MikeCampbell

In the year of our lord 2025, Paul London is still awesome. In a ten minute draw, he gets heat, sells and bumps better than most, and still has the best ssp in the business. Why he’s doing obscure Indy shots and working in MLW, instead of NXT is beyond me.

This was the best match of Fantastica Mania so far, but didn't hit the level that both men hit with Bandido from the year before. As great as Hechicero's matwork and some of Dorada's insane counters were, there were odd things like Dorada almost submitting to an armbar (he'd nod and then change his mind) and then he finally got free and acted like nothing was wrong at all. They've got the chemistry for a classic, but this wasn't the night for it.

For all the talent involved, this was pretty disappointing. Some of the early work was sloppy and the middle portion had no real flow. The Death Riders triple teamed Neon while his partners watched and then did the same to Dorada while Mistico watched. Then Mistico hot tagged and won. And Neon hit his usual insane dive. Hopefully they do a rematch at some point, because I think they’ve got a MOTYC in them.

Averno’s record vs Mistico is something like 1-199, so the outcome is never in doubt. But they both do their damnedest to make it so this time around. The only thing I could’ve done without was that last devil’s wings. The two before it felt spontaneous, like Averno saw the opening and pounced, and that one didn't. This feels like a really good sporting event, where it was so good and so exciting that you’re not even upset that your team lost.

This has all the technical grace you’d expect from them for 2 falls. Then the 3rd is a total Tecnico/Rudo morality play, with the 63 year old Panther trying to prove he’s still got it, and the young punk trying to show that he doesn’t and send him off to the retirement home. The screw job finish with the mask is the perfect out for Hechicero to win, while making Panther look great and hopefully build a rematch.

Although this won’t make my MOTYC list, it’s still a ridiculously fun match with Claudio doing everything possible to rile up the crowd and UG taking some utterly insane bumps for a 54 year old man. UG won’t stay down and starts mounting a comeback leading to Claudio needing a foul to get the win.

If you’re of the mindset that Lucha is just a bunch of dives and contrived spots, this is something you’ll want to check out. This looks like something out of 1984 Mid South, the Death Riders are heat machines and Garcia is in all his glory. By the time it’s over the fans are chucking bottles and cups into the ring. The AEW/CMLL arrangement has produced some great stuff, but this is a good reminder of how much untapped potential there still is.

I always figured that the big plan for Trick was a feud with Melo over the U.S. Title, since they've made a point of keeping them away from each other.

The only person who can pin Kazuyuki Fujita in a title match is Kazuyuki Fujita! The only reason I don't see this as being a double cross is that they actually kept him around afterwards (he worked a tag match about a month after this), and even gave him another run with the title (which he lost in a 3 way match without being pinned). Forget Yasuda, Nakamura in 2003, EVIL or even Moxley (which I didn't even mind, but a lot of folks apparently hated) this is the low point of the IWGP Title.

Two weeks into the year and we've already got a viable MOTYC. The main story is MJF working Bandido's arm, with all kids of great heel stuff and being a pick in general (shocking, I know). Bandido sells like a god, even when he makes a comeback and pulls off something that might seem like he's blowing off the arm work, he does something little to show that it's still an issue, like the press slam where he's got to do it with one arm because it's not strong enough, or the superplex complete with him selling the arm while using the other to hook the leg. They even go as far as to make the fact that Bandido's 21-plex finisher can only be done from a specific position into a story, with MJF getting himself into position for it just to bait Bandido in, and when Bandido finally does do it, he's too worn down to cover right away. They had plenty of time to work and they made the most of it. For all the talk about how such and such much made a guy look great in defeat (which this absolutely does for Bandido), it elevates MJF's game too and reminds everyone that he's a lot more than a prick with a big mouth, he shows that he's fully capable of beating someone clean in the ring without low blows and foreign objects.

How do you think the women's title situation plays out? I'm thinking that Fatal Influence helps Jacy retain on the 17th, and Stand and Deliver can be the big Sol/Zaria singles match. Easy enough to switch it after the fact if they do want to send Jacy up to the main roster.

Bloodsport comes to the performance center! This is the exact sort of pro-style/shootstyle hybrid that Thatcher has been having on Bloodsport shows. It's full of insanely stiff strikes and matwork that's somehow both smooth and carny looking. Even the few pro-style stuff they do looks realistic, like Thatcher bouncing Dempsey off the ropes and using the momentum from the rebound to suplex him. If you want realism in wrestling, this is 10 times more effective than any of early to mid 2000's NJPW bullshit with Fujita and the K1 dudes. And one of the funniest things I've heard recently was Robert Stone saying that Thatcher had several broken teeth that he refused to fix because "they were weak for breaking."

Gunther and Dragon Lee put on a hell of a match on Monday night. Gunther won using the tried and true method of unmasking the tecnico to get him distracted. Well, Sean Ross Sapp posted a shot of Dragon Lee's face and social media fucking exploded as a result. There's two schools of thought here: 1. SRS is a prick who doesn't understand and/or respect lucha culture. 2. WWE were the people who decided to have him get unmasked on live TV with a camera front and center, if there's any outrage they're the ones who it should go to. I personally fall more into the second category, since we live in a day and age where a 12 year old could have gotten that exact same shot. I think it was a questionable decision by him to post the photo. But, at the end of the day, he doesn't have any sort of obligation to WWE or Dragon Lee.

The women's tag triple threat from Wednesday night was a lot of fun. The biggest standout for me was honestly Lainey Reid, her crucifix bomb may have been the cleanest one that I've ever seen, and the Blue Thunder she caught Kendal Grey with was every bit as smooth as when Takeshita does it.

After she pretty much got kicked out of the NXT NA Title scene, the initial theory was that Blake Monroe must be getting called up. Now, the word is that there are no plans at this time. I said it as soon as the incident with Thea happened: There may not have been any hard feelings as far as the agents, producers, writers, etc. in NXT, but that it would leave a bad taste in someone's mouth. I can practically hear HHH's response to someone suggesting it: "She couldn't kick out in a match that she was supposed to be winning, and you think she's read for prime time TV?"