PROGRESS Chapter 45: Galvanize Review
March 19th, 2017 | The Ritz in Manchester, England
Following a strong Chapter 44, PROGRESS returned less than a month later with a card that sounded even better. Both the PROGRESS Title and the Tag Team Titles are defended, while big names are lined up and down the card.
As always, Jim Smallman opened things by having fun with the crowd. Maybe it was just me, but the sound was off and I didn’t catch much of what he said.
PROGRESS Tag Team Championship: British Strong Style (Trent Seven and Tyler Bate) (c) def. The South Pacific Power Trip w/ Dahlia Black in 14:16
Obviously, Bate and Seven are well known and held in high regard, but SPPT have quickly become one of my favorite tag teams in all of wrestling. The only title the champs had was Bate’s WWE UK Title. I loved how SPPT showed no intimidation. Cooper slapped Seven defiantly and then took out both champs with a great corkscrew dive. Despite this, it was Cooper who took the heat for a good chunk of the match. Banks’ eventual hot tag ruled. He’s awesome. This was where things got taken to the next level. SPPT fired up after a double German from Seven, leading to an insane exchange of strikes and offense from all four men. The titles nearly changed hands after a Cooper springboard 450 knee drop. The champs got overconfident until Dahlia Black helped her guys turn the tide. Bate and Seven were too much though, winning after a second rope piledriver into the Tyler Driver 97. An awesome way to start the show. Bate and Seven again showed why they’re held in high esteem, while SPPT killed it again too. The best PROGRESS Tag Title match I’ve personally ever seen. ****
Jimmy Havoc hit the ring with a steel chair. He beat the shit out of Bate and Seven with it, looking to eliminate them ahead of his title match. This was great because it made sense for Havoc and the champions didn’t look weak because of how it was done. One thing I didn’t like was how the cameras showed Bate and Seven leave on their own accord. If the plan was to have them taken out for the main event, I’d have had them get help to the back or not show it at all.
Zack Gibson def. El Ligero in 10:28
El Ligero came out to an Irish drinking song and seemed to still be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Gibson cut a hateful promo, while Ligero continued to have fun acting drunk. After Zack removed Ligero’s giant St. Patty’s Day head, an El Generico mask was under! That got a pop and led to more fun. We finally got to Ligero’s real mask and an interesting spot where he sat on a fan in a wheelchair’s lap and together they drove his boot into Zack’s face. Ligero picked up a few near falls inside, including one on a great springboard cutter. Just as he was nearing a win, Nathan Cruz appeared on the stage wearing a Ligero mask he stole. The distraction was enough for Gibson to win. Fun match that continued the rivalry it needed to. The crowd was way into it as well. ***
James Drake def. Jack Sexsmith in 9:38
Sexsmith is certainly popular, but I’m not fully on that train. Drake attacked before the bell, continuing to look like a ruthless bastard. Sexsmith turned it around and took a nasty bump on a somersault to the outside. The story of this saw Drake on the offensive, while Sexsmith drew sympathy and found random hope spots. Sexsmith’s rally saw him Mr. Cocko and a crossface, but Drake survived both. He then hit a forearm and a DDT to put Sexsmith away. Not a bad match, I just couldn’t get into it. I do like what they’re doing with Drake right now though. **¼
Mark Andrews def. Will Ospreay in 11:38
Heel Will Ospreay is an interesting sight. He wore jeans and came out aggressively, dropkicking Andrews out of the gate. Similar to the last match, this saw the heel with the advantage thanks to being aggressive and the babyface rallying from behind. However, it worked much better here because Andrews excels in that role, Ospreay is interesting as a heel and they’ve wrestled so much that their chemistry is strong. Andrews fired up after eating a bunch of kicks. The top rope seemed to snap or something at one point from the speed and impact of these guys. Andrews snapped off a great reverse rana and had the balls to hit a top rope dragonrana. I can’t believe he didn’t die. He had the 630 cut off but realized he couldn’t use the top rope for much. He had to dig deep and bust out the Vertebreaker to win. Good stuff here. They worked in some spots they’re familiar with, while also managing to make it different by incorporating Ospreay’s new persona. ***½
Jimmy Havoc returned and beat Ospreay down with a steel chair before hitting the Acid Rainmaker.
Ringkampf def. The Hunter Brothers in 14:37
Ringkampf consists of Axel Dieter Jr. and WALTER, while Jim and Lee Hunter make up the Hunter Brothers. I’ve never seen the Hunter Brothers before, but Ringkampf are damn good. There were a few “WALTER’s gonna kill you” chants and he kind of did just that. They had an answer for nearly everything the Hunter Brothers tried. Whether it was through good tag team wrestling or WALTER being a beast. Jim Hunter got a mild tag. I say mild because the crowd wasn’t really into them. They got close on a splash but WALTER kicked out hard to show it wasn’t that close. Ringkampf won with a great European uppercut/powerbomb combination and the fans counted along in German. I understood why Ringkampf dominated at times, but it meant the setup was for a hot tag to a team that barely got a reaction. That made that part of the match lackluster. It felt like a showcase for Ringkampf and if that was the intention, it should’ve been shorter. **½
Flash Morgan Webster def. Nathan Cruz in 17:37
It’s Webster’s first singles match in PROGRESS since returning from injury. He started hot but Cruz quickly negated that and took it to him. His recent shoulder injury came into play, as he clutched it tightly after being knocked off the top rope. Cruz was content with a countout win but Webster goaded him into a fight outside. It didn’t help much and Cruz continued to attack the shoulder. Webster’s comeback still saw him favor the arm, which was appreciated. In a great moment, Webster nearly had second thoughts about a high risk move, only for it backfire anyway as he took a top rope lung blower for a close near fall. Cruz attempted the Showstolen but Webster countered into the Strangler and made him tap out. I dug the shoulder work here as it looked good and made sense. Props to Flash as he sold well and never forgot about it, while the finish was smart. ***¼
Cruz jumped him after the match.
Natural Progression Series IV Semi-Finals: Jinny def. Nixon Newell in 7:36
This tournament will determine the first PROGRESS Women’s Champion. Nixon is way over and the crowd sings her theme song. Jinny attacked at the bell before wiping Nixon out with a dive outside. Nixon returned the favor and then some with two suicide dives. They went at it harder than expected with forearms and headbutts. Nixon missed a moonsault but then kicked out at one from a Rainmaker. She also kicked out of a spike X-Factor type move but Jinny had enough. She planted her with Nixon’s own destroyer to win. Many saw this is a bit of an upset. Though Jinny has been around a while, Nixon has been making waves. It makes sense though with the news that she’s WWE bound. Much better than I expected by the way. It was short, but intense as hell with a great atmosphere. ***¼
PROGRESS Championship No Disqualification Match: Pete Dunne (c) def. Jimmy Havoc in 25:56
This came about after Havoc beat Dunne via DQ in January and then Havoc earned a shot in a six man tag at the last chapter. Dunne jumped Havoc with a chair during his entrance, which was a nice turnaround from Havoc attacking his buddies earlier. Thought it meant I didn’t get to hear Dunne’s theme, which is a shame. Within minutes, both guys had used chairs and the PROGRESS Title as a weapon. They fought through the crowd and by the bar with an intensity fitting the rivalry. Things got really violent when Dunne stapled Jimmy’s ear. He caught a Jimmy suicide dive into the explex on the apron. It took about eleven minutes for this to get in the ring. Dunne nailed all the little things, from threatening fans to biting barbed wire and letting it hang from his mouth. In other sick moments, Dunne wrapped barbed wire around Havoc’s leg before stomping on it and stapled him in the finger, elbow and side, as well as stapling a streamer to his head. I lost it though when Havoc gave Dunne PAPER CUTS and poured alcohol on them. The barbed wire came into play again when they wrapped it around their hands and traded forearms. Somehow, Dunne kicked out of a Canadian Destroyer into thumbtacks! Jimmy set up the Acid Rainmaker, but Will Ospreay walked to the ring. Havoc fought him off and then hit the Acid Rainmaker, but Dunne got a shoulder up. Havoc was next to kick out of something big, surviving a powerbomb through a table. He hit another Acid Rainmaker, but Ospreay pulled the referee out. That distraction allowed Dunne to hit Havoc with a barbed wire bat and win after the Bitter End. Awesome main event that was the right amount of sick. The paper cut spot had me looking away from the screen, which I rarely do. I loved this, but felt it got a bit overbooked with the Ospreay stuff. Still, a barbaric main event. I love how Dunne has had two fantastic title matches (vs. Sabre late last year) and both were so different. ****¼
Will Ospreay told Jimmy Havoc “this has to end” and beat him with the microphone to close the show.
Overall: 8/10. Another great show from PROGRESS. There’s nothing bad on the card. The women’s match was better than expected with non-stop action for the short runtime and Ospreay/Andrews was another solid chapter in their history. I enjoyed Cruz/Webster and even the matches I gave less than three stars were all solid. The show is bookended by two fantastic and different matches. The show flows nicely, never feels long and almost everyone brings it. PROGRESS continues to be one of the best promotions in the world.
Pro Wrestling NOAH Great Voyage in Yokohama
March 12th, 2017 | Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium in Yokohama, Kanagawa | Attendance: 2,504
Maybe it’s just me, but 2,504 is strong attendance for NOAH. This event features some TNA talent as part of NOAH’s new working agreement with them.
Akitoshi Saito, Maybach Taniguchi and Yoshinari Ogawa def. HAYATA, Rionne Fujiwara and YO-HEY in 6:23
If Tenzan, Kojima, Nakanishi, Nagata, etc. are the New Japan Dads, does that make Saito, Taniguchi and Ogawa the NOAH Dads? Though they’re the veterans around here, they put in a lot of effort to match their younger counterparts. The teams went back and forth throughout, but not much of note happened. Taniguchi got the win with a flying splash. Decent enough for an opener. **
GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Hi69 and Taiji Ishimori (c) def. Daisuke Harada and Tadasuke in 11:41
I’ve been doing my best to keep up with NOAH throughout the year. One of the guys I’ve enjoyed a fair amount is Hi69, who I’d never seen before this run. Tadasuke is also new to me, but Ishimori and Harada have been two of the better juniors of the past few years. This was fast paced and everyone brought it. Ishimori and Hi69 have great chemistry, which shined through here. Hi69 brought the big guns with a huge spot where he hit a splash off the balcony and through a table. It was wild and felt different from what I’m used to in NOAH. Back in the ring, Ishimori scored with a 450 splash on Tadasuke to retain the titles. Just what I’m looking for in a wild Jr. tag sprint. ***¼
GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hajime Ohara (c) def. Hitoshi Kumano in 16:22
I’ve seen two Ohara Jr. Title matches in 2017. His title win (***¾) and a defense against Harada (****). On the other hand, Kumano has never impressed me much. Kumano was in trouble early, but showed off a good stalling vertical suplex in the early goings. This felt like Kumano was out to prove himself, while Ohara wanted to show that the division belongs to him now. At one point, he lit Kumano up with a serious of vicious slaps that hurt to just watch. Kumano brought fire and kicked out of several moves down the stretch. He finally gave up to the Muy Bien submission. I enjoyed this. Ohara seems to be a favorite of the company’s new booker (much better than Jado already) and is having a strong run in 2017, while Kumano looked the best he ever has. ***½
James Storm def. Kaito Kiyomiya in 8:35
I know some people aren’t a fan of NOAH bringing in guys form Impact Wrestling but I’m okay with it. Both companies have had their issues lately and teaming up could help. I mainly like it for NOAH since the departure of Suzuki-Gun thinned out the roster and bringing in more guys gives fresher matchups. Kiyomiya is a young lion in NOAH, but unlike NJPW young lions, he gets singles matches with guys higher in the card. He’s just 20 years old, so it was clear why Storm controlled most of the match. Kiyomiya fought hard and busted out a beautiful missile dropkick. It clearly wasn’t enough though and Storm won with the Last Call. It was fine for what it was and I continue to enjoy what I see from Kiyomiya, but Storm just isn’t very interesting right now. **¼
Eddie Edwards def. Atsushi Kotoge in 19:18
Of all the guys Impact Wrestling can send to NOAH, Edwards has to be in the top three in terms of quality matches. Kotoge was one of the guys the Jr. division was built around in Jado’s booking run, but is now a heavyweight. This started the way you’d expect a match between two guys who haven’t worked together before. They went through a feeling out process with neither gaining an advantage. As things progressed, Edwards had the upper hand until Kotoge nailed a dive outside and a missile dropkick. That led to a more even battle. The final few minutes were great. Kotoge got busted open and took a barrage of chops before coming back with a PK. Edwards got a tremendous near fall after a powerbomb and HUGE tiger driver. He won right after with the Boston Knee Party. Best thing on the show so far. Edwards looked great but I love what NOAH is doing with Kotoge. He’s ahead of the juniors after winning often there but has come up just short against various heavyweights thus far. He’s putting on top notch performances though and this was another. ***¾
Keiji Mutoh and Naomichi Marufuji def. KAZMA SAKAMOTO and Moose in 13:50
The final part of Impact Wrestling on this show saw Moose in tag team action. Mutoh looked rough. He’s in his 50s and it shows. To be fair though, he looked to have done the best he possibly could’ve. SAKAMOTO didn’t do much and the real meat of the match saw Moose and Marufuji do their thing. The fans caught on to the “Moose” chant quickly. He shined in this one. He tossed Marufuji around, got the crowd behind his easy to follow taunt and wowed with his athleticism. I do enjoy a big athletic gaijin (Michael Elgin for example). The interactions between Moose and Marufuji were certainly the highlight and make me want them in a singles match. Wisely, tandem offense took Moose out of action for a moment, opening the door for Shiranui to end SAKAMOTO. This was a fun match that accomplished the goal of making Moose look great. He’d be a welcome addition to the NOAH roster in my book. ***
GHC Tag Team Championship: Kenoh and Takashi Sugiura def. Masa Kitamiya and Mohammad Yone in 21:41
Kenoh and Masa Kitamiya won the titles in a great match (****) back in January. A month later though, Kenoh turned on Kitamiya and the titles were vacated, setting this match up. Considering the story behind it, I liked that this started as a brawl. Kitamiya was worked over with a guardrail in the crowd and it led to him taking the heat. Since he’s typically booked strong, I was surprised it wasn’t Yone getting beat up. Yone did eventually come in but his hot run was short and he took a heat himself. They rallied behind Kitamiya, who got into it with Sugiura in a great exchange. In the end, the combination of Sugiura and Kenoh proved to be too much for Kitamiya, despite his best efforts. He fell to an Olympic slam. I was surprised he took the pin. This was a good match though it might’ve gone a bit too long. Still, they told the story they had to and it featured good action. ***½
After the match, Naomichi Marufuji and Maybach Taniguchi showed up to challenge the new champions. That match goes down on April 14th in Korakuen Hall.
GHC Heavyweight Championship: Katsuhiko Nakajima (c) def. Go Shiozaki in 27:01
For all the problems NOAH has, putting the title on Nakajima was the right move. He’s young, awesome and should be the franchise player moving forward. Go hasn’t quite panned out as the top star NOAH pegged him to be, but he can still deliver. Go took control when the match went outside and tossed Nakajima into the guardrails, while also lighting him up with chops. Nakajima would fight back, but Go had an answer for everything. Nakajima rallied but missed the PK and ran into a dropkick. It became a fight of Go’s chops against Nakajima’s kicks. Go even tried taking out the legs with some of his late offense but it wasn’t enough. After knocking Nakajima off the apron, Go followed with a dive that barely cleared the ropes. He got lucky. They were back to trading big blows inside before Go seemingly knocked out the champion with a lariat. He was out on his feet as Go delivered chops and strikes. Nakajima awoke, avoiding a lariat for a German. He fired up and hit one of the stiffest kicks to the head you’ll ever see. He finished GO with the Vertical Spike. Exactly what I wanted from a main event between them. It was hard hitting and intense. After Jado gave NOAH fans overly long main events filled with interference, Nakajima’s title run has been filled with clean matches. No shenanigans. He had to dig deep to beat Go. Nakajima feels like the ace, which you want from your champion.****¼
Overall: 7.5/10. It’s my first NOAH review in quite some time (I’ve watched their other shows in 2017 but no reviews) and they delivered a great show. Nothing is bad, with the opener and the James Storm matches being the worst, but still being solid. The three tag matches are different and all were strong, while the Jr. Heavyweight Title match and Kotoge/Edwards should both be seen. Shiozaki and Nakajima stole the show with the main event and if you can only see one thing from the card, I’d recommend that. I look forward to more NOAH in the post-Jado era.
Raw History
Episode #85
November 7th, 1994 | Fernwood Resort in Bushkill, Pennsylvania
Vince McMahon is hosting with Jerry Lawler since Randy Savage has now left the company.
WWF Champion Bret Hart and the British Bulldog vs. Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart
This sounds like a pretty hot start. Surprisingly, it is Bulldog and Bet that attack as the heels make their entrance. When things settle down, Bret and the Anvil go at it. Neidhart tries a bearhug but Bret bites him in the forehead to break the hold. Bulldog gets tagged, making it a battle of powerhouses. We don’t get much of that though as Owen Hart comes in to work with Bulldog. Vince informs us that Bulldog and Owen will be in the corners of Bret and Bob Backlund at Survivor Series. An enziguri puts Bulldog on his ass. That leads to Bulldog playing the face in peril. I know Bret’s the WWF Champion, but it is a big weird to see Bulldog playing the role. Bret gets tired of Owen’s shenanigans and chases him around the ring until the official stops him. Owen and Anvil uses the Hart Attack to mess with Bret. They really milk the heat, giving a false hot tag. That actually comes right before the hot tag, which doesn’t happen often. Bret hits both opponents, even busting out the DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER! Owen uses underhanded tactics to turn the tide and Bret is in trouble. Bulldog takes care of Owen as Bret locks Neidhart in the Sharpshooter. Anvil submits.
Winners: Bret Hart and British Bulldog in 14:14
Really solid tag team match here. It had a very old school feel to it but was mixed in with some fun offense that I’d expect in this era. One of the best matches on Raw all year. ***½
Todd Pettengill brings us the Survivor Series Report! He doesn’t bring us any new information.
Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Tyron Knox
Bigelow pretty much toys with Knox for way longer than he should. He does all of the offense but stalls a bit to make this last longer.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 4:40
Would have been okay if it was cut in half.
Vince McMahon now speaks to the camera to tell the viewers at home that Randy Savage’s WWF contract is up. He wishes him the best and says that he is Savage’s number one fan.
The King’s Court is now up with the 1-2-3 Kid as the guest. Next week, he takes on Bob Backlund. Lawler asks him about the match and Kid does his usual “I’ll give it 110%” speech. Backlund shows up to attack Kid, but gets sent outside. Bret Hart shows up to stand tall with the Kid. Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart come out to calm Backlund down.
Doink vs. Pat Tanaka
Pat Tanaka’s still around? Anyway, Doink has Clowns R’ Us with him, the team of little people that will be his partners at the Survivor Series. Dink talks to the camera and has a voice that I wouldn’t expect him to have. Doink wins with the Whoopee Cushion.
Winner: Doink in 3:17
This was standard squash match fare.
Overall: 7.5/10. A really fun episode of Raw. Granted the Bigelow squash went too long and the Doink match was kind of just there, but other than those eight or so minutes, this was good stuff. The marquee tag match was good and the King’s Court was kept short and to the point. Solid stuff here.
Raw History
Episode #86
November 14th, 1994 | Fernwood Resort in Bushkill, Pennsylvania
Vince McMahon’s revolving door of guests brings us Ted Dibiase this week. Also, the WWE Network informs us that there were technical difficulties with the episode so a chunk of it is missing.
Most likely due to those issues, we join Bob Backlund vs. 1-2-3 Kid in progress, with Backlund making him submit to the Crossface Chicken Wing. Backlund won’t release the hold, bringing Bret Hart out. Officials get in between the two after Backlund lets go. Backlund nearly get his hold on Bret but lets him go quickly. He goes outside and gets a microphone, saying that he just wanted to remind Bret that the hold could be applied at any time. Bret nearly applies the Sharpshooter on him now, and then says that at Survivor Series, he will never let go.
Mabel w/ Oscar vs. Blue Phantom
Oscar’s pre-match rap is among his worst ever. He kind of just forgets stuff while trying to mention Mabel’s Survivor Series partners. Mabel even gets pyro. I know that Gangrel was the Black Phantom but I’m unsure if this is him too. He’s wearing black anyway so I don’t get the name. Mabel dominates and wins.
Winner: Mabel in 2:00
Kept short, which is how I like my Mabel matches.
Our Survivor Series Report again brings us nothing new. Todd Pettengill does make a rare reference to Vince McMahon’s money here. He asks “how does it feel to sit next to someone with so much money, Ted?”
Jeff Jarrett vs. Gary Sabough
Sabough manages to score some spots including a sunset flip and even gets a near fall. That’s probably the most offense a jobber will get tonight. Jarrett turns it around and wins with the Figure Four.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett in 3:12
Mostly basic but it was alright to see the jobber get in some stuff.
IRS cuts a boring promo on death not allowing someone to escape taxes. Same old, same old.
Owen Hart is the guest on the King’s Court this week. Owen promises not to throw in the Arnold Skaaland towel at Survivor Series, while Lawler claims that in his mind, Backlund is still champion from 1983. That’s right Jerry, Hulkamania never happened. The second guest is the British Bulldog. Owen doesn’t want Davey to throw the towel in immediately when the Crossface Chicken Wing gets locked in because he wants Bret to suffer. Davey promises he won’t throw the towel in and that Bret won’t even get put in the hold.
Aldo Montoya vs. Brooklyn Brawler
Oh, the debut of the “Portuguese Man-o-War”! The future Justin Credible gets to shine since the Brawler almost never really does any offense. Scratch what I said, he hits a neckbreaker but then goes after the back which is an odd choice. Montoya wins with a cross body.
Winner: Aldo Montoya in 2:39
Not bad for a first match.
Ted Dibiase gets in the ring because he was impressed by Aldo Montoya. He offers him a spot in the Million Dollar Corporation. Montoya speaks what sounds like nonsense but is supposed to be Portuguese. He then takes out money and shows it to Montoya. Aldo responds by telling him to take the money and shove it in his ear. Well that was certainly an interesting insult.
Before the show ends, Alundra Blayze is interviewed. She says that she is going to face Bull Nakano for the Women’s Championship on November 20th in the Tokyo Dome.
Overall: 4/10. Considering the Backlund/Kid match was cut, that really could have helped the score here. The rest of the matches were squashes that weren’t great. However, the King’s Court segment was alright and the Bret/Backlund altercation ruled, saving this episode from a dreadful score.
Raw History
Episode #87
November 21st, 1994 | Fernwood Resort in Bushkill, Pennsylvania
We start with the entrance of Razor Ramon, who was supposed to face Diesel. The Teamsters all come out and attack Razor, putting our big match in jeopardy.
Vince McMahon’s co-host this week is Jim Cornette. They introduce the show in front of a terrible green screen.
Tatanka w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Chris Kanyon
Is it weird that I feel Kanyon is the superior worker in this match? Tatanka holds serve as Kanyon is just there to take a beating. He bumps rather well, making Tatanka’s offense look far better than it actually is. Kanyon actually gets two on a cross body. Tatanka wins with his finish.
Winner: Tatanka in 4:39
Better than your usual Tatanka squash thanks to Kanyon, who is the MVP of this show right now.
Adam Bomb vs. Jason Arndt
Jason Arndt was a recent victim of the Crossface Chicken Wing so Adam Bomb actually goes after the arm. Look at that guy being sensible. Vince McMahon informs us that Bull Nakano defeated Alundra Blayze in the Tokyo Dome, so we have a new Women’s Champion. Adam ends it with a pumphandle slam.
Winner: Adam Bomb in 2:27
Fine little squash match here.
Vince and Cornette pretend to play the new Raw video game and announce that Razor/Diesel will take place later. Then we are taken to a recap of this awful Doink/Jerry Lawler feud. This leads into the King’s Court, with Lawler’s Royal Family. Before anything can happen, Clowns r’ Us show up and spray them with water guns.
IRS cuts a promo from a funeral parlor on the Undertaker and paying taxes. Boring.
IRS w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Matt Hardy
Another match where the jobber is far better than the Superstar. Like Kanyon earlier, Matt bumps well for IRS’ god awful offense. IRS delivers the Write-Off for the victory.
Winner: IRS in 2:53
This was here.
Survivor Series Report! The show is in two days but we already know everything that we need to.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Razor Ramon (c) w/ The Bad Guys vs. Diesel w/ The Teamsters
I put that this is for the Intercontinental Title but I’m honestly unsure. Razor charges and starts hot. Diesel doesn’t stay down for long though as he uses his power advantage to take control. Behind the fans, Razor tries to rally but gets sent over the top rope heading into a commercial. After the break, Razor has turned things around a bit, sending Diesel into the corner hard. Diesel again swings the momentum, just pounding away on Razor. Diesel comes close to winning but Razor gets his foot on the bottom rope. Razor escapes the Jackknife with a back body drop and the crowd is hot. Razor uses this to rally and body slams Diesel. Jarrett gets on the apron and is brought in the hard way. He tries to cheat but Bulldog pulls him out. Owen climbs up top only to get thrown into Diesel. This leads to a giant brawl between the teams, where Shawn Michaels stays out of the fray.
Double disqualification in 10:25
Solid match here. As usual, Diesel works best with Kliq buddies as they had a pretty decent match, with an ending that I saw coming from a mile away. **¾
Overall: 5/10. Middle of the pack episode here. Nothing on it was particularly good or bad and, outside of IRS, things moved along smoothly. Kudos to Matt Hardy and Chris Kanyon for doing good jobs as the ham and eggers this week.
NJPW New Japan Cup Finals
March 20th, 2017 | Aore Nagaoka in Nagaoka, Niigata
It’s the finals of the New Japan Cup! The finals aren’t exactly a match that excites me (Shibata vs. Fale) and there were other, more interesting options (Ishii vs. EVIL, Shibata vs. EVIL or a mixture of combinations involving Shibata, Ishii, EVIL, Omega, Tanahashi or Elgin). Still, this is a relatively big event as it sets up something for an even bigger show on April 9th (Sakura Genesis, replacing Invasion Attack).
Hirai Kawato vs. Tomoyuki Oka went to a time limit draw at 10:00
After guys like Jay White, Yohei Komatsu, Sho Tanaka and David Finlay, I know some were worried about the quality of the young lions dipping. Kawato and Oka have been very impressive so far though. Oka is kind of a brute, while Kawato is a wild man who takes some big bumps. Kawato went after the knee to cut down Oka, while Kawato’s taped shoulder was targeted. They traded blows, with Oka just destroying his smaller opponent at times. Kawato brought fire, using it to help combat his size disadvantage. He kept kicking out of Oka’s offense, including a backdrop suplex. As the time winded down, Kawato began pulling out flash pins but it wasn’t enough. Time expired on a small package attempt for the draw. Best NJPW opener in quite some time. They told a great story of Oka being the more physically gifted, only for Kawato to never quit. I never felt like they were going for a draw as I got engulfed in the story. I look forward to more from both, just like I used to during the White/Finlay series.***¼
David Finlay, Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask IV def. Suzuki-Gun (El Desperado, TAKA Michinoku and Takashi Iizuka) in 8:26
Guess who this began? Suzuki-Gun jumped the babyfaces before the bell. Liger and Desperado did the in-ring stuff while others battled outside. Iizuka was his crazy self. Liger took a beating in the corner as the ring was cut in half. Liger finally got free and tagged Tiger Mask. He came in with his bland offense before tagging in Finlay. The crowd was surprisingly subdued for them, though they were hot for Liger. Finlay took a chair shot but managed to kick out. TAKA then got left alone to take offense from all three opponents, capped by a stunner from Finlay. Not bad but it lacked intensity and the fans surprisingly sat on their hands for it. The only guys in Suzuki-Gun that interest me at all are Suzuki himself and KES. **
Non-Title Match: IWGP Tag Team Champions TenKoji def. Katsuya Kitamura and Yuji Nagata in 11:01
Man, Kitamura is JACKED. Nagata started with Tenzan and when the crowd chanted for Tenzan, Nagata stepped outside like “where’s the love for me?” After they went at it for a bit, we got Kojima against Kitamura. Kitamura ended up getting worked over with double team offense from the champions. Nagata got the tag and took control, so the tables were turned and now Tenzan needed to make the tag. That led to some fun stuff between Kojima and Nagata. Kitamura came back in and applied the Boston crab but Tenzan broke it up with the Mongolian chop. Kitamura showed off some impressive stuff before falling to Kojima’s lariat. This was fun. Kitamura, like the other young lions, shows raw talent and the New Japan Dads are almost always great. ***
CHAOS (Gedo, NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto and Jado) def. Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) in 10:48
I can place a safe bet that Taichi and Kanemaru vs. Gedo and Jado will be the worst match on whatever card it ends up on. Oh look, another Suzuki-Gun match where they jumped their opponents before the bell. That of course gave us the brawl around the ring that we’re accustomed to. Taichi used his trusty ring bell hammer and Gedo got worked over for the heat segment. I loved Suzuki putting Gedo in an armbar and then no selling Goto kicking him before pulling him into a knee bar. The battle between Goto and Suzuki was easily the highlight of this contest. Goto got the best of their exchange with USHIGOROSHI! There were a bunch of underhanded tactics from both teams in the end, before Jado made Taichi tap to a crossface. If you could clip the match and only watch Suzuki and Goto, you’ve got a winner. Unfortunately, the other two teams did nothing for me. **¼
Los Ingobernables de Japon (NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions BUSHI, EVIL and SANADA, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, KUSHIDA, Michael Elgin and Ryusuke Taguchi in 11:36
Tanahashi and lads against LIDJ. We’ve seen it a ton, yet it’s always fun. After teasing Naito/Tanahashi, we got EVIL/Tanahashi to start. After that, they lifted the spot from yesterday where Taguchi Japan worked tandem offense on Naito, instead doing it to BUSHI and ending with him getting whipped into Taguchi’s ass. LIDJ turned it around and took things outside, highlighted by Naito slamming Juice on the aisle. Almost every opening for Taguchi Japan saw LIDJ find a way to cut it off until Tanahashi started reeling off dragon screws. That led to the hot tag to BIG MIKE! He and SANADA went at it again before KUSHIDA came in rather hot. We got another preview of Takahashi/KUSHIDA before more stuff between Juice and Naito. That led to a big barrage of everyone getting some offense in before it came down to Naito and Juice again. Juice had Pulp Friction ready but Naito countered, hit a low blow and Destino for the win. I noted these tags have been done a lot, but they saved some of their best stuff for this show. Nonstop action with lots of build for potential future matches. ***¾
CHAOS (IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and YOSHI-HASHI) def. Bullet Club (The Guerillas of Destiny, Kenny Omega and Yujiro Takahashi) in 14:00
For the third time tonight, a heel faction jumped their opponents before the bell. That gave us the brawl around the ring stuff that’s been done to death on this show so far. They did some of the usual spots like Yano fearing the Guerillas. That set up Yano as the guy taking a small heat until Yujiro got tagged and messed things up for his guys. Okada got a hot tag, kicking Yujiro’s ass until GOD tried to save him, only for Okada to beat up all three guys. It took all four of them to finally take down Okada. Shortly after, Okada hit Omega with a flapjack and was left with Roa. He began with the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM but it was cut off. Roa countered the Rainmaker into a spear but eventually fell to one anyway. Another fine multi-man tag. I like how they’re keeping the Okada/Omega interactions mostly minimal.***
New Japan Cup Finals: Katsuyori Shibata def. Bad Luck Fale in 18:47
I don’t think anyone picked this as the finals. I rarely do it but I want to commend Kevin Kelly (I wasn’t expecting to watch with English commentary but clicked the link for it by mistake and left it) as he noted Shibata has wrestled almost twice as long as Fale in the tournament thus far. Shibata attacked instantly and they fought to the floor with great intensity. Fale did the guardrail spot from the EVIL match and Shibata barely beat the countout. Fale took control and as usual, his heat segment wasn’t great. He did my least favorite move in wrestling, the dreaded NERVE HOLD! I did like how he focused on the shoulder and ripped the tape off. Back outside, Shibata got an opening by sending Fale into the guardrail, but inside, he was cut in half with a spear. Shibata struggled with an armbar due to the sheer size of Fale. Fale came back with a splash and then the Grenade for a near fall that everyone bit on. That started “SHIBATA” chants. Shibata countered the Bad Luck Fall into a sleeper hold but Fale countered that to a side slam. Shibata fired up instantly, hit some brutal strikes and went back to the sleeper. The PK ended it, giving Shibata the big win. Best Fale match to ever go past fifteen minutes. They played him up as an stoppable monster very well, the crowd was massively into this and I thought the final few minutes ruled. ***¾
After the match, Shibata made it clear he was coming for Kazuchika Okada and the IWGP Heavyweight Title. Their last (and I believe only) singles match came during the G1 Climax in 2013, where Okada won in about nine minutes. I’m PRAYING Shibata just murders Okada. If that happens, I’ll love it. I expect Okada to retain as usual though, which would suck for me.
Overall: 7/10. A better show than the Semi-Finals. It was consistently strong up and down, with Suzuki-Gun/CHAOS being the only thing that was an easy skip. The LIDJ/Tanahashi and lads tag was a blast and the finals proved to be better than expected, with possibly the best Fale performance of his career. It was an easy watch at about two and a half hours. Also, I’d like to give a special nod to the three young lions for putting some serious work on this card.
NJPW New Japan Cup Semi-Finals
March 19th, 2017 | Act City Hamamatsu in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
The Quarterfinals of the New Japan Cup took place over the week. Only the tournament matches were shown on NJPW World, so I couldn’t do full reviews. This is what I rated those matches though.
EVIL def. Yuji Nagata - ***
Bad Luck Fale def. Toru Yano – ½*
Katsuyori Shibata def. Juice Robinson - ***¼
Tomohiro Ishii def. SANADA - ***½
David Finlay, Juice Robinson and Tomoyuki Oka def. Hirai Kawato, Katsuya Kitamura and Yuji Ngata in 9:32
It’s my first look at Kitamura. He looks to be in the best shape of any young lion. It was great watching him and Oka go head to head. Juice and Finlay got some work in on Kawato, who brought fire as always. Nagata got the hot tag and it was time for BLUE JUSTICE! Like their singles match a while back, I enjoyed Nagata going at it with Oka. The crowd popped for Nagata slapping the armbar on Juice but with the young lions around, you just knew that wasn’t the finish. Nagata’s team put on triple Boston crabs but it wasn’t the end either. It came down to Juice and Kitamura, with Juice planting him with Pulp Friction. Standard fare for a New Japan opener. The young lions brought energy and everyone got a little shine. **½
Gedo and Jado def. El Desperado and TAKA Michinoku in 7:29
On paper, this is a nightmare. This CHAOS/Suzuki-Gun feud has been mostly terrible. There was some early stalling but once the action got going, they might as well have still been stalling. Gedo took the heat segment, which was better than Jado doing it since he’s better at it. Unfortunately, that left the hot tag spot to Jado. He came in lukewarm at best. Jado might be the blandest guy in NJPW. He’s such a scrub that he still got in trouble after the tag and was in a TAKA submission until Gedo saved him. Jado then hit a DDT on TAKA for the win. This sucked on almost every level. It was sloppy, never flowed and felt like a big waste of time. The bookers are headed towards an IWGP Jr. Tag Title match that will almost certainly suck too. ¼*
Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. Jushin Thunder Liger, IWGP Tag Team Champions TenKoji and Tiger Mask IV in 10:00
NEW JAPAN DADS! Just what I need to push shitty Jado from my head. Though Iizuka and Taichi are here too. It’s a Suzuki-Gun match, so within the first few minutes, they all brawled outside. With no commentary, we could clearly hear the ring announcer shout as they did so. It’s so annoying. Once things calmed down, Liger took a lot of the work from Suzuki-Gun. The hot tag came to Kojima before TenKoji did their thing. The crowd ate that up as always. Things brown down again late and poor Tiger Mask was left alone with Suzuki. He got hit with the Gotch style piledriver and that was all. Like most Suzuki-Gun matches since their return, this didn’t do much for me. It got better near the end but most of the early stuff was kind of just there. **
Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA, Michael Elgin and Ryusuke Taguchi def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions BUSHI and SANADA, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito) in 11:21
I do enjoy these tags but man, we’ve seen a TON of them. Tanahashi and Naito kicked things off to a pop and it led to Naito getting hit with a barrage of offense from everyone on the opposing side. As the match progressed, we were treated to great interactions between SANADA and Elgin. I’d be all for a G1 Climax match involving them this year. There was also another preview of the impending Takahashi/KUSHIDA match (which I assume comes at Sakura Genesis). Those two are great together. I appreciated how a hot tag went to Taguchi, which is different. ASS ATTACKS FOR EVERYONE! It got turned around quickly and he ate four dropkicks at once. BUSHI countered an ass attack into a backslide, but Taguchi turned that into la magistral for the win. Another fine tag involving these guys. It did what it needed to but there are only so many things this combinations of guys can do. ***
CHAOS (NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and YOSHI-HASHI) def. Bullet Club (The Guerillas of Destiny, Kenny Omega and Yujiro Takahashi) in 12:43
I would normally be upset at more Bullet Club vs. CHAOS stuff since their feud has never been interesting but it beats Suzuki-Gun vs. CHAOS at this point. Back to t-shirt and colorful tights Kenny. They did the “Yano is scared of Tama Tonga” stuff early. This followed the typical formula we get in the tags involving these teams. Kenny and Okada took the night off, the Guerillas were their usual selves, Goto looked bored, Yano was Yano and Yujiro sucked. YOSHI took the heat for a while before Goto came in to save the day. There was some Okada/Omega interaction, giving fans a reminder of their Dave “I found things wrong with the match but still gave it six stars to get a reaction online” Meltzer approved WK main event. A bored Okada hit the Rainmaker on Yujiro to end it. Ho-hum stuff here. Nobody brought anything of note to the table and it lacked something to make it a multi-man tag worth viewing. **¼
New Japan Cup Semi-Finals: Bad Luck Fale def. EVIL in 12:17
These two brawled to the outside instantly. I liked how EVIL went for his signature steel chair spot, only for Fale to block it. EVIL’s not used to wrestling guys this big. Fale beat him up in the crowd, slamming him into a wall and throwing a guardrail on him. EVIL beat the count but continued to take a beat down until clotheslining Fale outside. EVIL got the chair spot to work this time before getting two on a flying clothesline. The Bullet Club and LIDJ got involved, with BUSHI misting Fale before Tama Tonga fought him to the back. Left alone again, Fale hit the Grenade and then the Bad Luck Fall to advance to the finals. I’d much rather Gedo have used this to send EVIL to the finals. Still, this was a solid brawl and about the best you could ask for from these two. **¾
By the way, after rewatching Omega/Ishii, I bumped it down from ****¾ to ****½. Still fantastic, but not an all-time classic. I did the same bump down for Takahashi/Lee at New Beginning.
New Japan Cup Semi-Finals: Katsuyori Shibata def. Tomohiro Ishii in 22:34
I’ve said it before but for my money, this is the best rivalry in wrestling. Yes, even over Okada/Tanahashi. I’ve never given a match between these guys less than ****¼. This got off to a more tentative start than usual, but it made sense. They know each other well and didn’t want to be the first to make a mistake. Don’t worry though, within three or so minutes, the hard strikes came rushing in. The camera zoomed in on a particular forearm exchange that just looked brutal. Ishii got a busted nose from it, but put Shibata on his ass. Like their New Beginning match last year, Shibata looked for a few submissions. He had control and kicked away at Ishii’s head like a dick. Ishii avoided a kick and hit a German, setting up a rally that saw him get two on a powerbomb. Shibata refused to stay down on lariats until about the fifth one. These bad motherfuckers eventually reached a point where they sat across from each other and slapped the shit out of one another. Ishii blocked the PK and locked in an armbar, which we don’t see often from him. Shibata made the ropes, so Ishii lit him up with kicks. The final few minutes just saw them go to war. Shibata hit the PK and instead of covering, went back to the sleeper. Ishii fought but passed out and the referee called for the bell. In a great moment, after it was over, Ishii woke up ready to fight more, not realizing it was over. It’s what we’ve seen from these two in the past and I’m totally fine with that. Ishii was the MVP of another tournament, while Shibata brought his A game too. This felt like an important fight between two bad dudes. The finals can’t live up to that. It’s like when the Kings/Lakers played before the Nets/Lakers finals. You knew which was the real finals. Ishii continues to amaze and is right behind AJ Styles as the best wrestler in the world in my eyes. This wasn’t quite as good as their WK10 or G1 Climax 23 matches, but on par with the New Beginning one last year. ****½
Bad Luck Fale vs. Katsuyori Shibata will be the finals tomorrow. I’ve given their past matches ***½ and **½. This could be a double-edged sword though. If Fale wins, we get another shitty and dull Okada/Fale match. If Shibata wins, he’ll most likely job to Okada, which I would hate since I love Shibata and dislike Okada. I know they could challenge for the IC or NEVER Title but I don’t see it happening here.
Overall: 6/10. This show when the way I expected. The focus was on the two semi-final matches, with the rest of the card playing out like a “Road to” show. Fale/EVIL was solid but the main event is honestly all you truly need to see from this show. The rest of the show is an easy skip though.
