Dynamite
Date: November 17, 2021
Location: Chartway Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re done with Full Gear and Hangman Page is FINALLY the AEW World Champion. To say this is a long time coming is an understatement but now we get to see where things go from here. That could be in a variety of directions but this week is all about the big celebration. We have a long way to go before Revolution next year so let’s get to it.

Here is Full Gear if you need a recap.

We open with a Full Gear recap.

The Elite is in the back and Kenny Omega is rather sad. He hasn’t watched the match with Hangman Page back but he knows he has some things to fix. Omega wants them to hold the fort down while he’s gone and Adam Cole says they’ve got it. Omega just meant the Bucks though and they walk off. This would be the write off for Omega so he can go have shoulder surgery.

The Dark Order is in the ring and here is Hangman Page, in a Virginia Is For Lovers shirt. Fans: “YOU DESERVE IT!” Page: “I’m gonna stop you right there. I didn’t deserve it. I f’ing earned it.” Page says he doesn’t usually come out here and talk but since he’s the World Champion, he’s going to do whatever he wants. He’s still just a man with a boss to answer to and that boss is the fans.

The title means a lot and now his responsibility is Bryan Danielson….and here is Danielson to interrupt. Danielson is here to say one thing: congratulations. He’s excited for the match, but he’s a bit disappointed that it isn’t Kenny Omega standing across the ring from him. Page says it’s not Omega because he beat Omega at Full Gear…and he did it in less than 30 minutes. Danielson isn’t here to start anything but he’s here for some wrestling instead of flapping his gums.

When he won the World Title at Wrestlemania, he wrestled the very next day (Without actually doing a move!). The fans aren’t thrilled and Danielson isn’t surprised that Virginia doesn’t appreciate hard work. Danielson is here in his gear while Page is in cowboy boots and….whatever that vest is. Page says we might not have the match here in Virginia, but we can have a fight. The Dark Order breaks that up and Danielson mocks Page for hiding behind his friends. I can absolutely go for heel Danielson so this is a nice change of pace. It’s more interesting than the idea of good vs. good so well done.

Bryan Danielson vs. Evil Uno

Danielson takes him down in a hurry and grabs a half crab. Some shots to the mask and an Affirmative Kick to the chest have Uno in trouble. More kicks to the back allow Danielson to say HE HAS UNTIL FIVE. Uno tells Danielson to kick him so Danielson obliges, only to get caught with a neckbreaker. Danielson just blasts him with a shot to break up the comeback and then slaps away in the corner. There’s the running knee but Danielson would rather stomp away than cover. The triangle choke knocks Uno out at 6:24.

Rating: C+. This was exactly as it should have been, with Danielson toying with someone who was out of his league. Uno was destroyed throughout here and Danielson knows just how to come off as evil. Good stuff here, as Page is going to be angry at Danielson for hurting his friend to make the title match all the more personal.

Post match Danielson says he is going to take out the Dark Order one by one. Next week they’re in Chicago and that is the hometown of Colt Cabana. If Cabana is interested, come get your head kicked in.

MJF talks about being covered in Darby Allin’s shame. He has destroyed every wrestler who thinks he can do nothing but talk. Yeah his knee is banged up but he got every one of your little mark chants and then won anyway. He has the best right hand in wrestling and now everyone has to admit it.

We look at Eddie Kingston vs. CM Punk, with Kingston walking away from a post match handshake.

Daniel Garcia and 2.0 come up to Kingston to say they’re tired of the losses. Kingston isn’t cool with 2.0 calling Garcia their son and a fight is proposed. With them gone, Kingston goes to catering while complaining about never being able to get in one promo without being interrupted.

Butcher and the Blade vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Orange Cassidy

Matt Hardy, the Bunny and Rocky Romero are here. Ishii and Butcher start things off but it’s quickly off to Cassidy to put his hands in his pockets. That earns him a knock to the floor and we take an early break with Cassidy in trouble. Back with Ishii suplexing Blade for two so Butcher comes in for the big power brawl. Some chops in the corner just wake Ishii up and he walks through some forearms, backing Butcher (who is still firing off strikes) into the corner.

A superplex gives Ishii two with Blade making the save. It’s off to Cassidy for a Stundog Millionaire and a tornado DDT to Blade for the near fall. Butcher and Blade hit a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination for two with Ishii making a save this time. Ishii comes back in and unloads on Butcher in the corner but Matt Hardy and the Bunny offer a distraction. Bunny slips in the brass knuckles but Rocky Romero breaks it up, with Cassidy diving onto Matt and Blade. Cassidy throws Blade back in so a heck of a clothesline and the brainbuster can finish for Ishii at 11:24.

Rating: C. The Cassidy vs. Hardy N Pals feud continues, though I did miss the elbow being involved this time around. They have to be setting up the hair vs. hair match at this point and that could very easily headline the first hour of an upcoming Dynamite. Other than that, it was cool to see Ishii here, as his presence alone is worth a look.

Andrade El Idolo, with FTR, brags about beating Cody Rhodes and Pac clean. Now he’s going to show them his good size. FTR says they’re so annoyed that they’ll wave their fee, get Malakai Black in there, and make it an eight man tag against Rhodes/Pac/the Lucha Bros. Tully Blanchard even threatens Arn Anderson because he has one more fight in him.

We recap Tay Conti vs. Britt Baker at Full Gear, with Conti saying she’s coming out of her next title shot as champion.

Britt Baker can’t wait to see Jamie Hayter destroy Thunder Rosa and make her not a thing.

TBS Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida

Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose. Shida takes her into the corner to start but gets powered over with a suplex. That earns Rose a kick to the head and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and Rose drives some shoulders into the ribs before slowly starting in on the knee. They head outside with Shida sending her into the barricade and then setting up the chair. It turns out that setting up a chair and then yelling at the camera is enough for Rose to make a comeback (good, because Shida looked stupid there), only to cannonball off the apron and through the chair.

Vickie tries to take the kendo stick away and gets blasted with it instead. The delay (the second one) lets Shida get slammed off the top and we take a break. Back with Serena Deeb, who popped up during the break, jumping Shida and sending her back inside. Rose adds the top rope knee to the back for two but Shida pulls her into a triangle choke. That’s broken up with a powerbomb but Shida raises the knees to block a backsplash. Shida misses something off the top though and it’s a stretch muffler to give Rose the win at 10:59.

Rating: C. The ending surprised me a bit here and Rose moving forward makes sense. This also opens up a third match between Deeb and Shida, which should work out fine. I could see Rose making it to the finals of the tournament as the next monster for the winner to slay. That’s a classic formula and it should work fine if they do it here.

Malakai Black is ready for next week’s eight man tag.

Here is MJF, flanked by Wardlow and Shawn Spears, the latter of whom talks about how MJF can beat any hero with a headlock takeover. MJF says he’s the man who will start a bidding war in 2024. He could take your hometown horse and send him straight to the glue factory. The rankings won’t tell you this, but he deserves to be the next World Champion. There is no one in that locker room on his level….and here is CM Punk. The fans (and JR) like this while telling MJF to shut up. MJF extends his hand but Punk walks away without saying a word. Yeah I think this is going to be fine.

Darby Allin says he’ll face MJF again but for now, he wants the biggest and the baddest AEW has to offer. Cue the Gunn Club, with Billy accepting the challenge.

The Superkliq doesn’t like Jurassic Express so on Rampage it’s the two of them against Bobby Fish/Adam Cole.

Acclaimed vs. Dante Martin/Lio Rush

Stereo dives take out the Acclaimed to cut off the rap (about Martin and Rush’s issues with relationships) and Caster in trouble to start. Martin gets sent outside for a ram into the barricade, setting up a middle rope stomp back inside. It’s Martin getting stomped in the corner, setting up Caster’s neckbreaker for two.

We take a break and come back with Rush coming in to clean house, including the spinning kick to Bowens’ head. Caster gets kicked to the floor and an ax kick gives Rush two on Bowens. Rush has to bail out of the frog splash and Bowens strikes away to put him down. Martin springboards in with a missile dropkick though and everyone is down. Back up and Caster clotheslines Rush’s head off and Bowens plants him with a spinning slam. Caster drops a top rope legdrop for two but Martin makes a save. Martin plants Bowens down and a heck of a frog splash gives Rush the pin at 10:24.

Rating: B-. These guys know how to do this kind of thing and they didn’t waste time here. This was about flying around and letting Martin/Rush look good over a team with a reputation. The Acclaimed might not be the flashiest team but they know how to get the fans annoyed at them in a hurry, which is a lot more important most of the time.

Post match here is Team Taz for another sales pitch to Martin. They think Martin could be a heck of an addition to the team, but saying no might be a bad idea.

Christian Cage and Jurassic Express are ready for Adam Cole/Bobby Fish at Rampage because you don’t bring a fish to a fist fight.

Video on Red Velvet vs. Jade Cargill.

Here’s what’s coming on Rampage and Dynamite.

The Lucha Bros are ready for next week’s eight man tag.

TNT Title: Sammy Guevara vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is challenging in his company debut. Guevara (with bad ribs) tries a quick GTH but settles for an exchange of rollups for two each into a standoff. Lethal hits his hiptoss into the basement dropkick for two and starts in on the bad ribs. A jumping knee sends Lethal outside though and there’s the big flip dive. Back in and the shooting star press hits raised knees and Guevara is in trouble.

We take a break and come back with Sammy blocking the Lethal Injection to hit a Spanish Fly. Lethal rolls outside for a breather before they change places so Lethal can try the suicide dive. That’s blocked in a hurry though and Sammy hits a brainbuster on the floor. Sammy loads up the Swanton but only hits a table at ringside for the huge crash.

Back in and Lethal’s Hail To The King elbow is countered into a cradle for two. He’s right back up with a reverse fisherman’s suplex into a faceplant, setting up the Figure Four. Sammy grabs the rope and is back with another knee but the ribs won’t let him hit the GTH. That means another jumping knee to rock Lethal and now the GTH retains the title at 12:55.

Rating: B. Lethal looked awesome in his debut but they’re not taking that title off of Guevara until they want to take away a piece of the audience’s soul. The fans know who Lethal is and what he has accomplished so he already has a leg in the door. Guevara fighting through an injury and winning with his hard hitting finisher was the right way to go here and Lethal is going to be fine going forward.

Tony Nese (in the crowd) is not impressed. The Inner Circle comes out to celebrate and Lethal shakes Sammy’s hand. Lethal gets some respect from the team to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show started off well, hit some lulls in the middle and then bounced back strong for the last thirty minutes or so. The important thing here was setting up a bunch of stuff for the future and that is looking bright. Odds are we’ll see another special Dynamite in December for some of these matches and that should be enough to get us to the Clash of Champions style show in January. Another solid week here, as they come off the pay per view looking good.

Results
Daniel Bryan b. Evil Uno – Triangle choke
Tomohiro Ishii/Orange Cassidy b. Butcher and the Blade – Brainbuster to Blade
Nyla Rose b. Hikaru Shida – Stretch muffler
Dante Martin/Lio Rush b. Acclaimed – Frog splash to Bowens
Sammy Guevara b. Jay Lethal – GTH

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IMG Credit: New Japan Pro Wrestling

Royal Quest
Date: August 31, 2019
Location: Copper Box Arena, London, England
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Gino Gambino

So this is a New Japan show and their first ever independently promoted event in the UK. That could mean a lot of things, but hopefully it means a good show. Since we already have multiple major events today with Takeover: Cardiff and All Out, I might as well just complete the trilogy. The main event here is Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Title against Minoru Suzuki with a lot of fans wanting to see a title change. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about the fallout from the G1 Climax and how it’s time to take over Europe.

Card rundown with the bigger matches getting the extra attention they deserve.

Roppangi 3K vs. Ryusuke Taguchi/Shoto Umino/Ren Narita

The fans are rather behind Taguchi here though unfortunately we don’t get the big zoom in shot at the opening bell. Yoh and Umino get things going for some early grappling and that’s an early standoff. Umino kicks him in the face but can’t get a slam as the fans are behind Umino, mainly due to him being associated with Jon Moxley. Everything breaks down early on with Taguchi and Romero both cleaning house. That earns Romero a song from the crowd, which sounds so out of place in a New Japan show. Sho rolls Umino up for two but Umino is right back with a suplex, setting up the hot tag to Taguchi.

A bunch of hip attacks, including one from the top, ensue but Romero comes in for the forever lariats. They’re cut off by another hip attack and it’s back to the Young Lions for some double teaming. The Boston Crab doesn’t last long on Sho and it’s time for the parade of kicks to the head. Sho and Yoh are sent into each other and Narita gets two off a victory roll. Sho’s German suplex gets two, followed by Project Ciampa to finish Umino at 8:19.

Rating: C. Perfectly fine opening match with the fans loving Romero and Taguchi as always, even if I’ve rarely (though not never) seen much in them. That’s a good way to start the show: give the fans something fun that is going to energize them for later. Tag matches, either of the four or six man variety, work just fine in that regard and the crowd is now properly energized.

Kota Ibushi/Juice Robinson vs. Yujiro Takahashi/Hikuleo

Takahashi and Hikuleo are Bullet Club and it’s Ibushi and Hikuleo starting things off. Hikuleo throws the smaller Ibushi down to start and mocks him a bit, only to have everything break down. Robinson sends Hikuleo into the corner for a Cannonball but Hikuleo is right back up with a backsplash for two on Ibushi. Takahashi comes in for a legdrop as the fans are behind Ibushi, as you probably expected.

Ibushi is right back up and brings in Robinson to pick up the pace, including a dive to take out Hikuleo. A spinebuster does the same to Takahashi but he’s right back with a fisherman’s suplex for two on Robinson. The Juice Box (Codebreaker to the chest) is enough to bring Ibushi back in but he charges into a powerslam from Hikuleo. The Club is dominating so far, which you might not have expected against a team like Ibushi and Robinson.

Ibushi’s strike rush gets him out of trouble but Hikuleo cuts him off again, this time with a Samoan driver for two. Takahashi comes back in so Ibushi hits a double Pele, followed by a victory roll for two on Hikuleo. A running knee to the face sets Kamigoye (knee to the face) for the pin on Hikuleo at 8:46.

Rating: C. This worked just fine with both teams looking good. Ibushi wasn’t about to lose so soon after winning the G1 so the Club came off more like obstacles for him to get past rather than people who were going to give him an actual run for his money. That’s perfectly fine for a match like this as it came off as a way to get Ibushi (and Robinson) on the card.

Will Ospreay/Robbie Eagles vs. Taiji Ishimori/El Phantasmo

Ishimori and Phantasmo’s (Bullet Club) IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Phantasmo is the British Cruiserweight Champion and Ospreay is the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Eagles used to be in Bullet Club but Phantasmo turned on him, sending him over to Chaos. Ospreay and Eagles are part of Chaos and of course Ospreay gets a ROAR.

The Club jumps them to start but Chaos tosses them to the floor to the floor, setting up a big flip dive from Eagles. We settle down (kind of) to Phantasmo getting caught in an exchange of strikes and monkey flipped into a kick to the back. Eagles starts throwing the kicks to the chest but Ishimori comes in for the save to take over. To mess with things a bit, Phantasmo seems to twist Eagles’ nipples, setting up a springboard spinning crossbody into a Lionsault.

Ishimori comes in for the loud chops and a top rope Meteora for two. Eagles gets tied in the Tree of Woe for some running crotch standing (egads) but he’s right back with a sliding elbow to the back of the head. The hot tag brings in Ospreay for Pip Pip Cheerio and two on Phantasmo. Ospreay and Phantasmo trade kicks to the head until Ospreay’s Stundog Millionaire puts both of them down.

Ishimori and Eagles come back in with the latter nailing the springboard missile dropkick to Ishimori’s knee. Ospreay comes back in as Eagles hits a Codebreaker to Ishimori, who holds him in place for Ospreay’s moonsault to the back. Superkicks begin to abound and it’s the Oscutter to Phantasmo, followed by a double super Spanish Fly to finish Ishimori at 10:49.

Rating: B. There’s something about watching these people go insane on each other with one big spot after another until the really big one gets the pin. This all but guarantees the Tag Team Title shot for Ospreay and Eagles, which sounds quite good to me as a rematch could be quite awesome. Ospreay has been having one awesomely entertaining match after another as of late and giving him the win in his home country is the best thing they could have done. Very fun match.

Post match, Ospreay issues the challenge for the titles. At least they aren’t wasting time.

Tetsuya Naito/Sanada vs. Jay White/Chase Owens

Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Bullet Club, with Gedo. Naito (Intercontinental Champion) gets a huge reaction. White bails from Naito to start (as you might have expected) so Chase comes in and requests Sanada. An early battle over arm control goes nowhere so Owens offers a handshake. That goes badly for Owens, who tries the Paradise Lock, which Owens reverses into a failed version of his own.

White breaks up the real thing and takes Naito to the floor for some chops. The distraction lets Owens take over on Sanada and a backbreaker puts him down. White comes in for the chops in the corner but Owens charges into some boots in the corner. A suplex puts White down and it’s hot tag to Naito for the house cleaning. White gets sent to the floor and that means the TRANQUILO pose for a big reaction. Back in and Naito gets two off a pair of neckbreakers, only to have White knock him into the corner.

The Bladebuster gets two on Naito but doesn’t get very far with a choke. Naito is right back with his springboard tornado DDT and that’s enough for the double tag. Sanada gets the Paradise Lock on Owens (a recurring problem for him), setting up the big running kick. Owens puts him on top and gets two off a super snapmare (that’s a new one), followed by a running knee to the head for the same. The package piledriver is broken up though and Skull End finishes Owens at 12:53.

Rating: C+. Naito and Sanada just come off as cool no matter what they’re doing and that’s a good thing to have on your roster. It makes a lot of sense for them to be so popular everywhere else, though I can also see why White isn’t the most beloved. He just isn’t all that interesting and while I liked him elsewhere, he hasn’t been clicking for me in Japan.

Post match White gets a chair and beats down Sanada but Naito makes the save and hits Destino for a self counted three. Naito even sits in the chair because he’s cool that way.

Tag Team Titles: Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Aussie Open

Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher/Mark Davis) are an Australian team who won a tournament to get the shot. The Guerrillas make it even worse by having Jado with them. It’s a big staredown to start as the fans are rather split. The champs get in an early cheap shot but the Aussies are right back with running clotheslines in the corner to take over. A series of kicks to the chest gets two on Loa and it’s a double flapjack into Davis’ backsplash for two more.

Loa low blows his way out of trouble and it’s Tama coming in for a corner splash. Some shots to the head keep Davis down but he gets over to Fletcher, who is taken down in a hurry with a neckbreaker. A spear cuts Fletcher down again and a rather delayed Jackhammer gets two. Tama mocks Fletcher’s crawling attempts, earning himself a backdrop so Fletcher can dive over for the tag. Davis clotheslines the champs to the floor and there’s the big dive from Fletcher.

Everything breaks down and a butterfly powerbomb into a sitout Alabama Slam gets two on Loa. Jado cheap shots Davis with the kendo stick though, drawing him outside so Tama can drop Fletcher. A Swan Dive/frog splash combination gets a very close two and the fans are back into it off the kickout.

Davis is back in with a Spanish Fly to bring Tama out of the corner, setting up Fletcher for a big flip dive to the floor. The Fidget Spinner (minus the spinner), a double pumphandle slam, drops Loa but Tama is back in with a German suplex on Davis. A sitout Tombstone plants Davis and a superbomb to Fletcher is enough to retain the titles at 14:26.

Rating: B. The more I see of Aussie Open, the more I like them and the fact that Fletcher is only twenty years old makes it all the more impressive. The Guerrillas are on another level at the moment though with very few teams in the world being able to hang with them. Aussie Open could be able to do that one day, but they’re not there just yet. Another more than solid match though with the near falls being highlights.

We recap Kenta vs. Tomohiro Ishii. Kenta recently debuted for the company and turned on Ishii in a tag match. Therefore, tonight it’s time for a fight over the NEVER Openweight Title. Kenta laid out the returning Katsuyori Shibata to make him even more evil.

NEVER Openweight Title: Kenta vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Ishii is defending and is part of Chaso while Kenta is part of Bullet Club. They go nose to nose to start with Kenta chilling in the ropes for a few seconds. A shot to Ishii’s face has Kenta bailing to the floor as the mind games are on early. Ishii is pulled to the floor and beats Kenta inside for the slugout. As you might have imagined, a guy named the Stone Pitbull is fine in a brawl and takes over on Kenta, until a tornado DDT onto the top rope gets him out of trouble.

They slug it out again with Ishii staggering, allowing Kenta to blast him with a clothesline. The running dropkick in the corner corner hits Ishii and has the fans annoyed but it’s too early for the GTS. Kenta strikes away but gets caught in a German suplex….and something is wrong. Kenta falls down on what looks to be a slam attempt so Ishii headbutts the heck out of him. The referee checks on Kenta, who gets back up and is clearly gone.

He’s fine enough to knock Ishii down and hit a top rope double stomp. The GTS is countered again and Ishii loads up the brainbuster, which winds up being closer to a swinging suplex instead. The fans can tell something is wrong as Ishii slaps him in the face, meaning it’s time to sit down and slap each other a lot.

Kenta’s sleeper is broken up and Ishii takes his head off with a clothesline. Cue the Guerrillas, who are quickly dealt with by Ishii, setting up the brainbuster. The Guerrillas pull the referee though and Ishii takes a Magic Killer for a very close two. Kenta’s sleeper is broken up as well so a big shot to the face and the GTS to give Kenta the title at 20:16.

Rating: B-. It’s really hard and unfair to be overly critical here as you could see Kenta just being gone as soon as he landed on his head. The intensity went away and Kenta was a shell of himself for the next eight minutes. That makes the shots to the head all the more disturbing and the fact that he went to the hospital after the show all the less surprising. The title change makes sense to make Kenta a more established star around here, but egads it was a scary match to watch in the second half.

Post match Kenta celebrates, but is so messed up that he can’t get onto the middle rope and has to be helped up.

We recap Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for Zack’s British Heavyweight Title. They’ve feuded for a good while now with Sabre not having much respect for the legend, so Tanahashi is coming to Sabre’s country to take his title. This is their seventh match and they’ve split the first six so it’s quite the rivalry.

Rev Pro British Heavyweight Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Tanahashi is challenging. Sabre goes for the technical stuff to start as the fans are rather pleased with the heel champ. It’s an early standoff as the Tanahashi chants begin. Tanahashi reverses a crossarm choke into one of his own but you just don’t try to trade holds with Sabre, who is out in a hurry. They circle each other a bit more until Tanahashi takes him down by the leg for a change.

Tanahashi puts on a standing leglock but bridges back to really crank on the thing. The middle rope Swanton misses though and Sabre starts in on the arm. A seated armbar has Tanahashi in trouble and the cockiness is rolling fast. That means some cocky kicks but Sabre goes back to the arm to cut off the comeback. A dropkick to the leg gives Tanahashi a breather and a running dropkick in the corner has the champ rocked for a change.

Twist And Shout into the Sling Blade gives Tanahashi two but the High Fly Flow hits knees. That means a triangle choke from Sabre, which he switches into the modified Rings of Saturn. That’s broken up as well and it’s the European Clutch for two on Tanahashi. Another Sling Blade gives Tanahashi another two and it’s the High Fly Flow for the pin and the title at 17:20.

Rating: B+. Sabre is one of the most unique performers I have ever seen and I could watch him go from one submission to another for hours. Tanahashi on the other hand is as smooth of a performer as you’re going to find and they mesh very well together. This was my favorite match on the show so far and it’s quite the impressive display, as these two almost always do. Their styles go together perfectly and Tanahashi winning is a great feel good moment, even in defeat of the home country champion.

Tanahashi celebrates for a good bit.

We recap Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Title. Suzuki was ticked off (shocking) about being left out of the G1 and wanted to show NJPW what they missed. Then he beat Okada in a tag match and challenged him for the title shot, which you just don’t turn down. They’re billing it as the unbeatable champion vs. the angry king and it’s one of the better videos I’ve seen from NJPW.

It’s always cool to see the big montage of champions before the title match.

IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki

Suzuki is challenging. They start very slowly with only a Suzuki kick to the leg in the first minute and a half. Okada works a wristlock and the dueling chants begin again. That’s reversed into a hammerlock from Suzuki as they’re taking their time to start. Suzuki stays on the arm so Okada picks the leg to take it to the mat. That goes nowhere either and we’re already five minutes in. Therefore, it’s time to strike it out in the middle until a snapmare lets Okada hit a running kick to the face.

A triangle over the ropes slows Okada down and it’s a ram into the barricade to make it worse. Okada blocks a piledriver on the ramp so Suzuki settles for a running Penalty kick instead. The referee won’t let Suzuki use a chair so Suzuki sits in one in the middle instead. Okada comes back in….and his forearms have no effect. Suzuki smirks at him and slaps on a few leglocks as the torture begins. That’s broken up and it’s time for another forearm slugout until a running elbow drops Suzuki.

They head outside with Suzuki in trouble, but he’s right back in with more kicks to the chest. The Fujiwara armbar goes on to make Okada scream some more as Suzuki is enjoying this way too much. The running boot to a seated champ gets two but the piledriver is broken up again. Okada gets in another shot to the face and they’re both down again. A slam sets up the top rope elbow for two….and Suzuki is mad. That’s the stuff that nightmares are made of so Okada forearms away, earning himself a hard shot to the face.

Suzuki even puts his arms behind his back so Okada can hit him harder. For some reason Okada agrees to do the same and is promptly knocked silly. We get a rather good tease of a piledriver with Okada kicking his feet and being picked back up twice before he reverses into White Noise onto the knee. They slug it out from their knees with Suzuki taking over off some headbutts, only to get caught with the dropkick. Okada tries his own sleeper but Suzuki throws him down and puts on one of his own.

That means the old school arm drops until Okada counters into the Rainmaker. He’s too down to cover so it’s another Rainmaker but Suzuki blocks a third. Suzuki unloads with strikes to put Okada down but he STILL can’t hit the piledriver (that’s been an awesome tease throughout the whole match). The Rainmaker is countered again so Okada slips out of the sleeper one more time (I can live with that as the piledriver is being treated as the real finisher) and hits the Tombstone. The Rainmaker finally finishes Suzuki at 33:56.

Rating: A. Oh yeah that was awesome with Okada being completely outmatched physically but managing to avoid the big weapon until he could wear Suzuki down enough. Suzuki is a great dragon that has to be slayed and showing him so furious about being left out of the tournament was a fine story with the champ being the only one who could stop him. Okada gets to pass another test as we wait for the next big challenge at whatever the next big show is before Wrestle Kingdom. Great match and I don’t remember liking a New Japan match much more than this one.

Post match Okada thanks the fans but cue Sanada, who beat Okada in the G1, to challenge for the title match. Sanada leaves and Okada seems to accept. He throws in some English for the crowd, who certainly seem to appreciate it to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. While Takeover had a better main event (and not by much), this was the best show of the weekend with nothing bad (some of the tag matches were fine but skippable) and two excellent top matches. It also found that sweet spot in the middle of the times where it was long but not long enough that I was wanting the show to end. While I think it would lose some of the appeal if I watched it full time, it’s always a blast to watch and this was another awesome show. Check out the main event for sure and Tanahashi vs. Sabre if you have time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Rev Pro Wrestling

Rev Pro: New York
Date: April 5, 2019
Location: New York Hilton Midtown, New York City, New York
Commentators: Andy Boy Simmonz, Kevin Kelly

I’ve seen these guys twice live and had a good time with each of the shows so this was a must for the list. I don’t really follow their stories all that closely but I know enough of the names to keep up. This show will have a mixture of British wrestling and New Japan so it’s going to be quite the combination. Let’s get to it.

Kelly welcomes us to the show and says we’ll be ready to go in just a bit. Fifteen minutes later we’re ready to go.

Owner Andy Quildan welcomes us to the show and says part of the delay was wrestlers at the merch tables (fair enough). We get the traditional requests for the cheering but no “London says they’re louder than you”.

Karl Fredericks/Clark Conners vs. CCK

That would two Young Lions from the New Japan Los Angeles dojo vs. Jonathan Gresham/Chris Brookes. Clark and Gresham go straight to the mat and it’s actually a standoff, which you wouldn’t expect against Gresham. A chop off goes to Conners and the bigger Fredericks comes in to shove Gresham into the corner. Brookes comes in and gets taken down by the smaller Fredericks, as the Young Lions are certainly good on the mat.

Fredericks powers him into the corner and it’s a double leglock from the Lions, drawing Gresham in for a save. Speaking of Gresham, he comes in off a blind tag and catches Conners in a German suplex. Brookes comes back in and slaps on a leglock with Fredericks picking Gresham up and throwing him away to make a save. A dropkick to Gresham’s leg gives us a double knockdown and everything breaks down. Stereo Boston crabs from the Lions are broken up with some kicks from Brookes and we hit the ten minute mark.

Fredericks throws Conners into Brookes and it’s another chop off to put Brookes in trouble. A Jay Driller with Gresham adding a kick to the head gets….two with Conners shoving Clark into the cover for the save. I thought that was it. Clark and Gresham forearm it out until an enziguri into a standing Lionsault has Clark rocked. The ankle lock goes on with Gresham pulling him up into a bridging German suplex for two more. Gresham has had it and it’s a discus forearm….for two more with Gresham being shocked. A spinning kick to the head knocks Conners silly for the pin at 13:35.

Rating: B. Considering that the Lions are trainees, this was a heck of a fight with the rookies more than holding their own here. I had a good time watching it and that’s more than you expect when one of the teams is told to use a limited moveset. Very good opener and far better than I was expecting.

Carlos Romo vs. A-Kid vs. Kid Lykos vs. Flamita

I’m only familiar with Flamita so this is going to be all over the place. Kid and Romo are a regular team called Team Whitewolf. Flamita and Lykos chop away in the corner with Lykos missing a 619 in the corner but snapping off a headscissors. They switch out with the other two but Kid is thrown outside onto Romo, meaning it’s a flip dive from Lykos.

Another one from Flamita takes everyone down but Flamita stops for some posing. Back in and Kid fisherman suplexes Flamita for two, leaving himself open for a kick to the face from Lykos. A split legged moonsault gives Lykos two of his own and a 619 takes Kid to the floor. Romo adds a moonsault but gets caught with a 619 and Backstabber from Flamita. Kid is right back up with a Canadian Destroyer to Lykos but Romo slides in and steals the pin at 7:04.

Rating: B-. This was about as long as they could go at this pace before it stops meaning as much. I do like the fact that they advance storylines on this show instead of just having one off matches as it adds a nice change of pace. Flamita was the most impressive of course but the other three got to showcase themselves as well, which is one of the hardest parts in a match like this.

Michael Oku vs. Brian Cage

Oku is a contender and Cage is a surprise opponent. He starts kicking at the legs and has a tornado DDT easily countered with raw power. A release powerbomb sets up a hard toss across the ring as Oku is already in big trouble. Cage throws him again and makes it even worse with a monkey flip. A little too much posing lets Oku get in a basement dropkick to the back of the head but doesn’t know what to do next, allowing Cage to throw him down again.

The F5 is countered and Oku goes up….for a moonsault that Cage can’t catch. Cage gets sent outside for the flip dive to the floor but it’s too early for a countout. The powerbomb counter into a sunset flip is botched so Oku reverses an F5 into the Canadian Destroyer (WAY too popular a move this weekend) for a delayed two. Well done on not doing the same spot and mixing it up a bit there. Cage’s helicopter bomb gets a rather surprising two and Oku reverses another powerbomb into a hurricanrana for two more. That’s it for Cage as the Drill Claw finishes Oku at 9:39.

Rating: C+. Well that was way better than it had any right to be as Oku is basically trying to get his first big win and has to fight Cage. I’ll give Cage some major points for that much selling as it made Oku look far better than he would have otherwise. Cage is one of those imports who can make for a good guest star and if he can help out the full time people, good for him.

Hiroshi Tanahashi/Will Ospreay vs. Minoru Suzuki/Zack Sabre Jr.

Suzuki/Sabre’s British Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Tanahashi and Sabre start things off with Sabre taking him up against the rope with ease. That’s broken up and Sabre skips around the ring and Tanahashi can’t do anything with him. Ospreay comes in and knocks Sabre to the floor but Suzuki grabs an armbar over the ropes to cut off a dive. They head outside with Suzuki forearming the heck out of him, sending Ospreay down in a heap.

Back in and Ospreay lets Suzuki chop him and is stupid enough to let him do it a few more times. Everything breaks down and the villains slap on stereo holds. With those broken, Suzuki goes after the referee because he has to hurt someone. Ospreay’s nose is busted (looks broken) so Suzuki elbows him in the face. I love that kind of meanness. The half crab goes on as the announcers explain that this isn’t about a submission but just about pain.

Ospreay somehow springboards into a kick to the head and the hot tag brings in Tanahashi. They trade abdominal stretches but you know that’s not good enough for Sabre, who slaps on an armbar at the same time. Sabre stomps on the arm and it’s back to Suzuki for the exchange of forearms. Tanahashi knocks him backwards (shocking) and extends his jaw to give Suzuki a free shot.

Suzuki takes him down by the leg but Ospreay makes a save, allowing Tanahashi to get back up for a forearm. Ospreay fires in a long stretch of forearms to knock Suzuki down in the corner for a basement dropkick…..and Suzuki stands up. More forearms give Suzuki that “boy you done messed up look” so Ospreay says bring it. A forearm from Suzuki gives Ospreay that “my goodness that was incredibly painful look” but a spinwheel kick drops Suzuki.

The sleeper has Ospreay in more trouble and Sabre comes in for the Penalty Kicks. Tanahashi makes a save and the villains slap on stereo abdominal stretches. That’s broken up and a dragon screw legwhip sends Suzuki outside. The Sling Blade sets up the picture perfect shooting star press for two on Sabre. Back up and Ospreay tries Stormbreaker but gets reversed into the European Clutch for the pin at 21:17.

Rating: A-. Suzuki is still the scariest human in wrestling history and this was a good example of why you don’t try to hit him in the face. These guys beat each other up quite well and it even helps set up Tanahashi vs. Sabre tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden. This is the best match I’ve seen this weekend so far and that covers some ground, so Rev Pro comes through again.

Intermission.

Rocky Romero vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

I believe Swoggle is in the crowd along the aisle. Taguchi is in his rugby gear to celebrate the upcoming Rugby World Cup. Romero bails from the threat of a hip attack before going with an armbar to take Taguchi down. Back up and Romero offers a handshake, even shaking the referee’s hand to show that it’s legitimate. Taguchi does take the handshake but gets kicked in the ribs, allowing Romero to hit the Eddie Guerrero dance.

A handstand from Taguchi lets him offer a quick dropkick but he’s out of the way so Romero misses for a crash. The hip attack knocks Romero outside but Taguchi spends WAY too much time getting ready, allowing Romero to knock him outside. The suicide dive connects and it’s Romero hitting his own hip attack. That’s not cool with the fans and it’s an exchange of atomic drops….for stereo Flair Flops. A series of hip attacks have Romero in more trouble as this needs to end.

Taguchi rolls some vertical suplexes but Romero is right back with a springboard dropkick to the back. The Forever Lariats don’t last forever and it’s some Forever Hip Attacks until a tornado DDT plants Taguchi. Sliced Bread is countered into a series of rollups for two each because THIS WON’T JUST END. Romero hits some Kawada Kicks to the face and, you guessed it, Taguchi does the same things with hip attacks. Taguchi hits an enziguri and a running hip attack gets two. A double chickenwing faceplant finishes Romero at 15:22.

Rating: D-. WOW this was bad as it felt like it was going on for about three times what we got. It just kept going with about 80% of Taguchi’s offense being that stupid hip attack. This felt like a performance instead of two guys trying to win a match and that made it feel so much longer than anything else. I know Romero is a rather polarizing wrestler and I can easily see how that’s the case. Worst match I’ve seen all weekend and it was nearing torture.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. David Starr

Starr’s Cruiserweight Title isn’t on the line. Starr is always claiming that Rev Pro is against him (that was the case two years ago) so Ishii is pretty much here to kill him. Feeling out process to start and Starr decides it’s a good idea to chop someone called the Stone Pitbull. About five chops have no effect and one Ishii chop takes Starr down. It also fires Starr up as he’s right back on his feet for a hard running shoulder.

Starr stomps him down in the corner and hits a running clothesline for two. Ishii gets annoyed at the chops and forearms and it’s time for Starr’s pain to really begin. A rolling kick to the head drops Ishii to the floor and it’s a suicide dive to give Starr his best chance so far. Back in and a top rope elbow gives Starr two but his German suplex is no sold. A superkick works a bit better but Ishii is right back up with a delayed superplex for two more.

The sliding lariat is countered into a rollup for two and Starr fires off two straight lariats for his own near fall. Another superkick sets up the Tomorrow Driver (the brainbuster onto the knee) for two more as they’re trading covers here. Ishii has finally had it and nails the sliding lariat into the brainbuster for the pin at 13:08.

Rating: C+. They were beating on each other as hard as they could (well maybe not as hard as Ishii could) and that made for a good but not great match. There wasn’t exactly a story to the match and most of it was spent trading forearms and clotheslines until the end. There wasn’t a ton of drama because Starr never tried anything big and you knew that brainbuster was waiting at the end. It was good, but it never got that far out of high gear.

Aussie Open vs. Roppongi 3K

3K’s IWGP Junior Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Davis and Yoh start things off with a test of strength taking Yoh down without much effort. Sho comes in to face Fletcher but everything breaks down with Roppongi dropkicking them to the floor for stereo flip dives. Back in and Fletcher gets dragged into the wrong corner but he’s right back with a double toss into the air for two on Sho. A hard clothesline connects for the same and it’s off to Davis to chop and elbow at Sho’s chest.

We hit the reverse chinlock with Yoh making a save as the slow beatdown continues. Fletcher kicks Sho down but can’t get a suplex as we hit the ten minute mark. Sho slips out of a suplex and hits a spear (you don’t see that one very often in Japan). That’s enough to bring Yoh back in for a backbreaker/neckbreaker combination on Fletcher. The Figure Four goes on until Davis comes over for a save.

Everything breaks down and Sho gets kicked on the floor, leaving Yoh to take an assisted cutter for two with Sho diving back in for the save. Fletcher and Yoh trade kicks to the head and back to the to the other two with Sho’s running clotheslines having no effect. A dropkick to the knee into a German suplex works a bit better and it’s Sho coming back in for double jumping knees to the face.

3K is broken up with Fletcher’s high crossbody but the Fidget Spinner is broken up. Yoh comes back in and 3K grabs stereo submissions, broken up by stereo reaching the ropes. Fletcher kicks Davis’ arm by mistake and gets rolled up for two but Sho is sent outside. A stuff piledriver into the Fidget Spinner is good for the pin on Yoh at 20:28.

Rating: C. This was WAY too long again and it hurt the match a lot. Aussie Open is good but it felt like they were extending the match for the sake of extending the match. That’s almost never a good idea and it really hurt things here. I was waiting on the match to end instead of wanting to see the finish and that’s not a good sign. It certainly wasn’t bad, but it was a long match at the end of a long show.

The shake hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a great example of a show being cut in half by intermission and the quality dropping off a cliff in the second half. The first half of this show was one of the better ones I’ve seen in a long time but the second was one long match after another and I was checking the clock a lot. There’s more good than bad, but it needed to have about twenty minutes cut to really make it great. Of just don’t do Taguchi vs. Romero at all. Check out that first half but move on to something else after intermission.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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IMG Credit: New Japan Professional Wrestling

Fighting Spirit Unleashed
Date: September 30, 2018
Location: Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California
Attendance: 3,007
Commentators: Jim Ross, Kevin Kelly

New Japan is back in the USA and I’m not sure how special this one feels. It’s not something that comes off as a big deal anymore but at least the shows are still pretty entertaining. The main event here is a tag match with the Golden Lovers vs. Kazuchika Okada/Tomohiro Ishii, which should at least be a fun match. Let’s get to it.

We open with a quick look at the March show (Why not the July show?) and a rundown of the card. I’m still not sure if I like having the match order announced in advance or not.

There are some LARGE sections of empty seats.

Taguchi Japan vs. Roppongi 3K

That would be Jushin Thunder Liger/Ryusuke Taguchi/ACH vs. Rocky Romero/Sho/Yoh. Taguchi is even sporting rugby gear because Japan is getting ready to host the Rugby World Cup. Liger and Yoh start things off with the latter putting Liger up against the ropes for a friendly/patronizing pat to the chest. Liger runs into a dropkick but comes right back with a backbreaker.

There’s the surfboard to fulfill Liger’s contractual obligations and it’s time for all three good guys to clothesline Yoh in the corner. Taguchi uses the back of his tights (a trademark of his) but Liger gets sent into it instead and it’s Liger in trouble with Sho hitting a sliding dropkick. Rocky comes in and dropkicks the knee but Sho knocks Rocky off the apron by mistake, allowing the hot tag to ACH.

Everything speeds up with a double stomp to Sho’s back and a rapid fire string of kicks. A German suplex gets two on Sho and the fans are very pleased with ACH. Sho hits his own German suplex and it’s off to Rocky for the Forever Clotheslines on Taguchi, until the flying hip attacks get him out of trouble. Taguchi even bends over to offer them a target but triple dropkicks miss. A triple atomic drop works a bit better but the 3K is broken up. ACH dropkicks Sho and Yoh to the floor for a suicide dive, leaving Taguchi to hit a faceplant that the camera partially missed for the pin on Rocky at 8:57.

Rating: C-. Not a great match here but a fun opener with the six guys moving fast enough to keep the fans entertained. It’s always cool to see Liger and while I’m not the biggest ACH fan in the world, he’s a great choice for something like this. I still can’t believe how much better Sho and Yoh are here than they were in Ring of Honor, as the improvement is staggering.

Addiction vs. Hangman Page/Chase Owens

I still don’t get the appeal of Owens. Kelly is smart enough to let the fans know that the Addiction are part of So Cal Uncensored, hence the SCU chants from the So Cal crowd. Page and Kazarian slug it out to start because that’s just what they do. Stereo clotheslines don’t get either of them anywhere so they knock each other into the corners for a double tag. Certainly an effective way to start.

Owens speeds things up with a knee to the face and a running neckbreaker to take Daniels down so it’s already back to Kazarian. That means another neckbreaker and it’s off to Page for a dropsault for two on Kazarian and a very positive reaction. The fans think this is awesome, which sounds like quite the overreaction.

Page gets two off a tabletop suplex and it’s Owens slapping on a front facelock to keep Kazarian in place. Kazarian’s Backstabber gets him out of trouble though and it’s off to Daniels for a Rock Bottom/reverse DDT combination. A release Rock Bottom to Owens only leaves Daniels open for the Buckshot Lariat but Page’s shooting star off the apron lands in Kazarian’s Codebreaker. Back inside and the Best Meltzer Ever finishes Owens at 8:41.

Rating: C. Perfectly watchable match here as the fans were into Kazarian and Daniels and of course the Bullet Club is going to get a reaction no matter what they do. This was perfectly fine for this spot on the card as they’re still getting going and the fans are getting into the show. That’s a big part of how to build a card and a lot of companies don’t know how to pull that off.

Jeff Cobb/Flip Gordon/Chris Sabin vs. Chaos

That would be Hirooki Goto/Best Friends for Chaos. Cobb is the ROH TV Champion, which wouldn’t air on TV for over three weeks, because ROH’s TV schedule is annoying. Sabin and Chuckie trade rollups to start but everything breaks down in a hurry. Everyone crushes Chuckie in the corner and it’s la majistral to give Sabin two. Gordon comes in but gets launched into a cutter, leaving the Best Friends to load up the big hug.

Cobb isn’t having that though and runs them both over, onto to be blasted by Goto’s clothesline. Sabin takes him down with his apron kick though, leaving the Best Friends to have their hug. Now we can get to the stereo flip dives and some muscle posing, followed by the slingshot stomp to the face from Beretta. Chuckie adds the rolling slingshot splash and Sabin is in big trouble. Sabin manages to drop toehold Chuckie into Beretta’s crotch though and a tornado DDT is enough for the hot tag to Gordon.

That means it’s time to blow JR’s hat off with high flying as a springboard Sling Blade looks to set up a 450 but Beretta is out of the way. The double tag brings in Cobb and Goto and the slugout is on. Goto actually gets the better of it by avoiding a charge and hitting a Saito suplex. The GTR is countered and Cobb hits his own suplex but misses a standing moonsault. Chuckie can’t suplex Cobb but a Best Friends comboplex works a bit better. That’s cool with Cobb, who suplexes both of them right back. A piledriver gets two on Cobb but Chuckie misses the moonsault, setting up the Tour of the Islands to give Cobb the pin at 12:08.

Post match Goto and Cobb tease a fight but Goto leaves before anything happens.

Suzuki-Gun vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

Zack Sabre Jr./Lance Archer/Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Tetsuya Naito/Sanada/Evil here. The announcers talk about Smith’s incredibly hard handshake and they’re right. I got to shake his hand last year and it’s the firmest I’ve ever seen by a mile. One of the stories here seems to be that Evil can’t beat Sabre no matter what he does. Fair enough. Suzuki-Gun jumps them from behind before the bell but Evil shoulders Sabre down to take over at the official start. Sanada comes in and makes the mistake of trying to trade holds with Sabre, meaning he’s quickly taken into the corner.

It’s off to Smith, whose knee gets dropkicked out in short order. A blind tag brings in Archer for a powerslam though and he runs into Sanada multiple times to knock him silly. Smith comes in again to work on Sanada’s knee with a reverse Figure Four but he can only get two of the three rolling German suplexes. A middle rope dropkick to Smith and a hurricanrana to Archer allow the hot tag to Naito so house can be cleaned.

Naito hits a neckbreaker on Smith and stops to pose but a belly to belly suplex cuts him off. The momentum isn’t exactly lasting in this one. A side slam/middle rope splash combination gets two on Naito but he’s right back with a springboard tornado DDT (See what I mean?). Sabre and Evil come in and slug it out with Sabre cranking on an armbar until Sanada makes the save.

Stereo dives take out Archer and Smith but Sabre reverses whatever Evil was setting up into something like an Octopus. That’s reversed into Darkness Falls (sitout Widowmaker) but what looked like an STO is reversed into a bridging cradle (with Sabre flipping off the crowd) for the pin on Evil at 9:31.

Rating: C+. I like most of the people in this match and this was another fun one with everyone moving at a very fast pace and showing off a little bit. Sabre’s submissions are hard enough to describe let alone keep track of what he’s doing. Archer and Smith are as dominant looking of a team as you’ll find outside of (maybe) the Guerrillas of Destiny and are always fun to watch so this one was rather entertaining.

Post match Smith powerslams Naito in the aisle. Evil is devastated by his loss and Naito looks down at him.

Jay White/Gedo vs. Taguchi Japan

It’s Kushida and Hiroshi Tanahashi for Taguchi here. Gedo has abandoned Kazuchika Okada for White, making him rather hated at the moment. White wants Tanahashi’s G1 Climax briefcase for the title shot at Wrestle Kingdom. Tanahashi wastes no time in slugging away at White, the only person who beat him in the G1 Climax, on the floor as they start in a hurry. They head inside with Tanahashi going after the knee but getting shoved off the ropes for a crash to the floor. White chops away as Gedo rips at Kushida’s face elsewhere. Back in and a Saito suplex gives White two and we settle down to an actual tag match.

An elbow drop gives White two but Gedo comes in and gets crossbodied. That’s enough to bring in Kushida to speed things up with the kicks to the face, including a seated dropkick. A rolling DDT sets up a cross armbreaker on Gedo and then the Hoverboard Lock but White makes a save. Kushida brings in Tanahashi for some running elbows and forearms, followed by Twist and Shout. Everything breaks down but Gedo uses some brass knuckles to break up the High Fly Flow. The Blade Runner finishes Tanahashi at 9:01.

Post match White says he wants his shot at the briefcase. New Japan is scared of White winning the briefcase because it doesn’t want two foreigners in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom. Tanahashi’s time is coming.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Tournament Semifinals: Marty Scurll vs. Will Ospreay

The title is vacant due to Hiromu Takahashi’s neck injury so there is a tournament between the four most recent champions. The line about these two is “three things are inevitable: death, taxes and Scurll beats Ospreay”, though Ospreay did beat him earlier in the year. Bell, C4, two on Scurll, shooting star, two on Scurll, we’re now fifteen seconds in. The threat of an Oscutter sends Scurll outside so Ospreay hits a suicide dive.

Back in and a springboard clothesline drops Scurll again but he’s right back with some elbows to the face. Ospreay falls outside for the apron superkick and a stomp to the head makes things worse back inside. The cravate sets up some knees to the head and Ospreay is in even more trouble, mainly due to his eternally bad neck. Ospreay tells him to bring it so Scurll does, sending Ospreay down to the mat again.

A handspring enziguri takes Scurll down but the neck flares up again. Ospreay hits a 619 over the top (Why is that something you never see?) but Scurll kicks him outside. They strike it out on the apron but the C4 off the apron (which hurt Ospreay’s neck in the first place) is blocked. Instead Ospreay settles for a sunset bomb to the floor and they’re both down. Ospreay’s spinning kick to the back connects inside but the Oscutter is countered into a backslide for two.

Stormbreaker is broken up so Ospreay scores with a clothesline but has to grab his neck again. The super Oscutter is broken up with a good crotching and Scurll gets his own two off his own clothesline. Some chops fire Ospreay up (that’s an international one) and he hits an enziguri, only to have the Oscutter reversed into the chickenwing in a slick counter.

Ospreay flips out and hits a superkick to the back of the head for the double knockdown. Back up and the Cheeky Nandos kick hits Scurll but he’s able to break up a superplex. A super tiger suplex (Tiger superplex?) gets a crazy close two and a package piledriver sets up Graduation to finish Ospreay at 16:01.

Rating: A-. Now that was awesome stuff with both guys leaving it all in the ring and beating the heck out of each other with Scurll going serious because he was up against his archrival (the hero to his villain) in a match that mattered in the future. Ospreay of course has no problem risking death and all that jazz, leaving the two of them to tear the house down in a match that blows away anything else on the show so far. Well worth seeing, which is a first tonight (and makes sense as New Japan builds their cards higher as the show goes on).

You can tell we’re getting to the big stuff as we now have videos to build up the matches. Kenny Omega attacked AJ Styles over two years ago to take over the Bullet Club. Now the Guerrillas of Destiny have done the same thing and the Bullet Club is splitting all over again with the Guerrillas and company calling themselves the Firing Squad. The Club is now the Bullet Club Elite because the world makes my head hurt.

IWGP Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Guerrillas of Destiny

The Bucks are defending but the Guerrillas have Haku in their corner. The Guerrillas throw the belts over the top and we’re ready to go with Nick vs. Tama starting us off. They speed things up early on with neither actually hitting anything for a standoff. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Bucks make mistake of hitting Tongans in the head. Matt launches Nick into both of them for a double dropkick and the Guerrillas are actually in some trouble.

More dropkicks see Matt’s back go out though, allowing Tama to jump Nick from behind. Loa hammers on Matt on the floor and it’s table time, which seems a bit extreme for this place. Nick saves his brother from being suplexed through the table and starts fighting both Tongans on his own. This goes as well as you might have guessed until Matt tries to make a save, earning himself a slam off the top through the table.

Loa gets sent outside for a dropkick through the ropes and there’s the Sharpshooter on Tama, with Loa making a save in short order. A spear of all things drops Tama and it’s back to Nick for the fast paced comeback. The roll into the Backstabber takes Tama down and the double superkicks get two. More Bang For Your Buck (with a long delay before Matt can do the moonsault) is good for the same on Loa but the Meltzer Driver is broken up with a Gun Stun. Matt tries some superkicks but walks into a 3D for the pin and the titles at 19:22.

Rating: B. As usual, the Bucks are far better in Japan and that was the case again here. They were in over their heads against the Guerrillas though and the title change was absolutely the right idea. That being said, I don’t remember the last big Bucks match that didn’t involve Matt’s back. It’s effective, but can we mix it up a little?

We recap the US Title match. Juice Robinson won the title earlier this year when he finally won the big one. Cody on the other hand just wants to be champion. Juice wants to prove that he’s more than just a flash in the pan who got lucky.

IWGP US Title: Cody vs. Juice Robinson

Robinson is defending and Brandi Rhodes (yep) is here with Cody. The bell rings and Cody takes his sweet time ripping off the shirt. Juice’s wristlock doesn’t go anywhere so it’s off to a chinlock that lasts all of two seconds. Back up and they chop it out until Cody avoids a crossbody. Cody’s dive to the floor is countered with a belly to belly suplex but Juice accidentally shoves Brandi down.

Pain is screamed so Cody hits a DDT on the floor, bringing Brandi right back up for a kiss. Back in and Cody misses a springboard elbow but a Brandi distraction breaks up a Cannonball attempt. Juice goes after her again and Cody takes over with a single cheap shot. The rollup that made Juice champion gets two here and he kicks Cody into the corner for the Cannonball. The Disaster Kick misses and Juice hits a good looking high crossbody for no cover due to a hard landing.

That means a Figure Four on Juice until we get the old school turnover for the break. Hang on though as Cody needs some water to spit into Juice’s eyes, setting up the Disaster Kick for two. Juice is fine enough to hit Pulp Friction but Brandi pulls her husband to the floor. The knee keeps Juice from getting to him in a hurry though and it’s Cross Rhodes on the floor to knock the champ silly.

Back in and they trade the snap jabs with Juice getting the better of it until Cody pokes him in the eye. A superkick sets up a Vertebreaker (which Cody used to pin him in a tag match) for a close two on Robinson but he crotches Cody on top. Robinson grabs a superplex for the crash, with both guys laying down and raising their legs for the small package with Cody getting the pin and the title at 16:47.

Rating: B-. This could have been a lot worse as Cody’s matches tend to be crazy overbooked. Thankfully that wasn’t the case here and they just had a pretty solid match. I’m not sure why they needed to do the title change here as Juice had a great story to get to the title and Cody is just….well Cody. Does the NWA World Champion need the lowest NJPW singles title?

Chaos vs. Golden Lovers

That would be Tomohiro Ishii/Kazuchika Okada for Chaos here as Okada and Omega continue their long running rivalry. Okada and Ibushi start things off with an exchange of basic holds. A very early Rainmaker attempt misses (continuing the basic theme) and it’s off to Ishii, who wants Omega. For some reason Omega tries some shoulders and just hurts himself. Ishii spits at Ibushi so Omega slugs away to little avail. Ibushi breaks up the brainbuster attempt and no sells some forearms to the back.

Omega’s shot from the back takes Ishii down for a few seconds so it’s off to Ibushi for an ill advised strike off. A hard shoulder drops Ibushi again and Okada hits a slingshot hilo. Omega wants to save his partner and comes in to slug it out with Ishii, earning himself a beating. Back in and Okada snapmares Ibushi down but a dropkick takes Ishii down as we actually get some intelligence.

Omega comes back in and hits a running tornado DDT with an awkward landing. Ishii scores with a powerslam and everything breaks down with the Lovers hitting moonsaults to the floor to take over for the first time. Back in and a series of moonsaults get two on Okada but Ishii comes back in for a suplex. Everything breaks down and it’s Okada vs. Omega for the big showdown.

Neither can hit a finisher so Omega grabs the snapdragon instead. Ishii breaks up a V Trigger and Okada nails the dropkick. Ibushi takes Ishii outside and there’s the V Trigger to Okada. The One Winged Angel is broken up and Okada hits the Tombstone for two as Ibushi saves. It’s off to Ishii vs. Ibushi for a forearm off with Ibushi actually getting the better of it. A moonsault double knees to the chest gets two on Ishii but Okada breaks up the Golden Trigger.

Ishii drops Omega but gets kicked down by Ibushi and everyone needs a break. Ibushi and Ishii slap it out until Ibushi gets two off a clothesline. One heck of a clothesline gives Ishii two of his own and Okada dropkicks Ibushi into a heck of a powerbomb. Ibushi is back up with a German suplex for two on Ishii. Okada gets sent outside and it’s the Golden Trigger to finish Ishii at 23:03.

Rating: B. Good stuff here as expected but I like Ishii a lot so it was going to be hard to screw this up. The Lovers are a heck of a team and it makes sense to have Ishii take the fall instead of Okada, who isn’t losing on a glorified house show. This felt important and that’s what you should be going for at a show like this one. Good, though not great main event.

Post match the Bullet Club comes out for the celebration and Omega is glad to see all the happy faces. The singles match between Omega and Ibushi is teased but here’s Cody to grab the mic. Cody says the fans want to see the rematch and since he’s cool with Omega and getting there with Ibushi, let’s just make it a triple threat (a rarity in New Japan). Omega thinks it’s ingenious and the match seems to be on.

Highlights end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. The opening few matches aren’t the best but there’s an instant classic from Scurll vs. Ospreay and everything from then on is good to very good. This show set the table for the upcoming pay per views, which seems to be exactly the point. I had more fun watching this than I expected and it’s about as good as I’ve seen them do in America.

That being said, the empty seats in the crowd aren’t a good sign. For one thing, how many times have they been to southern California in the last few years? It’s fun, but you can overdo it and that seems to be the case. Couple that with this being a big house show instead of a major event and it’s not exactly must see. Going to a new area might help, or putting on a World Title match for a change. It’s not like the place was empty, but I’m not sure how many times you can do this and expect a strong crowd. This was their fourth show in about a year and a half and that’s pushing it.

Overall though, it’s a very good show and doesn’t run long (the intermission helps a lot) with good wrestling up and down. Kelly was a HUGE improvement over Josh Barnett as Kelly is much better at explaining stories to people like me, who only kind of pay attention. That’s a big upgrade and it made the show much easier to watch. Check out Ospreay vs. Scurll for sure and everything after that if you have time as it’s a good way to get to know some of these people if you’re net at this stuff.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Revolution Pro Wrestling

Rev Pro: New Orleans
Date: April 6, 2018
Location: Sugar Mill, New Orleans, Louisiana
Attendance: 1,200
Commentators: Andy Quildan, Joe Dombrowski

This is another show I got to attend during Wrestlemania weekend after doing the same the previous year. Rev Pro is a British organization which brings in a lot of foreigners for their shows and puts on a heck of a product from what I’ve seen. The show was a lot of fun in person and it should be interesting to see how it holds up. Let’s get to it.

The intro is cut off here and the ring announcer/commentator/owner Andy Quildan is introducing the first match. Before this started, he asked us to be louder than London because London had been saying there was no way New Orleans could beat them. The same thing was said last year in Orlando and I can see why. It’s an easy way to get a crowd going and it worked here too.

David Starr vs. Martin Stone

Starr is the guy with the 15 or so nicknames and he’s not happy with Quildan not listing more than one of them (Starr: “WHAT THE F*** WAS THAT?”). He claims a conspiracy against him in RPW but it doesn’t matter because he’s really good at pro wrestling. Tonight he’s facing Danny Bur….oh sorry he can’t say that name. Stone only changed his name because he’s a little corporate b****, and you know that gets a rise out of the crowd. After Starr lists off all of his nicknames (and yes he has a shirt with all of them for sale), we’re ready to go (Starr: “HI DANNY!”).

Feeling out process to start as Andy joins commentary and talks about the conspiracy allegations against him. Apparently he wasn’t happy with having his Cruiserweight Title shot coming in a five way match and something about a fast count so he’s getting another title shot in May. A Thesz press gives Starr two as they’re certainly in the technical phase to start.

Stone goes after the leg so Starr bails to the floor, earning a forearm to the face. Something like a belly to back toss onto the apron cuts Stone off though and Starr dives in at eight. Back in and an uppercut in the corner gives Starr two but Stone headbutts the arm (ala Tomohiro Ishii). They exchange headbutts to put both guys down but it’s Stone up and easily winning a slugout. Do you really want to trade shots with a guy named Stone?

A modified triangle choke has Starr in trouble but he gets up and sends Starr to the apron for a springboard clothesline. Back in and Stone looks a bit dead but is still able to enziguri his way out of trouble. Neither guy can follow up so they call some rather loud spots and slug it out from their knees. Does that really need a spot call?

They chop it out and Stone actually asks for a second after a particularly hard shot from Starr. One heck of a rebound lariat drops Stone for two but he’s right back with a Crossface. Starr’s roll doesn’t work so he lifts Stone up for a backbreaker in a surprising power display. Back up and Stone tries a monkey flip but slips off the ropes, allowing Starr to throw his feet on the ropes for the pin at 10:38.

Rating: C. I was thinking having commentary would help this show and that’s exactly the case. All I knew was that Starr was claiming a conspiracy and was acting like a standard heel. Now though we know some details and I have more of a reason to care about the story. That’s what good commentary can do and it helped a lot here. I’ve always liked Stone and Starr is growing on me so there was something to be seen with this match.

Post match Quildan is coming to the ring for the next match and gets hugged by Starr, who flips him off for good measure.

Adam Brooks vs. Brian Cage

It’s rare to see a small heel vs. a monster face. Brooks dropkicks him during the weapons check in one of the only ways he’s getting much of a physical advantage here. A hurricanrana puts Cage o the floor and there’s a running kick to the chest for good measure. Back in and Brooks takes the knee out before kicking the ropes into Cage’s….uh….inner thigh. Yeah we’ll go with that.

Cage finally launches him with an overhead German suplex (Andy: “As if WrestleCon was being held on the moon!”) and there’s the delayed vertical suplex. A standing moonsault gets two on Brooks but he avoids a 619 and pokes Cage in the eyes to slow things down again. One heck of a running flip dive to the floor drops Cage again with a little nod to Will Ospreay, who Brooks hasn’t been happy with lately.

Back in and Cage scores with a jumping knee but takes too long telling Brooks “YOU’RE DEAD”, allowing him to duck the discus lariat. Brooks grabs a reverse hurricanrana so Cage pops to his feet and blasts him with a clothesline for a double knockdown. They head to the apron again (because that’s become an obsession since the HARDEST PART OF THE RING deal started) and two knees drive Cage’s head into the apron, followed by a slingshot DDT for two back inside.

Cage is back up with a powerbomb into a buckle bomb into an apron superplex for two more. In a scary sight, Cage goes up top but Brooks, fearing a bad case of death, crotches him again and hurricanranas him down. Cage is right back up with an F5 attempt but Brooks’ feet hit the referee. That means a low blow and a rollup pin (with trunks) on Cage at 10:08.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one much either as Brooks seems like someone who would benefit from a lot of promo time. Cage is a monster and a half and I’m not surprised that he’s getting a strong push in Impact. This wasn’t a great match or really anything close to one but Cage wrecking stuff is always fun.

Chuck Taylor/Rocky Romero/Will Ospreay vs. Flip Gordon/Kota Ibushi/Shane Strickland

Taylor/Romero/Ospreay are part of the New Japan Chaos stable. Hopefully Ospreay can hold up a bit more here and the tag format should help him survive. He’s crazy over to start….and then Ibushi’s music hits because the fans know they’re in for a dream match showdown at some point. Gordon and Strickland bow to Ibushi during his entrance but Ospreay doesn’t seem too impressed.

Strickland and Romero start things up as Taylor won’t stand in his designated corner. That’s not very gentlemanly behavior. Romero works the arm to start as the fans don’t seem thrilled by Rocky’s presence. It’s off to a headlock as we hear about Romero’s long list of tag team successes. Strickland fights up and grabs Rocky’s face for a rather cruel escape. A dropkick sends Romero crawling on his knees to the corner so he can grab Taylor’s legs. Gordon and Taylor come in with Chuck’s forearms to the back taking over as the announcers offer a nice comparison between the two of them.

Flip dropkicks him to the floor and thankfully Taylor is smart enough to move before a dive can launch. It’s off to Ospreay vs. Ibushi and NOW things pick up with the fans actually giving it a standing ovation. They circle each other for a good while as the fans aren’t sure who to cheer for but Chaos comes in and jumps Ibushi to steal the moment. Triple teaming ensues until Romero comes in, earning himself a hard chop. Strickland is back in with a right hand of his own and a running kick to the head rocks Rocky.

Another triple dropkick cuts Strickland off and it’s Chaos cleaning house again. It kind of helps when you’re an actual team instead of three guys thrown together. Ospreay even chokes Strickland with his shirt in the corner and a rollup gets two. Romero dances along the apron before jumping in and raking his boot over Shane’s face. That means Taylor’s slow motion slingshot senton and the fans are far too thrilled. The easily impressed fans appreciate a fan from Taylor but a second attempt is countered into a small package for two. The second successful slam draws a TEN MORE TIMES chant but settle for a missed moonsault instead.

That’s enough for the hot tag to Ibushi as things speed WAY up (which you might have expected). Ibushi drops Taylor and hits a BIG flip dive onto Ospreay and Romero. Back in and Ibushi strikes the heck out of Taylor, leaving Gordon to hit his own flip dive onto Ospreay and Romero. Back in and Shane’s 450 gets two on Taylor with Ospreay diving in for a save. Romero is back up for the forever clotheslines on Ibushi and Gordon is right back up with a super hurricanrana on Ospreay…..who lands on his feet. Andy: “He’s not defying gravity. He’s disrespecting it!”

Ospreay kicks Gordon in the head but the Oscutter is blocked. It’s time for the parade of strikes until Ospreay and Ibushi hit moonsault double kicks to the back of the head. That leaves them nose to nose and you can feel this one. They slug it out with Ospreay telling him to bring it. Ibushi hits the rapid fire strikes but misses the standing moonsault. Ospreay kicks him in the head again but Ibushi does the same.

A huge clothesline turns Ospreay inside out and they’re both down to another standing ovation. Ibushi goes up but takes the Cheeky Nandos Kick, leaving Gordon to hit the spinning springboard Stunner for two on Ospreay. That earns Gordon back to back kicks to the head, followed by the Revolution Kick. The Oscutter is enough to put Gordon away at 22:14.

Rating: B. This was all about setting up the Ospreay vs. Ibushi showdown and that’s what we got here. The buildup was fine and action was solid throughout. They were going for the big blowaway six man here and while they didn’t do that, the showdown felt special and that was the most important part. Good match, and one of the better ones of the weekend so far.

There was a fifteen minute intermission (edited out of course) where I got to meet Ospreay in a nice moment.

Jeff Cobb vs. Minoru Suzuki

Non-title and it’s hoss fight time. As he was last night, Suzuki knows how to fire up a crowd, which you wouldn’t guess from his normal New Japan matches. Suzuki won’t stand for a weapons check as you can feel the announcers wanting to see this one. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to grapple their way to an advantage. Back up and Suzuki chops him in the chest so Cobb chops him as well.

That makes Suzuki smile and he takes down Cobb’s straps for some REAL chops. Cobb finally gets smart by shouldering Suzuki to the apron, earning himself a legbar in the ropes as he goes after Suzuki. The leg is wrapped around the post but the referee won’t allow the chair usage. Suzuki will not be denied the chance of violence and shoves the referee down, allowing the chair to hit the knee.

Back in and it’s more leg work, including a bit on the referee for trying to make the break. That’s the kind of crazy man Suzuki can be. Suzuki tries another chop exchange and sticks his chest out….so Cobb dropkicks him in the face. A Samoan drop gives Cobb two, only to have Suzuki kick him in the face for two. It’s off to another leglock before Suzuki goes simple by kicking the heck out of the leg. Cobb muscles him up for a belly to belly for two but the knee slows him down again. A powerbomb attempt is countered into Suzuki’s sleeper and Cobb taps at 10:23 without even going to the mat.

Rating: C. This was a glorified squash and after last night’s Cobb vs. Ishii match, that’s rather disappointing. That being said, the fans got exactly what they wanted from Suzuki here as he was all evil and crazy while ripping the leg apart. Sometimes it’s better to go with something like this and that’s all the fans wanted to see. Not bad, but disappointing.

Post match, Cobb is helped to the back and Suzuki soaks in some cheers.

Aussie Open vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi/Juice Robinson

Aussie Open is Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis, which is made more impressive when you consider that Fletcher is just 18/19 (online says the former, commentary the latter) years old. Fletcher grabs a headlock to start but Robinson shoulders him down without much effort. A dropkick to the knee cuts Fletcher off and it’s off to Davis for some chops.

The Aussies take over with Davis holding Robinson up for a dropkick to the side of the head. Robinson comes back with a leg lariat and NOW it’s time for Tanahashi. Double dropkicks abound but Tanahashi misses a middle rope swanton to let the Aussies take over again. The TANA chants get him out of a chinlock but he misses a dropkick. This jumping on his own thing isn’t going well for him so far.

Tanahashi finally drops Davis and the hot tag brings in Robinson for the snap jabs all over the place. Robinson’s high crossbody gets two but Davis superkicks him onto Fletcher’s shoulder. A middle rope cutter, with Fletcher throwing him into the air, gets no cover as Davis can’t follow up (looked great though).

The REAL hot tag brings in Tanahashi and things speed up again, this time with a forearm to Fletcher. Davis cuts him off again but something like an Alabama Slam into a spinebuster is somewhat botched and only gets two. Tanahashi is right back with a Sling Blade on Davis, followed by a Hart Attack with another Sling Blade for two on Fletcher as Davis makes a save. Robinson takes Davis out and it’s the High Fly Flow to put Fletcher away at 12:19.

Rating: B-. Aussie Open looked VERY good here and with more time could become a heck of an indy team. That being said, this was all about Tanahashi and that’s what is should have been on a stage like this. I liked this more than I was expecting to as everyone, especially Aussie Open, was working hard out there. Tanahashi is a legend though and in an intimate atmosphere like this, that’s going to shine more than anything else.

Tanahashi poses for a long time and even does the Elvis thing of wiping his sweat on a towel and throwing it back to a fan. That’s star power.

British Heavyweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Sabre Jr., a technical master with the most insane submissions I’ve ever seen, is defending in a reign that has lasted over a year. I ever saw him defend the title last year in Orlando so he’s held the thing for a long time. Feeling out process to start with Sabre going for the legs and being cut off in short order. Sabre takes him to the mat but the armbar attempt is pretty easily blocked.

Ishii is right back up and in the corner for a staredown and a standoff. Sabre gets all rude by shoving Ishii in the face and even patting him on the head so one shot to the face drops him with ease in a good visual. That means it’s time for the hard chops in the corner with Sabre in trouble as the announcers talk about his bravado getting him in trouble. Something like an Octopus Hold gets Sabre out of trouble but he switches to a straitjacket hold with a bodyscissors (now he’s warming up).

Sabre lets go of the hold and steps on Ishii’s head as we hear about Sabre making AJ Styles tap clean well over a year ago. Ishii gets caught in something like the Rings of Saturn but with Sabre pulling back using his leg instead of arm (think about how much more cranking that allows). A rope is finally grabbed and the fans think Sabre sucks. To be fair he does have quite the punchable face. Sabre stomps on the arm ala Shayna Baszler before picking it up and making Ishii do You Can’t See Me for him in a funny bit.

Ishii fights up with a near brainbuster for a break and puts Sabre on top, only to get caught in another armbar. This one can’t last as long so Sabre goes back to slapping a guy called THE STONE PITBULL in the face. That earns him a delayed superplex as Quildan is losing his mind on commentary. A powerbomb is countered into an abdominal stretch/Octopus Hold hybrid. Ishii fights out and goes for the cross armbreaker but Ishii channels his inner Stephanie McMahon and blocks it a few times.

Sabre switches into a triangle choke and of course Ishii muscles him up for a powerbomb. Is there really any other counter for that? They slug it out again with the much smaller (at least lankier) Sabre knocking him back and kicking the bad arm. Ishii rolls out of a Fujiwara armbar but gets caught in another near Rings of Saturn. With the legs tied almost in an upside down full nelson (again, these things are hard to describe), Ishii DIVES for the ropes and gets another break.

You can see the shock on Sabre’s face and it’s a forearm into a Saito suplex to give Ishii another breather. A powerbomb gets two but the sliding lariat (come on man, don’t be stupid) is countered into a headscissors with the arm being pulled back again. That’s not enough twisting so Sabre pulls back on the leg for a bit before cranking on the arm even more. Ishii makes the ropes AGAIN but is just done. Sabre casually kicks away….and it’s time to get fired up again.

Now the kicks get a little harder and the sneer gets even worse. Ishii tells him to kick harder until some headbutts take Sabre down again. Now the sliding lariat connects for two but Sabre reverses the brainbuster into a Kimura with a bodyscissors. It’s not on full though and Ishii gets up, only to be cradled for two in a near fall I completely bought. Ishii’s enziguri puts both guys down again and the fans (myself included) are WAY into this. Sabre is rocked and Ishii clotheslines the heck out of him for two. The brainbuster out of nowhere gives Ishii the pin and the title at 20:05.

Rating: A. I LOVED this and was completely into every near fall. The last ten minutes had some of the best drama I’ve ever seen in person with those rope breaks being a rollercoaster. Sabre has held the title for the better part of ever at this point and it’s cool to see him finally lose, especially in a great match. There’s something so cool about seeing him wrenching and twisting the arm in such tormenting ways but it’s even better to see someone FINALLY knock the smug look off his face. Outstanding match and some of the most fun I’ve ever had watching a match live.

Ishii celebrates to end the show. Quildan thanked us for coming and being a great crowd to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. I was expecting a few more matches on the show but what we got was more than enough. This was a two match show for the most part with an awesome main event and a heck of a six man. When that’s a third of the show and nothing is really bad throughout the night, there isn’t much to complain about. Just like last year, Rev Pro was a lot of fun for a cheap price, meaning it’s something I’d gladly check out again given the chance. Find the main event though and have fun watching a great ride.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WrestleCon

WrestleCon Supershow
Date: April 5, 2018
Location: Sugar Mill, New Orleans, Louisiana
Attendance: 1,200
Commentators: Excalibur, Marty DeRosa

This is a special show that I took in during Wrestlemania weekend. The idea here is pretty obvious: take a bunch of people and put them into a big show with mostly unannounced matches between announced talent. The main event is the Golden Lovers vs. Chuckie T./a mystery partner due to Trent Barretta being forced out of the match due to injury. This should be a lot of fun so let’s get to it.

I was sitting in the arena in the bleachers, on the right hand side if you’re looking at the entrance (as the hard camera was). Of note, if I looked over my shoulder I could see the wrestlers coming down some stairs to their entrance. Several of them would sit on a balcony at the top of the stairs chatting throughout the night.

The opening is cut off of the version that I’m watching (assuming it was recorded). Excalibur came to the ring and dedicated the show to a man named Mark Hitchcock, who had worked for the company for years and designed this year’s logo. He recently passed away on his honeymoon and the show will be dedicated to him every year going forward. Nothing wrong with that and a nice moment.

The audio is VERY hard to understand, which was an issue in the building as well. Thankfully the commentary is much better.

Joey Janela vs. Penta El Zero M

Janela has a rather fetching woman named Penelope Ford with him. I’ve heard a lot about Janela before but I’ve never actually seen one of his matches. He’s described as a bad boy, seems to like the 80s, and has no physique. CERO MIDEO is incredibly popular here, just as it was last year. The referee calls for the bell….and nothing happens so Bryce Remsburg (a hilarious indy referee and a VERY nice guy) says start it anyway.

Pentagon does CERO MIEDO so Janela flips him off, earning a kick to the ribs. Something close to a low blow puts Janela down and Pentagon goes to yell at Ford. A dive is cut off by a shot to the mask and the Death Valley Driver onto the apron (THUD) knocks Pentagon silly. Pentagon gets sat in a chair in front of the barricade for a bicycle kick but a second is blocked with a superkick.

Back in and Janela bicycle kicks his way out of trouble again as the announcers try to explain the concept of the WrestleCon Supershow with nothing actually on the line other than pride and performances. The package piledriver is teased by both guys as the announcers bring up the piledriver being banned by the Louisiana State Athletic Commission.

There’s another kick to Janela but Ford grabs Pentagon’s foot to set up a not bad superplex. The crashes on those things, especially in such a small arena with a circle of lights not too far above the ring, are really impressive. Pentagon is right back up to superkick Janela out of the air before giving Ford the same thing. Janela gets his arm snapped and the Pentagon Driver is good for the pin at 7:57.

Rating: D+. Just a match to set the ball rolling here and I still don’t get the point of Janela. The announcers spent most of the match talking about how drunk he was the night before and that’s not exactly the most interesting character in the world. Pentagon is still rather awesome, though it’s not as cool as he is in Lucha Underground. Not a bad match, but I need something a little better than this. Then again, last year’s opener was nothing special either.

Here’s Joey Ryan for the Andy Kaufman Intergender Open Challenge. Ryan is in even in the white bath robe that Kaufman wore in Memphis back in the 80s. He yells at the fans to listen to him because he’s from Hollywood (this sounds strangely familiar). Joey pulls some soap out of his pocket and explains how to use it (just add water) with the announcers not even hiding the fact that this is copied from Kaufman. He also has a razor, which some of the women around here could use.

There are some areas where women are better than men: like cooking and cleaning. The robe comes off to reveal the white body suit and blue shorts (again, just like Kaufman) and issues the open challenge to any woman. Now, gender issues aside, the ONLY person who should be answering this challenge is Jerry Lawler. AND HERE’S JERRY LAWLER! Excalibur: “SOMEONE CALL DAVID LETTERMAN!”

Lawler says that he first piledrove Kaufman thirty five years ago today and Joey Ryan is no Andy Kaufman. However, Jerry is fine with allowing Joey experience what the real Andy went through. Ryan agrees, before pointing out that Lawler can’t use the piledriver in Louisiana. Lawler is confused and the bell rings with him pleading his case.

Jerry Lawler vs. Joey Ryan

Hang on a second though, as Ryan is rather confident. He’s so secure that he’s willing to allow Lawler to touch his….yeah. Lawler, still holding the crown, isn’t sure what to think as the fans implore him to do just that. Joey stands in front of him with his legs spread so Lawler kicks him low….for no effect. Fans: “SO BIG! SO STRONG!” With that not working, Lawler reaches out his hand…..AND SHOOTS A FIREBALL AT RYAN’S CROTCH! DeRosa: “SOMEWHERE JIM CORNETTE IS LOSING HIS MINE!” Of course that’s a DQ 2:08.

Lawler is annoyed but holds up the crowd anyway. Oh and worry not because Ryan insists that he’s fine. Fans: “SIX STAR MATCH!”

Team Lee vs. Team Dashwood

Trevor Lee, Caleb Konley, Jake Manning, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Zane Riley

Tenille Dashwood, Madison Eagles, Nicole Savoy, Shazza McKenzie, Tessa Blanchard

Lucha rules. This is the signature match of the show with last year’s serving as possibly the match of the weekend. This year’s is obviously men vs. women and you might not know everyone here. Lee and Konley are from Impact, Manning is an adult scout who ALWAYS reads his manual, Friedman is just a guy and Riley is 305lbs. Dashwood is the former Emma, Eagles is an Australian woman who stands about 6’2, Savoy has been in Shimmer forever, McKenzie has been on the indies for a good while and Blanchard has popped up in NXT a few times.

Dashwood’s team is out first with the captain showing more energy and fire than she ever showed in WWE. In between entrances, the announcers mock the athletic commission for banning piledrivers but approving brainbusters. DeRosa: “You’ve had Rude’s Brood. You’ve had the Foreign Fanatics. Now you have Trevor Lee and His Dickhead Friends.” Lee brags about being part of Impact Wrestling and promises Friedman, Riley and Manning contracts if they win here.

Friedman thinks there’s no point in wasting time with the match so he and Dashwood should get straight to smooching. He has a seat in a chair but gets slapped, drawing in Riley to check on him. Now if you don’t get where this is going, you haven’t paid enough attention. After Riley is done kissing Friedman (Friedman: “WHAT THE F***???”), Dashwood kicks them both down and we’re ready to go.

Lee gets sent into 619 position and it’s Tessa with a hip attack to the back. Trevor will have none of that though and runs her over with a clothesline, only to run into Eagles (Lee: “OH S***!”). Manning, still reading the manual, locks up with Savoy, who takes the book away to Manning’s panic. Remsburg is nice enough to hold up the book while Savoy grabs a cross armbreaker.

With the hold still on the arm, Zane grabs a chinlock on Savoy, Blanchard grabs a heel hook, Konley puts Tessa in an abdominal stretch, Shazza waistlocks Caleb, Trevor pulls McKenzie’s hair, Emma puts Lee in a dragon sleeper and Eagles puts Zane in an Indian Deathlock. ALL AT THE SAME TIME mind you, with Bryce flipping through the manual to figure out what to do. Friedman breaks things up but runs into Eagles as well, earning one heck of a right hand.

We hit the big exchange of strikes to put everyone down until Dashwood rams Jake’s face into the buckle over and over. There’s the Emma Lock (Tenille Tarantula), followed by Savoy hitting a VERY hard suicide dive onto Manning. Tessa dives onto Konley and Lee and McKenzie crossbodies Zane to the floor. Jake is back up and trust falls onto everyone, only to come back in for the Taste of Tenille.

Riley crushes Dashwood but Eagles GERMAN SUPLEXES HIM in a crazy power display. Friedman is back up with a poke to the eye but it’s Konley with a backsplash to McKenzie. A belly to back suplex drops Savoy but she punches her way out of a Doomsday Device. We get the Tower of Doom (well duh) with everyone landing on Friedman for a good comedy spot.

Rating: B-. It wasn’t last year’s match but that’s not a fair comparison to make. What we got here was a lot of fun though and the women never felt like they were in over their heads here. This was a lot of fun and the wild insanity that it should have been, but it felt really short. You’re only going to be able to get so much out of a ten minute match, especially with this many people packed in. Maybe their time was cut short but it needed more to get to that other level. Still good though.

Jeff Cobb vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Now this could work. Cobb is better known as Matanza from Lucha Underground and is an Olympic wrestler who weighs 270lbs. Last year he and Bobby Lashley had a disappointing hoss match so hopefully this is an upgrade. We start with the logical exchange of shoulders and neither really goes anywhere. Cobb finally knocks him down and it’s time for the forearm exchange, which lasts A FULL MINUTE.

That’s finally enough for Cobb, who scores with a powerslam for no cover. Hopefully no concussions either. Ishii is right back with a powerslam of his own and the fans are right back into him. They fight over a suplex with Ishii stomping on the feet not being enough to get him up. Ishii FINALLY muscles him over for the suplex but can’t follow up. That’s fine with Cobb, who lifts him from the mat into a somewhat delayed vertical and now Ishii is in trouble.

Deadlift rolling German suplexes get two on Ishii and a big release German suplex into the corner gets two. A bridging pumphandle suplex gets the same and NOW we’re firmly in the hoss battle mode. For some reason Cobb thinks it’s a good idea to talk trash, including yelling about strong style. Fans: “YOU F***** UP!” Ishii headbutts the arm and blasts Cobb in the corner before loading up the superplex. Of course that means a slugout on top but Cobb does come down with a big bounce for a double knockdown.

Back up and they both no sell German suplexes, followed by Cobb winning a headbutt exchange but going down as well. An overhead belly to belly gives Cobb two but the Tour of the Islands (swinging powerslam) is broken up. Ishii drops him with a clothesline for two and everyone is stunned at the kickout. Ishii’s sliding lariat is countered into a choke for a throw into the corner. An enziguri rocks Cobb though and the brainbuster (really a suplex due to Cobb’s size) is enough to give Ishii the pin at 15:05.

Rating: B+. THIS is what Cobb vs. Lashley should have been as this really did feel like the hoss battle that these two are great at. They beat the heck out of each other here and it was all about who would survive instead of who won. I had a good time with this one and Cobb looked like a star throughout. Really fun power brawl and both guys looked like stars.

Flamita/Bandido vs. Rey Fenix/Rey Horus

Oh man I’ve been wanting to see this one again. Fenix is of course Fenix and Horus is El Dragon Azteca Jr. Flamita and Fenix start things off with some wrestling, which lasts all of twenty seconds before it’s time to start flipping. Fenix tries a Lethal Injection but Flamita walks on his hands to escape. Neither can hit a strike so stereo dropkicks give us a standoff. Horus and Bandido come in with Horus spinning off the top into an armdrag but it’s off to Flamita for a boot in the corner.

A missile dropkick sends Horus to the floor so Fenix comes in, grabs Flamita by the wrist and walks the ropes. That earns him a chop so Fenix bounces onto the top rope and back to the top (as in he was standing on the middle, dropped onto his back on the top, and jumped back up top for a wristdrag). You know, because OF COURSE HE CAN DO THAT! Bandido comes back in and spins around into an ankle scissors on Fenix, only to charge into a kick to the face. A powerbomb puts Fenix down and it’s time for the chops, which makes Remsburg cringe too.

Fenix gets taken down again and that means some Motor City Machine Guns with the Dream Sequence. A bicycle kick drops Fenix again, FINALLY drawing Horus in for some help. Horus ducks a dropkick so it knocks Bandido outside instead, followed by a standing hurricanrana for two. Bandido is on the floor so it’s a slingshot hurricanrana, followed by a dive from Flamita and a springboard senton dive from Fenix. Bandido corkscrew planchas onto everyone and they’re all down on the floor for a breather.

Back in and it’s a chop off between Fenix and Flamita with the length being worse than the sounds. Flamita DDTs Fenix for two and Horus takes him to the middle rope for a super victory roll and two of his own. Something like a spinning GTS and a powerbomb gives Bandido two on Horus and everyone is down again. Back up and Fenix rolls into a cutter for two before crotching Flamita on the top. Horus is right back up too with a super reverse hurricanrana, followed by a top rope backsplash from Fenix.

Somehow that’s not enough either so Fenix throws Horus at Flamita for a tornado DDT. Horus charges at Bandido in the corner but DIVES over the top onto Flamita in one of the best fake outs I’ve ever seen (I didn’t see what he was planning live or on tape). Back in and Fenix hits a spinning Muscle Buster to FINALLY finish Bandido at 12:23.

Rating: A-. Yep. This was absolutely incredible live and my goodness I can’t believe how well it holds up. These four were going insane out there with a full on lucha libre match and had the fans, myself included, going nuts. Just an incredible performance here with no psychology or flow to it, which is exactly how it should be in this case. You watch these kinds of matches to see crazy flips, dives and spots and that’s what we got here. Great stuff and check this out if you can find it.

The fans throw money in the ring (a lucha libre thing) as we go to intermission.

Actually cancel that intermission, as the show is running long and we don’t have time for that. Thank goodness as this was about 11pm local time and there are four matches left.

Chico El Luchador/Psicosis/Super Crazy vs. Jason Cade/Matt Classic/Teddy Hart

Chico is Rocky Romero and substituting for Juventud Guerrera in the Mexicools reunion that no one wanted. Cade was in last year’s ten man tag and looked like a star. Hart is a member of the Hart Family but a complete jerk and flippy guy. Classic is Colt Cabana under a mask and wrestling like he’s from the late 1940s. Excalibur on the Mexicools: “We didn’t have them come out here on the lawnmowers because we’re not racist dicks.” DeRosa: “And they would cut up the mats.” Excalibur: “And we’re not racist dicks.”

The announcers go over Chico vs. Classic, which predated El Canek vs. Andre the Giant. With Classic continuing his pre-match workouts (neck bridges and Hindu squats) and pulling his trunks halfway up his chest, we’re ready to go with Classic vs. Chico as the rivalry is renewed. Classic throws Chico around as the announcers say this feud has been on a break for about thirty years. Chico grabs an abdominal stretch for a second but Classic is right back with the CLAW, because he gets old school.

That’s escaped with a spin out and Chico grabs a towel to turn this into a bullfight. Classic is knocked outside and Chico strikes a pose before handing it off to Psicosis and Cade. They hit the mat as Classic is still exercising on the apron. That goes nowhere so it’s off to Crazy vs. Hart (Excalibur: “Super Crazy vs. super crazier”) for an exchange of armdrags. Hart rolls out of the corner into a sunset flip before it’s back to Chico for a chop on Classic.

Everything breaks down and Classic gets dropped as everything breaks down. Chico suicide dives onto Cade but Hart moonsauts onto everyone (Excalibur: “YOU DON’T LEARN THAT IN THE DUNGEON!”). Classic gets on the top, then the middle, then the bottom, then just drops off the apron as the fans can’t get their HOLY S*** chants in sync. Back in and Crazy can only hit two moonsaults (they still look great) as Cade moves from the third attempt. Not that it matters as Crazy rolls Cade up for the pin at 9:56.

Rating: D+. Again, what was the point of the Mexicool reunion? Who in the world needed to see that? Classic was a lot of fun and the announcers made his stuff with Chico that much more fun but other than that, this was really skippable. Hart and Cade were just kind of there and there’s nothing much worth talking about. I guess it was just for an ECW reunion and….ok?

Teddy walks around the ring very slowly for the sake of getting on camera more.

Adam Brooks vs. Sammy Guevera vs. Shane Strickland vs. Will Ospreay

I got to chat with Sammy last year and while I haven’t heard much from him since, he was a nice guy while he talked to me and I can’t ask for more than that. Strickland is the International King of Swerve. I’m not sure what that means and….I think I’m good that way. Ospreay is VERY banged up after a botched spot in Japan so he’s looking rather pathetic with a big bunch of tape on his shoulder and neck.

We hit the trash talk to start until Brooks and Strickland knock the other two outside. That means a string of not hitting each other until Guevara and Ospreay come back in for a double dropkick. That means the big showdown (as big as you can get about two minutes into the match that is) and again they speed things up with neither hitting anything until Sammy snaps off a headscissors.

Strickland comes back in for a 619 to the ribs and rolls into a cutter. Brooks slides in for a sliding dropkick as the announcers try to figure out the New Orleans area code. Ospreay gets loaded up for the Cheeky Nandos kick but Brooks pokes him in the eye instead. That’s not cool with Ospreay so he flips over into a kick to the head but comes up holding the shoulder.

Guevera gets caught in the corner, earning himself a backflip kick to the head. That means the mini Tower of Doom with Sammy German superplexing Strickland, who superplexes Brooks into a powerbomb from Ospreay. Sloppy of course, but what were you expecting? Back up and Brooks and Ospreay exchange some hard kicks until a Stundog Millionaire drops Brooks.

Sammy hurricanranas Ospreay though, earning himself a kick to the floor from Strickland. Brooks dives on both of them so Ospreay busts out a space flying tiger drop for the four way knockdown. Guevera’s shooting star to the floor (looks awesome) takes them all out again, even if almost no one catches him. Back in and Brooks kicks Sammy low, setting up a Downward Spiral into the middle turnbuckle. Ospreay springboards back in but messes up his neck again.

A referee distraction sets up another low blow and Strickland has to come in for the save. Just to be evil, Strickland ties Ospreay in the ropes for the Alberto double stomp to the apron, followed by another stomp for two on Brooks. Sammy sends Strickland outside and curb stomps Brooks, only to have Ospreay roll in with the spinning kick to the back. The Oscutter finally finishes Guevera at 12:33.

Rating: B-. Ospreay is always worth seeing but this felt like a match I’ve seen several times before. Some of the dives were cool and the match is entertaining, but nothing that I’ve going to remember. The lateness of the night didn’t help either as the fans were starting to get tired. Having three straight cruiserweight matches didn’t help either as the show needed to be laid out a bit better in this section.

Post match Ospreay seems to apologize to the crowd for his performance but they throw money anyway.

Sami Callihan/Juice Robinson/Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. vs. David Starr/Brian Cage/???

Juice’s gear is rather odd looking, being described as a create a wrestler where you hit random five times. Starr is rather annoyed at the ring announcer not getting his full host of nicknames. He’s greeted by a GO ACE chant and Tanahashi even serenades him with the air guitar because he’s not just an ace but also a music lover.

Starr BREAKS THE AIR GUITAR before listing off his nicknames: the Cream in Your Coffee, Your Favorite Wrestler’s Favorite Wrestler, the Jewish Cannon, the Physical Embodiment of Charisma, the Most Entertaining Man in Professional Wrestling, the Bernie Sanders of Professional Wrestling, Mr. Americanrana, Davey Wrestling, the 104 Minute Man, the Main Event, I’m Really Good at Twitter, the King of Taunts, the Product, David Starr. I didn’t get him at first but he’s REALLY grown on me over time.

Hang on though as Sami has a mic. He sees a genetically modified freak and a walking chia pet, but no third partner. Sami offers a 3-2 beating…..but MINORU SUZUKI is here as the third man to the pop of the night so far. Suzuki, normally rather stoic, shows some solid charisma in playing to the crowd during his entrance. The match starts fast with Cage and Tanahashi fighting against the barricade, leaving Sami to miss a bat shot on Suzuki.

They head outside as well with Suzuki cranking on Sami’s leg, leaving Starr and Robinson to flip around a bit. Juice snaps off the left hands but gets clotheslined to the floor. Tanahashi is in to replace him but Cage tosses him with a release fall away slam. Since Cage is a freak, he hits a 619 but charges into a boot in the corner. Tanahashi’s slingshot dive drops Cage but Starr is right there with a dive of his own. Sami drops Starr with another dive so Juice goes up (Juice: “JUICE IS GONNA DIVE! GET YOUR CAMERAS OUT!”) for a double clothesline to the floor.

Cage, who makes Ryback look small, hits a BIG running flip dive of his own, leaving Suzuki on his own. The big dive is teased but instead he climbs through the ropes, drops to the floor, and smacks Sami in the face like a good crazy old man should. We actually settle down to a regular match with Starr kneeing Callihan in the face to slow things down. Sami offers a distraction and kicks Starr low, allowing the tag off to Tanahashi. A middle rope flipping senton misses but Juice comes in for a double belly to back suplex.

It’s back to Callihan, who is greeted with a GO AWAY chant. It’s amazing what happens when you’re associated with a company like TNA. Robinson and Callihan splash Starr in the corner as the announcers explain that these teams are pretty random and have almost nothing in common. Juice’s backsplash hits knees but he drives Starr back into the corner to block another tag.

Starr finally gets away for the hot tag to Cage and it’s neckbreakers a go-go. One heck of a release German suplex out of the corner drops Robinson on his head and pain starts to set in. Cage loads him up for a World’s Strongest Slam so Callihan comes off the top for a hurricanrana…..and Cage holds him up there at the same time. A powerbomb/World’s Strongest Slam gets two, which is described as Brian Cage doing Brian Cage things. It’s off to Tanahashi to try his luck and a running forearm puts Cage down.

The Sling Blade gets two with Starr making the save, only to be sent out to the floor. Cage neckbreakers Tanahashi and the double tag brings in Suzuki (not exactly a pop but an acknowledgment that pain is imminent) and Callihan (likely indifference). Sami spits on him and the fans know what is coming. A few kicks to Suzuki’s head just make him stick his tongue out and grab the sleeper. Sami bites his arm to escape so it’s a Fujiwara armbar to make Sami tap at 14:38. Suzuki and Tanahashi never interacted unless it was a brief exchange on the floor.

Rating: C+. It was good and the New Japan guys were a treat, but Starr taking the heat for that long wasn’t the most thrilling thing in the world. You could feel the fans getting tired by this point too as it was approaching midnight local time after what was likely a travel day for almost everyone involved. Entertaining match but I kept waiting on the Tanahashi vs. Suzuki showdown and it never came.

Post match Suzuki goes after everyone’s arm but they calm him down. Instead he wants Tanahashi so the fight is on with a headbutt knocking Tanahashi to the floor. Suzuki grabs a headlock and punches Tanahashi to the back as this was one sided. Not really shocking that a fighter can beat up a wrestler like that.

Golden Lovers vs. Chuck Taylor/???

Chuckle’s original partner was Trent Barretta but a bad arm injury has put him on the shelf. The Lovers come out first and my goodness what a reaction from such a small group of people. Taylor has a three man marching band playing him out for a little flavor. Chuck announces his partner as….THE SWAMP MONSTER, a Cousin Itt lookalike, who is sent to the floor in about two seconds.

Actually the real partner is Freshly Squeezed Orange Cassidy! That would be a slacker, who doesn’t show up and is likely asleep. Dan Berry comes out and gets sent outside as well so Chuck says the real partner is Trent because it was a swerve all along. Trent is here with a huge sling but he starts to take it off until Rocky Romero comes out to tell him no. Chuck: “ROCKY YOU SON OF A B**** DON’T YOU TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME AGAIN! I hate you with every fiber of my being!”

Cue Flip Gordon, a flat Earther who is greeted with an EARTH IS ROUND chant. He’s not here to be Chuck’s partner but rather to ask about getting on All In. Omega is stunned so Chuck says he just talked to the REAL leader of the Bullet Club Cody, who says if Flip wins here, he’s All In. Chuck doesn’t have anyone else in the back so Flip will have to do, meaning ring the bell. Omega and Gordon start things off with a headlock not getting Omega very far.

Instead Flip does his dancing handstand and both Lovers are sent outside. A big flip dive over the top (with Gordon sticking the landing) takes them down again and it’s off to Chuck. Taylor’s really basic (on purpose) offense has Omega in limited trouble and the slow motion slingshot senton gets no cover. Omega slaps on an abdominal stretch and here’s Trent again. Taylor reverses into a stretch of his own as Trent lights up a cigarette. He puts some sunglasses on Taylor and hands him the cigarette before putting it into Flip’s mouth.

Omega uses the odd distraction to hiptoss his way to freedom. An enziguri makes Chuck spit the cigarette out as Trent goes to the back. What in the world was the point of that? I was hoping commentary would explain it but I’ll settle for a tag to Ibushi. Back to back moonsaults get two on Gordon but he hits his reverse fall away slam. The standing shooting star (not so impressive as Ibushi just did one) gets two but the snapdragon puts Gordon down again.

Ibushi’s backflip kick to the head drops Taylor and Gordon, followed by Omega powerbombing Gordon into a German suplex for a cool spot. Gordon is back up to save Taylor from the Golden Trigger and Chuck’s low blow gets two on Ibushi. A high kick drops Taylor and everyone is down. The Golden Shower (seriously) is broken up as Gordon springboards to the top for a superkick to Omega and the 450 gets two on Ibushi. Back to back superkicks rock Gordon and a big running clothesline turns him inside out. The Golden Trigger (double knees to the face) end Gordon at 13:38.

Rating: C+. Just like the previous match, it was good but nothing all that memorable. The idea here was getting to see the Golden Lovers, which is perfectly fine. It was a fine enough main event with little doubt about who was going to win but at least the fans got what they wanted to see. The mystery partner thing was kind of a flop but honestly, what were you hoping to get from this?

Post match Omega wants a hand for Chuck for getting close to pulling off a win, even with the mystery partner. He also praises Flip, who has some wacky theories and has even tried to kill Omega twice. But Flip really thought by coming out here that he would be cheered over the Golden Lovers? Omega: “You really are stupid!” Omega made sure that they would be here tonight and thanks the fans for making it so much fun. He wishes us a great weekend in this beautiful city but Chuck takes the mic.

Taylor asks Trent to come back out here because he wants the match to happen at some point once the injury is healed (Chuck: “In four to six months, or sooner because he’s an idiot.”). Omega gladly agrees and wishes Flip good luck with getting on All In. He thanks the fans for coming out and says goodnight to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I definitely shortchanged this show live as I was just too tired to really enjoy it. There are some issues with the pacing to this show and some of the matches needed to be adjusted to really make it better but what we got was a lot of fun. The surprises on here were a lot of fun (Lawler genuinely shocked me) and seeing the big New Japan names was a great treat. I’d definitely go to this show again as this one was weaker than last year and still a blast. It’s certainly a show more for the live crowd but it’s still more than entertaining enough on its own. Definitely check out the lucha tag if nothing else.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

One more indy show, just in case I haven’t had enough of them quite yet. Last year in Orlando I took a shot at the Revolution Pro Wrestling show despite not having known much about the promotion. The lineup looked good though and the show wound up being a lot of fun. It was enough to get me to go again this year and again, it wound up being a good afternoon of wrestling.

Ring announcer and owner Andy Quildan started things off and, just like last year, challenged us to be louder than the London crowd. It’s a simple idea and yet it’s also a great way to start off a show.

1. David Star b. Martin Stone – Rollup with feet on the ropes, 11:40, C.

Stone is also known as Danny Burch in NXT, a line which got him a lot of flack from Starr. It’s taken some time but I’ve started to come around on Starr, who has about fifteen nicknames, which he insists be read every time he comes to the ring. Starr also claimed a conspiracy against him, which he would overcome just because he’s that good at professional wrestling. The match was fine for an opener with a loud exchange of chops, one of which had Stone, the face, asking for a second to recover. Nothing great but it did all it needed to do.

2. Adam Brooks b. Brian Cage – Low blow into a rollup, 11:06, B-.

This was more of a standard formula with the monster Cage (a face here) dealing with Brooks’ rampant cheating. Brooks looked very good here, showing that he knew how to deal with someone like Cage. As usual, Cage is one of the scariest athletes you’ll ever see, flying around like someone a third of his size and still showing off the crazy power game. It’s a fun match with both guys looking good, though I’m assuming Brooks is more of a full timer so it makes sense to give him the win.

3. Rocky Romero/Will Ospreay/Chuckie T. b. Shane Strickland/Flip Gordon/Kota Ibushi – Oscutter to Gordon, 22:17, B+.

This was all about Ibushi vs. Ospreay and there was no hiding the fact, or really an attempt to hide it. They took their time setting up the match and both teams got to showcase their talents. As mentioned though, this was ALL setting up the showdown between Ospreay and Isbushi, which completely delivered. They beat the heck out of each other to leave all six laying in an exchange that has to be seen to be properly appreciated. I’m looking forward to seeing this match again and if Ibushi doesn’t get another chance to challenge Osprey for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title in the near future, I’ll be stunned.

During intermission, I was able to snag this.

4. Minoru Suzuki b. Jeff Cobb – Sleeper, 9:43, C+.

I would have liked this match a lot more if I hadn’t seen Cobb vs. Tomohiro Ishii in an even better match. Much like the Ishii match, this was all about beating the heck out of each other with Cobb managing to suplex Suzuki, only to push his luck by hitting Suzuki in the face a few too many times. Suzuki got all fired up and destroyed Cobb, giving him a heck of a beating. Cobb got in one more suplex but ultimately fell to the sleeper, oddly tapping out instead of passing out.

5. Hiroshi Tanahashi/Juice Robinson b. Aussie Open – High Fly Flow, 16:10, B.

Aussie Open is Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis, a team I’ve never heard of but showed off a lot and looked rather awesome. Robinson was a big star in his own right but this was ALL about Tanahashi, as you might have expected. The fans were begging to see him come in and do all of his signature stuff, which is exactly what he did. As cool as that was, Aussie Open needs some attention as well as they got to showcase some very real talent. I could see them getting a spot in a bigger promotion down the line, especially since Fletcher is only 18. Think about that: you’re 18 years old and you’re in the ring with Tanahashi. That’s not bad.

6. British Heavyweight Title: Tomohiro Ishii b. Zack Sabre Jr.(c) – Brainbuster, 20:07, A.

There’s no other way to put this: these two had an outstanding match and they sucked me completely into everything they were doing. This is all about Ishii’s never say die attitude vs. Sabre’s absolutely incredible technical skills and ability to destroy one arm after another. Sabre got to work on the arm and put on a long series of too complicated to describe holds. Ishii made the ropes over and over again with one great save after another. He finally fought up and got in a suplex, followed by the brainbuster for the pin and the title to end the show.

This was an EXCELLENT main event as the fans were buying into every single thing the two were doing. It told a great story and made you want to see them keep going until Ishii managed to hang on and end Sabre’s year long title reign. It was incredible stuff and another match I can’t wait to see again.

Overall, Rev Pro did exactly what they did last year: deliver a solid show (six matches felt short though) with great action and some nice guest stars that made you feel like you were getting to see something special. I had a blast at this show and everything went very well. Check out the main event if you can find it and go take a look at more Rev Pro, which puts on rather good shows.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Odds are you’ve heard of Axxess. It’s the big fan festival put on by WWE every year over Wrestlemania weekend where you can see memorabilia and meet wrestlers etc. However, there’s another version run independently from WWE called WrestleCon, which offers a bunch of wrestling shows but also a huge convention with hundreds of wrestlers and vendors selling autographs, merchandise and photo ops for pretty reasonable prices. You can also just walk up and talk to almost anyone you want (line permitting of course) and have a chat (some longer than others).

The convention runs for three days and I attended Friday and Sunday. These days couldn’t have been more different but both had their positives and negatives. I did pay to meet a variety of wrestlers and bought some stuff so here’s the rundown. Keep in mind that I didn’t write down everyone I met (as the place wasn’t exactly one where you could pull out something and take notes) so there’s a good chance I’ve forgotten some names. These are in no real order.

Well this one is in order, because how do you start with anything else?

Very quick due to the long line but he looked right into your eyes and you could feel the chills. I said it was an honor to meet him and he said he appreciated it. That voice will send vibes through you and it was worth the over two hour wait (you knew this was going to be a long line). I got him to sign my Wrestlemania XXXII ticket for a very nice keepsake.

Tenille Dashwood. She had people coming up to see her over and over for both days and it’s not surprising. Dashwood put on a heck of a performance at the SuperShow and simply put, the camera does not do her justice whatsoever. She’s absolutely gorgeous in person and seemed very sweet when I said hello to her. How WWE managed to screw her up is anyone’s guess.

Al Snow. This might not be the biggest name in the world but it turns out that at one point he lived in my small hometown in Kentucky. He seemed rather surprised that anyone had even heard of it, let alone lived there.

Larry Zbyszko. Just a short hello, but he did his spinning salute.

Virgil. Walked by me as I was in line and I said a quick hello. I know he’s known as a jerk but he’s been nice the two times I’ve met him.

Bret Hart. This was one of the ones I paid for in advance (well duh) and it starts to show the big problem with WrestleCon (which I’ll cover in detail at the end): it feels rushed. I might have sat next to Bret for all of five seconds, gotten a picture taken, shook his hand and said it was an honor to meet him. As is often the case with Bret he didn’t have much to say, but he did look me in the eye as I shook his hand and said thank you.

Before we move on, one more thing about Bret. His line was of course very long and it wrapped around into two rows. I was near the back of the line without about 100 people in front of me and I hear a voice.

Voice: “KB?”

Me: “Yeah?”

Voice: “I’m Steve. You’ve done my podcast a few times. Do you want to come up here with me?”

I was then about fifth in line and done in three minutes instead of an hour. Steve is a very, very good guy with an awesome podcast called the Positive Pro Wrestling podcast. He knows his stuff and is more than worth listening to, especially if you’re sick of hearing people complain about wrestling. Check him out here and follow the show on Twitter @ppwpodcast. I’ve been a guest on there multiple times and it’s some of the most fun I’ve had doing a show. It’s more than worth the time.

Kelly Kelly. I’ve met her before and I’d be glad to meet her over and over. Those eyes are something else and she very clearly knows how to look at a camera.

Taya Valkyrie. Another short one but she’s rather nice.

Jim Duggan. Met him several times before and he’s always fun to talk to, even for a few seconds. He always asks where a fan is from and you get a sense that he actually cares. That doesn’t happen very often and that’s a shame. He also seemed to like my shirt, which was one of the oddest things of the whole weekend.

Christy Hemme. Yep. Looks even better in person and again has that fire in her eyes.

Mick Foley. Again, met him before and again, it felt rushed due to the crowds. He’s my favorite wrestler ever though and when I mentioned that he smiled and said he appreciated it. Always a treat to get to see him.

As a bonus, here he is with Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi, who were at the next table over.

One Man Gang. He was there in something similar to Akeem gear but no hat unfortunately. I asked him if he was a rib on Dusty Rhodes and he emphatically said no, even giving me reasons why he wasn’t. I would have bet money otherwise but he insisted it wasn’t true. Fair enough.

Hiroshi Tanahashi. With five people in line and only charging $20 a person, this was a complete steal. Spoke very clear English and one of the nicest guys there.

Brian Pillman Jr. Very nice guy who I talked to for a few minutes. He said the new book about his dad’s life is very accurate (save for a few minor details) and recommended it. I don’t know much about him but he came off very positively.

Matt Sydal. Got to hold the X-Division Title, which is far lighter than the World Title. This was quick as he had a customer but he was another nice guy.

Bushwhacker Luke. Met him last year but this time was much friendlier. Last year I had mentioned that he licked me as a kid and he looked at me like I was nuts. I mentioned it again this year and he asked when and where it was. Far more pleasant this time around.

Eli Drake. I asked if he could call me a dummy and he said he wasn’t sure. That sounded like I’d have to buy something but he said he heard me asking him and when he looked up, all he could see was a DUMMY! YEAH! He smiled and I told him he had become my favorite part of Impact Wrestling (true) and he seemed very happy. Exceptionally nice guy.

Robert Gibson. Met him on Sunday and talked to him about the cage match with the Andersons. He seemed thrilled to talk about the old days and that’s completely understandable. Ricky Morton was next to him and seemed FAR more popular, which isn’t surprising.

Velvet Sky. Quick hello, looks amazing in person.

Diamond Dallas Page. He’s almost my white whale of meeting people as I’ve tried multiple times and just not been able to get there. Another nice guy and he was giving out cards for a free month of his yoga app. Nothing wrong with free.

Melissa Santos. Tiny and very pretty. Also saw her getting out of her cab as I was coming into the building.

Brutus Beefcake. Got a handshake, but $40 for his book? Is he nuts?

Scott Steiner. The Steiners were one of my favorite teams ever and while Rick was advertised, I didn’t seem there (could have just been away as he had a booth next to Scott). Kind of untalkative but seemed appreciative when I mentioned being a big fan of the team.

Animal. Shook his hand, barely acknowledged that I was there.

Jackie Moore. I was in line for Foley and talking to the handler, which somehow turned into a discussion of I Love Lucy. Moore was next to us and mentioned loving the show.

Tony Atlas. I met him last year and for the second year in a row thought he was ignoring me but he looked up and apologized for not noticing I was there. Nice guy with a big smile.

Harley Race. I don’t think this needs an explanation.

Penta El Zero M. Just a handshake.

Rey Fenix. Another handshake.

Kevin Nash. Just like last year, doesn’t seem interested if you’re not buying.

Sean Waltman. Another quick handshake but he looked straight at people.

Bob Backlund. We must be connected someway as this is my fourth Wrestlemania and sixth time running into Backlund. I actually got to talk to him this time and he was very quiet (as in low volume, to the point where I could barely hear him). I talked about how awesome his transformation in 1994 was and he said he always puts in the most effort possible into everything. Very, very nice guy who seemed like he would talk to you all day.

Rob Van Dam. Quick handshake as there were people coming up to see him but very friendly guy.

Tomohiro Ishii. One person in line and again, just twenty bucks. I would have bet on a long, long line for him. That’s the Rev Pro Wrestling British Heavyweight Title, which I saw him win Friday night in a great match.

Minoru Suzuki. Much nicer than you would think and NO ONE in line any time I went by his table. Same price as the other New Japan guys. He picked the title up and put it straight on my shoulder, which nearly knocked me over. That’s the Rev Pro British Tag Team Title on the table.

Sean Mooney. I needed to hear that voice in person. Not much to say but he was friendly and mentioned his podcast.

D’Lo Brown. Always been a fan and he seemed appreciative of the praise.

Allie. TINY in person to the point where I barely recognized her.

Rosemary. I know she’s the creepy Knockout on Impact, but when she’s acting normal and has her hair pulled back, it really, really, really works.

So Cal Val. Seemed very flattered that people wanted to talk to her and another nice person.

Winter. Easily one of the best looking people there and knew how to stand in a way that made her look even better. Seemed shocked (in a good way) that anyone remembered her in OVW.

Gail Kim. Another case of the camera not doing her justice. Seemed to be having a great time meeting fans and being with old friends.

Larry Hennig. Actually started talking to me about my Superman shirt.

Bob Orton. His arm is fine, though at least this year he seemed to understand why people were asking him about it.

Teddy Long. I didn’t mean to get a picture with him but I asked if he could say holla holla. This time he actually said I’d have to pay him something and $30 for a picture wasn’t happening. His handler dropped it to $20 and I almost couldn’t say no. I mentioned that he could use the money to pay for some tolls on the road, which made him laugh rather hard. He even mentioned it to Ron Simmons in the next booth and got a laugh from him as well. Fun to talk to once you get beyond the pay wall.

Lanny Poffo. Mentioned being from Lexington and he immediately told me about a seminar he’s doing in a town near here. Not pushy about it but I’d have rather talked to him now, not in a few weeks.

Chavo Guerrero. Kind of quiet until you mention Eddie, which really brought him out of his shell. You can tell he’s very proud of his family, as he should be.

James Storm. He came to his booth as I was in line to meet Tanahashi. I mentioned having met him at a TNA show and he apologized that I had to be there. Bully Ray said the same thing the year before. How bad was it to work there?

Colt Cabana. I had seen him wrestle under a mask as Matt Classic the night before so I asked if he knew anything about him. Cabana said he had heard Classic was there, with a big grin on his face. I mentioned Classic being entertaining and Cabana smiled and said he’d pass that along if he ran into Classic.

Now for a non-wrestler, and some of the coolest and most popular items all weekend. You might need to zoom in on this.

Check out his work here.

I bought three of them (Shawn/Razor, Undertaker and Cena). They were two for $20 and VERY popular, as they should be.

And now, for the negatives. The organization, venue and everything else couldn’t have been a bigger mess if they had tried. When I got to the fifth floor of the hotel the event, there was just a sea of people and no one knew where any line started. I was told to go into a small room to get my wristband but when it got to me, they were out of one day bands. How they didn’t have a big box of them there is beyond me, but the lady running things went to get more. Then she didn’t come back, so we were told to go get in a long line. Eventually we got in, half an hour after the thing was supposed to start. It was downhill from there.

The following is all on Friday.

The venue was WAY too small to begin with and on top of that, the layout was a nightmare. Basically you had four rows of boots with a big aisle in between. There were booths on the all around the rows as well. In the upper right hand corner was Ric Flair’s booth and that’s about it for big names on that side. In the middle was Shawn Michaels, on the upper left was Bret Hart, on the lower left was Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi, Mick Foley, the Young Bucks and Harley Race.

With Shawn’s line wrapping around the building (seriously), at one point I was in line for Omega, Foley, Shawn, Bret and Ibushi at the same time without being able to move. Everyone, from the fans to the workers TO THE WRESTLERS were complaining about what a mess this was. Just put someone on the other side of the room or something, but find a better way to do this.

Omega and Ibushi’s line literally stretched from one side of the building to the other and since they were half an hour late showing up, it never moved. I had even bought a ticket for Omega and was so fed up with the mess of the lines that I just ate the cost. I’m one of the biggest wrestling fans I’ve ever seen and when I’m sitting in the hall way because I’ve had enough of the mess to the point where I’m about to leave two hours into a six hour convention, there’s something very, very wrong.

Sunday was much better, but mainly because the place was a ghost town. You had a few names still trying to get a few more sales and really it was more sad than anything else in some cases. There were wide spaces with no one at a booth and a lot of the wrestlers looked miserable. I get why they have to do it, but it wasn’t a pretty sight at times.

Overall, the idea is great and can be done VERY well (Orlando the year before was excellent) but the venue was too small and the layout for the wrestlers was ridiculous. Get this stuff right so the fans can have a better time, because Friday was a complete disaster. I did have fun and bought some cool stuff, but there were so many rough edges that the negatives outweighed the positives, at least the first day.

And super isn’t too far off.

Last year in Orlando, one of the most entertaining shows I took in was the WrestleCon SuperShow. This is pretty much a big show featuring a collection of old school wrestlers, international stars and young up and comers thrown together for a fun show. There aren’t many storylines and the whole thing is built around just having a fun night of wrestling. Last year’s show was incredible and this one had a lot to live up to. Let’s get to it.

Before we got started PWG’s Excalibur came out and said that going forward, the SuperShow would be named after Mark Hitchcock, who worked for Highspots (the company that helped produce the show) and passed away while on his honeymoon just before this year’s event. This was a cool moment and a nice gesture.

The show started about half an hour late, but that’s to be expected at something like this. As usual, there were several wrestlers outside at their merchandise tables, all of whom were very polite and more than willing to chat with you, even if you weren’t buying anything.

1. Penta El Zero M b. Joey Janela – Pumphandle Driver, 7:52, C.

I’ve never actually seen a Janela match…and I don’t think I get it. He’s a name I’ve heard a lot about over the last year or two but I really don’t get the hype. The match was nothing of note, save for a sick THUD when Janela hit a Death Valley Driver onto the apron….two minutes into the match. A bunch of superkicks set up Penta breaking Joey’s arm (or close to it at least) and hitting the pumphandle driver for the pin. Nothing of note here, but last year’s opener wasn’t great either.

2. Joey Ryan’s Andy Kaufman Intergender Challenge – DQ, 1:23.

Now this was interesting as Ryan is now doing the Kaufman intergender challenge where he’ll fight any woman because a man can beat them. This included Ryan wearing Kaufman’s robe and the exact same ring gear, down to the white body suit and blue shorts. He even did the same soap promo that Kaufman made famous in Memphis about thirty five years ago. The problem is this just made me want to see Jerry Lawler come out and beat Ryan up…..AND JERRY LAWLER ANSWERED THE CHALLENGE!

This was one of those surprise moments that makes this show cool: it felt like the right move and is a cool idea because it’s what makes the most sense in this situation. The problem was Lawler couldn’t use the piledriver in Louisiana, which he didn’t seem to know coming in. Instead he kicked Ryan low, and if you know Joey Ryan, you can imagine the shock on Lawler’s face. A fireball to the crotch got a DQ, but don’t worry because Ryan ensured us that everything down there was fine. Of note: this was thirty five years to the day that Lawler first piledrove Kaufman. Cool moment, barely a match of course.

3. Team Dashwood b. Team Lee – Quintuple submission, 10:23, C.

Tenille Dashwood, Madison Eagles, Nicole Savoy, Shazza McKenzie, Tessa Blanchard

Trevor Lee, Caleb Konley, Zane Riley, Jake Manning, Maxwell Jacob Friedman

This one had A LOT to live up to after last year’s incredible ten man tag. The ten person match was incredible and the most fun I’ve ever had watching a single wrestling match. This year went more with the current theme of the women’s revolution and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Dashwood (formerly Emma) was crazy over and showed more fire than she ever did in WWE with a very energetic entrance. The It’s All About Me character works very well for her and shows how awesome she could have been in WWE if they hadn’t botched it. I’m not overly familiar with most of the women, but I’ve seen Eagles before. She’s easy to remember as she stands about 6’1 and towered over almost everyone on either team.

Before the match, Lee said that if his team won, his three partners other than Konley would be signed to Impact Wrestling. You can imagine how well this went over. What also went over fairly poorly was Konley saying we might as well just start with Dashwood kissing him so he sat in a chair where comedy, in the form of the 300lb Riley accidentally kissing him instead, ensued.

The rest of the match was what you would expect: the women being competitive and using technique while the men lumbered around like idiots (including Manning, the Man Scout, reading his scouting manual while wrestling, as is his custom). There was a great series of dives to the floor and a sequence of at least eight people having a submission on someone at the same time. As in all eight were in one big chain, almost like a submission centipede. Stupid and contrived, but exactly what you would expect from a show like this, which was fine.

The finish saw a quintuple submission with the men all tapping at the same time, which was a very abrupt ending. I was expecting this to go a lot longer, but it proved its point well enough. It’s not a great match but it did its job. Like I said though, last year’s match wasn’t being touched and everyone knew it.

4. Tomohiro Ishii b. Jeff Cobb – Suplex, 15:12, B+.

Ishii is a tough guy from New Japan and Cobb is better known as Matanza from Lucha Underground (very friendly guy who chatted with me about Nintendo 64 vs. Super Nintendo before the show). This was a hoss fight of the highest degree and they didn’t try to make it anything else.

They slugged it out (with an exchange of forearms that lasted over a minute) and threw each other around until one of them couldn’t get up. Cobb made the mistake of hitting him once too often though and Ishii beat the tar out of him, finishing with a suplex that was supposed to be his signature brainbuster. This is what Cobb vs. Lashley from last year should have been and Cobb looked like a star. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t in WWE by this time next year.

5. Rey Fenix/Rey Horus b. Bandido/Flamita – Falcon Arrow to Bandido, 12:22, B+.

Horus is better known as Dragon Azteca Jr. from Lucha Underground. I’m not even going to try to describe this match as I couldn’t do it justice. This was the most insane, high flying match that I’ve ever seen with everyone doing one crazy dive and flip after another. It was the kind of lucha match you would want to see and is well worth going out of your way to find. The fans threw money into the ring after the match and I can’t say I disagree. Just in credible stuff and easily the match of the night from an entertainment perspective.

6. Mexicools b. Jason Cade/Matt Classic/Teddy Hart – Rollup to Cade, 10:00, C+.

This was Chico El Luchador/Psychosis/Super Crazy with Juventud Guerrera only showing up for the introductions. I’m not sure why A, someone thought we needed a Mexicools reunion and B, why this was put on after the great lucha match before it. It wasn’t a bad match by any stretch but it didn’t really need to be on the show, other than a way to get Cade (big star in last year’s ten man tag) and Classic (Colt Cabana in a mask doing an old school wrestler character) on the show.

7. Will Osprey b. Sammy Gueverra, Adam Brooks and Shane Strickland – Oscutter to Gueverra, 12:34, B.

Ospreay was very, very banged up coming into this, to the point where it wasn’t clear if he would be able to wrestle over the weekend. He did compete (at least twice) but his neck and shoulder were so banged up that you could tell it wasn’t his full speed. This was the third match in a row built around high flying and it was starting to wear on the crowd. Ospreay was a treat to see, but it would have been better if he hadn’t been hurt (not his fault of course).

It was entertaining while it lasted with Brooks playing a great heel and Gueverra always being fun to watch. The Oscutter looked great too and finished one of the better matches of the night. The injuries to Ospreay were just too much though and it was clear that he probably shouldn’t have been in the ring for a little while longer.

8. David Starr/Brian Cage/Minoru Suzuki b. Sami Callihan/Juice Robinson/Hiroshi Tanahashi – Armbar to Callihan, 14:48, C+

Tanahashi and Suzuki were surprise partners and of course got some of the strongest reactions of the night with Suzuki’s in particular being awesome. Cage tore the house down here with some great looking dives, including one to the floor to take everyone down. In short, someone his size shouldn’t be able to do that. Suzuki made Callihan tap to an armbar and beat up Tanahashi post match. That helped a bit as they never actually touched during the match. This wasn’t a great match

9. Golden Lovers b. Chuck Taylor/Flip Gordon – Golden Trigger to Gordon, 13:38, C+

Gordon was a mystery partner after Taylor’s regular partner, Trent Barretta, broke his arm and tore his bicep. The mystery partner was a pretty big factor in the match and Chuck had some swerve options, including the Swamp Monster (a guy in a Cousin Itt (look him up) suit), Dan Barry (didn’t show up), Orange Cassidy (Taylor: “He’s probably asleep.”) and Barretta himself. Rocky Romero came out after Barretta, sending Taylor into a rant about how Romero already stole him once and how much Taylor hated him.

Flip finally came out and said he didn’t want to be his partner as he wanted to hear about being on All In. Taylor said he had been on the phone with the REAL leader of the Bullet Club, Cody. If Flip wins, he’s All In. The match was about what you would expect, with Barretta coming back down and handing Taylor a cigarette and sunglasses in a bit I didn’t understand. The result wasn’t surprising, but that wasn’t the point of course. Entertaining way to end a show that went on too long.

Post match Taylor asked for a match with the Golden Lovers when Barretta was healthy (calling him an idiot for coming back too soon) and Omega thanked us for coming.

Overall, the show might not have been as good as last year’s but it was still very entertaining. They got in a bunch of surprises (Lawler legitimately got me) and some very good matches, but comparing it to last year’s show isn’t exactly fair. It was a very good venue (my seats were looking down at the ring and if I looked over my shoulder I could see the talent on a small balcony before and after their matches) and the crowd was hot all night. Good show, and definitely something I’d take in again whenever I go back to Wrestlemania.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

NJPW G1 Special in USA Night Two
Date: July 2, 2017
Location: Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, Long Beach, California
Attendance: 2,305
Commentators: Jim Ross, Josh Barnett

We’re back with night two of the show, though this didn’t air on American TV until five days later. The big story tonight is the United States Heavyweight Title, which will be decided for the first time ever. Other than that we have Hiroshi Tanahashi defending the Intercontinental Title against Billy Gunn for reasons I can’t quite comprehend. Let’s get to it.

JR and Barnett welcome us to the show and recap the tournament so far. The Intercontinental Title match gets some attention of its own.

Jushin Thunder Liger/David Finlay/Kushida vs. Tempura Boyz/Yoshitatsu

Before we get going, we hit the posedown for some nice reactions from the crowd. Eh fine enough to open a show, especially when you have a major fan favorite like Liger in there. Liger puts Komatsu in a modified surfboard to start before sending him into the barricade. For some reason this gives us a Who’s On First routine from the announcers because they aren’t the best pairing in the world.

Everything breaks down with Liger getting triple teamed in the corner with a flapjack getting two. The Shotei Palm Strike drops Komatsu again though and it’s a hot tag to Kushida as things speed way up. The announcers talk about food as Kushida grabs a Hoverboard Lock on Tanaka, only to be reversed into an over the shoulder backbreaker. A package piledriver doesn’t work on Kushida and it’s time to slug it out. Something like a Pele kick drops Tanaka but he catches Kushida in a German suplex.

Yoshitatsu comes in with a missile dropkick and is immediately booed out of the building, which apparently is a big thing for him. I always liked the guy but New Japan fans can’t STAND the guy. Finlay comes back in and runs him over for two, only to get kneed in the face for the same. Everything breaks down and it’s a triple submission with a Stretch Muffler making Komatsu tap at 8:54 while Liger had Tanaka in a surfboard and Yoshitatsu was in a Hoverboard Lock.

Rating: C+. Fine choice for an opener here as the fans are always going to eat Liger up with a spoon. The guy is really entertaining (his music is worth the price of admission alone) and Kushida is one of my favorites in the whole promotion. I’d still like to know what’s up with Yoshitatsu but I’m sure it’s something he did before.

IWGP United States Title Tournament Semi-Finals: Kenny Omega vs. Jay Lethal

Hail to the King gets two and Jay starts in on the leg as he channels Ric Flair. The Figure Four is broken up so he tries another Lethal Injection, only to have Omega block it with a somewhat botched Codebreaker. Eh I’ll give it five and a half stars anyway. Omega is limping a bit but comes back up a few shots to the ribs. You can’t say his psychology is off. The tape finally comes off the ribs and a few knees to the back get two.

Lethal fights out of the corner and grabs a Blue Thunder Bomb but can’t follow up because of the ribs. The dragon suplex staggers Jay and the running knee to the jaw gives Omega two. A gutwrench sitout powerbomb (always looks cool) is good for the same but the One Winged Angle is countered. The counter is countered into the One Winged Angel though and Omega is in the finals at 12:58.

Rating: B. The psychology was working here, even if the finish was a bit off. Still though, these two beat the heck out of each other and the ribs vs. the knee made enough sense. That being said, there was no way that Omega wasn’t at least making the finals of this thing so it’s not like the ending was in any real doubt.

IWGP United States Title Tournament Semi-Finals: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii

There’s a weird visual here as Ishii is really thick but the lanky Sabre is a good four inches taller than him. Ishii forearms him in the face to start and Sabre hurts himself with a headbutt. Some hard chops in the corner have Sabre rocked but he keeps sticking his chest out asking for more.

With JR trying to figure out what Sabre is thinking, he gets in a kick to Ishii’s arm and we have a target. It doesn’t make the early strategy any more logical but at least he’s doing his thing now. We hit something like a modified Tequila Sunrise with Sabre letting go for no apparent reason. Ishii knocks him back again and hits a loud running clothesline in the corner.

They head up top and Sabre grabs a Kimura, earning himself one heck of a superplex to bring him back down. Sabre comes right back with something like a reverse cross armbreaker but Ishii suplexes him into a heap. As JR says Sabre is the “TWG” World Champion, Ishii misses the sliding lariat and gets caught in another armbar. Sabre grabs the leg as well before wrapping his legs around the neck (these holds are INSANE every time).

Ishii dives over for the ropes for the break so Sabre kicks at the arm again. That’s fine with Ishii who HITS HIM IN THE FACE. I love simple counters like that. Ishii counters yet another armbar so Sabre kicks him square in the chest. Not that it matters though as Ishii pops up with the brainbuster to advance at 11:45.

Rating: C+. Ishii is slowly growing on me but I’m in awe of a lot of those holds that Sabre throws out there. I don’t even understand how he does most of them, let alone how anyone gets out of them. It’s not a great match here but it was rather entertaining, which is all you need a lot of the time.

Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Dragon Lee/Jay White/Juice Robinson/Volador Jr./Titan

JR basically guarantees a spot fest here. This is New Japan vs. CMLL and hopefully JR can remember which luchador is which. Volador Jr., in a mask unlike last night, starts with Naito, who keeps walking away from lockups. Instead Naito rolls straight into his pose so it’s off to Bushi and Takahashi to double team Volador, who has no problem sending them outside for an Asai moonsault.

Everything breaks down with Naito choking on the floor as Bushi chokes Titan inside. Sanada ties up Juice and Titan for kicks to the back of the tights. JR: “We don’t have any idea what’s going on either.” Titan’s comeback is cut off by Naito’s enziguri as the announcers go into a discussion of Trish Stratus’ chest. The hot tag brings in Robinson so clean house with a spinebuster planting Evil.

Takahashi eats a hard lariat and it’s off to Lee to speed things up again. They chop the heck out of each other with the fans getting into it until Lee flips out of a hurricanrana. It’s off to Evil vs. White (who I forgot was in this) with Jay getting the better of it off a clothesline. White gets cut off by a guillotine over the ropes and Evil gets in a side slam.

Everything breaks down again and it’s White getting quadruple teamed inside. Robinson makes the save and cleans house and Titan hits a top rope Asai moonsault to take out Takahashi. White gets two off a Rock Bottom to Bushi but a Flatliner is enough to give Jay the pin at 12:29.

Rating: C+. It was fun and energetic but things go down a bit when you have the announcers riffing on the match being such a mess. It also doesn’t help when there’s very little setting the faces apart and the announcers didn’t seem to know anything about them. Still a fun match, though I’m getting a bit numb to all these multi man tags.

Bullet Club vs. War Machine/Michael Elgin

It’s the Guerrillas of Destiny and Hangman Page here and they’re flanked by Chase Owens and FREAKING HAKU, the father of the Guerrillas. Well that works. Page and Elgin get things going with Adam having no problem forearming him in the face. It’s fine with Elgin too, who BLASTS Page in the face with a forearm of his own.

That goes nowhere so it’s off to the tag teams with War Machine shrugging off a double dropkick and throwing the brothers at each other. Everything breaks down and Elgin suplexes Page, followed by Rowe slamming Hanson on top of him. Hanson rubs his beard on Tama’s face, which might be approved of in some areas. Loa comes in for an Oklahoma Stampede of all things and you know JR is happy with that one.

The beating of Hanson continues with the Bullet Club taking turns picking him apart. Hanson finally avoids a charge and makes the hot tag off to Elgin for the power man offense. The Falcon Arrow gets two on Page and everything breaks down again. Tama gets in a jumping neckbreaker on Elgin but Hanson cannonballs off the top to take out the Guerrillas. A fireman’s carry/Blockbuster combo drops Hanson so Rowe comes in to hit people very hard. Page comes back in with a heck of a lariat though and the Rite of Passage ends Rowe at 11:17.

Rating: D+. This felt like they had a six man tag for the sake of having a six man tag. War Machine won the titles the night before and I really don’t think they needed to set up a new match so quickly. Since all six of them appeared on the show the night before, they really could have cut this out to let the show breathe a bit more.

The New Japan boss thanks the fans for making this special and promises to bring the company back to America…..in 2018. It’s been an impressive weekend but I expected something a bit sooner than that.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice

The Bucks are defending and yes, these teams are fighting AGAIN. Now at Best in the World, the Bucks had the best match I’ve ever seen them have because they spared the superkicks. Let’s see if they keep that up or revert to the form that gets them the most praise. Nick throws a superkick less than a minute in but goes with the Sharpshooter instead, sending Romero bailing to the ropes.

All four come in and no one can hit anything, including a quadruple dropkick for a standoff. The Bucks are sent into the corner but come back with a double superkick (oh here we go) to knock Vice outside. Matt hits a heck of a moonsault to the floor, only to have Nick (the announcers are getting them confused again) miss a big flip dive back inside. Nick grabs Beretta off the apron and runs him up the aisle for a heck of a powerbomb as a fan yells something about Hot Topic.

Back in and the Bucks stay on Romero as we’re doing the same “one member of Vice gets powerbombed in the aisle” formula for at least the third time. We hit the chinlock for a bit before the Indy Taker is broken up but there’s no one for Romero to tag. JR: “It’s almost like a handicap match.” Thanks Jim. A double clothesline drops the bucks and Beretta is back up to take the tag.

Matt takes a tornado DDT but the powerbomb into the enziguri in the corner cuts Beretta off. Another Sharpshooter (I’m assuming that’s a new thing for the Bucks because reasons) is broken up so Romero gets powerbombed onto Beretta for two. Romero gets in a double hurricanrana but eats a double superkick. A 450 and moonsault onto the back get two and Nick gets in a great shocked face. It’s back to the Sharpshooter (NOT a Scorpion Deathlock JR/Barnett. There’s a difference and you really should know that, even if you sound bored with this show.) but Romero makes a quick save.

Sliced Bread #2 (not a Blockbuster Barnett) is broken up so Beretta piledrives Nick on the apron. For those of you counting, Nick is on his feet twelve seconds later. A cradle piledriver gives Beretta two and Strong Zero gets the same and….my goodness we actually get tags. For what? Like seriously, for what?

Romero and Matt come in but the tagging part is quickly forgotten, allowing the Bucks to (mostly miss, though it’s fair in this case) get in a springboard flip Meltzer Driver to Romero on the floor. This is actually a tribute to Meltzer’s father, who passed away recently before this show. Romero is dead so Beretta comes back in and spits at Matt, earning himself a superkick to the face and two to the back. Another Meltzer Driver to Romero sets up double Sharpshooters for the tap at 22:43.

Rating: B-. Too long here but, again, the lack of superkicks made it a more entertaining match. Granted it was brought down a good bit by the length and the sloppiness that came with some of the ridiculous flips. I’m not a big fan of the Meltzer stuff but the fans dig it enough so it’s hard to get that mad about it. The Bucks are entertaining but hard to watch at the same time, if that makes sense.

Post match, Ricochet runs in and takes out both Bucks, saying he wanted to be here but a certain Underground fighting company (Lucha Underground if you’re a bit slow) wasn’t being very nice. He wants a shot at the titles with Ryusuke Taguchi as his partner. This segment didn’t air in America due to Ricochet’s contract with Lucha Underground.

Post dark segment Roppongi Vice lists off their five year checklist, which they’ve already accomplished. So now they’re done because it’s time for Beretta to move up to the heavyweight division.

Bullet Club vs. Chaos

Bullet Club: Bad Luck Fale/Cody/Marty Scurll/Yujiro Takahashi

Chaos: Briscoe Brothers, Kazuchika Okada/Will Ospreay

Just in case you didn’t get enough multi-man tags yet. Scurll and Mark get things going as we hear about the Briscoes having 70,000 chickens. Red Neck Kung Fu is countered by the bird pose and we hit a standoff. One heck of a chop has Marty scurrying over to the ropes so it’s off to Cody vs. Jay.

Cody tags Scurll back in but it’s back to Scurll, then Cody, then Scurll and this is the reason both shows were three and a half hours. The fans want Fale so it’s off to the big man….who tags Cody right back in. Now the fans want and get Yujiro and he tags right back to Cody. DID YOU GET THE JOKE YET??? I’m not sure it sunk in. I’m aware Cody has a bad shoulder, but maybe they should just have him sit out and have a match if you just have to get this on the card.

Ospreay comes in and kicks away at the chest. Will misses a dive though and it’s Yujiro coming in to stomp away. Yujiro dances a bit, then Scurll dances a bit, then Cody flips us off and gyrates the hips. Fale, in his Make Jobbers Great Again shirt, sits on Ospreay’s chest for two but Scurll charges into a boot in the corner. Scurll does his big chickenwing thing, earning himself an enziguri.

Jay comes in to fire off the clotheslines and hands it off to Okada for the real house cleaning. A DDT drops Fale but Okada can’t slam the monster. The second attempt works a bit better (naturally) but walks into a Samoan drop, followed by a splash for two. Cody comes back in and eats the flapjack (hopefully with some syrup) before it’s back to Ospreay, who catches him with a spinning Stunner.

Scurll snaps the fingers, which JR calls illegal for sure. Uh, why exactly? We get the parade of people hitting each other in the face but Scurll busts out the umbrella to block the Rainmaker (how appropriate). Ospreay kicks Scurll and Cody in the face though and moonsaults over the top to take Marty out again. Will tries another springboard but Cody is right there with the Disaster Kick. Cross Rhodes ends Ospreay at 14:00.

Rating: C. This got better later on but I was getting very sick of that stupid comedy schtick. This was a great example of a match that could have been cut as Cody already had his big match and pining Ospreay in an eight man tag isn’t exactly going to reignite whatever he had going on. We already saw these people last night and it really didn’t help the show in any real way. It’s ok to let the show breathe a bit instead of cramming everything in.

We recap the IWGP Intercontinental Title match with Billy Gunn promising to bring his A game. Gunn’s A game wasn’t great at the peak of his career and I don’t think I want to see what it’s going to be like in his 50s.

IWGP Intercontinental Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Billy Gunn

Gunn is challenging and no, it still doesn’t make sense no matter what. Feeling out process to start until Gunn shoulders Tanahashi away. They fight over a top wristlock until Tanahashi takes him down with a headlock. We’re four minute into this and that shoulder block is the high spot so far.

The announcers talk about Lou Thesz as Gunn suplexes him down and throws the champ outside. Tanahashi’s bad arm is wrapped around the post as I have a bad feeling we’ve already reached the peak of Gunn’s abilities. A Jackhammer sets up a top wristlock and Gunn actually adds a low superkick.

Tanahashi gets punched out of the air but pulls Gunn’s trunks down to reveal…..more trunks. I guess Tanahashi gets bored and comes back with forearms, only to get caught with a cobra clutch slam. The Fameasser gets two but Tanahashi hits a quick Sling Blade and the High Fly Flow (with a SUCK IT) retains the title at 14:26.

Rating: D-. This is a situation where the bigger problem is what else it could have been. There are a TON of names on this roster that you could have put in there (pick one of Los Ingobernables for instance) and they go with Gunn. I get that he’s a bigger American name but I really don’t buy that they couldn’t have brought in almost ANYONE else and gotten a better match. For the promotion based on in-ring work, this really didn’t work, though it did to by very quickly.

IWGP United States Heavyweight Title: Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii

For the inaugural title and Omega has the Bucks with him. They get straight to the physicality with an exchange of strikes before Omega slaps him in the face. Thankfully he’s smart enough to stay on him and get Ishii down before he can hand Omega one of his own body parts. Ishii tells him to kick harder and even sits there for them.

They head into the crowd as we go to the Attitude Era style brawling, which makes sense for someone like Ishii. Back in and Ishii slugs away before Omega invites him to get in a kick of his own. Ishii does just that and Omega suddenly realizes that was a REALLY BAD IDEA. The exchange of loud chops goes to Ishii and a powerslam gets two. Omega comes back with some ax handles to the chest and a middle rope moonsault for the same.

Kenny hits a big flip dive over the top and the Bucks set up a table. Josh: “The Bucks with their own gimmick table.” We’ll save that for later though as Kenny goes with a top rope dropkick to the back of Ishii’s head. Ishii doesn’t take kindly to all of these chops though and starts staring Omega down instead of selling the forearms. A hurricanrana gets Omega out of trouble because hitting him in the face over and over has no effect but a short flip onto your back knocks you silly.

Ishii takes him to the apron and blocks a German suplex through the table. Instead Omega tries a dragon suplex through the table so Ishii BITES THE ROPE to hang on, only to have his teeth give way so it’s the dragon suplex through the table. That’s only good for a nineteen count so Kenny blasts him in the head with a series of knees. A final knee is blocked so Omega tries a final, final knee, followed by another knee for two.

The One Winged Angel is countered into a DDT and Ishii hits a good looking top rope superplex for another near fall. They have another slugout until Omega hits the brainbuster for two. Ishii gets in a knee of his own, followed by the sliding lariat. Naturally Ishii is right back with a One Winged Angel of his own but Omega knees him down (AGAIN), followed by a reverse hurricanrana. Another running knee to the face sets up the One Winged Angel for the pin and the title at 31:22.

Rating: A-. It’s good and had the right finish but those running knees to the face were getting on my nerves. The best positive about this match was how fast it went by. There are several matches with this much time that feel close to twice this long but this one flew by like it was half the time. Ishii was a good foil for Omega here and the win feels important, even if it was fairly obvious.

Post match Cody comes out and snatches the belt away from Kenny, only to wrap it around his waist instead. The rest of the Bullet Club comes out to celebrate as Kenny grabs the mic. He’s hard a bunch of hardships this year but what separates the Bullet Club from the rest of the world is they never give up, just like the rest of the people here tonight. The fans made this show and New Japan is back next year. They rule the wrestling world and that’s never changing. This was a good way to end the show as Omega is one of the faces of the promotion and the face of the promotion in America.

The announcers quickly wrap things up.

Overall Rating: B. I definitely liked the first night better but it’s not like this one was bad. The problem here is the first night felt like a grand spectacle as the promotion made its big debut. This one though felt like they were cramming in a bunch of stuff that didn’t need to be on there. I couldn’t really think of anything that could have been cut off the first night but this one had multiple moments that could have been trimmed or flat out eliminated.

The Tanahashi match, which should have been a major deal, was a complete misfire and the War Machine stuff felt like it could have come weeks from now instead of immediately. It’s still a good show and a big success for the promotion but this show could have had a good half hour to forty five minutes cut out to really improve things.

Overall for the two nights, it’s definitely a great debut, but you know the fans are going to get ahead of themselves. They put on two very good shows in front of less than 5,000 fans combined in the second biggest market in the country. It’s a very solid performance for the independent level around here but they’re FAR away from being in WWE’s universe over here, which to be fair New Japan certainly seems to know. If this show is even something of a hit among the casual fans, we’ll see where they can go from there but for now, just consider it a success and start to build from here.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/05/19/history-of-saturday-nights-main-event-and-clash-of-the-champions-now-in-paperback-plus-price-drops/

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