Makai Club #1

Can safely say that this is one of the greatest matches of this style. I love me some RINGS but this was just on another level IMO. This was an exhilarating 30 minutes battle with some slick but tight submissions and some fantastic, pin point striking. The first ten minutes was pure grappling with no rest, it was non stop with the two constantly fighting to get one top and control the fight. Tamura used his experience and skills to keep on top and control the holds but Kohsaka held his own, defending well and constantly got some great submissions in. And then the seam transition into the striking was superfluous. The action is very explosive and it brought all sorts of intensity to the mix. Then a beautiful climax to the time limit draw. I'm struggling to put this into words tbh. This is fantastic. *****

Fantastic match. I heard great things and I had to wait a few weeks before I could get to watch it and I wasn’t disappointed. The entrances were electric, really got the heart pumping for this one. The storytelling was simple but the wrestling made it great. Zeuz was immense in this match, he showed tons of fire. He was focused, brutal in his offence and he came out looking like a star after it. Kento’s selling was key too. It wasn’t constantly feel your neck selling, it was a general slowing down of offence and limited mobility, he looked like he was thin ice making his comebacks. Fighting with desperation and doing anything he could. Great showing from both. The ending wasn’t as hot as it could’ve been, probably the only thing stopping me from giving the full 5 but this was fantastic. ****3/4

Pretty much all the tropes of last man standing matches. Tendency to no sell a bit too much but mostly this was a pretty good match with loads of nutty bumps. Loved the incorporation of the weapons, really added to the match and gave this feeling of brutality. Really enjoyed that match. Don't really like the stipulation but they made it work and turned out to be a very good match. I give Charlotte loads of grief but she took some nasty bumps so credit to her. ***½

This is why I love Maeda, he may have a different ideology than most about wrestling but he is able to blend it into other styles, that mixed with great selling and a molten crowd makes for an extremely compelling match. Maeda is very aggressive and unrelenting with his attack on the leg, locking in a nasty leg bar with Fujinami in agony refusing to give up; enduring the pain. Some nasty kicks thrown to by Maeda, one that swiftly catches Fujinami making him bleed. Fujinami selling it like death, even when making his comebacks, he had an anguished look on his face. I thought the ending was genius but that's just me. Tremendous performance by both. ****3/4

Vrij wasting no time here, going straight for Maeda and laying into him with strikes, getting a knockdown with Maeda hurting his knee which Vrij would target in the match. Loved Vrij’s constant hurrying, forcing Maeda into a corner where he would load with brutal kicks and knees to the body. It all finally paid off when Maeda suffered his fifth down which won Vrij the match. Maeda was overwhelmed from the start and despite the crowd getting behind him, he fell. Thought this was better than the first match which says a lot.

Maeda’s entrance gave me goosebumps. Everything from the delayed walk to the crowd made Maeda feel like a star and he was. Maeda dominated early on with some basic grappling but Vrij slow began gaining a foothold in the match, started throwing some nice strikes including a slap and started to taunt Maeda. Vrij through some nice kicks and looked to knock out Maeda a few times in the match first with knees in the corner to the body and again with one to the chin of Maeda. Maeda caught him eventually getting the tap with a single leg Boston crab. Awesome match

The atmosphere was off the charts for this match. Clear faces and heels in this match; girls screaming for R'n'R Express (and I do mean screaming) and everyone booing MNX when they do even the slightest thing. It's pretty incredible. You don't see this these days. The chemistry between the two was apparent. They bounced off each other, they knew what they could do to get the best from each other. Rock and Roll selling the entire match with Midnight Express cutting off the ring, attacking the arm, constantly using the rules to their advantage, cheating along the way. But that hot tag was pretty damn hot, loved how they teased Midnight Express getting control back when Gibson came in as well. Just a lovely touch I thought. ****1/4

Incredible match. MNX at their best here, with their excellent bumping, selling and great offence. MNX being on the defensive for most of the match, getting their asses kicked unless they cheated. Southern boys showed loads of emotion and passion which was good to see. Loved the karate spot. Marked out. Great match. ****3/4

Awesome match with some really great striking by both. Nakajima mostly though. The section where Nakajima dominating Suzuki in the early parts of the match was awesome as was his comeback. The last few minutes where they were throwing bombs at each other was amazing. Few scary moments though. ****1/2

Excellent match. CIMA is a great heel, aggressively attacking the leg of Takeshita with his smug facial expression. He dominated the entire match with Takeshita being helpless because of the injured leg. Takeshita selling was a spotty in the middle parts of the match but generally good and they incorporated it at the end which is good to see. Shocked at the result but great match. ****1/4

On paper this was a good match but it lacked something. The dual limb attacks from both was a good idea on paper but it was so dull. There was no drama in the holds other than when Hansen held on after a rope break or something like that, you never bought them and considering the match was mostly full off them, it made the match disinterested. I liked the finish but that's really it. **1/4

Marufuji comes into this as the heel outsider that happens to be champion, getting booed straight away against the babyface veteran defending his company. The story is fairly typical in Japan but they pull it off in a special way. They were non stop for 30+ minutes with some breathtaking sequences, some great limb work from both Marufuji and Kanemoto early on with Marufuji pulling out a funky submission and Kamemoto going to town with kicks and submissions. They moved past it quickly though but it’s for the best with Marufuji in the match. Kanemoto constantly switches from face to heel with his attitude but it comes off so well with his great facial expressions being coming off as both smug and sympathetic. He was able to get the crowd to boo him so soon after cheering him and getting them back in his side like it was nothing. Marufuji was excellent with his counter wrestler offence, his incredibly fast movements followed up by his signature knees or drop kicks looked great against the more calculated Kanemoto. The whole tease of the face wash by Kanemoto was great. Another great example of crowd control. The closing stretch was great as well. The initial hard slaps into the shiranui was a great near fall. And the fight for the ankle lock/teasing off the tap was awesome. The crowd going crazy for it helped the drama a ton. In the end Marufuji put Kanemoto away with a brutal Spanish fly and then the Tiger Flowsion. I was exhausted after this match which shows how good it is. The only thing flaw I have with this match is Marufuji's selling after the leg work. Even if the leg work didn’t factor into the match later on, a little show of pain afterwards would’ve been fine. However, I think there are far more elements of greatness, which far outweigh the flaws of the match. Kanemoto gave one of the best career performances in the match. For someone who was in his old man stage of his career, he looked great. Marufuji bounced of Kanemoto really well and give the match a great sense of urgency in his attacks. Honestly, this is one of my favourite matches and I always love watching it. *****

The first ARSION match ever was certainly an interesting one. One thing that was very clear is that this is a testing which styles blend together best, trying to figure out a style that the company can go with by using a mix of different styles like tradition joshi as well as shoot style. Candy Okutsu does a great job with making everything look impactful, using her size to hit some nasty suplexes and laying in some big bombs to control the match. Yumi Fukawa being on step behind for a lot of the match, tries to attack the leg early on the match before transitioning into attacking the arm later on in the match. Fukawa’s submissions looked very tight and gnarly, including one particular leg lock in the middle part of the match. Eventually Fukawa’s persistence pays off as she injured Okustsu’s arm and looks to be getting the win before the bell rings for the time limit. Whilst the match wasn’t an all time classic, this was definitely a very good match and did a great job at blending the styles creating a well paced, brutal match with some well executed submissions. Great start for the promotion. ***¾

So like RVD not going to the troops show in the mid 00's?

I believe Cornette addressed this already. It wasn't an official account but it was endorsed by Cornette and he (and Last) basically allowed the YT channel to exist since the owner of the YT account asked for permission.

Even if it's a close, trusted friend, it's wise to fact check before releasing info like this.

Meltzer getting stuff wrong when it comes to Japan isn't surprising at all.

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.