WWE NXT Takeover: Philadelphia

Authors of Pain vs Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly

Really solid opener. The AoP haven’t really turned face, so they had a difficult job to work what is ostensibly a heel vs heel match, and they really pulled it off. Loved the initial mat work, felt a bit scrappier and less smooth, which works with the size and menace of the Authors. Fish and O’Reilly take control when Akam hurts his leg, and I really enjoyed the heat they work on the injury, with Fish dropping it over the ropes and O’Reilly taking him down with a chop block. The tag comes logically, as Fish loses his focus, and Rezar looks great when he gets in. Love his combo fallaway slam/Samoan drop, and his breaking an O’Reilly leglock on Akam by way of dropping Fish on top was terrific. There’s a melee and the AoP hit the Super Collider, but O’Reilly uses a headscissors to cause a collision, and gets a roll up for three to win.

The Velveteen Dream vs Kassius Ohno

The story to this match had Dream promising to knock Ohno out in 30 seconds, and I loved him hitting a big blow within those 30 seconds that actually put Ohno down. Of course, it didn’t finish him, and Ohno plastered Dream with an elbow as soon as he got up. From there, they wrestled a match, and it was fine. Dream controls a lot of the match, and I like how Ohno makes him earn any selling, kicking out at 1 when it felt right to do so, but still letting him retain control. Ohno’s offence looks better than Dream’s for the most part – his senton looks killer and the rolling kick feels like a real KO blow. Dream is still a bit sloppy offensively, and I hate that over-complicated Sister Abigail-esque DDT he does, but he’s got the presence and character stuff nailed down. A DVd and a hufe top rope elbow gets the win.

Shayna Baszler vs Ember Moon

Liked Moon’s strategy early on here, taking the fight to Baszler. She hits a really vicious looking dropkick and a great low tope early doors. When Baszler gets an opening, she really takes advantage of it, hitting some awesome looking short knees. Baszler is like a shark working over the left arm of Moon, really methodically working it over. Moon really sells the arm, even on offence, trying to protect it when possible. Baszler gets hit by the Eclipse, really selling it as a knockout blow, but Moon’s arm is too hurt to make the cover. The end is logically worked, as Baszler tries to hook in an armbar to finish off the mat, but Moon keeps fighting it off, preventing a full extension, before managing to roll up Baszler for the win. Enjoyed this

  

Aleister Black vs Adam Cole

Thought this was the weakest match of the night. I really like Black, have done since I first saw Tommy End live, but Cole is a guy who does nothing for me. There’s nothing he brought to this match that couldn’t have been done by any one of hundreds of generic indy wrestlers. That said, what really hurt this match was the layout. This became one of those hardcore matches where a lot of time is spent setting up props for the next big spot, making the match feel drawn out. Most of the hardcore spots looks good – Cole blatantly holding a chair in his face ready for a knee strike being the exception – and that kept the match a somewhat entertaining spectacle. Loved the big bump where Black got superkicked off the top through two ringside tables, and Cole eating a DVD on two chairs set up back-to-back was a sick spot. Black also got to maintain his aura, looking like a badass as he dropped his kendo stick at the start of a potential duel, instead opting to use his feet as a weapon. It’s just a shame the meat of this match was lacking.

Andrade Almas vs Johnny Gargano

This, for my money, is the best match in NXT history. I went into this with high hopes, having loved their Takeover match back in August, but this surpassed those expectations. One of my favourite things in NXT has been the development of Gargano as super-babyface. Four years ago, I saw him wrestle in a local leisure centre (incidentally, against Tomasso Ciampa), and sat there agog at one of the worst sequences I’d ever seen in a wrestling ring, as Gargano superkicked Ciampa – who didn’t sell and hit a jumping knee to Gargano – who didn’t sell and hit another superkick –and so on and so on. In this match, he puts on a clinic in how to sell, his body crumpling with despair when Almas is able to kick out of a certain fall or make the rope when the Gargano Escape is locked in (and the spot right at the end where Almas hooks his foot over the bottom rope is heartbreaking within the story). The offensive sequences by both men looked spot on, even down to how tightly Almas held a chinlock. It didn’t feel like a resthold, it felt like him trying to put Gargano out, giving him no room to breathe. There’s so many moments in the match that looked great, and worked as natural counters to what their opponent was doing – the missed cannonball that sends Gargano crashing to the floor, or Almas missing a mounted punch putting him in prime position to eat a superkick through the legs. What’s great is, though they hit some big bombs, the kickouts never felt like overkill, instead fitting into the fabric of the story due to how well they were used. For example, Gargano hitting a slingshot DDT onto the apron should be a killshot move, but it sent both men to the floor so, by the time Gargano had built up the energy to roll Almas back in the ring, enough time had passed to justify the kickout. By the end, both guys looked dead on their feet, before Almas hits the running knees on the apron and a hanging DDT to finally put Gargano down. If this isn’t top of my end of year list, then I’ll have watched some bloody good wrestling this year. 

Limitless Wrestling - Hybrid Moments

Ace Romero vs Sami Callihan

Really hot opener. Romero is a really big guy, with a sort of Dusty Rhodes physique. The story here is that Romero has gone from main eventing the last show to opening this one, so he’s got something to prove. Proper hard-hitting back and forth contest, with Callihan seemingly trying to use his pace advantage early, hitting and running. Romero bumps big for a guy his size, missing a top rope senton to the apron, as well has connecting with a big senton on the floor. He maybe needs to leave visible air when hitting big boots, but he impressed here. Both got to kick out of some big moves – Romero hits two more sentons on Callihan inside the ring, whilst Callihan hits an unlikely DVD on Romero – but that worked for the story they were telling. An exchange of slaps ends with Romero hitting a big lariat to win.

Jordynne Grace vs Jessicka Havok

Really fun power battle between these two, kicking off with a shoulderblock battle that Havok wins. Grace finds herself in the rare position of being overpowered, so she has to resort to using her speed advantage instead, attacking with sudden bursts of energy. Loved her running elbow in the corner to a seated Havok. In turn, Havok looks great using her size advantage, really liked the standing Full Nelson she locked, which had Grace completely off the mat. The end was a bit sloppy, as Grace couldn’t fully get Havok up for a top rope powerbomb, but this was decent.

Josh Briggs vs Darby Allin

Briggs comes across as one of those guys who’s very tall, but not particularly imposing. He seemed fine, but it’s Allin who does all the noteworthy stuff in this match. He gets great height on a springboard armdrag, does a lovely move where Briggs kicks out of an O’Connor Roll and Allin deftly leaps to the bottom rope and flies back with a crossbody to the seated Briggs, as well as taking some big bumps when he gets posted outside the ring. Allin impressively flips out of a chokeslam and gets in a rapid chop combo, but the power advantage pays off for Briggs, as he wins with a huge facebuster slam. Allin looked great in defeat.

Maine State Posse (Danger Kid & Alexander Lee) vs The Thick Boys (John Silver & Jay Freddie)

The commentary seemed to suggest that this incarnation of the Posse didn’t seem to be gelling very well, referring to a third member who apparently works better with Danger Kid. Loved the huge flip dive Danger hit early on, seemed at odds with his unimpressive look. Alexander Lee didn’t really impress, seeming a bit tentative on his kicks, but I loved how Silver worked with him here, rolling into his legs to send Lee crashing into the ropes and hitting a big rebound German suplex. Things break down with the commentary highlighting that Danger Kid still hadn’t tagged into the match, and as soon as Kid accidentally kicks his partner, the result is pretty obvious, as the Thick Boys hit a double Rubix Cube on Lee to win.

Matt Cross vs Petey Williams

Two elder heads of the indy scene colliding, and this is a comfortable, amiable match. Nothing fancy, but both guys are experienced enough that you suspect they could work this bout in their sleep. Petey does some token legwork, but you don’t really watch a Matt Cross match for his selling, so it’s not a huge surprise when he starts his comeback with cartwheels and springboards. Petey locks in a decent looking sharpshooter, and I loved the smarts in him leaning back to grab Petey’s hand to try and prevent a rope break. Cross does two moves in a row that end with a double stomp, just to make sure you know his leg is totally fine. The Canadian Destroyer is reversed into a Jig’N’Tonic for two, before a springboard cutter gets three for Cross. Pretty easy going stuff.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs Jonathan Gresham

Nice change of pace here, as both guys decide to work a load of character-based schtick rather the big-move workrate style seen in other matches here. It’s a fun dynamic, the loudmouth vs the technician, and they work it well here. Gresham gets every opportunity to make MJF look foolish, including trying him up in his own trunks in order to hit a move on his prone opponent. Friedman gets a run of control and starts focusing on the arm and shoulder of Gresham, sending him into the ringpost. Gresham fires back with a nice sequence, hitting a jawbreaker, an enzuigiri and a German suplex in quick succession for a 2 count. MJF takes advantage of a distracted ref, however, to hit a low blow and tie up Gresham with an armbar for the win.

Cam Zagami vs Chris Dickinson

Zagami cuts a fun heel promo, offering an open challenge, before getting blindsided by Dickinson, who hits two Pazuzu Bombs for the quick win. This was really more of an angle to let Dickinson call out Eddie Kingston on the mic afterwards, but it was fun enough.

Christian Casanova vs Ethan Page

Probably the weakest of the featured matches. Casanova seemed fine, even if he spends a lot of the early stages re-tying his hair, but there’s definitely some sloppy moments. They even blow the spot where a heel pretends to be about to throw his opponent through the crowd but instead throws them back into the ring, as Casanova accidentally throws Page into the camerawoman by the apron. Page is a guy with a lot of hype, but it felt like there was good and bad to his performance. I liked his cross-armed iconoclasm, but his through-the-ropes stunner looked poor. Page’s swanton looked decent, before we get a ref bump. Mr Grim comes out, seemingly to attack Casanova, but instead levels Page with a Pounce, and Casanova hits Page with a gold chain to win. Not great, but this was fine.

Skylar vs Willow Nightingale vs Davienne vs Ashley Vox vs Kennedi Copeland vs Terra Calaway

Pretty fun little match, basically non-stop action. There’s a nice dive sequence on the floor, highlighted by an unlikely second rope moonsault by Nightingale. Copeland hitting a series of sloppy cutters is the only questionable bit, but there’s lot to enjoy here. Dug Calaway hitting a series of big cannonballs in the corner, liked Davienne following that by dropkicking people into the ringposts in the corners, before Calaway ends up alone with Copeland, hitting a full Nelson slam to win. Evenly worked to give everyone a little shine, fun spotfest to break things up before the main.

JT Dunn vs Anthony Greene

Though this was really good, both men really impressed me here. Dunn was really good working from beneath, as he works most of this match selling a leg injury. His selling is believable, firing off his good leg when hitting punches on his comeback and really stretching to hit a blow when Greene is JUST out of range. Greene had really nice execution to his stuff, real snap to his moves. His roaring elbow looked great, and I loved his instant focus on the leg when Dunn goes down injured. Both guys get convincing nearfalls, with Greene hitting a top rope cutter and Dunn nailing him with Death By Elbow. The end sees a double count out, as Dunn hits a tombstone on the apron, sending both men tumbling to the floor. Dunn is on the brink of getting back in, but Greene holds onto his leg, ensuring the match ends a draw. Really enjoyed this, thought Dunn was far more effective as a face than in the previous match I’d seen where he was a heel, and for a guy I’d never heard off Greene was a really fun discovery.

WWF Monday Night Raw 18/07/1994

Diesel vs Lex Luger

This is one of those matches that starts off feeling pretty pedestrian, but really drew me into it by the end. There’s nothing fancy, with Diesel in particular very much going through his routine, but they work in enough nearfalls and a hot ending to make it work. I thought Luger was terrific here, hitting a lovely powerslam before taking a big spill to the floor to give Diesel control. Hard not to chuckle at Jim Ross and Randy Savage praising Diesel’s “technical skills” because he can lock on a sleeper. Lex earns a series of two counts on his comeback, with a second rope clothesline coming closest. There’s also a very close fall for Diesel, as Shawn Michaels superkicks Luger as he goes for the torture rack following a ref bump. Sadly, we get a cop out ending, as Razor Ramon comes down and all four men fight for a double DQ.

Mabel vs Austin Steele

Fun squash, with Mabel showing off his strength. Nice overhead suplex, big corner splash and a Bossman Slam get the win.

Owen Hart vs Reno Riggins

As the #1 contender to the world title, Owen maybe gives Riggins a bit too much offence here. Then again, it helps the story, as Owen gets frustrated at Riggins keeping up with him and starts putting in nastier blows. A slick belly-to-belly leads to the sharpshooter for the win.

Thurman Plugg vs George South

This is a pretty by the book squash. Liked the early spot where South went for a leapfrog, only for Plugg to stop and kick him in the stomach. Plugg has pretty basic offense here, but it’s all executed well enough. Top rope crossbody, with good height, gets three.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Gary Sabaugh

This was one of the better Bigelow performances, as he lays waste to Sabaugh. His corner splash is fast and painful looking, and a standing enzuigiri looks decent. However, Bigelow ends up winning with the worst looking move in the match, a Million Dollar Dream turned into a shitty bulldog. I think he quickly dropped this move, and with good reason. 

WWF Prime Time Wrestling 09/06/1986

George Steele vs Adrian Adonis

Obviously, there is only so much that you can do with Steele, so the fact this is quite fun is pretty impressive. Adonis controls with some nice punches and an assortment of chokes, before Steele takes control with a foreign object. Adonis is a lot of fun here, taking a huge bump over the corner and hamming it up when a wobbly rope causes him to crotch himself on the top turnbuckle. We get a ref bump, allowing Adonis to survive Steele’s hammerlock submission and roll him up for the win. This was fun.

Steve Lombardi vs Tony Parisi

This is less fun, but that’s mainly because Lombardi isn’t much cop. Parisi is impressive here, he was winding down at this point, but still has really good movement, wrestling quickly around Lombardi. Lombardi locks on a lengthy chinlock, before Parisi takes a big bump over the top rope to the ramp. Lombardi’s generic offence sadly means that this match does drag a bit, but Parisi nails him with a corner elbow and a cannonball for the win.

The Rougeau Brothers vs Terry Gibbs & Hercules

Well, I wonder who will eat the pin here. This is a pretty decent tag match, nothing spectacular, but good solid formula stuff. I enjoyed the early spot where Herc challenges Raymond to an arm wrestle in the middle of the ring and is winning, only for Herc to poke his eyes to take control. Jacques becomes face-in-peril after missing a springboard crossbody from the corner. Heels control decently enough, showing some actual continuity by holding hands on an abdominal stretch or Gibbs holding Rougeau in the ring after making a tag. Raymond is all action on the hot tag and we end up with all four guys in the ring. In the melee, Raymond hits a missile dropkick on Gibbs to win.

The Moondogs vs Tony Parks & Nelson Veilleux

Fun squash, where the faces get a little shine before Veilleux becomes the face in peril. The Moondogs are nicely stiff here, with Spot hitting a vicious shoulderbreaker and Rex nailing a nasty looking kneelift. Loved Rex holding a headlock and punching Veilleux in the face as he releases. Parks gets tagged in (because Rex lets him), but his fire is soon snuffed out by a big Rex powerslam and a decapitation elbow.

Andre the Giant vs Alexis Smirnoff

Basic, though fun, squash where Alexis tries ill-advised moves like a hiptoss and a flying headscissors that Andre is easily able to block. Andre holds an armbar for maybe a bit too long before ending a brief Smirnoff flurry with headbutts, a big boot and a butt splash.

SD Jones & Paul Roma vs The Menace & Jim Haley

Not much to this one. The faces do some basic arm work to both heels, lots of arm wringers and ax handles from the turnbuckles, before Roman hits Haley with a powerslam to win. Nothing bout.

King Kong Bundy vs Tony Atlas

Fun opening spot, as Atlas crashes and burns on two attempted shoulderblocks, but has more success taking Bundy down with a crossbody. Sadly, Bundy is really not up for much in this match, some very slow and plodding offence. Atlas nicely blocks an avalanche with a headbutt from the corner, but Bundy quickly hits him with another avalanche and a big elbow to win. 

NYWC Til I Collapse

Papadon vs Mike Orlando

Really solid opener here, I’ve been pretty complementary about Papadon’s shit-talking and schtick in the past, and it really helped carry the match here. Orlando was fine but a bit bland here, his comeback towards the end being all clotheslines and dropkicks. Papadon takes his control by luring Orlando into a stungun, he stops Orlando from breaking a headlock by just grabbing him by the nose and giving Orlando his comeback by taking too long climbing the turnbuckle by yelling at the crowd, before fully committing to his miss by faceplanting into the mat. Orlando hits a nice flipping spear for two. Liked Papadon catching Orlando in the ropes and landing a quick combo of 2-3 blows whilst Orlando can’t escape. The end sees Papadon spit at Orlando’s valet, causing a ref distraction and Papadon gives an eyepoke and a piledriver to get the win.

Willow Nightingale vs Kris Statlander

This was a step below Nightingale’s previous title defences, took a while to get going. Nightingale in particular seemed to be moving in slow motion, don’t know if that’s because she was facing a less experienced opponent. Liked Willow’s headbutts here, her big mane of hair looked wild as she swung her hair. Statlander seemed fine, though some of her execution was a little hesitant. Nightingale picks up towards the end, hitting a decent senton and I liked her superplex that she floated over into a fishermen’s suplex for two. A good DVD gives her the win.

Born & Bred (Anthony LaCerra & Jesse Vane) vs The Rep (Dave McCall & Nate Carter)

There’s a great early spot in this where Vane kicks both members of the Rep from the apron, before LaCerra hits a huge flip dive, leaping over Vane in the process. The Rep take over after blocking double monkey flips and throwing both faces into each other. Vane gets worked over competently enough, not sure how I felt about the double team stampede into a dropkick-assisted side slam. Vane lands on his feet from a fallaway slam and hits a dropkick in a nice spot. LaCerra hits a few nice kicks on the hot tag, and a superkick into a German suplex gives Born & Bred the win.

J-Redd, GIT, Randy Summers & Rick Cataldo vs The Benson Brothers, JT Kasin & Bo Prichard

This is a throwaway 8 man tag that stems from, of all things, an in-ring karaoke competition, where the heel team attack the Bensons, Kasin and Prichard after their own performances didn’t go so well. Brad Benson ends up as FIP. Pretty impressed by GIT’s boomerang clothesline, before everything breaks down and we get everyone in the ring hitting moves on each other (J-Redd’s moonsault press is pretty poor). Summers decides he wants to finish singing the High School Musical song he’d been singing earlier, but Kasin and Prichard grab him and hit a double-team swinging slam to win. Harmless enough.

Mike Verna vs Talon

This is billed as a grudge match, but it didn’t feel like one, more like a normal match. Talon controls the majority of the match, and his offence is fine. Liked his STO. Also really liked the spot where Verna hit a top rope crossbody, but Talon got in a blow in midair so that even though the move took him down, Verna ended up taking more pain. Makes sense given that he’s flying through the air with his stomach totally exposed. Talon ends up picking up the win, as he takes a crutch and hits the injured Rex Lawless at ringside. This distracts the ref, allowing Talon to nail Verna with the crutch and a Curb Stomp to win.

Bam Sullivan & Victoria von Black vs Stockade & Terra Calaway

This is an intergender tagmatch. Always thought Bam was the better of the Sullivan brothers, and he looks really good here. Loved an early spot with Sullivan in the corner, von Black gets tripped into him as she attempts to charge Stockade, and Calaway flattens them both with a corner cannonball. Liked Sullivan picking up von Black as if to wheelbarrow splash her onto Stockade, but instead drops her knee first onto Stockade. Made sense as von Black is the lightest person in the match, so dropping her knees onto him feels like it would do more damage. Von Black’s offence is pretty smartly worked, she’s quite small and Stockade is a huge guy, so her offence is limited to chokes and kicks. Calaway gets tagged in after a nice Stockade DDT to Sullivan. Calaway breaks an attempted von Black sleeper with a backpack stunner. The faces get distracted by destroying Mouse, who is accompanying Sullivan and von Black, but this allows von Black to low blow Stockade and Sullivan nails Calaway with a clothesline to win. This was well-worked, enjoyed this.

Bull James vs Joey Ryan

In contrast, I absolutely hated this. Just a terribly unfunny comedy match that makes the NYWC title match the least hotly contested contest of the show. Admittedly, if you find Ryan’s “powerful penis” jokes funny, you’ll love this, but this isn’t a wrestling match, it’s just a load of unfunny shit. The first few minutes is just Ryan trying to make James touch his knob. Hilarious. They then work a load of nonsense where they both pull lollipops out of their trunks and try to make the other eat it. This goes on for 7 terribly unfunny minutes before Blake Morris and Alex Reynolds run in to make this a no contest. A total waste of time.

WWE Main Event 22/07/2014

Seth Rollins vs Fandango

Perfectly fine match, with the up-and-coming main eventer getting a clean win over the lower midcarder. Rollins’ kneeling flatliner in the corner looked a bit weak, despite Fandango trying his best to save it with a big sell, but the rest of this was competent professional wrestling. Fandango shows nice fire on his comeback, but gets planted with a buckle bomb and a curb stomp for a quick win

Jey Uso vs Ryback

Decent stuff here, as they work a nice speed vs power section at the start. Uso throws some really nice right hands before using his speed to get two counts from a roll-up and a crucifix. Ryback catches him from the second rope with a huge spinebuster that looked great. Meathook clothesline gets reverse to a big Samoan Drop, but a Curtis Axel distraction allows Ryback to hit a second attempt to win.

Slater Gator vs Big E & Kofi Kingston

Bit of a curio here, as the proto-New Day are accompanied by Xavier Woods in glasses and Brother Love’s clothes, barking orders at them throughout the match. Titus does get to chuck around Kofi at the beginning, but he soon tags out after Slater and O’Neill start bickering. Big E blitzes them both, the New Day hit their own twist on Demolition Decapitation to both (with a Kofi top rope stomp replacing the elbow, looked a bit shit to be honest) and Xavier yells at them to stack Slater Gator on top of each other for the win. Interesting glimpse into what might have been, but I think their current direction was a better choice.

Jack Swagger vs Rusev

Both come into this nursing wounds from their previous matches – Rusev has a bad ankle, that Swagger tries for from the opening bell, whilst Swagger has a suspected concussion from hitting his head on a ring post. We get a break, with Rusev fully in control on the return, kicking Swagger repeatedly in the head and using it as a focal point. Loved Rusev stomping and standing on Swagger’s head whilst holding onto his arm for leverage. Swagger’s comeback is nice, huge overhead bodyslam and he hooks the ankle lock after grabbing the foot on an attempted block of the Swagger Bomb. Ending is a bit disappointing, as they head outside and Rusev uses the Russian flag to draw a DQ, but the meat of this was really fun

World Class Championship Wrestling 27/11/1982

Kerry von Erich vs Frank Dusek

Fun short bout, with both guys working the other’s leg. Kerry is just coming back from a knee injury, so it makes sense from Dusek, and it feels like Kerry is just doing it to inflict his agony on other people. Loved his high leap on elbow drops to the leg. Discus punch gets the win.

Bugsy McGraw vs Bill Irwin

When he’s not coupled with Checkmate, McGraw is a far less interesting wrestler to watch. They do some initial comedy before things kind of heat up. Neither is a particularly interesting offensive wrestler, with Irwin having surprisingly light kicks. They end up fighting on the apron and the match ends with a double countout. Not much fun.

Al Madril vs Killer Tim Brooks

This was pretty fun. Madril seems pretty vanilla, if competent, but facing someone like Brooks gives him a bit more to work with. Loved Brooks’ little tricks, at one point he escapes a headscissors by getting to the ropes, but he then keeps hold of Madril’s ankle to give him an opening to attack from the defensive. Nice kneebreaker, before Brooks sends Madril to the floor and wont let him back in. This seems to fire up Madril, as he angrily gets involved in a punch exchange that he ends up winning. The time limit goes for a draw, a disappointing ending to a decent match.

David von Erich vs the Great Kabuki

This is a revenge match, as Kabuki had taken Kerry out of action with his kneebreaker, so David is nicely fired up here. Loved the contrast of his elegant looking flying headscissors that he takes down into a furious punch exchange. Von Erich gets a stomach claw, but gets caught with a nice thrust kick. Loved the part where David feigned grogginess, then took advantage to lock on another stomach claw. There’s an incredible visual, with Kabuki’s pain wracked face, green mist pouring from his mouth, looking like acid was melting his insides. This is pretty good fun, so it’s a shame that Magic Dragon comes in to draw the DQ. This was neat while it lasted.

WCW Great American Bash 1992

Deciding to take on so many different projects in the past year has meant that I've slacked on writing up my favourite year in wrestling history: 1992 WCW. Even more criminal when you consider that I've taken too long to get to this show - arguably this is the best PPV of all time. Seven matches, and the worst match is merely "decent". 

Jushin Liger & Brian Pillman vs Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff

Really fun match, worked really evenly with momentum shifting quickly between the two teams. It’s worked really nicely though, as both teams use quick tags to justify the momentum switches, and I like little touches like Liger sprinting for his corner first chance he gets when he’s been in trouble. Really fun to see Steamboat working big against two light heavyweights. He blasts Pillman with a big clothesline, nails a string of backbreakers on Liger before planting him with a big powerslam. Some really nice offensive runs here too, at one point Liger hits Steamboat with a perfect moonsault, a tombstone and a flip senton, getting a close two off each move. The end sees Steamboat roll through a Pillman crossbody to win.

Hiroshi Hase & Shinya Hashimoto vs the Freebirds

A bit of a styles clash, but an interesting one. This feels a bit like a battle of the interesting strikes, as Hashimoto nails a lot of nasty looking kicks, Hayes nails a load of fun punches and Hase has a range of chops. Loved the gutbuster Hase hits. Hayes hits a pair of beautiful left hands to make the hot tag, but Garvin gets caught with a sneaky Hashimoto behind the ref’s back, and Hase hits the Northern Lights to win.

Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes vs Steve Austin & Rick Rude

This is such a great match. What you really have here is four guys absolutely on top of their game putting on a classic tag match, including a really great heat section. All four guys put in some really solid looking blows, but it’s not just the execution that makes them so good, but the timing. They all pick the exact right time to hit each other for maximum effect. Early on, Windham belts Austin across the face, leading to a terrific sell as Austin throws himself out of the ring. You know a match is fun when Austin and Rhodes manage to work a fun little section based around an abdominal stretch. The heat is worked on Windham, including an unlikely Rude missile dropkick. Loved how close Windham got to making the tag on multiple occasions, and when he falls back and finally makes the tag, both the crowd and Dustin just explode. Things break down and Dustin hits a massive top rope lariat on Austin to win. This was a belter.

Steve Williams & Terry Gordy vs Nikita Koloff & Ricky Steamboat

This was really neat, loved the opening stages with all four guys going to the mat, especially as Steamboat and Koloff equit themselves admirably. MVC have the advantage of having not wrestled previously this show, and they both have a power advantage over Steamboat which starts to slowly manifest. Though they match up evenly, gradually the power moves wear Steamboat down, and a running charge into the corner damages his ribs, giving a focal point for Williams to hit with a huge backbreaker. When Steamboat makes the tag to Nikita, he’s not even able to stand on the apron, and when Koloff misses a shoulderblock, you know they’re in big trouble. More heat is worked on Koloff, who gets to tag in Steamboat only for Williams to catch him from the top rope and hit an Oklahoma Stampede version of a spinebuster for the win.

Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham vs Hiroshi Hase & Shinya Hashimoto

Another match that started with really nice matwork, it’s really neat watching guys like Dustinand Windham showing what they can do. Loved how a lot of the reversals felt natural, all stemming from shifts in body position and leverage. Rhodes becomes the face in peril, gradually getting worn down by Hashimoto kicks until you realise too late that he’s in trouble. Hase and Hashimoto work a fun heat on him until Hase misses a top rope knee drop for the hot tag. Lovely ending sees Hase lose attention of who the legal man is, and get blasted with a Windham lariat as he runs the ropes with Rhodes. Very good stuff.

Big Van Vader vs Sting

This was a great example of a champion putting over his challenger in an absolutely dominating fashion, whilst still keeping himself strong. Vader is allowed to totally dominate Sting in large sections of the match, blasting him in the corner at the start, no-selling a clothesline and a crossbody, whilst later in the match he even puts Sting in his own finisher, the Scorpion Deathlock. Loved how he applied it too, hooking up one of Sting’s legs, then grabbing the other as Sting used it to bat him away. Yet despite this, Sting is still able to look strong in defeat. His offensive flurries look great, full of energy, and he gets to show off remarkable strength. Nice suplex, big back suplex and an impressive Samoan Drop all look great, and Sting sells the exhaustion nicely each time. Even though Vader is dominant, Sting looks to have it won twice: a German suplex only gets two due to a ref bump, whilst it’s when Sting is in control that he loses it by accident. A Stinger Splash hits Vader, but Sting hits his head on the ringpost. From here, Sting is out on his feet and a powerbomb gives Vader the win. Really terrific bout.

Steve Williams & Terry Gordy vs Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes

This is the third 20-odd minute match for Windham and Rhodes on this show, and it’s to their credit that they don’t look exhausted throughout here. The opening is pretty even and they don’t show obvious signs of fatigue. The giveaway is how it gets easier and easier for Williams and Gordy to take control of whichever opponent is in the ring. This is a bout with three face-in-peril sections, yet as with the Sting/Vader match, you still feel like the faces could win the match. Loved how fired up Windham was when he makes his hot tag, hitting a lovely lariat on Gordy and a beautiful floatover suplex on Williams. It’s also worth noting how both teams make use of ring positioning to their advantages and in totally natural ways. Gordy makes a tag by flinging his arms backward whilst in a sleeper, letting Williams attack an unsuspecting Dustin unawares, whilst Rhodes later makes a hot tag by stretching his long frame when taken down with a drop toehold. Towards the end, Dustin takes the hot tag and is put in peril in mere seconds, showing the control Williams and Gordy have on the match. There’s a great nearfall as Barry dropkicks Rhodes on top of Williams during a Stampede attempt, but Williams soon turns Dustin 360 degrees with a clothesline for the win. Superb stuff.

Mid-South Wrestling 16/01/1982

Bryan Blair vs The Monk

Fun stuff with Blair just working smoothly around the Monk, looking for ways to take him over to the mat. Monk gets a little shine, nice suplex, but Blair takes him down with an Abdominal Stretch pin for the win.

Ernie Ladd & the Wild Samoans vs Dusty Rhodes, Andre the Giant & Junkyard Dog

My opinion on this hasn’t changed since reviewing it for the True Giants DVD:

This is a really quick sprint, but it’s a load of fun. It’s not pretty, but they work a high tempo and keep the tags quick enough to maintain that pace. Loved the heels trying to isolate Andre in their corner, only for him to free himself, dragging Ladd and one of the Samoans with him as he gets to his own corner. The heels find it hard to gain any traction, until Ladd breaks an Andre pin with a legdrop, and

the Samoans slam Andre. Things quickly break down and Andre is able to hit a 2^nd rope splash on Ladd for the win.

Mr Olympia vs Carlos Zapata

Olympia just works circles around Zapata, moving quickly and with pace. Loved the match winning sleeper, Olympia just hooks Zapata viciously around the neck and Zapata makes these amazing facials as he dozes off.

Ed Wiskowski vs Tommy Wright

Wiskowski is a fun beast here, dominating the bout after stomping Wright on the mat following a roll-up, and Wright is never able to fully recover. Wiskowski is nicely stiff, with fun little touches like holding Wright by the hair in order to punch him in the face. Love the splash to the back as Wright is sat up, and a backbreaker gets the easy win.

Dick Murdoch vs Bob Roop

This is really neat, loved the start with Murdoch anticipating a Roop cheapshot, and sidestepping, causing Roop to amusingly spin past him. Roop does a lot of work on Dick’s wrist, adding just enough little touches and bits of digit manipulation to keep it interesting. In places it verges on just holding Murdoch by the wrist, then Roop will just add a little something at the right time to mix it up. Murdoch fires back, but Paul Orndorff interferes on the outside, tripping Dick’s leg on the brainbuster attempt, causing Roop to fall on top for two. Murdoch leaps over a trip attempt when running the ropes, but Orndorff interferes to draw the DQ. Fun stuff.

The Wild Samoans vs Frank Monte & Jesse Barr

Ernie Ladd paid off the original opponents for Monte and Barr to let the Samoans replace them, and this is a massacre. Lots of stiff looking headbutts from the Samoans, both standing and diving, whilst an attempted crossbody by Barr is met with a stiff elbow to the face. Samoan Drop ends the beating.

Mike George vs Bob Orton Jr

Surprisingly brief – only four minutes long – but a lot of fun. Both men throw some meaty looking blows, and I loved the stiff looking elbows thrown by Orton. The end is pretty nifty, as George powers Orton into the turnbuckles and fluidly grabs him in a side Russian leg sweep for the win. Wish this was 3-4 times longer.

End of 2017 Round Up Post

As is the annual tradition, I'm compiling a top 10 of the best matches reviewed on the blog last year. 2017 saw me hit a record number of posts (a nice, round 100) so it's taken a bit longer to work out the top 10 (wading through Tommy Cairo matches on ECW, countless Kwang squashes that I love, plus loads of stuff I've loved and hated this year), and here is what I think are the best 10 matches I've written about this year.

10. Low Ki vs Ruckus vs Joey Matthews (3PW United We Stand, Divided We Brawl)
Hey, 3PW making the top 10 list, that's not something that happens too often. Worked basically like a Low-Ki gauntlet, as it's elimination rules and Matthews waits outside until Ruckus is pinned. Matthews and Low-Ki have a really nice little bout, with Matthews working the shoulder and the two blending together nicely

9. Bryan Danielson vs KENTA (RoH Invades Japan Vol 1)
Great Danielson performance, comes across as an absolute boss in this one. Not that KENTA was a passenger here, but you really end up getting this feel for Danielson as an offensive juggernaut. Includes maybe the best top rope back suplex ever.

8. Io Shirai vs Shayna Baszler (Stardom - Stardom of Champions 23/02/2017)
Some people watched the Mae Young Classic and thought Shayna Baszler was overpushed, one of the weaker performers in the tournament. Those people were very wrong. Not only did she put in some great performances in the MYC, but her indy work was well worth checking out too. This was insanely fun, two women not afraid to throw it down or take insane bumps. This was legit.

7. Pete Dunne vs Johnny Kidd (Pro Wrestling Chaos - Everyone Must Stand Alone)
2017 was the year of the Bruiserweight in many ways, and it was great to watch something like this where Pete showed he can work the mat just as comfortably as he can hit hard. Just beautiful chain wrestling and counters, absolutely loved watching this.

6. #CCK (Mondai Lykos & Chris Brookes) & Shay Purser vs FSU (Eddie Dennis & Mark Andrews) & Pete Dunne (Attack! Pro Wrestling - Teenagers With Attitude)
Just an absolute blast from start to finish. Maybe not technically the best match I've seen, but this was just incredible fun all the way through. Loved seeing Pete Dunne working as face, doing all his usual heel schtick only to heels rather than faces. Grinned all the way through this.

5. Alberto Del Rio vs Dolph Ziggler (WWE Payback 2013)
The best match of Ziggler's career by far. The only match where he sells effectively, the only match where his sloppy offence actually fits the story of the bout. Del Rio puts in one of his better performances too, just vicious in control and giving Ziggler just the right number of comebacks. Plus a match that features Ziggler getting kicked in the head lots will always score favourably with me.

4. Bret Hart vs 1-2-3 Kid (WWF Raw 11/07/1994)
The best match I've seen so far in my 94 Raw revisit. Bret puts in a real champions performance, making the underdog Kid look like a legit competitor. Really hard to work this as face vs face, keeping the champion strong without overpowering the challenger. They balance this perfectly, just a great match from both guys.

3. Roman Reigns vs Daniel Bryan (WWE Roman Reigns - Iconic Matches)
Two men who worked so well together, arguably the last great match of Daniel Bryan's career. Reigns felt like a guy trying to justify his main event push and he's really great here. Loved the bodywork from Bryan, felt like a man trying to kick Reign's ribs into dust. This is the start of Roman's run as one of the elite wrestlers on the planet.

2. Rick Rude vs Ricky Steamboat (WCW Beach Blast 1992)
Arguably the best Iron Man match. So logically worked, love the story-telling here, Rude working the rules to his advantage, Steamboat looking great in firing back and a really exciting final run that is still edge-of-seat stuff 25 years later.

1. Kairi Hojo vs Jungle Kyona (Stardom - Stardom of Champions 23/02/2017)
My favourite match of 2017, one of my favourite things in wrestling is the breakthrough match, where a main eventer takes on a talented midcarder and they end up putting on a beast of a match. Kyona really proved herself to be a main event level talent with this match, looking powerful on offence and selling convincingly and effectively when Kairi took control. Hojo didn't hold back either, really a match that delivered by the bucketful.