BWOTW: 24/7/17 - 29/7/17

Hey there readers and welcome to this newest edition of 'Noah's Best Wrestling of the Week' AKA 'Kahli-l Me Please'

An Unholy Alliance

But before we jump in, lets have a quick mosey at the past week's news;

1. Title changes first, and Kevin Owens is now a 3-time WWE United States Champion, having beaten AJ Styles at Battleground. But, two days later on SmackDown!, Styles won it back. Why? Who knows. Also, The New Day have won the SmackDown! Tag Team Championships from the Usos!
2. It has been announced that Kenny Omega will defend his IWGP United States Championship at ROH: Global Wars in Chicago, IL on October 15th. Coooooooooooooooool.
3. WWE have confirmed that Hell in a Cell will be a SmackDown! exclusive pay-per-view later this year, which leads me to believe these gimmick shows (TLC, Elimination Chamber, any others?) will alternate brands each year, which is quite fancy.
4. There have been rumblings that WWE are apparently planning another Superstar Shake-Up following SummerSlam. Not too sure this is really needed, but perhaps a transfer window where the swaps are a bit more limited might be nice.

And now for the stuffing in this wrestling blog of a pillow, its the matches! More G1 so buckle in guys...

WWE Battleground

Best Match on Battleground: The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) vs The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) - SmackDown! Tag Team Championship Match

Coming out on top of this quite bad PPV is the opening contest which was actually really good, its the SmackDown! Tag Team Championships on the line as The Usos defend against The New Day. 

We've got the pairing of Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston representing The New Day this time around, and if you're a frequent reader of this here blog, you know how much I love Woods getting in the ring. He's slick, got a cool moveset, and is willing to die;

Fucking Christ that spot was the best thing to come out from that entire show. 

But yeah, Usos and New Day work incredibly well together, and are pretty much the pinnacle of the SmackDown! tag division at this point in time. There was a point somewhere in this where I realised that The Usos have gone from being the WWE's equivalent of The Young Bucks to being more like The Guerrillas of Destiny. Just a little titbit I thought I'd share. 

Eventually things would dwindle down to Woods getting back on the top rope after his near death experience and land that sweet elbow drop he has. The distance is just incredible and its a great, believable finisher;

And there you have it, New Day are 3-time champions! With a rematch clause somewhere in the mix, we could have a rematch at SummerSlam which I would be a fan of, but I'd also like to see a couple other teams thrown in for a multi-side match. I know a lot of people don't really like having multi-man matches at these pay-per-views for the sake of it, but I think they can be a happy medium if WWE don't have much story going for them.

So, I'd say watch this, it's a bouncy fun match, the women's match isn't too bad either but then stop the pay-per-view and run away. Or, watch SmackDown! instead this week. Seriously.

Monday Night RAW

Best Match on RAW (24/7/17): Bayley vs Sasha Banks - No.1 Contender's Match for RAW Women's Championship

Heading over to Monday Night RAW now and we have another real good match coming from the show. As we head towards SummerSlam, a challenger for Alexa Bliss' RAW Women's Championship, so here we have Bayley and Sasha Banks facing off for that opportunity.

We had the story of two good friends competing for singles success, and this was told well in this match. The early goings had quick pin attempts and low impact wrestling holds back and forth, but as the match drew on and tensions ran high, things boiled over when we saw heavy hands being thrown both ways reaching  the climax. Sasha was particularly rough with an arm wrench that sent Bayley face first into the middle turnbuckle with a big thud and then dropped the knees on her. Oh, and another thing, Sasha went for her diving meteora off the top, Bayley dodged and Sasha landed right on her poor fucking knees on the mat. I dropped to my knees from standing the other day and that was sore, I'd hate to do it from that height.

The climax saw Bayley sneak a pin from Sasha off of a frog splash, getting her a place on that valuable SummerSlam card;

Very nice match this, reminded me of Charlotte/Becky from last week's SmackDown!, though I think that was a bit better perhaps. 

SmackDown! LIVE

Best Match on SD! (25/7/17): Chris Jericho vs AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens - WWE United States Championship Match

Washing out the sour taste that was Battleground, its SmackDown! LIVE, this week main evented by Kevin Owens defending his newly won WWE United States Championship against AJ Styles and a returning Chris Jericho!

This was an awesome match, much better than Owens/Styles from the PPV which was mainly ruined by the finish, but it did feel pretty flat throughout. We got a bit more of the switching one-on-one confrontations opposed to having some more three-way action after the opening minutes, but that is far from a fault in this one. The Jericho/Owens dynamic received some prime time attention here on SmackDown!, getting into a standoff and devolving into a hockey brawl for a short while, as well as later brutality. 

AJ continues to shine in damn near every match he is in, with him not only pulling off an array of spectacular moves, but he helped to make what was my favourite spot of this bout;

What a bump. As given away in the opening news round-up, Styles would go on to win this match and take back the gold. After Owens had Jericho beat, AJ would slink in and steal the victory, which the led to a rematch between Styles and Owens next week on SmackDown! LIVE;

My one and only complaint about this match was that there may have been too many kickouts of finishers, it happened with the spingboard 450, the pop-up powerbomb and the Codebreaker. I feel like in a match of this make-up, you could have easily had the pins be broken up by the third man and protect the moves a bit more. But, other than that, great match here.

205 Live

Best Match on 205 (25/7/17): TJP & Tony Nese vs Rich Swann & Cedric Alexander

205 Live here now and literally the only thing I can remember about this match is that Rich Swann is now wrestling in some sort of baggy trousers. The signs of a pretty forgettable match I guess. These guys are all good, its just a case of WWE booking a tag match that doesn't have too much going for it. This TJP and Swann feud admittedly isn't doing much for me, which certainly didn't help things.

NXT

Best Match on NXT (26/7/17): Hideo Itami vs Kassius Ohno

Off to NXT now and here we have one of my most anticipated matches as of the past couple months, it's Hideo Itami heading up against Kassius Ohno. 

As expected, this was a slug fest. I'd say a good 95% of this match was all strikes, and I honestly wouldn't want it any other way. Boots, chops, kicks, forearms, elbows, name a body part and it was used to club the opponent. It did have a bit of a slower pace in paces, taking its time with the battle, but there were a few bursts of speed here and there. 

The match would come to a disqualification on the part of Hideo, ending up just kicking Ohno right in the dickhole. I assume this means we're getting Ohno/Itami one more time at TakeOver: Brooklyn III, and I suppose I'm just going to have to wait until we get a decisive, proper match between these two. Especially on a stage like TakeOver: Brooklyn III, it should be a fucking barn-burner. 

Good match here on NXT, a nice little something to extend this feud and bide us over until we get a proper bout between these two.

Ring of Honour

Best Match on ROH TV (Episode 305): KUSHIDA vs Jay White - ROH World Television Championship Match

Taking it to the indies now and we're here on Ring of Honour TV, with KUSHIDA defending his ROH World Television Championship against Jay White. 

At the time of writing, it has been quite a few days since I actually watched this one, and have seen a slew of other great matches in the mean time (more on those later). Whilst this match certainly was a good one, it has more than definitely been outshone by the others. I would like to say however that ROH TV as of late has been some of the most consistently good weekly wrestling product out there. I really feel like I've been underselling them on the blog a bit recently, but I very much recommend getting into it on a regular basis.

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 (S3E28): Drago vs Pentagon Dark
Honourable Mention(s): PJ Black vs Rey Mysterio Jr.

Luchador action coming your way now as we turn our attention to Lucha Underground. We're amidst the second round of the Cuerto Cup, and the brackets this week have given us the pairing of Drago taking on Pentagon Dark.

It feels like it has been far too long since I have seen Pentagon Dark. They started things off with some snappy chain wrestling, lots of transitions and rolls as they went through the feeling out process. Once things started getting hot and heavy, they busted out the fancier side of their respective movesets. I say it every time he appears on this here blog, but fuck me Pentagon's kicks are like thunder summoned by Thor to strike a satellite broadcasting reruns of WCW Thunder. 

The end would come in the form of Pentagon plucking a dazed Drago off of the turnbuckle, packaging him up and piledriving him on the Aztec seal that adorns the centre of the ring for the pin. Real nice match here on an episode of Lucha Underground I enjoyed a lot more than a fair few of the last ones.


Right, time to delve in to the majesty that is the G1 Climax

NJPW: G1 Climax

Day 6

Best Match on G1D6: SANADA vs Kazuchika Okada

We're on the first show of the blog now, Day 6, and taking the spot of best on the card is the contest between the reigning IWGP Heayweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, taking on Los Ingobernables de Japon representative, SANADA.

I have quickly become a big fan of SANADA, so I was properly rooting for him in this one. 
The guy is just so crisp in the ring, plus he looks like a hundred thousand yen (approx. a million bucks). It also helps he has a killer theme.

I was going mental when he had the champion in his Dragon Sleeper, and good God they worked that hold for a long, long time. It sure paid off, the drama was high, and as it drew longer and longer I was near certain that Okada was going to tap, those long legs of Okada helped him reach the rope and brake it though. Bastard.

I can't comprehend how Okada is managing to have awesome match after awesome match at the rate he's going, and the punishment he's taking in each one, same goes for Omega as well. The champ would come out of this one on top once again, and securing another 2 points to his scorecard;

As I said, this was awesome. Check it out, especially if you have yet to be sold on SANADA.

Day 7

Best Match on G1D7: Kota Ibushi vs Togi Makabe

Kota Ibushi is in action again here as he faces off against "The Unchained Gorilla", Togi Makabe.

Togi Makabe is another of those who I have paid more attention to over the G1, and I have to say that I am warming up to him. His whole King Kong things is quite cool, and his knee drops are a thing of absolute destruction, it's just a shame that his theme gets muted on the broadcast.

Him and Kota beat the fuck out of each other in this one. Makabe sold Ibushi's kicks like they offended him personally, but the ferocity those kicks have behind them make me think its pretty easy to show how much they hurt. Makabe got more than enough of his own back, with lariats murdering the Golden Star, as well as bludgeoning him with his patella bone;

After both men suffered quite the beating, Makabe would be the one to come out the victor on the night, once again ascending to the top rope to cave Ibushi's skull in one more time;

I think this is definitely Makabe's best match in the G1 so far, and it's hard to say with Ibushi. As much as I enjoyed his match with Sabre Jr, it is very hard to compare the two as they are so different, so I suppose they're about level in my book.

Day 8

Best Match on G1D8: Michael Elgin vs Kenny Omega

Ho-ho daddy, in a rematch from the G1 Special, it's Michael Elgin taking on the IWGP United States Champion, Kenny Omega.

This was quite reminiscent of their clash in Long Beach, however I would say that this match was better. Again, Elgin would assert his power advantage over Omega, tossing him around like the average junior heavyweight, with those landings Kenny's taking looking proper sore;

Though he didn't land as many as their previous meeting, Kenny unleashed a fair few V-Triggers to the head of Elgin, shaking the big man to his core and evening the playing field some. It is important to remember that although Elgin is definitely the bigger of the two, Omega has his own blend of powerhousery, becoming a big hoss when need be, a fact he would showcase in busting out an uber-cool Tiger Driver on his fellow Canadian;

Talking about digging deep into the bag of tricks, Elgin would use an uncommon move himself to ultimately get the pin on Omega, a big ol' motherfucker of a Burning Hammer;

Elgin wins! As he said he set out to do at the G1 Conference, Elgin beat one of the champions of B-Block, lining him up to most probably get himself a title shot in the near future. That is a rematch I would welcome with very open arms. Awesome match here, another one to be on the hunt for, though you could say that about a lot of the G1 really.

Day 9

Best Match on G1D9: Tetsuya Naito vs Tomohiro Ishii

Day 9 now and it's the leader of LIJ, Testsuya Naito, squaring up against the man who looks like his chest has a gravitational pull that is dragging his other body parts closer together, Tomohiro Ishii.

More hard hitting action from both of these fellas in this one. With Naito's LIJ philosophy, he royally pissed Ishii off right from the off here, which did not make it easy for him. Although Naito got a fair chunk of offence, it is safe to say that Ishii battered the unholy shit out of him. I can't really remember many specifics about this one, just that the finish was ludicrously stiff, and here it is!

Ishii picks up the win and the corresponding 2 points, sitting him at a rosy 6 in A-Block, same as Natio (and 4 other wrestlers too).

Day 10

Best Match on G1D10: Juice Robinson vs Kazuchika Okada

It's Juice Robinson taking on Kazuchika Okada here on the 10th day of the G1. As a guy that wasn't massively into Juice when we started this league, the G1 has made me more and more fond of him, and this match here has been a big part in that. 

Juice is a great babyface. His efforts against Okada looked truly admirable, and with Okada deciding to play up some of his more cocky mannerisms, it helped to root for Juice even more. The crowning moment of when I decided I was behind Juice came when he was locked in the figure-four-leglock. Juice was crying in pain, veins popping out of his chest and neck, face all red, Christ you couldn't help but feel for the guy.

They did well to make Juice look like a top guy in this match, especially considering as he has lost the majority of his matches in the G1 so far, though I suppose they are building him to be an underdog. With this, they didn't half go overkill on the finish, with Juice taking 3 Rainmakers in the process;

And there it is, Okada wins and Juice has an admirable effort but continues his losing streak. I liked this match a lot and, like the SANADA match, I recommend it to anyone who still has doubts about Juice.

The Verdict

Best Match of the Week: Michael Elgin vs Kenny Omega - G1 Climax Day 8

This match was just ruthless start to finish, and was the most fun I had watching the G1 this week, as well as all of the wrestling product I do watch, a feat I'm surprising myself with I have to admit. I also suggest checking out Okada/Juice, Okada/SANADA, Ibushi/Makabe and Owens/Styles/Jericho.

With another win for Omega, he continues to stretch ahead on the leaderboard, with Ishii still working on closing the distance.

It's now time for 'The Best Promo of the Week' which is awarded this time around to Juice Robinson in a double whammy of promos in the fallout of his matches at Day 8 against Tama Tonga and then after his match with Okada on Day 10. Swearing ahead;

That does it from me for this week frienderinos, I hope you all had a wonderful time both reading and in watching the past few days' in-ring action. I also hope that the next of your days are filled with joy, and possibly me getting some of my work done. Best of wishes to you all, and I'll catch your ass down the road.

BWOTYear: 2016, A Year in Review + The BWOTW Awards

Hello there readers, and welcome to this retrospective of the fucking strange year that was 2016. 

Now, this blog celebrates the best matches that grace our various screens of all sizes. But not only will we be looking at the best wrestling matches of 2016, for we shall also give recognition to those who excelled in other aspects of pro wrestling. Also, although the weekly format picks out the one best, in this special year review, we'll take a look at the best ten, as there have a been a load of awesome matches, and because it is very hard to decide.

And so, here it is....

The Best Matches of the Year

AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura - WrestleKingdom 10

Dailymotion - Vimeo

A match here that took place a couple months before the start of this blog, but that doesn't really matter because this was class. Taking place at New Japan's biggest show of 2016, WrestleKingdom 10, AJ Styles challenged Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. 

At the time, AJ was dealing with a niggling back injury, but you could watch this and not even be able to tell anything was wrong with him. Everything was crisp, good as ever and he held nothing back. Plus, when you're going in there with Nakamura, at WrestleKingdom in the Tokyo Dome, you've gotta bring your all. These guys kicked the shit out of each other, painful looking spots, and it was all sewn together into an instant classic. 

The next night at New Year's Dash, AJ Styles would say farewell to New Japan, ready to venture to the new shores of WWE, and Nakamura was soon to follow. Speaking of which...

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Sami Zayn - TakeOver: Dallas

Dailymotion - Vimeo - WWE Network

Oh my fuck, what a match. I love it.

We're at WrestleMania weekend here, and this was the best damn match Texas witnessed. Nakamura's debut could not have gone better; a hell of a reaction, a hot crowd, and an amazing match with Sami Zayn.

This is probably the match with the best crowd division ever. 'Na-ka-mu-ra/Sa-mi-Zayn!' rung out for a good long time, followed later by the 'Fight Forever!' chant synonymous with this match. 

What boggles my mind to this day about this is that it is said these two hardly, if at all, discussed anything about this match. They never encountered each other beforehand... HOW!? This match looked like something done between two guys who have wrestled each other for years, or at least talked about thoroughly. The sequences in this one were so complex, so insane, it was like watching poetry. 

We had Nakamura's awesome entrance kicking us off, and then the match ended with an NXT farewell to Sami Zayn who then rocked in the ladder match the next night at WrestleMania 32. Both beautiful moments.

Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens - Battleground

Dailymotion - WWE Network

Hands down my favourite match between these two in WWE, possibly ever, we have Sami Zayn popping up on this list once more, taking on Kevin Owens.

This match was brutal, with some wrestling that looked nasty as shit. That brainbuster on the apron is probably the most horrific spot this whole goddamn year. Zayn fucked up a moonsault to the outside which proved more beneficial awry than it would have if it was successful, which is a testament to the knowledge these two have about storytelling in wrestling. 

This felt like a match fuelled by piss and vinegar, proper blood feud. Owens and Zayn are masters at conveying emotion in wrestling, Zayn was still awesome even under the Generico mask. It was so compelling. Perhaps at the time this feud didn't get the build it deserved, but I am hopeful somewhere down the line these guys will be the main event story.

Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa - Cruiserweight Classic Episode 4

Dailymotion - WWE Network

The final first round match of the Cruiserweight Classic saw the tag team partners of Tommaso 'Have-To-Check-The-Spelling-Of-That-Every-Goddamn-Time' Ciampa and Johnny Gargano. 

This match told probably the best story this year. All you needed to know was these guys are tag partners, the promo package beforehand and everything was self contained. You didn't need weeks of RAWs or the like to build this match up to tell a massive story. Just a brief video, the match and the aftermath gave us a lovely story. 'I hit to hurt, not to injure' from Ciampa was a great line and was acted out greatly in the ring.

This was stiff. They did not go lightly on each other, which only went towards making the entire tournament appear even more important. And this was the first round remember, up until now the majority of the bracket had been 'more well known guy vs lesser known guy' and it was kinda obvious would win. This one however, it was up in the air. Kept me guessing and firmly positioned on the edge of my seat.

Kota Ibushi vs Cedric Alexander - Cruiserweight Classic Episode 5

Dailymotion - WWE Network

Just one episode later in the Cruiserweight Classic and we got this barn burner. The match that arguably got Cedric Alexander signed to the WWE, his face off with Kota Ibushi was a fucking classic.

Alexander's balls to the wall approach to this match was a sight to behold in his challenging of the world-class talent that is Ibushi. The emotion was dripping off of him, and the reactions of the crowd fuelled the flames. It was also so valiant, and the shift from determination to desperation could be seen all over Cedric's face. Even in defeat, you had to admire the man, him and Ibushi put on a clinic, and those "Please-sign-Ced-ric" chants were well warranted.

The Revival vs #DIY - TakeOver Brooklyn II

Dailymotion - WWE Network

We're in August now and at TakeOver: Brooklyn II, and the NXT Tag Team Championships are the focus of this bad boy. Just under a month removed from their clash in the Cruiserweight Classic, Ciampa and Gargano challenge The Revival in this amazing match up.

Lots of support for #DIY, a lot of us were more than half expecting them to win with the push they received in the lead up to this. It was this sort of desire that boosted the emotional power of this match, with the glimmers of hope when it looked to be swinging in their favour, and the ruination of it by Dash and Dawson made those emotions take a dip into despair. 

Simply put, it was another instance of The Revival having a tag team wrestling version of King Midas's touch; another match turned to gold here.

AJ Styles vs John Cena - SummerSlam

Dailymotion - WWE Network

The night after the previous entry, it's SummerSlam. Amidst the various okay-ish matches that peppered the show, this insta-classic shone like a torch through pitch as it's saving grace.

The conclusion to the brewing fantasy feud, AJ Styles and John Cena go toe-to-toe, Brooklyn was blessed that day. This was a big 'holy shit!' match, with amazing sequences, massive spots, and lots of sphincter tightening tension. As a guy cheering AJ on at fuck-knows o'clock in the morning, I was hugely invested in this match, watching with a constantly shifting mix of elated grins and gritted teeth. 

It is another instance of Cena showing that he can fucking wrestle. If a balls out match is needed, a balls out match you will get. Their match at Money in the Bank was a much more story driven match, with The Club being a big question mark lingering, but this was the definitive bout. AJ Styles versus John Cena. No gimmicks. No shit. Pure wrestling.

The Young Bucks vs The Addiction vs The Motor City Machine Guns - All-Star Extravaganza VIII

Ring of Honour takes centre stage now and sweet shit they went above and beyond and back again. The tag team division is one of ROH's strongest assets, and throwing these three great teams together and some good stuff was bound to happen. Throw them together with ladders, some tables and a few chairs and it jumped to the next level.

Christopher Daniels died for our sins in this match. The blood was intense, verging on unsettling at the end of it. Despite the loss of copious amounts of life force, he didn't take any breaks, took the brunt of even more big moves and made sure everything went swimmingly. 

One of the coolest things ever this year was seen in this match, a Meltzer Driver off the ladder through a table, the setup seen in the picture above. Say what you will about The Young Bucks, but they know how to make a match 12 times more awesome than it currently is.

The Young Bucks vs Pentagon Jr. & Fenix - Battle of Los Angeles, Stage Three

The Young Bucks are back again, this time in Reseda, California, for the third night of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's annual Battle of Los Angeles tournament. This time their against another brother duo in the shape of Fenix and Pentagon Jr. 

Hahaholy fuck this match had some incredible action in it (evidence above). I pray I get to see Fenix and Pentagon team a lot more in the future, because they are insane together. On their own they're amazing, then having them in the same match, and having The Young Bucks there to work with, money making formula. 

This was my personal highlight of the BOLA tournament, and just thinking about it gets me raring to go for another PWG event. They had one sometime earlier in December, but God knows when we'll see that released, let alone a preview video. Regardless, PWG know how to deliver, and deliver they did.

The Revival vs #DIY - TakeOver: Toronto


Dailymotion (Starts a couple minutes in) - WWE Network (It hasn't got its match links up, so its a link to the whole show, sorry)

They're back again! The Revival + #DIY = Am-A-Zing

It's 2 out of 3 Falls this time around and my God it added so much to the match. Each fall felt more important than the last, as the match progressed, so did the drama of it all. When you compare this to their prior clash at Brooklyn, you can see how far #DIY have come as a team, and their is a clear evolution of their approach to facing The Revival. Rematches are always at their best when you can see callbacks to the previous encounter; where Ciampa may have been blindsided before, he countered this time and so on. 

Somehow, Dash and Dawson managed to be even more dastardly, but this time, there was a more distinct feel of desperation on their part. This undying endurance from #DIY and clawing lust for life from The Revival meshed into a concoction of gods fighting for Earth itself. 

The finish was the most amped I had been in a long time, the side-by-side submission holds were a sight to behold and made for one last utterance of tension and strife. What a class match.

There you have it readers, my 'Top 10 Matches of 2016', if I had to pick one to coronate one as the best, I'd ask for more time. Some were better than others, but distinguishing between them is a nigh impossible task all things considered. 

And now, for a look at those who stood out amongst the pack these past 12 months, it's time for...

The 2016 BWOTW Awards

Male Competitor of the Year: AJ Styles

What can I say? From the Tokyo Dome then debuting at the Rumble in January, to being WWE World Champion in December, AJ Styles has had a phenomenal year, no two ways about it. You'd struggle to find a bad match of his from this year, though his booking may have been a bit shaky in the Jericho feud, he made sure those matches ruled. Lets look at all the programmes he's had this year; Jericho, Reigns, Cena, Ambrose, they've all been great to watch. Styles has become, in my opinion, the top heel in the WWE, on par with Kevin Owens. He's been able to embrace the cocky dick side of his character, reminiscent of his Bullet Club days, and has become a regular highlight in the wrestling week.

Female Competitor of the Year: Charlotte

As with AJ, though her booking may not have been the greatest, she has consistently been able to make some matches a joy to watch. History was made when she became the first holder of the reinstated WWE Women's Championship (now RAW Women's Championship), stealing the show at WrestleMania alongside her Horsewomen companions, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks. In maintaining her flawless Pay-Per-View record, her matches at these have always stood out in some way. There's no denying the effort Charlotte puts in to making her matches memorable, whether it be through throwing caution to the wind by taking to the air, or by embracing more hardcore/extreme action. 

Tag Team of the Year: The Revival

SAY YEAH! 

Dash and Dawson, The Revival, stood out in 2016. Despite being crowned NXT Tag Team Champions in November of 2016, they were a relatively un-established team, not even going by their 'Revival' moniker. However, they made people take notice, delivering classic after classic after classic in their feuds with American Alpha and #DIY. It's gotten to the point that when you see these two walk to the ring, you can expect a tag team wrestling clinic to be on show. These guys certainly do go hard, all day and night.

Title Reign of the Year: The Miz - Intercontinental Champion

Whatever I may feel towards The Miz, I have to admit that his reign as Intercontinental Champion was great. He immediately pissed me off by taking the title from Zack Ryder, and from then on he continued to be a prick. As well as all his heel antics, he also managed to put on some really good matches too; the Fatal-4-Way at Extreme Rules, plus his surprisingly good series with Ziggler. We can't not discuss his ongoing feud with Daniel Bryan. His promos on Talking Smack and all their segments together have been a joy to watch, and fundamental in The Miz becoming as good a champion as he is.

Brand/Promotion of the Year: NXT

Yes, NXT wins it. From putting on awesome TakeOvers to having a myriad of debuts, NXT has stood out amongst the rest. Dallas, The End, Brooklyn II, Toronto, plus their great shows at Osaka and Melbourne, NXT have been knocking out of the park. You just have to scroll up to see the incredible matches the brand has seen this year, plus many more. NXT has changed drastically since last year, with big name additions making up a lot of the roster; Nakamura, Roode, Almas, Aries, Strong, TM61, Young, Moon, plus more yet to debut. NXT is set to make a big impact in the coming year too.

Feud of the Year: AJ Styles vs John Cena

The feud that many thought would never occur, Mr. TNA vs Mr. WWE, the leader of The Bullet Club vs the leader of the Cenation, AJ Styles vs John Cena. Right from the off this feud was hot, with the initial pleasantries and then the Styles attack, it was all exciting stuff. We had standout promos, with Styles notching up the intensity and passion - 'People like you bury people like me'. Their match at Money in the Bank was great, then SummerSlam took all we knew and flipped it upside down. With Styles taking the name of 'The Face that Runs the Place', the effects and battle scars have lingered, and with Cena's recent return and challenge, we'll be getting Styles/Cena one more time at the Royal Rumble. Who knows what's next in store?

Innovation of the Year: Cruiserweight Classic 

From it's announcement early in the year to its debut on the WWE Network, I was seriously hyped for the Crusierweight Classic, and then that was accentuated when the lineup was announced. Guys who I had wanted to see in WWE (e.g Sabre Jr, Cedric, Ibushi, Gulak) and those returning stars (Kendrick and Tajiri) plus the usage of NXT wrestlers Ciampa, Gargano and the then yet to debut Swann. Week after week we got incredible matches, the bar being raised night after night. And now, we have a dedicated division and a network show, along with the new Cruiserweight Championship. Added to this the fact this appears to be an annual event, WWE have staked their claim in expanding their horizons, especially now with the rumoured women's tournament, and the upcoming United Kingdom Championship Tournament.

Pay-Per-View/Special Event of the Year: TakeOver Dallas

Just look at the card; Aries/Corbin, Bayley/Asuka, American Alpha/The Revival, Joe/Balor and Nakamura/Zayn. Whilst Aries and Corbin was the weakest link, it was still a real good match. Plus with the standout tag match accompanied by the downfall of Bayley and the crowning of Asuka, the event was made even better. Then you add to this my favourite of the Joe/Balor series, with the blood of Joe ramping things up. Finally, you put the jewel in the crown that is Nakamura/Zayn - a bonafide classic. What a great show, a fucking great show at that. 

Shock of the Year: Goldberg vs Lesnar - Survivor Series

Who saw this coming? Nobody. 

Goldberg at his finest, destroying fuckers. My God I was so worried this was gonna be a shitshow, with Lesnar winning and souring my week. Nope. Monday morning, break time at school, watched this on my friends phone and reacted like a madman. Incredible stuff. Also in the running was AJ's debut, however there was a lot of signs and indications in the lead up to it, as was Shane's return. But, this takes the cake as I felt it went from expecting one extreme to delivering the other. He was right, he did have (at least) one last ass-kicking left in him.
 
Spot of the Year: Shane McMahon and his WrestleMania Moment

C'mon now, how can you dispute this one? Shane O'Mac risking life and limb, diving from the top of the Cell in a bid to try and put The Deadman down and claim Monday Night RAW as his own. No matter how many times you watch it, it is exhilarating to watch. I remember being sat in my living room, on edge as he stood on the top looking down, and then being in awe during and after it. 

The Closing Thought

2016, as bad as it was overall around the world, it was a fucking great year in wrestling. WWE has shaken things up drastically, with the big name additions on both the main roster and NXT, the brand split, the Cruiserweights, added to this all the awesome matches they had to offer, 2016 was the best year in WWE for quite some time. After the debacle that was 'The Divas Revolution' the year before, the women's roster became more serious and key part of the shows. Tag team wrestling has gained a brighter spotlight all over the world, with some truly great teams getting recognition. It livened up, it gave us more reasons to watch, and was the spawning point for why I started this blog in the first place. I felt that wrestling was becoming so much better, and I needed an outlet to express my thoughts on it. I figured I could help those jaded and lapsed fans see the good stuff that there is in the wrestling world, and show it off to those newer fans. 2016, you've done me a great service, and you've set 2017 up to be a killer year. 

Thanks for checking this one out guys, hope you liked it, hope you thought I did a good job of summarising these past 12 months, and I hope next year will be great for you in whatever paths you choose to take. Have a good one!

BWOTW: 25/7/16 - 30/7/16

Ahoy-hoy clickers of my links and readers of my ramblings, and welcome to yet another part to this continuing adventure of 'Noah's Best Wrestling of the Week' AKA 'Welcome to Jurassic Park The New Era'.


I've spared no expense...


But before we dive deep into the what this past week has to offer, let's turn our attention towards the news...

1. Big Steph announced that RAW will now have the 'WWE Universal Championship' ('cause fuck you and your 'world' title SmackDown!). To crown the champion, Finn Balor won a Fatal-4-Way and then beat Roman Reigns clean (which should get its own news entry on its own) to face Seth Rollins for it at SummerSlam. Talk about starting things off with a bang eh? 
2. Sasha is now WWE Women's Champion, having beaten Charlotte for it on RAW. It was a truly great moment (and I talk more on it below) 
3. We're getting Dean Ambrose vs Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam for the big one. Bloody hell this is a big change from facing Corbin on PPV for Ziggler, good for him. 
4. Rhyno popped up on SmackDown! and murdered Heath Slater 
5. Apparently, as per Pro Wrestling Sheet, more of the Cruiserweight Classic entrants have been approached to sign with WWE, namely TJ Perkins, Akira Tozawa, Noam Dar and Cedric Alexander. Sabre Jr was too but couldn't sign due to personal reasons, but could come to a deal in the next year. Super hyped for the guys that have been signed, and by God I hope Zack does too. What a time to be alive. 
6. WWE made $199,000,000 this business quarter, the highest in company history, also achieving new highs on Network subscriber numbers. I firmly believe that we are experiencing another golden era in professional wrestling and I'm glad the numbers reflect that. 
7. SHELTOOOOOOOON BEEEENNJAMIIIIIIIIIN 

WWE Battleground

Best Match on Battleground: Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn

This was special. Just fucking ridiculously good.

Going into this, we're bringing years of story (adding pre-WWE stuff) and they struck the perfect balance of some great wrestling and story-telling. The first few minutes was based around Kevin manhandling, dominating and berating Sami. Later, it shifted to Sami mounting a comeback, and this is where I shat myself.

Sami went for his springboard moonsault to the outside. I don't know what happened, but he came crashing down and landed on his shoulder on the apron. This made me yelp "Oouphguh" and made my heart sink. After having lost him to injury not too long ago, I was panicking that the same would happen now. However, Kev knew exactly what to do and immediately starting working on his arm, smashing it against the post. Genius, hides the fuck up and makes him seem more ruthless.

Even with a fucked arm, Sami soldiered on and made this a fucking barn-burner of a match. After months of teasing his Generico BrainbustAAAAAHHHH, Zayn gave us a treat and landed a variation on the apron in a fucking brutal highlight.

It became just a goddamn massacre from then on in, absolutely destroying each other. Oh God and Kev's "Stay down!" moment made such an impact. It shows Sami's undying resilience, and giving us insight into Kevin's mind, the way he said it was as if he's seen how far Sami is willing to go, and doesn't want to punish him anymore. Great storytelling.

Then the ending, sweet Jesus. Sami gets the Helluva, and then holds Owens up and looks at him. His facial expressions here speak wonders, you see the pain of the everything up until now, and he goes into the other corner, he pauses, he shuts his eyes, and pelts him with another Helluva Kick. 1-2-3.

Fuck me. I'm calling it now, I write this blog as the week progresses, this is the first match on this blog, and I bet this is the best match of the week. It's a contender for Match of the Year, and it may have become my new favourite match ever. I was just gripped throughout the entire thing. Watch this. Watch it now. I beg you.


Monday Night RAW

Best Match on RAW (25/7/16): Sasha Banks vs Charlotte - WWE Women's Championship Match

Here we go, the start of a new era in WWE. I'm already pretty hyped and it helped that RAW was pretty damn great this week. New set, new commentary team, new theme (fucking killer by the way, I've been listening to it loads this week - Enemies by Shinedown) and a new championship. And the ropes are red again.

It was an overall great show, and it featured an awesome match for the WWE Women's Championship between Charlotte and the challenging Sasha Banks.

We started off with a long lasting elbow-collar tie up, really putting across the idea of them being evenly matched. It was fairly even in the early goings, and included some Dana interference. Sasha combated this with some Viva La Raza, using good ol' Eddie's playbook, having Dana catch the title and then getting the ref's attention, leading to her expulsion.

Then things just built and built and built. These two women went all out on this one, we got high spots with the outside dives, we got the close-falls, the tense submissions all the goodies we could ask for. Then, we got the crowning moment. Sasha locks in the second Banks Statement in a row and makes Charlotte tap. Ring-a-ding-ding, new champion.

That building blew up. I was really happy when it happened, I didn't expect it, plus I like Sasha a lot. All throughout the match commentary were saying how this was her dream, then with the Eddie spot, and then you just see her face as she holds it up, and then that's when I got a little choked up. All the WWE 24s and the Breaking Grounds of showing how she wanted this, and it all just hit me. Fuck sake, wrestling, you did it again, you made me cry. Even Charlotte was happy to see it.

Just fucking awesome.

SmackDown! LIVE

Best Match on SD! (26/7/16): Dolph Ziggler vs Bray Wyatt vs Apollo Crews vs John Cena vs AJ Styles vs Baron Corbin - No.1 Contender's Match for WWE World Championship

It's the money show, SmackDown! LIVE! And just like RAW, they've fitted themselves with a new stage set, new commentary team, new cameras and the ropes are blue! Plus, a new theme, but in my mind, it's kinda lackluster compared to RAW's new one, it is a CFO$ song though.

To be honest, this wasn't the best of shows, I expected...more? Just, not what I was given. The matches weren't anything to write home about, RAW was definitely better this week.

Anywho, this match was the best on the show, determining who oh who would face Ambrose for the title at SummerSlam. It started off just everywhere, breaking off into brawling pairs. We did see Wyatt and AJ have their own sort of teamwork similar to KO and Rusev on RAW, but shorter. Mainly, we got a lot of one-in/one-out in this one, and this was the most prevalent when Cena went on an Attitude Adjustment rampage (I reckon he was taunting the whole time whilst on the outside to store so many finishers). Everyone got to have their moments, culminating with Ziggler hitting a superkick on Styles and scoring the pinfall.

I'm interested to see where they go from here. With Dean and Dolph both faces at the minute, I could see them turning Dolph into something we were starting to see towards the back end of his Corbin feud, cocky pissed off collegiate wrestler man, something like that perhaps. Who knows? Jordan and Gable are on next week so we have that to look forward to.

NXT

Best Match on NXT (27/7/16): Kota Ibushi vs Buddy Murphy
We're now at the episodes that were taped whilst I was there! I can be seen at moments, I'm the fucking nerd in the 'I'm a Hugger' shirt opposite the stage and towards the right.

The camera angles didn't do Ibushi's entrance quite the justice it deserved. It focused on Buddy, but what we saw was 'KOTA IBUSHI' light up on the screen and the crowd lost it, with me bursting out with an 'Oh shit!' as it happened.

This wasn't as one-sided as I would have thought it'd be, with Murphy actually getting quite a decent amount of damage on Ibushi. But, it was pretty clear that this match's primary job was to show off Kota. He landed some sick shots on Buddy that everyone could feel, including this bad boy;

He teased doing a phoenix splash, a move I flip shit out at every time I see it. So far, I've seen Ibushi, Ospreay, Neville and Rollins pull it off from what I remember, so please lads, bust one out sometime soon.

Ibushi finished the Aussie off with a big ol' powerbomb and claimed a 1-2-3. I no longer have any idea what's going on with Kota and his status with WWE, reports saying he's signed, he says he hasn't, fuck knows. Welp, even if nothing comes of it, at least we got to see him on NXT.

Cruiserweight Classic

Best match on CWC (Episode 3): Brian Kendrick vs Raul Mendoza

We had another great episode of the Cruiserweight Classic, featuring some great competitors, but the best of this group of matches was the facing off of Brian Kendrick and Raul Mendoza.

Kendrick's a lot different from how I remember, mainly slowing down quite a bit in his older age. But, Mendoza sure as shit more than enough speed for both of them. The match had kind of a less action packed start, with a lot more mat work and holds, with glimpses of Mendoza's capabilities but Kendrick managing to get out of the way. We did get to see Mendoza pull off a combination between a Texas Cloverleaf and a Cesaro swing, which I thought was super cool, a really unique way to work the legs.

I think Kendrick is really the first person in this tournament to properly work a match as a heel. He got particularly brutal when he made Raul bite down on the middle rope so he could kick it. Something I hadn't seen before and was damn cool in the grand scheme of things. This caused Raul to start bleeding from the mouth, which made the match look even more like a legit combat competition. From then on was when Mendoza really got to shine, he pulled out a Shane-O-Mac coast-to-coast, beautiful stuff.

Alas, Raul was outwitted by the veteran Kendrick, who picked up the win through nefarious tactics.

This was awesome, especially on Mendoza's part and I hope that he is next to be reported as signing on the dotted line for the big ol' WWE.

Ring of Honour

Best Match on ROH TV: Kyle O'Reilly vs Jay Lethal - ROH World Championship Match

This match was very interestingly done.

So, here's the context needed for this match; originally, the episode was advertised as being devoted to this one match with a 'how long will they go?' sort of build. Start of the show, Bullet Club attack and injure the arm of O'Reilly after his entrance, match is called off. Throughout the hour we get 'updates' on his condition and a backstage segment of him saying he's okay. So, the title match goes on.

Lethal was great in this match, not only with his wrestling ability but his character and story telling. Before the bell, he sincerely offered Kyle a match sometime in the future, but was rejected. The theme of this match was that the two would exchange, more often than not with Lethal coming out on top with Kyle clutching his arm and wailing on the mat. Lethal would beg the ref to end the match, and would shake his head in frustration and annoyance with the Bullet Club. It looks like we're getting a new side of Lethal, seemingly becoming a full-fledged face lately. There were some parts where he was more of a heel, one time just saying 'fuck it' and giving Kyle three tombstone shoulder-breakers in a row, and also general targeting of the arm throughout the match.

Hendrix didn't accompany Lethal to the ring which was interesting. With all her Women of Honour work having her being the top heel, it could be another indication of a face Lethal in the future.

Topping it off we had a reluctant Lethal Injection and a very disgruntled retaining champion who didn't even celebrate.

This was a story heavy match with less focus on the in-ring action, but it was bloody good. As always, you can watch ROH TV for free on www.rohwrestling.com/tv/current or download the Fite TV app and watch on there, also with no charge (which I do, the quality is a lot better than the player on their website).


The Verdict

Best Match of the Week: Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens - WWE Battleground

Look guys, I said it earlier. This is one of my Match of the Year candidates (oh you bet your ass I'm doing an end of year special) and could very well be the newest entrant into the list of my favourite matches of all the times. Everything in this match had a purpose and everything worked, even with Sami slipping on the moonsault. Absolutely wonderful, I implore you to watch this, please. It goes to show how professional wrestling is a great medium to tell stories.

That's all from me for this one, and with these matches written up, the leaderboard now bares an uncanny resemblance to this.

Have a good one guys, and enjoy your wrestling.