Here we have our worthy Southern Boys match. It's hard to overstate how psyched I was when I realized that they were not only ending the year with a trios tournament but that all the matches would be contested elimination style. Lots of great interactions between the Southern Boys and Hash/Chono in the opening stanza. Smothers and Armstrong were as good on the apron as in the ring. In one great moment, Takano hit a sweet counter on Fujinami and Armstrong totally marked out on the apron. This devolved into a bit of a squash after the first elimination but was still a very fun match involving lots of guys who won't be heavily represented on the set. So it should move forward.

I was a little disappointed that we didn't get a Smothers v. Hash points karate spot, but outside of that, this was a blast. Takano looked as good as he ever has, and Southern Boys had some cool double teams. Cool elimination on Takano, I dug this, it should go on.

I dom't know how everyone is overlooking the amazing Takano v Hash interactions as they trade blows from apron to the ring. I really wish the Southern Boys had brought in Takano as partner in their endless Freebird feud.

Pre-elimination, both teams were working non-stop, using cool double teams and never slowing down. Tom's right... The HAsh-Takano slapathon was pretty fun and Hash wasn't even a legal man. The big downside was the fact that there was no intrigue who would win after Smothers was eliminated. Takano was kicking ass but he still got dropped (cool visual though) and Armstrong never had a chance. Still, the entire match was non-stop action and I think this is a good nomination. Not a slam dunk but we should try to find a spot for it on the set.