Monday, August 3, 2015

Fave Five 7/27/15 - 8/2/15

1) Katsuyori Shibata: Before getting NJPW World earlier this year, I had only heard about Katsuyori Shibata but never got to see him wrestle. I first did when I watched Dominion and he was awesome. However, he's been possibly my favorite performer in the G1 Climax. After losing his first match against AJ Styles, he has reeled off win after win and currently leads A Block and the entire G1 in points with eight. This week, he beat Bad Luck Fale and Kota Ibushi, who are both also having good tournaments. He managed to pull off a good match with Fale but before that, his match with Ibushi was the best of the G1 so far. You need to see that outing as it is the best under 15 minute match that I have ever witnessed.

2) Kota Ibushi: The man who topped this list last week,Kota Ibushi, comes in second here. He split his two matches this week while some guys went undefeated but I couldn't leave him off of this list. He has been pretty damn great throughout the entire G1. He lost to the number one guy this week, Katsuyori Shibata, in a match of the year candidate to start the week. No shame in that, especially considering the performance by Ibushi. Then he pinned the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Hiroyoshi Tenzan in another solid match to earn more points. I don't believe he's going to win the G1, but it has been full of great showings from him as he continues his great 2015.

3) John Cena: I disagree one million percent with the decision to have Seth Rollins tap out to John Cena this past Monday night on Raw. It was a horrible booking decision, especially heading into SummerSlam. Despite that, Cena did once again successfully defend the United States Championship and did so against the WWE Champion. It was another good match on his resume for a very good 2015 run with the belt. Not only that, but he broke his nose in ugly fashion during the match and finished it. I've seen guys finish matches with worse injuries in the past, but it is still a badass thing for Cena to do. I may not be a big fan, but the man tends to deliver in the ring.

4) The Disciples of Death: I couldn't find a good picture of them so you get this instead. The Disciples of Death were able to dethrones the entertaining team of Angelico, Ivelisse and Son of Havoc at Ultima Lucha night one. While it wasn't up to par with some of the other Trios Title matches I've seen this year, it was still fun and incorporated Catrina into the match well. This wasn't one of the best performances of the week, but the Disciples of Death won a pretty important Championship during a week without any other title changes. Due to their win, Catrina is one step closer to controlling pretty much all of Lucha Underground. For now it's big, though I don't see them holding the belts for long in season two.

5) Becky Lynch: A rather surprising choice for the fifth spot here. Becky Lynch came up with Charlotte and Sasha Banks as part of the "Divas Revolution" but was a bit of an afterthought for the first week. While Charlotte and Sasha Banks racked up wins, Becky was in the background. That changed on Raw, when she made Alicia Fox tap out to the newly named Dis-Arm-Her in a tag team match. She was scheduled to face Nikki Bella on Smackdown, but that changed when Nikki stayed with John Cena due to his injury. Instead, she made Brie Bella tap out in a very good match on Main Event. She was also the recipient of a very well done vignette on Smackdown. When it comes to women's wrestling, this week belonged to Becky Lynch.