NJPW World Tag League Days Four and Five Review

NJPW World Tag League 2015
Nights Four and Five | Ishikawa, Japan and Hiroshima, Japan

Block A
The Addiction [2] def. Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga [0] in 11:40
I ended up liking this more than I thought I would. The Addiction seem to be getting more comfortable with each of their appearances, which is good. Tama Tonga once again showed me that he can do pretty well for himself and I’d still like to see him graduate from his current role in the near future. Similar to my note about the Kingdom a few shows ago, it’s interesting to see the Addiction work as faces, but they did well with it. Fale would accidentally hit Tonga, leading to Celebrity Rehab and two points for the Addiction in a solid bout. ***

Block B
Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson [2] def. The Kingdom [2] w/ Maria Kanellis [0] in 9:22
For those that haven’t seen much NJPW this year, these two teams had a rivalry where they traded the IWGP Tag Team Titles. It was also notable that Karl Anderson is pretty obsessed with Maria Kanellis, though I can’t blame the guy. I wouldn’t consider any of those matches to be very good and the same goes for this one. I did like how they worked the match like two teams that didn’t like each other, with some outside brawling and they even through the guardrails into play. They brought back Maria distracting Anderson but it wasn’t enough as Taven ate the Magic Killer. A fine match here that I liked more than their Title matches earlier in the year. ***

Block A
Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI [4] def. Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata [2] in 12:04
On paper, this reminded me that Kazuchika Okada and Yuji Nagata had an awesome match in the G1 Climax. This wasn’t anything like that however. There was too much Manabu Nakanishi in this, meaning that the fun Okada/Nagata exchanges were kept to a minimum. YOSHI-HASHI also isn’t really good enough to pull something great out when he was in there, meaning this match left a lot to be desired. Okada would hit Nakanishi with the Rainmaker to score the win and end this to my enjoyment. **

Now, the entire fifth night is available on NJPW World, but again, I was too pressed for time to see the entire thing, so I just chose to watch the Tag League matches.

Block B
EVIL and Tetsuya Naito [6] def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima [2] in 11:08
I’m not sure what to call Tenzan and Kojima. Some call them Tencozy and some use Tenkoji. BUSHI no longer comes out dressed exactly like Naito. He still wears the blazer and stuff, but he now has a sweet new skull mask. There is a bit of history here as EVIL once teamed with Tenzan as a replacement for an injured Kojima. This was a solidly worked match. Kojima and Tenzan did some double teams and, as always, showed great chemistry. Naito is just so incredible to watch in this character. I can’t praise him enough. Tencozy or Tenkoji hit a damn 3D at one point. The finish came when Kojima went for the lariat but Naito grabbed the referee. BUSHI ran in and spit the mist at Kojima, which Naito followed with a low blow and Destino. The biggest issue was that with the camera set up, we could clearly see Tenzan watching and not doing anything about it so the fall could take place. Still, this wasn’t bad. **¾

Block A
Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma [2] def. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin [4] in 14:59
After the first few shows, I was starting to question my choice of picking Makabe and Honma to win this thing. Honma doesn’t exactly have the best track record in tournaments. They righted the ship here. Michael Elgin continues to be a breath of fresh air in Japan. When I see him in ROH, it’s like he’s a completely different wrestler. Both teams are faces, but they still worked the hot tag to Togi. That was fine since Honma is a great babyface in peril. After a relatively slow start, this really picked up and concluded when Elgin fell to the King Kong Knee Drop. Side note, I’d like to see Elgin vs. Makabe down the line. This was one of the better matches of the tournament. ***½

Block A
The Addiction [4] def. Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI [4] in 12:06
Okada and YOSHI-HASHI are working their fourth match of the tournament while the teams in the next match are about to be on their second. Outside of their excellent match on day one, this was their best match and the best one from the Addition so far. I found it really cool to see Okada work with a guy I’ve liked for about a decade, Christopher Danielson. It’s weird to see Daniels hit the Best Moonsault Ever but have no reaction for it. He nearly got hit with a Rainmaker but Kazarian broke it up. That led to Celebrity Rehab being hit on YOSHI-HASHI for the win. Solid stuff here. ***¼

Block B
AJ Styles and Yujiro Takahashi [2] def. Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii [0] in 14:56
Of the entire World Tag League, this was easily the match I looked forward to most. Granted, there are some that look better on paper but this is the first interaction between Nakamura and Styles. Not only that, but I also get a taste of Styles and Ishii, which is another match I’d love to see. Styles and Nakamura started and if their interaction is any indication of what we’re getting at Wrestle Kingdom, then we are in for a treat. It was a good teaser for the big match. It was also cool to see Ishii and AJ go at it. The heat was mostly worked on Ishii with Nakamura getting a relatively hot tag. There were some close calls, especially one after AJ got hit with Boma Ye and a lariat but Yujiro made the save. Ishii would take the pin after getting hit with the Styles Clash in a match that had me on the edge of my seat. Maybe I rated it higher than some because of my love for AJ and Shinsuke, but I really enjoyed this. ***¾

Overall: 7/10. These seven matches combined to make for a good time. The second batch of matches, from November 27th, were definitely a cut above, producing three strong matches, including two of the best four or five so far. If you can only find your way to see one thing from these shows, watch the last match.

Raw History: Episodes 23-24

Raw History

Episode #23

June 28th, 1993 – Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York – Attendance: 3,000

This episode was taped after last week’s live edition. Last week’s show was the best so far, so hopefully this one continues the trend.

WWF Intercontinental Championship

Shawn Michaels (c) w/ Diesel vs. Kamala

What in god’s name has Kamala done to earn a title shot? He doesn’t even know how to pin people correctly. Shawn Michaels is reluctant to lock up but the fans are still hot. Shawn is bumping for the Ugandan Giant but is caught in the bearhug, or the “move big guys who can’t work rely on”. Maybe it’s because he’s against a guy that he doesn’t enjoy working, but Shawn doesn’t seem too motivated here. Shawn works the knee, which Kamala sells pretty poorly. Kamala begins his version of an offensive comeback and still doesn’t know how to pin Shawn correctly. Diesel gets on the apron, which distracts Kamala. Shawn Superkicks him in the back of the head and retains. He should have done more to the back of the head in the future.

Winner and Still WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels in 8:51

Shawn Michaels can be pretty amazing, but even he can’t carry Kamala to something enjoyable. *

Kamala is up and goes after Shawn Michaels, so Diesel does his job and takes him out. Shawn hilariously plays the “Let me at him!”

Vince McMahon is in the ring to interview the reigning WWF Champion, Yokozuna. This should be riveting. The Yokozuna character is one of my least favorite because it runs the tired “evil foreigner” gimmick. The patriotism thing always sucks since A) its lazy booking and B) the WWF is a global company, so why condition your fans to cheer for someone because he loves America? Anyway, this segment blows because it’s so hard to understand Mr. Fuji. This is why Yokozuna segments got better when Jim Cornette was added. This is just promotion for the 4th of the July Body Slam Challenge. Also, Yokozuna speaks and sounds 100% Samoan.

We get a series of sports stars saying how they’re going to be the one to slam Yokozuna. Tatanka speaks last, because he just HAS to be on every single Raw.

The Smoking Guns vs. “Iron” Mike Sharpe and Barry Horowitz

Mike Sharpe and Barry Horowitz are two of the best jobbers in company history. Sharpe is so hilariously loud in the ring. Whether it’s selling, on offense or even just running the ropes. I can’t help but laugh. The Guns get in some basic stuff like arm drags and such. Horowitz actually gets in some offense after Bart misses a cross body and Barry does his back pat taunt. He gets two with a Northern lights suplex. The Guns have the balls to work a hot tag in an enhancement match. Billy comes in and they win with the Sidewinder.

Winners: The Smoking Guns in 4:30

I was shocked to see tag formula worked in an enhancement match. Teams like the Steiner Brothers don’t play that game and just murder jobbers. Extra points for Sharpe’s sound effects and Horowitz’s impressive suplex. *¼

Back to Vince McMahon in the ring, as he introduces Money Inc. Good lord, I have to hear IRS talk don’t I? IRS tries to play up how wise they are for getting a rematch clause in their contracts. The problem is, you aren’t that smart because everyone gets that. For some reason, they bring up Razor Ramon, or Razor Jabroni as IRS calls him. Ted Dibiase calls him stupid for losing his money. The fans chant “Razor” and this would lead to the Razor Ramon face turn that went over tremendously. I think that could work for anyone. Put him against IRS because nobody likes him.

Adam Bomb w/ Johnny Polo vs. BJ Walker

If you’ve been following this, then you know that PJ Walker is the future Justin Credible and Aldo Montoya. However, the Fink introduces him as BJ Walker and even his graphic says it. In another era, maybe the name BJ Walker would have gotten over. Bomb manhandles Walker, which still makes me question why Bomb wasn’t used better. He had a great look in an era full of fat slobs, could work better than other guys pushed ahead of him, like Crush and Yokozuna, and even had a mouthpiece in Polo. Bomb wins with his impressive slingshot clothesline and a powerbomb.

Winner: Adam Bomb in 2:10

A relatively fun squash. I enjoy watching Adam Bomb work and got a kick out of the BJ Walker name. *½

Bastion Booger vs. Crush

Remember the Friar Ferguson debacle? Well they dropped that and the best they could come up with was Bastion Booger. Google him if you don’t remember what he looked like. Macho Man believes that Crush will be the guy to slam Yokozuna. Crush tries a back body drop and it is the WORST I have ever seen. Seriously. Things go outside and Booger gets the upper hand with his entire offense, meaning clubs and punches. Because his offense is pitiful, commentary just discusses how bad he smells. Crush comes back with a suplex that looks like crap but is better than the back body drop earlier. He connects on three straight body slams to win as commentary goes nuts saying that could be Yokozuna on the 4th. It wasn’t.

Winner: Crush in 5:39

This sucked so hard. Bastion Booger is one of the worst ever and Crush wasn’t much better. Awful. DUD

Macho Man and NFL Player Joe Morris cut a promo in Giants Stadium about the 4th of July. Macho Man is incredible at promotion. His energy is unmatched. Next week, the 1-2-3 Kid will be in action as will Mr. Perfect.

Overall: 2.5/10; Bad. The poor fans in attendance went from last week’s awesome show to this albatross being recorded after. It did build towards the USS Intrepid stuff well, but the matches all sucked. Kamala had no business in the ring with HBK and the main event was one of the worst of all-time. The best thing was Adam Bomb and Mike Sharpe’s loud selling, so you know it was a rough show.

Raw History

Episode #24

July 5th, 1993 – Manhattan Center in Manhattan, New York – Attendance: 1,000

We open to footage aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid yesterday morning as multiple Superstars and athletes attempted to slam Yokozuna, only to fail. Seeing Rick Steiner fail was funny, since I’ve seen him German suplex Vader with ease before. Commentary welcomes us to the show before sending it back to the USS Intrepid. 

This looked to be incredibly boring as it was just a series of guys hugging Yokozuna. Crush comes close, fresh off of slamming Bastion Booger multiple times. Scott Steiner, Macho Man and tons of others all fail. When it seems all hope it lost, a helicopter arrives and it’s a now suddenly patriotic Lex Luger. What happened to the Narcissist? He comes in and slams Yokozuna, becoming our American hero. I’m sorry, but I don’t buy it. Also, before the slam, he uses the illegal steel plated forearm to his advantage. That damn heel.

The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Blake Beverly

Is this the start of a singles Blake Beverly run that I had no clue about? This would probably be the first time that I can see Kid as the favorite to win. Kid starts out lightning quick but works best as the resilient underdog and Blake powerslams him. Bobby Heenan calls Luger’s slam a hip toss, which is more accurate. Blake draws solid heat by slapping the Kid around outside. He hits a GREAT looking headbutt in the ring before press slamming Kid to the outside. He covers but lifts Kid, which is a bad move given Kid’s history. The crowd is totally buying a Kid comeback until he misses a cross body. Heenan claims that Kid looks like Todd Pettengill. Blake goes for an ugly dive outside but misses. Kid shows him hoes it’s done with a corkscrew plancha outside. This has been much better than expected as Blake hits a nice back suplex inside. He keeps mistaking himself for a high flyer and misses a splash. This allows Kid to hit a diving leg drop and score the 1-2-3.

Winner: The 1-2-3 Kid in 8:01

Well that far exceeded my expectations. Blake Beverly tossed him around and Kid’s bumps were excellent. The crowd was hot and bought every bit of it, which made this even better. ***¼

We go to our first ever vignette for Men on a Mission. Kill me now. Mabel sucked, Oscar was an awful rapper, but did the rapping and Mo is one of the worst wrestlers in history.

Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Luna Vachon vs. Joey Maggs

Luna Vachon is so terrifying. This is Bigelow’s first appearance since making the Finals of the King of the Ring Tournament. Bigelow is all over the jobber, splashing him multiple times and winning quickly.

Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 0:40

I know I said I would start rating squash matches, but this was far too short to give a score to. NO RATING

Samu w/ Afa vs. The Undertaker

Since having the urn stolen by Mr. Hughes, this is the first Undertaker sighting. Even then, Undertaker was such a spectacle. Undertaker actually attempts to leap frog over Samu but I guess Samu had no clue it was happening as he doesn’t get under and they botch it. Undertaker then does a drop toe hold. Hey, it’s the first shots of Undertaker being an actual wrestler. He even does a dropkick. It’s like he’s motivated to show that he can work since he’s embroiled in feuds with awful people like Giant Gonzalez and Mr. Hughes. Samu knocks Undertaker outside and he sits up before a commercial break. Returning, Samu is still throwing him around outside. He hits a sweet powerslam inside but Undertaker sits up out of the pin. The Deadman whips Samu into the corner twice and both times are hard. They play the “no urn” angle well as Samu hits a diving headbutt and Undertaker struggles to sit up. Samu goes to the well one too many times and he misses the second because Undertaker sits up. A Chokeslam and Tombstone finishes this off.

Winner: The Undertaker in 9:03

Way more competitive than I expected. The Undertaker gave Samu a fair amount, while still looking impressive. I also commend him for trying some new offense. **½

Vince McMahon interviews Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji at ringside. Why do they keep insisting on giving interview time to two people who you can barely understand? Why is he even champion in the first place? Vince is more pissed at the foreigners than the fans. Mr. Fuji offers an open contract for a title shot which brings out Crush. Good lord this promo is getting worse by the minute. He failed at the slam, screw his title shot, brudda. The match is made for next week. Hooray, brudda.

Mr. Perfect vs. Brian Costello

Brian Costello has a blonde mullet and a shamrock on the back of his trunks. He gets in nothing as Perfect dropkicks him outside quickly. He then lights him up with chops and wins with the Perfect Plex.

Winner: Mr. Perfect in 0:45

Perfect and Bigelow weren’t getting paid by the minute I guess. Too short to rate again. NO RATING

Overall: 7/10; Good. A bounce back episode for Raw. Yes, a lot of the time was given to the Lex Luger stuff but that’s fine. Blake Beverly and 1-2-3 Kid surprised me with a really good match, and the Undertaker and Samu impressed. Even the squash matches were kept incredibly short. The only real issue this week was the Yokozuna/Crush interview. And now I have to watch them actually work a match. Oh, brudda.

Top Ten Thursday: Live Matches

This week, I'm bringing you a list that is very based on personal appeal. I've been to a fair amount of live events in my time. Multiple WWE house shows, four episodes of Raw, four NXT shows, two WWE Pay-Per-Views, two Smackdowns, an ECW event and about 15 ROH shows. What I'm going to do today is rank my favorite matches that I've seen live. This is based on personal preference of how much I enjoyed the matches live. To keep the variety, only one match per show is allowed.

10. Chris Jericho vs. Kurt Angle vs. Triple H - Raw 8/7/2000

It is pretty impossible to find any good photos of this actual match so I just chose one featuring two of the performers. Now, there are matches that I've seen live that are better than this, but this one holds a special place in my heart. I had been going to live events for about a year at this point, but this was my first ever Raw. This was in the hallowed grounds of Madison Square Garden and the winner would go on to face The Rock for the WWF Championship at SummerSlam. These three future Hall of Famers competed in a good match that featured back and forth action. This was also in the midst of the fantastic Kurt Angle/Triple H/Stephanie McMahon love triangle angle, which is a personal favorite. Add in another guy I love, Chris Jericho, and his feud with Stephanie and this all worked for me. Angle and Triple H would both pin Jericho and face the Rock in a Triple Threat match at SummerSlam that I also really enjoyed.

9. WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match: Luke Harper (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler - TLCS 12/14/14

One of the more recent entries on our list kicked off the TLC Pay-Per-View at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Dolph Ziggler was probably the most over guy all night and he played into it wearing his Kent State hoodie. Matches like this are why I think there needs to be more done with Luke Harper. He is probably the best and most versatile big man in the company right now besides Kevin Owens. Harper and Ziggler seemed determined to try and steal the show on this night. Mission accomplished. They went out and not only had the match of the night (nothing on this trash PPV would come close), but one of the better matches in WWE all year long. I will admit that some of this seemed especially dangerous. Harper nearly broke his arm at one point and Dolph took some sick bumps. It all worked out for the best, leading to a great match.

8. ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Briscoes (c) vs. The Age of the Fall - Final Battle 12/30/07

Ah, the famous Manhattan Center. I saw all of my Ring of Honor events in that building. Let me set the stage a bit here. During this era, I was FULLY invested in ROH as a company. I had been going to their shows for a year and wasn't really interested in what the WWE was putting out, so this was where all of my focus was. The Briscoes were in the middle of a phenomenal reign as ROH Tag Team Champions. They had just set the record for longest run with the belts. I was hugely into El Generico and Kevin Steen and wanted them to dethrone the Briscoes but it didn't happen. Enter the Age of the Fall. A group that featured Lacey, who I loved, Jimmy Jacobs and a guy named Tyler Black, who I instantly saw potential in. Anyway, this was allowed to headline ROH's biggest show of the year and it delivered. I can't recall ever being this into a tag team match and I bit on every close call. Black would eventually hit a Phoenix Splash to win the belts. The entire crowd was pissed, but if you look in the upper left corner of the screen, you'll see my brother and I celebrating the win among the upset fans. Such a great moment.

7. NXT Championship: Kevin Owens (c) vs. Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe vs. Tyler Breeze - NXT 6/12/15

Since they began traveling outside of Florida, NXT has visited Ohio four times. Here we have the main event from the third show there, second at the Agora Theater in Cleveland. Kevin Owens was fresh off of beating John Cena cleanly at Elimination Chamber and was absurdly over. I mean, the other three guys were all very popular, but Owens was on another level. Now, this wasn't one of those cases where a lot of talent is in a match, but it disappoints. These four men did some really fine work together. There were some really cool spots and a surprising amount of comedy. At one point, Owens and Breeze worked together as Owens suplexed Finn. He wanted Breeze to do the same to Joe, but he couldn't due to Joe's size. An annoying Owens shouted "OKAY FINE, I'LL HELP YOU!" There were so many moments in this match that I enjoyed. I just wish there was a way to see it at least one more time.

6. ROH World Championship: Nigel McGuinness (c) vs. Bryan Danielson - 6th Anniversary Show 2/23/08

Back to the Manhattan Center we go. This was the main event of the Ring of Honor in this building less than two months after the Tag Team Title match I listed earlier. The rivalry between Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness is, in my opinion, the greatest in ROH history. This was their first match with the role of champion and challenger being reversed as Nigel was used to being the guy chasing the belt. The fans turned on Nigel after some injuries early into his reign, so he just went with it, going full on dick heel. He cut a promo earlier in the show, saying that he had another head injury and the match wouldn't happen. Danielson came out and agreed to not hit him in the head if it meant the match would stay on. That stipulation was played into perfectly throughout the match. In the end, it was Nigel who would purposely go after Bryan's head to win, showing just how far his heel turn had come.

5. Adrian Neville vs. Cesaro - NXT 3/5/15

Okay, so there are also pretty much no photos of this match available either. The first ever NXT show outside of the state of Florida saw the crew come to Columbus. Half of the show was taped for TV (including Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss, Kevin Owens vs. Alex Riley and Tyler Breeze vs. Kalisto), but the rest was for the live fans only (Finn Balor and Hideo Itami vs. The Vaudevillains, Tyson Kidd vs. Baron Corbin, Bayley vs. Charlotte). This match kind of falls in the middle. While it wasn't used on TV, I believe it is supposed to be an exclusive for the "Greatest NXT Matches" DVD/Blu-Ray that is coming out. Beforehand, we knew nothing of the card. We didn't even know Cesaro was there, so when they came out for this, the place went nuts. What followed was some of the best action I've seen packed in about twenty minutes. They fought on the outside, used their surroundings to their advantage and shows great chemistry. Cesaro was such a perfect base for someone like Adrian Neville. I won't spoil the winner in case you don't know and want to get the DVD. Just know it's a fantastic match.

4. ROH World Championship: Nigel McGuinness (c) vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Tyler Black - Death Before Dishonor VI 8/2/08

Another match from the glorious ROH World Title run of Nigel McGuinness. With ROH moving on up to the Hammerstein Ballroom section of the Manhattan Center, they tried to pack a huge show into their debut in May of 2008. Unfortunately, that show fell a bit flat. Their second Hammerstein show absolutely delivered and it was capped by one of the greatest World Title matches I've ever seen. Four of my favorite guys in ROH at the time competed in an elimination match. Claudio Castagnoli had the fans turn on him after a lackluster performance in the main event of that first Hammerstein show. He was eliminated first here and took it out on Bryan Danielson, destroying him with a chair. Nigel took advantage to eliminate him too. That set the stage for a nail biting encounter between the champion and Tyler Black. Black was one half of the Tag Team Champions and had debuted less than a year before but everyone bought into the near falls he picked up here. He had come close back in March as well, but Nigel always had just enough to beat him. That was the case here as well. Nigel retained in a match that you honestly have to see to believe.

3. WWF Championship Street Fight: Triple H (c) vs. Cactus Jack - Royal Rumble 1/23/00

The first ever WWE Pay-Per-View that I witnessed live was easily the better of the two. While ten year old Kevin had to sit through Mae Young's tits, I did get to see what was a barbaric WWF Title match. Even though I was young, I had been watching ECW on a regular basis for a few years already. I was no stranger to a good street fight, but I never expected something like this. Barbed wire, thumbtacks and a lot of blood were spilled in the match that kind of officially solidified Triple H. The only reason this isn't higher is because I didn't love it live. I wasn't a tall kid and this was the era when everyone and their mother held up a sign. That, coupled with the brawling at ringside made it so I couldn't see parts of the match. That's the main reason this doesn't rank higher. Still, it's one of the best WWF Title matches in history.

2. ROH World Championship: Takeshi Morishima (c) vs. Bryan Danielson - Manhattan Mayhem II 8/25/07

One of the best overall events that I attended was ROH Manhattan Mayhem II. The double main event featured the Briscoes beating Kevin Steen and El Generico in a great 2 out of 3 falls match. The other main event came on before it and stole the entire show. Takeishi Morishima was in the midst of a pretty great run with the ROH World Title. This was his biggest defense as he faced the man who set the record for most defenses with the belt, Bryan Danielson. Danielson was the guy the fans believed could take down the dominant champion. He went in with a sound strategy and kicked at Morishima's leg to try and chop him down. The match progressed to one of the best I've ever seen, period. Danielson would fall short and end up with a busted eye socket. I would go on to see these two wrestle three more times live, but none could top the original.

1. ROH World Championship: Nigel McGuinness (c) vs. Austin Aries - Rising Above  12/29/07

To this day, I have never been more drawn into a match than I was at ROH Rising Above 2007. This was ROH's second Pay-Per-View in New York and I had relatively good seats about four rows back near the entrance. I was excited for this main event, but I recall wishing it was Danielson/Nigel. Austin Aries shut me up and had a phenomenal match with Nigel McGuinness. It was going very well until Nigel started jawing with some fans in the front row. Aries hit his suicide dive, known as the heat seeking missile, to Nigels' back. That sent Nigel face first into the guardrail and he couldn't block it. I was behind the fans he was jawing with so I saw Nigel's face hit and afterwards, he looked forward with a blank stare as blood trickled down his eye. It was clear that he was way out of it. Not only did Nigel manage to continue the match, but he did so for almost twenty more minutes at an absurdly high level. I bit on everything. I had never been so captivated. Nigel retained in a match that still blows my mind to this day. It's the only match I've ever seen live that I gave the full five star treatment to.

NJPW World Tag League 2015 Nights Two and Three Review

NJPW World Tag League 2015
Nights Two and Three | Aichi, Japan and Mie, Japan

The entire second night is available but I have been very pressed for time and was only able to see the Tag League matches. For night three, the only matches available are the World Tag League ones, so there will be six matches reviewed here. Also, these shows were all single camera shows with no commentary, so they really had a house show feel.

Block A
Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata [2] def. Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma [0] in 10:06
I still expect Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma to win this tournament, but they’re making it hard after two shows. Manabu Nakanishi really struggles when he has to move in the ring but he still can do well when he stands still and just hammers on his opponent. Honma and his headbutts are still absurdly over and it added to the overall feel of the match. The battle between Yuji Nagata and Honma was the highlight. Nagata put him down with a backdrop. This was a solid match but it was nothing special. **¾

Block B
Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima [2] def. AJ Styles and Yujiro Takahashi [0] in 11:56
AJ Styles is the person that I honestly believe is the best wrestler in the world currently. Unfortunately, his partner is one of the worst singles wrestlers in New Japan in my eyes, Yujiro Takahashi. This match didn’t feature enough AJ Styles for my liking. Tenzan and Kojima have some of the best chemistry in New Japan since they’ve been together for so long. The best parts involved AJ and the finish came when Yujiro was in. He ate a lariat from Kojima that ended things. Decent at best. **½

Block A
Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI [2] def. Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga [0] in 11:16
Man, the Bullet Club aren’t doing so hot in this are they? This was another pretty good match. I’ve gone on record to state that I’m impressed by Tama Tonga and I think pairing him with Bad Luck Fale allows for him to get more shine, since Fale doesn’t always do a ton. Kazuchika Okada is obviously great and his time in the ring is certainly fun. His back and forth with Tonga was cool and it’s a pairing that I would love to see more of in the future. Tonga has grown past his current role. Anyway, he got hit with the Rainmaker, giving Chaos a .500 record. **¾

Block B
Los Ingobernables [4] def. The Kingdom [0] w/ Maria Kanellis in 9:53
This was the first World Tag League match of night three. It was interesting to see the Kingdom work as faces. They pretty much had to since Tetsuya Naito and EVIL did so well as the heels and, I mean, who really wants to boo Maria Kanellis? They also looked like the polar opposites of their opponents thanks to their incredibly bright attire. The MVP of this thing was Naito. He just absolutely nails this gimmick. Los Ingobernables held serve for the most part, until the Kingdom made their rally. It was a pretty decent rally considering they don’t usually do that part of the match. Maria got on the apron but instead of being smitten, EVIL just tried to attack her. Mist from BUSHI and Destino by Naito gave his guys the two points in an okay bout. **¼

Block A
Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin [4] def. The Addiction [0] in 13:15
I felt like there was some potential in this match when I first looked at it. Unfortunately, something felt off about it. The Addiction have great chemistry and the tandem of Elgin and Tanahashi work exceptionally well together but this was still missing something. While the crowd isn’t into the Addiction yet, they love Tanahashi and Elgin so they were loud for the match. Granted, I’m not saying this was bad, because it absolutely wasn’t. It was just solid, which is fine, but I wanted more. After Tanahashi got rod if Daniels, that left Kazarian as easy pickings for an Elgin powerbomb. **¾ 

Block B
Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata [4] def. Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson [0] in 14:43
These teams met in the Tag League last year, at Wrestle Kingdom to start the year and at New Beginnings. They traded the belts during that time. Due to all of those past outings, these are four men who know how to work with each other. While the last match maybe lacked some chemistry and communication, that wasn’t the case here. I genuinely enjoy Gallows and Anderson and have grown to love Meiyu Tag. They played off some old matches and threw in some brawling to give it a different feel. Still, I don’t think this quite reached the level they are capable of. It was the best match of the two nights though. Shibata hit Gallows with the PK to make the champions 0-2. ***

Overall: 5/10. Not a bad six matches by any means but nothing that would kick yourself over if you missed. A very average series of matches and, while not must-see, there are certainly worse wrestling to watch for a little over an hour.

Top Five 11/16/15-11/22/15

1) Roman Reigns: Outside of the Royal Rumble (which doesn't even count for this year), he's had nothing but good to great matches on Pay-Per-View. Nobody has been more consistent in big matches. This week, Roman Reigns didn't end on a high note, but his overall performances put him here. He defeated Cesaro in a solid match on Raw and competed in a fun tag team match on Smackdown. For the Survivor Series itself, Reigns beat Alberto Del Rio in a pretty good opener for the Pay-Per-View. Then, he beat Dean Ambrose in the main event to win the WWE World Heavyweight Title for the first time. Granted, the finals turned out to be disappointing but it was still a major accomplishment for Roman. It was ruined just moments later. Still, I can't deny the week and year that Roman Reigns has had in 2015. He wasn't ready to be the man at the start of the year. However, he's used 2015 to turn things around (though he still needs help on the mic).

2) Sheamus: Obviously, leaving the Pay-Per-View with the WWE Title gets you a spot on the list this week. The main reason Sheamus didn't top things was because, like most Money in the Bank winners, Sheamus has been a complete loser since winning the briefcase. That reared it's ugly head again during the Survivor Series. Sheamus was left alone with three opponents in a traditional Survivor Series match. Instead of having a strong showing, he was routinely defeated like nothing. Sheamus did show up at the end of the show to successfully cash in and become the WWE Champion, seemingly aligning himself with Triple H.

3) Dean Ambrose: Outside of the guys who actually won the WWE World Heavyweight Title this week, Dean Ambrose had the best showing. On Raw, he bested Dolph Ziggler in a fun little match before also participating in the tag team main event of Smacdown. At Survivor Series, he and Kevin Owens went on second and had the best match of the evening, which Ambrose won. In the finals, he took on his old Shield brother, Roman Reigns. As noted earlier, the match proved to be short and disappointing. However, for the time it went on, it featured solid work. Two good wins and three good matches, while coming so close to winning the biggest prize in the game is enough to land Dean Ambrose on the list this week.

4) Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin: New Japan's World Tag League tournament began during the week. On the first night, the main event pitted IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI took on the duo of Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin. Tanahashi is the top contender for the IWGP Heavyweight Title and the top guy of the company. Elgin competed in the G1 Climax and was basically a new man with top tier performances that got him super over with the fans. They make for a really good pairing and competed in the best match of the week (tied with Meiyu Tag vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii). Elgin and Tanahashi won to pick up two quick points after a really good performance. While they won't win the League, I fully expect them to have a goo showing.

5) Bayley: HEYYYY WE WANT SOME BAYLEY! Bayley main evented this week's episode of NXT by defending her NXT Women's Championship against Alexa Bliss. Now, Alexa isn't on the top level of NXT women (nowhere near the Horsewomen and still below Asuka and Emma), but she's ahead of the likes of Eva Marie, Nia Jax and Cameron. What we got was a pretty solid little match, that was probably the best one that Bliss has ever had. Bayley was, always, super over and picked up the victory to remain the Women's Champion. After the match, she was challenged by Eva Marie, who got booed mercilessly. I don't know if that match will be any good since Eva is among the worst I've ever seen, but for this week, Bayley cracks the top five.

Survivor Series 2015 Review

Heading into the Kickoff Show, there was no match set so getting one was a surprise. We got a traditional Survivor Series match that turned out to be really random. Bo Dallas, the Miz and the Cosmic Wasteland took on the Dudley Boyz, Neville, Titus O'Neil and the returning Goldust. It was pretty great to see Goldust return but this was so odd. Why just Titus and no Darren? Why Bo Dallas? The match itself was also strangely booked. The Ascension was eliminated by non finishers and then Neville was sent packing. I wouldn't be upset about Neville going except that he was the only one from his team. Why not just go the clean sweep route? The match itself was kind of just there and then the booking hurt the score. This would be the longest match of the evening. **

To open the actual official Pay-Per-View broadcast, we got the first Semi-Finals match of the WWE World Heavyweight Title Tournament. Alberto Del Rio took on Roman Reigns. They got fourteen minutes and worked a solid match. Del Rio targeted the arm, which was smart. Reigns still has not had a bad match outside of the Royal Rumble all year on PPV. They did well to try an get fans to buy into other possible finishes, but it was clear that we all knew how this one would end. Reigns won with the Spear in a rather good but predictable match. I would like to see these two get another match with maybe some more time. ***1/4

          The second Semi-Final match followed as Dean Ambrose took on IC Champ Kevin Owens. This was the only match on the card that I was excited for ahead of time. They had a match with almost no down time since it seems like they knew they wouldn't get much time. Owens did do some chinlocks but kept it entertaining with trash talk. Kevin Owens is just fantastic at playing the dick heel. This was a really enjoyable eleven minute match with both guys playing to their strengths. The best thing about this was the finishing stretch, which was among my favorites in WWE all year long. Ambrose advanced following the Dirty Deeds, setting the stage for the all Shield Finals. This would prove to be your match of the night. ***3/4

Another random, unannounced Traditional Survivor Series tag team match was up next. New Day teamed with King Barrett and Sheamus against Ryback, the Usos and the Lucha Dragons. This was so much fun when New Day was involved. Barrett and Sheamus both got into the New Day antics, especially Barrett. There were a few eliminations and then Big E was eliminated. The rest of New Day, including Xavier Woods' incredible hairdo, decided Big E needed help and they left with him. There was no formal countout or anything like that. This left Sheamus alone with Ryback, Kalisto and Jey Uso. I would have had Sheamus survive here since he is Mr. Money in the Bank, to give him a strong showing. Instead, he just lost without eliminating anyone. The match went seventeen minutes. **1/2

What followed next was a match that was technically good, but honestly made no sense. Paige and Charlotte were having an okay feud until this past Monday when the Reid Flair stuff was brought up. That was the company trying to make this "personal" and "bitter", which commentary tried to sell so strongly. That would be fine if the match sold that too. Instead, they went out and had a mostly regular outing. If this was so personal, they would have wanted to fight, not wrestle. Randomly they would throw in spots where they got stiffer and acted like they hated each other, but other times it seems like they forgot the kind of match they were supposed to have. Also, Paige just tapped out after 14 minutes. I would have done a DQ finish or something to set up the rematch. **1/2

The feud between Dolph Ziggler and Tyler Breeze has been an incredibly uninteresting one. This would be their first official one on one meeting. Despite the feud, I figured both men were capable of having a good contest. Unfortunately, they were given the least amount of time of anyone on the entire show. Their styles worked well and they had a ton of flash pin attempts. This didn't really seem to get going though. They went back and forth with nothing of real note happening and then the finish came with a Tyler win. It was too short for anything good to go down. Very disappointing. **1/4

                          In honor of the 25th anniversary of the Undertaker's debut, he was given a special entrance. It featured a giant casket that opened and showed images of his different looks throughout his career. That was where the good thing about this ended. Look, I'm sure Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper marked out at getting to work with Undertaker on his anniversary. However, this was done all wrong. Undertaker and Kane absolutely dominated and the entire Wyatt Family looked like chumps for ten minutes. I get that Undertaker had to win, but I wish it didn't come at the expense of the Wyatt Family again. Why should I ever take them seriously? They got bitched out by Kane and Undertaker for the past few weeks, with this topping everything. But whatever, people got their Undertaker moment so who cares about the current crop of stars right? **

The battle of former Shield members completed the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament. I was hoping for an awesome match and it started that way. Dean Ambrose worked the arm since Alberto Del Rio already did that earlier. He told Roman Reigns "I'll break your arm brother". That was a nice little tidbit that added to this because it showed that, while friends, the title means more. Then the match was quickly wrapped. It went only nine minutes, which disappointed me greatly. I mean, what they did with the time they had was really solid so I don't give the match a bad score, but this could have been SO much more. Reigns won with the Spear and had his big moment, which Dean congratulated him on. ***

Roman Reigns got the big confetti celebration and then Triple H made his way to the ring. He raised Roman's hand and offered a handshake. Reigns declined and then speared him. He turned around right into the Brogue Kick. Sheamus cashed in Money in the Bank and hit a second Brogue Kick to become the brand new WWE Champion. He was then congratulated by Triple H, who left with him. Roman Reigns left to the back crying to close the show. I actually like Sheamus but with ratings in the toilet, I don't think putting the belt on a guy who has never been a draw was the right move. Also, Reigns' first big title win was pretty wasted. I assume he wins the Rumble and gets another shot at a WrestleMania moment next year.

Overall, this continued the trend of WWE Pay-Per-Views this year. They have ranged from pretty bad (Royal Rumble) to very good (WrestleMania) at best and everything else has been average. This was something I'd consider slightly below average. There were three solid matches (with Dean and Owens being best), while everything else was mediocre. Not a bad way to spend three hours, but not really good either. 5/10.