cactus

We start of day 2 with a match that doesn't even reach the 90 second mark. Bison Smith comes down with his leg heavily taped up. They lock up and start a slow chain wrestling segment, but it's clear that Bison's injury is bothering him. Morgan doesn't ever attempt to attack the leg, so I'm assuming the injury is legit and he quickly rolls him up for the win. Yeah, they would of fared better if they just announced that Morgan had advanced due to Bison being unable to compete, as Morgan looks like a clown for not attacking the clearly injured leg of his opponent. DUD

This is like two motivated post-return Brock Lesnars locking horns in the Tokyo Dome. The German Suplex that Kensuke hits is up there with the one that Vader did to Inoki in '96. This is a violent, glorious and compact match that never outwears it's welcome and leaves you wanting to check out more Fujita matches. ★★★½

With his bad bleach blond haircut and leather pants, Vincenzo Massaro looks like an ECW jobber. He is called The Innovator, although I'm not entirely sure what he's responsibly for innovating. You can tell who is winning this just by looking at the wrestlers. They start with some heavily shoot-style influenced grappling. Props to Low Ki for working an enziguri into the opening exchanges and it not looking a touch out of place. This match is all Low Ki. Masaro is able to jump through the hoops that Low Ki sets up, but the meat of this match is the future Kaval looking like a total badass. He may look slightly cringy nowadays, but it's easy to say why indy crowds were so enamored with him during this time period. He's nothing like anything American wrestling companies were offering at the time. One spot sees Massaro get Dragon Sleeper'd from the tree of woe position. I can't say I've seen that before. This works exceptionally well at putting Low Ki over while also not looking like a total squash match. ★★★¼

2001 AJ has nothing on 2018 AJ, but not many wrestlers do. He's still a great prospect with insane athleticism and stamina. The other guy is able to keep up with him and they craft an indyriffic back and forth match. One spot has an Asai Moonsault getting dodged, and the aggressor getting laid out with a superkick. So, so indy. AJ advances after catching Jardi Frantz with a gorgeous pop-up Styles Clash. ★★★¼

Seeing Christopher Daniels with hair is forever going to be a weird sight. Super Dragon looks exactly the same, just a lot slimmer. Yeah, there wasn't much to this. Daniel's taunting of the crowd helps this one go down easier. I've always thought of Super Dragon as all style and no substance, and this was no different. He hits a nasty somersault suicide dive, but that's about it. This is just a collection of marginally impressive moves with little rhyme or reason. At least it's short. ★★¼

After Spanky made his debut against American Dragon in 1999, these two have fought many times since then and you can tell by how well they gel together. This is a total technical clinic, with the viciousness being upped every second. Dragon pulverizes Spanky with his chops and at one point even lariats the future The Brian Kendrick right on to his dome. Spanky tries to hang with the technical wizard and even manages to scrap a few near-falls, this combined with the beating he takes, gets the crowd right behind him. Even at this point, it's clear that both these talents are really something special. ★★★★

Scoot Andrews is a name I haven't heard in years. He was hyped up as a big deal around this time, but he never made it to the big time, most likely due to his size. Donovan Morgan is similar to Doug Williams in that he's a good technical wrestler, but with little charisma, which is funny because he's wearing the exact same trunks that Dean Malenko wore during his WWE run. This was a mostly mediocre affair with a few decent spots here and there. These two didn't appear to have the greatest chemistry together and there were times when you could tell that their timings were off. This is the first match of the night to go over ten minutes, but it feels much longer. ★★

Don't let Samoa Joe's crap gear fool you, he was still brilliant even in his early years. He's ruthless and it's clear that he was studying his Battlarts tapes. Poor Frankie Kazarian doesn't stand much of a chance against Joe, so he tries to outclass him with his high-flying. I'm impressed how all the mat-wrestling on this show so far looks. It feels more authentic than what we have seen in a lot of indy shows from the past decade. More traditional, but never to the point of slow. Overall, a fast match that made Joe look like an unstoppable monster and a potential King of the Indies winner. ★★¾

Tony Jones is working a shooter gimmick and looks the part. He's tall, muscular and looks like he could legitimately take down anyone on this card with little effort. It's a shame that he never made anything of himself in the wrestling business outside of a few tours of Battlarts and a handful of jobber matches for WWE. The match starts with them grappling like two grizzly bears and suddenly Jones hits an overhead suplex out of nowhere. The first of many of Bison Smith. This match is mainly enjoyable just watching Jones throw big Bison Smith around like he's a cruiserweight. ★★½

I decided to check out this tournament after reading about it in Daniel Bryan's book. This is the very first match and it's interesting to see all these future big names and indy staples in a pre-ROH world. Adam Pearce is wearing these track bottoms and looks very low rent, while Doug Williams looked old even back in 2001. They start off with some great matwork that looks like a frantic struggle and doesn't look choreographed. Adam Pearce heels it up big time, complaining that Williams is pulling on his non-existent hair to gain an advantage. The pace of this feels off as the match progresses, a lot of big moves are hit with little to no reason. Pearce complains to the referee about a slow count and this gives Williams enough time to land a Chaos Theory, which gets him a huge pop and a win to the quarter-finals. A decent enough outing that goes a mere 8 minutes. Williams is a sublime technical wrestler, but is lacking in the charisma department, but thankfully Pearce's antics saves this from being dull. ★★¾

A great showcase match with some insane spots (most of them involving Tyler Bate, that giant swing/aeroplane spin spot was insane). Dunne worked well as the ruthless hometown face, and Undisputed Era continue to impress me despite none of the individual members doing anything for me (with the exception of Strong). This match is essentially a spotfest. But it's a great one in front of a nuclear hot crowd. ★★★★

Gulak and Gallagher are playing this super seriously. All the action minus the final two minutes is mat-based. Gulak grinds down Gallagher with a mean headlock. Not many people nowadays put much effort into making a headlock look painful. Gallagher manipulates Gulak's limbs in a nasty fashion, but eventually this match turns to a straight up brawl after one too many stalemates on the match, and oh boy, is it glorious. ★★★★

Gutted. Vader is a top ten favorite guy for me. Nothing can ease depression better than watching Vader potatoing some jobber in the head. I'm really wished I went to see him when he faced Will Ospreay at a Rev Pro show a few years back.

Much better than it had any right to be. Ronda is still going to be a bit green, and Jax is going to be well... a bit shit. Ronda looks to be in her element and Jax works her arse off to make this work. No time is wasted as Jax rushes Rousey. Jax looks like a total monster and it's her best performance to date. Ronda actively trying to escape Jax's bearhug was one of those touches that makes this make next-tier level brilliant. Rousey intensely hulks up and laid a gruesome knee to the face of Jax. The screwy finish leaves room for another Rousey/Jax match and a Bliss/Rousey match that could headline a major PPV. ★★★¾

A slow burner of a match, something that's not helped by the Last Man Standing stipulation. There's many times the match lags because the long drawn-out counts. AJ is great at getting to his feet at the last minute and Nakamura is slimier than ever. This match kicks into gear once AJ starts taking out Nakamura's leg. The low blow spot on the outside was predictably yet it was still cool. AJ Styles Clashing Nakamura off the ring steps was brutally awesome. Although they were hindered by the stipulation, this was still their best match together in a WWE ring. ★★★½

Leaps and bounds above their last PPV match. One of the best things about wrestling is watching a sublime talent get something brilliant out of an opponent who's usually useless. Cena did it with Khali, Okada did it with Fale and now Bryan's done it with Cass. The hot Chicago crowd and the positioning of this match on the card certainly helped things too. Bryan bumped the hell out of for Cass's dull offense. He also has incorporated more mat wrestling into his arsenal, closing down his larger opponent by targeting the legs. Cass still doesn't know how to show much character. His dumb rat-like facials do nothing for me, but it doesn't matter all that much because this was the Daniel Bryan show. ★★★½

If you told me after watching their match at Wrestlemania 28, that Triple H & Undertaker will be having their rematch over six years later, I'd have you sectioned. This is going to be awful yet I'm intrigued.

Lars Sullivan is NXT's answer to Braun Strowman. This is one of those matches where you find yourself scratching your head how the babyface will end up making their comeback and getting the win. It's a rare yet welcomed feeling to get when you are watching as an adult as it takes me back to watch wrestling as a child and how one more big move is definitely going to do the heel in. After Black gets his shine segment, Sullivan had me convinced that he was winning this. Black's leg is worked and he sells it consistently. Even with the botched-to-high-heaven Black Mass finish, this was still brilliant. ★★★★¼

All the brilliance of their first encounter, but without the bloated moments. With Ciampa taking apart the ring mat, officials rushing the ring in an attempt to stop an active match and long-term booking, this hellish fight had many things we rarely ever see in the WWE. Ciampa walking Gargano up the aisle in a similar way to how he did at the last Takeover in Chicago was a genius bit of pro-wrestling story-telling. The removing of the wedding ring was just the cherry on top. MOTY. Not even Omega/Okada can top this. ★★★★★

I usually find Cross's act to be cheesy and not all that good, but it worked well contrasted with Baszler's MMA hardass character. Cross milks the mind games and Baszler's perplexed reaction to them is entertaining. You aren't going to find many epic spots here. It's the brilliant character work and compact running time that makes this Nikki Cross's best match in an NXT ring so far. ★★★¼

Everything Dream does is dripping with character and charisma. Even the way he leaps over the ring when he's doing a plancha has distinct feel to it. This was his coming out party. He's got a great persona, but he can he bring it in the ring? This had great storytelling, and Dream trash talking when Ricochet was recovering helped the story garner traction. This did have a slow beginning. Things really started to pick up after they did the superlex on the outside. ★★★★

Lorcan & Burch are the World's Scrappiest Tag Team. The smark-heavy crowd are firmly behind The Undisputed Era, despite them being the heels. Through hard work and a lot of stiff uppercuts, the team of Lorcan & Burch eventually get the some of the crowd to root for them. Lorcan is stupidly good. There's no-one like him. He's a career midcarder who can give the top talent a run for their money, despite never winning any big matches. It gives off an intriguing dynamic. ★★★★½

I saw this not too long ago and it holds up. Like you said, there's so many turns the story could of taken. Shawn is just insanely good here. The way he works down on Batista is believable and the drama surrounding his ankle plays out well. Shawn's acting ability can be spotty at best, but here he's very convincing. ★★★¾

Fantastic pick, Gordi. Not enough people talk about Vader's run in UWFi. Man, this is how you build hype for a singles match. Vader and Albright get in each other's faces before the bell and they then don't interact with each other until ten minutes into this, and the pop is absolutely nuclear. Albright and Tenta start the match and the pace is slow and methodical. Albright could take down Godzilla with his suplexes if he got the opportunity. He demonstrates his strength when he throws Tenta across the ring with ease seconds into the match. I have to give a shout out to Yamazaki's phenomenal performance.He's the smallest man in this by a considerable margin, but he's certainly no slouch. His strikes are rough, and he even manages to get Tenta and Vader into comprising positions. The best part of this match is when he's standing off with Vader. Yamazaki unleashing a violent barrage of strikes, only to be cut down when Vader brutally Germans him on his dome. Three Big Lads tarring off on each other with a scrappy underdog in Yamazaki. Riveting stuff. ★★★★

This is a rare face vs face match for this time period. The pre-match promo not only brilliantly sets up this match, but also shows us that cocaine is a hell of a drug. We see glimpses of Piper wanting to embrace his older, darker persona. After Bret Hart gets a near-fall after playing possum, Piper is pushed over the edge. The drama with the ring bell was compelling. A compact match that put Bret Hart over huge. ★★★★¼