But before we delve into the goods this week, lets have a quick look at the news!
- We've got the WWE World Championship match for SummerSlam all scheduled, Jinder Mahal versus Shinsuke Nakamura! Should be something but don't look to forward to these promos.
- Kyle O'Reilly debuted on NXT this week in a match against Aleister Black, just like his tag partner Bobby Fish just a couple of weeks ago. Coming from PWInsider, there's rumblings that these influx of former Ring of Honour guys in a stable. That sounds like some tasty mammajams to me.
- HoHo Lun has been released from WWE as per his request to return to his homeland and take care of his sick mother, possibly the most honourable of reasons to do so. Good luck to you, HoHo!
- Apparently Scott Dawson is injured now, something to do with his bicep. Motherfucker.
- Pete Dunne will defend the WWE United Kingdom Championship at PROGRESS Wrestling's New York City show, against none other than Jack Gallagher! Hopefully these talent exchanges/excursions happen more often, like we've seen with Noam Dar at ICW's recent show.
- New themes! Jason Jordan's got a new theme (shit), I think Big Cass now has a slightly different one (shittier), Johnny Gargano has a new one for himself (decent) and The Usos got remixed (fucking golden). It has them doing the lyrics so you know its already great
And now for the prize in this cereal box of a wrestling blog, its the matches!
Best Match on RAW (31/7/17): Samoa Joe vs Braun Strowman vs Roman Reigns
Kicking us off this week from Monday Night RAW, we have a triple threat starring Brock Lesnar's three SummerSlam opponents; Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns.
The main bulk of this match saw the action go to the outside, with things going even further and spilling into the audience. People were thrown into barricades, slammed to the floor and in the case of Roman Reigns, murdered;
Another thing I liked about this match was how Joe was made to look a killer. Every attempt at the Coquina Clutch was sold like it was a death sentence, but, it was his interaction's with Strowman that I liked in particular. Since debuting on RAW, Samoa Joe had yet to be in a match with Strowman up until this point, only that skirmish last week on RAW. He did some real damage to The Monster Among Men, seen here in the build to the finish.
Jesus those stairs were shiny, all I could concentrate on when they were on screen. Good match here on RAW, something different from the norm in terms of structure with all this outside stuff, making for a nice addition to the SummerSlam build.
SmackDown! LIVE
Best Match on SD! (1/8/17): AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens - WWE United States Championship Match
Honourable Mention(s): Rusev vs Chad Gable, John Cena vs Shinsuke Nakamura
It's redemption for Battleground here on SmackDown! LIVE as we have AJ Styles defending his WWE United States Championship against Kevin Owens one more time.
This match was miles ahead of the match from the pay-per-view. The action was more exciting, helped mostly from Owens not doing any long, drawn out headlocks that absolutely killed the momentum in their prior clash. I'm not sure if I'm right here, but it did feel like they had more time for this match than the Battleground one, possibly because they managed to fit in so much. AJ certainly got to do more in this match, hitting more of his signature offence which makes all of his matches so fun to watch.
The ref bump was worse this time around, and we had another finish with a shoulder being up off the mat, but this one was done much better, not leaving anyone confused in the aftermath.
Really great match here, and it was a close call between this and Nakamura/Cena, but I think per minute, this match was more entertaining and exciting.
205 Live
Best Match on 205 (1/8/17): Tony Nese vs Gran Metalik
Gran Metalik is on TV! He's here on 205 Live taking on The Premier Athlete, Tony Nese. He's got a new mask, though I think I prefer his last one, and his tights now have tassels! Tassels I tell ya!
This match was a great, quick, spotty match on the show, the sort of exciting goodies that 205 should have more of considering the struggling state of it and the talent they have available to them on the show. Metalik and Nese were bouncing off each other with some slick and cool sequences, making for a very fun match.
Needless to say, the highlight of this match was this incredible moonsault executed with precision and grace. Metalik is something else, and Nese did a great job in his role here;
Like I said, real fun match here on 205 Live, I look forward to more Metalik in the future!
NXT
Best Match on NXT (2/8/17): Aleister Black vs Kyle O'Reilly
NXT now and we have got Aleister Black in another awesome match against another mystery opponent who turned out to be former PWG and ROH World Champion, Kyle O'Reilly!
In comparison to the Black/Fish match from a few weeks ago, this one was much more based in strikes, with Kyle getting in some submissions throughout the match, focusing primarily on the ankle of Black. I feel this one had much better striking sequences than Black/Fish, with really cool moments like Black's legsweep, Kyle taking out the leg for the moonsault, plus the finish with Black Mass coming out of relatively nowhere was just awesome.
It was a very strong showing from O'Reilly, even though the show was taped and something as big as beating Black is sure to get headlines, I was in the position thinking that Kyle could be the one to beat him. This was a nice long match, and with each time Black gets in the ring with the calibre of opponent he's been getting, his best match in his NXT run keeps changing, and here is no exception.
I really recommend this one to you, dear readers, check it out!
Ring of Honour TV
Best Match on ROH TV (Episode 306): Karen Q vs Kelly Klein vs Deonna Purazzo
It's a special Women of Honour episode here on ROH TV this week, for some reason we had former ROH owner Cary Silkin on commentary, and he was actually pretty decent. As per him, it sounds like we'll be getting Women of Honour expand, with matches on ROH pay-per-views for one, plus this partnership with Stardom is bound to do good. Anyway, the main event has been brewing for a while over on their YouTube page, culminating here in a triple threat of Karen Q, Kelly Klein and Deonna Purazzo.
This was a decent match, with some cool bits here and there, but I must say, I wouldn't go out of your way to seek it out. Deonna got fucking jacked up being thrown into the barricade, sending the mesh a good foot or two back into the crowd, namely at this one mouthy chubby kid. Deonna's got some nasty chops on her too, propper thudding down on Klein's chest, and I can't really remember much else about this match.
As always, you can catch ROH TV for FREE on either www.rohwrestling.com/tv/current, on the Fite TV app, or at www.fite.tv
Lucha Underground
Best Match on LU (S3E29): Johnny Mundo vs Dragon Azteca Jr
Taking things over Boyle Heights now and ahead of his championship match in the coming weeks, Johnny Mundo faces off against Rey Mysterio's protege, Dragon Azteca Jr.
I like Azteca Jr, I like Mundo, this was a good match. For whatever reason I really am struggling to recall much about Lucha Underground matches lately. I definitely enjoyed this match, because these are both great competitors putting in the effort for great performances. It's gonna have to be the same sort of thing I say usually, if you like the Lucha Underground style, you'll like this for sure.
NJPW: G1 Climax
Day 11
Best Match on G1D11: Kota Ibushi vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
Starting off this week's coverage of the G1 Climax, it's Kota Ibushi versus Hiroshi Tanahashi!
Considering Tanahashi is fighting his way through this tournament with a torn bicep, I've been expecting him to be taking things a bit more lightly, but fuck me there is not stopping this man. A High Fly Flow to the outside was enough to wow me, but knowing the man is battling through an injury like that makes it all the more impressive. As does the stiff strike exchanges these two went through. Ibushi likes to land his kicks high, and I wouldn't be surprised if he tagged Tana's arms a couple times.
With the big name value this match has, these guys were sure to make it exciting, throwing all sorts at each other, with Tana even kicking out of the Golden Star powerbomb, the first to do so in the tournament up to this point. Ultimately, it would take Ibushi driving a stiff knee into the face of Tanahashi to end it all;
Great match this, I'd put it on the list of what to watch from this week for sure.
Day 12
Best Match on G1D12: EVIL vs Kenny Omega
It's EVIL versus Kenny Omega. If you haven't seen this match, I'll tell you now, one of these men gets knocked the fuck out, see if you can guess before I reveal it.
These two did not go easy on each other in any sense of the word in this match here. As for the in-ring stuff, these two have very physical styles, leading to battery being the norm here. However, a big dollop of outside action would take up a fair portion of this match. EVIL's neck wringing chair shots are always brutal, but when he hits with such power that the chairs break, you know its awesome. That wouldn't be all the foreign objects implemented however with tables getting involved too.
If you guessed it was Omega who got knocked loopy, you would be damn wrong! A V-Trigger knee would rock EVIL, making for the ending to be a little scary when he was hoisted up for that One-Winged Angel.
It's a faultless occurrence I say, Kenny's done plenty of similar V-Triggers that haven't done that, its just the nature of the beast. Even with that being a bit shaky there, this was an awesome match. Add to this list guys!
Day 13
Best Match on G1D13: Tetsuya Naito vs Zack Sabre Jr
Honourable Mention(s): Kota Ibushi vs Yuji Nagata
Back to B-Block now and here we have the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon, Tetsuya Naito, taking on Suzukigun's newest recruit, Zack Sabre Jr.
Sabre continues to amaze me with his technical proficiency, with this sort of setting allowing him to apply a whole host of submissions and holds that look like the most painful thing a man can experience short of a shotgun blast to the gooch. It's hard for me to write about Naito because I don't quite feel that I fully grasp his wrestling style as weird as that sounds. He's very much a showman, but in his you get a bit of everything, striking, grappling and some high-flying-ish stuff. It does mean that he can mesh with whoever he is placed in there with.
And to top it all off, this match probably had the best landing for the Destino I've ever seen;
I would say out of the matches from the G1 we're going to cover in this issue, this would rank lowest for me, but nevertheless, it is still very good.
Day 14
Best Match on G1D14: EVIL vs Kazuchika Okada
Honourable Mention(s): Juice Robinson vs Kenny Omega
EVIL's fully recovered from that match with Omega, and here he is facing off against the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada as A-Block take centre stage for the last time this week.
EVIL proved that everything is, in fact, evil when he started things off hot, getting right on top of Okada from the off, taking the action to the outside and into his wheelhouse. One of my favourite things in New Japan, especially on this tour, is how the guys will just decide to have a wander around the building in the matches. In WWE, fighting in the crowd rarely breaks past brawling, but here with EVIL, he decided mangling Okada was the best course of action;
Okada began to have more of his renowned champion level performance as things got back in between the ropes, looking like the star he is as he went about coming back form the initial punishment. They had a bit of a dodgy go of it when Okada perched EVIL up on the top for the dropkick, having to muscle him back up to connect with it.
New Japan always make sure the finished to their matches are spectacular, and none more so than in this match right here. After dishing out one Rainmaker, Okada aimed for a more definitive victory, but this would prove a fateful error;
EVIL wins in the upset of the tournament, beating Juice Robinson's victory over Kenny Omega in the match before this in my book. This was another baller match from the tour, another I very much recommend checking out for yourselves.
Day 15
Best Match on G1D15: Zack Sabre Jr vs Yuji Nagata
YUJI'S TIME TO SHINE BABY! Here we have him, one of my newest boys Yuji Nagata facing off against Zack Sabre Jr.
This match was great, with heavy focus from the technical standpoint, with Nagata being the most well matched opponent Sabre has had in that respect so far in the league, with Nagata managing to lock Sabre up a fair bit, even pulling out the Rings of Saturn!
Blue Justice did have the advantage in the striking game, kicking the air out of the chest of Zack as well as ten tonnes of compressed shit in the process. All of this would add up, and ending up with us getting NAGATA SCORING TWO POINTS ON THE SCOREBOARD, YES MATE;
Another great match from the G1 here, another I'd say to look out for.
PWG: Man on the Silver Mountain
Best Match on MotSM: Jason Cade vs Jake Crist vs Desmond Xavier
Rounding us off this week, it's Pro Wrestling Guerrilla showing us what they've got in the form of a triple threat with a debuting Jason Cade, taking on a brother-less here Jake Crist and Desmond Xavier.
This match falls lovingly into the bracket of PWG matches one can class as 'insane'. They had some just ridiculous, but fantastic sequences such as the dive cycle, with one guy hitting a dive on another, only to be then dived on himself in a repeating process. Adding to the lunacy of this was a move I have never seen before, never dreamt was even possible - a double underhook Canadian destroyer OFF OF THE TOP ROPE. WHAT IN THE FUCK.
The finish of the match saw Xavier be extra flashy with his top rope offence, landing a picture perfect spiral tap to get the pin.
Awesome match here as is the norm from PWG in a show I enjoyed more than I have the last couple. I feel like PWG has had a bit of a rough go of it this season on the blog, the releases of their shows always seeming to coincide with other beautiful matches the same week. They've yet to win a match of the week this season, and suffice to say....
The Verdict
Best Match of the Week: EVIL vs Kazuchika Okada - G1 Climax Day 14
.....New Japan wins again this week. It's another gold star on the board for this incredible run Okada is having, with EVIL also showing he can hang with the best this business has to offer. Also, big ups to all the G1 matches listed here, as well as PWG's triple threat as well as Black/O'Reilly on NXT and Styles/Owens on SmackDown! Plus, RAW was pretty fun too.
After that revelation, the leaderboard now shapes up to look like this.
All that's left is to award 'The Best Promo of the Week', this time going to the increasingly more annoyed Tama Tonga as he vents his frustrations at his Bullet Club leader, Kenny Omega. Something's brewing, as well as on Being The Elite on YouTube, it's just a matter of time...
That's all I have for you this week pals, sorry that it is a little later than usual, the G1 sure is adding to the workload, but it sure is a blast to watch. I hope the next few days bring you all that you are wishing for, and that the same may go for your loved ones too. Seeya next time, here, right here, on 'Noah's Best Wrestling of the Week'.
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