Hi!
It’s been a while. AEW All Out almost killed my will to be a wrestling fan, but that fire… it continues to burn, fueled by WWE making an effort and All Japan putting the word out there that “we back up.” Also I didn’t realize we had stocked up so many posts since Vol. 45. That’s a happy wrestling land for you!
This week in Happy Wrestling Land:
Stardom x Stardom Nagoya Midsummer Encounter (8/21/22) - Dum Dum Daniels
AJPW Royal Road Tournament 2022 Finals (8/20/22) - Captain Lou
WWE Clash at the Castle (9/3/22) - Dum Dum Daniels
NXT Worlds Collide (9/4/22) - Dum Dum Daniels
NJPW Burning Spirit at Korakuen Hall (9/5/22) - Dum Dum Daniels
AJPW 50th Anniversary at Nippon Budokan (9/18/22) - Captain Lou
NEXT TIME!!! At long last, All Out 2022. Plus more All Japan, more New Japan, more WWE and Stardom and maybe some surprises.
Stardom x Stardom Nagoya Midsummer Encounter (8/21/22): Cosmic Angels and COVID Tests
Last week I walked up to the deli counter at Woodman’s Market and read a sign telling me the meats were all pre-packaged and pre-sliced now, a realization that – combined with the immediate gratification of seeing my two favorite meats up front – got me so happy and surprised I said “holy fucking shit” out loud.
Anyways, I turned 35-years-old last week and am watching Stardom.
In the middle of the 5-Star GP tournament, “Stardom x Stardom” came to the Dolphins Arena with a double main event highlighting the past vs. present. A couple days prior the more appealing of those main events was changed, a disappointment soothed only by the sweet and savory juices of Eckrich’s Hawaiian Ham.
1. Future of Stardom Title: Hanan [c] vs. Miyu Amasaki
If Hanan’s theme music doesn’t get your toes tapping then I’m sorry for whatever is preventing you from giving in to that joy. She traded elbows with Amasaki before taking control with a fallaway slam and Fameasser, the latter of which was called in all its’ English glory. Amasaki kept up but not enough to stand out, especially with just five minutes before a knee to the head. **1/4
2. Maika vs. Hina
One part inoffensive undercard match, one part safety hazard for two careers. Hina did a spinebuster where she kind of DDT’d herself somehow, and Maika’s finish — called the Enka Otoshi — looked like a side slam that they either quit on midway through or cooperated to make look as ugly as possible. **3/4
3. 3-Way Battle: Giulia & Mai Sakurai vs. Ruaka & Rina vs. MIRAI & Ami Sohrei
This seemed to end before it got going, though I don’t know if it was actually going to. Giulia’s evil castle entrance and commanding presence throughout the match was the best part of a 3-Way Battle that had some cool spots (like Rina’s backslide into jackknife cradle) but was mostly just noise. **3/4
4. Captain’s Fall Match: Mayu Iwatani, Saya Iida (c) & Momo Kohgo vs. Utami Hayashishita, AZM (c) & Lady C
Here’s a decent 10-minute 6-woman tag that had three pinfalls instead of one, which really kind of mucked everything up. Saya and C throwing down with elbows at the start was awesome; AZM going to the top rope then dropping down to save Utami from a pin was… mildly interesting. ***
5. Artist of Stardom Title: Momo Watanabe, Starlight Kid & Saki Kashima [c] vs. Mina Shirakawa, Sayaka Unagi & SAKI
NJPW’s El Desperado helped with pre-match introductions for this 6-woman tag that was a lot more straightforward than the last one, even with a trio of high-flying heels (to be fair, Momo did use a wrench). They packed a ton of action inside 11 minutes or at least didn’t have to force two other pinfalls in the middle and the solid match came off better for it. ***1/4
6. Goddesses of Stardom Title: Hazuki & Koguma [c] vs. Tam Nakano & Natsupoi
Tam Nakano and Natsupoi are a real-life tag team now, following an awesome Summer angle where they wrestled twice in three days (once inside a Steel Cage) and gained mutual admiration. Nakano showed that by acknowledging the young up-and-comer; Natsupoi showed it by turning on Giulia and becoming Nakano’s lieutenant. This is what we call professional wrestling.
As the next step in that story (and as a general wrestling match), this was great. Following pre-match introductions with NJPW’s Taichi and an entrance from the challengers that gave them freaking LED wings, Natsupoi stepped up to Koguma like she was trying to prove something. Everything. She spent most of the match either getting beat up by the champs or bailed out by Nakano, which built to an exciting finish that re-enforced the story, from Nakano screaming at Natsupoi to hit somebody to Nakano and Natsupoi finally finding the power to do double springboard planchas then go to the top rope, together, for a kneedrop and twisting splash. Hazuki & Koguma had a solid reign but their last defense was their best. ****
7. Wonder of Stardom Title: Saya Kamitani [c] vs. Himeka
Saya Kamitani became one of my favorite wrestlers after I started watching Stardom last year, and her scheduled challenger – Kairi Hojo, Kairi Sane, KAIRI – had been a favorite since she started in NXT five years ago. They were set to wrestle here but a couple days before the show, COVID protocols pulled KAIRI from the card. Her replacement was Himeka, who powered through with A) a wonderful “yep, I’m the replacement” look before the bell and B) a performance so good that it felt like The Replacement could actually win. That came from a combination of strength (shoulder tackles! bodyslams! suplexes!), a dastardly single-leg crab hold, and a counter of a Frankensteiner with a vicious powerbomb that dropped Kamitani on the back of her whole head.
Kamitani’s title match formula is just good stuff too; sometimes she’ll opt for a weird headscissors to the floor as a comeback but sometimes she’ll try to end an elbow exchange by just hammering Himeka in the neck – it’s the choices we make in the heat of battle. Usually it comes together into something a little messy but genuinely awesome, like this match here. Another successful defense seemed impossible until she countered an electric chair drop with a reverse hurricanrana and won. The choices… ****
8. World of Stardom Title: Syuri [c] vs. Nanae Takahashi
Nanae Takahashi is a joshi puroresu stalwart — legend! — who doesn’t occupy near enough acreage in this Happy Wrestling Land. She helped keep the scene relevant through quiet times, the last to hold All Japan Women’s top championship when they closed in 2006 and the first to hold Stardom’s when they opened in 2011.
Nanae was a veteran back then and it’s a decade later now: can she compete with the much younger and more active top dog in the sport? Most athletic endeavors would point to “are you kidding me?” but this is pro wrestling, guys.
This wasn’t as high octane as some of Stardom’s better main events in the last couple years, though Syuri’s title defenses have leaned more towards subtext over spectacular anyways. Nanae is both a pro and still pretty capable, plus she employed both a neck twist and cravate. In between the big spots it was hard not to feel Syuri slowing down to allow Nanae to keep up (and maybe just stretch the match out in general), though when it came time to close up it was her selling that brought everything together. A very good, slightly lacking, but overall pretty cool main event. ***3/4
Happy Thoughts: An exciting card on paper ended up with more misses than hits, though the top three matches were still very good. 3.5 / 4.0
Captain Lou’s Review: AJPW Royal Road Tournament 2022 – Finals (8/20/22)
Hikaru Sato, Dan Tamura & Rocky Kawamura 2 vs. Black Menso-re, Andy Wu & SUSHI
The All Japan undercard. A magical place where you might see SUSHI throw a shoot headbutt. I’m happy to report that Kawamura has successfully reinvented himself as ‘Rocky Kawamura 2’ – same guy but now with a wig. Menso-re and Rocky 2 crystalized Inoki’s vision of pro-wrestling with their Boxing vs. Eye Poke battle. Looks like the recently-revived IGF just found their new top stars. **1/2
Jake Lee vs. Takao Omori – Royal Road Tournament (Semi-Finals)
COVID has robbed us of a guaranteed semi-final banger between The Dark Gentleman Jake Lee and Naoya Nomura, but fear not – Old man Omori is here to work the leg. Omori gave the former Total Eclipse tyrant a 5-minute run for his money, popping Korakuen with his signature spots and geriatric resilience. Could Jake’s very good Selling of the Leg be a preview of an upcoming subplot in tonight’s finals!? Stay tuned… **3/4
Kento Miyahara vs. Yuji Nagata – Royal Road Tournament (Semi-Finals)
Dancing With The Stars: The Wrestling Match. Yes, these two have been engaging in deep psychological warfare over the past few months. They were able to translate their dance-based melodrama into one half of a pretty good match – Nagata ultimately shitting the bed for Kento’s comebacks in the second half. Everything before that was pretty swell though. What with Nagata working the arm like an old pro and Kento bringing the selling and facials. ***
Shuji Ishikawa, Ren Ayabe & Ryo Inoue vs. Yoshitatsu, TAJIRI & Cyrus
Little Ryo stepping up to Cyrus to start the match was epic. This kid will go far. How was the wrestling, you ask? It was solid, okay? **1/4
Shotaro Ashino, Ryuki Honda, Yusuke Kodama & Seigo Tachibana vs. Suwama, TARU, KONO & Toshizo
GUNGNIR OF ANARCHY. It is time to embrace this multifaceted new faction. Numerous rich themes are on display – Norse mythology, JRPG’s, WRESTLE-1, sunglasses. These things all fit together perfectly. Unfortunately, their first official outing was a Voodoo Murders ass whooping. Thankfully, they still got a chance to unleash their secret weapon – an all-sunglasses 4-man dropkick combo. Impressive. **1/2
Yuma Aoyagi, Hokuto Omori & Atsuki Aoyagi vs. Takuya Nomura, Rising HAYATO & Oji Shiiba
Not on the level of most of the Nextream/Hontai 2.0 tags from the rest of this tour, but still pretty fun. After spending years as a lovable scumbag in Total Eclipse, Hokuto’s making a smooth transition in the babyface world. Less cheating spots and more chef’s kisses. Just what the doctor ordered. Once HAYATO stops hesitating during his springboard backflip taunt, his sassy K-Pop gimmick will reach a whole new level. I believe in him. ***
Kento Miyahara vs. Jake Lee – Royal Road Tournament (Finals)
Well well well… Looks like we meet again, Kento Miyahara vs. Jake Lee. I will tell you right now that I enjoyed this one slightly more than the Ota-ku title match from June. Again, they’ve had better, but something about this flew more cohesively than their last meeting.
The early stages felt very Heel vs. Heel – in the most entertaining possible way. Both guys leaning into their personalities and bringing the fireworks. They built the match around a wild character arc for Kento, in which your favorite Dumb Ace kicked things off in full No-Selling Asshole mode, only to be gradually babyfaced by Jake’s infamous Laughing Stomach Work.
Things got slightly meta at the mid-way point, Jake capping off a brutal forearm exchange by busting out Big Match Yuma Aoyagi’s fake KO trickery. Kento himself used to pull this insanity back in the day, so what does it all mean? Is this a hint towards Jake fully embracing the Aoyagi Brothers’ lighter side, or simply a nod at Nextream’s eternal interconnectedness!?
While you were pondering the mysteries of the All Japan Cinematic Universe, these maniacs were already going full blast with a meaty ending stretch that saw Kento bring out some of his more ELUSIVE big match spots. The Kensuke Sasaki lariat. The KENTOSTEINER. The Japanese leg roll freakin’ CLUTCH. All great shit that turned his predictable win into a still-pretty-cool-moment. Wrestling! ****
Top 10 WWE Matches of the Month: August 2022
With just a few on-screen tweaks – also the off-screen retirement of Vince McMahon – WWE almost had themselves a Top 25 Matches of the Month at Happy Wrestling Land for the first time since April 2021. The matches were all from WWE TV too, as the August schedule featured no Premium Live Event at all.
Who exceeded expectations in Triple H’s revamped playground of sport and entertainment? Read on…
1. Montez Ford vs. Seth Rollins (RAW 8/1/22)
What a great wrestling match: exciting, but with purpose! There was a buzz in the air as this was the first RAW with McMahon retired and Levesque in charge, and the wrestlers took advantage: Seth Freakin’ Rollins wrestled like the top heel archetype he’s always played with but never leaned into, while Montez Ford was prepared to be showcased to full “future superstar” degree. The first day of the month had the best match of the month.
2. WWE U.S. Title: Bobby Lashley [c] vs. Ciampa (RAW 8/8/22)
Tommaso Ciampa entered in Harley Race’s robe and nearly lifted the U.S. Title from Bobby Lashley – like Ford/Rollins there was plenty happening on the perimeter, but inside the ring this was a tremendous big guy vs. small guy who won’t admit it type of match. Very similar to when Ciampa challenged the guy who became Gunther.
3. Kevin Owens vs. Chad Gable (RAW 8/22/22)
Stuff like this was happening all over August, just wrestlers wrestling wrestlers surrounded by hot crowds and good vibes. Here was Kevin Owens going 20 minutes with Chad Gable in the middle of RAW, and as the kickouts continued it just got better. After the match Owens beat up Alpha Academy and looked like a killer again. Just like that.
4. WWE Intercontinental Title: Gunther [c] vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (SmackDown 8/12/22)
Five years ago this match might’ve ran the whole business; I can settle for the high-end SmackDown main event it was here. Not an epic, but there were flashes of it: Nakamura still has some tricks (Timing! Comebacks! Bursts of charisma!) while Gunther is just getting started.
5. Drew McIntyre vs. Kevin Owens (RAW 8/15/22)
The rapid Kevin Owens re-build project raged through the month of August and continued with this match, which began after a promo where they name-dropped “professional wrestling” like it was a big deal or something. Then they professionally wrestled and delivered one of those extra impressive matches that’s booked cold but heats everybody up.
6. Bianca Belair vs. IYO SKY (RAW 8/1/22)
Somewhere during COVID, WWE’s Women’s Revolution severely regressed — the pillow fights weren’t back, but the 2-minute matches booked to serve one or two feuds (if that) were. The return of Bayley and emergence of Damage CTRL throughout August was a tremendous attempt at fixing that. Here, a day after Io Shirai returned at SummerSlam with a new name, she went 10-minutes with The Champ. Just good wrestling man.
7. Angelo Dawkins vs. Seth Rollins (RAW 8/8/22)
Similar to Montez Ford vs. Seth Rollins, just a few less instances of spectacle. Angelo Dawkins kind of seems like he won Pro Wrestling.
8. NXT UK Title Tournament – Round 1: Oliver Carter vs. Charlie Dempsey (NXT UK 8/11/22)
Charlie Dempsey got really good really fast, while Oliver Carter used his last match on NXT UK to show a fire that should guarantee him future employment in This Business.
9. Cedric Alexander vs. T-BAR (Main Event 8/31/22)
The McMahon Retirement Effect even made its way to Hulu and Main Event, where these two were clearly told to let loose and that they did. It wasn’t just a few cool spots though: they tore this house down, folks. There was a rematch a week later almost as good.
10. Falls Count Anywhere: Solo Sikoa vs. Von Wagner (NXT 8/2/22)
It was between this and the Lights Out Match and I’m sorry. Just a fun bunch of chaos on TV that accomplished a lot more than most 3-star NXT Black & Gold matches. Solo Sikoa was on the main roster a month later.
WWE Clash at the Castle (9/3/22): Broken Dreams and Family Things
SummerSlam felt like over a month ago, probably because it was. The week before it, Vince McMahon had retired and Triple H was put in charge of a lot of things including — most visibly — The Creative. The changes to The Product felt immediate and WWE’s TV from August felt like 1) a mission statement, 2) a make-good, and 3) a genuine attempt to Just Have a Good Show.
WWE traveled to the United Kingdom for their next PLE, the UK’s first PLE ever and the first WWE PPV to air from the UK since SummerSlam 1992 (those UK-exclusive ones don’t count). Like WWE’s post-McMahon TV, it tried to accomplish many things — draw a house, excite a market, establish some talent — but most of it boiled down Just Having a Good Show.
As for me? Well. I turned 35 in late-August, which was nice and terrifying. A couple weeks later I noticed the growth on our dog Bentley’s face — previously just a thing to “keep an eye on” – was bleeding, so I checked in with the our Veterinarian and a few days later that growth was surgically removed from Bentley’s face. I spent the next week stuck in a prison called “waiting for biopsy results.”
Gracefully, those results were negative.
Deep breath.
Phew.
Given the time difference Clash at the Castle aired in the U.S. in the middle of the day, and one Saturday afternoon I ended up in a scenario with my son in his bed, wife in the sun, and Bentley on the floor (uncomfortable, in a cone). As for me? I was watching professional wrestling on Peacock TV.
WWE Clash at the Castle took place in Cardiff, Wales, at the Principality Stadium in front of an announced 62,296 fans.
0. Street Profits & Madcap Moss vs. Alpha Academy & Theory
I’m not sure if it was the timezone or an actual concerted effort from WWE, but Clash of the Castle’s Kickoff began by pulling vibes from the atmosphere of an awesome early 90s WWF tag. Everything just felt larger than standard life: the crowd, the stage, even the “Hey I know that guy!” reactions for everybody’s entrance music.
And the wrestling? Pretty great. After some initial flashy exchanges and a targeted beatdown by the bad guys, Madcap Moss tagged in and everyone hollered as he took it to Austin Theory. Chad Gable tried to German suplex Angelo Dawkins off the apron, but ended up getting lifted into position for a tope from Montez Ford. The people loved it! I loved it. The wrestling can be so good… ***1/4
1. Bianca Belair, Asuka & Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley, Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai
This was another 6-man that was completely traditional and completely amazing. The crowd was hot and everyone looked cool as hell but there was extra attention to detail on all the match’s key points: Kai and Sky’s early cut-off on Belair followed by taunting, the heel beatdown beginning with Alexa getting baited into a somersault plancha, Kai and Bayley’s smooth late cut-off Belair as Alexa crawled for the tag.
Kai was having so much fun heeling it up it seemed practically airborne and Bayley remains as over as Jesus in the U.K., but the crowd loved it most when the good guys put together their comeback: a superplex to Bayley off Belair’s back then THE POP for Belair lifting Kai for a gorilla press. ***1/2
2. WWE Intercontinental Title: Gunther [c] w/ Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci vs. Sheamus w/ Ridge Holland and Butch
Wrestling evolved into a lot of different niches and styles over the last fifty years but this hard-hitting European one usually feels like the best use of everybody’s time: compelling! Dramatic! Violent! Fun!
At the bell they immediately began smacking each other, peppering in body shots, teeing off…. they were beating the fuck out of each other, guys. Sheamus has earned a reputation for his stiff style of work but with a willing participant there’s some magic to be made, not only with a kick to the cheek or chop to the neck but by the way those things are capitalized on to lead to exciting near falls.
Each guy went into the match with similar credentials as Europeans but Irish Sheamus is from the U.K. proper and this Cardiff crowd loved, respected, and rooted for him. They booed with fury after Gunther hit a nasty powerbomb and headed up top for an assumed finishing splash, only to roar with approval when Sheamus rose and started throwing slaps.
For a match that didn’t really let up bell-to-bell they saved the most brilliant bit for the finish: Sheamus went for the Brouge kick but his back went out, which got a great reaction of audible disappointment from the crowd. Gunther hit another powerbomb and the crowd 150% bought-in as Sheamus tried to stay with it, tried to get up, grit his teeth.. only to run into a simple, filthy lariat from Gunther for 3. Sheamus didn’t leave Wales with gold but he did get a standing ovation.
An awesome, uncomfortably intense championship wrestling match ploppped in the middle of this Premium Live Event. *****
3. SmackDown Women’s Title: Liv Morgan [c] vs. Shayna Baszler
Not a show-stealer, but much like the Liv Morgan defense against Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam this match overcame a blatant mismatch in credibility so well that it became downright impressive. Liv sort of rolled with Shayna on the mat then got caught in some arm work, which the crowd stayed alert enough for before Liv survived a couple knee strikes and caught a clean win. A good solid wrestling match! ***
4. Edge & Rey Mysterio w/ Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor & Damian Priest w/ Rhea Ripley
On a show that had many big crowd reactions, Edge received a monstrous pop and genuine affection for his UK in-ring return. After some time spent on the apron watching Rey get beat up he rewarded them for it too, not just with signature moves but a silly 619 and tope suicida spear — I mean this guy is a wrestler!
Good match made kind of great thanks to a bonkers crowd. Afterwards, Dominik kicked Edge in the balls and clotheslined Rey, the first of which I smiled at and the latter I screamed “NO” for all alone. ***1/2
5. Matt Riddle vs. Seth Rollins
Sporting a winged devil entrance outfit and heart-shaped sunglasses, Seth Freakin’ Rollins went full Elton John for his entrance attire — or at least the biopic version of Elton John. It was elaborate. Then he and Riddle followed up Rollins calling out Riddle’s divorce on RAW with a pretty good wrestling match.
This was more Cool Stuff than Grudge Match, but Rollins’ barricade bomb, superplex-to-falcon arrow and the “Floating Bro” to the floor were all incredibly cool. Riddle kicked out of a Pedigree which was pretty cute before going down to a curb stomp. ***1/2
6. Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Drew McIntyre
Between Scottish hero Drew McIntyre entering to his old “Broken Dreams” theme music, Tyson Fury (boxer) and Karrion Kross (wrestler) seated front row, and the goodwill already generated from a breezy star-studded show, the main event was blessed with that unexplainable yet understood Big Match Feel.
They made use of The Feel for 30+ minutes, and on occasion it was a little boring. On other occasions, Roman stalled like a great heel Champion and the crowd stayed behind their returning Countryman until he popped off a comeback.
The finish came together delightfully, even the two run-ins: Austin Theory tried to cash in his Money in the Bank contract only to be stopped by a punch from Tyson Fury and Solo Sikoa made his debut to help Roman Cheat 2 Win.
This was good. I enjoyed it while it was happening. The problem here was that the match teed up a Drew McIntyre win and after a half-hour was spent getting there, he didn’t win. Not that they explicitly advertised his championship victory, but there was too much Bad Guy time here to not provide the Good Guy time in the end. Even after a great show and two delightful run-ins. ****
Afterwards, Fury shook Reigns’ hand and sang songs with McIntyre to send the crowd home… confused? This Castle had levels.
Happy Thoughts: After many years watching wrestling you’d think I would understand the futility in reflecting on what should or should not have happened at the end of a wrestling match, but I still need to say it: Drew McIntyre should’ve beat Roman Reigns for the title. If that couldn’t happen, then they at least could’ve had the good guy lose in a way that wasn’t so deflating then confusing – one good example happened literally three matches earlier with Gunther and Sheamus.
If McIntyre sent the crowd home with a championship celebration and not a duet with Tyson Fury, there might be an argument for this being one of the greatest WWE shows of all-time. Unfortunately it has to settle for being merely a great wrestling show and the best top-to-bottom non-WrestleMania WWE show in years. 4.25 / 5.0
NXT Worlds Collide (9/4/22): Proving a Point and Playing The Game
For a certain type of person, not much compares to Proving A Point. It can be such a rewarding form of victory, particularly if that person enjoys Playing The Game.
No business has just one person pulling all the strings, though in WWE it’s kind of always felt that way. Vince McMahon had retired and his daughter was Co-CEO but as far as appearances go this was the Triple H company now – and thirty years of data says he really likes proving points.
Just a year ago his decade-long pro wrestling experiment NXT was rebranded to NXT 2.0, a minor change in name but large and uncomfortably public rebuke of his — the assumed WWE heir apparent — entire approach to wrestling promotion.
A year later things were different. The heir apparent had reclaimed his status and was very loudly pulling strings. The third Worlds Collide – a first since 2020 – suddenly appeared on the schedule for the day after WWE’s Clash at the Castle and actual day of AEW’s All Out. The announcement felt like it was coming from a guy determined not only to get back to his wrestling vision after McMahon got too involved, but who also wanted to make fun of the competition’s approach to PPV too: 1-2 episodes of NXT TV suddenly arranged an entire show.
NXT Worlds Collide aired from WWE’s Performance Center, with a theme of NXT 2.0’s champions in matches against wrestlers from NXT 1.0 or NXT UK. With the recent closure of NXT UK and something called NXT Europe only a concept right now, the NXT and NXT UK World, Tag and Women’s Titles were unified as well.
1. NXT North American Title: Carmelo Hayes [c] w/ Trick Williams vs. Ricochet [c]
On a show from a company that takes their presentation very seriously, Carmelo Hayes’ entrance with jerseys for all his title defenses/victims (and a special one for Ricochet) was extraordinary presentation. Ricochet, the 2nd NXT North American Champion (Hayes is the 15th), arrived from a recent return as a SmackDown regular to have a blast of a match with young Melo Hayes.
They started with the slick rope-running and countering before distraction by Trick led to Melo on offense. Plenty of impressive spots were sprinkled throughout but they paced themselves and built-up to two huge ones that might only work if done by them: first Melo ran through a Ricochet handspring which Ricochet tried to thwart by backflippint only for smell to springboard off the second rope with a flying back elbow. Then they clotheslined each other really hard, stared each other down, and agreed to springboard off the second rope into each other. Superhero stuff. Those strikes they were throwing towards the end weren’t Gunther/Sheamus level but they were hitting, too. ****
2. Fatal 4-Way NXT Tag Team Title Unification Elimination Match: The Creed Brothers [c] w/ Damon Kemp vs. Briggs & Jensen [c] w/ Fallon Henley vs. Gallus w/ Joe Coffey vs. Pretty Deadly w/ Lash Legend
The Creed Brothers’ complicated mentor Roderick Strong was attacked in the parking lot before the show, which combined with Briggs & Jensen cinematically emerging from a bar for their entrance set a stage. Not a grand stage or a big stage, but some kind of stage.
The match? Nothing special. Big fellas Briggs & Jensen did dives! Jensen also blew a dive. There was too much stock put in a spot where Joe Coffey stood on the apron to prevent Pretty Deadly from escaping the ring, but Coffey looked so short and unimposing that no one seemed to pick up on it. The Creeds and Pretty Deadly ended up the final two, and while they didn’t re-create the magic from NXT In Your House or even their TV Steel Cage Match a week ago but they were the right teams to close up. ***
3. Triple Threat NXT Women’s Title Unification Match: Mandy Rose [c] vs. Meiko Satomura [c] vs. Blair Davenport
I may feel like reminiscing about NXT UK one day but the only theme I can think of now is how formulaic it became, both an indictment of WWE’s ability to be interesting and a natural, sort of impressive end game to the Vince McMahon era. Meiko Satomura’s NXT UK Women’s Title reign was the best thing about it post-WALTER too.
The WWE Triple Threat (or Fatal 4-Way!) is another formulaic offering that sometimes borders on a weird impressive, like this match here that won’t have much staying power but did not seem to lose momentum from beginning to end. Satomura countering a double-team suplex with a double DDT was such a great peak I thought she was going to win. ***1/4
4. NXT Women’s Tag Team Title: Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro [c] vs. Nikki ASH & Doudrop
The last two matches didn’t blow anyone’s mind but whether on purpose or not this match kind of slowed the show to a halt. The RAW duo dominated, Toxic Attraction did a run-in, and nobody looked any better than they did coming into the match. **
5. NXT Title & NXT UK Title Unification Match: Bron Breakker [c] vs. Tyler Bate [c]
This match was between two guys brought up in the wrestling business under very different circumstances, two guys who possess physical gifts that allow them to stand out even in the land of the physically gifted.
Tyler Bate made his wrestling debut at 15-years-old and climbed the ranks of the UK indies for four years, signing with and becoming a champion in WWE before 20 after earning a rep as a Catch-as-Catch-Can wunderkid.
Bron Breakker is Rick Steiner’s actual son and was trained almost from scratch at the WWE Performance Center with a style inspired by football and TV.
In the Worlds Collide main event they displayed said physical gifts. Any possible clash in styles ended up less a hindrance and more a storytelling device. Like, Tyler Bate used the Johnny Saint spot and New Generation Steiner played along as victim. It was wild. One might say worlds were colliding.
Breakker eventually overpowered the smaller Bate who had to resort to dives and a standing Shooting Star Press and whatnot to keep Breakker sweating. Bate’s wrestling matches feel more sporadic than ever post-COVID but he is still so good, from the graceful delivery on his spots to the way he ups the speed on his opponent and creates such a frantic environment that any result feels possible. He managed an awesome near fall off a cradle before Breakker — suddenly, impactfully — caught him with a spear that couldn’t not be the finish. ****
Happy Thoughts: I’m not one to ask for much from a show announced with a couple weeks notice that was probably just counter-programming, but this was fun. It wasn’t quite NXT TakeOver but the consistency was about there. 3.75 / 5.0
NJPW Burning Spirit (9/5/22): Korakuen Hall… Makes Some Noise!!!
Before there was COVID-19, before there was Social Distancing and a Thunderdome, wrestling fans in Japan used their voices to react to things at wrestling shows they attended in-person. They used them at home too, but that doesn’t apply right now.
Korakuen Hall is famous in pro wrestling for those reactions, where a combination of quality acoustics and some of Japan’s most diehard wrestling fans could could make a nobody a somebody and a good match a great one. Since the pandemic though, Korakuen was like every other venue in Japanese wrestling: half-empty and quiet, besides claps and commentators.
For the third day of New Japan’s post-G1 Burning Spirit tour, noise restrictions were relaxed — no, eliminated! Seven-hundred fans were free to cheer, boo… you know, make sounds at the wrestlers and stuff. To ensure they remembered how, ball-of-energy Hiromu Takahashi ran around before the show began.
1. Minoru Suzuki vs. Bad Dude Tito
They shouted “KAZE NI NARE!” for the chorus of Minoru Suzuki’s theme song, then watched him trade wrestling holds with Bad Dude Tito. They hooted for chops on the floor, then hollered for elbows in the ring. Tito has a nice Blue Thunder Bomb but eventually got stuffed in this good basic match taken up a few levels by being the first match. ***1/4
2. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, YOH & Toru Yano vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Dick Togo
BOOS! There were boos for EVIL and his House of Torture! It might have been the ingredient that was missing all along. YOH took a beating then the crowd exploded for his dropkick. Not so much for Yano vs. Togo. ***
3. Jeff Cobb, Great O-Khan & Gideon Grey vs. Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Hikuleo
Gideon Grey is connected with the United Empire through I assume Great O’Khan’s excursion there a few years ago, and he’s more manager than wrestler. He was here though, and he got pinned by Hikuleo. It seemed like fun for somebody but I’m not sure who. **1/4
4. Aaron Henare, Francesco Akira & TJP vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato & The DKC
This junior heavyweight tag team feud is still kind of… it’s not raging, but it’s… continuing. Korakuen seemed to enjoy it: the L.A. Dojo’s The DKC was “over” for his first trip to Tokyo, and there was genuine adulation for a double plancha. Master Wato has developed a very pretty back elbow off the top rope too, though he also did a German suplex where he landed on his own head. Energetic match! ***
5. KUSHIDA & Jado vs. Taiji Ishimori & Gedo
Taiji Ishimori is the current IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, did you know that? He tore it up for a little bit with KUSHIDA – styling, profiling, and in 2022 jet-flying. Each seemed motivated to be working together, especially in front of all the good noise. Jado and Gedo were there too. ***
6. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. KENTA & El Phantasmo
Even before their fans’ vocal cords were unleashed, ELP was getting over in New Japan. His continuing rivalry with Shingo Takagi was the battery that powered this match, unless you’re really into KENTA beating people up with a paperback book. Shingo’s sudden Pumping Bomber and ELP’s 1-2-3 on BUSHI got particuarly awesome reactions. ***1/2
7. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & El Desperado
Korakuen Hall showered Tetsuya Naito in chants and other sounds of excitement, then continued as he got beat up by Suzuki-gun for a little while. Hiromu and Desperado got in at least half-a-minute of greatness against each other and ZSJ countered a slingshot dropkick with a cravate. There was too much talent in front of an extra hot crowd here for it to be anything less than delightful. ***1/2
8. Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. JONAH & Shane Haste
It’s Korakuen Hall, it’s the main event, the crowd is hyped and so is Hiroshi Tanahashi who seemed impressively prepared for the silence (remember the air hugs!?) but took in the return of noise like nobody else.
There’s a new monster heel on the roster since the G1 Climax too and when he opened the match shoulder tackling Tanahashi’s to the mat the crowd lost their marbles. The heel beatdown, Tanahashi’s rally and Okada’s hot tag all received completely normal reactions that felt like euphoric nostalgia. JONAH is headed towards a rematch with Okada and was joined on this tour by Shane Haste, who flexed seductively to try and appear on Tana’s level. Honestly? I think it worked. He looked like he belonged at the finish too, even in defeat. ***1/2
Happy Thoughts: The wrestling was solid enough but this was probably the best New Japan spot show since the pandemic. Crowd noise is everything, to energize the wrestlers and each other, and it’s beginning to return to Japan — please clap. 4.0 / 5.0
Captain Lou’s Review: AJPW 50th Anniversary – Nippon Budokan (9/18/22)
AJPW really said:
Rising HAYATO & Ryo Inoue vs. Yusuke Kodama & Oji Shiiba
Fast-paced and straight to the point. HAYATO looked like a star and Kodama made sure to sell his loud-ass chops like comical death. Watching this crew in the Budokan is completely surreal. **1/2
Yoshitatsu, TAJIRI, Mitsuya Nagai & ATM vs. Izanagi, Black Menso-re, SUSHI & Andy Wu
ATM buying himself a spot on the Budokan card is legendary shit. The other highlight here was truly impeccable synergy between commentator Kagehiro Osano and the returning Mitsuya Nagai – Nagai busting out a stretch plum finish right after Osano shouted out his 2001 match with Kawada. **
Shuji Ishikawa, Kohei Sato & Yukio Naya vs. Jun Saito, Rei Saito & Cyrus
The freshly-returned Saitos are leathered up and have a banging new theme that sounds like a cross between Heart and Pat Benatar. The match was all meat pounding and fulfilled my midcard wrestling needs. Saitos 2.0 looked promising, but Cyrus stole the show and most of the crowd’s attention. **3/4
Minoru & Toshizo © vs. Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura – All-Asia Tag Team Titles
Well laid-out match and undeniably cool Wrestlemania Moment for Daniel Tamura. Finally winning the big one after months of Voodoo Murders ass whippings. This kid still can’t hit a lariat or Death Valley Bomb properly, but he has such likable babyface energy that it simply doesn’t matter. They inverted the usual dynamic and put Dan in the role of Hot Tag Recipient, saving Hikaru from the heel beatdown and getting all the glory. Wise decisions all around. ***
Minoru Suzuki vs. Hokuto Omori
Big-time career high for young Hokuto Omori who seized the moment and brought the fight to a stone-cold legend. This little twerp was such a natural fit for the Suzuki template match, trading forearms and unhinged facials with the Murder Grandpa (sorry) like it was just another day on the job.
This almost felt like the true culmination of this Total Eclipse run, as he got to test his new personality-based approach on the biggest possible stage and handily won over the crowd. The ridiculous timing on the rolling elbow counter and hints of hardway blood near the end were the icing on the cake. A delicious freakin’ cake. ***1/2
Yuji Nagata vs. Yuma Anzai – Yuma Anzai Debut Match
One of the more interesting wrasslin’ debuts in a while. All Japan are pulling out all the stops for this Anzai kid – an Osamu Suzuki live theme performance, high-profile opponents and assorted Jumbo Tsuruta comparisons from the commentary team. Given all the hype and probable nerves that come with debuting in the god damned Budokan, the fledgling super rookie did extremely well.
Nagata was right there with him every step of the way, but Anzai’s already showing a lot of good instincts and the fans seem fully on board. Are we looking at the new ZEN NIHON ACE? Stay tuned. ***1/4
Yuma Aoyagi vs. Christopher Daniels
Thoroughly enjoyed watching Yuma work the classic Christopher Daniels early 2000’s super indie layout – all handshake obsession, armdrags and rollup exchanges. CD brought a heelish edge with him to Japan, refusing to respect the Code of Honor and cutting down Mama Aoyagi’s Baby Boy for most of the match.
If this really was an AEW audition and not some elaborate scam, I’d say Yuma passed with flying colors. Lovely string of offense once he got on the comeback trail, including the rarely-seen Avalanche Rockstar Buster. I’m ready for a months-long feud on AEW Dark between him and QT Marshall. ***1/4
Masanobu Fuchi, Atsushi Onita & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Great Kojika, Yoshiaki Yatsu & Masao Inoue
I am the world’s biggest supporter of AJPW old men tag matches. Popped for The Fooch’s corner dropkick. Popped for the Great Kabuki mist spot. Dug all the geriatric greatest hits. That being SAID. Considering the NTV time restrictions on this show, it’s a bit maddening that this went 11 whole minutes while certain matches higher up the card (spoiler) had to be rushed.
Shotaro Ashino & Ryuki Honda © vs. Takao Omori & Manabu Soya – AJPW Tag Team Titles
Total ass ripper of a match. Launched by an emotional video package and casual pre-match cameo from THE HOLY DEMON ARMY, this felt like a true clash between the past and present of the tag title scene. For those unfamiliar with 2012 AJPW lore, Omori and Soya used to terrorize the All Japan tag team division as Get Wild. Two thick bros with a knack for leopard prints and lariats.
Compact, beefy and hard-hitting were the adjectives of the day. With an arm-work subplot on the side for all of you insufferable nerds out there. The match followed in the footsteps of Ashino/Honda’s banging title win against Twin Towers and by this, I mean that everything ruled. Ashino and the returning Soya instantly reignited their freaky WRESTLE-1 chemistry and brought out the very best from each other.
Most of this was a bombs-fest but the ending stretch was even BOMBSIER. Tons of juicy near-falls and ridiculous double team carnage. As fun as they were as mortal enemies, there’s more money to be made with Ashino and Honda as a team. This is shaping up to be a landmark tag reign. ****
Tiger Mask © vs. Atsuki Aoyagi – AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title
If you’ve been keeping up with house shows like a true Zen Nihon Freak ™, then you know that high-flying cutie pie Atsuki Aoyagi has been on some kind of run. They did the right thing here, belting him up as a reward for all the flips and new pink hairdo.
Likely aware of the gravitas that comes with crowning a new junior ace in the Budokan, the FELINE FIEND Tiger Mask IV delivered his best AJPW performance yet. Equal parts veteran craft (ie: Working The Leg) and big match thrills (top-rope suplexes! Wacky armbar counters!) – this was TM4 at his Most Motivated. Aoyagi benefitted from this rare effort and garnered more support with each kickout. Good stuff. ***1/2
Jake Lee vs. Naoya Nomura
The Prince of Darkness Jake Lee. Is he the most cursed wrestler of all time? I’m leaning yes. When you tally the sheer amount of bad luck that this dude endured over the years, you end up with an unnatural amount of bad luck. I mean, they did their best with the 40 seconds available but the whole scenario just oozed pure sadness. Not a good look to have your former Triple Crown champ/#2 Guy get punked this badly on the biggest show of the year.
Suwama © vs. Kento Miyahara – Triple Crown
A fitting conclusion to All Japan’s return to Budokan. The dual aces of the Akiyama era duking it out for the top prize and supplying four stars worth of professional wrestling. This is what this BUSINESS is all about. These guys have had way better matches, but they have such sure-fire chemistry that even a lesser Kento/Wama match is better than most matches. Ironically, the NTV time restrictions ended up helping their structure, as Miyahara had to cut down 100% of his bickering spots with old man Wada.
Escalation is the name of the game whenever these two meet and this was no exception. Suwama brought an endless supply of raging Kaiju fury and Kento gave it right back with his deranged facials and superhuman power-ups. I’m sure they had a lot more stuff planned initially, but we still got a Wama/Hansen confrontation, the Jumbo Tsuruta Dropkick of Death and the extremely rare Shutdown kickout.
They probably have more bangers left in them, but this feels like a good place to leave the Kento/Wama story for a while. If AJPW make it back to their sacred homebase in 2023, they would be wise to use this latest Kento reign to create some new (rock) stars for the next Budokan headline spot. ****