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| When 3 tag team titles aren't enough so you make your own |
- 6 out of 8 championships changed hands at WrestleKingdom, so its a bit of a daunting task to list. All but Okada and Naito lost their belts, that about clears it up.
- It appears that after his incredible match at WrestleKingdom, Kenny Omega is taking some time off. I know if I got hit with 4 Rainmakers I'd be in a coma for a decade.
- Adam Cole has made history by becoming the first ever 3-time Ring of Honour World Champion! (BAY-BAY!) Really wasn't expecting O'Reilly to lose the belt this quick, so I wonder if he might be popping up in NXT soon-ish.
- The full list of competitors for the United Kingdom Championship tournament have been unveiled! Who knows, if I've got the time I might try and whip up another guide like I did for the Cruiserweight Classic.
- We have a new talkshow on the WWE Network, hosted by Peter Rosenberg, 'Bring it to the Table'. I dunno whether we'e having a rotation of guests, or how regular it will be, but we had Paul Heyman and JBL on this first episode. I really liked it, they talked about stuff like Conor McGregor, RAW being 3 hours, SmackDown! vs RAW and even the rumours of Ric Flair having had sex with Halle Berry. That's this month 9.99 accounted for just for that last one.
- Tommy End has wrestled at a NXT live event under the name Aleister Black. Not quite sure its as badass as 'Tommy (Tommy, Tommy Fucking) End', but its still pretty cool.
- Charlotte vs Bayley has been confirmed for the Royal Rumble. I don't think we'll be seeing a Bayley win, but who knows what WWE's got planned.
- Remember how Undertaker came back in November and said SmackDown!'s his home and he'll be sticking around? You'll see him on RAW next week, and Shawn Michaels too.
- Chris Hero has appeared at NXT! He's back under the guise of 'Kassius Ohno' with his cool theme once more;
And now for the garlic bread in this Italian feast of a wrestling blog, its the matches!
Monday Night RAW
Best Match on RAW (2/1/17): Sami Zayn vs Braun Strowman - Last Man Standing Match
Honourable Mention: Cesaro vs Karl Anderson
Monday Night RAW kicks us off with this Last Man Standing Match between Sami Zayn and Braun Strowman.
We started with Zayn trying to use his speed and nimbleness to keep out of the grasp of Braun, but soon enough he would succumb to it. Strowman kicked some shit out of Zayn, tossing him around and just generally brutalising him.
But, we had a lot of weapon usage in this match, pretty much entirely from Zayn. Kendo sticks lashed at the flesh of Braun, and chairs were cracked across the back. They went up the ramp and backstage, something we've not properly had in a long time. It was reminiscent of an Attitude Era Hardcore match in that Zayn just found things to hit Braun with as they walked. For some reason there was a steel chair tucked between a couple of crates, but I'm not asking questions here. Deus ex machina.
We came back out to the arena, and get heading back to the ring by way of a dive off a stage putting both men through tables. We haven't seen Strowman on such a back foot since the Survivor Series match, and this is one-on-one too! I like that they've gone out of their way to build Sami up in these matches, making him look like a major player on the roster.
The match came to an end when Strowman hit his finishing Running Powerslam at ringside, leaving Zayn on the ground for the 10-count. Then, Braun attacked him some more, because he is a big angry man that does big angry things.
I really liked this match, brought a refreshing change of pace to the show, and it was lovely. I feel RAW has gotten back into a slump of being a slog to watch. This broke the form, and gave us a little treat for our troubles. Plus, I would like to add that I really like Zayn's tights with the tartan on them.
SmackDown! LIVE
Best Match on SD! (3/1/17): Baron Corbin vs Dolph Ziggler
We start off Tuesday night with a match between Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler, and although its not like these guys have a stellar history of having amazing matches together, I thought this one was actually pretty decent.
There isn't a massive amount to say about this match, everything was real solid, but it was quite a bit of things we've seen before. Nothing hugely memorable about it, except I was a tad surprised that Corbin kicked out of a Zig-Zag from Dolph. They have been pushing Corbin as a big deal lately, so its little things like that which make him appear like it.
There was the Intercontinental Championship Match between Miz and Ambrose also on the show, but I was not that engaged by it. In my opinion, both of them have a pretty uninteresting moveset, and add to this there was a bunch of stuff with Maryse that didn't do anything for me.
So yeah, Corbin/Ziggler. It was alright.
205 Live
Best Match on 205 Live (3/1/17): Neville vs TJ Perkins
Are you tired of Neville killing everyone yet? Me neither.
WWE have followed the 'how to give a heel a new theme' formula and have slowed it down and made it a bit lower for Neville, and he's not got his cape any more.
So yeah, we've got Neville beating up TJ Perkins for the majority of this one. Not much else to say really. He showed some more flash in this one, busting out his magnificent second rope Phoenix Splash.
It was a lot of quick action, predominantly Neville on the offensive, and there wasn't a whole lot else to it really. Not boring, just not memorable.
NXT
Best Match on NXT (4/1/17): #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs TM-61 (Nick Miller & Shane Thorne) - NXT Tag Team Championship Match
It's another bumper episode of NXT this week, this time showing off their show in Melbourne from their last international tour. And, just like last week, we got an awesome tag team match, this time with TM-61 challenging Ciampa & Gargano for the titles.
I thought this was TM-61's best match so far in NXT. Miller showed off a lot more interesting offence that I thought he had been missing for the longest time. A good amount of more powerful moves to coincide with Thorne's more speedy approach.
However, I felt that #DIY had a better showing last week against Tajiri and Tozawa. A few things didn't look as slick or flush as they normally due for whatever reason, and whilst it was a niggling issue, it wasn't a huge negative.
We had some super close falls in this match, with the Aussie crowd showing their disapproval each time #DIY managed to break out of a pin attempt. They didn't all out hate #DIY in this one, but it was very clear who the favourites were.
I love the presentation style of these live events. The bigger venues yet closer up recording style of NXT make the whole thing feel big. The atmosphere was great, loud as all hell, and it gave everything a big fight feel but retained a jovial special live event.
Great match this, I certainly recommend it to you.
Ring of Honour
Best Match on ROH TV (Episode 276): N/A
It's a 'Best of 2016' episode this week on ROH TV, but if you're interested it has Adam Cole vs Jay Lethal at Death Before Dishonour where Cole wins the ROH World Championship for his second reign.
Lucha Underground
Best Match on LU (S3E18): Johnny Mundo vs The Mack
It's not the championship match yet, this week, the winner of these two will decide the stipulation for it.
So, Mack/Mundo. What's it like? It wasn't terribly long, but it did the job. Mundo is great as champion I think, his cocky prick character being enhanced by the belt's presence on his waist. Mack was more power based than speed based in this one, but was fighting uphill for the majority.
The Worldwide Underground interfered in the end to allow Mundo a win, and then they curbed stomped Mack a couple times.
It was a good match, but I haven't retained a whole lot of it. I dunno, I feel like I'm falling a little out of love with Lucha Underground. Pentagon's been written off for a bit, Mysterio hasn't been on for a while, and I was hoping that Joey Ryan would have a bigger part. Who knows, but its the mid-season finale soon so maybe it'll act as a breather.
NJPW: WrestleKingdom 11
Best Match on WK11: Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega - IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match
Get your ass to the Tokyo Dome, because here it is, WrestleKingdom 11. This week's big boy. Personally, I thought as a whole WK10 was better, but fuck me, this main event was so much better than last year's.
Kenny Omega takes on Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. What better way to strike fear into the heart of your opponent than saying you're a terminator? It worked for Triple H at WrestleMania 31 anyways;
Nice slow start getting us under way, gradually building it up as the match progressed. It took a good few minutes for us to get balls out with it, which is by no means a fault, but when we got there, good lord was it worth it.
Now, I know New Japan usually is on the stiffer side of working, but sweet Harley Race did these guys rock some heads. Kenny does these bicycle knees, and every time they're hitting Okada flush either on the side of his face,or on his chest, making a big clap sound. B-R-Utal.
Probably my personal highlight was Omega taking to the air and getting some distance with this spectacular moonsault. Insane;
Over the guard rail!? Good lord.
Kenny took so much fucking damage in this contest, not only from Okada just in general hitting him over and over and over and over again, but also with this nasty back bump that was more ridiculous than the moonsault;
First back then tailbone. God I wince just thinking about it. Plus, its an unforgiving Japanese table. Pain. Lots of pain.
This match went on for the better part of an hour, and with myself settled firmly in the corner of Omega, the tension was super high for the last half of the match. His attempts at the One-Winged Angel had me cheering, and Okada's escapes frustrated me. Then with each Rainmaker lariat that hit I was calling for a kick-out. In the end, my hopes and dreams of an Omega victory were humbled with a fourth and final, Rainmaker.
Whilst I would've preferred Kenny to win, I couldn't ask for anything more from this. I'm not sure I could take much more of the high-nerve action, so it was a lovely end. Awesome match this, awesome indeed.
NJPW: New Year Dash
Best Match on NYD: The Superkliq (Adam Cole & The Young Bucks) vs CHAOS (Rocky Romero, Trent Beretta & YOSHI-HASHI)
We're one day removed from WrestleKingdom and we're in the hallowed Karouken Hall. Do you like 6/8 man tags because that's basically all this show was. Now I like a good multi-man tag, but good lord when its every match, and I don't particularly care much for all of New Japan's stables, it can ware on you.
But, the best of these saw a new Bullet Club sub-division 'The Superkliq' comprising of the new ROH Champion, Adam Cole and The Young Bucks taking on CHAOS, with the new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Roppongi Vice and YOSHI-HASHI.
Its my first time seeing YOSHI-HASHI, I haven't formed much of an opinion, he's alright I suppose. Its a Young Bucks match, so we had a fair few high spots and cool tag sequences, also on the part of Roppongi Vice. They continue to extend Romero's 'Forever Clotheslines', with them finding a more convoluted way to keep it going, and I love it.
So, if you like your quicker 6-mans with some Young Bucks action, this one's for you.
SUPERKICK COUNT: 11 (I think)
The Verdict
Best Match of the Week: Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega - IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match - WrestleKingdom 11
Did I drop enough hints that it was this? Well, here you go, a great match through and through. A thrilling watch, and I recommend it to anyone if you've got the time. Here's a Dailymotion link because I'm not too sure it'll stay up long on YouTube, but here it is anyway.
With that week now catalogued, here is what the leaderboard looks like! There's just time for one more thing, and that's for The Best Wrestling Quote of the Week, coming to you straight from WrestleKingdom;
'GNAAAAAH SHIT!' - Kyle O'Reilly
That's all from me folks. hope you enjoyed this one, sorry a couple of the matches didn't have a great write up, I promise I'll make it up to you. Seeya next week peeps!
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