ShittyLittleBoots

Well OF COURSE this was great. There was basically no chance it was gonna be anything less than very good after all. Eddie Kingston & Timothy Thatcher are very different, but also very similar in their styles at the same time, and their philosophies clashed beautifully here. They did what they do best and made it look like a beautifully ugly fight -- there was a wonderful struggle in everything they did, the selling was great, the strikes were absolutely hellacious -- basically EVERYTHING about this was just great, which indeed doesn't come to me as a surprise. ****

These two have never had that one truly great match against each other; their NXT UK match was VERY underwhelming to say the least, and while their wXw & PROGRESS matches have been very good, they still haven't hit that level I would think they could've given who are involved. That all changed here though, as this was absolutely GREAT. WALTER does some of his most compelling work in all of 2019 here, as his beatdown of Ohno is superb, and then he does a great job of being the 'wounded bear' when Ohno goes to town on his hand & arm. Ohno's work over that hand (& the arm as a whole) is just terrific in every way -- it's vicious, it's focused & it's creative. Absolutely adored the finish too, it's very simple & fit the bout perfectly; just when it looked like Ohno had WALTER in big time trouble w/ that gameplan of his, he makes the mistake of going to the top, probably to try & pull off the Moonsault, but that leaves WALTER enough time to recover, resulting in him following Ohno to the turnbuckle & pulling off the win w/ that big belly-to-back superplex. Tremendous stuff. Extremely tight match. ****1/4

What a fascinating looking pairing on paper, like as in, I wasn't sure what to expect from the two in terms of match quality, but this was absolutely AWESOME. Taven was GREAT dishing out the punishment when he had the control -- he was extremely compelling all the way through, and more than matched Rush's explosiveness + viciousness. The whole thing also had this great feeling of a FIGHT that's not too common in ROH World Title matches or for that matter, any main event World Title matches anywhere. This was great. ****

They go at it at a frantic pace right from the start with Rush bringing the fight to Dem Boys immediately, and that pace pretty much never lets up. All four men bring so much badass offense into the thing, and especially The Briscoes & Rush have their own unique swagger to them, making the already superb action all the more charming. FANTASTIC bout. Definitely one of the top tag matches of 2019. Kicked SO MUCH ass. ****1/4

This was actually so great up until the German Suplex moment where it became clear that KENTA was completely out of it. So uncomfortable to watch KENTA try & do (& blow) his spots at maybe half-speed (if even that) & then all the strikes to the face + that damn brainbuster... Damn. EXTREMELY uncomfortable stuff. I will still rate it high because I truly loved everything when KENTA was still operating without showing signs of being badly concussed, but goddamn do I feel dirty about it. My favorite match out of the 3 singles ones on the show. ***1/2

It's between this & Cesaro/Dragunov when it comes down to being the best match of the night. This was such a good time with two beefy heavyweights clobbering each other just like two beefy heavyweights should. Very good & fun use of the stipulation too + all the wacky weapons were used in awesome fashion. ***1/2

A lovely smackfest with such great energy to it. Great urgency too. Cesaro was a joy to watch, and the story with Ilja elevating himself & pushing himself to Cesaro's level was told very well through the awesome action between the two. Tied for the MOTN honors. ***1/2

Hahaa, this was so damn awesome. The presentation during the entrances is amazing (except for poor Pharaoh getting scared shitless by the pyro), the beginning of the match is FANTASTIC w/ Cody going right at Spears with that suicide dive & then kicking his ass all over the place, pumping up the crowd & slapping hands with kids -- hell yeah I say, that's some classic babyface stuff right there. Spears is very solid dishing out the punishment too, and the great atmosphere added so much to it + of course it helps that Cody's overall babyface work was absolutely on point. Him getting FIRED UP by those beltshots & then booting Spears' face was awesome. Also loved the inclusions of MJF & Tully -- when Tully was stomping MJF & then fucking DOUBLE A comes out and delivers his signature Spinebuster (which was as gorgeous as ever), I got the biggest smile on my face. So much FUN all around w/ Cody's amazing babyface act, the red-hot atmosphere, MJF & Tully being awesome ringside + the goddamn Enforcer coming out. Easy MOTN. ****

Mark and Jay Briscoe defend the ROH World Tag Team Titles. I already loved their Street Fight, but this was on another level. Amazing violence from start to finish with a natural chaotic & heated feel to it. Mark Briscoe is still a crazy bastard in 2019, Tama Tonga had a few superb spots w/ his sneaky attacks (that dropkick to Mark which sent him over the barricade + that cutter as Mark was climbing the ladder) & Jay mothafuggen' Briscoe. I recommended this match to a friend right after watching it, and his response was "are GOD matches allowed to be good" -- well, when you have Jay rocking the crimson mask like it's 2004 vs. Samoa Joe in a Steel Cage, then I'd say yeah, it's allowed. We'll see how it holds up when I do a MOTYC re-watch before the year ends, but on first watch, this is totally up there w/ the best ROH ladder wars. One of the finest pieces of pro-rasslin in 2019. ****1/2

A classic lucha bloodbath with lots of drama. Wagner Jr. & Blue Demon Jr. beat the absolute shit out of each other & brutalize one another with everything they can get their hands on. Lovely time from start to finish. ****

Fantastic. Bryan is incredible punishing Murphy - his trashtalk rules, and the little pre-match promo only added for what was about to happen. The way he started to stretch Murphy some more after he refused to give up to the LeBell Lock was so great too, and even his kicks looked & sounded harder than usual. Amazing stuff all around by him, and Murphy definitely was real good himself too. The way he pushed the pace with his explosive offense bursts was awesome, and a real great contrast to Bryan's style. They meshed so well together -- the two definitely proved to have wonderful chemistry with one another in their first meeting. An absolutely terrific underdog story w/ superb energy all the way through. ****1/4

I actually watched this two times in a row, just because of how in awe I was of the whole thing after the 1st viewing. There's so much that I loved about it, or actually, I could just say that I loved EVERYTHING about it, tbh. Even the entrances are amazing with White & the entire Bullet Club being together, and then Ibushi walking down all alone to the ring to see that corner of pure evil. White has been a tremendous piece of shit all tournament long, and it all showed again here w/ a fantastic performance -- his trashtalk was awesome & I can't praise his facial expressions enough. The moment where he triggers Ibushi into that classic Ibushi murder-mode w/ that slap was so epic, and a major part in why was the tremendous character work by White with those facial expressions. The Gedo run-in is done masterfully too, with it adding lots of more heat to the already super-heated battle, and then his whole tournament long shtick paying off with Ibushi kicking his head off & Rocky carrying him out of the ring. AMAZING STUFF. Really felt like a proper climax to the tournament that G1 29 had been. Ahh, so good! There's so much more I could say about it, but let's just sum this up by saying it's the NJPW MOTY & a bonafide G1 (& NJPW) classic. ****1/2

Quite similar to Okada's excellent match vs. SANADA in that it builds so excellently from the opening minutes to the molten hot action that was the last 5. Okada's performance was real spirited overall, with him showcasing great cocky ace work in the beginning, and then showing some somewhat rare pure fire later on in the bout. Ibushi's performance is wonderful as well -- much like in the great match vs. Tana, he brings his pure passion here into everything he does, and it translates perfectly. What a FANTASTIC match. ****

Real interesting to watch this after having seen the match between AJ Styles & Ricochet from SummerSlam, because both had the same story going for them inside the ring w/ the veteran taking out the flippy fellas leg, but the difference between this & that AJ vs. Ricochet match is that unlike Ricochet, Ospreay didn't sell that leg much at all. That took some enjoyment out of the thing for me, but it was still a good match, as Tana brought it with everything he did -- whether he was selling for Ospreay or doing damage to that leg, he was awesome. Not a surprise there. More selling from Billy & this would've been pretty great rather than "just good". ***

This was such a gritty battle between KENTA's strikes & Zack's submissions. Both of those said elements looked viciously awesome throughout, and all in all, this was an extremely good & compelling match. ***3/4

You know exactly what you're getting with these two, even when they haven't faced each other before. It's 20+ minutes full of nasty hits & gnarly bombs, with it getting more intense & dramatic as it goes on. Some really good selling too by both guys. Definitely not my favorite kind of a match, but Shingo & Ishii certainly did it in WAY more interesting fashion than Ishii & Goto, for an example. ***1/2

EDIT: re-watch from 2021. Goddamn I didn't like Rollins at all in this. It isn't that surprising, but it's disappointing, because the elements for a potential great match were there. A taped up mid-section that Brock attacks in an awesome fashion? Uh hell yes please, but then Seth doesn't really sell it much at all & is on the offense with his weak looking arsenal for wayyy too long, for my liking. It's a great & definite way to put him over, no doubts about that, but a good match it is not. *3/4

I think most of New Japan, and specifically Okada, main events go much longer than they need to, so I was definitely not very excited about the prospect of him & SANADA going just about 30-minutes, BUT this was an exceptionally great New Japan main event. They had built a great story for the match, and the way it built inside that ring from the opening minutes to the unbelievably hot drama that was the last 10 or so, was simply fantastic. ****

Unsurprisingly Tana did target Ibushi's knee, but thankfully it didn't last long & it was FAR from the main point of the match. Everything else apart from that kneework & the bad selling of it was absolutely fantastic. The match was charged with so much pride & passion + the perfect amount of drama that it can't be denied. Maybe their best match against each other, even. ****

This was probably my most awaited match-up of the entire tournament, and while I don't think it was as amazing as it could've been, it was still a kick-ass time from bell to bell. KENTA just slowly decimates Okada for most of the match, and it's awesome; stuff like him baiting Okada to try and hit him in the neck, only for him to trip him down & put on a neckhold, was really neat. Though I have to mention that some key moments, mostly by KENTA on the offense, felt surprisingly heatless & had no drama -- the two Triangle spots are perfect examples of this, especially the second one where he transitioned it into the Game Over, to pretty much no reaction from the crowd at all. It's a shame because it was a really cool sequence of things too. The 2 Busaiku Knees in a row had no drama or heat behind them at all either. The overall lack of drama took something away from the match for sure, but overall, I thought KENTA was indeed pretty great brutalizing Okada, and Okada's selling was actually really fantastic. Definitely down for a round 2 between these two. ***3/4

They beat the crap out of each other with lariats, forearms, jabs, knees -- you name it. It's already extremely enjoyable with that, but what put it to that next level was the leg psychology with Moxley being pretty damn vicious & very focused on the attack + Shingo selling very well throughout. Great performances by both resulted in a great match. ****

Who would've thunk that Ibushi vs. Ospreay would get better as they add 10 more minutes into the thing?! I certainly wasn't expecting it, but this sure was absolutely great; they start it off slower (by their standards), with Ospreay starting to go after Ibushi's ankle injury, and Ibushi responding by attacking Ospreay's banged up neck. It's really great stuff - I very much popped for Ibushi using the CRAVATE, which was probably the first time I've seen him do it. The match pretty much gets more & more brutal as it goes on, with them busting out some truly gnarly & vicious moves to try n' keep one another down. Some of the highlights, for me, were Ospreay's twisting powerbomb, which was just ridiculously explosive + the Hidden Blade after he landed on his feet after Ibushi's deadlift suplex attempt - the Ospreay-landed-on-his-feet!!! -spots are a bit tired by this point, but this one was actually pretty fantastic with him selling the neck big even when he landed on his feet, and there was no corny poses/faces to be detected! And that mentioned Hidden Blade was absolutely brutal as well, the best one he has done so far. My absolute favorite bit of the whole thing though was the tree-of-woe stuff w/ them reversing the roles from their first meeting - Ibushi's blank lunatic killer facial expressions were outstanding during it, as he dared Ospreay to slap him back, and he went to that classic Ibushi-zone with them strikes during it too. The match definitely could've shaved off a few nearfalls & the finishing stretch, overall, a little bit, but for the absolute majority of the thing, this was amazingly compelling. ****

A real throwback to the good ol' days when EVOLVE was the best damn pro-wrestling product on the planet. Somewhat depressing in that regard too, because nothing they've put out ever since guys like these two (& of course many others too) left has touched the magic they brought here. They just do what Riddle & Gulak do; greatly spirited, competitive, mat & strike heavy action with excellent urgency, progress & escalation. Exactly what that CATCH POINT name is all about. ****

White is such a good shithead & this is a very compelling story of that shithead getting his ass-kicked, and who better to do that said ass-kicking than the Stone Pitbull himself? White's work on Ishii's neck throughout is viciously awesome, Ishii's selling rules, as does his times on the offense punishing the former stablemate-turned-traitor of his. Very good match. ***3/4

Moxley's performance in this is really great. He goes to town on Cobb's shoulder, and he is vicious & EXTREMELY compelling with it. And if he is not trying to destroy that shoulder, he is delivering awesomely brutal looking knees to Cobb's head. Then there's little touches like him stomping on Cobb's foot to stop him from suplexing him off the apron. Absolutely awesome performance all around, and just a really nice & tight match. Great introduction to Jon Moxley & his style in the G1 without any of the weapon gimmicks which were involved in the Taichi match. ***3/4