September 2021

Revisiting this in the wake of Bryan Danielson’s debut shows two distinct ways of getting to the same point. Bryan was put in a situation where he had to face perhaps the most maximalist wrestler on the planet and basically took his style of match and outdid him in it, putting together two decades of his work into an expression of what he wants pro wrestling to be for the remainder of his career. Punk, on the other hand, isn’t as physically gifted or technically sound, and while there was a day in his career where what he brought to the table was A Whole Bunch of Stuff (or rather, much more stuff than his WWE compatriots) the one thing he could always bring to t…

They did a good job shifting focus to strikes instead of holds and matwork (like the Nomura match). The first 10 minutes are mostly carried by Abe, and even though he doesn't go into his usual stick until the finishing sequence, he basically keeps your interest with everything he does. The last five minutes are a little too over the top for me but I know I'm in the minority when it comes to that kind of stuff.

A wonderful display of power vs. technique. It's a simple story where Sakaguchi uses his submissions to try to take down his larger opponent. Nozaki peppered him with some mean strikes here and it felt like an uncooperative fight.

This was full of fluid mat exchanges and great strikes. Izuchi gets two straight downs with a flurry of kicks, only to get caught in a flash armbar that Hara was working towards the entire time. Efficient and snug wrestling that doesn't waste your time.

This was such a banger. They went about 8 minutes or so, and that left us with no time for filler. Meaning that this was an absolutely wonderfully action packed time bell-to-bell. It's a lot like their first meeting from last year, but in a lot more sprint-ish fashion. I loved it. Fantastic television main event. ***3/4

Psychologically, there's many things going against this match, namely that it's Bryan's debut and it's difficult to bring him into the fold and not have him look good. In addition, it was stated from the get go that Omega's AEW Title was not on the line, and the decision to have this match open the show telegraphed that indeed, this was going to go to either a non-finish or a draw. This is a match that's been bandied about for a decade, in front of a super hot crowd of smart fans who expect all of these things, while also leading off the biggest TV broadcast in company history to that point. It's an amazing confluence and a difficult ask to thread such a needle. It's…

While their first match in St. Louis Anarchy was good, it felt like Makabe and Wyatt were just riffing on what they were capable of together. This match felt like a more tidy, self-contained story. Makabe constantly goes for the Makabe Lock, and Wyatt tries to set up the Cross Face. Makabe weaves in and out of holds seamlessly, grabbing his ankle to gain leverage when Wyatt has him compromised. The offense gets downright nasty at times, as Makabe bridges out of a pin attempt and gets elbowed back down to the mat for his efforts. The turning point sees Makabe miss a corner dropkick, and Wyatt sends him arm-first into the post. From there, Wyatt’s target is clear,…