Top Ten Thursday: WrestleMania Matches

With WrestleMania season upon us, it seems only fitting that my latest top ten feature my picks for the top ten matches in the history of the "Show of Shows". Considering it has spanned 31 years and featured the biggest stars in the industry, it was extremely hard to narrow this down. Matches that I love like Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H, Edge vs. The Undertaker, Macho Man vs. Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper vs. Bret Hart, are all missing from the list. This is based on pure match quality. Hogan/Andre was a massive deal and had a great moment, but it's not on this list because the match itself isn't great in my eyes.

10. Retirement Match: Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior – WrestleMania VII

Sometimes, all a match needs to really put it way over the top is some good old fashioned emotion. At WrestleMania VII in Los Angeles, one match stood above all. Randy Savage took on the Ultimate Warrior in a high stakes match where the loser would be forced to retire. Savage in the midst of a heel run as the Macho King and he cost Warrior the WWF Title a few months prior, setting this encounter up. The little things about this match, right from the start, totally stood out. From Ultimate Warrior’s fantastic jacket to seeing Elizabeth in the crowd, it all worked perfectly. The crowd was on the edge of their seat throughout the entire match and reacted to each and every near fall. Ultimate Warrior’s best opponent throughout his career was, hands down, the Macho Man. Something about these two just clicked in a manner that others couldn’t match. Savage hit FIVE of his patented elbow drops but it somehow wasn’t enough to keep the Warrior down. After Savage kicked out of his signature stuff, Warrior ended his career (temporarily) with three shoulder blocks. This was a situation where the post-match stuff added to it as Queen Sherri attacked Savage until Elizabeth hopped the guardrail to stop her. It led to one of the most emotional moments in wrestling history as Savage and Elizabeth reunited and fans all around the world cried tears of joy.

9. WWF Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match: Razor Ramon (c) vs. Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania X

The Ladder match that kind of changed everything. Sure the WWF put on at least one Ladder match before this, but this was the first one on a major stage. Shawn Michaels reigned as Intercontinental Champion but had the title stripped by President Jack Tunney. Remember when authority figures were just a guy that rarely appeared on TV to make decisions? Behind the scenes, there were rumors that he was in talks with WCW during a contract negotiation. Razor won the vacant title and when Michaels returned, he began carrying around his own Intercontinental Title and saying he was still the rightful champion. Both titles were hung high above the ring at Madison Square Garden and the two men proceeded to have a classic. Looking back, a lot of people that weren’t watching at that time may not understand the hype. We’ve seen some incredibly athletic things done in Ladder matches since then but this was groundbreaking. They beat the hell out of each other with the ladder, while making both the careers of both the winner, Razor Ramon and especially the loser, Shawn Michaels. Both guys were stars, but without this match, they may not reach that next level. Not only one of the best matches ever but it’s also one of the most influential.

8. Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania 21 

Yes people, Shawn Michaels will appear on this list more than anyone else. During the 2005 Royal Rumble, Kurt Angle was a favorite to win but was eliminated by Shawn Michaels. He hopped back in and attacked Michaels. The feud was only built on that though. Angle went all the way back to nearly a decade earlier when he won the Olympic gold medal, only to hear everyone raving about a guy named Shawn Michaels wrestling for an hour at WrestleMania. The match was highly anticipated and ended up stealing the show on a very strong WrestleMania from Los Angeles. This was two of the very best to ever lace up a pair of wrestling boots going out and having a classic. The intensity that Angle display throughout the contest is unmatched. You truly believe that the story he told about hearing so much about Michaels after winning the gold medal really ate away at him. You believed that the match meant the world to him. It wasn’t something that happened often, but Michaels ended up tapping out, giving the win to Angle. They would rematch this later in the year and it would be great, but nothing tops their first match for me.

7. WWF Championship: The Rock (c) vs. Steve Austin – WrestleMania X-Seven 

Throughout the history of WrestleMania, there are only two trilogies. The Undertaker vs. Triple H and the Rock vs. Steve Austin. For my money, Rock vs. Austin is the far better trilogy. This match, which closed out arguably the greatest WrestleMania of all-time, was their best effort. Their WrestleMania XV match two years earlier was really good and their final match two years after was truly great. Everything worked masterfully here. The molten hot crowd in Houston was rabid and heavily in favor of their home state guy, Steve Austin. These two had met so much in the past that their chemistry worked so well. They had the epitome of the WWF main event style match for that era. The last minute no disqualification stipulation gave them the freedom to wow everyone. If it wasn’t for the finish, this would rank higher and be a perfect five star match for me. Vince McMahon showed up and aligned himself with Austin, who turned heel and beat the holy hell out of the Rock. It made sense for the story of Austin being willing to do anything to become champion again, but the crowd, especially the one that night, wanted no part of a heel Austin. Even with that ending, this was, in my opinion, the best WWF/E Championship match in WrestleMania history.

6. World Heavyweight Championship: Triple H (c) vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania XX 

It seems like every tenth WrestleMania is a night for the fans of good old fashioned technical wrestling. WrestleMania X closed with Bret Hart as the WWF Champion and XXX ended with Daniel Bryan on top of the world. Smack dab in the middle of those events was WrestleMania XX, held in the historic Madison Square Garden. Chris Benoit, one of the best technicians in history, won the Royal Rumble from the number one spot (in a far better performance than HBK winning from #1 in 1995). Shawn Michaels, on that same night, went to a draw with World Champion Triple H and found a way to inset himself into the title match at Mania. The match itself was given the headlining position and they more than delivered. Three of the best ever went out and put on one of the best Triple Threat matches I’ve ever witnessed and possibly the best in WWE history. After thirty minutes of back and forth action, Benoit realized his dream of becoming World Champion by making Triple H submit. The image of Benoit and then WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero standing tall to close out the biggest show of the year is still one of my favorite moments in WrestleMania history.

5. WWF Intercontinental Championship: Randy Savage (c) vs. Ricky Steamboat – WrestleMania III 

The earliest match on this list is still considered by many to be the best in WrestleMania history. In front of a record crowd in Pontiac, Michigan, Ricky Steamboat and Randy Savage went toe to toe and wowed that audience. This was the first WrestleMania done in a stadium as opposed to a traditional arena, giving it a much bigger feel. The show was moving along and proved to be good, but this took it over the top. This wasn’t just a traditional Intercontinental Title match either. It was personal after Savage crushed Steamboat’s throat with the ring bell during a televised match they had. The amount of near falls in this match had to be some kind of record. Almost every minute saw at least one close call and the fans ate up every single one of them. Steamboat used a small package to not only get his revenge but become the Intercontinental Champion. The storyline, build and execution of this entire thing was just so well done. Some people believe this is the greatest match ever and, while I disagree, I wouldn’t argue too hard against it.

4. WWF Tag Team Championship TLC Match: The Dudley Boyz (c) vs. Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz – WrestleMania X-Seven 

One of only two WrestleManias to make the list twice. At WrestleMania X-Seven, not only was the main event a classic, but the Tag Team Title match was even better. At WrestleMania 2000 a year earlier, these three tag teams ushered in a new era with a tremendous Triangle Ladder match. Later that year, they had the first ever Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at SummerSlam and they somehow bested themselves. The WWE decided that if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. They went with the match again in TLC II. In a move that I did not expect in any possible way, these six men topped themselves yet again. They called back to their previous matches and did thing that not only were high stakes, but they did them all in original ways that were seamless. Sometimes in matches like this, you get botches or just moves that don’t come out right but everything was perfect in this one. The added dimension of each team having a third, Lita, Rhyno and Spike Dudley, only gave this that little something extra to put it over the top. Edge and Christian pulled down the titles to win the third Ladder match between these teams, sweeping them for the year.

3. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart – WrestleMania X 

To this day, this remains the best opening contest I have ever witnessed. Bret Hart is one of my all-time favorites. Everything Bret did was practically flawless and he was truly one of the best in history. His little brother, Owen Hart, was nearly as good, but also had an all-around game that was even better than Bret. He had a charisma and high flying ability that allowed him to stand out among the Hart family. This storyline featured brilliant long term booking. At the Survivor Series, Owen started to show that he was jealous of the attention Bret got, which led to him infamously turning on Bret at the Royal Rumble. Bret didn’t want to wrestle Owen but finally gave in, leading to this match. According to an interview Bret gave on the 30 Years of WrestleMania podcast, he and Owen had planned several high spots but had to change them after knowing the kind of match that Razor and Shawn would have later on. The fact that they had to redo their ideas and still put on one of the best matches I’ve ever seen is a testament to how good these guys were. Owen eked out a win over Bret, solidifying himself as a star, while Bret went on to win the WWF Title later in the show. This was not only wrestling done right, but it was pitch perfect booking.

2. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker – WrestleMania XXV 

The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels are synonymous with WrestleMania. Shawn is the greatest performer in the history of the Show of Shows, while the Undertaker went undefeated for over 20 years. With the Undertaker standing at 16-0, Shawn Michaels set his sights on the streak. Mr. WrestleMania was the perfect choice to really threaten it. Add in the fact that Shawn and Undertaker had classic matches in the past (including the best Hell in a Cell match ever) and the tidbit that the Undertaker had never beaten Michaels and you’ve got a recipe for success. WrestleMania 25 was, overall, a relatively disappointing show but the thing that totally redeemed it was this battle. It played out wonderfully, with neither guy giving an inch. Shawn was desperate and open to beating Undertaker in any possible way, including a countout. At one point, he looked like he might have broken his wrist on a moonsault and shortly after, Undertaker nearly broke his neck on his trademark dive. The false finishes in this were tremendous and not overdone. Undertaker’s reaction to the Tombstone not ending the match was perfect. He finally caught Michaels mid-moonsault and won with a second Tombstone after a half hour of fantastic wrestling.

1. Submission Match: Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin – WrestleMania 13

Not only is this my pick for the best WrestleMania match of all time, it could also possibly be considered the most important. After winning the 1996 King of the Ring, Steve Austin was set on a course for superstardom. He targeted the returning Bret Hart and faced him in an instant classic at the Survivor Series. Austin looked like Bret’s equal throughout before making a small mistake and losing. Originally, the plan was to do a WrestleMania 12 rematch between Hart and Shawn Michaels. Thank goodness that fell through because instead, they did a rematch of Austin and Bret, which proved to be far superior. Adding in the submissions stipulation was crucial since neither Austin nor Bret had ever submitted in their respective careers. WrestleMania 13 was a one match show but at least this one was tremendous. Their match felt like a personal war, with fighting around the arena and use of weapons, but not to the point where it was overdone. Austin got busted open and it led to the most iconic image in WrestleMania history as he struggled to survive the Sharpshooter. In a very badass moment, Austin refused to submit, instead passing out. By the time the match ended, Austin’s toughness was more than proven and the fans fell even more in love. It solidified the best double turn ever and put the rocket on Austin’s ass that led to him becoming the top guy the following year. I don’t only believe this is the best WrestleMania match ever, it may very well be the best match ever, period. 

Lucha Underground "Death Comes in Threes" Review

Thing start with the usual recap of recent events. Sexy Star and the Mack's interaction with the "Moth", Jack Evans being the "Dragon Slayer" and the debut of Taya at the side of Johnny Mundo. The final things we see hype the Mil Muertes/Prince Puma/Pentagon Jr. match for tonight.

Sexy Star is in the locker room when the Mack comes up to her, saying he wants her in his corner against Marty Martinez. She seems scared and traumatized, shaking her head no. Mack says this isn't the Sexy Star he knows and quickly motivates her to help him.

Marty "The Moth" Martinez def. The Mack w/ Sexy Star in 3:23
This started the way I wanted it to. The Mack charged to the ring and it gave off the feeling that this he really wanted revenge for Sexy Star. Martinez played the psycho very well, even slamming his own head on the turnbuckle multiple times at one point. Matt Striker filled this match with terrible puns relating to moths. Mack had things in hand and climbed to the top when the lights went out. Sexy became TERRIFIED as the moth's sister, in a strange getup, made her way to the ring. Marty used that opening and got the win after a stomp. I'm excited about Marty's sister arriving because she's played by Cheerleader Melissa, who I really love. The match itself was kind of just there. **

After the match, Marty's sister made Sexy Star get up, only to kick her in the head.

There's a Fenix video package, where he talks about surviving in Lucha Underground, which nobody believed he would do.

Oddly enough, we see Jack Evans taking a piss. Drago comes up to him when he's done and is not happy about Evans calling himself the "dragon slayer". Justin Gabriel and his nun chucks show up and they all get into it. It seems like Gabriel and Evans are on the same side. Both Evans and Drago bring out their own nun chucks as well. Drago has an early advantage but the numbers game is too much and he ends up in trouble. That is, until time traveler Aerostar arrives to help his buddy. Evans and Gabriel leave before any even action can go down.

No Disqualification Match: Cage def. Taya Valkyrie in 6:57
Originally, this was supposed to be Cage against Johnny Mundo but Taya took his place because Mundo already beat him. She even gets the wind blowing Mundo entrance. Taya called herself the perfect woman before things got started. Cage was clearly the stronger competitor and threw Taya around for a bit. She used a low blow to come back and get some stuff in until Cage powerbombed into the guardrail and ring post outside. Then, in a crazy spot, Cage dead lifted Taya from the ring with a suplex through two tables on the outside. Mundo ran in and even hit Cage with a bottle twice but it wasn't enough. He threw Taya into Cage to save himself. Cage planted her with Weapon X to win. I enjoyed that. It was a fun No DQ match with an insane spot and advanced the ongoing story. **3/4

They did another Famous B vignette. It was pretty funny and he used his "magic touch" to turn a homeless girl into a hot shick. I have no clue where this is going but I'm enjoying it.

Ivelisse comes out of Catrina's office and tells Angelico and Son of Havoc that they got a shot at the Trios Titles next week. Ivelisse says that Catrina only agreed with the stipulation that if they lose, they leave the Temple and hit the open road. The team argues a bit before Ivelisse tells them that it's time to step up.

Lucha Underground Championship: Mil Muertes (c) w/ Catrina def. Pentagon Jr. and Prince Puma
The challengers targeted the champion early. Vampiro was 100% behind Pentagon again this week. We got some great spots throughout, including Mil Muertes even getting in on the fun. The fight spilled into the crowd, where Puma walked the rail and jumped off with a rana on Pentagon. The hits just kept coming as Pentagon hit Puma with a backdrop on the apron shortly before he hit a front flip dive outside. Puma followed with his own dive, so Pentagon did another and then Puma capped it with a twisting dive, all to take out Mil. The crowd lost their collective minds. Shortly after, Puma nailed a shooting star press off the railing onto both opponents. He nearly regained the title with a 630 but Muertes broke up the pin. More double team offense from the challengers, who laid into Mil with tons of superkicks. Pentagon tried to break Puma's arm but Mil speared him instead. He speared Puma as well before finishing them off with a double Flatliner. A fantastic main event that might be the most fun you'll have all year. Intense, nonstop action. ****1/4

Catrina gives the lick of death to both men. Fenix, the Gift of the God's Champion, appears atop the steps. He cuts a promo in Spanish and says that next week, he's cashing in his title shot. THE MAN OF 1000 LIVES VS. THE MAN OF 1000 DEATHS! Next week, we get two title matches.

If you do want to check out Lucha Underground and don't get El Rey Network (like me), you can sign up for the streaming service Fubo.TV. It's a great way to support the company and channel while streaming the show online. You can sign up and get Lucha Underground right here with Fubo.tv!

Raw OLE Review

Right off the bat, the hot Chicago crowd got going because Shane McMahon opened things. He thanked the fans for their reaction and ripped into the company. He even went so far as to say that when he takes over "guys with no talent will not get all of the breaks." It's like Shane is the entire IWC right now. A gong went off and the crowd popped but it quickly turned to "No Chance in Hell" as Vince trolled the Chicago fans. They chanted "CM Punk" but Vince quickly owned them and the chants stopped. He showed a picture of him and a young Shane at Shane's first WWE show before stomping on it. He brought out security to escort Shane. Of course, this led to Shane shadow boxing them like he does. Solid enough segment to build towards WrestleMania.

The first match of the night saw Kevin Owens take on Neville in a non-title match. They worked at a fun pace and had a really strong match considering they had no backstory or anything leading into it. Neville came close to winning on some massive spots like a shooting star press to the outside and second rope Phoenix splash before Owens rolled him up to win. Owens went to continue the attack with an apron powerbomb but SAMI ZAYN showed up and attacked his lifelong rival.The Chicago crowd reacted perfectly as Zayn and Owens went at it before they sent the IC Champion packing. Give me Zayn/Owens at Mania please. Things had to cool down after two hot segments so we got Brie Bella vs. Summer Rae. Brie was in shorts, which gets ***** from me. Lana came out for the distraction finish to give Summer the win. Remember when Lana and Summer were rivals? Lana was also in her weird denim attire from her Ziggler faze and she planted Brie with her own Bella Buster. I still don't get where this is going. Moving on, Dean Ambrose came out and cut a similar promo to the one he did on Smackdown. Triple H interrupted and they hyped the upcoming WWE Title match at Roadblock this Saturday. It was nothing special as a segment but still better than anything from the Reigns/HHH camp. HHH announced Dean/Bray as the main event tonight. Oh joy.

Earlier in the day on Twitter, Dolph Ziggler said some negative things about the Authority. Because of that, he was was put in a handicap elimination match against the League of Nations, minus Alberto Del Rio. Ziggler eliminated Barrett only, most likely as a punishment for leaving the company, before losing to Rusev and Sheamus. Nobody cared. After a great video package highlighting Shane McMahon's career, we moved onto performers that people care about. Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. They beat Team BAD in about two minutes but got attacked by Charlotte post-match to sell the Triple Threat at WrestleMania. A perfectly acceptable segment.

I haven't been the biggest fan of the tandem of Y2AJ but they got their Tag Team Title shot against New Day. What followed proved to be the best match on Raw so far in 2016. Both teams worked hard to put together a great match with several near falls and we even got to see AJ bust out the springboard 450 splash. Surprisingly, New Day not only retained but did so cleanly. After the match, Chris Jericho turned on AJ, laying him out with three Codebreakers. This segment worked on many levels, delivering a great match, showcasing Styles and getting the heel turn over. Following this, Kalisto defeated Tyler Breeze in what was basically a squash match. Fine for Kalisto, but poor Tyler Breeze. He got his wish of the callup and it's been a nightmare.

Staying with Kalisto, he got interviewed by Jojo and spoke of his idols growing up as a fan. Ryback interrupted and cut a WAY too long promo on big guys vs. little guys and things like that. He then went out and squashed Curtis Axel. The Social Outcasts cut a pretty fun promo beforehand at least. After some unimportant backstage stuff, Bray Wyatt cuts a very short promo on his upcoming match with Brock Lesnar. He then faced Dean Ambrose in an okay at best match. They never clicked the way they should have. The crowd couldn't care less either. The Wyatt Family showed up for the DQ and took out Ambrose. Triple H showed up and they teased Bray challenging him as he touched the WWE Title. The problem is, nobody buys Bray as a serious threat. They left and Triple H cleared off the announce table to attack Dean. Instead, he was hit with Dirty Deeds and Ambrose stood tall with the WWE Title.

This episode got off to a great start with Shane McMahon and the arrival of Sami Zayn. Owens/Neville was strong and the Tag Team Title match was fantastic. The final hour of the show was lackluster and things kind of died down. Still, the crowd was hot for the most part and it helped along the show. 7/10.

Fave Five 2/29/16-3/6/16

1) Zack Sabre Jr.: Obviously, I wasn't able to see PWG's All-Star Weekend events but the biggest news of the week came out of it. Roderick Strong had been PWG Champion for 449 days, making him the second longest reigning champion in company history. He was also only the second man, behind Adam Cole, to hold it for a full calendar year. That all changed this weekend as Zack Sabre Jr. dethroned him to win the title for the first time. Sabre and Strong had two classics last year with the first being for the PWG Title as Sabre came extremely close to winning the strap. Sabre won the rematch, taking place in Evolve and took home the very important rubber match and becoming champion. If their first two matches were any indication, this third one was excellent.

2) Fenix: It was a tremendous week if you were interested in seeing some truly great matches early in the year. It's too tough to really call for a best match of the week, so I'm putting the guys who won both of my favorites this week in the next two spots. First up is Fenix from Lucha Underground. Fenix has been spectacular this season and pretty much since I first laid eyes on his work. On the season premiere, he lost his Gift of the Gods Championship to King Cuerno in a great match. This week, he got a shot to regain it in only the third Ladder match in LU history. It turned out to be the best Ladder match in their history, filled with a mix of great spots and psychology. Fenix was able to retrieve the title and become the first two time champion in Lucha Underground history. This win puts him in line for a shot at the Lucha Underground Title and his arch rival, Mil Muertes.

3) Tetsuya Naito: Outside of that Ladder match, the best thing this week was Tetsuya Naito's match with Tomohiro Ishii. Both guys are among my five favorite guys in New Japan Pro Wrestling and they had a fantastic match for the NEVER Openweight Title back in 2014 so I had good feelings about this. Currently, the New Japan Cup Tournament is taking place. This was a second round bout and proved to be the match of the tournament. Naito won after countering a brainbuster into Destino, advancing to the Semi-Finals against Michael Elgin. Naito also defeated YOSHI-HASHI in a better than expected first round match this week. Oddly enough, Naito reportedly stated that he won't be going after any titles at Invasion Attack if he wins the New Japan Cup.

4) Finn Balor: In yet another really strong match this week, NXT Champion Finn Balor defeated Neville. It was a battle of two of the seven NXT Champions in history. These two had a fantastic match at TakeOver: Rival last year and this one was nearly just as good. It started a bit slow like that one but once it got going, things clicked masterfully. Each guy had the other well scouted and countered one another very well. Finn finally kept him down after the Coup de Grace and Bloody Sunday. Adding onto Finn's solid week was when I saw him live at NXT Cleveland. He retained his NXT Championship in a really fun Fatal Four Way against Apollo Crews, Samoa Joe and Baron Corbin. Finn also proved to be a swell guy, giving my girlfriend a hug in the front row at my request.

5) Dean Ambrose: The Triple H/Roman Reigns program has been pretty lackluster. So far, Reigns is 0-2 in interesting WrestleMania builds. On the flip side, Dean Ambrose is now in a rivalry with Triple H as well and it is going spectacularly better. Dean may have taken a beating to close out Raw but he got what he wanted. A WWE Title shot at the upcoming Roadblock special. Then, on Smackdown, Ambrose continued to be a focal point, opening the show with a promo and defeating his old rival Kevin Owens in a non-title main event match. 

NJPW New Japan Cup 2016 Night Two Review

New Japan Cup 2016 Night Two
March 4th, 2016 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan

Round two of the New Japan Cup took place this morning. To fill out the card, a few trademark NJPW multi-man tags were thrown in.

Jay White def. David Finlay Jr. in 5:41
The show began with another in the long series of matches between the two Young Lions. Both guys always show tons of potential and have developed a great chemistry. As usual, they had a good back and forth but it wasn’t on the level of some of their better stuff. I do feel like it’s about time they move up from their current roles as both could be assets to the Junior Heavyweight division in my mind. Anyway, as always, the Boston Crab led to the finish as Finlay submitted. **½

Hiroshi Tanahashi and Juice Robinson def. Cody Hall and Yujiro Takahashi in 9:58
It’s so weird seeing Tanahashi so early in the card. To me, Cody Hall seems like what you would get if you took Scott Hall and removed everything cool about him. As one would expect, Tanahashi didn’t do too much here. It’s smart since he’s healing up on some injuries and that’s what these tag matches are for. Robinson took the heat behind the Bullet Club doing classic heel tactics. Tanahashi eventually got the relatively hot tag and the crowd seemed to enjoy him beating up on Takahashi. The BC members did show off some alright double team offense and Hall even hit an impressive splash. After Juice took out Takahashi with a dive, Tanahashi hit a dragon screw and made Hall tap out to a cloverleaf. Decent little tag but nothing to write home about. **¼

IWGP Tag Team Champions G.B.H, NEVER Openweight Champion Katsuyori Shibata, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA and Ryusuke Taguchi def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask and Yuji Nagata in 11:08
That was a lot to type. This came off as your typical super tag in New Japan. A lot of talented guys involved and they all got some time to get their stuff in. One of the highlights was the interaction between Nagata and Honma, which led to Honma taking the heat for a bit. It was an alright way to get a lot of guys on the card but this wasn’t as fun as a lot of the other multi-man tags that I see, especially involving some of these guys (namely Shibata and KUSHIDA). Shibata got the pin after hitting the PK on Nakanishi. I really wish this was more enjoyable. They seemed to be building towards Nagata getting a shot at Shibata’s NEVER Openweight Championship. **½

Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI def. BUSHI and EVIL in 9:09
Seeing Okada work with Los Ingobernables gives me the inkling that Naito will win the New Japan Cup and face Okada at Invasion Attack on April 10th. EVIL and BUSHI attack quickly but Okada manages to weather that storm. I enjoyed BUSHI’s work throughout this match. He’s really having a good start to 2016. I was surprised to see Okada take as much offense as he did. He started going into his offense on BUSHI, including the flying elbow before ending things with the Rainmaker. This was a solid effort from everyone involved and gave us some fresh matchups that we don’t usually get to enjoy. Fine match. **¾

New Japan Cup Second Round: Toru Yano def. Satoshi Kojima in 5:41
On night one Kojima beat Honma in a really good match, while Yano beat Takahashi in about a minute. Here, this fight went outside rather quickly, where Yano brought a chair into play. I always appreciate New Japan being lenient on disqualifications. That gave Yano the upper hand but Kojima came back with a flurry. Yano wisely rolled away from some top rope offense in a smart moment. There was a funny moment where Yano went for a low blow but Kojima turned around so the referee was in place and Yano backed away. Yano antics led the way as he rolled up Kojima to advance to the Semi-Finals. Standard Yano stuff mostly, with a hot crowd. **

New Japan Cup Second Round: Hirooki Goto def. Tama Tonga 9:24
Being Samoan with a bulletproof vest and face paint, Tonga looked like the lovechild of Roman Reigns and one of the Usos. I know that’s kind of a weird thought since they’re related, but still. Tonga tried a quick pin teasing more frustration for Goto but it wasn’t to be. They also teased a countout loss for Goto. It was a good idea to play into Goto always being the loser of big matches and that it could continue here. The biggest issue with this match was the finish. Goto hit a roundhouse kick and got the three, but it looked like Tonga’s shoulder was up. It seemed like a botched finish, especially considering it came from out of nowhere. After the match, Okada came out and offered Goto a spot in Chaos again. Goto again turned him down. **¾

New Japan Cup Second Round: Michael Elgin def. Bad Luck Fale in 10:10
Coming into this show, I felt this match could go one of two ways. Either it would be a great hoss battle or it would completely suck. They battled to see who the stronger man was early on. Fale nearly got a countout win but Elgin beat the count. Elgin got to make a comeback and show off some of his incredible power. It’s so strange and cool to see someone in NJPW be able to throw Fale around. The finish was less impressive. I was hoping to see Elgin hit a straight up powerbomb but they went with the safer route as he did do a powerbomb, but it came as a counter to Fale already being on the second turnbuckle. A good match and big win for Elgin. I’d like to see a rematch during the G1 later this year. ***

New Japan Cup Second Round: Tetsuya Naito def. Tomohiro Ishii in 16:21
In 2014, these two had an absolute classic for the NEVER Title that really was one of the early times we saw flashes of heel Naito. Naito pissed off Ishii from the start, refusing to lock up, causing Ishii to just beat his ass. He continued to antagonize him throughout, slapping away at Ishii’s giant head in a disrespectful manner. One of his slaps later on sounded like something you’d hear in a Shibata/Ishii match. Ishii powered up after some of Naito’s offense and picked up a few near falls. They did a great job in building drama down the stretch. The back and forth and near falls by both men had me on the edge of my seat. In the end, Naito countered a Brainbuster into Destino and advanced to the Semi-Finals. This was the best match of the tournament so far. ****¼

Overall: 6.5/10. Night two was not quite as good top to bottom as night one but it was still an enjoyable show. Most of the non-New Japan Cup matches were kind of just there. The final three matches ranged from pretty good to great. Ishii/Naito was, hands down, the best thing this tournament has produced so far. Easily worth checking out though the entire show.

NXT Cleveland Report

- The seating at the Agora Theater are first come, first serve. We got to the arena around 430 and kind of froze for a while but it was worth it to get front row seats.
- While waiting outside, a bus pulled in and the NXT roster came out. Sami Zayn, Finn Balor and Emma all waved at us. It was like a school trip. The teachers/coaches came out first (Sara Amato and Jason Albert), then the rest of the roster and the last people to come out were the cool kids (Finn, Sami, Bayley, etc.)
- Surprisingly, Gargano wasn't on the bus, instead walking in a few minutes later.

The show started with Asuka vs. Emma. I was sporting my Asuka shirt but popped for both women. It was a really good hard hitting match. Asuka won via knockout after a kick to Emma. Emma seemed to get legitimately hurt and her head hit the ropes while she was falling. It was my first time seeing Asuka live and she's pretty fun to watch. Everything she does looks legit and she seemed to fun out there.

Up next, we got the Vaudevillains. Their entrance started in the balcony right above us, which I got some good video of. They were pretty over but it was nothing compared to the reaction for American Alpha. They, especially Gable, were among the four or five most popular people on the card. Really strong tag match here. The Vaudevillains played their roles well, Gable did his thing and Jordan got the hot tag, which he's mastered as of late. American Alpha were in their Steiners like gear. They won with the assisted back suplex.

Another tag team match came next. Nia Jax and Eva Marie teamed up to take on Billie Kay and Mandy of Total Divas fame. This was the only bad match on the show. Billie was the best thing about it, but her and Mandy aren't quite ready to carry the beyond awful Eva Marie. Eva was terrible at everything she did. Literally. Nia was alright. Eva got massive heat including "fire Eva" chants. They won but it was Billie Kay who got chants from the crowd on her way out.

I don't know exactly what happened but the card changed. On the card poster it said Asuka vs. Alexa, Emma and Peyton Royce vs. Billie and Mandy, and Bayley vs. Nia Jax.

Tye Dillinger was out next and got a good pop. Sami Zayn was his opponent and he might have been the most popular person of the night. The last two times NXT visited Ohio, Sami couldn't wrestle due to injury so it was great to see him. Tye had his "10" sign taken away by the referee, so he pulled out a tiny piece of paper with a ten on it instead. Sami rolled him up and quickly won, which Tye protested. He wanted a restart and Sami, and the crowd, made him say please. He got on his knees to ask for it. It got restarted and was fun. Sami of course won.

After intermission, Bayley defended the NXT Women's Title against Alexa Bliss. Bayley's popularity is something to behold. It's amazing to watch everyone, from children to women to grown men lose their minds because they all love one person. She's something special. While my friend didn't get a hug during her entrance this time, he got one on her way out, while we got high fives. This was one of the better matches of the night. Alexa was pretty awful when I first went last year, looking lost in the ring with Bayley, Charlotte and Sasha. Here, she looked like she belonged and the improvement was clear. The champion retained with the Bayley to Belly.

The Tag Team Titles were on the line next. The Revival faced Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. Hometown boy Gargano was INSANELY over. Tons of "Johnny Wrestling" chants. This was another fun match. Gargano got the hot tag and did his thing, which the fans ate up. Hell, there was a point where I believed a title change was happening, even though I knew that was a crazy thought. The champions kept the gold after hitting Ciampa with the Shatter Machine. Ciampa was really shaken up after. It took a few minutes to get him up and out of the ring. He was right in front of us and looked way out of it.

The main event was a Fatal Four Way match. Finn Balor defended the NXT Title against Baron Corbin, Samoa Joe and Apollo Crews. Everyone here, except Corbin, was popular. Corbin and Joe were great heels throughout. Corbin even whipped his wet hair into the face of a fan. Everyone got a chance to shine though Crews spent a good chunk of the match hurt on the outside. Finn was right in front of us more than a few times during the match, which was really cool. He retained after Joe locked in the read naked choke on Corbin, Crews moonsaulted onto them and Finn came off the top with the Coup de Grace. Finn pinned Corbin. He shook hands with Crews afterwards. They high fived the fans, including us. Crews was super sweaty. Finn "too sweeted" all of us and I even told him to hug my girlfriend (a huge fan of his), which he did. He and Crews did Finn's signature pose on their way out.

If you would like to see photos and videos, check out my Twitter @the_Kevstaaa and my Instagram which is also @The_Kevstaaa

NJPW New Japan Cup 2016 Night One Review

New Japan Cup 2016 Night One
March 3rd, 2016 | Ota-ku General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan

Today, NJPW’s yearly New Japan Cup Tournament began. It’s a three night tournament featuring 16 participants. The winner gets a shot at the title of his choosing between the IWGP Heavyweight, IWGP Intercontinental and NEVER Openweight Titles. With no AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows or Shinsuke Nakamura, the star power is lacking this time around, but it does open things up a bit. Add in the fact that you don’t have to challenge for the top title and it really gives it an (almost) anyone can win feel.

Before the show, there were three big announcements. One, Michael Elgin has signed a two year deal, which most of us knew already. Two, Katsuyori Shibata signed a contract and will no longer be a freelancer. Hopefully it leads to him getting very prominent roles for the rest of the year. Lastly, the Super J Cup will be returning later this year.

New Japan Cup First Round: Toru Yano def. Yujiro Takahashi w/ Cody Hall via countout in 1:13
These are pretty much the worst two wrestlers in the tournament. At least Toru Yano can be hella entertaining. Yujiro Takahashi…not so much. Takahashi attacked Yano during his entrance. He beat him up outside for a bit but Yano is a tricky bastard. He ended up hitting Takahashi with a low blow and just beating the count back into the ring. This is how I want my Takahashi matches. The shorter, the better. ¾*

New Japan Cup First Round: Michael Elgin def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan in 8:22
Fresh off of signing a two year deal with New Japan, it was pretty clear from the start that Michael Elgin was going to win this one. Hiroyoshi Tenzan is a legend but he’s past the point of really making an impact in this tournament, especially against someone like Elgin. They worked a good little match based around power. Elgin showed off some of his impressive offense and Tenzan got in hope spots. Commentary, even though I can’t understand them, did a good job of making close calls and near falls sound huge. When Tenzan applied the Anaconda Vice, you believed he might pull off the upset. Elgin put him and his mullet down with the Elgin Bomb. It’s amazing how things have turned around for Elgin thanks to his spectacular G1 run last year. Really good effort from both men in a match that ended up being way better than expected. ***

New Japan Cup First Round: Tama Tonga def. Togi Makabe in 7:40
Here we had an interesting matchup. Togi Makabe is one half of the IWGP Tag Team Champions, which Tama Tonga has promised to come after alongside the new Bullet Club member, whenever he debuts. Tonga attacked before the bell, making the Bullet Club 2-2 in doing that tonight. We got a countout tease as he worked over Makabe. After some back and forth, Makabe looked to be on verge of a win. Tonga put the referee in harm’s way, which was enough to distract Makabe and allow him to nail the Gun Stun (complete with machine gun taunt in honor of Karl Anderson). He hit Veleno to score the biggest win of his singles career. It felt like Makabe was kin of going through the motions, but Tonga continues to impress me. His offense is just unique enough to stand out and he has the advantage of being Gedo’s favorite thing; a gaijin. **¾

New Japan Cup First Round: Satoshi Kojima def. Tomoaki Honma in 11:50
When the brackets for the tournament were first announced, this match stood out to me the most. I’ve come to really enjoy the work of both men and they delivered a strong match here. The crowd loves both men, so they were way into this more than any other match so far. They went back and forth with a bunch of near falls. Honma missed Kokeshi of course but still had an opening to win. He survived a big lariat from Kojima but eventually fell to a second one. It was the longest and best match on the show so far. I was surprised to see both Honma and Makabe fall in the first round. Anyway, this was a lot of fun and had a very hot crowd to boot. The final few minutes were pretty breathtaking. With the win, Kojima meets Yano in the next round.***½

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and Kazushi Sakuraba w/ Gedo def. NEVER Openweight Champion Katsuyori Shibata and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA in 11:26
Apparently, you’re only invited to this match if your name starts with the letter “K”. This is right in my wheelhouse because I love watching KUSHIDA mix it up with the heavyweights and I relish any chance to see Shibata kick the shit out of Okada. Shibata was great against both guys actually. An actual singles match between KUSHIDA and Okada would probably kick all kinds of ass. KUSHIDA’s counter of the Rainmaker into the Hoverboard lock is one of my favorite counters of that move I’ve ever seen. Sakuraba broke it up though, leading to Okada putting down KUSHIDA with the Rainmaker. A good match between four good performers. I really also like the flow of the show so far, with nothing lasting too long. ***¼

After the match, Kazuchika Okada gets on the microphone and directs his words to KUSHIDA. A video comes on the screen and it’s Will Ospreay! He announces that he’s the newest member of CHAOS and will be challenging KUSHIDA for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title on April 10th at Invasion Attack. Okay, that match alone has me sold on that show.

New Japan Cup First Round: Hirooki Goto def. Yuji Nagata in 11:28
Right off the bat, I want to say that I disagree with the decision to have Goto win here. If they’re really going with the depressed angle for Goto, a loss here would have crushed him. He owns this tournament, having won it three times in the past. In typical Goto fashion, he lost every shot at the title coming out of it though. Hell, I would have booked him against Toru Yano and had Yano steal it from him, really stinging him. Goto was back in the white gear from New Beginning, but without the Hakushi paint. Anyway, the match featured some hard hitting stuff from both guys. Nagata even locked in his trademark armbar but it wasn’t enough. Goto put him away after Goto-Shiki. Solid match here. Goto will meet Tama Tonga in round two. ***

New Japan Cup First Round: Tetsuya Naito w/ BUSHI def. YOSHI-HASHI in 13:42
Tetsuya Naito, a heavy favorite to win this tournament, came out rocking a white suit. Personally, I’d like to see Naito take the IWGP Heavyweight Title from Okada at least by Dominion and carry it into Wrestle Kingdom 11. He’s been that good since the heel turn. YOSHI-HASHI is notoriously bland so I didn’t have high expectations. They managed to surprise me though. YOSHI did well and had more than a few moments where you actually believed he would somehow pull it off. BUSHI stayed out of it, which was good because Naito shouldn’t need help beating a lower card guy. Naito nails everything about his character. He just gets it and that was very evident throughout this match. He withstood everything YOSHI had and won with Destino. Better than I expected. ***¼

New japan Cup First Round: ROH World Television Champion Tomohiro Ishii def. EVIL in 15:20
This was another match that stood out when the cards were announced. Outside of a match with Hirooki Goto, EVIL hasn’t had much opportunity to shine in a singles role. EVIL attacked before the bell, which Naito didn’t need to do because he was the favorite, which EVIL isn’t. He brought chairs into play, opening one on Ishii’s head and slamming a second chair into it. It was a great visual, especially seeing the chair fly off of Ishii’s skull. This was a great, hard hitting, good old fashioned hoss battle. It was the best work EVIL has done since becoming the new character and another in a long line of strong performances from Ishii. He defeated the Los Ingobernables member with the Brainbuster. Best match of the show and certainly worth a look. Ishii will now face Naito in the second round. ***¾

New Japan Cup First Round: Bad Luck Fale w/ Tama Tonga def. Hiroshi Tanahashi in 13:53
I feel like Bad Luck Fale is pretty underappreciated. He always catches flak as he’s a bigger worker that avoids flashy stuff. Sometimes he can be dreadful, but most of the time, he plays his role as a monster well. In the past, he’s had some strong matches with Tanahashi, even beating him in the past two G1 Climaxes. This was about what you’d expect from the two of them. They played the big man/little man dynamic, which they usually do rather well. The very protected Bad Luck Fall finish is something that Tanahashi was sure to avoid and he escaped it several times. He tried for High Fly Flow but Fale caught him in midair before hitting the Bad Luck Fall to win. He moves to 3-1 against Tanahashi in four solid matches. Tanahashi was an interesting draw in the tournament because he could either go out now like he did and rest up some ailments or he could have gone on to win and get a rematch against Kenny Omega. This opens the door for fresh possibilities. Fale will take on Tanahashi’s partner Elgin in the second round in what should be a fun hoss battle. ***¼

Overall: 7/10. I’ll take nights like these every single time out. It’s the definition of an easy watch. Everything on the show is solid enough, with some things even being borderline great. If you can only see one thing from this show, I suggest EVIL/Ishii but the whole event is worth checking out. Hopefully, the rest of the tournament follows this format as I had a fun time watching night one.

Top Ten Thursday: Desired Global Cruiserweight Series Competitors

The WWE announced some new programming for the WWE Network this year. The biggest news was the inception of the Global Cruiserweight Series, where wrestlers under 205 pounds from around the world will compete in a giant tournament of sorts on the WWE Network. Today's list features the ten men that qualify for the weight limits that I want to see participate the most. I'm not including any guys currently on TV, like Chad Gable. I'm also including some longshots but it's really a mixture of personal preference and possibility of appearing.

10. Alex Shelley/KUSHIDA 

I’m kind of cheating with my first pick. I chose two guys and paired them up because of the fact that, not only are they tag team partners, but they’re also potential longshots to compete. KUSHIDA is currently the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and is under contract to New Japan Pro Wrestling. He should anchor and fix their rather broken junior heavyweight division. However, on a personal level, I would love to see him involved in this, despite it being very doubtful. The same goes for Alex Shelley. I’m not sure if he’s under contract with NJPW, but he does work there sporadically while spending more and more time with Ring of Honor lately. He is pairing up with Chris Sabin again, leading to more Motor City Machine Guns fun. Either way, if any of these two, or both, would be able to find their way into this tournament, it would make for fantastic television. KUSHIDA has quickly become one of my favorite wrestlers, while Shelley has been high on that list since he caught my eye in the mid-2000s.

9. Kamaitachi

 If I was making this list a few months ago, you would certainly not have found Kamaitachi on my radar. It was until the end of last year that he caught my eye after watching a great match against Dragon Lee in CMLL. Then, when CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling presented Fantasticamania, they had a rematch that ranks as my second favorite so far this year. Kamaitachi is a product of the New Japan Dojo. For those unaware, the graduates of the dojo work the undercard of NJPW shows, mostly jobbing to veterans. Once that’s over, they go on excursion and that’s what landed Kamaitachi in CMLL. Doing my research, he’s gone on to quickly make a name for himself as one of the best cruiserweights on the planet. That match I mentioned from Fantasticamania actually saw Kamaitachi become the World Lightweight Champion, adding an accomplishment to back my claim of him being one of the best in the world. Like some others on this list, he’s kind of a longshot to appear in the series, but it would be a ton of fun.

8. Rey Mysterio 

With the recent news that Rey Mysterio would be interested in working with the WWE once again, this one is kind of a no-brainer. His last two or three years with the company were pretty lackluster and it ended with Rey seemingly being held hostage in his contract. He was finally rid of the WWE last February. Since then, he has worked for AAA, is appearing in Lucha Underground and a few other independent promotions. If he really does want back in with the company, the Global Cruiserweight Series would be an ideal way. Mysterio is, hands down, the most successful cruiserweight in WWE history. Not only did he win the Cruiserweight Title itself several times, but he also did things no other cruiserweight had ever accomplished. He’s won the Royal Rumble, the World Heavyweight Title, several Tag Team and midcard titles and would be the biggest name involved. He shouldn’t win the whole thing, but several solid performances and a hard fought loss to someone could make that person’s career. Even if he just showed up as an ambassador or a similar role, it would do wonders for this entire thing.

7. Will Ospreay 

Flippy, high spot offense has never really been my thing. When I first heard about Will Ospreay he didn’t intrigue me. Then I saw him take part in Pro Wrestling Guerilla’s Battle of Los Angeles last year and came away less than impressed (which some people weren’t happy with me about). Then, I checked out Revolution Pro Wrestling. Ospreay is great there. I’ve watched him have great matches with the likes of AJ Styles and Marty Scurll and have grown to enjoy his work. PROGRESS is also a great place to check out to see the best of Will Ospreay. He’s one of the most exciting British wrestlers currently around. Already with about four years under his belt, Ospreay is just 22 years of age. It’s crazy to think that there are guys like Ospreay out there, who cite matches from the mid-2000’s as the reason for getting into the business. Ospreay is one of the few guys that retweeted the breaking news about the Global Cruiserweight Series, clearly showing that he’s interested. He did recently sign with New Japan but should still be a viable option.

6. Ricochet 

I’d say Ricochet is pretty much the prototypical cruiserweight in the world of wrestling right now. Something about Ricochet just stands out but one specific trait ranks above all. He is the most athletic wrestler I have ever seen. He takes to the sky with an ease that is unmatched. I know Neville has the nickname, but gravity really seems to have forgotten about Ricochet. The guy has found success pretty much everywhere he’s gone. From smaller independent promotions to winning the Battle of Los Angeles in 2014 to success in Dragon Gate to winning the Best of the Super Juniors and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles in the past few years to shining as the flag bearer for Lucha Underground under the guise of Prince Puma. I actually really prefer Ricochet as Puma. Something clicks better for him when he’s under the mask but either way he would show up, he’d be a welcome addition. I’ve heard he has a multi-year deal with Lucha Underground and he’s also gone on record to deny involvement in the Global Cruiserweight Series. Still, he’s been a freelancer for his whole career, so there is some hope held on that he could make an appearance.

5. Kyle O’Reilly

When it comes to the New Japan Junior Heavyweight division, I am no shy in voicing my opinions about it being incredibly disappointing. The two men who have delivered consistently for them are KUSHIDA and Kyle O’Reilly. I’ve mentioned KUSHIDA already but Kyle O’Reilly is just incredible. He’s currently one half of the best tag team in wrestling, reDRagon, and should be set for a Match of the Year candidate rematch against KUSHIDA at some point this year. He also has risen his profile in Ring of Honor, competing for their World Title on multiple Pay-Per-Views. O’Reilly would bring something different to the table than a lot of other cruiserweights, just like he does for New Japan. O’Reilly isn’t your typical high flying cruiserweight. He is more in the vein of guys like Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko in WCW, where they added an ability to bring technical expertise to a world of high flyers. Considering his deal with ROH, O’Reilly is another that doesn’t seem like a safe bet, but he would bring something special to the tournament.

4. Fenix

Lucha Underground has quickly become my favorite pro wrestling program to watch in the entire world. One of the standout guys throughout both seasons so far has been Fenix. Not only is he one of the most incredible performers currently wrestling, he’s also insanely young, having just turned 25 at the end of 2015. It is actually remarkable to be as good as he is at his age. In the top ten of my giant Top 100 Matches of 2015 list, Fenix was the youngest competitor to appear (seriously, go watch that match with Mil Muertes). So far in season two, Fenix has spent most of his time wrestling someone his own size, King Cuerno. Their matches have been great and things like that are what we could hope for if Fenix found a way into the Global Cruiserweight Series. He was among the better guest performers in PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles last year. No matter how you slice it, Fenix is a guy that delivers almost every single time out. If the WWE had upped the weight limit to 215 pounds, I’d have added Pentagon Jr. to this list. As it stands at 205, Fenix should be the most sought after Lucha Underground property.

3. Manny Andrade (La Sombra)

 Part of me feels like the Global Cruiserweight Series was born to make Manny Andrade a star. One of the biggest signings that the WWE has made for NXT, the former La Sombra has plenty of tools to become a star on his own, but this series could really help him establish himself. He’s been wrestling for about half of his young life already, making him something of an expert. He’s not your typical flashy cruiserweight easier. There’s more to him than meets the eye. The guy held the CMLL Universal Championship and was a founding member of Los Ingobernables, which now has Tetsuya Naito among it’s members. He was acquired by the WWE a while back but has yet to make his television debut. Andrade has been working the NXT live event circuit under his real name and this series later this year would be the perfect way to introduce him. I could see him winning it and immediately becoming a player on the NXT roster. Considering his placement in the company, he is almost a lock for this experiment.

2. Zack Sabre Jr.

The second I read about the Global Cruiserweight Series, my mind shot to Zack Sabre Jr. He’s a guy I’ve desperately wanted to come in and help the New Japan Junior division and I feel like he could bring the same shot in the arm to this tournament. Sabre is the best technical wrestler in the world right now. Think about this. Daniel Bryan won Wrestling Observer’s Best Technical Wrestler award for nine straight years. The man to end the streak? Zack Sabre Jr. There’s something about him that is just so captivating. There aren’t many guys that I can watch purely work the mat only and be completely enthralled. Add in his ability to seamlessly chain wrestle and deliver some surprisingly stiff strikes and you’ve got one of the best all-around performers in the world. Sabre could be the Dean Malenko of this tournament, only even better. He works for multiple promotions (RPW, PWG, Evolve) and even faced AJ Styles recently. The thing that stands out is his work for Evolve. Triple H has partnered up with them and Sabre was even featured on wwe.com last year. If anyone besides Andrade feel like a shoe in, it’s Sabre. They can’t possibly not include him. Right?

1. Kota Ibushi

Since he moved up from the Junior Heavyweight ranks to become a full-fledged Heavyweight in New Japan, it was hard to think about Kota Ibushi when the Global Cruiserweight Series was first announced. He actually didn’t even cross my mind until I read that he became a freelancer. Not being under contract to NJPW or any company opens things up wide for Ibushi. Despite being pushed as a heavyweight in recent years, Ibushi clocks in at under 205 pounds. He had one of the best 2015’s of any wrestler in the world, not just in Japan. His match against Shinsuke Nakamura was a MOTY contender and he faced a variety of opponents, almost always with great results. He is one of those guys that can be among the best strikers in the world, while rivaling someone like Ricochet in the athleticism department. I honestly feel like, while under contract with them, Ibushi was one of the three best performers in New Japan, even ahead of current champion Kazuchika Okada. If he or Sabre show up in this tournament, they could easily steal the show. The company could plan for La Sombra or someone else to win but if a guy like this catches lightning in a bottle, they could hear that fan reaction and change plans. That’s how good a guy like Ibushi is.