Makai Club #1

Call me crazy but this was pretty damn great. Flair vs Hogan in 94 sounds like a bad match but this turned out to be a very good, exciting match. Flair doing a Flair, cheating and working over Hogan? s leg, using anything he can to get a win. Hogan making some awesome comebacks and Sherri on the outside - she was the best part of the match which is saying a lot. Gah, love it. ****1/4

I feel like I can write an essay for why this was a great match but I won't. The match is awesome, incredible even. Nakajima and Sugiura play their roles perfectly; whether it's the sneaky heel (Nakajima) or the annoyed, veteran fighting champion (Sugiura). Both are exceptional. Nakajima being arrogant in his body language, soaking in the crowd, playing with Sugiura throughout the match even when he had the match won, laying into some nasty kicks, cheating just because. Katsu showed why he is a prime contender for WOTY (IMO). Sugiura being on the defensive, trying to survive Nakajima's tactics, firing up at points, laying into Nakajima with some viscous elbows trying to knock some respect into his opponent. Normally the use of weapons (which is more of a weapon trope) can be eyerolling but Nakajima's facials made the spot worked for me. Everything in this match clicked for me. Tremendous. ****1/2

Not a fan of Trish at all but hopefully it will lead to some great Bliss promos.

Same as everyone, Cody is a great character and is a good heel but I lose interest when he wrestles.

Loved this match but I do think it's overrated. They had some great stuff in there and I could clearly see what they wanted from the match and they accomplished that. It was entertaining for sure. The selling or lack thereof was a problem though, typical Davey match. ****.

Mizuki vs. Yuka Sakazaki: Really liked this match. They had a good blend of great technical wrestling (Yuka Sakazaki) and high flying showcases (Mizuki). The meshed well together and they keeps on upping the ante, incorporating some nifty striking sequences. Loved the spot where Mizuki just unleaded tons of clubs to Yuka’s chest until she was almost dead on the floor. ***¾

Okada vs White seems like the right choice to go with. Okada desperately needs a break from the title and him having a proper feud instead of a one time match. White would benefit from this as well.

Same. I'm pretty sure that he rated the latter two matches higher than Rock/Angle/Taker too. Unless he has re-watched them and his opinion has changed.

I must admit, I'm not fond of him overall because his booking is toxic to him and everyone else, his promos are mind numbingly boring and he comes off as very generic and disingenuous but I've grown to appreciate what he brings to the ring. He is a very good wrestler and on his day, he can have a good match with a large part of the roster. Is he one of the best in the world? Not in my opinion but that's not a knock on him at all. Good wrestler

The first fall was awesome, in my opinion. Loved them brawling at the start, even before we get to the street fight; it puts the heated feud over so much. HHH attacking the previously injured neck of Austin and his infamously braced knees. Austin surprisingly adopting some wrestling moves with a arm breaker which looked damaging enough, HHH selling it very well including him subtly tensing up his arm when he was pushing the referee way. A bit repetitive by the end but they were obviously saving stuff for the later falls. The second fall was good but it really should've been shorter. The call backs to the Foley matches as really good as well as Austin's wicked chair shot but the brawling inside of the ring was pretty basic and was just there. Again, HHH's selling of the arm was pretty good considering this stipulation doesn't really allow any long term or consistent selling. The Final fall was really good as well. Glad they didn't do the terrible escape rules which wouldn't have suited the feud. Both are now bleeding and are just laying into each other with weapon shots and throwing each other into the cage walls. Austin was the better of the two in this fall though. Thought his facial expressions were excellent and his punches are just top notch. HHH's bumping was great, every thing he took looked body crushing. The ending was god awful though and the booking too. Austin has a title match at WM, have him win FFS. Nevertheless, this was an awesome match, with a few dull moments but mostly a thrilling, action packed brawl. ****1/2

I certainly believe that they are very complacent at the moment and right now, the rating so matter very little but I think WWE knows when Smackdown moves to Fox, they will have to try and up their step creatively. Not totally familiar with the way Fox work as I'm English but I get the impression that if the ratings are below their expectations, they are willing to drop any show no matter what. As for the fans, I doubt they will lose a huge chunk of their audiences due to a lack of interest because they will always replace them with kids but it's the retention of those kids will be something they struggle with because of poor booking in always every part of the card.

Incredible match. Two greats of the business that are always underrated by the masses. Both men have two completely different styles but they made it work and turned it into a fantastic match. Regal going after the right arm of Hashimoto was just nasty at times (although not the primary focus). Hashimoto was great as well, there was one moment when he rolled to the outside after being completely outclassed by Regal's ground game. One thing I want to point out is the way Regal going after the injured nose of Hashimoto too. I won't sell Hashimoto short either, he was awesome. He made some fiery comeback and brought a raw energy to the match. Excellent match ****1/2

I kinda agree, I rarely watch Raw aside the occasional segment unless it's the go home show (I watch those in full) but it's had been fun - even if hasn't been great. This is just awful.

I haven't watched this match for years - I kinda quit watching wrestling during 2009 for personal reasons at the time so I never bought the DVD or ever re-watched it and I remember loving it at the time. And I still love it, whilst it's not one of the greatest matches ever IMO, it's a match where I'm glad I re-watched it despite my fears that I would hate it. The start was a bit funny with HBK attacking the leg which was all fine but locked in an armbar which in reality would hurt his leg. Hell, in wrestling that would hurt his own leg. I was like WTF. HBK started to get a bit more heelish with some nasty chops which became a constant throughout the match, using the ref for the famous dive by Taker. Thought HBK's desperation traits were very well done. Now unfortunately, this match is known for many things (like the dive) but one thing it's most known for is the use of the kicks outs. Perhaps if it wasn't such a staple these days as well as the reputation making me expect it more, this would've been more enjoyable and more shocking too. What I did like was he crowd, the commentary and Taker's facial expressions afterwards, otherwise the actual kick outs went over my head. Now saying that, Taker constantly trying to end Michaels and visibly getting frustrated was awesome. Overall, this is a really good match and a real good performance by both. Loved that the chops by Michales were a great story device with them being basically the only thing that HBK could use to get the advantage and Taker hitting all his big moves with HBK being resilient but the match was sloppy as well and predictable in places. ****1/4

This was an awesome match IMO. They went at an unbelievable pace from the whistle. The crowd was incredibly hot for this match cheering for Wagner from the start. The first two fall's went by pretty quick but there was some nice technical wrestling and quick bouts of quickness. Then in the last falls they started hitting each other some massive moves including a suplex on the ramp which looked painful. ****1/4

Watched bits and bobs of Raw last night, it was a train wreck. The Bella's match was all kinds of awful. Brie almost broke her neck twice. Drake Maverick, the face GM of 205 Live, is now managing the heel team of AOP? Haven't seen the ending but Kevin Owens is back ONE WEEK, just one week after quitting. Hilarious.

Really enjoyed this. Sasaki really worked well in this style of match. Sasaki isn't exactly a striker of the conventional sense but he had some nasty looking body shots. Made my own kidneys shudder. Fujita being on the defensive was fun to see as well, the ways he tried to defend himself and get on the offence. Fairly compelling match. I wish it went longer than it did but it comes with the time.

This is a IWGP Tag Team Title Match where TEAM2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Masahiro Chono) defended the title against Manabu Nakanishi and Osamu Nishimura. This is a great match in my opinion. Excellent, in fact. They had a 60 minute match where the time flew by and I didn't even realise that it had gone so long. I was stunned when I saw the 60 minute time limit had expired. This sent me on a rollacoaster of emotions. So thrilling, every last second of it. Tenzan and Chono beating on Nakanishi and Nishimura. Injurying the legs of Nakanishi which causes him to miss portions of the match, leaving Nishimura on his own to defend himself, fighting valiantly making his great comebacks. The crowd are very hot throughout but they go crazy when Nakanishi returns. The closing stretch is such a ride, I loved every second of it. Edit: This was cut and edited in big chunks.

Nakajima, now the crowned Ace of Pro Wrestling NOAH defends the company, putting his livelihood all on the line against the man terrorizing NOAH for over a year now. More confident in his abilities than the last meeting of the two, riding the success takes it to Suzuki. Neutralizing Suzuki, even preventing him from attacking his leg like last time. Going toe to toe with him. Nakajima and Suzuki beating the hell out of each other with nasty elbow/forearm strikes. Vanquishing 'The King' from NOAH for good. ****

Woah. This from the off had a big match feel to it. The video package about the build and everything leading up and what this means to Jordan. The seconds with them (Starr for Devlin, Thatcher for WALTER). The entrances. The hostile atmosphere towards WALTER and the adulation for Devlin. Really added to the match which was good itself. WALTER the larger, more stronger outsider dominating Devlin with suplexes and chops. Playing up the hate he is getting with the crowd getting behind Devlin. Devlin feeding off the crowd, making his great comebacks, finds holes in WALTER's game and stepping up to the plate. The story is great with the Devlin defending OTT's and his own honour against the arrogant invader, WALTER. Surprising ending as well. Great match.

Very similar to the Tokyo Dome ’94 match, a bit slower but just as good in my opinion. Aja Kong showing who’s boss, dominating the entire match attacking the lower back of Toyota. Maiming her with those famous strikes of hers. Toyota being unable to find a way to get the advantage. Even locking in an abdominal stretch at one point but Aja Kong getting out of it within seconds. Trying everything, hitting some great suplexes which was the turning point of the match. The ending was a bit iffy with them trying to do an J-Ocean Cyclone Suplex off the top rope but they just fell back and redid the move from the mat. But ultimately this was a good match. Even the sloppy parts of the match were really well recovered by Kong. Like when Toyota missed the sunset flip so Kong just sat on her. Really clever stuff like that is what makes this match. ****½

Seth vs Owens was good. The crowd really give the match this great energy and atmosphere. There was some nice sequences too. Not a fan of the no selling of the buckle powerbomb which at all. Just a waste of a move imo. And the early arm work by KO was just forgotten by the end. Still a good match though.

Now this is probably going to be a hit and miss for some. Some may like it, some may not. It depends on how you feel about the style. Me, I can watch a 40 minute match where there is hardly anything but striking but others may find it boring. Whilst there was other thing like Shiozaki moving around like a Junior, hitting running planchas and moonsault, there was A LOT of striking. A match built around Go Shiozaki chopping Sugiura's chest until it's raw and Sugiura trying to break Go's jaw with his elbows/forearms, and I absolutely loved it. Incredible match I thought. The only criticism I really have is the lack of high impact moves, a bit more of them and this could've been so much better but nevertheless, this was amazing. ****3/4

Enjoyable match. Love Sakaguchi's style because it adds something different to the DDT scene; much needed variety that in a company like DDT. Some awesome striking sequences mixed in with some grappling. Loved it. ***3/4

This was a real great match. Very violent match with some nasty chops and kicks, suplexes. Top quality wrestling. A typical start, nothing really that special than the chops begin and the match turns into a brutal contest. Some vile sounding chops that turned the match into something great. Some awesome performances, Yuu in particular. She was an absolute beast. Laying into Miyu, putting herself about, being real focused on doing nothing but hurting her opponent. Lighting up Miyu's chest (turning it red by the end) with nasty chops which got louder and more and more viscous as she went on. Not letting Miyu rest, doing simple things like pulling her up by her throat, leaning on her neck. It was very compelling as was Miyu's comebacks. Selling everything Yuu did really well but also doing some great counters and striking sequences. The crowd eat it all up and so did I. I didn't expect this level of performance from either women, it was top notch wrestling. ****3/4