May 2020

Daniel Bryan continues his Wrestler of the Year 2020 campaign with a yet another TV banger. I've always wanted to see a lengthy singles match between him & Corbin, and here they get a nice amount of time, and it was indeed pretty great. Bryan does what has worked against bigger men for him in the past -- he starts targeting Baron's leg right away, and his attack lasts through the entire match-up. These days nobody brings the kind of focus he does when it comes to gameplans & executing them, and it's truly a joy to watch. His work over that leg is great throughout with brutal sounding kicks & submissions. Corbin's selling is rock solid; he doesn't sell it in a …

Matt Hardy makes his AEW wrestling debut in a tag team Street Fight against members of the Inner Circle, Le Sex Gods. Talk about it here

Takashi Sugiura defends the GHC National Heavyweight Title. Talk about it here

Hahaha, this was just an absolute blast from start to finish. Totally on par with the Boneyard match for me. So many great moments like the boys arriving at the gym where the match started off, AJ seeking revenge at Rey, those flashbacks to the Boneyard match, Bryan delivering those repeated YES Kicks to Corbin while Otis does the chanting right next to him, Corbin throwing Rey & Aleister casually off the roof, AJ going "STOOOP!!!" when Otis celebrated his victory, and of course then the highlight of it all -- Bryan & AJ brawling themselves into Vince's office. That bit was amazing. The whole thing was just soooo much fun.

Drew McIntyre defends the WWE Title. Talk about it here

Always loved this pairing, so I unsurprisingly loved this. It's almost all contested on the mat with some great grappling throughout, plus of course there's also some gnarly strikes thrown in there as well. Every exchange in the match rules & comes with a good sense of urgency. It's essentially Thatcher & Riddle doing Thatcher vs. Riddle, and it's real lovely stuff. ***3/4

It's a rematch from their March MOTYC, and it's unsurprisingly absolutely terrific. I like how the dynamic between them has changed from that PPV match of theirs to this one - they had respect for each other back then, but now they're FRIENDS, and it created for this nice little charming vibe between them here, especially in the early going w/ the fantastic back & forth grappling. Gulak establishes the first real control of the match by dumping Bryan outside, and from then on it seems like his main gameplan is to soften up Bryan's neck. Loved how he didn't give up that tight headlock when Bryan started to slam him with those shin breakers -- it took 3 of them for Brya…

This was awesome. It's a total Kushida punishment showcase with him totally destroying Drake throughout; his focus on the arm is extremely vicious & compelling, and Drake sells it pretty big, which of course makes it all the more better. A very good underdog tale with some pretty great work by both men from bell-to-bell. ***3/4

The Elite and Matt Hardy take on the Inner Circle in a ten man Stadium Stampede match Hangman arriving & chasing Sammy with a horse, the whole LAX vs. Matt bit, the bar brawl between Hager & Hangman + Omega, Jericho killing that mascot w/ the Judas Effect, Jericho's epic fight vs. Aubrey, Matt's Northern Suplex rampage on Sammy, Rick Knox eating a Superkick like it's the good ol' days in Reseda, Matt & Kenny chasing Sammy w/ that golf cart AGAIN, that amazing finish w/ that big One Winged Angel. This was an absolute spectacle & a blast. When it comes to these "special presentation" (I struggle to call this a cinematic match tbh) matches that have happ…

Final Match of the tournament to crown the first ever AEW TNT Champion I was a little disappointed in Archer's tournament match vs. Dustin, but this one delivered THE GOOD STUFF in spades. Arched looked like a true monster throughout with his heavy blows & easy throwing-around of Cody. Him shutting down Cody's attempts at mustering up a comeback were great as well, and on the topic of Cody's comebacks, I do think that his eventual big one would've had so much more juice behind it had there been a crowd. Still good though. I was ready to call this a flat-out great match all around, but the stuff w/ Arn, Jake & Iron Mike towards the end didn't go well with the …

Jon Moxley defends the AEW World Heavyweight Title This was badass as hell. Felt & looked like a true pro-wrestling fight between two guys who don't like each other very much. Brodie was just so great brutalizing Moxley with his superb looking offense, and Mox himself also brought the goods with his vicious offensive arsenal. The finishing stretch has to be one of my favorite scenes of 2020 with Brodie kicking out of those Paradigm Shifts, and Mox going into a killer mode because of it, totally destroying MISTER Brodie by relentlessly targeting that cut on his head & slapping in that tight choke for the W. ****

This felt like a breath of fresh air for someone who has felt AEW's in-ring product hasn't been up to snuff. Whilst some of the bigger moments featured big spots that wouldn't feel out of place in a PWG spotfest, they make those big moments count by consistent selling and a clear-cut face/heel dynamic. After a neat technical exchange that caught me off guard, MJF sets his sights on damaging Jungle Boy's arm to set up for his submission. This was the best match of the PPV, and this shows that MJF's ring work can reach the level of his mic work when he wants it to. ★★★½

I fucking love these two, and this unique PIT FIGHT presentation fit them like a glove. Every stomp, every kneestrike, every kick, every SMACK is treated like a big deal & they truly look n' feel gnarly throughout. That Showtime like kick by Riddle off the cage was absolutely sick & I love how it was sold w/ Thatcher spitting out those teeth & bleeding from the mouth. My goodness his selling was amazing in the match overall -- I've said it many times before, but here we go again; he might just be the greatest seller in the business today. They of course go to the mat quite a bit as well with them being them & this being a KO or Submission to finish match, …