Boss Rock

Match with Joe last week was his first in ages.

Probably him or Braun. Expecting Reigns to be the final entrant and still lose.

It certainly works, because he often looked like he was shooting with those strikes, ha.

How do you manage to be out of position that badly?

It's more about the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. The reason I made the reference to Tenryu was that some of his offense (like the powerbomb and enziguiri) looked pretty bad but his psychology, intensity, and physical charisma were so great that it didn't matter if they looked bad because they still mattered in the course of the match. There are tons of wrestlers who have great execution but have no heat or psychology behind what they do.

While I wouldn't say he's an all-time great, I would argue Jeff Hardy is a tad underrated. He almost reminds me of a poor man's Tenryu if that makes sense. Like, his offense is pretty sloppy and doesn't always look great, but he adds a certain level of excitement and has that intangible you can't quite put your finger on. Only difference is that Jeff's strikes look pretty ineffectual while Tenryu's looked vicious as hell. He's also a very good babyface.

Only caught the second half of Juice-Goto, but was really good stuff. That being said, the prospect of Elgin and Taichi challenging sucks.

A lot of my favorite matches have ended up being between the 20-30 minute spot. But a short, violent sprint like we saw from Brock pre-Braun match is a great change of pace.

Bit of a long match, but I felt like this was a much better-executed version of Suzuki-Okada from last year's New Beginning. Tanahashi is a polarizing wrestler but I think he can be a pretty terrific babyface and that was on full display here. Suzuki also proved he wasn't just an overachiever at WK against Goto and re-established himself as one of the best wrestlers and heels in the world.

"COME ON MOTHERFUCKER SHOW ME POWER!"-Pretty much says it all. In all seriousness, this was a lovely bit of wrestling. Great back-and-forth bombfest with Zeus stepping up to the champion and proving he deserves to be on his level. Joe tries to use his size and force to overpower Zeus but is constantly cut off by his smaller opponent's surprising strength. You really felt like they were putting everything into their strikes and slams to the point where both were spent by the finish. I love that type of struggle and it's not something you see a whole lot in wrestling anymore. ****1/2

Haven't really been keeping up with the Road to Dontaku shows, but took the time to watch Ishii-Henare and White-Finlay. The former was a great hossfight and awesome coming-out party for Henare and the latter was honestly one of the best NJPW matches this year. Still reserving my full judgment of Jay until the G1, though.

Wow. I knew Jay and Finlay had good chemistry, but considering how disappointing White's return to New Japan has been, I was not expecting this. This is legitimately one of the best NJPW matches this year. Finlay is aggressive from the onset and dominates for the first few minutes, eager to prove he's on Jay's level. Jay is eventually able to turn the tide and works over Finlay's back, all the while mocking him for still being a "young boy". The disrespect only serves to fire Finlay up even more and he nearly puts Jay away with his own finisher. However, Finlay's desire for revenge is ultimately his undoing as he introduces a table that just refuses to break. Considering how promising White looked last year, it really seems that his inability to decide what the Switchblade gimmick has hindered his in-ring work. Here he looked much more like the Jay White of 2017 but with a cocky and condescending edge. This made his heat segments far more effective as he alternated between working the back and mocking Finlay. It also helped that Finlay is a very good babyface and had a clear motivation of not only proving himself to the guy who surpassed him, but also get revenge for his constant disrespect. Hard-hitting action, good storytelling, and both guys understanding and playing their roles to perfection made this a great match. Let's just hope Jay can keep it up. ****1/2.

Really liked this a lot and is further proof that 205Live is thriving with the renewed emphasis on in-ring work. The legwork done on Ali by TJP set up the story of the Gulak match perfectly, with Gulak as the sadistic heel and Ali once again as the resilient underdog. If you needed further proof Ali is one of the best babyfaces in the world, look no further than this match. Nese has never done anything for me but really liked how he was out for payback and let his desire for revenge get the better of him. Thought that Kalisto-Gulak had good logic with Gulak looking to stall and frustrate Kalisto, but the ending was rather anti-climactic. Also, it felt like the crowd never got back into it after Ali was eliminated. As much as I like Cedric, Ali is clearly who they should be building the show around as he connects with the fans like no one else. Still, a really entertaining series of matches.

There were a few slow spots in the middle and the crowd had to be woken up a bit, but the finishing stretch was absolute fire. Both guys just absolutely unloading on each other with their heaviest strikes. Marufuji looked like he legit kicked Suwama in the jaw 3-4 times. A really entertaining bombfest with loads of urgency in the latter half. ****

Loved this. You could just feel the hatred and disdain these two had for each other. There was much more of a chaotic brawl feel in this match than any of the others in the tournament. Loved how we got a submission finish here with Suwama just absolutely choking Jun out and wanting to get a few more shots in. Such a unique match that hasn't been seen in AJPW this year. ****

100% agreed. LayCool was awesome and I am loving the Iconic Duo. I'm really amazed at how great Peyton's impressions are. I don't really have anything bad to say about Billie Kay but to me, Peyton Royce looks so much like the Shawn Michaels of this duo. Her upside is tremendous, especially on the mic. Peyton is definitely the better in-ring worker of the two. Think they're both about even in terms of character and mic work.

Anderson was a pretty capable singles wrestler. Don't think they were ever anything special as a tag team. They work much better as goons.

Their social media has been silent since February.

I think it depends on the match and the story they're telling. I also tend to like a mix of both.

Love Cagematch.

Was really pulling for Zeus but seeing that he was in the opening match, knew he had no chance. Guessing Joe or Hino wins the A Block. We haven't had a draw yet, have we? Could see Kento and Yuji going 30.

I've only just been diving into his work, but I might say El Samurai just for the fact that he's not as celebrated a high flier as his contemporaries. But from what I've seen, he was pretty great.

I remember he was vaping while doing commentary for Cage-Tessa at Wrestle Circus. Crazy to believe he's also Jervis.

My take on the match structure was to try and make Reigns look as good as possible while still losing, hence the reason he kicked out of six F-5's. That being said, I could still see them doing the exact same match if Reigns was going over. After months of everyone being put away by just one F-5, they thought it would be even more impressive of Reign to kick out of six as opposed to one or two. Bad strategy. And I wouldn't doubt Heyman's involvement considering how good Joe looked (who Heyman is high on) compared to Braun (who Heyman is rumored to have seen as a threat to Brock).

Great match and possibly the best of the tournament thus far. Zeus was eager to earn Jun's respect but the grizzled veteran wouldn't let him earn it the easy way in a test of strength. Zeus gets incensed and absolutely annihilates him with chops and whips into the guardrail on the outside. This essentially became a war of attrition as the stronger, younger Zeus tried to overwhelm Jun with chops as the older, wiser veteran took everything and tried to dish out even more with repeated knees. Though not a brawl, this really felt like a knock-down, drag-out FIGHT with both guys just throwing everything into their strikes. A bombfest of the highest order and continued proof that not only is Zeus one of the best in All Japan, but that Jun is still capable of some tremendous performances. ****1/4