January 2016

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It's hard to not love a match where you have Fujiwara teaming up with Cheeseburger. The Taguchi/Koshinaka double butt spots were the low point of the match but still you get Fujiwara slapping and stretching young boys so you can't go wrong with it.

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Takeshita, much like Okada, is a tall young guy. Thus DDT pushes him pretty hard. Much like Okada he isn't very good at pro wrestling. He just has no clue what to do. His early leg selling was eye rolling and on the bad side of melodrama. When you sell something as much as he sold the leg and then just drop it after two minutes it looks ridiculous. If he'd sold it less I would've been completely fine with it but this way it just looked comical. I liked Umeda on offence, he threw a lot of cool kick variations and had real intensity behind them, always looking to hurt Takeshita, who on the other hand would do a move, then try to remember where the hell he is for about fifte…

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKg1SEuZZ2I&feature=youtu.be Match starts at 1:18:38 A great vets vs. rookies tag match. Avid Rival spend most of the match beating their younger opponents which allows them to show off their cool offense. The rookies due manage to work in enough comebacks to stay a realistic threat for the win, especially with Kobayashi making every rollup come off as a nearfall. They do go a little too long as they work a draw but Ohata and Mizunami end up killing Kobayashi a bit too much before the bell. Overall, a really strong tag match with everyone playing their roles well. ****

I really loved the opening, Hashimoto is, uhm.....bulky? but not as big as Aja and you had her using amateur-style takedowns and Aja battling her technique with size which was really cool. Aja can't move as much as she used to but she can still hit really hard and C-Hash comes to her and sells her strikes enough that it isn't an issue. It could have been better if C-Hash had some good liking striking offence but she did not. Still this is a very cool and unique match that I definitely recommend checking out. ***1/4

I actually liked this more than Brock/Sheamus from the night before. It's a paint-by-the-numbers "Southern" tag but everything was really smoothly done. Enjoyed Xavier being in the match rather than Kofi because it allow for some really nicely timed interference spots. Maybe it was this smooth because they've done the same match on a dozen other house shows but it all really came together here.

The Hikaru Sato match was good. So good. Too good to be true. As I searched for more Ayumu Honda I prepared myself for disappointment. I imagined him throwing weak forearms and slapping his thigh. This is the reality of japanese wrestling in 2016. Nice things are in the minority. This wrestler couldn't possibly exist in present time. Right? Right?................... But he does. It turns out Ayumu Honda really is that damn good. I don't remember the last time I was so excited about discovering a worker. It's not that he works shoot style-it's simply the best easily made comparison out there to make people understand what they're getting into with him. It's not t…

This is booked like your standard OZ Academy match, which has a lot of brawling and interference. Still, these are two get the most out of this all things considered. In fact, Kato is really underrated as her matches usually have good selling and pacing. Mio Shirai works as a heel ref as she isn't clearly bias towards the heels throughout the match. Even though the overbooking weights the match down it's still an effective main event title match. ***1/2

Match Link Really fun vets vs. rookies match. Neat dynamic with the rookies as Watanabe is 15 but has close to two years experience while Kyouna is 24 but just debuted last November. Momo isn't the flashiest or most charismatic worker but she shows enough pluckiness in her work to get the crowd behind her. Jungle has a nice power moveset and amazing ring presence for someone with such little experience. Thunder Rock do a terrific job of setting up the rookies as underdogs then putting them over just enough to make you think that they have a chance at winning. Fun touch at the finish as Io hits a Hojo-style elbow for the win to lead up to their upcoming title match. **…