Boss Rock

That would be awesome but yeah unlikely.

It's definitely a good line-up, but I agree for a two-night card I guess I was just expecting more.

I'm really curious about the result for Tanahashi-Jericho. Jericho will still be champion and I really don't imagine AEW would allow him to lose, but Tanahashi losing on this stage to a heel part-timer seems rather bold.

I know it was wishful thinking that Shibata would get cleared, but Goto getting the KENTA match after seeing how physical Shibata got is the most hilarious (and saddest) bait-and-switch. I don't hate Goto, but seeing him in this spot instead of Ishii or Shingo is incredibly disappointing.

New pick for 2019.

The contrast in presentation between Bryan and Rollins is pretty stark. Rollins would cower in fear, but Bryan stood strong and blitzed the Fiend right at the bell. The aura of the Fiend has been irreparably damaged thanks to the Rollins feud, but I really liked that this was a more narrative-driven match rather than the finish-fest the Rollins matches were. Bryan was aggressive and focused the entire match but the Fiend would not stay down. While I wish they would do more with the Fiend instead of him just no-selling or recovering too quickly from finishers, but this was still a good match. ***3/4

This was a really good match, but while I'm not a huge stickler for long-term selling, the fact that they were able to go through the finishing stretch with the injuries they had (particularly Cole) knocked this down a few pegs for me. There were some pretty outrageous spots and the final Panama Sunrise was probably the most logical way you could do a destroyer in a match. Just wish they had sold a tad more. ***3/4

Match of the Decade: Okada vs. Shibata (Sakura Genesis)-Understandable if folks don't consider this match due to Shibata's injury, but as a whole the match is still a masterpiece. Not just with the stiffness and intensity of Shibata's assault, but the character work of Okada as the cocky, hotshot ace who tries to beat Shibata at his own game. Wrestler of the Decade: Hiroshi Tanahashi-Arguably the most consistent big match wrestler of the decade. Even if his body is broken down, you can still count on Tana to deliver the goods in a main event match. While Okada can be more attributed to New Japan's rise as a global promotion, his rivalry with Tanahashi was a huge part of that. Feud of the Decade: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada-As stated above, this feud and the acclaim it received was a huge part of New Japan's upswing in the 2010's (especially in regards to its popularity in the U.S). And while the matches are great (the lowest I've gone is 4 on the WK 7 match), the story is one of the best in recent memory. Tanahashi was the established hero of the promotion having his claim to the throne challenged by this guy who was first seen as a joke but quickly revealed to be a wrestling prodigy. Okada's over-confidence would get in the way of his natural talent however, with the Rainmaker unable to defeat Tanahashi at the Dome. While he should have probably gone over at WK 9, Okada's triumph at WK 10 is what truly established him as a reliable draw and ace for New Japan (the maintaining of wrist control is one of my favorite visuals ever). Tanahashi would continue to nip at his heels, but Okada has been nearly untouchable since. Best Development: All In and the creation of AEW. With the fall of TNA on cable television and WWE's over-farming of the indies, AEW has been a real game-changer for wrestling in the U.S. Best TV Show: Season 1 of Lucha Underground. A bit of a sentimental pick as LU brought back the spark of my wrestling fandom after countless disappointments and frustrations with WWE. It would never quite be the same after the first season, but the combination of storytelling, unconventional presentation, characters, and great matches was a godsend and ultimately led me to exploring other promotions/eras outside of modern WWE. Also, without LU I question whether or not guys like Fenix or Pentagon would be where they are today. Major Show of the Decade: There's still a ton I haven't seen but I'll go with either Dominion 2017 for Takeover: New Orleans. Dominion 2017 to me remains the peak of the Bushiroad era of New Japan. A near-perfect card from top-to-bottom with hot angles and wrestlers. Takeover: New Orleans is my pick for the best show NXT has ever done and while the Gargano-Ciampa feud went downhill afterwards, their match was executed to perfection.

I pretty much agree with this. And if he cant adapt his character and promo skills, let him be the guy to have TV bangers. It doesnt seem like AEW is interested in midcard titles, but he'd be the perfect person for it.

The men's Survivor Series match is basically WWE booking in a nutshell. Dink out over acts with promise, put an insane amount of emphasis on Corbin, and try to give someone a rub without actually letting them win.

Its remarkable for a show attempting a sports vibe, a giant dinosaur man is one of their most over acts.

I've long thought that they need to just merge the two tag divisions to add some much needed depth.

I think PAC is way better than Spears. I wanted to get behind him but it really seems like lower card was his ceiling.

The tag title match seems like a stop gap until Proud and Powerful get a shot. My guess is that SCU gets another solid defense under their belt, Santana and Ortiz beat the RnR Express, and they build the tag title match off that. Definitely against another Pac-Page match, although if Pac goes over I'll be OK with it as it makes sense to do a Mox-Pac match to set up the next contender for Jericho.

Great tag match that was much more narrative-driven than most tag matches we see in AEW. Proud and Powerful did a great job working over the leg of Nick who, to his credit, sold it incredibly well. In a day and age where most limb work becomes inconsequential or just straight blown off, stuff like Nick being unable to hit the Meltzer Driver or even jump off the turnbuckle made everything much more meaningful. That's not to say there wasn't a ton of great spots and offense either. But the story they were telling made things matter more than they usually would. There was also little stuff like Santana forcing Nick to tag in as he was more vulnerable than Matt that I really enjoyed and I wish they had allowed the tag to the foot rather than have Knox prevent it (a ref should not be able to call heel team shenanigans that early into the match). And the post-match with the RnR Express was great, can't wait for an eventual match between then and P&P. ****1/4

Decent match, but I think it was an inferior version of their Dynamite meeting a few weeks ago. Both guys have great offense but they really seem to struggle with heat segments (Pac) and comebacks (Page). That prevented this match from feeling like anything more than just two guys having a solid wrestle. No more, no less. Oh, and it was at least 5 minutes too long. ***

Well, you can't say they didn't follow up on the violence promised in the build-up! Death match spots and ultraviolence in wrestling will always be divisive, but I loved nearly every minute of this. I really appreciate that they went well beyond the extra mile in making this an incredibly violent and memorable spectacle. And in a day and age where blood feuds often have a lackluster blow-off, that was absolutely not the case here. There was no feeling out and no bullshit, just two guys fighting. The crowd brawling, the plunder, the set up for the spots, everything was executed beautifully. And for a guy who typically doesn't do this stuff, I think Kenny thrived in this kind of environment. Mox was terrific as well, not just in the violence he brought to the table but also his selling. For a guy who specializes in death matches, he was incredibly giving and made Kenny look like a real threat. I will say the match went longer than it needed to (as most AEW matches do) especially when after the barbed wire suplex they still wrestled another 5-7 minutes, but there was absolutely no downtime or moment where I felt like checking my watch. They had me invested (and terrified) the entire time, all the way to that Phoenix Splash that Kenny damn near gave himself a concussion on. Terrific spectacle of a match. ****1/2

I didn't think this was great, but I applaud Cody's ability to make matches feel important. The guy literally has the crowd in the palm of his hand. This was a rather minimalist approach (like most Cody matches) focused on Jericho wearing down Cody's midsection while the latter would make the occasional fiery comeback. While Cody's cut seemed unintentional, I think the blood helped make the match feel more important even if Jericho didn't necessarily target it. I think they went longer than they needed to but I applaud both guys' approach and knowing this couldn't be the typical AEW spotfest. Oh, and the post-match was terrific. ***3/4

I thought Kenny acquitted himself very well for a guy who typically doesn't do this stuff.

Well that was insane. Was probably longer than it needed to be but that had to be the craziest non-BJW match I've ever seen.

Cody seems to have developed a solid, storytelling-heavy pseudo-brawling style which is definitely what I think we'll see. Especially considering Jericho finally came to his senses about his physical limitations a year ago.

No Darby is definitely a bit of a disappointment, would have thought for sure they would do him and Hager. Otherwise, card looks really good apart from Bea-Britt.

This was really good stuff. It's almost refreshing to see WALTER against dudes that rival him strength that he can't overwhelm. Okabayashi frequently attacking him like an invader to the promotion really helped add some depth to this beyond "big dudes clobber each other with chops" (which is by no means a bad thing!). Sekimoto also continues to thrive as an underdog against larger opponents. ****1/2

I liked this a lot. Took a little while to get going and Kenny sold the leg initially too much only for it not to be an issue, but this was a really fun plunder match with some rather holy crap spots. Thought their standard match the next week was better but this was a lot of fun. ****

Yeah I do think the execution hurt it, especially with Naito just walking away when he probably should have run back and attacked Jay. And while I think they absolutely need to do the thing with Naito, it almost feels like it's Ibushi's time now instead.