 |
| Can't wait for Bill Murray to make a run-in and help these two win the tag titles |
- More details on WWE's upcoming women's tournament have come out from the company's latest conference call as well as some scoops from PWInsider. From what it sounds, it will becoming in the third quarter of the year, and it is being reported that rather than weekly episodes like the Cruiserweight Classic, batches of episodes will be released together, and the final will be broadcast live. As we draw nearer, we should be seeing some names officially released soon.
- Over the span of the week, Kevin Owens lost and regained his WWE United States Championship, with him and Jericho now 2-time champs. Plus, it looks like Jericho has been written off of TV for his tour with Fozzy, having been assaulted on SmackDown! by Owens. Whilst it's a shame to see him go, I look forward to when we see him in a WWE ring again.
- In regards to other titles, Alexa Bliss defeated Bayley at Payback to win the RAW Women's Championship. I figured they'd have pushed that back so they could have Charlotte being the first to be both RAW and SmackDown! champion, but looks like they might be giving Alexa a good run too.
- Billy Corgan has bought the NWA. There is some potential to revitalise the NWA in the current wrestling climate, and it will be very interesting to see where they go from here.
- Looking to New Japan and it has been confirmed that at June's Dominion show, we will see two rematches from WrestleKingdom 11 with Naito/Tanahashi for the IWGP Intercontinental Title, and we'll be getting Omega/Okada II.
- This year's Best of Super Juniors line up has been unveiled, and amongst the company's signed juniors, we have Marty Scurll making his NJPW debut! He is in the same block as Will Ospreay so that's bound to be great. Dragon Lee is also taking part, in the same bracket as well. Exciting times!
- It is also worth mentioning that Zack Sabre Jr will be competing as a heavyweight from here on in NJPW, being apart of the G1 Climax. I hope to cover as much as these tournaments as possible, but looking at the schedule and the availability I have to New Japan content, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to do. Fingers crossed
- It has been confirmed that we are getting Bate/Dunne II for the WWE UK Title at NXT TakeOver: Chicago, as well as Asuka versus Ruby Riot versus Nikki Cross for the brand's women's belt.
WWE Payback
Best Match on Payback: Neville vs Austin Aries - WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match
Honourable Mention(s): Samoa Joe vs Seth Rollins
Starting us off this week we have WWE's first pay-per-view since WrestleMania, Payback. The best match on said card was the Cruiserweight Championship Match between Neville and Austin Aries.
These two continue to have great matches together, with them being arguably the best performers in WWE's cruiserweight division. They both wrestle with such fluid action that it is pure bliss to watch them go at it. I'm clueless as to whether these two had any encounters before WWE out on the indies, but they wrestle each other like they done it for aeons, which is just a testament of how good they are.
Although I can see why some might not have liked the ending, I thought it was awesome. It was smart, led up for more story to follow and made Neville even more of a nasty heel. The sight of him chucking that ref over his shoulder from a prone position just highlighted his power and aggression.
In all I think I preferred their match at WreslteMania, whether that be because they were given more time then or whether it was all in Nev's beautiful tan and gold gear. This was still good in it's own right however and a great continuation for this Neville/Aries saga.
Monday Night RAW
Best Match on RAW (1/5/17): The Miz vs Finn Balor vs Seth Rollins - No.1 Contender's Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Turning to the main event of Monday Night RAW now and we have a three way to decide who will be the next to face Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Championship down the road. Thinking about it, this was set up very strangely. The Miz is the only one who explicitly is wanting the title. Both Seth and Rollins outright said they want the Universal Title, and it pretty much worked out that since Lesnar's fucked off they'll just go after the IC one instead.
Looking over that, this was a good match. Finn and Seth had that clash at SummerSlam, so we know that these two in a ring together can make some quality and that was present here as well, with their sequences being slick and solid. The Miz added his own personal taste of heeldom into this, immediately leaving the ring and letting the other two go at it, as well as his hiding behind Maryse and such. Like Baron Corbin, Miz is really good at being the third man that nips in and out when need be. He can come in, get some heat and then build up the others as they storm on their comeback. The focus of this match was very much Finn and Seth, with both getting a plentiful helping of moments to liven up the crowd and get some big reactions.
We saw run-ins from both Samoa Joe and Bray Wyatt, taking out Rollins and Balor respectively, both pretty nastily might I add. This led to Miz getting the pinfall and setting up him versus Ambrose.
I've seen people online saying this match was the best TV match in a long, long time, and even Grandaddy Meltzer giving it a rating above 4*. I don't think I'd rate it that highly though. I might have to rewatch it, though for the time being, it was good but I wouldn't say much else about it.
SmackDown! LIVE
Best Match on SD! (2/5/17): Chris Jericho vs Kevin Owens - WWE United States Championship Match
Tuesday night now and we have Chris Jericho defending his newly won WWE United States Championship against the man he defeated at Payback for it, Kevin Owens.
Again, this a case where I think their previous big clash was better. Their match at the pay-per-view had a bit more of a big fight feel and delivered on it I feel. The Payback match had that whole bit playing with Owens' hand, starting off with a callback from 'Mania and then progressed from there with Jericho targeting it. Whilst this match had the attack afterwards, the Payback match felt much more brutal and hard-hitting, going with the blood feud that this has become.
That's not to say this was a bad match at all. It was pretty good, though it did very much feel like a weekly show's main event. It may not have been the best match SmackDown! LIVE has seen in the post-brand split world, but it was certainly the best on this episode.
Sorry, the write-up for that match sounded a lot more negative than I thought it'd be. But hey, that's just how it goes I guess. Bottom line, if you want to watch an Owens/Jericho match from this week, watch Payback.
205 Live
Best Match on 205 (2/5/17): Mustafa Ali vs Drew Gulak
Say what you will about 205 Live, but for the most part, it does a pretty good job with the stories on the undercard. I love Drew and I was just glad to see him getting more appearance on the show, but his anti-high-flying campaign has really got me invested. It has a lot of potential, but its a shame there aren't a lot of people on the roster who are overtly high-flyers. What, there's Ali, Swann, Metalik (wherever the fuck he went) and Kalisto maybe if he gets mixed into the cruiserweight division. But, for the time being, it's going good.
This match did a good job of tapping into this story. We had Ali doing his flashier repertoire only for Gulak to get a big bastard hit on him and knock him down. Plus, Gulak is great at berating Ali the entire time, shouting and insulting him whilst kicking him in the head.
The climax played perfectly into this as well. After being delyed from hitting his Imploder 450 Splash, Ali had to try something else off the top, Gulak got the knees up and pinned him as a result. Good match.
I look forward to where this goes, and am hopeful for good things to come for Gulak.
Best Match on 205 (2/5/17): Mustafa Ali vs Drew Gulak
Say what you will about 205 Live, but for the most part, it does a pretty good job with the stories on the undercard. I love Drew and I was just glad to see him getting more appearance on the show, but his anti-high-flying campaign has really got me invested. It has a lot of potential, but its a shame there aren't a lot of people on the roster who are overtly high-flyers. What, there's Ali, Swann, Metalik (wherever the fuck he went) and Kalisto maybe if he gets mixed into the cruiserweight division. But, for the time being, it's going good.
This match did a good job of tapping into this story. We had Ali doing his flashier repertoire only for Gulak to get a big bastard hit on him and knock him down. Plus, Gulak is great at berating Ali the entire time, shouting and insulting him whilst kicking him in the head.
The climax played perfectly into this as well. After being delyed from hitting his Imploder 450 Splash, Ali had to try something else off the top, Gulak got the knees up and pinned him as a result. Good match.
I look forward to where this goes, and am hopeful for good things to come for Gulak.
NXT
Best Match on NXT (3/5/17): Killian Dain vs Danny Burch
In a card consisting of 2 squash matches and a battle royal, the less one-sided squash reigns over all.
This one sees SAnitY's Killian Dain heading up against my fellow countryman Danny Burch. Whilst it is safe to say that Dain had the upper hand for the most part, we had flairs of Burch with some fight in him, throwing hands, feet and a headbutt at the Glaswegian beast. However, it would not take long at all before Dain beat Burch using his One Winged Angel-esque move I've forgot the name of. Decent match this.
Best Match on NXT (3/5/17): Killian Dain vs Danny Burch
In a card consisting of 2 squash matches and a battle royal, the less one-sided squash reigns over all.
This one sees SAnitY's Killian Dain heading up against my fellow countryman Danny Burch. Whilst it is safe to say that Dain had the upper hand for the most part, we had flairs of Burch with some fight in him, throwing hands, feet and a headbutt at the Glaswegian beast. However, it would not take long at all before Dain beat Burch using his One Winged Angel-esque move I've forgot the name of. Decent match this.
Ring of Honour
Best Match on ROH TV (Episode 293): Matt Sydal vs Flip Gordon
Best Match on ROH TV (Episode 293): Matt Sydal vs Flip Gordon
Taking us to the more indie side if things and we have the returning/released from Japanese holding cells Matt Sydal taking on a debutant in the form of Flip Gordon. That name was very suitable seeing as this match was flippy as all hell.
This is my first time seeing Flip, and I must say that he has really impressed me. There wasn’t any part of his game that I thought could have been tightened up or any slips to improve on. Considering he only started as a pro in 2015, he’s very good, a similar trajectory to that of Lio Rush.
Sydal showed it bit more of a mean streak than I am certainly used to. Though his striking game has always been a notable part of his moveset, they never seemed to be thrown with the same gall and vigour that backed them in this match. Quite a bit of smack talking and questioning the ref coincided with this.
The crowning moment that made this match for me was that Gordon pulled out a manoeuver he’s called ‘The Kinder Surprise’. For those who don’t know, a Kinder Surprise is a milk and white chocolate egg with a toy inside. I’ve had them since I was like 4 and still do to this day, and hearing commentary shout that out made me giggle my tits off. The move itself was a kick to Sydal who was perched up top by jumping on the top rope, which too was very cool.
As always you can watch ROH TV for FREE at www.rohwrestling/com/tv/current or on the Fite TV app.
NJPW: Wrestling Toyonokuni
Best Match on NJPW: WT: Hiromu Takahashi vs Ricochet - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match
Across the Pacific Ocean now to New Japan Pro Wrestling for Wrestling Toyonokuni where we saw the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Hiromu Takahashi, defending his belt against Ricochet ahead of the Best of Super Juniors tournament.
We got started with a fucking bang in this as Ricochet took the fight straight to Hiromu like a man possessed. He was throwing him around, jumpin' 'n' divin' all over and kicking the shit out of him. The first 4ish minutes was all out, and then after that we slowed it down a bit, but still damn exhilarating, and things became more competitive. I feel Hiromu was a tad less suicidal in this match, but still threw plenty of caution to the wind with his big sunset over the ropes and the leather put into the strikes in this. A lot of this was explosive and insane action from start-to-finish. Some truly awesome spots and moments in this, when you've got two juniors who wrestle the way these do, super athletic and able to not just able to sustain a high octane match-up, but thrive in it, you know you're gonna get something special, and that is exactly what we got. I highly recommend it.
Best Match on NJPW: WT: Hiromu Takahashi vs Ricochet - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match
Across the Pacific Ocean now to New Japan Pro Wrestling for Wrestling Toyonokuni where we saw the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Hiromu Takahashi, defending his belt against Ricochet ahead of the Best of Super Juniors tournament.
We got started with a fucking bang in this as Ricochet took the fight straight to Hiromu like a man possessed. He was throwing him around, jumpin' 'n' divin' all over and kicking the shit out of him. The first 4ish minutes was all out, and then after that we slowed it down a bit, but still damn exhilarating, and things became more competitive. I feel Hiromu was a tad less suicidal in this match, but still threw plenty of caution to the wind with his big sunset over the ropes and the leather put into the strikes in this. A lot of this was explosive and insane action from start-to-finish. Some truly awesome spots and moments in this, when you've got two juniors who wrestle the way these do, super athletic and able to not just able to sustain a high octane match-up, but thrive in it, you know you're gonna get something special, and that is exactly what we got. I highly recommend it.
NJPW: Wrestling Dontaku
Best Match on NJPW: WD: Tomohiro Ishii vs Kenny Omega
We're staying in Japan now and we have a sort of unofficial number one contender's match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, with Tomohiro Ishii taking on 'The Cleaner' Kenny Omega in a rematch from the first round of the New Japan Cup.
I thought that commentary perfectly described how this match opened. Paraphrasing here, these two dealt 30 minutes worth of damage into 5. Now in New Japan, we're used to seeing people clobber the ever-loving bejeezus out of one another, but these guys proper went for it here.
One of my main irks with Ishii is his whole no selling shtick in some exchanges, but much to my delight, he kept that to a minimum here, with Omega visibly getting some definite licks on the big bastard.
In all honesty, I feel some of these heavyweight bouts we see in NJPW can feel like a bit of a slog when we get high in the minute count, but in this one I felt less fatigued than usual. These two packed the latter half with some lovely spots and high moments of excitement to keep me engaged and ready to see what was coming next. Ishii delivering that reverse frankensteiner was incredible and popped me and the crowd in Fukuoka. However, the move that I felt really shook the foundations was when, after months of it in the closet, Kenny finally managed to land the One Winged Angel and put Ishii down.
This was a great match, and I think it's the best New Japan match this year since WrestleKingdom 11, on par with that Dragon Lee/Hiromu Takahashi match at the New Beginning shows. I rate this quite high indeed.
PWG: Only Kings Understand Each Other
Best Match on PWG: OKUEA: OI4K (Sami Callihan, Jake & Dave Crist) vs Superkliq (Adam Cole & The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson))
On a bit of a delay with my PWG viewing, its a show from February, Only Kings Understand Each Other, and the best on this card, I felt, was the six man tag between the Superkliq and OI4K.
It's my first exposure to the OI4K stable here and to Dave and Jake Crist, who were much better than I was anticipating. Though I didn't get to see much tandem offence from them, with this being contested in tornado rules, with most of this having descended into utter madness, what we did see from the two working together really was rather great.
Superkliq are as good as ever, and this is probably my favourite match that sees this trio in action. This match was peppered with awesome sequences, with a Superkick Party, a Cutter/Ace Crusher Party, flips and dives and multi-man spots like an uber tower of doom. Sometimes I feel the pure rush you get from PWG can't quite be translated into words, so here is the clip from their preview on this match;
Cyoar, that final Ace Crusher was faaaaantastic. Awesome match this, exciting and lots of fun and merriment to be had. Give it a watch.
SUPERKICK COUNTER: 50 (Fuck me)
The Verdict
Best Match of the Week: Tomohiro Ishii vs Kenny Omega - NJPW: Wrestling Dontaku
Yes, Kenny Omega takes the prize once again as him and Ishii put on a classic, and boy oh boy has it got me excited for Dominion. I also highly recommend Takahashi/Ricochet, OI4K/Superkliq, plus this week's episode of ROH TV was much better than the last few, with a nice 6-pack challenge main event as well.
And with all that said and done, here is what the leaderboard looks like nowadays, with New Japan stars looking to it over.
One last thing from me and it is 'The Best Promo of the Week' which I now think allows segments like this to contend for the award, as we look to SmackDown! LIVE for The Fashion Files starring Breezango.
That's all I have to say for this one guys, thank you for joining me and I apologise for the delay. But, from what I should have out soon, I hope I can make up for it. Have a lovely week and have a lovely time, so that we can come back here and celebrate the best wrestling of the week. I'll catch your ass down the road.
Best Match on NJPW: WD: Tomohiro Ishii vs Kenny Omega
We're staying in Japan now and we have a sort of unofficial number one contender's match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, with Tomohiro Ishii taking on 'The Cleaner' Kenny Omega in a rematch from the first round of the New Japan Cup.
I thought that commentary perfectly described how this match opened. Paraphrasing here, these two dealt 30 minutes worth of damage into 5. Now in New Japan, we're used to seeing people clobber the ever-loving bejeezus out of one another, but these guys proper went for it here.
One of my main irks with Ishii is his whole no selling shtick in some exchanges, but much to my delight, he kept that to a minimum here, with Omega visibly getting some definite licks on the big bastard.
In all honesty, I feel some of these heavyweight bouts we see in NJPW can feel like a bit of a slog when we get high in the minute count, but in this one I felt less fatigued than usual. These two packed the latter half with some lovely spots and high moments of excitement to keep me engaged and ready to see what was coming next. Ishii delivering that reverse frankensteiner was incredible and popped me and the crowd in Fukuoka. However, the move that I felt really shook the foundations was when, after months of it in the closet, Kenny finally managed to land the One Winged Angel and put Ishii down.
This was a great match, and I think it's the best New Japan match this year since WrestleKingdom 11, on par with that Dragon Lee/Hiromu Takahashi match at the New Beginning shows. I rate this quite high indeed.
PWG: Only Kings Understand Each Other
Best Match on PWG: OKUEA: OI4K (Sami Callihan, Jake & Dave Crist) vs Superkliq (Adam Cole & The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson))
On a bit of a delay with my PWG viewing, its a show from February, Only Kings Understand Each Other, and the best on this card, I felt, was the six man tag between the Superkliq and OI4K.
It's my first exposure to the OI4K stable here and to Dave and Jake Crist, who were much better than I was anticipating. Though I didn't get to see much tandem offence from them, with this being contested in tornado rules, with most of this having descended into utter madness, what we did see from the two working together really was rather great.
Superkliq are as good as ever, and this is probably my favourite match that sees this trio in action. This match was peppered with awesome sequences, with a Superkick Party, a Cutter/Ace Crusher Party, flips and dives and multi-man spots like an uber tower of doom. Sometimes I feel the pure rush you get from PWG can't quite be translated into words, so here is the clip from their preview on this match;
Cyoar, that final Ace Crusher was faaaaantastic. Awesome match this, exciting and lots of fun and merriment to be had. Give it a watch.
SUPERKICK COUNTER: 50 (Fuck me)
The Verdict
Best Match of the Week: Tomohiro Ishii vs Kenny Omega - NJPW: Wrestling Dontaku
Yes, Kenny Omega takes the prize once again as him and Ishii put on a classic, and boy oh boy has it got me excited for Dominion. I also highly recommend Takahashi/Ricochet, OI4K/Superkliq, plus this week's episode of ROH TV was much better than the last few, with a nice 6-pack challenge main event as well.
And with all that said and done, here is what the leaderboard looks like nowadays, with New Japan stars looking to it over.
One last thing from me and it is 'The Best Promo of the Week' which I now think allows segments like this to contend for the award, as we look to SmackDown! LIVE for The Fashion Files starring Breezango.
That's all I have to say for this one guys, thank you for joining me and I apologise for the delay. But, from what I should have out soon, I hope I can make up for it. Have a lovely week and have a lovely time, so that we can come back here and celebrate the best wrestling of the week. I'll catch your ass down the road.
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