NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XXV Night One
May 18th, 2018 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
The Best of the Super Juniors Tournament has returned. The typically lackluster juniors division usually steps up come tournament time. I wasn’t big on the 2015 edition, but 2016 and 2017 were both very good. The A Block, the group in action today, doesn’t sound nearly as interesting as the B Block, but I’m intrigued at how this goes.
Like I do with the G1 Climax, I’ll only be reviewing the tournament matches. The undercard tags are usually fine, but I just don’t have time for them. Unlike last year, we’re not opening with both blocks in action, which is unfortunate.
Can the BOTSJ be as good as 205 Live has been this year? Let’s find out.
A Block: Tiger Mask IV [0] vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru [0]
Not exactly getting the tournament off to a hot start. This is a very uninteresting matchup on paper. We got the usual Kanemaru antics. He did all the generic heel stuff, including going after Tiger Mask’s mask. That’s always weird to type. The referee looked like he was done with Kanemaru’s shit about two minutes in. To be fair, so was I. Tiger Mask made the babyface comeback, though the underdog fighting from behind isn’t exactly a great role for him. Kanemaru had one heel antic spot I enjoyed, as he threw a young boy at Tiger Mask to stop him from beating a countout. Tiger Mask still got back in and took a superplex. However, he cradled him on the landing and stole the win at 10:17. A lackluster start, but about what I expected from these two. [**]
A Block: ACH [0] vs. Flip Gordon [0]
ACH was great in this tournament last year. Meanwhile, I’m still sitting here waiting to see what’s so special about Flip Gordon. Personality wise, he seems very problematic. Shout out to ACH for wearing the AAW Title to the ring. Flip was out to impress the crowd by doing a whole bunch of kip-ups in a row, for no real reason. It’s an athletic thing to do, but so many people do a version of it now that it’s completely lost its luster. It’s like, “Cool. You’re an athlete. Good for you.” His annoying persona irked ACH, who began to take it to him. To Flip’s credit, the Korakuen crowd popped for every high flying exploit he did. I saw some compare this debut to Will Ospreay’s in 2016, but Will gave one of his best performances ever that night. This was not that. ACH sold his banged up shoulder throughout and did everything he could to allow Flip to strut his stuff. They fought into the crowd for reason other than so Flip could dive off something out there. They eventually made it back to the ring, where ACH continued to sell the shoulder. His tape came off after Flip missed a Spiral Tap. ACH masterfully hit a deadlift German, while clearly only using his good arm. So smart. He hit the Big Bang Attack to win in 15:26. I saw a lot of praise for that match, but I’m not really getting it. It had good moments, but felt like it tried to be too many things at once. A showcase for Flip, a brawl, an aerial display, etc. ACH shined here, making Flip look as good as possible, selling well, and showcasing some psychology near the end. At least for now, Flip is basically just Will Ospreay on his worst nights, which isn’t good.[**¾]
A Block: BUSHI [0] vs. YOH [0]
CAPS ATTACK! I love BUSHI and really like YOH, so this was probably my most anticipated match of night one. Roppongi 3K’s theme is pretty terrible, by the way. BUSHI attacked YOH during his entrance, because he’s a heel like that. YOH brought fire to his offense, but BUSHI wisely kept him grounded. The fans weren’t nearly as interested in this style as they were for the previous match, but they still rallied behind YOH. It did feel like YOH wasn’t too comfortable in the early stages, probably being so used to working tags lately. He regrouped in the second half to close out the match strongly. They began trading strikes and kicks, before BUSHI hit a Canadian Destroyer from out of nowhere. Where did that come from? The finish came off a bit weird, as BUSHI went for a lung blower, only for YOH to awkwardly counter into a pin and win in 15:18. This was a good match once it picked up. It started slow and had a wonky finish, but the middle worked very well. [***]
By the way, for the second time in three matches, a babyface won with a rollup type pin and got jumped after the match. Oh, Gedo.
A Block: Taiji Ishimori [0] vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay [0]
The big match of the evening. Ospreay is the champion and got attacked by Ishimori earlier this month. I’ll say it right now and people will probably disagree, but I believe Ishimori is a far better wrestler than Ospreay. Thankfully, Ospreay charged with an attack at the bell. It makes sense given the attack at Wrestling Dontaku and I was worried they’d go with a traditional slow start. They brawled outside, and in an awesome spot, Ospreay avoided being thrown into chairs by leaping over and onto the stage, before diving off. It’s things like that I appreciate. Don’t just use your athleticism to show off, use it in a way that helps the match and makes sense. Ishimori targeted Will’s bad neck, leading to his over the top yell selling. Both men had offense that looked great. The final few moments saw Taiji hit a reverse rana, only to run right into Spanish Fly. Hearing the Japanese commentator straight up say, “It’s amazing,” was great. Taiji countered the Oscutter into Bloody Cross to win in 13:47. This was closer to the kind of Ospreay match I’m looking for. His selling is still troublesome. For example, if your neck bothers you so much, why keep doing moves that see you land on your neck? It just doesn’t make sense. Other than that, this hit a lot of good points. Both guys had strong moments and the match was kept short and to the point. Too many of Will’s prior matches were long for the sake of it and reached an over the top level of absurdity because of it. This was much more tight. [***¾]
Overall: 6/10. An average start to the Best of the Super Juniors. These are the kind of nights I expect from A Block. Some good, some average, and some lackluster, with nothing feeling must see. Ishimori and ACH were the standout performers on night one. I’d like to see them be at the top of the block in the end, though I suspect it comes down to that Flip/Will match.
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XXV Night Two
May 19th, 2018 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,721
A Block didn’t impress too much on night one, but the B Block looks so much better on paper. All four matches on this show sound strong.
B Block: CMLL World Lightweight Champion Dragon Lee [0] vs SHO [0]
Dragon Lee opened the tournament with a big win over Hiromu Takahashi last year. SHO is one half of Roppongi 3K, who was looking to start with a win like his partner on night one. Both men came out of the blocks strong, trading strikes instantly. SHO is fast, but Lee is unreal in that department, so he used it to his advantage. SHO had to resort to a power advantage on more than one occasion. They also seemed to focus on the arm of the other man. It led to a few submission attempts that I didn’t expect to see. Though they both had damaged arms, they fired up to exchange strikes that would’ve felt at home in a NEVER Title match. One series of them happened until they were both nearly counted out. From there, they started trading big blows, from high impact moves to great arm based submissions. SHO’s strength advantage came into play when he blocked Dragon’s apron rana with a powerbomb. His Project Ciampa also looked particularly brutal. The finish came when Dragon countered an armbar into Desnucadora, his suplex/powerbomb hybrid, in 17:31 Awesome match that marks the first great one of the tournament. It was hard hitting, explosive, and showed two guys trying to prove themselves. It was such a smartly worked match and I’m so glad they got a lot of time to work with. Lee continues to be great, while this felt like a coming out party for SHO. [****]
B Block: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion El Desperado [0] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [0]
For most of the year, Taguchi is a comedy guy. But, he usually brings something more for the BOTSJ. Desperado, EASILY the best Suzuki-Gun junior, beat Taguchi in a good one in the tournament last year (***¼). Desperado jumped him before the bell because that’s what Suzuki-Gun does. The focus of the match became Taguchi’s crotch and ass. Yes, you read that right. It was strange, yet made sense since Desperado is a dick like that and Taguchi uses his ass for offense. At one point, Desperado wedged a chair between Taguchi’s legs and smashed another chair into it. Creative. To fight back, Taguchi used some offense we don’t often see from him, like a tope to the outside. Desperado kept up with the cheap tactics, while moving his target to the leg a bit to set up the Stretch Muffler. As Taguchi got near victory, Desperado used a low blow and rollup to steal the win in 13:19. Like last year’s match, this was good. They balanced the comedy with the smart, as the groin work made sense, even if it is kind of goofy. [***¼]
B Block: Chris Sabin [0] vs. KUSHIDA [0]
Winner gets Alex Shelley’s undying love. Both guys won the Jr. Tag Titles with him at one point. It’s Sabin’s first NJPW singles match. So far in the tournament, we’ve had matches based around high flying, vengeance, strong style, and even some comedy. This was our technical outing and it helped ensure a diverse tournament. Their early exchanges felt like two guys who got notes on the other from their past partner. They had a feeling out process where they looked for the first real opening left by their opponent. Even when either man got that opening, they seemed to have a counter for the other. It was a mistake that cost KUSHIDA big. He went high risk and took too long, allowing Sabin to German suplex him off the top. Cradle Shock and Hail Sabin connected to give the Motor City Machin Gun the upset over the Time Splitter in 13:47. I really appreciated how this was different from the rest of the show. Great chain and counter wrestling from two guys who came in well prepared. The crowd wasn’t as invested as I hoped, probably due to Sabin not being around often in recent years. [***½]
B Block: Hiromu Takahashi [0] vs. NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champion Marty Scurll [0]
Hiromu bested Scurll in the tournament last year in a very good match (***¾). They also met at War of the Worlds (***¾) and Epic Encounter (***½), with Hiromu holding a 2-1 advantage overall. These two understood that the crowd was actually excited for this main event. They milked the reactions before even touching. Marty took the upper hand early, focusing his attacks on the arm and neck to set up the CHICKEN WING. But, Hiromu is a wild man who tends to ignore pain at times. He still hit his insane spots, like the Sunset Flip Bomb to the floor, after Marty had it scouted a few times. Scurll went into the bigger offense, like a tombstone on the apron. It was the kind of overboard stuff that hurt his recent Ospreay match. His cockiness cost him a bit, as he talked smack and opened the door for Hiromu to get going. Hiromu survived the CHICKEN WING, a finger snap, and a superkick before firing up. Scurll countered the Time Bomb, but Hiromu turned that into a triangle choke and Scurll faded out for the ref stoppage finish in 20:48. A very good main event. They worked a slow build where the moves and offense got bigger as time went on. It was NJPW 101 and it worked, especially in the setting of a lot of the break neck paced juniors matches. [***¾]
Hiromu got on the microphone to say that the BOTSJ will be better than the G1 Climax this year.
Overall: 8.5/10. Much better than night one. There was no bad or fluff this time around. Desperado/Taguchi was the worst match and still managed to be a good, creative outing. Sabin/KUSHIDA was a different kind of technical battle, while the main event delivered what I expect from those guys. Of course, SHO and Dragon Lee was an excellent start that stole the show and the tournament so far.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| ACH | 2 (1-0) | Chris Sabin | 2 (1-0) |
| Taiji Ishomori | 2 (1-0) | Dragon Lee | 2 (1-0) |
| Tiger Mask IV | 2 (1-0) | El Desperado | 2 (1-0) |
| YOH | 2 (1-0) | Hiromu Takahashi | 2 (1-0) |
| BUSHI | 0 (0-1) | KUSHIDA | 0 (0-1) |
| Flip Gordon | 0 (0-1) | Marty Scurll | 0 (0-1) |
| Will Ospreay | 0 (0-1) | Ryusuke Taguchi | 0 (0-1) |
| Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 0 (0-1) | SHO | 0 (0-1) |
PROGRESS Chapter 68: Super Strong Style 16 Night Two
May 6th, 2018 | Alexandra Palace in Alexandra Park, London
Following a night one filled with good matches, Super Strong Style 16 continues onto night two. We’ll set up the final four participants for night three, the women of PROGRESS are on the card, and we’ll see a highly anticipated PROGRESS World Championship match.
Jim Smallman’s opening spiel saw him question the whereabouts of the fans who were there for night two but missed night one.
Super Strong Style 16 Quarterfinals: WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne vs. PROGRESS Tag Team Champion Zack Gibson w/ James Drake
Zack Gibson’s pre-match promo focused on how “easy” Pete Dunne’s schedule is. When Pete’s baby on the way was mentioned, it got “BRUISERBABY” chants. Dunne shut him up by beating him and Drake with a shoe. It worked as enough of a distraction for Gibson to take control when the bell officially rang. He worked at a methodical pace, not wanting to waste too much energy with more tournament matches ahead of him if he were to win. He also kept trying for quick wins, which made sense. With Gibson having his number, Dunne had to pull out something new, hitting Sliced Bread No. 2. Grizzled Young Vets used a distracted referee to regain the upper hand. It ended up backfiring and Dunne countered Ticket to Ride into a big powerbomb. Unfortunately, out came Haskins/Havoc/Haskins/Webster. A chair got involved and Dunne threatened to use it on Vicky. Flash stepped in front to protect her. Dunne ended up hitting Gibson with the chair, getting DQed in 10:04. A disappointing finish, though the rest of the match was strong. It does help set up the six man tag for Victoria Warehouse. [***]
Post-match, Tyler Bate ran out to save Pete Dunne. He threw shoes at the attackers.
Chuck Mambo vs. Jordan Devlin vs. TK Cooper
All three lost in the opening round on night one. Mambo had a breakout performance, TK was his usual self, and Devlin showed improvement. Interestingly, Mambo and TK had a bet that the loser of the first round would have to wear the shirt of the other guy. Both lost, so both wore each other’s shirt during their entrance. The match saw a lot of creative spots. My favorite might’ve been Mambo putting TK in the Romero Special and Devlin attempting to cover Mambo. They also played up the hard Samoan head wrestling rule with TK, even though he’s from New Zealand. Devlin had a great spot where he hit a Satellite DDT on TK and then immediately caught a springboarding Mambo with an Ace Crusher for a great near fall. He picked up the win shortly after with a Package Piledriver on Mambo at 7:22. Hella fun three way. They packed a ton of action into it and included some fun, creative spots. Another impressive showing from all three guys and I’m ready for more Devlin in PROGRESS. [***¼]
Chris Brookes, Joey Janela, and Mark Andrews vs. Flash Morgan Webster, Jimmy Havoc, and Mark Haskins w/ Vicky Haskins
Talk about an oddball group of babyfaces. Havoc spent a good chunk of the match avoiding Joey Janela, not interested in a rematch from their wacky New York match last year. After a fast paced start, Brookes was isolated and played the face in peril role for a while. Surprisingly, it was Janela, not Andrews, who got the hot tag. It worked as the crowd was into the “Bad Boy” and his offense had a lot of fire. Following a wild Janela Death Valley Driver on the apron, the match broke down. Everyone started hitting big offense and bringing the barrage you’d expect in a match like this. It came down to Havoc and Janela, with Havoc hitting a low blow that set up the Kiss of Death for the finish in 15:22. It probably went a bit long, but it was fun. The heel unit continues to work well and the added dynamic of Webster is an interesting one. The faces worked well together, with Janela shining. [***]
Post-match, Haskins got in Webster’s face, most likely for his unsure status with the team. Janela got on the microphone to challenge Havoc to a Death Match on night three, which would be a rematch from PROGRESS: New York.
Super Strong Style 16 Quarterfinals: Angelico vs. Keith Lee
Yea, “Bangarang” fits Angelico. When Lee gets to play the dominant role, his matches usually work. That was the case here. I got a kick out of Lee swatting away Angelico attacks as well as Angelico avoiding a chop and walking away relieved that his chest was okay. Angelico would sucker him in, which was a good strategy, but any Lee offense would just floor him. Some of his chops just sounded like Angelico’s chest was going to cave in. Angelico kept finding little hope spots and every piece of his offense was believable. That’s very important against a guy like Lee. His knees strikes looked great. He impressed when he tried for Fall of the Angels, managing to hold Lee up for a few seconds. Alas, he couldn’t hold him for long. Lee slipped out and hit the POUNCE (PERIOD) followed by Ground Zero to win in 14:35. Like Lee’s match with Webster in the first round, this was damn good. He was so great as the big aggressor, while Angelico fought from behind with an array of strong, realistic offense. I like. [***½]
The trailer for the This.Is.PROGRESS documentary looks great. Following intermission, Jack Sexsmith was brought out for a word. He had “I Touch Myself” back as his theme. He just came out to say he’d find out tonight who his opponent would be for his PROGRESS World Title shot in a few weeks. Either current champion Travis Banks or WALTER. He admitted to being timid about facing WALTER before and having lost to Banks in the past, but this is a different Jack Sexsmith. In his mind, you’re looking at the next PROGRESS Champion. He ended by introducing the man he hopes will win the tournament, David Starr
Super Strong Style 16 Quarterfinals: David Starr vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
In last year’s tournament, Sabre bested Starr in an opening round banger (***¾). Similar to that match, Starr looked to work the mat against Sabre and show that he could hang with the best. For the most part, he did. The match got progressively more vicious as it went on. At one point, they just sat in the middle of a submission slapping the hell out of each other. Sabre focused on Starr’s legs, doing damage on both to the point where Starr had trouble standing. Starr fired up and reeled off HAN STANSEN lariats, but Sabre wouldn’t stay down. The final few minutes were absolutely wild. Starr broke a triangle choke with a sick looking Project Ciampa and added a ridiculous Blackheart Buster, but his leg was too hurt to cover instantly. No matter, as he took the kickout and went right into a crossface, only for Sabre to be too close to the ropes. Starr kept hitting lariats and going for Product Placement. Sabre had it scouted at every turn and eventually turned one into Orienteering with Napalm Death. You need to see that move, because it’s deadly. It’s show Sabre won the New Japan Cup and how he advanced here at 15:57. The best match of the weekend up to this point. Some fantastic wrestling, great selling, dramatic exchanges, and an awesome finish. Just excellent. [****¼]
The House of Couture (Chakara, Jinny, and Nina Samuels) vs. Laura Di Matteo, Millie McKenzie, and Sierra Loxton
The babyface team had a mystery partner and it was the returning Di Matteo. I believe the last time I saw her, she lost one hell of a match to Toni Storm. She’s very good and has a history with Jinny. On cue, Laura took out the House of Couture with a dive during their entrance. Things started hot, with Loxton getting a shot to run wild. Once it calmed down, Jinny was either being aggressive in the ring or directing traffic from the apron. She did her best to avoid Di Matteo, but her partners weren’t able to make it to the apron when Laura got tagged in. Di Matteo got her chance to beat up Jinny and mostly succeeded. We got a barrage of offense from everyone late, including Millie taking girls to Suplex City. She also hit a somersault to the outside onto a pile. That left Di Matteo alone with Chakara, who she made tap to an Octopus in 10:56. This was fun. A few spots came off looking awkward, but it had a lot of energy and the Di Matteo/Jinny stuff was intriguing. [***]
Jim Smallman announced that the Wasteman Hangover Challenge returns on night three.
Super Strong Style 16 Quarterfinals: Kassius Ohno vs. Tyler Bate
What is this, NXT? Tyler Bate got introduced as a, “Big strong boy.” Like what I said about Keith Lee earlier, Ohno as the bully just works for him. It’s even better when he has a guy like Tyler Bate to play off. Bate started well enough, but got too cocky and Ohno laid him out. Ohno wrecked Bate with his powerful offense over and over. Any time it looked like Tyler might get something going, Ohno was there to knock him down. The fans came alive as Bate refused to stay down. He began swinging wildly, throwing everything he had at Ohno. However, when Ohno hit his own Tyler Driver ’97 and rolled Bate through for Death By Elbow, everyone believed it was over. Bate somehow managed to kick out and fight some more. Though Bate struggled to lift Ohno at first, he used the turnbuckle to help get him on his shoulders. From there, Bate did an incredible airplane spin! He added the Tyler Driver ’97 to advance to the finals in 15:00. That ruled. An absolute banger that played into the strengths of both men. Ohno reminded us how good he is, while Bate, at just 21, showed again why he’s among the best on the planet. This was special. [****¼]
PROGRESS World Championship: Travis Banks [c] vs. PROGRESS Atlas Champion WALTER
The video package for this match focused on how neither man has lost since winning their respective titles at Alexandra Palace last September. Knowing he was outmatched, Banks dropkicked WALTER during introductions and kept up the assault outside. Of course, that couldn’t last and WALTER began to dominate. Commentary kept harping on how Banks hasn’t been dominated this way since winning the title. Once that segment was up, Banks and WALTER began trading some big offense. You believed each guy had won at several points. WALTER survived the Lion’s Clutch and caught the Slice of Heaven into the Gojira Clutch! However, TK Cooper ran out and got in the ring wearing a Roman Reigns vest. His offense attempt was stopped with ease by WALTER. Banks came close with the Slice of Heaven, but WALTER started throwing lariats. After being dumped outside and the referee reaching nine in his count, Banks grabbed his title and walked off, getting counted out in 16:42. That finish holds it back from being truly great, but I understand why it was done. You’ve got a reason for the rematch. The match itself was very good, with hard hitting exchanges and some good drama late. [***¾]
Overall: 9/10. Night one was very good from top to bottom. Night two managed to improve on that. Again, nothing went under three stars and the show had a higher ceiling. WALTER/Banks was great outside of the finish, while Lee/Angelico was strong. Bate/Ohno and Sabre/Starr were among the best matches in PROGRESS all year long. A fantastic show that makes me feel good about what’s next for PROGRESS. I’m excited to see night three.
PROGRESS Chapter 68: Super Strong Style 16 Night One
May 5th, 2018 | Alexandra Palace in Alexandra Park, London
It’s that time of the year again. In 2017, the Super Strong Style 16 was my favorite tournament, beating out the G1 Climax, UK Title Tournament, and the Mae Young Classic. Admittedly, PROGRESS hasn’t been as strong in 2018 as it was in 2017 (when it was my pick for promotion of the year), but the field is loaded and I’m pumped for this event To make it bigger than ever, the three shows take place at Alexandra Palace, where the massive Chapter 55 happened last year.
PROGRESS debuted a new ring for this show. Jim Smallman gave a shoutout to the fans who traveled far to come here and put over how great professional wrestling is.
Super Strong Style 16 First Round: Doug Williams vs. WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne
Dunne works a mask during his entrance. This was one of my highest anticipated matches of the first round. This opened with some pleasantries, as the guys exchanges some good old fashioned grappling. Williams had the upper hand at every turn. He was just uses his veteran knowhow to outsmart his young counterpart. Once Dunne began to get going, the pace of the match picked up. That worked more for Dunne until he ran into an Exploder, followed by the Bomb Scare Knee Drop for two. I totally bit on a Chaos Theory near fall, partially because Dunne only survived due to getting a foot on the rope, and partially because I love that move so much. They closed the match with a series of counters that saw Dunne block another Chaos Theory with a rollup and win in 10:50. Great way to start the show. They told a simple story, one that I almost always love, had some great wrestling, and delivered a highly entertaining match. More of this, please. [***½]
Super Strong Style 16 First Round: Chuck Mambo vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Mambo was greeted with a ton of beach balls thrown in the ring, showing he was clearly popular. Sabre was more serious. He’s also been one of the best wrestlers of 2018 so far. The story saw Sabre manage to twist Mambo in strange ways, but Chuck brought enough fire to find ways to combat it. That included a nice somersault to the outside. Once Sabre grounded him, it was mostly the dominant, confident Sabre we’ve come to expect. Still, Mambo refused to quit and brought a ton of energy in his comeback attempts. He went into a wild flurry, including the Chuck You neckbreaker, but it wasn’t enough. Mambo survived a lot, kicking out of two PKs. He went for a frog splash, but ate Sabre’s knees. Another PK still wasn’t enough. WHAT? He exchanged palm strikes with Sabre, until he got trapped in a ridiculous dragon sleeper and had to tap out in 10:48. Way better than I expected. Mambo’s best showing ever. Tons of energy, a resilient performance, and the right opponent, as Sabre did everything so well. [***¾]
Super Strong Style 16 First Round: David Starr vs. TK Cooper
Starr got to come out to Joan Jett, as it looks like PROGRESS brought back more recognizable music. Usually, one of the best parts of a David Starr match is his introduction. Mega heel TK Cooper got all the heat for interrupting it with a kick to the head. That set the tone for a fast paced match. Cooper hit a dive outside and was ready for the Jewish Cannon attack, having done his homework. The strikes they’d trade were stiffer and more vicious than you might expect from them. TK busted out a sweet 450 splash for one of the better close calls of the match. Starr escaped Rihanna more than once, before countering it into the Blackheart Buster to advance in 9:44. Another good match, though one that lacked something to take it to the next level. Surprisingly, the crowd wasn’t as invested as you’d think. [***]
Super Strong Style 16 First Round: Angelico vs. Mark Andrews
Angelico got to come out to “Bangarang” by Skrillex, which was dope. These are two of the top high flyers in the world, which reminds me of Andrews facing Flamita in last year’s first round. They exchanged some athletic stuff without much physicality to start. Then, Eddie Dennis strolled out and waved at Andrews, before taking a seat in the crowd. With the distraction, Angelico was able to take control. Even when Andrews made his comeback and got on the offensive, he’d stop to jaw with Dennis. It’s clear he’s in Andrews’ head. It boiled down to a highlight of a spot where they struggled on a super rana/powerbomb counter battle. It looked great. Andrews used it to set up the SSP, but another Dennis distraction made him miss. Angelico hit the Crucifix Buckle Bomb for the win in 14:16. Some of the early stuff didn’t work for me. However, they picked it up really well late and the Andrews/Dennis storyline continues to intrigue. [***¼]
Super Strong Style 16 First Round: Jordan Devlin vs. Tyler Bate
Tyler got to come out to “Sledgehammer.” This was up there with Dunne/Williams as my most anticipated. The crowd was more split than I expected. They opened with some mat work, before Devlin put the focus on Bate’s arms. Before the damage got too bad, Bate was able to show off some of the impressive strength he’s known for. Even with the strong arm work, Devlin still resorted to some underhanded tactics whenever possible, like pushing the referee to the ropes to crotch Bate on the top. He followed that with a Spanish Fly for a great near fall. Bate fought him off and hit the Tyler Driver ’97 to secure the win in 9:10. Shorter than I hoped, but very good for what it was. The arm work and selling was mostly strong, while Devlin looked much better than the guy we saw in the WWE UK Tournament last January. I hope he sticks around as PROGRESS can use new guys like him. [***¼]
The PROGRESS Tag Team Champions, Grizzled Young Vets, came out as they were apparently sharing a spot in the tournament. The opponent was Joey Janela. Gibson went on a LONG rant, even longer than usual. He bragged about Liverpool getting to the Champion’s League final, before eventually being hit by Joey Janela. They proceeded to brawl all around the arena and onto the stage. Up there, Janela took out Drake with a cannonball, before leaping over the steps and taking out Gibson. It made it to the ring, where Drake was put inside. Gibson declared that they hadn’t decided which member would compete. Drake tried a sneak attack, but Janela was ready with a German suplex. Gibson entered to jump Janela and it was finally official that he would be in the match.
Super Strong Style 16 First Round: Joey Janela vs. Zack Gibson w/ James Drake
The referee didn’t even want to start the match. He reluctantly did after Drake begged him. Janela nearly beat him with an inside cradle instantly. Janela superkicked Drake off the apron and got rolled up to lose in 0:14. Much more of an angle than a match. The angle worked well, with the crowd being into it and it showcasing how the Tag Team Champions’ numbers advantage will be a problem in this tournament. [NR]
Super Strong Style 16 First Round: Flash Morgan Webster w/ Vicky Haskins vs. Keith Lee
Last November, these two had a very good match at Chapter 57 (***½). However, Flash is now working as a heel, so that’ll give it an interesting take, considering he played plucky underdog last time. He attacked Lee during his entrance with a dive and kept the pressure on. Once the bell officially rang, Flash did his best to keep Lee on the defensive. He made the classic little man mistake of trying to sunset flip the big man. Lee responded with a RIDICULOUS Spirit Bomb. The only reason the match didn’t end there was because Flash bounced to the outside. Lee dominated following that, but Flash showed flashes, pun intended, of his old babyface self. He threw everything he had at Lee in an effort to level the playing field. His reverse rana spot was fantastic. He hit Shadows Over Malice, but Lee simply grabbed hold of him and hit another Spirit Bomb for a great near fall. A few more Shadows Over Malice hit and it still wasn’t enough. The finish came when Flash went to use his helmet as a weapon, but hesitated. That allowed Lee to hit Ground Zero and win after 14:16. A strong sequel to their first match. Lee is a great big man, while Flash showed what made him work as a babyface. It continued the story of him joining Vicky Haskins, but still not seeming 100% comfortable with it all. [***½]
Vicky was disappointed and walked off without Flash.
Super Strong Style 16 First Round: Chris Brookes vs. Kassius Ohno
Ohno is on loan from the WWE, which is fantastic. Not enough people talked about how cool that was. The crowd was hot for Ohno’s return. We got the expected mat work during a feeling out process. Apparently, Brookes was a big fan of Chris Hero. That meant he was prepared for a lot of Ohno’s signature offense. Still, Ohno is one of the best ever and he methodically picked Brookes apart. Brookes managed to get in some of his high flying stuff, while Ohno brought the big blows that just rocked him. The final stretch was great, seeing all sorts of near falls and close calls on some great offense from both men. I got a kick out of Brookes hitting a brainbuster, as well as his ability to avoid Death by Elbow. When he turned the second attempt into a crucifix pin, I thought it was over. Ohno finally managed to connect on one and win at 21:52. This was a very good main event. It had a steady build and Brookes got to show a lot of heart. However, I don’t think anyone bought him winning outside of one spot. [***½]
Overall: 8/10. Such a fun show. Sure, nothing was must watch or reached four stars, but everything was over three stars. Even the segment involving Grizzled Young Vets was a lot of fun. And, being under three hours, the entire show just moves at a brisk pace and nothing feels long. My kind of event. I suspect the higher quality matches to come on the next two nights.
WWE Backlash 2018
May 6th, 2018 | Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey | Attendance: 14,724
The WWE will now be running Pay-Per-Views with both brands. I’m not a fan, as I enjoyed the split PPVs. The roster is currently too loaded to join the PPVs. For example, people like Finn Balor, Ember Moon, Asuka, The Iiconics, Becky Lynch, Elias, Rusev Day, Usos, and many others weren’t booked.
Kickoff Match: Bayley vs. Ruby Riott w/ The Riott Squad
When this was announced, I was hoping for something really good. Unfortunately, this peaked at solid. Bayley looked worse than she has in a long time. Like, when Alexa Bliss embarrassed her last year in the Kendo Stick match, Bayley was bad from a character standpoint. Here, she was in botch mode and looked weak as a wrestler. She did hit a nice hurricanrana to take out Sarah Logan at ringside at one point. A Liv Morgan distraction opened the door for Ruby to hit the Riott Kick and win in 10:06. It was okay, but could’ve done with a better performance from Bayley. The Riott Squad is a united front, while Bayley and Sasha Banks continue to have issues. I’m all for Ruby being the one to dethrone Nia Jax. [**½]
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Seth Rollins [c] vs. The Miz
The Miz looks odd with no title or anyone by his side. Coming into this match, it was clear Seth Rollins was going to win. Miz is on Smackdown, which has the United States Title, so they didn’t need the IC Title. But, these two professionals went out there and made me completely believe in a Miz win on more than one occasion. Seth’s knee became the target, especially after he missed a knee strike and drove it right into the ring post. It was a great spot. Miz worked on it with a Figure Four and really wore down Seth. The roll through into the Skull Crushing Finale spot led to a fantastic near fall. It got bested when Seth went for the Falcon Arrow/Superplex combo, only for Miz to counter into another Skull Crushing Finale. That near fall was insane. After a series of rollups, Seth found a way to hit the Curb Stomp and retain in 20:30. An excellent opener that was about on par with the WrestleMania one. My only grip was the two finisher kickouts, as it was a bit much. However, the leg work was great, they had some really well thought out sports, and this was the highlight of the show. [****¼]
WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Nia Jax [c] vs. Alexa Bliss
Their WrestleMania match didn’t work for me at all (*¾), and I feel like Nia needs to just run through Alexa. This suffered from some of the same problems that the Mania match did. Nia working from underneath as a face just doesn’t work for her. Alexa dominated her at a few too many points, and it just lessens their matches. There was some solid drama in the possibility of Alexa managing to win back the title, especially after knocking the champion during a Vader Bomb attempt. Nia caught Twisted Bliss and won via Samoan drop in 10:17. Again, it went too long and had way too much Alexa on offense. But, there was a semblance of a story and some drama that allowed it to be average. [**]
WWE United States Championship: Jeff Hardy [c] vs. Randy Orton
At the start of 2017, it would’ve been insane to hear that Randy Orton would face Jinder Mahal and Jeff Hardy at back to back Backlash events. We still didn’t get motivated Orton on this show, but he was better than some of his dire performances recently. They had a decent back and forth match, where they were booked to be rather even. While the in-ring stuff was technically fine and there weren’t really any botches, it lacked something to make it feel like a Pay-Per-View match. Hardy avoided the RKO and hit a Twist of Fate, before winning with the Swanton Bomb in 11:48. It felt like a good house show match and nothing more. Basically, the best Orton gives us these days. [**½]
Next, we got one of the best segments in some time. I’m not going to fully recap it, because it needs to be seen to be believed. Elias attempted to give us a concert, but got interrupted by the New Day. Each attempt at singing was cut off by a new arrival, including Rusev Day and No Way Jose, who came out with a conga line that included Titus Worldwide and Breezango. The last guy out was Bobby Roode, who planted Elias with a DDT. This was some of the most fun I’ve had watching wrestling in years. Sometimes, you just wanna have a good time.
Big Cass vs. Daniel Bryan
This was a major disappointment of a feud, even if Cass cut one good promo in the build. Coming in, I figured if anyone could get a good match out of Cass, it would be Daniel Bryan. Luckily, they seemed to tell the right story. Cass used his size to take control. I gotta note that commentary going overboard with explaining that Bryan was the underdog was a bit much. Anyway, Cass’ confidence proved to be his downfall. He wouldn’t take advantage of openings, instead taking time to gloat. That allowed Bryan to rally and put him in the Yes Lock. Cass tapped almost immediately, which killed potential drama. The match went 7:46. The story was okay, but Cass on offense was a snoozefest. [**¼]
Post-match, Cass attacked Bryan so this can continue for some dreadful reason. Can Bryan just move on to working interesting people?
WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship: Carmella [c] vs. Charlotte
I loved the video package for this match. I’ve seen a lot of people are pissed that Carmella is champion. I’m in the opposite boat. I’d much rather she be champion than have to sit through another dull Charlotte run. Anyway, Carmella came in with the right strategy. They’ve built the story around her not being on Charlotte’s level, so she wasn’t trying to mix it up with her. Instead, she ran, stalled, and used those old school heel tactics to her advantage. I liked how Carmella got to apply her Code of Silence finisher, only for Charlotte to power out. It furthered that story. Surprisingly, not only did Carmella retain, but she did so cleanly. Charlotte missed a moonsault and tweaked her knee, so Carmella kicked her there and rolled her up to retain in 10:11. Parts of it were dull, but I truly dug that Carmella came in with a good strategy and won by using her brain. [**¼]
WWE Championship No Disqualifications Match: AJ Styles [c] vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Even though we now know how the match finished, this still should’ve gone on last. Anyway, I saw a lot of folks upset that this wasn’t a No DQ match featuring a lot of weapons and big spots. Why did people expect that? That wasn’t what this was about. It was built around the low blows and how Nakamura is willing to take those shortcuts when he gets in trouble. Granted, it could have used more intensity and more use of the chair that got brought in. It did lead to a rough cut on the cheek for Styles. Once they gave us the first low blow spot, things picked up big time. AJ returned the favor and the final few minutes ruled. Unfortunately, they kicked each other low and neither man could answer the ten count, leading to another no contest in 21:09. They continue to disappoint, but show flashes of what they’re capable of. Those final few minutes were grand and they ultimately told a fine story, but that finish got shit on and for good reason. [***¼]
Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
They had a fun little tag on Raw a few weeks back (***¼). This wasn’t nearly as good. Like too many other matches tonight, it felt like something you’d get on a house show. Things were technically fine, they just felt hollow. The main story was another tease of Owens and Zayn breaking up. They threw each other into their powerhouse opponents to take the beating alone. Sami slapped Kevin, leaving him alone to take Lashley’s delayed vertical suplex for the loss in 8:40. Lashley’s finish is trash. Also, he feels like just another guy already. That was fast. The match was basic and the ending was sloppy, as even commentary noted how Owens wasn’t the legal man. [**]
Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe
I feel bad for Roman Reigns. I honestly do. He constantly goes out and gives us great efforts, but gets put in these no-win, dumb booking situations. Roman spent most of the year whining about Brock Lesnar being the company favorite, yet here he is main eventing a show with nothing on the line. Also, they laid the match out poorly. Joe attacked Roman before the match and put him through the announce table. Once the bell rang, I think everyone knew where this was going. After a hot start, we went into REST HOLD CITY, BITCH! It felt like it never ended. Fans were literally leaving in droves from what I’ve heard. The ones who remained chanted for everything but this match, including what sounded like “beat the traffic.” Yikes. Roman made his usual rally, they gave us some late near falls, he survived the Coquina Clutch, and won with the Spear in 17:54. Stop doing this. Even if you somehow blame the fans for these reactions, go with it and maybe don’t put Roman in the main event. The match was shit and nowhere near the stuff we’ve seen from Joe and Roman in their Raw matches over the past year. Predictable, boring, and felt like it took forever. [*¾]
The cameras cut directly to the crowd, only to catch a WHOLE BUNCH of people leaving.
Overall: 4/10. Our first look at WWE giving us monthly Pay-Per-Views with both Raw and Smackdown was a failure. So many good people were left off the show and what we got was lackluster at best. The Kickoff match was decent other than Bayley botching. I thought Carmella/Charlotte told a good story and Nakamura/AJ was headed somewhere very good until that terrible finish. Seth/Miz was hands down the match of the night and deserves to be talked about and watched multiple times. Everything else felt something I’d see on a house show and didn’t belong on PPV. The only things you need to see are Seth/Miz and the ridiculous Elias segment.
