Boss Rock

Indeed a great episode, but Debbie is still the worst.

Not much to say other than this was a really good, hard-hitting match. Just two absolute badass, middle-aged bruisers laying into each other with everything they've got. The finish felt a bit weird with Suzuki just shaking off a clothesline from Ishii and rocking him with a forearm before setting up the Gotch Piledriver, but still a match very much worth watching. ****

Despite Cedric being the CW champion, Ali is the clear franchise player of 205Live. Guy hasn't had a single match that hasn't dipped below "pretty good" level. And Buddy Murphy continues to prove he was the most underutilized talent in NXT not named Juice Robinson. Really like how they mixed their usual big moves with some pretty violent spots such as the Spanish Fly on the announce table (Holy no give Batman!) and the insane superplex off the stairs. Not only that, but you could REALLY feel the hatred between these two. Everything they did was done with the intention of not just winning the match, but to severely hurt their opponent. And major bonus points for the most creative steel stair spots I've ever seen. Not just one of the best TV matches this year, but one of the best WWE matches this year. r****1/4-****1/2.

Really liked this match although I agree that it wasn't quite as good as the Sakura Genesis match. Similar story of Zack having a counter for damn near everything Okada had to give him. As much as I love Okada, the criticisms of him not being the, shall we say "hardest" hitter were pretty much on full display here. Still, the guy has a way of elevating a match and making things feel important against almost anyone and that was the case here. He also did a really good job selling the arm by hitting a somewhat limp Rainmaker and being too hurt to follow up on another one. And the finish was perfect as it not only proved that Sabre is clever but that Okada is still reeling from losing the title. ****

Speaking of Marty, he and Okada are in the first "official" match for All In. Rumor has it that it was supposed to be Okada-Rey but WWE finally signed him to a new deal.

I was expecting episode 4 to be bad but it was surprisingly pretty good. Jake Strong looked better this time around and came off a bit more as the aggressive bruiser they tried to paint him as in that awful trios match. But at the end of the day, he's still charisma vacuum Jack Swagger. Worldwide Underground vs. Reptile Tribe was a fun tag match. Daga has to be one of the most underrated wrestlers in the world. And holy crap, the athleticism on Vibora! Did not expect that. Won't go too much into Matanza-Pectacular but Mrzfn was right in saying that the latter is a solid bumper. Main event between Chavo and King Cuerno was a lot of fun, easily one of the best this season. Next week:

I enjoy Famous B's dedication to the thing a whole lot. Him reacting to Mascarita cutting the head off his cutout like it was his own head remains one of my favorite moments.

Tonight's episode looking like Matanza-Pectacular and Worldwide Underground-Reptile Tribe.

Well, definitely watching this later!

I will gladly add to the Kia Stevens praise. She did a really good job last season but didn't really get as much time as a lot of the other characters. With a full episode about her, she knocked it out of the park.

I also must say that considering this was the first Hideki match I saw since the snore-inducing rematch with Daichi, it was nice to see the guy I was blown away by last year.

A very worthy successor to their barn-burner in March. While this match was maybe just as violent as the first, it wasn't so much about the violence as it was Kenoh's defiance and desire to prove himself to Sugiura. From the very beginning Kenoh tries to brush off his mentor's offense as best he can, but eventually Sugiura hits an elevated swinging neckbreaker to the outside and is able to establish control. Kenoh's selling of the neck was very good throughout and had some really clever spots such as grabbing the back of his head due to the whiplash of a Sugiura spear. Sugiura tries to prove he knows Kenoh better than he does with counter ankle locks, but Kenoh is finally able to recover and drag Sugiura into a dogfight. And boy oh boy what a dogfight it is. As much of a wonderful bastard as Kenoh can be, he proved he can be just as good if not better as a fiery babyface, getting nearly knocked out by Sugiura only to struggle back up to his feet as if to say "Is that the best you got?" He is defiant to the end even when he knows defeat is inevitable. It seems like a bit of odd booking that Kenoh couldn't put Sugiura away with two head kicks AND a double footstomp, but the endgame seems to be for Kenoh to get closer with each shot until he can finally overcome Sugiura in a third bout. All in all, a great match with tremendous babyface work by the man who SHOULD be king. ****1/2.

Very much so. And as underwhelming as Cody can be in the ring, his heel persona really is main event level.

I'm pretty sure the whole show will be, but might be split up by each match. Okada-Sabre and Suzuki-Ishii sounded really good.

Also kind of makes sense they wouldn't want to have Cody lose to the IWGP Heavyweight Champion two years in a row as ROH champ.

One of the most unique matches I've seen this year. Really reminded me a lot of an MMA fight, more specifically Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen. You see the underdog exerting his will and even putting the super dominant champion in real trouble, only for the champ to pull out something crazy and get the win. And at less than eleven minutes long, that's not something you see in a whole lot of championship matches. But I'm glad I saw it. ****

Good God the neck bumps. Really good tag match, easily the best NJPW tag that wasn't Lover-Bucks or Bucks-RPG3K. Lots of great tandem offense and despite taking the pin because he's a Junior Heavyweight of course, Hiromu really got to shine in this one. And again, the neck bumps. Good Lord.

I never saw the match itself but have heard that Sojo-Kong is notoriously bad.

Really fun match and proof that Fenix is one of many shots to the arm CMLL has needed (the others being L.A. Park and Penta). While so many other high-fliers in CMLL just seem to go through the motions, Fenix brings a much-needed sense of urgency and willingness to go all-out. Cavernario is another wrestler who feels less "samey" than so many other luchadores and what we got was an entertaining, back-and-forth match. Tons of big spots like Cavernario's splash to the outside and Fenix's cutter on the stage made this a must-watch bout. Great singles debut for Fenix and a reminder that Cavernario is one of the best wrestlers in the world despite his lack of a sustained push. ****1/4.

I really liked the Fenix-Cavernario match. I feel like CMLL has sort of just been going through the motions the last year or so but these recent events have been a much-needed breath of fresh air.

Agreed. Grave Consequences 4: A Good Day to Grave Hard was everything you'd expect from a Grave Consequences match.

Is there a better underdog in wrestling than Darby Allin? I struggle to think of one. This match told a simple, yet effective story: how much punishment could Darby endure from the juggernaut that is WALTER? Darby tried to get the jump on WALTER early but almost immediately gets pummeled from pillar to post. Darby's bumping and selling was fantastic as always and the hand work on WALTER was brilliant (who ever saw someone headbutt a hand?). Considering the past between Darby and Thatcher and how WALTER beat down Darby before, you were really rooting for Darby and he pulled off an incredibly satisfying victory. Low-end MOTYC. ****3/4.

You can always count on LU to deliver on one of their trademark matches. A great spotfest with lots of brawling and hardcore spots. As mentioned above, Mil and Fenix have always had tremendous chemistry and there were some cool callbacks to the first Grave Consequences. Fenix in particular is a great babyface and arguably one of the best in the world today. Callihan can often get too caught up in his shtick but really thrives in chaotic environments like these (they don't call it "the Sami Sprint" for nothing). Ivelisse coming back was really cool even if the hammer spots were a bit over-the-top. I also liked the stories they were telling with Catrina and Melissa when it came to Fenix. Really fun match and maintains the reputation that Grave Consequences matches have. ****1/4.

Violent Giants regained the AJPW tag titles. Good stuff.

I hope so.