Raw History
Episode #112
May 22nd, 1995 | Broome County Arena in Binghamton, New York
Things open with a recap of Sid destroying Shawn Michaels seven weeks ago with three powerbombs. HBK returns tonight, LIVE…AND IN YO FACE.
Razor Ramon w/ Savio Vega vs. Mike Bell
They actually announce Savio Vega as the “Caribbean Legend”. Commentary informs us that over the weekend, Razor and Jarrett traded the Intercontinental Title, making both men the first three time champions. Razor lights up Bell with chops. Bell looks like what Bull Dempsey would look like if Bull-Fit actually worked. Razor goes through his usual stuff. Razor hits the second rope back suplex and calls for the end. He picks up Bell but shows mercy and just shoves him down and covers him with his foot.
Winner: Razor Ramon in 4:17
Fine little squash here. It went a bit long but at least Razor is more fun to watch than when someone like IRS or Mabel does this.
As Razor Ramon and Savio Vega exit, Bret Hart walks out to confront Jerry Lawler. Bret is wearing his leather jacket, but no shirt for some reason. Bret gets on the microphone and runs down Lawler. It’s fantastic. He basically says that he’s ashamed of losing to someone like Lawler. He can’t live with that, saying he let everybody, including his family down. Bret challenges Lawler to a rematch, saying he’ll do it under any stipulation or any kind of match that Lawler wants. He does the “one more match” thing almost as good as Christian. Lawler declines so Bret roughs him up and even calls him lower than shit. Officials pull Bret away. I was never a fan of this feud but this was EASILY the best thing they ever did together.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. John Crystal
Hey look. It’s the future COO of the WWE. Who would have called that? The commentators don’t care for this match, focusing on the Bret angle and the upcoming week on USA Network. It’s okay because Hunter isn’t really interesting yet. Just as I type that, he does a spinning heel kick. What the fuck? It’s such an out of place when A) you know the rest of his career and B) most of the rest of his offense is slow paced. He wins with the Diamond Cutter, which he would drop soon after a friendly request from DDP.
Winner: Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 3:10
Not the most impressive debut for the future Triple H.
A “Bob Backlund for President” campaign ad is shown. It’s pretty funny but is still all he’s around for now? He does say that he wants to abolish spell check and calculators so the plebeians can learn the correct way. The best line, hands down, is “WE ARE ILLITERATE. THE JAPANESE HAVE 100% LITERACY!”
We get clips of ugly ass Stephanie Waind showing the house that was won at In Your House. She’s with the kid that won. For some reasons, the Bushwhackers were hiding in the closet. They literally just stand in there when it’s opened and don’t show up again.
The Allied Powers vs. Bill Payne and Tony DeVito
This goes exactly how you’d expect. The Allied Powers completely dominate and get all of their key stuff in. Commentary is more excited that on Action Zone, Bulldog gave Mabel a damn electric chair drop. Yea, that’s impressive. Bulldog hits the running powerslam for the 1-2-3.
Winners: The Allied Powers in 2:56
Completely inoffensive squash match.
Next week, Jeff Jarrett faces the Undertaker in a King of the Ring Qualifying match.
Kama w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Barry Horowitz
Is it strange that I think Barry is the better worker here? They talk about how Barry is still winless for his career, while Kama throws him around. In between this, he puts his fists up like he’s an actual fighter. A half crab makes Barry submit.
Winner: Kama in 2:25
Well these matches are flying by. I’m okay with that.
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
King Kong Bundy w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Shawn Michaels
Vince pretty much orgasms at the sight of Shawn Michaels. He oversells the crowd reaction. Granted, Michaels got a positive pop, but you’d think there were 50,000+ cheering in unison. Bundy tries to attack before the bell but Shawn avoids it and sends him outside while his music still plays. Shawn then leaps from the top onto Bundy. One thing I liked about babyface Shawn is that he was still very arrogant. He didn’t have to change much. Shawn is messing around, avoiding Bundy at every turn and even toying with Dibiase outside. Bundy sends him into the corner where we get the classic HBK bump. Bundy takes over, doing his dull offense. Bigelow and Diesel are watching on the tiniest monitor backstage. After a commercial, Michaels just hits the superkick and qualifies.
Winner: Shawn Michaels in 6:03
About as good as one could expect from a King Kong Bundy match. Shawn was energetic and did the best he could with his opponent. Still, that doesn’t make it very good. *
Bam Bam Bigelow and Diesel come out during Shawn’s celebration. There is obvious tension between Diesel and HBK. Diesel offers the handshake but Shawn backs away. He tells Diesel to put the hand up so he can run, jump and high five him. Bigelow looks VERY out of place here.
Overall: 3/10. While the matches obviously were mostly squashes and the one match that was competitive wasn’t very good, I thought this episode moved along pretty nicely. HHH made his debut in an unimpressive match, but the Diesel/HBK friendship was back on. Forward movement but not very exciting. The Bret segment ruled at least.
Raw History
Episode #113
May 29th, 1995 | Broome County Arena in Binghamton, New York
The show opens in progress with Jeff Jarrett cutting a promo. The gong goes off and the lights go out. Our intro plays and when it’s over, that match isn’t happening. Odd start for sure.
Sycho Sid w/ Ted Dibiase and Tatanka vs. Mike Khoury
Why does Tatanka have to be out here? We are told that Diesel is recovering from some elbow surgery. It allows Vince to give a shout out to unsung hero Dr. James Andrews. Sid is a monster, winning with the powerbomb.
Winner: Sycho Sid in 1:20
Hot damn that was how I like my Sid. He’s so great in things like this.
This leads into a lengthy look at Diesel and Dr. James Andrews.
Adam Bomb vs. Bob Cook
Vince McMahon uses this time to hype the one hour special airing of WrestleMania XI on NBC. That was a big deal since NBC was a massive network at the time and they hadn’t been on that channel for almost five years. Bomb clearly wins this with the flying clothesline.
Winner: Adam Bomb in 2:04
Yea, this just killed time.
King of the Ring Report time! Todd Pettengill shows us footage from Superstars where Bigelow and Diesel accepted Tatanka and Sid’s challenge for the Pay-Per-View. Bigelow’s promo is terrible. “I’m not going to quit being your friend.” Who thought he’d work as a face?
Hakushi w/ Shinja vs. John Snakowski
This is the infamous episode where Hakushi pulls out the mannequin Bret Hart head. It’s a pretty gruesome sight. Hakushi gets in all of the offense since this guy is a true ham and egger.
Winner: Hakushi in 2:36
This was fine. The pre-match stuff was better.
Vince McMahon interviews Alundra Blayze. Ugh, this should be riveting. He puts over her match with Bull Nakano. Alundra pokes fun at Bertha Faye for having a boyfriend like Harvey Wippleman. She then just says that she will be the champion for a long, long time. At least it was short.
Next Monday, the British Bulldog faces Owen Hart in a qualifying match.
Men on a Mission vs. Aaron Ferguson and Gary Scott
I don’t even want to go into this. Men on a Mission dominate and it’s not very good.
Winners: Men on a Mission in 3:39
This took far too long.
Todd Pettengill is back to tell us who has qualified for the King of the Ring so far. Razor Ramon, Bob Holly, Mabel, Shawn Michaels and Kama are in.
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett w/ the Roadie vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer
Poor Jarrett got a pretty terrible draw here. Undertaker is quickly on offense, hitting Old School. It was just school at this point. Roadie trips up Undertaker but he mostly no sells it and slams Jarrett. Taker misses an elbow, giving Jarrett a slight opening. He clotheslines Undertaker over, but he lands on his feet and chokes the Roadie. Jarrett attacks from behind. Jarrett takes over, getting in some really basic offense. For some reason, this Raw on the Network has some technical issues. After a commercial, Jarrett applies the Figure Four, with an assist from Roadie until Bearer chases him away. Jarrett grabs the ropes, so the referee breaks the hold. Undertaker comes back but Jarrett stops it with a neckbreaker. He chooses to strut and Taker sits up. Now the real comeback is on, cemented by a Tombstone.
Winner: The Undertaker in 8:55
Pretty good actually. Jeff Jarrett’s offense was nothing really special but seeing the Undertaker compete on Raw is usually fun. The “Purple Gloves” era is certainly his worst era, making this, sadly, one of his better showings. **¼
Before the show ends, we get more stuff from Bob Backlund.
Overall: 4.5/10. A better marquee matchup this week as Jarrett and Undertaker had a pretty decent showing. Sid was fun in his short appearance and I really liked the Hakushi pre-match segment. It did have Men on a Mission, which is usually a drag.
Raw History
Episode #114
June 5th, 1995 | Struthers Auditorium in Struthers, Ohio
A shot of the WWF Blimp opens things before we see Bob Backlund campaigning outside. Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler hype things as we are LIVE in Ohio! There will be two debuts tonight. Lawler hypes Jean Pierre Lafitte as a debut but he’s clearly been on the show before.
“The Caribbean Legend” Savio Vega vs. Kenny Kendall
It’s the official debut of Razor Ramon’s buddy. I can’t help but put his nickname there. Kendall actually gets in some early offense. There is a ton of smoke around the ring from pyro. These live shows just have a different feel to them. Surprisingly, Savio wins with the octopus stretch.
Winner: Savio Vega in 2:01
Like Hunter Hearst Helmsley last week, this wasn’t the best start for Savio. It came off as awkward at times.
A Diesel video package airs, just set to his theme. Then the Million Dollar Corporation cut a promo about the pain they are going to make them feel.
We hear from Sunny and Skip because the Bodydonnas debut next. Man, Sunny has fallen far.
Skip w/ Sunny vs. Barry Horowitz
Hey, it’s the feud that revolutionized pro wrestling. Not really. Sunny cuts a promo for the fatties in the crowd. Skip’s attire is very unflattering. Horowitz gets some hope spots and near falls but Skip wins with a guillotine leg drop. Sunny is already looking like the bigger star.
Winner: Skip in 2:41
Decent enough debut.
Todd Pettengill runs down the King of the Ring card. Mabel faces the Undertaker in the first round. Yawn. Kama goes up against Shawn Michaels and Bob Holly faces the Roadie. Todd calls him the Road Dogg. Razor Ramon will face the winner of the Bulldog/Owen match tonight.
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
British Bulldog vs. Owen Hart w/ Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji
So, for some odd reason, this was pre-taped before the In Your House Pay-Per-View so it’s taking place in Syracuse. Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon are in the booth. They avoid showing the IYH logos but have admitted that this isn’t taking place in Ohio. The feeling out process sees Bulldog focusing on the arm and then overpowering Owen. Focusing on the shoulder is different from the Bulldog, though that’s not a bad thing. He shows off the great stalling vertical. Mr. Fuji uses this time to wave the Japanese flag a bunch for some reason. Owen starts swinging the momentum and picks up the pace. After a commercial break, Owen nails a spinning heel kick. Gorilla talks about the time limit, making me think they’ll do a draw. Owen applies a sleeper but Bulldog survives. Owen kicks out of a rollup and nails the ENZIGURI OF DOOM! Gorilla says only three minutes remain. Bulldog comes back with a nice fisherman suplex for two. You see, if it was a Perfectplex that would have been it. With the clock winding down, they do about ten near falls on multiple pins. The clock expires as Owen does a backslide.
Time limit draw in 15:00
We only saw about 13 of the 15 minutes. This was a really solid match but the finish was dumb. Neither guy makes it in even though when the same thing happened two years earlier, Doink and Mr. Perfect were given multiple rematches. Also, with the roster in shambles, the tournament could have used one or both of these guys. This is the best thing to come from the tournament. ***½
A pre-taped video from Jerry Lawler airs. He shows off his dirty feet, saying he hasn’t washed them in two months. His match with Bret Hart at King of the Ring will be a “Kiss my Foot” match. Poor Bret Hart was stuck in midcard hell in 1995.
Bret Hart is out for an in-ring interview with Vince McMahon. Bret talks about how he never thought he would compete in a match like this. While talking, we get a split screen as Lawler takes off his shoe and shows off his gross feet. This is nowhere near as good as the one from two weeks ago. He talks about embarrassing his family again and dedicates the match to them. He ends it by saying that he doesn’t want Jerry’s lips on his feet, so when he wins he’ll make Jerry kiss his own feet.
Jean Pierre Lafitte vs. Jerry Flynn
Yes, this is the same Jerry Flynn that you can find on bad WCW shows in 2000. Lafitte wins quickly with the cannonball.
Winner: Jean Pierre Lafitte in 1:33
Too short to really be anything.
So, instead of giving Bulldog and Owen another chance, next week we get Yokozuna vs. Lex Luger in a qualifying match. But why? It sucked so hard at SummerSlam two years earlier. We get a damn recap of the entire Lex Express angle. Don’t remind us of how terrible it was please.
Overall: 6/10. Hey, we got a pretty episode here. The Bulldog/Owen match was one of the better ones all year long on Raw, but the finish and booking was pretty dumb. Skip and Savio had decent at best debuts and the Bret promo was alright. Still, a rather easy watch.
TLC 2012
December 16th, 2012 | Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York | Attendance: 15,748
This is one of the few shows that I owned on DVD before the arrival of the WWE Network, simply for the fact that it features the first ever match of the trio known as the Shield. It’s also a noteworthy show because WWE Champion CM Punk was injured and had to miss this event, in the midst of his 434 day reign as WWE Champion. Punk was gearing up for a match with the Rock, but the rest of the card managed to look pretty great without him. This was the final Pay-Per-View of 2012 and the fourth TLC in history.
The WWE Network version starts with a video package focusing on the big matches on the card. However, my original DVD version started with a 26 bell salute to honor the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting. Commentary is Michael Cole, JBL and Jerry Lawler, as always.
Number One Contender’s Tag Team Tables Match
Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara vs. Team Rhodes Scholars
Cody Rhodes can really make anything work as evidenced by the fact that he got a mustache over. He and Sandow run down Brooklyn during their entrance. Since it’s a Tables match, the match is tornado style. The Luchadores send the heels outside before nailing stereo baseball slides. Lawler makes some lame joke about the show being broadcast in Manila, home of the envelopes. A table is brought into play but Rey is sent outside before they can do anything. Kudos to JBL who actually does a good job in putting over Cody Rhodes. They isolate Sin Cara. They fail to put him through a table with a double front suplex though. Cody does hit him with the Disaster Kick while Sandow tosses Rey around outside. Two tables get set up outside and the faces are laid on them. Sandow wants to launch Cody onto them but Rey trips him up to stop it. Now, Rey and Cara unload on both opponents. Original Sin Cara actually looks good here and hits a corkscrew dive outside. Rey hits Cody with the 619 and lays him on a table. Team Rhodes Scholars is back up to avoid losing. Sin Cara takes out Cody and looks to springboard in onto Sandow. Cody sneaks back in and shoves him back and through the table outside.
Winners: Team Rhodes Scholars in 9:29
Hey, that’s exactly what I want from my opening contest. It was fun, fast paced and they didn’t overdo anything, leaving room for the later matches. The right team got the win in one of the better tables matches in recent years. The seemingly out of nowhere finish was a nice touch too. ***¼
We hear from the Shield in one of their awesome old handheld camera promos. They talk about CM Punk not being able to defend the WWE Title and that it’s an injustice. They then focus on their opponents. Roman Reigns gets to keep his stuff short and sweet, which is how he works best.
WWE United States Championship
Antonio Cesaro (c) vs. R-Truth
These two met a month prior at Survivor Series in a really lame match. Why they decided to continue this feud is beyond me. This seems to be about R-Truth representing USA in the face of Cesaro’s anti-American rants. Truth is using his quickness, while Cesaro has the clear power advantage. Truth gets multiple flash pin near falls so Cesaro slows it down and works the mat. Commentary is so bored they are just making jokes about Lawler being old. Truth starts to fire up but the fans really don’t care. They do get loud when he asks “WHAT’S UP”, so there’s that. Truth goes all Booker T and hits a Scissors Kick for two. A “Lil Jimmy” chant breaks out. Cesaro nearly shoves him into the referee and hits an uppercut. He retains with the Neutralizer.
Winner and Still WWE United States Champion: Antonio Cesaro in 6:38
Why was this on Pay-Per-View? They didn’t anyone last month and they didn’t here either. The crowd was mostly not really feeling this and the work felt like something you’d see at a house show or on Superstars/Main Event. At least it was relatively short. *½
Matt Striker, who I forgot was employed at this time, tries to interview Antonio Cesaro but gets shoved away. Cesaro just puts himself over as the greatest US Champion in history. He says that if you boo him, you’re booing your own country.
Dolph Ziggler gets interviewed about the main event tonight, saying that he is putting everything on the line tonight, while John Cena has everything to gain. It’s an okay promo.
The ring is set up for Miz TV and the Miz shows up. Lawler calls Cleveland, Miz’s hometown, the “Mistake by the Lake”. Miz’s guests are Heath Slater, Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal, collectively known as 3MB. Poor Drew McIntyre. It quickly becomes a situation where Miz trades insults with 3MB. For some reason, 3MB target the Spanish announce team, saying they were talking crap. McIntyre shoves one of them and Ricardo Rodriguez shows up to try and calm them down. They start to bully him, causing Alberto Del Rio to show up and make the save. When the numbers game becomes too much, Miz jumps in to help clean house. This completed one of the most random and odd face turns ever. However, I think Del Rio is lightyears better as a babyface. 3MB challenges Del Rio and Miz to find a partner and face them later tonight, which is accepted.
Continuing the string of no matches, there is a rather funny Team Hell No segment in the back, hyping their match later. This leads into an interview with Wade Barrett about his upcoming match with Kofi Kingston. He says he’s confident and that’s about it. This was when they were trying to get the “Wildcat” nickname over for Kofi. It never stuck.
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Wade Barrett
According to Wade’s interview, these two have met multiple times in the weeks leading up to this. Makes sense considering WWE’s typical midcard booking tropes. Barrett tries to beat up Kofi outside, but when he throws him to the apron, Kofi leaps through the ropes. He instantly turns around and connects with a suicide dive. Inside, Barrett basically gets pissed and starts the beating again. Each time Kofi nearly gets something going, Barrett is there to stop him. Kofi starts his typical rally, complete with Boom Drop and SOS. Commentary again gives zero fucks about this match, instead focusing on how many Slammy awards each of them has won. Great job guys. Barrett nearly wins by rolling through a cross body. Barrett tries for the Bull Hammer but Kofi instead hits Trouble in Paradise for the win.
Winner and Still WWE Intercontinental Champion: Kofi Kingston in 8:12
A pretty solid outing from both guys involved. Their clash of styles worked well. Barrett looked like a bit of a beast, while Kofi used his athleticism to overcome that. Fine stuff. ***
This show continues to be filled with promos because we now go to WWE Champion CM Punk in a skybox up in the arena. He takes a giant dump on the city of Brooklyn before turning his attention to the man that injured him, Ryback. Punk was so good on the microphone. He came across as legitimately angry, while also captivating the audience and still managing to get in a note about not being affiliated with the Shield.
TLC Match
The Shield vs. Team Hell No and Ryback
Here we go, the long awaited in-ring debut of the Shield. Thank god the Shield ditched those terrible turtlenecks from their first appearance. Once they make it to ringside, the war begins and all six men brawl outside. Ambrose and Ryback go at it in the ring, where Ryback no sells his stuff. Kane is firs to bring out a ladder, but gets it baseball slid into his ribs. The Shield start doing what they do best, using the numbers game. Ryback doesn’t care and starts slamming a ladder onto Seth and Dean. Reigns stops him with some vicious chair shots. Kane stops him and Bryan dropkicks a ladder into Reigns. Ambrose hits Kane with a DDT on a chair. They are not holding anything back with the big spots. Ryback nearly gets double hip tossed into a ladder but blocks and then splashes Dean and Seth into the ladder. He suplexes both of them onto the same ladder and Ambrose’s facial expression is classic. The poor Spanish announce team continues to have a bad night as Reigns clears off their table. The Shield lay out Ryback with their signature triple powerbomb. No time is wasted though as Bryan instantly dives onto all three. The numbers game is too much but Kane is there to help. Still, the Shield is too much and they are in firm control. They set a table up in the corner on the top turnbuckle. Seth and Dean superplex Bryan off of it but only get two. They try to do the same to Kane but he fights them off and leaps from the table with a clothesline on Ambrose. Adding to it, Kane Chokeslams Dean onto an open chair only for Reigns to break up the pin. Bryan puts Ambrose in the No Lock and Seth runs in to save him, but Bryan just puts it on him. Reigns comes in and gets the same treatment. Bryan ends up lighting up Seth and Dena with kicks but he then gets curb stomped onto an open chair! That’s gotta be one of the best curb stomps ever. Ryback is alive again and starts cleaning house. It’s like a hot tag. He does all of his key stuff and plants Ambrose with Shell Shock only for the rest of the Shield to break it up. Things start moving up to the entrance, with the Shield beating up on Ryback. They use that gang mentality to get him on a table. Dean and Roman hold Ryback in place while Seth climbs way high on a tall ladder. Seth sends them to go after Bryan though and Ryback gets up. Ryback climbs with Seth and sends him through about three tables nearby. Back in the ring, Ambrose hoists Bryan up to take a second rope powerbomb from Reigns through a table. Ryback can’t make it back in time to save the match.
Winners: The Shield in 22:44
An absolutely brilliant match. That is how you make your official debut and make an impact. First of all, the match was incredible. They did some sick spots, the pace never slowed and the action was non-stop from beginning to end. The crowd was red hot for everything. Everybody played their part and contributed to the quality. Ryback was booked to look strong, Bryan and Kane were both great and the Shield played up that numbers advantage, working like such a well-oiled machine. Easily my WWE match of the year for 2012. ****¾
WWE Divas Championship
Eve Torres (c) vs. Naomi
There was a Santa’s Little Helper battle royal on the pre-show that Naomi won to earn this shot. Eve cost Kaitlyn the match because they had beef and Naomi is apparently much less of a threat. Good way to build intrigue for this match. Eve mocks her from the start but gets taken down by a leg drop and REAR VIEW! If this was 2014 Naomi would have won with that. Naomi just does a fair amount of athletic stuff because that’s really all that he is. Athletic. She misses a cross body, opening the door for Eve to hit a spinning neckbreaker and retain.
Winner and Still WWE Divas Champion: Eve Torres in 3:05
Well that was completely pointless. I actually really like Eve in this period as she was nailing the heel champion character better than almost any other Divas Champion I can remember. However, this was three minutes of Naomi doing fancy things only to lose. ½*
World Heavyweight Championship Chairs Match
Big Show (c) vs. Sheamus
No, I still have never gotten clarification of what a Chairs match is exactly. There is hope here since they had a great match at Hell in a Cell, but their Survivor Series match left a lot to be desired. They’ve built Big Show up as this unstoppable monster (again) but Sheamus just beats the hell out of him to start. They’re outside when the first chair is brought into play as Show kicks one into Sheamus. Show clubs him for a bit but when Sheamus gets a chair again, Show goes running scared. Like at Survivor Series, Sheamus lays into him with the chair. He hits an interesting shoulder block with the chair off the top. Don’t think I’ve seen that one before. The fans seem to be entertaining themselves with an “Ole” chant. Is Sami Zayn in the crowd? They continue to do mostly uninteresting stuff until Show nails a Chokeslam for two. Show seems to want to wake the crowd up, so he does a corner Vader Bomb onto a chair for two. In an impressive feat of strength, Sheamus gets Show up for White Noise through two chairs, though Show kicks out. Sheamus ends up missing a Brogue Kick and eating the WMD but again kicks out. Now they’re just doing the false finish barrage that big WWE matches have come to rely on. Show exits and pulls out the biggest steel chair in history. Show uses it once and Sheamus dies.
Winner and Still World Heavyweight Champion: Big Show in 14:15
I’ve seen some pretty good praise for this match but I just couldn’t get into it. Some of the things they pulled off were quite brutal and bringing out the giant chair was certainly different at least. Still, not much to write home about. **½
John Cena is preparing for the main event and AJ Lee shows up in Cena gear. This was during her phase of having a new boy toy every few months. Daniel Bryan, Kane, CM Punk, John Cena and finally, one more person to close out the year.
Alberto Del Rio, Brooklyn Brawler and The Miz w/ Ricardo Rodriguez vs. 3MB
Yup, they chose the Brooklyn Brawler. He not only gets a theme song but he also has tron graphics. Wow. Brawler gets worked on for a bit, Miz does some decent offense and then Del Rio gets the tag to do more with his face turn. He hits a nice suicide dive and then Rodriguez pulls Slater out of the ring. Miz plants Mahal with the Skull Crushing Finale but doesn’t pin, instead tagging the Brawler. Brawler applies a HIDEOUS Brooklyn Crab and Mahal submits.
Winners: Alberto Del Rio, Brooklyn Brawler and Miz in 3:23
Between this and the earlier segment, were they just low on time since Punk couldn’t compete? This was just there and I didn’t care for it. *
Money in the Bank Contract Ladder Match
Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. John Cena
This all started because of Vickie’s obsession with outing the Cena/AJ relationship. Ziggler is in the midst of easily the best run of his career. The crowd is heavily in his corner. They trade some basic stuff early on before bringing any weapons into play. Cena uses the ladder first but also brings steel steps into play, wiping out Dolph with them. He’s two years early for the EPIC Steel Stairs match. The fans go back and forth as they trade blows in the middle of the ring. Dolph starts losing out, so he goes to a sleeper hold. Cena is inhuman though, climbing the ladder with Dolph still holding on. He does fade out while on top, even looking purple, and then crash through a table. Dolph is up first and climbs but Cena closes the ladder and then lifts it up like a goddamn press slam. Ziggler gets free but runs into the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM. Ziggler fights him off, avoiding the AA and nails the Zig Zag. They are both slow to get up, with Cena finishing the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM this time. Ziggler again avoids the AA and plants him with a big DDT. He gets his hands on the briefcase but Cena won’t die. He knocks Ziggler off and is alone with the briefcase. Ziggler is up to stop him though. From out of nowhere, Cena does a damn hurricanrana that sends Ziggler through a table in the corner. It was ugly, but still. A “Ziggler’s awesome” chant starts as he gets up but Cena just fires up and kicks his ass. Ziggler escapes the AA again and nails Cena with a chair. He misses a superkick and finally takes an AA, rolling outside. Vickie Guerrero shows up to hit Cena with a chair. A Lee runs out and ducks an incredibly telegraphed chair shot before going into Cena’s FIVE MOVES OF DOOM. It’s a lot more adorable when she does it. Cena brings up a ladder and sets it up while AJ skips around the ring. As he gets high up, AJ shoves over the ladder in a completely obvious heel turn. Cena hits the ropes and bounces right into a superkick from Ziggler. AJ smiles and skips off, leaving Dolph to retrieve the briefcase to a monster pop.
Winner and Still Mr. Money in the Bank: Dolph Ziggler in 23:16
A really good main event, though I think the six man tag should have closed things out. This bordered on great but will settle for very good. Dolph Ziggler was allowed to look like someone that belonged in the ring with Cena for the most part. The involvement of Vickie and AJ wasn’t great, though it at least made sense. ***¾
Overall: 7.5/10; Very good. Clearly, not everything on this Pay-Per-View is very good. The Divas Title, US Title and random six man tag all stunk for the most part. I thought the World Title and Intercontinental Title matches were both pretty enjoyable. It’s the main event and six man TLC that really elevate this show. The Shield debut match was masterfully done and is my WWE match of the year for 2012. This flowed nicely outside of the mid-show promos and is an easy watch. My randomizer has chosen my next “Random Network Review” as World War 3 1997!
PROGRESS Chapter 55: Chase The Sun
September 10th, 2017 | Alexandra Palace in Haringey, Greater London | Attendance: 2,000
It’s the biggest show in PROGRESS history. I don’t even want to give a longer introduction because I’m too excited to watch it.
As always, Jim Smallman kicked things off in the ring. It wasn’t as long as some chapters, but he thanked the fans before starting the show.
PROGRESS Tag Team Championship Ladder Match: British Strong Style [c] vs. #CCK
The last time they met in a straight tag match, #CCK won the titles (***¾), but lost them back in a six man tag at the next show. The crowd was molten hot. The teams brawled around the ring, until #CCK used their aerial skills to gain an advantage. Everyone’s first attempt to grab the titles failed because the ladder was too small. The first wild spot saw Lykos take a dragon suplex onto the side of the ladder, which legitimately made my jaw drop. It looked brutal. Bate pulled out an impressive Undertaker like dive, which Lykos followed with a Shelton Benjamin style ladder run into a corkscrew dive. Bate has had some awesome feats of strength this year, but giving Lykos the big swing, while having Brookes in an airplane spin was near the top. He also paid tribute to Terry Funk with the ladder airplane spin, even accidentally hitting his partner. There were so many great spots, I’m barely scratching the surface. In the end, Bate wanted to hit a Tyler Driver ’97 off the ladder onto a bridged one. Brookes fought him off and back dropped him onto that ladder, before pulling down the titles at 17:27. A great match that featured the expected wild spots, but also had a sense of disdain between the two teams. They all did a wonderful job of finding ways to incorporate their signature spots in this kind of match, with it being sensible. A few ladder spots felt contrived, but either way, this ruled. [****]
PROGRESS Women’s Championship: Toni Storm [c] vs. Dahlia Black
They’re not messing around, throwing two high-profile matches on early. Dahlia took a moment to make out with the injured TK Cooper in the crowd before the bell. This match happened in the Semi-Finals of the Natural Progression Series (**½), where Black broke her leg. Her road back from the injury and Visa issues led her here. Dahlia brought lots of fire from the opening bell. They both had each other well scouted, with Dahlia cutting off Toni’s hip attacks and Toni avoiding a cannonball and moonsault. Toni used her strength to nail a Buckle Bomb and delivered Strong Zero for a surprising near fall. Dahlia fought back with a successful moonsault. However, she went to the well too often. Her next top rope attempt was cut off by a nasty German from Storm. She finished her with two more Strong Zero piledrivers at 7:31. Between this and the Jinny match at Chapter 54, Black has had her best matches (that I’ve seen) and Toni’s streak of good matches continues. It was an even match, yet still told the story of Toni still being the best woman in PROGRESS, while Dahlia gave everything she had to overcome that. In the end, she didn’t have enough. [***¼]
After the match, Jinny jumped Dahlia Black from behind. The injured TK Cooper had to helplessly watch from the audience as Jinny beat on Dahlia’s previously broken leg. She used a chair to PILLMANIZE Dahlia and signaled that the title was hers.
It was now time for Zack Sabre Jr.’s open challenge. It was answered by Marty Scurll, which got an absurdly huge pop.
Marty Scurll vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
It’s not a pairing I always love as they tend to have some good (though overly long matches), but never that one I consider great. That being said, I couldn’t help but be excited to see Marty. He whacked Sabre in the face with his umbrella during introductions because, villain. He used that to dominate the early stages, until Sabre caught his apron superkick and wrenched on the ankle in hideous ways. From there, Marty’s aggression was combated by Sabre twisting him into strange ways. Sabre caught another kick attempt and pulled Marty into a brutal looking submission. Scurll eventually applied his own sick looking version of the Chicken Wing, without the usual “CHICKEN WING” shouting and pizazz. Sabre survived and Marty’s next attempt saw him call for the finish. That allowed Sabre to counter it into the European Clutch to win at 14:32. I thought this was good, but again, not quite great. It was aggressive, which I liked, and featured good exchanges. The finish coming out of nowhere was pretty cool, too. [***]
Sabre and Scurll hugged after the match. Left alone, Marty got a microphone and talked about facing Sabre way back at Chapter 1. He put over PROGRESS and thanked the fans, saying goodbye for now.
Death Match: Jimmy Havoc vs. Mark Haskins
This got video package treatment. I could be wrong, but this might’ve been Havoc’s first time wearing white since returning. He brought an axe with him, which Haskins ducked and they went right into fighting. The first weapon to come into play was a stapler, with both men feeling the wrath. Though this is Havoc’s specialty match, Haskins was in control for a lot of it. He made a big mistake, though, taking too long to set up a spot and getting powerbombed through cinder blocks. With Havoc taking over, he used paper cuts and salt, because he does sick shit like that. Jimmy missed a shot with the axe and Vicky Haskins, Mark’s wife, came down. She stopped Mark from using a chair and gave him a barbed wire bat instead. He used it and applied an armbar with it, before nailing a series of DVDs, including one onto a barbed wire board. Somehow, that still wasn’t enough. Haskins poured out thumbtacks and there was an excellent spot where Havoc dropkicked him into the board, landing on the tacks and sacrificing himself. However, Haskins put the brakes on, making it all for naught. Havoc delivered two DVDs onto the tacks, but Haskins wouldn’t stay down. He survived a DVD through the barbed wire board and Acid Rainmaker onto the tacks, showing a ton of heart. Havoc finally hit an Acid Rainmaker with the barbed wire bat and placed it on Haskins’ throat for extra pin leverage to win in 23:08. That was absolute insanity. It’s not for everyone, but I thought it was awesome. They used weapons and had a brutal match, but also told a great story. Haskins was out to do it for his family (bringing a dinosaur toy and Vicky into play was great) and refused to give in. He got just as violent as Jimmy at times, yet was unable to beat the Death Match king at his own game. My main gripe was that the final blow with the bat looked weak as hell. [****¼]
Following intermission, Jim Smallman pointed out some impressive cosplayers in the crowd before thanking the fans for the growth of PROGRESS. He then announced that next September, PROGRESS will make their debut in Wembley Arena, which will easily be their biggest crowd ever. It’s a bold move, considering Wembley holds over 10,000 more seats than Alexandra Palace.
PROGRESS Atlas Championship: Matt Riddle [c] vs. Timothy Thatcher vs. WALTER
This also got video package treatment. Riddle and WALTER have traded the title recently, having three great matches. Thatcher has the added story of being Ringkampf buddies with WALTER. It was great how WALTER and Tim had nearly identical entrances (including music) and the contrast with Riddle’s personality. After taking Riddle out, the Ringkampf guys shook hands and went toe to toe. Like most Atlas Title matches, especially ones involving WALTER, this was stiff. Three guys beating the hell out of each other and not giving a damn. Riddle impressed by dead lifting WALTER again and doing his best to trade chops with the big lad. There was an awesome, yet scary spot where WALTER double German suplexed both opponents. I swore Riddle injured himself. This was the WALTER showcase, as he was awesome throughout and even got to no sell the KO knee from Riddle. He also scored the win, hitting a sitout tombstone at 12:49 to regain the title. This was very good, but not better than the straight up Riddle/WALTER matches. Thatcher didn’t add much, though he was tied up when the finish happened, so he could have claim to a title shot. [***½]
WALTER’s celebration was cut short by the PROGRESS debut of Wolfgang. He entered the ring and came face to face with the new champion, signaling that he wanted a shot. That could produce some quality big lads wrestling.
Number One Contender’s Scramble Match: Chief Deputy Dunne vs. Eddie Dennis vs. Flash Morgan Webster vs. Jack Sexsmith vs. James Drake vs. Mark Andrews vs. Strangler Davis vs. Zack Gibson
Gibson cut a heat filled promo before the match that saw him go into the crowd and get flipped off by nearly all 2,000 in attendance. He and Drake are the Grizzled Young Vets, while Andrews and Dennis make up FSU, giving two teams in the match. They worked together, but teased some dissension. There was a spot where four superplexes were hit in a row, which was cool. Sexsmith shined with all his wacky antics. The chaos kept building, with Webster hitting several headbutts and a great dive outside. Dennis had the highlight, Border Tossing Dunne over the turnbuckle and onto a crowd of competitors. Andrews offered up the win to his partner Dennis, having had several shots (and a title reign) in the past. Dennis couldn’t do it, getting hit with Destino. Andrews immediately came off the top with an SSP, pinning Flash at 13:14. This was a lot of fun and had some good storytelling. It was the chaotic match you’d expect, with lots of moving parts and enjoyable moments.[***¼]
Webster teased attacking Andrews, but they hugged it out. Eddie Dennis was less positive, turning on his partner and effectively becoming a heel. His demeanor changed as he left, soaking in the heat. Good way to set up a future feud.
PROGRESS World Championship: Pete Dunne [c] w/ Trent Seven and Tyler Bate vs. Travis Banks
I was more hype for this match than anything on the WrestleMania or Wrestle Kingdom cards. Dunne dropped the PROGRESS Title down the steps, only caring about the WWE UK Title. Banks came out firing, clotheslining Dunne before the bell and getting things started on his terms. BSS saved Dunne from an early submission, so Banks took them all out with dives. They all left and returned with sledgehammers, so referee Chris Roberts ejected Bate and Seven. From there, Dunne took over and wore down Banks. He did a masterful job of working the crowd and drawing more and more heat. The match relied on that and Banks’ comeback ability, which he excels at. Dunne hit an apron Pedigree and Banks responded with an apron Kiwi Krusher. Big offensive blows with everything on the line. Then came the overbooking, with Dunne tapping to the Lion’s Clutch but the referee being down. Bate and Seven returned, only to be taken out by #CCK. Banks survived a TON, including Bate and Seven’s finishers, a sledgehammer shot and pretty much anything else you could imagine. Finally, he took the sledgehammer and hit Dunne, followed by a Kiwi Krusher. Dunne kicked out, but Banks went right into the Lion’s Clutch, which made Dunne tap at 24:07. Was it overbooked? Yes. Did it make sense within the story they’ve been telling for months? Absolutely. Great storytelling and it worked as the culmination of a lengthy storyline. There were a few moments that went overboard, though. It was like the best kind of WWE Attitude Era main event. [****]
Post-match, Dunne threw the title at Banks and seemingly accepted that the better man won. #CCK and Travis’ parents celebrated with him to close the show.
Overall: 9/10. PROGRESS delivered in a big way for such an important show. Not a single thing on this show is bad, with the ratings bottoming out at ***. That’s nuts. As usual, there’s also a great mix of things throughout the show that gives almost everyone something to enjoy. There’s one of the best death matches I can recall, a fun triple threat match for the viewers who enjoy hard hitting battles, a wild scramble, a damn good women’s match, one of the best ladder matches all year and a main event that closed out months of storyline in proper fashion. Add in another chapter in the Sabre/Scurll story and the debut of Wolfgang and this was nearly everything I wanted it to be.
NJPW Destruction in Hiroshima
September 16th, 2017 | Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Hiroshima, Japan | Attendance: N/A
The second of three “Destruction” events is the poorly titled “Destruction in Hiroshima.” The Jr. Tag Titles are on the line in an uninteresting match and the heavyweight Tag Titles are a repeat from the last show. The two major singles titles matches (KUSHIDA/Desperado and Tanahashi/Sabre) are both rematches from tournaments (BOTSJ and G1), but sound much more fun.
Hirooki Goto, Jado and YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask IV
The Dads vs. CHAOS. This was basically what you’d expect from an NJPW opener. Not the top effort from everyone, but solid. Jado and CHAOS acted like heels, which they don’t do often. Liger took the heat until he caught Goto with a superplex. Tenzan got the hot tag and hit his stuff, before Tiger Mask eventually came in. Though he hit a Tiger Bomb for a near fall, he was forced to tap out to HASHI’s Butterfly Lock at 7:20. Standard opener, with less energy. Matches like this are why it’s hard for me to give NJPW shows a 9/10 or higher. Even when the last few matches deliver, the stuff early can sometimes feel pointless and redundant, like this one. Other than giving YOSHI a rare win, it was just there to get guys on the card. [**]
Bad Luck Fale and Leo Tonga vs. David Finlay and Juice Robinson
Things like this show why they should probably run two Destruction shows instead of three. This same exact match went down in Fukushima. Juice and Finlay attacked quickly, leading to a brawl outside, which happened in their first match. Juice ended up taking the heat and eventually fought back after some help from Finlay. Finlay nailed a stunner and Juice hit Pulp Friction on Tonga to score the win in 4:32. I didn’t write a lot, because not a lot happened. It served the purpose of getting Juice another win ahead of his match with Kenny Omega on the 24th. [*¾]
Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Roppongi Vice
It’s the last match for Roppongi Vice before Baretta goes on to get lost in the heavyweight shuffle. I’ll miss that theme. Yujiro brought Mao to the ring with him. If he keeps doing that, I’m all in on Yujiro for G1 28 winner. The Bullet Club attacked before the bell, allowing Baretta to take the heat segment. The Yujiro/Baretta rivalry continued, but it was Owens who allowed Baretta to make the eventual hot tag. He did his FOREVER clotheslines but got cut off. The heels had control for a short while, until RPG Vice rallied. They put down Owens with Strong Zero in 6:55. This was decent, but I was hoping for something more from RPG Vice’s last match. It felt like nothing special and was just used to further Baretta/Yujiro. [**½]
Post-match, Yujiro told Baretta to go back to being a junior and challenged him to a singles match.
Kota Ibushi, Michael Elgin and Togi Makabe vs. NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku and Takashi Iizuka
You gotta love the sometimes random appearances of Kota Ibushi. This felt like one, but based off the G1 Climax, his reason for being on this show would be clear later. The real question, was whether or not he could make Suzuki-Gun fun for a night. As usual, they jumped their opponents before the bell and we got their usual antics out there. Ibushi took a short heat, before Makabe came in hot. He and Minoru had some nice hard hitting exchanges and I won’t ever get upset watching Kota and Minoru trade shots. After things broke down, Ibushi became the legal man with Iizuka. Elgin saved him from the IRON CLAW OF DEATH, opening the door for Ibushi to beat Iizuka with the knee strike that took out Tanahashi in the G1 after 8:09. They cut back on the Suzuki-Gun shenanigans a bit, which helped. I thought Ibushi and Makabe (surprisingly) brought some fire to this. [**½]
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Funky Future [c] vs. Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
This Suzuki-Gun pairing has produced some truly bad matches this year. Their match with Jado and Gedo at Sakura Genesis was the third lowest rated NJPW match from me in 2017. Instead of the usual Suzuki-Gun attack, it was only teased. The champs ran wild with corner attacks until they had a miscue and the tide turned. Taguchi got worked over until tagging in Ricochet, who continued to be one of the best hot tag guys in all of wrestling. He went for the SSP, but Taichi got the knees up to stay alive. He nearly won after Ricochet was misted and he used a Gedo clutch. Taguchi took over, but then Suzuki-Gun nonsense reared its ugly head. Taichi used the microphone stand and then poured tequila down Taguchi’s throat. He kicked out of a powerbomb/moonsault combo, which gave Ricochet time to return. He nailed a super rana and took Taichi out with one of the best looking suicide dives you’ll see. Taguchi had Dodon countered into a pin, but he kicked out and applied the ankle lock. Kanemaru submitted after also taking a springboard 450 while in the hold at 15:41. The best part of the show so far, but still nothing special. There were a few too many Suzuki-Gun shenanigans for my taste, but the finishing stretch was fun and it had a hot crowd. Ricochet and Taguchi are very fun and probably my favorite champions since reDRagon. Hopefully, BUSHI and Hiromu face them. [***]
Post-match, Rocky Romero got in the ring and said he’s bringing in a team that is stronger, faster and better. “Roppongi3K” and they’re coming for the Jr. Titles. I’m intrigued.
IWGP Tag Team Championship: War Machine [c] vs. The Guerrillas of Destiny vs. The Killer Elite Squad
It’s crazy to think how little thought goes into this division. This is part two of this series of three matches, all booked for these events. This is the entire division (sans TenKoji), by the way. Hanson had the battle of the big lads with Archer early on. I love me some BIG LADS WRESTLING. Things broke down quickly, with everyone brawling. As I said in their previous match, that’s what these guys do best. Hanson became the face in peril. I know it’s tag formula, and I can’t fault them for using it, but when there are so many tag matches on a show in a row, it can get tiring. Hanson used a handspring back elbow to open the door for the hot tag. Rowe did his thing until KES nailed their Hart Attack variation. GOD got their stuff in and hit Guerrilla Warfare, but weren’t legal so the referee didn’t count. Archer took them out, but Smith fell to Fallout at 11:05. I appreciate this being different from their first match. However, it didn’t do much to change the quality. The brawling was fine, as was the story of GOD nearly winning again, it just wasn’t all that interesting. [**¾]
Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito and NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions BUSHI, EVIL and SANADA vs. Gedo, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and Will Ospreay
This was here to build Ishii/Naito and EVIL/Okada at KOPW. The positive response for Naito was overwhelming. Hiromu and Ospreay opened this with a ridiculously quick exchange. Their recent feud has been wacky in the best possible way. We were treated to Yano antics and SANADA trapping him in the Paradise Lock, which was how SANADA beat him in the G1. That was followed by the usual high quality exchange between Naito and Ishii. We’ve seen it a ton, but I can’t help but look forward to their KOPW match. It all built to the Okada/EVIL battle, previewing their upcoming title bout. Their stuff has been very intense, with EVIL bringing a hard hitting style and Okada giving his all to atone for the G1 loss. It came down to BUSHI and Gedo and it was clear why Gedo was in this match. He ate a slew of moves from LIDJ and took the pin after being hit with MX at 12:17. In an added moment of awesome, EVIL planted Okada with the STO and pinned him at the same time, giving himself another visual win over the champion. It’s CHAOS vs. LIDJ. They physically can’t have bad matches, it seems. This had a lot of action and did wonders to build KOPW. [***½]
After the match, Naito hit a sliding dropkick to Ishii’s knee. He also checked with the crowd if he was safe, a nod to the new LIDJ shirt, which is baseball themed. EVIL hit Okada with Darkness Falls on a pile of chairs.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: KUSHIDA [c] vs. El Desperado w/ TAKA Michinoku
I enjoyed their BOTSJ match (***), which Desperado won. I don’t know Japanese, but the video package seemed to note that Desperado failed in prior title shots and watched as the focus was put on international guys like Ospreay and Ricochet. Commentary noted that KUSHIDA has lost the title in three straight Septembers (to Taguchi, Omega and BUSHI). After a slow exchange to start, Desperado picked things up with a suicide dive that might’ve looked better than the Ricochet one I raved about earlier. That led to a fight through the crowd, with KUSHIDA’s leg being targeted. That became the theme of the match, as Desperado went after that, while KUSHIDA looked to set up the Hoverboard Lock. Desperado managed a few counters into a Stretch Muffler for close calls. When he got in serious trouble, Desperado removed his own mask and made it look like KUSHIDA took it from him. That caused a stoppage and he delivered a low blow for another near fall. He came close a few more times, before having a super Pinche Loco countered into the Hoverboard Lock. When Desperado didn’t tap, KUSHIDA rolled into Back to the Future to retain in 16:56. This was good, with Desperado’s shortcuts making sense as he was trying anything he could to win the title. I enjoyed the leg and arm work, as well as some of the later exchanges. What kept this from going over the top was the crowd, who never seemed to believed Desperado had a change. [***½]
Post-match, Will Ospreay came out to challenge KUSHIDA for October 9th. Hiromu Takahashi tried interrupting but was taken out by Ospreay.
This is the kind of booking I don’t like. Why would Ospreay get a title shot? He’s 0-3 against KUSHIDA and if he finally beats him here, it would feel kind of anti-climactic. Like, he wouldn’t really overcome anything. Plus, he’s been doing a lot of nothing lately besides dressing like a cat. Meanwhile, if he loses, he just remains KUSHIDA’s bitch. Lastly, it’s a match that will be very good (that seems to be their floor), but I’m tired of it. Give it a break for a while.
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi [c] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. w/ TAKA Michinoku
Their G1 match ruled (****¼) and was Sabre’s first ever G1 match. Tanahashi’s new hair should knock at least half a star off any match. A deliberately slow start to this one, as Tanahashi was tentative to fully lock up. He knew Sabre’s strength and that his arm had a giant bullseye on it. Tanahashi retaliated by going after the leg to set up the Texas Cloverleaf. His ability to use his veteran know to combat Sabre, frustrated the challenger. We got more of aggressive Sabre as he stomped on Tanahashi’s arm outside. Tanahashi survived a vicious octopus hold and hit High Fly Flow to the outside. He nailed one inside to a standing Sabre, but Minoru Suzuki ran out as TAKA distracted the referee. There was a ref bump, leading to Michael Elgin making the save and taking Suzuki to the back. During all this, Sabre got a good near fall on a PK. He got his knees up on another High Fly Flow attempt and moved into a submission. Tanahashi got free and nearly lost to the European clutch, which is probably the best pinning combo in wrestling right now. Tanahashi fought free with a bunch of neckbreakers and retained after finally hitting another High Fly Flow at 30:13. A high quality main event, but it fell short of their G1 outing. The lengthy mat stuff won’t be for everyone and the dueling limb work could be seen as too similar to the Jr. Title match, which is understandable. I didn’t see the point of the Minoru run-in. The SG shortcuts made sense in the Jr. Title match, but added nothing to this one. They told a fine story of Tanahashi being outmatched due to Sabre’s technical acumen and his bad arm, but he overcame the odds. [***¾]
Being the fighting champion that he is, Tanahashi called out Kota Ibushi after the match. Based on post-G1 booking, Tanahashi challenged the other man who beat him in the tournament (not counting Naito who has bigger fish to fry) and we’re most likely getting that match at Power Struggle.
Overall: 6/10. If you just look at the last three matches, you’d think this show deserved a better score. Those were the only three matches I’d say you should seek out and even then, there’s a better Tanahashi/Sabre match in the G1 and other CHAOS/LIDJ tags that were better. Everything before those three matches are skippable, though the show did well to set the next batch of programs up for the most part.
