Boss Rock

I've long thought that they need to just merge the two tag divisions to add some much needed depth.

I think PAC is way better than Spears. I wanted to get behind him but it really seems like lower card was his ceiling.

The tag title match seems like a stop gap until Proud and Powerful get a shot. My guess is that SCU gets another solid defense under their belt, Santana and Ortiz beat the RnR Express, and they build the tag title match off that. Definitely against another Pac-Page match, although if Pac goes over I'll be OK with it as it makes sense to do a Mox-Pac match to set up the next contender for Jericho.

Great tag match that was much more narrative-driven than most tag matches we see in AEW. Proud and Powerful did a great job working over the leg of Nick who, to his credit, sold it incredibly well. In a day and age where most limb work becomes inconsequential or just straight blown off, stuff like Nick being unable to hit the Meltzer Driver or even jump off the turnbuckle made everything much more meaningful. That's not to say there wasn't a ton of great spots and offense either. But the story they were telling made things matter more than they usually would. There was also little stuff like Santana forcing Nick to tag in as he was more vulnerable than Matt that I really enjoyed and I wish they had allowed the tag to the foot rather than have Knox prevent it (a ref should not be able to call heel team shenanigans that early into the match). And the post-match with the RnR Express was great, can't wait for an eventual match between then and P&P. ****1/4

Decent match, but I think it was an inferior version of their Dynamite meeting a few weeks ago. Both guys have great offense but they really seem to struggle with heat segments (Pac) and comebacks (Page). That prevented this match from feeling like anything more than just two guys having a solid wrestle. No more, no less. Oh, and it was at least 5 minutes too long. ***

Well, you can't say they didn't follow up on the violence promised in the build-up! Death match spots and ultraviolence in wrestling will always be divisive, but I loved nearly every minute of this. I really appreciate that they went well beyond the extra mile in making this an incredibly violent and memorable spectacle. And in a day and age where blood feuds often have a lackluster blow-off, that was absolutely not the case here. There was no feeling out and no bullshit, just two guys fighting. The crowd brawling, the plunder, the set up for the spots, everything was executed beautifully. And for a guy who typically doesn't do this stuff, I think Kenny thrived in this kind of environment. Mox was terrific as well, not just in the violence he brought to the table but also his selling. For a guy who specializes in death matches, he was incredibly giving and made Kenny look like a real threat. I will say the match went longer than it needed to (as most AEW matches do) especially when after the barbed wire suplex they still wrestled another 5-7 minutes, but there was absolutely no downtime or moment where I felt like checking my watch. They had me invested (and terrified) the entire time, all the way to that Phoenix Splash that Kenny damn near gave himself a concussion on. Terrific spectacle of a match. ****1/2

I didn't think this was great, but I applaud Cody's ability to make matches feel important. The guy literally has the crowd in the palm of his hand. This was a rather minimalist approach (like most Cody matches) focused on Jericho wearing down Cody's midsection while the latter would make the occasional fiery comeback. While Cody's cut seemed unintentional, I think the blood helped make the match feel more important even if Jericho didn't necessarily target it. I think they went longer than they needed to but I applaud both guys' approach and knowing this couldn't be the typical AEW spotfest. Oh, and the post-match was terrific. ***3/4

I thought Kenny acquitted himself very well for a guy who typically doesn't do this stuff.

Well that was insane. Was probably longer than it needed to be but that had to be the craziest non-BJW match I've ever seen.

Cody seems to have developed a solid, storytelling-heavy pseudo-brawling style which is definitely what I think we'll see. Especially considering Jericho finally came to his senses about his physical limitations a year ago.

No Darby is definitely a bit of a disappointment, would have thought for sure they would do him and Hager. Otherwise, card looks really good apart from Bea-Britt.

This was really good stuff. It's almost refreshing to see WALTER against dudes that rival him strength that he can't overwhelm. Okabayashi frequently attacking him like an invader to the promotion really helped add some depth to this beyond "big dudes clobber each other with chops" (which is by no means a bad thing!). Sekimoto also continues to thrive as an underdog against larger opponents. ****1/2

I liked this a lot. Took a little while to get going and Kenny sold the leg initially too much only for it not to be an issue, but this was a really fun plunder match with some rather holy crap spots. Thought their standard match the next week was better but this was a lot of fun. ****

Yeah I do think the execution hurt it, especially with Naito just walking away when he probably should have run back and attacked Jay. And while I think they absolutely need to do the thing with Naito, it almost feels like it's Ibushi's time now instead.

Surprisingly good show. Not to say I thought it would be bad, but really everything delivered for the most part with the exception of the main event which was still solid. Hiromu's return was terrific. Was disappointed there was no Shibata angle after KENTA-Ishii, but his involvement in the main event makes he believe he's at least going to be in a tag match at WK. The crowd was surprisingly not that into the idea of a double title match.

Glad to hear some of the matches delivered, the Junior Tag League is usually the far superior tag league ha.

NOAH drew over 5000 fans in Ryogoku today, which seems like a pretty big turnaround for a promotion that was struggling to stay afloat the last few years.

It's definitely a peaks and valleys type of promotion and the fall is always its lowest period. There's usually some interesting WK developments (as I'm sure we'll get here), but yeah the year really peaks during the G1.

Hasn't been confirmed on New Japan's site, but Wiki is saying Ospreay-BUSHI at Power Struggle. So...possible Hiromu return.

Greatest trios match ever. Weaves the narratives of the October encounter flawlessly with a near 60 minutes of action without once feeling like it's overstayed its welcome. And Kawada flipping off Fuchi may be the greatest visual in wrestling history.

Really liked their match last year and the sequel did not disappoint. Whereas the first match felt like an exhibition showcase, there was more of a sense of struggle here as it was a title match. That's not to say there weren't awesome spots like you'd expect from these two, but everything felt more logical in their setup. It also helped that this match was quite a bit shorter than last year's, which helped keep the action moving at a brisk space and greatly reduce the amount of downtime. Would really love to see a third match between these two in AEW. ****1/4

Excited for the Cena WWE title matches. I don't recall much of the first one but the LMS is very good and adds to Cena's BITW resume for 2007.

I thought Omega-Janela was a lot of fun. Agreed that it went too long, but I actually thought it started slow and only got better. I've never thought Janela was this excellent wrestler or anything, but he seems like a creative dude, can do workratey stuff, and plays a good sleazeball.

The fall stretch from KOPW to WK is usually NJPW's down period in terms of booking. They haven't done a title change post-G1 since 2014, so there's never any doubt what the main event is going to be. Not to mention apart from a few developments at Power Struggle, it's pretty much just the two tag leagues. The Junior tag league can be entertaining but the Heavyweight tag league is always a hard skip

All hail the new U.S. Champ. I love Juice but it's time for something new. Overall a good show. Suzuki-Liger was good even if I was a bit disappointed by it not being a wild, chaotic brawl. Junior HW title match was probably MOTN the night and thankfully the overbooking didn't ruin it. Ibushi-EVIL was really good and for a match where the winner wasn't in any doubt, they made EVIL look like he could pull it off. Ditto for the ME. Pretty much what you'd expect from the Okada-SANADA formula but there was a bit more learned psychology and they moved a bit quicker this time around. Overall good show.