nivvad

It's Ishii and fucking Minoru Suzuki, of course this was going to be great. The two grumpy and tough heavyweights of New Japan finally colliding in a match once again to destroy each other. This was as stiff and physical as you would expect with these two. Suzuki in particular pretty much dominated Ishii for most of the match, but that didn't stop Ishii from getting in his own signature stuff as well. Many were expecting a loss for Suzuki especially after the Suzuki-gun domination on this UK tour, but in upset fashion Suzuki gets the Gotch on Ishii for the win and the RevPro heavyweight title, ****1/2.

I honestly didn't think Zack and Okada could have a match that lived up to their previous classic, and while this match in the UK admittedly wasn't as good, this was still quite an awesome bout with a shocking upset win for Zack with a flash pin. Stylistically similar to their previous match with lots of spots and sequences directly from it, both men once again proved they have chemistry with Zack especially showing he has a counter for anything Okada can throw at him. A big loss and win for Okada and Zack respectively means a lot for their momentum going into the G1, ****1/2.

Wouldn't say it's the best match ever in 205 Live history, but it's at least one of the best. I really liked how they treated this No DQ match much more different than your standard WWE weapons match as they focused on using steel steps as the only weapon in the match which led to some great spots. Still very physical and lots of brawling with both men looking great and a crazy finish for Ali to get his revenge and win the match, ****1/2.

Even though I do not consider myself a deathmatch connoisseur by any means, I can't deny how much of a spectacle this match was. It didn't even feel like a stereotypical death match as it wasn't about the weapons, but more about the struggle between these two men who are quite familiar with each other. Both men channeled the fighting spirit of Puroesu with the insanity of death match wrestling to create an amazing dark horse MOTYC, ****3/4.

Suzuki has been a whole lot of nothing in 2018, so it's mind boggling that a rookie with only a little over 2 years experience was able to give Suzuki his best match all year. Well I shouldn't be that surprised since Nomura is a student of Suzuki, but this was still quite the intense battle. Even with only two years experience, he was still made to look super competitive against Suzuki in a shoot style type of match. A punt to the face is what kept Nomura down, but it's clear that his future is really bright, ****.

There seems to be no possible way for a match involving Undisputed Era and Moustache Mountain to not be incredible. Basically a rematch between UE and BSS except Dunne is switched out for Ricochet of all people this time around. Everyone was great here as expected, especially Ricochet who just cleaned house more than once. One of the best NXT TV matches this year at least, ****1/4.

Definitely a low blow to OTT from Progress for stealing this match, but an awesome match nonetheless. Jordan Devlin is someone who has been making noise in Ireland for the past year, and if you haven't noticed by now, then you will eventually because it's only a matter of time. The crowd are already super behind Devlin, even going to the point to booing the hell out of Ospreay who was once the promotion's hero. Mostly a moves/spot fest of a match, but it was nice to see someone on Ospreay's athletic level once again, ****1/2.

Easily this would be the best New Japan tag team match of the year if it wasn’t for Bucks/Lovers. This was a total gang fight as Suzuki and Zack just took their CHAOS opponents to school and wrapped them up and beat the hell out of them in and out of the ring. Every interaction here was great; Suzuki/Ishii, Suzuki/Okada, Ishii/Zack, and Zack/Okada. 4 phenomenal wrestlers putting on an amazing classic for the UK fans, ****3/4.

Some are calling this one of the best Lucha matches of all time, and while I wouldn’t go that far, I’d at least say it’s one of the best of the year. Fenix is Fenix of course (or King Phoenix as he’s going by in CMLL), so there wasn’t any surprise that his performance would be amazing. Cavernario really brought it here too with his own brawling style, but still managed to pull out some cool dives as well. Fantastic chemistry all around that led to this match stealing the entire weekend, ****1/2.

A great main event to cap off Kenny Omega’s first produced show. There was no way this wasn’t going to deliver considering the talent in this match. Naito in a shirt is still very good, but at least he had Hiromu there to pick up the slack. The Lovers of course are one of the best tag teams in the world, so of course they weren’t going to be outshined. Have to honor the respect of the scary bumps both teams took, especially Ibushi and Naito who killed themselves with a few neck bumps. There is potential for an even better match between these two teams, but still great stuff from start to finish, ****1/4.

The match has happened a thousand times by now, but both teams kill it every time. This had the vibe of an old school ROH tag match with it’s fast pace and hot crowd. The Bucks in particular were on fire in this match, but when are they not. The Briscoes also did pretty well with their brawler type style, and they used it efficiently to build the drama. Arguably the best ROH tag match this year, ****1/4.

Honestly this was a great match, but admittedly I don't think it was as good as their match from March. The intensity and story was there, and I loved Kenous performance, but what was missing from this match was I guess the urgency from both guys. Lots of hard strikes and big moves as is the signature NOAH style, but I would've liked to have seen both guys actually trying to win the match rather than just beat the hell out of each other. Of course it keeps both guys looking strong in deafeat or victory, but at the same time it makes Kenoh especially look somewhat premature to take hold of the ship. The old guard vs young generation war rages on with Go stepping up to Sugiura next, ****1/4.

As much of an amazing wrestler WALTER is, it’s nice to be reminded just how incredible of a monster he can be. I have not seen an amazing “David vs Goliath” match like this in years. You have to look back to the Danielson vs Morishima war to see the perfect execution of that type of match, but in all honesty this Allin vs WALTER match came close. This was better than any WALTER vs Ilja or WALTER vs Starr match too. WALTER rag-dolled the FUCK out of Darby, and further iced the cake by just chopping and clubbing the hell out of him as well. I loved Darby using his size and speed to avoid WALTER’s powerful strikes, and even used his brain in weakening that hand of his. One of the best EVOLVE matches I have ever seen, and easily Darby’s best performance to date, ****3/4.

Might be an unpopular opinion here, but I liked this match a lot more than their BOSJ match. While I thought their previous match was good, it was missing the drama to take it to the next level, which they were able to bring this time around. You could argue the overbooking brought the match down, but I would say it did the opposite and really added to the match's intensity. Hiromu was great of course, but Desperado had his best performance ever imo. Hiromu retained, finally getting a win over his upperclassmen, ****1/2.

Finally Season 4 gives us a match with great quality. Mil and Fenix always tear it up in the ring together, so there was no way this could disappoint. Throw in Crane (Sami) who excels in matches with no DQ stipulations, and it takes this match to the next level. Lots of brawling, weapons, and lore were in this match as expected. Just a signature LU style match full of signature carnage, ****1/2.

Finally, Zack Gibson puts on his best performance to date. Not that I ever thought Gibson was a bad wrestler, but he never has been able (or even wanted to) show off his actual wrestling skills. He was great in picking apart Dunne’s arm though. Dunne on the other hand was also very good here in selling his arm and his exciting offense. His face persona is a little weird to get behind, but he still knows how to build up the drama when needed. I don’t know how much longer he will hold the UK title, but it seems he’s just getting started as champ, ****1/2.

Another great tag match between two thirds of British Strong Style and two thirds of Undisputed Era. Similar match length with a similar sprint style pace for maximum adrenaline as all four guys put on a great match for the UK crowd. Bate and Seven winning led to one of the best pops I have ever heard in WWE for a title win in some time, ****1/4.

A match that has been building for several months finally culminated in a great tag match in London. This was a nice sprint style type of match that made British Strong Style look very good in victory. Undisputed Era also got to look good at parts, mostly with their selling as there was a lot of big moves involved in this match. Arguably the match that stole the show too, ****1/4.

I feel like you're undermining the storytelling that was going on even BEFORE the match. Go and look back at the card for full context. Up until the main event, every CHAOS member had lost, and there were 3 title changes. They were building the drama even before the match started, and it built to a point in the third fall with thoughts of "this is all going too perfect for Omega, Okada HAS TO be making his huge comeback soon". The point of the first fall was to put Omega in trouble, the second fall was to make Omega look strong, BUT remind you that Okada always makes a huge comeback. But that never happens. Also add on the point of the Golden Lovers story arc, the call backs to previous matches by combining spots from each previous match, etc. Everything was building to show that the Kenny Omega in THIS match was a completely different monster than what Okada had dealt with before. Sounds like to me you aren't understanding the full context of this match. It was a 2 year long story told from the moment Omega won the G1. Every Okada defense had been building to this 4th match in a highly regarded series. I'd recommend going back to when Okada won the title in June of 2016 in (ironically) the same venue, and finally concluding with his final defense where he loses the title in the same building.

A generational war has begun right in front of Misawa. I find it kind of funny that they're sticking Go with the younger guys even though he is only a class below Marufuji and Sugiura, but he's gotta fit in somewhere I suppose. Anyways, this was a kick ass tribute match in honor of Misawa, so of course these 4 men who have been fighting together and against each other in the post-four pillars generation would clash one more time for old times sake. Everyone was on their A game here, and I especially liked the Marufuji and Nakajima interactions, who suspiciously haven't had a singles match in a long time. Surprisingly enough, it was Go who pinned the champ, Sugiura, which puts him into title contention some time down the line. Afterwards, Masato Tanaka came back to NOAH to fight with the older guard while Kenoh also appears to draw the battle lines, ****1/2.

This is what the NOAH youth is all about. Not as crazy as their title match in January, but still fast paced, hard hitting and full of urgency to make this number one contenders match feel important, especially on a Misawa tribute show. Both these guys have a special chemistry together, and I hope to see them doing bigger matches down the line, ****1/4.

I'd say the jury is still out on whether or not I think Ronda is a great wrestler, but I can't deny this was a great performance. Sure her matches are booked in a way to only show off her strengths, but I can't complain too much about that. Her bumping was great, and her come back was even better. Nia was actually pretty good here too! The finish is meh to me, but hopefully we get to see Ronda on the mat again soon, ***3/4.

This is the match that should've happened at Dominion. Two very underrated guys just colliding in an all out bomb fest in classic NEVER fashion in a way we haven't seen in a long time. I could easily say Taichi interfering in the ref bump brough the match down, but Cobb also interfering pretty much balanced it out. The momentum wasn't stopped, and they continued to keep beating the hell out of each other for the rest of the 30 minutes. Not a surprising title change, but at least it gives us Goto vs Cobb very soon, ****1/2.

This was weird. I can't say Lars did a bad job, but at the same time he failed to impress me beyond "vanilla hoss". I can't say Black carried the match either because all he did was just spam strikes, several of which obviously didn't even hit but were still sold lmao. Still very hard hitting I suppose, and it wasn't even a bad match. Just weird chemistry is probably the worst thing about this match, ***3/4.

Oney FUCKING Lorcan. I am so glad not only Oney was finally able to get his big break, but Burch too! Both very unique talents in NXT who rarely get their due. They were finally granted a TakeOver match, and boy did they hit it out of the park with their great physical offense. This match was quick, hard hitting, and full of tag team chemistry from both sides. Hoping this isn't just a one time thing for Lorcan and/or Burch, ****1/2.