nivvad

One year to the day of their first title match, only this time their roles are flipped. I don't think I loved the match as much as their first, but it's damn close up there as a worthy rematch. I found Kenoh's work on top to be a little bland, but his comebacks and sequences were awesome to say the least. Kaito really grew up here as well as he finally took it to Kenoh with his own intensity. As I have said before this is the NOAH youth and its pretty great, ****1/4.

The first really great match of the year once again goes to All Japan. Kento's first defense is against none other than the, in my opinion, underrated KAI of all people. My first and only real complaint is having to go 30 minutes once again. It was a trend that started last year, and looks to be continuing into this year. This means there was a good portion of Kento's control segment that was a whole lot of nothing compared to KAI's brilliant work on the former's leg, who's selling was also pretty shoddy. The last 10 minutes are pretty fantastic though and what you would expect in a Triple Crown title match with lots of bombs and fast paced sequences. Great match that'll be hard to top especially for this specific week in Japan, ****1/2.

It's a Dome main event between two of the greatest wrestlers of all time; there was zero chance this wouldn't be a classic. Of course, there will always be those that are blinded by their hatred of Omega to see how incredible of a performer he is, but you can't please everyone I suppose. Going back to the match though, both guys told incredible stories simultaneously which is expert level shit. I really want to say it was a Tanahashi match through and through, but Omega still managed to shine through and through with his own performance. I have bittersweet feelings about the finish and winner, but even in the confusing pain, life sometimes leaves beautiful masterpieces like this match in it's wake, *****.

It was a match between Will Ospreay and Kota Ibushi of all god damned people. Of course this was going to be nuts. Most interesting was the match structure as everyone expected an extreme athletic contest, these guys just beat the piss out of each other instead. Unfortunately this led to Ibushi suffering a concussion which made the finish feel a bit weird, but incredible stuff nonetheless, ****3/4.

I was hoping for a violent and intense brawl, but unfortunately this match was another victim of time cuts. It was still a pretty fun match as it was all just Okada getting in his shit. Signature incredible sequences by the end of course with an incredible albeit predictable finish. Still in the boat that thinks their G1 match was better, ****.

God damn did these guys almost steal the show with a very chaotic brawl. Of course, I didn't expect anything less than a great match on a stage this big featuring these two. I think their first match was a bit more "violent", but this match still had its brutal spots. Jericho was great as usual, but Naito in particular kicked it up a notch in a way that I haven't seen since 2017, ****1/2.

A crazy take on the Ladder War match as all three teams destroyed each other for definitive gold. What is possibly the last match the Bucks and SCU will have in ROH, both teams really went all out here as they killed each other and themselves for the quality of the match. I liked that the Briscoes brought the blood and more violent part of the match as it fits their teams style. Maybe not as memorable as some of the other Ladder Wars in history, but still a brutal way to close out the show, ****1/2.

I expected this to be really good, but damn did they blow my expectations away. This started hot, and remained hot until the last second of the match with the crowd really behind Page to pull off an upset. Cobb was pretty good here too as he finally brought a fire that many of his ROH matches so far have been lacking. Then again, it's not like he had many serious challengers to begin with. The match played to the strengths of both men really well which made for a great sprint of a match, ****1/4.

It's funny how Tanahashi is given so many MVP awards even though he was clearly outclassed by the other 3 men in this match by a wide margin. He had a few good spots in here, but this match was all Ospreay trying to overcome the athletic marvels that are the Golden Lovers. I'm surprised they ended the year with a banger of a tag team match on a usually inconsequential house show, but I'm not complaining either, ****3/4.

Thought this was really good, but not as good as their G1 match. It was shorter, and Goto worked Ibushi which felt like forever for some reason. There was plenty of Seth Rollins type contrived sequences with reversals galore, but at least they kept it physical in NEVER signature fashion. Ibushi does not know how to hold a belt though, ****.

This was the definition of "just OK". Just a match that was there just like it was a year ago, except GoD seem to have gotten less over than before. SANADA/EVIL are always good together, just wish there was some more intensity in this match to say the least, ***1/2.

PAC's best performance in years probably. Dragon Gate Korakuen main events always deliver in one way or another, and this title match wasn't any different. Admittedly, I wasn't fully sold on the new PAC since he made his comeback, but his abilities were on point here finally. Of course, I also have to give credit to Yoshino who put on his best performance this year. Great chemistry here too which made the match more dramatic than I thought it would be. Appreciate PAC won the title without any interference from R.E.D. who are finally the legit threat they've been building to all year, ****1/2.

I'm getting pretty tired of Gargano's shtick to be honest. He still wrestles like he's in PWG in that all of his recent matches are about getting his shit in and looking as "epic" as possible. It's like the Almas match put him on a pedestal, and every match since then has just been hokey in a "look how cool my storytelling is guyz" kind of way. Nothing he does comes off like he's trying to win the match either. Don't even get me started on his 13 year old fan fiction character arc. Fortunately, he had Black as his opponent who oozes seriousness in an edgy way, yet it's executed great. You could feel his hatred in every strike, and the way he finished the match too was just incredible. This could've been a MOTYC with the right build and a more serious Gargano, but what we got was really good anyways if I'm just looking at the match itself, ****1/4.

Not their best match, but still a nice conclusion to their rivalry for now at least. Sekimoto hung in there technically with Suzuki, and Suzuki played the power game just as well. A few more minutes would've been nice as the finish was a bit anticlimactic, ****.

Maybe it didn't live up to the hype that I saw this match being built up for, but certainly a great match that elevated Kenoh to a serious GHC contender again. Marufuji's offense did nothing for me in this match to say the least. He's still praised as one of the best in the world, but nothing about his offense except doing cool sequences is exciting. Kenoh on the other hand was awesome here as his selling and intensity were really great and pretty much made the match. Not to mention that flipping diving stomp looked especially brutal, ****1/4.

I'm actually really shocked how exciting this match was. Higuchi has always been a beast, but damn did he feel more like a monster in this NOAH match than he usually does in DDT. Not only that, but he brought out the best of Shiozaki which is a difficult thing to do. The chops in this match were fucking gnarly with each sounding like a gun shot. There was instant chemistry, and it's easy to say this was the match of the tournament up to this point, ****1/2.

Kenny's time on top as IWGP Heavyweight champion has been very mixed depending on how you like your IWGP champion to act, but I have to commend Omega for trying to take a different approach as champion. Kenny truly appreciates wrestling fans from all over the world, and coming to a small-ish indie in the north east was a nice treat for those fans since New Japan doesn't see that area as a priority. Not to mention his opponent on this night was Rey fucking Fenix, this match was pretty incredible. It told a great story of Kenny being outshined in a game of athleticism, but gained the upper hand when it came to big moves and strikes. Kenny could've easily done a 15 minute match with house show tights on, but instead he brought out the big boy pants and gave the crowd an excellent 25+ minute performance. It didn't feel like it dragged on like most New Japan title matches either. Hell I'd say this match was a tad better than Kenny vs Penta, ****1/2.

A match I didn't know I wanted till it was actually announced. It's great to see that at his older age he can still put on great matches with guys almost half his age. Of course, his opponent is the young and brash "Ace" of DDT, so it was expected to be great. CIMA's legwork was incredible stuff working Takeshita throughout the whole match. Takeshita even sold it pretty well. Some spots his selling was eh, but he still kept up a great consistent job at it. After a barrage of kick outs, CIMA eventually got Takeshita to stay down with a third Meteroa for the upset win thus keeping Strong Hearts undefeated in the promotion. I sincerely doubt this is the last time both wrestlers face off, ****1/2.

Another incredible match between these two rivals, but I can't say it reached the dramatic levels of their Osaka match. For one, the champ pinning the challenger before this match clearly spelled out that Zeus was losing as there was no way he was pinning Kento 3 times in a row, so that in turn brought down the drama quite a bit. Especially compared to their Osaka match which had the story of whether or not Zeus could win in his hometown. Another complaint I have is this did not need to go over 30 minutes again. I found at least 10 minutes of Zeus's work on top very boring, and Kento making his comeback at the 20 minute mark made it very apparent they were going over 30 again. It's a problem that other Puroresu promotions do, and I hope it isn't becoming a trend in All Japan too. Anyways, the work put in from both guys was pretty incredible. Zeus did practically everything he could do to put Kento away, but nothing was enough. They even kicked out of each other's finishers once again. Zeus as champion was fun, and he stepped his game up considerably, so I hope he doesn't stop giving a shit once again now that his time on top is over, ****3/4.

Ridgeway is a very special UK talent that I don't think gets enough recognition for how good he is. In a scene full of stereotypical high flyers and "british strong style", it's refreshing to see a hard and technical style get a good position on a high profile card. Ospreay did an excellent job in allowing Ridgeway's style to take center stage, and what was produced was a great match with wonderful chemistry that kept building into some cool spots and sequences. Unfortunately, the finish came very abruptly in that Ospreay seemed to have been injured (it was stated as rib-based, but he botched an overhead kick landing on his neck right before the finish) thus having the match finish early. I wish Ridgeway would've gotten the win in more spectacular fashion, but a win is a win, ****1/4.

I'd say this is a level below their SSE UK match for a few reasons. Mostly because it went too long, and the atmosphere wasn't as great as it could've been. Not that the UK crowd don't deserve a match of this magnitude in their continent, but I really feel this would've reached MOTYC levels if it was in Japan. All that said, the first half of the match is your typical Suzuki brawling match where they go to the outside and Suzuki is picking a fight with literally anyone. It finally gets good when Ishii makes his comeback half way in with some great sequences by the end. Still a pretty fun match I suppose, but I won't deny that Suzuki's UK run has been slightly disappointing, ****1/4.

The second time Ospreay and WALTER meet in the ring, and once again it is a banger. Hell I would even say it was up to par with their incredible match at Defiant a few months ago. They tell such a compelling story with WALTER dominating on the mat while Ospreay can only get in big hits from the sky. This was on it's way to being a top 10 MOTY for me, but a few things held it back a bit. First off I don't think they needed to go more than 25 minutes. Their first match was only 20 and was just as enjoyable with a similar story. My other main gripe is the unnecessary overbooking towards the end. Even though Ospreay wrestles like a junior, it's so believable to see him have incredible contests as a heavyweight, ****3/4.

A dream match between two technical marvels. Call me fucking crazy, but Thatcher in this match outclassed Suzuki in almost every way. His selling, strikes, intensity and submissions were all incredible compared to Suzuki who was too busy trying to pander to the crowd every 5 minutes. Not to say Suzuki didn't put in any good work, but I was really hoping for something more against a fellow patrician of shoot style like Thatcher, ****.

This was your fairly generic New Japan tag match. Nothing special except everyone getting their shit in. I was hoping for more, but as soon as I saw Naito in a shirt I knew what I was in for, ***1/2.

KUSH vs Ishii is a match that you just know could easily be a MOTYC, but unfortunately this didn't reach the levels I was hoping for. There were some very obvious chemistry issues that led to quite a lot of sloppy spots. Maybe KUSH was just too excited to be working with a heavyweight that it messed up his rhythm. The atmosphere definitely took a hit because of the mixed chemistry. In between all the negatives though, there were some really great sequences that showed what these two can do. I am not a fan of the junior champ being pinned clean literally in his first match as champ though, ****.