G1 Climax 23 Day Two
August 2nd, 2013 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 2,015
After a good, solid first night of the tournament, we move to the second show in the historic Korakuen Hall.
Block B
Karl Anderson (2) vs. Shelton X Benjamin (2)
Both guys obviously won their first matches. They start with an exchange of slaps and shoves. Anderson gets irritated and steps outside. Back in, the same thing happens and Anderson again goes outside. It’s like I’m watching a replay. The crowd gets a laugh when it happens for a third time, but Anderson goes on the offensive instead of exiting this time. They go back and forth for a bit until Benjamin hits the dragon whip kick. He follows with a high knee and signals for the finish. Shelton springboards in only to nearly get caught in the Gun Stun. He sends Anderson off the ropes and eats a backbreaker. Shelton gets two on a superkick/German combo before applying an ankle lock. Anderson gets out and nails a Gun Stun for the victory.
Winner: Karl Anderson (4) in 6:28
Solid opening contest here. They didn’t do anything crazy but managed to have a good match that the crowd seemed to enjoy. The early stuff they did was rather fun too. Nothing special though. **¾
Block B
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (0) vs. Yujiro Takahashi (2)
Takahashi’s arm candy is looking mighty fine tonight. These are honestly two guys that I don’t tend to enjoy for the most part, so my expectations are quite low. There is some early biting from Takahashi on the thumb of Tenzan. Tenzan starts to light him up, so he goes outside to get consoled by his lady friend. Takahashi goads him outside, where he jumps him. He takes control from there, getting a few near falls in the ring. Tenzan explodes out of the corner with a clothesline and turns the tide, laying into Takahashi. He hits a backdrop suplex like move and goes up top. Headbutt connects for two. He locks in the Anaconda Vice but Takahashi escapes. Tenzan doesn’t let that deter him and tries a moonsault but misses. Takahashi goes into some of his offense including a moonsault but he only gets one. He drops Tenzan when trying for Tokyo Pimps, so he decides to go back up and hit a second moonsault for the win.
Winner: Yujiro Takahashi (4) in 9:07
Better than I expected. I would have given them less time, but I think they ended up doing rather well. This was fine for what it was. **½
Block B
Toru Yano (0) vs. Yuji Nagata (2)
It looks like we’re getting most of Block B out of the way early. Toru Yano attacks before the bell, but it quickly backfires and Yuji Nagata cause shim to nearly walk out. Nagata does his signature salute, so Yano does his shrug back at him. They start battling and Yano sends Nagata into an exposed corner. Nagata sells it pretty hilariously. Nagata comes back with a bunch of strikes before getting two on an exploder. Nagata is also ready for the typical Yano low blow spot, avoiding it and rolling him up. Yano rolls through, pinning Nagata for tow. Yano ends up hitting the low blow but his backslide only gets two. A few moments later, Nagata scores with the backdrop suplex to win.
Winner: Yuji Nagata (4) in 6:48
Like the rest of the show so far, this was solid but unspectacular. Nothing about this match was great. Still, it was a fine little bout that kept the crowd involved throughout. Nothing wrong with that. **¾
Block A
Lance Archer (2) vs. Prince Devitt (2)
Fresh off of a major main event win against the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Prince Devitt faces the largest man in the tournament. The size factor quickly comes into play as the Jr. Heavyweight Champion is tossed around. Bad Luck Fale gets on the apron, coming face to face with Lance Archer and allowing Devitt to sneak in and go after the leg. Devitt continues to attack the knee. Archer get fed up with this and press slams Devitt onto Fale outside. Devitt tries using a chair, only to have it taken from him. A second one is thrown in but Archer punches it into him. Like your typical Bullet Club match, we get a ref bump. Archer misses the moonsault and Devitt comes of the top with a chair shot. He then hits the diving double stomp with a chair on Archer’s chest but that only gets two. Archer gets Devitt up for his finish but the Prince wriggles free and rolls up Archer for two. Devitt bumps hard on a Chokeslam and kicks out. Fale tries to get involved again, but Taka Michinoku holds his foot. Archer wipes him out, catches a flying Devitt and nails Blackout.
Winner: Lance Archer (4) in 8:14
Well I enjoyed that more than Okada/Devitt from day one. It did a good job in portraying the fact that the Junior Heavyweight Champion is indeed out of his element a lot of time in this tournament. That made the interference spots sensible here. I’m used to Archer as the monster heel, but he was fine in the big babyface role here. ***½
Block A
Katsuyori Shibata (2) vs. Satoshi Kojima (2)
I loved their match in the G1 24 a year later. Just like I wanted, this starts like an all-out war with both men just leveling each other. Shibata kicks his ass and sends him hurting to the mat. Shibata seems to be talking smack as if he’s putting Kojima in his place. Shibata applies a figure four, complete with some slaps, but Kojima reaches the ropes. Kojima starts reeling off his rapid fire chops only to be sent outside. The fight goes up by the entrance where Shibata suplexes Kojima. Once back inside, Kojima is already back on the offensive and nails a cutter. Shibata comes back with a backdrop driver of sorts. He hits a PK to the back but Kojima fires up and connects on a BRAINBUSTER! He removes the elbow pad and takes out Shibata with a lariat.
Winner: Satoshi Kojima (4) in 9:40
I rather enjoyed this. Shibata came off like an arrogant badass, while the veteran had to dig deep and pull this one out. Hard hitting match with a hot crowd and fine story. ***½
Block A
Davey Boy Smith Jr. (0) vs. Togi Makabe (2)
They begin by exchanging boots until Makabe clotheslines him over the top. Outside, Smith sends Makabe over the guardrail. He shouts that he’s “taking the G1”. Somehow must not have told him his place on the card. Smith does stay in control inside, wearing down Makabe. Makabe fights back with some stiff shots and scores two on a lariat. At one point, Smith puts on a chinlock only to release it and cover. When will that ever actually win a match? Makabe fires off ten punches in the corner shortly after. Smith hits a powerslam and belly to belly for near falls. He’s looked like the more impressive wrestler so far. Makabe comes back with an overhand chop and goes up top but is greeted with a superplex. A battle of dueling forearms leads to Smith hitting a powerbomb for the upset.
Winner: Davey Boy Smith Jr. (2) in 10:13
This continues tonight’s trend of solid matches. Both guys worked hard and were pretty stiff. They didn’t try to reinvent the wheel or do anything fancy. They worked their styles and it made for a good match. ***
Block B
Kota Ibushi (2) vs. Tetsuya Naito (0)
They start with some mat work which I like. They’re both major high flyers and incredibly athletic so I appreciate them going a different route early on. Hopefully they build to the bigger stuff. Right on cue they show off some athleticism with a quick burst of energy. Naito seems to be going after the leg, looking to take out Ibushi’s strong suit. Ibushi knocks Naito outside after escaping a submission and scores on a moonsault. Ibushi springboards in with a dropkick for two. Ibushi continues the trend, hitting a standing shooting star press for a near fall. Naito stops the flurry by going back to the leg. He comes off the top now with a missile dropkick to the knee. That’s pretty damn good. Figure four by Naito and Ibushi is in trouble. He reaches the ropes and it leads to a battle of slaps. Surprisingly, Naito seems to be hitting harder. It leads to each man hitting a big move and Naito coming very close on a rollup. Ibushi counters a victory roll and just levels Naito with a kick. Sitout powerbomb by Ibushi only gets two but the fans bought it. He goes up and nails the Phoenix splash for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Kota Ibushi (4) in 13:16
Oh wow, that was fantastic. Two of the most athletically gifted wrestlers I can think of (especially Ibushi) just going at it. I liked Naito’s leg work and was okay with it not impacting Ibushi early because it wasn’t very pronounced. However, after Naito kept going to it, I wish Ibushi sold it more. He just hit his moves like it was nothing, which hurt the overall score. Still, my favorite tournament match so far. ****
Block B
Minoru Suzuki (0) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (0)
I recently reviewed Dominion 2013, which saw these two going at it in a tag team match that was a blast. They work the mat, with Nakamura trying to lock in an armbar, but running into trouble. Once that’s over, Nakamura tries his trademark knee in the corner but is caught in an armbar over the ropes by Suzuki. Turnabout is fair play. Suzuki works him over outside and is in control back in the ring. Nakamura turns it around and goes to work with knees on the apron. He continues the assault with knee strikes in the corner. Nakamura looks for the armbar again but that damn Suzuki is too good at blocking. He gets it locked in for real, but Suzuki is too close to the ropes. They go through a back and forth exchange with Nakamura setting for the Boma Ye. Suzuki stops it with a dropkick. They just go nuts with furious slaps in the middle of the ring now. Suzuki goes to a sleeper and attempts a Gotch style piledriver but Shinsuke fights it off. Nakamura hits a second rope Boma Ye and then applies the armbar. Suzuki gets out and hits the Gotch style piledriver to take it.
Winner: Minoru Suzuki (2) in 13:44
Another really good match. These guys are two of the best out there. I enjoyed the emphasis on the arm as it hadn’t really been done on the show. I do wish Nakamura did more to damage it than just keep trying the armbar. In the end, he relied too heavily on it and it cost him a she’s now 0-2. ***¾
Block A
Hirooki Goto (0) vs. Kazuchika Okada (0)
In the early stages of this outing, Hirooki Goto gains the upper hand. Surprisingly, Goto’s offense it directed towards Okada’s leg. Okada shrugs it off to hit a basement dropkick but at least has the smart idea of limping after. If you’re going to use the body part that was worked on, at least sell it somewhat still. Kudos to him. He continues to limp as he gets in some shots in the corner. He does so some more on the outside, but it still able to hit his guardrail hung DDT. Okada gets in the driver’s seat for a while, but Goto fires back with aggressive kicks and a back suplex gets two. A strike exchange is won by Goto, which the fans seem to love. Okada still hits the usual stuff, including the diving elbow and calls for the Rainmaker. Goto counters but ends up in Red Ink. He escapes, only to eat Okada’s gorgeous dropkick. Another exchange, this time of counters, sees Goto block the Rainmaker with a headbutt to the chest. Goto nails a massive top rope neckbreaker for two, but finishes off the champion with Shouten Kai.
Winner: Hirooki Goto (2) in 12:43
A damn great match with a surprising result. I didn’t expect the champion to lose two straight to start the tournament but it happened. I liked that Goto was more aggressive than usual, knowing that he had to pull out the stops to beat the top guy. He had a game plan and stuck to it early but I wish the leg work paid off somehow in the end. ****
Block A
Hiroshi Tanahashi (0) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (0)
Wisely, Tanahashi takes Ishii to the ground game. Ishii is a guy who likes to hit fast and hard, so this is a great strategy. Ishii turns things around though, playing to his strength. He takes the action outside, where he just beats up on Tanahashi for a bit. They continue to go back and forth until Tanahashi sends Ishii outside this time. He skins the cat back in, paying homage to his favorite wrestler, and then does a plancha onto Ishii. Interestingly, Tanahashi just gets into a forearm exchange, keeping up with the hard hitting Ishii. That is until Ishii just murders him with a slap. He follows with a powerbomb for a near fall. Tanahashi answers with slingblade and a German for two. They just trade big blows, with Ishii scoring a second rope Brainbuster. Tanahashi continues to prove to be a tough guy to keep down. Ishii smells blood though, pouring it on and hitting a big headbutt and lariat. Tanahashi still somehow kicks out and hits a dragon suplex. Slingblade follows but Ishii gets a shoulder up. Tanahashi goes up for High Fly Flow but misses. Ishii rolls Tanahashi into a pinning combination for a near fall that the fans completely bite on. They go back to a strike exchange that Tanahashi nearly wins this time. Ishii hits the Brainbuster for two and the fans have pretty much lost their minds at this point. Realizing the Brainbuster isn’t enough, he goes all Scott Steiner and hits a goddamn screwdriver to win.
Winner: Tomohiro Ishii (2) in 17:42
Just a tremendous main event. Tanahashi knows how to step up in the big matches and this was the biggest win in Ishii’s career. The crowd and commentator gets tons of credit from me for being insanely excited about this. The near falls and frantic final few minutes were insane. Seeing Ishii have to hit the screwdriver was nuts. Easily the match of the tournament so far.****½
Overall: 8.5/10. A big step up from a solid first night. There are three fantastic matches, including a main event that is among the best G1 matches I’ve seen so far. Nothing on the show is bad and even the lesser stuff all manages to stay relatively short. It’s also really cool to see Okada, Nakamura and Tanahashi get off to rough starts as it opens the field early on. Great stuff and I look forward to what’s next.
Block A StandingsSatoshi Kojima 4 points
Lance Archer 4 points
Tomohiro Ishii 2 points
Hirooki Goto 2 points
Davey Boy Smith Jr. 2 points
Prince Devitt 2 points
Katsuyori Shibata 2 points
Togi Makabe 2 points
Hiroshi Tanahashi 0 points
Kazuchika Okada 0 points
Block B StandingsKarl Anderson 4 points
Kota Ibushi 4 points
Yuji Nagata 4 points
Yujiro Takahashi 4 points
Shelton X Benjamin 2 points
Minoru Suzuki 2 points
Shinsuke Nakamura 0 points
Tetsuya Naito 0 points
Toru Yano 0 points
Hiroyoshi Tenzan 0 points
1) Tetsuya Naito: Tetsuya Naito continues to be the best thing going in pro wrestling right now. At NJPW's Wrestling Dontaku event on May 3rd, Naito headlined against Tomohiro Ishii. Ishii and Naito always have fantastic chemistry and it showed here again. They had one of the better matches so far in 2016. We got some Chaos and Los Ingobernables de Japon interference but it eventually came down to just the two of them and it was excellent. Tons of close calls and great work from both men. Naito struck with Destino and retained his title in his best match this year. Then, to add onto an already great week, Naito went out and defeated Kyle O'Reilly at ROH's Global Wars PPV. While that wasn't anywhere near as great, it was still good and a solid win for Naito.
2) Sexy Star: Other than Ishii vs. Naito, my favorite match this week was Lucha Underground's No Mas match. It was Lucha Underground's equivalent to an "I Quit" match and it pit Sexy Star against Mariposa. Sexy was kidnapped by Marty Martinez at the end of season one and tormented by him and his sister, Mariposa. Looking for revenge, Sexy was given this match by Dario Cueto. These two women went out and had a war. Not only was it big because two women were given the opportunity to main event, but they had the kind of match you don't see women have often. Sexy Star bled, Mariposa did some sick stuff and it all worked very well. I had a few minor grips with the match (the slow start and the finish itself) but it was damn great. Sexy Star made Mariposa say "no mas" to an armbar and got her biggest Lucha Underground win.
3) Bobby Fish: ROH's Global Wars Pay-Per-View was going pretty well until the final two matches and the actual ending to the show has caused me to take a break from following them as a company. One of the things they did right before all of that fuckery was the Television Title match. Bobby Fish and Tomohiro Ishii are two guys that I really like and their match was damn good. Fish was able to do what his rival Roderick Strong couldn't and that was beat Ishii. They billed it as a possible last chance at singles glory for the 39 year old and Fish prevailed. They had to get the belt off of Ishii since he's away so often and Fish is a great choice to take over.
4) Yuji Nagata: At NJPW's Wrestling Dontaku, one of the best matches was for the NEVER Openweight Title. Katsuyori Shibata entered as champion in the midst of his "fuck the old guys" tour. He had beaten NJPW vets Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima in the past few months before setting up a clash with Yuji Nagata. Nagata beat Shibata in an awesome match in the G1 two years earlier. This wasn't quite on that level, but still ruled. Nagata pulled off what many, including myself, considered to be an upset and captured the title. A lot of us saw Shibata retaining. Nagata won and is already set up for a rematch at Dominion next month. This was the biggest win in years for Yuji.
5) War Machine: The best thing about ROH's Global Wars Pay-Per-View was the Tag Team Title match. War Machine entered as the reigning champions against ROH's greatest tag team ever, the Briscoes. Dem Boyz were looking for their record ninth reign and War Machine had never beaten them. The two teams waged war for about fifteen minutes and it was glorious. There were a few times that I thought the Briscoes would win it but War Machine was resilient and survived, including kicking out of a Jay Driller. They finally managed to get the monkey off of their back and beat the Briscoes when they pinned Mark following their finisher.
Evolve 59
April 2nd, 2016 | Eddie Deen’s Ranch in Dallas, Texas
I’m a bit behind on this but it’s the final show from a loaded WrestleMania that I needed to watch/review.
Evolve Tag Team Championship: Catch Point (Drew Gulak and Tracy Williams) def. Drew Galloway and Johnny Gargano (c) in 19:35
Galloway and Gargano won a tournament to become the first ever Evolve Tag Team Champions. This was a really good start for the show. It felt like an important match and only went on so early so Gargano could leave to work NXT. Everyone brought their strengths to the table. At one point, Gulak slapped Galloway from the apron in the midst of Galloway kicking Williams’ ass. Galloway responded by going outside and lighting up Gulak. Catch Point would turn it around and pick apart the arm of the former Evolve Champion. Gargano got the hot tag, which was a nice surprise as I thought it would have been Galloway getting it. There was a great exchange of submissions from everyone shortly after. In the end, Williams hit Gargano with a double arm DDT for two and instantly went into a submission, making him submit. A really solid opener that had a hot crowd and really good, old school tag team wrestling involved. Also, Catch Point’s theme is easily five stars. ***½
After the match, Drew Galloway got on the microphone and congratulated Catch Point. He had something to get off of his chest as Catch Point left. Drew put over Evolve and the wrestlers there, as well as his need to be the best in the world. He talked about how he put Evolve on the map before losing the title unjustly. He got suspended and watched as NXT got involved. Drew said he didn’t put in all of that work just so that WWE could come in and step all over it. He kicked Gargano low and said that everyone working with NXT/WWE has made him feel like that. He locked his partner in the Gargano Escape until Ethan Page made the save, only to also take a low blow. After a Future Shock, Galloway said he’s “best for business” and that he is this business. Great angle and awesome job of bringing the WWE partnership into the fold.
Chris Hero def. Fred Yehi in 16:44
Fred Yehi has quickly become one of my favorite guys in Evolve, while Chris Hero has been on a tear. He just has consistently good to great matches everywhere. He showed up sporting the old Raptors jersey with the dinosaur on it, which was tremendous. Hero offered a handshake that Yehi declined, showing he has some serious balls. Hero just annihilates him chops. Yehi tried some of his own, but they were mostly shrugged off. Hero nailed all of the little things in this match. His reactions to everything were great and his offense looked like it hurt like hell. Yehi’s comeback attempts were great and the crowd bought into a few close calls. Hero put him down with a ripcord elbow. Great underdog match as Yehi played that role well, while Hero has mastered the bully role. ***¾
Sami Callihan def. Anthony Nese w/ Andrea and So Cal Val in 4:39
With an Evolve Title shot coming up later in the night on the Mercury Rising show, Callihan winning this was expected. There was some early brawling outside that proved to be the best part of the match. Once inside, they traded stuff but this was kept short. Callihan hit the Cuerno Killer and made Nese tap to an arm bar. I haven’t been enjoying Callihan since his return to the indies and this was another lackluster match. It wasn’t bad, it was just alright. **¼
So Cal Val was disappointed in Anthony Nese. She said that, while the Premiere Athlete Brand had to split, both Nese and Caleb Konley are under contract with her and “Valifornia”. She wants to get them into WWE’s Global Cruiserweight Series but he tells her to shut up and that he was going to handle business.
Ethan Page def. Darby Allen in 2:05
Darby Allen earned a spot on the show by impressing higher ups at a recent training session. Page came in angry due to the Galloway stuff earlier and his upcoming Anything Goes match with Nese at Mercury Rising. Page dominated, though Allen got in a few pieces of offense and bumped well. He put away the youngster with the RK-Ego and a package piledriver. After the match, Page cut a promo on Galloway and Nese. He challenged Galloway to a match at Evolve 60. Kind of hard to rank since it was basically a squash, but it accomplished the goal.**
USA vs. Europe Series: Tommy End def. TJP w/ Stokely Hathaway in 12:00
The rest of the show is a set of four matches pitting American wrestlers against European competitors. TJP had the speed advantage, while End certainly held the upper hand in the strikes department. TJP, like he did to Ricochet a night earlier, went after the leg of End. He put End in the STF and did the “you can’t see me” motion with Tommy’s hand. He controlled a good chunk of the match, though End’s selling of the leg left something to be desired. Seemingly from out of nowhere, he struck with a knee that kept TJP down for three. It was a good match that never reached the next level and ended rather abruptly. While good, I’d consider this a disappointment. ***
Europe took a 1-0 lead. Tommy End hopped on the microphone and called out Kota Ibushi. They would meet as part of a six man tag later that night at the Mercury Rising show.
USA vs. Europe Series and Best in the World Series: Matt Riddle def. Zack Sabre Jr. in 9:24
This doubled as part of the Europe/USA Series and Zack Sabre’s “Best in the World” one. Coming in, Sabre was 3-0 in his five match series. Two of the better technicians around just went at it here, hold for hold, to see who the better man was. Sometimes, that’s all you need. They just played to their strengths and worked a clean, crisp match. If you want to watch two guys grapple each other, this is the match for you. It’s also the shortest Sabre match I’ve ever seen. That made the finish even more shocking. Riddle used his Bromission to make Sabre tap out in less than ten minutes! That was probably an unthinkable time frame and end to the match coming in. The reaction of the crowd to the finish was perfect. Watching these to counter each other for ten minutes was a thing of beauty. They shook hands and hugged afterwards. ****
USA vs. Europe Series: Marty Scurll def. Evolve Champion Timothy Thatcher in 9:36
I talked about Sami Callihan being a disappointment but Timothy Thatcher is even more of one in 2016. In 2015, he was in my top three indy guys to watch, but his 2016 has been so lackluster so far. This was non-title and Thatcher entered with a messed up elbow. It was kind of cool to know that this was PROGRESS Champion vs. Evolve Champion. Thatcher had little to no use of his arm as it just dangled there at times. Scurll was his villainous self with eye pokes and attempted use of his umbrella. Scurll superkicking Thatcher’s injured elbow was probably my favorite part of this one. It was that arm that came into play as Scurll applied the chicken wing, pulling back on it, and made Thatcher submit. Really solid ten minute bout that featured fun moments from Scurll, good selling from Thatcher, and a surprising outcome. ***¼
Sami Callihan came out after the match to run down Timothy Thatcher. No need to go out of your way to see their match at Mercury Rising. It wasn’t very good.
USA vs. Europe Series: Ricochet def. Will Ospreay in 18:31
Among everything done on WrestleMania weekend that didn’t involve the WWE, this probably had the most hype behind it. They had some fun beforehand, putting on each other’s jackets. These two guys seem meant to face each other as their styles are rather similar. They do some amazing things throughout this that take your breath away and all of it came off very crisp as I can’t really recall any slipups. I found the match to be a good blend of fun and competitiveness. For instance, they had fun with Ricochet’s “People’s Moonsault” spot in the early stages, but as thing progressed, it became a serious fight for superiority. They overdo it a bit on the series of near falls for me towards the finish, but it never stops being exciting. Ricochet came out on top after a huge Benadryller. A splendid showcase of athleticism. ****¼
Overall: 8/10. A strong show from Evolve. There are only two matches on the show that are an easy skip and it would be the two middle matches involving Callihan and Page, though they’re kept short and aren’t terrible at all. Everything else ranges from good to great. Riddle/Sabre and Ospreay/Ricochet were the highlights for sure. The Tag Title change and Galloway angle were really fun as well. I also really liked the unpredictability of the card as I would have predicted the opposite outcomes for each USA vs. Europe Series match.
PWG Bowie
February 12th, 2016 | Reseda, California
Similar to the PWG show in January, Lemmy, Bowie is named after a recently departed legendary singer. This one being David Bowie, if that wasn’t already clear.
Chuck Taylor def. Dalton Castle in 11:27
These are certainly two of the most colorful characters in wrestling. This was Dalton’s PWG debut. With no Boys at ringside, Castle was fanned by a member of the crowd. As expected in a match involving these two, we were treated to some pretty fun comedy spots. Taylor is the perfect guy to open PWG cards. He found himself in control of the match for the most part before Castle made a fun comeback. I love how Castle blends technical skill with his wild personality. After some cool stuff on the outside of the ring, they went inside where Taylor scored the three on a rollup. The finish was rather abrupt which I didn’t love. Still, this was led by two very entertaining personalities and sometimes, that’s all you need. ***
Chris Hero def. Trent? in 20:47
“Chris Hero ain’t nothing to fuck with” chants started this. He’s coming off of a loss to Roderick Strong at Lemmy, while Trent hasn’t been seen since the 2015 Battle of Los Angeles. Early on, they played into Hero being the bigger competitor as his shots really hurt Trent, while Trent’s didn’t have nearly the same impact. Hero picked Trent apart throughout. I’ll say it again but he is really good as the much bigger, vicious guy that he’s been playing around the indies. Trent began to rally but his dive outside just got caught by Hero, who just laid into him with a roaring elbow. There was an excellent close call after a super German and Busaiku Knee from Trent. I knew he didn’t win coming into this, but I ended up buying into it anyway. Trent survived a short piledriver from out of nowhere and a second jumping one, but couldn’t get up from a tombstone. This was better than I thought it would be and the best Trent match I can recall. He was arrogant early on but took a beating that humbled him and turned him into the resilient underdog by the end. ***¾
Jack Evans def. Sami Callihan in 14:59
Jack Evans has been playing a dick heel for a while now. Sami Callihan returned to the indies after his Solomon Crowe run and has been very disappointing. Jack shit on the fans and Sami beforehand on the mic, leading Sami to say that he was going to kiss Jack on the mouth. You’ll have to see it to know how he got there. He succeeded in kissing Jack within a minute or so. There were some strange moments throughout, with Evans drinking beer and the men getting into a slap fight sitting on steel chairs in the middle of the ring. That all happened within the first five or so minutes. Following that, we were treated to a more traditional match. There was a nice exchange near the end where Jack took a bit of a beating before pulling out a crucifix and walking away as the victor. An odd match that I didn’t love but they wisely played to the crowd for some of their stuff, which seemed to work. **¾
Adam Cole def. Andrew Everett in 14:24
There is a certain charisma about Adam Cole that I like. He showed it off here, doing little things to add to the match. At one point he stopped to basically pose for pictures in the middle of his offense. Cole really seemed to be enjoying the opportunity to play the big guy in a match. Everett had a nice counter for the Destroyer, back flipping away before snapping off a rana. Everett bumped all over the place, making Cole look even better. Everett was coming off of knee surgery but looked just as quick and athletic as I recall when I saw him in the BOLA last year. He came close on several occasions, including on a shooting star press but Cole kicked out. He used Panama Sunrise and the Destroyer to end Everett. Really good stuff here as Cole was a great scumbag while Everett showed that he hadn’t lost a step. ***¾
Zack Sabre Jr. def. Trevor Lee in 24:29
I love Zack Sabre Jr., while Trevor Lee has grown on me and especially impressed in his 105 minute match this year. Lee runs into clear trouble from the start as he gets twisted around by Sabre and has to regroup several times outside. Lee had to be cunning to turn the tide, sending Sabre into the ropes and hurting his throat. You don’t see throat selling very often. From what I’ve seen, Lee has been showing more heel tendencies in PWG and it came out again here. He had control but got a bit too arrogant and overconfident at times. Sabre made the most of those opening, using Lee’s aggressiveness against him. The final few minutes of this saw tons of great counters and back and forth between both guys. Neither could gain a clear upper hand. A great closing sequence saw Sabre trap Lee in a sick submission that forced him to tap out. The best match I’ve seen in PWG this year so far. Lee was great as the heel and I loved that his overconfidence allowed Sabre to fight back. ****
Mike Bailey def. Evil Uno in 18:24
I’ll admit, I haven’t seen much of Evil Uno outside of some stuff as Player Uno. Mike Bailey is very over among tons of indy fans but he has still yet to really leave a mark on me. The fans loved him and their adoration for Uno grew with his performance throughout the match. He was the star of the show, working the evil character very well. Bailey took a beating as usual and, as usual, his selling left a lot to be desired. Uno busted out a One Winged Angel onto his knee, which was pretty sick and probably my favorite spot of the match. Speedball fired up with a series of kicks, including a sick roundhouse, the shooting star knee drop and another big kick. This was solid but again, nothing spectacular. Even though I’m not a fan, the news that Mike Bailey won’t be able to work in the states for five years is pretty sad. He was gaining momentum for sure. ***
PWG Championship: Roderick Strong (c) def. Drew Galloway in 22:15
Here we had two guys that had really strong 2015s. Strong had great match after great match, while Galloway held the EVOLVE and Dragon Gate USA Titles simultaneously. Roddy was a dick on the mic before things got started. Once they did, it was cool to see Roddy against someone that could toss him around. And Galloway did just that, throwing him into doors and even almost up to the ceiling. This turned out to be a really solid match as it was indeed cool to see Strong have to work around his power disadvantage. They made sure to include the standard fun sequences and close near falls. Roddy wound up winning after three big knee strikes and the End of Heartache. This was good but, like the Chris Hero title match a month earlier, it lacked something, mainly from the crowd. PWG made it pretty obvious that Sabre was the endgame of Strong’s title run so they never fully bought into this. ***½
Overall: 7.5/10. This isn’t a standout show, it’s not spectacular and not even one that I would call great. It is really consistent though and there aren’t really any bad matches on the card. The worst one was Callihan/Evans, which was still decent enough. Everything else clocks in with at least three stars, while Sabre/Lee steal the show for the evening. Like Lemmy before it, it won’t find itself on any show of the year lists, but it’s a really easy show to sit through.
Opening video package shows the people that have won medallions so far. It then moves to Sexy Star's issues with Mariposa.
Catrina comes up to Dario Cueto who is fixing his ceiling. They both claim that their man almost destroyed the other. Catrina thinks that Dario doesn't want to give Mil a rematch. Dario denies that, admitting Mil is scary but nowhere near as scary as his brother. Next week, Mil gets his rematch but it will be a fucking Grave Consequences match! Oh my god, they're going to kill each other. There will be four coffins this time and it'll be GRAVER CONSEQUENCES!
Gift of the Gods Aztec Medallion Match: The Mack def. Marty Martinez in 3:44
Marty was his usual creepy self behind Melissa Santos during her introduction. The Mack charged to the ring and started hot, playing into their feud. They had some solid back and forth but this was kept short. Mack nailed a stunner and TKO to capture a medallion. Decent enough and a fine little sprint. **1/2
Catrina is back at it, meeting with the returning King Cuerno in the back. She says that Siniestro de la Muerte will beat him to get a medallion. Cuerno disagrees and says that he will win the medallion, the Gift of the Gods Title and then, if Mil Muertes is champion, he'll go after him and capture his biggest trophy yet. In a cool moment, he sniffed her to get her scent, really playing into the gimmick.
Sexy Star enters Dario Cueto's office. He knows they haven't always seen eye to eye but he respects her. He realizes that something happened to her to change her. He recognizes the look in her eyes because he had it as a kid when his "evil bitch" of a mother would torture him. They stopped her by standing up to her and saying no more. Tonight, he gives her a chance to make Mariposa pay in a "No Mas" match, which is basically an "I Quit" match. He tells Sexy that if she makes Mariposa say "no mas", she shouldn't stop there. She needs to continue to make Mariposa feel what she's been feeling for months.
Gift of the Gods Aztec Medallion Match: Siniestro de la Muerte w/ Catrina def. King Cuerno in 1:52
King Cuerno has been one of the most consistent performers in Lucha Underground. He's also probably the most underutilized. He started hot but, Catrina hit him with that rock and allows Siniestro to win with a fameasser. I understand that, with Siniestro being the last remaining Disciple of Death after ripping out the hearts of his former teammates, they may want to push him, but Cuerno deserves better. None of the Disciples have really ever done anything for me. To make matter worse, Catrina teased the lick of death, only to level Cuerno. NO RATING
Mascarita Sagrada is working out in the back when Famous B shows up. Some great music plays too. Famous B set up a huge match for Mascarita against a man that already has a medallion. That man will be putting the medallion on the line. Famous B is awesome.
Chavo Guerrero comes into Dario's office to complain about not getting a medallion match. Dario says that he doesn't deserve one so he's done giving him opportunities. I mean, I get it. Chavo is one of the worst things about the show.
Gift of the Gods Aztec Medallion Match: Cage def. Mascarita Sagrada w/ Brenda in 0:50
Famous B did the intro for Mascarita Sagrada. When Sagrada heard that Cage was his opponent, he, the crowd and commentary reacted in fitting fashion. Mascarita attacked and Cage kicked him off. There were "please don't kill him" chants. Mascarita got on his back but was quickly thrown off. Cage caught him and beat him with a ridiculous F5. Too short to rate. NO RATING
Cage, Famous B and Brenda all check on Mascarita after the bell. Chavo Guerrero runs in and steals Cage's medallion. Famous B tells Cage, who chases Chavo. Famous B hilariously tells Mascarita that he'll get him next time.
Gift of the Gods Aztec Medallion No Mas Match: Sexy Star def. Mariposa in 15:25
When this began, I was heavily disappointed. For an feud involving one woman mentally destroying the other, starting this out as a straight wrestling match was dumb. Things began to pick up as they went for submissions, making sure to add little things, like extra wrenching and kicks to the head. Mariposa brought weapons into play, violently throwing chairs at Sexy outside. Sexy responded by using a chair to hit another chair into Mariposa's vagina. I shit you not. Mariposa dragged Sexy up the steps and ripped at the mask, violently tugging at it. Both women climbed high into the scaffolds of the Temple, which we've never seen before. While up there, Vampiro left the booth out of concern. Sexy got cut open and Mariposa made her blood drip over the crowd. Sick! Sexy climbed down as Marty Martinez showed up to get in on the attack only for the Mack to show up and even things out. Mariposa slammed her into the announce table relentlessly while Sexy was just gushing blood. Mariposa applied a submission in the ring and when the referee asked Sexy if she quit, she responded with a loud "FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU MARIPOSA!" She applied a choke but that damn Marty came back in to stop it. Mack took him out once again with a stunner. Sexy locked in an armbar and Mariposa shouted NO MAS! Oh man, that was far better than I expected. Sexy never felt like a major player in season one but this was her breakout match. Mariposa was the right kind of vicious and Sexy was the right kind of resilient. My only gripe was the start but other than that, this was tremendous. The storytelling, violence, LU production and atmosphere all delivered. ****1/4
She continued the attack after the match like Dario Cueto advised before throwing Mariposa out. She hugged the Mack with her medallion to end the show.
Overall: 7.5/10. Most of the show featured matches that weren't really good or great. The opener was decent fun but the next two were short and did more to advance angles. Then the main event came and blew everything else out of the water. It was one of the better matches in a season chock full of them. I hope we get more from Mariposa but if she was only around to help get Sexy Star more over, she did a masterful job in this match alone.
If you do want to check out Lucha Underground, which you absolutely should, and don't get El Rey Network (like me), you can sign up for the streaming service Fubo.TV. It's a great way to support the company and channel while streaming the show online. You can sign up and get Lucha Underground right here with Fubo.tv!
NJPW Wrestling Dontaku
May 3rd, 2016 | Fukuoka Kokusai Center in Fukuoka, Japan | Attendance: 5,299
Earlier today was NJPW’s big Wrestling Dontaku event. It’s the one big NJPW event that I’ve never seen, having missed it last year.
Bad Luck Fale and Yujiro Takahashi def. Captain New Japan and Juice Robinson in 2:26
We saw something open up the Invasion Attack show last month. Like that match, this was exactly what I wanted it to be. Short and to the point. New Japan has found the perfect place for Fale and Takahashi. Have them win these short openers. It gets Yujiro in and out before he can irritate me and allows Fale to be a monster. He put down the Captain with a Grenade. Fine for what it was. *
Gedo, Kazushi Sakuraba, Will Ospreay and YOSHI-HASHI def. David Finlay Jay White, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tiger Mask IV in 7:23
Considering one team had the Young Lions (particularly Finlay who eats all of the pins), the outcome of this was never really in doubt. Everyone got at least a small chance to strut their stuff as you would expect in a multi-man tag. The story here was Will Ospreay. After a spectacular debut at Invasion Attack, he officially inked a deal with NJPW. He was the star here and watching him work with the Young Lions was a blast. He hit his signature corner kick, did a sick dive onto everyone outside and put away Finlay with a springboard cutter. Fun little match here that never overstayed its welcome. Ospreay should be golden in NJPW and is young enough that he can stay for a few years and still move on, to the WWE if he wants, in his prime. **¾
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Matt Sydal and Ricochet def. Roppongi Vice (c) in 16:26
Seriously? Does Gedo just flip a coin in the back to determine if these belts are going to change hands or not? Roppongi Vice came in with a sound strategy, like all heel tandems. They cut the ring in half on their smaller opponent, while talking smack to Ricochet on the apron. They did a good job of cutting off the hot tag and building tension. Ricochet’s hot tag was pretty good but the crowd didn’t seem as hot for it as expected. Part of that is probably because Fukuoka isn’t traditionally a super-hot crowd from what I’ve heard and part might be because it is so hard to care about this division. A good finishing stretch saw Sydal and Ricochet hit their stereo shooting star presses to regain the straps. Better than their Invasion Attack match but not quite as good as their Power Struggle outing last year. The booking of this division continues to suck massive ass. ***¼
NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship: The Elite (IWGP Intercontinental Champion Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin and Yoshitatsu (c) in 14:03
Goddammit Gedo. Again? The Young Bucks wore jackets and tights with tons of pictures of their faces on them. Oh those guys are so cool. /endsarcasm. Yoshitatsu is even less cool, still doing his poor Triple H cosplay. Despite them coming out with weapons, this was a much calmer match than their Invasion Attack one. At least for the first half or so before things started to break down. A ladder came into play, continuing on the one that Omega used on Tanahashi on the Road to Wrestling Dontaku show last week. Yoshitatsu came in and did his shitty Triple H stuff before eating some superkicks. Omega hit the One Winged Angel and the Elite won back the belts, which are more of a joke than the IWGP Jr. Tag Titles. It’s sad actually. The match itself was pretty much a retread of the stuff we’ve already seen from the guys involved. **¾
The Elite tried to continue the attack on Yoshitatsu after the bell with the ladder but Tanahashi made the save. He slammed Omega on the ladder and went for High Fly Flow but the Bucks pulled Omega to safety. Tanahashi grabbed a microphone and challenged Omega for the Intercontinental Title again. Omega’s response was great, talking about how they don’t usually speak the same language, before saying no to the challenge. He then opens the ladder and only accepts if it is a ladder match. Omega welcomed Tanahashi to “American style”. So it looks like they’re really gonna do it. Should be fun. Expect Dave Meltzer to five star all over it.
IWGP Tag Team Championship: The Guerillas of Destiny (c) def. Great Bash Heel in 12:12
Togi Makabe sported a big bandage around his head. The match at Invasion Attack between these two teams was easily the biggest disappointment on the entire card. They brawled early on and gave us one of the lamest countout teases ever. Honma locked the guardrail on Tonga after the referee reached 18. They literally just stopped counting to allow the guys to get back in. I found this to be better than their previous match but still not anything that I would consider really good. Tonga and Roa looked more comfortable together here, though it has been clear which member is better so far. They retained by hitting their double team finisher on Honma. Passable match. **½
The 2016 Best of the Super Junior field was announced. “A” Block features KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi, Kyle O’Reilly, Matt Sydal, Rocky Romero, Gedo, BUSHI and Matt Jackson. “B” Block has Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, Bobby Fish, Trent Baretta, Nick Jackson, Ricochet, Volador Jr. and Will Ospreay. I’m only really interested in about half of the field, which are the guys that I bolded.
NEVER Openweight Championship: Yuji Nagata w/ Manabu Nakanishi def. Katsuyori Shibata (c) in 11:53
The video package before the match did a good job in recapping Shibata’s “fu*k old dudes” tour over the course of the past few months. These two had such a great match in the G1 Climax two years ago. This felt like the fight that it needed to. Both guys hit each other very hard, there was shoving of the referee and you just got the sense that they wanted to hurt one another. There was a point where Shibata popped up instantly after a suplex and hit a German only for Nagata to get up instantly. Shibata kicked out of a backdrop driver at one before they exchanged some hard shorts, including a vicious Shibata slap. Nagata won out, hit Shibata’s own Penalty Kick and a second backdrop driver to become the new champion. I disagree with the title change since Shibata was having the best run with the title I’ve ever seen, but it was much better than the show’s first two swaps. Great match that was probably a cut below their G1 encounter in 2014. ****
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: KUSHIDA (c) def. Jushin Thunder Liger in 14:37
Another well done video package here as it showed their past matches, Liger being an 11 time Jr. Heavyweight Champion and KUSHIDA’s humble beginnings. Despite things getting heated on the road to Wrestling Dontaku, they opened with a handshake. Liger put his focus on the leg, which he also worked in the lead in to this match. In a move I didn’t expect here, Liger planted KUSHIDA with a goddamn Brainbuster on the concrete! Liger applied his own Hoverboard lock on the champion at one point but went back to the leg when that failed. Liger put one hell of a fight but lost to the Hoverboard Lock after KUSHIDA added extra pressure by pulling back on his fingers. A really good back and forth match. Post-match, we were treated to a show of respect by both competitors. ****
EVIL def. Hirooki Goto in 9:53
In a great moment, EVIL met Hirooki Goto in the aisle during his entrance, leading to a brawl. EVIL brought chairs into play and did his now trademark move of wrapping a chair on his opponent’s head and hitting another chair into it. They kept things short and compact, similar to what you’d see in a G1 Climax setting. The final few minutes were really strong, as both guys brought out the big guns and hit some major offense. From seemingly out of nowhere, EVIL struck with the STO and defeated Goto. Big win for EVIL though I have to wonder what the plan is for Goto. He really is seemingly going nowhere fast after a very big 2015. I’d consider this exactly the kind of match I want from these two. It was a vast improvement on their Power Struggle match last November. EVIL has quietly been having a strong 2016. ***¾
Kazuchika Okada w/ Gedo def. SANADA in 15:11
For those that forgot, SANADA played a huge role in costing Okada the IWGP Heavyweight Title at Invasion Attack. We got the typical New Japan countout tease in the early stages. I do wish this was worked with more urgency from Okada. I’m not saying it had to be just like EVIL/Goto but Okada should be pissed at SANADA and want to take him out. He did eventually show a bit more of a mean streak as evidenced by a DDT off the guardrail on the outside. Like the previous match and most Okada matches, the finishing stretch was really strong. SANADA got a fair amount of shine and even countered the Rainmaker into a dragon sleeper, only for Okada to roll through that with a tombstone. He followed with the Rainmaker and bested SANADA. Most of this was standard Okada fare but I liked a good chunk of what I saw from SANADA. ***¼
IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Tetsuya Naito (c) w/ BUSHI and EVIL def. ROH World Television Champion Tomohiro Ishii w/ Gedo and Kazuchika Okada in 30:33
Again, another top notch video package. It focused on how Los Ingobernables, and mainly Tetsuya Naito have taken over. Fans love heel Naito but hated cheesy babyface Naito. Ishii and Naito have spectacular chemistry, with some classics in 2014 and a great match in the New Japan Cup this year. This was also Ishii’s first shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Title. Ishii went after the leg, which was a welcome choice since he doesn’t do it often. Naito’s selling of the leg throughout was top notch, as he’d leave it limp at times. Watching Ishii twist and bend his legs in weird ways was great. EVIL and BUSHI got involved but were held back by Okada and Gedo. When they did get in, Okada and Gedo took them out and headed to the back with them, leaving this as a one on one encounter. Even though most of us came in fully expecting Naito to retain, there were several moments where they made you believe Ishii would actually do it. Naito got to show off some power with a few suplexes on Ishii that I didn’t expect. He also fired off a series of strikes, including a vicious slap but Ishii came back with his own and a big headbutt. Finally, after having it countered multiple times throughout the match, Naito hit Destino and retained. A fantastic performance from two of my favorite wrestlers. Even the involvement of Chaos and Los Ingobernables de Japon wasn’t a negative here as it made sense and eventually led to a great one on one showing. ****½
Overall: 7.5/10. The second half of this show really saved it. Most of the stuff that came before intermission was lackluster. The opener and eight man tag were relatively fine and short. The Jr. Tag Title match was pretty good, but the NEVER Tag and Tag Title matches both lacked. Everything after was pretty top notch. Nagata/Shibata ruled, Liger/KUSHIDA was excellent, EVIL and Goto went to war, we got a typical Okada match and an awesome main event featuring two of the very best around. Definitely check out the second half of the show because it was pretty much the best five match stretch I think I’ve seen in 2016.
