Calvin

Tons of fast-paced exchanges and they make the most of the 5-6 minutes that they're allotted. RVD's ribs are loosely focused on, but otherwise this is go-go-go. Seems like some timing cues were missed in the finish, but nothing that egregiously takes away from the match. **3/4

Fun, casual grapplefuck between four men who look like they're coming back from a shvitz. ***

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_dNKxcKmeM This goes to an uneventful time limit draw (twice), and it's essentially a podunk house show match with a strong secondary focus on Sunny's theatrics. **1/2

They could've shaved a few minutes off of this and given it to the Ishikawa/Murakami vs. Tanahashi/Suzuki match, because they overextend themselves here going 20, but what we got is what we got. TEAM2000's heat segment drags, but TM4 performs well enough underneath to keep my attention, and a frenetic finishing run gets everyone some shine. This was worth watching for Sasuke's maniacal bumping alone. ***

Tanahashi came ready to scrap in this one, and Kenzo tossing out heavy, hard-hitting suplexes was certainly an eye-brow raiser. The highly trained BattlARTS duo makes relatively quick work of them, but King of the Hills proved themselves on a big stage as spirited competitors at their core. ***

The shift in face/heel dynamic feels on the fly, but it's executed well and it certainly helps to have Stalker on your side to ease the transition. Fuji plays the face-in-peril, and M2K are compelling enough on top -- showcasing their coordination and tag team combos. CIMA is as good a face as he is a heel. Stalker is turned into a Chekhov's gun when he takes an intermission after being unmasked, and they pull the trigger in the final sequence of false finishes to a massive pop from the crowd when he returns to rally Crazy MAX. (They lose, but they are winners in my heart.) ***1/2

This is for the IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship (currently held by Otani and Takaiwa). One of those matches that appeals solely to the lizard brain; the primal vestige in all of us that is unconsciously stimulated by our most base instincts, hormones, and motivations. Once those neurons are firing, you find yourself not caring that this doesn't have much of a structure, or lacks traditional transitions and selling. This is a profoundly stiff and violent match. It's practically a barfight that escalates into a bomb-fest, and the existing tension between former tag partners Otani and Kanemoto lays the groundwork for the pure hatred that you see here. Kanemoto's chest is red not even five minutes into the match. Otani's throwing closed-fisted haymakers at anything and anyone, taunting Kanemoto relentlessly, and face washing the opposition with gusto. Takaiwa could strip bark off a tree with his chops, and as the beefiest Junior he's often the base for the match's stiffest exchanges. Tanaka, the lowest ranked junior heavyweight amongst the three, is the most passive participant here, but he's ultimately the one who scores the big submission on Otani and ends the latter's eleven month title reign. ****

Hardcore Holly was not defeating Triple H on Sunday Night Heat, but damn did they try hard to make us believe he had a fightin' chance. Hunter continues to excel at stooging and, hilariously enough, making his opponents look good. ***

What a performance from Super Delphin. He came in with a gameplan and executed it as perfectly as anyone could've. Murahama's striking is completely neutralized as Delphin gives him no space to operate and pressures him at all angles. His offensive flurries quickly went from impressive striking displays to something more resembling wild desperation as Delphin evaded or blocked all of them, consistently took him to the ground, and targeted the leg with surgical precision. There's a moment in the second round where Murahama clips Delphin with a punch and staggers him that serves as a reminder to us that Murahama is: (a) the champion; (b) an undefeated champion, mind you; and (c) is coming off a knockout win versus Delphin just last month. He's dangerous, and even though we see Delphin dominate him, that sense of danger never truly dissipates. It sustains the drama of the whole match. Isn't that how you want all undefeated streaks to end? In a match that not only elevates the winner, but manages to elevate the first-time loser as well? ****

Fujita showcases some spirited babyface fire and his hope spots were the only time the crowd made any noise, but FUCK dedicating over half of this match to Mochizuki's generic ass kick-stomp control segments. **1/2

I've only briefly dipped my tiniest toe into the water when it comes to lucha libre, but mask tearing in a Mask vs. Mask match feels spiritually wrong. It just devalues the guaranteed de-masking at the end, does it not? This match had heart, as I've come to find Atlantis matches frequently do, but the workrate struggled to hold my attention. **1/2

I loved this. Ono's slipperiness and flash was such an interesting contrast to Ishikawa's more disciplined approach. The opening guillotine choke out(?) from Ishikawa into the two receipt kicks from Ono, who histrionically falls down afterwards, caught my eye and they never lost it. ***1/2

Fun showcase for Daniels. Candido bumps hard for him, too. This degenerates into a robotic back-and-forth rather quickly, though, but luckily this is only a 5-ish minute match. **1/2

I hesitate to call this good, but it's worth it to see Genichiro Tenryu in Hayabusa garb alone. H is a hell of a bleeder, and he does an admirable job carrying a heat segment that lasted twice as long as it should've. **3/4

This is a nail-biter of a match because of what happened on 4/17, and the crowd erupts for this. These two have good enough chemistry to not drop the ball, but Hunter almost loses them with his control segment. The WWF stylized theatrics at the end resuscitates the crowd, but didn't particularly pop me. In every single aspect, this is a lesser version of their 4/17 match. Good, but disappointing. ***

Benoit is probably the best television worker in the world. Good physicality and sense of struggle in this one where it feels like Matt just gets overwhelmed by Benoit's pressure and doesn't have Jeff's maniacal recklessness to create distance for himself. ***

This reminded me of those colorful trios matches down in Mexico or in Toryumon where it's a complete clusterfuck, but the personalities are enough to tie the action together and provide enough of a basic structure. **3/4

I get the sense that there's more to Inoue than what we see here (which is 75% spinning backfist, 25% a stellar look), and there's undoubtedly a history here that goes over my head. Toyota is a sprint machine, and putting her in an environment where she can just chain her moves together at warp speed or showcase her athleticism without being overextended isn't the worst thing in the world to watch. **1/2

No idea what I just watched. Felt like an episode of Cops. Super Porky fucking rules.

Great performances from Taue and Kawada here; Taue, nearly mummified in athletic tape, seems like he's one bad bump away from needing a nursing home placement, but then he does some bizarrely springy Taue shit that make you question the biophysics of a man with a 95-year-old exterior and the wiry finesse of a 14-year-old ballerina. As for Kawada, it feels insulting to the other three guys in the ring to say he hard carried this one ... but he kind of hard carried this one. He was the highlight in damn near every great moment this match had, and still very clearly one of the best wrestlers in the world even in his post-prime. NO FEAR deserve some credit on their end for being good foils to the old guard: calculated in their aggression and strategic in the way they isolate Taue and Kawada from each other. ***1/2

Benoit's a great dance partner for car crash types like Jeff. Give them five minutes and you get something worthwhile. ***

I thought Otani completely carried Kashin here, and that this was also a profoundly average match despite Otani's efforts. **1/2

Doc's heel antics are fun, but otherwise I found this to be an ordinary and unremarkable match. **1/2

The ladies kill it while the men take a bit of a backseat here. Yoshida is always a treat to watch, but it's Yumi who steals the show for me. She's a terrific ragdoll that Yoshida can dominate on the mat or throw around, but also a convincing enough technician that tapping Yoshida out with an armbar did not feel like an unreasonable outcome. I didn't mind the levity from the Otsuka/Yumi exchanges, either. Otsuka's nonchalance even comes back to bite him in the end. ***

Throwback match with SUWA as the classical dirty, cheating, bully heel to DK's sympathetic and undersized babyface. DK has some fiery hope spots, with SUWA acting as a terrific base for his high-flying offense, but SUWA is just craftier and more willing to bend the rules. ***