headlocks, bulldogs. It's good stuff! Once Aries takes over, he definitely ups the nastiness though; that DVD on the apron was pretty sickening, and his overall work on top is really great. He wonderfully plays the dickhead who wants to spoil Punk's one last hurrah, and the crowd reacts 110% accordingly, which made it all the more better. Punk FINALLY mustering some offense in the form of that irish whip reversal into the lariat to the back of the head was a great moment after Aries' long heat segment. And talking about great moments, I do love me some well done & timed kickouts at 1, and that Pepsi Plunge one has always been a very good one. To sum it all up; like I said, I've always loved this thing, and I think I always will. ****1/2

A very good match w/ some very nice dueling body part targeting; Punk early on went for the arm to soften Shelley up for the Anaconda Vise, which Shelley countered by unleashing an absolute beating to Punker's mid-section. Shelley's all around performance was pretty terrific -- his focused attack on that mid-section was all kinds of awesome, and he sold the arm really well; I especially liked how he couldn't fully lock in the Border City Stretch at first, 'cause of the damage Punk had done to that arm. That was some good shit. Punk was rock solid with everything he did in the match as well, but I do think he could've sold the mid-section a little bit more, but it's not like his selling was bad or anything, so it's all good. It's just something that could've potentially pushed this match from being very good to GREAT. ***3/4

This being a 15-minute WWE PPV match is pretty mindblowing. And it was exactly everything I would expect from a match between these two outstanding individuals -- to put it simply, it just LOOKED like how a Bryan vs. Gulak match should look like + the storytelling was superb throughout; the whole story leading up to this was Gulak informing Bryan that he knows the weaknesses in his game, and they played up to that story here pretty much perfectly. Even when you look at it without paying attention to the smaller details, it's mostly Gulak just dominating Bryan in every department & that's exactly how it should've gone. They do an amazing job with Gulak countering any & every move or hold Bryan went for, and one of my favorite things about the match was the whole head-scissors deal; at first, Bryan escapes Gulak's head-scissors w/ a little headstand, right? Well then when Gulak puts on the head-scissors for the 2nd time a bit later on & Bryan tries to do the same, Gulak does the little short-piledriver to stop that from happening! So good. This is easily my favorite match of 2020 up to this point & the first match since Bryan vs. Kofi from Mania that's actually made me want to re-watch it a couple of more times the day it happened. Bless this match for being a thing that happened. ****1/2

First of all I gotta say that I thought the 30-minutes or so that this match went flew by. Sure there's some cheesy/corny stuff in their STORYTELLING (insert TM logo here), but all in all this was pretty darn good. All 4 guys delivered great performances & they played up to their whole angle leading up to this excellently throughout -- some of the highlights include Kenny's epic kickout at 1 of The Golden Trigger, Matt going after Kenny's taped up shoulder like a mean bastard + Hangman getting the W for his team by destroying both of The Bucks w/ that Buckshot Lariat of his. Very good match. ***1/2