Boss Rock

Give THIS man the belt...when you find it of course.

I get that and I think one of the reasons I'm OK with Nyla winning is that she seems to have the most buzz out of anyone on the women's roster.

My thing is that Britt hasn't really had a chance to stand out much. She got the win at Double or Nothing but Nyla felt more like the star of that match. And while some of that hasn't been Britt's fault due to the concussion, I feel like she could use a quick tune up feud. Nyla also came off as a big deal at Fyter Fest even though she took the pin. Brandi or Kong feels way too much like "heel authority figure's chosen champ". Even if either one lost in the end it's easily my least favorite trope in wrestling and one I don't want near the title. Now would Shida have been a better choice over Riho? Probably. But I think Riho has a ton of potential as an underdog babyface.

Okada and Suzuki have always had amazing chemistry together and this match was no exception. At 30+ minutes, one might normally expect the "inconsequential first third/first half, hot second two thirds/second half" formula NJPW main events have become known for. That was not the case here and one of the reasons for that was how well these two complement each other. Okada is a bad mat worker and not a particularly great striker, two things that Suzuki is very good at. Meanwhile, Suzuki is 51 and understandably slower while Okada is a freak athlete who is a master of finishing stretches and making things feel important. Suzuki was terrific as the sadistic yet focused heel hell-bent on breaking Okada down. Okada sold everything like death and yet admirably did his best to withstand everything Suzuki threw at him while not quite beating him at his own game. It made everything come off as much more of an intense struggle than a lot of NJPW matches (and this is from someone who loves the promotion and style). I was particularly impressed with how Okada really layed into his forearms in the latter half of the match and how he slapped on a pretty impressive looking sleeper hold. It was ingenious storytelling of the ace who normally relies on his athleticism and gas tank realizing he was going to have to step the rest of his game up. Suzuki also did a great job adding a wrinkle to Okada's normal reversal-heavy finishing stretch by pummeling his way out of Rainmaker attempts. Okada's struggle to avoid the Gotch Piledriver to finally secure victory was also pretty riveting stuff. My only real criticism of the match was that I think Okada could have shown a bit more urgency during his initial comeback after being walloped by Suzuki, but that's more of a nitpick than anything. This is quite possibly the best match of the year and the best match between these two, which is really saying something. ****3/4

All in all I thought it was a very good show but 4 hours is just too long, even for your biggest ppv of the year. Kenny-PAC, Shida-Riho, and the ladder match were my picks for MOTN.

I actually liked it a lot. A ton of smoke and mirrors to be sure, but I dug the intensity.

That was really good.

Yep. I thought they should've kept the Cracker Barrel stuff out of it, but was loads of silly fun.

I spoke too soon.

Glad they kept the Cracker Barrel stuff out of this match.

I feel like this match didn't need a gimmick. Three dudes blaming each other for a loss, just let them fight without the Cracker Barrel thing.

Very good match, surprised at PAC winning considering the Mox feud is still on the horizon, but I get it considering it was PAC's debut.

Heard KENTA may have been concussed during the Ishii match. Okada-Suzuki seemed to deliver as expected.

Should be a good show. Cody-Spears is the match I'm most looking forward to in order to see if Spears can deliver in this spot. Was never crazy about his WWE work but interested if he can turn things around like Mox did.

Really liked Flair-Steamboat.

I imagine there would've been an lolMisawawins hashtag at some point.

Surprised no mention of Flair-A.J. unless I missed it somewhere. Although I think that was hurt most by them basically trying to have A.J. do the Nature Boy gimmick which just didn't fit at all.

New Day's heel turn.

Ospreay not getting a singles match is definitely surprising.

Ibushi-Jay ****1/2 They seriously just need to run with the gimmick that Ibushi has robot legs. Lots of neat leg work by Jay, but Ibushi really didn't sell at all during his comebacks. That being said...everything else about this match was pretty damn great. The first half was a bit more minimalist and more physical while the second half was your typical NJPW epic but with some of the best drama you'll see in any reversal sequence. They really milked the audience's dread in Jay defeating another one of their beloved heroes but Ibushi just wouldn't be denied. From Red Shoes immediately tossing Bullet Club from ringside, to Ibushi beating down Jay with slaps, to Gedo getting disposed by Rocky, all the way to the finish, this was a true feel-good match.

He is a huge dork, so makes sense.

Ibushi wins the G1 and Shibata MIGHT be back. Holy crap.

Good call, I completely forgot about the Mania 19 go-home. And I do recall that other handicap match.

I remember that story. Vince was also convinced New Day were going to get over as huge babyfaces with their initial gimmick and was supposedly devastated when they flopped.

It was a triple-threat match, but Kurt pinned Brock at Vengeance 2003. Show also pinned Brock in a 3-on-1 handicap match with the World's Greatest tag team. But as far as singles matches go, you are correct haha.