SmartMark15

It's insane to think that Ronda is THIS good on only her second pay-per-view outing. This was a world class performance not just for someone transitioning from a different sport but from any professional wrestler. That lady is clearly putting the work in. I mean, just look at the the bumps she was willing to take for Nia. That's insane. Nia really brought the heat and offense on this too, really upping the pace to make the limited time they had feel as action packed as possible. Also, while Coach gave one of the worst commentary moments of his life, Ronda put on a brilliant sell job of a bear hug. She was ACTIVELY trying to escape the hold even as she sold its effects. Just brilliant. ****1/4

Oney Lorcan kills himself for our entertainment. I loved this, it gave me Revival-DIY vibes especially with that Adam Cole false finish. The faces felt robbed and put in such an amazing performance that even the horrible Chicago crowd gave them their props once the final bell rang. ****3/4

I've made it no secret that this is my favorite feud in wrestling today and that their last match was my match of the year. And while that still holds true, this match brought a different flavor to the rivalry that still felt like a valid progression from the last match. The brutality was there, the hate was there, the big spots and big bumps were all there. While at times it does get bogged down by WWE-style theatrics, I am still generally a fan of those kinds of theatrics so I can't really complain. Perhaps the biggest thing going for this match is the finishing stretch. I'm sure a lot of people were annoyed or upset by the ref bump and screwjob tone. I thought it was great. It was unnerving and difficult to watch at points which is how I know they've got me emotionally hooked and invested. This was a violent spectacle the likes of Owens-Zayn II from NXT or Lesnar-Cena from SummerSlam 2014 and I am a big fan of violent spectacle. *****

A little slow going for me with Dream not quite bringing the heat on the offense and thus not really allowing Ricochet to get those nice bursts of action in that we love. But once this got going, oh boy, did it get going. A boiling hot finishing stretch and a really great showcase for Ricochet to show some more dimensions to his work than just the high flying. Really great stuff and even more impressive given the insanity these two had to follow. ****

Loved this show from top to bottom. It might just actually be my favorite NXT Takeover ever as only the women's match dipped below **** for me. Everything was else was great to amazing. I'm on the side that absolutely loved Ciampa-Gargano. A little bloated, yes, definitely. But that finishing stretch was a violent spectacle that physically unnerved me on many occasions. It was the best example of this kind of finish done since Owens-Zayn all the way back when they were feuding over the title. This was an amazing, actually disturbing, second chapter in the ongoing rivalry of the year. I don't know about you guys but if a match can make me physically uncomfortable without blood, I think it's violence and intensity done right. Awesome show.

Let's try this again. Try clicking here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lUqw9oUTPA&t=7s A video I did on the Omega-Okada series, in particular how they use time in their matches. Thought you guys might like to give it a look.

As someone who had his doubts about the first two and loved the third, I dreaded this match going in. The 2017 hour draw drove me mad with its bloated finishing stretch and I thought that putting a No Time Limit stip on these two would bring out the worst in them. Yeah, I was wrong. This match was fan-fucking-tastic. And that's coming from the perspective of someone who was ready to hate every moment of it going in. The first fall has the typically useless opening NJPW sequence only to be followed by a brutal shotgun dropkick by Okada to send Omega into the barricades. From there, their finish to the first fall is tense and brutal, culminating in a simple cradle getting the win--something we need far more of in New Japan. Fall two and we get Kenny selling his ribs as he tries to even the score. We also get a wonderful cradle false finish. A crade false finish! In 2018 New Japan! Kenny gets the win with the OWA after weakening the neck. Then the third fall. This is something else entirely. Both guys working probably the best exhausted/selling stretch of wrestling I've probably ever seen? Everything suddenly meant more. The struggle for the Tombstone, the constant crumbling (I adore crumble spots), and both men barely having anything behind their strikes. And of course, Omega winning. The perfect finish to a brilliant match. Certified classic. *****

Kenny vs. Cody confirmed for the Cow Palace.

I'll be stepping down from this for now.

Well, I'm one to swallow my pride when a match takes me along for a ride and that main event certainly did. I was one of many, many people on this forum absolutely dreading the No Time Limit stipulation given the horrific slog that was their Dominion match last year. It seemed to open too many avenues for them to pull more of their overly ambitious "must get all the stars" ideas in from the 1/4 match. But this felt different. I was entirely drawn in. The second fall was great and the final fall was an entirely unique experience. I don't know how I'll rate this but I can definitely say that it was one of the best matches I've seen all year and I was among many incredibly ready to hate this match. I'm sure I'll find a lot to pick apart and deconstruct but just as a raw experience going in, I ended up loving it.

This match was awesome and incredibly well laid out with Buddy Murphy being the big bruiser and striker trying to take down the flashier Cedric Alexander. It certainly helps that this might have been the hottest 205 Live crowd in the history of the show as North Carolina went all out to support Alexander here. That gave the match a real sense of importance and stakes. Thought Murphy looked fantastic on offense and this performance certainly puts him in the upper echelon of 205 Live performers. Wonderful stuff. ****1/4

This was fantastic. I really enjoyed their title match from February so this was just a wonderful upgrade. About halfway through the match, they go into big, big bombs especially after the struggle on the apron. The story moves from Ace Io Shirai bossing it up in the ring to Momo Watanabe just battering Io with big move after big move. Those B Drivers look absolutely brutal and the running one with Io just protecting herself at the end was nuts. I bit on so many of the false finishes here which really helped to up the intensity and tension for the final stretch. Just great action and a lovely coronation moment. ****1/2

Daniel Bryan continues to put in crazy good, dynamic, and fiery babyface performances while Joe brings the stiffness. Cass is there and is generally inoffensive. Fun match, another fun TV main event for SD! ***1/2

A brief video essay I made on this match: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZbgiQp3TnY&t=6s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJt9-oI8Vjs Perhaps more than anywhere else in the world, Southeast Asia and the Philippines in particular, has cultivated a wrestling community by and for internet fans. The people with the capacity to find and consume all different kinds of wrestling are the ones who have the capacity to fund and partake in putting on wrestling shows. This match, which takes place at Philippine Wrestling Revolution's biggest show of the year, seems to be the peak of that kind of zeitgeist. Spots taken from Shibata, Okada, Omega, and countless others permeate the match, not in a sense of natural progression or organic fluidity but more as a point of recognition to pop the crowd. "Remember this spot? I know you watched this match, do you remember it?" I'm trying not to disparage these guys too much because the reality is, this is the peak of the industry locally as it is. It's just fascinating to consider the mindset that appears to go into structuring these matches. ***1/2

Holy crap, this was awesome. The elbow exchange which I typically find an arbitrary addition to New Japan main events felt organic and made for a hot start to the match. It starts out somewhat methodically as they try to feel each other out and one up each other's power but once Cobb starts hitting those Germans, this really goes into the next gear. I lost my mind for when Cobb caught the Sliding Lariat and that was just one of many wonderful spots in this match. Great stuff here. ****1/2

Pretty much agreed on all counts. This is my first KUSHIDA singles match and he certainly impressed, showing those little nuances and moments of selling that separate him from the rest of the pack. Great match. ****1/4

So sorry about my lack of participation recently. Will definitely try to catch up. SirEdgar: Dean Ambrose vs. William Regal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjxCpI5OXi0

ACH is the star of this match, putting in a more grounded and aggressive performance with the selling of his shoulder and the constant chops. Probably the best part of the match is Flip doing his ridiculously stupid kip ups followed by ACH just nailing him with a sick chop. Outside being incredibly stupid in that one spot, Flip just came off as athletic but entirely bland. He had nothing really to contribute here outside of his big high spots. The crowd brawl into the staircase flip was entirely convoluted and lame and that's around the time I really started checking out despite ACH's attempts to try and really ground things in something a little more dramatic. ***1/2

Another fun Bryan TV main event where just excels at making everything look realistic and legitimate. He even made the early arm work look incredibly tense to make that stuff look interesting. Then they move into sprint mode with the missed and hit dives. Bryan takes a nice (pretty safe) shoulder bump when Hardy comes off the apron then we go into a finishing stretch with some nicely set up finishers, counters, and Bryan gets the win with his awesome new Heel Hook finisher. ***1/2

I see more of an Eaton influence with the way he swings but I've definitely noticed how good they look.

Roddy and O'Reilly have returned to their calling as big ragdoll bumping chickenshit heels. They look great bumping for the babyfaces and they put that little extra stank on it that makes a babyface comeback so satisfying. Burch looked great during his mat exchanges with O'Reilly and made a sympathetic babyface during the first control segment. Then we get Pete Dunne coming in as an intense, heated babyface and he threw some fantastic strikes and cut a great pace working against the heels. Oney Lorcan was a fantastic hot tag to end the last control segment and lead into the big finishing stretch. Great six-man tag and it makes me pretty excited for the UE-Burch/Lorcan tag match upcoming at Takeover. ****1/4

O'Reilly and Roddy make for some amazing big ragdoll bumping heels.

Daniel Bryan really upped his punching game since the return.