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ROH Jay Lethal vs. Lio Rush (4/1/16, Supercard of Honor Night 1) A great Jay Lethal performance as he tones things down and allows Rush to shine. Lethal controls the action in a logical and interesting way and gives Rush just enough that he looks like a potential star without the match going too overboard in 2.9 kickout exchanges. Christopher Daniels vs. Bobby Fish (4/1/16, Supercard of Honor Night 1) The most surprising very good match I have seen this year. A match with some fantastic arm work by Daniels and a simple story told extremely well by two workers that can be spotty and irratic at times. Roderick Strong vs. Moose (4/1/16, Supercard of Honor Night 1) Moose looks like a star and this was a great, physical sprint that really showcased both guy's talents to the best of their abilities. Adam Cole vs. ACH (4/1/16, Supercard of Honor Night 1) I seem to be higher on this than everyone else but I loved the comedy bits that got mixed in but then pushed away when Cole got more flustered. I think Cole really projects himself as a big deal in ROH even though he has to beg people to boo him despite his nefarious actions. ACH was able to win the crowd over with his comebacks and flash. CMLL Rush vs. Maximo 3/18/16 This was a great match. Rush was the ultimate dick at first and it really played out well for the quick first two caida structure that CMLL uses. Rush gets disqualified in the first caida and only intensifies his attack. Him throwing the soda on Maximo was a great heel ploy. Poneglyph does a great job going over the story above but Pierroth getting tossed along with the crowd chanting for Porky was a great moment. I did like how the kiss from Miaximo was the final straw for Rush where he was able to mount enough offense to put Maximo away to prove his masculinity. This isn't a shocking revelation but Rush really does seem poised to be a star for years upon years to come.

Evolve Tracy Williams vs. Matt Riddle (EVOLVE 55, 1/24/16) An all out war with both guys seizing every opportunity afforded to them.This was a great match in that it felt it could end at any time but also had an excitement that everything was building beautifully. I don't want to go too overboard but this felt like a 2016 version of Ki vs. Dragon from Super 8 to me. Zack Sabre Jr vs. Johnny Gargano (EVOLVE 56, 3/19/16) I liked this quite a bit too. I have been foreign to ZS JR. a bit as his selling of looking dazed and aloof sometimes strikes me as odd. This match featured some sublime selling from Gargano that was milked up to the end where he couldn't even accept a handshake because the pain his arm was in. The arm work and techinical wizardly of Sabre can't be denied and the work that he did off of Gargano's strikes was effective enough in showing he had to overcome some adversity and wasn't just someone that could put on a lot of painful looking arm submissions. I really look forward with the series of matches Sabre has lined up. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Drew Gulak (EVOLVE 57, 3/20/16) Gulak was a beast in this match showing great intensity and really making Sabre earn any of the flashy moves he tried to display. The Sabre series really allowed him to be more sympathetic as a babyface overall and flesh out his character work with logical selling. Drew Gulak and Tracy Williams vs. JOhnny Gargano and Drew Galloway (EVOLVE 59, 4/2/16) A great old school tag structure with the catch point philosophy reaching it's zenith. After a disappointing match the night before, Catch Point seemed really determined to make this win memorable and effective. Fred Yehi vs. Chris Hero (EVOLVE 59, 4/2/16) Man is Hero a bully dick in here. You can tell he starts off as the giant man that has no respect for Yehi and by the end, he realizes he was stretched to his limits. A great contrast to the Sabre match later that night where Hero is a bully again but more in regards to hatred than here where his motives are carried by reputation.

Current favorites: Chris Hero's quick piledriver Sabre's Breaks Special Matt Riddle's anklelock

Choshu vs. Jumbo is a pretty big dog surrounded by a really hot period. Having them go an hour is one of the biggest booking mistakes Baba made in the 1980's.

Adam Cole vs Kyle O'Reily fight without honor (ROH Super Card of Honor Night 2 04/02/2016) YES: Really excellent blow off to this feud with a great hate filled tone throughout the match.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10 1/4/2016) YES: A fitting end to their rivalry and one of their better matches together. Probably my favorite of their 1/4 efforts. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10 1/4/2016) NO: I have really soured on Ishii and his whole stigma to just no sell and have these ridiculous spots. Will Ospreay vs. Kushida (NJPW Invasion Attack 4/10/2016) YES: Great sell job by Ospreay and both guys coming out looking like a star. American Alpha vs. The Revival (NXT Takeover Dallas 4/1/2016) YES but barely. I was probably overall a little down on NXT Dallas in that I thought it was a great show, just not one of the best I have ever seen. Cesaro vs. AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho (Raw 4/4/2016) YES: Really strong way to introduce Cesaro back into the fold and set up potential matchups for the future.

Chris Hero & Tommy End vs Zack Sabre Jr. & Sami Callihan (EVOLVE 53, 1/22) YES - Great tag match with all sorts of action but a cohesive story wrapped around the exciting moves. Kevin Owens vs Dean Ambrose (WWE Royal Rumble, 1/24 NO - Couldn't get into this one with KO on top and Dean not being able to convey his wacky character well enough for my liking. Marty Scrull vs Will Ospreay (PROGRESS Chapter 25, 1/24) YES, my favorite of their matches together and where I think Scrull has been at his best persona wise this year. Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns vs Dean Ambrose (WWE Fastlane, 2/21) YES Really excellent three way that had Brock still look relatively strong in defeat and Reigns giving a great performance. Fred Yehi vs Drew Gulak (EVOLVE 56, 3/19) YES: A wrestling exhibition. The escaped pinfall by Yehi and then nipping up is one of my most memorable spots of 2016 Chris Hero vs Tracy Williams (EVOLVE 56, 3/19) YES: Followed Yehi and Gulak and was a great bomb heavy US indy match with build and drama down the stretch. Two of the best guys in the world in 2016. Zack Sabre Jr. vs Will Ospreay (EVOLVE 58, 4/1) YES: Indy dream match that was actually well done and did a fairly good job of not going into completely goofy territory. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Sami Zayn (NXT Take Over: Dallas, 4/1) YES: A match with huge expectations and they went out and delivered in spades. Bayley vs Asuka (NXT Take Over: Dallas, 4/1) YES: Probably lower on this than most as it is marginally YES for me but they were put in a tough spot and still delivered a very good and well worked match. Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor (NXT Take Over: Dallas, 4/1) YES: Samoa JOe showed why he can be one of the best workers of the last 15 years when motivated. Matt Riddle vs Zack Sabre Jr. (EVOLVE 59, 4/2) YES: An exciting match with the technical wizardly of Sabre and the tenacity of Riddle. Zack Sabre Jr. vs Chris Hero (WWN Mercury Rising, 4/2) YES: My MOTY Right now. These two are electric against each other and Hero gives Sabre a huge beating. Matt Riddle vs Tracy Williams (WWN Mercury Rising, 4/2) YES: I liked this less than the January match but it was still great and these guys have a ton of chemistry together. Kota Ibushi & TJP & Johnny Gargano vs Marty Scurll & Will Ospreay & Tommy End (WWN Mercury Rising, 4/2) YES: A great six man with perfectly executed spots. Sasha Banks vs Charlotte vs Becky Lynch (WWE WrestleMania, 4/3) YES: Best Mania match by a mile and it felt like a big time moment. I thought Becky was the best person in this match. LA Park & Super Parka & El Hijo del LA Park vs Rush & Pierroth & Toscano (Lucha Elite, 4/27) NO: Spots are fun but overall too long and bloated for me. Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens (WWE Payback, 5/1) YES: KO played the heel role effectively here and Sami had some great comebacks. Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles (WWE Payback, 5/1) YES: Some iffy booking but a beautifully worked pro wrestling match that really emphasized the sized differential and ring positioning.

The issue I find with lightning matches is that my expectations with Lucha are all about shifts, long periods of matwork drawing each other out or wild brawls with guys on top for a multitude of time leading to a big comeback and the match going from there. Also, the traditional CMLL matches have had such quick first and second caidas where I feel at times the finishes of those falls are "survivor series" type finishes. What I mean by that is that individuals are getting pinned on maneuvers they wouldn't necessarily ever get pinned by, they only are pinned this time because it is in the first and second fall. That can become frustrating for me in an lightning match to change my expectations. When Cometa hit his big dive in this match and they went to the wide shot of the clock, I was amazed at how much they have done in five minutes and it took me out of the match a bit within the whole context of CMLL.

We are stuck at this moment in the PTBN Excellent WWE Network Adventure and I feel your pain. TNT has some humorous segments but at 1:30, it was really bloated.

Chris Hero honestly fits both buckets as he has done a variety of roles for a variety of different promotions.

LA Park, La Parka, & EL Hijo del LA Park vs Rush, Pierroth, & Toscano (Lucha Elite, 4/27/2016) Yeah, you are nuts Grimmas, ha. This had incredible heat and did made me for sure want to see Rush vs. LA Park in a singles, wild brawl but it also struggled when it wasn't those guys. Plus, while Park still has incredible charisma he is closer to LA Porky at this point and really moving slower. I hope they do the big match before he deteriorates even more. I did enjoy the little nino nearly crying as Park was getting beat up. Finish was fine but once again felt like a tecnico earning a victory that wasn't really earned. I would probably go around **3/4 for this one.

wearing a red hoodie?

What are the chances of Flamita coming into CMLL?

Rey Cometa vs. Cavernario I had some issues with this. I talked to Matt privately that the buzz on Cavernario seems to have dropped a bit. He explained that Cavernario hasn't had as many high profile opportunities. I also think there is a projection of newness that Cavernario had in spades a couple of years ago. Regardless, I really enjoyed the apuestas match between these two but this match was too Cavernario heavy. What drew me to him was his wild and risky approach to even up the score in the matches he competed with. Here, he mainly led the encounters and while they were executed well, I didn't have much sympathy built in for Cometa. The cheating and the double worm was what it was. The dive to the outside was nice for Cometa but again it was followed up with more guzzling by Cavernario. The cheapness of the fall didn't resonate as well as Cometa picks up the win with the Canadian Destroyer out of nowhere but it felt like a situation where he was outclassed in every level leading up to that and he lucked into the finish.

Tuesday lucha drop, give me so recs guys.

This may be the funniest Kris has ever been on a podcast. I got a kick of his "welcome to the world of business" line as well.

Glad you enjoyed Drew, was interested in what your take would be given your lucha experience up to this point

No shame in that POP vs. ROckers match. Honestly one of my favorite matches ever at this point. Stay optimistic of shoot style and lucha. I think lucha especially turns the corner in May of this year. Shoot style may be a little longer as 1990 has UWF as the common focus but I would say if by 1991 with PWFG, RINGS and UWFi, if none of that suits you, then shoot style is not going to be a style you will dig.

I would say there are three tracks with Progress: From the Beginning cherry picking matches of interesting and all of the Jimmy Havoc Stuff Chapter 19 onward - this would be the tournament to current day Chapter 23 - What a Time to Be Alive. This had some old feuds being put to rest (Andrews vs. Ospreay, guys like Gibson and Scrull find their heel footing, and the Lodnon Riots vs. SDS feud kick into high gear)

Was really interested to see your list PeteF as someone that I have read a lot of stuff on going through the 1990's and 80's projects but I was unsure where you would have guys in a META sense.

Hey Thomas, have you seen the recent past two years of IWA-MS. I have caught some of the Kongo run and TPI from 2015 but with them running shows regularly, there is a good bit of talent centered there that I don't have a general vibe on one way or another.

I would say Highspots as most of the others are almost all exclusively tied to one promotion.

Cross face, Soundcloud has been on the fritz with itunes and other download capabilities since at least yesterday morning. They supposedly are working on the issue but it has been a pretty ridiculous delay

Yeah sorry I have to disagree on this one. Felt like a bloated AAA brawl with walking around the arena, a ton of interference from the seconds and then the dramatic ending stretch with big moves and dramatic pauses for the nearfalls without a clear sense of the escalation being made. Full disclosure that AAA is the promotion I have had the hardest trouble getting into besides ECW throughout their history but this didn't inspire me.

watched Maximo vs. Rush This was a great match. Rush was the ultimate dick at first and it really played out well for the quick first two caida structure that CMLL uses. Rush gets disqualified in the first caida and only intensifies his attack. Him throwing the soda on Maximo was a great heel ploy. Poneglyph does a great job going over the story above but Pierroth getting tossed along with the crowd chanting for Porky was a great moment. I did like how the kiss from Miaximo was the final straw for Rush where he was able to mount enough offense to put Maximo away to prove his masculinity. This isn't a shocking revelation but Rush really does seem poised to be a star for years upon years to come. **** Atlantis vs. Caristico in the Liga Elite was fun stuff too. Atlantis was a good base for Caristico's spotty offense and it played out well that he was able to be the wily veteran that had a counter for all of the flash that Caristico was throwing his way. Finish was succinct and well done with the multiple backbreakers and La Atlantida to put Caristico away. ***