Makai Club #1

One of my favourite matches of the style. The grappling in this match was amazing. Everything looked tight and out right gnarly at times. One thing I loved in this match was everything lead into each other. For example, Maeda's suplexes almost always lead to a submission attempt on the arm. But the focus of the match was Maeda constantly going for the legs. As great as Maeda was, Takada was the star with his all time great underdog performance. His selling of the leg was fantastic and his defence of the grappling from Maeda was great. He got in some great strikes to gain the advantage in parts of the match. Great battle, filled with struggle and top notch grappling. ****3/4

Oh man! These two put on a wrestling clinic. A match filled with great back and forth wrestling. Tons of fight and fire between the two. Both constantly struggling to gain control, putting everything they had on the line. Tremendous fiery performances by both. U-T's long ankle spot on Ishida was so well done; one of the few dramatic moments in this match. Ishida's striking was fantastic, especially his kicks and he his selling of the leg towards the end, and the post match, was really good. The closing stretch was all kinds of good too. The kids of Dragon Gate putting on a show. ****1/4

Really didn't expect to like this as much as I did. So smartly worked with Hama using his size and weight to keep on top, Sekimoto playing the old school face, constantly trying to slam and over power Hama but failing. Great storytelling that ended with a logical finish that made sense. Sekimoto's facials and selling was top notch too. Sekimoto's title reign off to a good start. ***3/4

Good match. Some nice tag wrestling, simple heel/face dynamics. Seven was pretty awesome selling all the way through with Gibson and Drake cutting him off and beating him down - doing a real great job with it too. Bate showed some impressive strength. The crowd went NUTS for this match which was awesome to see. They hated Gibson who milked it in at the start - great stuff from him. Bate’s comebacks at the end were pretty sick, made him look like a star even if the aeroplane spot was a bit silly. I liked this. ***1/2

Jesus christ what a pile of crap this was. I don’t really use this word to describe wrestling but this was so mastabatoury. They dragged everything out to try and force an epic, even having the "crowd claps for us" spots. I don’t know how long they went, but it felt like forever. The match dragged every second of the way. Dull, dull grappling at the beginning, none of it was gripping to me, nor was it exciting to watch. Then they soon transitioned into hitting moves with no flow, kicking out of them for no reason and they completely botched that ending run. I mean three bitter end kickouts? Ridiculous. Now to give them their due, there was some nicely put together sequences but they were few and far between all the rubbish this match bad. They tried to have an epic, it didn’t work. *

This really encapsulated the progress not only Kaito has made over the past year, but Kenoh too. Kiyomiya's offence in the early parts of the match looked so fluid and you could see the confidence Kaito now possesses. He is playing to the crowd, not thinking twice about doing something. He feels and looks like a champion now. Kenoh turned from a very good wrestler to a great one over the year, his chemistry with Kiyomiya has grew and so did his wrestling. The early parts of the match Kenoh began working on the ribs of Kiyomiya. Hitting nasty kicks to the ribs, jumping knees towards the region but Kiyomiya began getting to the match more and the two started to have more than a back and forth battle. They picked their spots to hit the big moves well, in my opinion. They didn't waste one big move after the other. There was tension, a struggle in everything they did. They built towards the big moments like the nasty dragon suplex on the apron and Kiyomiya doing the Emerald Flowsion and made them count. They matched each other and had a compelling match w/ striking, reversals and suplexes. Excellent contest. ****1/4

Underdog Sekimoto is the best. So much raw energy in his body, his facial expressions, his screams. He was fantastic. Sato's forearms in this match were pure filth. So stiff, so much power and meanness behind them. His kicks too. Great match. Both stiff each other with striking with Sato just being that much better in that regard but Sekimoto didn't let that stop him find a way to get the win. A simple struggle to get the win, great match. ****

Very good match. Kento was pretty good and Kai was awesome Kai can usually be a total bore in singles but he was very compelling to watch here, really stepped up his game, bump his arse off and showed some fire throughout the match. Surprisingly Kento was the weaker of the two with spotty selling of the leg and generally keeping it basic which in turn allowed Kai to shine. Felt a bit long too if I'm honest, and the match didn't reach the level of the point of where I could consider this to be great. ***1/2

It was a good match, I think. The early parts where Omega feigned being a sportsman, sending BC away only to cheat his way throughout the match was really good and very clever. The constant switch in momentum between the two was well done also. Gave this match a very competitive feel to it. I want to praise their work on the limbs too even if the selling wasn't up to that standard. Both of them sold the initial pain of the work but they didn't sell it afterwards and they blew it off to hit moves like the v-triggers and dragon suplexes. Disappointing from both from that standpoint. The interference wasn't preferable but it made sense with Omega's cheating. The pacing is good too. The match never dragged for me at all. ***

The match was clipped so I didn't get everything but I got 20 minutes of fantastic wrestling and that's all I need to an enjoy a match with these two. Great heat and emotion from this. Some fantastic selling by both and some slick wrestling where they combined loads of different styles into one. It was great. ****1/2

I’ve heard stories, seen pictures and gifs but I never expected this. THIS. This is a classic. A bloody fight with fantastic brawling, great storytelling by JBL, fiery, passionate comebacks from Eddie. That chair shot by JBL was sickening. I’m not sure if Eddie’s selling was just that damn good or his concussion face was legit. Either way, it added so much. The match was a great brawl that felt like a damn fight. A true WWE CLASSIC. *****.

One of the best matches of this stipulation. Call backs to previous matches, some fantastic brawling. Some truly great character work by The Rock and Mankind. The Rock totally playing up being arrogant, cocky but most importantly vicious. He was ruthless the entire match. Mankind's bumping was incredible, so sympathetic throughout the match, being resilient, keep coming back for more and more. The Rock took a few liberties but it added so much to the match. Great ending too. Cole gets criticised around this time but his commentary was excellent here. One of the best matches of the AE. Another Foley classic. ****3/4

Just to set the scene by giving a bit of background to this match. Koji Kanemoto, most famous for his feud with Jushin 'Thunder' Liger, popular Junior Heavyweight in the 90's and 00's and was the third Tiger Mask, is taking part in the G1 Climax 2004 looking to prove himself amongst the Heavyweights of the company after accomplishing everything as a Junior. Even coming second place in that years Best Of The Super Juniors Tournament just falling short to Tiger Mask IV. So far he has earned four points beating the likes of Yoshihiro Takayama (Forfeit) and a young Togi Makabe. Hiroshi Tanahashi whilst not at his once in a century status just yet, seems to be on the cusp of glory and is destined for big things, eventually heading to the finals of this years G1 Climax. Can the veteran, recently junior turned heavyweight use his experience to outsmart and beat the future ace or will Tanahashi continue his good record? We'll see. Grumpy heavyweight Kanemoto is the bloody best, isn’t he? Early Tanahashi was AWESOME too. The start of the match was excellent with the two exchanging some slick grappling and counters, Kanemoto schooling Tanahashi technically but Tanahashi using his power to hold his own. Then they smoothly transitioning into Kanemoto beating the piss out of Tanahashi with wicked slaps w/ a few shoot punches mixed it with the slaps/palm strikes. It was awesome. Tanahashi acting heelish, using Kanemoto’s boot face wash against him but Heavy Koji was having none of that and roughed him up so more, kicking him flush in the face quite a few times. The finishing stretch was like 5 minutes long but kept up the tempo and was highly compelling with each other beginning to get their heavy shots in and Tanahashi making a comeback, hitting his suplexes but Kanemoto refusing to stay down. Kanemoto kicking out of the High Fly Flow and the arm traped suplex AT ONE (!!!) and began kicking the hell out of Tanahashi w/ the crowd totally behind him just begging for a Kanemoto win. It was not to be on this night after Tanahashi finally put Kanemoto away with the dragon suplex after multiple suplexes beforehand but oh my, what at a night it was. Honestly didn’t expect this match to be THIS high level but they pulled it off. Perfect example for why Kanemoto is an all time great. He was able to pull of his usual grumpy, angry demeanor but be charismatic and sympathetic while doing so. It's an art very few can master, and Kanemoto did just that.

For pure consistent quality I'd have to go with either Go Shiozaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima or WALTER. Guys like ZSJ would be in my top 3 if he was way more consistent with his matches. Founds his G1 really disappointing, and some of his indie work hasn't been great outside of the Walter matches.

Good match on paper and that's what we got. This was really good. Gargano had his best match in a good long while. Going all the way back to January in the Almas match. Black's striking was fantastic, Gargano's wrestling as a heel is much improved over him wrestling as a face. Some bits had me worried such as the drama bits, they are bit comical, and the selling was meh (being generous here), but this was a very good match overall. ***1/4

This fucking ruled. Everything from the entrance, Bryan's smug smile, his tremendous body language, his walk (if you can call it that), to the end. So much atmosphere, this was felt like a big match. THE GOAT vs The BEAST~! Now, this could've easily flopped badly but this delivered and then some. Bryan starting off all cockily, baiting Brock, teasing him before Brock clobbered him and unleashed a mauling. Bryan sold everything to perfection. The way he went all deadweight, his bumping, his facial expressions. All fab. Brock was great too, hitting those nasty german suplexes, playing upto the crowd, reviling in the boos and milking it for what it was worth. And when it looked to be a squash, Bryan made one of the greatest comebacks I've seen in a while, zeroing on the leg of Lesnar, still selling btw. Lesnar's bumping and selling were fantastic, he made Bryan look like an absolute killer. Phenomenal match by two of the greatest wrestlers for the past 20 years, maybe longer than that. One of the best match WWE has had in a while, certainly THE WWE MOTY for me. I can talk about this match all day. WHAT A MATCH. *****

Great match. A match that has been building and building for months finally climaxes. Kenoh getting exactly what he wanted, a match with Marufuji but it didn’t go exactly as he thought he would. Nakajima was on top of his game here hitting some of his hardest chops and knee strikes. Being the aggressive and controlling Kenoh, even acting heelish at times, getting the crowd behind Kenoh. Marufuji’s attacks on the neck were superb and Kenoh’s selling was fantastic. Kept on holding the neck, flinching in pain when ever he moved it. Great stuff. His comebacks were tremendous too, sent the crowd into a frenzy. There is one sequence in the match which was tremendous; mind blowing. ****1/4

Fantastic match.Both men beating the piss out of each other with chops is my favourite kind of match. Brutal offence from both. Higuchi impressed a ton in his first outing and Shiozaki pulled off another great showing in 2018. Fantastic match. ****1/2

MS-1 bum-rushes Chicana in the entrance way, attacking him viciously, beating him up and down the aisle into a bloody pulp. MS-1 plays up his arrogance, taunting the crowd as he beats on Chicana who has the crowd on his side so much that the fans try and wipe of the blood after he loses the first fall in quick succession after the beating and a splash off the top rope. Don’t think Sangre Chicana got a single piece off offence. The second fall is the same with MS-1 unloading with nasty, stiff punches, making the woods of Chicana grow. Chicana starts mounting some offence, sending the crowd wild with a few punches (crazy that). Chicana’s selling is great here as he keeps flopping around the ring, not getting his balance even after he gets some offence. The second fall lasts even shorter than the first when Chicana hits a tope suicida to the outside, getting the count out win in the process. Both are now bloody as fuck going ham on each other in the third fall. The first fall is a just a thing of beauty. Fantastic gritty brawling with fantastic selling, violent offence and amazing visuals. An amazing match without a doubt and considering I barely heard of MS-1 and not even knowing who Sangre Chicana was, this was highly compelling, gripping and an easy watch. What a blood filled, hateful match. ****3/4

Centurion Negro’s UWA World Middleweight Title is on the line and he is defending against New Japan Pro Wrestling’s own Gran Hamada who is on tour with the promotion. Gran Hamada spent his excursion in UWA and he was established as a top player in the promotion, previously winning titles such as the UWA World Middleweight, World Junior Light Heavyweight and World Light Heavyweight Championships. The first fall is a mauling by Negro. A constant barrage of tight submissions, the double underhook hold in particular, wearing Gran Hamada down. Centurion Negro is ultra vicious and waste no time in putting Hamada away for the first fall with hardly any fight or rebuffal from Hamada. The second fall is way more competitive with Hamada throwing together a few crafter sequences, beginning to take a foothold in the match and getting the second fall, equalling his match up. The third fall was similar to the first fall but it was built around Hamada’s babyface fire and charisma with him fighting against Negro’s attacks, making his comebacks. There are loads more flashy moves in this fall like some nutty dives by both and a sunset flip which was the finish. The crowd goes nuts for Hamada’s comeback too. Great match overall with a great escalation of offence with more and more being added as the match went on. The match structure was very similar to current day CMLL with two short falls and a longer last fall so it wasn’t a tough transition from that to this. ****

Awesome match. I think I prefer their Strong Climb match better but this was very good, this had way more drama and the intensity to it. Loved Sekimoto in this match, he held his own technically against Hideki and was able to survive his onslaught, selling everything greatly throughout his comebacks too. Hideki was great as usual, his grappling was fun to watch and added to the match very well. ****

Oh yeah, the show looks like it will rock. Almost every match looks enjoyable in some way

Great match. Loved the different presentation that this match had. The pride style ring, the arena , the style. Excellent stuff. Added a lot. The grappling was really good, Suzuki held his won, being on the defensive but blocking Barnett's attacks well, mounting a few comebacks with some nasty forearm shots. Sent the crowd wild at times. ****1/2

The only thing I don't like about Hikaru Shida is her awful theme which gives me a headache every time. But yeah, she is pretty great. Not one of the most notable Joshi wrestlers but one of my favourites and she was awesome here. Aja Kong putting in an awesome performance here and the dominant bully. Doing some brutal damage to Shida's legs, using her weight by standing on it to inflict pain and limit movement. It was great to see Kong looking so great, even if it was less focused on her nasty strikes. Shida was incredible, I though. Really sold the leg very well. I think there was a only a few instances where I thought she could've sold the leg better but there was never a time where she no sold it completely. She did an awesome job making her comebacks and making Kong look like a beast. She pulled this match in for me. Great facial expressions of pain as well. An excellent bout. Seen other say it went a bit long but I never had that thought. ****1/4

I have little interest in Jericho in New Japan but he is clearly a hot commodity and whilst it's not the best thing for Naito to go back to the IC title (feels like a step back), him wanting to get his revenge on Jericho makes sense to me.