Makai Club #1

Great 20 minute bout. Martel starts the match like a house on fire, hip tossing Tama around with ease, hitting dropkicks and thwarting an attempted two on one attack by the Islanders. Martel then spent a good while attacking Tama’s leg, who had no answer for Martel’s persistence until he was able to throw Martel to the outside. Tama’s selling was really good for the remainder of the match, slowly whining off the effect of Martel’s heel hold. Tama uses a nerve hold which is unfortunate but they tease a few hope spots to make things interesting. The crowd is totally behind Martel, who feeds off it, making a comeback after several tries. Martel rams Tama’s head into the turnbuckles in a great revenge spot and throws Tama into Haku for an incredible false finish. The finish almost loses its way after the bell keeps getting rung prematurely but Hayes covers saying that Martel, who is on the defensive at this point, has lost his concentration only for Martel to reverse a crossbody into a cradle for the win. Great finish. ****

Nick Bockwinkel commentating his old rival's (Martel) match would've been cool if they acknowledged their history. But forget that, imagine if Bockwinkel and Bret Hart fought? That would've been magnificent. This was a really good tag team match in the tried and true formula. Except maybe the Strike force comeback was too short. The opening exchange was excellent. Martel outshines Bret technically which bruises Bret's ego which made him irrational and that made things worse. Then he calmly tags out. The whole idea of that was highly fascinating to me. Martel still continued to shine in the early parts, as did Tito when he tagged in, but a critical mistake sent Martel to the floor which the Hart Foundation capitalised on. Neidhart attacks Martel's ribs via the bear hug and a couple of back breakers. Martel fights two on one well enough but is always just off from getting the tag. Martel doesn't always connect with me as a fiery face but he truly did here. There was a great spot where he absolutely blasts Bret with a punch that Bret no-sells it immediately. Fuck sake Bret. Tito's hot tag is pretty fun but then the DQ finish comes quickly via the megaphone. The Hart Foundation thought they won the titles for a short bit but then the decision was announced much to their frustration. ****

One of the more prolific MSG matches. Lord Alfred Hayes absolutely puts the JBA over as being a great tag team unit, surprisingly. He calls them extraordinary, just showing that Vince was clearly in on the women's division at the time and wanted to make it work. And within seconds into the match, the crowd goes from silence to going crazy at the initial shine spot by Tateno against Lelanai Kai. Judy Martin is able to slow things down a bit when she initially comes in but also gets overwhelmed by Yamazaki's speed. The Glamour Girls are able to gain the advantage and work over the Angels while the New York work rallies behind the challengers. The Glamour Girls absolutely do pull their weight in these matches with both great heel work and wrestling skills. They are able to grind down whichever one of the JBA are in the ring with stomps and other basic offence while being able to bump around just enough to accommodate the Jumping Bomb Angels. In this match, Yamazaki is the one who is being cut off, who does a great job at selling and being sympathetic. The crowd loved her traditional Joshi bridge out of a pinning position and every sunset flip made for an effective nearfall. Tateno's work on the apron is so good and adds a lot to the face work. Her reaction to the false tag was awesome and she was so desperate to get the tag, that she was practically falling over the ropes which the crowd bites on. The melee at the end with both times in the ring had the place rocking. Tremendous, smooth double team work leading to the Glamour Girls just getting the win after a powerbomb. Excellent tag team match. The first tag of the night and will undoubtedly be the best. ****1/4

I think WWE fans were ready to hate on Brock vs Cain Velasquez regardless because they see Velasquez as an MMA Guy and "that doesn't belong in wrestling". It had an interesting idea but it was just far too short.

Chono was simply there to lose otherwise I don't see the match taking place. Which is a shame because Fujita really peaked in 2005 with his focus mostly being wrestling opposed to mma. A motivated Brock Lesnar vs Kazuyuki Fujita would've been magnificant.

It was a fairly big match in the United States against one of the bigger stars on the indie scene. I can see why he tried to go all out to impress people. I doubt that Okada was going to go on auto-pilot like he's wrestling Yujiro Takahashi.

That was the gimmick. I'm not sure when it started but he keeps it up all the way until the end of the feud. Check out the Cage match on Saturday Night's Main Event and you'll see it again.

Which makes it all the more amusing that the obvious next for Mutoh is to get a New Japan run. Mutoh vs Okada seems like the likely step in the near future.

I didn't see Test v Brock as any great hods clash either. That was the desired goal but it didn't really connect well to me. Test isn't as good as you'd ideally want him to be in order for it to work and Brock is still inexperienced by this point. Side point: King Of the Ring 2002 was a horrible ppv. Awful from Jericho v RVD onwards.

It's quite comfortably Cena for me. A tremendous one-two series with Umaga at New Years Revolution and the Royal Rumble. A great match with HBK on Raw (most people consider the WM main to be a good but I find it to be his only black mark in that title reign), a great set of title matches against nearly everyone on the roster, most of whom weren't workhorses, such as Khali and Lashley. He had arguably the best match with Orton at Summerslam and had a solid rematch at Unforgiven. It's unfortunate that he got injured before they could compete the trilogy because I think that would've only bolstered his case. Cena truly became the best wrestler in 2007. Other candidates will probably be Umaga, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata, etc.

I think Austin is undeniable this year. If his heel turn wasn't considered a bust and the Invasion wasn't squandered, this would be considered one of those signature years, like how 1989 is synonymous with Flair.

I'd actually go with Akira Taue, as an odd answer. I'm actually surprised that Akiyama is touted as a popular answer, actually. I just finished combing through about as much 1996 All Japan as possible, and while he has a lot of great matches, I feel like he never stood out as the best worker in that company. In fact, he wasn't even my #2 option (Kobashi). Akiyama had a great feud with Kawada but all the magical moments, for me, belonged to Taue and Kobashi. The Champion Carnival Final was amazing. The Kobashi match is a Budokan Hall classic. And of course, the Tag League finals. That's Taue’s match, for me. Outstanding work in a work rate and character sense. And if I'm out to lunch on that, Kobashi is right there also making a great argument.

Cole has charisma and is over everywhere he goes but he might be one of the dullest, least interesting wrestlers that I've seen. The Gargano series was dreadful and a perfect example of a big match style gone wrong but it wasn't the norm for me as far as Cole is concerned. What is the norm was matches against Kyle O'Reilly that had all the action in the world but failed to materialise in anything interesting or visceral. Cole can try taking as many high bumps as he can but there is no drama or sense of danger there, making the spots moot. Cole is an absolute no for me.

Omega had an underwelming title reign with the Okada & Jay White's feud overshadowing it in the fall. So Okada? Katsuhiko Nakajima has an incredible year after a crowd killing title ace run in 2017. I forget who I went with in the WON awards. Gut says that Okada edges it.

Okada had a dodgy Post-Wrestle Kingdom period with the Goto "under the waterfall" feud falling flat on its face and then getting overshadowed by Naito until the Summer but Okada had an excellent ride after that. The Marufuji matches are sublime, the Ishii match is one of the more acclaimed matches of the period, the 30 draw with Tanahashi. Gosh. Okada had a great run in 2016, and it got shot out of the water by his 2017.

AJ was in one of the only pairings with Okada that I actively hate. He had his successes, like the Suzuki match in the G1 - which is genuinely great - but my main takeaway was that dud of a feud. I'd have to say HARASHIMA. Simply due to the fact that he has an outstanding KO-D Title reign(s) where almost every match is worth seeking out. He traded the title with KUDO early in the year in two very solid matches. HARASHIMA had a great series with Kenny Omega, that involved a 3-Way against Isami Kodaka that main evented Ryogoku, he was able elevated midcard challengers such as Keisuke Ishii and Soma Takao in a way that made them credible contenders, had two great match with the Irie to start and end the year. Tomohiro Ishii had a great 2014 as well.

I always forget just how much I adore Mochizuki in the ring.I love him regardless of time period - when he was a karateka turned wrestler, when he was the bully douchebag that rode a scooter in Toryumon Japan, when he was an aging veteran. Everything. And I genuinely think that he got better with age and experience. He had arguably his best ever run in his 40s and looks great even now despite being cycled down the card. When I first got into Dragon Gate, I saw this old man in good shape as champion and I was skeptical, at first but Mochizuki totally blew me away when he had my 2018 MOTY against Kzy (Watch this!). Rewatching his old work always brings great results whether it's in tags or singles matches too. It’s not even a collection of great matches either. There are genuine MOTYCs against the likes of Shingo Takagi, YAMATO, CIMA. I find that he is terrific in the muti-man spectaculars that Dragon Gate always does, like the Cage matches, or the 4 Way Tags between Units. It’s rare that I leave a Mochizuki match with a bad taste in my mouth. Even when against young rookies, Mochizuki always delivers to what is expected. The biggest factor against him is the DG Style which affects everyone if you’re not into it and that’s somewhat disappointing because I genuinely think that he is/was a sensational wrestler. I tend to struggle to place more modern wrestlers in lists like these but Mochizuki will undoubtedly top that set of wrestlers.

Randy Orton is a tricky one as his career fluctuates with the wind. He can go through the motions, be one of the most dry, uninspiring wrestlers on the roster for years and years but he can switch a light and turn into a sea of life, capable of the most compelling matches in WWE. One series of matches of Orton’s that stands out to me are the Benoit matches. Whether it’s the Summerslam 04/Raw The Next Day set or the 05/06 series, most of them are either excellent or solid at the very least. And I feel it’s a very underrated feud of Orton’s. Everyone picks out the Bryan feud or the Christian feud. But despite the many great matches that he has on his resume, there is still that void of nothingness that hurts him. So he’s not a surefire #1 candidate but maybe in the 60-80 bracket?

The result was a good one with smart booking that had the Midnight Express win the US Tag Team Titles without the help of Jim Cornette, solidifying the Midnights as a force. This follows the same structure as the Samoan Swat Team vs Rich and Rotunda but the Midnight Express had a great arsenal of double team moves around Pillman’s neck and Pillman’s selling was great. Eaton and Pillman had great chemistry together with little flubs early on before quickly finding a groove and finding their footing, mixing solid technical wrestling with innovative high flying spots (for 90s NA Wrestling). Stan Lane was great at making himself the asshole too. He'd taunt Tom Zenk before running, he'd go to Cornette for advice despite the cage and he'd use his kicks to cheap shot the champs. Lane complimented Eaton really well I thought. The finish was another cheap shot with Lane kicking Pillman in the back of his head, allowing Eaton to pin him with a cradle. ***1/2

Another match that I wasn’t totally in love with. I’m not that big on the Rock N Roll Express as other fans of the era are - they are very good (calm down) but I prefer many other teams - and I’m indifferent towards the Freebirds of any kind. The stipulation allowed for both teams to coast and use it as a crutch. The freebirds dominate, then get their comeuppance before losing to a flashy pin by Ricky Morton. A bland match as you can have with these teams. **1/2

Out of all 70s Puro Wrestlers, Sakaguchi is probably a personal favourite of mine. His big lanky frame and legit skill makes for a great match always. Inoki was game for it, rounding this out to be an excellent match - a purist dream. Inoki keeps going for the legs but switches gears when Sakaguchi defends against it, turning into a chess match that leads to three stale mates. Two time limit draws and a double count out. The pop when it was announced that 10 minute minutes was being added was huge. Quality bout with outstanding submission wrestling. ****1/4

I thought this was cool. Kimura and Baba teaming together in the tournament is huge by itself and the generational divide with them and Tenryu and Hansen elevates this. But I don’t honestly think that this is an all time classic, but this does have some shockingly great performances from Rusher Kimura, who wasn’t exactly a great wrestler in his prime. Kimura bleeds almost instantly with Tenryu not shy about punching the cut. Baba is hurt on the outside for most of it, leaving Kimura alone with Tenryu and Hansen who did exactly what is expected of them. The crowd rallies behind Kimura, who is a great FIP with his selling. Kimura is limited but it works in sparse moments like these. Baba is able to make a comeback and fares better offensively thanks to Tenryu willing to bump for the boss. Even Hansen struggled but they were able to just get the win via a Tenryu Powerbomb. A massive feat even in 1989. That’s Baba pinned, Inoki’s turn would come around 4 years later. . ****

Honestly Kohsaka is behind Tamura, Volk Han, Yammamoto, Maeda for favoruite RINGS wrestlers, which is likley sacriliage for RINGS fans, but he was still incredible and caught upto the rest quickly despite starting later than the ones I mentioned. He will definitely make my list, but perhaps the back end of it, as of right now.

Perhaps that's what the intention was but I've never felt that Taz was weakened because of it. Even watching it as a kid, I thought it came off as Kurt, beng a heel, trying to desperately retain his record. Wasn't that his gimmick at the time anyway? He'd lose by count out and then say that it didn't count, etc.

In typical commentary fashion, Lawler agreed with Angle and JR didn't.