April 2020

Hahaaa, holy fuck was this awesome. They went absolutely nuts with the presentation, and that was for the best. Some of the highlights for me were: - The Graveyard Symphony playing when that car drove in the beginning, only for the casket to open w/ AJ popping up, laughing his ass off while his theme starts playing - Taker driving with his motorbike to the scene w/ Metallica blasting - "Wow there he is! I didn't think you'd show up!" -- "yeah?" -- "does Michelle know you're out this late?" - AJ ducking Taker's murder attempt, making Taker's arm bleed in the process - "HEY DEADMAN!" w/ Karl & Luke arriving with some banging guitar-tune in the background - T…

They go under 5 minutes, but every single second they wrestle in the time they get, is great. "All killer, no filler", as the saying goes. Everything matters, and more importantly, everything is extremely compelling to watch. Gulak's focus on Cesaro's arm was all kinds of fantastic, which Cesaro paid right back w/ his terrific selling -- so many good moments like Gulak countering Cesaro's Neutralizer by going to the arm, countering Cesaro's pinfall attempt into one of his own & transitioning it into an Armbar, that armdrag spot outside the ring, etc, etc. This match was filled with greatness. All capped off with Cesaro introducing the WWE World to the UFO. Helllll yea…

This was just about the perfect use of the empty arena setting. It's all about them brutal looking & sounding strikes + the chatter between the competitors. That chatter part could've been big time cringe, but they pulled it off perfectly. Zayn is such a FANTASTIC chickenshit heel -- him talking that trash with his cocky smiley facial expressions while evading Bryan in the beginning half, was such great, great stuff. The build-up to Bryan finally getting his hands on him was superb, and when he finally does catch him, oh boy does it feel fulfilling. From then on it's a complete American Dragon murder-mode festival, and I can't think of many things better. Some DDT4 '0…

Great back and forth action with everyone playing their parts well that peaked at the right moment. Kaji Tomato/CHANGO was great at being baby faces, it helped elevate things when they were working underneath especially with Nagai on offense. The finishing stretch was amazing with amazing pinning maneuvers. Also one thing that stood out for me while all four was good Ayato Yoshida really on another level here. He was the smoothest and his strikes was perfectly snug, I see a big future for him down road. Best match 2AW of the year so far.

Wyatt/Cena and Taker/Styles from this same show were matches where the wrestlers and producers had to make choices in terms of tone, pace, and, for lack of better word, "content." What is a Firefly Funhouse Match? What is a Boneyard Match? In my opinion, the choices they made were *brilliant.* Every single one. Styles/Taker mixed 80s B-level grindhouse with Tim & Eric with subtle costuming choices that cleverly winked at the inherent BDSM/homo-eroticism of pro-wrestling. (As someone said in the WrestleMania XXXVI thread, just look up "handkerchief code") Wyatt/Cena was even more bonkers, an abstract, non-linear acid trip through the story of John Cena. They made brave…

A fun trios match that took me back to the golden era of All Japan with the pillars. Everyone had a chance to shine and they played up the whole sixty minute time limit very well not making anything they did seem meaningless.

FULL REVIEW: https://josephmontecillo.wordpress.com/2020/04/09/johnny-gargano-vs-tomasso-ciampa-wwe-nxt-4-8-20/

Lorcan and Gallagher decide that it's pointless to try and work a match rich with high spots if there's no one there, so they decided to do a match that wouldn't look out of place in Battlarts. After they reach a stalemate after a few minutes of grappling, Gallagher taunts Lorcan and he starts to dial up the intensity in a way that only Oney knows how. This goes just under ten minutes and has a cop-out finish, but it rules. The only time Tony Nese can get a reaction out of me is by interrupting this vicious match. ★★★¾

I loved the 5-or-so minute match these two had on the Road to WrestleMania™ and here they get almost 15-minutes, so of course it's great. It's all about Bryan's attack on Cesaro's left arm -- his work over it was extremely focused, extremely vicious, and extremely compelling. Some amazing moments regarding that armwork were his hip-toss into an armbar, him wringing that arm into the ropes to gain control back, that badass takedown-into-an-armbar counter, Cesaro 2nd deadlift attempt getting countered by Bryan taking the leg, immediately followed by him punting that worked over arm, those repeated YES Kicks to the arm & chest -- and then of course the LeBell Lock, which…

After some early back & forth, Rey starts yelling about his finger being fucked, and he starts walking towards the doc sitting ringside, but of course that won't fly well w/ Murphy, who comes in and attacks Rey there. After that the target is clear, as Murphy starts dishing out punishment to that finger & hand; plenty of nasty stomps, slamming it to the post, slamming it on the steps, standing on it -- it's wonderfully vicious stuff. The empty arena makes each mentioned slam and stomp sound all the more brutal, too. Other than that great work on Rey's finger/hand, Murphy was overall very solid on the offense. He is awesomely explosive & impactful with each big…