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This is a fairly straightforward tag match, but one that gets a lot right. The early going sees Suge attempt to take down the much larger Smooth with repeated shoulder blocks. Suge’s facial expressions in particular are a real treat, as he’s very expressive and plays his role to a tee. The dastardly heels spend the majority of their heat segment working over Smooth’s leg. Smooth does well to remind everyone of his bum wheel in subtle ways. It’s a nice contrast to the occasionally over-theatrical selling you get on the indies from time to time. Suge and Lockhart constantly try to land elbow drops on Smooth and we’re treated to some delightful stooging until the big man slips away to make a tag to his partner. The real draw of the match is the eventual showdown between Moriarty and Lockhart, which is chock-full of exciting twists and counters that never feel overwrought. Suge and Lockhart take control once again and go after Moriarty’s arm. The limb work in this portion of the match isn’t quite so gruesome as when they worked over Suge, but they gel well and hit some double-team maneuvers, including a Styles Clash. Lockhart grabs Suge for leverage as Moriarty’s trying to make the tag, a clever bit of heel shenanigans, but Moriarty’s agility allows him to make it to Smooth. Things get scrappy quickly, and Suge impressively matches up to Smooth when they start throwing hands. All four end up in the ring, with Suge neutralizing Moriarty, and Lockhart rolls up Smooth for a cheap win. While the finish could have fallen flat, I appreciated that the heels won on a fluke, as it leaves room for a rematch. Post-match, Lockhart cuts a promo saying that isn’t the win he wanted, and issues a challenge to Moriarty. If and when that happens, we’re in for a treat.

Both competitors start with rapid counter exchanges. But it’s important to note that they never feel over-choreographed, and instead feel like Bailey and ACH feeling each other out. Speedball gets the better of the exchange and hits a wild topé over the ropes, but ACH suplexes Bailey into the apron, which sets the tone for the rest of the match. Bailey’s selling adds a lot of drama to the match. This is a fireworks show through and through, but it’s more about what they do between the moves. There’s always a struggle behind the madness, as seen by Bailey and ACH returning to the top rope a few times throughout the match. By the time Bailey finally hits the Ultima Weapon, the place is rocking. Bailey goes for the moonsault double-knees on the apron, but ACH dodges it. Rather than continuing to chip away at ACH with kicks, Bailey switches up his offense and resorts to chopping his opponent. That brings me to the strike exchanges. You won’t find any weak forearms here, just resounding strikes and thunderous kicks. The near falls aren’t gratuitous but feel like a proper escalation of the pace that they’re setting. Bailey eventually prevails, snagging the win with a Flamingo Driver. All in all, this is a magnificent showcase from two of the best on the indies today, a spot fest where even the harshest of cynics can find something to enjoy. Give it a whirl. You might just like it.

I did not have the pleasure of experiencing the U.S. indie boom period, having only started following smaller promotions in the past few years. So, when we got the likes of Biff Busick, Timothy Thatcher, and Mike Bailey back in a short period, I was beyond (pardon the pun) giddy. Those three all have one thing in common: I’ve seen very little of their most famous work. As far as Busick and Thatcher are concerned, I have seen their Secret Show classic from Beyond in 2014, which I implore everyone to seek out on YouTube. Even in WWE, Biff, and Thatcher, for that matter, gave us glimpses of what could be from time to time. Biff’s violent sprints with KENTA and hard-nosed grappling battles with the aforementioned Thatcher stick out in my memory. All of this is to say, they are all wrestlers I’m fond of, but their best work has taken place in promotions I haven’t sought out. All of this is to say, they are all wrestlers I’m fond of, but their best work has taken place in promotions I haven’t sought out. I don’t have the same connection to Biff that Simon and Sam, who’ve written about this match do. I’m not familiar with Slade, but he looks like a larger version of Biff. I’m delighted to say that Biff’s back with a bang. His work is as brutal and hard-hitting as ever. They waste no time, squaring up to each other and heading to the floor. Biff’s chops are resounding, but ineffective on the big man, who no-sells them. Slade’s offense isn’t flashy, mostly consisting of a good old-fashioned clobbering to the back of Biff. Biff’s forehead gets opened up, and Slade introduces a door, suplexing Biff through it. Biff cracks the door over Slade’s head, but he shrugs it off. Biff then neutralizes Slade with a chair shot to the head, and the juice starts pouring from Slade’s forehead. The violence here is off the charts. The image of a crimson-masked Slade staining the chairs is straight out of a horror film. Slade busting out a sleeper is a perfect way to show that he can do this wrestling thing just as well as Biff, but Biff is resilient. Slade’s a great foil for Biff’s fiery comebacks, as all of his cut-offs look gnarly. Slade eats multiple trashcan shots to the head and collapses when Biff hits a running uppercut for the win. An excellent piece of pacing and escalation, one of gruesome imagery and hard-hitting action. I don’t know if the indies are back, but matches like this give me hope that they could be momentarily.

Very few matches during the pandemic have made me feel something the way this match did. Team Marvelous’ strategy was clear from minute one: isolate Sendai Girls’ dominant force, Chihiro Hashimoto. It even worked for a while. In everything they did, the Marvelous crew came off as a cohesive force bound and determined to achieve their goal. Once thrown off their game plan thanks to some chief interference from Iwata and Chisako, they had to rely on a long-term plan to get rid of Chihiro. One of the biggest successes of this match is that they went to the near-fall well early without it ever feeling gratuitous. The match starts at a ridiculous pace and doesn’t let up for its entire 25-minute runtime. Even the weaker points of the match, such as the section between Iwata and Kadokura, are filled to the brim with a sort of energy that most bouts the past few years simply haven’t had. It’s all incredibly mean-spirited and focused. Chihiro’s power eventually comes back to bite Team Marvelous and it allows the Sendai Girls contingent a brief moment of respite, allowing them to eliminate Mei Hoshizuki. Hashimoto’s performance as the vulnerable but stout giant is delightful. Her selling allows you to believe that Team Marvelous might have a chance in this thing yet. Mio eliminates DASH, and from there, the match becomes a handicap match of sorts, with Chihiro having to fend off Mei Hoshizuki and Momono. There’s a wonderful moment where Hashimoto has Hoshizuki on the ropes, both figuratively and literally, but Mio takes a bullet for her team and allows Mei to survive just a bit longer. Unfortunately, the damage had been done at that point, and Mei was eliminated shortly thereafter. The final third is exciting, climactic, and joyful. The tale of Mio Momono’s resilience is told with exciting twists and turns. She nails Hashimoto with headbutts, busts out the Momo Latch, and uses every inch of her power to reverse a powerbomb. Try as she might, Mio succumbed to a power slam and an Albright. Sendai Girls has finally won the battle, but as we’d see with their title match and later tags, the war was far from over. As good as nearly any match you’ll see from 2021, and a stark contrast to the other clap-crowds that marked this year and the one prior. There’s so much to love here, from the synergy of both teams to the trainees and rookies cheering them on from ringside. It all has a sense of camaraderie and vitality that’s been lacking from many big matches recently, making this one of the finest contests of the year.

At their worst, I find The Young Bucks overbearing, but when there’s a team like FTR to rein in their worst instincts, they’re capable of creating magic. That magic was on full display here. The early stages of the match are playful, with newly-minted babyfaces FTR mocking The Bucks. A hockey fight breaks out, with all four getting in the ring. The common theme early on is that FTR’s always one step ahead of The Bucks. That is until the brothers Jackson begin to isolate Cash Wheeler. Everyone’s on their game here, but I especially want to single out Wheeler as the babyface in peril. He delivers right hands with vigor, sells his butt off when the time calls for it and milks the crowd reaction for all it’s worth. The Bucks, of course, are one of the most well-oiled machines in tag team wrestling, cutting Cash off at the pass by wearing him down with double-team maneuvers. Cash narrowly escapes the clutches of Matt Jackson and goes to tag in his partner, only for Dax Harwood to be superkicked off the apron. Oh, those dastardly Young Bucks. Wheeler finally makes the tag to Harwood, and the place comes unglued. While things broke down a bit, they never lost the thread. Too often, I’ve seen lesser teams spill in and out of the ring without consequence. Without rules or structure, what makes a tag match any different than, say, a scramble match? Whenever someone entered the ring illegally, it always had a purpose. For example, The Bucks would cheat, only to get laid out by an FTR member running interference. It’s a small thing, but one so many tag matches get wrong. Another thing I see overdone is saves, which after a slew of near falls, begin to feel meaningless. This match had one save towards the end, once again maximizing the crowd’s reaction. Nick goes for a moonsault off the apron but gets hits with a Brainbuster by Harwood. The Bucks rally and, in a bit of stolen valor, attempt the Big Rig on Wheeler. Matt and Nick go for every signature move they can think of, but it feels more out of desperation than “let’s see how many kickouts we can do.” Nick goes to grab one of the ROH titles and after a brief struggle with Harwood over it, hits Cash with the belt, but Dax makes the save. The finish is delightful. Thinking they have the match won after a BTE Trigger, referee Rick Knox informs the Bucks that Cash’s foot was on the ropes. The Young Bucks attempt a Meltzer Driver, but Dax catches Nick with a Powerbomb. FTR gets some payback for earlier, hitting their own BTE Trigger and a Big Rig for the win. This match is my ideal of what modern tag team wrestling should look like, a classic formula coupled with new wrinkles. The match shouldn’t have resonated with me as well as it did, as far as my issues with most tag matches go. But it did, and it’s great.

Good match, not quite great. The appeal of this is fairly simple. It’s two wrestlers with big personalities battering each other’s chests until they turn into raw meat. The first five minutes are almost exclusively made up of chops. Things spill to the outside, but Suzuki stays firmly in control. Despite the even start, Hiromu spends the bulk of the match fighting from underneath. It’s Hiromu’s best showing in quite some time, as Minoru’s there to ground him and curb his worst instincts. The pacing is inconsistent, as the two start wrestling, and things speed up briefly. The main thing preventing me from enjoying this more than I did is that it feels a little too one-note. The strike exchanges are delightful, if a little long-winded. Regardless, it’s a fun match that doesn’t overstay its welcome. With current New Japan, you have to take small victories like that where you can get them.

We get bodywork, with ZSJ targeting the neck of Shingo. The early mat work is petty and uncooperative. Things get a bit counter-heavy briefly, but every time Takagi goes for something flashy, he gets punished for it. On the outside, ZSJ delivers some nasty uppercuts to the throat of Shingo. Back inside, Zack grounds Shingo with submissions. Shingo’s selling, as always, is phenomenal. ZSJ switches things up and works over the arm to neutralize Shingo’s power advantage. Takagi goes for a Sliding Lariat but again pays for it as he gets twisted in knots. The mean-spirited Sabre shines in these control segments where he can viciously work over his opponent’s bad wheels. He’s cocky, dismissive, and a great foil for Takagi. Shingo lands a Superplex, but the damage to his neck and arm means he can’t capitalize. The counter sequences here, as with most New Japan matches, got a bit too dancey for my liking. That said, Takagi and Sabre Jr. are far from the worst offenders of this quirk of the house style, and the counters were saved for the closing stretch where they had more impact. It all circles back around to Shingo’s injuries, though. Shingo fights like mad to get out of a Rear Naked Choke, taking ZSJ to the top rope to try to break the hold, but Zack won’t relent, and Takagi taps out. I don’t think the match quite reaches the highs of their encounter from last year’s G1 Climax, but this was still quite good.

The match starts friendly, but with Gresham not taking Chhun seriously. There’s an incidental eye poke early on. Gresham grows increasingly frustrated as he can’t escape the constant wristlocks from Cody. Things begin to get chippy when Gresham keeps a leg lock on through a five-count, and the referee has to separate them. Gresham works over the arm and leg, bending Chhun’s limbs in unnatural ways and generally being smug while he’s in control. Chhun largely sticks to basic offense, such as arm drags, but his execution is top-notch. Both competitors struggle over control of the other’s arm, but their bum limbs come back to haunt them. Gresham’s recently started doing a spot in the corner where he and his opponent take turns evading chops, which I don’t love. It always comes across as hokey to me. There’s a splendid moment where Chhun goes for an arm drag and his bad wheel gives out. Both go for hip tosses and end up going over the top rope in a stalemate. They end up in the ropes once more, and Gresham accidentally pie faces him, but Chhun gets revenge this time, clocking him with a punch. Gresham is a master of escalation, and when this match heats up, the atmosphere is molten. After a series of back-and-forth counters, Gresham catches Chhun with a headscissors pin for the win. Superb stuff all around.

Classic dueling limb work structure, as Punk goes after the knee of Rhodes, and Dustin targets the arm. Dustin takes his signature bump, spilling to the outside and further damaging his bad wheel. The selling from both is wonderful. I feel like these Punk matches are going to hold up better than a lot of stuff from AEW because they rely on sound fundamentals rather than athleticism. There's a moment late in the match where Dustin lands his corner punches and goes to jump down off the ropes, but the force of the landing hurts his knee even more. Punk's arm gives out on a GTS and he sinks in a deep pinfall to snatch the win. Great match.

This was the antithesis of most New Japan undercard tags. STRONGHEARTS are such a breath of fresh air, bringing new life to the promotion. Fujinami's great at picking his spots even at 69, which led to a cool moment at the beginning where he stood up to Okada. Kojima and T-Hawk beat the tar out of one another, but it eventually came down to the STRONGHEARTS & Fujinami group isolating Kojima and working over his leg. Tanahashi got the hot tag, and everyone ate a Dragon Screw except Fujinami. Tanahashi slapped the old man and delivered Fujinami's signature Dragon Screw, which elicited an audible reaction from the crowd. Everyone entered the pool, and it led to TM4 hitting a dive on Fujinami. The final stretch between Okada and T-Hawk was breathtakingly quick, but not so much as to be overbearing. A spry, breezy eight-man tag that played to everyone's strengths and got in and out in under 15 minutes. New Japan could use more matches like this.

I do not consider myself a fan of MJF’s work. I think he leans on heel tropes that are frankly lazy, and far too often, he goes for the low-hanging fruit. His in-ring has been cold and uninspired, with his character work often taking a backseat to the moves. With that said, this is probably the most complete MJF performance I’ve seen to date. Rather than focusing on flashy maneuvers, he relied on stooging for his babyface counterpart. That resulted in a delightful spot early on where Punk caught him between the ropes and hit MJF every time he swung back up. From there, they brawl around the arena, with the crowd egging Punk on. They even got the crowd to go ballistic for a body slam, which is no small feat in 2022. Of course, all of that is buoyed by a stellar showing from CM Punk, whose selling is remarkable. MJF attacks Punk’s arm to soften him up for the Salt of the Earth. Punk constantly reminds everyone of his injury, shaking out his arm between moves. Punk goes for a Bulldog in the corner but decides not to hit a short-arm lariat due to the injured limb. His selling feels like a meaningful part of the match rather than something done for show. MJF’s performance simply does not work without a hometown babyface the caliber of Punk. The biggest drawbacks here lie in the restart, the length, and the finish. MJF chokes Punk out with his wrist tape and locks in a sleeper. Punk fades, and the ref calls for the bell. Bryce Remsburg sees the tape in MJF’s hand afterward and restarts the match. Which was fine in execution but lost a bit of impact because they used the same angle not too long ago in MJF’s match with Jericho. As for the length, the match dragged. I have no desire to see MJF go twenty minutes, let alone twice that, no matter how good his opponent may be. It felt natural for MJF to procure a cheap win after being passed the Dynamite Diamond Ring by Wardlow, but the ending still fell flat. On the whole, this is an impressive piece of business. For all its faults, both competitors come out looking strong without sacrificing their character work at the expense of cheap pops. In MJF’s case, that’s a first. Here’s hoping he carries on this momentum and ditches the dollar-store heel schtick that’s plagued his promos and matches thus far.

It’s no secret that I’m quite high on Iizuka and Izuchi. So, when I heard they had a sub-one-minute main event, I knew I had to see it. Iizuka jumps Izuchi at the opening bell with a running knee strike. Thinking he has Izuchi down for the count, Iizuka goes to celebrate, only to turn around and see that his foe is back to his feet. Iizuka goes for a flurry of strikes and back elbows, but Izuchi has his guard up and catches him flush with a knee. Izuchi then clamps on a chokehold to tap out Iizuka in under a minute. This would be easy to dismiss as “just an angle,” but I loved the way the match played out. Iizuka’s overconfidence costing him is a wonderful, easy-to-digest, self-contained story. The fact that they got there in so little time is a testament to both competitors. Izuchi’s look of incredulity after the bell is also fantastic. More than anything, I like how this match turns what a main event should look like on its head. It doesn’t need any fancy set pieces, flashy moves, or big nearfalls. All it needs is a little effort.

Neither man wastes any time getting into the action. Nakamura dominates the ground game, forcing Matsui to use an escape thirty seconds into the match. Nakamura forces Matsui to fight from behind, smothering him on the mat and forcing him to use the ropes to flee. Both competitors weave in and out of holds seamlessly. There’s so much intent and purpose behind every hold. Take, for example, the kneebars Matsui constantly uses as a tool to neutralize his opponent. It’s a stark contrast to the filler mat work that besets most Japanese promotion’s main event scenes. Matsui hones in on Nakamura with yet another kneebar to cost him a point, but Daisuke rushes him immediately for a down. An excellent struggle over an armbar follows, but Matsui again finds himself in the ropes. Matsui briefly gains the upper hand with a suplex that keeps Nakamura down for a count of eight. Matsui grabs a sleeper, and suddenly, Nakamura’s down to two points himself. From there, both find themselves flustered, swinging wildly for any strike that will land. A flash armbar seals the deal, and Nakamura snags the win. A delightful match, full of vim and vigor, one that shows you don’t need to go thirty minutes to tell a complete story.

I recently published my 2021 Year-End Awards, featuring the top 100 matches and top 20 wrestlers of the year, among other things. Check it out: https://spinningwheelkick.wordpress.com/2022/04/15/_2021_year_end_awards/

Sareee/Sarray is someone I could see making lists pending a good WWE run.

Someone's been uploading a bunch of WoS. Not sure how much of it's new footage, but the channel's worth a look: https://www.youtube.com/user/JNLister

The opening exchanges are all about establishing the history between Makabe and Henson, so naturally, neither of them is able to mount a significant advantage early on. Makabe's strategy is simple: twist the feline's limbs until he can no longer hang. Makabe blasts Scott's knee and goads Henson into the ropes, where he applies an octopus, really milking the count. Henson has to scratch and claw (pun intended) his way out of the holds using raw power. In a great bit of character work, Dan bites the tail that's attached to Henson's gear and immediately drives his knee into the mat afterwards. Makabe gets a bit overzealous, taking the action out to the apron once more, and it nearly costs him, as he ends up taking a spill to the floor. Back in the ring, the action is hot and heavy, with both men pulling out everything they have left. Exhaustion is clearly setting in at this point and one final move could be the knockout blow. Henson scales the ropes looking for the kill, but Makabe pulls out a superplex for a near-fall. One thing I made note of here is how quickly Makabe floated over from the superplex into the pin attempt. It was almost instinctual. Henson attempts to deliver one last lariat, but Dan, as always, is one step ahead and bridges over long enough to get the pin. Henson doing some of his power moves with ease after the initial knee work bothered me a bit, but I thought his selling was good for the most part. Outside of that, I really enjoyed this.

Yehi is the smaller competitor, so he spends a good portion of the early going trying to establish his ground, but WALTER isn't having any of it. He toys with Yehi, tossing him around the ring with ease, employing suplexes and bodyslams to assert his dominance. Yehi is a master of unconventional offense, so he manages to sneak in a few nasty stomps to WALTER's knees, wearing the larger man down. Yehi's offensive creativity never ceases to amaze me. When WALTER tries to take the fight to the outside, Yehi out-wits him by baiting him up to the steps and going right back to those vicious stomps. Back in the ring, WALTER is equally great as an imposing force, showing no signs of fear whenever he's downed by the craftier, more agile opponent. A defenseless Yehi finds himself dangling from the second rope, anticipating WALTER's next move...or so it seems. Yehi, still in a precarious position, unloads with a series of kicks to WALTER's chest, allowing him to summon enough strength to land a superplex for a near-fall. Unfortunately for Yehi, the damage has been done at this point, and WALTER rallies with a big boot and a sleeper hold to pick up the win. It's a shame that the match ended just as the crowd was starting to warm up to it, but Yehi and WALTER managed to tell a compelling story while leaving room for a rematch, and they did it all in slightly north of 15 minutes. I can't complain.