WWE Elimination Chamber Review

WWE Elimination Chamber
February 25th, 2018 | T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada | Attendance: 15,126

Most of WWE has been excellent in 2018. Other than Smackdown, the weekly shows are usually giving us high quality wrestling and some strong storytelling. Raw was on a roll heading into this Pay-Per-View. Could they keep it up or live up to the great Royal Rumble PPV?

Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel vs. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows
Recently, we’ve been treated to high quality Kickoff matches. This felt more like the days of King Barrett vs. R-Truth. This was a fine television style match and nothing more. Anderson took a short heat segment, before Gallows got to run a bit wild. A Magic Killer on Axel scored the win for the Good Brothers in 8:49. Like I said, this was fine, but totally forgettable and basic. [**]

WWE Raw Women’s Championship Elimination Chamber: Alexa Bliss [c] vs. Bayley vs. Mandy Rose vs. Mickie James vs. Sasha Banks vs. Sonya Deville
This had potential to shit the bed or be really good. Thankfully, it was the latter. Bayley started against Sonya Deville and they had a fine exchange. Mandy joined next and the Absolution girls teamed up on Bayley for what was easily the dullest part of the match. It only lasted a few minutes, but dragged on since Sonya and Mandy aren’t that good just yet. Sasha came in to even the odds and the match really gained momentum. Absolution against Bayley and Sasha proved to be one hell of a battle. Mickie entered next and had a strong run. It eventually came down to Alexa against Bayley and Sasha. Alexa ran from them and climbed the Chamber, which was fun. Sasha turned on Bayley, of course, kicked her off a pod like this was the Lion King or something. Bayley got rolled up in a slightly awkward moment, leaving it to Sasha and Alexa. Alexa busted out Twisted Bliss off a pod, that Sasha countered into the Bank Statement, which also didn’t come off too smoothly. Alexa weathered the storm and won with a hanging DDT in 29:38. A great match with some very good moments sprinkled in throughout. All the ladies worked hard and bumped their asses off. A few things lacked at some points (the Absolution team up and the final segment between Alexa and Sasha), but this was mostly great. [***¾]

WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: The Bar [c] vs. Titus Worldwide w/ Dana Brooke
I’ve enjoyed most of their TV matches. This was about as good as their last title match. There were several fun exchanges. Apollo took the heat, which made sense as he’s more sympathetic than Titus. However, the crowd still hasn’t been given quite enough reason to get behind the group, so they weren’t as into the babyface stuff as you’d want. Titus had a fine hot tag, though it was nothing special. The Bar put Apollo away with a tandem White Noise after 11:41. Very enjoyable tag team wrestling, highlighted by the Bar being their consistent selves, and by Apollo having one of his better PPV performances. [***]
Asuka vs. Nia Jax
If Nia won, she’d join the WrestleMania Raw Women’s Title match. There’s not much interest in this, as we’ve seen it a bunch in NXT and even on TV recently. The concern of, “Can Nia be the one to beat Asuka?” wasn’t there. I will give them props for the shot of Nia stepping on Asuka’s mask before the match. That was cool. Anyway, the match was similar to their prior matches, though not on the level of the TakeOver or Osaka bouts. They did play off the finish of those, which was nice. Asuka rolled through a pin to remain unbeaten at 8:10, before Nia attacked her after the match. It was fine pro wrestling that played to what works for both characters, it just lacked anything to really make it even a little exciting. [**¾]

Bray Wyatt vs. Matt Hardy
Like Asuka/Nia and Titus Worldwide/The Bar, we also got this on television in 2018. Bray basically squashed Matt on Raw 25. That, coupled with the terrible segments between the two, made for one of the most unappealing matches in recent memory. That happens a lot with Bray, huh? Anyway, this felt like more television filler. There was little life or energy behind anything, and the crowd cared about everything but the stuff going in the ring. Matt got the win with the Twist of Fate in 10:10 and we can all just move on with our lives. The definition of a “nothing” match. [½*]

Ronda Rousey came out to sign her contract next, complete with Kurt Angle, Triple H, and Stephanie McMahon in the ring. The segment moved along relatively fine, though Ronda is clearly still not comfortable on the microphone. She didn’t talk for a long time, but I still cringed a bit. Once Kurt Angle opened his mouth, the segment was saved. He hilariously confessed that HHH and Stephanie were still unhappy with Ronda for WrestleMania 31 (between this and what we find out was the Universal Title match, might as well call this year’s Mania WrestleMania 31: The Sequel) and they wanted to control her. With Ronda no longer talking, the segment took off. She put HHH through a table with a great looking spinebuster. Stephanie did slap her, but Ronda just gave her a look and she went running. Ronda signed the contract, setting up some kind of mixed tag at Mania most likely. It started slow and Ronda could definitely use a mouthpiece, but it ended with a bang and made me interested in Ronda. Success.

Elimination Chamber: Braun Strowman vs. Elias vs. Finn Balor vs. John Cena vs. The Miz vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
A seven-man Chamber should be wild. I was so happy that Finn, Seth, and Miz started. Their match on Raw in 2017 was the most underrated of the year. They started the match hot, making for some great moments. Things really picked up once Braun entered. He got most of the highlights and literally eliminated everyone until it came down to himself and Roman Reigns. I have to point out that the best spot was Braun launching Miz off a pod onto everyone below. Braun kicked out of EVERYTHING, surviving so much until the end. When it came down to him vs. Roman, it was good, but not on the level of their great encounters last year. Reigns hit him with everything in his power to pull out the expected win after 40:11. I did like how Finn and Seth lasted a long time (they were the last two eliminated before Braun) and got so much time in the match. They clearly weren’t afterthoughts. Watching live, I reacted to a lot of my friends were popping for, but missed a few things. I re-watched on my own this morning and liked it a fair amount less. It wasn’t as chaotic as you’d expect from something involving so many people and the final encounter wasn’t that great. It’s a very good chamber, just not the standout one I wanted, especially after the excellent gauntlet match on Raw. [***½]

Overall: 6.5/10. Raw has been a very good show so far in 2018. However, their exclusive PPV performed like most of their others since the brand split. It was above average and nothing more. The two chambers were very good and certainly the highlights, but the rest of the card felt like filler. Even with Asuka/Nia being solid and the Tag Title match being good, they didn’t really feel special. Other than the Chambers, it felt like an episode of TV. The same goes for the Ronda segment, even though it was good.

Elimination Chamber Predictions

I honestly don't think much is going to come of this. Part of me expected someone to interrupt, but I get the sense they might save that for one of Ronda Rousey's Raw appearances. At most, I could see a lower card woman interrupting and getting wrecked, but even that is doubtful to me.

This feud has been a disaster. It's just been two guys talking in circles and doing nothing to make me want to see the match. Plus, Bray already basically squashed Matt in a few minutes at Raw 25. I'm gonna say Bray wins here to gain some momentum before doing a lot of nothing at WrestleMania. Maybe he'll be a battle royal favorite.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

I feel like we've seen this match a bunch in recent weeks. Luckily, their last match for the titles was actually quite good. I can't imagine The Bar dropping the titles to Titus Worldwide, but I'm expecting a fun little match. I'd be okay with a title chance, as Apollo and Titus have been very entertaining in recent months. However, I've got The Bar going into Mania with the titles.

Winners: The Bar

Nobody would be dumb enough to waste Asuka's years of build on a loss to Nia Jax at Elimination Chamber, right? I mean, it's even worse than building up Charlotte's Pay-Per-View streak, only to lose in unceremonious fashion at Fastlane last year. Since there's no talk of a pin or submission, some believe Nia wins via DQ or countout, but that seems shitty to me. Asuka for the win.

Winner: Asuka

Like the women's Money in the Bank and Royal Rumble, this could either be a good first outing or a disaster. For the most part, MITB succeeded (even with the dumb booking after) and the Rumble was great. This one is tougher, as it's a tricky match to book, especially with unproven entities like Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. At this point, not having Alexa as champion going into Mania would be dumb, but I'm thinking Sasha pulls this out.

Winner: Sasha Banks

Come on. We've known this for a year. To be fair, I'm not complaining. I think Roman Reigns is a great choice for champion, as he's constantly putting on good to great matches. It's better than his 2015-2016 push, because he's not the focal point of TV the way he was back then. It should come down to Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns, with Reigns getting a win back over Braun for the first time in about a a year.

Winner: Braun Strowman

2018 Prediction Record: 9-2
2017 Prediction Record: 81-37
2016 Prediction Record: 72-41
2015 Prediction Record: 60-35

NJPW/ROH Honor Rising Night Two Review

NJPW/ROH Honor Rising Night Two
February 24th | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,714
After a lackluster opening night, Honor Rising returns for the sequel. Let’s hope things turn around here.

The Beer City Bruiser vs. Toa Henare
A night after a surprising match with Hirooki Goto, Bruiser was out for a fight. He demanded that Henare fight him, because he didn’t feel like wrestling. That made for a match full of clubbing shots and a bit of brawling. Henare came close with a flying shoulder block. In a finish I didn’t expect, it was Beer City Bruiser going up top and winning with a frog splash in 4:25. It was short and something you’d expect to see on ROH TV or something. Maybe it was taped for that. Fine way to get Bruiser back on track after a loss. [**]
Chase Owens, HIKUELO, and Yujiro Takahashi vs. David Finlay, Jay Lethal, and Juice Robinson
Lethal made the trip to Japan for two multi-man tags. His star has fallen. Owens is in an odd place, not sure which side of the Bullet Club war he’s on. The heels pulled a Suzuki-Gun and attacked before the bell. As the match got back to the ring, Finlay took the heat. That included Owens mocking Juice’s trademark punches. Jay came in and nailed his tope series. HIKUELO’s size was a problem, but a barrage of offense put him down, capped by a Lethal elbow in 6:35. Some fun action in this one, with the babyface team showing a lot of fire. I wish we got more Juice, though. [**¼]

BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Flip Gordon and Ryusuke Taguchi
It’s a damn shame BUSHI and Hiromu aren’t saving the Jr. tag division right now. Like the three way from night one, there was a lot of fast paced stuff here. If Gordon’s one thing, he’s athletic. His showboating cost him, as LIDJ took over. He took the heat segment for a bit. Taguchi came in with ass attacks and eventually worked the tag back to Gordon, so he could be all flippy. The crowd got behind him as he busted out a tope. He and Hiromu had some good back and forth towards the end, but got left alone with both opponents. Gordon escaped the Time Bomb, only to fall to a cool Doomsday MX at 10:17. LIDJ delivers again. Gordon’s not my cup of tea, but he’s more enjoyable in tags where he’s not the focal point. The combination of BUSHI and Hiromu is tremendous. [***]

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship: Bad Luck Fale and The Guerrillas of Destiny [c] vs. Cheeseburger, Delirious, and Jushin Thunder Liger
In a great little moment, Cheeseburger stood in front of the ring announcer to save him from a Fale attack. That set off a brawl to start the match. That ended up leading to Liger taking the heat for his team. It’s best because he’s the best and most sympathetic member of his trio. Delirious got the tag and did his usual stuff. When Cheeseburger came in, you couldn’t help but enjoy it. The throws his tiny frame into everything and gives it his all. He found ways to get in his offense. Though he fought valiantly, Cheeseburger got planted with Guerrilla Warfare for the loss in 9:16. Fine title defense. The outcome was never in doubt, but the face team was fun enough to make it worthwhile. [**¼]

Chuck Taylor, IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Jay White, and YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hangman Page and The Young Bucks
I want YOSHI to fill in the Beretta role. Totally be Chuckie’s best friend. It was interesting to see how much the Bucks distanced themselves from Hangman. They’re still Bullet Club, but Page has firmly sided with Cody, while the Bucks are on the fence. We got some preview of the eventual Page/White match. The Bucks also did most of their signature stuff, which the crowd ate up. Tacos got the hot tag treatment, though his run wasn’t that great. Chuckie got a slightly hotter tag and did better with it. In the end, it came down to Page and White. Page got the big pinfall on White after the Rite of Passage in 12:35. Kind of a surprising result, but this is the ceiling for Hangman. There’s no way he wins the title, so this is his big moment. It’ll set up their title match. This tag was pretty fun and continued the stories it had to. [**¾]

Post-match, Page got a chair and went to attack White. The Young Bucks stopped him, which confused and annoyed Don Callis. However, as soon as they left, Page planted White with a second Rite of Passage on the chair.

ROH World Championship: Dalton Castle [c] vs. Beretta vs. The Beer City Bruiser
Some Young Lions played Dalton’s boys tonight. The Beer City Bruiser came out and said he was in this match, too. So, he just got added. I wish I had that kind of authority. Jay Lethal, who gets an ROH Title shot at the 16th Anniversary Show, joined commentary. To be fair, Beretta was working hurt, so Bruiser might’ve been added to help. It also worked out, because Beretta is best as a plucky underdog face, which might not have worked against fellow face Dalton. The Bruiser added the element of a big guy to throw him around. He dominated at times and caused the faces to work together to combat it. Everyone got some pretty good near falls in. Castle won with a great looking deadlift German on the Bruiser in 16:00. As I said, adding Bruiser allowed the faces to work from behind, which was good. I still never believed the title would change hands and none of the near falls made me buy into it. Still, a good match. [***]

Cody and Marty Scurll vs. The Golden Lovers
I don’t know if I somehow overlooked it yesterday, but Marty’s hair is dyed white now. He confronted Kenny before the match, saying he hadn’t picked sides, but Kenny left him behind and obviously picked Kota. Marty and Kota opened by fighting for Kenny’s love. Cody ran from Kenny early, leading to a great spot where Kenny dove into the crowd to take him out. The Golden Lovers had their hot start cut off when they tried the Cross Slash (stereo Triangle Moonsaults), giving the Bullet Club the upper hand. Kota took the heat, with Kenny continually kept away. Kenny’s hot tag was great and sent the match into the next gear. He saved Cody from a Cross Rhodes off the apron with a V-Trigger. The finishing stretch was pretty wild and saw Cody kiss Ibushi. That fired up Ibushi to hit a series of slaps and a powerbomb. Scurll was left to fall to the Golden Trigger in 20:15. Great main event that was better than last night’s The Golden Lovers clearly have top notch chemistry. Their excellent stuff in the ring was matched by the charisma and character work of their opponents. [***¾]

After the match, Ibushi and Omega closed things out. Omega said this was one of the best weekends of his life and that he wants to become the best tag team in the world in 2018. That brought out the Young Bucks, who constantly make that same claim (even though the best tag team isn’t even in this company). They said they’re heavyweights now and that they’d see the Golden Lovers soon.

Overall: 6.5/10. An improvement on night one. The main event was a total blast as the Golden Lovers have become must see already. There are a few good matches on the show, with nothing being outright bad, making for another solid outing. The short runtime helped things along again.

NJPW/ROH Honor Rising Night One Review

NJPW/ROH Honor Rising Night One
February 23rd, 2018 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,700

Honor Rising has become an annual tradition over the past few years. With ROH’s roster growing considerably weaker over the past two years, the cards have waned in terms of interest. Still, there’s a major Bullet Club angle going on that gives some intrigue to these events.

Kevin Kelly and Don Callis were on commentary.

Bad Luck Fale and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Katsuya Kitamura and Toa Henare
Boy. Is ROH’s roster so bad and thin that they couldn’t even fill out the card? This is an all-NJPW match and really hammers home the thinness of the ROH roster. Kitamura was the highlight here, using his power like a beast. Watching him match up and even toss around Bad Luck Fale was quite the sight. That rarely happens. He took most of the heat, before the more established Henare got some shine. Kitamura got left alone with Fale in the end. Though he was strong enough to work him over at points, Fale hit a lariat and the Grenade for the win in 7:20. Decent opener, highlighted by Kitamura. Without him and his interactions with Fale, this would’ve been rough. [**¼]

Cheeseburger, Delirious, and Jushin Thunder Liger vs. HIKULEO and The Guerrillas of Destiny
The babyface team has a NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Title shot on night two, so this is exactly the same match, except HIKULEO will be Fale. HIKUELO is an interesting booking case. He must lose like all the other young lions, but he’s so big, it takes a lot. Delirious pulled his usual antics, Liger was Liger, and Cheeseburger was loved by the crowd. Haku’s kids work fine together, but it’s nothing to write home about. After a barrage of offense on HIKULEO, Cheeseburger used Shotei to beat him in 7:08. Perfectly acceptable multi-man match and nothing more. [**]

David Finlay and Juice Robinson vs. The Young Bucks
Commentary brought up the Bucks possibly moving to the heavyweight division. Ah, so it’s time for that annual rumor. I really dig the Juice/Finlay pairing. If they’re not going to push Juice towards a singles title, I’d give them a push as a team. Juice/Finlay vs. EVIL/SANADA sounds rad. The Bucks have been less grating than usual this year and their string of good matches continued here. This played like a greatest hits of sorts for them, as they got in their usual stuff. The key here was the chemistry between Finlay and Juice, who looked great. The Bucks won via Meltzer Driver in 12:51. This was a good match. With more time and an angle, it could’ve been better. [***]

Flip Gordon vs. Hiromu Takahashi vs. KUSHIDA
From the few ROH fans I still know of, I’ve heard good things about Flip Gordon. I don’t get it. He showed off his athleticism and got a lot of shine in this match, but what made it work was the interactions between KUSHIDA and Hiromu. Those guys are EASILY the best two junior heavyweights in the world and they proved it again here. Every moment between them was worth checking out and Flip felt more like a distraction or hindrance. Of course, he went on to win with a 450 splash in 12:48, most likely to set him up for some sort of BOTSJ run later this year. He’s a fine flippy guy, there’s just nothing special about him. [***¼]

Best Friends and IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Jay White vs. ROH World Champion Dalton Castle, Jay Lethal, and Ryusuke Taguchi
On a show with almost no LIDJ, no Kazuchika Okada, no Hiroshi Tanahashi, etc., the ROH World Champion is a midcarder. Yikes. Anyway, this was a preview of the Beretta/Castle ROH Title match tomorrow. Without his Boys, Castle was a bit less animated than usual. Taguchi was up to some of his fun tricks. Lethal really seems like he’s going through the motions for the past few years. Chuckie and Beretta were fun together. They’re not my favorite team, but anything is a positive addition to this tag division at this point. Interestingly, White was the focus and not tomorrow’s ROH title match. He puts away Taguchi with Blade Runner in 9:46 for the win. A solid little tag match, continuing the trend of White getting more comfortable in his role. [**½]

NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto [c] vs. The Beer City Bruiser
When Goto got booked against Punishment Martinez at last year’s Honor Rising, it felt like a low bar. They lowered it this year. Not that Bruiser is bad, he’s just very uninteresting. He surprisingly controlled most of this match, with Goto having to fight from behind. His selling leaves a little to be desired, so it’s a not role Goto’s great at. Anyway, though he took most of the offense, Goto made the expected rally. He won with GTR in 12:38. The amount of offense that Bruiser got in was surprising, but not a bad idea. [**¾]

Chase Owens, Kenny Omega, and Kota Ibushi vs. Cody, Hangman Page, and Marty Scurll
It looks like Owens has decided to side with Omega on this Bullet Club beef. Korakuen Hall lost their minds for the Golden Lovers. Cody spat on a fan’s sign supporting them. The action in this main event was very good, with some great moments of storytelling. There was Cody and Page being complete jerks, while Marty was still not sure how to handle things. He wrestled Omega because he had to, but mostly avoided anything like taunting him. For example, Cody and Page mocked Omega’s Terminator spot, but Scurll didn’t get involved. The match kicked into another gear when Ibushi and Omega got to work together, which was a blast. We also finally got to see Cody interact with Omega, previewing their Mania weekend match. It came down to Page and Owens, with the Rite of Passage ending Owens in 20:31. This was the best thing on the show and it delivered in terms of furthering the story, giving us just enough Golden Lovers, giving Page a win since he has a US Title shot in the near future, and being fun. [***½]

Overall: 5.5/10. Not a bad show, only slightly above average. The main event is the highlight, while the tree-way juniors match was fun because of KUSHIDA and Hiromu. The rest of the show features middle of the pack matches. It helps that this was only 2.5 hours, as too many shows go too long these days.

Top 100 Matches of 2017 #70-61

70. War Games: The Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong vs. SAnitY vs. The Undisputed Era – NXT TakeOver: War Games 11/18/17

When it was announced that War Games was coming to a WWE stage for the first time ever, there was a lot of excitement. There was also concern to see if they could pull off the magic of some of the original matches. With the three team format, no roof on the cage and the idea that two men would enter at a time after the first three opened things, it was clearly going to be different. And yet, it worked very well. War Games works as a series of hot tags. Undisputed Era got the men advantage first, which made sense as the heels. I was surprised Authors of Pain came in next to help Roderick Strong, as I thought they’d be the final big blow. Boy, was I wrong. SAnitY joined last and brought weapons into the match. That final segment of the match was ridiculous in the best possible way. I saw a man bleed buckets, creative uses of the two rings, a super German suplex through two tables and a superplex off the top of the cage onto six people in the ring. Adam Cole got the win for his guys with a shining wizard into a chair at 36:32. This didn’t feel that much like War Games, but that didn’t matter. It was violent, never felt long, had wild spots and continued the ongoing stories among the competitors. I wrote all this and still probably didn’t scratch the surface of everything they did. [****¼]

69. Number One Contender’s Match: Big R Shimizu vs. Masaaki Mochizuki – Dragon Gate Scandal Gate 9/5/17

Masaaki Mochizuki is one of Dragon Gate’s best ever. Big R Shimizu was arguably their top performer in 2017. During their annual King of Gate tournament, Shimizu beat the champion, YAMATO, in stunning fashion in under four minutes. On this night, they met for a shot at the company’s top title. This opened with Mochizuki taking out Shimizu with a springboard dropkick and the greatness didn’t stop for the 14:48 duration. Mochizuki knew that Shimizu’s Shot Put Slam was a devastating finisher, so he had a plan to attack the arm and take that move away. The arm work was great and sold even better by Shimizu. He had bursts of offense and withstood some of Mochizuki’s vicious array of kicks, but barely had use of his arm. There was a great moment when Mochizuki countered the Shot Put Slam, so Shimizu responded by hitting it with his other arm. He was unable to fully take control, opening the door for Mochizuki to continue his brutal offense. He eventually pulled back on Shimizu’s arm with a great looking submission to earn the shot at the Open the Dream Gate Championship. In contention for the best Dragon Gate match all year and certainly the company’s best singles match of 2017. [****¼]

68. RPW British Heavyweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata [c] vs. Matt Riddle – RevPro High Stakes 1/21/17

I miss Katsuyori Shibata. This was during his run as British Heavyweight Champion. He faced Matt Riddle in a battle of two bad dudes. Riddle offered a handshake that Shibata declined. Riddle had to earn his respect. This got off to a bit of a slow start as they took to the mat to get a feel for one another. Thanks to their MMA backgrounds, the chain grappling and submission attempts are fantastic. Though it’s a slow start, it’s highly entertaining. Things were turned up a notch when Riddle fired off a series of strikes. Their battle of forearms and kicks was breathtaking. Shibata sold Riddle’s stuff great, at first. Then, he fired up and dismissed Riddle’s stuff in incredible fashion. Shibata was so good at that. They graduated to even heavier blows, like suplexes. Riddle nearly shocked everyone after stealing Shibata’s sleeper and Penalty Kick. That angered Shibata, who showed him how it’s done and made Riddle tap out to his sleeper at 15:10. He got no handshake before the match, but Riddle got a show of respect from Shibata afterwards, having earned it. A terrific match that played to their strengths. [****¼]

67. New Japan Cup First Round: Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW New Japan Cup 3/12/17

Fresh off his first Wrestle Kingdom main event, Kenny Omega looked to rebound and win the New Japan Cup. A tournament win would earn him another shot at Kazuchika Okada the following month. In his way stood Tomohiro Ishii in a first time ever meeting. Omega looked to take it right to Ishii. That was a mistake, as he got rocked with strikes. A reverse rana outside put the momentum in Omega’s favor and from there, he targeted the shoulder. Things got really crazy when Ishii busted out a goddamn super rana. I didn’t even know what I was watching at that point. They just went into a barrage of great back and forth for the remainder of the match. I got a kick out of seeing Ishii pull out his own V-Trigger. There was a great spot where Ishii fought off the One Winged Angel, so Omega turned it into a massive German suplex. Ishii had the best counter for the One Winged Angel when he turned it into a stunner. He finally used a Brainbuster to win in 29:46 They continued the story of nobody kicking out of Omega’s finish, Ishii sold everything like a champ and the exchanges were wild. It didn’t need to go half an hour, though. [****¼]

66. Donovan Dijak vs. Keith Lee – PWG Battle of Los Angeles 9/3/17

Two nights prior, these guys teamed as the Monstars. Anyone who loves Space Jam can’t help but love that. I went into this after hearing tons of praise, seeing Dave Meltzer give it five stars, and knowing that they had two bangers earlier in the year in Evolve. These are big lads and they did big lad things. The early spots saw them showcase their athleticism, doing freakish things that shouldn’t be possible given their size. I’m not lying when I say that more than a few spots made me legitimately worry if the ring would break. There were a few spots they didn’t hit cleanly, though it can be excused somewhat because a lot of it had a high difficulty degree. Lee landing on his feet on a monkey flip and Dijak’s springboard corkscrew dives were just some of the standout moments. They both kicked out at one, at different points, to standing ovations. Finally, Lee scored the win after 21:42 to advance to the semi-finals of BOLA. A lot of the appeal of their matches is seeing big dudes do wild shit. Some of that shine wears off after you’ve seen it already, so I do prefer their first Evolve outing, but this was better than their second Evolve match. An absolute spectacle. [****¼]

65. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 7/17/17

Two names were announced for the G1 Climax that added intrigue. One was the returning Kota Ibushi and the other was Zack Sabre Jr., in his first G1. His G1 debut itself was even bigger, facing Intercontinental Champion and ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi. The daunting task didn’t matter to the brash Brit. For 17:18, he picked Tanahashi apart. Since Tanahashi came in with his arm taped, Sabre made it his target and attacked it mercilessly. The stuff he did looked like it came with relative ease, which was a brilliant way to establish him with unfamiliar fans. This was the guy who could come in and treat the seven-time IWGP Champion like a chump. Tanahashi got something going early, but stopped to taunt and Sabre caught him in another submission. He was just in the driver’s seat from the get go. Tanahashi’s comeback saw him work the leg, as expected. He hit High Fly Flow, but Sabre got his knees up on the second. He trapped Tanahashi in another submission, ripped off his arm tape and made the ace tap out in his G1 debut. It was the perfect way to book Sabre on his first show. There was excellent limb work and top notch selling. The rematch for the IC Title wasn’t as good, but we’ll always have this. [****¼]

64. JML vs. The South Pacific Power Trip – PROGRESS: Orlando 3/31/17

The South Pacific Power Trip have been a highlight on any show they’re on. JML consists of Sami Callihan and Shane Strickland. I love Strickland, Banks and Cooper, while Callihan has been the best I’ve ever seen him as Jeremiah Crane in Lucha Underground this year. This was not for tag team traditionalists. It was a wild 13:12 sprint, featuring big spots and tons of action. I don’t think there was a “legal” man at any point. Everyone got in dives, there was brawling around the ring and stiff kicks throughout. Some of the best spots saw JML hitting a sick double stomp/powerbomb combo and an exchange of kicks involving everyone that came off great. The highlight saw Strickland hit a spider German on Cooper as he hit a superplex on Sami, with Banks coming off instantly after to take him out with a coast to coast dropkick. Incredible action. Banks and Cooper won with an elevated spike DDT, capping arguably the craziest match of WrestleMania weekend. SPPT is one of the best teams in the world because of their versatility and matches like this showed why. [****¼]

63. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW G1 Climax 8/1/17

In the G1 Climax two years ago, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi had a banger of a match that saw Tanahashi pick up the victory. This time, Ibushi was in his hometown and had the crowd firmly behind him. That reaction opened the door for heel Tanahashi, which I love. Instead of giving clean breaks, he’d throw in cheap shots. He’d spend time talking smack or stopping to play some air guitar. It was as if he felt Ibushi, who never committed to NJPW, was beneath him. Each time Ibushi got something going, the fans ate it up. Tanahashi targeted the leg and neck, vigorously going after them at every turn. Ibushi finally got going and hit his deadlift German suplex, which looked like it nearly killed Tanahashi. The desperation Ibushi showed when he went for the pin was magnificent. Not only would a win over Tanahashi mean a ton, but a loss would mathematically eliminate Ibushi from the G1. The Last Ride got him a great near fall, before a brutal knee got him the win at 20:40, which set him up for a shot at Tanahashi’s Intercontinental Title a few months later. They told a compelling story to give us one of the better G1 main events. [****¼]

62. Ben-K, Big R Shimizu and Kotoka vs. Eita, Kaito Ishida and Takehiro Yamamura – Dragon Gate Scandal Gate 8/8/17

Since 2007, Dragon Gate ran the Summer Adventure Tag League in the summer. However, that tournament wasn’t always a bright spot. This year, it was replaced with the 5 Unit Survival Race League, where the five major DG factions (Jimmyz, VerserK, Over Generation, Tribe Vanguard and MaxiMuM) competed in a series of matches. The two teams that did the worst would meet and that loser would be forced to disband. This match was part of the tournament, with Over Generation (Eita’s team) against MaxiMuM. Dragon Gate has mastered the multi-man tag and this was the best of the year. Though it only ran 11:53, there was more action than most 30+ minute outings. We got some great callbacks to the awesome Shimizu/Yamamura match from February. An incredible pace saw so many moving parts, yet everything working so fluidly. Eita, a favorite of mine in the company, picked up the win for his guys by making Kotoka tap after a furious final few minutes. The best part was knowing that these hungry young guns were killing it. The oldest guy in the match was a mere 27 years old. The future of Dragon Gate is in great hands. [****¼]

61. AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar – WWE Survivor Series 11/19/17

It’s hard to get excited about Brock Lesnar matches these days. He tends to give little to no effort. So, when AJ Styles won the WWE Title and got put in Jinder Mahal’s place for this match, I was concerned. I expected a short, underwhelming outing. Luckily, Brock decided to bring the effort. He dominated Styles for a big early chunk of this 15:19 match. It was reminiscent of the Brock squashes we’ve gotten in recent years. AJ bumped like a madman, making Brock’s already brutal offense look even better. When AJ started his comeback, it felt earned. It was realistic. He didn’t just power up and turn things around. He continued to sell, while hitting his offense out of desperation. It led to the fans totally biting on a Phenomenal Forearm near fall. AJ went for a second, only to get caught in an F5 that finished him off. The starting run wasn’t exciting, but it did a masterful job in building the sympathy for Styles. Other than a horribly botched DDT spot, everything clicked in this match. I loved it. [****¼]

Kevin's Top 100 Matches of 2017: #80-71

80. Kota Ibushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 7/23/17

The second Kota Ibushi was announced for the G1 Climax, this was one of the first matches that came to my head in excitement. I’d seen them wrestle just once before and it was incredible (****¾ back in 2014). Not putting this match in Sumo Hall, Osaka or Korakuen was a travesty, as it deserved one of those great crowds. Ibushi’s style is a fantastic blend of aerial skills and stiff strikes. That striking ability is right up Ishii’s alley, and within the opening minutes, they were already killing each other. Though Ibushi hits hard, Ishii brushed off his kicks like nothing. It wasn’t that they didn’t hurt, it just seemed like Ishii refused to show him that they did. If that makes sense. Eventually, it was Ibushi’s turn to no sell, which just led to a higher level of violence. They traded slaps, headbutts and suplexes, with neither holding anything back. A string of absolutely brutal slaps led to an Ibushi lariat and his stiff knee strike. The Last Ride was all that was left to hit, which got him the victory in 17:14. When I see these two, I just want them to go to war for about 15 minutes, which is just what I got here. Not quite on the level of their 2014 outing, though still in the upper echelon of G1 matches. [****¼]

79. CIMA, Dragon Kid, Eita, Naruki Doi & Takehiro Yamamura vs. Brother YASSHI, El Lindaman, Punch Tominga, Shingo Takagi & T-Hawk – Dragon Gate Glorious Gate 3/8/17

When Dragon Gate decides to put on a great multi-man tag, they do it up big time. To close out this Korakuen Hall show, these teams competed in a ridiculously paced main event. It didn’t slow for the entire 27:44. Since Dragon Gate does these tags so often, something usually must stick out for one to rise above the rest. In this match, it was Takehiro Yamamura. He was the company’s breakout star in 2017 and this match was a big reason why. He killed it with every interaction against the VerserK guys. The interactions with T-Hawk set the stage for a great match the following month. The fans completely bought into Yamamura and got behind him 100%. The finish came when Shingo accidentally hit Tominga with a Pumping Buster, which allowed Yamamura to score the huge win with the Skytwister Press. Just a fantastic run of exchanges between everyone and it gets a bit of an extra bump for the big Yamamura moment. [****¼]

78. WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championships: The Usos [c] vs. The New Day – WWE Battleground 7/23/17



Even in a year without the best tag team in the world (The Revival), the WWE still managed to produce several tremendous tag matches in 2017. The rivalry between the New Day and the Usos was the high point. Though their first match was at Money in the Bank, this was where it really got going. Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston represented New Day, allowing for more speed, which they showcased right from the start. After getting a hot tag, Kofi performed a dive onto the Usos, only to get caught and planted with a brutal powerbomb on the outside. Left alone, Woods fought valiantly. He survived everything the Usos threw at him. It led to one of the best spots in any company this year, as Woods did tried his rope walk elbow, only to get drilled with a sick midair superkick. It was the best superkick since Shawn Michaels and Shelton Benjamin, bar none. Somehow, that wasn’t the finish and neither was an Uso splash. That made it clear that new champions would be crowned, which happened after Trouble in Paradise and a Woods elbow at 13:46. The pace was wild and it made for one of the best tag matches all year. It turns out they were just warming up. [****¼]

77. GHC Heavyweight Championship: Katsuhiko Nakajima [c] vs. Go Shiozaki – Pro Wrestling NOAH Great Voyage in Yokohama 3/12/17



Pro Wrestling NOAH had its fair share of struggles in recent years. From Jado’s booking to the overrun of Suzuki-Gun shenanigans, it was rough. Putting the title on Katsuhiko Nakajima didn’t do wonders for business, but it led to plenty of quality matches. Go Shiozaki was supposed to be the guy for NOAH a while back, but that didn’t pan out. This was hard hitting from the start. They went outside, where Go destroyed the champion with a barrage of chops. Each time Nakajima fought back, Go had an answer. It eventually became a battle of Go’s chops against Nakajima’s kicks. They just traded tons of big blows as the match progressed. Go seemingly knocked Nakajima out with a lariat that left him out on his feet. When it looked like all hope was lost, Nakajima fired up and delivered one of the stiffest kicks you’ll ever see. He added the Vertical Spike to retain in 27:01. I loved that this was basically the anti-Jado main event. It was clean and decisive, rather than full of nonsense overbooking. [****¼]

76. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 8/6/17

With the G1 Climax winding down, a win for Tomohiro Ishii here would’ve kept him alive, while a Hiroshi Tanahashi set the stage for it to come down to himself and Tetsuya Naito. In the G1 23, Ishii beat Tanahashi in a classic, while Tanahashi bested him in their next two G1 meetings. Ishii was the aggressor early. He was winning the battle of strikes, so Tanahashi took it to his knee and looked for the Texas Cloverleaf. In a great twist, Ishii hit a dragon screw and busted out a Sharpshooter. I love that move. Unfortunately, I never bought it as a potential finish. I only believe Tanahashi would tap to a more established move, or something to his injured arm. Anyway, things picked up late as the guys racked up the near falls. They survived the signature offense of the other, before Tanahashi won with two High Fly Flows in 23:30. These guys are always awesome together. They brought intensity and drama, especially down the stretch. Ishii was the G1 MVP. [****¼]

75. RPW British Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. [c] vs. Will Ospreay – RevPro Global Wars UK 11/10/17

Up until about halfway through 2016, I was all in on Will Ospreay. One of the reasons was a WrestleMania weekend stealing match with Zack Sabre Jr. at Evolve 58. I’ve soured on him greatly since then, but another match against Sabre was just what the doctor ordered. The exchanges through this 24:59 match were insanely fast paced. The story consistently saw Sabre one step ahead of Ospreay. Will would do a high flying spot and Sabre would trap him in some kind of submission. Being a Suzuki-Gun member, Sabre was all about trying to take the easy way out, nearly winning via countout. When that didn’t happen, Ospreay went back to the skies. He continually found counters that Sabre found counters for. They knew each other so well and it led to a ridiculously fluid match. Ospreay turned Sabre’s European Clutch into his own pin that the fans totally bit on as the finish. The Oscutter couldn’t do it either and neither did the imploding 450 splash. A series of counters led Sabre to put Ospreay in a sick looking submission to retain. This was their second best match together and a great way to cap the RevPro/NJPW joint shows. [****¼]

74. Anthony Henry vs. Fred Yehi – Style Battle S1:E5 6/16/17

While WWN was partnered with FloSlam for most of the year, I followed Style Battle. For those unfamiliar, each episode features a one night tournament and the winners of each eventually meet in a final tournament to determine the season winner. On episode one, Fred Yehi was the favorite to win, but ran into a brick wall named Anthony Henry. They wrestled to a thirty minute draw (***¾) and since then, neither man had claimed a Style Battle win. On episode four, Henry vowed to never compete in Style Battle again if he lost on episode five. It came down to these two in the finals and it felt like a big deal. They both came out throwing bombs, which was the opposite of their draw. They wrestled a smart match and focused on the body parts that were weakened earlier in the tournament. There was a sense that Yehi was superior, but Henry had too much heart and determination to stay down. He survived everything Yehi threw at him, including the Koji Clutch, before nailing the Kudoh Driver to win in 19:06. Not many will bring this match up as something to remember, but it’s worth checking out. [****¼]

73. AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon – WWE WrestleMania 33 4/2/17

The debate over who the best wrestler in the world is starts and ends with AJ Styles. This match might be Exhibit A. It’s one thing to have great matches when working with your most talented peers. It’s one thing to have a great gimmick match with Shane McMahon. Yet here, on the biggest stage possible, AJ and Shane had a straight up wrestling match. And for 20:28, it was awesome. They didn’t rely on smoke and mirrors or tons of shenanigans. AJ was overconfident because the ring is his domain. Shane showed off some grappling skills of his own, but never to where it made AJ look bad, just like AJ took him too lightly and it cost him. That’s an important distinction. I must admit, I popped when Shane did some submission transitions and even caught a springboard 450 splash into a triangle choke. We did get a ref bump, so it wasn’t completely devoid of stunts. However, it only set up a coast to coast spot, so it wasn’t overdone. Shane eventually missed an impressive Shooting Star Press, which set up the Phenomenal Forearm to give AJ his first Mania victory. AJ had a fantastic match with a non-wrestler and didn’t rely on the expected tropes. There’s a reason he’s the GOAT. [****¼]

72. Lucha Underground Championship Career vs. Career Match: Prince Puma [c] vs. Pentagon Dark – Lucha Underground Ultima Lucha Tres 10/18/17

Ultima Lucha Tres was scheduled to end with Prince Puma vs. Johnny Mundo, which was also the main event of the first ever Lucha Underground show. Puma’s career was on the line and he overcame the odds to win his second Lucha Underground Championship. His celebration was cut short by Dario Cueto. He announced that Pentagon Dark was cashing in his Gift of the Gods Title for a shot at Puma. Dario threw in the added twist of both their careers were on the line. Like their Cueto Cup Finals meeting, this was kept short. It went just 8:26, but was packed with non-stop action. Pentagon broke Puma’s arm early on, but a desperate Puma popped it back into place and taped it up to keep going. They had some incredible exchanges before Puma hit the Benadryller. He went for the 630, but Vampiro pulled Pentagon out of the way. Pentagon then won with the Package Piledriver, finally capturing the title that eluded him for so long. The match was a blast but the story was even better. Vampiro and Pentagon had a long history and Vampiro spent this season manipulating Puma, all to turn on him and side with Pentagon in the end. [****¼]

71. IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Kenny Omega vs. Michael Elgin – NJPW G1 Special in USA 7/1/17

Their three matches last year got progressively lower scores each time (from **** down to ***¼), with this being their first meeting in 2017. Michael Elgin had never lost to Kenny Omega in a straight singles match. That gave him the mental edge, which he only added to by overwhelming Kenny with his power advantage. After a close countout tease, one that came too early for me to truly buy, they just threw bombs at one another for the rest of the 22:31. Omega threw everything he could at Elgin, while still managing to bump like a madman for him. Elgin delivered an apron German and wild middle rope crucifix bomb to lead to one of the better near falls of the tournament. I loved Omega countering the Elgin Bomb to an inside cradle. It hammered home his desperation to finally beat Elgin. Omega came back with a series of V-Triggers, before winning with the One Winged Angel. This was just what I wanted from these guys. It was wild and, despite the usual NJPW slow start, didn’t have the nonsense limb work segment that leads nowhere. Limb work wasn’t coming into play at the end, so they never went to it. Wise. Tons of action, with Omega making Elgin’s offense look even better than usual. [****¼]

NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka Review

NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka
February 10th, 2018 | EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 5,481
Whenever Los Ingobernables de Japon are the focal point of an NJPW card, it usually ranks among the best the company puts out there. Last year’s New Beginning in Sapporo was poop compared to the Osaka show, which had LIDJ matches at the top, for example. That’s the case here, as there are a whopping five LIDJ/CHAOS singles matches.

Katsuya Kitamura vs. Yuji Nagata
This was the sixth match in Kitamura’s Seven Match Trial Series. As you’d expect from NJPW, Kitamura entered winless. I still wish they’d go a completely different route with Kitamura. He’s so good and already older than most Young Lions. By the way, Nagata came out with a Tag Title he won in AJPW last week. The match became a strike battle that Kitamura didn’t have a chance in. He did his best, but Nagata just beat his ass. I liked Kitamura using Nakanishi’s Torture Rack, as if he’s learning things along the way during this series. Kitamura came close a few times, and survived the armbar and a PK. He couldn’t get up from a backdrop driver, losing in 10:58. Though it felt rather one-sided, I liked the story it told. Kitamura is continuing to learn, but Nagata schooled him thanks to his experience. [***]

Non-Title Match: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Roppongi 3K w/ Rocky Romero vs. El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
This is the best possible Suzuki-Gun Due to the title match with the Young Bucks and all the recent Suzuki-Gun attacks, SHO’s back was taped and still bothering him. Suzuki-Gun did one of their signature early attacks to gain the upper hand. SHO’s injury made him the obvious choice for isolation. YOH got some shine after his hot tag. But, that back just kept coming into play. The champs went for their finisher, only for SHO’s back to give out. YOH got taken out, leaving SHO at Kanemaru’s mercy. He used a Boston crab, along with a cheap chair shot to the back, to make SHO tap out in 10:22. Maybe I’m in a good mood, but I really liked that. I love that SHO still had back issues coming into this and Suzuki-Gun attacked it. Yea, Roppongi 3K overcame the Young Bucks, but they’re still vulnerable. Kanemaru using the crab to win felt like a shot to their recent time as Young Lions. [***¼]

Post-match, Suzuki-Gun added more chair shots to SHO’s back, stomped on Rocky Romero, and posed with the titles.

KUSHIDA, Michael Elgin, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Togi Makabe vs. IWGP Intercontinental Champion Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku, and Takashi Iizuka
In a good turn of events, Makabe jumped Minoru during his entrance. It made sense since Minoru keeps denying his shot at the IC Title. The ring emptied, with Suzuki/Makabe fighting in the crowd, as well as Elgin/Iizuka. Taichi went after Taguchi because of the stuff with his lady friend. Once it got back to the ring, things calmed down a bit. However, there was a spot where Iizuka suggestively bit Taguchi on the ass. Callis: I thought I was gonna have to wait until 3 AM to see that. Makabe and Suzuki got their eventual tags and went to war. Things broke down again, and Makabe beat TAKA with the King Kong Knee Drop in 11:52. This was in offensive, but nothing more than the usual Suzuki-Gun match. [**¼]

After the match, Suzuki finally accepted Makabe’s challenge. He then fell on the ramp and beat up poor Tomoyuki Oka for it.

David Finlay, Juice Robinson, and Toa Henare vs. IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Jay White, Tomohiro Ishii, and Toru Yano
They ran this match in Korakuen on the 6th (***). I appreciate how White doesn’t come out with his partners. He really only joined CHAOS for business reasons (and booking, since Gedo can’t seem to figure out what to do if you’re not part of some kind of stable) and isn’t friends with them. Yano and Juice opened this with some fun exchanges. Henare continued to target Ishii and get beaten for it. I was more into Juice going right at Ishii, though. A New Japan Cup or G1 match between them sounds great. In the end, White was left with Henare. He hit the Blade Runner and instead of covering him, he rained elbows down so the referee could call for a stoppage at 7:33. Like the Korakuen match, this was fine fun. Henare’s issue with Ishii is intriguing, Ishii/Juice was a highlight, and White continues to gain more confidence in his role. [**¾]

In a very cool moment, Rey Mysterio Jr. appeared in a video. He announced he would be wrestling in NJPW for the first time ever at Strong Style Evolved in Long Beach, California. He issued a challenge to Jushin Thunder Liger, who nodded from commentary. Okay, that’s pretty damn cool.

BUSHI vs. Gedo
It feels odd to have this on a major show, but at least it gives BUSHI something to do. He’s too good to be the forgotten member of LIDJ. He brought out giant scissors to cut Gedo’s beard, while Gedo wore the two masks he stole from BUSHI. As expected, that meant a lot of Gedo going after the mask, and BUSHI pulling on his beard, in the early stages. From there, it was a battle of two guys trying to out heel one another. Low blows, mist, tying the mask to the ropes, beard pulling, etc. You know it, these guys tried it, which made for a different kind of match. That’s very appreciated in NJPW. BUSHI won an entertaining match with MX in 10:07. This was fine. Fun back and forth cheating from both men, but nothing more. [**]

Tetsuya Naito vs. YOSHI-HASHI
Man, that WK12 result looks worse and worse with Naito treading water like this. HASHI jumped Naito during his entrance, drawing the ire of the crowd. The story has been that Naito doesn’t take him seriously. Even when Naito gets attacked, he shrugs it off because he doesn’t care. Naito withstood that and took control. This match had a slower pace than expected. There wasn’t much outwardly wrong with this match, it just wasn’t very interesting. It lacked an urgency and Naito didn’t seem to be at his best. The crowd was kind of dead other than cheering for Naito. Naito won after two Destinos in 16:46. It felt longer than that and really hammered home how Naito shouldn’t be stuck here. By this point last year, he already had two 4.5 star matches and this year, he’s yet to have one crack 4. Nobody believed HASHI had a chance and they never made it feel like that was the case. As I said, this was good, but nowhere near great. [**¾]

Post-match, Taichi attacked Naito with his microphone stand. There have been rumors of Taichi moving to the heavyweight division. Holy hell, imagine being Naito and falling this hard from grace.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay [c] vs. Hiromu Takahashi
The video package for this was filled with cats and I loved it. This show has been wildly average. Save us, Hiromu. They went right at each other and Hiromu nailed a great German suplex on the outside and belly to belly into the guardrail. From there, the pace remained insane, with both guys pulling off impressive feats of athleticism. Each bump looked violent, especially the way Ospreay took the sunset flip bomb. In fact, Ospreay took the brunt of the beating and had to continually struggle for any advantage. In one sick spot, Ospreay countered a super wheelbarrow driver into a release German suplex onto the turnbuckle. It didn’t come off cleanly, but was a vicious idea. They continued with the great back and forth, which included an imploding 450 by Will, Oscutter counter by Hiromu, a great strike exchange, and Hiromu kicking out a middle rope reverse rana at one. After even more quality stuff, Ospreay used the beheading forearm and the Oscutter to retain in 20:05. Easily the best thing on the show. They had the breakneck paced match I wanted from them. Tons of great exchanges and counters throughout, with the fans completely into everything. I miss Hiromu as Jr. Champion, though.[****¼]

NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto [c] vs. IWGP Tag Team Champion EVIL
It’s almost impossible to be interested in Hirooki Goto. Where the last match was fast paced, this one was much slower. It was two bigger dudes wearing each other down. They eventually moved into some of the harder hitting offense, though it didn’t grasp me the way those spots in other NEVER Title matches have. It felt like it dragged on and went about double the actual length. It picked up a bit late, but not enough to save things. Goto won with the GTR in a long 20:19. I thought with the title off Suzuki, the bullshit in these matches would get cut down. Instead, this still had some nonsense and ref bumps, while also featuring a crowd that didn’t get behind EVIL. Hugely disappointing. [**½]

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. IWGP Tag Team Champion SANADA
Their three prior singles matches were all good, but none even sniffed great. Okada has passed 600 days as champion. I feel like I had a soul when it started and now it’s gone. Thinking about it, for all the talk of how great his reign has been, the only matches during it I went 4+ on were against Omega (1), Marufuji, and Shibata. Anyway, this got off to the typical Okada start, until SANADA drove his face into the guardrail and hit a piledriver on the ramp. Once back to the ring, things dropped a bit in interest, outside of Okada being a smug jerk. It’s a role that’s so natural for him. Of course, Okada couldn’t hit the Rainmaker on his first attempt, giving SANADA an opening. The crowd really picked up when SANADA hit his signature dropkick and followed with a series of planchas. The fans began to buy into a SANADA win, especially when he locked in Skull End. They were way invested in the usual Rainmaker counters series that we always get. There was modification on this one, as it lasted way longer and saw several different escapes. We got the Okada wrist hold spot that he can’t seem to live without, before using one to retain in 32:12. It was an Okada title defense. Slow start, great closing stretch. It was their best match together, for sure. The crowd believed in SANADA, but I never bought him as a winner. Also, as crisp as the Rainmaker counter stretches are, it’s hard to get invested in them, when you mostly know what’s coming. There was also a sense of overkill, from the ramp piledriver to the Skull End being applied seven times. Everyone in the company feels like second class citizens compared to Okada and it’s not even close. I know people will defend NJPW booking to the death, but it’s the kind of thing WWE would get chastised for. By the way, I’m not complaining at the result. It was clear the Tag Champ wasn’t winning the Heavyweight Title. [***½]

Interesting to note that Tanahashi had 11 successful defenses in 404 days, while Okada just reached 10 in 600. Anyway, after the match, Okada said he wanted to compete in the New Japan Cup. Champions usually don’t do that. Then, he called out Will Ospreay for a match at the Anniversary Show in March. He faced the Jr. Champion at the Anniversary Show a few years ago (Ibushi), though this has the added intrigue of CHAOS vs. CHAOS after Jay White has been seemingly playing them against each other.

Overall: 6/10. After a strong Wrestle Kingdom, the February shows lacked for NJPW. I understand the business decision to split up the New Beginning into three cards, but it made each show weaker. This one had a standout match (Hiromu/Ospreay) but this was a rare care where LIDJ didn’t deliver the good. Naito looked like he was going through the motions against HASHI, EVIL/Goto was disappointing, BUSHI/Gedo was kind of just there, and Okada/SANADA fell victim to the overly done Okada formula. The undercard was relatively fine. Outside of some top matches this year, NJPW has been okay at best. Hopefully, things pick up with the New Japan Cup.