January 2023

Sasaki’s early attempts at takedowns were thwarted as Sato escaped a kneebar attempt with ease. He peppered Sasaki with body shots, but Hitamaru fired back with his own, and the two became entangled in dueling leg submissions. The mat work was competitive and scrappy, just the way I like it. This took a few minutes to get going, but there was always a purpose to Sato and Sasaki’s movements. So many wrestlers who try to emulate this style get that part wrong. Sato downed Sasaki with a slap, but soon found himself in a Triangle Choke. I dug Sato grinding his knuckles into Sasaki’s face to escape the hold. The slaps from earlier appear to have busted open Sasaki’s mouth…

Will Ospreay defends the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. Not gonna lie, I wasn't feeling the first half (or so). It wasn't until Ospreay got busted open & Omega went into nasty murder-mode that I got into it, but oh boy did I love that shit. Kenneth was looking like a killer out there, and Ospreay was selling like a king. Cringe overselling is always a possibility with him, but here he was truly fantastic; selling just the right amount of big, you know? Moments like Kenny smashing Ospreay's head onto the table repeatedly, all the beautifully brutal V-Triggers, the Croyth's Wrath & the whole sequence leading to it w/ Will's amazing selling = *chef…

I thought this was a strong outing between the two. The added psychology with Nakajima breaking Shingo’s ribs and targeting them for the remainder of the match added some drama to the mix. Nakajima showed off some of his sadist personality that most enjoy him for, not only with his kicks but his menacing facial and body expressions. Shingo was solid when selling and working his way to a victory, gutting through the pain and surviving Nakajima’s best moves, such as the Vertical Spike and eventually winning with the Last Of The Dragon. This didn’t have that great match spark but it had some good character work and selling to hold it together. ***3/4

Bryan & Mox wonderfully bring the violence, and Top Flight shine on their roles as the young underdogs trying to make a name for themselves. Highly energized, awesome action bell-to-bell with great urgency. An absolute banger. ***1/2