Boss Rock

I like that idea. I'm also still hoping we'll see someone who held the briefcase for a year get cash-in only to immediately get cashed-in on that year's winner. Really the only scenario they haven't run yet.

Excellent title match and adds to an already impressive resume for Mr. Murphy. I know most folks (myself included) would rather Ali be in this spot than Cedric, but Cedric absolutely proved once again he can deliver in a big match setting like this. Great back-and-forth action, awesome escalation, and some absolutely vicious-looking strikes. One of the best if not the best TV match of the year. ****1/4.

Zeus in All Japan uses the Jackhammer as his finisher.

I'd like to see a powerhouse wrestler do a spinning backfist like Aja Kong.

Shuji-Shingo is definitely match of the tournament.

I'm actually not sure if I "get" Roman Reigns' character in the ring. There have been times when he was a cocky jock like against A.J. or a resilient babyface against Braun, but a lot of times his matches have just seemed to be back-and-forth workrate matches. I think a large part of that is WWE's inability to decide what Reigns' character actually is, but I know that's probably a whole other can of worms As for me, as long as the match has consistent selling, interesting action, and proper escalation I'm usually going to enjoy it no matter what. When you have so many one-off indie matches, that's really all you need sometimes. That being said, character work and a strong narrative are often what really puts a match over the top to me and establishes itself as top-tier. NJPW is my current favorite promotion and there are lots of back-and-forth matches that I love. But something like Juice Robinson trying to stand by his morals and refusing to attack Kenny Omega's knee, only to realize he has no chance in winning unless he compromises said morals, really stands out.

I think Alexa is the only person who does a standard DDT anymore. I'd also like to see more people other than Natalya do the sharpshooter. Hers isn't very good.

I think the criticisms regarding Kento's comebacks are pretty fair. I love his explosiveness and willingness to go all-out in every exchange, but some long-term selling would definitely help.

I know Kane, Undertaker, and Lance Archer still do it, but I wouldn't mind seeing more chokeslams.

I wish we got the more serious, focused Taguchi for more than one or two matches a year, but that's a discussion for a different day. There was some decent comedy at the beginning but Taguchi eventually got down to business trying to match Hiromu's frantic pace. Loved moments such as Taguchi trying to pick the ankle early as well as stopping short when Hiromu went for the overhead toss into the corner, causing him to hit his head on the mat. The finishing stretch had an absolutely insane amount of reversals but rather than feeling over-rehearsed, it came off much more as a desperate attempt at survival. Both men knew they would be in a really bad spot if they lost again, so they managed to avoid certain defeat for a little while longer than normal. Hiromu winning again by triangle choke makes me think it will play a part in him making and/or winning the finals. ****

Really liked that this match used a different formula than so much of what we've seen. Technical wrestling isn't my favorite style, but they did a great job working the mat for arguably the entire first half of the match with SHO proving he could hang with KUSHIDA. As much as I've loved the more action-packed matches such as Hiromu-Desperado and Hiromu-Lee, I loved the escalation this match gave us. The matwork did a great job building tension and gradually reaching a crescendo with back-and-forth bomb-throwing. ****

I wish Bryan would bring the Cattle Mutilation back. I recall Naomi doing it once and getting excited that would be her finisher, but alas. I'd also like to see more of: Dragon Sleeper Standing Powerbomb Punching (so many people just do forearms) Gutbuster Military Press Slam Shoulderbreaker Knee Slam Stretch Muffler (I've only seen Desperado and Callihan still do this) La magistral is something that's still used from time to time, mainly with junior heavyweights in NJPW.

Probably one of the lesser battles between these two, but that doesn't mean it wasn't great. You're always guaranteed a lot of chops, suplexes (a bit too many no-sells for my taste) and dives. Lee has been a bit less explosive this tournament due to recovering from his knee injury, but he was still on point. I'd argue the wrong guy went over, but this was still an awesome match. ****1/4.

Terrific follow-up to the CC finals. The finishing stretch is the hottest of fire, but the way they get there is really good. Marufuji is the wily veteran who is literally one step ahead while Kento is the hotshot ace looking to prove himself after his previous failure. Great selling by Kento, great offensive sequences, and the finishing stretch is tremendous. ****1/2.

Most dastardly heel of all-time he was.

Odd booking decisions aside (having Taiji not go undefeated after such a strong debut), Best of the Super Juniors is already loads better than last year. Low bar to clear I know, but it helps they have less SZKG guys pulling shenanigans (although Kanemaru still bores me to tears). Volador was also a guy who sounded great on paper but had little to no chemistry with anyone other than KUSHIDA. The A Block is still rather sparse but Tiger Mask has been turning in some solid grumpy vet performances, ACH has stepped up in a big way, YOH is impressing, and Will is on a two-month hot streak.

Really liked this match a lot and was a fitting conclusion to this "trilogy" (we all know there will be more). The action got a little too fast-paced at times, but both guys did a great job selling the damage and fatigue. Ospreay in particular has done a tremendous job selling since the Sakura Genesis match with Marty and has really come into his own as a babyface. I also loved the learned psychology as Ospreay would not allow himself to be overwhelmed early like the first two matches and knew he needed to be just as aggressive as Riddle to keep up. Seeing frequent opponents "wise up" and implement a better gameplan is one of my favorite things in wrestling, and it made for an extremely satisfying conclusion with Ospreay finally getting that elusive win. Now it's Mike Bailey's turn. ****1/4.

Indeed. I wasn't going to let Boss Man-Show being voted Worst Feud in the WON Awards deter me from enjoying it.

I've always liked Abyss a bit too. Doesn't have a ton of "great" matches, but guy understood who he was and played the character with conviction.

I always thought it started with Shamrock to play up his MMA career.

I've watched the Last Rites match more times than I'd care to admit.

Great match and manages to surpass the first match by a hair. Very much a war of attrition between who hits harder. The thing that always impresses me about Ishii is the ability to project himself as bigger than he actually is, and it worked really well against a bigger guy like Lee. Some of the no-selling and 1 counts could have been toned down just a tad, but both guys still managed to make it look as convincing as can be, something a lot of other folks would not have been able to pull off. All in all, one of the best bombfests you'll see this year. ****1/2.

Started off slow but really progressed and escalated into something really good. Marty isn't great on the ground so the mat work wasn't the most engaging, but they did a great job of upping the violence the longer the match went on and the finish of KUSHIDA not having the finger strength to do the Hoverboard Lock and settling for Back to the Future was great. Serious Marty is >>>>>>>>> goofy Marty. ***3/4.

An awesomely violent and hate-filled match that drove home how much these two hate each other since the Junior tag feud. Hiromu jumps Desperado at the start and brawls with him all the way up to the higher-level seats where he nails a fantastic shotgun dropkick. Back in the ring we get some wonderful mask-tearing before Desperado mounts his comeback. From there, it's an absolute bombfest with both guys going for broke in trying to kill the other. Desperado eventually reaches the point where he realizes he can't beat Hiromu in a fair fight and tries every dirty trick in the book to put him away. And yet Hiromu still kicks out of nearly everything and looks like he might be able to pull it off. In the end, Desperado has one final trick up his sleeve to steal the win, but Hiromu still makes him earn it. I loved the aggression and desperation in this match and there were so many cool touches like Hiromu literally dragging Desperado down the steps and Desperado making a mouth hole in his mask to help him breathe easier when fatigue was setting in. My only issue was that with how many tricks Desperado needed to put Hiromu away with, I feel like Hiromu still finding a way to overcome would have been a more satisfying conclusion. Still, this was awesome. Best match of the tournament thus far. ****1/4

I also really dug the religious zealot character of Mordecai. Think they could have done some cool things with that. I'm also sort of disappointed Hade Vansen never went anywhere.