Hi!
The Chicago Bulls are Back and so is a majority of the HWL crew. Is it a coincidence? Yeah. Probably.
Captain Lou tells you all about All Japan and DDT’s Grand Prix, Dum Dum Daniels types stuff about Stardom and AEW Full Gear (and NXT 2.0?), and Robert McCauley produces, writes, directs, and essentially stars in Episode sixteen of How I Met Your Puroresu on Big Japan Pro-Wrestling.
AJPW Raising An Army Memorial Series 2021 (10/31/21) - Captain Lou
Stardom Kawasaki Super Wars (11/3/21) - Dum Dum Daniels
DDT D-Oh Grand Prix 2021 II Day 3 (11/7/21) - Captain
DDT D-Oh Grand Prix 2021 II Day 4 (11/10/21) - Captain
How I Met Your Puroresu: Season 1, Episode 16 - Robert McCauley
Introducing Everybody And Nobody (WWE TV 11/7 - 11/13/21) - Dum Dum
AEW Full Gear 2021 (11/3/21) - Dum Dum
DDT D-Oh Grand Prix 2021 II Day 5 (11/13/21) - Captain
Survivor Series Is Sunday And Ugghhh (WWE TV 11/14 - 11/20/21) - Dum Dum
Captain Lou’s Review: AJPW Raising An Army Memorial Series 2021 (10/31/2021)
Rising HAYATO vs. Ryoma Tsukamoto
Since the last time I checked in with All Japan, young Rising HAYATO seems to have mastered wrestling’s greatest secret. Yes, I am of course referring to what is known by the true insiders as Working The Leg. The knee dropkick cut-offs were on point, and so was Tsukamoto’s contagious energy. This pint-sized little bruiser is already working the crowd like a pro. Bless him. **1/4
Takao Omori, Black Menso-re, Isami Kodaka & TAMURA vs. Yoshitatsu, Seigo Tachibana, Rei Saito & Baliyan Akki
On top of being a solid mish-mash of midcard randomosity, this was a welcome progress update on Rei Saito. Having an all-time clunker with Suwama in the Oudou tournament seems to have straightened up the big boy. He looked a lot more natural than in the past few months and comfortably chopped the soul out of old man Omori for YOUR viewing pleasure. **1/2
Kento Miyahara vs. Ryuki Honda
Not to get too hyperbolic, but Honda’s pissed off forearm barrage here reminded me a lot of those great Nomura/Kento matches from 2019. AJPW might have something special with this big lad and judging by how much of the match he gave him, Miyahara knows this. Whenever he wasn’t trolling referee Kambayashi, Kento let Honda run wild on him and it led to some pretty juicy moments including a Zen Nihon-worthy lariat of pure white-hot death. Also, I can’t overstate how much I appreciate Miyahara bringing back the Snake Limit as a secondary finisher. It was used really well here and the crowd went nuts when Honda teased powering his way out of it. Good stuff. ***1/4
Suwama, Shotaro Ashino & Dan Tamura vs. Kaz Hayashi, Koji Iwamoto & Jun Saito
This was essentially guest star Kaz Hayashi playing babyface in peril to solidify the AJPW/GLEAT relationship. That’s how this BUSINESS works, kids. Not much else to write home about other than the truly spectacular SUMO CHOP WAR between Saito/Suwama that wrapped up the match. **1/2
Jake Lee, TAJIRI & Hokuto Omori vs. Zeus, Izanagi & UTAMARO
Rough times for the most part, but I was weirdly fascinated by Jake/Zeus somehow salvaging an awkward bit of miscommunication with a brutal kick/chop war that had Korakuen clapping their heart out. President Zeus getting a final shot at the Triple Crown before he heads off for Osaka Pro would be a classy move from AJPW. *3/4
T-Hawk & El Lindaman © vs. Yuma Aoyagi & Atsuki Aoyagi – All-Asia Tag Team Titles
What started off as a straight-forward Southern tag eventually turned into a vintage Strong Hearts burner thanks to an action-packed second half and Kento Miyahara losing his mind on commentary. The Aoyagi Bros’ dynamic is a fun inversion of the classic Kento/Yuma team, as Big Brother Yuma plays the hot tag receiver and Lil’ Brother Atsuki eats the beatdown. Both played good babyface counterparts to T-Hawk’s heelish mean streak and Linda’s comedic stooging. Atsuki’s flipping and bumping were a great asset to the ending stretch, as the Strong Hearts double-teams came flying fast and furious. Hoping to see more from the Aoyagi Bros in the future, even if they lost here. Can’t let that t-shirt go to waste. ***1/2
Shuji Ishikawa © vs. Shigehiro Irie – GAORA TV Title
An ugly, headbutt-centric affair that saw Ishikawa pass the torch to a former DDT rival and officially cement the GAORA TV title as All Japan’s meathead belt. We’re a long way from Yoshitatsu’s reign of terror. As is often the case with 2021 broken-down Shooj matches, the flow was a bit weird and the execution wasn’t always there, but Irie was willing to die a thousand deaths to make it work and it ended up working. The dude broke his back on the missed apron tope con hilo bump, got concussed about a dozen times and nearly died on that top-rope slip-up. Not an easy watch, but all the accumulated damage turned the teddy bear bruiser into a compelling babyface and worthy new champion. ***1/4
Happy Thoughts – Stardom Kawasaki Super Wars (11/3/21)
Last Wednesday afternoon at Stardom’s Kawasaki Wars, Saya Kamitani did something spectacular. A lot of people did, but nobody except her jumped from the apron to the top ring rope, kept balance, and leapt forward with a dropkick on one opponent that turned into a crossbody on the other.
It was the highlight of a decent match on the midcard with her two opponents that she didn’t win, which felt like an appropriate enough theme for this quiet but occasionally tremendous show.
0. Mai Sakurai vs. Waka Tsukiyama
Hey! I saw this same match on the 5-Star Grand Prix Finals, and here was more of it: each has a unique and earnest approach to young wrestling charisma, with Mai putting extra ferocity into everything opposite Waka’s general apprehension. After the match, a masked Grim Reaper type runs in and attacks both ladies. **
1. Future of Stardom Title: Ruaka [c] vs. Lady C
Joshi puroresu’s approach to its’ up-and-comers is a lot more interesting than the black boots and tights, more opportunity upfront to get your thing across (even if this match in particular is 5 minutes long). Lady C is a year into wrestling, Ruaka is a 17-year-old 5-year veteran, and the Future of Stardom Championship is at stake.
Ruaka’s mean girl act and long-legged Lady C’s Inoki and Giant Baba-inspired offense are appreciated if not totally plausible, then before this could really “go anywhere” it ended. Enter both pre-show gals for a championship challenge. **1/2
2. Goddess of Stardom Tag League – Red Goddess: Hanan & Rina vs. Saki Kashima & Fukigen Death★
Saki Kashima and Fukigen Death are in the Oedo Tai heel group, and so are one of their opponents. Rina teamed with her actual sister for the ongoing Tag League, and versus her stablemates the forgettable hijinks ensued. Rina and Fukigen beginning the match by flipping each other off was nice, otherwise just a nice quick bit of confusion. *1/2
3. 3-Way Battle: Maika vs. Saya Kamitani vs. Mina Shirakawa
Springboard crossbody caught in mid-air and turned into fallaway slam. Romero Special applied by two people at once. Springboard dropkick into crossbody so good it was used in introduction. The powers of these three flashy artistes did not take the 3-Way Battle to any new heights, but in between some slapstick that wasn’t very fun there were a lot of wrestling maneuvers that were. ***
4. Tag League Special: Himeka & Natsupoi vs. Mayu Iwatani & Koguma
The task at hand was 15 minute draw and they delivered using all of puroresu’s most reliable plays like the dropkick, German suplex, and crab hold. Iwatani was the all-star, always involved in some complex sequence of moves while showing big charisma.
There was a downright jaw-dropper of a spot where Himeka and Natsupoi setup a crossbody Doomsday Device, but Iwatani countered at the last scary millisecond with a rana on Himeka that sent Natsupoi crashing to the mat. What it lacked in an actual 3-count finish it made up for with plenty of action, big near falls, and Himeka’s absolute outrage at the conclusion. ***1/2
5. High Speed Title: Starlight Kid [c] vs. Momo Watanabe
Starlight Kid is both Stardom’s rising speedster and a dastardly heel, but opposite Momo Watanabe there wasn’t much time for the latter. This was like a painting or Some Thing, 12 minutes of counter after counter mixed with relentless (but flashy!) attempts to win the match before it broke down into a double countout caused by a pull-apart brawl that was either really well-done or legitimate uncooperation. ***1/4
7. Wonder of Stardom Title: Tam Nakano [c] vs. Unagi Sayaka
Unagi Sayaka has always been doing something or another since I began watching Stardom, which is of course when Stardom’s history began. She held the Future of Stardom Championship for a little this year, and if she wasn’t she was trying to. She brought a ball of happy energy to any match she was in too, which helped because some of them were not very good. Not outright stinkers, just usually in the middle of the card and a little lesser than.
Here she goes 20 minutes in a semi-main event with THE Tam Nakano, and in that pursuit emerges a real badass of a wrestler. She takes a beating — including some of the most pitch perfect standing spin kicks you will ever see — but even deep into the match she is kicking the shit out of the champ and smiling before throwing a gosh-dang headbutt. Her finisher is some kind of more dangerous-looking ShellShock, and before hitting that she did some kind of even more unforsaken version off the apron. It’s one of the many pandemic matches that could’ve used a more audible crowd, but this is still a heckuva match. ****
8. World of Stardom Title: Utami Hayashishita [c] vs. Hazuki
Hazuki retired two years ago, returned two months ago, and now she’s here in the main event. Even with The Backstory it’s a bit of a tough sell, and the finish wasn’t very suspenseful — an early boss fight in Hayashishita’s story, almost ten defenses in. Hazuki puts the work in, looking properly pissed off all match and delivering a decent run of offense (as well as a mind-bending Code Red counter of the Hijack Bomb). They just struggled to maintain a drama. Hayashishita has had a near impeccable title reign, and here was this very good match to ruin it. ***1/2
Happy Thoughts: Kawasaki Super Wars probably won’t go down as Stardom’s best PPV of the year, but even with pandemic restrictions they continue to deliver the most spirited wrestling shows from open to close. 3.0 / 5.0
Captain Lou’s Review: DDT D-Oh Grand Prix 2021 II – Day 3 (11/7/2021)
Tetsuya Endo vs. Naomi Yoshimura – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block A)
The house show camera for this third day of the D-Oh tournament is pitched somewhere between Kevin Dunn zoom abuse and experimental college film. You are right there in the middle of the action, but you are also slowly developing a brain tumor. Wild stuff. In spite of the cerebral hemorrhage, I was able to decode that Endo and Yoshimura were trying to have a leg work match of some sorts. It was allright, I think? Endo treated Yoshimura as an equal, which is a good sign for the Reggaeton Don. They put some thought in the layout, but not much of it really stuck with you. **3/4
MAO vs. Yuji Okabayashi – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block B)
Fun bit of wrestling between two guys who are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. Probably enraged by his OK BOOMER shirt, Okabayashi went out of his way to cut off all of MAO’s classic spots and it made for a pleasant dynamic. Very Strong BJ vs. Man who wears a rubber duck floater to the ring-type esthetic. It’s not like they went for a super dramatic David/Goliath approach, but the layout made enough sense to carry MAO’s comebacks and eventual downfall. Laughed my ass off when MAO took a bump off Big Yooj just screaming in his face. ***
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Chris Brookes – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block B)
These two had an epic Ode to Friendship Korakuen main event not too long ago. The stakes felt a lot lower here, but the wrestling wasn’t any less compelling. They took the on-again-off-again arm work subplot of that last match and built an entire arc around it. Conniving Chris Brookes lasering in on the bad arm to close the power level gap between him and Take, the KO-D champ selling like a true Arm Selling Expert to get the story across – all great shit.
The Take/Brookes chemistry goes beyond pleasing the limb selling dorks on Twitter though. Everything they do hits the sweet spot between smooth and hard-hitting, while always reminding you of each guy’s strength and HIERARCHICAL STATUS. I am ready to be canceled for this next line, so here it is: Takeshita is approaching Jumbo Tsuruta levels of Ace Portrayal Comprehension. The kid is something special. ***3/4
Captain Lou’s Review: DDT D-Oh Grand Prix 2021 II – Day 4 (11/10/2021)
Konosuke Takeshita vs. MAO – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block B)
In the same vein as their KO-D tournament match from earlier this year, with Big Ace Takeshita refusing to play along with MAO’s cutesy bullshit and forcing his fellow sauna enthusiast to get serious. The Duality of MAO was very much on display here, as I’d find myself groaning at his tropes and then would have to pick my jaw from off the floor over him doing a perfect Matrix dodge to avoid the Take flying lariat. His new headscissors obsession added some fresh twists and turns to their usual bombs-away ending stretch. Takeshita’s strength spots were as impressive as ever and MAO really put some mustard on those last few Osaka Rinkai Uppers. Very pleasant wrestling. ***1/2
Chris Brookes vs. Yuji Okabayashi – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block B)
More rock-solid three and a half star professional wrestling. Asymmetrical haircut expert Chris Brookes foolishly tried to start a chop fight with the Golem and it led to a tasty ass whooping. The always reliable Shinjuku FACE crowd and various ring-side characters were a big help in babyfacing the be-jeezus out of Brookes, who quickly became a sympathetic underdog in the face of chop-throwing adversity. They put together some really satisfying near-falls and counters in the back end of the match, both guys showing unexpectedly tight chemistry. Enjoyed all of this! ***1/2
Yuji Hino vs. The Bodyguard – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block A)
Considering how low my expectations were after the Bodyguard/Yoshimura disaster, I guess this overdelivered. They stuck to baseline meathead wrestling tropes and Hino was able to pull something very watchable out of good ol’ Bodyger. They milked their headlocks like a pair of 80’s WWF monsters, threw some chops and lariats, then called it a day. Bodyguard comically failing to sell the big Camel clutch struggle almost tanked the match, but they rebounded nicely with some juicy near-falls before the finish. ***
Yuki Ueno vs. Naomi Yoshimura – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block A)
NAUTILUS COLLIDES. This was the Naomi Yoshimura showcase that the big boy couldn’t have in his first match with Bodyguard and it kicked ass. They leaned into a gritty power vs. technique-type layout with both guys playing the familiarity card and beating the shit out of each other. Yoshimura aced his Size Advantage 101 college course and put it all to very good use here, making his former partner work for everything and cutting off all of his fancy lucha armdrags early on.
Ueno’s accidental bloody nose gave an extra edge to all the strike-trading and helped crank up the drama during the second half. I’m pretty sure they have an even better match in them, but this still gave us an enticing preview of what the future KO-D title scene might look like. ***1/2
Jun Akiyama vs. Tetsuya Endo – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block A)
These two had an absolute shredder of a KO-D title match back in February. While this wasn’t on the same level, it still snuck up on me and gradually turned into a pretty compelling wrasslin’ match. Akiyama is one of the select few who can make me care about a Babyface Endo match structure. So even if some of the early sections here felt a little bland, you could still do a lot worse than Uncle Jun beating the brakes off a pretty boy.
Thanks to Endo publicly bragging about his rollup-centric strategy to win the tournament, the drama reached a surprisingly high pitch when those cradles came flying in during the ending stretch. They ended up using that story perfectly to pull off the mother of all subversive finishes, confirming once again that Akiyama has the largest brain in wrestling. ***1/2
How I Met Your Puroresu: S1 E16
How I Met Your Puroresu is a series dedicated to providing background information on matches in hopes of broadening horizons. These matches will be no longer than that of a sitcom as to not overwhelm a first time viewer.
Company: Big Japan Pro-Wrestling
Show Title: Dainichi Black Company Hell October Series Final Round
Match: Takuya Nomura vs Daisuke Sekimoto
Stakes: BJW Strong World Heavyweight Championship
Length: 19 Minutes
Production Date: October 18, 2021
Air Date: October 24, 2021
Takuya Nomura – BJW Strong World Heavyweight Champion. While he’s only in his sixth year as a pro, in year three this was already a sentence everyone expected they’d someday read. Nomura started his third year by making his first appearance in the Ikkitousen Strong Climb Tournament and although he finished with a record of 1-4, he caught the eye of the champion.
As one of his prominent trainers, Hideki Suzuki is the man Nomura models himself after. A Billy Robinson trainee, Hideki employs the catch-as-catch-can technical wrestling style. Nomura received his first opportunity at the BJW Strong World Championship by challenging Hideki on June 20, 2018 and although he was defeated in just over ten minutes, the match checked all the boxes to peg Nomura as the next guy.
From that moment on, Nomura very rarely came up short in singles performances. His major blemish was a loss to Daichi Hashimoto in a tournament to decide the next challenger for the title. Nomura would have to wait another three months before he’d earn that opportunity, facing Yuji Okabayashi on July 21, 2019 and while he was unable to defeat the champion, it took Okabayashi twice as long as it took Hideki to defeat Nomura in just one year’s time.
The next challenge would happen just seven months later when Nomura faced a generational rival in Daichi Hashimoto. Nomura came into the match with an 0-6 record against the champion and although he was once again faced with defeat, he pushed Daichi longer than he ever had before. After this match, Nomura had the biggest layover between title challenges. There would be a seventeen month wait before his next shot but in that time there was continued growth.
Shifting his focus to the tag team division, Nomura scored the biggest win of his career on August 10, 2020 by pinning Daisuke Sekimoto to capture the BJW Tag Team Championship. The face of Big Japan’s Strong division had been bested by the youngster pegged to be the next guy.
Daisuke Sekimoto is the name in front of everyone’s mind when Big Japan comes into the conversation. The man with the most reigns, defenses and days as the BJW Strong World Heavyweight Champion while also having all those accolades as the BJW Tag Team Champion. He is at the forefront of Big Japan Strong division and he was pinned by Takuya Nomura.
Nomura got back into the groove of singles matches in June of this year when he started training with the likes of shoot style legend Kazuo Yamazaki. He’d go on to pick up his first win over Daichi by knocking him out at Korakuen Hall in just over six minutes. He continued his roll by making an appearance in GLEAT where he defeated Yu Iizuka in a UWF Rules match. Next, Nomura would make his challenge for the title, this time against Yasufumi Nakanoue.
After winning the title for the first time in early January, Nakanoue was flooded with a barrage of first time challengers looking to prove themselves. Kazumi Kikuta, Yuya Aoki and Fuminori Abe all took their shot but all came up short. This wasn’t Nomura’s first rodeo. Now in his fourth challenge, he was determined to not face defeat yet again. He achieved progress in the form of a 30-minute time limit draw and received a rematch two months later where he was able to defeat Nakanoue and finally become the BJW Strong World Heavyweight Champion.
Who would be the first in line to challenge Nomura? None other than Daisuke Sekimoto. Nomura claimed his first BJW Tag Team Championship off Sekimoto a year prior, now Sekimoto is looking to cut Nomura short and begin his fifth reign as BJW Strong World Heavyweight Champion. A tag team win over the face is one thing but Nomura’s singles record against Sekimoto sits at 0-3 so even with the wins and title, there’s still plenty for this six year pro, Takuya Nomura, to prove.
Introducing Everybody And Nobody: Hey, It’s WWE TV (11/7 – 11/13/21)
What even goes on here anymore?
WWE is headed towards the 36th-annual Survivor Series, a tradition that in my younger years felt important. On the way there, Big E had a good match with Chad Gable and Roman Reigns did the same with Xavier Woods. There was also an edition of Tribute to the Troops aired over the weekend that felt so inconsequential I can’t in good faith include it anywhere else below.
WWE TV Recap (11/7/21 – 11/13/21)
Highlights:
Big E vs. Chad Gable (RAW 11/8/21)
Fatal 5-Way Match – Winner Earns a RAW Women’s Title Shot: Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan vs. Queen Zelina vs. Carmella (RAW 11/8/21)
Sarray vs. Kay Lee Ray (NXT 11/9/21)
Pete Dunne vs. Carmelo Hayes (NXT 11/9/21)
Mark Andrews vs. Nathan Frazer (NXT UK 11/11/21)
Sami Zayn practices his Survivor Series speech (SmackDown 11/12/21)
King Woods vs. Roman Reigns (SmackDown 11/12/21)
Stuff Happening: Survivor Series, #1 Contender Liv Morgan, NXT 2.0, #1 Contenders Moustache Mountain, Aliyah Wins and Shanky Raps, The Bloodline vs. The New Day
Good Work: Big E, Bobby Lashley, Chad Gable, Kevin Owens, Andre Chase, Mandy Rose, Carmelo Hayes, Nathan Frazer, Sami Zayn, King Woods
RAW (11/8/21)
Big E and Becky Lynch maintain RAW now, two wrestlers both popular with fans and not entirely repetitive — yet. Yet.
Big E vs. Chad Gable And His Master’s Degree rocked, with Big E a very giving champion taking a belly-to-belly and German suplex and treating Gable’s leg work like it was dangerous. Best match with a WWE Champ in the middle of RAW in a while.
The Fatal 5-Way for a shot at Becky Lynch kind of rocked too, even if Liv Morgan deserved a more interesting path to a title shot and Bianca Belair is moving onto the Doudrop.
The 24/7 Championship switched a few times, and Team RAW for Survivor Series probably will too. Adam Pearce (now bad) kicked Rey Mysterio‘s son off of Survivor Series by way of bad guy Bobby Lashley, all while Austin Theory took more selfies. This is a heel territory.
There was also an 8-man tag team division tag team match: RK-Bro & Street Profits vs. AJ, Omos & The Dirty Dawgs.
The Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins main event was a very OK Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins match. You can always tell when a guy is on his way out when they start to actually utilize him.
Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
NXT (11/9/21)
There’s introducing characters and then there’s just more off-putting weirdo wrestling.
Facepaint Boa beat Joe Gacy and used magic, Young Uso Solo Sikoa got showcased in a Triple Threat, Andre Chase continued to nail promos, Duke Hudson and Cameron Grimes agreed to a Poker game, Tony D’Angelo gave Indi Hartwell a dead fish, and Xyon Quinn danced with Elektra Lopez. NXT 2.0 is either still finding its’ voice or there are way too many voices.
The Creed Brothers vs. Jacket Time was fun (with the exception of the name), MSK got another vignette, and Imperium bullied full-on dorknerd Kyle O’Reilly too.
The women’s division is in possession of Toxic Attraction now, feuding with four or five different people who are also kind of feuding with each other. It’s like JCP in 1986 but not.
Kay Lee Ray vs. Sarray was pretty fun, as was the Pete Dunne vs. Carmelo Hayes main event. Nice throwbacks to The Game’s NXT.
Rating: 2.0 / 5.0
MAIN EVENT (11/10/21)
Austin Theory vs. Akira Tozawa was kind of a drag, even if Theory sort of got himself over.
John Morrison vs. Shelton Benjamin was also here on Main Event.
Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
NXT UK (11/11/21)
There’s some weeks of NXT UK where it seems like only a few of the lads will make it. Sam Gradwell, Nathan Frazer, Noam Dar, and very possibly every woman on the roster probably make it, but everyone else feels in need of re-invention if there is to ever be a serious WWE run.
Nathan Frazer vs. Mark Andrews was a very fun exchange of high-flying between an up-and-comer and guy that feels on his way down but is only twenty-nine years old.
Sam Gradwell says: Thunderstorms don’t make plans, they change plans.
Other than Dani Luna over Stevie Turner and a lot of “Earlier This Week” setups, the main event was a Fatal 4-Way #1 Contender NXT UK Tag Team Title match – bit of a mouthful. It wasn’t much more than the last Fatal 4-Way #1 Contender Match, but Moustache Mountain and Dave Mastiff and some other fellas nailed the landing of a show that opened and closed pretty strong.
Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
SMACKDOWN (11/12/21)
Despite a quality main event, this felt like a bad version of a SmackDown 2.0. Nearly every segment had a new character developed, but the tone was more upsetting than anything.
Team SmackDown at Survivor Series got introduced with a Sasha Banks/Naomi/Aliyah vs. Shotzi/Shayna Baszler/Natalya match that Aliyah actually won, only to be immediately removed from Team SmackDown. It’s sports and entertainment, you see?
Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo completed their inevitable transformation into easy stereotype that makes sense to McMahon: say hello to Los Lotharios, who defeated Rick Boogs and the Intercontinental Champion.
Ricochet and Mustafa Ali consoled Aliyah, Von Wagner was introduced as Adam Pearce‘s bodyguard, and Toni Storm challenged Charlotte Flair.
Also Sami Zayn talked his way into losing his Survivor Series spot to Jeff Hardy. Great promo prior.
Roman Reigns vs. King Woods was a reminder that wrestling can be good sometimes, with Reigns nearly as giving to Woods as Big E was to Gable on RAW. Woods’ superkick near falls and setup for the elbow drop at the end were especially choice.
Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
205 LIVE (11/12/21)
It’s about gimmicks.
Andre Chase working in a sweater vs. Malik Blade – good gimmick.
Indi Hartwell all smug with her wedding ring flanked by her friend Persia who is raising her hands like she did something – good gimmick.
Roderick Strong backed up by 27 people in Diamond Mine to beat the debuting Draco Anthony with a jumping knee – good gimmick.
Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
**1/2 / ***** [-]
AEW Full Gear 2021 (11/13/21): AEW Is Good At PPV Now, Most Of The Time
Two years ago when AEW announced one of their annual pay-per-views would be called “Full Gear,” I was skeptical. Pro wrestling is already a tough sell, now this new company that might be cool and good is naming shows “Full Gear?” The audacity.
Kenny Omega vs. “Hangman” Adam Page opened up the second edition, and for the third AEW visited AWA Country for Full Gear 2021 with a Year 3 product that is mature enough to power forward with not just the show title, but tributes to the AWA and bloody brawls and show graphics with clocks built into the wrestler’s eyes and faces.
Welcome to the Target Center. We still miss Eddie Guerrero.
0. Thunder Rosa & Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose & Jamie Hayter w/ Vickie Guerrero
Just one of those matches. Shida took heat, they stuck to formula, and Nyla Rose did the frog splash. Thunder Rosa continues to command more of a presence than 99% of wrestling, and the dropkick she does during the hot tag is stupendous. **1/2
1. Darby Allin vs. MJF
On mechanics alone, this match is good: crisp and confident delivery, a few threads to follow, a few peaks rooted in feats of mind-altering human athleticism and possibility. Everything from the early body part work to later near falls was delivered with all the extra physicality or punctuation the opener of a big wrestling card could want, with Darby’s tope suicida and MJF’s Code Red powerbomb counter especially… special.
It was made even better by some things that aren’t necessarily bell-to-bell, though they almost always help — the tone-setting brought by MJF’s robe and cock walk followed by Darby’s black-and-white avant-garde intro video, the general space AEW has carved out that even allows for these two young fellows the breathing room to shine in a serious wrestling match opener — these are the things that make the wrestling move. Besides that though, plenty of great wrestling. ***3/4
2. AEW World Tag Team Title: The Lucha Bros [c] w/ Alex Abrahantes vs. FTR w/ Tully Blanchard
Lots to enjoy here, including good old-fashioned FTR tag shtick and the living legend that is Rey Fénix eventually letting loose. There were Eddie G tributes and a monkey flip cannonball senton, but it mostly just felt like a bunch of fun ideas that didn’t weave together and that’s fine until the match is running 20 whole minutes. Good. Fun. ***1/4
3. AEW World Title Eliminator – Final: Bryan Danielson vs. Miro
This is a rough-and-tumble down-to-earth battle of two of wrestling’s great salesmen, a basic moveset of suplexes, strikes and submissions treated seriously and utilized wisely. It ends out of nowhere but sort of realistically, which was at least consistent with the tone of a match where a man gouged another’s eyes to escape a triangle chokehold.
Danielson spends a lot of this just getting his ass kicked, and seeing his attention to detail as he emoted everything from uncertainty to agonizing discomfort makes this extra fun. He takes a suplex on the floor in the first few minutes and milks it like Misawa: took time, sold pain, wondered both how this effected the the immediate gameplan but also concepts like his comeback, career, family, life, philosophy, art, culture, maybe consciousness itself.
Still though, I guess I’m just wondering: why couldn’t this version of Bryan Danielson vs. this version of Miro be the Greatest Match of All Time instead of merely something Pretty Great that ranks probably in the middle of his Pro Wrestling Return tour? Just asking questions. Miro stonewalling Danielson’s kicks and looking like a psycho with that perfect beard trim was incredible. ***1/2
4. Falls Count Anywhere: Christian Cage, Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus vs. Adam Cole & The Young Bucks
For the fourth match on the show, here are The Young Bucks with their beard scruff dyed pink and Luchasaurus wearing dinosaur blue jeans. This wacky match probably wouldn’t have been any better or worse if neither existed, but both were pretty great pro wrestling choices.
The rest? Mixed bag. Among a few stretches of dead space and sequences that could’ve been dialed back some (or completely), they put on a show and over anything proved that balancing a blue jeans street fight with pink tights spotfest is a challenging gig. It closed with a very silly but Ultimately Fun and Actually Effective finish that focused on the real star: Jungle Boy. Adam Cole was game for those ladder bumps too. ***1/4
5. Cody Rhodes & PAC w/ Arn Anderson vs. Andrade el Idolo & Malakai Black
Here is where the show took a little descent, not because of a long wrestling show’s tendency to settle its’ live audience down but because Cody Rhodes and three former NXT Champions wrestled each other for 16 goddamn minutes.
Partners with problems, managers interfering, and wrestling that felt whatever the opposite of urgent was — all of these guys are ordinarily pretty compelling, but paired with each other it was like they all had a flashback to their crippling stifling midcard purgatory and it briefly pumped the brakes on the Full Gears. **1/4
6. AEW Women’s World Title: Dr. Britt Baker [c] w/ Jamie Hayter and Rebel vs. Tay Conti
Big fan of both but carrying 15 minutes of a championship wrestling match in the middle of this card after that tag match just isn’t a core competency. There were a few moments of bliss like Conti smashing the Doctor’s hand to escape Lockjaw, but by the time they were countering holds at the end it felt more like a box they had to tick rather than attempt to win the match. Counterpoint: Tay Conti did a piledriver. **1/2
7. CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston
CM Punk had some real moments in WWE but when he said his time between Ring of Honor and now was a break from professional wrestling, this is definitely what he meant. Plenty on this show went a little too long; this left everybody wanting more. Or not more. If they never wrestle again that’s fine too because we will always have this match. That’s how good it was.
Two unabashed wrestling nerds and true students of the game (lower case) actually went and became superstar pro wrestlers, hopefully in a position to influence more of gesturing around this happening in wrestling: selling, swearing, shit-eating grinning. Seriousness. Seriousness!
It’s a no frills bloody wrestling match that was violent in tone but fun as hell because as CM Punk and Eddie Kingston punched and bled and tried to just wrestle each other to the mat, hordes of dedicated yet deprived hardcore pro wrestling nerds got to see two of wrestling’s all-time great wrestling personalities, two of Their Own, somehow end up in the same big place and throw down. That’s next level.
It could be the best match on mass market American wrestling TV since the 80s ended, but let me think about it. There are just some guys that are real pro wrestlers. I think it’s a charisma thing. And a confidence thing. Probably a lot of other other things I’m clueless about. Or maybe it’s simpler; maybe Jim Ross said it best. What a goddamn fist fight. *****
8. Minneapolis Street Fight: The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana & Ortiz) vs. Men of the Year (Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky) and American Top Team (Junior dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski & Dan Lambert)
In the span of half an hour, JR went from the fist fight line to saying “not the damn bunt cake.” This was a weaker freak show than Falls Count Anywhere and way worse Fight than Punk/Kingston, two marks against what was already unpleasant.
Dan Lambert commits so hard to the 80s manager shtick that it really does take you back in time, but that fun thing was a small part of this messy 10-man tag with MMA vets and TLC spots. That might sound fun in writing (and moments of fun were had!), but there was too much going on for anyone to accomplish anything. JDS the Wrestler is fun, JDS the Wrestler also gets shouted at by Jericho twice to punch him. **1/2
9. AEW World Heavyweight Title: Kenny Omega [c] vs. Hangman Page
Kenny and Adam work a certain sort of action-packed match, even if one is working through injury and even with an example of a much cooler approach a match back in CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston. Alas: AEW absolutely had to do one thing on this night, and they did that thing.
Kenny bumped for Hangman’s early run like an all-timer wrestling heel champion, then they delivered the trademark Best Bout Machine insanity within what was a pretty delightfully basic babyface match: heat-heat-heat-BOOM! heat-heat-heat-BOOM!
We can talk about the casual Tiger Driver ’98 near fall after Cody used it as a death move a couple weeks ago on Dynamite later, but the inception of All Elite Wrestling’s whole arc sent this Hero on a Journey and — in a twist — the wrestling company actually stuck the landing. ****1/4
Happy Thoughts: They could’ve trimmed some match times or maybe matches — maybe a few names from the 10-man tag — but overall AEW is getting very good at delivering PPVs that conclude a season of stories in satisfying ways and setup enough things to establish momentum for the few months before the next one. Also CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston was on this show. 4.5 / 5.0
Captain Lou’s Review: DDT D-Oh Grand Prix 2021 II – Day 5 (11/13/2021)
HARASHIMA vs. MAO – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block B)
There’s a spot in this match where MAO throws the ‘’Look over there’’ straight punch – one of the signatures he’s been using throughout the tournament. Instead of just taking it, HARASHIMA is so incensed by this bullshit that he immediately slaps the lights out of poor MAO and starts booting his head right off.
This is why HARASHIMA rules. At 47, his glory days are behind him, but he still wrestles like the Ace. The match had a lot of similarly satisfying moments – from the shoot-flavored matwork opening to MAO bringing his headscissors counter game to new levels. A thinking man’s wrasslin’ match that looked all kinds of beautiful against the KBS Hall back drop. ***1/4
Kazusada Higuchi vs. Chris Brookes – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block B)
Brookes working these chest-pounding slug-fests has been kind of a revelation. He did a great job getting his ass kicked by Okabayashi and looked even better here – stepping up and having a meathead mash with the meatiest head in DDT. Loved the way they laid this baby out, with Brookes initially attempting to take out the Goocher’s chopping hand before gradually manning up and throwing some blows of his own.
Needless to say, Higuchi is a true expert of the Slug Festival and his commitment to the Art of Beef proved to be a great asset here. The man will sell, mug and show frightening indignation if you try to shoot headbutt him. They also put the best kind of finish together, the kind that wraps up all plot threads at once and makes it look effortless. Many thumbs up. ***3/4
Tetsuya Endo vs. The Bodyguard – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block A)
Extremely dry but somewhat competent wrestling? They went all in with the Bodyguard template layout of basic hoss shtick and rest holds, Endo fighting from underneath and picking his spots. As jarring as it was to see the young boys cheering for Babyface Endo at ring-side, it actually ended up making him a lot more likable. Shoutout to Bodyger’s sweet axe kick fakeout THING. This man’s body is prepared for hand-to-hand combat. **3/4
Jun Akiyama vs. Naomi Yoshimura – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block A)
A rock-solid Jun Akiyama learning experience for the Reggaeton Don Naomi Yoshimura. Uncle Jun was in a generous mood here, letting the youngster have most of the match in hopes he would figure out the mysteries of the Control Segment. A bit of a double-edge sword, as Yoshimura isn’t 100% there yet, but damn if Akiyama didn’t try his best to bring some real nastiness out of him. Despite a slight lack of killer instinct from Naomi, the mechanics were on point and so were those late-match near-falls. ***1/4
Yuki Ueno vs. Yuji Hino – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block A)
Pretty much the match you wanted these guys to have. A textbook Big Man Wrestles Small Man-type journey, one of wrestling’s greatest subgenres when it’s done by people who know what they’re doing. Hino always makes his opponent work for every scrap of offense and he seemed particularly intent on making Ueno suffer here. As seen by the marks left on his chest, the smiley babyface was literally torn to shreds.
There was a great bit where Ueno got chopped so much that he became borderline delirious, cackling at the ridiculous amount of pain and then nearly passing out the next second. Give this young man an Oscar already. They stayed true to their story all the way to the end and even found a clever way to protect Hino’s monster aura in defeat, turning the WR into an insta-shock-finish of pure delight. Loved all of this wrestling. ***3/4
Survivor Series Is Sunday And Ugghhh: Hey, It's WWE TV (11/14 - 11/20/21)
Over a month after the WWE Draft, RAW and SmackDown’s rosters still haven’t found a groove or even moved much at all. If you ever did wonder though what it would feel like if the NBA All-Star Game was uncomfortably placed a few weeks into the season: Survivor Series is this Sunday on Peacock.
RAW this week ended with Survivor Series’ Sudden Authority Figure Adam Pearce removing Rey Mysterio from the show and replacing him with with RAW’s freshest douchebag, Austin Theory. Who is The Hero anymore? Is it Big E? Roman Reigns? Is it simply The Stock?
WWE TV Recap (11/14 – 11/20/21)
Highlights:
Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens (RAW 11/15/21)
Poker Showdown: Cameron Grimes vs. Duke Hudson (NXT 11/16/21)
Winner Joins Team SmackDown at Survivor Series: Cesaro vs. Sheamus vs. Ricochet vs. Jinder Mahal (SmackDown 11/19/21)
Sasha Banks vs. Shotzi (SmackDown 11/19/21)
Stuff Happening: The Long Slog to Survivor Series, Big E/Roman Reigns, Poker and WarGames on NXT, More Goddamn Releases — Like, Really, Seriously, Why Does It Have To Be So Public and Sudden and Strange and Shitty?
Good Work: Hit Row, Big E, Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley, Jacket Time, Sam Gradwell, Xavier Woods, Ricochet, Malik Blade
RAW (11/15/21)
The Kevin Owens/Finn Balor match this week was pretty good. Same with the Rey Mysterio/Bobby Lashley main event, until it came to a Scrap Iron screeching halt.
RAW began with Kevin Owens interrupting Big E, who was attacked by The Usos until Riddle made the save to setup an Usos vs. Riddle & Big E tag match with Seth Rollins on commentary that became a 6-man tag match with Rollins and Randy Orton. Did I get all that right??
RAW’s disheveled tag divisions were on hand too: a pair of forgettable Nikki ASH/Zelina Vega and Rhea RipleyCarmella singles matches carried one; RK-Bro and a pair of forgettable tag matches the other.
En route to a match with Charlotte Flair at Survivor Series best described right now as ominous, Becky Lynch is also gearing up for a challenge from Liv Morgan. Bianca Belair? Moving onto Doudrop.
Rating: 1.5 / 5.0
NXT (11/16/21)
Hey, look! It’s a TV show with an identity crisis.-
This week’s edition of NXT included broad mobster vs. serial killer, a 2-on 1 Handicap Match, and a sketch with MSK at airport security. Xyon Quinn was attacked for being in lust and The Grizzled Young Veterans lied to their nan over FaceTime.
Kyle O’Reilly and Von Wagner lost to Briggs & Jensen too, maybe? Even if they didn’t, it feels like they did.
Did I mention the Poker Game? The second hour began with Duke Hudson and Cameron Grimes in the ring playing poker. It was actually pretty fun. Or at least it stood out as fun among all the other strange or gloomy things going on.
Jacket Time! Jacket Time.
The Raquel Gonzalez vs. Dakota Kai main event was the kind of match you end up having when your labor should have been better utilized a year ago. The wrestling was acceptable, the investment was low, and it was ultimately just a way to get to a brawl with eight people (one on crutches) anyways.
In perhaps the night’s most surprising decision, the show both opened and closed with setups for two NXT throwbacks: a Triple Threat Title Match and — yep, you guessed it — WarGames. Waaaar Gaaames!
Rating: 2.0 / 5.0
MAIN EVENT (11/17/21)
Sometimes I think about how Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin kind of reunited with Bob Lashley in the Hurt Business only to get beat up by Goldberg a week later, and now they’re not really in Hurt Business again even though Cedric yelled “Hurt Business!” as they teamed together on Main Event on Hulu and in select International Markets.
They beat Apollo Crews & Commander Azeez in a match with a botched finish.
Veer Mahaan beat John Morrison too in what ended up Morrison’s last match playing for McMahon.
Rating: 2.0 / 5.0
NXT UK (11/18/21)
Flash Morgan Webster wrestled Rampage Brown and now he has to get surgery, but that doesn’t scare the NXT UK Champion Ilja Dragunov.
A-Kid is fun in the ring and Sam Gradwell fun on the mic, and that is all I can tell you about their 10-minute match.
Aleah James beat Nina Samuels then got attacked backstage by Isla Dawn, who stole Aleah’s scrunchie that looked a little like her underwear. Anybody else? Is it just me? Am I the problem?
I watched Kenny Williams vs. Saxon Huxley 15 seconds after I read that all of Hit Row were released.
Gallus Boys Mark Coffey & Wolfgang got beat by Teoman & Rohan Raja thanks to an assist from Charlie Dempsey (Regal’s boy) to close the show. Serious. This was the main event of the show and after it was over, the show ended.
Rating: 1.5 / 5.0
SMACKDOWN (11/19/21)
Roman Reigns has King Woods’ crown now, so I guess you could say that Roman—
Ricochet hitting a 450 splash on Jinder Mahal then rolling through right into a Brouge kick to the face was good content. Ridge Holland helped Sheamus win a spot on Team SmackDown at Survivor Series in a fun Fatal 4-Way Match that had a lot of silly spots like that.
I fucking hate Madcap Moss.
Jeff Hardy vs. Moss, Naomi/Aliyah vs. Natalya/Shayna Baszler, and Shinsuke (formerly King) Nakamura vs. Angel (formerly) Garza were three 60-second matches that still felt like they were killing time.
Sasha Banks vs. Shotzi was pretty good, even if Shotzi‘s whole thing is struggling to translate on SmackDown. Even a TV-ready appearance will fall victim to a puzzling introduction and, like, SmackDown.
Xia Li (coming soon) seems cool.
Roman Reigns and (formerly) King Woods (with new non-New Day music) closed the show for the second week in a row, last week in a wrestling match and here to setup WWE Champion Big E backing up his buddy to the crowd’s great delight. WWE’s approach felt shockingly restrained in how they avoided Reigns and E being in the same building or even mentioning each other prior to Survivor Series, so here they were a few days before the show physically assaulting each other for a little while. Oh, you.
Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
205 LIVE (11/19/21)
The wrestler is new but the wrestling is unchanged. Then. Now. Forever.
205 Live resident Malik Blade opened the show against the debuting Edris Enofe, who’s entrance cape read “Epitome of Excellence.” The example or the digest? It was as solid a debut as any on these shows no one asked for, though ring work is at best a foot in the door.
The also debuting Tiffany Stratton beat Amari Miller. Quickly. Xia Brookside is introducing a spoiled daddy’s girl gimmick in backstage segments on NXT UK, while Tiffany and NXT 2.0 are going with an approach that’s a little more overt.
Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter just love going to music festivals and being cool as heck and winning matches on 205 Live. Their opponents Valentina Feroz & Yulisa Leon have appeared solid enough in their couple appearances if not a little hesitant, but it seems pretty tough to improve in this pink-and-purple place.
Rating: 2.0 / 5.0