Makai Club #1

The heat was off the chants for this match. The crowd solidly behind the DDT guys and Tanahashi and Komatsu ran with it. The New Japan guys started off with attacks on the outside attempting to brawl before the ref gained control and got them in the ring. Stuff like that, they played the subtle heels the entire match, not necessarily cheating but being ultra aggressive and acting super cocky, especially Tanahashi. Ohka was excellent in this match, his selling was great, his offence looked good, he had a great performance overall. He brought loads of fire which allowed the crowd to get behind him even more than they already were. HARASHIMA didn't do much until the end but what he did was awesome. His interactions with Tanahashi were very heated and I can totally buy in the dislike between the two. Fantastic performances from both teams and a very hot Korakuen Hall crowd. Great mix. ****1/2

Oh gosh, the stomps, the kicks, the pure brutal assault HARASHIMA inflicts on Irie earlier in the match is hard to watch. HARASHIMA was superb in this match. HARASHIMA has a great mix of flashy but stiff moves. Someone like Tanahashi has flashy offence but it’s rather flimsy and doesn’t make much impact but HARASHIMA has just that. And it just flows too. Irie was good in this I thought. Despite his goofy look, which I love btw, he is very intense when he absolutely goes for it. The crowd responded to him well and he had a great run of offence. Very good match. ****1/4

Seems odd that Gargano would respond to a review like this but I think he handles it delicately. He doesn't make himself look like a complete a-hole, at least.

Money feud, that.

Watch them set it up mid show

The first fall was decent, much better than I've previously seen from either guy in a while. Cole’s selling was good at the start but he then started using the bad leg to hit moves that he really shouldn't be doing with the bad leg, so disappointing from him there. Gargano pretty much offered nothing. His leg work was fine but you never really believed that he'd get the tap so why bother? The finish came out of nowhere though. The second fall was the usual boring WWE plunder brawl where they walk and punch each other, move and repeat. And all the usual table and barricade spots. Yawn. None of the leg work in the first fall mattered, nor was it sold or mentioned again. So disjointed. The third fall was pretty much everything I expected. Excess on top of excess. Unnecessary near falls. Totally contrived spots on to egregious level. Just bad. The match overall was pretty bad. The first fall as decent and was a good catalyst for the rest of the match but they pretty much abandoned everything they set up and started going back in the “we're the best in the world” cloud. The final fall was gross. This was very much a disjointed match that went way too long between two guys who aren't very good, so like their other matches but better.

I don't know. My biggest pet peeve about these matches are when the first fall(s) end quickly like that. I wouldn't mind if one fall matches end like that occasionally but it usually is only reserved for 2/3 matches.

Not just the excess but you can telegraph the problems that the layout of the match will cause. Going from a No DQ match to a singles match in the same flow sounds like a recipe for disaster.

If the main event goes 45 minutes onwards, I'm going to be really upset since they could've easily put better matches such as ACH vs Lee (forgot their names) or Dain vs Riddle on the card in that time

That's smart, very smart. You do not want new viewers to come in cold because you don't really know how well AEW can promote these guys and make new fans out of that. Building that connection before they wrestle is vital.

Interesting story behind this match. As of a few hours before, this was supposed to be Sakaguchi vs Kota Ibushi for the KO-D Openweight Title but Ibushi was out with High Fever so HARASHIMA took his place instead due to his high ranking in the DDT Election that year (3rd place). Yukio Sakaguchi, who is the son of former NJPW President Seiji Sakaguchi, is the defending champion of the KO-D Openweight Title and has already beaten KUDO (Peter Pan) and Daisuke Sasaki (DDT Who’s Gonna Top). Sakaguchi was rather new to wrestling at the time, well compared to HARASHIMA anyway, with him being three years into his career in wrestling and was 42 years old at the time so there was a lot against him but he took to wrestling like a glove and was on a high and he wasn’t ready to let that slip. This was an excellent match considering they weren’t opponents only a few hours before. A match built around grappling and stiff striking which meant Sakaguchi’s MMA career came into play here. Sakaguchi controlled the majority of the match but HARASHIMA put up a fight hitting some nasty kicks. One thing HARASHIMA brought into play here was his excellent facial expressions. They were on point and add a tone to the match. A highly unique match, especially in DDT and a great one at that. ****1/2

Flair > Hart (Love both guys but when Flair has the longevity at the time and the better quality) Kawada > Okada (Both are my all time favourites but I can't deny Kawada. More dynamic and exciting) Misawa > Kobashi (Kobashi is great and all but I always considered him my least favourite of the Four Pillars.) Danielson > Tsuruta (Hard but I do find myself more inclined to watch a Danielson match over Jumbo) Tanahashi > Taue (Taue rules and he is so innovative but Tanahashi gets me emotional invested much more and is in more of my favourite matches than Taue does)

The match started off hot and heavy w/ the crowd all for Bryan and all against Wyatt. Getting rid of the Wyatt Family almost immediately was a good direction to go. Wyatt saying that he wants to do it alone was something different to his game. Wyatt took a nasty Foley bump into the stairs (leg/knee first) which was a good transition to Bryan going all in on the leg. Bryan tying up Bryan in an inverted surfboard into a curbstomp was a great nod to his days a vicious bully who would tie you up in knots - added a nice feeling of intensity and hatred. Wyatt’s beat down of Bryan was well done. It wasn’t mind-blowing but it served its purpose of getting heat on himself and building to the Bryan comeback. Although I would argue that they took a bit too long to get to the comeback and the match felt a little stagnant as a result. In fact, Wyatt’s best offence came in the form of the cut offs to Bryan’s hope spots, like Wyatt nailing a Sister Abigail after blocking a Bryan tope in a spot that went much smoother than it should’ve. The finish soon after felt a little flat though and the air got sucked out of the arena which was a bad note on what was a very good match. I do wish that the leg work earlier on was followed up on but I can buy that Wyatt’s beatdown was big enough to send that plan waywards. ***3/4

As soon as I heard about this match, it excited me big time. Hideki Suzuki can be controversial depending on your stylistic preference but I think he is different enough to give NOAH that much needed variety that they lacked in both the undercards and in matches. It was interesting seeing Go try and muck it up on the mat with Hideki. Go isn’t exactly renowned for his grappling skills, he is more of a hard hitting striker if anything but I think he did solid enough. I think he was better on the defensive side of things more than offensively but he was a good match for Hideki. Hideki was his usual self. Hideki holding on the cravate whilst Go tried to slam him, flipping Go over onto the crowd was a cool little spot. Hideki locked on some gnarly submissions too, like what sort of looks like an inverted version of an armbar. Hideki does some good extended work on the arm throughout the match which does occasionally perk up the crowd into buying a submission win. Go sells the desperation of him wanting to get out of the hold well, too. One thing that I did love in the match is how occasionally they would pepper each other up with some stuff strikes like Hideki’s brutal kick in the corner that came out of nowhere. The match got a great bursts of energy and intensity once Go started making a comeback in the middle of the match. His chops looked and sounded horrible to take w/ Hideki adding the little touch of trying to block them only for Go to chop him in the head instead. Only flaw with that was that Go did it with the arm that was worked on by Hideki. Which leads to another flaw of the match. They decide to switch up the targeted limb which is fine but its forgotten entirely with Hideki never really going back to the arm and Go not selling it all that well. The match then ends in a draw which, whilst flat, was also a shock to me, you don’t really see draws outside of Round Robin Tournaments these days but I think it was a good booking choice. Keeps one of your big names and one half of your tag champs protected in Go and keeps Hideki protected for any future feud he may have with Kiyomiya, Nakakima, etc. A very good match overall. Definitely could’ve worked the switching of the targeted limb by Hideki better and I would’ve preferred a better run to the draw rather than it just ending like it did. But it was a good, stiff battle that combined both guys strengths well. ***3/4

Once again, Naito didn’t really come alive until he was trading bombs with Shingo at the end. Naito can do much better but he really hasn’t done it for me in the G1 this year. He took some nice bumps but nothing to really make me care about him until the closing 10 minutes of the match. Very unsympathetic imo. Shingo, on the other hand, was much more fun and interesting, as always. Shingo excelled in the dominant role in this match. Sensational from him. But like I said, the finishing stretch was great with the two just hitting bomb after bomb and getting some great near falls. ***1/2

Ishii vs Yano - A great comedy vs serious match. Great nearfalls down the stretch Juice vs Taichi - A okay match. A bit boring in parts but fun overall. Cobb vs Goto - Much improved over their other matches. Good match White vs Moxley - An awesome 'face beats down the heel w/ the heel cheating' match. Naito vs Shingo - I've feel I've grown out of love for Naito. He simply doesn't engage me whilst fighting from beneath, if I'm honest. He improved in the latter parts of the match though - his bread and butter. Shingo, from start to finish, ruled though.

The entrances set the whole tone for this match. Both coming down off lifts that would normally be used for construction. The video package playing in the middle of the two, whilst they are angrily trash talking. It was a tremendous visual. As way Wagnery having a large entourage and Blue Demon Jr having only one, which is his son, Hijo del Blue Demon. The match starts out hot, with Blue Demon attacking Wagner before he could take the honorary mask off and busts him open, with the blood turning some of the mask red and smashing him with a bottle. Just absolutely great rudo work from him. Him and his son double teaming Wagner to hit a chop was just a tip of the iceberg. Wagner showed he wasn’t averse to brawling and whacks Blue Demon Jr with a metal pan rips the mask and busts him open. The match got much more intense when Blue Demon Jr used a hammer of all things and goes to town on Wagner’s back and hand. The visual of Blue Demon Jr being drenched him his and Wagner’s blood whilst furiously locking on the Fujiwara armbar was amazing. And teased Wagner tapping for it in the match so well every time. Wagner’s short comeback with him desperately trying to win Demon with the Wagner drivers was so great as you could feel the urgency and desperation that he had. The finish was good, the interference I could’ve done without but the use of the weapon fit the hate filled feud they’ve built for the past year. Awesome match really. Blue Demon isn’t renowned for being a good wrestler but he brought some great rudo work in this match to match Wagner’s technico performance. ****3/4

A hell of a match with an amazing closing stretch - something Osrpeay has grown to excel at. The start of the match was decent, it kept a quick pace but it was nothing all that substantial but as the match went on, they grew into it more and started throwing some great sequences together. Ospreay hit a nasty Spanish Fly as a reversal to a running lariat attempt. The near falls at the end were superbly well done too. ***3/4

The start of the match was the usual Okada vs SANADA (well, most NJ matches if I’m honest) but with Okada being the aggressor. He played to the crowd in a subtle way (that cocky smile and sarcastic slaps) which further got the crowd onto SANADA’s side, which is a very underrated part of Okada’s game. Which made an otherwise, generic, nothing first part of the match feel all the more fresh. This whole match in-fact reminds me of the Chono match post neck injury. They don’t have a total bombfest that most people expect from Japansee wrestling but they keep the crowd, and myself invested through the little things and their natural charisma. Also adding a few new, fresh ideas into the mix such as the Rainmaker counter by SANADA into the pop-up TKO which looked great. I loved the way they teased the 30 minute time limit finish. SANADA hitting the moonsault finally on Okada but him being on his stomach, causing SANADA to have to hit another one - it was pretty incredible to watch. Had my heart racing thinking that SANADA wasn’t going to do it. I think the match overall could’ve been better but it wasn’t bad, or terrible. It was borderline great, in my opinion. ****

This starts out like your typical Tanahashi match, with him working on the opponents leg, which he does a fine job at but is ultimately not used for most of the match. Tana’s dragon screw whips looks nasty as usual and he even brought out a deep texas cloverleaf. Ibushi seemed determined to blow it off though, which was pretty amusing to see. The call back to their Power Struggle ‘17 match with the slaps was great. Tanahashi doesn’t throw great strikes but he has a nice slap on him and Ibushi is Ibushi. The finish was fun, it wasn’t so much as a counterfest, more Tanahashi just trying to survive Ibushi’s big moves. The pacing of the match overall was great. Wizzed by super fast and other than the usual leg work in the beginning that’s no sold almost immediately, this was great. ***3/4

This had your typical Ishii start to the match where they’d test each other’s will until you realise that your ain’t out toughing Ishii, which was pretty fun. Especially the hard slaps Goto would throw that Ishii wouldn’t even register. No pain on his face at all. Epic. The counters and strikes were pretty great, both know how to build drama in the match well and maximum the full effect of their big moves, Goto w/ his GTR is the perfect example. Now, this was one of the lesser versions of the match, sure, but it’s a high barrier to overcome considering their previous matches. Great match. ***3/4

This was intense from the off. No wasting time, Inoue and Marufuji beating the hell out of each other. Samurai and Inoue working over KENTA in a great, heated way. Marufuji coming in and getting the hot tag was awesome. Really great match. Blew me away ****1/4

If he was younger and there was no Jay White, he would be one of the top gaijins in the company.

This started off like a typical big match, slow and the two being cautious. They had some lovely exchanges on the mat and have a nice knuckle lock struggle. Speaking of which; I always love the “You can’t wrestle” chant right before Cena goes all grapple fuck and proves he can. Then the fans chanting “you still suck”. Lol. Idiot fans being idiots as per usual. Then there was a great transition for Cena to take control with Cena throwing Bryan neck first into the ropes and then basically hits a shoulder block on Bryan, who is no on the apron, sending him flying hard into the announcers table. The momentum switches in the match were great at times. Bryan made a brief comeback, hit the Yes kicks which Cena reversed into a Five knuckle shuffle which then Bryan blocks with a kick to the head and then Cena cuts him off with a slam and then hits the Five knuckle shuffle in a minute lock fantastic sequence with momentum going back and forth - totally blew my mind. Bryan was excellent at the little things in this match. The way he brought the crowd alive by just milking in the crowd, the way he slowly pulled himself up after hitting a spider suplex to Cena off the top rope and then put his hands in the air. Playing to the crowd for maximum effect. There was a scary, yet great counter by Cena to a hurricanrana into an STF by just dropping off the ropes, almost dropping Bryan on his head. I almost thought that he was doing a styles clash for a second. Cena brings everything he has in this match, intensity and all. He even hits a stiff lariat to Bryan when Bryan tries to hit a knee in the corner. The best part of the match, for me, was when they started trading slaps which transition to the closing stretch so, so well. Then the finish with Bryan debuting the Busaiku Knee was a great way to end the match. It says a ton when you completely forget the Special ref. One, that they didn’t need a clutch and instead got you into the match on your own. And two, HHH did a good job as ref. Two outstanding performances that kept you engaged from start to finish. Starting with some great grappling exchanges, eventually turning into a great battle of Bryan having to fight from beneath and come up with new ways to beat Cena and be champion. Tremendous match. ****3/4 The post match angle was tremendously well done. Stunned the crowd and just sent me back to 2013 when my 13 year old self was sat in silence for like an hour, unable to comprehend what happened. That's what wrestling does to you, man. When done right, anyway.

I thought this was tremendous. It's rare that a double turn is done right and the crowd takes to it but they did it perfectly here. Ziggler basically a wounded animal with a serious head injury and Del Rio took advantage like a shark. I've always considered myself a Del Rio fan (despite him being a massive dick) and this is the reason why. His facial expressions were class. He went from the smiley face with a hint of excitement and slowly transitioned into a hate filled man willing to do everything. Being very aggressive early on, attacking the injured head of Ziggler. Ziggler scrambling to defend himself, doing anything he can but never being able to sustain a flurry of offence. The crowd already behind Ziggler, turning more and more against Del Rio as the match progresses. Ziggler was helpless throughout and could do nothing but endure the offence from Del Rio. Highly engaging throughout, it helps that it was only 13 minutes long but it didn't need to be any longer because this was was done almost perfectly. Awesome match. ****3/4