NJPW New Japan Cup Finals
March 21st, 2018 | Aore Nagaoka Arena in Nagaoka, Niigata | Attendance: 3,996
I probably should have done my Semi-Finals review with the Quarterfinals. Ah, well. I’ll give quick thoughts on that before doing the Finals review.
Tanahashi/Juice: I thought they told a great story and Juice gave one of his best performances ever. I do think it suffered from the NJPW thinking of “longer match = better match.” It drags at points, keeping it from being truly great. Still, a very good match and another notch in Juice’s belt as a fast rising star. [***¾]
SANADA/Sabre: Like the other semi-final match, I do feel this went too long, at 26:40. I did enjoy how SANADA made it into a grappling battle, showing that he could hang with the best there. The crowd wasn’t as invested in this as you’d expect, which kind of kept it from being truly special. There were some great exchanges in this one, though too many dead spots held it back. Sabre eventually won via submission. [***½]
Shota Umino vs. Tetsuhiro Yagi
It’s the Young Lions. You know what you’re getting from them at this point. They bring a ton of fire and energy. Lots of hard hitting strikes, and two guys who brought everything they could to this match. Even with their limited move sets, they engaged the crowd. It was an even affair throughout, with an intensity that might not be matched on the rest of the card. Umino made Yagi tap to the Boston crab in 7:40, which makes sense since Umino has been quite good lately. A fun opener. [**¾]
Taichi vs. Tomoyuki Oka
Since becoming a heavyweight, Taichi has been surprisingly better. However, that was in matches against the likes of Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tetsuya Naito. Here, he worked a young lion and toyed with him. It was a good idea since Oka brought a lot of energy in his attempted comebacks. This just wasn’t a very strong performance from Taichi. It wasn’t as bad as his junior heavyweight stuff either, though. He got the win with a superkick in 7:05. Decent. [**]
Bad Luck Fale, Tanga Loa, and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Michael Elgin, Toa Henare, and Togi Makabe
Tokyo Latina was here and she looked incredible. She was the best thing about this. It’s weird watching Michael Elgin and I just can’t get invested in his stuff. Nobody really brought any effort, except Henare. However, I missed watching his battles with Ishii. They need to go against each more often. As stated, there wasn’t a lot of effort in this and Tanga won with Ape Shit in 9:54. It happened. It was inoffensive, but is an easy skip. [*½]
The Killer Elite Squad vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano
Ishii and Yano have been a steady team in NJPW whenever Ishii isn’t on a singles run. Anyway, Archer was on fire with the antics here. He had a blast spitting water on the crowd and messing with them. At one point, he rubbed an elderly woman’s towel on his crotch. Ishii got to bring the babyface fire against his larger opponents, which works. That, combined with the antics of Archer and Yano, made for a fun match. Davey looked much better here than in the singles match with Yano. The closing stretch lacked something, before Yano fell to the Killer Bomb in 12:59. It probably went a bit longer than it had to, which showed in the final few moments, but it was mostly fun. [**¾]
David Finlay and Juice Robinson vs. Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI
I’ve really been enjoying the Finlay and Juice team. This was a fluid match with some quality action. Goto and YOSHI worked well together and cut the ring in half on Finlay. Juice got to come in with the hot tag, which is something he does well. He’s on a great roll and it carried over here. Everyone was good in this, but Juice felt like the star. He scored a huge win by planting Goto with Pulp Friction in 10:23. That puts him in line for a shot at a title he came close to winning last February. This was the best thing on the show so far and featured four guys putting in strong performances. [***¼]
BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, and Tetsuya Naito vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, IWGP Intercontinental Champion Minoru Suzuki, and Takashi Iizuka
This seems to be building towards Suzuki/Naito for the IC Title. It’s not at all where Naito should be right now, but that sounds great. More importantly, it sounds fresh. Where the last match was a lot of action, this was more about mind games and brawling. These are two rule breaking, cunning factions and it shows in their matches. Suzuki-Gun was in control for most of this, showing that they’re the leaders of this domain. There was an interesting note of how Naito would jump on the grenade for his guys and take Minoru’s torture instead of them. Minoru took him into the crowd for a fight, which left SANADA to beat Iizuka with Skull End in 12:45. A good little brawl that helped build the next faction feud. I’m all in for Suzuki/Naito. [**¾]
Post-match, BUSHI and Hiromu attacked the Jr. Tag Team Champions, only for Roppongi 3K to hit the scene and clear out both teams. It seems like we’re getting the three way rematch come Sakura Genesis.
Chase Owens and Kota Ibushi vs. Chuckie T and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada w/ Gedo
Owens and Ibushi have formed quite the team on this tour. They typically have good matches and solid chemistry. As for the CHAOS team, give me this Okada more often. He looked like he was out there having fun now. Anyway, Chase has been doing all he can to Package Piledriver Okada, which played a role here. Every combination in this was fun, from Okada and Ibushi being great to Owens’ desperation against Okada, to Chuckie being a blast, especially against Ibushi. In the end, Chase came close to beating Okada once or twice, but ended up tapping to the cobra clutch in 11:57. Better than expected, thanks to everyone putting in the work. I liked most of the interactions and this was the most likable Okada has been in a long time. [***¼]
New Japan Cup Finals: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. w/ TAKA Michinoku
Sabre beat Tanahashi in his G1 debut (****¼), but Tanahashi got his win back with the Intercontinental Title on the line a few months later (***¾). This was the definition of a chess match in a wrestling ring. They brilliantly played off their previous matches. Sabre knew what to target, going after Tanahashi’s battered arm and transitioning to the leg to neutralize things like the High Fly Flow. Tanahashi had his own plan, taking to Sabre’s legs. Sabre’s been a cocky little shit during this tournament and I loved how he cut off Tanahashi’s attempts to be the brash one, like he did when Tanahashi tried to skin the cat. Tanahashi’s comeback was great, aided by his continuous selling and Sabre’s growing aggression. It was as if Sabre got angrier and angrier when his offense wasn’t enough to keep the ace down. Sabre not having a specific finisher established added a lot, as almost any submission he puts on after a certain point feels like it could be the end. My favorite spot was probably Sabre stepping out of the dragon screw into the European clutch pin. Tanahashi doing the pin back to him was great, too. In the end, Sabre’s technical acumen was too much and he trapped Tanahashi in a position he couldn’t escape, forcing him to submit at 34:02. This never felt long, had a great pace to it, and every little thing they did made sense. There was tons of drama and I love that, despite Suzuki-Gun being cheats, Sabre did this entire tournament with no help. Incredible. [****½]
After the match, Sabre made it clear he was coming for Okada and the IWGP Heavyweight Title. I don’t think Okada’s reign is in danger, however, Sabre makes for the most interesting opponent for Okada since Shibata challenged him after last year’s New Japan Cup. Sabre has been spectacular in 2018 and he’s different enough that it should make the title defense a special one.
Overall: 7.5/10. An enjoyable show from top to bottom, with only the Elgin tag sticking out as something you should skip. There are some decent matches on the undercard, though it continues to be stuff that you could miss and not feel like you’re really losing anything. Still, the Naito/Suzuki interactions and the Ibushi tag were worth it, as was another outing by the Juice/Finlay team. The tournament finals were fantastic and one of the best matches NJPW has put on all year.
NJPW New Japan Cup Quarterfinals
The tournament is down to eight participants. Juice Robinson, Michael Elgin, Bad Luck Fale, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Zack Sabre Jr., Toru Yano, and SANADA. At least one matchup sounds interesting on paper. Let’s get to it.
March 14th, 2018 | Fuji-San Messe in Fuji, Shizuoka
New Japan Cup Quarterfinals: Juice Robinson vs. Michael Elgin
Early on, the fans were kind of subdued. Both guys are babyface and Juice showed that he wasn’t some underdog by trading some power stuff. It’s an interesting progression of how far Juice has come in a few short years. He’s a Gedo success story. Anyway, Elgin was still too strong and it showed. He took control and Juice was awesome at bumping for him. He made sure Elgin looked like a monster. Juice had some hope spots, but not any that really got the crowd going. Elgin fought off Pulp Friction on more than one occasion. He hit the Buckle Bomb and went for the Elgin Bomb, only for Juice to counter into an inside cradle that got him the win in 17:04. I thought this was a good match that didn’t have enough drama to make it stand out. I liked how Juice got to look evenly matched at some points.[***]
New Japan Cup Quarterfinals: Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Sometimes, people can wrestle a bunch and always find ways to make it different (Usos/New Day, Almas/Gargano, Naito/Tanahashi). While I enjoy Bad Luck Fale more than most, he’s kind of limited and Tanahashi can only do so much with him. Gedo has booked this countless times over the past few years. Tanahashi spent the early portions making Fale work and chase him around. Tire out the big man. It’s a good strategy. Tanahashi was the underdog and did all he could to overcome his larger opponent. I did get a kick out of Fale trying to win by countout, which is how Tanahashi beat him in the G1 last year. Tanahashi played that card again, escaping the Bad Luck Fall and sending Fale outside to win by countout after 14:36. Not bad, but it feels like way too much of the same between these two. Fresher booking would help. Speaking of booking, I get the sense this is all leading to Tanahashi challenging Okada with his record number of defenses on the line. Stop me if you’re heard Tana vs. Okada before. A lot. [**¾]
March 15th, 2018 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, JapanNew Japan Cup Quarterfinals: SANADA vs. Toru YanoThey had a mini-feud last year, which included a G1 match. There was fun to be had from the start. They took the fight outside and SANDA tried tying Yano up into the Paradise Lock for a countout win, which was how he beat Yano in the G1. Yano slipped free and nearly won by countout. SANADA’s frantic attempts to get back in was great. Yano missed a chair shot and eventually beat a countout of his own. After some surprisingly good counter wrestling, SANADA used a Yano trick by hitting him with a low blow. Skull End followed and Yano was done at 4:51. See how much of a difference it makes when you book Yano to go five minutes instead of thirteen? This was way more entertaining. Some good fun, the right guy went over, and they kept me engaged. [**½]
New Japan Cup Quarterfinals: Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. w/ TAKA Michinoku
Hands down, the most interesting matchup in this tournament. Their G1 match last year was incredible (****½). It’s interesting to note that Ibushi admitted he’d rather face Naito than Sabre, because Sabre gives him trouble. He did lose to Naito and beat Zack in the G1 last year, though. Early on, Sabre’s methodical pace worked to perfection. He slowed Ibushi and took him to the mat. Sabre used them to combat Ibushi’s kicks. He went after any and all body parts. Usually, that might impact the overall story, but it worked here because Ibushi has so many weapons and he had a grueling match with YOSHI-HAHSI in the opening round. When Ibushi got back into it and they traded stuff, things were great. So many highlight exchanges. I loved that Sabre had the Kamigoye scouted. Ibushi didn’t debut it when they last met, but Sabre did his homework. He kept finding ways to avoid it. There’s a great struggle as Ibushi refused to quit and Sabre grew frustrated as he threw his best submissions at him. They teased the finish from their G1 match twice, but Sabre survived. He managed to trap Ibushi in a brutal octopus hold variation and, while Ibushi still wouldn’t quit, the referee had to call for a stoppage at 21:02. What a match. Neck and neck with Tanahashi/Suzuki for the best NJPW match of the year. Their exchanges were fantastic, while Sabre came out looking like a killer and Ibushi lost nothing as he refused to give up. I love these two. [****½]
The semi-finals sound so much better than this round on paper. You’ve got two first time ever matches. Juice against one of his mentors in Tanahashi, while Sabre takes on SANADA in a match that sounds awesome.
Overall: 7/10. This was a solid round of the tournament. Juice/Elgin was a good way to get things going. Tanahashi/Fale lacked and didn’t click the way their past matches have. Probably because we’ve seen it too often. SANADA/Yano was a nice little surprise that didn’t take too long. Sabre/Ibushi was a must see match between two of the most consistent wrestlers in NJPW. Amazing match.
NJPW New Japan Cup First Round
Instead of spending time worrying about the mostly irrelevant undercards on these shows, I decided to do one big review of only the eight first round tournament matches.
March 8th, 2018 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, JapanNew Japan Cup First Round: Juice Robinson vs. Yujiro Takahashi
This is a rematch from last year’s first round (**¾), which Juice won. According to Kelly, Yujiro has lost in the opening round in five of his nine Cup appearances. Yujiro took Juice to the mat and wore him down in the early stages. He came in with a plan and constantly cut off Juice’s comeback attempts. Like most good heels, Yujiro was more than willing to take a countout win. Juice was valiant and made it back to the ring. The fans rallied behind Juice. Each move got a great response. His gut buster looked great. Yujiro used the Yano special (low blow and cradle) for a near fall that the fans bit on. They also were shocked when Juice kicked out of a rough looking powerbomb/backbreaker type move. Juice came back with a powerbomb for two, before winning with Pulp Friction in 16:08. Better than I thought it would be. Yujiro did good heel work, though his heat segment lacked a bit. Still, Juice is a top notch underdog babyface and he got the crowd totally invested. Best Yujiro match in a while.[***¼]
New Japan Cup First Round: Michael Elgin vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Though this tournament is typically one filled with upsets, many expected Ishii to make it far or even win. With the way they’ve built up Jay White driving a wedge into CHAOS and suggesting guys in there should go after Kazuchika Okada, it would make sense. Especially since Ishii is one of the few to beat Okada in the past two years. Anyway, these guys went with the kind of match I want from them. However, it was nowhere near the level of their excellent G1 25 bout (****½). They were evenly matched in some areas, but Elgin was clearly the stronger. Ishii refused to stay down as Elgin threw everything he had at him. There were several moments where it looked like Ishii was basically going to die. He took some scary bumps, including a Splash Mountain where he landed on his head. Even Elgin was concerned for Ishii’s health. He remained sloppy throughout, before winning with Burning Hammer in a whopping 29:07. Imagine thinking Elgin A) going over Ishii, B) in a thirty minute match, and C) in 2018, was a good idea. I swear, Gedo’s booking love baffles me. The match was good, though scary at many points. Elgin’s sloppiness was tough to get past. If you want to watch these guys kill it, check out 2015. [***½]
March 10th, 2018 | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Aichi
New Japan Cup First Round: Bad Luck Fale vs. Lance Archer
Both guys are capable of good singles matches, with the right opponents. They don’t feel like that kind of opponent for each other. Anyway, these guys went out and had a HOSS FIGHT. They brawled around the ring and into the crowd. I got a kick out of Archer busting out some Undertaker style OLD SCHOOL. His character work throughout this made it more fun than I expected. Fale eventually picked up the win with the Grenade in 11:02. I was impressed with this. It wasn’t some mind blowing match, but it was what it needed to be. Two big guys hammering away each other, with good character stuff from Lance to put it over. [***]
New Japan Cup First Round: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi
This is Taichi’s second heavyweight singles match, and Tanahashi’s first since New Beginning. Tanahashi busting out some black gear is interesting. Maybe it’s like Hogan wearing black in 1995 to channel his darkness. Taichi played this wisely. He avoided contact early and even teased getting himself counted out. It’s an old school stall tactic, but one that worked for heat here. Once we moved past that segment, the match picked up. Taichi began showing off moves we didn’t get to see often when he was a junior heavyweight. It showed that there’s something more to him than we’ve come to expect. They made the fans believe in Taichi’s near falls, especially one that came after a low blow and rollup. Tanahashi hasn’t made it past the first round of this tournament in four years, so a loss is very believable. Tanahashi made the big comeback and won with High Fly Flow in 23:53. The best Taichi singles match I’ve ever seen. Slightly better than the Naito one. They told a very good story, with Tanahashi having to overcome his past demons in this tournament and Taichi throwing every trick at him. [***½]
March 11th, 2018 | Amagaski Memorial Park in Amagaski, HyogoNew Japan Cup First Round: Kota Ibushi vs. YOSHI-HASHITheir G1 Climax match last year was good, but nowhere near great. This was much better. There was a sense of urgency behind YOASHI’s offense and it felt like he desperately wanted to get a big win. Ibushi is always reliable for a great big match, so I wasn’t worried about him. HASHI came across as a guy who was disgruntled. Like, at the world. He’s not as good as the top guys in NJPW and it bothers him. He threw everything he had at Ibushi, including busting out a Canadian Destroyer. Ibushi decided this arena had a balcony worth diving off, so he did a moonsault off one for the biggest high spot of the match. Though HASHI gave his best performance since the Omega match in the G1 26, the fans just never fully bought into him as a threat. The Butterfly Lock got less of a reaction than another guy’s submission would. He got many near falls, but fell to the Kamigoye after 22:33. Very good match and the best that YOSHI’s had in quite some time. Ibushi is on fire right now and seems incapable of having a bad match. Really strong back and forth stuff. [***¾]
New Japan Cup First Round: Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
They are two of my favorite guys to watch. Their G1 match was very good (***¾). Sabre targeted the left arm of Naito, which made sense because it’s been the focus of recent Suzuki-Gun attacks and because it limits Destino. Everything Sabre did looked incredibly fluid. He transitioned into moves with the greatest of ease. He had Naito scouted so well, finding counters for all his signature stuff. Sabre added the legs to his focus, twisting Naito in absurd ways. Naito showed tons of fire and desperation. However, Destino was countered or block at every turn. That included two counters in the final stretch that led to Sabre applying a brutal looking submission to earn the win in 22:43. A fantastic match that played to Sabre’s strengths. It reminded me of his G1 outing against Tanahashi. Meanwhile, this was the best babyface work by Naito in a very long time. He nailed all the expressions, selling, hope spots, and desperation. Sure, he took HASHI and Taichi lightly, but has now lost another big match in 2018. [****¼]
March 12th, 2018 | Takamatsu City Taiikukan in Takamatsu, KagawaNew Japan Cup First Round: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Toru YanoOkay, so this was exactly what I didn’t want it to be. I wanted one of two things. Either a Davey Boy win or for Yano to win in short order. That’s when Yano is at his best. He gets in, does his comedy, and gets out. When they drag his matches out past seven or so minutes, it gets rough. They did all the stuff you expect from a Yano match, except they made it last excruciatingly long. And it was all so Yano could win by countout at 12:52. Look, I enjoy Toru Yano. But this was too much. Arguably the worst match all year from any promotion. [¼*]
New Japan Cup First Round: Chuckie T vs. SANADA
A strange choice for a main event. Chuckie is not established in NJPW and is replacing Beretta, while SANADA is a Tag Team Champion. There was a bit of everything in this match. Chuckie showed a bit of his famous comedy side, they did some brawling through the crowd, and showcased mat work. Chuckie played the role of the aggressor from the start. I didn’t expect it, but was pleased to see it, as it allowed him to seem like a threat against his bigger star opponent. SANADA has been getting lots of pops lately, so him having to come back got a good reaction. Chuckie got very close on a flash pin and with the Awful Waffle. He escaped the Skull End, so when SANADA applied it again, he decided to let it go after a bit and resort to the moonsault to advance in 21:31. This was a good match. Some solid back and forth, with a good enough showing for Chuckie to establish that he can be taken seriously. [***]
So, the first round is up. The quarterfinals are set up as Juice Robinson vs. Michael Elgin (in what world is that better than Juice vs. Ishii?), Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (a favorite of Gedo’s that he uses too often), Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (their G1 match was incredible), and Toru Yano vs. SANADA (meh).
Overall: 7.5/10. A mostly good first round of the New Japan Cup. I question several booking decisions (another Tana/Fale match and Elgin advancing), but all the matches cracked three stars outside of the dreadful Yano/Davey bout. Night three had the best two matches in Ibushi/HASHI and Naito/Sabre. Those are the only matches that felt like they were “must see”, but other than the one stinker, it’s worth checking out.
WWE Fastlane
March 11th, 2018 | Nationwide Arena in Columbus Ohio | Attendance: 15,119
It’s no secret that Smackdown has been the weak point of WWE for a long time. After killing it in the back half of 2016, they died around WrestleMania last year. Randy Orton won the WWE Title and everything went downhill. The WWE Title picture was a drag, the US Title saw a string of disappointment matches and overbooking, while the Women’s Title was littered with dull ladies. At least the Tag Team division was fun. Anyway, it’s Smackdown’s final stop before WrestleMania. Can they end a drag of a year (Mania to Mania) on a high note?
Kickoff: Breezango and Tye Dillinger vs. Chad Gable, Mojo Rawley, and Shelton Benjamin
I love the new Team Angle. This was a thrown together match that wasn’t announced until the Kickoff Show started. Tye, Mojo, and Breezango haven’t had much TV time lately. Luckily, they all brought energy here. When I watch a Kickoff match, all I expect is something fun, which is what we got here. Mojo was great at the character stuff. He played to the crowd and drew a lot of heat. There were some moments that didn’t fully click, but this ultimately worked. Tye got the win with the Tye Breaker on Mojo at 7:27. To me, this kind of felt like an NJPW undercard. It was a meaningless, but fun multi-man match. [**¾]
Rusev w/ Aiden English vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
On this Rusev Day, the crowd was MOLTEN for both men. Aiden English basically rapped Rusev to the ring, which is worth about three stars on its own. I’ve harped on about the lack of effort Nakamura has put in since coming to the WWE (other than the Zayn match). He’s had some good ones against Cena, Balor, and Orton, but that’s about it. I guess with Mania around the corner, he’s bringing the effort. He and Rusev killed it here. It wasn’t just Nakamura working from behind, which isn’t his strong suit. It was evenly matched, with both guys having counters for almost everything the other threw at them. When Rusev stopped the Kinshasa with a Machka Kick, I nearly jumped out of my seat. Nakamura countering the Accolade and hitting a Kinshasa to the back of the head was excellent. He added another to win in 14:29. Easily the best Nakamura match in almost two years. Tons of great counters, Rusev being awesome, and the best Nakamura we’ve seen in a long time. [***¾]
WWE United States Championship: Bobby Roode [c] vs. Randy Orton
I fully came into this match expecting to be put to sleep. That didn’t happen, but boy did they come close. Look, these are two wrestlers who are technically fine. They do their moves and do them well. But that’s not enough to put on a compelling contest. The pace was incredibly slow. I don’t mind that kind of pace at all, but these guys do everything in such a hollow manner, there was nothing behind it to get me interested in any way. Things got good near the end, but it was too little, too late. I’ll compare to NJPW again. I hate when their matches have a dreadfully slow start and only seem to matter late. That was this, only with a less interesting closing stretch. Orton won his first US Title with the RKO after 19:30 that felt like it went 35:30. Like I said, it was technically fine, but with no real heart.[**]
Post-match, Jinder Mahal came out for a brawl. He has been the saving grace of this feud. But man, this Triple Threat sounds nowhere near as interesting as Raw’s IC Title one for Mania.
Becky Lynch and Naomi vs. Carmella and Natalya
Becky and Carmella looked incredible here. With that out of the way, we can focus on the match. It was your standard tag team match. The heels cut off a babyface (Naomi) from making the tag. Carmella and Natalya work as a team, because Nattie handles the technical side, while Carmella does the top notch character work. Becky’s hot tag run was good stuff. However, a Nattie distraction set her up to eat a superkick, giving Carmella a rare win in 8:53 It was a fine match, though something that didn’t really feel like it belonged on PPV. I could’ve seen this on any episode of Smackdown for the most part. [**¼]
WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The Usos [c] vs. The New Day w/ Big E
These teams engaged in an incredible series of matches last year. Their high profile matches ranged from ***½ to ****¾. With Woods in over Big E, it reminded me of their great Battleground match. So, I came in saying it might be weird for them to have a normal tag after the war they had back in October. But, never count these guys out. They found a new way to put a spin on these matches. New Day did the Usos’ offense and the Usos busted out classic New Day stuff. What a brilliant way to keep things fresh. Just as the match was nearing a great level, the Bludgeon Brothers came out and attacked both teams for a double DQ after 8:57. That was really fun, though the finish kept it from being great. I get that it sets up another potential Triple Threat for Mania (one that should be all kinds of awesome) and it made sense, it just cut the match short. They hyped this up so well with the Smackdown promo and video package, only to have it set up something different. [***½]
WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship: Charlotte [c] vs. Ruby Riott
Ruby Riott is the first interesting person involved in the Smackdown Women’s Title scene since WrestleMania 33. On my first watch, this match lacked a lot. A second viewing helped as I paid more attention. Ruby delivered here. She sold well, had some good looking offense, and did all the little things right. Her submission on Charlotte right in front of Becky and Naomi (who ran out after Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan appeared) was great, as was her use of the signature Flair chops. I appreciated the Riott Squad outsmarting Becky and Naomi by tricking them into getting ejected, only to get ejected themselves after. With it back to being one on one, Charlotte pulled off a SUPERMAN style power up and won with the Figure Eight in 13:44. The outcome was never in doubt, which hurt the drama. I also wasn’t a fan of the finishing stretch. However, Ruby was great and with a better opponent and a better laid out match, I think she can put on a banger. [**¾]
After the match, Asuka came out and officially declared she was coming for Charlotte and Smackdown Women’s Title at WrestleMania. It’s a big time match and one that really feels much more important than whatever the Raw Women’s Title match ends up being. I think it can be a great match, though I’m interested in how it gets laid out. Charlotte is at her best when she plays a dominant role, not someone fighting from behind, which is what she’ll probably be in this match. Either way, I’m cool with this.
WWE Championship Six Pack Challenge: AJ Styles [c] vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
Shane McMahon came to ringside for this. I honestly don’t know how anyone can cheer for him anymore. He’s been a horribly written character for a long time. Anyway, like most matches on the card, this had a predictable outcome, but they worked at such a torrid pace, it didn’t matter. You were engaged. Cena opened with four AAs on everyone but AJ, giving us a great start. From there, the match never slowed down. There were great elements of storytelling for the most part. Even the guys who weren’t directly involved in that (Baron and Dolph) still had good action moments. Owens and Zayn had a great moment where Sami went to lay down for him, only to roll him up. That set up one of their classic hockey style fights. I love it. Shane got superkicked by Owens after arguing with Sami. So, when Owens had the match won, Shane pulled the referee out. Then, Sami had it won, and Shane pulled him out. See? He’s awful. The closing stretch was wild and, after a barrage of stuff, Styles returned from taking an AA through a table to win with the Phenomenal Forearm on Ziggler at 21:52. Great main event. They managed to feature a ton of action without going too long and telling several stories. They established the Nakamura/Styles match, while also adding layers to other potential Mania matches. [****¼]
Overall: 7/10. Historically, Fastlane has been a drag of a PPV. 2015 had a great Reigns/Bryan match, but it mostly feels like filler. While most of this show had expected results, it was mostly fun. The Roode/Orton match was boring, while the women’s tag was okay, but everything else seemed to click. The Women’s Title was solid, the Tag Title was good, the Kickoff show was enjoyable, Rusev/Nakamura ruled, and the main event was great. Thumbs up.
Talk about a match that doesn't matter. I love Becky and Carmella. If I were booking, that would be the main title program on Smackdown. You've got the best babyface against the best heel. Anyway, I think Carmella and Natalya could use the win much more. But, Carmella has the Money in the Bank briefcase, which basically means she must lose a ton. That'll happen here.
Winners: Becky Lynch and Naomi
RUSEV DAY! Honestly, I wish Rusev won the Royal Rumble and we got Rusev/AJ Styles at WrestleMania. I guarantee the build would've been better. Also, Rusev has been putting in effort over the past year, while Nakamura has mostly slept walked since the Sami Zayn match when he debuted. But yea, we know the outcome. Nakamura wins.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
It was the best tag team rivalry, arguably in history. Since it happened so recently, it'll be kind of odd to watch again. Not that it won't be good, but they're only a few months removed from a violent Hell in a Cell match. Now, we get a regular tag match, so it'll feel strange. Regardless, it should be great and my pick for the match of the night. It's a tough call, since they like to switch titles often. However, I think the Usos should hold the titles going into Mania. So, I'm picking a New Day title switch.
Winners: The New Day
Are you guys ready for a high quality **1/2 match? That's about what I'm expecting here. Randy Orton has been dreadful outside of a handful of matches (thanks AJ and Luke Harper) since 2017. You know a feud is dull when the saving grace of it has been Jinder Mahal. Really think about that. Jinder Mahal. Roode wins and we get some kind of multi-man match at Mania.
Winner: Bobby Roode
I badly want Carmella as Smackdown Women's Champion. However, Ruby Riott is a great alternate. I just need one of them to save me from the dire Smackdown Women's Title picture because Naomi, Natalya, and Charlotte are the most boring trio of champions I can ever recall in a row. Ruby would be a great choice, but there's no way she wins here. With Alexa seemingly set up for something new on Raw, I suspect Charlotte retains and gets challenged by Asuka for Mania. Hopefully, Asuka just runs her over.
Winner: Lady Big Dog
Road Dogg is a terrible booker. That's been the case since the start of 2017 and this is another example. When you can't book a competent story, you just throw a bunch of guys into a clusterfuck. That's what we've got here. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have the most compelling story in this, which I'd like to see either end with a singles match at Mania or a tag against the Usos for the titles. Dolph is a waste of space, while Corbin lost all momentum. Cena's obviously not winning his record 17th at Fastlane. AJ Styles retains and the fans get their AJ/Nakamura matchup at Mania.
Winner: AJ Styles
2018 Prediction Record: 12-4
2017 Prediction Record: 81-37
2016 Prediction Record: 72-41
2015 Prediction Record: 60-35
Fastlane Prediction History: 16-6
PROGRESS Chapter 64: Thunderbastards Are Go!
February 25th, 2018 | Electric Ballroom in Camden, Greater London | Attendance: 700
One thing I’ve noticed about recent PROGRESS shows is that they’ve been getting longer and longer. This one clocks in at just around three hours, which is the best choice. Jim Smallman opened it with his usual brand of comedy with the crowd.
The Anti-Fun Police vs. David Starr and Jack Sexsmith
Chief Deputy Dunne has a partner in Los Federales Santos Jr. Fantastic. I’ve never seen him before, but apparently, he’s made a name for himself as a comedy guy around the UK indies. Santos requested that “Senor Smallman” do his introduction in Spanish, but threw a fit when Starr suggested that would be fun. That set the tone for a match ripe with funny moments. To be fair, there was also some romance. You’ll get that if you check out the match. A short heat got worked on Starr, leading to Sexsmith getting a hot tag. The Anti-Fun Police had a cool spot where Dunne sat on Santos’ shoulders and hit the equivalent of a Doomsday Chokeslam. In the end, Sexsmith got the win with a BDSM/Product Placement after 15:03. It went a bit long, but it was a lot of fun. Very good comedy stuff and a blast of a way to open a show. Give me more Santos, please. [***]
Post-match, Sexsmith cut a short promo about his upcoming title shot at Chapter 69. He also issued a challenge to the Tag Team Champions, Jimmy Havoc and Mark Haskins.
Charlie Morgan w/ Jinny vs. Millie McKenzie
At Chapter 63, Morgan aligned herself with Jinny and the House of Couture. Meanwhile, Millie missed out on a title shot at the last chapter because of injury. Millie looked like she would get early control, only to run into a superkick. That put Charlie in charge for a bit. When Millie hit her first suplex, the crowd ate it up. “SUPLEX MILLIE.” Charlie took a rough bump on an apron German. It looked brutal. There was a great shot of Jinny proudly looking on as Charlie had Millie trapped in a submission. It was subtle, but well done. Millie got hot late, but a cheap shot from Jinny stopped her in her tracks. Jinny hit her with her boot, but missed the first time and it was hard to tell that’s what happened. Morgan used an implant DDT to score the win in 9:20. I found to be a solid match, with a weak ending. The House of Couture needs wins, so the result made sense. [**½]
Natural Progression Series V First Round: Mark Davis vs. Maverick Mayhew
To qualify, both guys beat their respective tag partners. Davis had a star making match against WALTER at Chapter 63. Early “please don’t die” chants towards the smaller Mayhew. Davis looked happy to be the aggressor again after taking a beating from WALTER. Davis took to Twitter to say he would “WALTER” Mayhew and he did just that. When Mayhew managed to get in some hope spots, the fans couldn’t help but really get behind him. Davis was too much, though. He won with an INSANE pull-up piledriver at 7:09. That finisher is one of the wildest things I’ve ever seen. One hell of a short match. [***½]
Mayhew got a standing ovation before leaving.
PROGRESS Tag Team Championship: Jimmy Havoc and Mark Haskins [c] w/ Vicky Haskins vs. Grizzled Young Vets
Havoc and Haskins won the titles from GYV at Chapter in a decent match. The crowd was against everyone, chanting things like “none of these guys” and “you’re all wankers.” This went on fine for a few minutes until Havoc did a diving double stomp onto his opponents. He messed up his knee and everything stopped. Havoc had to be taken to the back. With the champs gone, Gibson went into promo mode and verbally cut them down. Mark and Vicky came to the stage, where Gibson really tore into him. He called Vicky Mark’s beard, said Mark already walked away from one title reign, and said Marks’s son would grow up to be a bitch. Damn. Haskins hit the ring and threw it back to his babyface days. He showed a lot of fire and had the crowd behind him. The ref was bad at being consistent about the legal man stuff. Havoc returned to the ring, only to get tagged and immediately beaten with Ticket to Mayhem. The whole thing went 18:04. What a weird match. The heel/heel stuff was lackluster, while the Haskins solo run was strong, but the finish fell way flat. Not a fan of the title change, either. [**¾]
Jonah Rock vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
It’s Jonah Rock’s PROGRESS debut. This match happened at PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles last year (***½). Jonah is a BIG BOY. Sabre was a great choice for his first opponent. They know each other and Sabre’s small enough for Jonah to look incredible when throwing him around. Of course, this is Sabre, so he gets his fair share of counters and wacky submission attempts in. Similar to Sabre’s work against Chris Hero, this wasn’t his usual case of being in complete control. The stuff he did felt like it came out of desperation. He knew he was overmatched and in trouble. There was a great moment down the stretch, where Jonah missed a moonsault and ate a PK, only to kick out at one. Shortly after that, Sabre caught him in a heel hook for the submission victory at 16:19. Some may question that finish for a big guy like Jonah, but Sabre’s at a point where tapping to him is in way a bad look. Jonah got to look great in his debut. The fans ate up his offense. They told a tried and true story of power vs. technical skill and it worked great. [***¾]
Number One Contender’s Thunderbastard Match: Chris Brookes w/ Kid Lykos vs. Eddie Dennis vs. Flash Morgan Webster vs. Mark Andrews vs. Pete Dunne vs. TK Cooper vs. Trent Seven vs. Tyler Bate
What a loaded field. For those unaware, a Thunderbastard match follows Royal Rumble style entrances, but eliminations are via pinfall, submission, and TKO. Brooke and Bate were the first two entrants. Their exchange was fine, but nothing more. The intensity picked up when TK Cooper arrived at #3. His feud with Brookes, over Travis Banks’ affections, led to a big brawl. Trent Seven was fourth. He and Bate worked together for some fun spots. The fun stopped when Eddie Dennis came in at #5. He did his thing for a bit and badly wanted Mark Andrews next. Instead, #6 was Flash Morgan Webster. Obviously, he came in hot. #7 was Pete Dunne, who handed out explexes like it was his job. Eventually, everyone got back into the ring to right as the final entrant, Andrews, hit the ring. Everyone cleared out to set up Dennis/Andrews. However, TK snuck in and rolled up Dennis to eliminate him before they could interact. GREAT tease of that feud. From there, we got a barrage of action, with almost everyone getting time to showcase their stuff. The next elimination came thanks to the brilliance of TK. He hit Bate and Seven with low blows, so their buddy Dunne kicked him low. The referee caught him and DQed the WWE UK Champion. To add to it, TK then rolled up Seven and got rid of him. His run ended when Brookes bested him with a Praying Mantis Driver, leaving it down to Brookes, Bate, Andrews, and Flash. Brookes got hit with a series of moves, ending with an SSP, to get eliminated. We got a sense of Bate’s power, with an airplane spin and big swing at the same time. A Tyler Driver ’97 eliminated Andrews. Flash and Bate, the final two, went into a series of near falls. The final exchange was great and hard hitting. Vicky Haskins came out to distract the referee when Bate got close to a win. Flash got in her face and sent her to the back. He pulled Bate into a pin that earned him the win in 34:28. A great blend of in-ring stuff and storytelling. Flash and TK, who needed it most, came out looking great. Major props to PROGRESS for telling a compelling Dennis/Andrews story without them wrestling yet. Awesome. [***¾]
PROGRESS World Championship: Travis Banks [c] vs. Matt Riddle
Their first two matches in PROGRESS were stellar (****½ and ****¼). Riddle won the first and Banks took the second. Much more of a mixed reaction than usual for the champ. Like their previous matches, this was filled with intensity. Hard strikes and physical offense. When Banks hit an exploder into a bunch of chairs, a hush came over the crowd and Riddle had to get checked on by ringside staff. I liked how they showed their knowledge of one another. Riddle cut off the coast to coast dropkick with a knee, before hitting his own BROAST TO BROAST. The rest of the match played off their history and saw them trade bombs late. As the match progressed, the fans got more and more behind Riddle. They badly wanted a new champion. Riddle came close to unseating Travis with a top rope Tombstone, but he didn’t capitalize in time. He pounced and applied the Bromission, only for Banks to turn it into a fluke pin and retain after 16:06. Probably the worst of their series, but still a banger. The crowd was fascinating and added a lot to this. A great way to close the trilogy, if this was the end. [****]
Riddle was in disbelief. The image of him standing, while the winner struggled on the mat, was perfect. They shook hands and Riddle left. Flash Morgan Webster came out to the stage and motioned for the title. Who was he with? Vicky Haskins. Having her around has been cool, but some explanation to the stuff she does would be nice.
Overall: 8/10. As usual, this was another PROGRESS show filed with quality wrestling. The storytelling elements are coming together better than most of 2018. Dennis/Andrews has been fantastically built and things with people like Banks and Webster are getting more interesting. There are no bad matches at all, with a few hitting the great level.
