March 2022

Neither man wastes any time getting into the action. Nakamura dominates the ground game, forcing Matsui to use an escape thirty seconds into the match. Nakamura forces Matsui to fight from behind, smothering him on the mat and forcing him to use the ropes to flee. Both competitors weave in and out of holds seamlessly. There’s so much intent and purpose behind every hold. Take, for example, the kneebars Matsui constantly uses as a tool to neutralize his opponent. It’s a stark contrast to the filler mat work that besets most Japanese promotion’s main event scenes. Matsui hones in on Nakamura with yet another kneebar to cost him a point, but Daisuke rushes him immediate…

It’s no secret that I’m quite high on Iizuka and Izuchi. So, when I heard they had a sub-one-minute main event, I knew I had to see it. Iizuka jumps Izuchi at the opening bell with a running knee strike. Thinking he has Izuchi down for the count, Iizuka goes to celebrate, only to turn around and see that his foe is back to his feet. Iizuka goes for a flurry of strikes and back elbows, but Izuchi has his guard up and catches him flush with a knee. Izuchi then clamps on a chokehold to tap out Iizuka in under a minute. This would be easy to dismiss as “just an angle,” but I loved the way the match played out. Iizuka’s overconfidence costing him is a wonderful, easy-to-digest…

Oh hell yeah, baby. This is what we're here for. It was exactly the kind of violent, gritty pro-wrestling it promised to be. Bryan Danielson & Jon Moxley style. The crazy thing is that even though it was so fucking great, it easily could've been even greater if it was a bit tighter package & the crowd was more into it, I feel. But as implied, that's really just a minor note, because this was absolutely awesome. Full of gnarly output by both men; moments like Bryan's crossface shots during the LeBell Lock, Moxley blocking the incoming headstomps in awesome fashion, all the slaps, Bryan's work over Moxley's mid-section throughout w/ them vicious kicks n' knees, the …

PUNK LOOKING LIKE HE HAS A FIRE INSIDE. MISERIA CANTARE. THE JACKET. THE SHORTS. An entrance I won't forget anytime soon, my god. This was pretty damn great. Exactly the type of violence that a Dog Collar Match should offer. Defined heel-babyface roles w/ both roles being rocked excellently, great hate-filled feeling throughout the entire thing, great offense, great selling, big moments that are treated as big moments, fantastic crimson mask by Punk, a feel-good ending. It didn't have the insane first-viewing impact on me that their first match did, but it still was undeniably great in my eyes. Love Your Hate & that stuff. ****

Good match, not quite great. The appeal of this is fairly simple. It’s two wrestlers with big personalities battering each other’s chests until they turn into raw meat. The first five minutes are almost exclusively made up of chops. Things spill to the outside, but Suzuki stays firmly in control. Despite the even start, Hiromu spends the bulk of the match fighting from underneath. It’s Hiromu’s best showing in quite some time, as Minoru’s there to ground him and curb his worst instincts. The pacing is inconsistent, as the two start wrestling, and things speed up briefly. The main thing preventing me from enjoying this more than I did is that it feels a little too one-note…

This match takes place in a dimly-lit basement in front of approximately 20 people, to give you the vibe. The ring consists of a mat surrounded by guard rails on each side. Using an escape or getting a down results in a yellow card, a second one gets a red card, and a third means you lose the match. Tsubakichi and Jota kick things off, lighting each other up with slaps and kicks to the leg. Tsubakichi grounds Jota and starts pummeling him with punches to the mid-section and knees to the head. Every time Jota gains the advantage, Tsubakichi swings frantically, looking for any strike that will land. The violence is off the charts even in the early stages of the match. Jota …

I’m only familiar with Sato, one of my favorite prospects in BJW, and Nomura, who defected from AJPW not long ago. Crafter is a masked wrestler who, as far as I can tell, is a CAPTURE trainee. Meanwhile, Fudo is an utter tank of a man. Crafter and Nomura get into a brief spat before the bell over who will start the match, but the former prevails. Crafter has all kinds of flashy tricks in his arsenal, including a jumping spin kick. Sato’s feistiness is on full display as he kicks at Crafter as he’s showboating for the crowd. Sato found himself on the wrong end of a sleeper and used his team’s first escape. Crafter tries to get fancy with a dropkick, and Sato simply si…

Yamato smothers Nomura on the mat early. But, it only takes one mistake to gain the upper hand. Nomura traps Yamato in a knee bar, and Hiroshi slaps away at him, almost as if to say he can beat Nomura at his own game. Nomura forces him to use an escape, bringing out the yellow card. Both have to scratch and claw their way into holds, with Yamato punching away at the ribs to try and break Nomura’s guard. A hockey fight breaks out, and both competitors start battering each other as hard as possible with chops and kicks. The offense stands out in an intimate environment like this where you can hear the full impact of every strike. Yamato locks in a gorgeous modified arm…

We get bodywork, with ZSJ targeting the neck of Shingo. The early mat work is petty and uncooperative. Things get a bit counter-heavy briefly, but every time Takagi goes for something flashy, he gets punished for it. On the outside, ZSJ delivers some nasty uppercuts to the throat of Shingo. Back inside, Zack grounds Shingo with submissions. Shingo’s selling, as always, is phenomenal. ZSJ switches things up and works over the arm to neutralize Shingo’s power advantage. Takagi goes for a Sliding Lariat but again pays for it as he gets twisted in knots. The mean-spirited Sabre shines in these control segments where he can viciously work over his opponent’s bad wheels. H…

This was the antithesis of most New Japan undercard tags. STRONGHEARTS are such a breath of fresh air, bringing new life to the promotion. Fujinami's great at picking his spots even at 69, which led to a cool moment at the beginning where he stood up to Okada. Kojima and T-Hawk beat the tar out of one another, but it eventually came down to the STRONGHEARTS & Fujinami group isolating Kojima and working over his leg. Tanahashi got the hot tag, and everyone ate a Dragon Screw except Fujinami. Tanahashi slapped the old man and delivered Fujinami's signature Dragon Screw, which elicited an audible reaction from the crowd. Everyone entered the pool, and it led t…

The three-way lock-up to start was a bit goofy, but the kind of creativity you come to expect from these matches. Natsupoi and AZM didn’t stand around waiting for Koguma’s big dive but instead jockeyed for a German Suplex to give the spot a more natural set-up. They deviated from the formula of two wrestlers teaming up on the other, with everyone opting to employ their own strategies instead. They also avoided one of my least favorite tropes in multi-person matches where someone disappears for large periods. After a blisteringly fast series of back-and-forth pin attempts, AZM defeated Natsupoi with the AZM Sushi. They kept the action moving along at a brisk pace and avoid…

These two were featured in a great tag match a few weeks ago where they set this match up perfectly. A 10-minute match which was all about young Wheeler Yuta standing up & showing fire against the greatest professional wrestler to ever live. It's a classic story to tell, and I usually love it every single damn time. Bryan was obviously fucking great at his role, dishing out punishment & being a little extra-dickish to his opponent. Yuta was also awesome, rocking his role pretty damn excellently; he showed just the right amount of emotion for a match of this kind. Him stealing the Danielson elbows & then spitting at Danielson before getting his head stomped in …

Biff and Mox have both been on quite the tear in 2022, so I was hyped for this match. The electricity in Fair Park is palpable. The opening mat work was perfunctory, with Mox largely relying on takedowns and Biff grinding him down with submissions. Mox locks in a modified STF and follows it up with stomps to the head. A big knee strike sends Biff flying to the outside. Biff gets busted open after a suplex on the floor, and the juices start flowing. The match gets visceral from here on out, with both swinging for the fences and color pouring from Biff's head as Mox tries to choke him out. Thunderous slap exchanges follow, and Mox's resiliency causes Biff to fire up an…

It doesn't take long for things to get scrappy, as Thatcher lights up the larger competitor with knee strikes, and Kratos responds with a slap. Kratos is deceptively quick on the mat, but Thatcher softens him up for the Half Crab by kicking at his knee. Thatcher's as expressive as ever, looking as if he's enjoying inflicting pain on Kratos with a cheesy grin on his face. Kratos hits a deadlift suplex on a downed Thatcher and tries to wear him down with a chokehold. The ever-valiant babyface, Tim, tries to trade strikes with Kratos, and it proves beneficial. At this point in the match, Thatcher's dazed, on his feet selling shines. A shot from Thatcher busts Krat…