Superstar Sleeze

I agree with that sentiment. It is listed as August. It is also most likely a Pro Wrestling USA show in Philly or maybe Maryland. So you would think AWA title being defended in Philly or Maryland would not be hard to pin down.

I dont care for his character. He seems like a spastic, moody, sarcastic teenage loner. He is probably the best seller among the men (Cena used to be the best then he became all bout DEM MOVEZ~!, Rusve might be better than Ambrose), which is why I tend to like him. I think he is incredibly effective in tag team and six-man tags at getting his ass kicked. His offense is fine. I am not in love with moves that come off the top rope onto standing opponents. I love his Tenryu tribute chop/punch. I would say in terms of bell-to-bell, he is a wrestler on the roster I look forward to watching. His promos/angles tend to do nothing for me.

English commentary through me for a loop. Call me crazy, but I prefer Japanese commentary for Japanese matches. The cadence and rhythm follows the action a lot better even if I can only understand the occasional "DAAAANNNNGGGGEERRRROOOUS!" or "BRAAAAAINBBBBBUSTER"! I probably should watch this match again. I tend to underrate the very first match of a style that I am getting back into because I forget all the nuances to look for. Still a great match, but I just didn't see as the classic everyone else made it out to be.

Definitely check out the Tulsa match between these two from the same day. It is even better!

Because we are just 2 SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!

- Jumping Bomb Angels - Demolition vs Haynes & Patera

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - G-1 Climax 25 Finals The finalists of the first G-1 Climax, Keiji Mutoh & Masa Chono, are providing commentary for this momentous occasion. Last year, these two put on a match that I thought was a ***** classic and the second best match of the year worldwide. They have come a long way from their 1/4/05 Tokyo Dome performance. Amazing, these two have been synonymous with New Japan Pro Wrestling for over a decade now. They had a lot to live up to from last year's masterpiece and hell just the night before Nakamura had an instant classic with Okada and two nights before Tanahashi and AJ Styles tore the house down. I acknowledge the route they took was probably the best one given the circumstances even if I, personally, think it leads to diminishing returns. New Japan's strength is their finish runs. They escalate in drama beautifully and climax at the right moment and very rarely hurt anyone's finishes. The difference between modern New Japan and 90s All Japan is 90s All Japan had the accompanying the structure and psychology that takes the exciting and makes it a transcendent and moving emotional experience. On this night, I think everyone knew that a routine New Japan finish would not be enough and credit to them they did not put on the same match from Invasion Attack. I think is a bit of a problem with New Japan is the same-y-ness of their layouts. No, no, Tanahashi and Nakamura dusted off the only style that could really could fit the magnitude for the moment: grandiose pomp and circumstance of the Pro Wrestling NOAH finish run. Kickouts galore, multiple finish hits, overwrought, but glorious at the same time, an overindulgence of machismo and fighting spirit, at the end of the day these two just are not Kenta Kobashi so my revelry was tempered by the lack of effusive emotion, but this was incredible and I am happy that something different was attempted. The first half of this is fucking excellent and really can only be done with these two particular wrestlers because of the history they share. They were just absolute dicks to one another for 15 minutes. Everytime, one showed up the other, they other would make him pay. First, Tanahashi was winning the chaining battles and played air guitar a couple times. Nakamura then proceeded to pass his guard and switch mounts at will reminding him who the better submission wrestler was. Tanahashi did not disappoint by countering the kicks with his patented leg attack. The Dragon Leg Screws were fucking awesome. Tanahashi really hit those from a ton of different starting position throughout the match. But he could not help but mock Nakamura shaky leg in the corner only not to do that and that cost him with a kick to the head. Nakamura could not resist throwing playful kicks at the head of Tanahashi, who went back after the knee only to hit High Fly Flow to the floor. Personally, if they continued on this path, I could easily see myself giving the match ***** and calling it revolutionary in terms of structure. In a way, it would feel too personal and therefore too small for the moment. So they had to kick it up. There had to be three Boma Ye's to the head that Tanahashi kickout. There had to be multiple High Fly Flows with a kickout. There had to be multiple strike exchanges. There had to be crazy armbar reversals. The High Fly Flow on the ropes was awesome and after two more Tanahashi won it. This match is incredibly entertaining and as always Tanahashi's knee attack affords a great home base for them to go to back to. Nakamura's selling was great and kicked some ass. They let it all hand out. I don't think it was as good as Invasion Attack 2014, but I would say this is the second best New Japan match of the year after Nakamura/Okada. They do go overboard, but it is so rare for New Japan to go overboard that it comes off as unique and plus in NOAH there would have been 15 more minutes of wrestling! I feel like I sound more down on the match than I was. I guess part of me really liked the first half so much that it was a bit disappointing that they did not follow through to the end, but in some ways they did. These two just did not want to lose to each other at all. They have been together so long that bragging rights and pride mean everything in this contest. Hopefully, New Japan sticks with their current finish run formula and adds more psychological wrinkles rather than more false finishes, but for one night this was pretty damn great. ****1/2

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kazuchika Okada - G-1 Climax 25 Semifinals Finally, the New Japan boys weave an amazing story to support their uncanny ability to generate dramatic, hot finish runs with their moves. The result was the best New Japan match of the year. Okada is probably my least favorite wrestler in the world, but I will give him his due, he is a proficient wrestler. I just find him dull. He is like a technically perfect robot devoid of all emotion. In this match, he did show more cockiness than usual and that helped. The big boon to the match was Nakamura was selling for two in this match and this has to go down as one of his most masterful performances. This is a rematch of last year's finals where Okada won his second G-1 Climax. Okada had that air of superiority that was quickly effaced when Nakamura took him to task on the mat. In a pure kayfabe sense, Okada is totally out-gunned in this match as most of Nakamura's opponent are. He is probably the best striker and submission wrestler on the roster. In a lot of ways, this is an excellent Tanahashi match without Tanahashi involved. Tanahashi's strategy against these wrestlers (Nakamura, Nagata etc...) is to break them down usually by attacking the leg. Okada used a combination of luck and his best weapon. Okada having powdered before being choked out early was taking a walk. Nakamura, who clearly came in ripshit to prove that he was better, immediately gave chase. Okada managed to whip him into the railing and this allowed to hit him with BANG! A Dropkick, his beat weapon this sent Nakamura back into the railing. From there, he planted him with a Hangmans DDT from the railing. Nakamura never really recovered from that move. Nakamura did an incredible job selling that move and his neck for the rest of the match. Okada naturally has a lot of moves that work the neck so it worked out well (Tombstone on the outside was awesome). Nakamura was great at his burst of knee-based offense, but failing to capitalize because of his neck while Okada was able to use the neck as a cutoff attack especially during strike exchanges. Nakamura first focused on knees to the abdomen, but then started moving towards head strikes (Boma Ye & Kicks) as counters. These took their toll on Okada, who eventually had a hard time regaining control. Probably my favorite strike exhcnage in New Japan ensued with both wrestlers selling their necks incredibly. I loved Nakamura losing his ability to throw a forearm because his neck was so fucked up only to fire back up and drill Okada. Nakamura won with an axe kick and BOMA YE~! Landslide only gets two! Boma Ye attempt, but DROPKICK! He took his fucking head off. Okada knows when to use that dropkick. That big advantage Okada built early in the match has been lost, but he can avoid choking the match away if he can hit the Rainmaker. He nails it! Goes again, Boma Ye attempt, but catches, German, but Nakamura gets a double wristlock now a Tombston! RAINMAKER NO FLYING CROSSARMBREAKER!!! There is some struggle, but Nakamura maintains the hold for the win. Awesome progression from the G1 Climax finals last year with Nakamura going into to prove he can kick this punk's ass and that punk gets lucky and opens up a big lead. Okada works the neck awesomely and comes off like a huge douche. Nakamura sells huge and his hope spots are awesomely timed. There is a real sense he has to claw his way back into the match. Finally his head shots take their toll and Okada looks like he choked away the match. Then they go into a tremendous fireworks finish run. Nakamura proves why he is the best counterwrestler in the game today. Best NJPW match and now a frontrunner for the match of the year for NJPW and WWE. ****3/4

AJ Styles vs Kota Ibushi - G-1 Climax 7/26/15 Kayfabe-wise, this is a match between the #4 and #5 wrestler on the New Japan roster. What separates AJ right now from the rest of the pack is that he is able to beat two of the big three for the IWGP Championship. However, he is more prone than the rest of the Big Three to lose to upper midcard wrestlers like Ibushi and Naito. I like that booking of AJ. He has big credible wins over Tanahashi and Okada, but he is still susceptible to being upset. Ibushi had HUGE showings against Nakamura, Styles and Tanahashi on big stages, but the big victory always eluded him until this night. Not only was this a HUGE victory for Ibushi, but I thought it was even better than the championship match against AJ. The story of the match was Ibushi's kicks & high flying moves against AJ's ability to counter the high flying arsenal of Ibushi. Ibushi was using his kicks to set up his aerial assault, but AJ was able to counter for the majority of the beginning of the match. After the opening chain wrestling, AJ went from his usual leapfrog-dropdown-dropkick, but Ibushi had it scouted and AJ had the Penalty Kick scouted, but Ibushi did miss with his second big kick to the chest. Ibushi started off in control and even swept the leg while AJ was on the apron, which caused an amazing AJ header bump on the apron. Ibushi kicks looked to set up a springboard move, but AJ hung him up neck first on the rope and then followed up with an urnage on the railing. OW! AJ's offense is so fucking crisp right now. He hit a left handed clothesline that was just massive. He has to win Best on Offense this year. Ibushi avoids the quebrada and hits a wicked German and it is back to the kicks. AJ goes after the injured fingers. I would have liked to see more of that. AJ hits a BEAUTIFUL spingboard forearm. Ibushi blockes the Styles Clash by dumping him over the top. He wants his German from the apron, but AJ counters into a Tombstone no wait it is a FRANKENSTEINER! It did not look that good, but it was a fun sequence. Ibushi hit his Asai from the turnbuckle, a good one. He wants his Phoenix Splash, but AJ shakes the ropes. HOLLOW POINT! "OOOOOOOOOOOO SHIT!" - Japanese Announcer. Hollow Point seems to be a set up for the Springboard 450 now, which I wish would finish off some matches. Uncharacteristically, AJ overshoots and Ibushi goes for the pin, but two. They trade strikes and Peles in really entertaining fashion. BLOODY SUNDAY! But only two. AJ goes to the top again. I just dont get it. They try a super duper standing top rope frankensteiner, but does not look great. Ibushi powerbomb and then PHOENIX SPLASH! HE HIT THE PHOENIX SPLASH! 1-2-3! Offensively, this was a fucking clinic. I loved the story of Ibushi taking it to AJ early on and never relenting. Ibushi has been maturing throughout the year and this was his crowning achievement of the year. Such a shame about the injury! These NJPW finish runs are very exciting and really entertaining in how they escalate, but they just dont have the psychology to take it to that next level. I still have Tanahashi/Ibushi as the NJPW MOTY, but this is either #2 or #3 with AJ/Tanahashi. ****1/2

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs AJ Styles - King of Pro Wrestling 10/12/15 I am tempted to just copy and paste my review of the July match. In that regard, this is the most disappointing AJ match so far in NJPW that I have seen. There are enough differences in the finish run that make this entertaining and a great match, but I would have liked to see them depart from the usual New Japan heavyweight main event style. It is a style I do enjoy, but I would have liked to see them venture out into new territory. I am in minority, but I actually slightly preferred this finish run to the last match's finish run. These matches just do not feel complete. The beginning was the same as it saw Okada nominally in control before the Bullet Club got involved this time more forcefully via a powerbomb on the apron. From there, AJ laid the verbal and physical smackdown on Okada. It was a little rougher than last time getting in some railing shots. Again, we see AJ apply the chinlock and that's the transition to Okada overwhelming AJ with European Uppercuts and then dropkicking him off the top rope. I liked the set up in the July match with AJ straddling himself first. AJ goes for the springboard off the railing, but Okada kicks the railing and he takes a nasty spill and then hangman's DDT from railing. Vintage Orton! There are a lot of similarities between Orton and Okada (dropkick, bland, mechanically really good, pretty boys, weirdly over for doing pretty much nothing, pushed). Then they do the 2012 John Cena finish layout, which I actually enjoy a lot. Basically, Okada wants to run through all his set up moves for the Rainmaker, but AJ keeps cutting him off and at the same time AJ is running through his set up moves so it is a race to the finish. It is a pretty neat story, but it does get a little move trade-y. RAINMAKER~! Wow that was earlier than expected. Anderson yanks him out. TOPE CON HILO ON THE BULLET CLUB! That was just TOO SWEEEEEEEEEEET! I like that they put the babyface heat on Okada for wiping out the Bullet Club rather than the ref even if Red Shoes telling AJ & the Bullet Club to suck it was hilarious. CALF-KILLER! This is probably the best part of the match because of the struggle and drama. Okada gets the ropes and hits a tombstone. He sells the knee and cant capitalize. This is what sold me on this finish run being slightly better. They both attempt their finishers a bunch and RAINKMAKER~! It is a really good one, but he hits two more. The Rainmaker does not always look devastating so if he hits one that is awesome looking I think he should just go to the pin because it becomes anti-climatic. I know I sound down on the match, but it was actually entertaining. I think it was just having to watch 56 straight minutes of very samey wrestling from the same two wrestlers instead of watching these matches three months apart like other fans did in real time. It is great wrestling, but just too move-tradey for me and it lacks a story. Okada just does nothing for me. I cant wait to watch some AJ in the G1 Climax against Ibushi and Tanahashi. Only one more Okada match to watch for this year, yay! ****

IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles vs Kazuchika Okada - Dominion 7.5.15 Okada is by far my least favorite of the New Japan performer. He is just a very dry, emotionless performer that relies on his spots and entrance to stay over. I really dig the entrance, but I wish there was more to him once he stepped in the ring. I do really enjoy his use of the dropkick as his ultimate counterwrestling weapon. I thought his selling was better here at times, but still he had a tendency to drop it or just not fight back enough. I thought AJ's worst main event singles performances last year were against Okada. Nothing has changed as this was my least favorite AJ match of the year, but hey it was still one helluva a finish run. Early on, I enjoyed they both teased dropkicks and each opponent held onto the ropes to avoid it. It shows some familiarity. They outset of the match was built around Bullet Club interference. It was different and fun. The payoff was Red Shoes telling AJ to Suck It and then telling the Bullet Club to suck it before throwing them out. Nick Jackson's reaction was perfect. Back in, Okada, who was getting his ass kicked in the early part by the Bullet Club had start digging himself out of the hole. He did so through his use of dropkicks. They worked some really nice dropkick spots in to counter AJ from running away with the match. Okada managed to nail his elbow drop, but AJ avoided the tombstone and hit the suplex in the corner. AJ afraid of losing control went for the Styles Clash, but was countered into a headdrop. They did an elaborate tombstone reversal with AJ coming out the better, which was cool and then my favorite AJ move Springboard 450 only got two! There were a lot of aimless moments in the match, but none more head-scratching then AJ going to top for I dont know what and then getting dropped on his lower back on the apron. OW! It just didnt make sense why AJ was going to the top. Okada hit a nice missile dropkick and then got his tombstone piledriver. Now it is Rainmaker time! The finish sequence I can see the argument for it being bloated and way too intricate, but I enjoyed it immensely! Basically they traded Styles Clash, Rainmaker attempts and out of a Backslide, Okada nailed the Rainmaker. It was a fucking beauty that could have been the finish, but hit a couple more Rainmakers to seal the deal. I saw this as high as FIVE stars, no way, Jose from this guy. It is a great finish run that takes up the back half of the match. On the strength of that, i can safely say it is a great match, but it is really two just wrestlers working their arsenals in clever fashion, but without much of a story to hold it together. ****

IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles vs Kota Ibushi - Invasion Attack 4/5/15 Holy Shit! WHAT A FUCKING FINISH! I don't want to spoil it, but I think that's gotta be spot of the fucking year. Absolutely nuts! Ibushi definitely seems like the breakout star of 2015 in spite of his injury late this year. I may not be as high on his Nakamura & Shibata matches, but I still thought they were great. On top of that, the Tanahashi match is killer and then this match is another feather in his cap. It was definitely a massive year for Kota Ibushi. AJ Styles regained his IWGP Heavyweight Championship in a fantastic match against Tanahashi and now faces the burgeoning star of 2015, Kota Ibushi, who won the New Japan Cup to get this title shot. AJ was at his heel best in this match trash talking Ibushi and cheating like a muthafucka. Ibushi responded to the trash talking by showing him up with his speed. Per usual, whenever AJ gets shaken up he thinks Styles Clash, which can work as a psychological tool in addition to trying to win the match. Ibushi comes out a head on the nearfall sequence. AJ tries raking the eyes and a double thrust to the throat, but Ibushi will not be denied. Ibushi looks to land his double jump moonsault on the outside, but AJ takes advantage of him trying to hit this complicated move and deliver a German suplex on the floor that rattles the young challenger. Styles was great at this heat segment. Everything was perfectly executed and all the AJ spots (skywalker knee, dropkick and lariat in corner) were there. I loved him bringing Ibushi over to the guard rail to trash talk him about never getting the championship. Ibushi did ragdoll a bit too much here. I would have liked to seen him more plucky. AJ went for his springboard forearm, but Ibushi caught with a dropkick and AJ went throat first. Ibushi threw some nice kicks, but AJ caught the leg and elbowed the knee joint. Again when AJ is rattled, he recovers by looking for a route to victory and this time he wanted to build to the Calf-Killer. Nice leg work follows and thought Ibushi's selling was better here than earlier. Plus it does not go on too long so Ibushi does not have to worry about selling the leg. The second best spot of the match was Styles went for the basement dropkick and Ibushi avoided it by jumping up with both feet and then landing a double stomp. Very, very cool. AJ powders and Ibushi followed with a top rope double jump moonsault. Now Ibushi rattles off some of his high flying moves and he looks great as he has the champion on the ropes. A suplex struggle near the turnbuckles ensued and AJ hit his snap suplex into the turnbuckles. AJ then proceeded to hit probably his best quebrada into a DDT ever. It looked fantastic. Strike exchange and double Pele Kicks! I dont know if that was the time for that spot, but it was definitely a spot they needed to do given who they are. Bloody Sunday! Surprisingly, Ibushi fights out of the Styles Clash. When AJ switches gears and wraps him up in the Calf Killer. Perfect wrestling by AJ. Ibushi makes the ropes and when AJ wants the Styles Clash again he gets kneed in the face, but Ibushi is hurt now. AJ HITS A MUTHAFUCKIN LARIAT THAT WOULD CREAM JBL'S PANTS! WOW! Uncharacteristically, AJ decides to go for the much riskier Super Styles Clash and pays the price as Ibushi hits a Frankensteiner off the top. Ibushi has trouble with his powerbomb, but eventually gets it and now is looking for the Phoenix Splash. That's where I will leave you. AJ worked another awesome, classic heavyweight title defense. He got shown up early for his trash talking. He tried cheating, but Ibushi kept fighting. Ibushi got cute and AJ made him pay. In the same way, AJ got cocky and was not always following up his moves and Ibushi would make him pay. But every single time AJ was cut off, he immediately regrouped in a way to either apply the Calf-Killer or Styles Clash. The offense in this match was incredible. I don't think this match flowed as well as some of the other better NJPW matches. I think some of the spots could have been re-arranged to tell a better story. AJ's selling was great especially after being hit with the Pele and he is great at being desperate one moment and cocky as all get out the next. Ibushi needs to work on his selling. The offense is there. I would have liked to sene him fight back more too. Still a really, really entertaining match. ****1/4

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs AJ Styles - New Beginning in Osaka 2/11/15 My two favorite wrestlers on the planet right now meeting for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship is always a good thing. I really liked their October title change from 2014 and thought this was even better. They should some learned psychology as Tanahashi had AJ's dropkick scouted early and AJ knew Tanahashi's somersault off the apron. I also thought they did not just do a let me run my spots and now you run through yours, which is really common in this day and age. We did not see every single Tanahashi stock spot nor did we see every single one of AJ's instead they worked in those that made sense and they really really connected each spot very well. I think what I like the most about both Tanahashi and Styles is their ability to be urgent and patient at the same time. Everything feels important without being rushed. I think it is the rushing around that gives a lot of matches nowadays an exhibition feel to them. This felt like a classic heavyweight championship match and these two are the best at that style. I really liked the opening matwork everything flowed from the lockup well. AJ scrambling away from a Tanahashi leg takedown knowing Tana's propensity to target his opponent's legs was a nice touch. I liked AJ really grinding that headlock and Tanahashi moving into a top wristlock and finally some arm work. You dont get to see much arm work from Tanahashi, but it was good and AJ was great keeping it moving while staying in the armbar. AJ broke free was thinking dropkick using his usual criss cross sequence, but Tanahashi put on the brakes and went back to the arm. As a long time AJ fan, it is little touches like that which keep me off balance. AJ eventually did score with the dropkick to send Tanahashi to the outside, but Tanahashi came back into the ring dodging a flying bodypress and hitting his own dropkick. Nice symmetry. However, AJ knew the somersault off the apron was coming and moved leaving Tanahashi to crash and burn. Of course, we got the Bullet Club to lay the boots on Tanahashi. Capn New Japan tried to make a save, but he got creamed. AJ was so fucking crisp on offense and did a great job targeting the back of Tanahashi with some excellently executed backbreakers. I thought Tanahashi did a great job peppering in the hope spots, but did not go overboard. I liked how vocal AJ was like when he went for a top wristlock after Tana's wristlock and said "How do you like it?" or his "WOAH!" taking a backdrop. Screw the haters, Tanahashi full weight somersault splash off the middle rope looks devastating. Tanahashi hit High Fly Flow on the entire Bullet Club was an amazing visual, but unfortunately for he knocked heads with one of the Jacksons and busted himself open by his left eye. OW! Clearly disoriented, AJ was able to suplex him hard into the turnbuckles. AJ looked for Bloody Sunday his set up for Styles Clash to take advantage of the situation as he was now more desperate given Tanahashi recent flurry and wanted to end it sooner rather than later. Tanahashi maneuvered into his setup for High Fly Flow, which is the Human Capture Suplex. I love that sense of escalation. AJ distracted the ref to back leg ball shot Tanahashi, which was a great desperation move and when the Bullet Club tried to further distract the ref it backfired with Tanahashi hitting his OWN BALLSHOT! I marked out for that hard. Great way to level the playing field before the big run to the finish. There were a couple mistimings between these two the most obvious was supposed to be an AJ enziguiri turned Dragon Leg Screw, which ended up just being an enziguiri because he actually kicked him. Tanahashi covered well, but AJ was a little slow realizing what was happening, but once he did he covered nicely with "Oh you want another one." Tanahashi hit Sling Blade, but knees up on High Fly Flow and he did NOT work on the knees. AJ is able to recover faster, but he eats knees on the Springboard 450. Nice symmetry. Tanahashi goes for the HFF again, but Styles lunges into the ropes and Tanahashi falls on his already sore balls. Styles wants the Frankensteiner, but Tanahashi almost turns it into a Style Clash, but AJ knows the counter. Again, AJ freaked out about almost losing, immediately stops dicking around and tries for the win by hoisting Tanahashi off the top rope into a Style Clash and there is a great struggle before Styles just drops down with Hollow Point. I feel like that should be his super finisher rather than just a set up. Bloody Sunday leads to Styles Clash for the win. Amazing escalation from the opening feel out process that established how well these two knew each other and how they will both need to dig deep into their bag of tricks to keep the other guessing, great transition to the heat segment with scouting leading to AJ taking control, transition out of the heat was unremarkable admittedly, great high spot with the High Fly Flow on everyone, really well done escalation from the set up moves, nice fun wrinkle with the ballshots, each going for a home run, but missing, only for AJ to have a little more gas left when knocked Tanahashi off the top. AJ did throw a couple nice hammer punches to the eye, but I would have liked to seen that more exploited. There were a couple botches and really it was missing that really memorable hook to make this an all-timer. As is, this is awesome, awesome heavyweight wrestling that I just love. I have this #2 behind Tanahashi/Ibushi. ****1/2

Awesome resource. Thanks so much. Right now it is between Lesnar/Reigns(/Rollins), Sasha/Becky and Tanahashi/Ibushi, but I have a ton of NJPW to catch up on.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kota Ibushi - G-1 Climax 7/20/15 So I have seen Ibushi go against two hard-hitting badasses. Lets see how he fares against the best counter-wrestler/tactician of this generation. Every NJPW fan and their brother could tell you what would happen in this match with Tanahashi targeting the knee, but predictable is not always bad as this match is fantastic and is currently my NJPW match of the year. Now relying on leg work in 2015 against a high flyer is always a risky proposition and yes the main flaw of this match is Ibushi continuing to wrestle his high flying style after extensive leg work. I felt like he did sell enough and Tanahashi kept going back to it that it did not hurt the match that much even if some of the flips seemed overboard given the psychology. Tanahashi looked great in this and really knew how to escalate the drama in this match. My only complaint about him is the same one was always is that he always incorporates the strike exchanges in his matches even though he is not good at them. I get it part of NJPW, but Tanahashi should avoid them. Some nice chain wrestling to start as usual from Tanahashi. Ibushi scores the first big blow with speed in form of a dropkick and then kicks Tanahashi in the chest. The first fantastic sequence of the match is Tanahashi grabbing the leg elbowing it, but Ibushi avoids the dropkick to knee, but misses the standing moonsault which hurts the knee. That was a great bang bang play. Tanahashi is a master working over the leg and everything looked great. Ibushi was at his absolute selling the knee here. Crawling away from Tanahashi and being very vocal. Tanahashi is so great at playing that subtle dick heel while working the knee. Ibushi taking advantage of Tanahashi turning his back with a reverse crossbody attempt by dropkicking him out to the floor was perfect. It was a very sensible transition that was a pretty big bump for Tanahashi and set up Ibushi taking flight. Tanahashi made a mistake and Ibushi made him pay. Ibushi does fire off quite a few high flying moves (he sells at times) before Tanahashi is able to dropkick Ibushi leg out from under him and Ibushi sells that very well. Ibushi tries to escape, but Tanahashi dives at the leg and then HITS HIGH FLY FLOW TO THE OUTSIDE! That looked way sicker than Ibushi's moonsault. This is by far Ibushi's bets selling performance even if his offense requires him to be spotty. Dragon leg screw in the ropes repeatedly, gotta love that Tanahashi nostalgia! Tanahashi wants the Texas Cloverleaf, wicked kick to head and Tanahashi dropkicks knee and Ibushi fights through it to kick him. I think that was reasonable as Ibushi had to fight through the pain to survive. Strike exchange BOOOOOOOOOO! Kick to knee! YAY! Tana catches a kick and dragon leg screw. He gets the Texas Cloverleaf, but Ibushi makes ropes. Dragon suplex no Human Capture Suplex (with plenty of authority, haters keep hating), he gets Sling Blade on the third try. You know what time it is! HIGH FLY FLOW! Here comes number two! Eats knees, but Ibushi's knee is HURT! LOVE THAT PSYCHOLOGY! I really dug the match up until this point, but this was pretty much the Tanahashi formula just at work. The finish run kicks up to the next level. IBUSHI FUCKING LAWN DARTS TANAHASHI INTO THE TURNBUCKLE! HOLY SHIT BUMP OF THE YEAR! German Suplex over the top rope actually looks good. Wow! Tanahashi avoids powerbomb, but gets kicked in head. Ibushi is cooking! PHOENIX SPLASH CRASH & BURN! Exactly what Tanahashi needed because since the Lawn Dart he has been unable to get any offense. Tanahashi tries for HFF, but PELE! They botch the springboard Frankensteiner unfortunately still got a huge pop on nearfall. I dont really like the transition of the powerbomb with that neckbreaker. I much preferred Tanahashi catching the Pele and turning it into a dragon leg screw. Dragon Suplex sets up the High Fly Flow for the win. Awesome fucking match. Tanahashi is so great at having traditional pro wrestling matches in 2015. There is always a great sense of strategy, flow, momentum and escalation. There is very little move trading. I happen to really like the Tanahashi formula of brekaing down an opponent through his legs to set up the finish run. I thought Ibushi did a great job selling and still got to shing with his high spots, but man did that finish sequence rule all. The Lawn Dart spot was insane. Ibushi really got a rattle off some hot nearfalls on The Man of New Japan. At the end of the day, the fact Ibushi had to turn off the selling does hurt this as do strike exchanges, but those are quibbles. This is fucking awesome. Watch this match! ****1/2

It definitely took me a while to get him. I guess I see him more like Terry Funk than you do. I am definitely in the minority (maybe the only person alive) that prefers Tanahashi to him hands down. I just watched Tanahashi's match with Ibushi from this year's G-1 Climax and thought it was better than more pimped 1/4 match.

Katsuyori Shibata vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW G-1 Climax 7/29/15 HOLY SHIT! DAT SLAP! WOW! That was wicked. I really enjoyed this for what it was your stiff, strike-heavy modern New Japan sprint. Kota Ibushi needs as many of these as he can get. He really ought to have won this match, but that's neither here nor there. This was the inverse of the Nakamura match, I really enjoyed the beginning, but then it devolved into a slap-happy, move-trading spotfest. That's enjoyable, but just not the best. I really liked Shibata kicking Ibushi's ass in the beginning. Ibushi is best coming from underneath. Shibata went for the penalty kick early and Ibushi avoided. He tries something cute and Shibata swats him out of the air with a European Uppercut. Tremendous opening sequence. Ibushi is clearly a much better Naito in terms of charisma and strikes. However, he does have the problem of no selling. I like that he is standing up to these badasses, but he needs to sell too. Shibata working on top was excellent. The exact intensity and urgency you want. I thought he oversold that dropkick that Ibushi used to get on offense. Ibushi should have had to string more moves than that to really take command. The back half was lots of MOVEZ~! The finish sequence was incredible. WICKED SLAP! Sleeper and then PENALTY KICK~! Overall, very entertaining match, but the only thing I will probably remember is that slap. It is great that Ibushi is competitive in these matches, but he needs wins too. ****

AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito - Wrestle Kingdom 9 Remember what I said about Shinsuke Nakamura, I was wrong. AJ Styles is the best wrestler in the world. He never ever lets up. You really feel like he is wrestling to win a match and that's the most important thing to me. He just absolutely rocked it from the opening bell to the closing bell. Yes, the finishing sequence was not as hot as Nakamura/Ibushi and there is nothing in this match that will blow your minds, but it is just excellent pro wrestling. Right off the bat, AJ jumpstarts the match and looks for the Styles Clash not once, but twice. Immediately, he sets the tone, he is here to win and he is not fucking around. That's what this match has in spades: urgency. Naito is a capable high flyer, but AJ brings out the best in him because AJ makes him earn everything. Even when they are on the floor, AJ is always moving forward before being blown away by a dropkick from the apron. Naito is ready to go through his routine in the corner and AJ counters into a legbreaker. AJ works the leg perfectly. This is such high quality. His offense looks amazing. Everything has purpose. Naito uses his speed to combat AJ, but he does sell. I love when Naito gives AJ the high ground of the top rope, AJ fires back with headbutts before nailing his signature springboard flying forearm. Naito has to resort to headkicks to try to keep AJ off balance, but he will not be denied tonight. He busted a perfect Calf-Killer and I would have loved to seen that as the finish. AJ runs through his signature set-sup for the Styles Clash, but now it is Naito who adds the wrinkle sending Styles flying out to the floor. WHAT A BUMP! That's Naito's big nearfall essentially as it is about 18 before AJ gets back in. The finish is friggin awesome as Naito goes for the top rope frankensteiner and Styles catches him and nails the Styles Clash. Absolutely pitch perfect performance from AJ. Every facet of pro wrestling, he nailed in this match. I loved the structure with AJ pretty much on top of the whole match and kicking ass, but giving enough to Naito so not to squash him, makes Naito look good and AJ even better for winning. You walked away with no doubt in your mind who the better wrestler was both in kayfabe and analytically. AJ makes you work for everything, everything he does flows from logical perspective and builds to the Styles Clash or Calf-Killer and it is done with urgency. That's why he is the best pro wrestler in the world. ****1/4

IWGP Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kota Ibushi - Wrestle Kingdom 9 Shinsuke Nakamura's entrance was Five Fucking Stars! Wow! Hearing Jim Ross' voice out of nowhere was wicked jarring. I forgot he and Striker did this match. It was weird they felt like they were reviewing the match as smart marks rather than as announcers. It was not too distracting, but there were times were both were grating. I may be in the minority, but I prefer Japanese commentary in Japanese matches. There is a certain rhythm the Japanese commentators have with the wrestlers that just works so well. The story of the match is one that I always dig and that is the young, pretty boy trying to prove he can hang with the grizzled vet. Ibushi did a great job varying his attack between fighting fire with fire and working his own game. Ibushi proved here he could hang with the hardest hitter in New Japan as he gave as good as he got with some blistering strikes. Those chops and kicks from him had me ooooohhhh and aaaaahhing as much as those ones from the King of Strong Style. At the same time, he knew if he wanted to win the match he was going to have to rely on what brought him to the dance namely his high flying arsenal, which wowed as much as it did damage. The extra element I really appreciated from Ibushi was his ability to combat Nakamura in gamesmanship. By mocking Nakamura's eccentricities, it added an extra level of chippiness and personal hate that took a great match and made it a classic. Nakamura is a license to print money. He is so over with the Japanese audience. He is a far cry from the apathetic wrestler of the late 2000s. He actually has been able to channel that apathy into a cockiness that people including myself really enjoy. As much fun as he is, he knows when to get down to business. I think he played the grizzled veteran perfectly in this match. When Ibushi mocked his jerky leg in the corner, he made him pay with an onslaught of knees. Nakamura was a great counter wrestler in the 2000s and here it is on full display against the speedy Ibushi using a ground to air missile dropkick to drop Ibushi out of the sky. I thought the beginning of the match did have its flat moments mostly resulting from a lack of struggle. Nakamura ran through his badass knee strikes and then Ibushi used a hurricanarana to keep Nakamura off balance, but that came right after he took a backstabber. The selling and flow just was not always there. The offense was top notch, but there was a bit of let me be ragdoll for you and then you will be a ragdoll for me. The last 5-8 minutes was absolutely world class professional wrestling. When Ibushi missed the Phoenix Splash, Nakamura nailed the Boma Ye knee to the back of the head, but he collapsed to the mat. At this point of the match, I thought the drama in the match went through the roof and never came back down. I love the spot of Ibushi going for the high risk home run, crashing & burning and Nakamura immediately capitalizing with his home run shot. It was a perfect way to level the playing field. Nakamura just started to whip some serious ass and when Ibushi started to fire up you could feel him becoming a man before your eyes. Their strike exchanges were not the boring stand there and let me hit you. They were fighting through each other's stuff. I don't love simultaneous punches, but holy shit did they pull it off perfectly! Really the best use of that spot ever. Also, this match featured a really great use of the rare closed fist. Ibushi was tired of Nakamura's shit and he started to wailing on him. Nakamura shoved the ref into Ibushi, which allowed him to deck Ibushi with a straight right. What a dick and what a great spot. I love Japanese punches because they look like match enders and are treated as such! Ibushi's flying double stomp to a running Nakamura was insane. Then in the climax of the match Ibushi mocks Nakamura's mannerisms in the corner before nailing the Boma Ye knee and Nakamura kicked out. It was just so perfect. You know that Ibushi has the confidence and he can hang with Nakamura, but he just is not there yet. They over reach on a neat in your head, but not in practice move with Ibushi trying to German Suplex Nakamura over the top rope while standing on the top rope. That was Ibushi's big false finish, before Nakamura roared back with a pair of Boma Ye Knees. Absolutely fantastic finish run. Nakamura looked like the best wrestler in the world with his offense and mannerisms. Ibushi proved that he was not just a high flyer and that he could hang in a stand up contest and he had the balls to mock the biggest star in the company. I was not in love with the beginning of the match and I think there have been better matches in 2015, but this was great. ****1/4

Charlotte/Paige doing a match centered around Flair spots was entertaining as hell. Even from the outside, Flair is a broomstick worker. #GWE

The surprise Ambrose win, at least I didn't see it coming, got over huge live! I really liked the finish. The rest of the match was them rolling their spots and going through the motions. Ladder match is match of the night. Everything else had been mediocre. The lighter fluid got me pumped because I have never seen a flaming table live so that got some good heat.

Sasha wins with UNITY~! Fun Mid 90s throwback work rate match with a strong finish I enjoyed all the near falls have not seen it in a while.

Buddy Rose & Ed Wiskowski vs Roddy Piper & Ricky Martel - PNW 8/02/80 This match is for the vacant Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship since the Sheepherders left for New Zealand. The one thing I remember most about this match is the call of "Handy Dandy" Sandy Barr looking like a Popsicle. It was probably my favorite moment of doing the Portland Titans shows and had forgotten it happened in this match. This is definitely an all time great Portland match, but that's what stuck with me about this match. The early shine is tremendous and shows Rose & WIskowski at their bumping best. Piper and Martel are kicking ass, the heels are bumping huge and the crowd is lapping everything up with a spoon counting along with every headlock crank. Everytime people say stupid bullshit like the babyface shine does not matter they really ought to watch a segment like this and tell me it does not matter. Piper runs into a knee and Rose is able to tag out before Piper can tag out. Wiskowski grinds the match to a half with a stomach claw and then a body scissors. The energy may have gone down, but the drama was at a fever pitch because how they played the possibility of a tag. Piper always so close, but it is not to be. My favorite is when Piper is scrambling, clobbers both and dives for the tag and MISSES! You really think he was going to get it. I think the false hot tag can be as as effective or moreso than the false finish. He does get the tag and OUI, OUI RICKY MARTEL~! One of the all time great hot tags shows how it is done, winning the fall with a hurricanarana. Piper & Martel 1-0. Rose & Wiskowski are reeling. Martel catches each one of them in a headlock. Piper & WIskowski get into it on the outside and "Handy Dandy" Sandy Barr sends the Polish Prince to his corner, which allows Piper to switch in without a tag. Cute. Martel misses a dropkicks, which gives Rose enough time to tag out. Wiskowski focuses on the back with simple, but effective clubbering. He applies the bearhug in his corner and then Rose applies the Argentine Backbreaker. Rose gets tired so they transfer Martel in a cool spot. Rose breaks the bottom turnbuckle by jumping on it. Someone get this man on a diet pronto. Of course, he clobbers Martel in the back with the turnbuckle. Deviant genius. Martel is selling so well and he is trying his best to do everything to avoid dropping a decision, but the Rose backbreaker does him in. Tied 1-1. The third fall begins as the second fall began by working on Martel's back. but he wins a suplex struggle. Martel suplexes Rose twice. HOT TAG TO HOT ROD! Two huge knee lifts! I love Wiskowski's bumps. Wiskowski catapulted into Rose who backdrops him over the top. Melee ensues. Martel wants to unmask Buddy Rose. Everyone is on the outside and the babyfaces run the heels heads together and everyone is counted out. The melee continues and each team ends up with one belt. This will have to be settled on Tuesday! Great TV match that makes you want to see the big match. Very close second to the awesome Rose vs Martel match. ****1/2

Buddy Rose vs Rick Martel - PNW 4/26/80 Buddy Rose is debuting his mask & wig gimmick after Piper cut his hair earlier in the week. Buddy Rose has vowed not to let the fans see him with short hair because that is unbecoming for a Playboy like himself. I think this is a great way to continue the heat for the TV crowd and now every match has the hook can the opponent expose Rose's head. Rose jaws with the crowd and will lift up the mask portion, but keeps on the wig portion. Martel shows his quickness early and that genuine energy that is so irresistible. There is a magnificent criss cross sequence that ends in a Rose drop toe hold complete with roll up into a leg scissors. He transitions into a deathlock and the following leg work is amazing and only made that much more perfect by Martel's incredible selling. Martel goes after the mask to force Rose to break the deathlock, Rose kicks Martel's bad leg repeatedly to regain control. Rose applies a standard Indian Deathlock, which they reverse the peressure back and forth in a neat spot. Martel escapes with some heavy blows. Rose is relentless on the leg now going for the spinning toehold, but that ends in a Martel inside cradle for two. Rose now goes for seat drops and on the second seatdrop he misses. Martel wants to keep working over the ass so he goes for an atomic drop, BUT it is on his BAD leg. OH NO! Martel has been selling huge, but he takes it to the next level now. Rose wraps the leg around the post and the single leg crab takes the fall. Rose goes up 1-0. I love the beginning of the second fall with Martel doing everything he can to keep his good leg out in front and circle away from the Playboy. Eventually he is forced into the middle of the ring and Rose is able to use a single leg takedown to take control of the leg. He wraps the leg around the post, but Martel is able to smash Rose's head into the post. Martel does not go for the countout victory instead he rams Rose's back into the post. He makes sure to sell his leg and really let every spot breathe to allow for Rose to sell and for him to recover. It was really well done. Once he gets him in the ring, it is repeated elbows and double axehandles that the crowd counts out. The Boston Crab knots it up. Tied 1-1. Martel goes right back to the back with an Irish Whip and backbreaker. Rose cant bodyslam Martel due to his bad back so Martel bodyslams him. Martel is able to finally reveal Rose's bald head, but the Sheepherders run out and cover him out before shepherding him out of the arena. The camera cut away at the critical moment so the heat is still there for TV while the live audience is rewarded. Awesome double body part psychology match with great selling and offense by both men. It reminds me of the Bock/Martel 9/20/84 match. I love how in Portland thanks to 2/3 falls format they can do more submission victories without making their wrestlers seem like chumps. The lack of finish is the only thing that hurts this. Best Portland match I have ever seen. ****1/2

Buddy Rose vs Roddy Piper - PNW 9/13/80 Rose has shortish, brown hair here, but it is long enough that he can't let it drip dry! As a man, who usually has long hair (I just cut my hair off and I didn't even put anyone over in order to do it), never let it drip dry because wet hair is not glam. Buddy Rose gloating about how good looking he is and that if sex was an Olympic sport he would win a gold medal is pretty awesome. It has a totally different element from Flair because he sounds so delusional and he looks like Louie Fucking Anderson. This is the TV match that is hyping a loser leaves town match as Piper is getting ready to depart for the Carolinas. Rose jaws with crowd early as the crowd is chanting "Bye Bye Rose". Rose starts in control by ramming Piper's head into the turnbuckles and then hitting the chinlock. Piper fires up and jabs a thumb into the throat. The crowd is going wild for anything Piper does. Piper applies a sleeper to win the first fall and the crowd erupts. "Handy Dandy" Sandy Barr revives the Playboy. Buddy Rose is one of the all time greatest at working the cut. He bashes Piper's head into the steel and then gnaws at his forehead cutting him open. He is relentless working the cut. He even tries to wipe the blood on Sandy Barr. Every kickout from Piper gets a huge pop. The second time he tries to wipe the blood on Sandy Barr, Piper nails him with a wild punch. Piper gets an O'Connor roll to win in two straight falls. Basic wrestling psychology knows this tips the hand that he will lose the loser leaves town match, but in the kayfabe era this was a great way to get the crowd pumped for Tuesday. Rose is a sore loser and tries to attack Piper with a chair, but Piper is able to gain control of the chair and he attacks Rose and the other wrestlers with it. This is just a good popcorn match that is here to please the crowd and get them amped for the big Loser Leaves Town match on Tuesday. ***