BWOTW: 21/8/17 - 26/8/17

Hey there readers and welcome to this newest instalment of this ongoing blogging adventure of mine 'Noah's Best Wrestling of the Week' AKA 'Love Me Some Tag Teams' AKA 'Fuck Sexy Star'. Apologies for the delay on this, I've had a rough few days, further apologies for what might be a lesser quality.

But before we get down and dirty in it, lets first look at the news;

1. Belts, belts, belts! Championship changes aplenty here. NXT saw SAnitY and Drew McIntyre become champions, as well as the main roster seeing Neville, The Usos, Natalya, Sasha Banks and Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose picking up some gold. Lots and lots and lots of changes. Also, on ROH's UK tour, the six-man belts traded places, with the trio of 'The Hung Bucks' (Page and the Bucks) picking them up. That's a lot of metal.
2. Adam Cole has debuted in NXT, forming this rumoured ROH stable with Fish and O'Reilly! Can't wait to see where this goes!
3. Bobby Roode has debuted on SmackDown! LIVE, as well as FUCKING FINALLY SHELTON BENJAMIN! 
4. Despite retaining at Brooklyn, Asuka has vacated the NXT Women's Championship. She will be recovering from an injured collarbone for now, but will be called up when she returns
5. Talking of injuries, Big Cass has injured his knee this past Monday on RAW. Though I thought this Enzo/Cass feud was dogshite, can't help but feel bad for the guy. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery.
6. Leading on from that, Enzo Amore debuted on 205 Live this week. If anyone can carry him through a feud it's Big Nev.

And now for the undisclosed meat in this mysterious pie of a wrestling blog, its the matches!

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III

Best Match on Takeover: Brooklyn III: Asuka vs Ember Moon - NXT Women's Championship Match
Honourable Mention(s): The whole goddamn card

The women of NXT take centre stage once again as we get Asuka defending her title against the woman she couldn't beat clean in their last bout, Ember Moon.

This was a really great match. I would go as far to say this is both of these women's best matches so far in their respective runs in NXT. I think this match has finally sold me on Ember Moon. I've always been pretty so-so on her, but she sure had a great showing in this match. Her selling was really good in this match, making it all the more dramatic. Add to this the dynamic of Asuka's cocky championship reign, and the mocking of Becky Lynch at ringside, it all made her being on the backfoot more compelling. I honestly believed we were getting a title change here, making Asuka's out of nowhere Asuka-Lock all the more exciting and shocking.

I have seen all the praise this is getting, and whether it was from my tiredness on the night staying up late over here in jolly ol' Englande Towne, but I wouldn't say this is the best women's match we've had. I'd still rank both Sasha/Bayley matches, as well as Becky/Sasha too, above it. Nevertheless, this was great and definitely worth a watch.

WWE SummerSlam

Best Match on SummerSlam: The New Day vs The Usos - SmackDown! Tag Team Championship Match (Pre-show)
Honourable Mention(s): Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman vs Samoa Joe vs Roman Reigns - WWE Universal Championship Match

DOWN SINCE DAY ONE-ISH! This was more awesome than anyone could have imagined. The New Day went with my favourite pairing, Big E and Xavier Woods and busted out some awesome new combo moves, such as Woods picking E up in an electric chair (fuck!) for an assisted splash.

You could see the work these guys were putting in, more than likely a response for putting them on the preshow, when they very much deserved to be on the main card, especially in the later minutes. With there already being plenty of near falls to the match, things got even more hyped from some insane spots like this bad boy;



Then soon near immediately after that, we got to see Big E risk his life once again with his big dive through the ropes, but with a less wince-inducing landing than his previous performances of that move. 

Things looked to be going well for New Day, until The Usos channelled their inner Young Bucks, laying out E with a barrage of superkicks and finally finishing the match.

And there you have it, Usos are new tag champs. What a fucking awesome match, and I hope it goes as a reminder to not put these guys in this position again, because they will make it hard to follow - certainly the case here with the show not getting anywhere near this level until the main event.

Monday Night RAW

Best Match on RAW (21/8/17): Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs The Hardy Boyz (Matt & Jeff Hardy)

We're on RAW now and we have a pretty damn good tag team match here between the new RAW Tag Team Champions, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, taking on The Hardy Boyz.

This was much better than the standard sort of tag matches you tend to get on RAW, with this having many more near falls and false finishes than usual. Like the above matches, this adds to the drama and overall excitement of what we get here. The Hardys looked like they were real close to beating the new champions, landing a couple Twists of Fate and Jeff almost scoring with a Swanton Bomb too. 

Rollins and Dean are showing more double team offence with each match, and considering it was Rollins and Reigns who were tag champs in the Shield, these two are a very promising team. Plus, being in the ring with awesome teams like The Hardy Boyz and Shesaro really helps.

Overall, a real good match here on RAW, a fun li'l something here on the show.

SmackDown! LIVE

Best Match on SD! (22/8/17): AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens - WWE United States Championship Match w/ Special Guest Referee (Baron Corbin) 

On SmackDown! LIVE now and we have another United States Championship match between AJ Styles and Kevin Owens.

Summing this up, its another good match between these two that's soured by the stipulation and the muddying of a special referee, here Baron Corbin, a great next step after facing John Cena at SummerSlam two days prior. Basically, this is a perfectly fine match, but the SummerSlam match between these two, and probably the SmackDown! matches from this past month, are better. I'd watch those instead.

205 Live

Best Match on 205 (23/8/17): Neville vs Akira Tozawa - WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match

Another SummerSlam rematch here on 205 Live, pitting the recently re-crowned King of the Crusierweights, Neville against Titus Worldwide representative, Akira Tozawa.

This is another instance of the SummerSlam match being superior, but this was also a very good match. I can't really recall any specifics from this, other than that it boiled down to Big Daddy Nev making Tozawa tap from the Rings of Saturn. Can I just say that it is great that WWE have kept that name for the move. Perry Saturn's luck hasn't been great over the past few years, and I sure am happy his legacy gets to continue with his signature submission being used to such devastating effect. Lovely. So yeah, good match here on 205, seeming closing the book on this Neville/Tozawa feud. 

NXT

Best Match on NXT (24/8/17): Tyler Bate & Trent Seven vs Wolfgang & Pete Dunne

Woooo nelly we've got ourselves an amazing match here on NXT. Taped before Takeover: Brooklyn III, it's Moustache Mountain, Tyler Bate and Trent Seven teaming up to do battle with Wolfgang and the WWE United Kingdom Champion, Pete Dunne.

This is my first time seeing Bate and Seven together like this, something I've been wanting to for a long time, so this was an absolute treat, though any of WWE's UK division matches are for me. They got in some really cool tag moves in, like Bate vaulting off of Seven's shoulders with a senton. I feel Bate in particular shone in this match, with him getting some of the biggest pops in ring, my favourite being with this slick as all hell rebound lariat;



After a bit of misdirection, it boiled down to Wolfgang landing a swanton bomb (can't remember the name he has for it) on the former champion Bate interestingly, and gaining the pinfall for his team. From the backstage segment preceding this match, it looks like Wolfgang/Dunne might be the next title match, but from what I've heard about the newest NXT tapings, there is a lot more to be looking forward to.

Awesome match here on NXT, I definitely recommend checking it out. Please do.

Ring of Honour

Best Match on ROH TV (Episode 309): Coast 2 Coast (Leon St. Geovanni & Shaheem Ali) vs Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Baretta)
Honourable Mention(s): Dalton Castle & The Boys vs Colt Cabana & The Tempura Boys - ROH World 6-Man Tag Championship Match

The Best Friends are back in Ring of Honour, taking on the up and coming team of LSG and Shaheem Ali, Coast 2 Coast. This match, bell to bell, was packed with exciting action that tickled me lovingly. Both of these teams had some great spots, with Coast 2 Coast doing some insane dives, notably LSG springboarding to the outside with a move with more flips than I have fingers. An Awful Waffle from Chuckie T brought about the end of this great match.

At this point in time, I feel like Chuck and Baretta are the best candidates to take the tag belts off of the Young Bucks who have had them for a long ass time. They are running out of challengers, plus with them teaming with Page as The Hung Bucks as a six man group, I can see them dropping them soon.

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,


ROH: War of the Worlds UK

Best Match on WotW UK: KUSHIDA vs Hiromu Takahashi vs Dalton Castle vs Marty Scurll - ROH World Television Championship Match

It was another War of the Worlds event this past week, uniting ROH, CMLL, New Japan and even RevPro this time at one event in Liverpool in the exact same building as ROH: Unified that saw the McGuinness/Danielson classic, a nice little factoid to this match. Here, we have a fatal-4-way with KUSHIDA defending his ROH World Television Championship against Hiromu Takahashi, Dalton Castle and 'The Villain' Marty Scurll.

This was a pretty fast paced match that went more for the one-in, one-out approach to the multi-man dynamic, with a lot of spots and big moves keeping things flowing. I was a bit disappointed that Hiromu didn't get more a showing outside of antics with Daryl, and I do wish this match could have gone longer. It did feel a little bit rushed, but it was good. KUSHIDA retained the title after connecting with his new small package driver 'Back to the Future'. KUSHIDA's reign doesn't show any sign of slowing, with him having one of the hottest streaks currently in wrestling, having just won the WCPW World Cup as well. God damn that man knows no defeat.

Lucha Underground

Best Match on LU (S3E32): Johnny Mundo vs Rey Mysterio - Lucha Underground Championship Match

The Cuerto Cup Finals happened this week, but a better match, in my opinion, was the massively hyped up match for the Lucha Underground Championship between Johnny Mundo and Rey Mysterio.

To me, it is still insane to see how Rey is working these days, just so much better than his later time in WWE its ridiculous. I think its pretty safe to say that under AAA, LU might not have quite the same standard of wellness policy WWE has and that might be involved in that to some degree, but hey, I'm not one to judge.

Mundo continues to be great in championship matches, and I know he is a heel and it makes sense to garner heat, but the constant interference of the Worldwide Underground is getting pretty repetitive at this point, and its no longer a matter of 'if' with them getting involved, but 'when'. That is what led to Mundo retaining once again here on the show. It was a great match for the belt, but I can't help but be soured by the shenanigans.
PWG: Pushing Forward Back

Best Match on PFB: The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs The Unbreakable Fucking Machines (Brian Cage & Michael Elgin)

Things are looking towards Reseda now in the last show before this year's Battle of Los Angeles (I think), and we have one more tag team match stealing the show, this time around with the Jackson brothers taking on the team of Brian Cage and Michael Elgin, The Unbreakable F'N Machines.

If I'm remembering correctly, this may be the first time that I haven't heard a Young Bucks chant not interspersed with 'Fuck The' in between the shouts. Being booked against these guys and the likes of War Machine, they've been the smaller underdogs against these big hoss teams. Even so, I can't think of any circumstance where the Young Bucks will be universally booed. 

The match itself was full of high spots a plenty, with the Machines having some of the most impressive movesets I have ever witnessed. Cage's new powerbomb/slam combo on both the Bucks is a sight to behold, and Elgin has no business moving around the ring like he does. The Bucks are ever-entertaining, both in character antics and wrestling manoeuvres and I doubt I will ever get bored with them. 

This was an awesome match, however I've felt that PWG shows may be a bit of step down from around this time last year I'd say, but with BOLA just around the corner, with some very talented individuals on the cards, it should be a fantastic trio of shows.

SUPERKICK COUNTER: 17

The Verdict

Best Match of the Week:The New Day vs The Usos - SmackDown! Tag Team Championship Match - WWE SummerSlam Pre-show

YEAH THAT'S RIGHT, DAMMIT. Yes, Asuka/Moon was very good indeed, but this match truly blew me away. My expectations from these two teams were exceeded greatly, putting on one of the best tag team matches in recent WWE memory. Plus, if I'm honest, Asuka/Moon didn't quite hold my attention the same way that New Day/Usos did, and I just enjoyed it that much more. Shoutouts this week to the tag match on NXT as well as on ROH TV, they were great too.

With those results in the books, here's how the leaderboard looks, with things still looking very New Japan at the top, but with WWE guys catching up.

And now for the 'Best Promo of the Week' that this time around goes to this impassioned and absurd promo by the returning Dolph Ziggler getting pretty meta in places. Ziggy's gone cray-cray;

Now all that's left is to wish you all a very merry few days ahead (and even shorter span probably due to the delay on this), and in every sense of the phrase, I wish you the best of luck. I've been Noah, this has been the week, and that was it's best wrestling. Seeya next time!

Pro Wrestling Case Studies #2: Nigel McGuinness

Hey there readers and welcome to this second instalment in the blog's newest series, 'Pro Wrestling Case Studies' where we look at a particular something or someone in depth. In this one, we are going to be discussing one of the best and biggest British talents in history, Nigel McGuinness.

In 1998, Nigel McGuinness left England in the pursuit of professional wrestling, travelling to Cincinnati, Ohio to train under Les Thatcher at Heartland Wrestling Association. Debuting in 1999, Nigel would wrestle for the company until 2000 when he would return to the UK due to running out of money to fuel his early career. After working tooth and nail to raise funds, McGuinness returned to the United States in 2001, and would shortly begin to wrestle in more places, such as IWA: Mid South as well as wrestling in his home country as well.

2003 saw McGuinness make his first appearance for the company he would become synonymous with; Ring of Honour. His debut match would be tied to his HWA base, facing Chet Jablonski in a No.1 Contender's Match for the HWA Heavyweight Title, available for viewing here (YouTube). Over the next couple of years, as well as expanding his domain and competing in more places in the US, McGuinness would become a more regular member of the ROH roster. His early time there were spent teaming, and then feuding with Colt Cabana until setting his sights on the ROH Pure Championship.

The ROH Pure Championship was defended under it's own unique set of rules, which were as follows;

• Each wrestler begins the match with 3 rope breaks, once used up, pins and submissions that would normally be broken up by a rope break are legal.
• Closed-fist punches to the face were not allowed (shots to other parts of the body were fine apart from low blows). The first instance of such a punch landing would result in a warning, a second in taking away one of the wrestlers rope breaks, and the third in disqualification.
• 20 counts administered when outside the ring
• The belt can change hands in the result of a disqualification or count-out.

After a pair of failed challenges for the belt, McGuinness would defeat Samoa Joe for the belt in August of 2005, and go on to become the longest reigning champion in the belt's history, holding it for 350 days. In his time as champion, Nigel would carve his niche in ROH, turning heel in the process. During his reign, he would defeat the likes of Roderick Strong, Homicide, Austin Aries, Christopher Daniels and Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro) in a prolonged feud.

It was during his time as Pure Champion that would see the emergence of his famed rivalry with Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan). Their first encounter came at Weekend of Champions Night Two, with McGuinness receiving a shot at Danielson's ROH World Championship whilst simultaneously putting his own Pure Championship on the line in a title for title match that was contested under the pure wrestling rules. This match can be viewed here (YouTube). McGuinness won by count-out, meaning both men kept their respective belts. The victory led to a rematch where Danielson would scrape a victory, which then set the stage for their most notable clash of all.

ROH: Unified took place in August 2006, with McGuinness and Danielson facing off again, with both titles on the line again under pure wrestling rules in a unification match. This was a bloody bout, something Nigel had wanted, with the match including one of the most brutal spots I have ever seen in pro wrestling.



In his autobiography, Danielson writes how McGuinness wanted to bust himself open the hard way on the ring post. They'd agreed that if there was no blood after 3 times hitting the post, they would stop. However, after taking the 3 and being devoid of colour, McGuinness wanted one more shot which would prove to be the clincher. Danielson also writes about regretting this spot, deeming it unsafe and unnecessary in hindsight.

The match went on, with Danielson himself being busted open, making for an even bloodier affair. Adding the brutality of the match, it would conclude due to referee stoppage, with Danielson laying in elbow after elbow to the defenceless McGuinness.

After losing his Pure Championship, Nigel challenged Naomichi Marufuji for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, the champion of ROH's Japanese partner company, Pro Wrestling NOAH. Due to their current working relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling, this time period isn't referred to as much by the company any more. Like their work with NJPW, this brought about talent exchanges, allowing wrestlers to compete in places they never had before. In 2006, Nigel even had more matches for NOAH than he did ROH and in February of 2007 became a representative and spokesperson for NOAH.

This partnership also resulted in another of Nigel's acclaimed rivalries in his pursuit of the ROH World Championship against Takeshi Morishima. Once his tag team partner over in NOAH, McGuinness would unsuccessfully challenge Morishima twice before he finally managed to beat the giant at ROH: Undeniable in October 2007 to become the 10th ROH World Champion. Although McGuinness' reign would take a shaky start sustaining a bicep injury in late 2007, McGuinness would hold the title for 545 days, the second longest reigning ROH World Champion behind Samoa Joe, and is tied in first place for successful defences with Bryan Danielson, defending the belt 38 times. Amongst those 38 include defences against some of ROH's finest as well as international stars such as KENTA (Hideo Itami), a day after sustaining another arm injury despite reportedly needing surgery, which can be viewed here (YouTube). His run with the belt would come to a close in April 2009, being defeated by Jerry Lynn at Supercard of Honour IV.

In September of that year, Ring of Honour announced that McGuinness had "in principle" signed a contract with the WWE as well as his storied rival, Bryan Danielson. The pair would have their final match with the company facing each other at Glory By Honour VIII: The Final Countdown. Danielson would go on to sign with WWE as planned, however, McGuinness' deal with the company fell apart after he failed a pre-screening physical test, down to the various injuries sustained during his career.

Shortly after, McGuinness signed with TNA, debuting in October under the new name of Desmond Wolfe in a programme against Kurt Angle. He would defeat Angle in his first Pay-Per-View appearance for the company at Turning Point, earning a 4.25 star rating from Big Daddy Meltzer, and can be viewed here (YouTube). The two would face off one last time at Final Resolution in a 'Three Degrees of Pain' match - a two out of three falls with each fall being earned by pinfall, submission and escaping the cage respectively. Angle would come out victorious, ending the feud as the victor. This match gained a 4 star rating, and can be viewed here (YouTube).

From there, McGuinness/Wolfe feuded with the likes of D'Angelo Deniro, before aligning himself with Ric Flair, later taking part in Lethal Lockdown as part of Team Flair (along with Sting, Bobby Roode and James Storm), where they were defeated by Team Hogan (RVD, Jeff Hardy, Jeff Jarrett and Abyss) after McGuinness/Wolfe took the fall. 

He still had the support from the fans though. In April 2010, TNA introduced the 'Championship Ranking' where fans could vote for the No.1 Contender for the World Championship. From start to finish, McGuinness/Wolfe led the poll from beginning to end, ahead of an illustrious list of other contenders including AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy and Sting. McGuinness/Wolfe received his title shot against RVD on a May edition of Impact! He would lose in 3 minutes, never to challenge for the title again.

After that, McGuinness/Wolfe would have a feud with Abyss, comprised mainly of hardcore matches spanning a couple of Pay-Per-View. The whole while, he would look to gain the approval of Ric Flair to be put into Flair's new version of The Four Horsemen, Fourtune, later spelt properly as Fortune. The group would end up being comprised of Styles, Kazarian, Storm and Roode, with McGuinness/Wolfe being left out. 

McGuinness/Wolfe would find some success in forming a tag team with Magnus, later coined London Brawling, beginning a winning streak on Xplosion before earning a shot at the TNA Tag Team Championships for No Surrender in late 2010. However, this match would never happen due to more medical issues with McGuinness/Wolfe, revealed in 2014 to be down to him testing positive for Hepatitis B (and has since recovered). He would make his on screen return in May 2011, starting a brief run as commissioner of Xplosion, before being released from the company in June.

McGuinness would return to the independents in late 2011, in a retirement tour that would see him compete in the United States and the UK, wrestling the likes of Eddie Edwards, Trent Seven and Jack Gallagher as well as returning to the place it all began, Heartland Wrestling Association. He wrestled his last match in December 2011.

2011 did see McGuinness return to Ring of Honour in a non-wrestling capacity as on-screen commissioner, as well as being a member of the commentary team. During this time, as well as becoming an advocate for hepatitis B vaccination and for stopping intentional bloodletting in wrestling, McGuinness made a documentary, a career retrospective as well as capturing his retirement tour following his TNA departure. Personally, I found 'The Last of McGuinness' quite a hard and saddening watch, with McGuinness airing his frustration over the breakdown of his WWE deal due to his bicep injury, as well as discussing how he thought his career was a failure to do not reaching WWE.

But, this story ends on a happy note. In December 2016, it was announced that Nigel McGuinness had signed to WWE as a commentator for the United Kingdom Championship Tournament, and now a permanent fixture on the NXT announce team.

Nigel's career is one punctuated with phenomenal matches and legendary feuds, but plagued and shortened by injury. Despite being booked much worse than he deserved in TNA, Nigel should be remembered as one of the greatest British, or otherwise, wrestlers to have ever competed. His feud with Bryan Danielson is one of the industry's best and most celebrated, featuring arguably the best in-ring work of both men's careers and in ROH history. Plus, he had a fucking awesome lariat

That's gonna do it from me for this Pro Wrestling Case Study. Once again, big ups to How2Wrestling for being the main inspiration between this series, I really recommend checking them out. If you have any requests of who I should cover next, please let me know, but until next time, enjoy your graps. 

Further Viewing

NOTE: Links in bold are matches from the McGuinness/Danielson feud

Nigel McGuinness vs Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) - ROH: Epic Encounter II, 25/08/2006 (YouTube)

Nigel McGuinness vs Kotaro Suzuki - Pro Wrestling NOAH: Summer Navigation 2007 Day 2, 1/7/2007 (Dailymotion)

Nigel McGuinness vs Takeshi Morishima - ROH: Fighting Spirit, 14/4/2007 (Vimeo) 

Nigel McGuinness vs PAC (Neville) - King of Europe Cup Quarter Final (Dailymotion)

Nigel McGuinness vs Davey Richards - King of Europe Cup Semi Final (Dailymotion)

Nigel McGuinness vs Doug Williams - King of Europe Cup Finals (YouTube)

Nigel McGuinness vs Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) - ROH: Domination, 09/06/2007 (YouTube)

Nigel McGuinness vs Austin Aries - ROH: Rising Above, 29/12/2007 (Vimeo) - WARNING: McGuinness goes head first from a suicide dive into the guard rail and sustains a concussion, broken nose and cut above eye needing 14 stitches. 

Nigel McGuinness vs Go Shiozaki @ Pro Wrestling NOAH: The First Navigation Day 9, 1/20/2008 (YouTube) - Part One - Part Two

Nigel McGuinness - vs Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) - ROH 6th Anniversary, 23/2/2008 (YouTube)

Nigel McGuinness vs KENTA (Hideo Itami) vs BJ Whitmer - Pro Wrestling NOAH Northern Navigation 2008 Day 1, 15/5/2008 (Dailymotion)

Nigel McGuinness vs Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) - ROH: Battle of the Best, 13/9/2008 (YouTube)

Nigel McGuinness vs Eddie Edwards - 2CW 11th Hour, 11/11/2011 (Vimeo)

BWOTW: 14/8/17 - 19/8/17

Hey graps fans! Come on in, sit down and get ready for this newest edition of 'Noah's Best Wrestling of the Week' AKA 'The Climax of Climaxes'

It's been pretty hectic for us, with a blockbuster week of news!

1. The G1 Climax is done and dusted, and the winner of the series was none other than Tetsuya Naito! He's on his way to WrestleKingdom 12, now its just a matter of who it is he'll be facing...
2. Championship news now as we have a new WWE Cruiserweight Champion in the form of Akira Tozawa! The rematch is set for SummerSlam however, and it looks like Neville is desperate to reclaim his title. Also, The Young Bucks have lost thier IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag titles to the team of Ryusuke Taguchi and Ricochet!
3. In what could have been championship news, Baron Corbin cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on SmackDown!, but it would result in failure after some distraction from John Cene lead to Jinder Mahal being able to roll Corbin up and retain. I can't help but feel sad for Big Banter Baron.
4. It has been reported this week that not only has Adam Cole (baybay) now officially joined NXT, but also FUCKING FINALLY SHELTON BENJAMIN HAS SIGNED WITH THE WWE! Ain't no stoppin' him, just a few year+ delays.
5. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins have reunited, and are challenging for the RAW Tag Team Championships at SummerSlam. God I hope we get to hear the 'Sierra, Hotel, India, Echo, Lima, Delta' intro.
6. Southpaw Regional Wrestling is back with a second season, and they've got even more characters and even more merch! Be sure to check it out.

Also, before we get going, I want to send my best of wishes to 'The Nature Boy' Ric Flair, we're all pulling for you, champ!

And now for the frosting on this wrestling blog of a wedding cake, it's the matches!

Monday Night RAW

Best Match on RAW (14/8//17): Neville vs Akira Tozawa - WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match

Starting off the week we're on Monday Night RAW with Neville defending his WWE Cruiserweight Champion against Titus Worldwide representative, Akira Tozawa.

These guys put on a great show here on RAW, with both guys having great performances and telling a lovely story. The shoulder injury of Tozawa still lingered and was the main target for Neville, with arm wringers and just all levels of nastiness to deliver as much pain as possible. The Rings of Saturn was attempted in the hopes of tearing the shoulder up to the point of submission, but Tozawa managed to wriggle out of it.

Tozawa attempting the diving senton was another layer in this match, with him attempting it a couple of times unsuccessfully, with Neville interrupting him on the top and later Tozawa missing it all together. The third would be the clincher though, after Neville resorted to going back to his flashy way in going for the Red Arrow, only for it to backfire spectacularly.

And so, the lengthy reign of Neville as Cruiserweight Champion is over. Tozawa probably was the best option to go with dethroning Neville. Another thing I wanted to write about this match was how good Titus O'Neill is at ringside. I much prefer him shouting and hollering on the outside rather than on commentary, helps liven up the crowd for the cruiserweight division they usually aren't massively interested in. Whilst this was a good match, I'd say that Neville's battles with Austin Aries over the title were better. However, this is probably the best we've gotten from Tozawa since the Cruiserweight Classic last summer, but, now that he has the gold silver around his waist, he'll have plenty of chances to prove his worth in the coming months.


SmackDown! LIVE


Best Match on SD! (15/8/17): The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso)

Ahead of their match at SummerSlam, we have The New Day, represented by Kofi and Xavier tonight taking on the down since day one-ish brother of The Usos.

Things started off hot, with Woods and Kingston unleashing a flurry of double teams onto their opponent, letting out the anger they didn't get chance to last week;

The rest of the match did see a fair few New Day doubles, but their hot streaks were routinely cut down by The Usos, a nice touch with them dismantling Woods' attempt at his rope walk elbow, the move that beat them at Money in the Bank and took away their titles.

The Brothers Uce would dip into the playbook of taking down Kingston by the knee, enabling them to channel their inner Jacksons and deliver a double superkick to his jaw and secured the pin. 

A nice fun match here on SmackDown!, with some good stuff in the time they were given. With how much I liked their match at MitB, and the placement of them on the preshow possibly allowing them a fair chunk of time (what the fuck else are they gonna do with those two hours), they're my dark horse to steal the show.

205 Live

Best Match on 205 (15/8/17): Cedric Alexander & Gran Metalik vs Tony Nese & Drew Gulak

We're on 205 Live now and bloody hell they've got Gran Metalik on TV two weeks in a row! He's got his old mask back (yay!) but no more tassles (fuck), and here he is teaming with Cedric Alexander going up against the sort of only tag team the cruiserweight division has, Tony Nese and Drew Gulak.

Once again, Metalik is doing insane shit that really should grant him a better place on the card. I mean, just look at it!;

I could train for 12 years to just do that one move exclusively, and I still wouldn't be able to do it. Give this man a push, WWE.

Everyone else was their usual good selves; Cedric was slick as all hell, Tony's getting better and better at his cocky heel side, and Gulak persisting with the 'No Fly Zone' thing he's got going. Fuck it, put him and Metalik in a feud for a month and watch some magic be made.

So yeah, fun bouncy match this one. Nothing too spectacular, with the main focusing point of this episode being on Neville/Tozawa fallout, so no real main event on the show. Oh, and how cool is new psycho brawler Jack Gallagher?

NXT

Best Match on NXT (16/8/17): Roderick Strong vs Drew McIntyre
Honourable Mention(s): Billie Kay vs Ruby Riot


We're on the path to TakeOver: Brooklyn III and this week we have a real good episode of NXT, main evented by Roderick Strong going up against Drew McIntyre, with the agreement being he would get to challenge Bobby Roode again sometime after Brooklyn.

An interesting set-up to this match that played out here. Going into TakeOver, we've had McIntyre parading around as the 'for the people' babyface, but here in this match, he played much more of the dominant, big bastard Strong had to overcome. Strong showed some great fire in the match, really taking it to Drew and mustering up several horses worth of power to muscle him up and break his back. He got to do his awesome catch out of the corner one, as well as dropping the fucker right on the apron.

As I said, Drew was the intimidating hoss of the match, delivering some powerful blows to Strong and rocking him. I've always thought McIntyre is better as a heel, but I'm willing to see where they go with him at the minute.

The match would culminate to a dirty finish with Roode storming the ring and picking off both of the weakened men, getting some momentum as he looks to defend in Brooklyn. This was a good match, and whilst the ending did prevent it from being better, everything leading up to it was great and should be recognised as so. I'd definitely recommend it.

Ring of Honour 

Best Match on ROH TV (Episode 307): KUSHIDA & Kenny King vs The Bullet Club (Marty Scurll & Hangman Page)


An impromptu match here on Ring of Honour; after the Television Title match between KUSHIDA and Kenny King (which was also rather good) was thrown out following run-ins from 'The Villain' Marty Scurll and Hangman Page.

Kenny King as a singles competitor like this probably doing the best out of everyone that was in The Rebellion, though I suppose Rhet's only had one match so far (on this episode against CHEESEBURGER) and Shane Taylor just attack Josh Woods a couple weeks ago, but I would definitely say that King has the most promise, especially if he keeps these sort of performances up. 

I'm a big fan of Scurll and Page, with the latter's appearances on ROH TV being something I look forward too. Page is criminally underrated, and he had a great performance this week, having more ring time than Scurll I think, and getting his coolest shit in. Every time he does that Shooting Star shoulder block its a thing of beauty, as well as the Buckshot Lariat.

KUSHIDA continues to be awesome at damn near everything, and with the G1 now over, we'll hopefully get to see him defend his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship some more.

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 (S3E31): Fenix vs Prince Puma

It's the semi-final round of the Cuerto Cup this week and as well as Pentagon Dark versus Mil Muertes, we have this awesome clash between Fenix and Prince Puma.

Flippery-fuckedy-doos here in this match. The opening couple of minutes had a deeper feeling out process than I was expecting, with the two luchadores going hold for hold, but still busting out some agile escapes to keep it exciting. However, it would not be long at all before things started to heat up, with a deadly superkick from Fenix setting the tone for the action there on. It was very back and forth, both Puma and Fenix wowing the crowd, me included, with their insane high flying capabilities.

Some muddying of the match happened when Marty 'The Moth' Martinez came to be a creep towards ring announcer, Melissa Santos, distracting Fenix who did a scary Asai moonsault that nearly spiked himself on the apron. That then allowed Puma to take advantage and proceed to the finals against Pentagon Dark.

This was a great match with high octane action, making it another one I recommend checking out from this week. 

NJPW: G1 Climax

Finals

Best Match on G1Finals: Tetsuya Naito vs Kenny Omega
Honourable Mention(s): Rysuke Taguchi & Ricochet vs The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), The Bullet Club (Hangman Page & Cody Rhodes) vs War Machine (Hanson & Raymond Rowe)

Holy fuck.

Holy fuckeroo.

Holy fuckerooni patooti.

Crikey O'Riley this was a belter of a match, I think I even liked this better than Omega/Okada III. There was just tonnes of stuff happening in this match, I have a load of gifs and clips here for you to try and illustrate it but I doubt it'll be able to do this match justice.

piledriver, ring post, powerbomb drop, super steiner, tons of triggers, tranquilo fake out, croyts wrath, spinny destino, 

Since watching Naito lately, it gave me the idea of 'hey, people must assume by now he's gonna fake out on the suicide dive, so why not hit one and surprise them?'. Little did I know that Naito's tranquilo powers gives him telepathy.



Outside the ring saw arguably this matches nastiest spot, with a piledriver to the outside off of a table - not through a table, off of it. Omega caught the top of his head on the edge of an adjacent table that put the fear of God in me, and this marked the first in a series of blows he'd take in this match, with Destinos and frankensteiners from various heights landing on the bulls-eye of Omega's head. Having the top of the head as a worked target is not something I've seen before, and I can see why because it all looked fucking brutal. The other pants shitting spot saw both men perched on the top rope and Kenny essentially DDT-ing Naito right onto the post. I believe these were intentional moves, but Christ it certainly didn't feel like it watching it.



Talking about nasty blows, the number of V-Triggers Omega landed in this match was crazy, and all of them were harsh. Like proper, full on, thunder clapping hits. How Naito's head remained on his shoulders, I have no idea, and how he managed not to die is another miracle.



With this match and Okada/Omega the night before, I am pretty sure that Omega's 'Croyt's Wrath' has become my new favourite move in all of professional wrestling, hands down.

These guys threw everything at each other, and as we've seen, some unexpected and heart stopping spots that made me shift in my seat from the thrill of it all and out of shock that they were willing to put themselves through that sort of punishment. The end would come about from Naito finally landing a full and proper Destino after this ultra-cool spinning one;

What a fucking match readers, bell-to-bell awesomeness, and in case you haven't figured out what wins this week...

The Verdict

Best Match of the Week: Tetsuya Naito vs Kenny Omega - G1 Climax Finals

This is a match of the year candidate, be sure to check it out and I guarantee you it will be on your list come December as well. After being booed when he won in the G1 in 2013 when he was a babyface, this rebirth from the Los Ingobernables de Japon journey looks like it's about to come full circle. Shoutouts to Strong/McIntyre and Fenix/Puma, but they didn't have a chance against this.

With another MOTY contender under his best, Omega continues to dominate the leaderboard, but with the G1 finished and New Japan's presence on the blog taking a bit of a break, can someone rise through the ranks and take him down?

All that's left now is to give out 'The Best Promo of the Week' which goes to arguably WWE's best talker (outside of Southpaw Regional Wrestling), Neville in his dishevelled, demented state on 205 Live;

Welp, that does it from me for this week folks. I hope everyone enjoys SummerSlam weekend, as well as the rest of your time in the space between we speak again. Be good to yourself as well as each other out there, I'll catch you ass down the road.

BWOTW: 7/8/17 - 12/8/17

Hello there readers and welcome to this newest post on this here blog, 'Noah's Best Wrestling of the Week' AKA 'Okada/Omega III'

Give it up for Day 18 of the G1 Climax!

But before we jump into things, lets have a quick look at the news;

1. The block winners of the G1 have been confirmed! A-Block has been won by Tetsuya Naito, and B-Block has been won by Kenny Omega! HE BEAT OKADA! What a ride it has been.
2. It's being reported that Scott Dawson's injury is going to keep him out until December. Motherfuck.
3. I don't know the validity of this, but apparently Ronda Rousey is about to begin training for pro wrestling soon with Brian Kendrick. If Kendrick can manage to train Eva Marie to work a match, lord knows what he'll be able to do with Ronda.
4. Bayley's shoulder injury seems to be legit, and it's taken her out of SummerSlam. I don't think there's been any reports on a timeframe for her return to action, so we'll just have to watch this space.
5. In perhaps the most disturbing news we got this week, The Rock has had the Brahma Bull covered up. The Attitude Era is dead.
6. More new music! Baron Corbin has a new theme I'm yet to make my mind up on, and debuting on NXT TV this week, it's the Street Profits. Just when I thought Usos had the best theme for a tag team, these guys swoop in and take it;

And now for the rice in this wrestling blog plate of sushi (I assume that's an okay metaphor), it's the matches!

Monday Night RAW

Best Match on RAW (7/8/17): Cesaro vs Dean Ambrose
Honourable Mention(s): Braun Strowman vs Roman Reigns - Last Man Standing Match

We're getting things started here on RAW with a really good match, one I would say is probably the best match the show's had yet this year, with Cesaro taking on Dean Ambrose.

Simply put, this was a great wrestling match. These guys locked up and in the first few exchanges, as well as peppered in throughout, we saw some lovely pure technicalities, at some points going lucha with a knuckle-lock monkey flip sequence. 

Despite not being the main event, which was also really fun by the way, these two made this have a big fight feel. Helped by the fact this seemed to go longer than most TV matches, the moment that secured that feeling for me was the first instance on the top rope, teasing a superplex to the outside. If Dynamite Kid has taught us anything, it's that that is a bad idea, however, knowing how insane Dean is when it comes to bumps I wouldn't have been totally surprised by it. It got the crowd to their feet, who were great in general on RAW and SmackDown! this week; 

Cesaro got made to look a beast in this match, though Ambrose would play the plucky underdog that would somehow find it in him to keep kicking out and the like. Cesaro's uppercuts are the best in the business in my opinion, and in this match he got to do some real damage with them;

The end would come through Ambrose rolling Cesaro up for the victory, though Cesaro properly dominated this match so he looked good in defeat. Real good match here on RAW, give it a look if you've got the time.

SmackDown! LIVE

Best Match on SD! (8/8/17): The Usos (Jimmy & Jey Uso) vs Tye Dillinger & Sami Zayn

DOWN SINCE DAY ONE-ISH! LINE 'EM ALL UP, KNOCK 'EM DOWN LIKE THIS!

I love that theme, and here they are, The Usos heading up against a pair of Canadian's in front of a Montreal crowd, Sami Zayn and Tye Dillinger.

This was a fairly standard tag match, with everyone involved being on for the fans in attendance with a good showing. Usos continue to put on stellar tag performances, plus Tye got to show his worth in the role of gaining the hot tag and pumping up the crowd, with Sami being the partner to take the brunt of the damage. 

It's been a fair while since we've seen The Usos win with their brutal Tequila Sunrise after the assisted dropkick, a finisher that would prove fatal to Dillinger as he would join the list of those who have succumbed to it.

Overall, a decent fun match to kick off SmackDown!, giving Usos more momentum as we head towards their rematch next Sunday. Also, the post match gave us a new side of The New Day, vengeful and fully prepared to kick ass with steel chairs in hand. Usos/New Day is my dark horse to steal that Brooklyn show, let's hope they do well!

205 Live

Best Match on 205 (8/8/17): Tony Nese vs Cedric Alexander

It's 205 Live time here on the blog, and this week we have 'The Premier Athlete' Tony Nese back at it again against Cedric Alexander.

I can't really remember a whole lot about this match. I'd safely say that I preferred Nese/Metalik from the week before, seemed to be more bouncy and better paced, with this having a couple of lulls here and there that disrupted the pace a little, whereas these guys could have gone hard for longer. It's good if you're looking for a little something to watch, but I feel there are better options for that sort of thing this week, such as...

NXT

Best Match on NXT (9/8/17): Oney Lorcan vs Danny Burch

It's the rematch from the shit-kicking match a couple weeks ago, its Danny Burch taking on Oney Lorcan.

I will say that I liked their first match more than this one. I felt it had more varied offence, probably went a little longer too which allowed for that, but this was still good. Burch was looking to get a win back, so they played out that he had gained some counters and know how to take on Lorcan, such as working a way out of the single leg crab that made him submit before. The strikes were as stiff as ever in this one, open hands aplenty, the two brawlers smacking the piss out of each other.

Burch would gain the equaliser through a roll up pin on Lorcan, setting this mini-feud to 1 fall a piece. They played up the handshake in the post match, with Lorcan being resistant at first but eventually coming round to it. My money is on these guys joining together and taking part in this year's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. They've built the tag division to a good standard as of late, and pretty under the radar too. I feel like I'm one of the few people who really like the Dusty Classic, and I think this year's has the potential to be the best yet. I'm tempted to do another tournament guide for it depending on the teams we get. 

Ring of Honour

Best Match on ROH TV (Episode 306): Cody Rhodes vs Christopher Daniels - 2 out of 3 Falls Match for the ROH World Championship

Switching gears now as we turn the channel to Sinclair Broadcasting as we find ourselves in Ring of Honour territory. This week was a strange episode. We had Daniels cashing in his rematch clause from losing the title at Best in the World, with Cody adding the stipulation. With 2 out of 3 falls typically being quite long, I can understand this being the only match on the show, but from what I remember, all but one segment was dedicated to the Daniels/Cody feud. 

What made things even more confusing is the suddenly newly heel turned Daniels, and the hard to place heel/face allegiance of Rhodes. Cody is up there as being one of the most heelish current member of the Bullet Club, yet he played this match as a face. However, in some of the promos the showed, he had the makings of a main ROH heel, in one saying he's not a pro wrestler, he's a sports entertainer, something sure to attract boos from the ROH faithful. At the same time, Daniels is suddenly going back to his heel way, delving even deeper in being a dick, berating the audience, with lots of censorship needed for his language. I get that this is probably what they had in mind for a while, but this seems to have come out of nowhere, especially considering how extreme they've gone with it.

I'd have to say that the match itself wasn't too spectacular, most of it felt like character work, putting over Daniels as a new reinvigorated heel and making Cody have more face appeal. I will say that I liked Daniels sneaking in a chair shot between bells after Cody won the first fall, but I can't recall much else really standing out.

This is probably the first match of this type I can remember being won 2-0, with Cody retaining his championship after some involvement from Kazarian and Marty Scurll in opposite roles from Best in the World, which was admittedly a nice touch. However, the rest of it didn't do much for me.

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, I feel like this week is probably good to get a grasp of the new heel Daniels, but it is kinda confusing.

Lucha Underground

Best Match on LU (S3E30): Jeremiah Crane vs Mil Muertes

We're looking at Lucha Underground now, the Cuerto Cup continues, and this was just an all out, hardocre brawl as we have 'The Lucha Death Machine' Sami Callihan taking on Mil Muertes 

Things got quickly underway as Muertes attacked Crane in his entrance. There was a commercial break fairly soon, and we'd next see Crane as he was thrown through a door towards the camera. From there, there was less of a wrestling match and more of a fight, with the two men tossing each other into the rows of seats, using chairs and tables - one not breaking on the first attempt but quickly redeemed by Muertes warpath powerbombing Crane through it.

Crane got a real good showing in this, managing to hold back Muertes, deal some considerable damage and kick out of a few pinfall attempts. He also did something I can't remember seeing before, having Muertes laid out, a chair in position, the support of the legs across the throat, and using another chair to smash the seat, forcing the whole thing down. Badass.

Things would eventually come down to Muertes winning, putting Crane down with his big cool spear. This was a pretty good match, and if you like your mad, arena wide brawls like the old WWE hardcore division, you'll like this for sure.It looks like it's Muertes versus Pentagon Dark in the semi-finals then. Sounds awesome.

NJPW: G1 Climax

Day 16

Best Match on G1D16: Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada

In the penultimate day for B-Block, it's the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, taking on the man he faced at The New Beginning, the man that haunts my nightmares, the NEVER Openweight Champion, Minoru Suzuki. 

Okada started off this match with his neck taped, so Suzuki didn't hesitate in his attack, not going for the limb targeting of their previous meeting, instead just using his brute force. The champion still looked strong in this match, more so than New Beginning I'd say, despite his injuries sustained over the past couple of weeks. 

The ending sequence was an interesting to choice, with neither man getting the pin, neither taking a loss, in an ending reminiscent of Okada/Omega II at Dominion;

I thought this was a really good match, however I feel both of these guys had better matches in the tournament before this. The time limit draw ending I liked, starting to show cracks in the champion that would come out on full show just two days later (keep on reading!), and giving us the possibility of another Suzuki/Okada match as well.

Day 17

Best Match on G1D17: Tetsuya Naito vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

Finishing off A-Block, we have the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi taking on one of, if not the most popular man in New Japan, Tetsuya Naito.

This match was the spectacle of the night, with both guys putting on a hell of a performance in a battle to the end. From all accounts of the wear and tear sustained in this tournament, with Tanahashi's pre-existing bicep tear, and reports of Naito also breaking down, I was concerned that we wouldn't get these guys at their best, which is always a risk in events like this. However, I feel that both men had their best showing of the tour in this match, helped tremendously from the roaring crowd in the Sumo Hall who ate up every bit of it.

It felt like there was a lot of counters to each man's respective playbooks, especially the Destino, with Tanahashi managing to stop seemingly no end of attempts at it. However, Naito would end up getting the win, taking top spot with 14 points, winning the block, and heading to the finals.

Dare I say this was the best match of A-Block? A great performance overall by both men, putting on an awesome match to close out the league table. I really recommend this match, but you know what I recommend more.....?

Day 18

Best Match on G1D18: Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada

The trilogy is complete, and what a way to finish things off here in the final match of B-Block in the G1 Climax. Right off the bat, I want to say that I think this is my favourite match of the three. The 30-minute time limit of all G1 matches made for more concentrated action, though left plenty of room for storytelling and psychology. Add to this, the points system with Omega needing a win and Okada able to win the block with a draw, and there's another layer to the story.

So, going into this, we have both guys beaten from enduring the previous 8 G1 matches, with Okada especially damaged from the Suzuki match. Okada had a fucked up neck, taped up and boy oh boy did this come into play in this match. Omega working the neck of Okada was kind of hard to watch at points, not only seeing Okada coming down on it, but lord above Kenny got some nasty strikes in. I couldn't put my reaction to a stiff chop right on the top of the neck quite like Don Callis did; 'JESUS CHRIST! JESUS CHRIST!'. This eventually led to a reverse frankensteiner on the floor that put the champion out on the floor for a good minute or two, but Omega would not be content;

From there on, Okada would somehow make his comeback, starting to take to Omega, rocking him hard and making the time limit draw looking like more and more of a possibility. However, that neck would be ever-present, with Okada being taken down regularly, face full of pain, Gedo looking on like a distraught father, I actually thought he was gonna throw in the towel. Each V-Trigger was nastier than the last, and every one looked like it could have ended it.

Kenny pulled out his bag of tricks to continue the torture, busting out another Tiger Driver, doing the first Croyt's Wrath I've seen since properly following NJPW and also, showing The Rock what's up;

Great googly mooglies that impact was harsh. Okada would have glimmers of hope, hitting a couple of Rainmakers in this time, but ultimately, Omega would prove to be just too much, and finally proclaim that he could beat the man that has had his number since January;

Omega's wins B-Block and is on his way to face Naito to decide who will reign supreme over this tournament. 

What a fucking match guys, like I said, my favourite of the three so far. So, with that in mind, it might be easy to guess where this is going...

The Verdict

Best Match of the Week: Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada - G1 Climax Day 18

What can I say really? With talents like these, working with and developing on the story they've created over the better part of the year, they were bound to deliver something special, and that's exactly what we got. Also, shoutouts to Naito/Tanahashi for another great block finale, as well as Suzuki/Okada and Cesaro/Ambrose.

The results are in, and this is how they affect the leaderboard. Omega continues to push ahead, but Okada has leapfrogged a fair few thanks to his two matches this week, THE FEUD CONTINUES!

As for 'The Best Promo of the Week', it has to go to the newest, and in my opinion best, Fashion Files to date. The mystery of 'Dango is solved, along with some great co-stars making appearances too!

That's gonna do it from me for this week friends, be sure to come back next week for the G1 Finals, as well as the go home shows as we head towards Brooklyn for TakeOver and SummerSlam. Here's to wishing you all good health and good times over the next few days, treat yourselves, and I'll catch you on the next one.