Boss Rock

Really good match and I would agree it's probably Jay's best match yet. Ospreay was the star here but White more than delivered. While I still think he's better suited to be an upper-midcarder, I would disagree with the sentiment that Jay is a "bad" wrestler. He's consistently been delivering against good wrestlers for close to a year now. His work over Ospreay's ribs was consistent and logical and Ospreay sold really well (even if his grunting was annoying). Ospreay's offense was stellar as always without sacrificing any of the work Jay did on his ribs. I don't think the match needed to be as long as it did, but at the same time it didn't feel padded like a lot of other NJPW main events (it also helped that it didn't go 30+ minutes). Great stuff. ****1/2.

Just watched this one for the first time.

The IC title during the Nakamura days was definitely a big deal, although in a lot of ways it felt like a sort of consolation prize for Nak not getting THE push. Still, guys like Tanahashi, Naito, and Nak did a really great job making it feel like a legitimate number 2 belt.

Really great match and a terrific bounce-back for Kento after his disappointing performance in the KAI match. Kento tries to soften up Suwama early with shots to the head and neck but makes one mistake and Suwama decides turnabout is fair play. I love how Suwama varies his approach to attacking the neck by not only throwing huge shots but also trying to choke Kento out with sleepers. I felt that Kento's comebacks were also a bit more earned. As much as I love his breakneck speed and offense, he sometimes recovers a bit too quickly. This time it came off much more as Kento actually running on adrenaline and a will to survive as opposed to a "Nope, I'm fine!" sort of thing. The finishing stretch is also one of the hottest of the year so far and tells Brock Lesnar who the REAL proprietors of Suplex City are. One thing I've really noticed in these title matches is that Kento starts off as kind of a cocky hotshot who proceeds to get in over his head and has to mount these valiant comebacks. Not sure if I think that's a good or bad thing for a top face, but's interesting nonetheless. ****1/2

Like that they're doing something different with such a huge field. Awesome to see Nagata, Kojima, Tenzan, and Nakanishi getting spots. Would have preferred them keeping Naito and Ibushi's hopes of winning alive longer, but yeah that match will rule.

A masterclass in the minimalist approach to wrestling. Thirty minutes of two powerhouses just throwing chops, lariats, and the occasional submission at each other. Sekimoto turns it yet another excellent babyface against the more arrogant Hino. There's also a really interesting story being told of two guys so evenly-matched that neither can maintain control for more than a few minutes at a time. The selling is also top-notch with both guys spent yet still trying to throw everything they can behind each strike. A must-see and one of the best matches of the year so far. ****1/2.

Thought night one of Honor Rising was pretty good. Scurll-Narita was decent, BC-Gresham/Liger was brilliantly booked, Sabre-Umino was really good (Umino is definitely someone to watch for), Ospreay-Dalton was a lot of fun even with Dalton working through an injury, and Goto-Cobb improved upon their NEVER match last year. Main event wasn't anything special but did what it needed to. Also stoked at Charlton and Kelly basically confirming Gresham will be in BOSJ this year. In some rather bad news Finlay separated his shoulder at the end of the main event for night 2.

Excellently-booked match. While this was always going to be about Kofi and Bryan, everyone got their time to shine. Of course once we did get to the Bryan and Kofi showdown, an already good match was taken to a whole new level. Kofi once again proved he's a tremendous babyface and Bryan turned in yet another terrific heel performance. This type of heel/face dynamic is proof that finisher kickouts CAN work. Can't wait for the Fastlane match. ****1/4.

I sort of wished they cut the first five minutes or so of this match, but everything else was great. Easily PAC's best post-WWE performance and Kzy once again delivers in a big match setting. The finishing stretch had some tremendous bombs, particularly the backslide driver by PAC. A bit too many big move kick-outs but the finishing stretch has some of the most exciting action of the year so far. ****1/4.

Cena-Punk MITB is such a tough one for me. Don't get me wrong, the build-up, atmosphere, and crowd reaction are out of this world. But the match itself, while great, wouldn't even be my pick for best match of 2011. The second half is tremendous but it takes too long to get there.

Bryan-Wyatt I think is a great match that often gets overlooked and doesn't get enough love.

Cena-Lesnar: Extreme Rules 2012 Bryan-Cena: Summerslam 2013 Bryan-Triple H: WrestleMania 30 Brock-Cena-Rollins: Royal Rumble 2015 Sasha-Bayley: Takeover: Brooklyn Sasha-Bayley: Takeover: Respect Zayn-Nakamura: NXT Takeover: Dallas A.J.-Roman: Extreme Rules 2016 #DIY-Revival: NXT Takeover: Toronto A.J.-Cena: Royal Rumble 2017 Gargano-Almas: Takeover: Philadelphia Gargano-Ciampa: Takeover: New Orleans Gargano-Ciampa: Takeover: Chicago II

I would hope so. Had been thinking for a while it would be those two matches at WK 14. And I'm sure they would allow Kenny to come back and do a program, seems like the door is still open there.

I thought Tana-Jay was very good and probably their best match together. I also think Jay has improved in leaps and bounds by taking his already good execution and applying an actual character he understands to it. He's done trying to be the mysterious "Switchblade" and is instead a more traditional heel who just happens to have the nickname of Switchblade. That being said, I don't quite agree with putting the belt on him. On the one hand, it's a somewhat fresh decision after putting the belt on Tanahashi when NJPW spent the last three years telling fans he wasn't the ace anymore. Him beating Kenny in the ME of WK, while pretty much done because Kenny was leaving, still seemed like a really bizarre decision after having Okada and Naito surpass him in their prior feuds. But Jay still just doesn't have "It". Like his booking has helped and he's far more confident, but he still seems more suited to be an upper-midcard heel in the IC title picture. I do agree that he'll end up being a transitional champ as he likely drops the title to Okada in MSG or to Naito at Dominion (I still think Okada-Naito is the ME for one of the Dome shows). As far as Ibushi goes, I think him leaving would have been a huge blow to NJPW. Outside of Okada, Tana, and Naito, there aren't really a whole lot of wrestlers who are both good in the ring and could be believable top stars for the company to push (not to say I wouldn't be happy with Ishii or Juice getting a title run, heh). And I do think a hesitancy to fully commit to Ibushi was due to him being a freelancer. Once Shibata signed he became the NEVER ace and was seemingly being groomed for at least an IC title run before his injury. I actually wouldn't be surprised if Ibushi jumps in line ahead of Naito to become champ.

Really fun tag match. While I think the post-Takeover brawl warranted a more violent match, for a Network special that will most likely end being pretty inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, this was an enjoyable spotfest . Definitely worth a watch. ***3/4.

There was a really good idea for a match here but the execution just wasn't there. I dug the pre-match attack quite a bit as well as Taichi jawing with Makabe. But it went on. And on. And for God's sake what the hell are we doing here? Naito finally came back after what felt like an eternity to have what could have been a really good match if it hadn't had all of the momentum from the pre-match angle sucked away. Naito's selling for the most part was pretty good and I thought the overbooking kind of worked to an extent because Taichi's not supposed to have any real shot at Naito. But there was just too much. The finishing stretch was cool in a vacuum but Taichi shouldn't be that heavily protected when it comes to stuff like an emerald flowsion. If you have Naito come back right as Taichi is arguing with Makabe and make this match about five minutes shorter I think you have something really good here. But ultimately, what we got was a really bizarre mixed bag.

Yet another update, this time for 2011.

Taichi-Naito was...interesting. Like there were some cool ideas but the execution wasn't really there. The pre-match attack angle was good but went on about five minutes longer than it needed to be. Really took the steam out of the rest of the proceedings. The rest of the match was fine and actually had some cool moments, but it still felt longer than it needed to be.

I think SANADA has a serious case for most improved over the last year. Since the Okada match he's been regularly delivering in singles matches.

KUSHIDA vs. Hiromu Takahashi at Sakura Genesis 2017 is one of my favorites. Almost more of an angle than a match to put over how dominant Hiromu is, but it's so beautifully put together.

Two guys hitting each other very hard, so definitely worth watching. Sekimoto is also a pretty compelling babyface which is something I feel like he's been doing more of this year.

Probably my second favorite match of the show. You don't see too many back-and-forth submission battles in WWE but Asuka and Becky did a really good job of it. Tons of urgency and while I don't think Becky should have submitted, extra points for the Cattle Mutilation. ****1/4

Probably my favorite of the show. Tons of aggression from Sasha and had an answer for virtually everything Ronda could throw at her. The working over Ronda's hand was a great callback to the Bayley series and despite the fact there was no way Sasha was going to win, there was a brief moment they made me believe she could pull it off. Using her arm band was also pretty ingenious. The finish was a bit too out of nowhere and superhuman, but Ronda's selling throughout was still pretty great. This felt like an absolute war. ****1/4

This is the type of Brock Lensar performance that made so many of us believe he truly was a one-of-a-kind special attraction. The absolute monster who could still sell his ass off and make his opponent look great. Excellent story of Finn blitzing Brock early as opposed to letting him dominate the first half of the match like he did against Bryan and A.J. He did eventually get his suplexes in which Finn sold like death for but it was the abdomen selling really took things to another level (Brock hobbling around and not able to hit the F-5 was probably the best part of this match) This was also easily Finn's best match since his title defense against Gedo in 2013. Great fire and great comebacks. Too bad the post-match sucked. Still, a pretty awesome match. ****

I was surprised this was such a mat-based and submission-heavy match, but they did a really good job with it. The limb work was well-done and the story of Tanahashi challenging KUSHIDA with slaps served as great preludes to KUSHIDA's comebacks. The finish (not the result) was a bit surprising but still worked. A fitting farewell to one of the best and most consistent wrestlers in NJPW. ****