Tetsujin

This is the first no-Takeover NXT match I've seen in a while, so it's pretty spectacular to me watching Pete Dunne so over as a babyface. The match ruled, with all that fast-paced technique and hard hitting, also the crowd helped a lot. Dunne's work on Kyle's arm could have been sold better, and it really meant nothing at the end of the match, but it was still a very good fight between the two best wrestlers of their stables. It's funny because I didn't know I wanted to see this match that much untill I saw it. *** 3/4.

This was great: two technical masters giving an unusual type of match in WWE, and the NXT crowd totally buyed it. In less than eight minutes we see quality matwork, tension, limbwork, good selling and a last couple of minutes of pure european brawling. Loved every second of it. It's funny how they tried to work a classic grapple match, 'cause they respect each other and know the other one is a worthy mat-rival, but due to their personalities things got crazy sooner than expected. That final headbutt looked brutal, as always. Very good match, yessir! ***3/4

I'm a big fan of the Okada/Omega trilogy, but this... This was awful. Cliché after cliché and devaluated spot after devaluated spot, it's everything I hate about modern big matches. Second worst match I've ever seen in New Japan (Dynamite/Tiger), and it pains me to say it. Terrible pro wrestling. I'm happy for Kenny, though.

Loving the project, but damn I wish we have 'till WM 36 instead of 35...

About the whole "Who should be the new Ace project" thing... What about Ambrose? Remember how hot as a top babyface he was in 2014? How he carried the 2016 Road to WM? How behind him the crowd was when he won the title? The guy's always over, even with poor booking. He's great at promos, one of the most consistent tv and house shows workers of the company (even with his in ring flaws, but I think he's kinda underrated at this point). He even sold more merch than Cena at one little period of time in 2014 and draw better than Reigns in house shows of 2016. And he's still young enough. If I were Vince, I would give him that chance throughout this current year, alongside with Bryan and Strowman (and maybe Rusev, yeah). Just think about it.

Is Reigns gonna get the big underdog treatment... Once again? 'Cause they tried in 2015 and it didn't work, and now that Bryan is back it's going to be even worse.

Terrible show. Fuck WWE, fuck Vince McMahon, and fuck Saudi Arabia. Hate this show and everything it represents. If you truly support LGBT, you don't go and perform in Saudi Arabia in front of the Royal Family who's idea of gay rights is "immorality, perversion and whiplashes". Or you do make a statement of sorts if you got the iron balls to do it. What message it sends to the LGBT in SA, really is : "Hey, I'm really supporting you, but I had to put smiles in the faces of people who consider you as sub-human beings and don't recognize your right to even exist.". It's better to say nothing at all really. I know it's probably not his reponsability anyway, but then again, you're not a robot either. I understand and agree with you. But he's just a worker, he has no responsability of what he wears when he's on camera. If Vince says "don't wear this", there's nothing else you can do if you wanna keep working in WWE. It really, really sucks, but it's not Bálor's fault at all.

Really good lucha championship match but with no ambition to make something different, epic. They weren't lazy, don't get me wrong, just... conformists. Superb matwork in the primera caída and great nearfalls in the tercera, but nothing more. 0 character work, 0 innovation, just another day in the office for these two guys. ****.

After a couple of months disconnected from this project, I finally came back. Updated with 1990 (aka el año del Dandy) and going through 1991 as we speak. The toughest part of 1990 was the big disapointment both Fujiwara/Takada were, and having to take back the 5* rank from Dandy/Satánico apuestas match; on the other side, Azteca/Dandy was near-perfect and Kong/Nakano cage match was holy shit levels of amazing (and still not enough for top 3, what a year).

This is the most personal, violent, intense and full of storytelling brawl modern WWE can do. I miss more brutality (thinking about SCSA/Hart, HHH/Foley Street Fight, Cena/Umaga, Taker/Edge HIAC...) and they have a couple of "we-don't-know-what-to-do-right-now-give-us-a-second" moments, but fuck, they killed it here. Amazing chapter of a perfect rivalry. ****1/4. According to your top 500 of the 90s, Dandy's 5* matches that year were la lucha de cabelleras against Satánico and....? Wasn't vs Azteca ****3/4?

Lee/Dijak for me. Just... Man I don't even wanna remember it to talk about it.

Well then, you are part of the greatest pro wrestling crowd ever

I don't see any greatness either. It was a decent match, just that. Nobody did anything out of his 'RAW mode', the cage was there... I don't know why. The opener had very good using-the-structure-moments, even without being RA Era levels of violence, but this one was dull af. They only made Strowman shine (and with the laziest booking ever in an EC match; as El-P said, Braun doesn't need to eliminate everyone and kick out of everything, that way you only make the other five guys look stupid), and only to make Reigns look like the most powerful wrestler in the world again; it was like his whole four-year-push compressed into one match. Reigns push has been funny to talk about for the first two or three years, but right now it's simply... boring. Crowd didn't gave a shit about him winning, and that's something. **3/4, to say something. And you know what, I'm so happy the women EC was so much better than this one.

Yes, also the 92 tag with Kikuchi against Furnass & Kroffat. But I guess that one is more a Kikuchi moment than a Kobashi moment. His title win against Misawa is up there, too. The crowd went insane.

Kobashi in ROH.

Yeah. I hear the 'he was great in early 00s and after going to NJPW, but the dark era of TNA keeps him out of the all-time elite' argument a lot, and I don't think that's true at all. Like El-P said, he managed to shine no matter what. That's pretty great.

Man, what started as another tough guy vs tough guy turned into one of the most enjoyable slugfests in recent months. Two monsters giving everything they have to each other, specially Zeus, who looked like a great big underdog here; his strength bombs felt organic, he earned every single one of them. Doering's title reigns started not so well, but here he finally gives a main event performance, being a difficult ladder to climb for the challenger but also being able to look weakened and vulnerable sometimes, when the match required it. Not a MOTYC by any means, but it was worthwile and they earned the crowd's attention and respect. I hope Doering keeps at this level. *** 3/4.

Trully a great match, one of those hard hitting contests I really like, but I did't see anything special. Walter's hand being his debility is a good story, but I think Starr and ZSJ did a better job than Thatcher with it (and c'mon, it's Timothy Thatcher, we all know he can destroy that hand if he wants to). I fucking love Tim's resistance as always, he's one of the best at having believable nearfalls with 2'9999 kickouts. And WALTER being WALTER, with his fucking chops, big boots and aura in general, is always a pleasure. Yeah, great match, but just another day in the office for these two ring generals. ****.

The answer has to be one of Buddy Rose's matches during his jobber run in WWF. Also, great call on Strowi/Ellsworth.

Even if the first half suffers a bit from lack of hate and violence, that changes when the blood appears and it became a great match. I agree with Y2J being the best man there, but I have to give Omega some credits too. He had to guide 2018 Chris Jericho through a NJPW big Dome match, and he had to get out of his confort zone to do it. He still needs to learn how to sell exhaustion and accumulated pain throughout a whole match, though. ****1/4.

I'll add Punk/Y2j from WM XXVIII, one of the most underrated matches ever imo.

He kinda is, but no way at the same league as Naito.

OMG! I'm here thanks to GWE so I'm very happy to see this. Awesome stuff

Didn't watch the Rumble. Opener match was fine; nothing more, nothing less. Glad they're taking the division seriously, but I wanted RPG 3K to win and became the true kings of the mountain. Gauntlet match was mediocre as expected, but hey Ishii is champion of something. Cody vs Ibushi was a good match, nice body and great climax. So happy they put Kota over, I'm no way a Cody fan (anymore, loved him in WWE). I liked KES vs LIJ, the heat segment was golden and EVIL'S hot tag too. Would have prefered if they had a few more minutes 'cause the win felt too easy. MiSu/Goto was great. Stiff, dramatic, without Suzuki-Gun... All I could ask for. Post-match was awesome too, Suzuki's the most badass wrestler alive when he wants to. The F4W was nice, with some cool moments and some dull ones. Crowd didn't give a shit about Scurll/Ospreay, loved it. Hiromu cleaning the house near the end was amazing :'( I wasn't too focused when the IC match happened, and I need a rewatch, but I loved White's offensive in this. Tanahashi was good enough. Repeat, I need a rewatch. Omega/Y2j was fucking great. First half was funny, but when the bladejob happened the magic started. What a Jericho performance, his best one since... 2012? So cool. And thanks to Omega for not choosing his classic big match formula against such opponent, it was the right call. Aaaand finally the main event. That was WK 12, everybody!!! Ok, fine. The ME was Incredible, nothing new in terms of NJPW's big match formula but the special feeling was there at every moment, because it was THE moment. Naito's moment, the fans moment. Aaaand it wasn't. And that was horrible. And they fucked up the most beautiful tittle-chase story since Bryan. And no, next year is not going to be the same. Terrible ending for a pretty good show (and a terrific match).

Okada for me. An incredible championship reign with different oponents and stories. When it comes to the WK main event, I'm not on the "MOTY" board but I love it and think Kazuchika's performance is out-of-this-world great, and same with the Shibata match (although Shibata's even better). He gave lesser oponents (Fale, Cody, EVIL) good-to-great matches. But not only is title matches, his G1 is awesome too: the Elgin match, the Kojima match (heel Okada is best Okada), the EVIL match, the Omega match... Easily the mvp of the tournament (and I'm not even as high with the MiSu draw as others). And I totally agree with WingedEagle about the six-man matches. Naito, Trevor Lee and BRAAAAUUUUUN are on the discussion fo #1, too.