ShittyLittleBoots

Minoru Suzuki once again gave an amazing big match performance - loved all the leg work he did to Kenny, always a pleasure to watch MiSu work the shit out of a limb. The thing that prevents this from being ****+ in my eyes though is that I thought Kenny's V-Trigger fury in the end was a bit too much considering all the damage Suzuki had done to his leg. Oh & also, BAD LUCK FALE. Loved watching him throw Suzuki-gun juniors around. Overall a very good match that could've been great had Kenny committed to selling the leg more. ***3/4

I thought that this was absolutely brilliant. Yano is always a blast in G1 & this was his biggest masterpiece yet - he did all of his usual dirty tactics to Okada, who just happens to be the ace of the company & is in the middle of a historic run w/ the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Okada sold all of Yano's awesome shenanigans perfectly, and every time he was on the offense, he would go and target that neck, which I loved because he ended up getting the victory w/ Red Ink. Great, focused neck work by the man. I also loved all the Gedo & Jado stuff, and then those Yano nearfalls, my goodness those were great. Loved EVERYTHING about this. ****1/2

Went on a bit too long, but I thought this was a fun back & forth match between two stablemates. ***1/4

Loved this. Both guys did some really good selling + I always love Kojima's facial expressions - those were outstanding, especially during the great finishing stretch where Juice was all fired up. Awesome match. ***1/2

This was a fantastic styles clash which told a damn good story. Loved all of Gulak's technical ground based offense & Ali's spectacular highflying style was a great counter to that. The Dragon Sleeper spot where Gulak got his first fall was tremendous as was the finish with him almost doing what he is against; fly, and that ended up costing him the match because he was wondering should he do it or not. Great stuff. ****

Terrific stuff with Kamitani showing great fire + focus on his onslaught & Hideki being brilliant as always, targeting Kamitani's back throughout the whole match & selling his ass off for the youngster as well. ****1/4

Absolute madmen, that's what these two are. This was an absolutely spectacular match w/ them going all out - loved Naito's performance, he was terrific working over the neck of Ibushi & then later selling the damage Ibushi did to him with those goddamn crazy big moves & kicks. Just a total spectacle with these 2 lads destroying each other. ****1/2

This was my most awaited match of the whole tournament & it sure did not disappoint. You got a man who is known for his ways to punish an opponents arm vs. a man who has a banged up arm. Couldn't ask for a much better dynamic there. And they worked that dynamic super well - Tanahashi was one step ahead in the early exchanges, but once Zack started to target that arm, things started to go downhill for the Ace. Zack's work over that arm was fantastic as always & Tana sold it excellently. Loved how Tana countered that brutal arm work of Zack's by going after his leg - just like with Zack's arm work, Tana's leg work was fantastic as always. Zack's selling of it was good, too. The rest of the match is about Tanahashi trying his hardest to put Zack away, but you just get the feeling that he can't do it because of how destroyed that arm of his is. Fantastic storytelling. I hope this sets up a big re-match for the IC title, because I feel like these 2 have an even better match in them - and that is saying something because this, their first match against each other, was absolutely outstanding. ****1/2

"The usual" between these 2. They beat the crap out of each other, showcasing their MANLINESS. Goto & Ishii are also really good at doing the usual fighting spirit no-sell stuff while also selling the pain they're in. Really good, borderline great match. ***3/4

This was exactly what it needed to be - an ugly brawl between two bruisers. I loved it. ***1/2

Fun back & forth to start things off, but the match really picks up when YOSHI-HASHI is talking shit to Nagata, who was down, just getting up - Nagata has this look on his face that says "really son?" & then he starts kicking the crap out of YOSHI-HASHI. Awesome stuff. Great way to start this G1! ***1/2

This was brilliant. If you ask me, the 2002-2008 ROH is just about the best thing ever & this felt like a complete throwback to those days. The venue, the atmosphere, just the overall vibe of it was so awesome. Cole came in & wrestled the match without any of his trademark catchphrase gimmicks & I was very much a fan of that. Loved the beginning stuff w/ them battling over the control - Cole holding Gresham onto that wristlock was really great. Gresham's counter to that w/ a very nice looking Uppercut to the arm of Cole was also great & ended up starting the big story for the match - Gresham working the crap out of Cole's arm. His arm work was so, so, SO amazing; he worked that arm in brutal ways & it was truly a joy to watch. Cole sold that well & I loved the idea of him countering that brutal arm work of Gresham's by going after his leg - he did a great job targeting Gresham's leg, but now we get to the one negative about this. The selling of that leg work. Gresham started it well by not being able to run because of the work Cole had done - but then few seconds later he does a Suicide Dive, goes back to the ring w/ Cole & does a SSP. That is something Davey Richards would be very proud of. The super spotty selling by Gresham was the only negative about this, but gladly it wasn't enough to deny this classic. Loved the finish with Gresham botching (at least I think it was a botch?) that SSP, he recovered well from that by selling the leg right away as the reason of him not being able to do the move correctly. Fantastic stuff. ****1/2

Paul London is still one of the best when it comes to getting the shit beaten out of him! LOVE seeing him still killing it - he gave a wonderful performance here selling & bumping his ass off for Muertes, and those SSP nearfalls, goddamn those were good. Muertes was also terrific as always on his role as the ultimate, terrifying monster. Fantastic match. ****1/2

...And Trevor Lee does it again. Another classic match from the man. The match was just a complete WAR with it starting super hot & remaining super hot till the end. The drama built & built in brilliant fashion until the epic climax that was the finishing stretch with them going face to face, shaking hands & then beating the shit out of each other w/ Trevor coming out on top. What a goddamn match. ****1/2

This was EVERYTHING I wanted & expected it to be. Two of my all-time favorites going at it - loved the swagger & intensity shown by Joe throughout, it truly felt like he belonged in there w/ Brock. The attack during the introductions was perfect, my god it was so awesome. Brock also once again demonstrated why he is one of the greatest sellers pro wrestling has ever seen - he made Joe look like an absolute killer w/ that perfect selling of his. Then when the actual match began, it was just a complete hoot; fantastic sprint w/ amazing looking offense by both men, terrific selling, awesome counters, intensity & a true feel of danger. ****1/2

FUCK YES. These 2 just beat the shit out of each other w/ some fantastic selling. Excellent chemistry, excellent match. ****1/2

Wow, this was incredible. The first fall w/ Cesaro & Sheamus getting the pin right away was amazing. The 2nd fall with Jeff as the FIP was brilliant - he sold & bumped his ass off while Cesaro & Sheamus were amazing on top, working the heat on him. Matt's hot tag was AWESOME, he was fired up - and just when it was looking like him & Jeff were getting back into things, BOOM! Cesaro & Sheamus get another fall by count out. Brilliant. They dominate again while the Hardyz make awesome, energetic comebacks. The drama in the last 10 (& especially 5) minutes was terrific. This was just so well laid out. Might just be the best match the Hardyz have ever had. ****1/2

..Aaaaaand the best big match wrestler in the world does it again. This gave me some Ric Flair vs. Vader vibes w/ Elgin putting on the best big-monster-man performance of his career (so far) & Trevor selling that excellently. Elgin pretty much dominated Trevor throughout the whole thing, but in the end, the ace survived w/ his fighting spirit by getting those terrific comebacks in. Fantastic storytelling with the big invader star almost getting the win & putting the champ in real big trouble. In my top-5 for the year so far. ****3/4 If you want to have the best match of your career, just go to North Carolina & fight Trevor for the CWF Mid-Atlantic Title. Worked for Elgin.

JR Goldberg's "best lucha matches of 2017 so far" article from Paste Magazine brought this to my attention. Here's a quote of his from that article about this match: "This match is like watching a tag match with four Necro Butchers and two of them are actually evil skeleton creatures hell bent on killing one another." And that is literally the best description for this match. ****1/2

The build up to this was sooo good. Roddy gave a really good sympathetic babyface performance & Roode was really good going against that. The leg work was good & Roddy sold it well. The foot-under-the-rope false finish was done super well & the stretch after that was just great. Really good match. Really should've been the Takeover Brooklyn main event. ***3/4

Such a wacky match up on paper, had really no expectations at all for it, but I thought it ended up being a very strong match. Very simple structure w/ Gunn on top for most of it, while Tana works from underneath w/ his terrific comebacks. Both guys gave strong performances. ***1/2

My favorite match of the weekend. My goodness Zack & Ishii killed it - fantastic dynamic & storytelling with Zack trying to match Ishii's striking & toughness, but failing to do that, so he goes back to what he does best - torturing his opponent w/ those submissions. Ishii's selling was perfect. Can't wait for the re-match in the G1. ****1/4

This was my favorite match of day 1 of these G1 Special shows. Thought it was a very charming match up that had somewhat of a old school vibe to it, especially with the 'World Champ vs. World Champ' billing & all. Loved it. ****1/4

Both guys were fired up & played their roles greatly - you got Juice as the fired up babyface against Zack 'the torturer' Sabre Jr. Loved watching Zack on the offense & Juice sells super well, he's such a good sympathetic babyface. ***3/4

This has got lots of bad reviews, but I thought it was really good. It was mostly centered around Lethal's injured ribs & I thought he did a really good job selling that. ***1/2