February 2022

This match is a masterclass. CM Punk's performance was legendary; from the badass old-school babyface opening to obviously the selling & his overall babyface magic, he was simply undeniable. This was a damn near 40-minute match with most of it having him in peril & it could've EASILY become uninteresting at many points given the length, but Punk's perfect selling & portrayal of his character made it damn sure that I was glued to my screen the entire time. He never, and I mean never forgets that he is hurt, and it's beautiful how he showcases it throughout. Obviously you have the big moments where MJF is on it like a shark, but I think what I adored the most ab…

I did not have the pleasure of experiencing the U.S. indie boom period, having only started following smaller promotions in the past few years. So, when we got the likes of Biff Busick, Timothy Thatcher, and Mike Bailey back in a short period, I was beyond (pardon the pun) giddy. Those three all have one thing in common: I’ve seen very little of their most famous work. As far as Busick and Thatcher are concerned, I have seen their Secret Show classic from Beyond in 2014, which I implore everyone to seek out on YouTube. Even in WWE, Biff, and Thatcher, for that matter, gave us glimpses of what could be from time to time. Biff’s violent sprints with KENTA and hard-nosed gra…

Adam Page defends the AEW World Championship This was pretty much the best-case scenario for this match-up. God it ruled so much. It's the kind of a match where the more I think about it, the more I like it. Just straight carnage from start to finish with no bullshit in the way of it. Insane spot on the steps, insanely epic finish. Awesome visuals with the blood. Hell. Yes. ****

Punk wants to get a rematch against MJF, but the deal is that he has to go against FTR w/ a tag partner. The issue is that Punk doesn’t have any friends in AEW, so there’s not a clear go-to. It ended up being Moxley, who is currently dodging Bryan Danielson’s request to team up. This is getting juicy. I like it. Unsurprisingly we got a great match with a hot crowd. Mox and Punk worked well together and we have some built in fodder for when the two eventually go against each other because Punk is kind of a dick and Mox doesn’t trust anybody. Let’s skip ahead in the match, Mox struggled to get in the ring, Punk had kinda left him to dry after a tab…

Kosuke and Kazuki kick things off, trying to grind each other down with arm wringers. Wholesale tags follow, and things largely stick to the mat. Back in the ring, Kosuke wants Kohei, but his youthful exuberance costs him, and one forearm shot from Hashimoto downs Sato. K-Hash and Kohei dismantle the poor youngster, wearing him down with submissions, but Kosuke’s resiliency is the story of the match. Hot tag to Nomura, who batters Hash with elbows in the corner. Kazuki goads Nomura into a kick battle, which proved to be a mistake. Kosuke Sato’s on fire, unloading a bevy of dropkicks and headbutts, but once again, it’s one headbutt that topples him. Kosuke stands up t…

Both competitors start with rapid counter exchanges. But it’s important to note that they never feel over-choreographed, and instead feel like Bailey and ACH feeling each other out. Speedball gets the better of the exchange and hits a wild topé over the ropes, but ACH suplexes Bailey into the apron, which sets the tone for the rest of the match. Bailey’s selling adds a lot of drama to the match. This is a fireworks show through and through, but it’s more about what they do between the moves. There’s always a struggle behind the madness, as seen by Bailey and ACH returning to the top rope a few times throughout the match. By the time Bailey finally hits the Ultima Wea…

The match starts friendly, but with Gresham not taking Chhun seriously. There’s an incidental eye poke early on. Gresham grows increasingly frustrated as he can’t escape the constant wristlocks from Cody. Things begin to get chippy when Gresham keeps a leg lock on through a five-count, and the referee has to separate them. Gresham works over the arm and leg, bending Chhun’s limbs in unnatural ways and generally being smug while he’s in control. Chhun largely sticks to basic offense, such as arm drags, but his execution is top-notch. Both competitors struggle over control of the other’s arm, but their bum limbs come back to haunt them. Gresham’s recently started doing…

Not as good as their 2021 classic, but this was still really quite something to behold. A 40 minute match for 98% of wrestlers over 50 would be a very daunting task, but Ogawa just casually does it on a random B-tier show. he's been a pain in Kiyomiya's ass since he lost to the guy last year, being one of the few guys who can reliably stop him in his tracks, including a time limit draw last year. This defines Kaito as learning from those mistakes and adapting through given he easily sends Ogawa flying with a bunch of high-speed offence early on and quickly shows off his improved ring skills. Ogawa has to play every trick in the book to survive, pulling out some remarkable…

Kazuchika Okada defends the IWGP World Heavyweight Title Standard fare as far as New Japan’s main events these days are concerned. They start with some mat work, but it’s quickly forgotten about and doesn’t carry much weight. This also isn’t 2020 anymore, so the magic this pairing once created is long gone. Without a cheering crowd living and dying with every near fall, it all falls into the trap of most Okada matches, which is to say it rings hollow. This is relatively brisk by modern NJPW standards, clocking in at just 27 minutes. Naito targets the neck to set up the Destino, and it’s fine and all. I can’t shake the feeling that the New Japan of several years …

This match was the prime example of fighting harder with your friends than you do anyone else. The Violence Princess duo started with competitive mat work, but neither was able to gain the advantage. Things quickly escalated and they ended up fighting on the apron. Normally, I’d not be a fan of them heading to the so-called hardest part of the ring so quickly, but this felt like a battle of wills. The match got suitably more violent, and Nakamori bounced Nakajima’s head off the ring post a few times, but she got too confident and ended up falling off the apron to eat a dropkick. This overconfidence would likewise cost Arisa as she came off the top rope, only to eat a gnar…

This is easily one of the worst matches I've seen in recent memory. Fujita wins the GHC by basically taking a huge shit on Nakajima and thoroughly outwrestling him, and when Nakajima pelts him with ridiculously stiff strikes, Fujita smiles and hands is back to him. There's only one time when it seems like Nakajima can win, after an utterly sick looking running kick to the face (picture a Randy Orton punt, where Orton doesn't give two flying shits if he injures someone or not), and they don't even try to milk it for a near fall or a ten count. Nakajima just tries a suplex so that Fujita can reverse it, and then finish him off to win the title. I can honestly say that if I …