More G1!

Giant Bernard/Karl Anderson vs Satoshi Kojima/Dan Maff, NJ In USA 5/15

This was pretty fun thanks to Maff and Bernard. Bernard is a big time player in New Japan, and Maff never broke out outside JAPW, so Bernard was not afraid to talk shit to Maff and treat him like a bitch. This got Maff all fired up and he brought the goods. He was super fired up and took the fight to the big man, highlighted by a great out-of-nowhere dive and some sick fatboy sentons. Kojima and Anderson just ran through their shit, and Anderson being the one to pin Maff felt wrong, but Maff made this stand out.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan, NJ 8/5

Well this was a pleasant surprise. Tenzan may be a broken down bag of crap these days, but for one match here he managed to rewind the clock back several years and stole the show. Nakamura was also fired up and dished out his usual great knee-based offence. Tenzan's fired up comeback with the Dick Murdoch turnbuckle face stomp was well done and the crowd were eating him up. Nakamura sold his stuff really well and got foled in half off one lariat, and the big finishing nearfalls section was pretty damn great. Loved the struggle in the Anaconda Vice, and Nakamura's counter was great, and then Tenzan countering again with a big old headbutt was even better! Nakamura's desperation shoot-punch is such a great spot, and the diving knee strike was epic. Hell, all of the final third was epic. Best G1 match in a few years!

Yoshihiro Takayama vs Tetsuya Naito, NJ 8/10
Yuji Nagata vs Yoshihiro Takayama, NJ 8/11
Togi Makabe vs Yoshihiro Takayama, NJ 8/13

Nothing to see here. The Naito match is a mediocre beating from Takayama on a mediocre underdog. The Makabe match is completely forgettable and plodding. The Nagata mach was pretty solid but still not anything memorable, though it had it's moments.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Toru Yano, NJ 8/13

This was a shocker. Toru Yano, probably the worst guy on the roster, has the best Tanahashi match in over a year? Shit. Yano is a scumbag, but this crowd loves an underdog and it didn't matter how much he cheated or how much of an asshole he was, they wanted to see him pull out the upset. The crowd pretty much carried this and made it memorable, but even as a guy who doesn't like Yano or Tanahashi, it's impossible not to get sucked into the "Yano as underdog" story. Tanahashi is the company ace, Yano is a mid-card heel, and all of the transitions in the match were pretty smart in refelecting that, as Yano resorted to hair-pulling, chair shots, exposing a turnbuckle, etc in order to get the advantage. Early on Tanahashi goes to hit a dive off the apron and Yano blasts him mid-air with a chair. Awesome. The crowd were hot for Yano and every nearfall he got, and even boo'd Tanahashi. Some of the nearfalls were great, Tanahashi bled AND there was a ref bump spot that worked. Tanahashi coming back easily every time was pretty annoying, but it atleast played into the story, so eh. If there was one match that I did not expect to like but did this year, this is it.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Minoru Suzuki, NJ 8/14

Looking at the G1 cards, this was the match I was most looking forward to, and it delivered. Crowd were super into it and behind Nakamura. The interference from Suzuki's boy added to the match, and they built the heat on Nakamua well. Nakamura's offence looked as good as it has ever has and both guys hit hard. Loved the finishing run with Suzuki being all over Nakamura and Nakamura just trying to hang on and find and an opening. Good shit.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tetsuya Naito, NJ 8/14

Was not into this as much as the other two Nakamura G1 matches I watched. Most of it felt like a really by-the-number big match. Naito works Nakamura's leg, but it's just filler, and the match was entirely carried by the hot crowd. I dug that they played off finishes from previous matches, but that was it.

Ode To A Sami Callihan

Sami Callihan vs BJ Whitmer, CZW "Tangled Web 4"

Solid match that may have been really good had the crowd not been so obnoxious. It started off pretty well with both guys trading blows and going to war, but after once Whitmer gained control it kind of lost steam. Sami did some really brutal facewashes made nastier by the great camera angle, but I thought the spot with him trying to hit dive in between two rings was kind of retarded (you have to see it to understand that). I liked Whitmer's knees and crazy new MMA-esque submission, but the crowd totally shat on him to the point where it wasn't good heat but "go away" heat, and while he kinda worked it at first it looked like it threw him off and he became lost afterwards. Shame.

Sami Callihan vs Finlay, EVOLVE 9

This was excellent. Not only one of the most hard-hitting matches I have ever seen, but they told the veteran vs upstart story amazingly. Right at the bell, Sami tried to rush Finlay only for Fit to blast him straight in the face. What a great way to set the tone for the rest of the match. Finlay was amazing in this, never getting drawn into Sami's attempts at striking exchanges and cheapshotting him like a fucking asshole. Sami getting in his face only for Finlay to headbutt him was so great. The beatings dished out were insane, every shot was stiff as all fuck, making both guys look like the two baddest sons of bitches on the planet. Finlay worked over Sami's leg, busting out all sorts of nasty, creative holds you'd never see in WWEland. Finlay makes simple bodyslams look devestating, and the spot where he distracted the ref so he could cheapshot Sami in his bad leg just BECAUSE HE COULD was a total dick move. Towards the end of the match, Sami went for a suicide dive and flew flat-out into the rail face first. And the finish was worth a million stars, Sami is pretty much done for, but remains defiant to the end, giving Finlay the finger before Finlay kills him with the returning tombstone. Such a deeply brutal match and a total war, littered with so many great individual moments it would be impossible to list them all. Finlay finished looking like the toughest guy in pro wrestling history, Sami took his lumps and came out looking like a world beater. Just an excellent match and up there with Punk vs Cena as being truly transcendant.

Sami Callihan vs Necro Butcher, CZW "New Heights"

This was barely even a match, and a dissapointing one at that. Mostly just an angle in the Sami vs DJ Hyde feud, with Hyde telling Necro if he doesn't beat up Callihan he doesn't get paid. After that it's basically a staple gun match, and I kind of blame Necro for it as he introduced the staple gun. Granted, they staple each other in some legit nasty places, like the armpit and side of the head, but this is the sort of gross-out garbage I try to avoid in hardcore wrestling.

Summerslam and beyond

Mark Henry vs Sheamus

I only caught of the finish of the opener, but it looked fine. This however was everything it should have been and pretty damn awesome. Really fun slugfest with both dudes stiffing the hell out of each other. Both guys took some big bumps, and babyface Sheamus is badass. The finish was not only a great visual but really smartly booked as far as putting Henry over big without Sheamus losing face and setting up a rematch.

Daniel Bryan vs Wade Barrett

Believe it or not, this was NOT a total carryjob from Bryan(!), and Wade gave easily his career performance and had his career match here. He timed his cut-off spots well and busted out some knarly offence like the slingshot backbreaker and the knees in the ropes. Both guys hit very hard, and that was probably the sickest flying knee Bryan has ever hit. Loved the tease of the Wasteland off the apron, and Bryan countering it later into a choke and then transitioning into the LeBelle Lock. The elevated lariat was clearly a spot Bryan lifted straight from his matches with Nigel, but it was a cool spot nonetheless. Really good mid-card bout.

Christian vs Randy Orton (No Holds Barred)

I didn't think this was a great/MOTYC calibre match, or even the best of this kind of match WWE has ran this year, but it was still a really good WWE-style hardcore match. The blade ban and overuse of props kind of puts a ceiling on how good this match can be, but it delivered. Christian had his best outing since turning heel, and took a hell of a beating. I liked how they made him out to be a bitch with the pre-match angle, but by the end of the match he had eaten enough shit that, even though he lost, he had managed to prove he wasn't a pussy, and came out looking like one tough son of a bitch. The choke with cane was pretty creative and violent, and the spot with Orton going into rage mode after getting spat on was good stuff. Orton's blood added to the match, and the finish was sick.

John Cena vs CM Punk

It was never going to beat MITB, the sequels rarely beat the original, but this was still another top notch match between the two main eventers who have the most chemistry since Rock and Austin. Really, really high-end match and easy no.2 WWE MOTY. The first half of this was actually much stronger than the MITB, and all of the technical work was good stuff. Cena slowly powering out of holds then hitting explosive suplexes works. Loved him deadlifting Punk out of a stretch into a crazy powerslam. Punk's execution has never been better, and his knees and kicks are brutal. He was also busting out all sorts of unexpected offence like the falling headbutts, the picture perfect Savage elbow drop and a fucking mongolian chop of all things. This was really well built, with Cena repeatedly going for his trademark comeback routine, only for Punk to keep cutting him off, but with Cena getting progressively closer to completing his comeback roll each time. He'd go for the shoulerblocks and Punk'd counter with a sick knee to the face, he'd later hit them and go for the Protoplex, only for Punk to counter, etc. and when Cena hit it all the way through the place was going nuts. All of the submission nearfalls were still super-hot, and I loved how they mixed up the boo/yay exchange with different shots each time. Cena hit the best dropkick he will ever hit, a Sting-esque corner splash, and his final pissed off flurry was great. The finish brings it down, but really this is about as BS free as a match with HHH as referee will ever be, so I was more than happy.

CM Punk vs John Cena, RAW 8/22

This was a damn fine TV main event. Not as good as the PPV matches, or their first TV main, but still good shit. The stuff before the break was solid, but everything after was great. They do finisher teases/counters/build/nearfalls really well, they play off spots from previous matches, Cena's crossface actually looks better than his STF and he got ridiculous air on his legdrop. Loved Punk's elbows to the head and the motherfucking BUSAIKU KNEE out of nowhere. KENTA wishes he was this good. The TV finish was what it was, but this pairing has so much chemistry even a "lesser" bout is good.

PWG All Star Weekend 8

Kevin Steen vs Willie Mack

Really fun fatboys match with a veteran vs upstart story. Both guys work stiff and dish out hard shots, and also do some really impressive and pretty flying and highspots. Steen in particular goes for a pretty insane pop-up moonsault attempt. It went just a little too long for an opening match, but they got the story across well and the upset finish was great. I also love that Willie has a move called the Chocolate Thunder Bomb.

Generation Me vs RockNES Monsters

Pretty standard Gen Me match, which is mediocre. Most of their matches are the same shit, they only really care about the final part of the match when they can do big spots, everything before that is just boring lazy filler crap. There was some comedy early on, with RockNES shoving Max's crotch/ass into Jeremy's face and some other incest stuff, but I wasn't digging it. Goodtime was the only guy in this who was any good, and is a really slick highflyer. They played off the finish to the KR2 tag scramble which was neat, but Yuma's John Woo tornado DDT looked really hokey and the finish with the DDT/Superkick combo was just awful as Max visibly didn't connect with the kick.

Eddie Edwards vs Alex Shelley

Standard rote indy opening exchange leading to some stuff leading to some more stuff. I laughed out loud at the crowd breaking out into a "THIS IS AWESOME" chant for Shelley doing an abdominal stretch after 10 minutes of pretty much nothing happening. Both guys took time to reply to asshole fans, including Edwards being bewildered that someone could possibly like The Big Show and mocking the Chokeslam, which is pretty much the height of indy small man syndrome/anti-mainstream douchebagery. Both guys ran through their movesets, did an RVD/Lynn roll-up exchange, did some blatant legslapping, and then Edwards no-sold some stuff for the finish. I pretty much hated this.

Kevin Steen/Akira Tozawa vs El Generico/Ricochet

Not a perfect match, as it loses steam at points and Steen walks a fine line with how obnoxious he can act, but this is still pretty great. Mostly built around Steen vs Generico, and their interactions are as good as any in the feud. Ricochet hits some pretty crazy flippy highspots and Tozawa is pretty great, especially loved him faking Ricochet out with a chop then cracking him in the jaw. Final ten minutes are just total insanity, with Steen countering the Brainbuster into a Package Piledriver, Steen taking a reverse Frankensteiner off the top and Generico dying on an apron German suplex. And the finish itself was ridiculous. I also loved that Steen and Generico didn't go for the predictable handshake after the match. Up there with the best PWG matches ever.

Claudio Castagnoli vs Chris Hero

Long match, even by PWG main event standards. The crowd was burnt out by this point, and Hero could have sold Claudio's armwork better, but still this was almost shockingly good for the length it goes. It started with some pretty sound technical stuff, solid matwork and some crazy Hero armdrags, and they built well to the strikes. Claudio botched a springboard uppercut, but it was covered well and didn't affect the match. Claudio actually did a pretty good job controlling the match for a long period of time, keeping it interesting without going to restholds or anything. Loved Hero's trash-talking, and his high-flying stuff is even more spectacular and impressive off the second rope (after the top rope broke, which made the match feel even more unpredictable). Finishing run was also really well done, with them building to a small number of big nearfalls instead of overkill or annoying 2.9 nearfall sequences. Overall I thought this was a really well paced, well built long match and good shit if you're willing to put in the time.

Kevin Steen/Akira Tozawa vs RockNES Monsters

Hot start from RockNES, but it sorta dies down quickly and becomes Steen beating up both of them. It's OK and makes sense given the booking, but they just didn't make this compelling as it should have been for two young tries trying to hang with a top star. Too much goofy shit and comedy. Even though I like the guy, I do find it really amusing that Steen's character is that he is an obnoxious douchebag loudmouth, and that he is now the top babyface in the promotion. A comment about indy fans? They kinda blew an avalanche PP attempt, but made up for it with Yuma dying from one on the apron for the finish. Tozawa was a in a total backseat role, which is a shame, but the post-match antics with the Bucks and Hero were pretty great.

El Generico vs Eddie Edwards

This was definitely better than Edwards vs Shelley, but was still mostly them "just doing stuff". Edwards worked Generico's leg, but Generico never sold it once outside one spot where he couldn't hit a dive over the rope... so he went up top and hit one, completely overiding the point. Eddie was the aggressor most of the match and tried to "bully" Generico, but as much as I DO like the guy, he is just too vanilla for that kind of role. The final part of the match did pick up bigtime though, with both guys taking a spill to the outside, fighting on the apron (leading to the thirdest sickest apron bump of the weekend), Eddie hitting his big top rope rana and sick lariats, and THEN paying off the legwork for the finish.

Chris Hero vs Akira Tozawa

This was very good and easily MOTN, though still a big step down from their first match. Hero laid in a really violent beating on Tozawa. Chops, elbows, boots and stomps all looked really vicious and Hero also acted like a total dick. At one point he almost decapitated Tozawa with a running boot. The finish was well done, and a good way to end the feud. Tozawa crying during his farewell was emotional, he has grown into one of the most exciting wrestlers around in PWG, lets hope it's not the last we see of him.

Claudio Castagnoli vs Low Ki

I am 99% sure these two have never wrestled each other before, not even in tags or scramble matches, and it kinda showed. That's not to say this was bad, because it definitely wasn't, but there were obvious moments of awkwardness (what was up with Ki's running elbows?). Both guys dished out some shots, but they really should have played up the big vs small story much more than they did. You have the biggest guy in the main indys against a guy who is 5'8, and Ki was able to hit the Ki Krusher with relative ease. The awkwardness did lead to one sick spot where Claudio kinda sat up during a double stomp and got it right in the fucking face. Highlight of the match was also Ki double stomping Claudio's arm mid-air during an attempted elevated uppercut. The finish was predictable, with both guys surviving finishers, and came off as anticlimactic. Not a bad match by any stretch, it was solid, but ultimately forgettable. I expect future matches could be better.

The Briscoes vs The Bravado Bros, ROH "Tag Team Turmoil"

Checked this out because Briscoes have been on a tear lately, and the Bravados have an act that makes them pretty hatable. Jay cuts a promo on WGTT and ends with the awesome line (to the Bravados) "nothing personal boys, but we're gon' kick yo' ass". And that they do. The match was only around 6 minutes long, and Bravados got in more offence than they should have, but the Briscoes' beating and schtick was fun. Really liked the booking of the interference upset finish, too.

Yoshihito Sasaki/Kazuki Hashimoto vs Yuji Okabayashi/Shinobu, BJW 7/25

MOTYC for matches less than ten minutes. Short-ish match, but tonnes of action and asskicking. As you would expect, Sasaki vs Shinobu is where it's at, with both going fighting tooth and nail and trying to tear each other's heads off, but Ok and Hash also brought it in spades. Stiff match all round. Sasaki and Shinobu hate each other so much, and Okabayashi throws his muscle around effectively. Shinobu and Sasaki even go at it after the bell.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama, NJ 8/2

I enjoyed Takayama beating up the pretty boy ace, but this stopped short of being anything memorable. Takayama brought it and dished out the pain, but not on the same scale he would against a guy like KENTA. Which is fine, Tanahashi is the company ace, not a junior, so I'm not expecting Takayama to run through him. Tanahashi makes an OK punching bag, but he really isn't good enough at striking and doesn't "bring it" enough for me to really buy his comeback, nor does he sell the beating well enough to make me buy Takayama having a chance of winning.

Yoshihiro Takayama vs Giant Bernard, NJ 8/6

Pretty mediocre superheavyweight match. I actually thought Takayama once again did a good job. Here he was an old bastard trying to prove he's not past it and can still hang with a guy like Bernard. At the start of the match, he couldn't beat Bernard in a test-of-strength, so resorted to a cheapshot. He then lost a shoulder tackle exchange and immediately got to his feet and brushed it off, trying to act like it didn't phase him. After that the match was pretty crappy, as Bernard is pretty damn boring when on offence and the crowd didn't give two craps either. They did a decent job making the finish feel like an upset, but too little too late.

Chikarasaurs Rex: When the sequel beats the original

Eddie Kingston vs Adam Cole

This kind of match is a little frustrating, and even more so when you try to "rate" it. On the one hand you had a guy putting on a hell of show and being off the charts, on the other you had a guy dragging him down and sucking hard. As bland as he is as a babyface, Adam Cole is worse as a heel and I found him nearly infufferable. Outside of playing from the generic cocky heel handbook 101, he is the indy Edge as far as shitty offence and absurd facial expressions go. I enjoyed Kingston wailing on him, but once Cole went on the offence the match plummeted. I almost felt bad for Kingston having to sell some of this shit, as Kingston screaming in pain and hobbling as Cole gently brushed his leg looked silly. Still, King tried and he atleast was great, and the finish with the seated backfist was pretty cool.

Johnny Saint vs Johnny Kidd

What you expect from this match, and a tonne of fun to watch. Plenty of cool mat trickery and neat counters, and even some amusing mind games as well. Saint did a lot of his usual spots, and they are still awesome, and it's impossible to have "running through his moveset" as a complain for a guy like Johnny MF Saint. I was actually more impressed by Kidd though, he was more simplistic and aggressive in comparison to Saint's flash, and he threw in a few subtle heel moments to make the match feel more competitive.

Mike Quackenbush vs Claudio Castagnoli

This was pretty underwhelming and maybe the worst match these two have had together. This is a pretty consistant match-up, so that's not to say the match sucked, but it just wasn't anything special. One of the best things about Quack vs Claudio is how slick their exchanges are but here a lot of stuff was executed pretty loose. Most of the wow factor came from the ridiculous height Quack was able to get off certain spots, inlcuding a huge asai moonsault. Most of the match was pretty dull and plodding, with Claudio vaguely targetting Quack's back, but mostly with restholds and shit. No urgency and felt like they were filling time for the end run. And a lot of the stuff near the finish came off very random, like Quack busting out a Dragonrana and a Ricola Bomb from the apron. It may have just been me but it felt like they were just throwing shit against the wall. Quack surving a big run of offence then coming back to win out of nowhere was a little annoying too.

Eddie Kingston vs Jigsaw

I liked this a bunch, but it once again fell down the same pitfall most indy wrestling does: trying to force an "epic". The first two thirds of the match were quality. Both guys being aggressive and bringing it without breaking the face vs face status quo. Jigsaw in particular brought it much more than I was anticipating and, outside a couple flubbed superkicks (seriously, stop them), was pretty stiff. Both guys targetted bodyparts and sold them well. One great spot saw Kingston egg Jig on to take him down only for Jig to whipe him out with a big flurry of strikes. Eddie wildly swinging punches whilest crumpling to the mat was also cool. It kind of fell off a cliff near the end with a bunch of finishers and forced "we are equal" spots, including Jig surviving all three of King's finishers in a row, which was baffling, and Kingston hitting the worst Sliding D ever, but it wasn't bad enough to drop this below "very good".

Mike Quackenbush/Johnny Saint vs Colt Cabana/Johnny Kidd

Another match that was a total blast and even better than the singles from the night before. Every match-up delivered and was awesome. I especially loved the way Quack and Colt were working the body-scissors early on. Saint and Kidd seemed to work a bit tighter than the night before, and they built on some of the spots from the singles match nicely. The finish was awkward, but all four guys looked like they were having a tonne of fun wrestling this and I dare you not to enjoy it too.

Claudio Castagnoli vs Sara Del Rey

Claudio has been kind of frustrating this year. His weaker performances have come against his better opponents and his better performances have been against weaker opponents. Case in point, this. These two had a match in the 2008 TPI that got a lot of love, but I thought it was really sloppy. Del Rey has a rep for being a "good" female wrestler, and while she's definitely better than Kelly Kelly or Mickie James I still think "good" is a stretch. As sexist as it sounds she is like pretty much every other female wrestler these days, sloppy and fairly unco-ordinated. Anyway, this was still pretty solid because of the intergender/underdog story, but even then it doesn't take much work to gain sympothy as a woman getting beat up by a guy Claudio's size. Claudio was a pretty good asshole, worked Sara over well and sold bigtime for submission nearfalls, making this better than their 2008 match. The outcome was pretty telegraphed, but Claudio's performance was still pretty impressive, even if this does read like I am underating the match. It was solid, but they didn't hit the high notes they were going for.

Jigsaw/Frightmare vs Façade/Jason Gory, EVOLVE 7

For some reason I thought it was Hallowickid teaming with Jig in this, so I was disappointed to find out it was Frightmare instead. Not that Hallowickid is great and Frightmare is terrible, but it’s still a step down. I have never seen their opponents before, but they both looked pretty smooth and competent at working this kind of match. Basically just a short 10 minutes-ish spotfest with everyone hitting some cool spots. Jigsaw was clearly directing traffic, but everyone hit their stuff smoothly, and the spots were all pretty cool. Nothing that will blow you away as this match probably happens every other EVOLVE show, but fun for what it is.

Sami Callihan vs Zack Sabre Jr., EVOLVE 7

Another case of Sami getting a good match out of a scrub, another case of Sabre showing he can be lead to something good, or both? This was an interesting clash as both guys are both very different yet kind of similar in that they rely on signature strikes and submissions. Sabre was much more intense than usual and held up his end well enough, including working over Sami’s arm nicely and taking some big bumps on the floor. One cool spot saw them brawling on the stage with Sabre catching Sami in the cross-arm breaker, leading to Sami transitioning it into the Stretch Muffler. Both guys brought it, and the finish was appropriately sick.

Dick Togo vs Kota Ibushi, DDT 3/27

This was a shock to the system. Not only was it was 30 minute Kota Ibushi that was not just watchable, but a great match with Ibushi being actively good throughout. Yup. There was one kickout at 1 off a Senton, which was a little dumb, but because of where it was placed in the match I almost didn't mind it, and outside of that I can't really flaw Ibushi much. He brought plenty of violence and dished out the heavy blows and kept up with Dick through the match. Some of his spots were also incredible, like a springboard dropkick to the outside. Togo was once again Dick MF Togo, on the retirement run of a lifetime. Just incredible at everything, selling, bumping, building drama, pacing the match. This was much more focused on striking and buildin heat rather than highspots and wow factor, and the 30 minutes didn't even feel too long. Makes me think Ibushi will be as good or bad as his opponent - put him against Devitt and you'll get a bland spotfest, put him against Dick Togo and you'll get an epic.

Fujita Hayato/KAGETORA/Takeshi Minamino/The Sato Bros vs Kenou/ken45°/Kenbai/Yapper Man #1 & 2, M-Pro 6/5 (Elimination)

Outside of Hayato and Kenou, no one really stood out as being particularly impressive, but the combined effort of everyone involved came together and produced something that was enjoyable all the way through. It's been a long time since this kind of eliminaion tag has been done well, and this was a lot of fun. Hayato was great at being a dick and kicking the crap out of everyone. The Sato Bros and Yapper Men did some fun spots around the apron elimintion which came off well, and the final showdown between Hayato and Kenou felt like a fitting end to the match. Good stuff.

Daisuke Sekimoto/Yuji Okabayashi/Shinobu vs Yoshihito Sasaki/Shinya Ishikawa/Ryuichi Kawakami, BJW 6/27

This was pretty good and probably the best Strong BJ has produced this year, but still not great. This was built around the continuing Sasaki/Shinobu hatred, and that aspect of the match was really well done and ultimately what makes this worthwhile. They build it up through the match with cheapshots and interference, then finally face off at the end of the match with the place going nuts for it. And the final showdown delivers, with both men going at it, and a really great, well done finish that pays off the rest of the match. Outside of this there wasn't much going on, everything was filler, though there was one fun cat-and-mouse sequence between Sek and Ish, but otherwise it was mediocre. But the story/continuity/payoff of the Sasaki/Shinobu stuff makes this a win.

Dick Togo vs Gedo, DDT 6/30

Behind the Honda and Ibushi matches, but not too far. Maybe if this had blood it could be a MOTYC. Really well laid out, Gedo's attacks on the ribs all looked nasty and he stayed on them throughout, and Togo's selling and bumping was really superb. Him flying into the turnbuckle and ringpost chest-first both looked spectacular and gave the match the sort of larger-than-life feel you want in this situation. Good use of the Gedo Clutch as a credible nearfall even though the result was never in doubt. Great match and an epic send-off to one of the best. I can't see anyone not enjoying this.

YAMATO vs Akira Tozawa, Dragon Gate 7/8

Checked this out to see Tozawa in DG, but was left dissapointed. Tozawa dished out some nasty blows and sold the legwork well, but just didn't have the same aura or bravado he had built up in the States. YAMATO is a guy I've liked in the past but he was pretty shitty here and pretty much followed Dragon Gate Wrestling 101. Poor transitions, spotty, effortlessly going on offence after taking beatings/big moves, robotically going from one move or spot to another... I havent seen Dragon Gate in over a year and this seemed like business as usual.

BxB Hulk vs SHINGO, Dragon Gate 7/8

Only checked this out as it was on the same episode of Dragon Gate as the above, and man this stunk hard. Hulk is now a heel, which means he wears black make-up and looks emo. Maybe the single least intimidating wrestler in Japan. He contolled most of the match, which consisted of him casually walking round, occasionally hitting SHINGO with some of the weakest kicks immaginable. SHINGO is still fairly unbearable but he atleast has some strikes and moves that look devastiting, which just makes Hulk's flimsy offence all the more embarrassing. Bad match.

Prince Devitt vs Low Ki, NJ in USA 5/14

Dissapointing indy dream match spotfest. The crowd was hot, and both guys hit spectacular dives, but the match itself was just them running through their movesets. No thanks.

Chris Hero vs El Generico, ROH Supercard Of Honor VI

Fun mid-card match, but ultimately nothing spectacular. They did some comedy with Generico calling Hero Thor, and Hero bonking him with an inflatable hammer before working a cat-and-mouse style match. Hero eventually laid in the beating, but then we got a dusty finish with Generico's leg on the rope. Very random booking, and Generico won instantly after the re-start, which was underwhelming.

The Briscoes vs The All Night Express, ROH Supercard Of Honor VI (Street Fight)

I kind of had my hopes up too high for this as it's been my favourite feud in wrestling this year, but this was a very good match if not a blowaway great one. My main problem was that it was too spotty and had too many set-up highspots and not as much out-and-out brawling as I would have liked. But it was still ultimately what you want here, four guys beating each other to bloody messes and doing crazy wreckless shit. The brawling was all very good, the weapons were used well and there was plenty of hate. The highlight was easily the Briscoes hanging Kenny King with a chain while yelling racial slurs. The finish was pretty shitty and brought the match down. Jay got a chair thrown at him and "collapsed" on Rhett for the pin. The whole thing looked incredibly hokey, no one bought it, and it didn't make either team look good. These teams have a truly great match in them, this wasn't it, but as another peice of the story, it was a lot of fun.