nivvad

Basically an unnecessary sequel to the classic they had in NOLA. For the record, I am not a fan of continuing this feud for no other reason than to keep Ciampa relevent; their NOLA match had a perfect ending, and had no sensible reason to have another match. Of course, Ciampa and Gargano will still kill it in having another great match, but I just don't feel any attachment to this feud anymore, at least for the time being. Let me praise the good parts of the match though before I get overcritical again. This actually felt like a fight compared to their "unsanctioned" match, in fact, THIS is how the first match should've gone. Just barbaric fighting with weapons and dangerous bumps. It would've been absolutely perfect if they had ended it as a no contest after that table spot..but they didn't. Gargano brings Ciampa back to the ring, makes him tap out clean to his submission (with no ref of course), superkicks him SIX times in the face, and almost chokes the life out of him and then what happens? Ciampa COMPLETELY NO SELLS IT, hits a DDT on the exposed mat and wins with the ref conveniently back in the ring. Tl;dr take out the last 5 minutes and you have a classic, ****1/2.

Thought this would be a total carry job from Ricochet, but it ended up being more than that. Dream is at his best when showing off his personality, so going into a match with a guy who's main appeal is his wrestling ability, well I had my reservations if Dream could keep up. Thankfully it wasn't that much of a workrate match anyways, and was more of a simple storytelling kind of match. I'm still not buying the Dream hype, but at least at this point he can keep up with a great talent in the right circumstances, ****1/4.

A dream match of mine happening in WWE developmental is weird to think about, but i'll take it anyways. This definitely lived up to the hype of both these technical brawlers in a match together. It was fast, physical, and had a hot crowd completely in Dunne's favor. I'd like to see what both men could do in TakeOver settings, but for now this was satisfying enough, ****1/4.

Both men in this match are tied 1 to 1 in title matches, so this particular match would be for all the marbles after a great reign for Mochi and a great tournament for Yoshino. I wouldn’t say it was as good as their previous matches, but this was still a wild match with lots of strikes and fast sequences of course. The main flaw with it though is the finish. They tried going for a rollup sequence for a title change, but it wasn’t executed well and came off looking like a botch. Regardless, Yoshino goes into the Kobe main event as defending champion against the only man who pinned him in the tournament, Shingo Takagi, ****1/4.

The climax of the King Of Gate tournament between two former winners of said tournament. A wild ride for sure as YAMATO and Yoshino spent the first half of the match building it with some nice submission work before bringing in strikes and sequences for some great near falls. YAMATO had the momentum all in his favor towards the end, but none of his big moves could keep Yoshino down. He was so close too to almost hitting Ragnarok, but the ever so quick Yoshino just barely escaped with a great rollup for the tournament win. An interesting finish for sure, but still an awesome match to end the tournament, ****1/2.

The last match that would determine who the finalists of the tournament are. The match started somewhat slow, but with intensity as both guys knew each other very well. The leg work was there but minimal, so it didn’t really matter towards the finish. Doi no selling Gallaria had me jumping out of my seat. YAMATO eventually finishes it with a Ragnarok killing any chances of a Speed Muscle final. What we will get will be just as good though, ****1/2.

These guys had a pretty great match in ROH last year, but surprisingly enough they topped it with this match on the final block day of the tournament. Not as flippy as one would expect but still quite a lot of cool moves. I liked Ospreay? s serious/nervous look here as he knew he had the chance to win his block as long as he beat Flip. Excellent chemistry between both guys with some cool spots and a great finish, ****1/2.

An exciting conclusion to a rather alright tournament. First off, yes I am aware the usual building that NJPW uses for the BOSJ finals wasn't available this year, and as much as I respect and adore Korakuen, I think they could've done a bigger venue for this big matchup. Anyways, both guys played their roles perfectly here with Hiromu especially bringing a more calm version of himself to build the seriousness of this important match. New Japan's homegrown star vs the outsider on a tear. A hot start with some great crowd brawling to taking it back to the ring and slowing it down with both guys gaining some momentum to finally a crescendo of bombs and head drops with some great submission work from both guys. In the end, Taiji put up a great fight against the unpredictable Hiromu, but he just couldn't figure out a way to keep the mad man down for the count until his inevitable loss. I disagree with the notion of cutting Taiji's momentum like that, but that's a conversation for another day, ****3/4.

I really didn't think they would be able to do it, but my mistake to ever doubt the Big Match Bucks. Match started a little too safe, but both teams really brought it to each other from start to finish. Loved Nick injuring and selling his leg throughout the match. I can't say this was completely a Bucks match because they showed great chemistry with SANADA and EVIL. Loved seeing the Bucks win the titles with an old school finisher, More Bang For Your Buck, too, ****1/4.

I can't be thankful enough for not seeing a total murder in this match. Not to say that both guys didn't try to kill each other though because they absolutely did. I think both guys had a lot more to give, but the match they did put on was still pretty awesome even with all the dangerous moves. Scary bumps galore of course with Hiromu showing the evolution he went through in the BOSJ, especially that vicious D submission. Ospreay still had a lot to give in this title run of his, but putting the title on Hiromu isn't a bad idea either, ****1/2.

I'm really digging this New Japan iteration of Jericho who just comes in and fucks shit up. The crowd brawling before the match began was really fun stuff, especially both guys destroying each other with table bumps. Once they got into the ring, both guys actually showed a surprising amount of chemistry in their moves and sequences. Questionable finish putting the title on Jericho (don't get me started on EVIL being his first challenger), but I'd love to see what both guys could do in a normal match, ****1/4.

The culmination of a 2+ plus meteoric year rise for Kenny Omega. The callbacks, the psychology, the storytelling, the character work, the build up, the hot crowd who by the way were FIRMLY behind Kenny, etc. Everything about this match was perfect. I can't say it's better than the lightning in a bottle match they had at WK11, but it's right behind it hands down. Thank you Kazuchika Okada, you can take a rest now as Omega finally takes the wheel. The feud is over for now, but it is inevitable that both guys will collide in another historic match once again, *****.

Marufuji needed to rebound big after his intense bout with Miyahara, so fighting another member of the old guard was the only way to prove he could still hang at the top. No Suzuki-gun bullshit this time around, so both men just went out there and put on a fair yet emotionally intense match the best way they could. Lots of strikes from Marufuji of course, but Sugiura was right there at every counter to power his way back into the momentum. In the end, Marufuji failed to claim a major title once again, but at least it was another awesome match for a great 2018 he's having, ****1/2.

A big boy sprint of a match that had all three guys beating the hell out of each other. Both WALTER and Keith Lee absolutely decimated each other with chops galore, and the latter was also especially athletic in this match. I can’t say Jonah was too much of a third wheel because he did get in some good shots here and there. WALTER in my opinion was the clear star of the match as he was a killing machine stomping and chopping anything in sight. He even pulled out his rare top rope big splash! In the end he managed to pin Lee clean to get the upset and win the title. I’ve seen sprints, but nowhere as meaty as this one, ****3/4.

Insane match that combined the best of old PWG and the new breed of talent. It was an all out spot fest with the Bucks superkicking every head in sight including a ref, Wentz and Xavier showing off their great high flying chemistry, and the Bros beating down the other two teams as well. Rick Knox getting in a final "fuck you" to the Bucks was the cherry on top of this wild match, ****3/4.

No offense to Thatcher and Bateman, but this intense match was ALL WALTER and Brody. Really though this match was literally just a tease for a singles match between WALTER and Brody King who (un)surprisingly stole the show with their very different big man dynamics. Bateman in all honesty did not make a good impression at all, and Thatcher didn't get enough time to show off his technical skills either. That said though, a WALTER vs Brody King singles match will destroy the entire state of California, ****1/4.

Taiji makes his PWG debut in a great match against the up and coming lucha star, Bandido. This match was all athleticism as both guys pulled out some great spots and sequences, perfect for their type of fast paced wrestling. It's obvious that Bandido is going to be a star eventually, and hopefully Taiji can come back to PWG eventually, ****1/4.

An awesome culmination of an almost half a year long build. This match was very great with both Buddy and Cedric bringing out the best of themselves to this big time match. Hell, I would even say it's arguably the best match in 205 live history so far. That said the crowd was probably the biggest negative; no they weren't dead, but they weren't as loud as I would've hoped. Put this match in front of a hot crowd, and many would be calling it a MOTY candidate. In a WWE ring though, I would say it's the best WWE match this year, ****1/2.

Not the best match I have seen from these two, but still a really good match to add to this worldwide feud. Starr managed to find a smart strategy this time around in attacking WALTER's leg, who sold it really well from start to finish. Of course Starr still had to survive the onslaught of the big man's terrifying strikes which kept him down but not for long either. It was a well told story with WALTER getting the rollup pin in the end, and it made so much sense too as it was an act of great desperation for once against Starr, ****.

At this point, Taguchi seems to be the only one that can match Hiromu's lunacy. Taguchi was the star of this match as he made Hiromu wrestle his match. At every corner that Hiromu thought he could gain the momentum, there was Taguchi to counter him with his not serious yet unique style. Eventually though Hiromu finally found the sweet spot to lock in his rare Triangle choke submission for the win, ****.

Another very impressive showing from SHO, pun intended. Seriously though, SHO is super versatile as a wrestler managing to have different matches with any opponent, and he managed to show off his technical skills this time against the very technical KUSHIDA. In a way this match reminded me of the KOR/KUSHIDA wars from a few years ago, but not exactly on that level either. SHO isn't on the same level as Kyle, not yet at least. Still a very intricate match with lots of submission work, strikes and hardly any moves. Also very cool to see the only pin in the match is the one that ended the match, ****1/4.

This match actually happened a few weeks before they met again in PROGRESS, and while that match was really great, this match in Germany was better by a wide margin. I should say I'm surprised both very technically gifted men have great chemistry, but I shouldn't be because both guys are amazing in their own ways, especially Starr who has very underrated strikes as a wrestler. Watching both guys start from simple grappling to going all out with all their moves by the end is just magic to watch, ****1/2.

It's a Hiromu vs Dragon Lee match, what you should expect? Fucking magic! Seriously though, these guys tore the house down in yet another explosive match in this worldwide rivalry where the definitive winner will be the one who isn't dead by the end. Lots of head drops and bombs as you would expect, but I would even dare say this match wasn't as dangerous as some of their previous encounters (New Beginning 2017, etc.). Lee beat Hiromu once again proving that he still the latter's number, ****1/2.

Ok, I'm finally getting the hype behind YOH. His first two matches in the BOSJ weren't as impressive as SHO's first two matches, but here against Ospreay he was able to shine really well. It wasn't a super exciting performance by YOH, but it did show that he has the potential to hang with a top junior like Ospreay, who was just as good as he usually is. One of the better matches of the tournament, ****1/4.

Another awesome match in the WALTER vs Zack Sabre Jr saga. This time around things were a little bit different with Zack actually being the aggressor in targeting WALTER's leg. The big man sold it very well being on the defensive for most of the match while still laying in his signature vicious chops and moves when he was able to. In a shocking finish, Zack finally trapped his rival in a brutal looking double heel hook for the submission win, ****1/2.