Boss Rock

The elimination match is in the nominee section. Aja-Toyota has just been moved.

Yes, sorry still doing some catch-up. But yes, everything in the Nominees section is eligible to vote for.

Mania 30 remains my favorite and the most invested I've ever been in a wrestling storyline. Bryan's whole saga, even if a lot of it wasn't intended due to Punk leaving, is still some of the greatest storytelling I've ever seen.

Another great Kawada match. He seems to have a lot of hidden gem sprints.

My current ***** list: Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen (NJPW 9/23/1981) Greg Valentine vs. Roddy Piper (JCP Starrcade 11/24/1983) Yoshiaki Yatsu and Riki Choshu vs. Genichiro Tenryu and Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW 1/28/1986) Stan Hansen vs. Carlos Colon (WWC Bull Rope Match 1/6/1987) Stan Hansen and Terry Gordy vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW 12/16/1988) Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW Chi-Town Rumble 2/20/1989) Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin’ Cajun ⅔ Falls Match 4/2/1989) Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW 6/5/1989) Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (WCW Great American Bash 7/23/1989) Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (WCW Clash of the Champions IX: New York Knockdown I Quit Match 11/15/1989) Stan Hansen and Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu (AJPW 12/6/1989) Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto vs. Masanobu Kurisu and Kendo Nagasaki (FMW 4/1/1990) Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue, and Masanobu Fuchi (AJPW 10/19/1990) El Satanico vs. El Dandy (EMLL Hair vs. Hair 12/14/1990) Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue, and Masanobu Fuchi (AJPW 4/20/1991) Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. El Samurai (NJPW 4/30/1992) Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Doug Furnas and Dan Kroffat (AJPW 5/25/1992) Dynamite Kansai and Mayumi Ozaki vs. Manami Toyota and Toshiyo Yamada (AJW 11/25/1992) Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 2/28/1993) Shinobu Kandori vs. Akira Hokuto (AJW 4/2/1993) Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 4/16/1993) Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 7/29/1993) Aja Kong vs. Yumiko Hotta (AJW 1/24/1994) Shinobu Kandori and Akira Hokuto vs. Aja Kong and Bull Nakano (AJW Queendom 3/27/1994) Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue and Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 5/21/1994) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 6/3/1994) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue (AJPW 4/15/1995) Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue and Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 6/5/1995)\ Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 10/25/1995) Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama vs. Akira Taue and Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 5/23/1996) Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind (WWF In Your House: Mind Games 9/22/1996) Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama vs. Akira Taue and Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW 12/6/1996) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 1/20/1997) “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart (WWF WrestleMania 13 3/23/1997) Mima Shimoda and Etsuka Mita vs. Kaoru Ito and Tomoko Watanabe (AJW Rage in a Cage 9/21/1997) Shawn Michaels vs. the Undertaker (WWF In Your House: Badd Blood 10/5/1997) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 10/31/1998) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 6/11/1999) Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (Pro Wrestling Noah 3/1/2003) Necro Butcher vs. Samoa Joe (IWA: Mid-South 6/11/2005) Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, and CIMA vs. Genki Horiguchi, Dragon Kid, and Ryo Saito (ROH 3/13/2006) Team ROH vs. Team CZW (ROH Death Before Dishonor IV 7/15/2006) Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH Unified 8/12/2006) Super Dragon vs. Necro Butcher (PWG Battle of Los Angeles 9/2/2006) Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH Sixth Anniversary Show 2/23/2008) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10/8/2012) Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Climax 8/4/2013) Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10/14/2013) Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 1/4/2015) Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW G1 Climax 8/13/2016) #DIY vs. the Revival (NXT Takeover: Toronto 11/19/2016) Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 1/4/2017) Kazuchika Okada vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Sakura Genesis 4/9/2017) Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW Dominion 6/11/2017) Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW G1 Climax 8/12/2017) Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW G1 Climax 8/13/2017) Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas (NXT Takeover: Philadelphia 1/27/2018) Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi vs. the Young Bucks (NJPW Strong Style Evolved 3/25/2018) Johnny Gargano vs. Tomasso Ciampa (NXT Takeover: New Orleans 4/7/2018) Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW Dominion 6/9/2018)

I thought this match was quite similar to their match at New Beginning last year. Sort of tepid first act but incredibly dramatic and engaging second act. Some awesome reversals and exchanges with a ton of emphasis placed on the danger of the Skull End. One thing I don't think Okada gets enough credit for is how much he sells for his opponents. Sure, his victory is usually a bygone conclusion, but there are those moments where you think "Oh my God, is he actually going to lose?". This match was full of those moments. And SANADA again proved he is on the same level of NJPW's regular cast of main event workers. Ultimately, this didn't need to be 30+ minutes but the closing stretch really helped everything feel earned. ****1/4

Excellent!

I actually thought Juice-Owens was a vast improvement over their last match. That one felt like a 10 minutes match needlessly stretched out to meet 20+, whereas this one I felt the length was a bit more warranted with Juice's aggression. A bit too much BC shenanigans but it was refreshing to see the face actually overcome the odds and not look like a dink. Really liked the final match. Was similar to the New Beginning match last year where it started off a bit slow but the second act was super dramatic with SANADA looking like he had a legitimate chance of winning.

NJ Cup has been a bit of a mixed bag but the semi-finals were awesome. Okada-Ishii in particular is a MOTYC.

A bit of a slow start but still a really good match. Tanahashi continued the trend of trying to finish off opponents without the High Fly Flow by focusing his attack on the leg even moreso than usual. SANADA's comebacks were good but his selling of the leg continues to be almost non-existent. Thankfully it wasn't too much of a detraction considering Tanahashi didn't hit him with like 30 dragon screws or wallop his leg with a chair or anything. But I just think SANADA could make more of an effort with some of his more athletic maneuvers. With that being said, the structure and pacing of the match was very good once we got past the 5-7 minute mark. In particular, there was a lot of urgency near the end with SANADA desperately trying to put Tanahashi away with the Skull End (similar to the Suzuki match from the second round). There were also some insane near-falls with the pinning combinations. What seemed like a clear-cut win for Tanahashi all of a sudden became a toss-up. Even if his selling needs work, SANADA continues to prove he can compete with the top stars at their level. And Tanahashi continues to be one of the best big match wrestlers in the world. ****1/4

Probably the best Nomura match I've ever seen. Similar to KAI, he really seemed to step his game up in this kind of big match setting (even if I think he's much better than KAI to begin with) Really enjoyed the story of Nomura coming at Kento with loads of fire and aggression only for Kento to still be one step ahead in the moments where it really mattered. I just wish Kento would mix things up a little bit in these matches. He has a formula and it definitely works, but it still felt like more of the same with the big Blackout and German suplex comebacks that we've seen in his last 3-4 title matches. With that being said, he did a tremendous job selling for Nomura and making it look like there was a chance he could lose even if the result was never in doubt. Ultimately everything you'd expect from a Kento title match, but that means it's still really good. ****1/4

I actually thought this was the weakest match of the Tanahashi-Sabre series even if I still found it enjoyabe. I sort of liked that it was more rough around the edges so it came off as more of a shoot, but there seemed to be a few points in the match where they just weren't clicking. The most notable example is when Zack threw a kick so Tana could counter with the dragon screw only for Tana to not catch the kick (making it look weak as hell) and having to do it again. Still, some good limbwork and there was definitely a charm to the grittiness of it all. I just can't tell if it was intentional or not. ***1/2.

Managed to top their classic G1 2016 match. Loved how they got to work right away. No padding, just all action. Just like the Ishii match with YOSHI-HASHI, I love these stablemate matches as they know each other so well and push each other so hard that there appears to be legitimate hatred. Some really creative and unexpected spots such as Ishii's armbar counter and Okada's backslide into the Rainmaker. I can't really say much more that hasn't been said. Just seriously watch this match. ****3/4.

A hair below their MOTYC in BJW but still an excellent clash of the titans. I couldn't help but feel things started off a little bit slower than usual ( I'm really tired of the obligatory crowd brawling spots in these matches) but once they kicked into second gear they really took off. Excellent effort by all four but Okabayashi and Ishikawa felt like the stars here. Their exchanges (while going a bit too long near the end) had tons of impact and intensity. Suwama and Sekimoto were great in their own right by breaking up the pins and evening the odds. And extra points to Suwama for throwing in a Tenryu enziguri. ****1/2.

Well, this ruled quite a bit. Having a lackluster match with Ishii is pretty hard to do (Taichi got rather close), but this was easily the best YOSHI-HASHI match I've ever seen. Really loved the theme of the two friends and stablemates pushing each other so hard it looked like they hated each other's guts. Ishii brought the violence as always but YOSHI-HASHI managed to convincingly go blow-for-blow with him and had some really fiery comebacks. YOSHI-HASHI has really endeared himself to me as the guy who almost always loses and know he's probably going to lose and yet never gives up while finding ways to overachieve in singles matches. Definitely seek this one out. ****1/2

Bit of a slow start but really good stuff. Liked how they continued the theme from the Ishii/YOSHI-HASHI match of the Chaos stablemates pushing each other to the limit almost to the point of disdain (particularly Okada throwing some stiffer forearms and booting Ospreay's head while he was down). Ospreay's offense was great as always and Okada did a great job selling bomb after bomb. ****

Yeah, I was a huge fan of that one.

Active: Kazuchika Okada Kento Miyahara Tetsuya Naito Zeus Tomohiro Ishii All-Time: Kenta Kobashi Mitsuharu Misawa Daniel Bryan Undertaker Stan Hansen

This was a pretty solid match if nothing you need to go out of your way to see. Nicholls is still really bland to me, but I did like the aggression and his chops are surprisingly hard. Okada also did a really good job selling the damage and appearing to be on the ropes on more than one occasion. I particularly liked the finishing stretch where Okada couldn't get the tombstone and struggled to hit the Rainmaker. ***1/4

Remarkable how good Liger looks at 54. He literally looks like he has not lost a single step in the last 30 years. Taiji did a good job but this really felt like more of a showcase for Liger and that's really what it needed to be. The retiring vet getting one of his last moments in the limelight by proving he can keep up with and even surpass the best wrestlers in the world. Great matwork, great selling, and great babyface fire. Again, Taiji did what he needed to but this was the Jushin Liger show. ****

These guys were in a really tough spot considering the bait-and-switch they pulled with Kofi, but the fact they managed to (somewhat) pull the crowd back into their favor is a testament to how good this match really was. Ali continues to take Darby Allin-levels of insane bumps and Owens thrives as the badass babyface fighting off two guys at once. Like the fatal four-way for the U.S. title, a really good spotfest with everyone getting their time to shine. ****

Really good spotfest with everyone getting their time to shine. A lot of the spots in these kinds of matches (especially when involving more than two people) can feel forced and contrived but everything felt pretty natural for the most part. The real story though is how unthinkable it is that Rey somehow still looks and moves like he did in 1996. Unbelievable performance. ****

Didn't quite reach the level of their last two G1 matches but it was going to be pretty hard to screw this one up. Lots of big bombs and awesome, fast-paced sequences. Thought some of the neck bumps were a bit much even for a Kota Ibushi match, but he did a great job working his selling into his comebacks. Unfortunately another big match loss for Naito but he still looked really good as well. ****1/4.

Excellent match and I would agree it was exactly what a tepid first round show needed. Nagata is still incredibly limber and still has a great deal of oomph behind his strikes. And Ishii is still one of the best wrestlers in the world. While this was ultimately a back-and-forth war of attrition, there was a really cool story of the aging vet proving to a younger, more firey opponent that he still has plenty of gas left in the tank. Absolutely no respect between these two with a series of slap exchanges that give Suzuki-Okada a run for its money. Terrific match and one of the best this year so far. ****1/2

The Taiji match was proof Liger can still go at a high level, he hasn't really lost a step at all.