Boss Rock

I wish Bryan would bring the Cattle Mutilation back. I recall Naomi doing it once and getting excited that would be her finisher, but alas. I'd also like to see more of: Dragon Sleeper Standing Powerbomb Punching (so many people just do forearms) Gutbuster Military Press Slam Shoulderbreaker Knee Slam Stretch Muffler (I've only seen Desperado and Callihan still do this) La magistral is something that's still used from time to time, mainly with junior heavyweights in NJPW.

Probably one of the lesser battles between these two, but that doesn't mean it wasn't great. You're always guaranteed a lot of chops, suplexes (a bit too many no-sells for my taste) and dives. Lee has been a bit less explosive this tournament due to recovering from his knee injury, but he was still on point. I'd argue the wrong guy went over, but this was still an awesome match. ****1/4.

Terrific follow-up to the CC finals. The finishing stretch is the hottest of fire, but the way they get there is really good. Marufuji is the wily veteran who is literally one step ahead while Kento is the hotshot ace looking to prove himself after his previous failure. Great selling by Kento, great offensive sequences, and the finishing stretch is tremendous. ****1/2.

Most dastardly heel of all-time he was.

Odd booking decisions aside (having Taiji not go undefeated after such a strong debut), Best of the Super Juniors is already loads better than last year. Low bar to clear I know, but it helps they have less SZKG guys pulling shenanigans (although Kanemaru still bores me to tears). Volador was also a guy who sounded great on paper but had little to no chemistry with anyone other than KUSHIDA. The A Block is still rather sparse but Tiger Mask has been turning in some solid grumpy vet performances, ACH has stepped up in a big way, YOH is impressing, and Will is on a two-month hot streak.

Really liked this match a lot and was a fitting conclusion to this "trilogy" (we all know there will be more). The action got a little too fast-paced at times, but both guys did a great job selling the damage and fatigue. Ospreay in particular has done a tremendous job selling since the Sakura Genesis match with Marty and has really come into his own as a babyface. I also loved the learned psychology as Ospreay would not allow himself to be overwhelmed early like the first two matches and knew he needed to be just as aggressive as Riddle to keep up. Seeing frequent opponents "wise up" and implement a better gameplan is one of my favorite things in wrestling, and it made for an extremely satisfying conclusion with Ospreay finally getting that elusive win. Now it's Mike Bailey's turn. ****1/4.

Indeed. I wasn't going to let Boss Man-Show being voted Worst Feud in the WON Awards deter me from enjoying it.

I've always liked Abyss a bit too. Doesn't have a ton of "great" matches, but guy understood who he was and played the character with conviction.

I always thought it started with Shamrock to play up his MMA career.

I've watched the Last Rites match more times than I'd care to admit.

Great match and manages to surpass the first match by a hair. Very much a war of attrition between who hits harder. The thing that always impresses me about Ishii is the ability to project himself as bigger than he actually is, and it worked really well against a bigger guy like Lee. Some of the no-selling and 1 counts could have been toned down just a tad, but both guys still managed to make it look as convincing as can be, something a lot of other folks would not have been able to pull off. All in all, one of the best bombfests you'll see this year. ****1/2.

Started off slow but really progressed and escalated into something really good. Marty isn't great on the ground so the mat work wasn't the most engaging, but they did a great job of upping the violence the longer the match went on and the finish of KUSHIDA not having the finger strength to do the Hoverboard Lock and settling for Back to the Future was great. Serious Marty is >>>>>>>>> goofy Marty. ***3/4.

An awesomely violent and hate-filled match that drove home how much these two hate each other since the Junior tag feud. Hiromu jumps Desperado at the start and brawls with him all the way up to the higher-level seats where he nails a fantastic shotgun dropkick. Back in the ring we get some wonderful mask-tearing before Desperado mounts his comeback. From there, it's an absolute bombfest with both guys going for broke in trying to kill the other. Desperado eventually reaches the point where he realizes he can't beat Hiromu in a fair fight and tries every dirty trick in the book to put him away. And yet Hiromu still kicks out of nearly everything and looks like he might be able to pull it off. In the end, Desperado has one final trick up his sleeve to steal the win, but Hiromu still makes him earn it. I loved the aggression and desperation in this match and there were so many cool touches like Hiromu literally dragging Desperado down the steps and Desperado making a mouth hole in his mask to help him breathe easier when fatigue was setting in. My only issue was that with how many tricks Desperado needed to put Hiromu away with, I feel like Hiromu still finding a way to overcome would have been a more satisfying conclusion. Still, this was awesome. Best match of the tournament thus far. ****1/4

I also really dug the religious zealot character of Mordecai. Think they could have done some cool things with that. I'm also sort of disappointed Hade Vansen never went anywhere.

Same.

I thought he was a great heel in that I desperately wanted to see him get his shit kicked in. Another guy who I actively wanted to see get beat up on a regular basis. Mission accomplished.

The Big Boss Man-Big Show feud from '99. So ridiculous and over-the-top in making Boss Man look like the most evil human being in wrestling history. I just love watching those segments and Show just destroying him at Armageddon. I also still have a soft spot for Ahmed Johnson for being my first "favorite" as a kid. Old Undertaker gimmick matches/feuds as well. I also love me some Glacier.

Other than Bryan's off-screen "regret" following the Nexus angle I can't think of one. I know Matt Morgan departing Fortune in TNA was due to a genuine change of heart, but it's not like he really went anywhere or did anything of much note.

Rollins and Ambrose matches definitely, the Usos match at Survivor Series was also very good.

I was expecting this match to be good, but they honestly surprised me here. Dragon looked maybe just a tad slower than normal (he's coming off an injury), but there were still some awesome offensive exchanges by both men. The aforementioned arm work was great as well and both Dragon and SHO did a good job selling. Multiple times in the match things broke down into a pissing contest where both men were adamant on getting the better of the other in striking exchanges, almost leading to a double count-out. The aggression in these exchanges really took things to another level and it became a matter of how much the more seasoned Dragon Lee was going to have to do to put the upstart SHO away. ****1/4.

What a crazy last two months Will Ospreay has had. Since Sakura Genesis, the guy has legitimately looked like a best in the world-level talent. He still has a tendency to overdo it on the screams, but he's gotten so much better at weaving long-term physical selling with his beautiful aerial moves. Loved how he tried to jump Taiji from the get-go and seemingly had an answer for most of his comeback attempts. However, Taiji eventually took advantage of Will's neck injury and began to turn the tide. Will's selling was perfectly weaved into his comebacks (loved the little touches like how bouncing off the ropes caused him pain) but then it was Taiji's turn to provide an answer for Will's moves. I like the Bloody Cross move but feel like Taiji could afford to get a little more elevation or impact on it. Great return match for Taiji and another standout for Will. ****

Have not heard many good things about Flip, but he acquitted himself very well. ACH did a great job being more aggressive than usual and just chopped the shit out of Flip. This allowed Flip to rally back and shine with some very impressive aerial maneuvers. Great and really fun match that allowed both guys to play to their strengths. ****

Great match and probably the best of the tournament so far (even if it's only been three days). Marty continues to prove that he's an effective heel when he drops the arm flapping and other shenanigans instead focusing on trying break Hiromu's neck like he did Will at Sakura Genesis. Hiromu's comebacks are explosive and really makes you feel like he's going for broke. Lots of drama in the finishing stretch and the finish itself felt like a true last ditch effort by Hiromu. ****1/4.

"The only time of the year when Raw and Smackdown Live go head-to-head in direct competition" and "#undersiege".

I bought it at first just because Cena really seems like the type who doesn't want to get married or have kids, but it's looking more and more like a work every day.