NJPW King of Pro Wrestling Review

King of Pro Wrestling
October 12th, 2015 | Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 8,302

Jushin Thunder Liger, KUSHIDA, Mascara Dorada, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tiger Mask def. David Finlay, Jay White, Juice Robinson, Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu in 8:47
In an interesting start to the show, the young lions attacked their opponents right at the bell. They did a pretty good job playing the heels throughout this. Juice Robinson got more time to shine in this match than usual, which might be because he officially signed a new deal. He seemed more comfortable but still hasn't wowed just yet. The only thing I didn't really like was Taguchi as he's never entertaining. Mascara Dorada was able to get the pin for his team in what I would consider a fun opener. That was all I wanted from this. ***

Tomoaki Honma def. YOSHI-HASHI in 8:55
As usual, Tomoaki Honma was his insanely over self. YOSHI-HASHI is someone that I don't know much about, but I did rather enjoy his singles match against Michael Elgin during the G1 Finals. I also enjoyed this match. It featured the typical Honma fun, which was enjoyable and made better by the aforementioned hot crowd. Honma picked up the victory following a really fun finishing sequence. I suspect he moves into some sort of big match at Wrestle Kingdom since he's so incredibly over. ***1/4

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata def. Captain New Japan, Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata and Kota Ibushi in 12:12
Another standard New Japan multi-man tag team match. Granted, I'm not saying that like it's a bad thing. These are usually solid and this was no different. What impressed me here was seeing these guys go at it like there were big time feuds in the middle of all of this. Shibata and Nagata were absolutely beating on each other throughout. I bought into a fair amount of the false finishes throughout this, even one from Captain New Japan. Think about that. Of course, once he got left in the ring alone though, I knew the finish was coming. The winning team hit him with two double team moves, possibly setting up for the Tag League. I just wish Kota Ibushi was doing more. He's had a fantastic year and deserves something big heading into WK10. ***

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: reDRagon (c) def. Roppongi Vice in 15:21
As I've mentioned before, the Jr. Heavyweight divisions are a bit of a problem point for me. The tag division has been a revolving door of four teams, but the right guys hold the belts right now. reDRagon are a breath of fresh air in this division, breaking up the monotony that the other three teams seem to bring. I enjoyed this match but it wasn't on the level of the last two reDRagon matches against the other two teams in the division. I think some new teams need to be brought in because a lot of this stuff seems to be things we've seen over and over again. There was a cool double leg lock spot between Kyle O'Reilly and Rocky Romero where Bobby Fish and Baretta stomped on their opponents. That was pretty cool. The finish was incredibly awkward though as it seemed like the pin was broken up but the three was counted. **3/4

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Kenny Omega (c) def. Matt Sydal in 15:26
I don't get the love for Kenny Omega and I haven't seen first seeing him in 2009. It's hard to get into his matches as he overacts everything in such a campy way that it's off-putting. It's like, overdoing things in the worst possible way. This division is in DIRE need of some variety. The only Jr. Title matches I've really liked this year were Omega/KUSHIDA at Dominion and KUSHIDA/Ricochet. Still, the division is really only Omega, KUSHIDA, Sydal and sometimes Ricochet. They need some new talent, especially a technician similar to how Dean Malenko helped the WCW cruiserweights. Anyway, the match itself wasn't very good. I've seen some people give it more than four stars and I'm confused. Omega controlling the match was dull and the crowd did not care, which is probably due to the lackluster division. The finish was pretty cool though, picking up steam and keeping Sydal strong. Still, not a match that I would go out of my way to see. **1/2

Kazushi Sakuraba, Shinsuke Nakamura and Toru Yano def. Bad Luck Fale, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson in 7:03
This was mainly here to build towards the eventual Shinsuke Nakamura/Karl Anderson Intercontinental Title match. It was kept short and entertained throughout. Anderson was playing the dick heel very well, shouting at commentary that Nakamura sucks. These guys did their work, Toru Yano was his comedic self and rolled up Fale to win. Simple, but effective. I really do hope that the Anderson/Nakamura program is a bridge to Nakamura/Styles at Wrestle Kingdom. They are the only guys to have never faced of the "big four" in NJPW. ***

NEVER Openweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii def. Togi Makabe in 17:54
Going into this show, I was not looking forward to this match. Tomohiro Ishii and Togi Makabe have wrestled more than enough this year and none of them really stood out to me. However, they were on their game in this one. I feel like this was their best match together this year. As one would expect in a match between these two, they beat the fuck out of each other. Ishii even busted out Makabe's King Kong knee drop at one point. For the most part, they didn't do anything really new, but something about this just worked. Ishii was able to take back the title and Tomoaki Honma came out after the bout. Hopefully this sets up one more Ishii/Honma match, maybe in the Tokyo Dome, as they work magic together. ****

Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Tetsuya Naito in 19:54
I have to commend the excellent video package that aired before the match, going all the way back to the finals of the G1 Climax in 2013. Two men in suits and masks came out, with one being Tetsuya Naito and the other not revealing himself, but staying at ringside. They worked a slow build match, with Naito being fantastic as the dick heel once again. He just nails this in a way that not many people are nailing their characters. This was moving into great status when we got a ref bump. The second man revealed himself to be Takaaki Watanabe. They beat on Tanahashi until Shibata and Goto run out, giving us a brawl. During this scuffle, Tanahashi won with the High Fly Flow. Really good match hampered by the interference in the end. ***3/4

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) def. AJ Styles in 30:15
There have been plenty of matches between these two men, but the two that I have seen were in the G1 Climax 24 and at Dominion. I thought the former was good and the latter was great, in my top 10 matches this year. I'd put this match in the middle of those. Similar to the last match, there was a fair amount of Bullet Club involvement throughout. I get that they're heels, I really do, but it ends up hurting the match when it is overdone. That's what made their Dominion match so good. The interference was kept to a relative minimum. As usual with Okada matches, this was good but didn't cross into great territory until the finishing sequence. Again, it wasn't on the level of the finish at Dominion, but was pretty great and saw Okada win with three Rainmakers. ****

Overall: 8/10. A really good effort from New Japan again. I've noted it before and a lot of people share this feeling, but the in ring work nearly always delivers with this company, while the booking is sometimes strange. I agreed with most of the decisions here and overall, the show delivers. The only things that I thought were skippable were the Jr. matches. Nothing was MOTY level, but there were two really damn good matches, surrounded by mostly fun stuff.

NJPW King of Pro Wrestling Predictions

As I did with my Destruction in Kove predictions, I won't be predicting the entire card, but just the bigger matches.

The first featured match pits two guys who don't particularly have the best win/loss record. I haven't seen much of YOSHI-HASHI's work, but I've seen a lot of Tomoaki Honma. He went winless in the 2014 G1 Climax, but his performances and efforts made him a crowd favorite. He nearly went winless this year again, but managed to defeat rival Tomohiro Ishii in the tournament. YOSHI-HASHI is stablemates in Chaos with Ishii. It'll be tough to pick a winner here, since it's hard to pick either as a winner ever, but I'm going with the undeniably popular Honma.

Winner: Tomoaki Honma

The IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship has been hotshotted back and forth very often since I started watching NJPW. reDRagon to the Young Bucks to Roppongi Vice back to the Young Bucks and now back to reDRagon. Personally, I want the titles to stay on reDRagon. They are a breath of fresh air and break up the monotony of the division, bringing something different to the table. They are also, in my humble opinion, the best tag team in pro wrestling today. Now, I do like Roppongi Vice and, with the booking of the division, I can totally see them leaving with the belts, but I'm picking the titles to stay home. I have to be optimistic.

Winners: reDRagon 

Speaking of hot shotting titles, we come to the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship. KUSHIDA won the Best of the Super Juniors Tournament and dethroned Kenny Omega to become champion. That should have been the start of a great run with the strap for KUSHIDA. Instead, he lost the title at Destruction back to Omega, setting the division back to where it started and giving us next to no forward movement. Matt Sydal is the challenger here, having just made his New Japan debut in some impressive matches. Sydal pinned Omega in Kobe, so I see Omega defeating him with Bullet Club shenanigans here.

Winner: Kenny Omega

While this title hasn't gone back and forth the way that the Jr. Titles have, it has pretty much involved the same dudes all year. Tomohiro Ishii lost the title to Togi Makabe, who then vacated it due to injury. Ishii won it there, only to lost it back to Makabe and lose the rematch. These two have faced off very often and it's never exactly what I would call a must see match. I'm not really looking forward to this but I kind of see Ishii winning the title here. Or at least, I hope he does. Maybe it can lead to one final Honma/Ishii match for the title.

Winner: Tomohiro Ishii

Hiroshi Tanahashi won the G1 Climax this year, getting himself an IWGP Heavyweight Title at Wrestle Kingdom in the Tokyo Dome. He has to defend that shot against the men who beat him during the tournament. So far, he avenged his loss to Bad Luck Fale at Destruction and now has to face Tetsuya Naito. I've grown to really love Naito's heel persona and would honestly love to see him win here. A heel Naito beating Kazuchika Okada at WK10 by countering the Rainmaker into Desinto and then reigning with the belt while being a total dick would be excellent. That won't happen though. Tanahashi wins here so he can officially put over Okada in the Dome.

Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi

Another match that has happened multiple times is our main event. AJ Styles gets a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada. These are two of the three men who have traded the title over the past four or five years. Okada won the strap from AJ back in July in one of my favorite matches of the year. Their interactions in multiple tag team matches this year have also managed to deliver, so this should be another excellent match. The main issue is that it's another where the outcome seems fairly obvious. Still, I'm excited for it.

Winner: Kazuchika Okada

Random Match Reviews: Low Ki vs. Samoa Joe

Show: Glory by Honor
Date: 10/5/02
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

For my first random review of a Ring of Honor match, I had this match recommended to me. It's from the early days of Ring of Honor, coming in their first year. It also happens to be the debut of Samoa Joe, who would go on to become an icon of the company. He was brought in as a hired gun for the Prophecy to take out Low Ki. For a debut match, this was arguably the best way to go for Joe. The match was something that, at least I, wasn't really accustomed to seeing from something in 2002. They went at it in what seemed like an MMA style war, featuring tons of strikes. I feel like it had to have been different from anything else on the card. They legit just beat the fuck out of each other for the entire match, with the shots getting more and more brutal by the minute. Admittedly, this isn't for everyone. There were two parts in particular that made me cringe a bit. First, Joe lands rough on a suplex and second, he just takes several kicks right to the face, not blocking a single one. As for why it was such a good debut, it showed that Samoa Joe was not only a serious threat, taking someone like Low Ki to the limit and we saw that he was something completely different.

Match Time - 16:26 ****

Raw History: Episodes 19-20

Raw History
Episode 19
May 31st, 1993 – Manhattan Center in Manhattan, New York

Jim Duggan opens the show with a patriotic speech outside of the arena because it’s Memorial Day. He looks ridiculous standing outside in his onesie.

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Marty Jannetty (c) w/ Sensational Sherri vs. Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Luna Vachon
Bigelow and Luna is probably about as perfect a pairing as you could get in wrestling, while Marty Jannetty didn’t fit alongside Sherri. Oh well, at least it continued the Sherri/Luna rivalry and Sherri attacks her before the match even begins. While they’re being broken up, Bigelow attacks Jannetty to kick things off officially. He is in firm control until Marty hits an odd looking forearm. He gets two with a top rope one but runs into the classic bearhug. Bigelow places Marty on the tope but he comes off with a weird head scissors attempt that came off wrong. He does another but his third is countered into an electric chair drop of sorts. Bigelow continues to impress and was always one of the more agile big men in history. Marty begins to make the face rally but Bigelow stops him with a backbreaker. Sherri cheats for him by pulling his leg and when he goes to hit her, is knocked outside. Baseball slide and dive outside follow from Marty. The champion gets inside, but a Sherri distraction leads to a countout.

Winner via countout: Marty Jannetty in 9:06
There was potential here but Marty was sloppy throughout. Bigelow did his best, but it was tough when the face is doing things that come off bad. Still better than most Raw matches though.**¾

Bigelow attacks Marty after the match and we go to commercial. Returning, Sherri screams into the microphone that she wants Luna Vachon one on one. Luna answers, they brawl and Bigelow comes out to help Luna. Of all people, Tatanka makes the save. Well Sherri did manage him at WrestleMania so I guess it makes sense.

The Steiner Brothers vs. The Executioner and Rich Myers
This Executioner is not to be confused with the one from the 80’s or Terry Gordy during the Undertaker/Mankind feud in 1996. Commentary continues to hype the eight man tag set for the King of the Ring. I still don’t understand why it’s not the Steiners getting a Tag Team Title shot. Bobby Heenan calls Rich Myers a ham and egger, but Vince McMahon reminds him that a “ham and egger” beat Razor Ramon last week. This is all Steiners, which is how it should be.

Winners: The Steiner Brothers in 4:14
Completely one sided, but I will admit, it sure is fun to see the Steiners kill these guys. SQUASH

Mr. Hughes vs. Bert Centeno
Okay, Bert Centeno is a totally new jobber. A “Mr. Hughes, tie my shoes” chant begins, which just makes me love a New York crowd a little bit more. Actually, a “Hogan sucks” chants breaks out, but Vince tries to cover it as “Heenan sucks”. Hughes dominates, but I never saw the appeal in him. Commentary is plugging the King of the Ring Hotline like it’s the WWE Network.

Winner: Mr. Hughes in 3:01
Mr. Hughes sucks. SQUASH

Mean Gene brings us the King of the Ring Report. None of the news brought to us is new.

“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan vs. Mark Thomas
Oh gee, look. It’s gonna be another squash. Before the match, we get our classic ICOPRO and WWF figures commercials. This is literally all Hacksaw as he does a powerslam and suplex before the big three point stance clothesline ends this.

Winner: Jim Duggan in 2:23
Blah. Another day, another lopsided match. I guess he needed a win heading into the King of the Ring. SQUASH

After the bell, Jim Duggan brings the American flag in and we do the Pledge of Allegiance. Even Bobby Heenan participates because I guess patriotism is not something to mess with.

The 1-2-3 Kid cuts an interview about the offer Razor Ramon made to him. The offer has been raised to $5000. 1-2-3 Kid doesn’t accept because he’s scared of the consequences. He struggled through this.

Razor Ramon vs. Tony Roy
Macho Man and the fans are doing the “1-2-3” chant to get under Razor’s skin. Tony Roy gets an INCREDIBLY close near fall with a roll up. I’m glad they went with the false finish route. Razor takes him down with a clothesline but suffers another near fall. A superplex and Razor’s Edge finishes this.

Winner: Razor Ramon in 3:28
Razor Ramon dominates, but I liked the two false finishes. He needed this following the 1-2-3 Kid stuff. SQUASH

Yokozuna appears and he supposedly just made it to the building. He’s scheduled for the King’s Court next week but Mr. Fuji is out waving the Japanese flag which infuriates Vince McMahon. Mr. Fuji just basically says that at King of the Ring, Hulkamania will die.

Overall: 5.5/10; Decent. I liked the Intercontinental Title match though it could have been better. Everything else was just squash matches but they all made sense this week. Mr. Hughes, Razor and Duggan are all going into the King of the Ring and the Steiners have to be the next Tag Team Champions. Right?

Episode 20
June 7th, 1993 – Manhattan Center in Manhattan, New York

Tonight’s broadcast opens with a random announcer introducing the new WWF Intercontinental Champion, Shawn Michaels! He must have won the title back on Superstars or a live event or something. He is flanked by a large man that we could come to know as Diesel.

Non-Title Match
WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels w/ Diesel vs. Ross Greenberg
We get no introduction of the guy he’s facing. Vince McMahon informs us that Shawn Michaels won the belt last night in Albany back from Marty Jannetty. He then tells us this guy’s name, as he gets a one count when he does a small package. Throughout the match, commentary is trying to figure out Diesel’s name. Shawn busts out the top rope elbow and this might be the earliest I’ve ever seen it. He wins with a piledriver.

Winner: WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels in 3:51
An expected one sided bout. Wait, this was a title match? The announcer makes it seem as such. SQUASH

King of the Ring Report time as we now add Shawn Michaels vs. Crush to the card. What happened to Mr. Perfect vs. Shawn Michaels? I feel like we were clearly headed towards that. Back to ringside and Shawn Michaels complains to the commentary booth about having to defend the belt against a 300 pound Hawaiian this Sunday.

Adam Bomb w/ Johnny Polo vs. El Matador
So, Adam Bomb’s intro now has the addition of trash looking footage of an explosion. They focus on Adam’s contacts, which look incredibly cool for the time period. I like this booking as I expect it to get Adam a win, but it won’t be a squash because people know who El Matador is. In classic Heenan fashion, he calls Matador Desi Arnez. Matador is attempting to wrestle his much bigger opponent. He gets a near fall with a rollup but runs into an uppercut. Both guys continue to trade stuff and Matador gathers some near falls. He tries another rollup but Adam holds on and he hits the mat hard. Adam goes to the apron and slingshots in with a flying clothesline to win.

Winner: Adam Bomb in 5:32
I was pleasantly surprised by this. It wasn’t ground breaking or anything, but it did a better job of establishing Adam Bomb than squashing a jobber would. Plus, the slingshot finish was innovative for the time considering his size. **½

Tatanka vs. Peter Weeks
Good lord, another Tatanka match? I swear, in 20 episodes, I’ve watched like 15 Tatanka matches. They are giving out fake Tomahawks in the crowd and the Tomahawk chop begins. I laugh at the Mets fans in this New York crowd doing the signature cheer of the Atlanta Braves. Weeks is a hefty fella, but Tatanka has no problem with him. Weeks get beaten down for the whole match, does one move, which somehow causes Tatanka to “Hulk Up”. Really? Tatanka wins.

Winner: Tatanka in 3:14
If you’ve seen one Tatanka squash, you know how this went. Blah. SQUASH

Near the side of the entrance, a small setup has been constructed for the King’s Court. Jerry Lawler shows up in pink, which is odd but he should have worn this during his rivalry with Bret Hart down the line. He badmouths New York City for a bit before introducing Yokozuna. I think your first guest should maybe be someone who speaks English. Just a thought. I guess Mr. Fuji does the talking but his English isn’t great either. Lawler’s material was even outdated back in 1993. Fuji brags that Yokozuna is up to 550 lbs. because he eats 15 meals a day. I don’t think this is a sound strategy.

Rick Steiner and Billy Gunn w/ Scott Steiner and Bart Gunn vs. IRS and Fatu w/ Ted Dibiase, Samu and Afa
As stated, these eight men will meet in a big tag match at King of the Ring. The Headshrinkers are eating WWF Ice Cream Bars, causing Heenan to claim they get through the ice cream to make it to the stick. This is billed as a mixed tag match which made me giggle. Fatu and Billy start, reminding me that in about six years both guys would reach their peaks. Rick gets the tag and shows off his impressive strength, while IRS wants to avoid him. IRS does get the tag and seems winded even though he’s done next to nothing. IRS is knocked outside and he takes out Fatu, causing dissension between the two heel teams as we go to commercial. During the break the Headshrinkers are paid off but they just eat the money. Rick gets worked over for a bit now, which is surprising as they are the more over team. Billy gets the hot tag and comes in hot, resulting in him being called a one man gang. See, that’s why he became Akeem. IRS gets in a cheap shot and pins Billy.

Winners: IRS and Fatu in 7:59
Decent main event as it put the focus on the Tag Team Titles. Money Inc. needs to drop the titles soon but this was fine. **¼

Next week’s show is hyped, which features Doink vs. Marty Jannetty, and Mr. Perfect and Jerry Lawler in action. Razor Ramon appears for an interview and he announces that the 1-2-3 Kid has agreed to face him for $7500. According to Vince, this hasn’t been confirmed and he also states that only 7% of the fans believe Razor will beat Bret Hart in the King of the Ring Tournament. The Hotline = precursor to WWE App.

Overall: 5.5/10; Decent. Not a bad episode by any means. While it only did an okay job of building King of the Ring, it wasn’t riddled with squash matches. Shawn Michaels got to be featured, and the Adam Bomb/El Matador match was better than expected. Our main event tag match was decent and the only real blemish was Tatanka. 

NXT TakeOver: Respect Review

The show begins with a new video package that shows Bayley’s title win, along with historic title wins from Daniel Bryan, Mick Foley, Eddie Guerrero and others. It then shows feuds where respect was earned.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semi-FInals: Finn Balor and Samoa Joe vs. Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson

No demon paint for Finn Balor tonight. Dash kicks Finn off the apron right at the bell. Joe fires up on him with right hands in the opposite corner. Joe charges in to hit him, but Dawson moves Dash out of the way and Joe hits the corner. Dash and Dawson now double team Joe with some shots. Dawson goes old school heel by raking Joe’s eyes across the top rope. Dash gets tagged and delivers some uppercuts. He misses a charge in the corner and Joe answers with an enziguri. Dawson is tagged and goes after Finn, but Finn still gets tagged. He clotheslines Dawson and knocks Dash off the apron. Chops to Dawson and a dropkick for both men. Finn follows with his front flip dive to the outside, taking them both out. He scores with a dropkick to the corner and goes up for the Coup de Grace. Wilder interrupts, allowing Dawson to chop block Balor. The Mechanics now target the knee. They use frequent tags and continue to have that very old school feel. Dawson works a half crab but Balor reaches the ropes. Balor finally gets a moment to make the tag, but Dash goes around and pulls Joe off the apron. They then hit an assisted elbow drop/backbreaker combo for a very close near fall. Finn is able to avoid a charge in the corner and go for the hot tag. Wilder stops him but Balor is able to slip free and tag Joe. Joe comes in hot, hitting a running kick and senton before powerslamming Dash for two. Joe misses in the corner, but Dash runs right into the STJoe. He sets him up for the Muscle Buster and Finn wants the tag. Joe doesn’t want to tag but he does and hits the Buster. Finn nails the Coup de Grace, but his knee is still busted up. Joe seems unhappy but Finn gets the 1-2-3.

Winners: Finn Balor and Samoa Joe in 9:03
Solid opening tag match here. They worked tag formula, the leg work came off well and the tension between the winners was a well told story. ***

Sasha Banks is shown preparing for tonight.

Highlights are now shown of NXT’s recent shows in Nashville and Louisville, set to “Throne” by Bring Me The Horizon.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semi-Finals: Baron Corbin and Rhyno vs. Chad Gable and Jason Jordan
Jason Jordan starts with Baron Corbin. The crowd is pretty behind Jordan as Graves mentions that Jordan has the strength to match him. Jordan slams Corbin and tries to get him on the mat but Corbin won’t stay. Jordan lands on his feet on a hip toss attempt and tries to shoulder block him. Corbin barely moves and lays him out with one of his own. Rhyno gets tagged and Jordan ducks a punch, before slamming him to the mat and getting two on an interesting pin. Gable gets tagged and the fans pop as he gets two on a sunset flip. “Gable” chants. Gable leaps over Rhyno and moves to a hammerlock, then to a headlock, then to a wristlock and back to a headlock. Rhyno gets tire of that and just runs him over for two. The fans chant “Gable” to the tune of Kurt Angle’s theme. Tag to Jordan, who drops a forearm on Rhyno’s arm while Gable holds it. They tag back out and focus on Rhyno’s left arm. Rhyno places Gable on the second rope, but he just holds the left arm, leans back and applies an armbar while hanging upside down. Rhyno then knocks him off the apron and tags Corbin, who pounds away on Gable. Rhyno comes in and also works over Gable. Tag back to Corbin, who delivers a right hand to Gable’s ribs. Baron works a modified chinlock of sorts. A “Save the Gable” chant breaks out. He gets close to a tag but Corbin knocks Jordan off the apron and nails a big boot on Gable for two. Rhyno enters and slams Gable. He goes up top and the high risk doesn’t pay off as he misses the splash. Both guys tag out and Jordan comes in hot. Dropkicks for both and Jordan is manhandling two buy guys. He suplexes Corbin and the STRAPS ARE DOWN. He drives his shoulder into Corbin and they go for the finisher but Corbin clotheslines Jordan and hits a massive Bossman slam on Gable. Jordan breaks up the pin but Rhyno then belly to belly suplexes him. Gable is left alone with Corbin and is hurt in the corner. He charges and Corbin looks for a slam, but Gable slips free and gets behind Corbin. He rolls through into a bridging German on Corbin, but Rhyno breaks the pin. Rhyno Gores Jordan. Gable charges at Baron and gets caught in a massive End of Days.

Winners: Baron Corbin and Rhyno in 10:24
Personally, I think the wrong team won. The match itself was a blast though as Corbin and Rhyno were great monsters and Gable and Jordan are just absolutely fun in the ring. ***1/2

Kevin Nash is in the crowd.

An Asuka video package airs.

Asuka vs. Dana Brooke w/ Emma

Instant “Asuka’s gonna kill you” chants. Asuka wants a handshake but Emma slaps it away. They lock up and trade wristlocks. Asuka rolls out and applies a hammerlock. Dana tries to roll out, but Asuka rolls with her twice. Dana elbows out and pats her head like she’s Devin Taylor before slapping her. Asuka laughs at this and then lights into her with strikes and kicks. She even lays Dana out with her rear end before mocking Dana’s weird hand motions. They trade blows before Asuka catches her off the ropes into an armbar like move but Dana scoots to the ropes. Asuka kicks her until she’s outside, continuing while there. Asuka gets on the apron, allowing Emma to get her foot stuck in the apron. It was really telegraphed. Dana gets two after a jawbreaker. Dana hits her handstand kick in the corner, before moving to a body scissors. Asuka slips free and gets an ankle lock in. Dana gets to her feet, so Asuka lets go into a German. She charges in but eats an eblow. Dana charges and Asuka catches her in a badass armbar. Dana gets close to the ropes, so Asuka rolls into a different variation of an armbar and then into a crossface type move. Asuka forgoes that and kicks Dana before laying out Emma with a backfist. She hits a running kick to a seated Dana. Asuka picks her up and locks in the Asuka Lock (cross face chicken wing/body scissors combo). Dana taps.

Winner: Asuka in 5:31

The debut showcase that Asuka needed. Dana played the bitch role so well and Asuka gave her the comeuppance she deserved. Well done. **

Dana didn’t learn and gets in Asuka’s face after the match, only to eat another roundhouse. Emma gets up but turns away from a confrontation with Asuka.

Finn Balor’s leg injury is recapped and we see him getting worked on backstage, while a concerned Samoa Joe looks on.

The Nia Jax vignette is shown. She debuts next week.

Apollo Crews vs. Tyler Breeze

Breeze goes for a quick headlock and they do the standard leap frog spot until Crews dropkicks Breeze out of the ring. Crews runs outside and shoulder blocks Breeze. Inside, Breeze levels him and tries a suplex but Crews reverses into a long stalling suplex. Crews tries a leap frog in the corner but Breeze is ready and goes for a school boy. Crews blocks but Breeze does one that sends Crews outside. They fight out there and Breeze shoves Crews into the LE apron screen very hard. Tyler works him over inside and hits a modified backstabber for a near fall. Apollo goes for the gorilla press but Tyler gets free and applies a Sharpshooter. Apollo fights out and nails a big clothesline but Breeze stays aggressive with kidney shots. He goes for ten punches in the corner, but he’s a heel so it fails and Crews goes for a powerbomb counter. Breeze counters that into a hurricanrana, followed by right hands. He charges but Crews delivers a LOUD kick to the back of Tyler’s head. Crews flips over Breeze into the ring but eats a supermodel kick for a near fall. Breeze uses a springboard dropkick and goes to the top. He leaps but is caught in a powerslam for two. Crews then nails the gorilla press and goes for the moonsault, but Breeze holds his foot. Crews fights off and does the moonsault but Breeze gets his knees up and pulls him into a small package for two. He hits some forearms in the corner, but Crews avoids the third with a massive kick. He hoists Tyler up for an atomic drop but turns it into a powerbomb for three.

Winner: Apollo Crews in 9:45

Really solid match here. A lot of people expected something closer to a squash but Tyler looked great. The man can have a good match with just about anyone. I like that Tyler scouted the finisher and Crews had to use something new. ***1/4

Hideo Itami and Funaki are in the crowd.

More recaps of Finn Balor and his bad leg.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: Baron Corbin and Rhyno vs. Finn Balor and Samoa Joe

Eden was brought in to be the ring announcer for the final. Finn Balor is selling the leg, but chooses to start the match. Rhyno starts with him and they get into a shoving match. Corbin gets the tag and goes for a test of strength but Corbin kicks the leg. Finn then hits a dropkick and in comes Joe, who just lights up Corbin. Snapmare, chop, kick and knee drop from Joe. Joe bounces off the ropes and is caught with a slam for two. Corbin now lights him up with right hands. Rhyno gets tagged, sends Joe into the corner and hits a shoulder thrust. Joe fights out of a chinlock but Rhyno is ready with a right hand. Corbin gets tagged and gets some shots in on Joe. Corbin pounds away in the corner adn kicks Joe for two. Joe finally gets something with a corner enziguri. Balor gets the hot tag and leaps off Corbin to dropkick Rhyno. He then goes in with chops on Corbin but a leap frog causes him to have leg issues again. He then still kicks Baron, who was on the top rope. He goes to the apron and Rhyno chop blocks the bad knee. Corbin goes after the leg, pummeling it. Finn tries to fight out but runs into a Bossman slam for two. Finn busts out the slingblade and has a shot at the tag. He makes it and Joe comes in hot against Rhyno, hitting an inverted atomic drop, kick and senton. Both guys get hit with STJoes, but Rhyno nails the Gore. He covers Joe but Finn makes the save. Finn then hits Corbin with a float over DDT and then kicks him from the apron. Rhyno levels him to knock him down and calls for the Gore. Joe kicks him to block it ad hits the Muscle Buster. Finn tags and hits the Coup de Grace to win.

Winners: Finn Balor and Samoa Joe in 11:08

Not as good as the earlier tags. Finn Balor didn’t sell the leg enough. I appreciated him holding it throughout, but still hitting most of his leg based offense wasn’t good. It felt like it was missing something that the earlier matches had. **3/4

The Rhodes Family enters the ring to present Finn Balor and Samoa Joe with the trophy. Cody Rhodes cuts a promo about respecting and remembering Dusty. He says that tonight, we are all Rhodes.

Stephanie McMahon, Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Lita are all in the front row.

NXT Women’s Championship Iron Man Match: Bayley (c) vs. Sasha Banks

Sasha Bank’s attire tonight is inspired by her days as Mercedes KV. Bayley’s is inspired by Iron Man. “Main event”, “you deserve it”, “this is awesome” and “women’s wrestling” chants. They stare each other down for about a minute and you can see them smiling. When they finally lock up, Sasha works a headlock and shoulder blocks Bayley down. She then goes for multiple quick pins, trying to get an early decision. Bayley comes back with the same thing, shoulder block and multiple pin attempts. They both go into more pin attempts. It would be cool if one of those actually worked. Sasha uses a dropkick to send Bayley into the corner. Bayley comes back with some Japanese arm drags. Sasha lands on her head on the second one, but Bayley gets two. Sasha comes back with a headscissors but ends up on the apron. She grabs Bayley, climbs to the top and comes off with an arm drag. She pulls Bayley into the second buckle but Bayley blocks the Bank Statement. Bayley goes for the Bayley to Belly but that is blocked as well. They shake hands, but Sasha, ever the heel, slams Bayley by her hair. Bayley sprinboards off the second rope with an arm drag and then hits two back elbows and a dropkick that sends Sasha reeling. Bayley follows with her corner baseball slide, twice in different corners. Bayley trips up Sasha and hits a bulldog for two. Sasha rolls her up with her feet on the ropes but the referee catches her. Both girls nearly run into the referee. Sasha blocks his view, pokes Bayley in the eye and rolls her up to take a 1-0 lead with 21:28 left. Corey Graves does a goo job in selling how tough it is to now beat Sasha twice. Bayley rams Sasha’s head into the corner multiple times, but she then crashes into the bottom buckle. Sasha goes for her double knees in the corner, but Bayley knew it was coming and blocked it, slamming Sasha into the buckle. She goes to pick Sasha up, but Sasha delivers a big forearm. Bayley pulls her down from the top and into the Bayley to Belly to tie the score with about 19 minutes left. Bayley goes for the corner baseball slide again, but Sasha is ready and catches her feet. She then swings Bayley into the steel steps. Sasha covers for two. Sasha sends Bayley outside and sends her into the steps again, multiple times right in front of her family and Izzy. Sasha even talks smack to them at ringside. Bayley still kicks out. Sasha dumps Bayley outside again and Bayley seemed to tweak her knee. Sasha takes her up the stage and throws her into the LE board, causing it to mess up. She then takes Izzy’s headband and wears it around the ring. Sasha goes up 2-1 with a countout at 15:48. Bayley beats a second countout and kicks out of a pin attempt. Sasha pulls Bayley into a backbreaker but Bayley again kicks out. Bayley locks in a Lion Tamer, stomping on Bayley’s hand with it. Bayley gets the ropes, but Sasha stomps on her head. Sasha goes for the submission again but Bayley counters into a rollup to tie it up with 12:33 left. Bayley is still out of it, but avoids Sasha’s double knees. Bayley goes into her comeback, hitting some axe handles. She then seems to botch a slingblade like move for two. Bayley hits the back elbows in the corner and hits the one off of the second rope for two. Bayley suplexes Sasha into the corner to set her up in the tree of woe. She does a springboard elbow but seems to land on Sasha with her ass more than her elbow. They fight up top. Sasha slips out and gets Bayley in the tree of woe, where she hits the double knees. She covers but only gets two. She sets Bayley up in the tree of woe again but Bayley sits up and Sasha runs into the ring post. Sasha falls outside and Bayley dropkicks her. She now slams Sasha’s hand into the steps, calling back to Brooklyn. She continues to go after the arm as we reach seven minutes remaining, she slams Sasha’s arm into the second rope. Bayley now moves the steel steps and the girls exchange shots until Bayley slams her hand onto it. Bayley runs up the steps and launches herself off with a clothesline. She goes to pick Sasha up, but is kicked off into the steps. Sasha tries to get another countout win but as Bayley gets up, Sasha goes for a suicide dive. Bayley catches her and nails the Bayley to Belly on the floor. She rolls Sasha in and covers but only gets two somehow. Bayley goes to pick Sasha up, but Sasha is limp. Bayley sits her on the top but Sasha kicks her away. Bayley comes back but gets shoved off. Bayley leaps up and hits the secon rope Bayley to Belly but Sasha’s foot gets on the bottom rope! Less than three minutes left. Bayley puts Sasha on the second rope, looking for the reverse rana from Brooklyn. Sasha lans on her feet and catches Bayley with a Bayley to Belly for a very close near fall. Bayley’s kick out is pulled right into a Bank Statement! Sasha applied it with about two minutes left and at 1:14, Bayley gets close to the ropes. Bayley nearly rolls out, but Sasha puts it back on, though she doesn’t have the best grip. Bayley goes after Sasha’s hand, spiking her fingers into the mat, to break it. Sasha picks her up and goes for the Bank Statement again but Bayley counters into her own submission move with 15 seconds left! She pulls back on Sasha’s already injured fingers and stomps on Sasha’s hand. Sasha gives up with about 2 seconds remaining.

Winner: Bayley 3-2 in 30:00

It didn’t quite top Brooklyn, but this was awesome. The early pin attempts were wise, Sasha heeling it up with Izzy was splendid, Bayley’ desperation was expertly played, the huge spots were well done and it was probably the most brutal women’s match in WWE history. The finishing sequence was spectacular. ****1/2

The NXT roster, including William Regal, Triple H, Sara Amato and Stephanie crowd the entrance to congratulate the girls. Sasha is handed flowers from Regal and breaks down completely. Triple H brings flowers in and hugs Bayley in the ring.

8/10. Another really good TakeOver event. Sasha and Bayley delivered in the main event as, while it wasn't better than their Brooklyn match, it was still a great Ironman match. Those are tough to pull off, but they did it right. The first two tag matches were goo and I really liked Crews/Breeze. Asuka got herself a nice debut match as well, showcasing her stuff. A strong show.

TakeOver: Respect Predictions

I would have loved to have seen Asuka vs. Emma here, but I feel like that will be a more competitive match. I'm not saying that Asuka will squash Dana Brooke, but this should work as a bit of a showcase for Asuka. From the rumblings that we've recently heard, they want to do Asuka/Bayley down the line, which could certainly be interesting. I see Asuka winning here and moving onto better programs. I hope she also gets a match with Eva Marie at some point so she can just annihilate her.

Winner: Asuka

Poor Tyler Breeze. He is the biggest victim of NXT bringing in the top indy talent in the world. A little over a year ago, he looked like a future NXT Champion. Since then he has fallen further down the card in NXT and has just one win on a TakeOver special. That doesn't look like it will change here. Apollo Crews has the look and ability of someone who may just be the next big thing. Part of me can see Tyler winning through nefarious terms to give Crews a loss to a legit opponent while keeping him strong, but the other, bigger feeling thinks that Crews is getting the W.

Winner: Apollo Crews

The booking of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic has been odd. Why is this heel vs. heel? Baron Corbin and Rhyno have worked surprisingly well as a tag team and I wouldn't mind if they stayed as a team while Corbin continued to grow as a performer. That being said, this needs to be Chad Gable and Jason Jordan's night. They are consistently entertaining and a tag team that should head the division for a long time coming. Do the right thing and go with Gable and Jordan. 

Winners: Chad Gable and Jason Jordan

I'm pleasantly surprised to see the Mechanics getting shine as they are a good team. I'd have preferred Corbin and Rhyno losing to Finn and Joe, while Gable and Jordan went over Enzo and Cass or something though. This should be a solid match as the face team never fails to deliver and the Mechanics will be looking to prove themselves. Finn and Joe should win here as I can't see them losing to the Mechanics. The Mechanics will save face since they lost to two top guys and they've beaten the Tag Team Champions, so they should get a future shot.

Winners: Finn Balor and Samoa Joe

Finn Balor and Samoa Joe vs. Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. That is the finals that I wanted the second I found out the teams in the tournament. With the news that Cody Rhodes and Goldust will be presenting the winners with the trophy, I could see Finn and Joe winning to have the faces accept in a nice moment. However, I can't go against Gable and Jordan, especially given the tension that has been teased by Finn and Joe lately. I feel like they will have some sort of miscommunication that will lead to a win for Gable and Jordan. It'll be a huge rub for them and should lead to Balor/Joe at TakeOver: London.

Winners: Chad Gable and Jason Jordan

My biggest issue with NXT callups is that a lot of them happen while the person in NXT is still wrapping up a program. That made Bayley's win rather obvious at TakeOver: Brooklyn. Granted, the match was incredible but it's a similar situation here. With Sasha Banks on the main roster, I cannot see her win here. The same went for Balor/Owens recently. Anyway, do I think this match can best the Brooklyn one? No. But I don't think that's the point. We are witnessing history here. Not only are two women being given 30 minutes to tell a story, but they are main eventing a major event. They absolutely deserve it too. The Ironman stipulation is certainly a tricky one to get right as most of these matches are hit or miss. I have confidence that these girls will hit and it should be another great performance from both. Bayley retains to cement her as THE woman left in NXT.

Winner: Bayley

Note about Raw Reviews

With a new work schedule, I am unable to fully watch Raw. I may check out snippets the following morning but that's it. Due to that, I will be taking a break from writing Raw reviews. If I'm able to catch a full episode, I will do one, but that's it. I've also come to not really enjoy Raw for the most part the past few months and feel like taking a break from it will only make me enjoy things more. There will still be Fave Fives, Random Match Reviews, Raw History reviews, NJPW reviews, etc.

Top Five 9/28/15-10/4/15

1) Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada: I haven't been following Pro Wrestling NOAH as much as I'd like but I do have a buddy that has kept me posted on results and reviews of their shows. The big angle in the company right now has been the invasion and dominance of Minoru Suzuki's stable, Suzuki-Gun. They hold every championship in the company and with it, all of the power. Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada's GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title win was more than just a normal title victory. It represents a shift in the balance of power in NOAH as it's the first time Suzuki-Gun has dropped a belt since the invasion began.

            2) Matt Hardy: Coming in at number two this week is one of the more baffling booking choices of the year.To close out Bound for Glory 2015 in North Carolina, Matt Hardy captured the TNA World Title by pinning Drew Galloway in a Triple Threat match. I think the decision to put the title on Matt was pretty terrible, especially with it coming at the expense of Ethan Carter III's reign. EC3 has consistently been, far and away, the best thing about TNA this year, so him losing the title, even if he didn't get pinned, is a bad move. Especially to Matt Hardy. Still, winning a World Title is enough to land someone high on this list, regardless of how I feel about the booking decision.

3) Shinsuke Nakamura:  Probably the best show on television this week was ROH TV. To close out a fun episode, Shinsuke Nakamura took on Adam Cole in the main event. While I don't believe the match was as great as I expected it to be, it was still the match of the week for me. Nakamura, who recently won back the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, bested Cole. With ROH and NJPW working together and what happened at Field of Honor between Jay Lethal and Nakamura, part of me wonders if there will be a title match down the line. Maybe a ROH Title match or an Intercontinental Title match if Lethal really wants to be greedy. Either way, Nakamura once again performed well. It's very possible that Nakamura will be on this list again very soon with an Intercontinental defense against Karl Anderson coming up on October 12th. I can't see one half of the Tag Team Champions winning the belt and expect Nakamura to take it to the Tokyo Dome in January.

4) John Cena: To start the week, it looked like John Cena might not be able to make the top five this time. He issued his open challenge, which was accepted by Xavier Woods. Cena won via DQ but then lost a six man tag against New Day, where he teamed with the Dudley Boyz. He managed to turn things around at the Madison Square Garden WWE Network special. In the main event, Cena put the United States Championship on the line against WWE Champion Seth Rollins in a Steel Cage. They would have another solid match, but it wasn't as good as their SummerSlam or Night of Champions matches. Cena was on the verge of a loss until Kane showed up. Seth got stuck and didn't want to leave to face Kane, so he jumped back into the ring. That allowed Cena to score with an Attitude Adjustment and retain his belt. If you're keeping score, since their feud restarted in the summer, Cena has gone 4-1 against the top champion in the company.

5) Kevin Owens: On Smackdown, Kevin Owens took a loss, purposely getting himself counted out to retain the Intercontinental Championship. He would rectify that at the Madison Square Garden live special. In a first time ever contest, Owens took on Chris Jericho, the man who holds the record for most Intercontinental Title reigns. The match itself could have been more, as they were only given eight or minutes, but Owens was able to retain the belt with a small package. What stuck out to me on both shows was Owens' great ability to do heel things. On Smackdown, he realized he could take the countout and keep the belt and his face when he notices it is great. In MSG, it was a well timed rake of the eyes that led to the win.

Live in MSG Review

Last night, the WWE hosted a Network Special from the historic Madison Square Garden. I miss the old school MSG set up. Anyway, things started with a tag team match putting Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton against Rusev and Sheamus. Orton was insanely over. They worked your typical house show tag team match, though the fact that the crowd was pretty hot helped things along. A superkick into an RKO put down Sheamus. After the match, Rusev calls Sheamus a stupid non-American and demands that he pack his suitcase and leave. I've really grown to love Rusev. Sheamus laid him out with a Brogue Kick to end the segment though. **1/4

Up next was another in a long line of matches between Neville and Stardust. We've seen it a million times but honestly, these two work so well together that I don't get that tired of it. They both seemed to have fun with everything that they did and I think that added to my enjoyment of the match. It also may hep that I really like both guys. As stated though, it was kind of the same as their other matches with an added treat of Stardust stealing Neville's cape at one point. Neville was able to put him down with the Red Arrow. Solid work but we've been here before. **1/2

Our next match was a six woman tag because ITS THE DIVAS REVOLUTION MAGGLE! Paige is still teaming with Team PCB for some stupid reason as they took on the Bella Twins. This whole thing is stupid. They work their typical match but it gets even dumber when Charlotte gets surprised that Paige acts like a bitch. Did you completely forget what happened on Raw? Becky and Charlotte leave Paige alone for her actions and she eats a Rack Attack. After the match, she cuts a promo about how she would never do that to her friends. The match wasn't good, the angle is shit and creative's lack of consistency and care for the women continues to shine. *1/4

The Intercontinental Championship was up for grabs in the next first time ever match. Chris Jericho came out first and cut a long promo about it being his anniversary in wrestling and pointed out Lance Storm and Cyrus in the front row. They showed off some good chemistry and had a nice back and forth match. It wasn't anything special and felt like they had a really good match in them if they ever meet in the future. After some cool counters, Owens used a thumb to the eye and a small package to retain. Solid work and I loved that Owens shouted "HAPPY ANNIVERSARY" after he left the ring. I would like to see an actual PPV or at least a 15 minute match between them down the line. ***

Before the WWE Tag Team Championship match, the New Day cut a pretty great promo about how the Dudleys are stuck in the past. It kind of would be fitting to discuss the WWE in general. The Dudleys did not get the pop that I was expecting. They worked a similar match to Night of Champions and the Dudleys looked to be on the verge of a win. Then they pulled the EXACT SAME FINISH from Night of Champions. Xavier Woods caused the DQ and they nearly put the Dudleys through the table. However, the Dudleys turned the tide and put Woods through one. It wasn't outright bad but it was the same damn thing we've seen already. **

When Brock Lesnar enters an arena, things just feel very different than at any other time. I can't buy Big Show as a threat after Brock murdered Show at Royal Rumble last year. Here, Show got off to a hot start, throwing Brock outside and then hitting three chokeslams. Brock got up from each, ducked a WMD and then went on a suplex barrage. He won with an F5 before going back after the match and delivering more punishment. This was a fine battle of monsters. It was pretty much exactly what it needed to be. Now just make sure Brock goes over Undertaker at Hell in a Cell and things will have been done as right as possible. **1/2

The main event was a Steel Cage match for the United States Championship between John Cena and Seth Rollins. They faced at SummerSlam and Night of Champions, as well as two episodes of Raw since August. Their chemistry is really good but none of those matches have been great in my eyes. That was the case here. This was better than the Orton/Rollins cage match at Extreme Rules at least. Seth had a chance to win but Kane appeared and instead of climbing down with the CRAZY amount of time that Seth had to do so, he stayed up there like an idiot. As Kane finally got near, he tried a frog splash into the ring but missed and ate an AA to lose. Kane attacked him after the match. ***1/4

In the end, this was nowhere near the level of the Beast in the East Special. For one thing, this show had nothing that reached the levels of Jericho/Neville and Balor/Owens from that show, but another issue was that this didn't feel different. I get that it was supposed to be a house show, but if you're going to air it on the Network, at least make it feel like one. Outside of the crowd looking dark, this looked like most WWE TV. Instead of being a Network Special, this was just another WWE event. 5/10.