Monday, September 19, 2016

Fave Five 9/12/16-9/18/16

1) TJ Perkins: Another week with a totally easy choice. TJ Perkins became a household name and a major star this week. When the Crusierweight Classic names were announced, he wasn't one of the favorites. He wasn't a massive name like Kota Ibushi or Zack Sabre Jr., nor was he under contract like Johnny Gargano or Rich Swann. However, Perkins beat both Gargano and Swann in previous rounds, before beating Ibushi a MOTY candidate in the Semi-Finals this week. Seriously, I don't give the full five out, but I did there. Perkins then went out and had another great match that night, beating Gran Metalik in the tournament finals. Not only did he win the CWC, he was awarded the new Cruiserweight Championship. Perkins now goes to Raw as a champion.

2) Killshot: On a Wednesday filled with great matches, I could see Killshot's performance getting overlooked. He's long been one of the more underused guys in Lucha Underground. Killshot finally got a chance to main event and he delivered. In the first Weapons of Mass Destruction match, Killshot defeated his rival Marty Martinez. Marty deserves credit too, but I'm going with the guy who won. This was a brutal war that didn't feel out of place with the stuff we're used to in the Temple. It was a top three match in a loaded week and showed that Killshot can be a major player in Lucha Underground.

3) Gran Metalik: I enjoyed him as Mascara Dorada in NJPW, but his run during the CWC has made me a big fan of Gran Metalik. Once again, they used him to open up the episode and he produced. Metalik bested Zack Sabre Jr. in a match of two guys with different styles. Despite this, it was the best match for either guy in the tournament up to that point. Metalik pulled off the relative upset to advance to the finals and meet TJ Perkins. That finals contest again proved to be a really great match and though Metalik lost, he deserves a ton of credit for his performances. Metalik finds himself set up for Raw tonight as he's one of the cruiserweights set to debut.

4) BUSHI: Outside of TJ Perkins winning the CWC, BUSHI racked up the biggest accomplishment of the week. In a rare main event for the NJPW juniors, BUSHI ended the nine (should have been fourteen) month reign of KUSHIDA as IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion. It came a shock to many, since they saw BUSHI as a credible challenger, but not someone to take the title. A lot of people expected KUSHIDA to hold the title until Wrestle Kingdom and drop it to Will Ospreay. I prefer it this way since it's different and unexpected. Plus, I really love Los Ingobernables de Japon and BUSHI in general. A great win for BUSHI and he becomes the second LIDJ member to win something of meaning this year.

5) Katsuyori Shibata: Retained his NEVER Openweight Championship over Bobby Fish in one of the best matches this week.