# The 2014 MOTYC Thread



## Platt

2013 MOTYC Thread
2012 MOTYC Thread
2011 MOTYC Thread
2010 MOTYC Thread
2009 MOTYC Thread
2008 MOTYC Thread

And, ladies and gentlemen, that's a wrap.


Puro:
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 12 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Tetsuya Naito (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
Okada, Nakamura, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanahashi, Goto, Naito & Captain NJ (NJPW 05/01)|| YES = 1 ||
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Masato Yoshino (DG Infinity #324) || YES = 5 ||
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara (NOAH 19/01) || YES = 1 ||
Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW 02/02) || YES = 4 ||
Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (Dragon Gate 12/01) || YES = 5 ||
Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki (AJPW 05/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 16 ||*
The Young Bucks Vs Time Splitters (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
*Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 13 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Hirooki Goto (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 8 ||
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata Vs Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 2 ||
Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Shigehiro Irie Vs HARASHIMA (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada Vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW 42nd Anniversary) || YES = 3 ||
Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa Vs Shinya Ishikawa & Shinobu (BJW 02/03) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet Vs Uhaa Nation (Dragon Gate 06/03) || YES = 2 ||
Taiji Ishimori Vs Daisuke Harada (NOAH Great Voyage 08/03) || YES = 4 ||
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW New Japan Cup 15/03) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato (BJW 26/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 12 ||*
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 4 ||
Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki Vs Suwama & Hikaru Sato (AJPW 18/03) || YES = 1 ||
Flamita Vs Jimmy Susumu (Dragon Gate: Dead or Alive) || YES = 3 ||
Twin Towers Vs Wild Network (BJW Endless Survivor) || YES = 1 ||
Kota Ibushi Vs Tomohiro Ishii (25/05 NJPW) || YES = 5 ||
KAI Vs Manabu Soya (04/05 Wrestle-1) || YES = 1 ||
Alex Shelley Vs Ryusuke Taguchi (03/06 NJPW) || YES = 1 ||
KUSHIDA Vs Jushin Liger (06/06 NJPW) || YES = 5 ||
Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Daichi Hashimoto - BJW 07.02.2014 || YES = 1 ||
CHAOS vs Bullet Club (08/06 NJPW) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet vs KUSHIDA (08/06 NJPW) || YES = 7 ||
Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma || YES = 1 ||
Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazuki Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura (01/06 BJW) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW Dominion) || YES = 4 ||
Time Splitters vs The Young Bucks (NJPW Dominion) || YES = 6 ||
King Ace vs Bullet Club (NJPW Dominion) || YES = 1 ||
Takao Omori vs Jun Akiyama (15/06 AJPW) || YES = 2 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Yujiro Takahashi (NJPW Kizuna Road) || YES = 2 ||
Yuji Nagata vs Naomichi Marufuji (05/07 NOAH) || YES = 3 ||
Tetsuya Naito & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto (NJPW Kizuna Road) || YES = 1 ||
Monster Express vs The Millenials (Dragon Gate Kobe World) || YES = 3 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma (NJPW Dontaku) || YES = 1 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma (NJPW G1 Day 4) || YES = 5 ||
AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito (NJPW G1 Day 4) || YES = 4 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 4) || YES = 2 ||
*AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki (NJPW G1 Day 7) || YES = 24 ||*
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW G1 Day 7) || YES = 3 ||
Yuji Nagata vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 7) || YES = 1 ||
Tomoaki Honma vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 8) || YES = 9 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW G1 Day 8) || YES = 3 ||
AJ Styles vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Day 1) || YES = 4 ||
Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Day 11) || YES = 5 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Yuji Nagata (NJPW G1 Day 11) || YES = 2 ||
Minoru Suzuki vs Togi Makabe (NJPW G1 Day 8) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW G1 Day 12) || YES = 9 ||
AJ Styles vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW G1 Day 12) || YES = 3 ||
Time Splitters vs ReDRagon (NJPW G1 Day 12) || YES = 2 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 10) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto (NJPW G1 Day 9) || YES = 1 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Konosuke Takeshita (DDT 17/08) || YES = 1 ||	
KUSHIDA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW Destruction in Kobe) || YES = 2 ||	
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Destruction in Kobe) || YES = 2 ||
Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs Tetsuya Endo & Kenosuke Takeshita (DDT 28/09) || YES = 3 ||
Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito (NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling) || YES = 1 ||
Daisuke Harada vs Zack Sabre Jr. (NOAH 4/11) || YES = 2 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Hirooki Goto (NJPW Power Struggle) || YES = 6 ||
Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Hideyoshi Kamitani (BJW 31/10) || YES = 2 ||
Naomichi Marufuji vs Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH 21/7) || YES = 1 ||
Katsuyori Shibata vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW Power Struggle) || YES = 1 ||
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Shinobu (BJW 30/6) || YES = 1 ||
Shuji Ishikawa Vs Daisuke Sekimoto (BJW 26/7) || YES = 1 ||
CIMA & Gamma Vs T-Hawk & Eita (DRAGON GATE INFINITY #349 ) || YES = 1 ||
Jun Akiyama Vs Kento Miyahara (AJPW 15/9) || YES = 1 ||
Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii Vs Kotaro Suzuki & Kento Miyahara (AJPW 16/8) || YES = 1 ||
Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori Vs Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara (AJPW 06/12) || YES = 1 ||






US/Europe Indy:
Trent Barretta Vs Anthony Nese (Evolve 25) || YES = 1 ||
Sigmon Vs Vordell Walker (TCW 14-01) || YES = 1 ||
Johnny Gargano Vs Uhaa Nation (Evolve 27) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Roderick Strong (RoH 01/02) || YES = 1 || 
AR Fox Vs Chris Hero (Evolve 23/02) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs JT Dunn (Beyond Wrestling Critical Acclaim) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs Masato Tanaka (DG:USA Open The Ultimate Gate) || YES = 2 ||
Ricochet Vs Johnny Gargano (DG:USA Open The Ultimate Gate) || YES = 3 ||
Caleb Konley Vs Cedric Alexander (PWX Rise of a Champion IX) || YES = 2 ||
Biff Busick Vs Drew Gulak (CZW To Infinity) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Chris Hero (RoH 22/03) || YES = 1 ||
Young Bucks Vs ReDragon (ROH War of the Worlds) || YES = 6 || 
Trevor Lee vs Cedric Alexander vs Andrew Everett (PWG Mystery Vortex II) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs JT Dunn (Beyond Wrestling Uncomfortable) || YES = 1 ||
Timothy Thatcher Vs Biff Busick (Beyond Wrestling 13/04) || YES = 3 ||
Prince Devitt vs Zack Sabre Jr (Progress Chapter 13) || YES = 1 ||
Adam Cole vs Prince Devitt (Revolution Pro Summersizzler) || YES = 1 ||
Adam Cole vs Kevin Steen (RoH Global Wars) || YES = 1 ||
ACH vs Ricochet (PWG Sold Our Soul For Rock & Roll) || YES = 2 ||
Cedric Alexander, Johnny Gargano and Trevor Lee vs Mount Rushmore (PWG Sold Our Soul For Rock & Roll) || YES = 1 ||
Drew Gulak vs Biff Busick (CZW 27/04/2014) || YES = 1 ||
World's Cutest Tag Team vs The Young Bucks (PWG Eleven) || YES = 2 ||
AJ Styles vs Adam Cole (RoH All Star Extravaganza 6) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles vs Kyle O'Reilly (RoH Death Before Dishonor XXI) || YES = 2 ||
The Young Bucks vs The Briscoe Brothers (RoH Death Before Dishonor XXI) || YES = 1 ||
The Wolves vs Team 3D vs The Hardyz (TNA No Surrender) || YES = 1 ||
The Young Bucks vs ReDRagon (RoH All Star Extravaganza 6) || YES = 1 ||
Michael Elgin vs Tommaso Ciampa (RoH Death Before Dishonor XXI) || YES = 1 ||
Zack Sabre Jr vs Jonathan Gresham (WXW 16 Carat Gold Night 1) || YES = 1 ||
Mount Rushmore vs Low Moral Fiber (PWG BoLA Night 1) || YES = 2 ||
Adam Cole vs Zack Sabre Jr. (PWG BoLA Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
ACH vs Kenny Omega (PWG BoLA Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. (PWG BoLA Night 3) || YES = 1 ||
Biff Busick, Drew Gulak, Bobby Fish, Cedric Alexander & Tommaso Ciampa vs. Chris Hero, Chuckie T, Willie Mack, Rich Swann & Joey Ryan (PWG BoLA Night 3) || YES = 1 ||
Timothy Thatcher vs Biff Busick (EVOLVE 32) || YES = 2 ||
Zack Sabre Jr vs Timothy Thatcher (Evolve 34) || YES = 2 ||
The Young Bucks & ACH Vs The Addiction & Cedric Alexander (RoH Final Battle) || YES = 1 ||
Jay Briscoe Vs Adam Cole (RoH Final Battle) || YES = 2 ||
Dasher Hatfield, Ashley Remington, El Hijo del Ice Cream & Scott Parker Vs Mr. Touchdown, Archibald Peck, Ice Cream Jr. & Shane Matthews(Chikara Moonraker) || YES = 1 ||




WWE:
*Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (Royal Rumble) || YES = 29 ||*
Daniel Bryan Vs Randy Orton (Raw 03/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Cesaro Vs John Cena (Raw 17/02) || YES = 21 ||*
*The Wyatts Vs The Shield (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 31 ||*
Elimination Chamber Match (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 4 ||
*Sami Zayn Vs Cesaro (NXT ArRIVAL) || YES = 29 ||*
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Raw 03/03/2014) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs HHH (Wrestlemania) || YES = 9 ||
John Cena Vs Bray Wyatt (Wrestlemania) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs Batista Vs Randy Orton (Wrestlemania) || YES = 5 || 
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Main Event 08/04/2014) || YES = 3 ||
The Shield Vs Evolution (Extreme Rules) || YES = 7 ||
Tyler Breeze Vs Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover) || YES = 2 ||
Charlotte Vs Natalya (NXT Takeover) || YES = 5 ||
Adrian Neville Vs Tyson Kidd (NXT Takeover) || YES = 3 ||
The Shield Vs Evolution (Payback) || YES = 2 ||
Cesaro Vs Sheamus (Payback) || YES = 1 ||
Bad News Barrett vs Sheamus (Raw 09/06) || YES = 1 ||
John Cena, Sheamus & Roman Reigns vs Cesaro, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt & Alberto Del Rio (Smackdown 20/06) || YES = 1 ||
Money in the Bank Ladder Match (Money in the Bank) || YES = 1 ||
John Cena vs Bray Wyatt (Payback) || YES = 1 ||
John Cena vs Brock Lesnar (Summerslam) || YES = 5 ||
Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins (18/08 Raw) || YES = 1 ||
Adrian Neville vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd (TakeOver 2) || YES = 6 ||
Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn (NXT 13/11) || YES = 1 ||
Dolph Ziggler vs Tyson Kidd vs Cesaro (Smackdown 14/11) || YES = 1 ||
Team Authority vs Team Cena (Survivor Series) || YES = 3 ||
Bray Wyatt vs Dean Ambrose (Survivor Series) || YES = 1 ||
Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover: REvolution) || YES = 8 ||
Charlotte Vs Sasha Banks (NXT Takeover: REvolution) || YES = 2 ||
Dolph Ziggler vs Luke Harper (TLC) || YES = 1 ||
Seth Rollins vs John Cena (RAW 15/12) || YES = 1 ||









Lucha Libre:
Virus Vs Titan (CMLL 28/01) || YES = 4 ||
Rush Vs Shocker (CMLL 21/03) || YES = 1 ||
Virus, Cachorro & Hechicero Vs ***** Casas, Cavernario & Dragon Lee (CMLL 23/05) || YES = 2 ||
Volador Jr Vs Rush (25/05 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
Villano IV Vs Chessman (AAA Rey De Reyes) || YES = 1 ||
Rush, La Mascara, Titan vs ***** Casas, Shocker, Felino (06/06 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
El Hechicero vs. El Cavernario (20/06 CMLL) || YES = 2 ||
Blue Panther vs Ephesto (22/06 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
Silver Star vs Charles Lucero (22/06 Noches De Coliseo) || YES = 1 ||
Cachorro, Cavernario, Dragon Lee, Soberano Jr. & ***** Casas vs Virus, Hechicero, Star Jr., Guerrero ***** Jr. & Super Halcon Jr (27/06 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
Rush vs ***** Casas (CMLL Judicio Final) || YES = 1 ||
Rey Cometa vs Barbaro Cavernario (CMLL 81st Aniversario) || YES = 3 ||
Ultimo Dragon vs Atlantis (CMLL 81st Aniversario) || YES = 3 ||
Caifan vs Rey Hechicero (Luchamania Monterrey 05/07/2014) || YES = 2 ||
Diamante Azul, Dragon Lee & La Sombra vs. Cavernario, Hechicero, ***** Casas (CMLL 16/09) || YES = 1 ||
Titan vs Barbaro Cavernario (CMLL 02/08) || YES = 1 ||
Virus vs Dragon Lee (09/12 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||







Legend:
*Bold Red Text*: matches with a score of 10 or better
Red text: matches with a score of 5 or better


----------



## Nervosa

I'll be repeating what many did last year, and use this post as a running list for the year.

*****
None

****3/4
None

****1/2
NJPW Goto vs. Okada New Beginning in Osaka 2/11
WWE Shield vs. Wyatts Elimination Chamber 2/23

****1/4
WWE Cesaro vs. Cena RAW 1/17
NJPW Goto/Shibata vs. Okada/Yoshi-Hashi New Beginning in Hiroshima 2/9
NJPW Nakamura vs. Tanahashi New Beginning in Hiroshima 2/9

****
NJPW Tanahashi vs. Nakamura Wrestle kingdom 1/4
WWE Bryan vs. Wyatt Royal Rumble 1/26
NJPW Okada/Nakamura/Ishii vs Goto/Tanahashi/Naito 2/02
WWE Cesaro vs. Zayn NXT:Arrival 2/27


----------



## Chismo

Same. Although, I gotta finish 2013's first.


----------



## Concrete

Oh goodness. I'll get in an early post as my running list. Just because I rate something ****1/2 doesn't mean when it makes it to this post it won't pop up as something different or change as time goes on.


----------



## 777

Posting now to ensure I don't miss anything.

MOTY threads are one of the best resources this forum has.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*****3/4
*Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - 2/9
Shield vs Wyatts - 2/23
Antonio Cesaro vs Sami Zayn - 2/27

*****1/2
*Antonio Cesaro vs John Cena - 2/17
Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito - 2/11

*****1/4
*Ishii, Okada and Nakamura vs Tanahashi, Naito and Goto 2/2
EC match - 2/23

*****
*Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt - RR
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Mistico and Kota Ibushi vs Okada, Nakamuara and Mephisto 1/19
Hiroshi Tanahshi vs Nakamura 1/4
Hirooki Goto, CNJ, Tanahashi and Naito vs Ishii, Okada, Nakamura and YOSHI-HASHI 1/5
Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton 2/3
Goto vs Okada 2/11


----------



## The Black Mirror

*★★★★ ½

The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield - WWE Elimination Chamber (February 23, 2014)

★★★★ ¼

Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan - WWE Royal Rumble (January 26, 2014)

Adrien Neville vs. Tyson Kidd - NXT Takeover (May 29, 2014)

ACH vs. Ricochet - PWG Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n Roll (May 23, 2014)

Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd - NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way (September 11, 2014)

★★★★

Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn - WWE NXT ArRival (February 27, 2014)

Caleb Konley vs. Cedric Alexander - PWX Rise of a Champion IX (February 15, 2014)

Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H - WWE WrestleMania XXX (April 6, 2014)

Batista vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton - WWE WrestleMania XXX (April 6, 2014)

Kevin Steen vs. Michael Elgin - ROH Supercard of Honor (April 4, 2014)

Adam Cole vs. Kevin Steen - ROH Global Wars (May 10,2014)

The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. ReDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) - ROH War of the Worlds (May 17, 2014)

Charlotte (with Ric Flair) vs. Natalya (with Bret Hart) - NXT Takeover (May 29, 2014)

Cedric Alexander, Johnny Gargano and Trevor Lee vs. Mount Rushmore (Kevin Steen, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) - PWG Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n Roll (May 23, 2014) 

Bray Wyatt (with Erick Rowan and Luke Harper) vs. John Cena (with Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) - WWE Payback (June 1, 2014)

Evolution (Batista, Randy Orton and Triple H) vs. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins) - WWE Payback (June 1, 2014)

John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) - WWE SummerSlam 2014 (August 17, 2014)

The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. The World's Cutest Tag Team (Candice LeRae and Joey Ryan) - PWG ELEVEN (July 26, 2014)

★★★ ¾

Anthony Nese vs. Trent Baretta - EVOLVE 25 (January 10, 2014)

The Bravado Brothers (Lance Bravado and Harlem Bravado) and Johnny Gargano vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) - EVOLVE 25 (January 10, 2014)

Ricochet vs. Trent Barreta - EVOLVE 26 (January 11, 2014)

AR Fox and Uhaa Nation vs. Johnny Gargano and Jon Davis - EVOLVE 26 (January 11, 2014)

Chris Hero vs. Anthony Neese - EVOLVE 26 (January 11, 2014)

Johnny Gargano vs. Uhaa Nation - EVOLVE 27 (January 12, 2014)

Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena - WWE WrestleMania XXX (April 6, 2014)

Andrew Everett vs. Cedric Alexander vs. Trevor Lee- PWG Mystery Vortex II (March 28, 2014)

Cesaro vs. Sheamus - WWE Payback (June 1, 2014)

reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) - ROH Raising the Bar Night 2 (March 8, 2014)

Cedric Alexander vs. Michael Elgin - ROH Flyin' High (March 22, 2014)

The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero) vs. The Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA) - ROH Global Wars (May 10, 2014)

AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Michael Elgin - ROH War of the Worlds (May 17, 2014)

Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze - NXT Takeover (May 29, 2014)

Rich Swann and Shane Strickland vs. The Premier Athlete Brand (Anthony Nese and Trent Barreta) - DGUSA Way of the Ronin (February 23, 2014)

Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong - DGUSA Way of the Ronin (February 23, 2014)

AR Fox vs. Rich Swann - PWG Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n Roll (May 23, 2014)

Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins - WWE SummerSlam 2014 (August 17, 2014)

ACH vs. Cedric Alexander - PWG ELEVEN (July 26, 2014)*​


----------



## Bubz

Yep, I'll be keeping my list here too, although I feel like I'll likely be watching even less stuff than I did last year.

*****3/4*
The Shield vs The Wyatt Family (WWE Elimination Chamber)

*****1/2*
Cesaro vs Sami Zayn (WWE NXT Arrival) 

*****1/4*
Cesaro vs John Cena (WWE RAW 17/2)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW Invasion Attack)
Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt (WWE Royal Rumble)
The Young Bucks vs Worlds Cutest Tag Team (Guerrilla Warfare - PWG Eleven)
The Shield vs Evolution (WWE Extreme Rules)
Daniel Bryan vs Triple H (WWE Wrestlemania 30)
AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito (NJPW G1 Climax Day 4)

******
Sami Zayn vs Adrian Neville vs Tyson kidd vs Tyler breeze (NXT Takeover II)
Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton vs Batista (WWE Wrestlemania 30)
The Shield vs The Wyatt Family (WWE RAW 3/3)
The Shield vs The Wyatt Family (WWE Main event 8/4)
John Cena, Sheamus & Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton, Alberto Del Rio & Cesaro (WWE Smackdown 20/8)
AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki (NJPW G1 Climax Day 7)
Kazuchika Okada vs AJ Styles (NJPW G1 Climax Day 1)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW The New Beginning)
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yuji Nagata (NJPW G1 Climax Day 4)
The Young Bucks vs Time Splitters (NJPW Dominion)
Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins - Falls Count Anywhere (WWE RAW 18/8)
Tomohiro Ishii vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW G1 Climax Day 7)
KUSHIDA vs Ricochet (NJPW BOSJ 8/6)
Sheamus vs Wade Barrett (WWE RAW 9/6)
Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton (WWE RAW 3/2)
Sheamus & Christian vs The Real Americans (WWE RAW 10/2)


----------



## Obfuscation

*WWE:*

Sami Zayn vs Leo Kruger - Two out of Three Falls Match - 1/1

Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt - 1/25

Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, & Rey Mysterio vs The Shield - 1/31

Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton - 2/3

Sheamus vs Ryback - 2/7

Sheamus & Christian vs Jack Swagger & Antonio Cesaro - 2/10

John Cena vs Antonio Cesaro - 2/17

Daniel Bryan vs Antonio Cesaro - 2/21

Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, & Erick Rowan vs The Shield - 2/23

Antonio Cesaro vs Sami Zayn - 2/27

Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, & Erick Rowan vs The Shield - 3/3

Daniel Bryan vs Kane - 3/4

Goldust & Cody Rhodes vs Antonio Cesaro & Jack Swagger - 3/18

Adrian Neville(c) vs Bo Dallas - NXT Championship - 3/27

Corey Graves vs Sami Zayn - 4/3

John Cena vs Bray Wyatt - 4/6

Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker - 4/6

Randy Orton(c) vs Daniel Bryan vs Batista - WWE Championship Triple Threat Match - 4/6

The Shield vs Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, & Erick Rowan - 4/8

Wade Barrett vs Sheamus - 4/21

Sheamus vs Titus O'Neil - 4/22

Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, & Erick Rowan vs The Shield - 5/5

Sheamus(c) vs Dean Ambrose - WWE United States Championship - 5/9

Tyler Breeze vs Sami Zayn - 5/29

Sheamus(c) vs Antonio Cesaro - WWE United States Championship - 6/1

John Cena, Dean Ambrose, & Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, & Erick Rowan - 6/9

Bray Wyatt vs Dean Ambrose - 6/13 

John Cena, Sheamus, & Roman Reigns vs Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Antonio Cesaro, & Alberto Del Rio - 6/20

Alexander Rusev vs Jack Swagger - Flag Match - 8/17

John Cena(c) vs Brock Lesnar - WWE World Heavyweight Championship - 8/17

Big Show & Mark Henry vs Luke Harper & Erick Rowan - 8/18

Alexander Rusev vs Jack Swagger - Submission Match - 8/29

Big Show, Mark Henry, & Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, & Erick Rowan - 8/29



*NJPW:*

Killer Elite Squad(c) vs Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows - IWGP Tag Team Championship - 1/4

Togi Makabe vs Bad Luck Fale - King of Destroyer Match - 1/4

Hirooki Goto vs Katsuyori Shibata - 1/4

Prince Devitt(c) vs Kota Ibushi - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship - 1/4

Kazuchika Okada(c) vs Tetsuya Naito - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - 1/4

Shinsuke Nakamura(c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - IWGP Intercontinental Championship - 1/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Hirooki Goto, & Captain New Japan vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, & YOSHI-HASHI - 1/5

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, & La Sombra vs Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, & Ultimo Guerrero - 1/18

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, & Mistico vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Yujiro Takahashi, & Mephisto - 1/19

Prince Devitt, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, & Bad Luck Fale vs Togi Makabe, Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA, & Ryusuke Taguchi - 2/2

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, & Hirooki Goto vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, & Tomohiro Ishii - 2/2

Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI - 2/9

Kota Ibushi(c) vs El Desperado - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship - 2/11

Tetsuya Naito(c) vs Tomohiro Ishii - NEVER Openweight Championship - 2/11

Kazuchika Okada(c) vs Hirooki Goto - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - 2/11

Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi - 3/6

Shelton Benjamin vs Katsuyori Shibata - 3/22

Bad Luck Fale vs Tetsuya Naito - 3/22

Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI - 3/23

Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi, & El Desperado vs Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, & Gedo - 3/23

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Bad Luck Fale - New Japan Cup 2014 Finals - 3/23

Togi Makabe, Tetsuya Naito, Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, & Manabu Nakanishi vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Yujiro Takahashi, & YOSHI-HASHI - 4/2

Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma - 4/2

Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga vs Kazuchika Okada & Gedo - 4/3

Hiroshi Tanahashi(c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura - IWGP Intercontinental Championship - 4/6

Tomohiro Ishii(c) vs KUSHIDA - NEVER Openweight Championship - 4/12

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe vs Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows - 4/19

Tomohiro Ishii(c) vs Tomoaki Honma - NEVER Openweight Championship - 5/3

Bad Luck Fale vs Tetsuya Naito - 5/25

Tomohiro Ishii(c) vs Kota Ibushi - NEVER Openweight Championship - 5/25

Taichi Ishikari vs El Desperado - 5/30

Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, & Yujiro Takahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado, & YOSHI-HASHI - 5/30

Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, & Yujiro Takahashi vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Tomoaki Honma, Manabu Nakanishi, & Captain New Japan - 6/3

El Desperado vs Kenny Omega - 6/3

Alex Shelley vs Ryusuke Taguchi - 6/3

Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma - 6/6

KUSHIDA vs Jushin Liger - 6/6

Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, & Yujiro Takahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, & YOSHI-HASHI - 6/6

Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs Yuji Nagata & Captain New Japan - 6/8

KUSHIDA vs Taichi Ishikari - Best of the Super Juniors XXI Semi-Finals - 6/8

Ricochet vs KUSHIDA - Best of the Super Juniors XXI Finals - 6/8

Young Bucks(c) vs Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA - IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship - 6/21

Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs Yuji Nagata & Tomoaki Honma - 6/21

Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan(c) vs Lance Archer & Davey-Boy Smith Jr. - NWA Tag Team Championship - 6/21

Kota Ibushi(c) vs Ricochet - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship - 6/21

Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows(c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe - IWGP Tag Team Championship - 6/21

Shinsuke Nakamura(c) vs Bad Luck Fale - IWGP Intercontinental Championship - 6/21

Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale, & Tama Tonga vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Rocky Romero, & Alex Koslov - 6/29

Tomohiro Ishii(c) vs Yujiro Takahashi - NEVER Openweight Championship - 6/29

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata - 7/4

Satoshi Kojima vs Yuji Nagata - 7/21

Yujiro Takahashi vs Tetsuya Naito - 7/21

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tomoaki Honma - 7/21

Katsuyori Shibata vs Shinsuke Nakamura - 7/21

Tomohiro Ishii vs Satoshi Kojima - 7/23

Tetsuya Naito vs Lance Archer - 7/23

Yuji Nagata vs Tomoaki Honma - 7/23

Kazuchika Okada vs Togi Makabe - 7/25

Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma - 7/26

Togi Makabe vs Lance Archer - 7/26

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yuji Nagata - 7/26

Tetsuya Naito vs AJ Styles - 7/26

Karl Anderson vs Kazuchika Okada - 7/26

Katsuyori Shibata vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - 7/26

Tetsuya Naito vs Kazuchika Okada - 7/28

Katsuyori Shibata vs Satoshi Kojima - 7/31

AJ Styles vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan - 7/31

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii - 7/31

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii - 8/1

Hirooki Goto vs Tetsuya Naito - 8/3

AJ Styles vs Lance Archer - 8/3

Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma - 8/3

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - 8/3

Minoru Suzuki vs Tetsuya Naito - 8/4

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Satoshi Kojima - 8/4

AJ Styles vs Karl Anderson - 8/4

Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto - 8/4

Tetsuya Naito vs Tomoaki Homna - 8/10

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs AJ Styles - 8/10


*AJPW:*

Go Shiozaki vs KENSO Suzuki - 1/2

Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii - 1/3

Masaaki Mochizuki vs Hikaru Sato - 2/8

Akebono, Yutaka Yoshie, & Shigehiro Irie vs Go Shiozaki, Kento Miyahara, & Kaji Tomato - 2/8

Suwama & Joe Doering(c) vs Akebono & Yutaka Yoshie - AJPW World Tag Team Championship - 2/16

Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru(c) vs SUSHI & Menso-re Oyaji - All Asia Tag Team Championship - 2/23

Akebono(c) vs Go Shiozaki - Triple Crown Championship - 2/23

Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru(c) vs Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao - All Asia Tag Team Championship - 3/18

Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki vs Suwama & Hikaru Sato - 3/18

Go Shiozaki vs KENSO Suzuki - 4/13

Suwama vs Takao Omori - 4/13

KENSO Suzuki & Hideki Suzuki vs Suwama & Hikaru Sato - 6/15

Takao Omori vs Jun Akiyama - Vacant Triple Crown Championship - 6/15


*Pro Wrestling NOAH:*

Daisuke Harada vs Atsushi Kotoge - 1/10

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls - 1/12

Naomichi Marufuji, Mohammed Yone, & Atsushi Kotoge vs Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, & Jonah Rock - 1/19

Taiji Ishimori(c) vs Hajime Ohara - GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship - 1/19

Taiji Ishimori(c) vs Daisuke Harada - GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship - 3/8

Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr.(c) vs Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge - GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship - 3/21

Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge(c) vs Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. - GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship - 4/12


*BJW:*

Koji Kanemoto vs Kazuki Hashimoto - 1/2

Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Daichi Hashimoto - 2/7

Kohei Sato vs Kazuki Hashimoto - 2/26

Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs Shinya Ishikawa & Shinobu - 3/2

Kazuki Hashimoto & Daichi Hashimoto vs Kohei Sato & Ryuichi Kawakami - 3/21

Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs Ryuichi Kawakami & Manabu Soya - 5/5

Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto(c) vs Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato - BJW Tag Team Championship - 5/31


*DDT:*

Hikaru Sato & Sanshiro Takagi vs Akito & Yukio Sakuguchi - 1/26

Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto(c) vs Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega vs Tetsuya Endo & Konosuke Takeshita - KO-D Tag Team Championship/Three Way Match - 1/26

HARASHIMA(c) vs Shigehiro Irie - KO-D Openweight Championship - 1/26

HARASHIMA(c) vs Masa Takanashi - KO-D Openweight Championship - 2/23

HARASHIMA(c) vs KUDO - KO-D Openweight Championship - 3/21

Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru(c) vs Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii - All Asia Tag Team Championship - 4/29

KUDO(c) vs Akito - KO-D Openweight Championship - 4/29

Shigehiro Irie vs Antonio Honda - King of DDT 2014 Round Two - 6/15

KUDO vs Shigehiro Irie - King of DDT 2014 Semi Finals - 6/29

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Konosuke Takeshita - 8/17


*Dragon Gate:*

Masaaki Mochizuki vs T-Hawk - 1/12

Naruki Doi, YAMATO, BxB Hulk, & Cyber Kong vs Jimmy Susumu, Jimmy Kanda, Ryo Saito, & Naoki Tanizaki - Oedo Style Elimination Match - 2/6


*WRESTLE-1:*

Austin Aries(c) vs Seiya Sanada - TNA X-Division Championship - 3/2

KAI vs Manabu Soya - W-1 Career vs Job as W-1 Match Maker - 5/4

KAI vs Yuji Hino - 5/22


*ZERO1:*

Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura vs Shinjiro Otani & Kohei Sato - 2/11

Meiko Satomura vs Yuhi - 3/30

Kohei Sato(c) vs Hideki Suzuki - ZERO1 World Heavyweight Championship - 5/6


*Fortune Dream:*

Masato Tanaka & Fujito Hayato vs Akitoshi Saito & Kotaro Suzuki - 6/8


*Chikara:*

Arctic Rescue Ant, Missile Assault Ant, & Orbit Adventure Ant vs Fire Ant, Green Ant, & Worker Ant II - 5/25


*ROH:*

AJ Styles vs Chris Hero - 3/22


*CZW:*

Matt Tremont vs Danny Havoc - Barbed Wire Boards Match - 4/27


*Beyond Wrestling:*

Biff Busick vs Timothy Thatcher - 4/13


*CMLL:*

Eléctrico & Último Dragoncito vs Pierrothito & Demus 3:16 - 1/10

Titan(c) vs Virus - Mexican National Welterweight Championship - 1/28


----------



## Joshi Judas

Waiting for Wrestle Kingdom and then we can have this list officially underway. I watch only WWE and the ippvs from New Japan so won't be that big a list.


----------



## #BadNewsSanta

Guess I'll follow suit and use this post to keep my MOTY list updated. Not sure how long the list will be though. Last year had awesome quality, but there were only two matches by the end of it I'd consider calling MOTY. I guess matches get added and then taken away from these lists all the time.


----------



## stryker360

So I guess right now, as the year just started...

Sami Zayn vs Leo Kruger NXT 1/1/14
***1/4


----------



## Chismo

Okay, ***1/4, seriously? Someone nip it in the bud, plz.


----------



## SaviorBeeRad™

Somethin tells me ***1/4 won't be a MOTY lol


----------



## Concrete

SHIT! I was hoping there would be more people doing their "Running List Posts" before we had this sorta thing come up. GATSBY! Moving forward...

*BadNewsSanta* you'll probably end up changing stuff on your list, moving it around or simply adding some and possibly subtracting others, but I think most people's lists will be rather large, not necessarly what we think are outright a MOTY possibility but more good enough to be mentioned.

For the Zayn vs. Kruger thing I A)Wouldn't consider it a 2014 match since it was taped in 2013 and B)personally feel ***3/4 is a good line for MOTYC thread since it means the reviewer thought it was really good which this is really what it is about. A ***1/4 starts things off on a bad note even if it is a good match.


----------



## Obfuscation

This is why the snowflakes aren't always the most justified. :jordan


----------



## The Black Mirror

I'm glad that this was brought up early on since I am new here. What is the general consensus regarding the star threshold for listing matches in this thread? Personally, three and three-fourth stars and higher sounds acceptable to me, but if people preferred four stars and higher, that sounds reasonable. What are the thoughts of the community at large regarding this issue?


----------



## bigbuxxx

We went through this shit at the beginning of last year to and settled on ***3/4 as the threshold for MOTYC.


----------



## mk92071

I guess I'll jump on the running list post bandwagon. I'll try to do more reviews than last year. And watch more Lucha/Puro, but I doubt that will actually happen.

*****1/4 *
Adam Cole vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - 8/30/14 
Kenny Omega, Chucky Taylor, and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and Adam Cole - 8/29/14
Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - 8/10/14
Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson vs. Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish - 3/8/14 
Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi - 3/6/14
Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro - 2/27/14
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - 2/9/14 
Ricochet and Rich Swann vs. AR Fox and ACH - 1/31/14 
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - 1/4/14

******
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Roderick Strong - 12/12/14
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Ricochet - 12/12/14
Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville - 12/11/14 
Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair - 12/11/14
Tyson Kidd vs. Antonio Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler - 11/14/14 
Kenny Omega vs. ACH - 8/30/14 
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Drew Gulak - 8/29/14 
Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso vs. Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper - 7/20/14
Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet - 6/21/14
Icarus vs. Eddie Kingston - 5/25/14 
Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and Kevin Steen vs. Trevor Lee, Cedrick Alexander, and Johnny Gargano - 5/23/14 
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma - 5/3/14
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii - 4/6/14
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - 4/6/14
Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H - 4/6/14
Trent? and Chuck Taylor vs. Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson - 3/28/14 
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii - 3/15/14
The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield - 2/23/14
Antonio Cesaro vs. John Cena - 2/17/14
Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto - 2/11/14 
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito - 2/11/14 
Uhaa Nation vs. Johnny Gargano - 1/12/14 
Trent Barretta and Tony Nese vs. Ricochet and AR Fox - 1/12/14
Ricochet vs. Trent Barretta - 1/11/14
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata - 1/4/14
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito - 1/4/14​


----------



## C-Rash

Always lurked these thread for recommendations, I think this year I'll finally do something here. Sounds like it could be fun.


----------



## Mr.Roper

Going to partake in this journey with y'all


----------



## seabs

*Idea for this year to make it a bit easier for people to follow the major MOTYCs. Instead of people having to go through nearly every post looking for nominations, someone keeps an updated list of nominations. It'd require a cut off point and for people to formally nominate something as an actual MOTYC but if you use ****1/4 as that point then it should work without turning into Alan4L's MOTYC list. Platt's already made the OP but I can obviously edit stuff in if someone updates the list every other week for example. I'll try and break it down into simplest terms. Imagine it looking something like this:*

*2014 MOTYC Nominations  (OP)*
_*Italics = 3-8 Nominations*_
**Bold = 8+ Nominations**

*Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 01/04/2014 - 10 NOMINATIONS*
_Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 01/04/2014 - 6 NOMINATIONS_
Prince Devitt vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW 01/04/2014 - 2 NOMINATIONS

*Then if someone rates Goto/Shibata ****1/4 or higher or formally nominates it you add it as a nomination to the main list. It'll make it much easier for non regular viewers of the thread to find the main MOTYCs to watch as well as for people finding stuff they may have missed or more niche nominations like CMLL or BJW MOTYCs. *


----------



## Zatiel

I love this idea, Seabs. Are you planning to tally and add nominations to that post in particular?


----------



## aivaz

I think following the example of similar MOTYC threads is best, and people here should be nominating matches and voting yes if they agree and want to add their vote to the overall list. Much easier. People can give out their ratings or whatever as they discuss the match but it's not a part of making an overall concensus list.


----------



## seabs

*The threshold was just a guide so people don't start nominating ***1/2 matches. If it gets beyond top 20 MOTYCS then the list will be too excessive. That doesn't mean you can't talk about anything else but save the nomination list for actual MOTYCs. Someone else can use my idea and tally up and I'll edit the OP for them. *


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Good idea. Last year I went through like 50 pages starting in January just trying to find matches to watch.


----------



## Concrete

I think the between a lot of people's running lists that should be rather helpful if more people do them. 

I like the idea but yeah this year it'd probably be more of a work-in-progress with the size of the community that talks about MOTYC compared to a WKO or DVDVR. I'D PERSONALLY SAY ****+ or a simple NOM/YES vote would work best for this year. Cause with any barrier for a community list I'd probably boost up ratings of certain matches and it probably would just be easier to say YES or so. In which case matches that fit in Seabs bold perimeters or maybe italics would be on the SHOWING list with the other matches in a spoiler. Possibility. 

This only happens though if someone is willing to tally...


----------



## Obfuscation

I'll probably be the only one who doesn't participate in the communal list. I got my system and it works. It's a good idea & certainly helpful to those who pop in here only to see the top recs.


----------



## The Black Mirror

bigbuxxx said:


> We went through this shit at the beginning of last year to and settled on ***3/4 as the threshold for MOTYC.


*Good to know. Thank you.*


Seabs said:


> *Idea for this year to make it a bit easier for people to follow the major MOTYCs. Instead of people having to go through nearly every post looking for nominations, someone keeps an updated list of nominations. It'd require a cut off point and for people to formally nominate something as an actual MOTYC but if you use ****1/4 as that point then it should work without turning into Alan4L's MOTYC list. Platt's already made the OP but I can obviously edit stuff in if someone updates the list every other week for example. I'll try and break it down into simplest terms. Imagine it looking something like this:*
> 
> *2014 MOTYC Nominations  (OP)*
> _*Italics = 3-8 Nominations*_
> **Bold = 8+ Nominations**
> 
> *Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 01/04/2014 - 10 NOMINATIONS*
> _Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 01/04/2014 - 6 NOMINATIONS_
> Prince Devitt vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW 01/04/2014 - 2 NOMINATIONS
> 
> *Then if someone rates Goto/Shibata ****1/4 or higher or formally nominates it you add it as a nomination to the main list. It'll make it much easier for non regular viewers of the thread to find the main MOTYCs to watch as well as for people finding stuff they may have missed or more niche nominations like CMLL or BJW MOTYCs. *


*I really like this idea, honestly. As somebody who lurked for the majority of last year and had to follow this thread post-by-post to check out things that I might have missed out on, I can say with certainty that this idea would've made things easier for me. I know I'm just the new guy, but I certainly wouldn't mind being the guy to do the tallying. Just let me know. You can PM me if you want in order for us to discuss the specifics.*


----------



## Concrete

The Primer said:


> I'll probably be the only one who doesn't participate in the communal list. I got my system and it works. It's a good idea & certainly helpful to those who pop in here only to see the top recs.


YOU'LL BE PART OF THE SYSTEM WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!


----------



## Obfuscation

NEVER


----------



## Concrete

Oh...my bad, my bad


----------



## Obfuscation

I probably wouldn't get any love for a few matches I'd try to nominate as it is. 8*D


----------



## Chismo

So, eh...

*I NOMINATE*:

*NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8*

Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata ****

IC Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (c) ****1/2


----------



## The Black Mirror

*Looking forward to watching Wrestle Kingdom 8. It will be my first experience with NJPW. Thanks to Chismo for the early recommendations. I'm just waiting for the show to pop up on XWT now...*


----------



## Joshi Judas

Will be available on Youtube in 1-2 days anyway.


----------



## USAUSA1

If something was taped in 2013 but air for the first time in 2014, which thread does it go in?


----------



## Srdjan99

Reserving my spot for this year . Only had time to watch Goto/Shibata from WrestleKingdom, throwing there a ****1/4 rating for a start. Great match


----------



## Nervosa

Cut from my review in the WK8 Thread

Fale vs. Makabe
***3/4
Wowzers, where did that come from? Both guys played to their strengths to make a really captivating contest. Shocked by how over both guys were. That table powerbomb was probably a botch by Makabe, but man did it look hellacious. Really amazing stuff. Kind of a miracle

Goto vs. shibata
**3/4
Crap. Utter crap. The same Crappy match I've had to sit through 4 times. Everyone's going crazy over this and I have no clue why. What made this any different than all their other crappy matches? I know some people somehow like goto, so maybe this doesn't bother them. but I know I'm not the only one who hated all their other matches, and this was no different. Sloppy Goto execution? Check. Bad, useless, One counts? Check. The same, tired, no-selling suplex exchanges that have been ruining puro matches for like 5 years? Check. Further ruining of Shibata's finisher? Check. This match had everything that made their other matches tripe...AND MORE.

If you liked their other matches, fine, I can see why you would like this....but did anyone who hated their other matches like this? If so, I am really curious as to what the difference is.

*EDIT: I assume that this year, even though I rated this low, that I can place the review here since I am reacting to it being nominated. If not, I'll gladly delete it. 

OFFICIAL NOMINATION:

Okada vs. Naito
***3/4
I can see why people are disappointed with this match, but they are blaming the wrong guy. This one is all on Naito. Look at this match compared to the two awesome ones from 2011. What did Naito do in those two matches that he forgot to do here? That's right kids: he didn't sell the neck. Because Naito didn't sell, his comeback had no heat, and his nearfalls had no life. He once again struggled in the setup to his stupid, heatless submission move, as well. The crowd took that moment as an opportunity to take a nap. Also, I hope Naito never does a headbutt again....they were laughably bad. Okada's final comeback got the crowd back in it, and his counter from Naito's headlock takedown attempt ruled, but the utterly heatless Naito sucked all possible life from the match. 

Nakamura vs. Tanahashi
****
Nakamura wins entrance of the night. Wow, that was amazing. Match itself....very disappointing. Nakamura ignored the knee work again. I don't know how Shinsuke could sell so well the first half this year, and just suddenly stop, but his inability to sell the leg is really costing his matches. Tanahashi's timing still isn't quite right. He's missing a lot of spots by a couple inches. The counters in this match were incredible, and I was legitimately shocked by some of those reversals, especially he powerbomb into the lungblower. The last Boma Ye counter, however, was very sloppy and confusing. What was even sloppier was the stupid, awful, Styles Clash, which has looked horrible every since Tanahashi started doing it. The match climaxed pretty well ,and the counters hid a lot of storytelling, timing, and execution problems, but it was, at the very least, enjoyable.


----------



## Chismo

I'm not stirring the pot and don't know how to say this without sounding like a giant dickhead, Nervosa, but it's hard to take you seriously when you give **3/4 to a "crap, utter crap" and **** to a "very disappointing" match. Something doesn't work there.


----------



## Nervosa

Chismo said:


> I'm not stirring the pot and don't know how to say this without sounding like a giant dickhead, Nervosa, but it's hard to take you seriously when you give **3/4 to a "crap, utter crap" and **** to a "very disappointing" match. Something doesn't work there.


I understand. That is pretty abrasive terminology.

For me, its all about expectations. **** is disappointing for what I expect Tanahashi and Shinsuke to bring, especially in this big of a match.

In the same way, I'm really high on Shibata, and I get mad when he has to stop doing what he does well to cater to a bad style. I also hate seeing him held back from better opponents and matches just so he can have the same match again and again. Compared to what Shibata CAN do, the Goto matches are crap. The action itself is fun, but its flawed action. The level of action in the Goto/Shibata matches would be in the 4 star range if the people in the match actually knew how to make the action mean something. So the **3/4 is as high as it is due to the action itself, with the worst possible way to execute it this side of the HHH/Taker Mania matches. Maybe 'utter waste of time' is a better phrase then 'utter crap' since the moves themselves were fine. (apart from some sloppiness)


----------



## Concrete

Nervosa can you go more into why you thought Nak vs. Tana was that good just because I saw a lot of what you didn't like but only a sentence saying "...but still enjoyable" that didn't really match up with essentially say it was really good or great. Like I get it was disappointing for the two guys to you but I don't think that helps me too much here hehe.


----------



## Nervosa

Ok, cool, yeah, sorry about that. I loved Nakamura's early control. The early, hold-for-hold stuff is the place where you would expect Nakamura to have a huge edge, and he did. It was also good to establish him as the faux 'heel' of the match, and I thought they did that really well.

The legwork, itself, was very good. It seemed like Tanahashi was using his leg-aimed moves as not only a strategy against Nakamura's offense, but also a way to change momentum in his favor. I thought the early cloverleaf was a really smart idea to remind us all that Tanahashi would come back to that hold later...which he did. Everything in Tanahashi's early control built the leg up as a great storytelling device. Sadly, it didn't go anywhere in Shinsuke's comeback, but the workover itself was really good.

they also had Shinsuke go for a top rope, back-facing landslide, which, if I'm not mistaken, was the finish of the 2008 WK match. It ended up being countered, but I thought it was a great callback that fans of the series would recognize. 

Speaking of which, the counters in this match were outstanding. The early one in the corner where Tanahashi blocks the vibrating boot, only to have his corner splash ducked so that he is in perfect position for the corner knee to the ribs was awesome. 

Also, the aforementioned second rope back facing landslide countered into a sunset flip powerbomb countered into a lungblower is one of the coolest spots I've seen in a while. 


Finally, the last cloverleaf was a really awesome stop. If shinsuke had sold his leg, I might have thought it was over at that point. The way it was set up and all the drama while it was locked in was a great nearfall. 

There! A whole post of positives!


----------



## Concrete

And I used my rep on the other post ha. Right on, thanks.


----------



## Chismo

For the record, I thought Naito/Okada was just... good. I say "just", because ***1/2 seems very low for two guys who wrestled a five star match just 22 months ago. I honestly enjoyed Kojima/Conway, Makabe/Fale, Ibushi/Devitt, Goto/Shibata and Tanahashi/Nakamura more.


----------



## Nervosa

Chismo said:


> For the record, I thought Naito/Okada was just... good. I say "just", because ***1/2 seems very low for two guys who wrestled a five star match just 22 months ago. I honestly enjoyed Kojima/Conway, Makabe/Fale, Ibushi/Devitt, Goto/Shibata and Tanahashi/Nakamura more.


The fact that its close is a shame in of itself. Just shows how much Naito has fallen, in my opinion. 

I only gave it a quarter star more than you. I enjoyed Tanahashi/Nakamura and Makabe/Fale more, and I would not have expected that going in.

Kojima/Conway was a shock in how truly enjoyable it was. I didn't like it more than Okada/Naito, but I sure liked it a lot. 

Didn't enjoy the other two as much as you, but I certainly agree that Naito/Okada was a huge huge disappointment. I almost want to go watch that match from 22 months ago to cheer myself up.


----------



## mk92071

SPOILERS AHEAD. Couldn't figure out how to spoiler tag it. 

Goto vs. Shibata - ****
This match drew me in more than most of this style. I really dug the intensity throughout the match and I was on the edge of my seat. The one counts are usually really frustrating to me, but I didn't mind them at all here. There was a clothesline exchange mid match that was totally :mark: worthy. I like how Goto had to practically kill Shibata to win. Overall great.

Okada vs. Naito - ****
Apparently I'm in the minority on this one. I really bought Naito as a contender for the belt going in, so I thought he could get the win with his sneaky rollups in the second half of the match. Naito was really on point in this match and his comebacks were great. I don't think Okada was bad by any means. Every time he sets up the Rainmaker things get so much more dramatic since people very rarely kick out of it. Lots of good counter exchanges, especially at the end. There was one sequence when Naito was attempting his corner dropkick early in the match that I thought was really great. I dug the finish as well. Fitting end. Also really enjoyed Naito getting frustrated and choking the shit out of Okada in the corner.

Tanahashi vs. Nakamura - ****1/4
This is a lower end ****1/4 for me, but there was just enough to put it into that spectrum. Shinsuke's kicks were brutal early on. One made me think Tana was going to throw up. This match was filled with great counters since they know each other so well. Never dragged. All of Shinsuke was really on point and I thought he would win for sure after he kicked out of the first High Fly Flow. The finish was anti climactic for me. That was probably just because I didn't want Tanahashi to win. Either way the last 5 minutes or so up to that point were really dramatic. They didn't overkill with nearfalls at all. Liked Tanahashi selling his stomach a lot after Shinsuke kicked out of the first High Fly Flow.


----------



## Zak Warner

just getting back into wrestling, so needing to follow this thread.


----------



## flag sabbath

My ongoing MOTYC list as of 13/12:

*******
Minoru Suzuki vs. AJ Styles (NJPW, 1/8)
Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW, 10/8)

*****3/4*
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomoaki Honma (NJPW, 3/8)

*****1/2*
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW New Beginning in Hiroshima, 9/2)
Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (WWE NXT Arrival, 27/2)
Taiji Ishimori vs. Daisuke Harada (NOAH Great Voyage, 8/3)
Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk & Eita (Dragon Gate, 20/7)
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW, 3/8)

*****1/4*
Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (Dragon Gate, 16/1)
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW New Beginning in Osaka, 11/2)
Cesaro vs. John Cena (WWE Raw, 17/2)
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (WWE Elimination Chamber, 23/2)
Ricochet vs. Uhaa Nation (Dragon Gate, 6/3)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW Invasion Attack, 6/4)
Daniel Bryan vs. Triple-H (WWE Wrestlemania XXX, 6/4)
Young Bucks vs. RedDRagon (ROH / NJPW War Of The Worlds, 17/5)
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW, 25/5)
Ricochet vs. KUSHIDA (NJPW, 8/6)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW, 26/7)
Rey Cometa vs. Cavernario (Hair vs. Hair, CMLL 81 Aniversario, 19/9)
Daisuke Sekimoto & Hideyoshi Kamitani vs. Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato (BJW, 31/10)

******
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8, 4/1)
Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Captain New Japan (NJPW New Year Dash, 5/1)
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (Dragon Gate, 12/1)
Voldaor Jr. vs. Mascara Dorada (NJPW, 19/1)
Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (WWE Royal Rumble, 26/1)
Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 2/2)
Jimmyz vs. Mad Blanky (Elimination, Dragon Gate, 6/2)
Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto (NJPW New Beginning in Osaka, 11/2)
Masato Yoshino vs. Ricochet (Dragon Gate, 2/3)
Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW 42nd Anniversary, 6/3)
Yuji Nagata vs. Takashi Sugiura (NOAH Great Voyage, 8/3)
HARASHIMA vs. KUDO (DDT, 21/3)
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW Invasion Attack, 6/4)
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (WWE Main Event, 8/4)
Suwama vs. Takao Omori (AJPW, 13/4)
Biff Busick vs. Timothy Thatcher (Beyond Wrestling, 13/4)
T-Hawk, Eita & Flamita vs. Shingo Takagi, Ricochet & Akira Tozawa (Captain's Fall, Dragon Gate, 27/4)
KUDO vs. Akito (DDT Max Bump, 29/4)
The Shield vs. Evolution (WWE Extreme Rules, 4/5)
Ricochet vs. Yamato (Dragon Gate Dead Or Alive, 5/5)
Young Bucks vs. Forever Hooligans vs. Time Splitters (ROH / NJPW Global Wars, 10/5)
Chaos vs. Bullet Club (NJPW, 30/5)
Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto vs. Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa (BJW, 31/5)
Yuji Nagata & Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takashi Sugiura (NOAH, 13/6)
Young Bucks vs. Time Splitters (NJPW Dominion, 21/6)
Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet (NJPW Dominion, 21/6)
Cesaro vs. Kane vs. Sheamus vs. Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Roman Reigns (Ladder, WWE Money In The Bank, 29/6)
Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Shinobu (BJW, 30/6)
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma (NJPW, 26/7)
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 28/7)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto (NJPW, 1/8)
Tetsuya Naito vs. Togi Makabe (NJPW, 1/8)
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 1/8)
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Davey Boy Smith (NJPW, 3/8)
Minoru Suzuki vs. Togi Makabe (NJPW, 3/8)
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yuji Nagata (NJPW, 8/8)
Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 8/8)
Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose (Falls Count Anywhere, WWE Raw, 18/8)
Keisuke Ishii vs. Tetsuya Endo (DDT, 31/8)
Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd (WWE NXT Takeover, 11/9)
HARASHIMA vs. Keisuke Ishii (DDT, 13/9)
KUSHIDA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW Destruction In Kobe, 21/9)
Kenny Omega & Kota Inushi vs. Tetsuya Endo & Konosuke Takeshita (DDT, 28/9)
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yujiro Takahashi (NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling, 13/10)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata & Togi Makabe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI (NJPW, 3/11)
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hirooki Goto (NJPW Power Struggle, 8/11)
HARASHIMA vs. Soma Takao (DDT, 30/11)
Johnny Mundo vs. Prince Puma vs. Big Ryck (Ladder, Lucha Underground, 10/12)
10-way match (Lucha Underground, 17/12)

****3/4*
Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie (AJPW, 3/1)
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8, 4/1)
Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8, 4/1)
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8, 4/1)
Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega vs. Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo (DDT Sweet Dreams, 26/1)
Titan vs. Vi... (CMLL, 28/1)
The Shield vs. Daniel Bryan, Sheamus & Rey Mysterio (WWE SmackDown, 31/1)
Prince Devitt, Bad Luck Fale & Young Bucks vs. Togi Makabe, Ryusuke Taguchi & Time Splitters (NJPW, 2/2)
Shingo Takagi, Akira Tozawa & Uhaa Nation vs. Dragon Kid, K-Ness & Super Shisa (Dragon Gate, 6/2)
Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW New Beginning in Hiroshima, 9/2)
HARASHIMA vs. Masa Takanashi (DDT, 23/2)
Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa vs. Shinya Ishikawa & Shinobu (BJW, 2/3)
Tbe Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (WWE Raw, 3/3)
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 15/3)
Shingo Takagi vs. T-Hawk (Dragon Gate, 29/3)
Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma (NJPW, 3/4)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito & KUSHIDA vs. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW Wrestling World, 13/4)
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma (NJPW Dontaku, 3/5)
Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles (NJPW Dontaku, 3/5)
Yuji Hino & HIROKI vs. Yasufumi Nakanoue & Seiki Yoshioka (W-1, 4/5)
KAI vs. Manabu Soya (W-1, 4/5)
Flamita vs. Jimmy Susumu (Dragon Gate Dead Or Alive, 5/5)
Shinji Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (BJW Endless Survivor, 5/5)
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (WWE Raw, 5/5)
Tetsuya Naito vs. Bad Luck Fale (NJPW, 25/5)
Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze (NXT Take Over, 29/5)
Shinya Ishikawa vs. Shiori Asahi (BJW, 31/5)
Cesaro vs. Sheamus (WWE Payback, 1/6)
Bullet Club vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Tomoaki Honma, Manabu Nakanishi & Captain New Japan (NJPW, 3/6)
Kenny Omega vs. El Desperado (NJPW, 3/6)
Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi (NJPW, 6/6)
Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto vs. Yuji Nagata & Tomoaki Honma (NJPW Dominion, 21/6)
Shinya Ishikawa vs. Shuji Ishikawa (BJW, 30/6)
Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka vs. Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards (Wrestle-1, 6/7)
Naruki Doi, Cyber Kong & Kzy vs. Genki Horiguchi HAGeeMee, Jimmy Susumu & Mr Kyu Kyu Naoki Tanazaki Toyonaka Dolphin (Dragon Gate, 20/7)
Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles (NJPW, 21/7)
Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Shuji Ishikawa (BJW, 26/7)
AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 26/7)
AJ Styles vs. Hirooki Goto (NJPW, 28/7)
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomoaki Honma (NJPW, 28/7)
Satoshi Kojima vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW, 31/7)
Satoshi Kojima vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW, 4/8)
AJ Styles vs. Karl Anderson (NJPW, 4/8)
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW, 6/8)
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bad Luck Fale (NJPW, 8/8)
Time Splitters vs. ReDRagon (NJPW, 10/8)
Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii vs. Kotaro Suzuki & Kento Miyahara (AJPW, 16/8)
Chaos vs. Bullet Club (NJPW, 7/9)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & KUSHIDA vs. Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito, Captain New Japan & Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW, 13/9)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Destruction In Kobe, 21/9)
Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho (WWE Night Of Champions, 21/9)
Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo vs. KUDO & Masa Takanishi (DDT, 12/10)
Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto (NJPW, 25/10)
Rush vs. Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL, 31/10)
Eita & T-Hawk vs. CIMA & Gamma (DG Gate Of Destiny, 2/11)
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Power Struggle, 8/11)
Isami Kodaka &Yuko Miyamoto vs. Abdullah Kobayashi & Ryuji Ito (200 Light Tubes, BJW, 21/11)
Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NJPW, 28/11)
Keiji Mutoh vs. Seiya Sanada (Wrestle-1, 22/12)
HARASHIMA vs. Shigehiro Irie (DDT, 23/12)


----------



## darkclaudio

Wrestle Kingdom 8
-Shibata vs Goto ***1/2
-Devitt vs Ibushi ***1/2
-Okada vs Naito ***3/4
-Nakamura vs Tanahashi ***3/4


----------



## Joshi Judas

Wrestle Kingdom 8

Makabe vs Fale ***3/4

Goto vs Shibata ****

Okada vs Naito ***3/4

Tanahashi vs Nakamura ****1/4


----------



## Rah

I'd be willing to tally if we're all still on board for the cumulative list. Regardless, it would be beneficial if everyone carried on updating their MotY lists as they all seem to be on the first couple pages, anyway.

I'd suggest we all only nominate matches we can foresee (as best as possible)a top 10 placing at the end of the year for its specific category. Of course that will probably be harder for the first quarter of the year, but 2013 is still there as a guide. Going forward, the OP will make use of spoiler tags to ensure the post doesn't become excessive in length and comprises of FIVE categories:

* Puro
* WWE
* American Indy + Other (TNA, PWG, RoH, AAA USA etc)
* Lucha Libre (Mexico + South America)
* Europe and Other (everything not belonging in the previous categories)

I honestly see the latter two being hardly used so they shouldn't be much of a problem. The first three are, however. If we do stick to only nominating great matches (regardless of set star-ratings, as each of us are different), it should reduce the amount. Additionally, if we have a voting system it will help weed out the lower calibre nominations, as well. If the total vote count is _zero or below_ then it's removed. Thus, it only takes one person (two, including the nominator) to have a match removed from the list. Considering a lot of us watch a majority of the output from the first three categories finding matches to weed out shouldn't be much of an issue. As for relegated/removed matches, whether they're removed completely or shifted into a separate column is up for decision, too.


----------



## Ten410

*Wrestle Kingdom 8*
Hirooki Goto Vs. Katsuyori Shibata 
Kazuchika Okada Vs. Tetsuya Naito 
Shinsuke Nakamura Vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi ( Nakamura had the best entrance of the night)


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Wrestle Kingdom 8

Okada vs. Naito - ****
Nakamaru vs. Tanahashi - **** 1/4


----------



## Groovemachine

Haven't had much free time over the last few days, but I've been dying to get to Wrestle Kingdom 8. Skipped straight to the main event, ***3/4 for me. Cloverleaf Styles Clash was AWESOME and there were some tremendous moments, like Nakamura stomping the shit out of Tanahashi when he was lying on the apron, but Shinsuke hardly sold the leg at all. When it's such a focal point of the match, that bothers me. Still, I'm down for the rematch.

Now to go back through the rest of the WK8 card...


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Wrestle Kingdom 8
-Shibata vs Goto ****1/4
-Ibushi vs Devitt ****
-Okada vs Naito ****1/4-1/2(It felt like they were holding back because the weren't last)
-Tanahashi vs Nakumura ****1/2


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Bubz

Tana/Nakamura was really good, but really was let down for me by Nakamuras apparent dislike of selling his leg. It'd elevated by some fantastic stuff though, two good control segments (Nakamuras early stuff and then Tanahashi working over the leg), awesome and unique counters and sequences, Nakamura kicking the shit out of Tanahashi and winning all of the strike exchanges fairly easily etc was all really good stuff. But yeah, the selling...just random. There was one point where Tanahashi hit a dragon screw or something and Nakamura just completely blew it off, like, it wasn;t even a fighting spirit no sell spot, it was like he just pretended the sequence they just did didn't even happen at all. Weird because when Tana first started after the leg he was great at the short term selling, writhing in pain, holding the leg etc, then when it's time for his comeback his mind must just go totally blank. He's so talented and just gold in every other aspect, and it isn't even like he can't sell because we've all seen him do it before, it just seems to be the last year he seems to be refusing to do it, and like someone said already, when it's such a focal point of the match like this one, you NEED to sell the leg.

Okada/Naito for the first half was heading towards being fucking great imo, then the second half happened and Naito started doing his stupid submission finisher that nobody even knows exists apparently and the crowd full on dies for big portions of it while Naito was making his comebacks. Still some great spots like Okada getting angry to the extent I've never seen before after Naito starts hitting headbutts, and Okada destroys him on the outside and starts kicking stuff and throwing his elbow pads. Okada had some really good stuff towards the end, the tombstone spots and the Rainmaker set ups etc. I'm going to sound like a complete bias fanboy now but I really don't see how the blame for this being disappointing can be laid on Okada when he was clearly a fuck ton better than Naito here. Wasn't Okada's finest moment, but he was really good as he usually is, came across like the champion at a lot of points and kept things logical and got the crowd back in to the match whenever he would comeback or be in control. It was Naito that didn't sell anything, killed the crowd because you could tell they wanted him to sell at least a little, throw a hand to the neck, take some time...something. Okada sold the neck really well and he only had a couple of instances of Naito even going after that body part. This also didn't have the flow or chemistry as their 2011 matches against each other. Like the main event, this had some really good stuff, but it's far too flawed to be anything more than good.


----------



## Concrete

Rewatched it and I'm not nearly as down on the whole match as I was. I'll possibly post more thoughts later but right now I don't think either man is really any more at fault in this one from preventing it from being a high end MOTYC.


----------



## EscapedIllusion

I think Nakumura/Tanahashi could've been 5 stars if Nakumura sold the leg better.The near falls were great the was a missing element which I think is emotion.The Tanahashi/Okada matches were amazing because of the little things like the facial expressions and Okada's amazing selling.

As for Okada/Naito I absolutely loved the intensity Okada brought,him throwing his elbow pads at Naito and telling him to bring it during the strike exchanges were awesome.Naito didn't do an amazing job of selling his neck so his comeback was half-hearted and lacked emotions.I have to give credit to both guys for that awesome finishing sequence.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Nervosa

Bubz said:


> Tana/Nakamura was really good, but really was let down for me by Nakamuras apparent dislike of selling his leg. It'd elevated by some fantastic stuff though, two good control segments (Nakamuras early stuff and then Tanahashi working over the leg), awesome and unique counters and sequences, Nakamura kicking the shit out of Tanahashi and winning all of the strike exchanges fairly easily etc was all really good stuff. But yeah, the selling...just random. There was one point where Tanahashi hit a dragon screw or something and Nakamura just completely blew it off, like, it wasn;t even a fighting spirit no sell spot, it was like he just pretended the sequence they just did didn't even happen at all. Weird because when Tana first started after the leg he was great at the short term selling, writhing in pain, holding the leg etc, then when it's time for his comeback his mind must just go totally blank. He's so talented and just gold in every other aspect, and it isn't even like he can't sell because we've all seen him do it before, it just seems to be the last year he seems to be refusing to do it, and like someone said already, when it's such a focal point of the match like this one, you NEED to sell the leg.
> 
> Okada/Naito for the first half was heading towards being fucking great imo, then the second half happened and Naito started doing his stupid submission finisher that nobody even knows exists apparently and the crowd full on dies for big portions of it while Naito was making his comebacks. Still some great spots like Okada getting angry to the extent I've never seen before after Naito starts hitting headbutts, and Okada destroys him on the outside and starts kicking stuff and throwing his elbow pads. Okada had some really good stuff towards the end, the tombstone spots and the Rainmaker set ups etc. I'm going to sound like a complete bias fanboy now but I really don't see how the blame for this being disappointing can be laid on Okada when he was clearly a fuck ton better than Naito here. Wasn't Okada's finest moment, but he was really good as he usually is, came across like the champion at a lot of points and kept things logical and got the crowd back in to the match whenever he would comeback or be in control. It was Naito that didn't sell anything, killed the crowd because you could tell they wanted him to sell at least a little, throw a hand to the neck, take some time...something. Okada sold the neck really well and he only had a couple of instances of Naito even going after that body part. This also didn't have the flow or chemistry as their 2011 matches against each other. Like the main event, this had some really good stuff, but it's far too flawed to be anything more than good.


THANK GOD FOR THIS REVIEW!

And all the others pointing out Naito's selling problems and how Okada truly did the best he could.


----------



## Obfuscation

Well, I suppose I can comprise and bring back the star rating system for this thread if need be. Considering the ranking on the list & what not. I'll try and co-op w/everyone else participating, what the hell? 

Nominations from NJPW Wrestle Kingdom VIII:

*IWGP Tag Team Championship*
Killer Elite Squad(c) vs Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows - ****3/4*


*King of Destroyer Match*
Togi Makabe vs Bad Luck Fale - ******


Hirooki Goto vs Katsuyori Shibata - ****3/4*


*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*
Prince Devitt(c) vs Kota Ibushi - ****3/4*


*IWGP World Heavyweight Championship*
Kazuchika Okada(c) vs Tetsuya Naito - *****1/2*


*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*
Shinsuke Nakamura(c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - *****1/4*​

~ Tag Championship dream match - for me - clicked. Unlimited slugfest from start to finish. Simplistic tag formula behind the sluggin' combined to make it a done deal. Had a blast. Thought it was pretty great. Nuff said.

~ I FUCKING KNEW IT. BEEF was on display in the King of Destroyer match and it worked. Holy heavens did it work. Unsure why nobody but myself cared for this going in, but gah. I cared. And I got what I wanted. Two bulked up hosses swinging for the fences, using power moves, Makabe's steel chain & a dastardly Japanese table to get the job done. Makabe is still vastly underrated. Another year, another great Wrestle Kingdom match. I don't ask for much. Only to get monsters beating each other up. This was so effective for what they set out to do. Fale has improved so much from where he was prior to the Bullet Club. He's a good beastly heel. Proved it here when he had to.

~ Goto vs Shibata. They do their beat the shit out of each other thing one more time and naturally, I dug it. Can understand the detractors. Def not the type of affair for everyone. Goto's selling on his jaw was swell & he proved to pull his weight for me in the end w/the finish. Felt highly believable & fitting. Especially after how Shibata was demolishing him in the forearm war. Shibata was unstoppable during every sequence of this. God damn did he come to fight for the big Tokyo Dome show.

~ I'm still big on Devitt's shenanigans w/Bullet Club adding fantastic parables to the story in context of his matches. Some bouts have felt tedious. Not this one. Ibushi couldn't do anything for the longest time thanks to the heels. Such an effective format. Crowd was getting restless. You wanted the playing field to be even. Sucked me right in. Devitt changing his style up to differ from previous matches vs Ibushi was key. Instead of working highly athletic in a spirited stalemate vs Ibushi, he provided a more methodical, tactical approach. Damn near busing throughout too. Ibushi had welts all over him by mid-match. Awesome. Great touch. Fits his character so much better. Ibushi was Ibushi. Great babyface. Great looking offense. Great way to take a beating and come back. Good work meets a really good story and it averaged out to a great match.

~ Jesus fuck did I love this. Different from their previous big matches from 2012. Much the same a la Devitt & Ibushi to keep things fresh. Only this was even grittier than the championship match that came before it. Wouldn't be surprised to read if some folks felt part of the first half of this match wasn't as enthralling as some other matches. It was slow. The pacing wasn't bad, but it was slow. They knew what they were working towards. Literal stalemate for 99% of this. Really, really liked the way it done. The approach was one I didn't quite expect. Although I knew the boiling point among both - mostly Naito - was at it's peak. Which is why the headbutts peppered throughout were top notch. Fantastic addition. Upped the intensity. Showed his unlimited frustration & will to do what he had to in order to win it all. Head/neck work by both was plenty great. Loved the targeting of the same area and it being used for both to try and win the match more w/their own submissions than their own "other" impactful finishers. Okada still had the benefit of a injured Naito from the head/neck area w/the Rainmaker, per usual. But the implication & false finishes w/the submissions was a terrific point of the match, for me. Unsure why Naito's submission gets no heat tho. I don't hold it against him. How in the hell could it? It's a submission. People watch. They know he's won by it. Yeah, clearly I'm annoyed by it. Whatever. It gets a rise out of me. All I give a damn about. Finishing stretch was something else. All the nearfalls, counters. It's on par w/what I expect. Highly engrossing. My fandom here certainly aided things. As it does for any other fan in wrestling. I was largely invested so when it came down to every sequence where I thought it was over, I was clinging onto the edge of my seat. Rainmaker counter into the attempted headlock for Naito's submission only to be countered back by Okada into another tombstone. Gorgeous. Fantastic match. Loved it. Thought these two killed it again, even if it wasn't their "best" match together. Quality remained a constant at the end of the day. Felt big. Came off big. The works. I won't deny Naito's emoting could be improved. Although he still makes me care regardless. I don't know what it is, but he does. Leaves me alone compared to everyone else. I don't really have to talk much about Okada here b/c he brought it per usual in that department. He showed his anger. His frustration too. That focal point to the match was a strong reason why I loved the match the way I did. This may sit as my MOTY for a tiny bit. Damn sure a good way to start. And just like that, I'm already differing from most folk. I swear, I don't try to. :hayley2

~ Tanahashi & Nakamura make it look so easy. Their chemistry is beyond natural. In their blood to kill it w/each other on every outing. I had no gripes w/Nakamura's selling of the knee in this match. Wasn't nearly the same as it was when he worked vs Suzuki. He plugged away a lot at it still hurting him on a lot of cool down sequences. If he was no selling, he wouldn't even had bothered. Everything clicks in this match. Tanahashi keeping his sore ribs/mid-section alive w/his own constant notions to it were just as good. These two know what they're doing. Nakamura and those fucking kicks. Trading of the legit punch rocked my world too. Match here lacked a TINY bit of heat for me compared to Naito vs Okada. I think that being for the World Championship & being done soooo well _(imo)_ won me over a hair more. Not to mention I did feel partially, I assure you it's only partially, exhausted walking into the final match. Crowd was into everything here. As expected. So while there may have not been the increased drama from me at every single point of this match; the audience provided it. And that still went a long way w/me. What can you say? We all knew this was going to be great. It was. Sometimes things really can be that simple. Final note: TEXAS CLOVERLEAF STYLES CLASH.


----------



## Rah

FWIW, I really, really enjoyed Okada/Naito and was probably my MotN. Unlike most, I came in expecting something bad yet it ended up being a lot better than that. Still, both sold their plight well and Okada came out the gate looking like he wanted to upstage Nak/Tana for taking his spot. Finish sequence was over-kill, and they needn't bothered with two piledrivers, a reversal and a Rainmaker but it was still really fun to witness. That's all I require. No need for Okada to upstage, of course, as the main was trash. Some of the sequences were rather good, and a lot of the work onto the legs of Nakamura I enjoyed, but the minute Nakamura seemingly attacks with his legs for the solid majority of his offence, I just cannot take any more. He screams about his legs yet manages to pick a deadweight Tana up onto his shoulders with no apparent strain? Okay.


EDIT: to be clear, that's a *NO* for any match nominated from WK.


----------



## Chismo

I've watched the IC Title match 3 times already, and it gets better every time, I swear. Makabe/Fale too.

On the other hand, I need to rewatch Naito/Okada, that's for sure, only seen it live. I remember being kinda bothered with the lack of heat and charm during the first 20 minutes. Sure, the execution was very fine, but they worked too mechanical and "by the book". It might change on a rewatch, though, maybe I missed something.


----------



## Obfuscation

As far as going up on a rewatch goes for me, Goto vs Shibata did just that.


----------



## Zatiel

Goto Vs. Shibata was my match of the night. I rate ****1/4 or whatever it takes to get on the master list. I simply love the approach that Shibata brings to matches like these, going head on, trying to get serious holds and blows (like the Figure Four) as early as he can. When he palmstruck Goto as Goto was trying to retaliate for the chop in the opening, I laughed until a tear rolled out of my eye. It was brutal, and Goto brought the brutality right back to him with some disgusting highspots. I loved Shibata stealing the Go Flasher, and Goto retaliating by doing even sicker variations on his standard moves. They need to tag after that. The tag division will instantly be insanely more fun.

Nakamura Vs. Tanahashi was still high class. Nakamura was cocky gold and loved using the knees that worked on everyone else. I dig people falling out of it for Nakamura not working leg-selling in, but that's Japan. Nakamura was deliberately not showing weakness unless you broke his damned leg, and so Tanahashi had to rely on the crazier stuff. I also dug the Cloverleaf Styles Clash. It was all charisma-on-charisma violence with a lot of meaningful struggle by mid-match. My favorite meeting they've had in a few years.


----------



## Groovemachine

Finished WK8 finally, and for me Okada vs Naito was the MOTN. Intense exchanges (Naito's flurry of headbutts in the corner were brutal), fantastic reversals, and they sold the physicality of the contest well, although as others have said, I wish Naito sold the neck more. Still, it's an easy **** from me.


----------



## CZWRUBE

Bubz said:


> Yep, I'll be keeping my list here too, although I feel like I'll likely be watching even less stuff than I did last year.


Why's that Bubz , Cause i have a feeling 2014 might be a big year for wrestling and for great Matches. !!! At least thats what im hoping for.


----------



## Bubz

CZWRUBE said:


> Why's that Bubz , Cause i have a feeling 2014 might be a big year for wrestling and for great Matches. !!! At least thats what im hoping for.


Nothing to do with the wrestling itself, in 2013 I pretty much ended up just watching NJPW ppv's and WWE by the end of the year, I just don;t feel motivated to watch much other wrestling these days.


----------



## USAUSA1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdSewgQz_D4

TCW first episode of 2014(taped in 2013)

Sigmon vs. Vordell Walker 30 minute IRON MATCh. I thought it was a great match and very brutal. The last 5 minutes was terrific with the leg work. I don't do the star rating but this would get I guess ****1/4.


----------



## malek

Not sure if anyone can nominate match on here, but if that is the case I would like to nominate Goto vs Shibata too. First time I've seen Shibata, ans he quickly turned me into his major fan. Usually from NJPW I watch junior heavyweights and title bouts, but this awakened my passion for promotion, and since WK 8 I've been watching each night one Pay Per View from last year, and most have been great.

Shibata is great, and his Rabid Dog nickname suits him well. He is so stiff, and logical in everything he does that he is hard not to like. In match vs Goto, opening exchange where Shibata slapped Goto, and then slapped him even harder when Goto tried to get even was move of the whole night. Amazing 

**** 1/4


----------



## seabs

Rah said:


> I'd be willing to tally if we're all still on board for the cumulative list. Regardless, it would be beneficial if everyone carried on updating their MotY lists as they all seem to be on the first couple pages, anyway.
> 
> I'd suggest we all only nominate matches we can foresee (as best as possible)a top 10 placing at the end of the year for its specific category. Of course that will probably be harder for the first quarter of the year, but 2013 is still there as a guide. Going forward, the OP will make use of spoiler tags to ensure the post doesn't become excessive in length and comprises of FIVE categories:
> 
> * Puro
> * WWE
> * American Indy + Other (TNA, PWG, RoH, AAA USA etc)
> * Lucha Libre (Mexico + South America)
> * Europe and Other (everything not belonging in the previous categories)
> 
> I honestly see the latter two being hardly used so they shouldn't be much of a problem. The first three are, however. If we do stick to only nominating great matches (regardless of set star-ratings, as each of us are different), it should reduce the amount. Additionally, if we have a voting system it will help weed out the lower calibre nominations, as well. If the total vote count is _zero or below_ then it's removed. Thus, it only takes one person (two, including the nominator) to have a match removed from the list. Considering a lot of us watch a majority of the output from the first three categories finding matches to weed out shouldn't be much of an issue. As for relegated/removed matches, whether they're removed completely or shifted into a separate column is up for decision, too.


*If you could that would be great. Just post it every couple/few weeks and I'll edit the OP. Your grouping method is fine too. Gonna ask people to formally put NOMINATE above any matches they're nominating to be added to the main MOTYC List in the OP. Not everyone will though so I'd suggest adding anything with a ****1/4 rating attached to it regardless as that tends to be MOTYC Level for most people using star ratings. I know it's not for everyone but not everyone will use the formal NOMINATION method. 

Watched Okada/Naito and Tanahashi/Nakamura and I was pretty disappointed by both. Okada/Naito lost what made their first two matches great which was a really interactive crowd throughout and awesome selling. Instead it felt like a 30 minute main event you'd get from ROH or NOAH. Tanahashi/Nakamura was them doing their style of match like they normally do. I preferred it vastly to Okada/Naito but it was just good rather than great. *


----------



## DGenerationMC

Dammit, now I gotta watch some puro.


----------



## Rah

Seabs said:


> *If you could that would be great. Just post it every couple/few weeks and I'll edit the OP. Your grouping method is fine too. Gonna ask people to formally put NOMINATE above any matches they're nominating to be added to the main MOTYC List in the OP. Not everyone will though so I'd suggest adding anything with a ****1/4 rating attached to it regardless as that tends to be MOTYC Level for most people using star ratings. I know it's not for everyone but not everyone will use the formal NOMINATION method.*


Well, I've PM'd everyone who hadn't nominated, so they should know the deal the next time around. Also thought of mentioning the master list is top 10/15 for the year (otherwise it becomes cluttered with rubbish) so every other post on here that isn't a nomination just becomes an honorable mention of sorts.

Also, I'll try tally every week to avoid missing posts. If you can't update each week I'll just post a link back to the previous tally post each time.


----------



## Obfuscation

*NJPW - New Year Dash 1/5/14*

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Hirooki Goto, & Captain New Japan vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, & YOSHI-HASHI​
The characters, dynamics, nutty pacing, brisk FIP sequences, hot tags, & general Ishii swag brings to all together so, so well. Never like to ramble on how I did previously to start in here for this thread, and this match is a perfect way not too. All the names in here imply that you know what they bring. Even the little guys in the match on the pecking order offered something up here. Great match. Easy drop for the thread in the early going. Seeing large tags like these w/the batch of characters making it special is a shot of nostalgia. To any time when the sport is just a ton of fun to watch.

And yeah, you can count this more as a "honorable mention" for the thread, but it's certainly worth the look. Prior to the new set up this would have fit like a glove for the original system this thread used w/o taking up space. Opinions differ entirely too, so, there's also that. Look at me playing the obvious card.


----------



## Chismo

*AJPW 2014/1/2*

KENSO vs. Go Shiozaki

_“Where did that come from”, you might ask yourselves, but trust me, this is not shocking at all. I’m one of the biggest KENSO marks out there, I enjoyed his work and goofy persona last year, but he’s been really fucking cool since the heel turn that happened few months ago. Shiozaki, on the other hand, is a wrestler with a limitless potential, but more than often he pisses me off because he tries to remind everyone he’s Kobashi’s boy, unfortunately. Thankfully, that was not the case here, this was Go being Go, a ruthless choppin’ motherfucker. Anyway, this was a grudge match with a two month build, and it overdelivered, the heat and intensity were great, I enjoyed the hell out of this. The best KENSO match ever, of course, and Go needs to continue this way, he actually looks and carries himself like a true boss now. Keep doing that, plz._

****​


----------



## Joshi Judas

@HayleySabin

Is it up on Youtube or Dailymotion yet?


----------



## Obfuscation

Dailymotion.


----------



## seabs

Rah said:


> Well, I've PM'd everyone who hadn't nominated, so they should know the deal the next time around. Also thought of mentioning the master list is top 10/15 for the year (otherwise it becomes cluttered with rubbish) so every other post on here that isn't a nomination just becomes an honorable mention of sorts.
> 
> Also, I'll try tally every week to avoid missing posts. If you can't update each week I'll just post a link back to the previous tally post each time.


*Yeah. People should only throw NOMINATION at a match if it's around a Top 20 Match of the Year.*


----------



## Rah

Still waiting for replies from *Quoth the Raven*, *blink_41sum_182*, *Srdjan99*, *darkclaudio* and *mk92071*. Depending how they reply this list will change but, for now, if anyone is interested:


Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata || YES = 4 || NO = 5 || SCORE = -1
Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura || YES = 8 || NO = 6 || SCORE = 2
Kazuchika Okada Vs Tetsuya Naito || YES = 3 || NO = 9 || SCORE = -6


----------



## seabs

*Might be easier to stick just to YES's as I can't see people keeping up with NO's on here unlike DVDVR. And then just have a cut off point like 5 YES's gets it added to the main list. *


----------



## Obfuscation

Nine NO's. Ouch.


----------



## Concrete

Yeah I don't think NO votes are going to work as well in this system haha. Don't think a NO vote should be one that simply doesn't clear the threshold. Would have to be a bit more decisive than that in my eyes.


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Davey Richards vs AR Fox 
****
Not a MOTYC but still a fun match with a nice story going into it.Not too much psychology but I appreciate it for the hard hitting strike exchanges and the great athleticism.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Last Chancery

I don't understand why people put "fun" matches they clearly don't think make the cut in this topic when it clearly states that it's a Match of the Year Candidate thread. Not trying to knock anybody who does this, the poster above me from whom I got the idea for this post, especially. Just curious.


----------



## Rah

Concrete said:


> Yeah I don't think NO votes are going to work as well in this system haha. Don't think a NO vote should be one that simply doesn't clear the threshold. Would have to be a bit more decisive than that in my eyes.


Well, for those I didn't PM, the nominated match was only *** 3/4 compared to **** 1/4 for the highest in their post. Now, the only way that three-star affair lasts in their top 10 for New Japan is if the company shuts down midway through the year (considering how highly most people here take them).

It's a pity we can't do NO votes, Nakamura/Tanahashi with 8 YES votes really shouldn't be something that someone new to Puroresu watches.


----------



## Obfuscation

tbf, someone new to Puro might take to the flash of Tanahashi vs Nakamura. Not to mention w/the scales tipping in the favor of YES; thinking particularly less of it, is more of a minority opinion in this thread.


----------



## Groovemachine

Last Chancery said:


> I don't understand why people put "fun" matches they clearly don't think make the cut in this topic when it clearly states that it's a Match of the Year Candidate thread. Not trying to knock anybody who does this, the poster above me from whom I got the idea for this post, especially. Just curious.


Just to add my two cents to this, I think it's perfectly acceptable to mention four-star rated matches in here, even if they're not highlighted as bonafide MOTYC, purely because we can all agree that we have varying tastes on this board, and invariably someone will like it a lot more than the poster who originally suggested it. Understandably, we wouldn't want anyone throwing a 'MOTY nomination' at every **** match, but in terms of posting here to highlight a great match, I'm all for it and that's why I make sure I check this thread daily.


----------



## Obfuscation

That's what the thread _should_ be for, on the whole. Picking and choosing the "best of the best" is more of the sub-scenario within this thread. Or certainly the part I put the least amount of importance on.


----------



## Concrete

HayleySabin said:


> That's what the thread _should_ be for, on the whole. Picking and choosing the "best of the best" is more of the sub-scenario within this thread. Or certainly the part I put the least amount of importance on.


AGREED!

Best of the best from the year without structuring from the beginning feels like it'd make a nice end of the year project. I think pointing out the really good to high end MOTYC's makes this a nice wide variety of stuff. Didn't think Masters vs. Hoyt from TCW last year was a clear MOTYC but I feel not having it in this thread would have been sad.


----------



## seabs

*The general rule every year has been restrict it to ***3/4-**** matches. Regardless of the new NOMINATIONS method this year.*


----------



## Obfuscation

I loved that Masters vs Hoyt match too. :mark:


----------



## Joshi Judas

Nominating matches only rated ****1/4 and higher, or taking Yes/No votes is okay but I hope people don't stop doing match reviews and mentioning good matches worth checking out even if it falls short of the ****1/4 mark coz that's the point of this thread I think.

Before I joined in July 2013, I used to be a lurker. But I checked out the 2013 MOTYC thread and there were so many good matches mentioned and people discussing them that I had to join. Some of these matches wouldn't end up making it in the final MOTYC list, but it sure made me check out more good wrestling than I would have chanced upon otherwise.


----------



## smitlick

Pretty sure the point of Nominating is for people to provide detailed reviews etc plus I'm sure those that did will still and those who are lazy (me) wont...


----------



## seabs

*I don't get how adding NOMINATION to legit MOTYCS can cause so much confusion. Everything as normal besides that addition. *


----------



## Srdjan99

Trent Baretta vs Anthony Nese is an early MOTY contender for me, ****1/2 for it


----------



## Lazyking

Just finished Wrestle Kingdom 8 over 3 days. What a show. The first half was not memorable really but from Fale/Makabe on, I was hooked. Only one truly bad match and one imo legit MOTYC

Before I get to my nomination, I'd like to point out some other matches.

Fale/Makabe - **** Great brawl, Fale dominating didn't detract from the match because Makabe sold it well... The near endings were awesome, table botch I can easily overlook. Worth a look if you wanna watch a fight.

Shibata/Goto - **** I like this this match alot. INTENSITY! Shiabata really shined. First time I saw him wrestle. Didn't disappoint. Since it was my first time, I didn't mind the suplex spot, I actually enjoyed it. 

Naito/Okada ***3/4 Idk, something was missing here. I just thought it was going thru the motions. There was never a point where I thought Naito would win. Fairly disappointing.

Now for my Nomination!

Tanahashi vs. Nakamura - ****1/2

Holy god, if it wasn't for the spotty leg selling by Naka, I'd give this five stars. I loved everything about this match but that. It's unfortunate because Tanahashi sold for Naka much better and you would figure Naka would have the respect to do the same.Both Entrances were full of win. Control segments were solid, cloverleaf into Styles clash was sweet. GREAT Match!

I hope I can keep up with NJPW


----------



## Obfuscation

Go Shiozaki vs KENSO Suzuki - _AJPW: New Year Wars 2014 Night Two_​
Culmination of a building rivalry back in November & boy was the wait worthwhile; deliver on that front. Nicely structured intense segments slapped together to give the match the proper heat needed - early brawling to start, furious strike wars, and finally, leading into a 'war of attrition' type finish. KENSO was on point this night. Never been the best guy in the game in the slightest, but he's got some value when given a scenario quite like this. Safely dub it the best match I've seen from him, right off the top of my head. Evil charismatic strike you till you die KENSO is awesome. Shiozaki is still refreshed in his new surroundings of All Japan. He hasn't slowed down yet. He's better in matches like this, instead of ones where the essence of trying too hard is clearer than any real story behind a match. 30 minute borefest vs Suwama last year, for example. I still can count more good than bad following the jump. Natural heat fell behind this bout. Which is why it clicked so well.


----------



## flag sabbath

*Volador Jr vs. Mascara Dorada (NJPW Fantasticamania Day 5 (19/1):* The Korakuen Fantastica shows boast a great fiesta vibe & a bunch of decent matches. This one stands out from the pack as a batshit crazy succession of holy shit moments. The turn-taking style may offend certain sensibilities, but flyer fiends will be in highspot heaven ******


----------



## Obfuscation

DORADA!

Leave it up to him to have the first noteworthy match plugged from Fantasticamania in 2014. Need to do the massive cram session of those shows.


----------



## Rah

Match could have been a lot better, I think. If you go into it knowing neither man is there to try win but cooperatively build a match of one-upmanship via okay dives it's fun.

Still not sold on anything else from the shows. Nakamura/Rush I doubt is as good as their first encounter (which wasn't what it should have been, either) and Rush/Ishii doesn't happen thanks to a set-up for Ishii/Naito. Others might be more in to this, though:

Hiroshi Tanahashi, La Sombra, Naito vs Ishii, Okada, Último Guerrero


----------



## Obfuscation

^Aye. The latter posted was right up my alley:

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, & La Sombra vs Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, & Ultimo Guerrero ~ _NJPW: Fantasticamania 2014 Night Four_​
Continued consistency by New Japan on the aspects you figure. Main event players continue to pull through w/their character dynamics adding multiple wrinkles to these multi-man affairs. Toss in two good performances by the Lucha players, who fully added their own spin here, and you got a high octane semi-Lucharesu trios bout. Crisp action & booming sequences keeps this one at an up tempo the entire near twenty minute span. Naito vs Ishii interactions continue to kill it in preparation of their championship match in Feb & Okada going toe to toe w/Sombra was something that left me wanting more. Mission accomplished.


----------



## Chismo

flag sabbath said:


> *Volador Jr vs. Mascara Dorada (NJPW Fantasticamania Day 5 (19/1):* The Korakuen Fantastica shows boast a great fiesta vibe & a bunch of decent matches. This one stands out from the pack as a batshit crazy succession of holy shit moments. The turn-taking style may offend certain sensibilities, but flyer fiends will be in highspot heaven ******


I was going to praise it the same way, but they kind of lost me after 10-12 minutes. The cancer of lucha libre hit again - those overstaged moonsaults and shit where a recipient simply waits to be landed on, without even bothering to sell dizziness. Fortunately, this match was passable in that department, unlike Guerrero/Sombra, Mistico/Mephisto or Shinsuke/Rush tag from Day 1, those matches were trash. But yeah, the high-flying stuff was off the fucking charts, full of stunning visuals. Good match overall, but nothing more, IMO.


But, this match was great (that KOTA/SHINSKE chemistry!):



******


----------



## Frakkles

Is there anything outside the Wrestle Kingdom 8 show that's worth watching? I've wanted to keep a match of the year list for several years now but I've always been too lazy. Since it's only January, I feel like I may as well give it a go this year.

So any suggestions outside the Dome show?


----------



## EmbassyForever

Chismo said:


> I was going to praise it the same way, but they kind of lost me after 10-12 minutes. The cancer of lucha libre hit again - those overstaged moonsaults and shit where a recipient simply waits to be landed on, without even bothering to sell dizziness. Fortunately, this match was passable in that department, unlike Guerrero/Sombra, Mistico/Mephisto or Shinsuke/Rush tag from Day 1, those matches were trash. But yeah, the high-flying stuff was off the fucking charts, full of stunning visuals. Good match overall, but nothing more, IMO.
> 
> 
> But, this match was great (that KOTA/SHINSKE chemistry!):
> 
> 
> 
> ******


**** for me as well. Awesome stuff.


----------



## Obfuscation

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, & Mistico vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Yujiro Takahashi, & Mephisto ~ _NJPW: Fantasticamania Night Five_​
Nakamura the MVP, baby. His interactions w/Tanahashi at the start & Ibushi towards the finish were the glue that held this together. Couple all of that in w/the Luchadores being harmless - if partially non-existent on the majority - the regular players offering their worth & a nifty sequence where the heel isolation process was brought on by good looking triple team offense. Captured the multi-man environment well and in a way that wasn't seen much in these bountiful tags New Japan has given us in January. Nakamura busting out a corkscrew plancha was top notch. He really brought his, generally consistent, A-game in this one. Unlike the night prior where he was more of a bumping machine for Rush, and that was it. Hot streak finale was real cool _(yes for oxymorons!)_ however I wished this bout would have been given the proper bow to seal the deal w/a better, less abrupt finish. Didn't hurt things, but it certainly didn't help. Nonetheless, watch & enjoy.


----------



## Concrete

****** Casas/Puma/Tiger vs. Black Panther/Blue Panther/Cachorro(CMLL 1/14/14):***3/4*
_This is PART DEUX to the Casas Boys versus the Blue Panther Clan and I think I might be in the minority but this was a good chunk better. This was pretty wild and just oodles UPON OODLES of fun. Certainly wouldn't confuse this with an epic bout coming in at probably less than 12 minutes but that really doesn't matter for the stuff that they threw in here. Blue Panther and Casas were their usually great selves when they were in there but it was a real joy to see the young ones looking so good out there. But before I get off the older gentlemen their brief clawing at each other exchange set a wonderful tone. Cachorro already carriers himself stupidly well out there. His headbutt exchange with Casas is super duper. Also was a big fan of his fake out into a dive off the apron in the third Black Panther simply looks like a tank. He's already showing he can work like a force and I can only imagine how he'll be when he gets a mere year under his belt. Puma and Tiger look less like guys who are going to be studs and more like hellspawn. Superkicks are done where and when they want but they look good all the same. They team up on opponents like rabid dogs and even through the backcracker/powerbomb isn't the most original it still looked pretty OUCHY so I'm not going to hate if that gets used by them. SUMMATION, short but wild with two all-time guys and their family members that look like they could be greats in their own right._​


----------



## PowerandGlory

elgin/ethan page vs ricochet/uhaa nation was insane tonight at aaw chaos theory


----------



## flag sabbath

USAUSA1 said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdSewgQz_D4
> 
> TCW first episode of 2014(taped in 2013)
> 
> Sigmon vs. Vordell Walker 30 minute IRON MATCh. I thought it was a great match and very brutal. The last 5 minutes was terrific with the leg work. I don't do the star rating but this would get I guess ****1/4.


I'm guessing this would belong in the 2013 thread, but seeing as it's been mentioned here....

Vordell Walker was great throughout, consistently clutching at his battered midsection even during his short-lived comebacks. Unfortunately, Sigmon sold next-to-nothing (including a belly-to-belly on the concrete) and kept making superman comebacks, which as an overmatched 5'8" heel is anything but traditional. He also has this really annoying habit of popping up from big moves & rushing to position himself for the next spot. There was some decent drama in the final third, but it fizzled out towards the end & 90% of the crowd were sat on their hands. Around ***** for me.


----------



## Groovemachine

*Johnny Gargano vs Uhaa Nation - Evolve 27 - *****

~ Fantastic showing from Uhaa here. Still loving Gargano's character; he wrestles straight for most of the match, and then when his opponent gets a bit too close to victory for comfort, he pulls out the heel tactics. In this case, it was targeting Uhaa's surgically repaired knee with the ring bell. AND UHAA SELLS IT LIKE A CHAMP. Uhaa hits a tombstone which messes up his knee and stops him from going for the cover. It's a great sell-job, and plays so well into the finish. Props to Gargano for the modified GargaNo Escape, that was a nice touch.


----------



## Bruce L

Groovemachine said:


> *Johnny Gargano vs Uhaa Nation - Evolve 27 - *****
> 
> ~ Fantastic showing from Uhaa here. Still loving Gargano's character; he wrestles straight for most of the match, and then when his opponent gets a bit too close to victory for comfort, he pulls out the heel tactics. In this case, it was targeting Uhaa's surgically repaired knee with the ring bell. AND UHAA SELLS IT LIKE A CHAMP. Uhaa hits a tombstone which messes up his knee and stops him from going for the cover. It's a great sell-job, and plays so well into the finish. Props to Gargano for the modified GargaNo Escape, that was a nice touch.


Seconded.


----------



## Chismo

:mark::






_This match can be taglined "BattlARTS meets Strong BJ". Tons of closed fist punches and strikes. Nifty, painful holds. Great selling. HEAT. Anyway, this match will be either loved or loathed, because it had the "my turn, your turn" rhythm. Personally, I fucking love it for the reasons I mentioned. It's slightly clipped, but you barely notice. K-Hash is super duper awesome, and is grooming into a godly Japanese fattie that's going to be universally loved._

****


Tsukamoto/Kodaka from the same show was a really good DM title match. ***3/4


----------



## djmathers1207

Royal Rumble 2014

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt ****

Easily Bray Wyatt's best match in WWE


----------



## flag sabbath

In case anyone's looking for it....


----------



## kwjr86

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt - ****1/2. Brilliant Match. Am I the only one that saw the comparisons to Morishima/Bryan?


----------



## Peter Carroll

kwjr86 said:


> Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt - ****1/2. Brilliant Match. Am I the only one that saw the comparisons to Morishima/Bryan?


Ooh, I hadn't thought of that!


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Bray Wyatt vs Daniel Bryan 
****
A great match but I kinda felt like they were holding back,still had awesome spots and felt like 8 minutes when it was actually 21.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## seabs

_*Bryan/Bray was super. Maybe a top 5 Bryan match in WWE. No intended hyperbole. Bray obviously won't have a match that good with just about anyone else but he more than held his own and added his own value to the match. Keep him away from Kane's and he'll do well. I really wish Bryan was allowed to just be a pissed off grump more often. Curb Stomp was amazing even if the camera shot of it wasn't. Bryan's initial workover was really good and full of vengeance. I bet some geeks will complain about the leg not being a factor after but I thought they worked it fine as it being a ***** in Bray's armour rather than a big weakness. Plus it's not like Bryan really went to town on it. I guess more could have been done after but it didn't hurt the match so who cares. Bray's offence is really fresh which stands out extra on a roster of really stale or repeated movesets. Really strong comeback segment and the finish was magnificent and extra magnificent for how seamless they pulled it off. Everytime I imagine it in my head I imagine Bryan doing this really slow easy to catch dive that oversized Indy guys to because it's what Indy guys have to do now but if anything it looked like Bryan put more velocity on the dive than normal and Bray still caught him perfectly. Sucks that Bryan lost but I can live with it when we get a match this strong. Bray kinda had to win, especially if they're preparing him for Cena but really Bryan should never have been demoted to that spot at this point. It really should have been Punk because Punk's done nothing lately and is at the point where a loss like this wouldn't have hurt him one bit. Losing probably actually gets Bryan over more in a rebellious sense but it's all for nothing and it's heartbreaking that the hope for Bryan will probably never fade out.*_


----------



## Saint Dick

Bray Wyatt v Daniel Bryan - Royal Rumble (1/26/14)
This somehow managed to exceed my expectations. I say somehow because I only just watched it after seeing everybody throw **** at it but wow, I loved it. I'm right there with Seabs calling it a top 5 WWE match for Bryan. I'd put it above any of his singles matches from 2013, even Cena/Bryan. It goes without saying that it's Bray's best match to this point and he added a heck of a lot to it. Wasn't a DB carry job by any means. Both guys bumped wonderfully and produced a vicious, brutal nature to the match with a ton of aggression and intensity behind their strikes and impact moves. Wyatt's character work was awesome throughout and he really came out of this looking like a million bucks. Wyatt biting Bryan to get out of the Yes Lock was great but there was also a moment I haven't seen mentioned where immediately after Wyatt yanked Bryan down to the apron and to the outside he seemed to be punching his own leg to get some feeling back into it or whatever. Thought that was a totally cool touch. Didn't mind Bray's ability to shake off the leg injury at all. Marked out for the flying tornado DDT and that COLOSSAL clothesline. The finish was incredible. Beautifully executed and if you're gonna have the hottest guy in the company go down clean then that's the way to do it. Fantastic match. I'll be surprised if there's a better PPV opener in 2014. LISTED!



Spoiler: dat list



1. Bray Wyatt v Daniel Bryan - Royal Rumble (1/26/14)
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

Honorable mentions:


----------



## Zatiel

Bryan Vs. Wyatt was incredible, the best opener WWE has had in years. It also played off of being an opener the best of anything I can remember since Mysterio Vs. Angle at Summerslam, because there were two distinct points where they could have been wrapping things up and instead spiraled outward and kept going, with Bryan's comebacks or Wyatt just being a beast. The ending was sick. Enjoyed it more than anything on Wrestle Kingdom, which is saying a lot.

Also, that Whirlwind DDT off the apron needs more love!


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (Royal Rumble 2014) ****1/2

I don't know what else you could of realistically added into this match to make it perfect but it was pretty close.


----------



## Rah

End of month so here's the tally for January (Bryan/Wyatt might be higher but no star ratings or votes attached so I didn't count those posts)


Puro:
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 4 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 9 ||
Kazuchika Okada Vs Tetsuya Naito (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 3 ||



US Indy:
Trent Barretta Vs Anthony Nese (Evolve 25) || YES = 1 ||
Sigmon Vs Vordell Walker (TCW 14-01) || YES = 1 ||



WWE:
Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (Royal Rumble)|| YES = 2 ||


----------



## Joshi Judas

Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt: ****

Really strong PPV opener. Unsure if I should actually bump the rating by 1/4* so it can be nominated. Maybe I'll rewatch and decide. But really strong match nevertheless. Bray's best outing ever by far and DBD really brought the best outta him.


----------



## Rah

Quoth the Raven said:


> Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt: ****
> 
> Really strong PPV opener. Unsure if I should actually bump the rating by 1/4* so it can be nominated. Maybe I'll rewatch and decide. But really strong match nevertheless. Bray's best outing ever by far and DBD really brought the best outta him.



The star rating doesn't much matter. If you feel it will make top 10 for WWE come end of year, I'll happily accept a vote.


----------



## flag sabbath

Funnily enough, after re-watching a bunch of stuff, my favourite match so far this year is the New Year Dash main event. It flows seamlessly from bell to bell & lays the groundwork perfectly for the New Beginning double shot.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Rah said:


> The star rating doesn't much matter. If you feel it will make top 10 for WWE come end of year, I'll happily accept a vote.


As far as PPV matches go, I definitely think it could be top 10, so yeah I think I'll nominate it.


----------



## seabs

*Oh yeah YES at Bryan vs Wyatt.*


----------



## flag sabbath

So yeah, that's a YES from me for Bryan vs. Wyatt and one for the New Year Dash (5/1) main event of Okada, Nakamura, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanahashi, Goto, Naito & Captain NJ, which I actually prefer to anything at WK8.


----------



## Groovemachine

A definite YES vote for me for Bryan/Wyatt. Such an awesome back and forth contest.

I also think I'll nominate Gargano/Uhaa that I pimped a few days ago, as it could be a contender for Evolve MOTY. In my opinion it was a lot better than Trent/Nese.


----------



## Joeisgod

Pretty good start to 2014. Here's the best matches I've seen so far from this year.


*10.	Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW Wrestling Kingdom VII) ***3/4*
I love the Devitt vs. Ibushi matches!! These two just never fail to deliver in any of their encounters. This isn't their best matches, but at the same time isn't their worst. If you love their matches you'll sure too enjoy this match.​
*9.	Anthony Nese vs. Trent Baretta (EVOLVE 25) ***3/4*
This was a really great way to kick off Evolve 25, and in my opinion was the best opener in the history of EVOLVE. This two performers had a really great 2013 and continue to showcase their skills heading into 2014. The only thing that really takes away from the match was the overkill at the end, and the very abrupt ending, but besides that this was a very good match from both men.​
*8.	The Young Buck, and Rich Swan vs. The Bravo Bros and Johnny Gargano (Evolve 25) ***3/4*
This was an fantastic six man tag match to be expected from all six men. The Bravo Bros continue to impress me more and more every time I watch them. I wouldn't be surprised if they became one of the big teams on the independent scene by the end of the year. Really spot heavy match, and those super kicks at the end!!​
*7.	Volador Jr vs. Mascara Dorada NJPW (NJPW Fantasticamania Day 5) *****
I was never a really big lucha fan, but this match makes me want to start watching lucha wrestling this year!! A great showcase from two of Mexico's superstars. You're either going to love this or hate it. Their was a lot of no selling, and tons of flips/high flying maneuvers. Everything was performed really clean, and beautiful though. Like I said not everybody is going to enjoy this match, but if you turn you mind off for a second and just watch you might really enjoy this one!!​
*6.	Uhaa Nation and AR Fox vs. Johnny Gargano and Jon Davis (Evolve 26) *****
Wow, what a spot fest!! I'm actually surprised this match isn't getting that much love on here. Incredible exciting match from all four men from start to finish, and another great EVOLVE match!! I really hope Uhaa Nation breaks out of the pack this year. The man moves at amazing speed for a guy his size! I would not be suprised if WWE scoops him up before the end of the year. 

*5.	Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW Wrestling Kingdom VII) *****
This match was actually disappointing to me. Don't get me wrong both men had a fantastic match, but I expected a ****1/2 match from these two. I did still enjoy the match a lot, but I was expecting a lot more. It's still one of the best matches from this month, and is still definitely worth a watch. I will not be suprised if this match is lost in the shuffle by the end of the year though. I'm hoping for a rematch before the year end, because I really think these two can have a top MOTY candidate match​
*4.	Ricochet vs. Trent Baretta (Evolve 26) *****
EVOLVE wrestling continues to bring the awesomeness. These two had a hell of a match with some really great spots (THAT GERMAN ON THE APRON THOUGH!!!). This was my favorite from EVOLVE 26, and the best Trent Baretta match I've ever seen!! Who would have thought some lower midcarder WWE outcast would perform so great on the indies!!​
*3.	AR Fox vs. Davey Richards (Evolve 25) *****
This is an indy dream match, and I'm really glad that EVOLVE booked this before Richards went to TNA! Great match as you would expect, and AR Fox took some SICK spots. Please do yourself a favor and check this one out!! Hell while your at just buy EVOLVE 25 and 26; probably the top two shows EVOLVE has ever put on!​
*2.	Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (WWE Royal Rumble 2014) *****
Ok, so I knew Daniel Bryan was going to carry Bray Wyatt to a good match, but wow this more than exceeded my expectations! I loved everything about this match, and it was the shining star from a very shitty Royal Rumble. Bray Wyatt held his own too, and really impressed me! From his mannerism, his willingness to take big spots, too his selling. This match not only got Wyatt over for me, but Daniel Bryan looked strong with the lost. I can see the comparison to Morishima and Danielson like someone said earlier on in the thread. Really great match from both men, and probably in the top five Daniel Bryan matches from WWE.​
*1.	Kacuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW Wrestling Kingdom VIII) ****1/4*
And, this your MOTY from January! This way the best match from Wrestling Kingdom VII and a fantastic match as to be suspected. The final stretch was fantastic, and these two worked really well with each other! A lower end ****1/4 and it makes me really looking forward to some more NJPW!​


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yes! To Bryan vs Wyatt.
At this rate it will pr


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## EscapedIllusion

obably be on of WWE's MOTY.

Sorry about that glitch I'm on my phone and can't edit it. 


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Saint Dick

*YES* for Bryan/Wyatt.


----------



## Zatiel

YES for Bryan Vs. Wyatt.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Zatiel said:


> YES! YES! YES! for Bryan Vs. Wyatt.


fyp


----------



## Violent By Design

How is this Yes thing working again? I missed the memo.


----------



## darkclaudio

No Bray Wyatt vs Daniel Bryan ***1/4+ (Very Good Match)


----------



## seabs

Violent By Design said:


> How is this Yes thing working again? I missed the memo.


*Throw a YES or NOMINATE or equivalent at matches you think should be added to the main list in the OP of genuine MOTYCs. In other words circa top 20 matches at the end of the year is a good guideline for a YES but it's not a tight criteria. It's basically to create a list that is easily accessible without searching through every post in here to find the most appreciated MOTYCs.*


----------



## Obfuscation

YES! @ Danielson vs Bray Wyatt from Royal Rumble for me. I was going to back track off of the list thing b/c meh, but if it's getting votes, add mine.

I could do a write up, although most of what was said was by others. Sick bout that grew into something pretty damn special.


----------



## Chismo

_Not your typically long DG match, which means it's your typically long Mochizuki match, which means it's great. If that makes any sense. Battle of generations delivered here, the entire match is simple story of Mochi schooling T-Hawk, who refuses to stay down and confess inferiority. And he's right, he's not inferior at all, that's some insanely strong selling for a 23-year old wrestler. Long story short, this is a slow paced struggle that must be seen._

****​


----------



## The Black Mirror

*I'm glad to see that DB/Wyatt is getting a lot of love. Unfortunately, I went out to dinner on Sunday evening and ended up out later than expected. I didn't get back in until 8:20 Eastern, so I only caught about the last 2-3 minutes of this match. Go figure that it ended up being the diamond in the rough for the Royal Rumble show. I'll give it a watch this coming weekend and come back to leave my thoughts.*


----------



## blink_41sum_182

I loved D-Bry/Wyatt and was totally not expecting it to be that good. Not sure why I can't give it ****. I watched it twice but maybe I'm just such a big Bryan mark, I'm still upset he lost and wasn't in the Rumble. Finish ruled though. 

So *** 3/4 for me.


----------



## Mattyb2266

Definite yes to Bryan/Wyatt. Both guys complemented each other really well here. Excited to see what the future holds for Bray. I haven't seen much wrestling in 2014 yet, but if this is any indication, its gonna be a great year. 

****1/4


----------



## EmbassyForever

YES (YES!) to Bryan/Wyatt.


----------



## geraldinhio

Haven't watched much wrestling in the last few months but watched the rumble of tradition. I'll agree with everyone that Bray/Bryan was fantastic. A big yes. A flower in a field of weeds. I'll put it at ****1/4. Bryan is so over it's not even funny. Bray blew me away really, he bumped like a lunatic, made his big moves matter and his mannerisms were pure gold. Bryan was equally as immense (duh). Didn't expect it to have been given as much time and really happy that the Wyatt family got dismissed from ringside and let Bray shine. Big thumbs up. Could go even higher on a rewatch TBH. 

Also more people need to talk about Bray's "exorcism" spot. That shit freaky.


----------



## Bubz

*YES* @ Bryan vs Wyatt from Rumble. Match was absolutely fantastic. Both guys brought it big time with their character performances, Bryan being out for blood and being the little pit-bull that he's so incredible at playing and Bray just being an unhinged maniac all the more manic because Bryan had the nerve to embarrass him and leave his group. I was expecting something good from Bryan which we obviously got but Bray caught me off guard with how good he was in it. First time he gets a big match on PPV and he delivers. Good stuff indeed. Bryan is Bryan and his initial stint in control was great. Bray targeting the head because of the concussion was a really nice touch and his workover was also great, especially his cut off spots on Bryan's comebacks. Finish is probably one of the best things I'll see all year, they pulled that shit off absolutely perfectly. Oh yeah, a motherfucking Curb Stomp! A match with Bryan Danielson Curb Stomping someone could never be anything less than awesome.


----------



## Violent By Design

Seabs said:


> *Throw a YES or NOMINATE or equivalent at matches you think should be added to the main list in the OP of genuine MOTYCs. In other words circa top 20 matches at the end of the year is a good guideline for a YES but it's not a tight criteria. It's basically to create a list that is easily accessible without searching through every post in here to find the most appreciated MOTYCs.*


Ah, cool.


----------



## THECHAMPION

I missed the first half hour of the PPV and didn't catch the Bray/Bryan match until the replay and was honestly probably too deflated from the Rumble's end to enjoy it properly. I need to give it a rewatch with all this hype.


----------



## flag sabbath

Chismo said:


> _Not your typically long DG match, which means it's your typically long Mochizuki match, which means it's great. If that makes any sense. Battle of generations delivered here, the entire match is simple story of Mochi schooling T-Hawk, who refuses to stay down and confess inferiority. And he's right, he's not inferior at all, that's some insanely strong selling for a 23-year old wrestler. Long story short, this is a slow paced struggle that must be seen._
> 
> ****​


Yeah, this is superb. Easily ****** & arguably the best singles match anywhere so far this year.


----------



## WarrenHite

i have just caught up with the video and agree that the fight is of well worth to watch


----------



## Máscara Dorada

*YES* Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt was a very good match. I'd also like to nominate Máscara Dorada vs. Volador Jr. from Fantasticamania Day 5 as a 4 star match.


----------



## PERFECTSHOW

Last year, I got an account to finally get involved in this thread, this is easily the greatest wrestling based thread anywhere if you just want a whole bunch of great stuff to watch, I love to see what ppl nominate and appreciate the more fun entries on the list. After finishing up most of my viewing for January - still needing to catch up on a few episodes of NXT & tonights SmackDown - Id have to say...its been a good month for wrestling and while not starting off w/ a bang like last years Wrestle Kingdom shows, other promotions stepped up their game and made it an overall good start to 2014...

My Nominations from January

1. Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Masato Yoshino © - Open the Dream Gate Championship (DG Infinity #324) ****1/2 - Came across this match by pure chance, I usually dont follow Dragon Gate, but they offer so much free stuff on their site that I try to watch what I can & this match was absolutely amazing. Im not great with reviews, but the psychology was fantastic and the near falls dramatic and not feeling at all forced, the rest of the card was pretty meh - outside of a very decent tag match w/ Shingo - but this match made the show, easily the best match so far in 2014! I was a bit surprised as I dont think I have seen this one brought up here yet!

2. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura © - IWGP Intercontinental Championship (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8) ****1/4 - I was expecting more from these two, just like everyone else, but they delivered a fun match that felt like it was a big deal. Nakamura is such a great performer, I find it extremely hard to hate anything he's in even if some of his leg selling was a bit spotty in this one. *(YES!)*

3. Danial Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (WWE Royal Rumble) ****1/4 - Im probably in the minority of people who found the Rumble at least a harmlessly entertaining event, but I have to agree that this match is the best reason to go out of your way to see anything from the PPV. I knew Bray Wyatt was at least a capable performer, but hadnt expected anything even half as great as we got in this match. The whole thing felt like it was taking place in a different universe w/ a totally Japanese feeling that was just amazing to watch in a WWE ring, Bray's lariat has to be one of the most beautiful things I have seen all year! *(YES!)*

4. Tatsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada © - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8) ****1/4 - Again, seems like Im in the minority here, but I felt that Okada got a really good match out of a seemingly unmotivated Naito, It had its dull moments, but not having seen anything the two have done previously, I was actually surprised how good this turned out to be, considering I came in not giving a damn about Naito! *(YES!)*

5. Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8) **** - To be honest, Im getting a bit tired of Goto, but, I just couldnt help but get into this match. Shibata & Goto just do such great things with eachother in the ring...even if I could have called half of Goto's spots with my eyes shut. A nice match, but I wont throw a vote at this one...

Hopefully I did this right! I read throw the rules...so heres to hoping & now onto February!


----------



## Obfuscation

Koji Kanemoto vs Kazuki Hashimoto - BJW: 1/2/14​
The war that came out of nowhere. Unsure on the backstory of this match - or even if it had one going it - but these two laid it into each other w/some good intensity. Kanemoto's entrance leading to the tussle, to the awesome double clostheline from both being ultra gung-ho to start; right off the bat it was heated. Hashimoto was reminding me a lot of Yoshiaki Yago w/his reliance on strikes _(specifically kicks)_ & his bright yellow haircut. Hashimoto comes off just as bad ass, only, more from a spirited babyface standpoint. Back and forth striking throughout felt more natural than a lot of other matches. Didn't have the contrived nature about it. Or logic bending absurity of a guy standing and taking a hard shot to the face. Loved Kanemoto stealing the face wash spot. Crowd got on Kanemoto's case after that moment. Ankle Lock segment was rad. Really liked the importance of bringing that hold into play at the end after Hashimoto used it earlier in the bout. Counters all looked believable; which got a nice rise out of the crowd. Kept looking for how Hashimoto would sell his ankle after Kanemoto torqued on it for so long. Hash did a nice job in that patch. When he first countered the hold he was rubbing his foot back and forth on the mat to try and remove the numbness. Very neat little touch chucked in by a guy who hasn't been working for very long. Both were so fluid in this. Transition from strikefest to ground war was seamless.


----------



## flag sabbath

PERFECTSHOW said:


> 1. Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Masato Yoshino © - Open the Dream Gate Championship (DG Infinity #324) ****1/2 - Came across this match by pure chance, I usually dont follow Dragon Gate, but they offer so much free stuff on their site that I try to watch what I can & this match was absolutely amazing. Im not great with reviews, but the psychology was fantastic and the near falls dramatic and not feeling at all forced, the rest of the card was pretty meh - outside of a very decent tag match w/ Shingo - but this match made the show, easily the best match so far in 2014! I was a bit surprised as I dont think I have seen this one brought up here yet!


Okay, yeah, so I spoke too soon - _this_ is the best match of the year so far (with Mochi vs. T-Hawk and the New Year Dash 8 man vying for 2nd). Epic without going unnecessarily long, a bunch of heart-stopping near falls & a rowdy Korakuen audience on the edge of its seats *****1/4*

I was gonna post a link, but the videocap is a spoiler - it's on RealHero's dailymotion channel.


----------



## Chismo

Mochizuki/Yoshino ****

Mochizuki is the boss of bosses, and his performance was outstanding here, but unfortunately, the opponent was Yoshino, an epitome of a "hit or miss" wrestler. He was not bad here, but he was nowhere near Mochi's level, which prevented the match from being a true legit MOTYC that would hit Top 10 lists in December. The match was very exciting, though, and the crowd was excellent. Mochizuki is the wrestler of January.


----------



## Groovemachine

I thought Mochizuki/Yoshino was very exciting and they set a frenetic pace which was impressive. I was a bit turned off by the constant 'move-trading', where they didn't allow any time to sell and just got straight back up and kept going. I'd say it's more of a problem with Yoshino matches; his whole persona is about speed so that seems to be his main focus in matches. I haven't been a massive fan of many of his Open the Dream Gate defenses for that reason. They're good, but the lack of selling holds it back in my eyes.

Mochizuki was f'n awesome in it though. Can't wait to check out the T-Hawk match.


----------



## Obfuscation

Atsushi Kotoge vs Daisuke Harada - _Pro Wrestling NOAH: New Year Navigation 1/10_​
The beauty of this match was the specific way it was built towards the climax. A more significant approach to it than usual for a match. All reliant on their chemistry as a tag team in the past. Great stuff once it got to the fever pitch in the end. Both men knowing what the opponent was wanting to go for next. Crowd ate it all up too. They deserve plenty of props for that. Not everyone on this show made the audience care. These two young guns did. And did it in really, really good fashion. Details here aren't specific, but this was a strongly executed affair. Go check it out and witness it for yourself. I went giddy on one specific counter in the end. Was the ultimate calling card on their work as a duo. MOTN on the first show of 2014. Completely outshining all the other "big" angles NOAH had to offer. I hope these two have a big year.


----------

Naomichi Marufuji, Mohammed Yone, & Atsushi Kotoge vs Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, & Jonah Rock - _Pro Wrestling NOAH: 1/19_​
Can't remember the last time I enjoyed the use of "HIGH WORKRATE" like this and it didn't involve the Young Bucks. Hmm. From the start I figured this match wasn't going to have any significant FIP moments - logistically speaking for a safe bet - as both sides are babyface. Wasn't wrong. Or nothing was significantly sustained. Once the triple team efforts began, it was off to the races for both sides. A lot of it being in-offensive too. Everyone in here kept it well within the realm of not making me hate any sequences. Was happy about that. Seeing how Bobby Fish did a little bit of this earlier on the show and I wasn't feeling it. TMDK continue their booming consistency; adding Jonah Rock seems to be a solid fit. He didn't do a TON throughout this, but he provided enough to show he's got potential. Could already say I'm digging him. For those put off by the other names in the match _*cough, Marufuji & Yone, cough*_ I'd say don't worry. Yone only did a little tad in the final sequence that'll be remembered and Marufuji was harmless. One swift sequence of strikes and nothing more to lead it down the path of shielding your eyes. Can understand this blitz not being everybody's cup of tea. It got a rise out of me. Certainly enough to give it a plug here. I would kill for a Haste vs Kotoge singles match down the line. Oh, and irony struck again. After the match was over, TMDK were acting like pricks towards BRAVE. Go figure. Guess one team in the match could have worked like jerks to garner some heat and rely on a FIP segment or two. Ha.


----------



## The Black Mirror

*Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan - WWE Royal Rumble (January 26, 2014) - ★★★★ ¼ (YES!/NOMINATED)​
WOW!

What more is there to say other than what has already been said in this thread? I didn't get to see this match other than the ending during its live airing. I went back and watched it today after seeing everybody praise it so highly on here. I really enjoyed the ending when I saw it live, but I never expected that everything that preceded the ending would be this good. Let's face it: I don't think it's possible for Daniel Bryan to have a bad match. But that is definitely not to say that he carried Bray through this match. Bray more than held his own and was finally able to show just how entertaining he could be. I hate that creative had to hot-shot this angle and wrap it up so quickly. I suppose it's not guaranteed that the angle is over, but I'd have liked to have seen more than one singles match between these two on pay-per-view. In any event, all the magnificent wrestling aside, the character work in this match was absolutely phenomenal. Although Daniel Bryan delivers his character perfectly on a weekly basis, Bray really stood out here. Bray will no doubt be the top heel in the company by the end of next year, if not sooner. He really just has "it." From my perspective, his is the best new gimmick in wrestling in the last several years.

It goes without saying that this was the best match of the night, which is not usually expected from an opening bout. Of course, it was also the best show opener from the WWE in recent memory. There are two small things that take away from this match for me. The first was the semi-botch of Bryan's flying headbutt. Bray was way too close to the turnbuckle and it ended up being a splash instead. Still an effective move and a nice spot, but clearly not what Bryan was going for. That's a minor gripe, though, as it really wasn't a "botch" in the traditional sense of the word. The only other slightly annoying thing was how quickly Bray got over the leg injury after Bryan worked it for several minutes. It was a nice touch to his character to see him violently striking his own knee as if to "repair" it, but it still seemed like he got over the injury way too quickly. This was a bummer especially after how much of an emphasis was made on his leg injury after it happened toward the beginning of the match. Other than those two minor gripes, this match was damn near perfect.

I could easily see my rating for this one go up in the future after watching again. I wouldn't be surprised if it sits at a comfortable 4 and 1/2 stars at the end of the year when I prepare my final match of the year listing. The greatest part about all of this is that I see a future where these two square off in several classic battles in the main event with the belt on the line. Now THAT will be even sweeter!*


----------



## Odo

Too Far Gone said:


> *Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan - WWE Royal Rumble (January 26, 2014) - ★★★★ ¼ (YES!/NOMINATED)​
> WOW!
> 
> What more is there to say other than what has already been said in this thread? I didn't get to see this match other than the ending during its live airing. I went back and watched it today after seeing everybody praise it so highly on here. I really enjoyed the ending when I saw it live, but I never expected that everything that preceded the ending would be this good. Let's face it: I don't think it's possible for Daniel Bryan to have a bad match. But that is definitely not to say that he carried Bray through this match. Bray more than held his own and was finally able to show just how entertaining he could be. I hate that creative had to hot-shot this angle and wrap it up so quickly. I suppose it's not guaranteed that the angle is over, but I'd have liked to have seen more than one singles match between these two on pay-per-view. In any event, all the magnificent wrestling aside, the character work in this match was absolutely phenomenal. Although Daniel Bryan delivers his character perfectly on a weekly basis, Bray really stood out here. Bray will no doubt be the top heel in the company by the end of next year, if not sooner. He really just has "it." From my perspective, his is the best new gimmick in wrestling in the last several years.
> 
> It goes without saying that this was the best match of the night, which is not usually expected from an opening bout. Of course, it was also the best show opener from the WWE in recent memory. There are two small things that take away from this match for me. The first was the semi-botch of Bryan's flying headbutt. Bray was way too close to the turnbuckle and it ended up being a splash instead. Still an effective move and a nice spot, but clearly not what Bryan was going for. That's a minor gripe, though, as it really wasn't a "botch" in the traditional sense of the word. The only other slightly annoying thing was how quickly Bray got over the leg injury after Bryan worked it for several minutes. It was a nice touch to his character to see him violently striking his own knee as if to "repair" it, but it still seemed like he got over the injury way too quickly. This was a bummer especially after how much of an emphasis was made on his leg injury after it happened toward the beginning of the match. Other than those two minor gripes, this match was damn near perfect.
> 
> I could easily see my rating for this one go up in the future after watching again. I wouldn't be surprised if it sits at a comfortable 4 and 1/2 stars at the end of the year when I prepare my final match of the year listing. The greatest part about all of this is that I see a future where these two square off in several classic battles in the main event with the belt on the line. Now THAT will be even sweeter!*


Agreed with practically every word of this, had it been a main event, and thus had a main event type of match flow, this would have been 4 1/2*, as it is, I give it 4.

Bray is a perfect nemesis for Bryan, much like people saw Ambrose as one for Punk, I hope their careers continue to intertwine on the main event stage.


----------



## Obfuscation

Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, & Rey Mysterio vs The Shield - _WWE: Friday Night Smackdown 1/31_​
2014 and the trend continues. Ultra radical sprint given. Love it when Smackdown decides to give us these quicker paced Shield six mans to counterbalance a previous lengthy trios match usually seen on RAW. They're given a chance to play off some moments from the recent match and toss them into a more hectic environment. It's great to see an element like swapping out Cena for someone like Mysterio to give the match that little bit extra. Def something new to add w/such a significant change from the ring work perspective of Cena to Mysterio. It was destined to up it's tempo w/the inclusion of Rey. He was soooo rad as the FIP. Naturally. Trying to sprint in order to tag out only to be caught off guard by Reigns; terrific. After what feels like - should count how many it actually has been - 20+ great tags given by the Shield, their chemistry is as strong as ever. Reigns is getting much more comfortable as a worker by the match. Fans respond to him all over now. Teasing of a singles match vs Sheamus - OH MY. Rollins & Ambrose continue to be as key as usual. Rollins can bump like a man who wants to die 500 more times and I won't get tired of it. Sheamus being back is bliss. Words can't describe how much I missed this guy. Returned to land himself firmly planted back as one of the workhorses who can add so much to his matches. He's just like Christian where they come back to look as if they never missed a day. From the flawless routine of the Shield to the continuous dynamics provided by each specific babyface _(Sheamus' clubbering, Mysterio's speed & FIP collaborations, to Danielson's heat securing hot tag)_ there is never an ounce of fail behind the match. Awesome stuff. If it wasn't for Danielson vs Wyatt from Rumble, this would have been a sleeper to snag WWE's best match from 2014, so far.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Anyone watched the NJPW Road to New Beginning yet? I've heard the main event was pretty good with Okada, Nakamura and Ishii vs Tanahashi, Goto and Naito. Trying to get links for it.


----------



## The ATM_

Quoth the Raven said:


> Anyone watched the NJPW Road to New Beginning yet? I've heard the main event was pretty good with Okada, Nakamura and Ishii vs Tanahashi, Goto and Naito. Trying to get links for it.


Yeah, good match especially the parts between Naito and Ishii.
In my opinion good match but not enough to be in the MOTYC list.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Tanahashi/Naito/Goto vs Okada/Nakamura/Ishii - 2/2. MotY so far for me. Easily ****1/2. Yes to this. :mark:


----------



## darkclaudio

*YES* Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW 2/02/2014 ****


----------



## EscapedIllusion

YES to Okada/Ishii/Nakamura vs Naito/Tanahashi/Goto
****1/4

Awesome match I really thought they were gonna go to a time limit draw,awesome stuff could've gone to anyone.Naito and Ishii had some awesome exchanges.


----------



## flag sabbath

Okada, Shinskay & Ishii vs. Tana, Goto & Naito is a solid ******, but I doubt it'll be in many Top 10s come summer. Also worth checking from yesterday's show is Devitt, Fale & Bucks vs. Makabe, Taguchi & Splitters, which was all-action & a lot of fun ****3/4*


----------



## Obfuscation

Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton - _WWE: Monday Night RAW 2/3_​
WWE letting Danielson work his "common" type of match and once again he kills it. For me this ended up topping the last talked about Danielson vs Orton RAW match. Largely b/c of the methodical approach being done super well + the brilliant clean finish. Terrific use of facial expressions by both in each of their segments where they were getting worked on. Orton is bipolar w/his work these days, but when he pulls through _(aka when he's w/Danielson by the look of it)_ he's still really good. Orton was using a lot of compelling looks & sounds to put over Danielson's initial destruction of his knee. Danielson was Danielson, so while he was on the offensive it was the best. Totally got flashbacks to a slew of his matches prior to WWE where he led a large portion and it was compelling and then some. He's so great at his job. Obvious statement of the decade, but damn, it's so true. Has to be said. Orton's job at picking apart Danielson was well done too. Using his own pick 'em apart mentality, such as the hand contorting, among others to put it over the top. Glad he really tried to make it look nasty, b/c Danielson was going to sell strongly for him on every level. I thought Orton's selling of his bum knee was a bit touch and go during his offensive stretch. Nothing too alarming b/c he brought it back later in the match _(did it well too)_ it was just for a patch - while untouched, yes - he didn't acknowledge it in some areas. Small potatoes that doesn't take away how great this whole bout was. One neat moment, to take it back to when Orton was scrambling to avoid any punishment Danielson would bring in the first half, was when Orton actually took the time to pull down Danielson's knee pad & actually bite down to break the hold. Instead of biting and attempting to make us believe he'll pierce through the pad, he went the extra mile w/the touch. Loved that. Finish was so good. Danielson coming back hot, making his shoulder pain radiate as if it was the worst thing to experience, yet not stopping in his attempt to defeat the champion. Awesome callback spot from Danielson vs Wyatt as Danielson came charging to hit Orton in the corner, only to be cut off at the pass again - this time by a superb dropkick. Orton immediately holding his bad leg as he had a sinister simile following ruled. Why isn't this the Orton that shows up all the time? He may not mean much in popularity, but damn he was awesome tonight. Kane attempted run-in was nicely done. Didn't tarnish any aspect. Grew to be used properly & that was to make the Danielson CLEAN victory looked heightened. A beatdown challenger took out Kane along w/countering the RKO into his still highly credible running knee. Great, great match. Filled w/a ton of smart, intricate moments from start to finish. Danielson is already making 2014 his year. I doubt Orton has a performance that will top this for the remainder of the year. Danielson will never not bring out the best in anyone he works against. Period.


----------



## flag sabbath

Shield vs. Bryan, Mysterio & Sheamus (SD 31/1) ****3/4*

Bryan vs. Orton (Raw 3/2) ****1/2*


----------



## Obfuscation

*GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship*

Taiji Ishimori(c) vs Hajime Ohara - _Pro Wrestling NOAH 1/19_​
A great juniors match. From many components. Lots of counters, pristine timing. intelligent spots w/pinpoint storytelling, good selling. Match was structurally flawless in it's execution. Was mapped out in ideal fashion. Early stalemate w/the rougher Ohara taking the early advantage targeting the back of Ishimori. Ishimori did a damn good job at constantly keeping his hurt back a focal point of the match, even while on the offensive. He'll be able to bust out some of his flashy arsenal, however, it being at the expense of his war-torn back. Continued use of the Tequila Sunrise counters being tied in w/the injured back was genius. Fusing the previous element of past results from the tour w/the current story of the match; I absolutely loved it. Excellent nearfall and better use in highlighting how smart the entire duration was. Second key moment was Ishimori's burst where he superkicked the arm of Ohara before nailing him w/one in the head. As it was quickly used as his _(Ishimori's)_ safeguard to escape the submission to seal the deal. Ohara couldn't keep it on as long as he liked via the pain. Awesome. Just totally awesome. One of my favorites in the early stages of 2014.


----------



## Rah

*NOMINATE*

Virus Vs Titan (28/01/2014 CMLL) - Depending on your enjoyment of lucha limbwork, you're either going to think the opening fall is rubbish or somewhat okay but not the level Virus is capable of (think Maya/Virus). If there was a saving grace to it, it's definitely Virus' sub to finish but a couple seconds following six minutes of average isn't here nor there, really.

That second and third fall, though? Holy hell YES. Caught up with a seemingly easy schooling of Titan in the first fall, Virus comes into the segunda like an egotistical maestro working a scrub as punishment for something he had done backstage. The way he tweaked Titan's knee was disgusting. Titan did a good enough job working a FIP comeback with his injured leg, and it shouldn't be expected of anything more - it's typical Titan-focused planning here. Of course he's going to ram some fanciful headstands and cartwheels toward the end of the fall as his comeback work, as that's what he does and what the crowd expects. Sure, working a bit more down would help but I rather enjoyed him purposefully flubbing a running enziugiri to show he isn't as capable as his usual high workrate self.

Titan's a pretty neat high-flying aspect, already, but that tercera caida was just nutty, even for him. Man oh man is Virus game to bump hard for the guy, too. Getting catapulted over the turnbuckle and splat-landing on the floor has to take its toll. The rest of the fall also delivers the excellence the coupling of Virus and Titan promises and, if this had been a running quality (most especially during the first fall) this would be a very, very strong case for MotY. As is, it's probably relegated short of Bryan/Wyatt and contendership for even the best in lucha going forward, but it's going to finish high, regardless.


*YES*

Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (Royal Rumble) - much like the Henry/Cena match from last year, this was cemented by fabulous character work. Wyatt isn't the greatest wrestler on the roster but he certainly makes up for it in knowing how to spice his work with the gimmick he's given. Bryan was on top of his game here, though, and carried this match to being one of the greatest PPV openers in a long time. His work over of Wyatt's leg was superb, as, too, was the manner in which he paced this. He completely understands how to tease a crowd with his hope spots only to drop them and use that to build to the next level once the next comeback happens instead of flattening their mood as is too often in wrestling's case. I'd have loved lengthier comeback spots from him but the back-and-forth nature within the finishing run was still a-class material and reason enough for his contendership as one of the best wrestlers on the planet today.


----------



## Obfuscation

Considering I hated Virus vs Maya, I'm going into that probably hating the first fall. _(as a way to lower expectations given what you wrote)_ Plenty hopeful w/the remaining two given by what you plugged. Titan is fine by me, nor have I grown tired of his handstand shtick. It's his calling card. Better to have something out there to separate him from the pack, I suppose.


----------



## Shotakan

*YES* to all of the following:

*JAPAN
*Nakamura vs. Tanahashi: This was a very laid back version of what we've seen them do before, but sometimes less is more and this was still a worthy Dome match. Plus I had already decided this was a bajillion stars for the entrances alone.

Goto vs. Shibata: A fitting end to a great feud that was about hard hits and respect. I'm actually looking forward to the Goto-Shibata tag team, and I haven't looked forward to anything Goto related in years.

Okada vs Naito: These two had one of the best matches of 2012, and here they have what looks to be one of the best of 2013. I was especially fond of the counter to Naito's new submission, even if he rarely beats people with it.

*WWE*

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt: Daniel Bryan is the master of doing simple matches with simple concepts and getting them completely over. Bray Wyatt was an unorthodox big man who was able to trick the traditional Bryan and target is recently concussed head, but our plucky hero using traditional WRASSLIN' was able to take back control every time. Until Bryan got a tad over-zealous that is, and found himself getting the Sister Abigail on the barricade. I loved this because immediately after it was Sister Abigail in the ring and the finish, putting over the move as dangerous and deadly all at once. 

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton: This match deserves this spot simply for waking up that poor crowd. Anyway, another fantastic match with focused limb work from both guys, managing to make this feel very big; Orton is fighting to keep the Authority's confidence, while Bryan is trying to prove that Orton was never in his league when it was fair and square. I wish that Bryan's leg work lead to more submissions attempts then the single-leg crab, but for once the announcers came through, citing that this could lead to one or both guys going into the Elimination Chamber hurt. Fantastic match.

*NO* to...

Trent Baretta vs. Anthony Neese: Neese may very well be one of the most boring wrestlers on the planet, and no better show-case of that then here; kewl movez for the sake of kewl movez, trading control segments so quickly I honestly had to rewind just to see why Neese was beating up Baretta, and after an overkill head drop section that somehow managed to both overstay its welcome and take too long for a damn opening match to get to, what wins the day? A fucking ROLL-UP?! A pumphandle-driver-thingy couldn't keep one of these fuckers down, but a roll-up could?! Then why do you fuck-nuggets bother head dropping?! You could have spent that time trading roll-ups and pinning combinations and at least it would have lead to the finish. 

Fuck this match.


----------



## Rah

> You could have spent that time trading roll-ups and pinning combinations and at least it would have lead to the finish.


To be fair, that'd still be better than most Indy matches, anyway.


----------



## Chismo

That ending was actually the best part of the Nese/Baretta match. They couldn’t finish each other up with head-dropping and high-athletic moves, so it took a basic old school move to take things home, I loved it. And while it was a very good match, it's nowhere near the MOTYC level. And Baretta is way more boring than Nese, IMO. At least Nese does attractive moves and shit, and has cool beard. Baretta is just dull.

- - - - -

Virus/Titan (CMLL 1/28) ****1/4

The second best match of January.


----------



## Shotakan

Your argument only has merit if the two wrestlers in question sold the fact that their normal offense wasn't getting it done and became desperate. They did not. They just gave weird O-faces and went to the next big move; sometimes they didn't even give us the O-face. Fair enough if you think Baretta is more boring, but at least his signature moves don't include, "dropkick variations."

*YES/NOMINATE:

DRAGON Gate*
Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk: Well hello there, Motivated Mochizuki! It's been a while since we've last seen you, how have you been? This was a great Young Lion vs. Established Vet match, a formula that shall never grow old. I wasn't too crazy about the finish, and T-Hawk for the most part felt kind of there, but Mochizuki carries this on the sheer power of disrespect, focused work, and just having a flat-out dominating persona. He really is one of those guys that looks like him beating the shit out of you is the natural state of the world.


----------



## Saint Dick

Daniel Bryan v Randy Orton - Raw (2/3/14)
Yeah, this was definitely good. Very good actually, at a level where I wouldn't disagree with anyone who thinks it was great. That said I don't think it compares favorably with their match from December. Now that was excellent. I appreciated the vast majority of what they did but it never really threatened to touch their previous match on a personal enjoyment level for me. Always been a fan of focused limb work and that was abundant here. Bryan working a lengthy, methodical control segment was a nice change of pace from the frenetic style we see in most of his matches these days and Orton's selling was on point. Really liked what he did before getting to the ropes to break the half crab. Sounded more like a laugh to me than anything else, almost as if to say 'fuck it, fuck this pain, I need to shake this off and get to the ropes NOW'. He kind of stopped selling when he got back on offense which bothered me a little but he went back to it towards the end of the match so I won't be too critical. Dug the 'one of these guys could get injured and that would suck going into the Chamber' theme that the commentators played up. Thought it added some extra meaning to the limb work and match as a whole. Finishing stretch was fine but it didn't feel like a match hitting its peak to me. Much preferred the end to the December match. All in all there was a lot to like and I'd certainly call it a very good match, borderline great. It's not a MOTYC though and I'll be disappointed if it has a place in my top 20 list come the end of the year. Oh shit, forgot to mention how much I liked Bryan throwing Orton into Michael Cole. That was super. So yeah, I liked it a lot, just not as much as some other people on here.


----------



## Bubz

Orton/Bryan was great indeed. Bryan is proving why many people (including myself) think of him as one of if not _the _elite worker in the world. Orton was great too though, when he wants to be he can be so good. Two great workovers with fantastic little touches sprinkled all the way through, a short but really well done finishing run and a clean finish with Bryan going over definitively. Yeah, I thought it was swell.

I do prefer their December match though.


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yes to Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton. Awesome match with great psychology.
****
One of my predictions for this year was that Bryan was gonna have a 4 star match every month of the year and so far it looks like it's gonna happen.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Concrete

*Virus vs. Titan(CMLL 1/28/14):*****
_This here is pretty darn great. First fall isn't anything special but some Virus matwork is not something that I'm too keen on shunning. Enjoyed Virus bossing Titan around in the second fall. The second fall also probably possesses my least favorite part of the match where Titan brushes off the whole being worked over aspect that preceded and went into his stretch. Really took me out of the second fall. Though I seem to consider that a bigger issue than most which is probably a good thing. Third fall though...NUTTY! Virus getting launched into the air, the moonsault that didn't look like the opponent was the dumbest man on the planet, and Virus doing a senton outside the ring. Also dug the counter wrestling that was being busted out. Not gonna go super long but yeah I thought it was great and MAYBE could end up in the bottom half of a CMLL/lucha Top 10. _​


----------



## Last Chancery

EscapedIllusion said:


> Yes to Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton. Awesome match with great psychology.
> ****
> One of my predictions for this year was that Bryan was gonna have a 4 star match every month of the year and so far it looks like it's gonna happen.
> 
> 
> Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


Yep. Agreed with the four-snowflake rating, as well. Bryan's selling was pretty great throughout. My favorite little bit is when he did his running corner dropkicks, charging shoulder-first into the buckles after connecting on his first one. Bryan slams into the buckles, keeps running at Orton, and subtly, and for only a spit-second, touches his right arm. Blink and you'd miss it. A nice touch, pun intended.


----------



## Obfuscation

Masaaki Mochizuki vs T-Hawk - _Dragon Gate 1/12_​
A total struggle from start to finish. Under the great worked story that is Veteran vs "Rookie", experience vs in-experience, etc. Mochizuki was motivated throughout it all; it showed. He's so good when he puts his heart into matches. Still has all the tools to kill it. Or his opponent, in this case. Intertwined between the central story of the match was a minor story build up on each of the worker's signature calling cards: Mochizuki's soul destroying kicks/punches vs T-Hawk's insane chops. Liked that touch. It gave the match more...I guess, pride, would be the proper term. Neither wanting to concede to either of the attacks. Along w/neither wanting to be shown up as a whole. Mochizuki knew T-Hawk chops hard. So what does the aged vet do early on? Destroy his arm, of course. Ultra sick contortions of T-Hawk's hand. While in hyper-extending arm holds no less. Mochizuki was out to prove a point. Best part to come from the destruction was when T-Hawk attempted to use his chops to gain the advantage later on. He tried as hard as he could, but his once feared strikes were reduced to what Mochizuki made to appear as if he was only being poked in the tummy by a toddler. Such a boss. Flow of this moved about as natural as you could hoped. The constant struggle of going back and forth, the ebb & flow of a real battle is all that was on your mind as you watched. Nothing about the time limit. Nothing about having to rush. It was all about who would win. Who would fall first. The mentality of both wouldn't falter. Towards the end T-Hawk's selling of his banged up arm became a bit more nil. I can accept it by proxy of adrenaline and it wasn't as if he completely forgot about it. Fit the desperation of wanting to him all of his "big" finishers in order to get the W. He had to empty his arsenal in hopes of keeping Mochizuki down. Speaking of, Mochizuki no-selling T-Hawk's sitout inverted splash mountain bomb _(forget the fancy name..)_ was actually awesome. If largely b/c of T-Hawk's facial expression that came the moment Mochizuki popped back up after getting hit. It was the entire 20+ minute struggle - at that point - all summed up by one look. A look of near hopelessness at what he had to do in order to win. Fantastic. End was done supremely well too. Announcement expressing how there is only one minute left in the duration. Both are lying prone, having to get themselves up and scramble for a flash win. Two men drained attempting one more strike battle at the center of the ring, Mochizuki deciding to muscle the youngster down and pin his tired body that way, only for it not to work. Another moment that captured the essence of what this match was. Struggle for pride. To the highest degree. Excellent match w/two top performances.


----------



## Obfuscation

*Mexican National Welterweight Championship*

Titan(c) vs Virus - _CMLL: 1/28_​
Well this awesome. First off, I enjoyed the first fall. Was a believable back and forth tussle on the mat. Dug the spot where Virus wouldn't let Titan properly apply the Camel Clutch w/maximum pressure. Clear sign of experience shining through in the early going. Second fall was rad all on the aspect of Virus chomping down Titan at every turn. The counter into the out of the blue chop block left me giddy. GIDDY. Didn't mind Titan using his handstand to snag the flash pin in the second fall, b/c while his legs were worked over for the majority, it complied w/the essence of what gives Titan his niche. That's his calling card and even Virus got caught by it, despite having a near flawless game two falls in. Final fall is what you'd expect - they take their bumps in it. Both doing the same from each other. Thought Titan's flop off the top rope down to the apron and subsequently the floor was ludicrous. He fell w/o a care. Was sick. Probably not as brutal as Virus getting catapulted over the turnbuckle to land squarely on the concrete, yet, crazy all in the same vein. Beauty of the final fall was the smarts of it. Both ever reliant on what their game-plans are: Titan w/his flashy technico daredevil offense; Virus using his ground game to trap Titan any chance he found. Great false finish by recreating what earned Titan the second fall in bring back the flash roll up sequence. Even better portion was after Titan used his surge of adrenaline to hit various dives, Virus trapped Titan in yet another leg submission, bringing back the injured legs to light. It got real w/that spot. Good finish w/Titan changing things up to catch the vet off guard. I thought it would have came down to something nutty in order for the match to end. It played to it's strengths here. Keeping the central story from the beginning alive. A ton of fun. And totally awesome, like I said.


----------



## 777

Been a pretty good start to the year.

Right now my list is looking like.

Shibata vs Goto - WK
Nakamura vs Tanahashi - WK
Bryan vs Wyatt - RR
Virus vs Titan - CMLL


----------



## Obfuscation

Wasn't too surprised I loved it, however I'm gonna keep a soft spot for Makabe vs Fale from WK when it comes to talking up what's great in 2014 when it is all said and done. A slugfest after my own heart.


----------



## Groovemachine

Caught up on Mochizuki vs T-Hawk. YES! That finishing stretch...wow. Incredibly intense while still selling the exhaustion and playing up how competitive the match had become. Miles better than Mochi/Yoshino in my book.


----------



## Rah

Puro:
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 5 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 11 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Tetsuya Naito (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 6 ||
Okada, Nakamura, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanahashi, Goto, Naito & Captain NJ (NJPW 05/01)|| YES = 1 ||
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Masato Yoshino (DG Infinity #324) || YES = 2 ||
Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW 02/02) || YES = 3 ||
Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (Dragon Gate 12/01) || YES = 3 ||




US Indy:
Trent Barretta Vs Anthony Nese (Evolve 25) || YES = 1 ||
Sigmon Vs Vordell Walker (TCW 14-01) || YES = 1 ||
Johnny Gargano Vs Uhaa Nation (Evolve 27) || YES = 1 ||



WWE:
*Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (Royal Rumble) || YES = 19 ||*
Daniel Bryan Vs Randy Orton (WWE Raw 03/02) || YES = 1 ||



Lucha Libre:
Virus Vs Titan (CMLL 28/01) || YES = 2 ||


Legend:
*Bold Red Text*: matches with a score of 10 or better
Red text: matches with a score of 5 or better


----------



## seabs

*You need to red Goto/Shibata and Okada/Naito based on your post at the bottom.*


----------



## Nervosa

I finally saw Wyatt/Bryan and I think I'm putting it at ****1/4. Very good brawl with an exciting comeback, although a flat finish and the weird dive in the corner sets it back.

Did anyone else feel like they were watching that classic Michaels/Mankind match from 96? Mankind bowls over the stairs....so does Wyatt. Michaels chop blocks as Mankind tries to re-enter....same here with Bryan. Both used Dragon screws, too. And, most obvious of all, When Wyatt gets control back, he savagely beats up his leg to get feeling back, just like Mankind. all it was missing was a casket and a Sid Vicious Run-in! I don't know if it was an intentional tip of the hat, but I bet it was.


----------



## JoseDRiveraTCR7

I could be wrong and it may have been you, but I do remember during or right after the match someone else pointed out that the Bryan/Wyatt match is very similar to the HBK/Mankind match. There definitely are similarities.


----------



## flag sabbath

Couple of decent matches from Dragon Gate's 6/2 Korakuen show....

*Shingo Takagi, Akira Tozawa & Uhaa Nation vs. Dragon Kid, K-Ness & Super Shisa* The Monster Express trio have fun bossing the bulk of this one, but the masked Vets keep finding ways to disrupt their rhythm at crucial moments. A simple story, well told ****3/4*

*Jimmyz vs. Mad Blanky 8-man Elimination:* Long match with a strong balance between methodical peril segments & explosive multi-man madness with exciting near-falls. Great stuff ******


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Did anyone see "A New Beginning?"
Thought? (Spoiler free)


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## The Black Mirror

Nervosa said:


> I finally saw Wyatt/Bryan and I think I'm putting it at ****1/4. Very good brawl with an exciting comeback, although a flat finish and the weird dive in the corner sets it back.
> 
> Did anyone else feel like they were watching that classic Michaels/Mankind match from 96? Mankind bowls over the stairs....so does Wyatt. Michaels chop blocks as Mankind tries to re-enter....same here with Bryan. Both used Dragon screws, too. And, most obvious of all, When Wyatt gets control back, he savagely beats up his leg to get feeling back, just like Mankind. all it was missing was a casket and a Sid Vicious Run-in! I don't know if it was an intentional tip of the hat, but I bet it was.


*Very interesting. I've never seen that match before, but I may need to check it out now. What's the general consensus as far as a star rating goes?*


----------



## Obfuscation

Nearly perfect. Probably would be for some had the finish not been botched/mistimed.


----------



## Lazyking

Yeah that HBK/Mankind match is a must watch for people.


----------



## EscapedIllusion

So I just finished Tanahashi vs Nakumura from The New Beginning and it was awesome.I think it's better than their Wrestle Kingdom match.It might be better than Yoshino vs vs Mochizuki,at least on the first watch it is for me.

Yes!
****1/2-****3/4


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## darkclaudio

YES IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 9/02/2014 ****


----------



## Chismo

Nakamura/Tanahashi (NJPW The New Beginning) ****3/4

This is the ultimate match of the 10-year rivalry. Fantastic.


----------



## bigbuxxx

oh my goodness. can't wait to see it! watching the whole event though and on the Big Daddy Yum-Yum match!!!



Too Far Gone said:


> *Very interesting. I've never seen that match before, but I may need to check it out now. What's the general consensus as far as a star rating goes?*


most people (including me) have this match at at least ****1/2 but lots and lots have it at higher.


----------



## Chismo

HBK/Mankind? Amazing shit right there. Didn't mind the ending. ****3/4

Yum-Yum is not bad, it seems.


----------



## Violent By Design

Wyatt certainly has taken a few pages out of Foley's book.


Too Far Gone said:


> *Very interesting. I've never seen that match before, but I may need to check it out now. What's the general consensus as far as a star rating goes?*


Probably the best WWE match I've seen.


----------



## Nervosa

Mankind/HBK is ****3/4 for me. Top 3 WWE match ever, for me. The finish bothers me, but only a little. Just an epic match. Thats why I appreciate Bryan Wyatt even more as a result.

I wasn't blown away by the Tanahashi/Nakamura rematch at New Beginning. Crowd seemed out of the middle portion, and I think the Boma Ye has officially been spammed to death. There was also the continuing awfulness of Tanhashi's styles Clash and his own spamming of the slingblade. Seriously, the finishing stretch was just random Boma Yes and sling blades back and forth. The botch at the end really hurt the match, as well.

There were a lot of good things, though. The dual workovers were great, and Tanahashi especially sold the arm well, even in his comeback. The skin-the-cat spot was really unique and a great way to show arm damage.


Spoiler: spoiler



I also loved the big high Fly Flow kickout at the end, which I had pretty much assumed was the finish. They really, really got me, there.


 So yeah, lots of good things, but not without it problems. ****1/4 is where I ended up.


----------



## flag sabbath

*Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW New Beginning in Hiroshima, 9/2):* Amidst all the praise being heaped on the main event, don't pass up on this little gem. In theory it was designed to build up Tuesday's singles clashes, but in practice so much more was accomplished. Shibata came away looking like a serious threat to Okada's crown, Goto & Shibata were established as a slick, smash-mouth combination ready-made for a run at the tag belts & YOSHI-HASHI continued to grow in stature as a laudable underdog with fighting spirit to burn ****3/4*


----------



## Chismo

Every promotion needs guys like YOSHI-HASHI. Dude is awesome.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Is the New Beginning out on Dailymotion/Youtube yet?


----------



## flag sabbath

Yeah, it's here in four parts:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheLegendOfGyarados

Tanahashi vs. Nakamura is incredible. Easily match of the year so far *****1/2*


----------



## goldigga

flag sabbath said:


> Yeah, it's here in four parts:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/user/TheLegendOfGyarados
> 
> *Tanahashi vs. Nakamura is incredible*. Easily match of the year so far *****1/2*


Agreed. I preferred this match to their Wrestle Kingdom bout. Nakamura has become one of my favourites in recent times, the crowd was hot towards the end, I honestly thought that Nakamura had the three count afte the running knee/shining wizard. ****1/4 for me.


----------



## PERFECTSHOW

flag sabbath said:


> *Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW New Beginning in Hiroshima, 9/2):* Amidst all the praise being heaped on the main event, don't pass up on this little gem. In theory it was designed to build up Tuesday's singles clashes, but in practice so much more was accomplished. Shibata came away looking like a serious threat to Okada's crown, Goto & Shibata were established as a slick, smash-mouth combination ready-made for a run at the tag belts & YOSHI-HASHI continued to grow in stature as a laudable underdog with fighting spirit to burn ****3/4*


^ THIS! A nice hidden gem during the middle portion of the show...It's become a bit of a chore to watch most Goto matches, but he continues to deliver...as much as Im tired of him, I cant help but enjoy matches like this one. I WANT Shibata vs. Okada so bad after watching this...the chemistry is there and it seems like a far better match-up then Goto vs. Okada.

*YES!* Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (C) - IWGP Intercontinental Championship (NJPW New Beginning in Hiroshima) ****1/2 - This was absolutely fantastic & worth the price of admission. I was literally out of my seat for the near-fall after Tanahashi hit the High-Fly Flow...great match!


----------



## Lazyking

PERFECTSHOW said:


> ^ THIS! A nice hidden gem during the middle portion of the show...It's become a bit of a chore to watch most Goto matches, but he continues to deliver...as much as Im tired of him, I cant help but enjoy matches like this one. I WANT Shibata vs. Okada so bad after watching this...the chemistry is there and it seems like a far better match-up then Goto vs. Okada.


Totally agree, Shibata/Okada would be MONEY. I'll take New Japan making Goto/Shibata tag champs in the meantime tho.


----------



## Rah

Yeah, Nak/Tanahashi was infinitely better than the dome match within the first 10 or so minutes I watched.

Completely enjoyed Tana busting out south paws because of his injured right arm even if he wiffed off some of the selling at times (most notably in hamming it up to the audience). Nakamura's work over was incredibly vicious, to boot. 

I'd need to rewatch it in its entirety to judge it, though. Something felt off in terms of it coming across as mechanically good yet lacking soul. Crowd, to the point I reached, seemed to agree due to how quiet they were. Hoping that changes and my PC doesnt die out midview again.


----------



## Lazyking

YES! to Tanahashi/Nakamura 2/9/14 - ****3/4 missed being a five star match simply because of the botched finish. My favorite match of the year so far. I don't think the spamming of finishers was that bad considering they both only kicked out once. Matches like this actually benefit from finshers being protected for so long cause when Tanashashi hit the high fly flow for that 2.9 count, my eyes came out of my head even knowing what was gonna happen. 

Crowd only lagged when Naka had control on the outside, by the end, the crowd were in these guy's hands. 

I do think after this, you have to keep Nakamura and Tanahashi away from each other. If the plan is to give Nakamura the title, eventually you'll have to do a rematch maybe at WK9.


----------



## Obfuscation

It's on youtube? :mark:

Brilliant.


----------



## Lazyking

I watched it on Dailymotion. I noticed the time stamp the guy posted it was like only a few hours after the show which is insane.


----------



## GothicBohemian

flag sabbath said:


> Yeah, it's here in four parts:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/user/TheLegendOfGyarados
> 
> Tanahashi vs. Nakamura is incredible. Easily match of the year so far *****1/2*



Much thanks! Saves me a hunt for it. I may end up watching this match first and get back to the rest later - my obscure winter sports obsession has me glued to Olympics coverage to the detriment of life in general all day, but I'll make time for Tanahashi vs. Nakamura at the least. (I've always got time for Nakamura.  )


----------



## EmbassyForever

Huge YES for Nakamura/Tanahashi. Unreal. ****3/4.


----------



## bigbuxxx

flag sabbath said:


> *Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW New Beginning in Hiroshima, 9/2):* Amidst all the praise being heaped on the main event, don't pass up on this little gem. In theory it was designed to build up Tuesday's singles clashes, but in practice so much more was accomplished. Shibata came away looking like a serious threat to Okada's crown, Goto & Shibata were established as a slick, smash-mouth combination ready-made for a run at the tag belts & YOSHI-HASHI continued to grow in stature as a laudable underdog with fighting spirit to burn ****3/4*


Still haven't watched the ME but saw this and wondered why nobody brought it up. Brilliant match. Can't help but think it's setting up Shibata/Okada for the next ippv defense if Okada went over Goto.



Lazyking said:


> Totally agree, Shibata/Okada would be MONEY. I'll take New Japan making Goto/Shibata tag champs in the meantime tho.


Shibata/Okada faced off in the G-1 last year. I'd like to see them main event a ppv but I can't help but think Shibata will be a let down in a 25+ minute match. Goto and Shibata as a team :mark: :mark: :mark: . Keep them together.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Loved the tag match too. YOSHI had an awesome performance. Loved how he refused to tag to Okada so he can prove himself against Shibata. The way Shibata threw YOSHI to Okada's corner so he can tag with him was :mark: ***3/4, imo. I have a feeling that YOSHI/Shibata will be the sleeper of NB.

And Shibata/Okada is a must.


----------



## Bubz

Tana/Nakamura was great. Can't be bothered to write a lot about it apart from Nakamura's arm workover was really nice, selling was fine this time around from both guys I think and I really liked the finishing run and I lost my shit at one of the kickouts. Botch did definitely hurt it, you audibly heard the crowd die in a second after being so hot and that's how I felt at that moment. Still, even with that, I enjoyed this immensely and for that one spot in the finishing run alone I mentioned this deserves praise, although the near five star ratings seem a bit much. So yeah, this gets a *YES* from me. *****1/4*


----------



## Chismo

That botch really worked from a kayfabe perspective, and might be my favorite part of the match and why I rated it that high.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Nakamura vs. Tanahashi (NJPW NEW BEGINNING 14) **** 1/2 compared to the **** 1/4 I gave for WK


----------



## Obfuscation

Prince Devitt, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, & Bad Luck Fale vs Togi Makabe, Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA, & Ryusuke Taguchi - _NJPW: Road to the New Beginning Night One 2/2_​
Look at the perimeters surrounding the match. Set of Junior tag teams. Singles junior worker on each side. And one large hoss to round the teams off. How was this combo not going to lead towards something awesome? Abundance of fluid action and smart exchanges - large provided by Devitt ducking Taguchi until he was hurt - kept this one going at a booming pace. Young Bucks dominated the heel beatdown phase, which naturally lent itself to be all kinds of interesting. So glad they're in a promotion like New Japan instead of say Dragon Gate. It gives their style more of a chance to "pop" at times like these than a promotion which would rely more on going balls to the wall at a constant. They're the best duo in the world, I swear. Never fail to entertain & wow me. Time Splitters continue to state their case of not being far off. Eventual match between the two duos should be killer. Couldn't have asked for more on the finishing stretch here. Kind of wanted more of a smash em up sequence from Makabe & Fale, although I get why their bits against one another were spared. Their rivalry was squashed back at WK and they're here to offer their assistance towards the other two variables at play. Fale is still was a force to be reckon w/here; leading to the crumbling of the babyfaces. Dude is good. He's proven his worth; made me to be quite the fan. Like the pursuit mapped out of Taguchi having to be on his A-game in order to get Devitt right where he wants him. And that's not going to be an easy task w/the Bullet Club constantly lurking. Really good stuff. Booked to perfection & executed so damn well.


------------

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, & Hirooki Goto vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, & Tomohiro Ishii - _NJPW: Road to the New Beginning Night One 2/2_​
Championship aspirations. Heated grudges. Love the circle of contingency here among the main event scene. Per usual, these guys killed it in the area of combining a lot of programs and fusing it into one hot bed of a tag team match. There were two focuses here: the constant one-upping between Tanahashi & Nakamura and the continuing HEAT among Naito & Ishii. The latter being, I swear, the best thing about this company atm. It's so awesome. At the point where nothing else in the world right now interests me more than the upcoming Ishii vs Naito match on PPV. Ishii being the boss that he is early on baiting Naito out of the ring. First sitting Indian style on the floor, treating Naito as a joke until he steps out of his element _(the ring)_ & into Ishii's _(the floor; aka hard nosed no man's land anywhere Ishii wants it to be)_ The moment Naito goes out, he's bum rushed by Ishii. Who proceeds to rag doll him from pillar to post, up and down crashing into the guard rails. All the meanwhile the fans erupt at each launch. This stuff is gold. Tanahashi was in this too. He largely took a beating once the match reached it's first beat down segment. Tanahashi did a terrific job selling the great CHAOS led assault. Selling his destroyed chest/ribs the entire match. Even when he wasn't a central focus. IE, acknowledging the pain all the while of breaking up a pinfall. Okada & Goto took a major backseat in this. Not surprised. Their program doesn't have an X-Factor right now needed to pop out while next to these other two feuds. Naito vs Ishii is molten. Tanahashi vs Nakamura is and has reached basically icon status as a constant grudge. Okada & Goto started off w/good heat - following Wrestle Kingdom & using the momentum w/Goto to branch off in the New Year Dash main event - atm it's hit a stagnant patch. Heard their build up tag from the Hiroshima PPV was awesome, so I'm glad. It needed that. Aside from Okada & Goto not having much to add here, they certainly didn't take away from the match. Having Naito & Ishii play the lead for a large chunk is all the match really needed. Can't stress how much this build is rising. Boiling I tells ya, boiling! Totally great under the expected curve from the current New Japan product.


----------



## Nervosa

Chismo said:


> That botch really worked from a kayfabe perspective, and might be my favorite part of the match and why I rated it that high.


Can you give more on this?


----------



## Obfuscation

Sheamus vs Ryback - _WWE: Smackdown 2/7_​
Loved this the first time around. Wanted to check it out again to see it that holds up. Yeah, more than enough to suffice. Sub-six minute warfare. A total blast. Short, sweet, & to the point. Ryback had a legit strong showing here. I don't mean that in booking terms either. Really controlled in his powerful offense & was composed as a threat towards Sheamus, even though the basis of the match would have told us otherwise. He's gotten some flack for being too rough, and yeah, he's pretty rough, but there are matches like this where his elements come into play so damn well. The submission weardown portion was fine. Match didn't exactly need it, but that's how WWE moves it's pieces w/their transitions on TV. Some of the counters Ryback used to thwart Sheamus were money. Catching Sheamus mid-air to hit a spinebuster & turning the Brogue Kick into a great looking powerbomb. Totally rad. Sheamus was Sheamus here. Meaning he was great, per usual. From his brutish onslaught, to carrying enough sympathy upon his regaining of momentum. Dude is so consistent. Finish was SICK. Played off the story of the match phenomenally. Kicking someone that hard in the face is reason #3 on why pro wrestling rules the world, fyi. Ryback left the match in defeat about as well as he could have if he won. If most wrestling matches were like this, I'd love the sport more than I already do. The little things like this can't be forgotten.


----------



## Chismo

Nervosa said:


> Can you give more on this?


It was a callback on old Shinsuke. He used to win a lot of matches with (flying) armbar in his younger days, but he's not using it in any big capacity since, what, 2009/10? Therefore, he got rusty in execution, obviously, that flying armbar was supposed to finish Tana off after having the prepwork on his shoulder done. He failed, and Tana punished him with HIS OWN rare finishing move that's supposed to caught Shinsuke off guard. Keep in mind Shinsuke hinted he might try something different few days ago, when he said "the Dome match has opened my eyes". And gotta give massive props to Tanahashi there, he saved the botch by taking things home ASAP, instead of looking confused.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - 2/9: ❄❄❄❄1/2. I :mark: so hard when


Spoiler: ?



Nakamura kicked out of the HFF. That move has been a death blow forever. I know people have kicked out of it but not recently to my knowledge.



Really fun, action packed match despite actually working on limbs. Also this wasn't a standard Tanahashi match. My top three matches this year all have Tanahashi in them. Tanahashi for "Best in the World"!


----------



## flag sabbath

The flubbed cross armbreaker towards the end didn't bother me at all. The fact that Shinskay had applied it to the wrong arm earlier on was more irksome.


----------



## Joshi Judas

*Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, & Hirooki Goto vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, & Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW: Road to the New Beginning Night One 2/2*

Fun, fun match. The Ishii/Naito portions were especially great. Loved when Ishii goaded Naito from outside the ring and proceeded to kill him. The crowd was certainly very pro-Chaos and all 3 members of the stable played it up beautifully.

Nakamura looked brutal as ever and that short sequence where Goto just killed everybody with the lariat was fun as well. Strong finish too, and definitely got me excited for Ishii vs Naito and the other 2 main events.

****


*Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi for IWGP IC Championship= NJPW New Beginning*

*YES!!!*

Definitely up for nomination. My favorite match of the year so far. Everything felt right here, a fitting conclusion to their near 10 year rivalry. Nakamura could have sold his leg a bit better because Tanahashi was just masterful here. Was a bit sad at the botch towards the end since I would have marked to see Shinsuke pull out the Jujigatame (that's what it was called I think) but amazing recovery by Tanahashi.

The Boma Ye was spammed a bit but thankfully Nakamura went for the cover only once. And that kickout from the High Fly Flow, Sweet Jesus!! :mark: :mark:

Both men showed why they are 2 of the best wrestlers in the world. Nakamura looked strong and Tanahashi keeps proving he's the best in the world with another strong year already.

****1/2


----------



## Joshi Judas

Also quite enjoyed Shibata/Goto vs YOSHI HASHI/Okada from the same event. I'd definitely be down for a Goto/Shibata tag team and I really wanna see a Shibata/Okada feud now. Maybe Shibata can be his next challenger if he retains against Goto. Would be fun to see Okada go through these two before facing Nakamura.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Young Bucks vs Time Splitters - 2/11. Hell yes. ****1/2. This match was seriously close to getting 5*. It's hard to imagine what else they could've done.


----------



## flag sabbath

bigbuxxx said:


> Young Bucks vs Time Splitters - 2/11. Hell yes. ****1/2. This match was seriously close to getting 5*. It's hard to imagine what else they could've done.


Really? I had it around ****1/2*. Decent opener with plenty of flashy sequences, but very little heat....


----------



## Joshi Judas

Sheamus and Christian vs Real Americans WWE Raw- ***1/2


----------



## EscapedIllusion

How was the Osaka show guys?


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## darkclaudio

YES YES YES Naito vs Ishii was Awesome!!!


----------



## EscapedIllusion

OMG is Naitio vs Ishii really *****?!


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## darkclaudio

EscapedIllusion said:


> OMG is Naitio vs Ishii really *****?!
> 
> 
> Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


In my opinion is better than the best match last year.


----------



## Lazyking

Yes! Naito vs. Ishii - 2/11/14 *****!!!!! this was fucking great.. I can't go into great detail as I just finished it.. 25 mins of a brutal fight! Fucking epic.


----------



## Joshi Judas

How was Okada vs Goto? And link please :mark: :mark:

*EDIT:* 

Ok got it.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k4Qyq7wqqRLK3J5qDUo?start=3


----------



## Lazyking

Honestly? I was so spent from watching Ishii vs. Naito that I'm going to have to watch the main event some other time lol.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Naito vs Ishii - ****1/2. Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesus.


----------



## Joshi Judas

*YES*

Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito NEVER Openweight Championship, NJPW New Beginning Osaka.

****3/4

Match of the Year.


----------



## Tanner1495

Ishii vs Naito is easily a ****1/2, damn that was fantastic, just everyone drop what you are doing and watch it.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Anyone who thought Ishii vs. Tanahashi was ****3/4 worthy then I see no reason to why the Naito match should be rated any differently


----------



## seabs

*Ishii/Naito isn't all that. Naito fluffs his spots up 3 times and it hurts the momentum of the match a lot each time. The finish run is fun but it's not vintage New Japan. It just wasn't. That and the first half of the match really meant nothing. It's a good match but it's definitely not even close to being great imo.*


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> *Ishii/Naito isn't all that. Naito fluffs his spots up 3 times and it hurts the momentum of the match a lot each time. The finish run is fun but it's not vintage New Japan. It just wasn't. That and the first half of the match really meant nothing. It's a good match but it's definitely not even close to being great imo.*


Thank god I'm not the only one that thought it wasn't THAT great. I was reading previous posts and almost thought I saw a different match or something. 

It was too sloppy at times and it took a long while to get it going. The strikes exchanges were "meh" until the final minutes too. Maybe I'm over this style too? God dammit . 

The final minutes were pretty awesome, but this felt like those NOAH main events were you are only waiting for the final sequence because all the other stuff either doesn't matter or just isn't compelling.




Spoiler: njpw



It's still awesome to see my man Ishii getting this high profile matches and wins though. Oh how things have changed from 4-5 years ago. 



I honestly thought Goto/Okada was better. I was rooting hard for Goto even though I knew there was no way he was winning and that I want Okada as champion, but dammit, I wanted to see him duck that Rainmaker and hit the Shouten.


----------



## Lazyking

I disagree that the early portion of the match didnt mean anything. Ishii and Naito were bashing each other but by the end, they were throwing heabutts unprotected. I feel like the strike exchanges kept buil d ing nicely.

I really just try to enjoy a match the first time i watch it so i didnt notice the sloppiness.. the crowd was going crazy and i love it


----------



## Bubz

I have serious doubts that a Naito vs Ishii match can possibly be that good. I'll watch tomorrow.


How is Okada/Goto compared to their other matches? It's not a match up I really want to see again but if it gets praise I'll watch it.

Seabs did you see Tana/Nakamura?


----------



## seabs

antoniomare007 said:


> Thank god I'm not the only one that thought it wasn't THAT great. I was reading previous posts and almost thought I saw a different match or something.
> 
> It was too sloppy at times and it took a long while to get it going. The strikes exchanges were "meh" until the final minutes too. Maybe I'm over this style too? God dammit .
> 
> The final minutes were pretty awesome, but this felt like those NOAH main events were you are only waiting for the final sequence because all the other stuff either doesn't matter or just isn't compelling.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: njpw
> 
> 
> 
> It's still awesome to see my man Ishii getting this high profile matches and wins though. Oh how things have changed from 4-5 years ago.
> 
> 
> 
> I honestly thought Goto/Okada was better. I was rooting hard for Goto even though I knew there was no way he was winning and that I want Okada as champion, but dammit, I wanted to see him duck that Rainmaker and hit the Shouten.


*Spoiler tagged the last part just to be on the safe side.

I think what it is is that people overrate matches that finish hot regardless of how that finish was built to. That seems to be the trend with your modern just getting into the product fan. That fades after a few years of watching the same thing. It's no coincidence that the split between fans who dig that sort of match and those who don't correlates with the split between watching pro graps over a certain time period.

I think the Ishii thing has kinda passed by what I like now and into probably the likes of a larger audience. Which is great either way because it means Ishii getting the exposure and love he deserves but the pre 2013 style of Ishii singles match was a much better match than the current one. Obviously you still get times when it clicks like the Shibata match but for every one of them now you get 3 Makabe/Ishii G1 matches for example. 

It kinda feels like my love for everything I had 2 years has faded pretty rapidly. Strong BJ kinda faded almost instantly, Ishii isn't the Ishii I plugged the shit out of being the best overlooked wrestler in the world anymore, PWG is just another Indy, even the New Japan main event style is starting to stagnate with me too. My point being that I think the peak of the New Japan phase has passed me by now and I'm just waiting for something original to pop up somewhere else now. Whether that be Hiromu Takahashi returning and working bossy fiery 5 minute matches on New Japan cards or something else I don't know. I'm missing that guy in my wrestling viewing right now. That guy who is so obviously great but isn't breaking through like Ishii pre 2013. 

Interested in Rah and Nervosa's views on the match all the same.

Watched Bucks vs Time Splitters too. Definition of a by the books average Juniors tag. No idea what bigbuxxx watched.

Edit: Not yet Bubz. I mostly just wanted to see Ishii/Naito unspoiled but the match needed to be better to really invest me in the finish tbh.*


----------



## Lazyking

I'm not by far a puro expert and the crowd reaction matters to me but I did really like the match. It may come down on a rewatch but star ratings really mean nothing to me. Nor do I care if people were to look to my opinion as something important. We all have different tastes.

That is what makes wrestling discussion great. Onw fan can think a match is a classic, another can think its hot garbage.

Most of the stuff New japan is doing right now is to my liking. I dig most of the roster. My only problems are the mma storyline with the gracies and the NWA shit.


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> *Spoiler tagged the last part just to be on the safe side.
> 
> I think what it is is that people overrate matches that finish hot regardless of how that finish was built to. That seems to be the trend with your modern just getting into the product fan. That fades after a few years of watching the same thing. It's no coincidence that the split between fans who dig that sort of match and those who don't correlates with the split between watching pro graps over a certain time period.
> 
> I think the Ishii thing has kinda passed by what I like now and into probably the likes of a larger audience. Which is great either way because it means Ishii getting the exposure and love he deserves but the pre 2013 style of Ishii singles match was a much better match than the current one. Obviously you still get times when it clicks like the Shibata match but for every one of them now you get 3 Makabe/Ishii G1 matches for example.
> 
> It kinda feels like my love for everything I had 2 years has faded pretty rapidly. Strong BJ kinda faded almost instantly, Ishii isn't the Ishii I plugged the shit out of being the best overlooked wrestler in the world anymore, PWG is just another Indy, even the New Japan main event style is starting to stagnate with me too. My point being that I think the peak of the New Japan phase has passed me by now and I'm just waiting for something original to pop up somewhere else now. Whether that be Hiromu Takahashi returning and working bossy fiery 5 minute matches on New Japan cards or something else I don't know. I'm missing that guy in my wrestling viewing right now. That guy who is so obviously great but isn't breaking through like Ishii pre 2013.
> 
> Interested in Rah and Nervosa's views on the match all the same.
> 
> Watched Bucks vs Time Splitters too. Definition of a by the books average Juniors tag. No idea what bigbuxxx watched.
> 
> Edit: Not yet Bubz. I mostly just wanted to see Ishii/Naito unspoiled but the match needed to be better to really invest me in the finish tbh.*


To me it's more of a burn out situation. It feels like a damn chore to catch up with everything. At this point I'm watching like 30% of the puro I watched just a year ago. I still enjoy it though.

But it took me almost a whole year to start catching up with the Strong BJ matches I wanted to see. I still like that division, specially the Korakuen tags. It's always a fun 10-15 minutes to spend your time on. I'm fine with most singles matches too, I didn't watch any gems as years past (Sekimoto/Kawakami was "just" good, the same with Sekimoto/Shinobu) but I'll keep watching, at some point Kazuki Hashimoto will make the leap Okabayashi once made.

And Ishii will always have a special place in my heart man. He's like Daisuke to me, I kinda discovered them all on my own and when it seemed no one else was watching them being fucking awesome. No matter how repetitive, tired or just plain bad they get in the future, I'll still watch as much of them as possible.

PWG? Holy shit did I just stopped watching just because. It seems I didn't miss anything though. Too bad.

The funny thing is that the only thing I keep watching consistently is WWE. I would've never guessed that 4 years ago.


----------



## Bubz

I only watch WWE consistently too and it's honestly almost purely because of Danielson.

I watch whatever matches get pimped from NJPW etc and keep up with results but don't watch it consistently like I did. Like Seabs it must have been half way through 2012 that I just stopped caring for BJW completely and I haven't watched a Noah or All Japan match for fucking ages either.

As far as Indy's, non feel individual or unique anymore with all the same wrestlers and style of wrestling I could not care less about. I haven't kept up with ROH or PWG for a sad amount of time, PWG is especially sad since in 2011 and 2012 it was my favourite promotion to watch in the world. It lost all it's talent I liked and with that lost the style that set it apart.


----------



## Nervosa

so wait, people are mad at Naito/Ishii for the early part of the match meaning nothing and just coming down to an empty finishing stretch.....

....but LOVE the Goto/Shibata matches?

I fucking give up.

Hopefully I'll get to the match soon. Busy this week ,but looking forward to both of them, as well as that goto/shibata vs. okada/hashi match.


----------



## Stephen630

A match I think everyone should give a chance is Andrew Everett vs. Trevor Lee from CWF Mid-Atlantic Ultra J Showcase. 2 Out Of 3 Falls match........fantastic match!


----------



## antoniomare007

Nervosa said:


> so wait, people are mad at Naito/Ishii for the early part of the match meaning nothing and just coming down to an empty finishing stretch.....
> 
> ....but LOVE the Goto/Shibata matches?
> 
> I fucking give up.


The fuck are you talking about? No one said that.


----------



## Nervosa

I'm just seeing a lot of people who support Goto, and loved the goto/shibata match ignoring the problems in that match, but nitpicking Ishii/Naito for the exact same thing. Its not just on this board, but other places too.

anyway, I decided to just stay up and do the match tonight, so here goes.

Without putting words in Seabs' mouth, I think his problem with 'modern Ishii is the same as mine. I think Ishii should be booked as an underdog in every match. I think he should spend a good 2/3rds of a match losing. Ishii is best when wrestling as the guy who seems like he has no chance at all, and when he is worked over, it allows him to put together a long, subtle comeback. I think what makes Ishii the best is him working as a complete underdog, and making the crowd believe he can win a match he has no right at all winning. 

But since that match with Shibata, great in itself, Ishii is now booked as a roughnecked tough guy who just wants to trade his best shot with his opponents, betting on the fact that he is tougher than them. This kind of style worked for Makabe in 2009, and I think New Japan wants to reignite that magic in a new form. 

but that not the Ishii we came to love. Now in the six man tags, hes never the expected fall guy. It used to be that since it went without saying that he would probably take the fall in a tag match, he became fun to root for on the off chance that he would win. People bought into thinking they were seeing a breakthrough.

Curiously, this is how Yoshi-Hashi has been booked as of late. He has also done well at this role, but Ishii is the true master.

Anyway, this shows up again in the Naito match. A lot of people bemoaned the match having no story, but I actually thought they played up Ishii's neck injury very well in the early portion.

Then Naito just kept botching things. I'm not sure if he actually hurt his leg, causing him to keep slipping, or what, but a lot of his big spots got flubbed. Pretty typical of post injury Naito.

But the worst thing in this match is Naito's strategy. He spends the whole match trying to outstrike Ishii. He even resorts to a headbut fight....with Ishii. And they actually have him WIN the headbutt fight. That just is impossibly unbelievable. They have Naito beat Ishii at what Ishii is supposedly best at. Stupid. 

Pre-injury Naito never fought like that. He would jump and fly around, evading strikes. He would try to create distance, and just decide not to bother with a strike battle that he is so unlikely to win. That made him different when he would wrestle Shinskay and goto and Okada. 

He did strikes and headbutts with Okada, which I actually didn't mind, because it came off as rare and desperate. In this match, it is just a strategy and a booking that doesn't make sense.

I do think the match built well and did a great job getting the crowd involved with a lot of thrilling, brutal spots. But I still think it is a very good Ishii being booked in a less than ideal way versus a very sloppy Naito who still has no clue how to time anything and can't really decide what kind of wrestler he wants to be. If he is trying to be a tough guy striker, no one is ever going to buy it. Especially with that dopey, blank expression.

I think ***1/2 is more than fair.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Lazyking said:


> Honestly? I was so spent from watching Ishii vs. Naito that I'm going to have to *re*watch the main event some other time lol.


Same

Naito/Ishii gets **** 1/4 for me. YES.


----------



## bigbuxxx

blink_41sum_182 said:


> Naito/Ishii gets **** 1/4 for me. YES.


Ditto.


----------



## flag sabbath

@Nervosa

The way I see it, since Naito's pride took a massive dent at the Dome, Ishii has been very successful at goading him into mixing it up. They met seven times in the run up to the title match & the strike exchanges escalated throughout, peaking in Osaka (where Naito let the crowd get to him too). I can understand people being unhappy with the evolution of Ishii's underdog role, but it was surely inevitable.

All that said, I need to watch the match again to settle on a rating - it certainly wasn't flawless, as was initially implied.


----------



## antoniomare007

I've seen Ishii carry Minoru's useless ass to a great match, and that didn't happen because he was an underdog. The guy can work a control segment if needed.

But I do think he is more suited for sprints if he is going to work high profile matches as a fiery face. It either that or as Nervosa said, be an underdog for longer matches. He should be a human wrecking ball that gives no fucks, he's perfect at that.


----------



## antoniomare007

Bubz said:


> I only watch WWE consistently too and it's honestly almost purely because of Danielson.


That's true. But at this point I'm invested in what they do with The Shield and The Wyatts. There are 5 guys I want to see succeed. Add Cesaro to that list and of course Zayn and I think I'd still watch even if D-Bry leaves or gets injured. 

But hey, WWE is always 1 or 2 dumb ass decisions away to make me go back to read reports and catch stuff that sounds interesting on dailymotion so who knows


----------



## flag sabbath

So ****** for Okada vs. Goto. It's hard to critique without spoilers, so I'll hold off til I've given it a second look.


----------



## Bubz

antoniomare007 said:


> That's true. But at this point I'm invested in what they do with The Shield and The Wyatts. There are 5 guys I want to see succeed. Add Cesaro to that list and of course Zayn and I think I'd still watch even if D-Bry leaves or gets injured.
> 
> But hey, WWE is always 1 or 2 dumb ass decisions away to make me go back to read reports and catch stuff that sounds interesting on dailymotion so who knows


Yeah I'll watch anything The Shield do of course. I usually skip through RAW every week and stop at anything involving Bryan, Shield, Cesaro and now that he's back Sheamus. Wyatt has been really strong recently for sure too and I enjoy watching him play his character in the ring. Punk was obviously someone I'd watch for especially until more recently where he's been doing absolutely fuck all and now he's gone.

With New Japan I'll skip through the shows too usually until something with Okada or Nakamura comes on. I'll obviously watch whatever other matches get talked up here too.


----------



## Chismo

*SPOILER ALERT!*







_I gotta be honest here, I thought the first 10ish minutes were solid and nothing more, because I expected a slaying back-and-forth sprint, a la Ishii/Shibata. But then they caught the flow and things got better and better. And better. And WAY better. We all know Naito's been hit or miss since the return, there were many situations where he looked lost, but boy oh boy, he brought it tonight. Fantastic performance all around, from finally embracing the crowd heat and heeling up, to being a merciless little fucker who goes toe-to-toe with a famous stiff brawler Ishii. And talking about stiffness, daaaayum... one of the stiffest matches ever, I don't know if you paid close attention, but some of those moves were fucking devastating. I legit thought Ishii's not gonna make it near the end, his left shoulder was in obvious pain, and that was BEFORE Naito's killer suplexes. After two Tanahashi matches, Ishii once again showcases his abilities to work grandiose long matches as well. Fantastic match with fantastic suspense and selling. MOTY, bitch._

****3/4







_These two had a tough task to make a follow-up on Ishii/Naito. They delivered, though. This was yet another very stiff match, I mean, GODDAMN at Okada's surgically precise strikes and dropkicks, those gotta hurt as hell. Goto's lariats were also sublime. And some of those DDTs from both... Ugh. As far as performances go, Okada bounced back after a painfully mediocre Naito defense, and delivered a truly memorable performance here. Everything he did was amazing, such a focused offense and incredible selling. And confidence, it's top notch. An immense wrestler, true world class. Poor Goto, though, gotta give him MASSIVE props, it's not easy to be this motivated for the 7th consecutive title loss. How does one get up in the morning after everything? I'm talking about George Costanza levels of despair here. I really, really fucking hope he gets one run. If nothing, he earned it with this performance._

****1/2​


----------



## Joshi Judas

I really didn't have a problem with the first 10 minutes of Naito/Ishii. Ishii was being the big, tough guy out to school Naito and Naito was desperately trying to prove he had what it takes to hang with him. He played up to the crowd heat brilliantly and showed how it was getting to him. He lost his cool a few times and it was glorious. Strike after strike, headbutt after headbutt. Beautiful.

And those nearfalls towards the end :mark: :mark: :mark:

I know some didn't like Naito's performance here but I thought this was the best he's looked in a long time. This is the Naito I wanted to see at WK8.


----------



## wildpegasus

Naito vs Ishii was freakin' incredible -- What a fight! -- This is why I still keep on watching wrestling after almost a quarter of a century.


----------



## Violent By Design

Saw Ishii vs Naito, was ok, not a MOTY.

I didn't like Ishii vs Shibata that much either as a MOTY, but that match had a much more tenacious pace, felt more like a fight to me.

Naito vs Ishii? Meh...the no-selling, standing there hitting each other spots at the start were just dumb. The story wasn't all that captivating. Some of the moves looked devestating, but at the same time a lot of them looked careless, I mean they legit head butted each other a few times.

When they actually started wrestling, it started to get me back into it, but the match is very uneven, failed to intrigue me at the start and to be honest, very melodramatic.

I also wasn't a fan on how Naito played the crowd. I thought he could have done more with what was handed to him.


----------



## Violent By Design

Anyone got a link to Tanahashi/Nakamura 2/9/14?


edit: never mind, found the full show.


----------



## Rah

Cool, so we're currently on course for 144 New Japan MotY contenders come year end.


----------



## Concrete

Feels like that is how it has been the past couple of years year.


----------



## Obfuscation

Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata - _NJPW: The New Beginning in Hiroshima 2/9_​
Goto & Shibata's chemistry translates to one heck of a duo. A defined synergy in some specific sequences. Beauty of this outside of that element was the booking using YOSHI-HASHI in that elevated state again. Make him not only come through looking good, but having his moments where he was a valued partner w/the world champion taking on the credible Goto and the intimidating Shibata. It's such a neat tool for the bookers to use when a match like this comes down the pike. Highlight of the match was def Okada's Rainmaker being stopped by Shibata, Okada having just enough time to gaze as he sees Shibata one side & Goto on the other; knowing what happens next is going to hurt. It looked like it did. I've seen nicer scenes when someone is being mugged. Okada taking a slew of strikes and a double team from the hard hitters. Awesome. One tag match in. I'm down w/the Goto & Shibata team.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Goto and Okada was not that good. Fun and watchable but nothing more so ***3/4 from me


----------



## Bubz

Absolutely did not care for Ishii/Naito. I don't see how this is any better than that Ishii/Makabe match or those Ishii/Goto matches last year which I also really didn't like. They did nothing new and nothing that wasn't completely obvious. A one kick out in an Ishii match is becoming as predictable as anything to ever happen in history. I don't know how people can overlook Naito botching TONS of stuff either. I actually liked the first half of the match way more than the second, they actually had a nice little story going for about 5 minutes until it devolved into stand around striking eachother and hitting big suplexes etc OMG mode. I'm at the point now where I know if I watch an Ishii match I'm more than likely not going to enjoy it much which is really sad. I didn't even like his second Tanahashi match and the second Shibata match sucked etc. Meh.


----------



## EmbassyForever

When Ishii had a second match w/ Tana?


----------



## Concrete

Watched Ishii vs Naito and I think I'm in the camp of not enjoying it too much. Wasn't offended by the match just sorta felt there. Out of the gate this year, Ishii felt like the top Japanese wrestler in his random tags and stuff. He may still be with the lack of top quality performances from anyone else but this singles match didn't do him any favors though. I have to agree with others that it is suprising people like it SO much when there was quite a few BLATANT slips in this. I'm not a guy that says everything needs to be super crisp and clean but Naito fumbling in to getting his leg caught on the rope was either a bad mishap or sloppy execution of getting his leg caught. Back half felt more like your typical NJPW NEAR FALL EXTRAVAGANZA than anything engrossing. They've essentially sterilized me to it at this point and unless I'm watching live and unspoiled those aren't grabbing me.


----------



## Obfuscation

EmbassyForever said:


> When Ishii had a second match w/ Tana?


Power Struggle - 11/9


----------



## RandomAct

Not sure how many have seen it, but I'm nominating Trevor Lee vs Andrew Everett from 2/8 CWF Mid-Atlantic. Just an hour of beautiful pro wrestling from two kids that "get it".


----------



## seabs

Nervosa said:


> I'm just seeing a lot of people who support Goto, and loved the goto/shibata match ignoring the problems in that match, but nitpicking Ishii/Naito for the exact same thing. Its not just on this board, but other places too.
> 
> anyway, I decided to just stay up and do the match tonight, so here goes.
> 
> Without putting words in Seabs' mouth, I think his problem with 'modern Ishii is the same as mine. I think Ishii should be booked as an underdog in every match. I think he should spend a good 2/3rds of a match losing. Ishii is best when wrestling as the guy who seems like he has no chance at all, and when he is worked over, it allows him to put together a long, subtle comeback. I think what makes Ishii the best is him working as a complete underdog, and making the crowd believe he can win a match he has no right at all winning.
> 
> But since that match with Shibata, great in itself, Ishii is now booked as a roughnecked tough guy who just wants to trade his best shot with his opponents, betting on the fact that he is tougher than them. This kind of style worked for Makabe in 2009, and I think New Japan wants to reignite that magic in a new form.
> 
> but that not the Ishii we came to love. Now in the six man tags, hes never the expected fall guy. It used to be that since it went without saying that he would probably take the fall in a tag match, he became fun to root for on the off chance that he would win. People bought into thinking they were seeing a breakthrough.
> 
> Curiously, this is how Yoshi-Hashi has been booked as of late. He has also done well at this role, but Ishii is the true master.
> 
> Anyway, this shows up again in the Naito match. A lot of people bemoaned the match having no story, but I actually thought they played up Ishii's neck injury very well in the early portion.
> 
> Then Naito just kept botching things. I'm not sure if he actually hurt his leg, causing him to keep slipping, or what, but a lot of his big spots got flubbed. Pretty typical of post injury Naito.
> 
> But the worst thing in this match is Naito's strategy. He spends the whole match trying to outstrike Ishii. He even resorts to a headbut fight....with Ishii. And they actually have him WIN the headbutt fight. That just is impossibly unbelievable. They have Naito beat Ishii at what Ishii is supposedly best at. Stupid.
> 
> Pre-injury Naito never fought like that. He would jump and fly around, evading strikes. He would try to create distance, and just decide not to bother with a strike battle that he is so unlikely to win. That made him different when he would wrestle Shinskay and goto and Okada.
> 
> He did strikes and headbutts with Okada, which I actually didn't mind, because it came off as rare and desperate. In this match, it is just a strategy and a booking that doesn't make sense.
> 
> I do think the match built well and did a great job getting the crowd involved with a lot of thrilling, brutal spots. But I still think it is a very good Ishii being booked in a less than ideal way versus a very sloppy Naito who still has no clue how to time anything and can't really decide what kind of wrestler he wants to be. If he is trying to be a tough guy striker, no one is ever going to buy it. Especially with that dopey, blank expression.
> 
> I think ***1/2 is more than fair.


*It's not putting words in my mouth because I've said the same thing countless times myself. The type of match that got people like me on the Ishii bandwagon isn't the same match that he's working now. Which is a shame because the former is much better and much easier to get invested in. They can still work something close to it even with Ishii more established but part of the charm has inevitably faded now that Ishii is kinda made to a certain point. Before Ishii could get over doing the simplest things like kicking out of one move from Tanahashi or resisting one lariat from Makabe and it worked because he was literally at the bottom of the food chain and they were the kings. It's not like that anymore so now Ishii gets more in himself and when Ishii kicks out at 1 or stands through a lariat it's just a routine spot that he always does now which doesn't really have an effect past the first few months. Ishii matches are still good because they'll always be as long as he can work but they're not special anymore. We'll still get something like the Shibata match where everything clicks but we're just gonna have to put up with 10 matches like the ones with Goto, Naito and Makabe to get there. 

Watched Goto/Okada. If people are falling head over heels for Naito/Ishii based on them finishing hot then really they should like Goto/Okada every bit as much if not more. Because the final 5 minutes of that match were awesome and felt like the climax of a genuine MOTYC. Naito/Ishii didn't at any point. The build to them final 5 minutes was your typical Goto vs Okada averageness though but they came really strong at the end. Helped going in unspoiled too and not wanting Goto to win. *


----------



## flag sabbath

Add me to the YES list for Ishii vs. Naito, but only just. It was a jumble at times & they overdid the strike exchanges, but the drama was undeniable as evinced by how engaged the crowd became as it wore on. Also, I don't understand folks ITT griping about injury-related blown spots / sloppiness. Naito hurt his knee & couldn't execute everything to perfection, which became a very small part of the match. I guess nitpickers gonna nitpick *****1/4*


----------



## Nervosa

flag sabbath said:


> Add me to the YES list for Ishii vs. Naito, but only just. It was a jumble at times & they overdid the strike exchanges, but the drama was undeniable as evinced by how engaged the crowd became as it wore on. Also, I don't understand folks ITT griping about injury-related blown spots / sloppiness. Naito hurt his knee & couldn't execute everything to perfection, which became a very small part of the match. I guess nitpickers gonna nitpick *****1/4*


See, because it was such a small part of the match, I truly doubt that his botches were due to injury. I think he botched due to sloppiness and just held his knee to give a reason for it. Wrestlers almost always do that when they botch: they try to make it part of the story. He certainly had no trouble hopping around and doing his usual stuff at the end of the match, so I have a lot of trouble believing the botches were injury related and not just Naito-related crappiness.


----------



## Snapdragon

I'll just say I thought Ishii vs Naito was great but not a 5 star match by any means.

I don't get the complaints about Ishii not being booked as an underdog, you can only be booked like an underdog for so long. I'm glad his character has developed into this hard-headed badass.

On the same side with Naito and people complaining about him getting into a strikefest. I look at it as character development. I loved that Naito was willing to take the fight to Ishii, it seemed like a "coming of age" match to me personally. Naito proving he can isn't some young punk that can just fly but also hold his own in a fight.


----------



## flag sabbath

Nervosa said:


> See, because it was such a small part of the match, I truly doubt that his botches were due to injury. I think he botched due to sloppiness and just held his knee to give a reason for it. Wrestlers almost always do that when they botch: they try to make it part of the story. He certainly had no trouble hopping around and doing his usual stuff at the end of the match, so I have a lot of trouble believing the botches were injury related and not just Naito-related crappiness.


Hmmm. Naito appeared to me to tweak his knee hopping over to the apron shortly before the top rope rana botch, but whatever....I can appreciate the main thrust of your (and others') gripes, just disagree on a couple of minor details. It's all good - divisive matches keep this place interesting.


----------



## Groovemachine

For me, Naito/Ishii was a comfortable **** but probably won't end up being high on my MOTYC list come the end of the year. Like everyone's said, that was a hot finishing stretch, and all the headbutt sequences were pretty brutal. Naito's botch would have been fine if he continued selling the knee, but he gave up straight away, making it look shoddy. Loved Ishii's sell of the missile dropkick; not going down but wobbly on his feet. That was a nice character moment for me - he didn't no-sell the move or shrug it off, as he was clearly feeling the effects, but by being giddy and staying on his feet, he showed that he's a tough S.O.B and he won't go down easily. In my opinion, moments like that help him transition from the underdog role into the strong upper midcarder that he's playing now. Good stuff.


----------



## Nervosa

Just watched Goto and Okada and liked it considerably more than Ishii/Naito. 

Okada does his neck workover stuff, which continues to be awesome no matter how many times its repeated. Goto, despite his reputation, does a great job selling his neck and taking a lot of damage without just trying to get all his shit it. For me, this mitigated what seems to constantly be Goto's biggest problems. His first comeback fired the crowd up, and when Okada responded, he quickly hit his Bakatare kick to Goto's jaw, and Goto immediately rolls like he has reinjured it. Okada, like a piranha, goes right after it and locks in a quick Red Ink, which was perfectly done considering Goto's injury history and created some real drama. Its funny how bad that move was when it was a finisher, but I'll be damned if Okada hasn't figured out an awesome way to tell stories with it. The jaw stuff was so concerning that the crowd got roped in even more, so that when goto countered the second Rainmaker attempt, they were fully behind his fiery comeback. Also, the PK spot was absolutely incredible, the whole crowd picked up on it and popped for it. The finish was also excellent, in that the guy who hit his finisher first won, and the guy who lost made it look like if he could have hit his finisher, he would have won. great finishing stretch, and for my money, the best match I've seen this year. ****1/2


----------



## Obfuscation

Sheamus & Christian vs Jack Swagger & Antonio Cesaro - _WWE: Monday Night RAW 2/10_​
Whew. When this one started, it was hard to stop the phenomenal barrage of action that came forth. Sheamus & Christian have come back so damn strong. Then there are Cesaro & Swagger who have racked up the largest amount of quality TV matches within the first _(even full)_ two months. It's getting to be kind of outrageous how great these four are. Early Sheamus & Cesaro manly battle. Please give me another singles match w/them. Or...twenty. I'm not picky. Seeing them lay into each other is one of the only things I'd actually want to plunk down cold hard cash to see. Cesaro destroys Sheamus w/uppercuts, then Sheamus pushes Cesaro off just to yell at him to keep it coming. YES. The way the match went from high impact sprint to sneaking in a Christian FIP segment for the middle was brilliant. Too awesome that these guys wanted to capture all the elements to make this grand. Follow that up w/a Sheamus hot tag and a finish that was even hotter and boom. Bless their hearts. They make me love life. This was basically fantastic, tbhayley.


----------



## Groovemachine

*Randy Orton vs Cesaro - WWE Smackdown 2.14.14 - ***3/4*

This was mainly the Cesaro show, although Orton had a great moment faking a shoulder injury. After suffering quite a few defeats on the road to the Elimination Chamber, it makes sense that he'd try every dirty trick in the book to ensure he doesn't sustain any more. Anyway, Cesaro had a fantastic showing here, powering out of the ropes-assisted DDT straight into a Giant Swing attempt, which got a huge pop from the crowd. Best moment of the match was probably Cesaro catching Orton with an uppercut to the back of the head as Orton turned around for the RKO. Beautifully timed and perfectly executed.

I could have done without Orton stalling and pointing to the Wrestlemania logo, which looked as if the producers just wanted to get a shot of Orton doing that rather than it actually adding to the match, but that's a minor quibble, and Cesaro capitalised on the moment in good fashion, so no harm done.



Spoiler: Finish



The sunset bomb/running uppercut/Neutralizer combination was decisive and led to a much needed high profile clean win for Cesaro, who now looks like a real contender in the Elimination Chamber. This did a lot to put Cesaro over in my eyes; I just hope they keep it going.



Awesome Smackdown main event.


----------



## Joshi Judas

This most recent SD was a goldmine for good TV matches.

The Shield vs Daniel Bryan/Sheamus/Christian- ***3/4
Jack Swagger vs Mark Henry vs Rey Mysterio vs Kofi Kingston- ***3/4
Antonio Cesaro vs Randy Orton- ****


----------



## seabs

*Tanahashi/Nakamura at New Begining was good. Not MOTYC material but I'd call it the best New Japan match from their PPVs this year. The chemistry between these two is great so they've always got at worst a good match together but this had enough bright moments to make it better than the Tokyo Dome match. Some really neat selling touches from Tanahashi that I really dug such as punching with the left arm rather than the injured right one and the skinning the cat spot was great because it was so Tanahashi to go for the crowd pop spot despite not being in a position to do it. Big near fall at the end worked super well but it was a shame they didn't really capitalise on it much afterwards. *


----------



## Lane

*PWX Rise of a Champion 9*
PWX Title Match
Caleb Konley vs. Cedric Alexander
4.90
Fuck, this is as close as a 5 star match will ever be on the indy scene. The story was great and so was the action. Long match and highly recommended. The crowd was in the palm of their hands. 

PWX treated this as such a big deal leading into it. Held a press conference to announce the match and filmed at home sit down interviews getting both mens thoughts. In the history of the company both men were best friends and in a long standing tag team. Caleb won the championship and built it up defeating the likes of Adam Cole and Kevin Steen. Cedric became the face of PWX doing a dream match series beating the likes of Elgin, Gargano, O'Reilly, and Lethal before losing to AJ Styles. It is a very long match but so worth it. Went around 40-50 mins. Check it out.


----------



## The Black Mirror

Lane said:


> *PWX Rise of a Champion 9*
> PWX Title Match
> Caleb Konley vs. Cedric Alexander
> 4.90
> Fuck, this is as close as a 5 star match will ever be on the indy scene. The story was great and so was the action. Long match and highly recommended. The crowd was in the palm of their hands.
> 
> PWX treated this as such a big deal leading into it. Held a press conference to announce the match and filmed at home sit down interviews getting both mens thoughts. In the history of the company both men were best friends and in a long standing tag team. Caleb won the championship and built it up defeating the likes of Adam Cole and Kevin Steen. Cedric became the face of PWX doing a dream match series beating the likes of Elgin, Gargano, O'Reilly, and Lethal before losing to AJ Styles. It is a very long match but so worth it. Went around 40-50 mins. Check it out.


*I almost bought tickets to this show, but changed my mind about 2 weeks ago.

I live in NC, which is where PWX is based and does all of its shows. I've yet to make it to one of their shows, but I was very close to pulling the trigger and getting tickets for this show. Now you're telling me that I missed a damn awesome match. That makes me super sad. I definitely won't miss it when they're running shows next month. The problem is that they do three shows on one weekend per month and I am well within driving distance to all 3 shows that they run on said weekend, so I can never decide which show I want to go to. I'll be looking for a rip of this iPPV to pop up so I can check out what I sadly missed.*


----------



## Lane

Too Far Gone said:


> *I almost bought tickets to this show, but changed my mind about 2 weeks ago.
> 
> I live in NC, which is where PWX is based and does all of its shows. I've yet to make it to one of their shows, but I was very close to pulling the trigger and getting tickets for this show. Now you're telling me that I missed a damn awesome match. That makes me super sad. I definitely won't miss it when they're running shows next month. The problem is that they do three shows on one weekend per month and I am well within driving distance to all 3 shows that they run on said weekend, so I can never decide which show I want to go to. I'll be looking for a rip of this iPPV to pop up so I can check out what I sadly missed.*


The whole show is worth watching. Not a single bad match. Theres also a great tag title match and Jake Manning had the best match of his career tonight against John Skylar in a I quit match. I'd rank it at around 3.75 if not higher. Simple and brutal.


----------



## flag sabbath

Because they've been mentioned here:

*Sheamus & Christian vs. Cesaro & Swagger (Raw, 10/2)* Decent tv tag. Sheamus & Christian make for a solid shitkicker / flyer combo, and Cesaro is in a league of his own right now, but Swagger saps the life from everything he touches *****

*The Shield vs. Sheamus, Christian & Bryan (Smackdown, 14/2)* Nothing out of the ordinary here until Christian gets the hot tag & it briefly goes ballistic ****1/4*

*Mysterio vs. Henry vs. Kofi vs. Swagger (Smackdown, 14/2)* Nice little sprint. Kofi & Rey lit this one up while Swagger played launchpad & Henry hung around on the floor ***3/4*

*Orton vs. Cesaro (Smackdown, 14/2)* Cesaro's every movement is fine tuned, but I got the impression Orton was phoning this one in from the cookie cutter factory *****


----------



## Chismo

I checked and really liked #1 and #4 from your list (***3/4 for both), two very good matches but nothing MOTYCworthy. I might check few more TV matches that got pimped on the board, primarily Dragon/Orton.

Watched Dragon/Wyatt as well, it's a comfortable **** match. Probably better than anything I've seen from WWE '13.


----------



## Obfuscation

Seabs said:


> *Tanahashi/Nakamura at New Begining was good. Not MOTYC material but I'd call it the best New Japan match from their PPVs this year. The chemistry between these two is great so they've always got at worst a good match together but this had enough bright moments to make it better than the Tokyo Dome match. Some really neat selling touches from Tanahashi that I really dug such as punching with the left arm rather than the injured right one and the skinning the cat spot was great because it was so Tanahashi to go for the crowd pop spot despite not being in a position to do it. Big near fall at the end worked super well but it was a shame they didn't really capitalise on it much afterwards. *


Agreed. Although, at this moment, I'm still much more towards their match at the Dome over the rematch. I plan to sit through WK again and see if this holds up. Don't remember it having anything as good as the way Tanahashi sold his arm in the rematch tho. See, now I'm really curious to compare w/a fresher perspective.


----------



## The Black Mirror

*FYI - The Conley/Alexander match that Lane gave a high review to was from last night's PWX Rise of a Champion IX, which is now available on XWT. I can't wait to check out the match and leave my thoughts.*


----------



## Noah Mark

I'll go with Averno vs Volador Jr-CMLL 1/6/14. Everybody has been pimping the ***** Casas/Titan match but this match is on the same level if not better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl2mvBC18EI&feature=youtu.be


----------



## Bubz

That Sheamus/Christian vs Real Americans tag from RAW was awesome. Sheamus is the fucking man.


----------



## PERFECTSHOW

Got a few more nominees from the last week...

*YES!* Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito © - NEVER Openweight Championship (NJPW New Beginning in Osaka) ****¾ - Just...WOW! What a fantastic match, I had almost no expectations going into this one, but...it over delivered, Naito seemed a bit lost at times, but, this match was just so intense that both guys looked like they were in a war & despite a few botches/slips on Naito's part, this was great!

*YES!* Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada © - IWGP Heavyweight Championship (NJPW New Beginning in Osaka) ****½ - Okada does it again! I might have to re-evaluate my current dislike of Goto's matches, because hes been knocking it out of the park this year, though I think a lot of this matches greatness came from Okada completely taking Goto out of his comfort zone!

Honorable Mentions:

Nearly half the matches from last Fridays SmackDown! That might have been the best all-around wrestling show of the year!

Opening Trios match w/ The Shield was what you'd come to expect from them...a great match, but I review Shield matches under slightly different criteria...I had it at ***¼

Mark Henry vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston - Fatal 4-Way Match (WWE SmackDown! - 02/14/14) ***¾ - Probably one of the best sprint matches I have seen from the WWE...that triple German Suplex spot was crazy, I love when you see stuff like that thrown out in a WWE match, which tends to be a bit more on the "paint by the numbers"...this match was anything but that!

Antonio Cesaro vs. Randy Orton (WWE SmackDown! - 01/14/14) ***¾ - A great showcase for Cesaro & the finish was one of the biggest markout moments of the year!


----------



## antoniomare007

Cesaro vs Cena was everything you thought it could be. Fucking awesome match.


----------



## darkclaudio

Cesaro vs Cena: Well, this was quite good, but MOTY? No.. (***1/4+)


----------



## jessyj2009

Cesaro vs Cena - yes. ****3/4 and my moty so far.


----------



## Seriousforaminute

PERFECTSHOW said:


> Mark Henry vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston - Fatal 4-Way Match (WWE SmackDown! - 02/14/14) ***¾ - Probably one of the best sprint matches I have seen from the WWE...that triple German Suplex spot was crazy, I love when you see stuff like that thrown out in a WWE match, which tends to be a bit more on the "paint by the numbers"...this match was anything but that!


I appreciated how they actually had 3 guys actually doing spots and segments together for most of the match as opposed to an overabundance of taking guys out of the ring just to isolate one on one matchups like you usually see.


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yes to Cena vs Cesaro!
****
Also Yes to Naito vs Ishii
****3/4
And Yes to Okada vs Goto
****1/2


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Rah

Cesaro/Cena is a dream match for myself. Can't believe it finally happened. Best I watch Raw then. 

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## BKKsoulcity

**** FOR CESARO AND CENA!!!


----------



## EmbassyForever

Cena/Cesaro - ****1/2

Okada/Goto - ****


----------



## vault21

Now I'm gonna have to download Raw :allen1


----------



## flag sabbath

Part 1....


Part 2....


----------



## NastyYaffa

Top-10 matches of this year so far:

1. Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt - ****3/4
2. Trent Barreta vs. Anthony Nese - ****
3. Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata - ****
4. Young Bucks vs. Forever Hooligans vs. Time Splitters vs. Suzukigun - ****
5. John Cena vs. Antonio Cesaro - ***3/4
6. Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan - ***3/4
7. Young Bucks & Rich Swann vs. Bravado Brothers & Johnny Gargano - ***3/4
8. KENTA vs. Takeshi Morishima - ***3/4
9. Johnny Gargano vs. Uhaa Nation - ***3/4
10. Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi - ***3/4.

Been a good year, so far.


----------



## vault21

sabbath :dance


----------



## Shepard

Cena/Cesaro owns. I haven't seen much rasslin this year but that's definitely up there. Both dudes deliver. ****1/4


----------



## Obfuscation

Knew they would kill it once they finally got their singles match. More thoughts will come later, but yeah, it owned. Blew away the Orton match Cesaro had on Smackdown the following week. This is why I see value in John-boy. Not withstanding all the immense praise continually flowing towards one Mr. Cesaro.


----------



## DOPA

Cena vs Cesaro: ****1/4

Oh my god this match was fantastic.

Bryan vs Wyatt: ****1/4


----------



## Chismo

Cena/Cesaro ****

Yep... Great match. It was based on smart work and strength, there were nice periods of power struggle which I enjoyed. Interesting, these past few days I've watched a dozen of pimped WWE matches from the recent period, and based on that (and the 2013 stuff I've seen too) Danielson is the guy I'm the least into. At least from the main event scene. Can't stand his annoying persona, tbf. Cesaro is way, WAY more appealing.


----------



## Groovemachine

Not much more to add on Cena/Cesaro - it was AWESOME, plain and simple. Cena's counter of the Giant Swing blew my mind. My MOTY so far, ****1/4.


----------



## Cupoftea

Brilliant match. ****1/2


----------



## GothicBohemian

I haven’t been watching RAW as often lately and I end up missing the gems like Cena/Cesaro. Much thanks for posting the video.


----------



## darkclaudio

My Top 10 Matches of this year:
1. *NEVER Openweight Championship Match*: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW 11/02
2. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 2/02
3. *IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match*: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 9/02
4. *IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match*: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW 11/02
5. *IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match*: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 4/01
6. *IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match*: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 4/01
7. *Open The Dream Gate Championship Match*: Masato Yoshino (c) vs Masaaki Mochizuki - Dragon Gate 16/01
8. *Open The Triangle Championship Match*: Jimmy Susumu, Ryo Saito & Mr. Quu Quu Tanizaki Naoki Toyonaka Dolphin (c) vs CIMA, Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid - Dragon Gate 18/01
9. Hirooki Goto vs Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW 4/01
10. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match*: Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson (c) vs Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA - NJPW 11/02


----------



## Concrete

*Andrew Alexander vs. Shaun Tempers-DOG COLLAR MATCH(Empire Wrestling 1/4/14):*****
_We've got a pretty great dog collar match on are hands! I'll be honest and say I've never really gotten into Tempers. I've wanted to but either I don't have time or when I do sit down and try and watch some Tempers I get footage that I can't watch without getting a headache. Here we only have a hard cam in place, which misses some of the action but is really good quality so BIG PLUS! I dig matches with clearly defined roles and guess what? Guess. No really, just do it. Okay, fine, this match has them! Shaun Tempers is a big time,bully, doucharoonie with his body spray. Andrew Alexander is your plucky underdog despite getting in more than his fair share of offense,which partly is what impressed me. Tempers was getting his butt whooped but he never felt like momentum was more than a punch away but for Andrews he either needed to have Tempers get cocky and capitalize or come in GUNS A BLAZIN'. Match involves a lot of punches. I like punches, and these were really good, so SWEEEEEET! A goblin came out in the middle of the match. I didn't understand. They used the chain in unique ways which was friggin' sweet. Like Alexander countering getting rammed into the post and giving the favor to Tempers. FANTASTIC! Alexander goes for a dive and with the cam I have no idea if it hits but visually it looked bad ass with the babyface jumping at the prick. Want to make note that the match does have a shite finish but really, at the end of the day, doesn't take away too much from what these guys were bringing._​


----------



## Rah

^But Tempers was so great a heel against Matthews last year! 

I hope others take advantage of that match as I'm sure it rocks. Of course wrestling throws out tons of fun stuff when my PC is broken so I can't watch a thing of it. Figures.


----------



## Joshi Judas

John Cena vs Cesaro ****1/4

Fantastic match.


----------



## Nervosa

Goto/shibata vs. Okada/Yoshi-Hashi
****1/4
New Beginning in Hiroshima

Ok, so I know this got some hype, but its way better than reported. I still don't like yoshi-Hashi due to his bland personality and bad moveset, but I thought it was a great showing from him here. He actually got the crowd into his moves and didn't look too sloppy. The spot where Shibata is about to PK him and kicks Okada instead was awesome. Even more awesome was Okada demanding a tag in response, only for Hashi to refuse to be seen as inferior. Middle stretch with Goto and Okada going all out, specially leading to that big dropkick was also cool. Finishing stretch was also very exciting. I loved the double team counter to the Rainmaker, as well as the finishing blitz of maneuvers. Probably the second best match of the year for me, right behind Okada/Goto.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Lowering my standards for the Cesaro and Cena match since it was on TV and not PPV so changing it to a nice ****1/2


----------



## Nervosa

Cena vs. Cesaro
****1/4
Yeah, I'm on board. The tag match I mentioned above was my #2 match of the year for all of an hour. This is #2 now. Strength portions at the beginning were awesome, especially in that Cena was unable to out-muscle and opponent. He truly seemed to be in trouble throughout the match. Counters at the end were unbelievable, especially with the size of both men. Loved the big Swing Counter, Cesaro landing on his feet out of the AA, and Cena's new Finlay roll setup for the AA. Really great stuff.


----------



## Concrete

Rah said:


> ^But Tempers was so great a heel against Matthews last year!
> 
> I hope others take advantage of that match as I'm sure it rocks. Of course wrestling throws out tons of fun stuff when my PC is broken so I can't watch a thing of it. Figures.


That's one(was there more last year?) I remember trying to watch and the camera gave me nausea. Though I may have simply been nauseous to begin with...WHO KNOWS?!

But yeah, everyone hop on it.


----------



## A.M.

My Top 5

1. Caleb Konley vs. Cedric Alexander @ PWX Rise of a Champion XI
2. Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuku @ Dragon Gate Infinity 324
3. Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan @ WWE Royal Rumble
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura @ NJPW The New Beginning, Hiroshima
-. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto @ NJPW The New Beginning, Osaka


----------



## Bubz

Cesaro vs Cena was fucking amazing and I'm utterly convinced Cesaro is the only guy who can give Bryan a run for his money as the absolute best professional wrestler in the world after watching it. The way he carried himself, his mannerisms, the total focus of every single tiny thing he does in the ring, he pulls off absolutely everything to fucking perfection, it's insane. What an insane wrestler. It's the performance of his career imo and that's high praise considering how good he's been recently but my god this was out of this world incredible.

I adore Bryan and I still think he's the all around best wrestler walking the earth, nobody can play both sides of the coin as well as he does, he's incredible working from the bottom and he's incredible working on top, we're yet to see Cesaro work from the bottom, but in control of a match he's GODLY.

Cena was immense in this too. He's fantastic as the underdog when he's in there with the right opponent to structure a match with. His bumping and selling was on point here, taking more time than usual between his initial comebacks and his bigger moves. I love to watch Cena in this role, and when the guy dominating is Cesaro, it's obviously going to rule.

Some of the counters were amazing. Cena got some of the best counters I've seen for ages in here, the giant swing counter was completely insane. You've got two big guys in there pulling shit like that off and it's so ridiculous. Cesaro being so freakishly strong allows for some amazing things in his matches. The first counter early in the match in to the backbreaker was so awesome. Doing it on Generico is awesome in itself but when the other guy is John Cena? You're kidding. They always keep Cesaro in control, even when Cena pulls off one of those counters, Cesaro cuts him off in beautiful fashion.

The finishing run ruled so much. Cesaro has a knack for pulling off fantastic feats of athleticism and power in the final stages of his matches, we saw it against Generico and Kofi and Regal last year, and here whether it was his sunset flip counter out of the first spinning side slam attempt, the suplex from the outside or him landing on his feet out of the AA and going so smoothly into a running boot off the ropes, everything was just brilliantly done. A pretty damn incredible match, and tied with Bryan/Wyatt as the MOTY so far.

*****1/4*

Oh, and obviously a YES for this.


----------



## seancarleton77

John Cena vs. Cesaro & Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan are the two frontrunners for match of the year so far. As great as Ishii is, his match with Naito was only pretty good. Okada continues to do the same match over and over and over again. You seen one Okada match, you've seen 'em all.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Cena vs. Cesaro - ****

WWE MOTY so far. YES.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Conley and Alexander was a fun match but too indyriffic for my liking


----------



## Obfuscation

John Cena vs Antonio Cesaro - _WWE: Monday Night RAW 2/17_​
What is there left to say? This was fabulous. A marvel. The long awaited battle between these two and when it was all said and done, it ruled the world. Right from the get go the match was defined by purpose all on the strength duel. Cena or Cesaro. Who really is the strongest worker in WWE? They were out to prove the fact here. Cesaro's domination portions _(well, maybe not portions b/c he was in control for 99% of this match)_ continued to be pristine. Not many in the world are currently better than this guy. Danielson is the top competition these days as far as this high of consistency goes. Sheamus is damn close himself. Crazy how the first few answers to pop up are all employed by WWE. Cesaro's domination throughout here was actually enhanced by the recent win over Orton too. He first took out one longstanding WWE mainstay. Now it's time for him to do the same to THE mainstay. The best part of it all was the constant cutting off at the pass whenever Cena found an opening. He thought he found his way out of the powerful clutches of Cesaro, only to be stopped half way and fall back into the trenches where he was positioned for so long. The commentary actually did a solid job at putting over Cesaro's conditioning as he stayed in control for so long w/o looking winded in the slightest. The counters that followed nearing the end by both men were absurd. Literally absurd. The size of both to glide in and out of holds from one another is amazing. While Cesaro made every portion of this match terrific, Cena wasn't far behind in adding his niche to the match himself. He's in the position he's in for a reason. He has plenty to offer. Sequence from "Five Moves of Doom" into the GIANT SWING only to be countered into an STF attempt for that to be thwarted into a deadlift gutwrench suplex by Cesaro to end the chain. Holy crap. And this is only their "first" match vs each other. _(Troops match was far too neutered to be anything)_ Cena countering the Giant Swing into a DDT, all from the power of his core may have been the most mind-blowing moment of the bunch. The hits keep coming in this one. Follow the entire match up w/Cena locking Cesaro into an F-U by way of rolling into it, a la a Finlay Roll reversed and it's the icing on the cake of the most delicious variety. Chuck in all the other components Cesaro got to unleash on Cena - the pop up european uppercut, ABSURD uppercut while Cena was on the turnbuckle; thus knocking him flying to the floor, & the deadlift vertical suplex while Cesaro was perched on the rope - along w/the continious Cena story of having the best fortitude around & boosh. A true wonder. Unreal match. If it wasn't for Danielson vs Wyatt from the Rumble being out there, this would top the world of wrestling in 2014 w/o a doubt. Nonetheless, it's increasingly close among the two.


----------



## Bubz

Great stuff Cody. I actually meant to say in my post how the commentary was actually decent for once during the match. I can't wait to re-watch it and Bryan/Wyatt.


----------



## Joshi Judas

I can't decide between Cesaro/Cena and Bryan/Wyatt for my WWE MOTY so far. On second watch, I think I'll actually give the edge to Cena/Cesaro. Love both the matches though.


----------



## Obfuscation

The commentary seems to be kind of decent when the match is something special. Noticed they did the same during Danielson vs Orton too. Giving a little insight behind aspects to help bring the story to life some more.


----------



## seabs

***** @ Cena/Cesaro. 2nd best match this year for me out of the WWE and New Japan I've watched. There really isn't anyone better at working in control than Cesaro has been for the past year now. God it's going to suck when they turn him face and lose so much of what's made him the WOTY last year just because his swing is getting really over. Still at least he's cramming in awesome working in control matches with just about everyone on the roster first. Most WWE guys fall really short in the middle portion of their matches because all their interesting stuff comes at the end and because they're so limited they don't have much else to fill out a longer match so it's just restholds. Cesaro has absolutely unlimited amount of awesome stuff he can bust out during a control segment that makes the middle portion of his longer matches actually worth watching. And even now he's still busting out original stuff that has me marking. I could see the FU counter coming and it never impresses me when Jericho or Punk would try to do it and botch the landing but here Cesaro lands perfectly and fucking kills Cena off the rebound. My favourite spot of the match. Finish is really super too and I LOVED the FU setup. Oh wait AA even. Old school blood. Cena was subtly awesome in this too. Let Cesaro take all the shine but he added plenty of shine to Cesaro's performance himself without taking any of it away from himself. Cena pretty much always delivers in a big match against someone who can work and that trend didn't stop here. Glad Cena had a singles performance like this again because he really hasn't had as many as you'd want from in the last couple of years. Bryan/Wyatt was better but with a more focused middle this might have been close to it.*


----------



## Saint Dick

Seabs said:


> ***** @ Cena/Cesaro. 2nd best match this year for me out of the WWE and New Japan I've watched. There really isn't anyone better at working in control than Cesaro has been for the past year now. God it's going to suck when they turn him face and lose so much of what's made him the WOTY last year just because his swing is getting really over. Still at least he's cramming in awesome working in control matches with just about everyone on the roster first. Most WWE guys fall really short in the middle portion of their matches because all their interesting stuff comes at the end and because they're so limited they don't have much else to fill out a longer match so it's just restholds. Cesaro has absolutely unlimited amount of awesome stuff he can bust out during a control segment that makes the middle portion of his longer matches actually worth watching. And even now he's still busting out original stuff that has me marking. I could see the FU counter coming and it never impresses me when Jericho or Punk would try to do it and botch the landing but here Cesaro lands perfectly and fucking kills Cena off the rebound. My favourite spot of the match. Finish is really super too and I LOVED the FU setup. Oh wait AA even. Old school blood. Cena was subtly awesome in this too. Let Cesaro take all the shine but he added plenty of shine to Cesaro's performance himself without taking any of it away from himself. Cena pretty much always delivers in a big match against someone who can work and that trend didn't stop here. Glad Cena had a singles performance like this again because he really hasn't had as many as you'd want from in the last couple of years. Bryan/Wyatt was better but with a more focused middle this might have been close to it.*


Agreed with all of this. Bryan/Wyatt is still MOTY for me but Cena/Cesaro came close.

aka *YES* for Cena/Cesaro.


----------



## flag sabbath

*Trent Barreta vs. Anthony Nese (Evolve 25):* The seasick hardcam. The ripples of polite applause. The used car salesman commentary. The old man & tubby dweeb chanting 'You are sexy' at Su Yung. The 'awesome' back-and-forth indyriffic overkill. The near-fall excitement peaking a couple of minutes before the flat finish. If you can stomach all that, you might hold this in a more inflated esteem than I do ****1/2*

Also YES! @ Cesaro vs. Cena. Cesaro came out of this one looking so strong, which is a massive credit to both guys. Here's hoping this isn't yet another start/stop push *****1/4*


----------



## EscapedIllusion

PWG All Star Weekend Night 1 

Yes to Davey Richards vs Johnny Gargano ****

Awesome match great technical wrestling and overall really fun.

Yes to The Young Bucks and Kevin Steen vs AR Fox,Ricochet,and Rich Swan ****1/2 

This is the most fun I've had watching wrestling this year,sure it was all spots but it was extremely enjoyable and very easy to sit through.

And Yes to Adam Cole vs Chris Hero ****
Very fun match,great action.I think this is Hero's best match since being back on the Indy scene.

Overall a very good show with a hot PWG crowd as always.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Rah

Concrete said:


> That's one(was there more last year?) I remember trying to watch and the camera gave me nausea. Though I may have simply been nauseous to begin with...WHO KNOWS?!
> 
> But yeah, everyone hop on it.


I don't much remember the exact date (will have to check my list when I get a PC again) but I think it was the DSCW match not the one in Empire. 

Regardless, it happened in the larger school gym, and had Tempers doing a nasty workover on Kyle's fingers. Great heel work there and seemed a good enough exposure into his talent as anything else.

Anything good in lucha this week? Haven't popped over to Cubs site in days and WKO doesn't seem to have picked up anything to either rag on or praise. Only watched the Dandy/Satanico rematch, tbh. Dandy looked really bad afterward. Off-purple in colour. Still deserved a better crowd attendance, tho.


----------



## jessyj2009

EscapedIllusion said:


> This is the most fun I've had watching wrestling this year


ASW 10 happened in December.


----------



## Concrete

I'm claiming laziness on the lucha :/


----------



## Chismo

DDT Sweet Dreams! was immense:


- Sato & Takagi vs. Sakaguchi & Akito ****

- Ibushi & Omega vs. Takeshita & Endo vs. Miyamoto & Kodaka ****1/4

- Irie vs. HARASHIMA ****1/4


The latter two are the best non-NJ and Virus/Titan matches of the year.


----------



## Obfuscation

*IWGP World Heavyweight Championship*

Kazuchika Okada(c) vs Hirooki Goto - _NJPW: The New Beginning in Osaka 2/11_​
Their best effort to date. I wasn't so keen on what they decided to produce in the New Japan Cup finals last year and I thought this nudged itself over their 2012 Championship match. Goto was really on. I know some are down on him. So be it. I've never been that way myself, although I've had the match here and there where I wasn't impressed by his work. _(none were vs Ishii or Shibata in the ultra polarizing bouts, mind you)_ Goto unleashed his fury at all points of the contest. The target of Okada's neck & his kicks. Sweet jesus. He didn't come to play. He came to win. For as much as I've seen from him, I swear I don't remember his kicks ever being THIS good. He took the breath right out of me every time he walloped Okada. Loved his selling and the continous point bring back to Goto's previously injured jaw. The touch added a great wrinkle to the WK bout vs Shibata and it did the exact same thing here. When Okada had Goto locked into Red Ink I was hoping Okada would have lowered the grip a bit more closer to the jaw in order to double the effect. Nonetheless the pressure was still close to it. Goto did a nice job at keeping that bit alive once he made it to the ropes and that was by immediately clutching and acknowleding the sore jaw. Showing that while Okada didn't defeat him quite yet, the wrestler w/the spirit of a samurai was hurting big time. 

Okada had his niche peppered throughout this where he worked like a heel in a good, subtle manner. The DDT on the floor spot is practically the best thing for this theme. It's dickish enough to stay a heel at the pivotal points and dangerous enough to be plenty effective w/o taking alignment into any consideration. Extremely happy to see the match find it's consistent flow at only about the eight minute mark, instead of being a bit of a blur until the finishing stretch. Aka what their New Japan Cup finals was like. Goto's pinpoint accuracy in trying to break down Okada's bum neck was too good. He was killing it w/the bombs he busted out. The transitional and inverted overhead facebuster on the knee moves, the overhead rotating flapjack, _(I know one of these has a more formal name from him, but idc) _ & finally the INSANE avalanche TKO neckbreaker hit at about the twenty minute mark. Awesome. Never seen anything like that. Completely dangerous, but completely perfect to show what Goto was willing to bust out in order to finally capture the World Championship. The struggle to hit the Shouten Kai at the very end ruled. It continued to legitimize the move w/o even hitting it. Goto not being able to hit it, only to parlay Okada's previous counter w/one of his own into what appeared to be another death valley driver on the knee spot was one of those more hidden genius moments. The finishing stretch in this was so damn strong. Multiple points like that kept on popping up. As well as what I knew would be the sickest Rainmaker counter ever witness - using the momentum for Goto to HEADBUTT THE HOLY HELL OUT OF OKADA. Doesn't hurt that I personally love Okada's one, two _(three)_ punch to finish off his opponents. Tremendous drama 99% of the time when Okada is dodging the opponents flurry, looking for his chance to connect w/the dropkick in the back of the head. Follow it up w/a tombstone and finally, the Rainmaker. It's still legit as ever and hasn't found a dull moment yet. 

One final note to add was how much I thought the Shibata as Goto's second gave the story that much more to fuel it. The rival/friend who Goto was entrenched w/for most of 2013 is now on his side; giving all of his support and encouragement to the challenger. Hoping to be there when Goto could finally win the big one. All of this aspect is what made the PK nearfall so great. Goto pointing to Shibata right before connecting. Goosebumps. It would put the period at the end of the final sentence. Regardless of that not ending on a high note for this specific aspect of the story, it still ties it together in the span of nearly 23 minutes. Great match w/all the right areas hit. Goto has been very good at the start of 2014. I'll gladly stand by that claim. Okada does what he does. Another rousing championship defense.


----------



## Nervosa

HayleySabin said:


> *IWGP World Heavyweight Championship*
> 
> Kazuchika Okada(c) vs Hirooki Goto - _NJPW: The New Beginning in Osaka 2/11_​
> Their best effort to date. I wasn't so keen on what they decided to produce in the New Japan Cup finals last year and I thought this nudged itself over their 2012 Championship match. Goto was really on. I know some are down on him. So be it. I've never been that way myself, although I've had the match here and there where I wasn't impressed by his work. _(none were vs Ishii or Shibata in the ultra polarizing bouts, mind you)_ Goto unleashed his fury at all points of the contest. The target of Okada's neck & his kicks. Sweet jesus. He didn't come to play. He came to win. For as much as I've seen from him, I swear I don't remember his kicks ever being THIS good. He took the breath right out of me every time he walloped Okada. Loved his selling and the continous point bring back to Goto's previously injured jaw. The touch added a great wrinkle to the WK bout vs Shibata and it did the exact same thing here. When Okada had Goto locked into Red Ink I was hoping Okada would have lowered the grip a bit more closer to the jaw in order to double the effect. Nonetheless the pressure was still close to it. Goto did a nice job at keeping that bit alive once he made it to the ropes and that was by immediately clutching and acknowleding the sore jaw. Showing that while Okada didn't defeat him quite yet, the wrestler w/the spirit of a samurai was hurting big time.
> 
> Okada had his niche peppered throughout this where he worked like a heel in a good, subtle manner. The DDT on the floor spot is practically the best thing for this theme. It's dickish enough to stay a heel at the pivotal points and dangerous enough to be plenty effective w/o taking alignment into any consideration. Extremely happy to see the match find it's consistent flow at only about the eight minute mark, instead of being a bit of a blur until the finishing stretch. Aka what their New Japan Cup finals was like. Goto's pinpoint accuracy in trying to break down Okada's bum neck was too good. He was killing it w/the bombs he busted out. The transitional and inverted overhead facebuster on the knee moves, the overhead rotating flapjack, _(I know one of these has a more formal name from him, but idc) _ & finally the INSANE avalanche TKO neckbreaker hit at about the twenty minute mark. Awesome. Never seen anything like that. Completely dangerous, but completely perfect to show what Goto was willing to bust out in order to finally capture the World Championship. The struggle to hit the Shouten Kai at the very end ruled. It continued to legitimize the move w/o even hitting it. Goto not being able to hit it, only to parlay Okada's previous counter w/one of his own into what appeared to be another death valley driver on the knee spot was one of those more hidden genius moments. The finishing stretch in this was so damn strong. Multiple points like that kept on popping up. As well as what I knew would be the sickest Rainmaker counter ever witness - using the momentum for Goto to HEADBUTT THE HOLY HELL OUT OF OKADA. Doesn't hurt that I personally love Okada's one, two _(three)_ punch to finish off his opponents. Tremendous drama 99% of the time when Okada is dodging the opponents flurry, looking for his chance to connect w/the dropkick in the back of the head. Follow it up w/a tombstone and finally, the Rainmaker. It's still legit as ever and hasn't found a dull moment yet.
> 
> One final note to add was how much I thought the Shibata as Goto's second gave the story that much more to fuel it. The rival/friend who Goto was entrenched w/for most of 2013 is now on his side; giving all of his support and encouragement to the challenger. Hoping to be there when Goto could finally win the big one. All of this aspect is what made the PK nearfall so great. Goto pointing to Shibata right before connecting. Goosebumps. It would put the period at the end of the final sentence. Regardless of that not ending on a high note for this specific aspect of the story, it still ties it together in the span of nearly 23 minutes. Great match w/all the right areas hit. Goto has been very good at the start of 2014. I'll gladly stand by that claim. Okada does what he does. Another rousing championship defense.


Its too soon to rep you again, but this is a fantastic review. MOTY for me so far.


----------



## The Black Mirror

EscapedIllusion said:


> PWG All Star Weekend Night 1
> 
> Yes to Davey Richards vs Johnny Gargano ****
> 
> Awesome match great technical wrestling and overall really fun.
> 
> Yes to The Young Bucks and Kevin Steen vs AR Fox,Ricochet,and Rich Swan ****1/2
> 
> This is the most fun I've had watching wrestling this year,sure it was all spots but it was extremely enjoyable and very easy to sit through.
> 
> And Yes to Adam Cole vs Chris Hero ****
> Very fun match,great action.I think this is Hero's best match since being back on the Indy scene.
> 
> Overall a very good show with a hot PWG crowd as always.
> 
> 
> Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


*Thanks for the match recommendations from this show. I can't wait to watch. You may want to move this post to the 2013 MOTYC Thread or the Indy DVD Discussion Thread, since ASW X took place in December.

I've got a lot of wrestling to watch...*


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yea my bad,I posted my thoughts on night 2 of ASW on the 2013 MOTY thread.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Bubz

So everyone should check out Bryan/Cesaro, Wyatts/Rhodes brothers & Rey and Christian/Sheamus from Smackdown, all really good. Obviously not nominating any of them, but still. Bryan/Cesaro has an amazing workover and sell job and I would have gone **** for it had it not been for frankly annoying shitty finish, Wyatt match has the ungodliest big boot I've ever seen in my life and Christian/Sheamus has 'I'm going to slap youre face off' christian and Sheamus who is...Sheamus and he's amazing, also has a great workover and sell job.


----------



## Violent By Design

Just saw Cesaro vs John Cena 2/17/14

This match was fantastic, and lived up to the hype.

A match that told the story of the guy who became "the man" by having God given strength in Cena, goes up a young up and comer who can rival Cena's herculean strength. What we got was a clash of two titans, except Cesaro is not only younger, but is a "freak athlete" compared to Cena.

Cesaro ruled the entire match, even when Cena was fighting back it still felt like they were going at a pace set by Cesaro. The way they played around the big swing as well as some of their finishers was awesome. The counters were crisp, imaginative and very explosive, making the match never feel dull even when something predictable would happen. The pacing was really fast for a WWE match, and I think a lot of that might have to do with it being a TV match, which I thought was a good thing.

The match set out what it was meant to do. They booked that match hoping to make Cesaro look like a legit player for the EC, and he came out looking like a true stud. Cena deserves a lot of credit here, his selling really put Cesaro over.

This surpasses Wyatt vs DB as my MOTY. I'll also give it my first *YES*


----------



## Obfuscation

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*

Kota Ibushi(c) vs El Desperado - _NJPW: The New Beginning in Osaka 2/11_​
Walking into this I wasn't so sure on what to expect. I've got my own analysis on the Deperado character. Although, his ring work up to this point hasn't been the smoothest around. Clunky was a word I saw thrown out; that fits. On this night, he finally clicked. Biggest match on the immediate introduction of him as a "new" persona and I felt he delivered. Ibushi's steam hasn't left from entering the promotion _(maybe not "officially" at that moment)_ around the Climax in August. Biggest thing I noticed was how Desperado's work grew to make his chances in snagging the championship grow more and more belivable by the minute. His array of high impact moves coupled w/his desire to throw his own body in the wind to take out Ibushi was timely. Tope con hilo spot being the biggest example. Not much of this has been seen from his matches so far, in fact he went full on asshole in a few of those outings. However he put that behind him and replaced those antics for a full tilt wrestling game in order to score the upset. He let it all hang out when need be. It wasn't a one man show in the slightest, but all my eyes were transfixed on going into this was how well Desperado would perform. In a good sign, he pulled through. Gory special vertabreaker near fall was very well done. It got me thinking it could have been over. Ibushi's crazy times springboard top rope frankensteiner continues to wow me. A shade under what made Ibushi vs Devitt so good from WK, but a strong match all on it's own accord for my taste. I may be the only person out there who really thought this was pretty great.


----------



## Chismo

x1cng72

_I know many dudes are afraid for Strong Division because the three top guys are injured, but that’s just a new chance for other talent to shine, that’s why there are invaders, in this case two behemoths from Union and Z1, there’s Daichi Hashimoto with a huge chip on his shoulder, and there’s motherfucking K-HASH! Two Hashimotos teaming together to take on big, nasty and vicious strikers, with Korakuen going crazy for them, great brawl with hellish strikes and punches. Kohei Sato always seems to be motivated in these interpromotional matches, and Shuji needs to stay in Strong Division and fucking DOMINATE._

****​


----------



## vault21

**** for Cena vs. Cesaro

Cesaro is a herculean studmuffin.


----------



## darkclaudio

YES! The Wyatt Family vs The Shield - WWE Elimination Chamber ****


----------



## GothicBohemian

^ Beat me to it. I'd call it a must see. The crowd has to get a supporting role nod too; they were so into the entire match.


----------



## Smitty

****3/4 for Shield/Wyatts


----------



## EmbassyForever

Wyatts vs Shield 

****3/4


----------



## GeorgeCostanza

edit -- oops


----------



## bigbuxxx

thanks guys. going to watch unspoiled now. can't wait! :mark:


----------



## dukenukem3do

Sheild vs The Wyatts 
****1/2


----------



## PERFECTSHOW

*YES!* The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (WWE Elimination Chamber) ****½ - HOLY CRAP! This match had beyond high expectations and it DELIVERED in every way imaginable...this was an all out war, between two of the best stables/teams in pro-wrestling today. The crowd was white hot for this match & really goes to show how protecting a gimmick can really get the fans totally invested in something.

*YES!* John Cena vs. Christian vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus vs. Antonio Cesaro vs. Randy Orton © - WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Elimination Chamber Match (WWE Elimination Chamber) ****¼ -


Spoiler



This match was great & probably one of the best Chamber matches up until all the interference... Some truly innovative use of the Chamber, something thats been sort of missing from the last few... You always get your typical spot using the "bullet proof" glass, but these guys really used the gimmick to their adventange, more so then I have seen in years. Cesaro & Sheamus were great here & of course the crowds emotions were solidly behind Bryan...a bit better then I was honestly expecting...maybe over selling it, but I really enjoyed it!


----------



## DOPA

*Shield vs Wyatts: ****1/2*

On first watch, was absolutely amazing. I will definitely rewatch it in the morning.


----------



## darkclaudio

NO! Elimination Chamber Match (***1/2)


----------



## Zatiel

YES on Cena Vs. Cesaro. Cena gave Cesaro a ton and made him look incredible while also pulling out some wild spots, especially that DDT out of the double-leg.

NO on Elimination Chamber. Great first half that devolved badly by the time the Wyatts teleported into the chamber.


----------



## bigbuxxx

YES for Wyatts vs Shield. ****1/2 for that awesomeness.

NO way for the EC match. Pile of rubbish even before the overbooking.


----------



## Joshi Judas

YES to Shield vs Wyatts.

Incredible match. Excellent mix of action, athleticism, storytelling and character work.

****1/2

WWE's MOTY so far imo.


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Quoth the Raven said:


> YES to Shield vs Wyatts.
> 
> Incredible match. Excellent mix of action, athleticism, storytelling and character work.
> 
> ****1/2
> 
> WWE's MOTY so far imo.





Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Saint Dick

The Shield v The Wyatt Family

IS THIS NOT WHAT YOU WANTED?!


----------



## goldigga

YES for the Shield/Wyatts. **** 1/2 match for me. Great spots, crowd was hot, both teams meshed really well and a strong clean finish. A match I have already rewatched twice and it just gets better with each viewing.

No for the chamber match ***. Perhaps it was because I had high hopes for this match or because of the shitty finish. The first half like others have said was great, when you have Cesaro, Bryan, Sheamus and Christian in a ring what could go wrong? Unfortunately a combination of the crowd being a little burnt out from the epic Shield/Wyatt match and the predictable and overbooked ending hurts this match in my eyes.

Also hard to watch Cesaro tapping out so easily to Cena's STF after he had been built up for weeks as a legitimate contender, then putting on a great showing only to be beaten so easily. The match and audience in particular seemed to deflate from that point on.


----------



## Violent By Design

*YES* to Shield vs Wyatts.

Good ol fashion tag wrestling with a new age look.

Characters all played their parts, the match had natural and logical story telling. The action was fast pace, everyone had their spots, great feats of athleticism, a lot of crowd pleasing.

Match lived up to the hype.

I still got Cena vs Cesaro as MOTY though.


----------



## DOPA

rewatched both the shield/wyatt and chamber matches.

YES still to the Shield/Wyatt's. Still going with *****1/2*

No to the EC, barely ****1/2* for me.


----------



## Srdjan99

YES!YES!YES! for Shield/Wyatts. ****3/4, maSTERPIECE.


----------



## flag sabbath

Another big *YES!* to *Shield vs Wyatts*. A relentlessly exciting, multifaceted match, brimming with character advancement for all six hombres (the commentary team played its part brilliantly too) *****1/4*


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Shield vs. Wyatts ****1/2 ..fucking yes

Hopefully that Ambrose disappearance is apart of the Shield breakup storyline because the match would of have had much more drama if Ambrose came raging back in to no avail but atleast giving some hope instead of Super Reigns going bananas on 3 dudes


----------



## seabs

*Shield/Wyatts owned. MOTD is stretching it for me but WWE MOTD might be feasible. It's not WWE MOTD for me but I guess it's in that region. Not that the standard is shockingly high for that though. Best American Trios match ever is maybe a better shout though but again not much high end competition. I thought Bray/Brayn maybe just edged it for MOTY so far too. But regardless of all that geeky stuff this was great and more importantly everyone looked like stars in it. Rowan looked good and Harper got to get in his stand out spots. I knew the Brodie dive was coming but that only made it better and it's cool that he got to pull that out here. I actually thought Ambrose looked as good as anyone here. In great settings like this is where he excels. It's the run of the mill 5 minute TV matches where it's too much for me because it's like doing the act too much for the sake of it. Any of these guys bar probably Rowan could be a big babyface hit when the time is right with the right booking too. I thought Rollins' style worked here but in a different way to how Ambrose and Bray got the violence and hatred over. That whole sequence starting with the top rope german was just as hateful as the brawling outside in it's own way and Rollins' charisma got a nice chance to shine through there too. Reigns is always great but here he was awesome. I've always liked his little nuances like when he's on the apron but they got to excel here, even when it came down to being 3 on 1 and he looked all shit I'm fucked here but time to step up anyway. Sucks that whatever happened to Ambrose wasn't filmed but the suspense of not knowing was probably better than whatever they did do. Table spot was super and made perfect use of them 3. In a perfect world The Shield will stay together coming out of Mania and these two forces will cross paths again and they'll do this again but with a new layer added to it next time. Because what these 6 have is extremely organic and really rare in WWE so for this to be over and out would be a shame. They don't need to do the generic 3 PPV stretch feud but have something that is always lingering throughout 2014 and explodes again around Summerslam would be awesome and they have a really big match if they pair them together again. Crowd was really good all night too but especially for this match and really pushed it up towards that higher tier of match. 

The Chamber match was good but I thought there were at least 3 better. The 1st one, The Rey/Edge one and the 05 one were all comfortably better for me. Final part of it hurt it a lot imo. Up until Cesaro was eliminated it was an easy MOTYC. Cesaro/Sheamus was the perfect starting pair and kinda made up for of all the combinations in the build these two were the pair that didn't get a singles match. I thought them 2 and Christian were all comfortably better than Bryan in this too. Cal, did you put money on Sheamus going first like I told you too? Ha if you didn't. Nice little winner there on top of my acca for the show. Sheamus elimination was really good and Sheamus/Christian is at least something I'll probably look forward to come Mania. The Chamber gimmick has run it's course now though tbh. If this was the same match without the cage and guys came out from the back every 5 minutes I don't think it would have been any worse. The pod spots are past their best now and nobody really wanted to take big bumps on the steel which is fine but it makes the Chamber kinda useless as a weapon. That "glass" looks so undangerous too. Orton/Sheamus pod spot was cool though. I was really hoping Sheamus was gonna just punch his fist through the pod which would have owned. Or just slammed his own head through and then stared at Orton like a psycho. 1st half was MOTYC material. Then they kinda ruined the good build up. Or at least limited how good it could be. Wyatts run in was annoying in a gimmick match where the idea is nobody can get in or out. Cole wondering how they got in while they're showing the door wide open amused me though. Cena/Bray is odd but kinda cool and also kinda annoying that Bray is getting CENA AT WRESTLEMANIA this early while guys like Cesaro and Cody will be lucky to make the card. Hopefully Cena actually cares about Bray costing him a title match this time though because they did the same spot at the Rumble and Cena didn't seem to care. Kane run in was what it was and has been throughout this abomination of an angle. In Kane's defence he was being the good buy until that evil troll dived on him. Dude had a right to be pissed. The Bryan wins the title but gets screwed out of it thing is just whatever now (it always but for just about everyone it really is now) but I'm also glad because him being stuck with Orton and/or Batista would have been horrible. At least with Hunter there's more to work with and more importantly more heat to their match. I'm still betting on him facing Kane though and Punk coming back to face Hunter. That wouldn't surprise me one bit. It seems like they're booking Bryan with Kane so strongly too in case that does happen. Bryan kicking out of the RKO was cool but also should have been saved for when he actually beats him. It really means barely anything but I also disliked Orton leaping back up from the Running Knee straight after like it was nothing. 

YES & Shield/Wyatts btw.*


----------



## Groovemachine

*The Wyatt Family vs The Shield - WWE Elimination Chamber - ****1/4*

Epic. Early on, Rollins was the clear stand out of the match but by the end everyone had had their moment to shine; the match was incredibly well put together and whoever the agent was deserves a pat on the back. Cena/Cesaro is still my MOTY but this is an easy #2, although both need a rewatch.


----------



## Bruce L

Somewhat late to the party here, but:

*YES * to Bryan/Wyatt.

*NO *(or, perhaps more accurately, "NOT QUITE") to Cena/Cesaro and Naitō/Ishii.


----------



## Bubz

*YES - Shield vs Wyatt's (WWE Elimination Chamber)*
Shield vs Wyatts is the best thing I've seen in wrestling for fucking years. The closest thing you'll ever get in WWE to a full on FIGHT between a group of people who despise each other. This was pure hatred with n enormous fight atmosphere right from the entrances and the crowd chanting 'this is awesome' even before the match started. That was amazing because they knew there was something in the air surrounding this match. The 6 guys must have known that anything other than something incredible would have been disappointing, because my god did they exceed expectations, even with the insanely high ones most people had for this.

Every person in it was amazing. Ambrose' best performance ever, his mannerisms and crazy attitude have never come off better than this, everything he did was awesome, he was the wild dog that was being kept on a chain at the start and when he was let loose he really let loose. He was fantastic throughout though, from displaying pure and utter hatred to his selling, especially off a Harper Big Boot that made me freak out. Rollins was AWESOME with his offense not looking out of place at all and showing real fire and intensity and passion. The sequence after the top rope German was completely insane and Rollins managed to look like he was having the time of his life while still keeping that hate in his mannerisms and offense despite it being more flashy than everyone else's. Reigns is just great, the atmosphere changes when he steps in, and the initial Wyatt/Reigns confrontation was so good. He just knows how to make something seem huge when he steps in the ropes every time. Wyatt is pretty amazing to watch for me, he's the best guy in the business right now at playing a character in the ring, through his offense and his actions, I genuinely find him quite fascinating to watch because even though he's limited absolutely everything feels important and dangerous and so maniacal and evil. He's also another guy that makes something as simple as stepping in the ring or coming face to face with someone seem like the biggest moment ever, that's why I'm actually looking forward to his match against Cena at Mania, and I'm not even mad that he's getting that spot because I really do think he's great. Harper might be the second best guy in this but that's so hard to say because everyone was so impressive and I'm not even sure who the best guy was. His expressions and mannerisms are so captivating, just like Wyatt's. Rowan might have been the weakest guy here but he was still fucking great, his punches towards the end looked amazing and he also knows how to make holds interesting through his facial expressions and he definitely does come off as the dumb but dangerous crony and I mean that in a good way.

After the initial brawl and we get the back and forth stuff with both teams showing their dominance we get two great FIP segments from Ambrose and then Rollins, who both do so well in that role for the first time in their WWE career. That means Ambrose gets to act all crazy while bumping and we get a showcase of just how fucking great all three guys could be as babyfaces, Rollins especially because the crowd just ate his stuff up. And it also means we get the Wyatt's working their best control segment ever because when you've got babyface performances as good as that to work off mixed with the Wyatt's crazed dominating tactics it creates something brilliant. The entire thing is booked perfectly, from the two hot tags to the break down and the most hate filled brawling you'll ever see in a WWE ring with Ambrose and Wyatt KILLING eachother going in to the crowd and Rowan and Reigns murdering each other with haymakers and Rollins getting obliterated by Harper etc and taking some nutty bumps that just looked like he was genuinely thrown in to things that he had no control over. Table spot was great and the last few minutes made Reigns look incredible, and everyone for that matter. Everyone looked a million bucks, the crowd ate everything up and this just had an insane and chaotic atmosphere that made it impossible to not be completely drawn in to, no small thanks to 6 fantastic performances and great booking. These two teams just clicked on every level on the night like I've rarely ever seen before. It was epic, and somehow surpassed ridiculously high expectations to deliver something special that I'm not sure could ever be replicated by any other 6 men.


----------



## Chismo

*WWE Elimination Chamber 2014*

The Shield (Ambrose, Rollins, Reigns) vs. The Wyatt Family (Wyatt, Harper, Rowan)

_The best WWE match since... Bryan/Punk from OTL? Anyway, this had tons of heat and hatred. Great workovers with zero dull moments in them, awesome pacing and selling. Nothing more you could ask from this. I loved how the Wyatts were giving away that menacing vibe, like they're the true dangerous men out there, like they operate on a whole other level. The Shield, compared to them, looked like a group of pretty models pretending to be pro-wrestlers. Ambrose was the absolute MVP of his own stable, and yet was outperformed by everyone else from the Wyatts. That's how strong the displays of quality were. This is the best non-NJ match in 2014, and can't really see anything from WWE topping this, unless these two groups meet in a rematch._

****1/2

P.S. I hate to sound like a broken freakin' record, but WWE's C-level horror camerawork and mind insulting directing really take away from enjoyment. They're the WOAT. Absolute WOAT. The biggest common sense scam in the industry.








_Mochizuki’s work is heavily inspired by shoot style. Sato is a former fighter turned pro-wrestler, a huge UWF mark. So yeah, knew this would rock, but I was little worried when I saw they got only 10 minutes. Silly me, though, because 10 minutes in a semi-shoot style match is plenty of time, especially when you have two guys who like to throw tons of hellish, painful strikes. Great storytelling in the match (although it might not mean much to others who are not into the characters), nifty and nasty holds and counters, fantastic finish. Yeah, this ruled, Mochi continues his glorious 2014 streak, and Sato is just starting his own, trust me._

****​


----------



## Waffelz

That's three genuinely great matches WWE have produced in a month. Quality stuff.


----------



## Obfuscation

Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, & Erick Rowan vs The Shield - _WWE: Elimination Chamber 2/23_​
Orgasmic perfection. You see a match on paper and know the potential. Hoping it can culimate to what you picture in your mind. It doesn't happen often. These six made it happen tonight. I was jacked. The fans in attendance were jacked. I'm sure everyone else who remotely knows about these two trios in the world of wrestling were jacked.

BRAWL before the bell was a genius way to start. Like really, really genius. It put the match more over the top than it already was before any "official" start. My stars, did they know what they had in this match. Rest of the match was 100% what you wanted. All the characters shining in their respective roles. It was a great way for someone who's been very subtle as a singular personality like Ambrose to really explode w/all his mannerisms here. He was manic, frantic, and completely haywire. It proved to be a steady fuel for this already molten fire. I really hope it is the start of seeing Ambrose being able to cut loose like this from here on out. Wyatt's are all fabulous. I was sold on Harper plenty prior to WWE. He just continues to excel at what he wishes to produce. Rowan is such an awesome surprise. Total nobody & he comes on the scene only to show he's a talented guy in his own right. Knows his place w/the group, does the job in splendid fashion, etc. Been impressed w/him basically from the get-go. Bray continues to deliver the goods. Molding his character & in ring work as one. Letting it gel whenever he's leading the attack in a singles match or in the frequent six man tags. Loved seeing them rough up two members of the Shield in separate wear-down sequences. We got to see Rollins play hot tag & sympathetic one night only babyface in one match. I love it. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand on the hot tag. Shooting through the monsters, going all over the place w/topes, top rope strikes and all the like. Then on the flip side he got to bump like the nut that he is in putting the Wyatt's methodical assaults over the top. Keeping Roman on the apron for a sustained period rocked. b/c he's still got room to grow as a complete worker, but they knew the fans would be itching to see him tear folks apart. Letting that build after both Ambrose & Rollins had their sustained ring time. Wanting to see the now named Juggernaut, live up to the title. When he got the tag - AMAZING. He looked like the ultimate stud. Keep using this man in all the correct ways and it's getting hard to not call him the next big thing for the company. Spot where he ducked an attack, rolled to the outside, went right over Bray in cool fashion only to leap onto the apron and connect w/his dropkick on Rowan. Even I was questioning how he was able to pull the smooth transition off. Just....wow. He's killing it. 

The traditional tag team "break down" in the finishing stretch was on a whole different level. You couldn't ask for a more electric feel in this situation. TOTAL WAR. It felt that way on every sequence. You had guys piling on top of each other on the outside. Luke Harper finally debuting his tope dive to the WWE audience in this match. YES! I was hoping he'd do it in this match too. Vindicated. Fans chanted earlier in the match "We want tables" only to actually get a table spot down the stretch. When does that happen? I didn't expect it, but bravo to them _(and the announce team who were around to keep up and have their good side show through again)_ to bring to light how the Shield were getting a taste of their own medicine. A double team effort by a new force to royally kill Rollins. Sick stuff. Even better symbolism. I walked into this expecting some sort of shenanigan w/Ambrose possibly coming into the downfall of the Shield. Felt the way they got him away from the match was stellar. The war was more than insane & it led to Bray vs Ambrose going into the crowd. Fans were going apeshit, it played right into the perfection scenario for more Shield tension. Terrific job on Ambrose up and vanishing. Status quo continued, how could you ask for a more fitting ending? Rollins laid out. Ambrose nowhere in sight. Reigns all alone as the Wyatt's stalk him a la to the method the Shield lived by in their year plus of domination. Keeping Reigns alive a bit longer for him to break the Sister Abigail was gold. Bray's face to tell the story, Reigns looking like he was going to take out all three of these beasts by himself. Ahhhhh. How can you make this grand scene up? Reigns kicks into hyperdrive w/superman punches for all. The drama built up for the spear on Bray was super immense. A terrific slight of vision w/Reigns nailing the holy high heavens out of Harper then BOOM - Wyatt cutting Reigns off w/o even seeing him coming. Sister Abigail connecting, it's over & I'm dead. Fabulous 100% of the way. Nothing was pointless. Everything mattered in the most crucial sense. All six shined as bright as they could have. This is what happens when you formula something so damn special; it clicks like you hoped it would. Absolute perfection. Bring on all the praise that I couldn't be begged to fit in the midst of all this gushing. I don't know what could happen later this year that could have this trumped. Unreal. Fellas, be proud.


----------



## Bruce L

Not gonna bother with a review; just *YES* to Shield/Wyatts. I don't watch WWE any more regularly than I do any other promotion (i.e. not at all), but damned if I don't believe in Roman Reigns after the end of this one.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

On the fence between **** and **** 1/4 for Wyatts/Shield but YES


----------



## Violent By Design

WWE MOTD? As in best match since 2010? I could see an argument for Shield vs Wyatt, yeah. Lesnar vs Cena is probably the best match in that time frame for me though. Shield vs Wyatt was fun, but Lesnar and Cena was surreal to me.

Since 2004 though? Gotta a lot of juicy stuff in that time, hell Guerrero was still around then.


----------



## Obfuscation

*NEVER Openweight Championship*

Tetsuya Naito(c) vs Tomohiro Ishii - _NJPW: The New Beginning in Osaka 2/11_​
Bah dear sweet jesus almighty did I love this. Apparently it's up there w/a lot of the recent Ishii, Goto, Shibata type matches where the intense, brain-rattling bomb throwing is forever divisive. As someone who loved just about all those matches, this was a drop in the bucket. Hell, it was MUCH more than that to me. I was more excited to see this clash than anything else presented in the wrestling world. Damn straight that's the honest truth. Despite the clear hatred both had for each other, it was neat to see the essence of who really "should be" the NEVER Openweight champion come to light at every turn; not only in this match, but from the outset when these two sustained their grudge. Naito being the original poster boy, getting injured, returning and capturing the gold following his monumental momentum in the Climax. Then there is everyone's favorite under-appreciated underdog in Ishii. Who's had his close calls one too many times just in the previous year, if you were to ask his opinion on the matter. In that year Ishii has made his case stronger that he not only desires for championship gold, but that he feels he should have it. Beating Tanahashi. Beating Shibata. Being a guy who's tenacity won't allow him to go away in the slightest. He's earned so much love from the fans b/c of this. And w/that aspect, comes big time heat towards Naito _(not just in Korakuen)_ whenever he's trying to keep egg man down.

Early portion was mapped out very well. It kept the story surrounding the championship in tact, hatred among the two was defined immediately, the strike wars - which ended up being the transitions behind the entire match, as a matter of fact - to be there as the way for Ishii to continue being the boss that he is whenever Naito wouldn't hit him hard enough. That's a large part of this match that I thought leap out over some others. Ishii's continuous use of his absurd manly pride. It comes from his ability to give & take amazing substantial abuse. Also, on the same token, if he's going to be defeated, he wants who ever is dishing it to him to give it back the same level or even harder. Whenver Ishii delivered a booming forearm/chop and Naito attempted to reciprocate, but only using a wild sloppy looking punch to the shoulder, Ishii would stop...he'd gaze w/a million expressions on his mug claiming "is this motherfucker for real?" Only for him to immediate come back w/another deadly strike delivered. Eventually Naito would begin to bust out proper strikes as things wore on. Which I'm glad to see. He did hold his own well in all the tags against Ishii, yet, in the start here, he wasn't giving it everything. Ishii had to push it out of him. Naito knew if he wasn't going to stop Ishii in his tracks, the match would be over in a flash. I LOVED how in the middle of all this early brutish force Ishii has Naito backed up in the corner only to shout: "Who's the champion now?!" Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Match had so many rad little things to fill any holes that may have been left open behind the central story of the match. Ishii's excellent selling of his bum neck, which he apparently walked into the match w/, Naito's facial gestures finally coming to light as he reacted to the heat he got whenever he did something unsavory towards Ishii & the fans weren't having it. There's proof he can actually bring some emotion to the match in that capacity. It wasn't of a unlimited supply, however, he brought it. I even thought the apparent slip up on the top rope frankensteiner worked in favor w/the match. It got Naito's bum knee back into the picture and he continued to play off of it later in the match. I liked that, quite a bit, tbf. The last ten minutes or so of this match was fantastic. Flat out. Stalemate, back & forth warfare. Naito was intent on taking out Ishii so heavily that he only attempted his submission finisher one time, despite having Ishii's neck in such a fragile state. The match never had that opening for Naito to slip it in there. One superb notion of this was on Naito's attempt, Ishii caught him mid-way & instead of Naito letting himself fall victim to it a la back at WK, he used his momentum to hit a tornado ddt spiking Ishii's head/neck into the mat. Continuing that punishment all the same. Maannnnn. This match RULES so much. Best nearfalls ever, 100% drama, nutty strike exchanges that felt less contrived than most, HEADBUTTS, Naito's missed Stardust Press, pure exhaustion yet still continuing a compelling pace. Everything. I think after three paragraphs my love for this match has been ever so slightly appropriately described. Hard pressed to say that it isn't my favorite match on the year so far. _(this was written before I watched Shield vs Wyatts; ha)_ The competition it is up against is plenty worthy too. I love scenarios like this. It at least is from New Japan here in the early months. Absolutely amazing.


----------



## THECHAMPION

Yes to Wyatts vs. The Shield.

And a resounding Yes to AJ Lee vs. Funkadactyl #2 obviously.

Has WWE ever been putting on a higher quality of matches than they are right now?

Seems like every Raw and PPV has at least one absolutely great match. And it's different people a lot of the time too.

Cena, Cesaro, Orton, Bryan, Sheamus, The Shield, The Wyatts, and The Rhodes Brothers are tearing it up constantly. Not to mention guys like ADR, The Usos, Christian, and Dolph who are all pretty capable of having very good to great matches.

And of course Big Dave! Can't wait to see him main event the biggest show of the year.


----------



## Obfuscation

Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii - _AJPW New Year Wars Night Two 1/3_​
Watched this the first time & thought it was good. Although, I couldn't remember a thing except for Irie's pounce on Suzuki. _(which totally ruled, btw)_ Decided to check it out again and sooooo glad I did. It's way better than I originally thought. The formula here was nothing short of intelligent. Feeling out, slower paced early going as I'm almost certain these two teams have never worked vs each other. Building up to the finish was set in stone from the outset. The feeling out flowed into a consistent control segments by the Xceed duo; fixated on the decimation of Ishii's mid-section. The next flow of motion was just that, to picking up the pace on the hot tag to Irie & things got hot. To the top of where it was controlled, didn't go over the top in the slightest, and all four made it very fun & very interesting. Crowd grew more invested by the minute too. Finish was arguably the smartest worked portion of the match. Tremendous timing by the teams. It appeared to have the upset coming, then in a flash it seemed the former Burning legacy members would squeak out the win, only for it to be moot as the time limit expires. I don't need championships on the line to want to see a rematch here. Very good stuff.


----------



## flag sabbath

Surprised by the (slightly) negative buzz surrounding the Elimination Chamber match. The first 25 minutes were tremendous & although it got all screwy from there, they kept the crowd hooked & guessing right up til the death ******


----------



## bigbuxxx

flag sabbath said:


> Surprised by the (slightly) negative buzz surrounding the Elimination Chamber match. The first 25 minutes were tremendous & although it got all screwy from there, *they kept the crowd hooked *& guessing right up til the death ******


the crowd at a couple points were chanting "boring"...


----------



## flag sabbath

Tbh, the only time I noticed was when Orton came in & took over on everyone. They were still into the final cluster of near falls despite all the shenanigans.


----------



## aivaz

+ the crowds post-Royal Rumble have been the all-time worst pro wrestling crowds consistently every week. Sheilds/Wyatts exists in some sort of healthy, mentally stable wrestling crowd vacuum.


----------



## Obfuscation

Yeah, the boring chants only came up when Orton was in the match b/c the crowd was wanting to crap on him.


----------



## DGenerationMC

Any random NJPW match.


----------



## THECHAMPION

I thought the crowd for EC was great.

The "Booista" chants, the "pussy" chant at Orton were hilarious, the "SIERRA HOTEL INDIA ECHO LIMA DELTA" chant.

I don't even mind them being dead for some of the earlier matches. There was no reason for you to give a shit about the Prime Time Players exploding. And for the most part I prefer a crowd sitting quietly to trying to amuse itself with "JBL" chants or whatever.

The actual Elimination Chamber match was excellent, Cesaro and Bryan looked like stars, very entertaining from start to the Wyatts music hitting. But it to me wasn't a MOTYC. I can't foresee it being in the discussion of a top 10 match at the end of the year. I'd be very disappointed if in December it was.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Legit feel bad for Orton sometimes. He's doing good work with his character and is bringing it in the ring, but the crowds refuse to give him a chance. 

Also, I'm bumping my rating for Shield vs Wyatts after a few rewatches from ****1/2 to ****3/4. Yeah :side:


----------



## A.M.

Which EVOLVE 25/26/27 matches are really worth a view?

Second question: so am I the only one that think Konley vs. Alexander from PWX Rise of a Champion IX was awesome and a true MOTYC?


----------



## Groovemachine

A.M. said:


> Which EVOLVE 25/26/27 matches are really worth a view?


Johnny Gargano vs Uhaa Nation - Evolve 27 - ****

Trent Baretta vs Ricochet - Evolve 26 - ***3/4

Chris Hero vs Ricochet - Evolve 25 - ***3/4


----------



## Obfuscation

Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Daichi Hashimoto - _BJW: 2/7/14_​
RUGGED. BRUTAL. MANLY. The caps don't lie. If you're looking for an excellent match chalk full of intricacies, look elsewhere. There weren't any here. Nothing subtle at all. It was excellent of a different nature. Straightforward by definition. Exactly what it should have been. Everyone basically had welts on their body when it ended; how is that not the coolest trait to talk about when your match ends? At this rate, Kazuki Hashimoto is easily going to be Big Japan's MVP. Maybe even 2014's on the whole. He's great. If you like no BS, smash em up warfare, watch this match immediately. BJW's strong division lives!


----------



## KingKicks

Few days late but YES for Shield/Wyatts. Easily the best thing WWE has done since last years Summerslam.


----------



## -Mystery-

Cesaro/Zayn IV.

Enough said.


----------



## darkclaudio

YES Cesaro vs Sami Zayn ****+


----------



## Smitty

****3/4 for Zayn/Cesaro IV


----------



## Sephiroth

*WWE NXT:Arrival*
Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn - **** 3/4

Actually I take that back, they can have ALL the stars


----------



## blink_41sum_182

YES to Zayn/Cesaro - ****-**** 1/4


----------



## Flux

Yes to Cesaro/zayn, will obviously need a rewatch but 100% certain it's a MOTYC despite the fact I preferred the 2/3 falls, but that's a testament to how good that was rather than this being bad, so to speak.


----------



## dukenukem3do

Definitely yes to Cesaro vs Zayn ****3/4


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yes! To Cesaro vs Sami Zayn
****3/4
My god such a beautiful match.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Merc_With_A_Mouth

A.M. said:


> Which EVOLVE 25/26/27 matches are really worth a view?


25: Nese/Trent, Hero/Ricochet, the finish of the 6 man tag at least (good match still)
26: Ricochet/Trent, Uhaa & Fox/Gargano & Davis, Hero/nese
27: Uhaa/Gargano, Trent & Nese/Ricochet & Fox


----------



## flag sabbath

So it took four days for WWE's MotD to be surpassed. And the bar for Cesaro's opponents has been raised waaaaaaaaaaay high *****1/2*


----------



## DOPA

*Wrestlekingdom 8*

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto: *****1/4*
Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi: ****3/4*
Shinsuke Nakamura(c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: *****1/4*

*NO* to Okada vs Naito. Extremely disappointing match. Some very strange spot choices in terms of storytelling, Okada seemed lazy through parts of the match and this is coming from an Okada mark; He certainly wasn't on his A game that night. The match definitely picked up but really just became a case of them trading their signature moves. The finishing stretch was pretty nice but the biggest problem of all with this match was Naito never once looked like he had a chance of winning which for the top title match in the biggest show of the year is a huge problem. The only thing I really liked in this match was the development of Naito's character getting a bit more aggressive and even going a little heel in places. I would be generous to give this match a ****1/2.*

Wrestlekingdom 8 to be fair was a disappointing show for NJPW standards.


----------



## DOPA

Sami Zayn vs Antonio Cesaro: *****3/4*

HOLY FUCK. What a match. I was close to tears by the end of it. This is what wrestling is all about.


----------



## Creative name

Zayne vs Cesao **** 3/4

I know it's wishful thinking but one day I'd love to see as the main event of a wwe ppv is Cesaro vs Zayne vs Bryan vs Rollins in a fatal 4 way for the wwe title.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Cesaro vs Zayn - ****3/4

Amazing.


----------



## darkclaudio

Wrestling Observer 2014 Matches ****+

****3/4
-*IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match*: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW 11/02
-*IWGP NEVER Openweight Championship Match*: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW 11/02

****1/2
-*IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match*: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 9/02

****1/4
-Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan vs Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose - WWE 23/02
-Cesaro vs John Cena - WWE 17/02
-Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 2/02
-*IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match*: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 4/01 
-*IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match*: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 4/01

****
-Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton - WWE 3/02
-Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt - WWE 26/01
-Steel Cage Match: Kurt Angle vs Bobby Roode - TNA 16/01 
-*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match*: Prince Devitt (c) vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW 4/01 
-Hirooki Goto vs Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW 4/01


----------



## Waffelz

Wyatt v Bryan didn't make their list but Orton v Bryan did? okay.


----------



## Chismo

Waffelz said:


> Wyatt v Bryan didn't make their list but Orton v Bryan did? okay.


----------



## darkclaudio

Waffelz said:


> Wyatt v Bryan didn't make their list but Orton v Bryan did? okay.


oh I forget, **** for Meltzer. Already corrected.


----------



## Groovemachine

*Cesaro vs Sami Zayn - WWE NXT Arrival - ****3/4*

I WANT TO MARRY THIS MATCH!! A masterpiece of character work from both men, this had me jumping out of my seat, cringing, and being completely consumed by the action for the 25 minutes it lasted. Zayn's selling of the leg was perfect, and Cesaro seemed like a monster at times, picking Sami apart, preying on him. The segment where he tells Zayn to "Stay down!" and repeatedly hits him with uppercuts was glorious; Cesaro looked like a beast, trying to maim his opponent and not caring about pins or submissions, but this in turn lead to him showing arrogance, allowing Zayn to turn the tables. There's so much more I could say but at this stage I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

A resounding YES, this is my new MOTY by a fair margin.


----------



## seabs

*YES

Sami Zayn vs Cesaro - NXT ArRIVAL*
_My only concern going into this was that it'd be a repeat highlight version of their 2/3 falls match. Obviously it didn't end up being 2/3 in the end anyway but this was totally unique in it's own way and more than brilliant in different ways to the 2/3 falls match. Cesaro's the best worker anywhere right now and has been on such a stupid high level for the last 12 months. It's one thing to have great matches but he's been putting in out of this world individual performances on a routine basis and this is as good as any Cesaro performance there's been. I've said this before in here but one of the best things about Cesaro is his ability to routinely pull crazy awesome stuff out that you don't see that coming and/or that even he hasn't done before himself. The 2 counters off Zayn's dives were insane greatness. I loved how he almost dropped Zayn off the moonsault catch but powered him back up and made the spot look even more immense ala the end of the 2/3 match. I was really really glad that they did the story with Zayn refusing to stay down at the end but actually let Cesaro still win. That's like my favourite finish ever and when you get it right it's actually more effective than the underdog pulling out the win imo. Actually this type of match is probably my favourite structure to an entire wrestling match. It's really pro graps 101 but it's done perfectly. They even managed to thrown in a 9 times out of 10 detested kick out at 1 spot but they get it right here because it's actually used to tell a story rather than just get a cheap pop. What else really helped is that Sami's got an awesome mix of big spots he can pull out that aren't his finisher but are more than fancy and high impact enough to work as believable finishes. And that's a credit to the NXT booking too that's set a precedence for not always finishing on the usual WWE format with finisher --> win. Cesaro's facial reactions to the kick out at 1 and Zayn refusing to die were masterful as well and added a lot to the story they were telling at the end. Cesaro needs to use the BROCK LOCK more often too. I was really hoping he'd pull Sami back from the ropes and do a giant swing with him in the BROCK LOCK. MOTY right now and every bit as good as their 2/3 falls match if not better. Basically the perfect mix of a highspots match with all the small but vitally important extra ingredients needed to make a highspots match like this work. _

*****1/2*


----------



## Srdjan99

*YES*

Cesaro/Zayn- ****3/4


----------



## Sephiroth

Zayn should have done his top rope brainbuster. Just saying. I'm guessing he's never done it NXT right?


----------



## Thomazbr

And he will never do.

You're probably better hoping for a regular Brainbuster than the Brianbustaaaaah


----------



## GothicBohemian

I’ll skip the snowflake rating but still want to heap some additional love on Cesaro/Zayn. So much wonderful from those two guys.


----------



## seabs

*It's always amusing how El Generico is more over at Full Sail than just about anyone who is actually trying to get over in NXT. At the same time though I do wish the crowd would just chant for Sami rather than doing Generico's crowd shtick if they want to actually help him.*


----------



## geraldinhio

I have to get involved in this Sami/Cesaro match. Link anyone? Anything else from the show worth watching? 

While I'm here. Shield vs Wyatts from EC. I won't say much because everything that could be said about the match has been said. Exceeded it's lofty expectations, ****1/2+. That big fight atmosphere. Still trying to figure out what happened to Ambrose. Must of been a big spot that Ambrose was layed out for so long?


----------



## Last Chancery

Goddamn. Zayn/Cesaro IV was a masterpiece. I'm going ****3/4 and no spoilz. Check it out as if your life depends on it.


----------



## Nervosa

Wyatts vs. shield
****1/2
Really fun stuff. Rollins' big run was my favorite part. Psycho Dean was also very cool. Didn't love the finish: too much Cena-like superhuman odds defying from Reigns and Bray recovering way too quick. Amazing action, maybe just ab it better than Cesaro/Cena.

Cesaro vs. Zayn
****
Great action, good leg work, but when it comes down to it, nothing more than a weaker version of a match the two had in PWG a couple years ago at Russelmania.


----------



## seabs

*It wasn't meant to be like that match. Besides the fact Cesaro worked the leg (nowhere near to the level it was the focus of the prior match) I don't see a direct comparison between the two matches tbh.*


----------



## Nervosa

I saw both matches as having the leg story be the center of the match, and the first match in a much better way, for me. Maybe I need to go back and watch the first one, but I didn't see much here that wasn't better there.


----------



## flag sabbath

geraldinhio said:


> I have to get involved in this Sami/Cesaro match. Link anyone?


I grabbed a free leech dl of the show from XWT.


----------



## seabs

*I don't think the leg work was really the STORY of this match. I mean yes there was leg work but there was also a bigger story in play than that which was Zayn fighting for respect and to prove himself to Cesaro and anyone watching and they told story loads better than the I'm gonna make your leg hurt really bad story.*


----------



## geraldinhio

flag sabbath said:


> I grabbed a free leech dl of the show from XWT.


For some reason I can't get another account on XWT. Says a user is registered with the same IP and I can't even access that account (which I'm sure they deleted last year on me). Hence probably my lack of wrestling viewing as of late and thus lack of posts on here. Anyway, I'm sure it will be up on dailymotion soon. Thanks all the same. 

On the comment on my lack of wrestling, list of PWG's MOTYC for me anyone? Can't even remember the last PWG show I've seen. Maybe is Your Body Ready?


----------



## Nervosa

I guess I saw it differently. Yes, Sami was out to gain respect, but so was Claudio in the first match, defending his first major singles title against the most popular guy in the company. Both had those as background stories, but the legwork was the primary thing that actually happened in both matches, and I feel the entire story of both hinged on it. If anything, thats why I like the only match more: Sami did a lot of running around in the NXT version, and even did a leg lariat during one of his mini-comebacks (which kinda whiffed, too). 

There's also this weird spot in the NXt match where right after Sami does the corner kick, they both just stand up and Claudio headbutts him and it basically ends all the momentum. It was kinda random and happened while they were showing a replay and threw the pacing off near the finish. The crowd noticeably lost steam while in the PWG match, it built all the way to the finish.


----------



## Zatiel

I can see Zayn throwing kicks and running in the second half of the match as hurting it for some people. Didn't bother me at all. The match is absolute excellence by two insanely talented guys who have unparalleled chemistry. It'll be a better world if this is a main event rivalry some day.

YES to Zayn Vs. Cesaro.



Seabs said:


> *It's always amusing how El Generico is more over at Full Sail than just about anyone who is actually trying to get over in NXT. At the same time though I do wish the crowd would just chant for Sami rather than doing Generico's crowd shtick if they want to actually help him.*


I was relieved when they responded to We-the-peo-ple with "Sa-mi-zayn." More of that will help his case, and he is amazing.


----------



## DOPA

Zayn vs Cesaro had a much more powerful and emotional story in that match than just leg work. Failing to see where Nervosa is coming from tbf.


----------



## Nervosa

I'm not saying there wasn't more there, I'm saying the leg was the key to it all. The entire reason it felt like Sami had to dig deep was the fact that the leg was decimated. It was bad enough that the announcers were asking if the match needed to be stopped. (granted, the NXT announcers tend to say that a lot) When you watch their 2011 match you can see that they were basically doing the same match. Half the spots are the same, actually. That one just used the leg work to a much more effective way playing it into the comeback and the finish. The NXT one kind stymied its own comeback, to the point where the Code Red, while awesome, ended up being all they really had.

Plus why does Sami need to prove himself to everyone watching when he beat Cesaro in his first NXT match? It would be one thing if Sami had never beaten him, but he already did.


----------



## Obfuscation

Zayn vs Cesaro plug here. I'll write up some thoughts on it eventually, but yeah, tremendous stuff. Finish left me miffed. Dunno why Zayn didn't get his win if that's what the story was about. Meh. Respect through another loss is what they went w/, I suppose. I'll go sulk as a whiny mark elsewhere. Brilliance. Still not touching the six man tag from EC, but that's way beside the point. Why isn't Zayn or Cesaro given the world - amirite guys? :hayley3


----------



## flag sabbath

Nervosa said:


> Plus why does Sami need to prove himself to everyone watching when he beat Cesaro in his first NXT match? It would be one thing if Sami had never beaten him, but he already did.


Because Cesaro is finally receiving a serious push as a potential main eventer, rather than being the burly guy who was jobbing left, right & centre when he originally lost to Zayn. The fact that things have finally clicked for Cesaro was alluded to heavily in the commentary, evident from his crowd reation & played out in his utter dominance of large portions of the match.

You're also implying that the audience for both matches was identical, which I'm sure wasn't the thinking when putting this show together.


----------



## Obfuscation

Cesaro to be pushed as a main eventer soon; despite more than likely going babyface soon, thus having to compete against the likes of John Cena & Danielson? Fat chance, I'd say. Danielson is struggling to get what he should have in that scenario to this day.


----------



## Rah

Whether he will be pushed or not, the way I saw it was that he recently holds a win over Orton, had a hard fought battle with Bryan that almost went his way (the first SD encounter) and went toe-to-toe with Cena on Raw. Let's not forget that Bryan holds a rare clean win over Cena which elevates both his and Cesaro's stock because of it.

Besides, hadn't Cesaro won the second and third match in the series? The first, either if I recall or assume, was down to Zayn getting a plucky win from a man who never held him as seriously as he should. He thought he was the best going and his cockiness made him pay. That series drove him to improve and be, kayfabe speaking, the powerhouse he now is. 

It's an age old formula. The babyface gets his respect by not giving up rather than winning. Cesaro doesn't have to lose to "some NXT guy" that isn't debuting quite yet (if he was kayfabe ready he would be in the main shows) and Zayn is pretty much positioned as a huge fucking deal. If Cesaro does get given the huge push that stock for Zayn will quadruple. Your selling point is merely to reference and show their NXT series and let Zayn's facials and jaw dropping moves do all the talking. I cannot fathom how any audience won't lap him up because of these showings (thus rendering his loss moot in the grander scheme of things).

Edit: I may just be rambling for rambling's sake, if you willing a Zayn win is more out of hope for a man you love than what you feel is best. Either way, I share the sentiment and hope for Zayn to be a superstar oh so very soon.


----------



## Obfuscation

Match after match Zayn loses. Not even to Cesaro, but to Swagger, Dallas, & Kruger. Only win he's gotten to set himself from the curve was the victory of two straight falls vs Kruger to start the year. I'm never naive, but in the back of my head I kept saying "well, they have to give us that elusive win now, right?" I dunno. I guess that just makes him the Danielson of NXT when you look at it. But I'm still 100% standing by he should have won here and that's that. WWE roped themselves into a corner by having Cesaro pin Orton and I knew it was going to come back to haunt Zayn here. Couldn't possibly get the win; he didn't. At least WWE was consistent on that front.

The real question is what does Zayn do post all of this? b/c he sure isn't getting the strap soon w/it being Neville's time. I can't see how the momentum from this could follow it up by having a random program vs someone already wayyyyy lower in the pecking order than himself, pardon said champion.


----------



## Rah

I watch NXT in a vacuum, per se, so I guess not knowing any of his losses existing would hold a differing opinion. 

Losing to Swagger is a bit odd. That would make a nice platform into a feud against Cesaro for obvious reasons. It could possibly be a good entrance to debuting Zayn as an image on SD/Raw when Real Americans split, too, by recapping the matches in stating how Swagger can never get the job done. Zayn and Cesaro tagging after he gives Swaggs the boot subsequently would be fine as hell. 

Okay now I'm just rambling with fantasy booking.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Cesaro and Zayn ****1/4


----------



## Bubz

*Cesaro vs Sami Zayn - NXT Arrival*
Fantastic match. Two guys that can do no wrong together, their chemistry is INSANE and always has been. The great thing about the first half though is thsat Cesaro is much more established now with a new reputation in the big leagues, so Zayn feels even more out matched than normal. I loved Cesaro throwing him around in and outside the ring like a cat playing with a defenseless mouse. It led up to the awesome uppercut off the turnbuckle DDT attempt too. One of the things these two know how to do to perfection is set up huge spots without them feeling out of place or done for the sake of having the spot in the match. Leg work over was great, Zayn's selling not only of his leg but selling the desperation and anguish in general was outstanding. His comebacks were really good too, but even better were Cesaro's cut off's. The man is masterful. This actually wasn't a match full of a lot of super 'cool' spots in the normal sense, it was full of really awesome spots in a more subtle way, but the big spots we did get were off the chain. The catch off the cross body attempt in to the backbreaker is something Cesaro has done foe ages even in PWG and ROH, but it always looks so fucking amazing that it feels new every time I see it. Best oif the lot though was the catch off the moonsault on the outside. Good God that was something else. Cesaro is the best wrestler in the world at working in control and Zayn is still probably the best underdog in wrestling, they are always going to deliver greatness in that regard, but what we got towards the end of the match was something different and something to separate this from their other matches together. I doubt there will be a better sequence this year than Sami refusing to die off the uppercuts with Cesaro telling him to 'stay down'. Incredible stuff and a really great piece of storytelling in the overall scheme of their rivalry. The one kick out was brilliantly done, no better time and place for that to happen, and the finish itself was rather awesome in it's own right. I don't think I liked it as much as their 2/3 falls match, it didn't make me completely lose my shit like that match did, nor their _Kurt Russel_ or _BOLA 2011_ matches (the latter being my favourite match they've ever done together), but it's still fucking brilliant and worthy of all the praise it gets. *****1/4*

Obviously *YES* btw.


----------



## Mattyb2266

Well, I'm a little late to the Ceasaro/Cena party, as usual, but for me it's definitely a strong match that really showed Ceasaro's strengths, but I'm still gonna say as far as the "yes or no" thing we have going on in this thread, No. ***3/4

Ceasaro/Zayn - ****1/2 
Holy shit. I recently just caught all of their previous NXT matches (courtesy of Seabs) and I thought the first two were really good, but the 2/3 falls was great. This match was nothing short of amazing. Ceasaro is once again putting on beastly performances and Zayn is the epitome of an underdog. The DDT Dive/Uppercut counter was a thing of beauty. But what more can I say that hasn't already been said?

*YES*


----------



## Chismo

*NXT Arrival*

Sami Zayn vs. Tony Cesaro

_Aaaand yes, this was great. It's really a testament to Zayn's immense talent when he manages to be almost as great in the underdog role as El Generico. Charisma, he has it, that X factor. But Tony Cesaro is even better, he possesses the XXX factor, dude's a beast, by far the greatest wrestler in the fed. His workovers are buckets of fun and intensity, when he's in control he honestly reminds me of the two all time greats - Stan Hansen and Tatsumi Fujinami. Hansen because of ruthlessness and the way he's constantly doing something to his opponents, tossing them around, punching them, stomping them, mauling them... Fujinami because of sick & slick holds that make people pay attention, because it reminds us that the main pillar of pro-graps is *LESS IS MORE*. Zayn's comebacks were engaging and awesome, and the finishing run was really exciting. Tony's stomp was disgustingly swell. Great freakin' match, but not better than the Elimination Chamber trio. Extremely close, but not quite there, despite the same rating. The same goes for their BOLA '11 match, I like it just a tiny bit more than this._

****1/2​


----------



## Mountain Rushmore

So I just watched the match. Ok, let's go:

*Cesaro vs Sami Zayn part 4: Best Match of the Decade? Match of the Month tops*

Expectations were incredibly high for this match. I've seen the 2/3 Falls match and the one before that from these two and I understand what they're capable of: two of the best wrestlers in the company, with Cesaro being the best wrestler alive in North America right now.

In this match Cesaro plays the more dominant role, as to be expected; he's much bigger than Zayn, stronger than Zayn, more experienced than Zayn and is coming off of a win over the WWEWHC and strong showings against Cena and in the Elimination Chamber. He is walking into this fight more confident than ever. He rarely goes as hard as his opponent in this match because he doesn't need to. His offense is measured, swift and surgical. His demeanor switches between being reserved and mechanic to being hot and relentless when pressed by Zayn. In any case, Cesaro hardly loses his cool here.

Zayn, on the other hand, plays the role of the underdog (naturally). His offense is more erratic and unpredictable. He can't hope to out power the Swiss Superman. He can't hope to escape his clutches if he's caught. So he moves constantly, throwing forearms and big boots and saults. Saults and flips everywhere. The dichotomy here is that Cesaro knows what he wants or has to do to win. Zayn has the air of man who is confident, but slightly desperate and so has resolved to throw everything he has at his opponent to see what sticks.

The clash results in a match that doesn't have time to stop. Cesaro, like I said earlier, wrestles like a surgeon. Know what you have to do from the start and don't put down your tools until it's done. Zayn, being an "unorthodox" type of guy, I guess, decides that the best defense is a good offense. These guys are constantly clashing .because of this. Neither willing to give an inch; Cesaro determined to execute his carefully mapped out surgery and Zayn determined to do MORE than just survive and hope for an opening (but not _really_ knowing how he'll avoid that).

For all of Cesaro's might, Zayn's "strategy" does take a few big bites out of his ass. Though I guess he should've tried something else because Cesaro ultimately wins.

Hell of a ride though..

Now, the problems? The story is pretty thin and bland here, tbh. I knew it couldn't really be the best match ever because the build was probably thin. It's difficult for a match to reach that sort of dramatic or emotional level without great promos/segments leading up. The story, put over by commentary, is that Zayn wants Cesaro's respect. Alright I guess, for this level of a feud. But the idea is not exactly fresh, exciting, or compelling and I found myself struggling to care. The fact that neither of these guys have interesting or attractive characters didn't help. It told a story, alright, and it told it almost perfectly. But even the most well executed story has a low ceiling on how invested I'm going to be in it, if it's been done a thousand times before. And frankly, these two COULD have been a little more intense or personal as the commentary implied the feud was. Parts of the match were too....robotic? Too crisp and choreographed almost. The finish was flat and cold.

The other problem with this match is that with Cesaro/Zayn, this rivalry, has become like the Queen or AC/DC of the WWE. Their stuff is good, lots of people enjoy it and while the individual songs have certain qualities that are different and make them distinguishable from each other, they all come down to the same _ideas. The same pacing or tones or whatever you want, is present in most of the discography. Same thing here. This was pretty much the same as their 2/3 Falls match until the last 6 or so minutes when the drama and pace really escalated into a couple of stunning counters/near falls. Other than that, I felt like I was watching the other match except with a different outcome of the "through the turnbuckle" spot. If anything, the 2/3 Falls match was better, I thought. The ending to that match definitely was.

Long story short: I'm not even ready to say this match was better than Cena/Cesaro or Bray/Bryan. Let alone better than HBK/Undertaker, Morrison/Mysterio, Jericho/Mysterio, Cena/HBK, Undertaker/Edge, Lesnar/Punk, Lesnar/Cena, Bryan/Cesaro... I mean, in the last ten years alone there have been a lot of matches much better than this one. I can't honestly say it makes top 50 of the last decade, let alone the best singles match ever. Hell, even if it beats out every match of the last ten years there's no way it tops Bret/1-2-3 Kid or Shawn/Marty or w/e other obscure Hart or HBK or match you want..

Another great match overrated to all hell due to markdom is the bottom line.

*Reposted from that retarded thread._


----------



## Mountain Rushmore

Here's my late review of the Wyatt/Shield match. I'm gonna be up in this thread going forward.

*The Shield (of Justice) versus the Wyatt Family Number One*

One of my favorite matches. Period. As has been said many times: this is what wrestling is about.

As captivating as many of the Shield's matches have been, nothing tops this battle here. We're used to seeing the Shield take on hob knobbed mix and match ups but here we get Cohesive unit vs Cohesive unit..

What you get here is a character/gimmick driven match, which I think fans are STARVED of today, hence the incredible reaction and chants of "this is awesome" before both teams were even in the ring. The ultimate tactical unit versus a violent force of supernatural aura and little conscience. This is what everyone wanted to see but thought we wouldn't. Remember that Christmas where you got the one thing that you knew your parents weren't going to get you? This is what this match feels like..

Atmosphere and hype already through the roof, this match does deliver. It's not really about the intricacies and nuances of every little movement made (even though there IS a lot to be said here. Everyone was on point with their characters). It's not about the significance of every hold applied or about how well the wearing down of the limbs played into the larger story. This match is about the clash, the collisions. This was a war, plain and simple. The belligerents made each side of the ring their own. The Shield staying quiet and close knit, like the tactical unit they are. The gargantuan members of the Wyatt Family jittering around and shouting at each other, the guys on the ropes viciously defending their territory as the guy in the ring picks apart his opponent for the Family.

The match is a twist on the usual Shield formula of Heel control/Face comeback/All Hell breaks loose/Shield wins. With this, the Shield is actually playing the face role and making the comebacks. It's interesting to see a member of the Shield outnumbered 3 to 1 as the crowd wills him on to win. It's interesting to see _them_ going through the tables. At the end of the match, the faces are helpless and vulnerable, which, even if you expected the Wyatt Family to win, I doubt you expected to see them win in such a way..

Several stories being told here: Bray is breaking down roadblock after roadblock on the way towards building his "empire". This is a "game" to him, a diversion. Necessary though, to assert his dominance over a dangerous foe. For the Shield, this is a test to see if they're still the unit that they were before the tension came creeping in. If they're still the most dominant force in the business. The Rise of Reigns also continues in this match as he's made to look very strong.

Yep, one of my favorite matches period. Simply legendary. You can't ask for much more as a fan of pro-wrestling and if you consider yourself a fan then you _cannot_ skip this match.


----------



## mk92071

Antonio Cesaro vs. John Cena - 2/17/14
I'm a little late to the party on this one. There isn't a lot that hasn't been said here. Really dug the build up to the big swing. The match never bored me and Cesaro remained compelling while in control. Cena sold like a champ. Really nothing I'd change about this except for maybe the weird set up to the AA. I dug Cena's clothesline in the end. **** easy. Might go higher on a rewatch.

Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn - 2/27/14
Okay. This was awesome. Dug so much here. Really loved Cesaro murdering Zayn with uppercuts and telling him to stay down. The powerslam on the floor was amazing. The uppercut cutting off the DDT made me freak out in my seat. I usually hate 1 counts but I really liked the one in this match. It was really great since Zayn was just in control and on an adrenaline rush before he was cut off by the pop up european. Great counter sequences and maybe my MOTY so far. ****1/4


----------



## WrestlingOracle

Pugilist said:


> Here's my late review of the Wyatt/Shield match. I'm gonna be up in this thread going forward.
> 
> *The Shield (of Justice) versus the Wyatt Family Number One*
> 
> One of my favorite matches. Period. As has been said many times: this is what wrestling is about.
> 
> As captivating as many of the Shield's matches have been, nothing tops this battle here. We're used to seeing the Shield take on hob knobbed mix and match ups but here we get Cohesive unit vs Cohesive unit..
> 
> What you get here is a character/gimmick driven match, which I think fans are STARVED of today, hence the incredible reaction and chants of "this is awesome" before both teams were even in the ring. The ultimate tactical unit versus a violent force of supernatural aura and little conscience. This is what everyone wanted to see but thought we wouldn't. Remember that Christmas where you got the one thing that you knew your parents weren't going to get you? This is what this match feels like..
> 
> Atmosphere and hype already through the roof, this match does deliver. It's not really about the intricacies and nuances of every little movement made (even though there IS a lot to be said here. Everyone was on point with their characters). It's not about the significance of every hold applied or about how well the wearing down of the limbs played into the larger story. This match is about the clash, the collisions. This was a war, plain and simple. The belligerents made each side of the ring their own. The Shield staying quiet and close knit, like the tactical unit they are. The gargantuan members of the Wyatt Family jittering around and shouting at each other, the guys on the ropes viciously defending their territory as the guy in the ring picks apart his opponent for the Family.
> 
> The match is a twist on the usual Shield formula of Heel control/Face comeback/All Hell breaks loose/Shield wins. With this, the Shield is actually playing the face role and making the comebacks. It's interesting to see a member of the Shield outnumbered 3 to 1 as the crowd wills him on to win. It's interesting to see _them_ going through the tables. At the end of the match, the faces are helpless and vulnerable, which, even if you expected the Wyatt Family to win, I doubt you expected to see them win in such a way..
> 
> Several stories being told here: Bray is breaking down roadblock after roadblock on the way towards building his "empire". This is a "game" to him, a diversion. Necessary though, to assert his dominance over a dangerous foe. For the Shield, this is a test to see if they're still the unit that they were before the tension came creeping in. If they're still the most dominant force in the business. The Rise of Reigns also continues in this match as he's made to look very strong.
> 
> Yep, one of my favorite matches period. Simply legendary. You can't ask for much more as a fan of pro-wrestling and if you consider yourself a fan then you _cannot_ skip this match.


Well put man, one hell of a match both figuratively and literally. I would like to add on that something I absolutely loved about this match is that the elements of the match lived to the elements of the buildup. In the ring, Rollins was the most hyped of the Shield while Luke Harper was the most hyped of his group. In fact, I love how the heavy lifting was done by the supporting cast in this one seeing how while Reigns and Bray are destined to ascend quickly to franchise ranks; Bray in particular seeing this match as an obsticle, Rowan/Harper and Rollins/Ambrosse aren't there yet and still put aton of pride into their unit being the dominant dog in the yard, and it showed with the energy Seth brought, the extra force Rowan packed in, the oustanding individual effort of Harper and the Wyatt family bringing out a little extra aggression in Dean whom simotaneously tried to prove he is Reigns' equal. One facet and line that really struck me in the buildup was Luke Harper asking the Shield "Are you boys willing to die for this?". I fealt this was the centralized theme in this match, which was demonstrated all the way to the very finish with Harper absorbing the vicious spear for the greater good of the match and win for the team. Harper in particular just lived up to his line so well taking Reigns best shot for Bray, pulling out the freakin suicide dive, suprise dropkicks, extra impact in that big boot, his facial demeanour more focused than usual, an beautiful A grade performance by Luke Harper in particular. That isn't to sell the efforts of Rollins in particular or any of the other four men short, there was no weak link here at all, all played their role great, even Reigns with the dissapointment, look of defeat knowing it was three on one, but putting in a valiant effort in loss like the tank he is being built to be. Beautiful storyteller that I throughly enjoyed and my current MOTY in North America.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I find it incredible that we are only entering march and yet to place wwe top 10 matches in no order, a feasable list could be Shield/Wyatts, Cesaro/Zayn, Cesaro/Cena, EC match, Wyatt/Bryan, Orton/Cesaro, Bryan/Cesaro I, Bryan/Orton raw stands with what would seem to be an automatic pencil in for Lesnar/Taker which would only leave one spot open even though that would only bring us to early april. Now obviously with the seemingly automatic solo run of Rollins post mania alongside the possible unleashing of Ambrosse and potential callup at some point for Zayn and maybe even Neville (though not sure bout Neville) not to mention the possible return this year of a rejuvinated, hungry to go out on a high note Angle, this list will get shaken. Still though, in my opinion it would take nothing short of a collosal effort for anything topping the Shield/Wyatt war for MOTY, I don't see the first four matches on We have been really treated as fans to see the best contests that have occured so far this year and if everything goes smoothly with so many possibilities, we could look at the final catalogue and find that the totality is right there for best 21st century in ring years with 2002/2003 if not 2001 (though 2001 comparison is a very strong outlier seeing how powerful the main event scene match quality was the whole year while also holding a very strong upper mid, thrilling, career launching tag matches and decent enough rest. The purist and lover/long time studier of this craft in me feels like Ed Werder when Brett Favre reconsiders retirement. To use the beggining of a Bray Wyatt quote, "My soul smiles at just the thought" 

I think I will stick here for a running MOTY WWE list, which right now sits in order at Shield/Wyatts, Cesaro/Zayn, Cesaro/Cena, Bryan/Bray and Orton/Cesaro with honorable mentions going to EC match and Bryan/Orton raw. I love and have a good knowledge of puroresu, but I stopped fully following post Misawa death (though I am aware of Kobashi's retirement and major events) and would need to catch up alot before I threw down a working list of those MOTY, which I dont have the time to do right now. Puroresu and American wrestling are such different styles and match workings/psychology philosophies that I don't think they should ever mix.


----------



## Mountain Rushmore

I feel ya. People complain about limited move sets and whatnot meanwhile it's not even April and our top ten lists are almost full.


----------



## vault21

I'm so glad that Zayn vs Cesaro wasn't all


----------



## The Black Mirror

*The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan) vs. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) - WWE Elimination Chamber (February 23, 2014) - ★★★★ ½ (YES!/NOMINATED)​
I'd like to preface this by saying that I have fallen quite behind with watching wrestling over the past several weeks due to some personal issues. Said personal issues have taken quite the toll on me from an emotional standpoint. I was finally able to find the time to see this match after seeing so many positive reviews of it on here for the past week. I saw positive reviews for other matches like Cesaro vs. Cena from RAW as well, but I only had time for one match and decided to make this the match that I could allot time for. Boy am I glad that this was my choice. This match seriously put me in a great fucking mood.

There are so many thoughts about it that are still floating around in my head, but I honestly can't think of anything to say other than either: (a) things that I have said before, particularly about Bray Wyatt or (b) things that have already been said about this fantastic match in this thread and elsewhere on the forum. That being said, I'm going to keep this pretty simple and state that this match was absolutely phenomenal.

I was inching towards giving it 4 and 3/4 stars, but couldn't bring myself to do that for only one reason: I'm worried that going that high for a match that took place on the mid-card of a mostly non-important WWE PPV in February will set a weird bar for the rest of the year as far as my rating of other matches goes. That being said, I would not be surprised if this is my favorite match from the entire year when I go back to regrade everything next December. If this doesn't become my favorite match, then I guess there is no limit to how awesome 2014 is going to be. If it does finish as my favorite match, then I will absolutely bump it up to the aforementioned 4 and 3/4 star rating.

This was so much fun. If you haven't seen it yet, you are doing yourself a tremendous disservice. Every guy in this match brought his A-Game and honestly, all of them looked like future main-eventers (yes, even Rowan, who has failed to impress me prior to this match). They all treated this like it was a big deal, which it was. Them treating it like it was a big deal is what really gets the crowd even more vested into the match. I hope Vince and creative really pay attention when amazing things like this happen. It feels like they don't, sadly, but this match right here is an example of nearly everything going right. I also hope they realize the talent that they have on their hands because the next ten years of this company are shaping up to look a hell of a lot better than the previous ten years have been. Anyways, back to the match itself...

It's as if all the guys met together backstage and uniformly decided that they were going to show their ass and make this bout the match of the night. Whether or not that conversation actually took place, I will never know. But I do know that they succeeded, not only in being the match of the night, but the best match I've seen in the last three years, maybe even longer. Once again, Bray Wyatt is absolutely killing it with his character work. In all honesty, every man in this match is really into his individual character, which really helps each individual performance. But Wyatt and Ambrose just really go into a whole new realm when they're out there in front of the crowd. They just truly believe in the characters they are portraying, as if it's who they really are. That's a big part of what wrestling is all about and I'm so glad to see two young guys taking it so seriously. Of course that just scratches the surface regarding how awesome this match was. I'd be talking for days if I mentioned all the great wrestling and sweet spots in this match.

My top mark-out moment from this match was when Bray looked at the crowd briefly and then looked into The Shield's corner and said "Is this not what you wanted?" He is absolutely awesome. Like I've said before: we're looking at the future. This guy is going to be the company's #1 heel for years to come. I'm along for the ride and I cannot wait.

Put simply, if you can watch this match and not enjoy the hell out of it, then you are not a true fan of professional wrestling. This match had everything that you could ask for. As stated above, watching this put me in the best mood and I can't wait to get back on track and catch up on all the good wrestling that I've been missing. I'm going to stop carrying on now because I feel like I'm just rambling like an incoherent maniac.*


----------



## Violent By Design

WWE has been smoking hot lately. Might have a GOAT year for the company in terms of quality. I'm about to watch the Arrival match soon.


----------



## mk92071

The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family - 2/23/14
This was pretty awesome, but I don't think I liked this as much as most people. This really sold me on the Wyatt Family in general as they had a good control angle. Seth Rollin had a good spurt of offense and there was some good balls to the wall action at times. The ending was great and made me really like Roman Reigns a lot more than before. He looked so good after muscling out of the Sister Abigail without making the Wyatt's look bad. The finish was the best way they could've done it in my opinion. A very high **** in my book.


----------



## Alan4L

Updated for 3/2 (New additions in bold) 

NOW JAN 1 – DEC 31 

*WWE: *
*The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (2/23) ******
Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (1/26) ****1/2
*Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (2/27) ****1/2
Antonio Cesaro vs. John Cena (2/17) ****1/2
The Elimination Chamber (2/23) ****1/4*
Antonio Cesaro vs. Randy Orton (2/17) ****
The Shield vs. Bryan/Cena/Sheamus (1/27) ****
Paige vs. Emma (2/27) ****[/b]
CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns (1/6) ****
The Shield vs. CM Punk & The Usos (1/3) ****

*Puro: *
Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (1/16) (DG) *****
*Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii (2/11) (NJPW) ****3/4*
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito (1/4) (NJPW) ****1/2
*Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto (2/11) (NJPW) ****1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (2/9) (NJPW) ****1/2
Okada/Nakamura/Ishii vs. Goto/Tanahashi/Naito (2/2) (NJPW) ****1/2
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara (1/19) (NOAH) ****1/4
Shibata/Goto vs. Okada/YOSHI-HASHI (2/9) (NJPW) ****1/4
Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki (2/5) (AJPW) ****1/4*
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto (1/4) (NJPW) ****1/4
*Golden Lovers vs. Yankii Ni Cho Kenji vs. Endo/Takeshita (1/26) (DDT) ****
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (1/12) (DG) ****
Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!! vs. Super Shiisa (1/12) (DG) ****
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (1/4) (NJPW) ****
Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi (1/4) (NJPW) ****
KENTA vs. Takeshi Morishima (1/5) (NOAH) ****
Mascara Dorada vs. Volador Jr. (1/19) (NJPW) ****

PWG: 

DGUSA/EVOLVE:
AR Fox vs. Chris Hero (2/23) ****1/4
Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong (2/23) ****
Nese/Trent vs. Swann/Strickland (2/23) ****
Ricochet vs. Chris Hero (1/10) ****	

ROH: 
AJ Styles vs. Roderick Strong (2/1) ****1/4

wXw:

Other:
Virus vs. Titan (1/28) (CMLL) ****1/2*


----------



## Violent By Design

Cesaro vs Sami Zayn IV -

I thought this match was better than their heralded 2/3 falls from 2013.

First off, I love the booking between the two. One thing I like is the consistent acknowledgement of how good each wrestler is. What I mean by this, is Cesaro has gotten a lot better since the last time the two have met in kayfabe. He's exploded onto the world title scene with big time matches against RKO and Cena, and even destroyed Regal on NXT. Zayn on the other hand is still around the same level that he was before, albeit more experienced - but one thing didn't change is that Zayn's heart is still top tier. I personally hate it when the wrestling hierarchy is broken for no particular reason, so I really loved the out come and pacing of the match, because it felt like Cesaro was on another level than Zayn - as he should be.

At first the match is a little spotty, kinda the same as what we've seen before. Cesaro is over powering and controling the center of the ring, while Sami is running the ropes trying to hit Cesaro with big unorthodox maneuvers. I was starting to think meh, this is gonna be one of those matches that I've kinda seen a 100 times over in the indies or on NXT itself.

The leg work started to really grasp my attention after a while. Zayn was selling it really hard, and Cesaro was using some brutal maneuvers to really make it seem like Zayn's knee was shot. After a while, I'm starting to build legitimate sympathy for Zayn. Loved the corkscrew spam, the half crab in the center of the ring and the BROCK LOCK. I normally hate the Brock Lock because it just looks silly, but with Zayn's lanky legs, it just looked so devastating.

Only spot I didn't really like (which I'm not sure was a spot), was the exploder suplex into the corner. It seemed too forced to me, though it did follow the premise of the story of the match (Zayn getting out burst of adrenaline from refusing to give up.

As I preluded to before, when ever Zayn was down and out, he would hit a high impact maneuver or submission out of nowhere, but before he could follow it up with another good maneuver, Cesaro would already have shut him down with a brutal move of his own. I think the biggest highlight of this, which also signified how beastly of Cesaro is (kayfabe and in real life)was his big spin, which is by far the best spin I've seen him during his WWE run. The way Zayn was selling while being spun just made it seem great. Usually on RAW and stuff, the guy is just covering his head while being spun a few inches off the floor. But in this match it really felt like Zayn was in a tornado of sorts, like he was grasping what ever he could to stop from being torqued, and when he let go, it really did seem like he had been dazed to a humbling degree.

The constant uppercuts is really what gave its match its unique identity. Zayn just fumbling over, with the ref counting for a KO just engraved what the match was about. Zayn refusing to give up, doing anything for respect. He is clearly out classed, but he won't stop unless Cesaro actually puts him out for good.

The kick out at one was brilliant, especially after the familiar spot of the mid-air uppercut, which we've already seen a few times in the WWE (and many times outside of it). It was a great exclamation mark, the kick out at one can be a great tool but many wrestlers either don't use it or don't know how. 

And finally, the ending with the spinning upper was a fancy highlight, a nice explosive finish.

Overall, it was a great match. I really wanted Zayn to have the cheesy good guy come back, where he no sells and beats Cesaro - and that's the mark of a great babyface. The match really personified the most basic of tropes in pro wrestling, and utilized many fun and crisp looking maneuvers during it. The emotion is phenomenal, and the sympathy fpr the hero in peril rises to an all time high.

I'm not sure if this is my MOTY, it's either this or Cena vs Cesaro on RAW, but this certainly gets a *YES* from me.


----------



## Obfuscation

Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, & Erick Rowan vs Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, & Roman Reigns - _WWE: Monday Night RAW 3/3_​
Here we are again. So soon even. I guess WWE doesn't care to put the MEGA matches from PPVs on TV either. You'll get no complaints from me in this situation. Match hit the hectic button on this night and wouldn't stop pressing it. w/all the intangibles that made their first encounter such a molten piece, is where all six wanted to try and differentiate in the rematch. It's ten minutes shorter, they're on TV, there's no down time. _(as if there was down time during the first, but that's not what I mean...) _

Holy shit level hot start from Rollins who proceeds to go balls deep taking out all the Wyatts'. You can tell he's JACKED and the crowd was loving it. Quickly following after some sloppy, yet awesome tussling Rollins got knocked off by Ambrose shaking the ropes & there lies the first bout of the dissension. A piece placed in such a nifty way. They would be pepped throughout here. The whole story behind the Shield going into this rematch was "will the trust be there? - will the unit remain a unit?" Moments such as Rollins finding an opening after getting beat down only to see neither Ambrose or Reigns in the corner leaving, the man who has been the glue for the trio, to fend for him self. Ambrose's hot head did him in on the situation & Reigns tried to throttle him back. We'd see this come to pass later on. Seeds planted within a match where the wild work was more than enough to satisfy all. Loved how they worked another two FIP segments into this shorter span. It's so believable w/the personalities involved that it meshes w/o any noticeable effort. Ambrose tags in, subsequently falls prey to the Wyatt's attacks. No different than Rollins before him. Ambrose breaking up the beatdown by unleashing a jawbreaker lariat was epic. Who would have seen that coming? Let Dean bust out more like this plz. Rollins being the first to desert the crew was honestly a bit of a shocker. Loved it 100% b/c Rollins needed it. He was always the guy to keep things going, but it looked like "feud wise" he'd be left out while Ambrose & Reigns have at it. Now it's finally at a point where all three have a beef. Rollins leaves both hanging and Reigns gets PISSED. Reigns being pissed off is brilliant to watch; tears through all three Wyatt's w/Superman punches and samoan drops. Gosh it looks so good. Couldn't hope for a hot ticket like Reigns to tear through dominate forces and look better. Match is the most chaotic it's ever been w/Reigns & Ambrose scrambling to make the odds not play a factor, meanwhile Rollins continues to look on from the ramp and the two men who constantly deserted him. Nutty bumps galore w/Reigns killing Rowan by launching him over the table. Then Harper does another god damn tope, LANDS ON HIS FEET, thus killing Reigns in the process. Ambrose eats the sickest boot since Tim Donst took one in 2007 by Harper - Bray ends it all w/Sister Abigail and the wreckage could finally settle. Mass chaos produced one more time. These guys did it again. Holy crap at this talent. Eloquent descriptions? We're way past that involving these six. My stars.


----------



## GothicBohemian

I was NOT expecting a rematch this soon (though why I wouldn’t I can’t really say; these sorts of things seem to be rushed right out nowadays) but was tickled to see it happen. These two groups are like a wrestling 101 on how to create teams that look, have the move sets and sell the roles they play to perfection. 

I know the Shield gets an unequal degree of love in the WWE section but I’m a total Wyatt Family devotee. Yeah, the Shield has Rollins – the most exciting to watch – and Reigns – who looks destined for big things – and Ambrose (mr method acting), and they surely win the fangirl drooling award, but the whole Bray Wyatt character, coupled with the perfect Rowen and Harper, draw me in like little else in wrestling these days. Knowing that The Shield is soon to dissolve leaves me grumpy as I could continue following a feud between them and the Wyatt Family for a good few months more.


----------



## Rah

Long overdue but *YES*


*Cesaro Vs John Cena (17/02/2014 WWE)* - you know it's a hellishly hot period in a promotion when you're debating whether something of this quality will make a top 10 list come year end. It's also a testament to just how talented Cesaro is that, not even two months deep into the year, my recommendation list for his performances are already five matches down. 2013 was the year for him to prove his detractors wrong, 2014 seems to be the year that he breaks away from any competition for his crown. Finally being given worthy opponents on a weekly basis is another major reason as to why this is the case; no longer is Cesaro stuck trying to spraypaint gold lacquer over a stinking turd. Most notably of these opponents has to be Cena, considering the level of chemistry both seem to have with each other. Cesaro may show freakish strength and ability to make smooth just about anything in his arsenal yet the back-and-forth nature on display between both men here is remarkable considering Cena isn't a small worker that can play to Cesaro as base. Both are just smash-mouth, godlike powerful men and that's exactly how this match was structured. Both men came into this believing they had the power game on lock, however, both men left having driven home their game beyond what they original envisioned. What I mean by that is both men had to put in newer, higher impact moves to keep their opponent down. Cena's usual shoulderblock takedown bridges into his "five moves of doom" yet after two takedowns and a spin-out powerbomb attempt, Cesaro was still outworking the company's top guy. Likewise for Cesaro in attempting his Cesaro Spin, that Cena transitioned into a wicked, desperation DDT and, thus, having to rely on even heavier offence than he dishes out. The elevated, over-the-rope suplex on Kofi from last year was impressive but doing that to a 250lb man? That's just inhuman.

Trying to pinpoint and extrapolate on beautiful spots within the match is rather pointless, though, considering each spot played as a build to the next and there just wasn't a rest in the exquisiteness of both men. While it wasn't the main of the show, it was given the standard WWE formula for one and thank the powers that be that this got time. For a guy that one year ago was looked down upon by Vince, it's hard to argue that Cesaro isn't now a made man.



*The Wyatt Family Vs The Shield (WWE Elimination Chamber)* - I'm not sure what has caused WWE to increase their workrate and focus on bulding heavier wrestling matches but I'm all the more for it; especially if this new direction produces gold as the past while has been. The heralded Rush/Casas trios from last year lay mere months as the best multi-man match in recent memory, it seems, especially when "recent" I don't think applies anymore in the case here.

On a first watch I was rather disappointed that both teams refrained from turning to chaotic violence at the start of the match yet, upon this second viewing, I can see the angle they want to go for. If these men go hard, the match will be thrown out and the ultimate goal of proving superiority will be lost. Still, the pairings were as brutal as a straight tag could allow, regardless. Harper rubbing Rollins face into the mat with his boot after he tags out, Bray offering no leeway with his smashes and Reigns just unleashing the animalistic power upon the country folk all added to why the opening moments were just as great as the last. Bryan pretty much holds all my praise for the pacing of his Rumble match against Bray yet Bray showed he has a more than capable hold upon how to structure his runs. For a guy I looked down upon as a good character on a weaker worker, he's certainly changing things up. Similarly, Rowan remains a weaker link within the mix yet he tries so unbelievably hard that you can't but admire his tenacity. Giving him some throwbacks and specific spots and means to work really has helped him come a long way over the months. The star of the brawl, however, has to be Rollins. As someone looking to be lost in the shuffle post breakup of The Shield, his performance here showed the real truth to his future being blindingly bright so long as he maintains his levels of charisma here. He's obviously not at Bryan's level, yet there were spurts of similar greatness within his control segments.

That isn't to discredit Reigns' involvement, though, as he still remains my top pick for future potential. The work he puts into the micro-elements of the match are uncanny and it's almost depressing that no one ever picks up upon them. Leading up to this match, Reigns was, without fail, the single Shield member that was itchingly quick to bring the fight to The Wyatts. It was always him that looked fear in the eyes and laughed. Yet not this time. At the start of the finishing stretch when he realised that Ambrose was AWOL and Rollins was in as many pieces as the announce table, he had an unfamiliar expression upon his face; that of overwhelming uncertaintity and fear. It was nothing but delicious icing to this scrumptious cake. Yeah, this is easily my match of the year.


*Elimination Chamber (WWE Elimination Chamber)* - as far as one-two knockouts go, Summerslam has this show beat. That said, this was still a decent secondary main to the classic put on earlier. Why wouldn't it be? The opening twenty or so minutes is Cesaro, Sheamus, Bryan and Christian doing what they were born to do; be AWESOME. The little nuances of each pairing created in the weeks leading to the chamber came to the foray here as sub-plots within match as a whole. Between Cesaro and Sheamus slugging each other like WWE's own Hansen/Kawada and Christian trying to ring true to his "one more match" addage via going for the plucky Bryan that was injured at his hands, there's something to get behind for everybody. On a first watch I stopped once Cena entered as I knew, despite being unspoilered, that politics and shoddy booking would kick in and I just wished to enjoy the spectacle that had taken place without the sour mood. Honestly, I think that helped me see this match better than most who witnessed it in full. If I had known, too, that Cena's entrance meant an even higher level workrate than before I'd have happily continued as there was some great moments before the inevitably contrived eliminations and booking nonse (most notably the Sheamus/Orton and Cesaro/Cena spots).

While the interference spots (hopefully) fulfill a deeper purpose and hardly lasted long, they do prevent this from attaining the level it started off reaching for - a level that was as high as any outing this year. I suppose in a sports entertainment realm we have to substitute some physical greatness for the end goal (and this end goal best come soon before the crowd relegates itself to apathetic emotion) but that doesn't mean we cannot lament the loss, regardless. One thumb way up, one thumb half-down, I suppose.



*Sami Zayn Vs Cesaro (27/02/2014 WWE)* - I guess both Seabs and I share a favourite wrestling formula, then. Is there anything better in wrestling than an extended workover with a great FIP presence littered with hope spots? And these guys nailed that perfectly. I have a continued disdain for wrestlers who shrug off any leg injuries to deliver offence that relies on lifting their opponent yet Zayn walked the tightrope sublimely in showing that it took mustered energy to do so and took something out of him afterward and disallowed him from capitalising on each moment. Selling was strong on the whole, as well, and perhaps peaked not in selling his own injuries but selling the legitimacy of Cesaro's offence (taking his swing like a rat caught in a mousetrap was a much welcomed take on the oft used move). WWE hardly makes use of the one-count kickout and, thus, when it is added to a match it matters. Moreover, it wasn't as if Zayn never sold it off (kicking out via perseverance despite appearing semi-concuss and, additionally, that Cesaro never connected fully). I assume that's going to play similar to the Taker/Punk spot from Wrestlemania 29 but that's a whole other can of worms. Quite honestly, I'm trying to downplay mentioning Cesaro as there's only so many times one can type "best thing ever" in a post without it looking a bit much but the guy really is just that. I don't truly remember their 2011 encounter but this is definitely their strongest bout within WWE and a really strong contender for match of the year on the whole. It's almost frightening that we had a near perfect iteration of a contemporary match and a mere four days later its placing is challenged by yet another great encounter from the same promotion. WWE is on one helluva bender and I'm enjoying every single minute of it.


----------



## Rah

Updated list (as of 4th March)

Puro:
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 12 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Tetsuya Naito (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
Okada, Nakamura, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanahashi, Goto, Naito & Captain NJ (NJPW 05/01)|| YES = 1 ||
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Masato Yoshino (DG Infinity #324) || YES = 3 ||
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara (NOAH 19/01) || YES = 1 ||
Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW 02/02) || YES = 4 ||
Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (Dragon Gate 12/01) || YES = 3 ||
Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki (AJPW 05/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 14 ||*
The Young Bucks Vs Time Splitters (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
*Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 11 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Hirooki Goto (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 6 ||
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata Vs Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 2 ||
Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Shigehiro Irie Vs HARASHIMA (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||



US Indy:
The YOung Bucks & Kevin Steen Vs AR Fox, Ricochet & Rich Swann (PWG All Star Weekend Night 1) || YES = 1 ||
Trent Barretta Vs Anthony Nese (Evolve 25) || YES = 1 ||
Sigmon Vs Vordell Walker (TCW 14-01) || YES = 1 ||
Johnny Gargano Vs Uhaa Nation (Evolve 27) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Roderick Strong (RoH 01/02) || YES = 1 || 
AR Fox Vs Chris Hero (Evolve 23/02) || YES = 1 ||



WWE:
*Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (Royal Rumble) || YES = 24 ||*
Daniel Bryan Vs Randy Orton (WWE Raw 03/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Cesaro Vs John Cena (WWE Raw 17/02) || YES = 18 ||*
*The Wyatts Vs The Shield (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 26 ||*
Elimination Chamber Match (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 4 ||
*Sami Zayn Vs Cesaro (NXT ArRIVAL) || YES = 22 ||*



Lucha Libre:
Virus Vs Titan (CMLL 28/01) || YES = 4 ||


Legend:
*Bold Red Text*: matches with a score of 10 or better
Red text: matches with a score of 5 or better


----------



## Violent By Design

Rah said:


> Updated list (as of 4th March)
> 
> Puro:
> Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
> *Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 12 ||*
> Kazuchika Okada Vs Tetsuya Naito (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
> Okada, Nakamura, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanahashi, Goto, Naito & Captain NJ (NJPW 05/01)|| YES = 1 ||
> Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Masato Yoshino (DG Infinity #324) || YES = 3 ||
> Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara (NOAH 19/01) || YES = 1 ||
> Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW 02/02) || YES = 4 ||
> Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (Dragon Gate 12/01) || YES = 3 ||
> Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki (AJPW 05/02) || YES = 1 ||
> *Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 14 ||*
> The Young Bucks Vs Time Splitters (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
> *Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 11 ||*
> Kazuchika Okada Vs Hirooki Goto (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 6 ||
> Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata Vs Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 2 ||
> Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
> Shigehiro Irie Vs HARASHIMA (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
> 
> 
> 
> US Indy:
> The YOung Bucks & Kevin Steen Vs AR Fox, Ricochet & Rich Swann (PWG All Star Weekend Night 1) || YES = 1 ||
> Trent Barretta Vs Anthony Nese (Evolve 25) || YES = 1 ||
> Sigmon Vs Vordell Walker (TCW 14-01) || YES = 1 ||
> Johnny Gargano Vs Uhaa Nation (Evolve 27) || YES = 1 ||
> AJ Styles Vs Roderick Strong (RoH 01/02) || YES = 1 ||
> AR Fox Vs Chris Hero (Evolve 23/02) || YES = 1 ||
> 
> 
> 
> WWE:
> *Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (Royal Rumble) || YES = 24 ||*
> Daniel Bryan Vs Randy Orton (WWE Raw 03/02) || YES = 1 ||
> *Cesaro Vs John Cena (WWE Raw 17/02) || YES = 18 ||*
> *The Wyatts Vs The Shield (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 26 ||*
> Elimination Chamber Match (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 4 ||
> *Sami Zayn Vs Cesaro (NXT ArRIVAL) || YES = 22 ||*
> 
> 
> 
> Lucha Libre:
> Virus Vs Titan (CMLL 28/01) || YES = 4 ||
> 
> 
> Legend:
> *Bold Red Text*: matches with a score of 10 or better
> Red text: matches with a score of 5 or better


Hey, what's your sig from? Btw thanks for updating the YES list.


----------



## The Black Mirror

*Thanks for updating the list, Rah. I wish we could get somebody to add it to the first post, since I think that's what Seabs' idea was from the get-go. Also, you should probably delete this match from the listing:

The Young Bucks & Kevin Steen Vs AR Fox, Ricochet & Rich Swann (PWG All Star Weekend Night 1) || YES = 1 ||

This match took place at PWG ASW X Night 1, which took place in December 2013.*


----------



## The Black Mirror

*Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn - WWE NXT ArRival (February 27, 2014) - ★★★★ (YES!/NOMINATED)​
I'd like to preface this by saying that I'm feeling a little bit of writer's block at the moment, so I'm not overly inspired to rave on and on about this match. I also feel like so many others came before me in this thread and addressed all of the points that I would like to address. To put it simply, this was very good.

I may be coming from way out of left field with this, but I feel like Antonio Cesaro works a pretty unique style in the wrestling ring. His style comes across to me as if it's heavily based on his own strength. Somebody please tell me if you completely disagree with this assessment. In any event, this style of his has taken a while to catch on with me. I have no problem admitting that I initially found Cesaro to be very boring, in every single aspect. I kept seeing many of you in last year's version of this thread carrying on about how awesome he was, and I just wasn't seeing it. I have now come to realize that the aforementioned unique style of his, combined with his seemingly dry personality, is what led to me not being vested in him as a performer. It wasn't until about the last 3-4 months or so that his style has started to grow on me. Now, I've been converted into a full-fledged fan after seeing this bout with Sami. I'll have to seek out their previous bouts, now that I've seen this one, as I recall most of you highly recommending those.

The match itself was good, and I have to recommend it/nominate it solely based on the fact that I feel like any professional wrestling fan needs to see this match. I was teetering with listing this one as "not recommended/not nominated," but that was only going to be because it isn't exactly essential viewing apart from the fact that it was a really good wrestling match. When I rate wrestling matches, I try to approach it with a "totality of the circumstances" point of view. Had this match had a better story, better build up and been for a title on a major show (PPV, for example, or hell, even a high spot on a RAW card), then I would have no problem throwing four and one-half stars at this one. Of course, none of those things are the case, unfortunately. There really wasn't much of a story leading up to this match, other than the in-ring history between the two. Of course, they ultimately told a fairly compelling story in the ring, but it just didn't feel like a "big deal." Obviously, this match was never going to feel like an overly big deal, because it took place on NXT, instead of a major WWE show. I probably sound stupid for over-analyzing like this, but I just try to set high standards when rating and recommending matches. All things considered, though, this was supposed to be NXT's premiere event and thanks to matches like this one, it certainly exceeded expectations and has given fans even more to look forward to when it comes to the future.

Ultimately, the lack of big story and build-up was nearly made up for with the story that these two gentleman told between the ropes. Everything about this match was spot on from an in-ring standpoint. There isn't much for me to say about this because nearly every one of you has hit all the high points in your previous reviews.

I'd like to sum this up by saying that this is an important match to seek out as a wrestling fan, if only for the fact that it's important to see yet another display of the future of this company. Cesaro has slowly been getting a push on the main roster, which is awesome, but taking a look at what he did here with Zayn definitely will provide some insight to what we're in store for moving forward over the next 5-10 years. I'm really loving the youth movement in WWE right now. Hell, not even just the "youth movement," but the "we finally seem to be getting it and we're pushing new stars" movement. I can't wait to see guys like Sami Zayn, Antonio Cesaro, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins carry this company moving forward. I've said this several times in my reviews of my other favorite matches of 2014, but I honestly can't wait to see this same exact match on a big PPV in the future with the belt on the line. Maybe then I can proudly give it the four and one-half stars it deserves. Until then, though, this one earns a respectable four stars and a recommendation from me. Despite my previous negativity, I can safely guarantee you that you will not be disappointed with this one.*


----------



## Violent By Design

Where is the archive section on this board? I can't seem to find it for what ever reason.

I'm looking for the thread that had the top 100 matches of the 00s that was posted here, and it seems like it's been moved from the Other wrestling section to what I presume is an archive section.


----------



## Rah

Too Far Gone said:


> *Thanks for updating the list, Rah. I wish we could get somebody to add it to the first post, since I think that's what Seabs' idea was from the get-go. Also, you should probably delete this match from the listing:
> 
> The Young Bucks & Kevin Steen Vs AR Fox, Ricochet & Rich Swann (PWG All Star Weekend Night 1) || YES = 1 ||
> 
> This match took place at PWG ASW X Night 1, which took place in December 2013.*


I wondered whether to add it, considering its air date, but it was only available from this year. I'll remove it if others think that's a problem, yet I've usually given release date preference to matches that happen late into December.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Violent By Design said:


> Where is the archive section on this board? I can't seem to find it for what ever reason.
> 
> I'm looking for the thread that had the top 100 matches of the 00s that was posted here, and it seems like it's been moved from the Other wrestling section to what I presume is an archive section.


looking for this?


----------



## seabs

Rah said:


> I wondered whether to add it, considering its air date, but it was only available from this year. I'll remove it if others think that's a problem, yet I've usually given release date preference to matches that happen late into December.


*Most people use this thread for Jan-Dec rather than the Observer style Dec-Dec so I'd say no mostly because of the thinking of users in here that will mean people won't YES it.

And geez give me time to add it to the OP *


----------



## JustJoel

In doing my civic duty, a YES to:

Bryan/Wyatt
Wyatts/Shield
Cesaro/Cena
Zayn/Cesaro

All are in the ****-****1/2 range. I liked each for their own reasons, and probably prefer Bryan/Wyatt just because we saw so much from Bray in the ring, and really did the best at serving its intended purpose: Make Bray credible. He's carried that credibility very well since, but that angle and match is the only reason most don't look at the Cena/Wyatt match as a joke, let alone thinking Bray picks up the win. You couldn't have said that 6 months ago with a straight face. 

It's been a really good start to this year for WWE. I'm amazingly behind on puro/lucha - I did attend Evolve 25. Really good show - Baretta/Neese have history/chemistry, and really liked the match. Slightly overworked for me (kickout after the CD out of the 'buckle was a little rich for my blood) but still very enjoyable. The _story_ in the Hero match was top notch - WWE tried it in Orton/Kofi, and nobody got it lol the irony). For as awesome as Hero sold his part, I can't stand Ricochet's face, which only seems to be able to express the look of "Hey Guys!" and sleep. Didn't ruin the match, which was good for what it was. Can't put any up as a MOTYC though.


----------



## Obfuscation

Daniel Bryan vs Antonio Cesaro - _WWE: Smackdown 2/21_​
Came off as a "greatest hits" of all their previous matches seen in WWE + the continuous elements of what keep both men in the same vein of being the "best in the world" today. Approach w/a beaten down Danielson being tossed into the ring w/the hottest guy going secured the latest wrinkle in the mix. Danielson is banged up thus leaving the window open for an inspiring sympathetic babyface performance, Cesaro is prime w/his heel control segments targeting a body part - yeah, I think the blueprints here is more than enough to pull through w/something special. The infusion of Danielson's great selling of his arm/shoulder as Cesaro picks it apart over and over. Danielson fighting from the bottom as he often has to do. Trying to find those brief glimpses where he can catch his breath from the overwhelming shadow that looms. In two factors, actually. Cesaro in the ring & Kane at ringside. Danielson attempting to put his arm in one of his own submissions while laying on the ground in order to remove the numbness was excellent. Pulling back w/true grit all for the sake of his own benefit. Meanwhile Cesaro sees this and only proceeds to eradicate the injured area more than previously planned. Using his trademark catch in mid-air tilt-a-whirl backbreaker spot only to morph it into a shoulder breaker mid way was unreal. How good is this man? Scary levels these days. Mix all of this proper work produced by the two w/the cornerstone moments of past matches such as the small package near fall _(or finish rather in their Gauntlet match)_ & pop up European uppercut & you have a rockin' gem all out of the blue. First match of the year was good. Quality you'd expect, but this honestly knocked it out of the park. Had it's substance flowing behind it to give it that much more. The essence you can sort of explain w/words, but not quite. It's better to be seen as it tells the story better than you or I could care to elaborate. Finish going the non-clean route wasn't any hindrance for me. At least, not in making this a contender on the list. Would have easily preferred a clean victory to come out of this, although in regards to the booking stance, it left both smelling like a rose heading into the PPV. Terrific job by all those involved.


----------



## flag sabbath

*Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW 42nd Anniversary, 6/3):* Strong finish to an otherwise weak show. Okada takes his time dismantling Ibushi's neck. Kota sparks the crowd with a succession of fiery comebacks. What's not to love? ******


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi
****
Really fun match Okada's offense is so great he always finds away to add these cool little stuff.Ibushi was awesome,great match.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Obfuscation

Sounds like it's got their first match from DDT trumped. Excitement remains in tact.


----------



## ROHFan19

Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi ****1/4

Probably rating this a tad high, but I felt like I had to give it a better rating than **** because of how great the finishing stretch was. Okada was great as usual but Ibushi was REALLY on. Everything he did was even more crisp than it usually is.


----------



## Chismo

Really, guys? Eh, I have this one at ***1/4. Good match, fun main event, but that's about it. Their DDT encounter was much, much better. Okada was in his "going thru motions" mode, while Ibushi showed much more fire and heat, probably wanting to make up for the missed moonsault spot.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Chismo said:


> Really, guys? Eh, I have this one at ***1/4. Good match, fun main event, but that's about it. Their DDT encounter was much, much better. Okada was in his "going thru motions" mode, while Ibushi showed much more fire and heat, probably wanting to make up for the missed moonsault spot.


Second this but DAMN that German Suplex Okada added into his arsenal!! Perfect bridge on that thing and looks better than Naito's who I thought had the best one.


----------



## Nervosa

BKKsoulcity said:


> Second this but DAMN that German Suplex Okada added into his arsenal!! Perfect bridge on that thing and looks better than Naito's who I thought had the best one.


Surely Kento Miyahara's German is accepted as the best one?


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Okada's is just as good,that German suplex on Kota was incredible.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Chismo

The semi-ME tag from 42nd Anniversary was great. Much better than Ibushi/Okada. :mark: at Naito/Ishii chemistry. Ishii is like a rabid mad dog, modern version of Tenryu, and I'm loving every second of it. ****

Also reminding on KENTA/Nagata from 2/22. Great fucking match with Nagata mauling KENTER, which was so joyful. ****1/4


----------



## flag sabbath

Guess I should watch Tanahashi & Naito vs. Nakamura & Ishii again. On first viewing it felt like one match too many for these combos this year - a stale mixture of them mostly going through the motions & the crowd reacting accordingly. Still around ****1/4*

Okada vs. Ibushi held up well to a second viewing. Other than the air on that moonsault, Ibushi's execution was immaculate. Okada looked great too, especially on that rocket launcher dropkick & the german. Chuck in some clever twists & counters and this one stays around ****** for me.

Kenta vs. Nagata was very good, but I'd grown bored with it long before it was over. Half-hearted Noah crowds never help ****1/2*


----------



## Joshi Judas

Okada vs Ibushi ****

Damn, that German suplex :mark: :mark: :mark:


----------



## Bubz

Everyone knows Takayama has the best German, right?


----------



## Snapdragon

Bubz said:


> Everyone knows Takayama has the best German, right?


Daisuke Harada and Sekimoto get my vote.

But thats just because I dislike Takayama


----------



## Nervosa

Were still on best German suplex?

What part of KENTO MIYAHARA do you people not understand?

BTW, this topic rules.


----------



## Bubz

The part I didn't understand was when you didn't write Yoshihiro Takayama's name .

And oh shit @ someone disliking Big Tak. Didn't think it possible.


----------



## Snapdragon

Bubz said:


> The part I didn't understand was when you didn't write Yoshihiro Takayama's name .
> 
> And oh shit @ someone disliking Big Tak. Didn't think it possible.


People like Takayama?


----------



## Obfuscation

They worship him.


----------



## Concrete

*Charles Lucero vs. Silver Star(ACM 3/2/14):*****
_You may know Lucero from that absolutely stellar match against Rey Hechicero in ACM. You may not know Silver Star, I didn't, but he's a LUCHA FATTY! Now I don't know if this fills the quota for rad Monterrey title matches but I HOPE NOT! Lucero better pop up more in 2014 cause he's such friggin' cool old lucha dude. They did swanky grappling in this one. Second fall ended pretty darn quick but in the end served a quality purpose in the match thus I didn't mind it as much as I usually would. Plus it looked nice. Oh, third fall is really, really swell. Both guys did big ole dives. Silver Star SPLATS in this match trying to rival Lucero's from that Hechicero match. Love how the Argentinian Torture Rack from fall two comes into the play in this fall. Also Lucero BUTT BOMBS Star which is rad. Cool, cool stuff. Watch it. Scratch that lucha itch._


----------



## Chismo

Masa Takanashi vs. HARASHIMA from DDT Into the Fight was freakin' sweet. Masa is a total doofus, but he tricked the general manager to get the title shot, and absolutely no one buys him as a legitimate threat, which translates into HARASHIMA shrugging off totally every bit of offense from him. Basically, the story of the match is "how many times will challenger fail miserably", and it works like a motherfucker.

****


----------



## Rah

The first two falls were almost throwaway (the segunda, especially), which seems to be most the norm for everything that looks decent lately in Lucha. Silver Star isn't up there with the greatest in Lucha but he's always an exceptional talent for bringing the goods in Monterrey. He ran roughshod with Los Traumas last year (teaming with Diluvio *****) and resembled a treasury of gold bullion in his work with Trauma #2.

You'd think, thus, that Lucero (who became a close darkhorse in my worker of the year list) and him would do much better. Third fall was where it's at but there's roughly ten minutes that fall at a lower quality that prevents this from being much in my eyes. It's most certainly Lucha's second best match, so far, but the style deserves better than the filth we're getting.


----------



## Concrete

Guys you wanna see a chubby luchadore go SPLAT...trust me. 

I can see why the second fall would be off-putting since it was. So. Darn. Quick. I probably would have hated it more if it didn't add anything to the match.


----------



## Noah Mark

Does anybody have a link to the Okada/Ibushi match yet.


----------



## flag sabbath

Noah Mark said:


> Does anybody have a link to the Okada/Ibushi match yet.


You could always type 'Okada Ibushi' into youtube


----------



## Obfuscation

I've never had a gripe w/an early fall in Lucha going by fast. I expect it most of the time to begin w/. There's usually the general formula worked w/various nuances piped in. As long as something is neatly placed in each fall, It'll suffice.


----------



## EmbassyForever

ROHFan19 said:


> Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi ****1/4
> 
> Probably rating this a tad high, but I felt like I had to give it a better rating than **** because of how great the finishing stretch was. Okada was great as usual but Ibushi was REALLY on. Everything he did was even more crisp than it usually is.


This. I have it at ****1/4 for the exact same reasons. Awesome match.


----------



## Concrete

EDIT:Completely wrong thread.


----------



## Bubz

Snapdragon said:


> People like Takayama?


Well I haven't watched anything he's done since 2011, but yeah, even up until 2011 he was busting out AWESOME shit every now and then. From around 2001 - 2005 he was Incredible.


----------



## mk92071

So Okada vs. Ibushi was amazing. That match just flowed really well and then got ridiculously crazy towards the end. The crowd's pop when Ibushi hit a lariat was out of this world. Ibushi was so on point with everything this match and he even took an awesome bump into the corner early on. This match flew by and I never lost interest. Okada's gorgeous German suplex speaks for itself. The crowd bought into Ibushi as a major player here, and they tore the house down. A low ****1/4 from me.


----------



## Chismo

The 99-04 Takayama was the Top 5 wrestler in the world, consistently.


----------



## flag sabbath

*Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 15/3):* A sharper, more succinct version of their flawed epic from last month, and the heated show stealer from a solid New Japan Cup first round ****3/4*


----------



## seabs

*I was hoping nobody would mention that in here. At best it was good. Very average imo. As was Nakamura/Smith.*


----------



## Chismo

While it was very good, I find it a clear level of two below their Osaka title match from February. ***3/4


----------



## Obfuscation

I'll probably find a way to mention half of the matches from the New Japan Cup, tbhayley.


----------



## Bubz

Watched Okada/Ibushi. It was pretty good, but at no point did it feel like a Heavy vs Jr's match, which surely defeats the point in this kind of match? The reason Ibushi/Nakamura from last year was so good was because Ibushi felt completely outmatched making his hope spots and aggression work so well. Here it felt like two equals going at it and that really annoyed me on occasions. Ibushi throwing those stupid lariats towards the end was awful especially considering he missed one of them and Okada still sold it like he got hit by fucking Hansen. Stupid one kick out that served no purpose because they didn't follow it up at all. Still, some ace exchanges between the two that had they been integrated with a better structure or any sense of hierarchy would have been even better. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't the match it should have been imo.


----------



## Chismo

Agreed on the lack of Heavyweight/Junior differences in dynamics. Hell, DDT is an openweight class promotion, and yet their match from August felt like a Heavyweight/Junior match way more than this one.


----------



## Groovemachine

Ricochet vs Masato Yoshino - Dragon Gate Champion Gate in Osaka - ***3/4

Not a bonafide MOTYC but certainly worth a pimp in here. I really enjoyed the story in this one of Ricochet just having Yoshino's number. He countered all of Yoshino's best offense in some spectacular ways (I'm looking at you, backflip out of the Lightning Spiral) and the finishing stretch was great. I didn't need Yoshino to kick out of the 630 but I suppose it was a big occasion so perhaps that can be forgiven. Ricochet's modified GTS finisher looks swanky, has he been using that in DG for very long? Don't think I've seen it before.


----------



## Mattyb2266

Groovemachine said:


> Ricochet vs Masato Yoshino - Dragon Gate Champion Gate in Osaka - ***3/4
> 
> Not a bonafide MOTYC but certainly worth a pimp in here. I really enjoyed the story in this one of Ricochet just having Yoshino's number. He countered all of Yoshino's best offense in some spectacular ways (I'm looking at you, backflip out of the Lightning Spiral) and the finishing stretch was great. I didn't need Yoshino to kick out of the 630 but I suppose it was a big occasion so perhaps that can be forgiven. Ricochet's modified GTS finisher looks swanky, has he been using that in DG for very long? Don't think I've seen it before.


That GTS is new. Right before that dragon gate tour he was asking people on Facebook what he should call his new GTS-like finisher.


----------



## Snapdragon

Chismo said:


> The 99-04 Takayama was the Top 5 wrestler in the world, consistently.


No friggin way

I have to see this. Any match reccomendations?

The only Takayama I know is the slow immobile giant.


----------



## Chismo

And that's just off the top of my head, the most famous matches. A tip of the iceberg.


----------



## malek

Chismo said:


> The 99-04 Takayama was the Top 5 wrestler in the world, consistently.


Will still remain best known for his part in what is PRIDE's best match ever


----------



## Chismo

Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa vs. Shinya Ishikawa & Shinobu (BJW 3/2) ****1/4

_"But Sekimoto, Okabayashi and Yoshihito are injured, Strong Division is dead"_. Scratch that bandwagoning shit, Strong BJ is as awesome as ever. Just becasue the top trio is out, doesn't mean everything went to hell. It's quite the opposite, actually, new guys getting some spotlight is excellent to see, instead of same old repetitive tags (which I love to death, btw), Kohei and Shuji invading the division is the best booking decision in recent puroresu, they are beasts, they fucking MAULED poor Shinobu, that was the best face-in-peril segment I've seen in a long time. Knees, elbows, big boots, suplexes. Yeah, bitch! Kohei Sato has won me over recently, he's been incredibly hir or miss for entire career, but goddamn it he lashes out buckets of swag in interpromotional matches. Pure bonafide brawler.


----------



## Violent By Design

Takayama is a great performer. His match with Kobashi is probably the best match I've seen in NOAH.


----------



## Bubz

All those Takayama matches are great, I'd also say check out his match with KENTA in NOAH 2004 (?), one of KENTA's best matches ever. There's another Kenskay match that rules too from a few years before the one Chsimo posted. I'm too lazy to look up dates and videos etc atm. that Nishimura match is just incredible and something everyone should see for a different side of Takayama. Also the Nagata IWGP match from 2002 is awesome.


----------



## EscapedIllusion

The Young Bucks vs reDRagon 
****
Awesome match really bought the crowd to life,I've never seen a Young Bucks match with a dead crowd.The Young Bucks are the Ric Flair modern of tag team wrestling.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Groovemachine

*Ricochet vs Uhaa Nation - Dragon Gate Glorious Gate 2014 - *****

Fantastic stuff from these two. Uhaa takes control early on and totally dominates, until Ricochet starts taking the big man down by focusing on the knee. Uhaa is having a great year so far, and what with this and the Evolve Johnny Gargano match, he is proving to be terrific at selling leg offense. There's a spectacular spot that I don't even know how to describe that results in Uhaa catching Ricochet in a tombstone piledriver; with these two in the mix, it's bound to be a flashy match. If I have one criticism, it's that I don't like how Ricochet's 630s and Shooting Star Presses aren't being treated as finishers anymore, but I guess he's trying to get over his new GTS finisher so it's somewhat understandable. Anyway, if Ricochet keeps having title defenses like this, he should have a really fun title reign.


----------



## flag sabbath

Yeah, Ricochet vs. Uhaa was fantastic. Think the doubters might be pleasantly surprised with this one. On first viewing, I'd go as high as *****1/4*


----------



## Chismo

The BroMans vs. Team 246 vs. The Wolves (W-1 Outbreak) ****

Shocking, I know.


----------



## flag sabbath

*Taiji Ishimori vs. Daisuke Harada (NOAH Great Voyage 2014, 8/3):* This was full-on from the get go, with a real sense of struggle & some incredible blocks & counters. I'm might be overrating it a tad, but on first watch I was blown away *****1/2*



*Nagata vs. Sugiura* from the same show is an epic title fight ******


----------



## Groovemachine

*Austin Aries vs Seiya Sanada - Wrestle-1 Outbreak - *****

Terrific chemistry between these two, this was a great back and forth contest with some slick reversals. It was fun early on having two cocky guys going up against each other, trying to outdo the other one and show off a bit. Nice to see Aries with the cuffs off once again, getting to wrestle a longer match; he looked on top form here. We get a great sequence where Aries destroys Sanada in the corner with multiple IEDs, perhaps going for one too many, which allows Sanada to capitalise on his cockiness and reverse a brainbuster attempt into a suplex of his own. Strong, definitive finish as well.


----------



## PERFECTSHOW

flag sabbath said:


> *Taiji Ishimori vs. Daisuke Harada (NOAH Great Voyage 2014, 8/3):* This was full-on from the get go, with a real sense of struggle & some incredible blocks & counters. I'm might be overrating it a tad, but on first watch I was blown away *****1/2*
> 
> 
> 
> *Nagata vs. Sugiura* from the same show is an epic title fight ******


Thank you for posting this link! I 2nd this match! As you pointed out, a great battle w/ absolutely fantastic counters...not to mention I cant recall ever seeing a handspring Diamond Cutter...I nearly lost my sh*t when I saw that. Best juniors match I've seen this year. Id also give it ****1/2

I'd like to add an apparently unpopular nominee...Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii - New Japan Cup 1st Round (****1/4): A nice condensed version of their New Beginning Classic, and though its definitely on my low-end MOTYC, I still cant help but nominate it for what it was...hopefully there isnt too much hate!


----------



## Rah

*Nominate*

*The Shield Vs The Wyatts (03/03/2014 WWE)* - It's almost fate that I came across a link to this match, considering my thoughts this morning lamented how Japan no longer focus on or create wild faction brawls. While this may not be Choshu or Fujiwara, the match certainly checks the boxes against chaotic violence. Rollins still holds true to his path on breaking his purported glass ceiling. His charisma oozes out of each dive and bares a striking likeness to the flatout, blitzkrieg style of Daniel Bryan that keeps the crowd so hot on him. While Seth obviously lacks the goodfeel underdog story potential, there is certainly much room for him to get over in a big way if they focus on his moveset. It's a method that's certainly got Reigns over, as he received an absolutely monstrous chant here before the teased discension. Equally interesting was Ambrose harmogenous mixture of Terry Funk mannerisms with Nigel McGuinness' signatures. I hope Ambrose makes more use of the Rebound Lariat as it can be an exceptional hope spot when built correctly and fits his spot in trio tags eloquently.

Sadly the ending feels rather abrupt and sudden, and could have used a slightly lengthier finish section from THe Wyatt's after The Shield's hope run (if only for selfish reasoning in the hope the beauty wouldn't end). Ambrose channeling McGuinness, again, with that bell-ringing headbutt to the post was disgusting, though, and I have little issue in that bringing the match to a sudden halt. Working MotY #3.


----------



## EscapedIllusion

flag sabbath said:


> *Taiji Ishimori vs. Daisuke Harada (NOAH Great Voyage 2014, 8/3):* This was full-on from the get go, with a real sense of struggle & some incredible blocks & counters. I'm might be overrating it a tad, but on first watch I was blown away *****1/2*


****1/2 as well amazing match,great sequences and awesome athleticism.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Mattyb2266

Chris Hero vs JT Dunn - ****1/2 - Beyond Wrestling - Critical Acclaim 

Wow. The story here was unbelievably good with Hero playing the veteran but Dunn refusing to stay down. Unexpected finish also. I know most people here won't see this match and those that do won't see it for a couple months, but I'm gonna go ahead and say yes anyways because I loved this match.


----------



## Violent By Design

Ishimori vs Harada was pretty fun, but it doesn't seem like the guys actually know how to wrestle. I haven't seen anything else from then, but there were a lot of moments that I felt like they should have went for pins, and moments when they went for pins when it wasn't believable it would end and thus the pin would get no pop.

Some excellent feats of athleticism though, and great spots. The running knee was my favorite (again, missed pin opportunities around that spot though). 

Some other cool spots (spoilers), springboard neck breaker, the german suplexes including the sequence of them in the finishing stretch, and from a story point of view I really dug Ishimori desperation going for quick cheap like pins toward the end.


One spot I absolutely hated though was the superplex spot, Harada held on to it, then he put Ishimori on the ropes did a neck breaker, talk about overkill.


----------



## TheChoppingMachine

Hi, I'm new on the site but here's my contribution to the yes thing.

*Yes to*

*Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NEVER Openweight Title Match) (NJPW The New Beginning In Osaka - 11.02.2014)*
Have to rewatch it to decide if it's my MOTY or not but it was awesome and near the 5* for me. Big fan of Ishii.

*The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) vs. The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan & Luke Harper) (WWE Elimination Chamber 2014 - 23.02.2014)*
The Shield and The Wyatts are two of the best things in WWE (and in wrestling in general) since their debuts. The match was highly anticipated and oh boy it didn't disappointed. What a war. The rematch is really good too, not enough to nominate it but not far.

*Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (WWE NXT ArRIVAL - 27.02.2014)*
Maybe their best match together and that's saying something.

*Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (IWGP Intercontinental Title Match) (NJPW The New Beginning In Hiroshima - 09.02.2014)*
Not a fan of their WK match but I loved this one. The nearfall at the end is one of my biggest mark moments of the year. Loved the finish too.

*Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hirooki Goto (IWGP Heavyweight Title Match) (NJPW The New Beginning In Osaka - 11.02.2014)*
They had to follow Naito vs Ishii, they didn't top it but that was still freakin' awesome. I really thought that the result will be different. And it features the best dropkick ever.

*Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE Royal Rumble 2014 - 26.01.2014)*
Great match by two great workers with a great crowd and a great finish. What more could you ask for?

*Cesaro vs. John Cena (WWE Monday Night RAW #1082 - 17.02.2014)*
I knew this one would be good, they could save it for a biggest occasion but eh, I don't really mind it.


----------



## FenceMan

Puro vote - naito vs iishi

Indy vote - steen and the bucks vs fox, rick o'shea and swann


----------



## Chismo

*Daichi Hashimoto & Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato & Ryuichi Kawakami (BJW Full Metal, 3/21) *

_Sooo, what we got here is the 3/4 of the epic 2/7 match-up. Unfortunately, Shuji Ishikawa is missing, but I kind of dig Kawakami, so no biggie. Plus, it opens some possibilities for the Hashs to win somehow. Anyway, they start off with the hold based offense, and it's quite simple but nice. But it can't last long with these guys, of course, so it transforms into another swell brawl. Kohei's kicks are disgusting. K-Hash's swag is something else. And that unexpected finish! :mark: K-Hash is my Wrestler of the Year. Strong BJ lives, and Sekimoto is coming back in two weeks. :mark:_

******


----------



## Obfuscation

Result of that match left me w/so much 

Kazuki Hashimoto should be everyone's favorite.


----------



## flag sabbath

*Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma (NJPW, 3/4):* The highlight of the Road to Invasion Attack shows was this free-flowing, all-action multi-man. These guys make this shit look effortless ****3/4*


----------



## Chismo

It has hit the wastelands of internet, and it's fucking glorious :mark::






****1/4


----------



## Cactus

*Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato (BJW 02/26/2014)*
Stripped back and bare-bones violence, which is pretty much the reason why I love Big Japan's unique style. I didn't see a legit wrestling move in this match until 5 minutes in. I'm not exactly overly-familiar with the work of Kohei Sato, but this was by far the best performance I've seen from him. That prick smirking off Hashimoto's desperation strikes made for a fantastic visual. Hashimoto himself is certainly becoming one of my favorites to watch in BJW too. He's on the same level as Sekimoto and Okabayashi. Just great stuff.


----------



## Chismo

I'm telling you, man, Kohei Sato invading Strong BJ is the best thing in 2014, here are three awesome tags:



Spoiler: Kohei Sato greatness


----------



## WrestlingOracle

(love puroresu and the stark difference in stucture/psychology/audience but post Misawa fell out way too much and don't have the time to catch up on NJPW to make a passable list)

It will take a collosal effort to beat the Wyatts/Shield EC match for anyone especially when relating the buildup in relation to the match and how the story told in the ring synchs so well with the story outside the ring, but I think Lesnar/Taker is going to be a versatile battle tonight that I think will be a modern classic that will be the third MOTY in this young year with potential to go even higher. I think HHH/Bryan has a good shot at slipping in the list somewhere in the lower parts and Bray/Cena has a ton of potential and atmosphere as well.

My personal current top 10 WWE MOTY list:
1. Wyatts vs Shield EC
2. Cesaro/Zayn NXT event
3. Cesaro/Cena Raw
4. Dbry/Bray Royal Rumble
5. Orton/Bryan Raw regular match
6. Orton/Cesaro
7. EC match
8.Cesaro/Bryan SD encounter with the tiltawhirl la mistica esque finish into omaplata crossface
9. Wyatts/Shield RAW
10. Can't decide. Been too much good stuff so far in this stacked year and I would need to rewatch alot of it.


----------



## darkclaudio

HHH vs Daniel Bryan ****+ - Wrestlemania 30

Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito ***3/4 - Invasion Attack 2014


----------



## Chismo

Only caught the finishing run of Hunter/Dragon, but it looked great.


Anyway, why is no one talking about greatness that is Nakamura/Tanahashi III? Hm? Unpopular opinion: their best match together, the best NJPW match since the KOPW '12 main event, and better than any Tanahashi/Okada classic. That's right, bitch.


----------



## Smitty

Bryan/Hunter: ****1/4 

Fantastic match


----------



## flag sabbath

Yeah, Bryan vs. HHH was Mania MOTN at *****1/4*

Meanwhile at Invasion Attack, Ishii vs. Naito III was another great, frenetic scrap ******

And Tanahashi vs. Nakamura was remarkably one-sided for the most part, which made for a refreshing payoff to their excellent IC trilogy *****1/4*


----------



## Violent By Design

DB vs Hunter and DB/RKO/Batista were the best matches at WM, will rewatch.


----------



## Toates Dapperfox

I missed Triple H/Bryan but I buy that i was ****+. None of the other matches were MOTYC-ish to me. The title match told a magnificent story but for me it was too shenangins-y for me to call it a MOTYC


----------



## EmbassyForever

WM XXX:

Bryan/HHH - ****1/2+
Cena/Wyatt - ****1/4
Main Event - ****1/4


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yes!
Bryan vs Triple H 
****1/2

Yes! Yes! Yes! 
Bryan vs Batista vs Orton 
****1/2


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Chismo

I'm yet to watch WrestleMania, so in the meantime, here's the recent puro:

- Harada/Ishimori (NOAH 3/8) ****1/4
- Sugiura/K. Sato (Z1 3/9) ****
- Naito/Ishii (NJPW Invasion Attack) ****1/4

And, of course, Nakamura/Tanahashi XV, aka definitive *MOTY*, I can't see anything topping it.


----------



## Saint Dick

YES for Bryan v H.


----------



## Violent By Design

I thought Wyatt vs Cena had a magnificent story, but it was SO fuking hammy. John Cena over sold a lot, and the spots just were not logical for the story they were trying to tell. Way too over dramatic. The only part of Wyatt vs Cena that I really liked is when Cena first started scratching and gnawing at Bray's face. But all the other stuff was just so cheesy, like when he lifted up the stair case and screamed like it was the end of Return of the Jedi - come on man, Cena has hit people with stairs before, a lot no less. 



Toates Dapperfox said:


> I missed Triple H/Bryan but I buy that i was ****+. None of the other matches were MOTYC-ish to me. The title match told a magnificent story but for me it was too shenangins-y for me to call it a MOTYC


That's kinda why I liked it. It's been a while since there has been a good match that utilized "over booking". I thought the Triple Threat was a good roller coaster ride, great story, good spots, and nice use of emotion (I really thought Batista/RKO might win at one point, and it actually got me sad during the count when they made said pinfalls).


----------



## flag sabbath

*Shingo Takagi vs. T-Hawk (Dragon Gate, 29/3):* Yeah, I know, everyone's up to their eyeballs in Mania & Invasion Attack right now. But when you've got a moment, check out DG's ongoing showcase of T-Hawk as an upcoming singles star. He's already put in strong showings this year opposite Mochizuki and Yamato. And while his clash with Ricochet in the first of seven major one-on-one match-ups was distinctly flat, rumble number two against Shingo is a gripping slugfest. It hinges around a great moment for folks who hate stand-there-and-take-it strike exchanges, and builds to a powerful & believable struggle for the three ****3/4*


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Bryan vs. HHH ****1/4 ..Felt way too planned out to make sure the proper story was conveyed while the best matches of all time are the ones that feel more organic and emotional. 

Bryan vs. Orton vs. Batista ****1/4 ..Exactly what I expected to see out of this match and probably the best thing you could of got out of these 3 together in the ring tbh.

Still gotta catch INVASION ATTACK!!!


----------



## flag sabbath

*Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega vs. Michael Nakazawa & Tomomitsu Matsunaga (DDT, 21/3):* 21st century indie slickness a-go-go, and one very nearly horrific botch ****3/4*



EDIT: the HARASHIMA vs. KUDO KO-D title match from this show is top notch too ******


----------



## Chismo

Just watched Nakamura/Tanahashi for the 3rd time, and it's an unbelievable match, I can't stress that enough. I'd put it up there with best of the best from the ages of Inoki, Fujinami, Choshu, Vader, Tenryu & Hashimoto.


----------



## Noah Mark

Can somebody post a link to the Tanahashi/Nakamura match from Invasion.


----------



## Saint Dick

Daniel Bryan v Triple H - WrestleMania XXX (4/6/14)
Excellent match. I had high expectations going in and I can comfortably say they met them. I've heard the criticism that there wasn't enough hate in the match and while I can see that argument I don't agree with it too much. It could've done with more hate but it didn't need it. Both men's priority was getting the W which made total sense within the story of Hunter trying to keep Bryan down and Bryan aiming to prove that he's good enough. Trips hasn't looked this good in ages but I wasn't surprised. Dude looked in prime condition and he's always been infinitely better working as a heel than a babyface. Speaking of looking good, fucking Steph. She was on fire and I thought her presence at ring side added quite a bit to the match. Triple H's control work was good, targeting the injured shoulder and busting out different moves to keep things interesting. The announce table spot, the hammerlock slam on the apron, the tiger suplex, that wicked clothesline, the chicken wing; he was generally very good on offense and turned in a performance that shouldn't be undersold. Bryan was Bryan. That's starting to become a cliche but really and truly I can't think of much else to say about his performance. High level display from him as per. Thought the final few minutes were great. Dug the Pedigree/counter struggles big time and the abrupt finish worked fine. Post-match stuff was good too. Pure quality starting from H's awesome entrance all the way to the end. I sure as hell won't complain if they have a rematch at some point.


----------



## Violent By Design

I loved HHH's offense, he actually came off as cerebral once. Any offense that has the chicken wing is a good one .


----------



## Bubz

Bryan/Trips and the main event were both ****+ from Mania imo. I'll write some reviews or proper thoughts when I've rewatched the main event but watching that live was incredible.


----------



## Obfuscation

Chismo said:


> It has hit the wastelands of internet, and it's fucking glorious :mark::
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ****1/4


OMG

And I hate to spam up a thread w/constant embedded videos but...



EVERYONE WATCH THIS MATCH NOW. Shigehiro Irie is a beloved saint to the sport of pro wrestling. b/c I feel like he is me if I were out there. Such emotion. Such a will to always get behind him. I love this dude.

I really need to do a mini write up on everything I've lagged on this thread. Maybe. Dunno. Was digging myself for actually keeping up w/a list.


----------



## Rah

Cross-posted from the WWE Discussion thread, considering Mania is being plodded up here:



Spoiler: write-up






> Wrestlemania was an almost perfect spectacle, and fitting of the 30th anniversary. The changing of the guard is most certainly in full effect, and it appears, Vince is taking a more relaxed role when it comes to asserting his wishes. Witnessing the birth of Cesaro as the new B guy, after a monstrous chant in the Battle Royale and a throng-like following on the Pre-Show, and the attainment of Daniel Bryan's dream easily ranks as my favourite Wrestlemania moments. While Hogan slamming Andre may be _the_ moment, Bryan's win was the ending almost everyone wished to see and was a perfect underdog accomplishment that followed a story of which had some rather nice highs (and, sadly, tapering lows). I assume WWE tried to rewrite XXX as the feel good moment to replace Benoit and Eddie ending Wrestlemania a decade ago, but it also feels like they took its slogan ("where it all begins, again") and reran with it. Outside of Cesaro and Bryan, Wyatt placed himself as a contender looking on from the cusp. I hesitate to think both Cena and Undertaker could have lost on the same night, and the booking of Cena over-coming the odds was apparent from the outset, but he drove Cena to near self-destruction, showing the company's top face as humanlike (a quality he sorely misses), after all. While I wasn't expecting McConaughey battling Michael Shannon, as wrestlers are terrible and untrained actors, I had expected more from them, in terms of ring work. Cena isn't as great as laying out sections as Bryan is, but he's a terrific big match player and should have been a good enough mold to walk Bray through a memorable performance. While good, it never once moved past that threshold. A critique that seemed to hold true across the board.
> 
> The opener was, quite easily, the match of the night and seemed to work better than I had any expectation of it. Credit where it's due, HHH has gone out of his way to make Bryan look great the last few weeks and his bumping on the past Raw and him going through his match structure, here, without his typical flair and self-indulgent rub, truly helped cement Bryan as a big deal. No fluff, no extended HHH work-overs, this came in and left when it needed to and was all the better for it. Hunter working Bryan's leg, to slow the guy down, was a good enough transition into the arm work-over and where the entire match should have hinged. HHH's offence and holds, while disgustingly vicious, were perversely entertaining and this may just cement itself as one of Hunter's best performances, helping aid the crowd into rallying behind Bryan. Of course the Pedigree kickout was an obvious play, but it still hinged between what we assumed to be reality (Hunter continuing his supposed burial routine) and fantasy (Bryan going on to the big one) and, when he kicked out, it felt organic.
> 
> As disillusioned as I am with the split of The Real Americans, Cesaro's performance in the battle royal seems to show some great promise for his future as a single's wrestler. His meshing with Sheamus has been portrayed before, and the door still lies open, but his work, here, with Rey, Goldust and Cody was great. The latter, too, is a fresh answer to The Rhodes Bros not being used as a tag, and allowing for them to flourish in the singles arena. Even if they're to happen on Main Event or Superstars, I won't sneeze at those pairings and working with two of the best wrestlers in the world will be a wondrous learning opportunity for Cody. Cesaro also replicating the slamming of Andre (Show) was a feat of strength worthy of the occasion.
> 
> 'Taker/Brock is what it is; and chalk me up in the group that was in favour of it. Sadly, Undertaker suffering a concussion early into the match most certainly hurt their output here and it's even more depressing that The Streak ends following such a lacklustre match. Moreover, for an opportunity in rewriting history, this deserved a build-up fitting of this. It appears that Brock will be booked on more events, from now on, so there does lie a conundrum as to why he wasn't used more coming toward 'Mania. Lesnar is a rather special attraction, in that his legitimacy doesn't seem too perturbed by his losses. Equally, building up to this Wrestlemania, WWE have been toying with 'Taker losing and, at the very least, continually being one more step behind his normal self. Both instances with HHH almost saw The Game going over. That was two and three years ago, the mortality of The Undertaker does play more to Brock's advantage (especially noting his brute force approach) and, even if The Beast couldn't overcome Hunter, him overcoming a 50 year old 'Taker isn't much of a stretch. The commentators pushed it as the match where the impossible would happen, and I'm glad Brock was the monster to do it. While Cena/'Taker may have been a missed opportunity, Cena winning would have sent the crowd into a frenzy. Brock was the one to placate the crowd, and, if 'Taker is numbered in his days, this was the perfect temporal opportunity to make use of it. Build-up and match quality aside. As for Undertaker, the booking of his character work was sublime. He came out a demon, seemingly invincible, yet left mortally broken. The last larger-than-life character in wrestling was finally humanised. HayleySabin's signature says it all.
> 
> Following on the from the shock of Brock's win, the crowd was completely deflated for the divas match and even Bryan's entrance. As a testament to his charisma, though, he managed to slowly reel the 75 thousand strong back into his hands. Moreover, this match shows that "overbooking", when used sparingly and as callbacks to each focal point in the feud, has its rightful place in wrestling. I felt replicating Foley's stretcher return spot came across rather flat, from the start, but its build following was white-hot. The Batista-bomb into RKO was also a defining moment, and played into Bryan's underdog story. Randy slicing his back open on that monitor looked scary, but he kept going like a trooper. Deep down I knew Bryan was winning, but, boy, did I buy into those finishers at the end. From a match quality perspective this was not good but, from an angle leading up to the big moment, this was priceless.
> 
> All in all, for the first time in a long time, Wrestlemania felt like The Stage of the Immortals. It felt larger than life, an aspect it always tried to portray itself as. While match classics are so sought after, wrestling is so much more than a technically perfect match. It's about the emotional ups and downs, the highs and the lows. Wrestling is meant to be a roller-coaster ride that makes you abandon reality and live within the world crafted by the promotion, rooting for the heroes you've followed the careers of, finally defining their legacies. And that's exactly what Wrestlemania XXX was.






In sum I will rewatch this show, and continue to rewatch it, but not because of the match quality. Nothing will change my MotY list, and I don't frankly care.


----------



## Groovemachine

****1/4 from me, and my favourite TanaMura match from this year. Tanahashi heels it up big time here and it...is...awesome. He DESTROYS Shinsuke's leg in the guard rail and it's a really beautiful workover segment. That brings me to my main criticism of the match; pretty much all of Tanahashi's offense is to Nakamura's leg, so for him to get up and kind of shrug it off and carry on using the leg for his own offense didn't really sit well with me. However, Tanahashi continues to focus on the leg and eventually Nakamura sells it 'properly'. Him getting the knees up to block the High Fly Flow, basically sacrificing his legs, was a great moment. Finishing stretch ruled as well, and Nakamura referenced the knee injury perfectly, which made up for his lack of selling earlier. My NJPW MOTY so far.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Always love when Tanahashi heels it up during some of his matches- like him vs Okada from KOPW last year. Dick Tana is the best Tana.


----------



## Saintpat

It's all subjective, a lot of apples and oranges, but the three best matches I saw in NOLA on WM weekend, in no particular order, were:

Steen-Elgin, ROH Supercard of HOnor

Gargano-Lo Ki, DG USA Mercury Rising

Bryan-HHH, WM 30

All definitely ****+ IMO


----------



## A.M.

Cesaro vs. Zayn is still my favorite match of 2014.

Also loved the underrated Konley vs. Alexander from PWX Rise of a Champion IX and Yoshino vs. Mochizuki of DG Infinity 324.

Wyatt vs. Bryan is the best WWE has done in their PPVs (Wyatt Family vs. The Shield also deserves a mention), while NJPW has produced several great matches but the last Tanahashi v Nakamura is my favorite one. Masterpiece of storytelling.


----------



## Chismo

Groovemachine said:


> ****1/4 from me, and my favourite TanaMura match from this year. Tanahashi heels it up big time here and it...is...awesome. He DESTROYS Shinsuke's leg in the guard rail and it's a really beautiful workover segment. *That brings me to my main criticism of the match*; pretty much all of Tanahashi's offense is to Nakamura's leg, so for him to get up and kind of shrug it off and carry on using the leg for his own offense didn't really sit well with me. However, Tanahashi continues to focus on the leg and eventually Nakamura sells it 'properly'. Him getting the knees up to block the High Fly Flow, basically sacrificing his legs, was a great moment. Finishing stretch ruled as well, and Nakamura referenced the knee injury perfectly, which made up for his lack of selling earlier. My NJPW MOTY so far.


When it comes to Shinsuke's matches, complaining about that is pretty much beating the dead horse at this point. I guess his "questionable" leg selling is nothing but a character trait, so it's pointless to bring it up every time, especially in this match where Tanahashi made sure he fucking sells it like a motherfucker, which led to the greatest struggle I've seen in modern pro-graps since the KOPW '12 main event.


----------



## Boots To Chests

Saintpat said:


> It's all subjective, a lot of apples and oranges, but the three best matches I saw in NOLA on WM weekend, in no particular order, were:
> 
> Steen-Elgin, ROH Supercard of HOnor
> 
> Gargano-Lo Ki, DG USA Mercury Rising
> 
> Bryan-HHH, WM 30
> 
> All definitely ****+ IMO


We agree on the Steen-Elgin match. It was awesome sitting ringside next to you as we witnessed it.


----------



## Violent By Design

I thought Tanashi vs Nakamura at Invasion Attacks was their best bout as well. I'd certainly give it a *YES*

Is it MOTY? I'm still thinking Cesaro/Zayne or Cesaro/Cena, but Tanashi vs Nakamura is top 4 for me along with Shield vs Wyatt.


----------



## Bubz

Heres what I wrote on the WM matches I liked. Contains Spoilers so beware if you still haven't seen it or heard about it but that seems impossible at this point...

I thought Hunter/Bryan was fantastic, and far better after re-watching it. The atmosphere was absolutely tops and the Bryan support was off the chain. I actually feared people would cheer Triple H here, especially after his entrance which was AWESOME AS FUCK. But no, they stayed loyal to Bryan and it made the match that much better. Hunter was actually really good imo, or at least far better than anyone could have ever thought he would be. I really dug Bryan's shoulder being used as a way for him to control the match and make it interesting. I agree with Seabs that he absolutely wasn't dickish enough, because that could have made this even better. Bryan was on form with his selling here, he looked great with his quick flurries of offense especially towards the end with the two dives which was a great sequence. I liked the submission stuff, I LOVED everything that happened leading up to the Pedigree and then everything that happened after it until the finish. I would have liked more hate for sure, but what they did was top notch and had me fully invested, especially the second time. I really dug the Pedigree nearfall tbh, if only because part of me actually thought Hunter might have the audacity to put himself over, despite me knowing in my gut that they'd do the right thing. I love how they've protected Bryan's knee, has anyone ever kicked out of it? Absolutely a great match. ****

Cena/Wyatt I didn't know what to think of watching it live at all. It felt weird in parts, really good in others and then really cheesy at points too. On a re-watch I thought it was actually great, with some amazing visuals. I really liked the story they were going for here, but Cena's acting was so cheesy it was funny and that portion of the match with him trying to control the 'monster' was pretty silly but I enjoyed it. Everything I loved about this came from Bray though. He's Incredible. That spider thing, his control of the crowd, his gestures and expressions and his trash talking are all amazing. But that spider thing. Oh my god that spider walk. The visual of the crowd swaying along as he 'brainwashes' them was so....awesome. I don't know, I get what Seabs and Dan are saying about the crowd but I can't help but be in to the crowd following Wyatt. It just fits. it fits the character and the story and his promos and the way he plays up to it is a thing of beauty. He's becoming one of my favourite guys to watch in the world right now. Might be hyperbole but I don't know, I think he is genuinely that captivating in the ring. I was invested in everything he did in this. Everything after the initial Cena story stuff was just great, apart from the barricade spot which kind of sucked. Finishing run wasn't fantastic or anything either and nobody will have thought that first AA was the finish. I don't like Cena winning either but I expected it so it's fine, despite the obvious fact that Bray winning does infinity times more for everyone involved than Cena winning. Oh well. Good stuff though, and I'd honestly throw about **** at this despite there being obvious flaws in some of the execution of the story. This was the Bray Wyatt show btw. Did I mention that he's awesome? Because he is. ***3/4

The main event was very by the numbers until Triple H and Stephanie came out and then it got AWESOME and I was into absolutely everything they did. Bryan taking out the authority for good, using the sledgehammer etc, the dive. Bryan did it. He got me in to a match I had no real interest in bar the outcome, and not only that, he did it after The Undertaker lost at Wrestlemania, and he got the crowd back in to it too. Bryan is the best. The table spot was INSANE. Bryan going off on a stretcher and then crawling back in to the match was just awesome to me, it was heroic and idiotic and the exact thing that made the fans love him so much. I was in to every near fall, and not since Punk/Cena MITB have I wanted someone to win so badly. I was almost freaking out towards the end of this, and then when the finish happened I pretty much lost my shit. That was just an incredible moment to me, and I don't understand people not being drawn in to those near falls and Bryans performance and that finish. Moments like that are why i watch wrestling. This felt like all the shit Bryan has been through was worth it to me. Bryan Danielson won the main event of Wrestlemania 30. Maybe I'm just more in to the product than everyone else, maybe I'm more in to Bryan's chase than everyone else or maybe I'm more of a nerd, but that was magical. ****+

So YES to Bryan/Triple H and Bryan/Orton/Batista.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

RAINNMAKAHH said:


> Dick Tana is the best Tana.


I vastly prefer "getting hit in the face really hard by Kanemoto" and "getting his hair pulled by Yano" Tana.


----------



## Saintpat

Boots To Chests said:


> We agree on the Steen-Elgin match. It was awesome sitting ringside next to you as we witnessed it.


Great meeting you and getting to watch a great card with you guys. Hell, we were practically part of the ladder match (g).


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Nakamura vs. Tanahashi at INVASION ATTACK gets barely **** 1/2 from me


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yes!
Ishii vs Naito 
Invasion Attack 
****1/2

Yes!
Tanahashi vs Nakamura 
Invasion Attack 
****1/2



Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Obfuscation

Oh SHIT forgot there was the third Naito vs Ishii match lined up for Invasion Attack. Tonight will be a grand ol affair.


----------



## Kaze Ni Nare

Chismo said:


> When it comes to Shinsuke's matches, complaining about that is pretty much beating the dead horse at this point. I guess his "questionable" leg selling is nothing but a character trait, so it's pointless to bring it up every time, especially in this match where Tanahashi made sure he fucking sells it like a motherfucker, which led to the greatest struggle I've seen in modern pro-graps since the *KOPW '12 main event.*


I would say something like "Suzuki should of won that fucking match," but I think everybody knows how I feel already. :side:

My boy couldn't just get a month or two title reign could he ... FML :no:

:


----------



## Obfuscation

Akiyama & Kanemaru racked up two very good championship defenses on back to back _(chronologically)_ shows for All Japan. Really impressed w/both.

*All Asia Tag Team Championship*

Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru(c) vs SUSHI & Menso-re Oyaji - _AJPW: 2/23/14_​
Well mapped out and executed splendidly. SUSHI & his equally goofy looking counter part made the effort to rip off their "lighthearted" masks w/food toppings to reveal new masks that didn't have the garnish on top. Right from the start the effort was made to show these two are taking the championship shot very seriously. Mesh in the story of the match being SUSHI constantly trying to piss off Akiyama to say "hey, I'm not sweating you dude. I'm taking your gold." Of course Akiyama got totally pissed and got to bully SUSHI around for a bulk of the constant. SUSHI playing the FIP role well, good work shown by all four. Akiyama pulling through was needed. He can be lazy but he was working here. A sleeper hit of a finishing stretch w/a wildly fun, active crowd _(they were digging the show the whole night)_ all sewn up by a finish that was almost to be expected, but managed to still only happen on the whim of luck & talent by the Burning vets.


*All Asia Tag Team Championship*

Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru(c) vs Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takeo - _AJPW: 3/18/14_​
A super awesome job at keeping the pacing alive from their previous six man tag a few shows prior. That match was worked under a balls to the wall style, as was this match. Proper aspects went down, such as Akiyama being the big jerk who could control the DDT standouts on a moment's notice. It didn't get to happen often, but he tried his hardest to make it do so. Elevated boston crabs from that dude are no joke, apparently. Ouch city. Team Dream Futures are bringing the goods. Even w/o the addition of the sterling Shigehiro Irie, both Ishii & Takao compromised w/their own talents aiding them during this dizzying bout. Another reason why I dug this as much as I did, is b/c it was the polar opposite of what Burning's previous championship defense was structured under. Something about going from this side to the other - while keeping the previous story from another match in tact - was neat. Glad they did it. Gives it that feel of "more areas hit" during their reign. Not to mention the match here was just flat out done well. It didn't go too long. 13 minutes by full duration, but 11 and some change actually shown on the TV airing. It never got to the point of being "ugh" w/the fast pacing. Considering how some promotions book matches like this, but they have to go near 20 or 20+ minutes and it's near unbearable. NOAH did that on a recent show and it went 30. Was horrible. All Japan used their noggins here. It fed well into the capabilities of those involved - mostly the juniors, but again Akiyama pulled his weight - and clicked so the audience could buy the thought of new champions.


----------



## jarrelka

Nervosa said:


> I'll be repeating what many did last year, and use this post as a running list for the year.
> 
> *****
> None
> 
> ****3/4
> None
> 
> ****1/2
> NJPW Goto vs. Okada New Beginning in Osaka 2/11
> WWE Shield vs. Wyatts Elimination Chamber 2/23
> 
> ****1/4
> WWE Cesaro vs. Cena RAW 1/17
> NJPW Goto/Shibata vs. Okada/Yoshi-Hashi New Beginning in Hiroshima 2/9
> NJPW Nakamura vs. Tanahashi New Beginning in Hiroshima 2/9
> 
> ****
> NJPW Tanahashi vs. Nakamura Wrestle kingdom 1/4
> WWE Bryan vs. Wyatt Royal Rumble 1/26
> NJPW Okada/Nakamura/Ishii vs Goto/Tanahashi/Naito 2/02
> WWE Cesaro vs. Zayn NXT:Arrival 2/27



Nice ratings but I cant see how you'd put cesaro vs cena ahead of zayn vs cesaro at arrival. Personally I feel the match with Cena was overrated. A solid 3 and a third but not anywhere close to the 4 star range.

Agree about goto vs okada and shield vs wyatts at the top two though. Personally Id put cesaro vs zayn in the third spot.

Zayn vs Cesaro at arrival had anything you can ask from an american wrestling match. Fantastic storytelling with regal as the icing on the cake, tons of emotion, great pacing, lots of cool spots that fit the story of the match. That uppercut on Sami when he flyed through the ropes and the uppercuts at the end with sami not giving up and there were very few botches if any the thing just floated like a glas of water. Rollercoaster of emotions. I started the match rooting for cesaro but ended up rooting for zayn towards the end. The crowd was into it and that standinf ovarion for sami at the end was ace.

Shit I even want to put that match ahead of shield/wyatts because shield and wyatts were destined for sucess because of the hype. The crowd were chanting this is awsome before it even began. Zayn and cessro were working for the fourth or fifth time with not alot of build and pulled off an amazing match. That to me was wwes moty so far.


----------



## Obfuscation

And just like that the All Asia Tag Team Championship match from 3/18 wasn't even the MOTN...


Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki vs Suwama & Hikaru Sato - _AJPW: 3/18_​
What in the world did I just see? Start of Xceed vs Evolution is off to some rousing success. Shiozaki & Suwama getting ultra pissed at each other, letting their past series get the better of em, and going all around the building wanting to beat the piss out of one another was tremendous. Honestly tremendous. It sure as heck wasn't meant to be there to help, but the roaming camera attempting to follow both around being shaky was a BIG FUN PLUS added in watching these dudes maul. Felt like some sort of intense found footage of a fight to the death. Those booming sequences would stay for the entire match. You know what else this heated match made me realize? I need a Shiozaki vs Sato match immediately. Omg please All Japan. Their sequences in this weren't of the long variety, but damn did they do the perfect job teasing me on how awesome a match between 'em would be. Holy crap this match rocked.


----------



## Rah

*YES*


Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW King of Pro Wrestling) - Rah watched an NJPW match. Rah liked an NJPW match! I'd say that's a large enough praise, considering how disillusioned I've become with their current product. Tanahashi was undeniably great in this, and it's a nice change of pace from the rather plodding affairs I've seen of his. While others find the "less is more approach" to Tanahashi's character a selling point, he often comes across as a flattened, one-dimensional character. Not here, though, as his character work, while still minimally introduced, add the little touches that spice up his workovers. That isn't to say some parts didn't drag but, when they did, he'd bust out something and all would be forgiven, again. That HFF to Nak's legs being a highlight, of course. It's too bad he's working an absolute scrub, though. Nakamura's pathetic selling is a running gag, at this point, and, as a viewer, I feel cheated in wasting my time in watching his leg being worked over when there isn't a definitive reason as to why it's happening (if Nakamura is just going to throw things off). He gets the selling down to pat while Tana is in control, and is rather spectacular in emotively selling pain, but it all falls off the rails when he takes control or things aren't in a lull.

This is all Tanahashi firing on all cylinders for twenty five minutes, delivering his best performance in a long, long time and it's all worth it just for that. I'd hate to think where this would reach, if Nakamura played ball, but this could have lead up to being a true gem amongst the puroresu fold. That said, this is still a really good match and the best out of NJPW. I still need to catch up on the AJPW nominations, but I'll have this as a tentative Japanese MotY.


----------



## Bruce L

Just finished HHH/Bryan. Not sure if it's quite a YES vote for me; it didn't do _quite_ as much for me as Bryan/Wyatt from the Rumble or Shield/Wyatts from EC, and the latter especially was borderline for me despite really liking it. But still, great stuff.

Belated YES to Tanahashi/Nakamura from 2/9. Also, I believe I voted NO to Naito/Ishii from 2/11; upon a rewatch, I'd like to change that to a YES.


----------



## Concrete

Looks like I have a NJPW match to watch...and some Akebono because I'm a FATTY or CHUBSTER fan. 

PS Rah, if the tag involving Hechicero and Solar doesn't show up on the interweb by year's end I will curse the gods.


----------



## Violent By Design

jarrelka said:


> Nice ratings but I cant see how you'd put cesaro vs cena ahead of zayn vs cesaro at arrival. Personally I feel the match with Cena was overrated. A solid 3 and a third but not anywhere close to the 4 star range.
> 
> Agree about goto vs okada and shield vs wyatts at the top two though. Personally Id put cesaro vs zayn in the third spot.
> 
> Zayn vs Cesaro at arrival had anything you can ask from an american wrestling match. *Fantastic storytelling with regal as the icing on the cake, tons of emotion, great pacing, lots of cool spots that fit the story of the match.* That uppercut on Sami when he flyed through the ropes and the uppercuts at the end with sami not giving up and there were very few botches if any the thing just floated like a glas of water. Rollercoaster of emotions. I started the match rooting for cesaro but ended up rooting for zayn towards the end. The crowd was into it and that standinf ovarion for sami at the end was ace.
> 
> Shit I even want to put that match ahead of shield/wyatts because shield and wyatts were destined for sucess because of the hype. The crowd were chanting this is awsome before it even began. Zayn and cessro were working for the fourth or fifth time with not alot of build and pulled off an amazing match. That to me was wwes moty so far.



Well, people who are fans of Cena vs Cesaro would just say the same thing about that match minus the Regal. :

I think the story of Cena vs Cesaro was better than Cesaro vs Zayn. I thought Cena vs Cesaro was a perfect way to put someone over in a competitive match. I loved watching Cena meet his match when it came to herculean strength, and I got a vibe that Cesaro was better because he was younger/hungrier than Cena as well, like he was Cena 2.0 and Cena was outdated. I think if Cena vs Cesaro was on a PPV, a lot more people would be willing to call it MOTY.


----------



## vault21

XWT's registrations closed again. 

No way to open another leacher account for a while :wall


----------



## Groovemachine

*The Shield vs The Wyatt Family - WWE Main Event 04.08.14 - ***3/4*

Sure, it wasn't as glorious as their EC encounter, but it's worth a pimping for sure. Ambrose was man-of-the-match here, putting in a fantastic performance, taking an extended beatdown, selling really well, and having some great hope spots. Shield have really done well with their face turn, and they're starting to incorporate some new stuff to appeal to the crowd, and it's clearly working wonders. There was a pretty solid 'Ambrose' chant that went up in the crowd when he was the FIP, so he's doing something right.

The last few minutes were hectic, with action coming from all directions, and it was genuinely 'exciting'. They were all on form and had perfect timing, which made it all look so smooth and seamless. Great character work from all 6 men, but that kinda goes without saying these days.


----------



## Chismo

*The Shield vs. The Wyatts* from Main Event 4/8 was almost as good as their first match. Almost. These guys know how to do meaningful and steady workovers, they know how to pace a match, and they're good at what they do. No dull moments, at all, everything is meaningful. So happy for Black (Rollins) and Brodie Lee (Harper) to find success in WWE, I feel like Harper is the best guy from both units, and he might accomplish the most if he plays his cards right. You know this is good when the praise comes from a guy who's not emotionally invested in WWE whatsoever and only watches the most pimped matches, heh.

****1/4


----------



## darkclaudio

IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 6/04/2014 ***3/4


----------



## Obfuscation

Concrete said:


> Looks like I have a NJPW match to watch...and some Akebono because I'm a FATTY or CHUBSTER fan.


:mark:

Although, skip the Miyahara defense. Unfortunately a bad Akebono performance. I dunno what happened to him on that night, injured or just plain off, but he was dying to catch a breath. And not of the normal b/c he's huge & FAT either. Normally he's quite lively. Nonetheless, the rest are all worth seeing. Tag team w/Yutaka Yoshie is the right side of too much blubber to handle.


----------



## Concrete

*Rush/Marco Corleone/La Mascara vs. ***** Casas/Shocker/Ripper(CMLL 3/28/14):***3/4*
_This match is solely awesome because of half of the components. Rush, Casas, and Shocker are being as violent as ever with stomps to the head and overhand chops galore. Rush hasn’t really been on fire this year but there is something about Shocker and Casas that make him want to unleash an unholy amount of destruction on his opponents. The same probably could be said for Shocker towards Rush and Casas since when he’s not around them he is pretty low-tier but with them he’s a world-class ass kicker. Okay, maybe not world-class but definitely still an ass kicker. I absolutely adored how him and Casas ganged up on Rush like a couple of no good thugs in a back alley, kicking the man while he was on ground until the referee had to stop that madness. If you don’t love Rush’s dropkicks then I feel bad for you cause he landed some real beauts including a real swell surprise one on Casas. So with all this kicking of ass the other three didn’t add much of anything. Mascara pulls the hair of Casas and Casas tears the mask of Mascara which is something I suppose. Also Corleone remains a tall guy who dives into the ring. So there’s totally that. But yeah, watch this for the violence. _


*Hechicero vs. Cavernario(CMLL 4/8/14):***3/4*
_Hechicero has to be in my working Top 5 for WOTYC. He isn’t getting a bunch of opportunities to work in bigger singles matches, or even better trios matches, but that doesn’t stop him from ruling the world. In less than ten minutes, him and Cavernario tear it up, showing what lucha is all about. This match had some neat matwork early, an insane bump in the middle, and a rather a nice ending series. That bump! Hechicero continues to show how much of lunatic he is when he looks like he’s going to break is darn neck off a leap onto a guardrail. How does Carvernario decide to follow that up? By delivering a splash from the top turnbuckle all the way to the floor. I truly am a sucker for the Titan of Twirling doing his thing so when Hechicero goes from looking like he’s going get his head cracked by some elbows before showing is beautifulness to twirling the crap out of Cavernio, I screeched with joy. If there is a better sub-ten minute match this year then it’ll have been a real doozy of a year for the short stuff. 
_​
I'm so conflicted, I've heard the Miyahara match is one of the bright spots of the year for AJPW.


----------



## Obfuscation

Those who made that claim must really be masked by a lacking David vs Goliath formula or something. Akiyama/Kanemaru vs Guys w/Food Masks was a much better match worked under that umbrella within All Japan. Of course, opinions.

Although as a guy who's come to be a pretty big Akebono supporter, I wasn't pleased.


----------



## Chismo

HayleySabin said:


> :mark:
> 
> Although, skip the Miyahara defense. Unfortunately a bad Akebono performance. I dunno what happened to him on that night, injured or just plain off, but he was dying to catch a breath. And not of the normal b/c he's huge & FAT either. Normally he's quite lively. Nonetheless, the rest are all worth seeing. Tag team w/Yutaka Yoshie is the right side of too much blubber to handle.


Yeah, he has pneumonia, he missed the last tour.

But that's why his Shiozaki title defense rocked.


----------



## vault21

Can't wait for the next Akebono vs. Nita No Ropes Electrified Ladmine Timebomb Inferno Drumsticks & Lighttubes thing. It's gonna be so horrible. :mark:


----------



## Obfuscation

Chismo said:


> Yeah, he has pneumonia, he missed the last tour.
> 
> But that's why his Shiozaki title defense rocked.


Answer received. Knew there was something off.

Goodness. I think it just hit me on how I didn't give the Akebono vs Shiozaki match a plug on my list. Need to check...

Akebono sumo slappin' was something else. Go wants to chop hard? K, here's the fat sum bitch ready to rocket the snot, piss, and other fluids and junk right out of him. Giddy, yet again from the blubber.



vault21 said:


> Can't wait for the next Akebono vs. Nita No Ropes Electrified Ladmine Timebomb Inferno Drumsticks & Lighttubes thing. It's gonna be so horrible. :mark:


DON'T TEASE ME IF THIS ISN'T HAPPENING


----------



## Rah

Figures that when I finally love an NJPW match, there isn't anyone talking it up outside of Chismo. Heh.

Will do an update on the MotYC list, now, but I think I really need to write my own down. I haven't up until now and I'm struggling to remember what order I had them in my head, so this is probably wrong. :side:



> 1) The Wyatts Vs The Shield (WWE Elimination Chamber)
> 2) Sami Zayn Vs Cesaro (WWE NXT ArRIVAL)
> 3) The Wyatts Vs The Shield (WWE Raw 03/03)
> 4) Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (WWE Royal Rumble)
> 5) Cesaro Vs John Cena (WWE Raw 17/02)
> 6) Virus Vs Titan (CMLL 28/01)
> 7) The Wyatts Vs The Shield (WWE Main Event 08/04)
> 8) Tanahashi Vs Nakamura (NJPW Invasion Attack)
> 9) Rush Vs Shocker (CMLL 21/03)
> 10) Elimination Chamber (WWE Elimination Chamber)
> 11) Daniel Bryan Vs HHH (WWE Wrestlemania XXX)
> 12) The Real Americans Vs Rhodes Dynasty (Main Event 18/03)


----------



## Obfuscation

After tomorrow, I'll have a comment. Bank on it.* Hoping it's more Wrestle Kingdom and less New Beginning, as I happen to prefer the former much more.

_*checking off my Edge "give me heat now" phrase circa 2005 from my bucket list._

Annoying observation, Rah. Think you mean Tanahashi vs Nakamura's event to be labeled as "Invasion Attack" over King of Pro Wrestling. 8*D


----------



## Rah

That I did. If there's any glaring evidence as to how out the loop I am, that's it right there.

*NOMINATE*

Rush Vs Shocker (21/03/2014 CMLL) - This isn't a MotY and this isn't a Rush defining performance. What it is, though, is a really cool aspuestas with Rush doing his damndest to kill Shocker and Shocker trying his damndest to return the favour. I adored how Shocker took to Rush, who was cowering in the corner reflecting on how he lost a fall, with stiff kicks to the throat almost as if to say "I was the one trained by Satanico, not you, kid". The first two falls were really well structured in keeping Rush looking like a chaotic madman and Shocker, the veteran, finding ways of trapping Rush. An instance that almost brought about a straight falls win for Shocker mere minutes into the bout. I can equally appreciate the gesture in how Rush won the second (with a capture pin that he almost lost to), even if Rush's execution of the move wasn't as smooth as Shocker had laid it out as.

I rather enjoy mask matches for the teases in the match. I also rather enjoy how Rush carries his hair as an important part of him, so these matches really do mean something. Inversely, though, I loved how this felt more than just a hair match. This was personal, and the match played as a means of having a proving ground upon which they had almost no rules stopping them from bringing out their animosity for the other. From start to finish this was pure, unadulterated violence where if you even dared to wince, your opponent would take control and it would be Goodnight, Vienna.

It's almost a pity that this appears clipped in places as it, at one stage, jumps from Shocker taking a huge dive from Rush only to then be in control with a submission following the replay. At least it appears we got all of the goodness, though. I've never been a Shocker advocate but he damn well tried hard here to make Rush look like the star he is.


_____________________________________________________________

In the interest of not double-posting (though I think this may deserve to be a separate post), here's the updated list. Not much change in the last month, considering most talk focused on German suplexes and Takayama. Because.

Puro:
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 12 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Tetsuya Naito (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
Okada, Nakamura, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanahashi, Goto, Naito & Captain NJ (NJPW 05/01)|| YES = 1 ||
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Masato Yoshino (DG Infinity #324) || YES = 3 ||
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara (NOAH 19/01) || YES = 1 ||
Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW 02/02) || YES = 4 ||
Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (Dragon Gate 12/01) || YES = 3 ||
Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki (AJPW 05/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 15 ||*
The Young Bucks Vs Time Splitters (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
*Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 12 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Hirooki Goto (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 7 ||
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata Vs Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 2 ||
Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Shigehiro Irie Vs HARASHIMA (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada Vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW 42nd Anniversary) || YES = 2 ||
Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa Vs Shinya Ishikawa & Shinobu (BJW 02/03) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet Vs Uhaa Nation (Dragon Gate 06/03) || YES = 1 ||
Taiji Ishimori Vs Daisuke Harada (NOAH Great Voyage 08/03) || YES = 4 ||
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW New Japan Cup 15/03) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato (BJW 26/02) || YES = 1 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 7 ||
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 2 ||




US Indy:
Trent Barretta Vs Anthony Nese (Evolve 25) || YES = 1 ||
Sigmon Vs Vordell Walker (TCW 14-01) || YES = 1 ||
Johnny Gargano Vs Uhaa Nation (Evolve 27) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Roderick Strong (RoH 01/02) || YES = 1 || 
AR Fox Vs Chris Hero (Evolve 23/02) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs JT Dunn (Beyond Wrestling Critical Acclaim) || YES = 1 ||




WWE:
*Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (Royal Rumble) || YES = 26 ||*
Daniel Bryan Vs Randy Orton (Raw 03/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Cesaro Vs John Cena (Raw 17/02) || YES = 20 ||*
*The Wyatts Vs The Shield (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 28 ||*
Elimination Chamber Match (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 4 ||
*Sami Zayn Vs Cesaro (NXT ArRIVAL) || YES = 25 ||*
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Raw 03/03/2014) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs HHH (Wrestlemania) || YES = 7 ||
John Cena Vs Bray Wyatt (Wrestlemania) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs Batista Vs Randy Orton (Wrestlemania) || YES = 3 ||
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Main Event 08/04/2014) || YES = 1 ||



Lucha Libre:
Virus Vs Titan (CMLL 28/01) || YES = 4 ||
Rush Vs Shocker (CMLL 21/03) || YES = 1 ||


Legend:
*Bold Red Text*: matches with a score of 10 or better
Red text: matches with a score of 5 or better


----------



## Chismo

HayleySabin said:


> Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki vs Suwama & Hikaru Sato - _AJPW: 3/18_​
> What in the world did I just see? Start of Xceed vs Evolution is off to some rousing success. Shiozaki & Suwama getting ultra pissed at each other, letting their past series get the better of em, and going all around the building wanting to beat the piss out of one another was tremendous. Honestly tremendous. It sure as heck wasn't meant to be there to help, but the roaming camera attempting to follow both around being shaky was a BIG FUN PLUS added in watching these dudes maul. Felt like some sort of intense found footage of a fight to the death. Those booming sequences would stay for the entire match. You know what else this heated match made me realize? I need a Shiozaki vs Sato match immediately. Omg please All Japan. Their sequences in this weren't of the long variety, but damn did they do the perfect job teasing me on how awesome a match between 'em would be. Holy crap this match rocked.


That was a glorious match. Poor Sato, this match was supposed to be about his quest to prove he’s Evolution-worthy, instead he almost got overshadowed by Suwama and Go, who pretty much DESPISE each other at this point. They’re bound to meet in this year’s Carnival finale, and it’s going to rock the world. 

****1/4


----------



## Nervosa

jarrelka said:


> Nice ratings but I cant see how you'd put cesaro vs cena ahead of zayn vs cesaro at arrival. Personally I feel the match with Cena was overrated. A solid 3 and a third but not anywhere close to the 4 star range.
> 
> Agree about goto vs okada and shield vs wyatts at the top two though. Personally Id put cesaro vs zayn in the third spot.
> 
> Zayn vs Cesaro at arrival had anything you can ask from an american wrestling match. Fantastic storytelling with regal as the icing on the cake, tons of emotion, great pacing, lots of cool spots that fit the story of the match. That uppercut on Sami when he flyed through the ropes and the uppercuts at the end with sami not giving up and there were very few botches if any the thing just floated like a glas of water. Rollercoaster of emotions. I started the match rooting for cesaro but ended up rooting for zayn towards the end. The crowd was into it and that standinf ovarion for sami at the end was ace.
> 
> Shit I even want to put that match ahead of shield/wyatts because shield and wyatts were destined for sucess because of the hype. The crowd were chanting this is awesome before it even began. Zayn and cessro were working for the fourth or fifth time with not alot of build and pulled off an amazing match. That to me was wwes moty so far.


Thanks for the kind words. 

If you look here: http://www.wrestlingforum.com/other-wrestling/1073625-2014-motyc-thread-43.html#post30805506 and read the whole page, you'll kinda see why I wasn't crazy about Zayn vs. Cesaro. 

I love both guys, and I loved the action, and youre right, they hit everything clean. My Big thing is that they basically had the exact same match in 2011, and I thought that one was better, especially in how the incorporated the legwork, which I saw as the key to both matches. Most of the spots are even the same, and I thought the legwork was better in that one, too. The one thing this match had that the 08 one didn't is the 'stay down, Sami' sequence, which I thought came off a little forced and lame. Good match, but its not in the great category for me.


----------



## Bruce L

I know not everybody who's talked about it here wasn't crazy about it, but I'm gonna throw some mild applause at Akebono/Miyahara. When I watch Akebono matches, which is rare, I'm really not looking for him to do anything particularly impressive, so his apparent illness-imposed mediocrity here was negligible for me in the face of Miyahara's awesome "overmatched hero" performance. Certainly not a YES, but definitely a match that I wanted to talk about here. And now I have.


----------



## Bubz

Cody, thoughts on Wrestlemania?

I'mma watch Tana/Nakamura tomorrow. Hopefully this is the match I know they can have together because even though I've liked their first two matches this year, they've kind of left a bit to be desired so far. That's fine though considering they were probably holding off for their third.


----------



## Nervosa

Nakamura vs. Tanahashi
***3/4
Its definitely exciting, and I think for a lot of people, this will be the match of the year, but I think when it comes to what I personally look for in a match, there are just a lot of things I don't dig.

The legwork is an obvious one. Its just worse here, even by Shinsuke's standards. I understand chismo's point about it being a dead horse, but it just minimalizes the struggle, for me. After the first leg-centered comeback flurry of moves, completely ignoring what I have been watching for the last 5 minutes, I was never going to believe a second one. Sorry, but that's just how it looks to me. I never even felt worried about Shinsuke after that first little comeback. He's great at selling it when he's on the defensive, at as soon as he's on offense, its gone. It wasn't so bad when it seemed like it was an exception, but now its the rule. 

Then, we have the Bome Ye not only being spammed, but being used as just another move. Was it four or five that won the match this time? I know not everyone thinks this way, but I think finishers need more protection than this. To me, that's what made new Japan great the past two years 97% of the time, whoever hits their finisher first wins. These days, it would legitimately surprise me if Shinsuke ever won with the first boma Ye of the match. Remember how INSANE it was when Ibushi kicked out of the first one at G1? Now, one Boma Ye is nothing. Here, 3 Bome Ye were nothing. 

Lets also talk about how awful Tanahashi's application of the Figure Four is. Not just here...always. It looks like the most easy thing to escape ever. Not only does he not hook both legs properly, he stands as straight as he can instead of leaning back on it...even just a little. When Shinsuke flipped him through, it looked easy. 

I also just didn't think the action here was all good. The workover was excellent, but that kinda all gets thrown out when Shinsuke is just gonna shrug it off. I also think Tanahashi had so much control that I don't think Shinsuke's comeback evened it out. While the figure four counter into the armbar was cool, it should have been a hold that made the crowd go crazy, but it didn't even seem like anyone thought that was the legitimate end of the match. It was too late in the match and had too little of a build to have much meaning, rendering it into basically a late match rest hold. 

So I guess ***3/4 stars for a good body of a match with a couple nice counter sequences, but on the whole just not what appeals to me about wrestling.


----------



## flag sabbath

@Nervosa



Spoiler: Tanahashi vs. Nakamura finish



Don't know if you noticed, but the Boma Ye was repeatedly unsuccessful with Nakamura using the worn down left knee, but immediately got the job done when he switched to the right.


----------



## Obfuscation

Chismo said:


> That was a glorious match. Poor Sato, this match was supposed to be about his quest to prove he’s Evolution-worthy, instead he almost got overshadowed by Suwama and Go, who pretty much DESPISE each other at this point. They’re bound to meet in this year’s Carnival finale, and it’s going to rock the world.
> 
> ****1/4


Sato will have more chances. Love him in the fold w/Evolution right at the start. I like the guy a lot, so it says it all when he's associated w/some big company.

As for Go vs Suwama to the fourth power, are they in the same bracket? b/c I kind of want to say they aren't. But if I'm correct, then my projected guess for the finals will be just that - Go vs Suwama. All I know is Go vs KENSO rematch is signed for the first night of the Carnival and I can't wait to see it.



Bruce L said:


> I know not everybody who's talked about it here wasn't crazy about it, but I'm gonna throw some mild applause at Akebono/Miyahara. When I watch Akebono matches, which is rare, I'm really not looking for him to do anything particularly impressive, so his apparent illness-imposed mediocrity here was negligible for me in the face of Miyahara's awesome "overmatched hero" performance. Certainly not a YES, but definitely a match that I wanted to talk about here. And now I have.


Miyahara was good in his role and was working hard to put over the story. I'm still bummed by the result, but a rematch in the future w/Miyahara wanting to come back w/more fire to nudge out the win - for the championship or not, pride can be the next hurdle imo - would be something I'm down for.



Bubz said:


> Cody, thoughts on Wrestlemania?


Original post a few days ago in the general match/dvd thread:



Spoiler: thoughts



Tag Championships was blander than dry toast. But the aftermath is all that we cared about & they delivered w/that. So, a proper start there. And good for them to give the match time, even if nothing was accomplished w/it.

Danielson gave Triple H his best match since...goodness I have to go all the way back to 2008 vs Jeff Hardy iirc. Great stuff. Danielson was the underdog, but he still managed to dictate the pacing to where he just gave off that natural aura of elevating anyone he's in the ring w/. Triple H busting out a Tiger Suplex? No friggin way. He'd ONLY do that vs Danielson & on the stage they were at. Steph & Trips hit their roles wonderfully and there isn't a bad thing to say about the entire match/angle. I wasn't a fan of the post match beatdown, but as it proved, that worked equally well into the events later on in the night. I walked into the match lukewarm b/c it's Triple H, but despite letting further knowledge of Bryan Danielson not swaying me, I left digging everything about it. Dunno why I didn't believe in Danielson to make the most out of Triple H come through. The guy gave the best match to KENTA w/only one friggin arm. A tremendous best match at that. And KENTA sucks big time. But yeah, all of this was strong. No denying.

Shield squashing the old guys was basically genius. Kane can continue on being w/the Authority like how he is and the Outlaws got the piss beat out of them by three talents who are younger, better, faster, etc so they can never show up again. Fact that, iirc, Billy Gunn actually got injured only makes it come off BETTER. Someone out there is probably a bit miffed The Shield didn't get much "time" at WM. That's a weak complaint. Instead they looked amazingly dominate and reborn. This was their resurrection - from heels to full tilt babyfaces. All three looked great.

Battle royal was a battle royal. It was bleh until you had the people who mattered remain and then it started to pick up on the whim of some excitement. Kofi Kingston is a fucking moron. Nothing changed. Cesaro being put in it had to give me hope that he'd win it. And he did. Yet again, another sign of tremendous & logical booking shown by WWE on this night. Ideal candidate won. Match served a purpose. Cesaro is here. And MY STARS at how he won the match too. Amazing.

Cena vs Wyatt sits as my "MOTN". Absolutely loved it from start to finish. The character work, the storytelling. Enthralling pieces brought to life. This is why Wyatt is where he's currently stationed at right now & it's where the worth of Cena comes into play. Even w/the loss, Wyatt is still actually smelling like a rose. I didn't think it would work if he lost, but I'm convinced it has.

Undertaker vs Lesnar. Well. I don't have much to say here. Not on the match. I actually thought the match is good. Really good, tbhayley. I'm alone in that and that's fine. Doesn't bother me. I already knew it was going to get heat b/c of the way it was done. But I felt more storytelling was put forth and done very well. We just didn't believe the outcome the match's story was leading us to would actually happen. Then it did. Aftermath...words don't do my emotions justice. I broke down.

Divas match was the most brilliant piece of crap I've had the pleasure of watching. Eva Marie's amazing push, stare, blow a kiss sequence. Everything I hoped. Totally shit. Bless them.

Main event was tremendous & full tilt excitement. Again, all aided by Bryan Danielson. Batista was still pretty bad during this. But not enough to where he killed anything. Just more for a chuckling purpose w/him doing horrific bumping off a drop toe hold of all things. Orton was fine. I guess I can call him "good" or whatever, but largely he was just there. Story of him these days. He added to the match when he needed to w/Danielson & didn't take anything away. That's what he should have done. My brother made a joke earlier in the night - during Triple H vs Danielson - about Scott Armstrong needing to show up for an awesome moment. THEN BOOM. HE DID. I loved that. Actually made that angle come full circle and not a forgotten moment where it looked like the booking had a lapse of oxygen w/their angles. Amazing how properly booked this match was. Like really. The company that had a good angle start at SummerSlam, screw it up only a few weeks later and then become bad by the time we're building to this show only for the actual turn out go ABOVE & beyond all our expectations. Glad they came through. Take lukewarm or no hype whatsoever and churn out, not only a great main event, but a great event on the whole. Danielson winning was the definitive bliss I had hoped for. And needed after the most crushing thing I've ever had to deal happening only an hour or so prior. Forgot to mention that yeah, again Triple H & Steph did their roles well here too. Trips getting the sledgehammer to the face & EATING IT ruled. Took it like a champ. Danielson being put on the stretch only to get off of it and eventually win. YES YES YES. As the Foley nut I am, I had to take it as the next best thing since Mick did it at KOTR 1998. Nothing short of win here.

The way I buttoned this up via text to some pals is what I'll use here: The most emotional WrestleMania I have ever seen.



Lacking in some more details say for why the four matches on the show made my list here, but I think the gist is implied. I'll be watching it again soon, etc.

And shit. I failed in my own words last night. Didn't get around to Invasion Attack today. Damn life being life. TOMORROW. So I say...


----------



## Chismo

HayleySabin said:


> Sato will have more chances. Love him in the fold w/Evolution right at the start. I like the guy a lot, so it says it all when he's associated w/some big company.
> 
> As for Go vs Suwama to the fourth power, are they in the same bracket? b/c I kind of want to say they aren't. But if I'm correct, then my projected guess for the finals will be just that - Go vs Suwama. All I know is Go vs KENSO rematch is signed for the first night of the Carnival and I can't wait to see it.


Have you seen Sato's farewell match from DDT? It's from 1/26, and it's beautiful. Also, have you seen his semi-shoot delicacy with Mochizuki? Goddamn, it was awesome.

Looking at the matchcards from the last All Japan tour, and seeing all those Evolution/Xceed trios... :homer They didn't air on TV, but hopefully we find it on DVD some day. Hopefully.


Btw, so much indie guys from Japan are killing it this year:

K-HASH
Irie
HARASHIMA
Kohei Sato
Hikaru Sato
Mochizuki


----------



## Obfuscation

I watched the Sato match from DDT, but I really didn't give it the proper amount of attention I should have. That along w/the tag straps three way are on tap to be seen again for both reasons. Sato vs Mochizuki was great. Had some hype from you plugging it prior and it lived up.

That list of talent :banderas

While I wasn't into Mochizuki vs Suzuki from All Japan, rest of his resume that I've seen has ranged from at least good - terrific. Hardly scratched the surface w/Dragon Gate in 2014, however, he's had two standout matches. Says it all. And I don't need any more excuses to talk about Irie & K-Hash. Dudes rule it all. Been saving the Zero-One Kohei Sato matches for a rainy day. If they're near what he's been producing in BJW, I'm in store for more great shit.


----------



## Bubz

Glad people dug the main event of Mania. I know some thought the match wasn't great but I disagree because the story they did in the match was so fucking awesome. The overbooking was perfect. Is it overbooking when it's actually awesome? I think it is but anyway, it absolutely ruled and I flipped my shit at least 7 times in the match.

Danielson is fucking king btw. Goes out to Mania and gets great matches out of Triple H and Batista and Orton. What a stud. (Even though Triple H was really good too).


----------



## Nervosa

@flag sabbath

That is a good point, and I did indeed notice that, especially playing to the finish. If it was just one of each, it still would have done the job of that story just fine. Because it was more, it was frustrating. 

It also wouldn't have been as big of a deal if he wasn't doing the exact thing without switching legs for like 8 months now.


----------



## Bruce L

I'm just gonna make a list of matches I want to give a YES to, after having watched a bunch in the last few days that I've been waiting on. (Still have a lot to go, too.) Apologies for any tallying confusion this causes, since I know I've already YESed a bunch of these.

Puro:

Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (Dragon Gate 1/16)

Tanahashi, Goto, & Naito vs. Okada, Nakamura, & Ishii (New Japan, 2/2)

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (The New Beginning Night 1)

Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii (The New Beggining Night 2)

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto (The New Beggining Night 2)

Ricochet vs. Uhaa Nation (Dragon Gate 3/6)

Taiji Ishimori vs. Daisuke Harada (NOAH Great Voyage 3/8)

Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre, Jr vs. Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge (NOAH, 3/21)

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Invasion Attack)

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito (Invasion Attack)


US Indy:

Johnny Gargano vs. Uhaa Nation (Evolve 27)

Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet (Open the Ultimate Gate)


WWE:

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (Royal Rumble)

The Shield vs. the Wyatt Family (Elimination Chamber)

Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (NXT ArRIVAL)

HHH vs. Daniel Bryan (WrestleMania)


----------



## Violent By Design

Bubz said:


> Glad people dug the main event of Mania. I know some thought the match wasn't great but I disagree because the story they did in the match was so fucking awesome.* The overbooking was perfect*. Is it overbooking when it's actually awesome? I think it is but anyway, it absolutely ruled and I flipped my shit at least 7 times in the match.
> 
> Danielson is fucking king btw. Goes out to Mania and gets great matches out of Triple H and Batista and Orton. What a stud. (Even though Triple H was really good too).


Nah, but it's just easy to call it that so everyone knows what you're talking about. I guess convoluted would be a better word? :ex:


----------



## Bubz

Tanahashi/Nakamura from Invasion Attack was fantastic and their best match together. Both guys did a great job with their roles in this one, Nakamura's selling was fine to me, he sold incredibly well when he was getting worked over and the long term selling probably could have been better but it's just one of those things that for one reason or another didn't bother me in this at all because his come backs were short and sweet and he got shit done instead of trying to fanny around with fancy stuff. The opening portions were better than they've done so far too, especially with Tana completely heeling it up and oh my god was he brilliant in control of this. I mentioned it above but Nakamura's initial selling of the workover was pretty fantastic and leaps ahead of previous matches. Tana getting as brutal as he did with the leg after the inital comeback was my favourite part of this, and the way he changed things up and countered stuff into moves focused on the leg was great. Dropping the leg over his knee like a backbreaker after catching a kick was incredibly unique and something I don;t think I've seen before. The final comeback was awesome because it starts with a desperation armbar out of a cloverleaf attempt that caught Tanahashi off guard enough for a sick knee to the back of the head that was pretty much his downfall. Loved that. I loved the final minutes because Nakamura threw absolutely everything out there to get the job done once and for all with Tanahashi being completely taken out of his game by that armbar and earlier knee, so much so that it allowed a fucking onslaught of kicks and knees to the face because that's what Shinsuke does best and when he got the chance he took it. I thought this was terrific. *****1/4*

Shield/Wyatt's from Main Event 8/4 was fucking great too. Not on the level of the EC match which imo is the closest thing to a 5* match the company has done for years, probably since Taker/Angle NWO '06 for me, although it's been ages since I saw that. Punk/Cena from Summerslam '11 and Taker/HBK WM 25 are also pretty close but Shield/Wyatt's was just unbelievable to me and unlike anything I've seen in a WWE ring. Anyway, this one was real nice and then reached that next level when Ambrose started getting worked over. He's such a good babyface FIP worker, something I would have never thought before these Wyatt matches. Hell of a fun finishing run and everyone looks great again. ***** *


----------



## Bruce L

Just finished Tanahashi/Nakamura from Invasion Attack, and while I didn't like it quite as much as their New Beginning match, it still gets a YES from me. Not sure why anybody was complaining about Shinskay's selling of the knee in this match in particular, since I thought he did a better job of it here than usual. I don't expect somebody whose signature move is a knee strike NOT to use the knee just because their opponent is focused on it, and he did a great job showing that everything he did took something out of him. He certainly never forgot about it, and I don't really ask for more than that. Good, good stuff.


----------



## Violent By Design

I didn't think Nakamura's selling was bad either, surprised to hear the complaints about it to be honest.


----------



## Chismo

Glad to see Shield/Wyatts rematch getting more love. I think many people overlook just how good the first, steady part of the match was. Simple, effective and meaningful workovers. Not as good as the Chamber match, but pretty damn close.

BUBZ, daaaayum, just imagine the bitterness when I saw only 4.25 after such a favoring write-up for Nakamura/Tanahashi. :arn2 I'm pretty sure it's one of those matches that will be more appreciated in the future, I can already see in 20-30 years a group of young dudes on some message board making their picks for Top 30 of this decade, and one of them starts yelling at others to watch this match he just discovered. :lelbron


----------



## Srdjan99

YES for Tanaka/Hero from DGUSA: Open the Ultimate Gate. ****1/4 from me, it really was an amazing match.


----------



## flag sabbath

I just watched Tanaka vs. Hero. It was pretty much what I expected from these two in 2014 - tons of stiff strikes & some hot near-falls, but with a flat, overcooked finish ****1/2*


----------



## Nervosa

Bruce L said:


> Just finished Tanahashi/Nakamura from Invasion Attack, and while I didn't like it quite as much as their New Beginning match, it still gets a YES from me. Not sure why anybody was complaining about Shinskay's selling of the knee in this match in particular, since I thought he did a better job of it here than usual. I don't expect somebody whose signature move is a knee strike NOT to use the knee just because their opponent is focused on it, and he did a great job showing that everything he did took something out of him. He certainly never forgot about it, and I don't really ask for more than that. Good, good stuff.


I would say he did forget it. In the first comeback, he did like three running knees into the ribcage in the corner. That's forgetting it. all the leaping kicks and the flying knees that composed most of his SECOND comeback...that's forgetting it. Everytime he did that, he minimized what Tanahashi had spent so many minutes working on.

I agree with your 'this match in particular' comment, though. This is pretty much par for the course for shinskay, these days. That said, I'm still not ok with it at all. I held it against him in his other matches, and I hold it against him here, too. Its just that the workoever was so awesome here that his no-selling stuck out more.

I gotta wonder why people give KENTA such a hard time for no-selling, but Nakamura gets a pass for it. I know shinsuke is COOLER but they are doing the same things, here.

I'm not expecting him to not use the knee for his finisher, in the same way I don't expect Okada to not to use the rainmaker when his arm gets worked over. What I DO expect is that their comeback does not primarily use the very limb that was worked over. Okada always sells his arm, even on offense, and scarcely uses it unless its either to get feeling back in it, or for the finisher, and even then, he always looks like he regrets it. Okada freaking sells it when he GLOATS for Gods sake. Sinsuke just literally forgets what he has spent hte last ten minutes doing. For me, that's why Okada is the greatest and why shinsuke has been very disappointing for me since the G1.


----------



## Concrete

*The Shield vs. The Wyatts(WWE 2/23/14):****1/2*
_After all the hype I wasn’t sure if this match could ever match it but I suppose I never really should have questioned it. They didn’t start this one hot and heavy but instead threw some gnarly punches which did my heart some good. Felt like when both teams had their time to shine early they both used teamwork but in different ways. The Shield was tagging in and out like a machine while the Wyatts were trading off mauling duties. There is something about Ambrose that I both love and hate. His wild and crazy offense fits perfectly with his character but it barely looks like he’s even making contact with the target. Maybe I’m just a prick since I rarely see comments feeling that way. Love how this turned into a decent, simply moving along sort of match into complete chaos. You’ve got Ambrose and Wyatt brawling into the crowd, Harper doing a dive, Rollins being chucked threw a table, just craziness. This match in the most fantastic of ways; Reigns, a man who has been built up as a potential one man wrecking crew, being put to the test against the Family and comes oh so close to dismantling them only for family to put an end to his conquest. 
_

*Rush vs. Shocker, HAIR vs. HAIR(CMLL):***3/4*
_Rush and Shocker in the ring together leads to men trying to kill each other for the entertainment of the fans. Rush in these brawls almost always comes off completely reckless in the best way possible. His running stomps onto a prone Shocker in the corner are only more satisfying as he slips off during his raining of pain as if he is not focused on a move but on punishment. Shocker came off as a complete ass kicking vet in this match. Him taking liberties with the rules and rudely attacking Rush between falls was beautiful. Shocker seemed like he was going to take Rush’s hair by stomping him until he could not be stomped no more. There also an instance in this match where Rush takes Shocker onto the ramp looking probably to put an end to the older man only for the vet to take advantage of the cocky youngster and bring the German onto the ramp. Violent hair match that you’d expect from these two._​


----------



## Chismo

Fale/Nakamura (NJC Finals) was great. It started good, with simple power workovers by Fale, nice comebacks by Shinsuke and two typical Bullet Club interferences, but then Shinsuke got juiced big time, and it created some swell drama that elevated the match to the "great" territory. Bad Luck Fale rocks. ****


----------



## vault21

Can't get into him because of two things, that mohawk and "The Grenade". Ruins the guy completely for me.


----------



## Groovemachine

*Johnny Gargano vs Ricochet - Dragon Gate USA Open the Ultimate Gate 2014 - *****

OK, there's a section of this match where they both take a gazillion superkicks and practically shrug them off, but if you can overlook that moment of idiocy, you'll find a lot to enjoy here. I actually enjoyed the ref bump in this one as it allowed Gargano to try all the heelish tactics he's pulled off over the course of his reign. I particularly loved him pulling out the shoestring and choking out Ricochet, reminiscent of his actions when he faced SHINGO and turned heel last year. The ref bump also led to an inspired near fall where the place goes nuts (well, all 80 people in the crowd...) as it seemed a given that Ricochet was done. A feel-good ending capped this one off and it's currently in my Top 10 of the year.

As a side-note, I didn't think too highly of Tanaka/Hero. It was fine, nothing more, nothing less.


----------



## flag sabbath

Ricochet vs. Gargano started off well, with the sustained (by 2014 indie standards) advantages, but I was bored with it a good 10 minutes before the end. I don't doubt some folks will love it & yes the 'crowd' was into it. I guess I'm just done with the modern independent style where more is becoming less & less every year. 

My favourite match on the show was Low Ki vs. Trent?, which had most reviewers moaning about the 'abrupt' finish. It was actually a much-neeeded, massively credible breath of fresh air here.


----------



## Chismo

vault21 said:


> Can't get into him because of two things, that mohawk and "The Grenade". Ruins the guy completely for me.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

*Bryan/HHH* - **** 1/4 - *YES*

This ruled, as expected. Starting with the handshake, it was great. The flip off the top rope, the germans, the tiger suplex from HHH, HHH using the Yes lock, the false finishes, Stephanie heeling it up hard from the outside, and the story of it all just made this win much more sweeter. Finally Daniel Bryan defeated the Authority. Awesome stuff.

*Cena/Wyatt* - *** 3/4

Cena/Wyatt was great. I think it was better live, but the acoustics of the building would have you to believe the crowd wasn't so much into the match (but there really were). Wyatt was fantastic and John was pretty good. Bray seemed like a real threat here and I wish he would have won, but it's fine. Bray has had 2 great matches with Cena and Bryan this year and nothing but good things can come from this. 

*Bryan/Orton/Batista* - **** 1/4 - *YES*

Main event was amazing. I thought Bryan would be just limping around the whole match and have a good comeback at the end but despite the shoulder injury, he was full of heart and worked a good match. Not the best wrestling you've ever seen, but some awesome spots (that Batista Bomb into an RKO was epic), HHH, Steph and Scott Armstrong getting suicide dived into and the sledgehammer just made it awesome. The false finishes made my heart stop. I really thought the fans were going to get screwed again. But Bryan hitting the knee AND making Batista tap was just icing on the cake. Me and my friend hugged and jumped up and down like little school girls and he lifted me in the air. My biggest mark out moment since Punk beat Cena at MITB 2011. It's long overdue but Daniel Bryan is finally the WWE World Heavyweight champion and this will be remembered as one of the greatest moments in the history of wrestling. 

*Naito/Ishii* - ****

Another great match from these two. The headbutt was brutal. That reversal was amazing. Naito landing on his head like 5 times made me cringe. Crazy, intense stuff. Not as good as their match at the New Beginning, but still awesome. 


Was not a fan of *Tanahashi/Nakamura*. Just don't enjoy those type of matches (attacking a limb for 20 minute). Just not my thing (please don't kill me Chismo). 


Still have ROH, Dragon Gate USA, and the Wyatts/Shield from Main Event to watch.


----------



## Obfuscation

I'm feeling totally lazy but I just have to stop in saying Tanahashi vs Nakamura from Invasion Attack was the best of the three this year for me, and def a top three match for me on the whole year so far. God damn fabulous. Story defined as what I heard - Nakamura is gonna have to sell that damn leg/knee b/c Tanahashi will fucking snap it in two w/High Fly Flows and inverted dragon screws if he continues to engage at full speed. Damn near perfect as far as I'm concerned. Rabid knee that nearly knocked Tanahashi out and set Red Shoes the official flying. YESSSSSSSSSSSSS; what a hell of a match.


----------



## Miguel De Juan

Nervosa said:


> I would say he did forget it. In the first comeback, he did like three running knees into the ribcage in the corner. That's forgetting it. all the leaping kicks and the flying knees that composed most of his SECOND comeback...that's forgetting it. Everytime he did that, he minimized what Tanahashi had spent so many minutes working on.
> 
> I agree with your 'this match in particular' comment, though. This is pretty much par for the course for shinskay, these days. That said, I'm still not ok with it at all. I held it against him in his other matches, and I hold it against him here, too. Its just that the workoever was so awesome here that his no-selling stuck out more.
> 
> I gotta wonder why people give KENTA such a hard time for no-selling, but Nakamura gets a pass for it. I know shinsuke is COOLER but they are doing the same things, here.
> 
> I'm not expecting him to not use the knee for his finisher, in the same way I don't expect Okada to not to use the rainmaker when his arm gets worked over. What I DO expect is that their comeback does not primarily use the very limb that was worked over. Okada always sells his arm, even on offense, and scarcely uses it unless its either to get feeling back in it, or for the finisher, and even then, he always looks like he regrets it. Okada freaking sells it when he GLOATS for Gods sake. Sinsuke just literally forgets what he has spent hte last ten minutes doing. For me, that's why Okada is the greatest and why shinsuke has been very disappointing for me since the G1.


Shinsuke can hulk up that is why I can buy it. Kenta is a junior heavyweight competing out of his league. He just seems to hit moves without emotion these days.


----------



## Rah

*YES*

*The Wyatts Vs The Shield (WWE Main Event 08/04)* - What makes this pairing so great is how nuanced each member is. Everyone is so well characterised, and plays greatly into their identities. Continuing their trend of disproving their detractors, this match would become Ambrose's showcase in how to meander seemlessly into the face role, despite most fans hesitations on Ambrose being limited to heel work in his talents. I'd much love for him to make his punches a little meatier, but he sure does swell in portraying the crazy SOB with the wild-ass punches. What's even better is that he's one damn tremendous FIP, and great playthrough into Rollins' hot tag. Ambrose almost devolves into childlike grandeur, at a point, when Bray is maniacally challenging the trio and you can't help but smile at his obvious fetish for the bizarre.

Fair dues to Rowan, he doesn't much look it, but his strength is rather freakish in how he held onto Rollins following what seemed like a botched takedown. What ensued, following, was an image of Rollins clutching like a leech to its host, slowly sucking the energy from the giant in the hopes of making his comeback. It's really a feather in Rollins' cap that he can transition in minutes from a face being worked over to the wild, hot tag, DIVEZ~! machine. The praise cannot lie solely on the two babyfaces, though, as Rowan and Harper plug in their denies and big-move offence so seamlessly that each segment reels in the viewer and audience, alike.

This doesn't quite have the chaotic barbarism of the first two encounters (outside of the finishing run), yet the others don't quite have something touching Ambrose's level here. The bumping felt too manufactured, too, sadly - most notably towards the end where Reigns bumped a little too hard for Harper's high spots. The addition of some off-timed moves and double-teams and this places behind their previous outings but still high in the grander scheme of things.


----------



## bigbuxxx

My MOTY list so far. Not sure which ones I've given a YES to but I would for all on this list.

1. Wyatts vs Shield - Elimination Chamber
2. Zayn vs Cesaro - ArRIVAL
3. Ishii vs Naito - Invasion Attack
4. Bryan vs HHH - Wrestlemania XXX
5. Tanahashi vs Nakamura - Invasion Attack
6. Ishii vs Naito - New Beginning Night 1
7. Bryan vs Batista vs Orton - WrestleMania XXX
7. Naito/Tanahashi/Goto vs Ishii/Nakamura/Okada - 2/2
9. Bryan vs Wyatt - Royal Rumble
10. Cesaro vs Cena - RAW 2/17 
11. Tanahashi vs Nakamura - New Beginning Night 2
12. Shibata vs Goto - WK VIII 
13. Tanahashi vs Nakamura - WrestleKingdom VIII
14. Naito vs Okada - WrestleKingdom VIII
15. Wyatts vs Shield - RAW 3/3
15. Wyatts vs Shield - Main Event 4/8
16. Ishii vs Naito - New Japan Cup 3/15
17. Orton vs Bryan - RAW 2/3
18. Goto vs Okada - New Beginning Night 2


----------



## The Black Mirror

*Caleb Konley vs. Cedric Alexander - PWX Rise of a Champion IX (February 15, 2014) - ★★★★ (YES!/NOMINATED)​
So, as you can probably tell, I am way behind with my watching of professional wrestling. As I'm sure many of you can relate, personal life tends to get in the way of things like watching wrestling on a pretty regular basis.

Premiere Wrestling Xperience (PWX) is an independent promotion that is based out of my hometown (Charlotte, North Carolina). The company has been around for a while now and has been slowly growing and gaining more and more exposure. I've known about the promotion since late 2012 and had been on the fence about buying tickets to one of their monthly shows ever since. Although I have watched my fair share of independent wrestling, I had never been to an independent wrestling show before and I guess I kept talking myself out of it, as if the "amateurness" of it all would not appeal to me. That's what happens when you've been taught the "WWE way" as a wrestling fan. I'm sure that statement speaks for itself, but what I'm trying to say is that I fell in love with WWE's brand of wrestling as a pre-teen in the post-Attitude era. It's been a struggle for me ever since to branch out and learn to appreciate non-WWE wrestling, although I have really come into my own as a wrestling fan the last couple of years, though.

I was making a terrible assumption the entire time with respect to seeing independent wrestling live and I'm glad that I finally bit the bullet and purchased tickets. I went to their television taping in Charlotte this past Saturday and really had an awesome time. In fact, I think I may be hooked now. They run shows (2-3 shows) one weekend each month and I'm already making my plans to go to one of the shows at the end of May. In preparation of going to the live event this past Saturday, I sat down a few days ago and decided to watch The Rise of a Champion IX PPV so that I could become acclimated with the characters of the promotion. I had a pretty good time watching the entire event, but I was really blown away by the work of Caleb Konley and Cedric Alexander in the main event.

I believe that somebody earlier in this thread stated that this match was a little too "indyriffic" for them. I can certainly see where they were coming from, as this match did seem to follow the typical independent main event formula. Maybe I am giving these guys more than the benefit of the doubt since I just got to see 1/2 of them (Konley) tear it up live this past weekend at my first ever independent show, but I thought that this match absolutely rocked. They told a really good story, which I'm not used to seeing from small independent promotions. The story was already covered in earlier reviews of this match, so I will spare you the details now. The guys really had good chemistry in the ring, probably due to the fact that they have worked with each other for a while now. The small local crowd was very into the match. I didn't like the ending very much, as it happened pretty abruptly. That little bit brings the rating down just a bit for me. The only other thing that brings this down is because this is such a small company and the match was performed in front of a fairly small crowd. I've explained before that my ranking system is based on a "totality of the circumstances" type approach. I won't explain myself again, but I think most of you can understand where I am coming from.

In summary, I really enjoyed this match and I was so much more excited to go to the television taping after I watched this one. After attending the television taping, I became absolutely hooked on this promotion. On Friday night, the two had their rematch for the belt at an event titled Gate City Battle in Greensboro, NC. I won't spoil the results of that, since I imagine most of you have not seen it yet. In any event, these two are supposed to have a third match at the next PWX event on May 24, 2014. They have not announced where in North Carolina the show will take place and I do not know if it will be an iPPV. I do know that I will absolutely buy tickets to this event. If you like independent wrestling, do yourself a favor and check this match out. You might find yourself as hooked as I find myself. "Indyriffic" or not, these guys are really helping to build something special for the independent wrestling world in the Carolinas.*


----------



## Concrete

*Black Panther/Blue Panther/Cacharro vs. Felino/Puma/Tiger(CMLL 3/24/14):*****
_Workratey lucha and it is swell! I have to assume if Puma and Tiger worked American indies they’d be universally praised is one of the best duos around for throwing mean superkicks as well as being fast and fluid. Their pendulum splash sorta thing is neato. Early matwork in this are the business which should be no surprise since Blue Panther was leading one, with Puma, and a game Felino leading the other, with Cacharoo. The Felino and Sons did some nice rudo stuff like pretending to walk out and Tiger telling Cacharro that if he tries to get in the ring he’s going to try and low blow him with the rope. Wasn’t anything out of this world but nice to see any time in wrestling cares about heel and faces. Unlike with some of my grievances with certain puro and indie matches this match leads to a super duper hot finishing run with everything before it still be quite enjoyable. That finishing though was hot as could be. You have Black Panther springboarding from the corner to the outside, Cacharro evading Felino to hit a wicked dive,Felino and Panther going at it and MORE! It was more awesome than my words can probably portray. Match from beginning to end was chalk full of action and just a ton of fun._​


----------



## Chismo

Fuck yeah, some pimped lucha, finally! :mark:

I gotta pimp Tanahashi & Makabe vs. Anderson & Gallows from the latest New Japan Korakuen show. Four stars easily. Also, Yujiro & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Goto & Shibata from a month ago. YOSHI-HASHI = hero.


----------



## ByTor

bigbuxxx said:


> My MOTY list so far.


Because I'm bored.....

1. Wyatts vs. Shield- Elimination Chamber
2. Cena vs. Cesaro- Raw 
*These two tend to switch back and forth a lot. Wouldn't be shocked if they're both topped before the year is out.
3. Bryan vs. Triple H- Wrestlemania
4. Bryan vs. Orton vs. Batista- Wrestlemania
*Again, much switching between these two.
5. Bryan vs. Wyatt- Royal Rumble- Wasn't feeling this quite as much as most people. Bryan's leg work didn't go anywhere. Best part of this for me was Wyatt's now typical awesome antics.
6. Barrett vs. Sheamus- Raw- Probably overrating this but it was awesome to see live. A real unexpected treat. Didn't care much for the finish though.
7. Wyatt Family vs. Rhodes Brothers & Rey- Raw- Most of it was so-so but this had my favorite balls to the wall finishing sequence of the year. Liked the Sister Abigail out of nowhere on Rey even more than the SA into the barricade on Bryan at RR.

*Haven't watched much non-WWE. (and I haven't even watched a ton of WWE tbh) Just some ROH TV and the Baltimore show this past Saturday, two or three NJPW matches, and a TNA match or two.


----------



## Concrete

I have oddly high hopes for that King Ace vs. Bullet Club match. Cause Gallows and Togi has to be cool, right?

And yeah outside of WWE this has been a slooooooooooow year everywhere else in my eyes which hits lucha too sadly. CMLL has Virus, Blue Panther, Casas, Rush, Hechicero, and Titan(lesser of the bunch) yet I can't get weekly MOTYCs. Life sucks.


----------



## Obfuscation

I would say watch more All Japan or K-HASH matches, but that's proven to be enjoyed, but not loved to the level of where I'm at. DAMN YOU. Nah, not really. Maybe a little. Did you see Irie vs HARASHIMA from DDT 1/26? One of the best on the year; easily. Like really fecking easily. For my money. And it isn't much. So I save up for the stuff I feel is really worth it.

WWE's pool of about 10 dudes or so continues to kill it. So while the product is and has been junk for 2014 _(longer than that, but that's not my point)_, those dudes collectively keep me from going insane while watching. New Japan hasn't ever hit a low point for me yet, other than having the Gracies around and winning matches. When only one of their matches - their most recent - served a comedy purpose. I'm still getting tons of blissful tags elsewhere on the roster, so I suppose you can say I don't really give a damn. And yes; they must book Makabe vs Gallows immediately. I was lucky enough to get Makabe vs Fale and it ruled my world. Now I need the next best thing. And considering who Gallows is, the quality on tap has range to be even BETTER.


----------



## Concrete

I haven't seen the Irie vs. HARASHIMA match but it should be in my Watch Later List on DailyMotion(easily the coolest thing I've discovered DM can easily do). 

And to be fair towards All Japan and K-Hash they very well could be making my Top 100 matches in a real weak year that it has been for me. Then again we aren't TOO far into it. Only takes one company going bonkers though for me to fall in love. Lots of companies have pieces. Just gotta get one to put them together.


----------



## Chismo

Weak year? Smh.


----------



## Concrete

I did say for me 

The stuff that people are touting as great aren't hitting the sweet spots for what I'm quite looking for. What that exactly is? I don't know, I just know it when I see it. Shite answer? Maybe, but it is how I view my RASSLIN'!


----------



## vault21

Concrete said:


> I did say for me
> 
> *The stuff that people are touting as great aren't hitting the sweet spots for what I'm quite looking for. What that exactly is? I don't know*, I just know it when I see it. Shite answer? Maybe, but it is how I view my RASSLIN'!


Fatties :dirk


----------



## Obfuscation

Totally. Fatties for life. Solution to everything.


----------



## flag sabbath

The wrestling world shows were mostly forgettable, NJPW by-the-numbers fare, but the closing six-man stood out as a typically slick & exciting number. And it was great to see KUSHIDA hanging with the big boys ****3/4*


----------



## Obfuscation

It was the two KUSHIDA matches on both nights that piqued my interest the most. Praise heading for it is the proper step I was hoping to hear.


----------



## Violent By Design

Concrete said:


> I haven't seen the Irie vs. HARASHIMA match but it should be in my Watch Later List on DailyMotion(easily the coolest thing I've discovered DM can easily do).
> 
> And to be fair towards All Japan and K-Hash they very well could be making my Top 100 matches in a real weak year that it has been for me. Then again we aren't TOO far into it. Only takes one company going bonkers though for me to fall in love. Lots of companies have pieces. Just gotta get one to put them together.


Hm, weak year really? I know we've been on a down period for a few weeks, but there have been spurts where bunch of MOTY contenders have showed up at the same time. WWE has been pretty delicious this year, and Japan has its fair of fun matches so far too.

I think it's certainly been an improvement from last year personally.


----------



## Chismo

Concrete said:


> *Black Panther/Blue Panther/Cacharro vs. Felino/Puma/Tiger(CMLL 3/24/14):*****
> _Workratey lucha and it is swell! I have to assume if Puma and Tiger worked American indies they’d be universally praised is one of the best duos around for throwing mean superkicks as well as being fast and fluid. Their pendulum splash sorta thing is neato. Early matwork in this are the business which should be no surprise since Blue Panther was leading one, with Puma, and a game Felino leading the other, with Cacharoo. The Felino and Sons did some nice rudo stuff like pretending to walk out and Tiger telling Cacharro that if he tries to get in the ring he’s going to try and low blow him with the rope. Wasn’t anything out of this world but nice to see any time in wrestling cares about heel and faces. Unlike with some of my grievances with certain puro and indie matches this match leads to a super duper hot finishing run with everything before it still be quite enjoyable. That finishing though was hot as could be. You have Black Panther springboarding from the corner to the outside, Cacharro evading Felino to hit a wicked dive,Felino and Panther going at it and MORE! It was more awesome than my words can probably portray. Match from beginning to end was chalk full of action and just a ton of fun._​


Just watched this, and yes, it was a great match. Four stars it is.


----------



## Concrete

It was weird to me that my opinion really didn't solidify until I started skipping through the match to make sure I got certain things right and at every point I felt like there was something enjoyable going on that wasn't just POP! POP! (Cue Magnitude)

Oh and the weak year thing doesn't apply to WWE. At this point last year NJPW had produced several matches I thought were great and one that was my MOTY for some time and still ended up like #2 or so. I haven't gotten that from them. Lucha has had some fun stuff. Hoping they have a Rush vs. Casas like awesome feud thing that produces some AWESOME stuff.


----------



## The Black Mirror

*I just watched EVOLVE 25 since there were four matches from that show that popped up in here. Only two of those matches appealed to me, although neither one of them was good enough for me to personally recommend. Chris Hero vs. Ricochet was just not my cup of tea at all. The match had its moments, but overall, it just fell pretty flat. It was pretty much the same for me when it came to AR Fox vs. Davey Richards as well. The match had its moments, but overall left me feeling a little on the bored side. It should be mentioned that this was my first time watching EVOLVE. As an aside, I think their two commentary guys are beyond annoying. I was wondering if anyone else felt the same way. The two matches that stuck out to me are as follows:

Anthony Nese vs. Trent Baretta - EVOLVE 25 (January 10, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT NOMINATED)

The Bravado Brothers (Lance Bravado and Harlem Bravado) and Johnny Gargano vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) - EVOLVE 25 (January 10, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT NOMINATED)​
I don't want to get into the habit of leaving a ton of feedback on matches that were decent, but not good enough to make my recommended list. I feel that it's best to save the longer prose for the cream of the crop. I intend to watch EVOLVE 26 in the next couple of days since I'm trying to get caught up on wrestling. I will come back here to leave my thoughts on any worthy matches from that show.*


----------



## The Black Mirror

*Next up on my list of wrestling to catch up on was EVOLVE 26. There were three recommended matches from this show that popped up in here. I have rated them as follows:

Ricochet vs. Trent Barreta - EVOLVE 26 (January 11, 2014)- ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT NOMINATED)​
This match was quite enjoyable. I was leaning towards giving this one four stars, but had to knock it down a little bit. Had more been at stake in this match, then this one would've made the four stars, but it lost points for being a mid-card match with nothing for the winner to gain. Regardless, I'd like to see these two wrestle again as they seemed to have pretty solid chemistry.

AR Fox and Uhaa Nation vs. Johnny Gargano and Jon Davis - EVOLVE 26 (January 11, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT NOMINATED)​
This was a solid mid-card tag team match. I was leaning towards a four star rating for this one, but just a few things were bothering me. The match had some really nice stuff at the beginning and the end, but the middle portion seemed to linger for a bit longer than it should have. I know most matches like this have that middle portion where things slow down considerably, but I found that middle portion to wear out it's welcome in this case. Maybe this is on me for being too impatient as I was getting pretty hungry at this point. In any event, it still bothered me. Another thing that bothers me - and this happens all the time (as a matter of fact, Ricochet did the same thing in his match with Trent Barreta earlier in the night) - but I can't stand when wrestlers rush in at the tenth hour to break the ten (or in this case, twenty) count. How is the guy completely out of it at 16 or 17 (in this case) and then all of a sudden has enough energy to jump into the ring just before the referee counts twenty. I know this happens a lot, and honestly, I feel like I've been somewhat desensitized to it, but it's still something that bothers me when rating a match. Another thing that annoyed me with this match was when Uhaa got on the apron to clear out everybody on the outside of the ring. AR Fox was right there when he did this and honestly, Fox took the majority of the impact in this move. Isn't it pretty sloppy that your damn tag team partner just took the majority of your offensive move? Fox sold at first, but then quickly no-sold it and got back in the ring afterward. One final thing that was annoying about this match was that the damn referee seemed to be confused over who the legal man was during a sequence towards the end of the match. He started to count a pin-fall after some AR Fox offense and then also did it after some Uhaa Nation offense which broke up Fox's original pin-fall attempt. Uhaa and AR Fox were tag partners in this match...somebody tell that referee to pay some damn attention. This was an enjoyable match, but it could have been much better without the three issues I just mentioned.

Chris Hero vs. Anthony Neese - EVOLVE 26 (January 11, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT NOMINATED)​
I'm sure that I am doing nothing but stating the obvious here, but: Chris Hero has a wrestling style that is very unique to himself. Sometimes this match style works and sometimes it doesn't. I feel that it did not work well the night before at EVOLVE 25 against Ricochet. Their styles are way too different and it resulted in a match that did not mesh well at all. This match was Tony Neese was much different, however. Neese's style meshes very well with Hero's style. This match was a pleasure to watch. I loved the focus on mat wrestling in this one. I actually wish this match would've gone a little bit longer (maybe an additional five minutes). I especially feel this way when considering that I felt that the tag match before it went longer than it should have. It would have been great if they could have taken five minutes from the tag match and given it to Hero/Neese. These two pulled it off here and I honestly wish it would have been the main event.

Well, I've watched two EVOLVE shows from this year, and none of the matches have been able to make it into four star plus/nominated territory. I plan to watch EVOLVE 27 tomorrow and I will report back with my findings.*


----------



## flag sabbath

*Suwama vs. Takao Omori (AJPW, 13/4):* Chismo brought attention to this Champion Carnival day one main in the Puro match thread, but it deserves pimping here too. I much prefer All Japan's slow-build style, where less is more, every move means something & the finishing stretch is explosive, to the emotionless overkill crap Noah is churning out right now. Anyway, a fantastic, no-nonsense battle ******


----------



## Concrete

*Timothy Thatcher vs. Biff Busick (Beyond Wrestling 4/13/14):*****
_Damn you Timothy Thatcher for being so gosh darn good at what you do. A lot of this match takes place on the mat where Thatcher is one of the best right now. This match was not an exception. Busick isn’t nearly as good as Thatcher in this regard but he knows enough to make it worthwhile. The way Thatcher manipulates Busick’s wrist in this was awesome just contorting it and looking like he wanted to snap the hand clear off Busick. The way Thatcher got out of submissions was great in that it wasn’t this rather clear break into the next submission as Busick sometime was doing but really looking like he was putting effort into using his strength to get himself out of holds. When Busick pulls Thatcher’s arms from behind they did that thing where it looks like Thatcher is going to reverse it but they get right back in the same position. That usually comes off completely hokey but they worked it as if it was truly conceivable that Busick could use Thatcher’s own strength to gain the advantage. Hero versus Rowe from this year felt like two different matches wedged together because the matwork and ending strike rush felt so separate. Here the matwork and striking works really well together. Busick is a better indie striker than a grappler and while Thatcher isn’t as good at striking as working the mat he was still rather awesome. The way Thatcher throws a European uppercut is a thing of beauty. He throws one in particular that knocks Busick into the corner making the crowd go silent in the middle of cheering because of how jarring it was. Thatcher also had this way of actually attempting to protect himself and exploding on an opening. Busick threw some sweet openhand slaps, as well as some not so sweet ones, but lets focus on the sweet ones.This match ended on a good note and this one goes to Busick. It was the biggest standing move in the match and looked perfectly violent enough to end a match. I will say there was one slip up in the match but Busick didn’t skip a beat and grabbed a perfectly logical hold. One of, if not THE best indie match of the year.
_​


----------



## Groovemachine

That Thatcher/Busick match sounds right up my street! A quick search tells me I can get the VOD for $5?! I am so there. What's the rest of the show like?


----------



## Concrete

Whole show lasts a little over two hours and for $5 it is more than worth it in my opinion. Corvis vs Freddie is typical indie if that's down your alley. First match is a short students' match but it is worked pretty unique and I'm interested in more of that. I liked the 4-Way tag fine enough. Has one OMG spot in it(or maybe that's just me).


----------



## Chismo

I'm not too familiar with Thatcher, but Biff Busick is amazing, and more people need to watch his stuff. He's filling Claudio's spot with an ease.


----------



## Obfuscation

I won't pay five bucks for shit like Beyond Wrestling, but I try my hardest to find that Busick vs Thatcher match.


----------



## Concrete

Hayley Seydoux said:


> I won't pay five bucks for shit like Beyond Wrestling, but I try my hardest to find that Busick vs Thatcher match.


BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

If you won't pay $5 to see Monsta Mack do a hurricanrana then screw you! hehe


----------



## Rah

Yet another Thatcher match barricaded by a pay wall.

I guess it's time to finally bite the bullet and buy some shows, exchange rates be damned. Luchamania's and... wait, what do you recommend, Busick or Gulak?


----------



## Concrete

I haven't checked out the Gulak/Thatcher matches yet 

And while I've heard Navarro/Solar was swell I haven't caught it myself. Paid for it though.

*Jun Akiyama/Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Keisuke Ishii/Shigehiro Irie (DDT 4/29/14):*****
_Was not expecting to enjoy this match nearly this match but here I am with a smile on my face. A lot of the awesomeness in this lies in Akiyama being the world of some dwarf planet that we have yet to discover. Throughout the whole thing Ishii and Irie look completely outmatched. Ishii is quick but Kanemaru is quicker. Irie hits hard but Akiyama hits harder. BURNING gets a wee bit aggressive at points in this match and it is awesome. Akiyama tosses Irie into some chairs nicely. Kanemaru gingerly DDTs Ishii onto the exposed floor and Akiyama with his new found free time gives Ishii a bodyslam. Not gingerly whatsoever. The camera focuses on Akiyama dragging a dumb Irie who decided to get up as we see in the background Kanemaru hitting a stomp to the head of an Ishii who was draped over the middle rope towards the outside. It was a fantastic visual. And of course Akiyama gave a DDT to Irie far away from the ring. Came off like a real vet move. Dug the workover on Ishii. Would have dug the match more if Ishii was better but hey, can’t have it all I suppose and at least he delivered the hot tag without looking like a sack of crap which is better than most. Irie and Akiyama are cool. While Ishii and Kanemaru are going at it in the ring the real greatness is going on in the foreground where Akiyama and Irie are duking it out. See Akiyama is trying to get in the ring and while they do the standard, “I’ll just hold you” for like ten seconds it is mostly actual action. And when Akiyama gets in the ring the wait was worth it. The ending is pure perfection. I hopped out of my seat to be honest. All in all what I take most from this match is that Akiyama could be a wrestling messiah in 2014 that I’m not paying enough attention to. Was going to put this at ***3/4 then thought about **** and felt like a pretentious dick so I stuck with it.
_​


----------



## Obfuscation

^the first match was great and it didn't even have Irie in it. I'm gonna watch that match NEXT so I absolutely can't wait to witness it. Expecting the finish to be on par w/my reaction to Danielson winning at WM. IRIE! Ah nuts, I have expectations. Lets hope they meet. And then there was this bad boy:

Suwama vs Takao Omori - _AJPW: 4/13_​
Slow burn meaty portions culminate to an exciting climax. Done like a great piece of film. There's a formula I can get behind. A heavyweight clash presented in a real original format. No frills. All business. When was the last time Omori had a match THIS good? I really liked the match vs Akebono this year. It was simple & a blast, but it wasn't "GREAT", you know? I can't recall the last time. Singles wise, I'm speaking. I know the Get Wild vs Burning tag last year rocked some people's world. Nevertheless of what the facts are, Omori was a big chief w/his performance in this. As too was Suwama. To use a modernist phrase: his swag was off the charts. Suwama relying on a dickish choke to bury Omori once he got his opening was terrific. From that point on even the ref was ruling in this match. Getting Suwama off of Omori then to grab the neck of Suwama to show he's not gonna put up w/shit like that & that he isn't scared. That's AWESOME. Omori selling the choke like death until he was able to get his final burst of life for the finishing stretch. Which was a real stellar showcase. I was sucked into every turn of momentum going from Suwama to Omori, Omori to Suwama, etc. Felt like I was part of the audience eating everything up w/a big smile on my face. The head drops presented in the end; DANGEROUS. Especially the tiger suplex. Phenomenal. Brief detour note on how Suwama was elite as possible when there was a point when he was allowing Omori to rise to his feet & he proceeded to sell his slightly banged up arm & keep that niche alive within the story. It was so great b/c he knew how to keep a portion alive w/o wasting away AND he did a bang up job on giving a tell that he was ready to use his sore arm and risk it to collide w/a beastly lariat. Which he did. Great stuff. Back to a little note on the finishing stretch again; wow. Loved it b/c it isn't exactly what you see too much these days. To have both men exhausted but continuing to press on w/the bomb throwing. Holding your breath anticipating the latest blow to have the ref's hand slap three on the mat, only for it to repeatedly _not_ do so. Every bit of movement in this match mattered. That's where these two really impressed me. I don't know what inspired Omori to come right out and kill it, but it is welcomed in every singles outing he has the remainder of the year. More quality coming out of All Japan. They're having a terrific year. Which is a point I love to keep on stressing. Oh, and a final note: Omori's head scissors counter out of the Last Ride ftw, baby.


----------



## Máscara Dorada

*Dragon Lee vs. Cavernario* in a En Busca de un Idolo match (CMLL 4/29/14)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1...ernario-in-a-en-busca-de-un-idolo-match_sport

_I might be a bit biased here, as the huge Cavernario fan I've become over the En Busca weeks. But this match was absolutely the best to date in the tournament. While Hechicero/Soberano Jr. had some great spots & great work, this match had great spots (to say the least), Cavernario managed to carry Dragon Lee to at least decent work. But this match also had length, and some great psychology. The tope & sunset flip powerbomb to the floor from Dragon Lee are really eyecatching spots. As well as Cavernario's plancha to the floor & powerbomb outside. Just a few things that annoyed me a little. A nearfall where the referee basically blocks the ropebreak for Dragon Lee while he's counting and he has to kick out instead. Not a huge mistake, but at least noticeable. Another thing was with the running low dropkick spot. It's a great move and all, but after seeing Cavernario do it twice and Dragon Lee do it three times(or more?) in 10 minutes, it got kind of played out. Dragon Lee sort of ran out of moves late in the match. Or I've seen him do alot more moves than he did this match, and it shouldn't have been a problem but he made it look that way with a few repeated spots. Anyway, I really fell in love with this match and I'm going to make a little reach, giving it a ****** rating._


----------



## Chismo

Oh gawd, so many stupid obligations today, and I don't feel like doing anything, I just wanna lay back and watch puro and lucha. 

I'm halfway through Max Bump, and it's enchanting. DDT is the best.


----------



## Obfuscation

Too lazy to properly do a write up on the Irie/Ishii vs Akiyama/Kanemaru match for this thread, but yeah, it rules. Got that simplistic tag team formula glory about it. A small, but do'able window of time, leaving more than enough open for a rematch, & spirited emotion of the die hard loyal DDT fanbase. Booking this match in DDT made it destined to be a grand moment. Genius stuff. Wasn't wrong about the finish being on par w/my feel good moment of the year. Btw, I can't be the only person to notice that same dude in the front row of every DDT show w/a smile glued to his face non-stop right? That right there is kind of the love fans have for this promotion in a nut shell. And it can add so much pure fun to the shows when you know fans are that into what is being produced. It's not quite the little kid from BOLA 2011 stuff, although it's along those same lines for me. The other factors for making this sport the greatest.

I have to give Shiozaki vs KENSO from 4/13 a plug in here too. It's an absolute blast, and just a notch below their previous top notch match in January. The interference from Dark Kingdom was one of those shenanigans that was produced in the positive fashion, giving the match a few more wrinkles. Akin to how I felt w/Devitt vs Ibushi from Wrestle Kingdom. The ONLY reason this plug was a bit hesitated on was the bum finish thanks to KENSO apparently blowing out his knee in the end (FUCK) I'm able to forgive something that couldn't be controlled b/c the rest of the...idk, 13 - 14 minutes of the match was very good. They were going full tilt the entire time.


----------



## Groovemachine

*Kazuchika Okada vs AJ Styles - NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 5.3.14 - *****

Yeah, this was niiiiice. Fierce intensity very early on, and the pacing of this was sublime. Loved Bullet Club doing their thing early on, then getting booted out, seemingly leaving us for a straight-up one on one clean contest. Styles had some great offense; the snap suplex into the turnbuckle was particularly ferocious. His counter of the Rainmaker was top notch as well, rolling into a modified leg bar. Okada's selling left a little to be desired; at first it looked like he was doing a magnificent job, selling the heck out of it when he hit the dropkick, but in the finishing stretch he pretty much ignored it. On the whole, though, this was incredibly enjoyable and their styles meshed well. Finished was pulled off superbly as well. A YES nomination from me.


----------



## Chismo

I wouldn't go that far, but yes, it was a very good match. ***1/2 will do it.

I forgot to pimp KUSHIDA vs. Ishii from Taiwan, for the NEVER Title. Four stars it is. You know what you get with Ishii.


----------



## Obfuscation

Totally. Ishii vs KUSHIDA was boss.


----------



## Máscara Dorada

Groovemachine said:


> *Kazuchika Okada vs AJ Styles - NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 5.3.14 - *****
> 
> Yeah, this was niiiiice. Fierce intensity very early on, and the pacing of this was sublime. Loved Bullet Club doing their thing early on, then getting booted out, seemingly leaving us for a straight-up one on one clean contest. Styles had some great offense; the snap suplex into the turnbuckle was particularly ferocious. His counter of the Rainmaker was top notch as well, rolling into a modified leg bar. Okada's selling left a little to be desired; at first it looked like he was doing a magnificent job, selling the heck out of it when he hit the dropkick, but in the finishing stretch he pretty much ignored it. On the whole, though, this was incredibly enjoyable and their styles meshed well. Finished was pulled off superbly as well. A YES nomination from me.


Yes from me too! Very nice match indeed.


----------



## ZEROVampire

30. Kazuchika Okada vs AJ Styles - NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 5/3
29. Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan - WWE RAW 3/3
28. Ricochet & Rich Swann vs AR Fox & ACH - PWG DDT4 1/31
27. Volador Jr. vs Mascara Dorada - NJPW FantasticaMania 1/19
26. Tomohiro Ishii & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 42nd Anniversary Show 3/6
25. La Sombra vs Dragon Rojo Jr. - CMLL Domingos de Coliseo 3/2
24. Michael Elgin & Brian Cage vs Ricochet & Rich Swann - PWG DDT4 1/31
23. Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan vs John Cena vs Sheamus vs Cesaro vs Christian - WWE Elimination Chamber 2/23
22. Kevin Steen, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs Michael Elgin, Mark Briscoe & Jay Briscoe - ROH Raising the Bar 3/7
21. Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt - WWE Royal Rumble 1/26
20. Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 5/3
19. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW Invasion Attack 4/6
18. John Cena vs Cesaro - WWE RAW 2/17
17. Taiji Ishimori vs Daisuke Harada - NOAH Great Voyage in Tokyo 3/8
16. Hirooki Goto vs Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 1/4
15. Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2/11
14. Johnny Gargano vs Chris Hero vs Drake Younger vs Kyle O'Reilly - PWG DDT4 1/31
13. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 1/4
12. Masato Yoshino vs Masaaki Mochizuki - Dragon Gate: Open the New Year Gate 1/16
11. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW The New Beginning in Hiroshima 2/9
10. Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW Invasion Attack 4/6
9. Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 1/4
8. Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan - WWE Elimination Chamber 2/23
7. Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW 42nd Anniversary Show 3/6
6. Triple H vs Daniel Bryan - WWE Wrestlemania XXX 4/6
5. Masato Yoshino vs Ricochet - Dragon Gate: Champion Gate in Osaka 3/2
4. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Hirooki Goto - NJPW Road to The New Beginning 2/2
3. Ricochet vs Uhaa Nation - Dragon Gate: Glorious Gate 3/6
2. Sami Zayn vs Cesaro - WWE NXT ArRival 2/27
1. Tetsuya Naito vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2/11


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Suwama vs Omori ***


----------



## darkclaudio

Extreme Rules
Evolution vs The Shield ****


----------



## Corey

The Shield vs. Evolution & Daniel Bryan vs. Kane from Extreme Rules are both ****+ from me on the live watch. 

6-man was perfect southern style FIP teamwork with a wild stretch thrown in the middle, followed by another nice FIP segment into the fucking crazy closing minutes that reminded me of something you would've seen out of ECW in the late '90s. ALMOST stole the show (in many people's eyes I'm sure it did).

Bryan vs. Kane shocked the hell out of me. Awesome brawl from bell to bell with so many memorable moments sprinkled throughout. Demon Kane was booked to perfection I thought. We could be in the midst of seeing one of the greatest single years ever put together by a wrestler in Daniel Bryan.


----------



## Last Chancery

ZEROVampire said:


> *Suwama vs Omori ***


Is this out of 2.5, or..?


----------



## Concrete

Possibly out of 10. WE CHANGIN' DA SCALES UP IN HERE!


----------



## darkclaudio

Suwama vs Omori was a decent match, but not a candidate for MOTY. (***)


----------



## Obfuscation

Danielson vs Kane was AWESOME. Had a ton of from start to finish in that one.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Evolution/Shield - ****1/2-****3/4

I need to rewatch Kane/Bryan because I wasn't in the mood after the depressing cage match.


----------



## xdoomsayerx

Shield v Evolution: ****
Kane v Daniel Bryan: ***3/4


----------



## KingKicks

****1/4 for Shield/Evolution. Tremendous six man tag. The Shield are so ridiculously great.

Didn't find Bryan/Kane that great on first watch if I'm being honest.


----------



## Máscara Dorada

*Flamita vs. Jimmy Susumu* (Dragon Gate: Dead or Alive on May 5) - *****1/2*


Don't have time to write a long rec for now but I probably will do it later. In the meantime, check this awesome match out!


----------



## Bubz

Shield/Evoluton was GREAT and all because of The Shield. Those guys are just phenomenal and I never want them to split up ever. Rollins is a fucking lunatic. I would never had guessed that Ambrose would be a better babyface than a heel, but here we are and he's fantastic at it in every match they've had since they turned. Crazy how good they were before the turn but they might be even better as babyfaces than heels. All three of them shine in their roles constantly and to be honest credit to whoever is in charge of booking them because I can't remember when the last time was that anyone was booked as well or as strongly as they have been for a year and a half. They are most definitely stars. What's best is that everbody assumed Reigns would be booked strongly and the other two wouldn't, and even though Reigns is clearly their choice to push the hardest, Rollins and Ambrose, especially Rollins, have been booked so strong as well. Rollins is awesome btw.


----------



## seabs

*YES to Shield/Evolution.*


----------



## KicksToFaces!

*Shield vs Evolution*
YES!
loved it. I'll probably rewatch it and then give my final grade, but ****-ish
Shield truly are the best!


----------



## Violent By Design

i went to extreme rules, who here is jel?

(and I missed shield vs evolution because of how shitty the izod center food stands are run, who the hell would put that match in the middle of the card?)


----------



## Bubz

^ Ha.


----------



## Violent By Design

Bubz said:


> ^ Ha.


Man, the people on the lines were sooo fucking pissed. My God, I am never going back there again.

People were begging for HHH to cut one of his 20 minute promos. I honestly should have ran off the line, but it was so small, but the service so slow...


----------



## Saint Dick

YES:

Evolution v The Shield - Extreme Rules (5/4/14)
What a fucking match. Going into it I questioned whether it could be truly great, not because I had doubts about The Shield but I lacked faith in their opponents. I also thought they should've added a stipulation. I can happily admit I was wrong on both counts. Evolution played their part but this was all about The Shield. They made this what it was for sure. I actually thought it was Batista's best showing since his return. Not to say that he was great or anything but he held up his end of the bargain and I can't think of anything to point to as a bad moment from him. Rollins is being praised as the star of the match by most people, and rightly so. Ambrose was right there with him though. He's my favorite FIP worker right now. Such a natural in that role with his facials and wild desperate swings when he's taking a beating. The first half of the match wasn't great but it was very solid. Everything from the hot tag onwards was superb. Reigns is a guy that has question marks over his ability and I understand that. Not sure how good of a singles worker he is or can be. As the powerhouse of The Shield though, he shines in that position and does everything I'd want him to do. The chaos at the end was just so much fun. Completely agree with Seabs about the second half of this being better than that of Wyatts/Shield (overall bell to bell the EC match is still better). Seth's dive from the stands is a spot that will never be forgotten. Awesome stuff.


----------



## ZEROVampire

The Shield vs Evolution. Great Stuff, i love Seth Rollins

******


After Extreme Rules this is my Moty top

My Top 30 Wrestling Matches of 2014

30. Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan - WWE RAW 3/3
29. Ricochet & Rich Swann vs AR Fox & ACH - PWG DDT4 1/31
28. Volador Jr. vs Mascara Dorada - NJPW FantasticaMania 1/19
27. Tomohiro Ishii & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 42nd Anniversary Show 3/6
26. La Sombra vs Dragon Rojo Jr. - CMLL Domingos de Coliseo 3/2
25. Michael Elgin & Brian Cage vs Ricochet & Rich Swann - PWG DDT4 1/31
24. Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan vs John Cena vs Sheamus vs Cesaro vs Christian - WWE Elimination Chamber 2/23
23. Kevin Steen, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs Michael Elgin, Mark Briscoe & Jay Briscoe - ROH Raising the Bar 3/7
22. Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt - WWE Royal Rumble 1/26
21. Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 5/3
20. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW Invasion Attack 4/6
19. John Cena vs Cesaro - WWE RAW 2/17
18. Taiji Ishimori vs Daisuke Harada - NOAH Great Voyage in Tokyo 3/8
17. Hirooki Goto vs Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 1/4
16. Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2/11
15. Johnny Gargano vs Chris Hero vs Drake Younger vs Kyle O'Reilly - PWG DDT4 1/31
14. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 1/4
13. Masato Yoshino vs Masaaki Mochizuki - Dragon Gate: Open the New Year Gate 1/16
12. Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns vs Triple H, Batista & Randy Orton - WWE Extreme Rules 5/4
11. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW The New Beginning in Hiroshima 2/9
10. Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW Invasion Attack 4/6
9. Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 1/4
8. Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan - WWE Elimination Chamber 2/23
7. Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW 42nd Anniversary Show 3/6
6. Triple H vs Daniel Bryan - WWE Wrestlemania XXX 4/6
5. Masato Yoshino vs Ricochet - Dragon Gate: Champion Gate in Osaka 3/2
4. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Hirooki Goto - NJPW Road to The New Beginning 2/2
3. Ricochet vs Uhaa Nation - Dragon Gate: Glorious Gate 3/6
2. Sami Zayn vs Cesaro - WWE NXT ArRival 2/27
1. Tetsuya Naito vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2/11


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yes to The Shield vs Evolution.
****1/4


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## PERFECTSHOW

*YES!* Evolution vs. The Shield (WWE Extreme Rules) ****1/2 - WOW! This was just fantastic, I never had doubts that The Shield would deliver a good match here, but felt going in that it was missing a stipulation to protect Evolutions involvement, I am happy to announce, this match was perfectly fine without any of that, as others have pointed out. This was a great match from both parties & Seth Rollins proves once again that he is the best overall worker in the company right now, I love that he gets to do these showcase spots, this time channeling Jeff Hardy & doing a crazy dive off the balcony. Great stuff...cant say enough good things about it.

Honorable Mention: Kane vs. Daniel Bryan (C) - WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Extreme Rules Match (WWE Extreme Rules) ***3/4 - Not enough to get a nomination from me, but this was a LOT of fun, just a bell-to-bell brawl that I feel we are really missing in pro-wrestling today. I never for one millisecond thought this match would be anything other then entertaining, Bryan & Kane have great chemistry and obviously Kane is a heavily underrated worker. I felt the only part that dragged was all the stuff leading up to the forklift spot, everything before and especially after was great.

I havent posted any of my noms since WM weekend, as I got busy w/ work and was overloaded by wrestling, so as a bit of a late update I thought I'd list all of my Nominations from WM weekend (including Raw, Main Event & SD from the week after)

*YES! Chris Hero vs. Masato Tanaka (DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate) ****1/4* - Good stiff match, better then any of the stuff I saw Tanaka do in NJPW, my only real complaint was that there was so much rolling elbow spam, that I felt sort of desensitized at the end.

*YES! Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano © - Open the Freedom Gate Championship (DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate) ****½* - Probably the best worked indy match I have seen in a LONG time.

*YES! Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii © - NEVER Openweight Championship (NJPW Invasion Attack) ****½* - Obviously not as great as their New Beginning match, but these two have such great chemistry, I could watch 100 more matches between them and still come back for more, of all the matches on the show, this was the one I was most looking forward too and it delivered.

*YES! Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi © - IWGP Heavyweight Championship (NJPW Invasion Attack) ****¾* - This was SOOOO close to perfect. This really needs a rewatch, because I think this may be the best match between the two I have seen yet. 100% this is my current MOTY.

*YES! Triple H vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE WrestleMania XXX) ****½* - WOW! I had no idea Triple H could still go at this level, this was his best match since the Undertake Hell in a Cell and Bryan has been just amazing to watch this year & may be having one of the best runs I have seen in a long time.

*YES! The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield (WWE Main Event) ****1/4* - It's basically a slimed down version of the EC match, with an even better sprint spot at the end, VERY good TV match.


----------



## The Black Mirror

*This is just a quick recap from me after finally finding time to watch EVOLVE 27. There were two matches from that show mentioned in this thread, so I only sought out to watch those two matches, since I am so far behind on my wrestling this year. The first of the two matches was a tag between Trent Barreta & Anthony Neese and AR Fox & Ricochet. To be honest, this match did absolutely nothing for me. Everything seemed overly choreographed and the dead crowd certainly did not help things. I think I mentioned this before, but damn do those guys who commentate for EVOLVE annoy the shit out of me. They've got to be the worst commentating duo in all of professional wrestling today. Somebody please tell me if I am incorrect in this assessment. The only other match on the card was the main event, which I have ranked as follows:

Johnny Gargano vs. Uhaa Nation - EVOLVE 27 (January 12, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT NOMINATED)​
There isn't much to say about this, really. I certainly enjoyed watching this match and it was definitely worked solidly. It certainly helped that the crowd finally decided to wake up. It's as if they realized that it was the main event and that they ought to finally have a little bit of fun for the money that they paid for the tickets. I thought Uhaa sold the knee injury fairly well. There were some nice spots in this match and Gargano came across as a legit heel. I'd like to see these two work some more in the future. I didn't leave this match with many feelings. This is just a case of a match being decent and that being that. There isn't a lot to take away from this, but the two deserve their props for putting on a solid encounter. I can't see it being ranked any higher than this on a re-watch towards the end-of-the-year, but these guys made the cut for my MOTYC list (3.75 stars and up). As a result, they deserve their credit here.

Next up for me is a re-watch of WrestleMania so that I can leave my proper thoughts on the matches that were recommended from that show. Then I've got to check out at Extreme Rules. I finally feel like I'm cutting a dent in my "to watch" wrestling pile. As of right now, there are only 23 more matches for me to check out. Hopefully that list doesn't grow too much between now and the time that I'm finally able to get caught up.*


----------



## vault21

Bubz said:


> Shield/Evoluton was GREAT and all because of The Shield. Those guys are just phenomenal and I never want them to split up ever. Rollins is a fucking lunatic. I would never had guessed that Ambrose would be a better babyface than a heel, but here we are and he's fantastic at it in every match they've had since they turned. Crazy how good they were before the turn but they might be even better as babyfaces than heels. All three of them shine in their roles constantly and to be honest credit to whoever is in charge of booking them because I can't remember when the last time was that anyone was booked as well or as strongly as they have been for a year and a half. They are most definitely stars. What's best is that everbody assumed Reigns would be booked strongly and the other two wouldn't, and even though Reigns is clearly their choice to push the hardest, Rollins and Ambrose, especially Rollins, have been booked so strong as well. Rollins is awesome btw.


Looks like they finally figured out that the only babyface that can work in the year 2014 is a badass babyface. Glad to see them leaving the shit-eating grins and polka dots behind.


----------



## flag sabbath

*Shingo Takagi (C), Ricochet & Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk (C), Eita & Flamita (Captain's Fall, Dragon Gate, 27/4):* Arguably the cream of both factions having fun with a cool tweak on the Elimination format. This one flows brilliantly from creative control segments to lightning exchanges & a wicked Captains' Chop vs. Clothesline standoff ******


----------



## Chismo

Watched that yesterday, actually, and didn't think much of it. Action packed, yes, but totally emotionless and mechanical. Not even a good match, when it's all said and done, IMO. :avit:

On the other hand, New Japan's closing trio from Taiwan (Okada, Shinsuke, Ishii contra Tanashi, Naito, Kushida) was great. Totally action packed, but unlike DG's, there was the "it" factor in the air, the match felt organic. Slightly tops Kushida/Ishii from the night before. ****


----------



## flag sabbath

Eh, I was in the right mood for some DG, I guess :homer4 Crowd started hot, but withered for sure. Otherwise, I dug T-Hawk going toe-to-toe with Shingo, Tozawa goofing off, and Flamita & Rick O'Shea's flippy shit.


----------



## Groovemachine

I'm with flag sabbath. Really dug the Captain's Fall match, thanks for pimping it actually as I may well have missed it otherwise! Maybe I was just in the mood for some good ol' Dragon Gate fun, and that's exactly what it was. The trouble with DG singles matches, especially their main events as of late, is that they rape all their finishers, constantly kicking out of them, and it often takes about 3 or 4 finishers for someone to go down. This was classic multi-man Dragon Gate, so that kind of structure wasn't really on display (we only saw a hint of that right at the end, leading to the final pinfall, so I'll forgive it). What we had here were some awesome exchanges; the Flamita/Ricochet section early on had my jaw hanging by my ankles. Loved the surprise elimination on SHINGO's team, that was really nicely worked. This definitely gets a YES from me, it's just a blast from start to finish.


----------



## ZEROVampire

flag sabbath said:


> *Shingo Takagi (C), Ricochet & Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk (C), Eita & Flamita (Captain's Fall, Dragon Gate, 27/4):* Arguably the cream of both factions having fun with a cool tweak on the Elimination format. This one flows brilliantly from creative control segments to lightning exchanges & a wicked Captains' Chop vs. Clothesline standoff ******


Good Stuff, ***3/4+


----------



## Obfuscation

*KO-D Openweight Championship*

KUDO(c) vs Akito - _DDT: 4/29/14_​
The Akito coming out party. Which probably doesn't do him justice b/c he was already good prior, but hey, he rocked it in the main event so that's worth dubbing. Sole reason why I thought this managed to hit "great" territory. He looked strong in every portion of the match. Kept up w/the seven minutes of tentative jocking for position stage, took his little bit of punishment well before eventually targeting KUDO's knee. To which his destruction & torque on it was endless and really swell. All those unique counters and loopholes he found to catch KUDO off guard. Awesome. KUDO was fine enough throughout this too. Thought he actually did sell the knee well. Sure, he threw some kicks that looked as if he may have been non-selling, but he was working w/adrenaline. You could tell. He'd fire away, then collapse and clutch the knee. He knew what he had to do. Although, there was one minor problem by him in the match. Akito goes though this magnificent smooth sequence to unleash a wheelbarrow suplex on KUDO. Does it to perfection and I'm amazed by it. Then KUDO rises to his feet only but exactly two seconds after taking it, and proceeds to throw some kicks at Akito's head. That no-selling really irked me. Luckily it didn't matter much as eventually he did sell for Akito. I was just glad to see that it wasn't going to lead to the vet being a dick to the younger talent who was clearly shining brighter in this match. KUDO redeemed himself by selling his pain like death at the finish. Not to mention it took the world to keep his opponent down. Double knees to the back was disgusting. Brutal moment. But enough about him. AKITO! Dude is gonna be someone to look out for. He's got such an interesting way about himself inside the ring. An x factor you can't quite describe, but it's there. Watching him work only proves it.


----------



## Chismo

Akito love! :mark:

That match was even better on a rewatch for me. Akito/KUDO and Shield/Wyatts (EC) are the best non-NJPW matches of the year.


----------



## Obfuscation

I still have plenty over the Akito match, _(Irie vs HARASHIMA & HARASHIMA vs Takanashi just from DDT alone, for example)_ although, it doesn't take away from how good it happens to be. I think we may have settled on you being the biggest advocate for it after you posted your review. :homer3

----------

few other notes, some minor b/c lazy:

Meiko Satomura vs Yuhi - _ZERO1: 3/30_​
iirc this may have been Yuhi's retirement match...? Maybe not yet. I dunno. If so, it would explain the extra oomph the match had. I walked in expecting something good. Satomura would actually try, she'd deliver. Yuhi is usually full of spunk _(jesus pick your words right, Hayley...)_ & if this truly was her final match, well duh she's going to let everything hang. Fucking kicks. FUCKING KICKS. Tons of passion to get a W. Lots of heart. Lots of spirit. Lots of really good work put forth. It's all so linear. As common as it is, I always welcome it b/c the right people know how to make it pop. Be dynamic. That's what was given here. Sweet, sweet love.

-----------

Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura vs Shinjiro Otani & Kohei Sato - _ZERO1: 2/11_​
Do you see who is in this? Yeah, you do. It goes twenty minutes. Exchanges are hot. Crowd is feeling it. Nothing is held back. Everyone looked strong. Damn straight this is getting a mention. Sato continues his role of great action packed matches in 2014. He also unleashes the gnarliest piledriver of the year. Check it out.

----------

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls - _Pro Wrestling NOAH: 1/12_​
See above ^. Only replace Sato praise w/basically everyone in here. Even Nicholls was providing one of his better performances to hang around w/all the other talent. I often say I choose not to walk into a match w/any expectations in case I may be let down, but in the back of my mind I couldn't help it w/this one. They came through. May have stated elsewhere on this board, but I'll say it again: these guys had a top notch affair and left the window to expand to higher levels if ever given a rematch. Sekimoto recently returned to NOAH and worked a singles match vs Nicholls. Looks like things are on the right track to giving me what I want. JOYOUS DAYS.

-----------

Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, & Erick Rowan vs The Shield - _WWE: Monday Night RAW 5/5_​
You know the score. These six are phenomenal. Have been all year & have been electric dynamite since colliding in February. Fourth time around and it's all that good stuff yet again. May have taken yet another _slight_ dip in quality compared to any of the three. Rather insignificant considering everyone in here came through w/some glorious moments - some fresh, some slightly tweaked goodness seem before - all spread throughout. That's why these are working. I don't have to elaborate, although I shall in a mild manner. These six are keeping it fresher than the best brownies you can find. Never reach a dull phase, we often get two FIP segments in their matches, which seems a barrage of gems coming from everyone dictated by hot tags, top notch heel beatdowns, fabulous selling from the babyfaces, and all that stuff that is like crack to rasslin' fans. WWE has done this four times in less than three months - a BIG TIME match too - and not once has it reached the point of being a waste of time. Like not even close. It's well worth the ride. Only continues to extend the truth of the matter that these six have all collectively made their mark in WWE. It's not only about someone like Wyatt who is rising. Or someone like Reigns who is rumored to be "the man" upcoming. It's about all of them. Rowan being the dark horse from the very beginning and showing everyone how good & convincing he is as a big brute. Harper & Rollins going out there being mad men in their own natural capacity & practically making the MVP of the night a given. Ambrose FINALLY shining in WWE after quite a few lukewarm singles outings. He's sprung to life as a babyface w/his manic energy. A side of him not many felt he could do well, let alone kill at. As the point as been mapped out, that's what makes each one of these matches so damn terrific. Again, I may have made a similar roundabout on this in either the first match write-up or the second, and I try not to, but you just can't get away from such a great truth. I love that about these guys. They're working hard & making it look super easy. Putting themselves ahead of the pack, getting all this time, exposure & emphasis b/c they're demanding it w/their work. All the praise in the world for this. Back to some specific on the match. Things like Rollins doing a _(semi-dangerous, haha)_ standing shooting star press for the first time ruled. Hope he busts that out from time to time in later matches. Table busting tease by Harper. He went full on psycho mode outside. He had no plans for the table other than to just throw pieces around to create that known havoc. He even grabbed the chair of a security guard & chucked it by the ring for the hell of it. AWESOME. Finish was a smart move by the booking. Shield were to lose, well, might as well let Evolution do the deed. They take the bumps - Rollins & Ambrose taking out four dudes was a great visual - & Bray makes the final move to win the match. I dig it. Bray keeps the momentum; and tbhayley he really needed it after the Steel Cage mess vs Cena. Shield lose only by proxy of Evolution's distraction. Or else they would have knocked off THE two other trios in the company. Shield are beyond mega right now. It's unbelievable. This whole situation is unbelievable. I wished I would have thought Shield vs Evolution was anything remotely close to this nature. It wasn't. However, this made up for it in spades.


----------



## Chismo

*BJW Endless Survivor*: Twin Towers (Kohei & Shuji) vs. Wild Network (Soya & Kawakami)

World's best duo strikes again. And boy, oh boy, they strike HARD. They're also dicks: super confident and gnarly when in control, rule breaking assholes when in sligth danger... and they hit HARD. Soya is hit or miss, of course, but he did good here as the No. 1 of his team, but Kawakami took a hellish BEATING, he was the star of the match, impressive progression of the character throughtout the match. He's nowhere near K-HASH's levels of charisma, but the super badass opponents from this match elevated him like a motherfucker. This match was so basic, but executed so well, and it had all the right ingredients of a great puro match: interpromotional heat, a clear underdog, and a tough enough equalizer who needs to be neutralized. Hell yeah!

****1/4


----------



## Obfuscation

A new Big Japan show is up. And it has THAT team on it?

:sansa


----------



## flag sabbath

So last weekend had a little something for everyone, huh?

*NJPW Dontaku:* Ishii vs. Honma ****3/4*, Okada vs. Styles ****3/4*
*WWE Extreme Rules & Raw:* Shield vs. Evolution ******, Shield vs. Wyatts ****3/4*
*DG Dead Or Alive:* Flamita vs. Susumu ****3/4*, Ricochet vs. Yamato ******
*BJW Endless Survivor:* Sekimoto vs Ishikawa ****3/4*

DOA is the best show I've seen this year. The Twin & Triangle Gate matches are both ****1/2*, and the main event is a bizarrely entertaining, unique spectacle, full of storylines I only half got.


----------



## Bruce L

Watching Dead or Alive right now, and I too will throw a ★★★¾ at Flamita/Susumu. Not quite a YES, but still a hearty recommendation to anybody who can enjoy D-Gate. This is my first time really seeing Flamita in action, and I was impressed. He's got some neat movez, and gives good underdog against the Jimmyz' head badass. Nice.

*EDIT: *Add the same rating – maybe a solid ★★★★ – for Ricochet/YAMATO. Terrific match from possibly the two best wrestlers in Dragon Gate.


----------



## Lane

*CZW: To Infinity*
Drew Gulak vs Biff Busick
*****3/4*
These two do not have bad matches.


----------



## Obfuscation

Is every indie match you see nearly perfect?


----------



## Chismo

Well, those two are great, so I can see the match being great, easily. Maybe not ****3/4 great, but who the fuck knows, stranger things happened. More people need to jump on their bandwagons.


----------



## Obfuscation

Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs Ryuichi Kawakami & Manabu Soya - _BJW: 5/5/14_​
Ishikawa & Sato curve wins again. But want to know something neat? This match becoming great wasn't really created entirely by them. It was Kawakami who shined brightest in this affair. Thanks to the big nasty jerks, but hey, Kawakami was on point, baby. It was clear progression from the moment he entered the match _(which was about five minutes in after seeing the burly Soya try his fair w/the other two brutes. That reached no strict conclusion, so Soya opted to let the fiery partner get his time in)_ to being a young, tough pup rising in the division and wanting to test is merit vs the two studs ---> morphing into the determined present of the division and bound to not let anyone asshole take his place. Sooooo great. Ishikawa & Sato gave him zero respect and whooped him like a dog. For...idk how long. Then, and here's the REAL sweet part, Kawakami gets fed up w/it. Like flat out just says "fuck this" and begins to absorb the forearms, to blast away w/his own. It spoke like this scenario from the perspective of Kawakami: _"I was within an inch of being the Strong division champion two months ago. These assholes need to recognize that this is my division."_ And he let them know. Kid wouldn't quit. Came back stiff & often. We didn't get a happy ending when this sucker was said and done, but what we did get was the two invaders now knowing they got Kawakami hot on their tail to take them off course. This scenario is BEGGING for Ishikawa & Sato vs Kawakami & K-Hash now. That's the only way to go.


----------



## ZEROVampire

ZEROVampire said:


> PWG MYSTERY VORTEX II 3/28/14
> 
> Cedric Alexander vs Trevor Lee vs Andrew Everett ***1/2 Very Good
> 
> ACH & AR Fox vs Ricochet & Rich Swann vs Michael Elgin & Brian Cage ***1/4
> 
> Johnny Gargano vs Kyle O'Reilly ***1/2
> 
> *PWG World Tag Team Championship:* The Young Bucks (c) vs BEST Friends ***1/4



the good Matches from PWG Mystery Vortex II, not great event but the opener was fine


----------



## Lane

Hayley Seydoux said:


> Is every indie match you see nearly perfect?


Hardly. I'm just not over critical when it comes to rating. I watch wrestling for fun.


----------



## Concrete

Lane said:


> Hardly. I'm just not over critical when it comes to rating. I watch wrestling for fun.


I'll punch you in the nards for this sort of crazyness.


----------



## Obfuscation

I watched wrestling for fun once. Felt dirty.


----------



## Lane

Should probably stop then.


----------



## Concrete

Eh, people enjoy wrestling in different ways. If it is to analyze and view matches in a critical lens then so be it I say. For some, me included, that is enjoyable. I love watching wrestling but some matches gain my affection more than others.


----------



## Obfuscation

Lane said:


> Should probably stop then.


now who's taking things seriously 8*D


----------



## Chismo

Hayley Seydoux said:


> Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls - _Pro Wrestling NOAH: 1/12_​
> See above ^. Only replace Sato praise w/basically everyone in here. Even Nicholls was providing one of his better performances to hang around w/all the other talent. I often say I choose not to walk into a match w/any expectations in case I may be let down, but in the back of my mind I couldn't help it w/this one. They came through. May have stated elsewhere on this board, but I'll say it again: these guys had a top notch affair and left the window to expand to higher levels if ever given a rematch. Sekimoto recently returned to NOAH and worked a singles match vs Nicholls. Looks like things are on the right track to giving me what I want. JOYOUS DAYS.


Totally this. Great match, the Strong BJ dudes delivered, naturally, they always do, but this is the first time that Nicholls overperformed Haste, groovie shit. Thank fuck this show hit the webz, finally. 

****


----------



## Obfuscation

*Oedo-Style Elimination Match*

Naruki Doi, YAMATO, BxB Hulk, & Cyber Kong vs Jimmy Susumu, Jimmy Kanda, Ryo Saito, & Naoki Tanazaki - _Dragon Gate: 2/6/14_​
Holy balls this was mayhem. The best part was, it was meant to be. Practically all the crappy side to the DG style was negated as the influx of no rules, other than to eliminate your opponents to win, was heightened to a degree where the match got mega heat & contained it the entire time. The workrate was off the charts, duh, but again, in that positive way. Except for BxB Hulk. He was still 100% garbage like how he always is. In fact, he was the only thing about this match I didn't like. A tactical kick at the right time in the heat of battle would be used well. But nah. That's all he does - REALLY, ALL HE DOES. NO STRUCTURE. - it waters everything down and he's just a hack who can't keep up. K, ranting aside, all the rest of the players were bringing it. Great job by Doi & Kanada to keep their blood feud running. From the early brawl to start the match, to the tease of chucking Doi off the balcony, to the dickish traits Doi kept on plugging away on Kanda even while not in the ring etc. All culminating into both of them getting eliminated in the most pristine fashions. Doi getting booted after the insane blitzkrieg of moves point in the middle of the match, mist to the eyes followed by the inside cradled. Loved that. Then the world being thrown at Kanda to get him knocked out minutes later was just as sweet. Fans were _pissed_. Finishing stretch was good, minus the downside in Hulk. YAMATO & Susumu kept that big time heat going. Would have preferred Cyber Kong to last near the end and get booted to make it one on one. Think the reaction there would have killed. Plus, I like Kong. His x factor of power is basically the same w/Nation's whenever he's involved, only from the heel perspective. This was really awesome. Big time war feel & kept it going the whole near 40 minutes. My hat is off. This is the time of lunacy I like to see from Dragon Gate. Doesn't come around as often as I'd like, but when it does, it's radical.


----------



## Rah

I really cannot get into that Biff/Gulak match, or any of their matches, for that matter. I can see where they're going in their matches, and it should be right up my alley, but I can never finish watching them.


*Nominate*


*AJ Styles Vs Chris Hero (RoH 22/03)* - what a weird culmination. Two Indy stars, fresh off of leaving seperate big-time promotions, return home to do battle as the veterans of the squared circle. Kelley makes a comment that Hero reminds him of a prime Barry Windham, which is a ludicrous comment, but this was a very strong performance from Hero, regardless. He's a guy who wears his influences on his sleave and, when he's in the zone, he can create a perfect culmination of them. Hero running Styles through some Indy-styled lucha matwork was a fine way of kicking their match off, and I was honestly surprised by how seamlessly Styles matched up with Chris. I even rather enjoyed the narrative of how AJ needed his quickness to take the upperhand but, in each turn, his agility would bite him in the ass thanks to an awaiting boot by Hero.

It's great to see Styles so game in playing ball for Hero, too. He's such a fun wrestler to watch when he's on point and acts as a decent enough cut-off to prevent Hero from overdoing his discus-heavy offence. This isn't cream of the crop, but it's one of the best super Indy matches in quite a while.


----------



## Obfuscation

Downloaded the event only for that match. Officially hyped to the gills now. Need to see that great Styles match since leaving TNA. He hasn't had it yet.


----------



## Rah

I think I may have put your expectations too high, now.


----------



## Obfuscation

I actually think you may have steered me right. b/c part of me was lukewarm on the prospects after Hero is receiving a fair bit of negative reaction since returning to the indies & Styles has been a mixed bag, w/the best only veering towards "good", but nothing to truly seek out. Getting word that someone w/fairly similar tastes on the sport was digging it, well, that may be the proper selling point I need to actually garner some expectations. b/c having _some_ shouldn't hurt, right? :hmm:


----------



## Chismo

Rah said:


> Kelley makes a comment that Hero reminds him of a prime Barry Windham


This is what happens, Larry... Is there a "no commentary" option?


----------



## Violent By Design

Chismo said:


> This is what happens, Larry... Is there a "no commentary" option?


Who are those bruiser matches in your signature?


----------



## Rah

Brody Vs The Funks. Not sure which match that is, though, but it's out of AJPW.


----------



## Chismo

Violent By Design said:


> Who are those bruiser matches in your signature?


vs. Terry Funk (AJPW 1982/12/7)
vs. Dory Funk Jr. (AJPW 1982/4/21)


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Anyone see the Wolves and Beer Money match yet at Joker's Wild? I'm only posting this question in the MOTYC thread because apparently it's a pretty good freaking match so I am dying to finally watch it


----------



## smitlick

Just finished Hero vs Sabre Jr from IPW:UKs Zack vs Hero. Definitely worth a look for those who were previously mentioning being disappointed by Heros return to the indies. 

Gave it **** but haven't really noticed too much discussion


----------



## Obfuscation

Hero worked w/Sabre Jr? Splendid. Got to seek that one out. Not I'm beginning to wonder how much goodness I've missed from the UK Indie pool this year. Huh.


----------



## smitlick

Hayley Seydoux said:


> Hero worked w/Sabre Jr? Splendid. Got to seek that one out. Not I'm beginning to wonder how much goodness I've missed from the UK Indie pool this year. Huh.


Id usually say buy it online but IPW:UK are fucking shit at sending it out. Its up on XWT if your after it.


----------



## Chismo

They also had a long match in NOAH recently, hopefully it emerges the webz down the road.


----------



## Obfuscation

THEY DID?

Wonderful.


----------



## Bubz

Hero/Sabre had an awesome match back in 2011 (I think) in xpw. That was when Hero was at his best for me. I haven't seen anything since he came back to the indies, nor Styles. that Hero/Styles match intrigues me. Will also be the first ROH match I've seen since Final Battle 2012 I think.


----------



## smitlick

Bubz said:


> Hero/Sabre had an awesome match back in 2011 (I think) in xpw. That was when Hero was at his best for me. I haven't seen anything since he came back to the indies, nor Styles. that Hero/Styles match intrigues me. Will also be the first ROH match I've seen since Final Battle 2012 I think.


XPW?


----------



## flag sabbath

Think Bubz means WXW.


----------



## Rah

(Almost) mid-year MotYC match listing and catch-up on the nominations.

1) The Wyatts Vs The Shield (WWE Elimination Chamber)
2) Sami Zayn Vs Cesaro (WWE NXT ArRIVAL)
3) Virus Vs Titan (CMLL 28/01)
4) The Wyatts Vs The Shield (WWE Raw 03/03)
5) Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (WWE Royal Rumble)
6) Cesaro Vs John Cena (WWE Raw 17/02)
7) The Wyatts Vs The Shield (WWE Main Event 08/04)
8) Tanahashi Vs Nakamura (NJPW Invasion Attack)
9) The Real Americans Vs Rhodes Dynasty (Main Event 18/03)
10) Daniel Bryan Vs HHH (WWE Wrestlemania XXX)
11) Tomohiro Ishii vs. KUSHIDA (12/04/2014 NJPW) 
12) Sheamus Vs Dean Ambrose (Smackdown 09/05)
13) AJ Styles Vs Chris Hero (RoH 22/03)
14) Elimination Chamber (WWE Elimination Chamber)
15) Rush Vs Shocker (CMLL 21/03)


So, yeah, that's why I said don't get your hypes for Styles/Hero to be too high.


____________________________________________

Puro:
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 12 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Tetsuya Naito (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
Okada, Nakamura, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanahashi, Goto, Naito & Captain NJ (NJPW 05/01)|| YES = 1 ||
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Masato Yoshino (DG Infinity #324) || YES = 3 ||
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara (NOAH 19/01) || YES = 1 ||
Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW 02/02) || YES = 4 ||
Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (Dragon Gate 12/01) || YES = 3 ||
Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki (AJPW 05/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 15 ||*
The Young Bucks Vs Time Splitters (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
*Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 12 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Hirooki Goto (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 7 ||
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata Vs Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 2 ||
Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Shigehiro Irie Vs HARASHIMA (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada Vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW 42nd Anniversary) || YES = 2 ||
Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa Vs Shinya Ishikawa & Shinobu (BJW 02/03) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet Vs Uhaa Nation (Dragon Gate 06/03) || YES = 1 ||
Taiji Ishimori Vs Daisuke Harada (NOAH Great Voyage 08/03) || YES = 4 ||
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW New Japan Cup 15/03) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato (BJW 26/02) || YES = 1 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 9 ||
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 3 ||
Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki Vs Suwama & Hikaru Sato (AJPW 18/03) || YES = 1 ||
Flamita Vs Jimmy Susumu (Dragon Gate: Dead or Alive) || YES = 1 ||
Twin Towers Vs Wild Network (BJW Endless Survivor) || YES = 1 ||






US Indy:
Trent Barretta Vs Anthony Nese (Evolve 25) || YES = 1 ||
Sigmon Vs Vordell Walker (TCW 14-01) || YES = 1 ||
Johnny Gargano Vs Uhaa Nation (Evolve 27) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Roderick Strong (RoH 01/02) || YES = 1 || 
AR Fox Vs Chris Hero (Evolve 23/02) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs JT Dunn (Beyond Wrestling Critical Acclaim) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs Masato Tanaka (DG:USA Open The Ultimate Gate) || YES = 2 ||
Ricochet Vs Johnny Gargano (DG:USA Open The Ultimate Gate) || YES = 1 ||
Caleb Konley Vs Cedric Alexander (PWX Rise of a Champion IX) || YES = 1 ||
Biff Busick Vs Drew Gulak (CZW To Infinity) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Chris Hero (RoH 22/03) || YES = 1 ||





WWE:
*Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (Royal Rumble) || YES = 26 ||*
Daniel Bryan Vs Randy Orton (Raw 03/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Cesaro Vs John Cena (Raw 17/02) || YES = 20 ||*
*The Wyatts Vs The Shield (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 29 ||*
Elimination Chamber Match (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 4 ||
*Sami Zayn Vs Cesaro (NXT ArRIVAL) || YES = 25 ||*
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Raw 03/03/2014) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs HHH (Wrestlemania) || YES = 9 ||
John Cena Vs Bray Wyatt (Wrestlemania) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs Batista Vs Randy Orton (Wrestlemania) || YES = 4 ||
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Main Event 08/04/2014) || YES = 3 ||
The Shield Vs Evolution (Extreme Rules) || YES = 7 ||



Lucha Libre:
Virus Vs Titan (CMLL 28/01) || YES = 4 ||
Rush Vs Shocker (CMLL 21/03) || YES = 1 ||


Legend:
*Bold Red Text*: matches with a score of 10 or better
Red text: matches with a score of 5 or better


----------



## Obfuscation

For what it's worth, Rah, I just watched Hero vs Styles and thought it was refreshingly great. Not quite up to doing a paragraph spiel about the details atm, but that was a damn fine display from Chris Hero. One to convince me he's still more than capable of those outings. And it wasn't a match I've seen worked like that in ROH in a very long time.

More to come on this. Perhaps tomorrow. Need to get some thoughts out on Sheamus vs Ambrose too which I watched prior. And that was a fabulous bout all of its own accord. Sheamus & Ambrose. We have a connection. :mark:


----------



## Concrete

Rah said:


> (Almost) mid-year MotYC match listing and catch-up on the nominations.
> 
> 1) The Wyatts Vs The Shield (WWE Elimination Chamber)
> 2) Sami Zayn Vs Cesaro (WWE NXT ArRIVAL)
> 3) Virus Vs Titan (CMLL 28/01)
> 4) The Wyatts Vs The Shield (WWE Raw 03/03)
> 5) Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (WWE Royal Rumble)
> 6) Cesaro Vs John Cena (WWE Raw 17/02)
> 7) The Wyatts Vs The Shield (WWE Main Event 08/04)
> 8) Tanahashi Vs Nakamura (NJPW Invasion Attack)
> 9) The Real Americans Vs Rhodes Dynasty (Main Event 18/03)
> 10) Daniel Bryan Vs HHH (WWE Wrestlemania XXX)
> 11) Tomohiro Ishii vs. KUSHIDA (12/04/2014 NJPW)
> 12) Sheamus Vs Dean Ambrose (Smackdown 09/05)
> 13) AJ Styles Vs Chris Hero (RoH 22/03)
> 14) Elimination Chamber (WWE Elimination Chamber)
> 15) Rush Vs Shocker (CMLL 21/03)


UGH! You make me feel lazy. I'll have to watch shit and order it starting this week. Yay, summer!


----------



## Groovemachine

*Cesaro vs Sheamus - WWE Main Event 5.13.14 - ***3/4*

An awesome brawl from these two; this had a really unique feel to it, as it was quite scrappy early on and had the atmosphere of a genuine fight. Sheamus in particular was very aggressive and showed some decent intensity. Cesaro busted out some unique moves around the ring, and his 'sort-of' DDT on Sheamus, hanging him on the middle rope, looked great. These two guys have terrific chemistry, and I'm really hoping the post-match antics lead to a proper feud between them and a PPV match. Judging by all the time they spent outside the ring, I'd imagine we'll see something like a Belfast Brawl next week at the UK TV tapings. Either way, I'm hoping we see a lot more of this. Fantastic bell-to-bell action.


----------



## ZEROVampire

British Rules Match: Drew Gulak (c) vs Timothy Tatcher for the CZW World Title in A Wrestling Odyssey. Wow that was great, ok this is the first time that i see a match with ten rounds, but this is great, really tecnical match, this is better than gulak vs biff busick in CZW, this is my Indy MOTY so far.
****


----------



## seancarleton77

Groovemachine said:


> *Cesaro vs Sheamus - WWE Main Event 5.13.14 - ***3/4*
> 
> An awesome brawl from these two; this had a really unique feel to it, as it was quite scrappy early on and had the atmosphere of a genuine fight. Sheamus in particular was very aggressive and showed some decent intensity. Cesaro busted out some unique moves around the ring, and his 'sort-of' DDT on Sheamus, hanging him on the middle rope, looked great. These two guys have terrific chemistry, and I'm really hoping the post-match antics lead to a proper feud between them and a PPV match. Judging by all the time they spent outside the ring, I'd imagine we'll see something like a Belfast Brawl next week at the UK TV tapings. Either way, I'm hoping we see a lot more of this. Fantastic bell-to-bell action.


Not sure Sheamus should have won the US title. I want to see him feud with Cesaro and I don't think Cesaro should be in a title feud until he's going for the world title.


----------



## Groovemachine

Well judging by WWE's recent treatment of the US title, Sheamus probably won't be defending until, like, November...


----------



## Concrete

*Shinobu/Shinya Ishikawa vs. Kohei Sato/Shuji Ishikawa (BJPW 2/3/14):***3/4*
_Sato is quickly becoming an easy Top 50 guy the more I see from him via forearms alone. That is partially because I’m not finding a lot I love in wrestling and partially because them forearms be beast like. Plus he laughs in the face of men who think they can hurt him. This match is all about the mammoth squad beating up on poor little Shinobu. I mean they throw the kitchen sink at the dude and he tries his best to be the best FIP he can be. Shinya is resident champ and tried to protect his STRONG BJ turf despite being drastically outsized by the opposition. For me that was some of the best stuff in this outside of the Shinobu murder segments. They went into the crowd a little bit in this which gave it that out of control flavor which is always nice. Shinobu kicking out at one towards the end was the RIGHT way to do the one count. There was some stuff I didn’t like such as Shinobu having two gears, feeble dude and spark plug, but still a damn fine match. Haven’t enjoyed these STRONG BJ tags as much as some but it should be noted that on the whole I’ve found all of these tags enjoyable thus far.
_​


----------



## Merc_With_A_Mouth

BKKsoulcity said:


> Anyone see the Wolves and Beer Money match yet at Joker's Wild? I'm only posting this question in the MOTYC thread because apparently it's a pretty good freaking match so I am dying to finally watch it


Probably would have it at ***1/2 region at most myself. Still a good match.


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yea the Wolves/Beer Money match could have used 5 more minutes but it was really good for the time it was given.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Beer Money vs. The Wolves (Jokers Wild 2) ***1/2

Young Bucks vs. ReDragon (ROH War of the Worlds) ****1/4

Okada vs. Elgin vs. Styles (ROH War of the Worlds) ***3/4


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yes! to Young Buck vs Red Dragon at War of the Worlds.
****1/2

I was literally jumping out of my seat like a little boy during this match live.Amazing counters and jaw dropping spots make this match a must see.So far this is ROH's match of the year.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Bubz

smitlick said:


> XPW?





flag sabbath said:


> Think Bubz means WXW.


Yep, not sure why I had that abortion of a promotion on my mind when I wrote that. WXW is the one .

I watched Steen/Nakamura from War Of The Worlds and found it really fucking enjoyable. Now, I'm not sure if that's because I haven't watched one of these types of matches for ages, and I haven't watched a Steen or ROH match in over a year. It's great to see Steen is still over because he still seems to be incredibly entertaining. Nakamura was really good, he didn't botch anything either so there's a plus. It's a super fun sprint of a match and has a legitimately awesome moment at the end that was something I usually hate but here it was so unexpected and performed so well by both guys that I legit marked out.


----------



## smitlick

Bubz said:


> Yep, not sure why I had that abortion of a promotion on my mind when I wrote that. WXW is the one .
> 
> I watched Steen/Nakamura from War Of The Worlds and found it really fucking enjoyable. Now, I'm not sure if that's because I haven't watched one of these types of matches for ages, and I haven't watched a Steen or ROH match in over a year. It's great to see Steen is still over because he still seems to be incredibly entertaining. Nakamura was really good, he didn't botch anything either so there's a plus. It's a super fun sprint of a match and has a legitimately awesome moment at the end that was something I usually hate but here it was so unexpected and performed so well by both guys that I legit marked out.



Out of interest when did they work each other in wXw?

EDIT

Oh fuck now I remember. Its on the wXw US shows.. No wonder I couldnt remember. Makes sense now. Was trying to remember seeing them in Germany.


----------



## Obfuscation

*Barbed Wire Boards Match*

Matt Tremont vs Danny Havoc - _CZW: To Infinity_​
Deathmatch wonderment, ahoy. Rather, a brawl, but I'm assisting CZW on their monikers. Ungodly levels of stiff throughout this. To the point of where the first three minutes made you exhausted from the punishment that was dished out. And none of it was done by proxy of the given stipulation of the match. Havoc splats the concrete in disgusting fashion. Worse than anything I've seen in Lucha all year, and one splat in particular was totally nuts. Tremont and his wicked open palm shots that sometimes connect as lethal slaps & other times look like a frying pan crushing someone's kisser; Havoc had no chance to breathe. Until the headbutts started flying. Fucking hell was it ever a sight. About six exchanged, splitting the difference on both ends. Along w/their skulls. That's a popular trait this year; splitting skulls hardway via headbutts. Son of a bitch. But I love it. Follow all of this early insanity the match never slowed down despite these two giving us so much already, that I wouldn't have even cared if this only went about five minutes tops. Good use of plunder _(including the most recent use of a trash can that reached spectacular use of destruction from Tremont)_, more HATE flowing throughout that you could believe, Havoc's body getting absolutely cut to shreds by the barbed wire - at least three different times you see it pull his skin in various alarming ways - & his will to keep on fighting. Havoc can always use that to aid in his matches. When Havoc is in the mix you can usually count on a solid - really good underdog type performance. Despite his experience & tenure as being a "Deathmatch guy". Always neat, I thought. Tremont was straight badass psycho in this & totally awesome. He gives the coolest face when leaving the ring post-match. Blood laden & kooky-eyed. Check this out if you're wanting to see some well produced violence. Super well done brawl.


----------



## The Black Mirror

*Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H - WWE WrestleMania XXX (April 6, 2014) - ★★★★ (YES!/NOMINATED)​
WrestleMania is the one show each year where I promise myself to simply enjoy the show as a wrestling fan. It's the one time a year where I stop being a cynical overly-negative card-carrying member of the IWC. I always enjoy WrestleMania as a total mark. Because of this, I always wait to rewatch the show before I give out any sort of ratings and/or opinions about matches. Although it has taken me a while to re-watch the show this year, I have finally done so. There are three matches from the show that I felt deserved a closer look. This match is the first of those three.

For the second time in 2014, an opening match on a WWE pay-per-view card has been a legitimate Match of the Year contender. What makes this even more surprising is the fact that this is happening for the second time in three pay-per-views, as the year was not even a quarter of the way over at this point. Even more surprising (or perhaps, not) is the fact that both of these opening matches involved Daniel Bryan. I'm sure that many of you are familiar with his incredible match with Bray Wyatt at Royal Rumble. While I did not enjoy this match quite as much as I enjoyed the bout with Bray, this one certainly more than earned it's place on my MOTYC list for 2014.

A highlight of this match was the working of the arm, which Triple H seriously honed in on for the entirety of the bout. Another highlight was the fact that this match had a little bit of everything. It had some solid mat wrestling, but it also had plenty of shades of Triple H at his best - the cerebral assassin/brawler character that we've all come to know him for. There were some decent high spots in this match, but I really appreciated the fact that nothing ever felt overdone. While these guys went out an put on a hell of a show, they still seemed to be saving something so as to not overdo it and wear out the crowd in the opening match of the night. From my perspective, that takes a lot of skill and I certain respect these two for going out there and making this match feel awesome, but not too awesome.

Another highlight to me was Stephanie and her constant heel antics and trash talking to Bryan from the outside of the ring. She is certainly Vince's daughter. The heel Stephanie that we have had on the screen since last year has been absolutely incredible and I really feel like she channels her inner-Vince when she's healing it up. Her constant jabs at Bryan about being a "B+ player" through the duration of this match really added to the atmosphere. Her over-reactive pleasure to Triple H hitting that huge clothesline on Bryan about midway through the match was golden material as well. Honestly, I'm surprised that she never did anything to influence the match at any point. I'm glad that things player out cleanly, but I did figure they would at least tease her getting involved and/or trying to sabotage Bryan's chances. This match would've been just fine without her, but her presence definitely added to my enjoyment of this one.

This match gets recommended from me based on all of the aforementioned reasons, and then some. But, if for no other reason, this match gets the recommendation because Triple H laid down for the clean 1-2-3 in the middle of the ring on the biggest stage of the year for the company's new star. For all the (I feel, overly-exaggerated) talk over all the years of Triple H refusing to put people over, I feel that the conclusion of this one match almost outdoes it. Keep in mind that I consider myself a Triple H fan. To those of you who aren't, you may see me as giving him too much of the benefit of the doubt. In any event, regardless of the circumstances, he still put Daniel Bryan over cleanly here, which makes for a huge moment. I could honestly see me bumping this up to a 4.75 star rating upon a third watch at the end of the year. Do yourself a favor and seek this one out. Although, you're probably living under a rock if you haven't seen this by now, being as it originally aired more than six weeks ago.*


----------



## The Black Mirror

*Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena - WWE WrestleMania XXX (April 6, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT NOMINATED)​
This match left me with some mixed feelings. There were some wonderful things about this match and there were some terrible things about this match. I honestly feel like I may have been a bit generous with my rating for this one. It's one of those matches that truly had the potential to be legendary, but for a multitude of reasons, it just couldn't quite get there. That last statement is easy to say about plenty of feuds/matches, especially with the benefit of hindsight. But I believe that it really holds true in this case. I tried to look at this match more favorably by thinking of it in a sort of vacuum. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of severely casual fans could probably have gotten a lot more invested into this match. Cena letting Wyatt get to him and sort of teasing a possible heel turn (will he snap or not?) was probably a lot easier to buy into if you hadn't heard Cena's bullshit promo from RAW before this match happened. To those of us who watch week-in and week-out, though, we knew this was all bullshit, which prevented us from being able to get more invested. I couldn't stand how Cena focused on the whole "is he going to snap?" thing at the beginning of the match and then briefly brought it back towards the end of the match, yet he couldn't seem to be bothered with that sort of acting for the middle portion of the match. It's as if this portion of the story being told completely disappeared.

Wyatt's character work was beautiful, as it has been consistently since he debuted last year. You can tell that Wyatt really enjoys playing this part, which makes it come off so much more naturally than it would otherwise. This was the golden part of this match, which was to be expected going in. I especially loved his maniacal laughing (a la the Joker in The Dark Knight) when Cena seemingly "snapped" and really started letting him have it. The spot with Cena going for the five-knuckle shuffle, only to be stopped dead in his tracks by Bray "Spider" Wyatt was a noteworthy moment and will now forever be a classic visual, in my mind. I also really enjoyed Bray's spot with giving Cena the chain and getting on his knees. Although it lead to his demise in the match, it doesn't bother me as bad since Bray stayed true to his character.

Of course the finish is all wrong, especially when you look at everything that happened before and since. Again, hindsight is always 20/20, but Bray really should have gotten the win here. Cena could have (and should have, in my opinion) gotten his win back at Extreme Rules, especially when you consider what an over-booked mess that match ended up being. Bray looked legit as fuck on the biggest stage of the year and I was honestly surprised that Cena pinned him clean. I mean, I wasn't surprised, but I was surprised...if that makes any sense. Bray could have been a made man with a win over Cena here. Alas, that's not the way things turned out, unfortunately.

I have several other thoughts about this one, but the match left me with such mixed feelings that I'm unsure as to whether or not I would be able to adequately convey those thoughts in written form right now. All I can say is that this match was half great and half terrible, so the two balance out to get us just below the four star threshold to be recommended by me. It's still worth a watch for Bray's character work alone if you aren't going in expecting it to be a classic.*


----------



## The Black Mirror

*Batista vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton - WWE WrestleMania XXX (April 6, 2014) - ★★★★ (YES!/NOMINATED)​
Although there is a lot to like about this match, it would still get my recommendation just based on the sole fact of the outcome. An angle that WWE had started more than seven months before finally came to a reasonable and exciting conclusion with the result of this match. Combine that with the fact that the hottest WWE Superstar in quite some time finally got the gold around his waist, and it's hard to not recommend this match to any fan of professional wrestling. There were a few hiccups in here, which prevent me from rating this higher, but this match was still solid and actually exceeded my expectations. I knew that Daniel Bryan was going to deliver at WrestleMania, but I was worried the other two (more importantly, Batista, who had shown plenty of signs of getting gassed too quickly in his other matches since returning) would drag this down too far and not make it a classic WrestleMania main event. It's far from perfection, but it was about the best you could have asked for, given the circumstances.

I really liked that Randy Orton went straight after the shoulder in this match. Clearly, this was a big part of the story that they were trying to tell, which ultimately led to the stretcher job and Bryan's refusal to lay down. Orton (and to a lesser extent, Batista) really worked his shoulder over here, just as Triple H had done in the first match. It's even more interesting when you watch this match, knowing what's happened since with the reformation of Evolution. All three of these guys basically worked in unison with each other between the opening match and the final match, to take Bryan out of the game by beating the hell out of his shoulder. Randy Orton did the best job of this because he works with such intensity (seriously, Randy Orton is so fucking dramatic, and it really adds to his performances as a professional wrestler, in my opinion) and it really worked great when he was beating the hell out of Bryan's shoulder. I was honestly convinced that he wanted to rip it right out of the socket.

As an aside, there were several bumps that Bryan took in this match (and the first match of the night) that are hard to watch knowing what we know now about his neck injury. The table spot, in particular, could not have been good for his neck injury. Speaking of the table spot and the ensuing aftermath, I did deduct some points from this match because the whole stretcher job just felt a little bit too contrived. Maybe it was just me, but you clearly tell where they were going with that (with Bryan refusing to be taken out of the match, resulting in a huge pop). It's a minor thing to complain about considering that it was cliche, yet so effective. I just didn't like how plodding things were between the table spot and the time they actually got Bryan onto the stretcher. There were a couple of minutes straight here where time seemed to stand still and nobody was doing anything until Batista finally attacked Orton. Again, this is a minor gripe, but it's as if Batista didn't know what the hell to do. It's not like he was injured at all on the table spot, so he should have been right back on Orton after the spot. Perhaps Dave took it easy because he was worried about Orton being injured after hitting his back on the TV monitor? Who knows...

I'm usually not a fan of interference in wrestling matches. Even more so, I'm not a fan of interference in a title match at the main event of WrestleMania. However, Triple H and Stephanie's involvement in this one really made sense based on the way the entire angle had played out. In fact, had they not tried to get involved, I would've been complaining about the fact that they hadn't. It really worked here too because it was an in-and-out interference. It accomplished what it set out to accomplish and more-or-less became the first of two climaxes in the story being told throughout the match. It was hard not to be excited when Daniel Bryan dove through the ropes and took out Hunter, Steph and their crooked henchman of a referee, Scott Armstrong. I literally popped up from my couch with excitement when I saw this play out. Keep in mind, this was the second time I had seen this match. Of course, I popped back up with excitement moments later when Triple H finally "got his" at the hands of Daniel Bryan with that sledgehammer shot. This was beautiful stuff!

The near falls that Orton and Batista traded at the end were SUPER close and even though I knew this was Bryan's night, it was hard not to have that doubt in your head and wonder if the match was going to be over at either one of those two points. The huge pop when Daniel Bryan got off the stretcher, which lead to the closing of the match was a wonderful thing to witness as a wrestling fan. Like I said, a lot of this stuff was totally cliche, but it's really hard to be hung up on that when everybody wanted to see this guy succeed and finally get what he deserved in this business. It was great to finally see the American Dragon at the highest point one can reach in the wrestling business.

I find it difficult to fathom that any wrestling fan has not seen this match by the time I am posting this review. If, by the off chance, any of you haven't seen it: do not wait any longer. I'm finished with WrestleMania. Now it's time to catch up with Extreme Rules plus a litany of independent action that I have missed.*


----------



## Obfuscation

Saw nothing terrible about Cena vs Wyatt in the slightest. Loved everything about the match they produced. Favorite thing about the show. Glad I got to say that about something involving them after the route it's gone post-WM.


----------



## flag sabbath

*YES!* to Young Bucks vs. RedDRagon from War Of The Worlds. After a tepid first 5 mins, they stormed to a shit-hot climactic stretch. This one really benefited from not overstaying its welcome, which way too many indy bouts do *****1/4*

The Bucks three-way with Forever Hooligans & Time Splitters from Global Wars also deserves a mention. It was an unashamed spotfest from bell to bell, but it was brilliantly executed & the best of the Jacksons' IWGP defences thus far ******

Oh, and it's been said elsewhere, but ROH has THE worst commentary team in the business. Kelly is a sickeningly bland throwback to the days of Vince hawking ice cream bars. He makes Tony Schiavone seem edgy. Corino's self-obsessed, purposefully obnoxious schtick is just dull. He lacks the charisma, wit & eloquence to pull it off - like a bad Kevin Smith character. And Nigel's yank-infused geezer patter just grates.


----------



## Joshi Judas

I do like Steve Corino sometimes. When reDragon came out with Tom Lawler and Corino made that Lawler liking young girls joke I laughed :lol

The commentary for Tanahashi vs Bennett was horrible though.


----------



## darkclaudio

My Top 30 Matches 2014

1. Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW The New Beginning In Osaka 11/02
2. Triple H, Batista & Randy Orton vs Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins - WWE Extreme Rules 4/05
3. Cesaro vs Sami Zayn - WWE NXT Arrival 27/02
4. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito - NJPW Road To The New Beginning 2/02
5. Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan & Luke Harper vs Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins - WWE Elimination Chamber 23/02
6. Daniel Bryan vs Triple H - WWE Wrestlemania 6/04
7. Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson (c) vs Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish - ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds 17/05
8. Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW The New Beginning In Hiroshima 9/02
9. Taiji Ishimori (c) vs Daisuke Harada - NOAH Great Voyage In Tokyo 8/03
10. Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW The New Beginning In Osaka 11/02
11. Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW Invasion Attack 6/04
12. Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW Invasion Attack 6/04
13. Jimmy Susumu, Jimmy Kanda & Mr. Quu Quu Tanizaki Naoki Toyonaka Dolphin (c) vs CIMA, K-ness & Super Shisa - Dragon Gate Champion Gate In Osaka 2/03
14. Ricochet (c) vs Uhaa Nation - Dragon Gate Glorious Gate 6/03
15. Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 4/01
16. Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 4/01
17. Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan & Luke Harper vs Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins - WWE Raw 3/03
18. Masato Yoshino (c) vs Masaaki Mochizuki - Dragon Gate Open The New Year Gate 16/01
19. T-Hawk vs Akira Tozawa - Dragon Gate King of Gate 9/05
20. Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 3/05
21. Jimmy Susumu, Ryo Saito & Mr. Quu Quu Tanizaki Naoki Toyonaka Dolphin (c) vs CIMA, Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid - Dragon Gate Open The New Year Gate 18/01
22. KENTA & Masato Tanaka vs Tetsuya Naito & Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH Great Voyage In Tokyo 8/03
23. Andrew Everett vs Trevor Lee vs Cedric Alexander - PWG Mystery Vortex II 28/03
24. Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW Anniversary Show 6/03
25. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs Tomohiro Ishii & Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW Anniversary Show 6/03
26. Uhaa Nation vs YAMATO - Dragon Gate The Gate of Passion 8/04
27. Ricochet (c) vs YAMATO - Dragon Gate Dead Or Alive 5/05
28. Yuji Nagata (c) vs Takashi Sugiura - NOAH Great Voyage In Tokyo 8/03
29. Flamita (c) vs Jimmy Susumu - Dragon Gate Dead Or Alive 5/05
30. Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW New Japan Cup 15/03


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Young Bucks vs. ReDragon - **** 1/4 (ROH War of the Worlds) - YES

Holy shit this was good. The Young Bucks are my favorite tag team but I was going to skip this match. Glad I didn't.


----------



## Obfuscation

Corino may be the worst one of the bunch b/c of how self-aware he is w/his comments. Kevin Kelly is a vapid swine who's chubby for the product is relentless and Nigel lingers between boring or just bad.


----------



## vault21

Did anyone else feel like Okada got snubbed in the three way? It was like AJ and Elgin were intent on having a match between themselves and Okada desperately tried to insert himself into the mix over and over again.


----------



## bigbuxxx

It felt like a standard 3-way. Thought it was pretty good.


----------



## ZEROVampire

Jimmy Susumu, Jimmy Kanda & Mr. Quu Quu Tanizaki Naoki Toyonaka Dolphin vs CIMA, K-Ness & Super Shisa - Dragon Gate Champion Gate in Osaka 3/2 ****1/4

i love this, the super speed matches are regular in Dragon Gate, but this match is amazing, this match was crazy, super speed, this is better than the shield vs evolution for me.


----------



## hgr423

Bucks vs Red Dragon

I loved this match. It is the kind of wrestling I like most - fun tag matches where you will probably see something new but you don't need to commit yourself to watch for 30 minutes straight. Sometimes I think the Bucks are the Eliminators on caffeine. I see an influence or at least a similarity, with tag moves "in stereo", double back flips into the corner, unexpected aerial moves, and everyone in the ring at the same time all match. That is good because I liked the Eliminators too but I don't think their matches hold up as well I would like. I would rather watch this than a 5* Okada/Tanahashi match but honestly this is *** 1/2. YES for me, NO for thread.


----------



## Obfuscation

*NEVER Openweight Championship*

Tomohiro Ishii(c) vs Tomoaki Honma - _NJPW: Wrestling Dontaku 2014_​
Decadent manliness. That's all I really have to say. It's self-explanatory. Hell, w/the names involved it is. Isn't that why we love 'em, though? Both exchange two gnarly head drops in the EXACT same place - the direct center of the ring - and it's blissful use of the story, even if completely spontaneous of the fact. Honma's suicide headbutt to the floor = FUCK. Think the last time he busted that out was in his singles match vs Okada on the road to Wrestle Kingdom show. This one was 100x more memorable, however. Especially in slow motion. Whew. Some great nearfalls that had me sold that a new champion was imminent. Ishii is the toughest man to keep down in wrestling today. It's unbelievable. Well, it's actually quite believable, the insanely rugged bastard that he is. You catch my drift, regardless, right? Of course you do. Second question asked. I'm gonna assume that's ok. Headbutts get put out in the finish & you see the clear result of it while both are lying on the mat when all is said and done. Honma is split right down the middle. One clear line - a literal crack within a man's head. This is why I live & breathe.


----------



## ROHFan19

NJPW 5.25.2014

Tomohiro Ishii vs Kota Ibushi ****1/2. Extra 1/4* for Ibushi's headbutt.

AJ Styles vs Kazuchika Okada ****.


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yes to Ishii vs Ibushi.
****3/4
Fuck this match was awesome, told a really great underdog story with tons of stiff strikes.Ishii is a top contender for most outstanding wrestler this year.

Okada vs AJ Styles
****1/4
Really fun match good storytelling, I'm glad they kept the interference to a minimum.AJ really won over the NJPW crowd with his spots in this match.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Rah

*NOMINATE*



Virus, Cachorro & Hechicero Vs ***** Casas, Cavernario & Dragon (CMLL 23/05) - Dragon Lee is a weird mix of Rush and Mistico II; but the good type of weird. He does the big spots better than his older brother and carries Rush's ego almost flawlessly. There's a great moment in the Hechicero/Lee match where Hechicero gets the better of him, only for Lee to get up and push his face right into Hechi's. Here, though, Lee thinks he's the greatest shit ever and tries to beat Virus at his own game. Even Cachorro knows not to try outwork the opposing vet on the mat, and swaps to some strikes and dives. Fucking beautiful dives, at that.

Typical singles exchanges in the primera may be typical CMLL flair , but this becomes a motherfucking brutal mugging in the segunda. Kicks, stomps, dives and strikes at every second. It's almost a pity that they cannot last much longer with the Virus/Casas exchanges, or the odd addition of Hechicero, as those were straight out of the Rush playbook for Casas and is the sole thing I cannot get enough of in wrestling. Hechicero/Casas... one day. Sigh. But I'll take any match Hechicero gets placed in purely to witnesses new ways in which he makes his opponents' faces go SPLAT.

I don't think the good Cavernario was here, at all, but everyone else brought their A-game, and made up for the sleights. A weak-ass Cavernario punt-kick to break the pin, for instance, was immediately matched by Lee running dropkicking Cachorro dirently into the throat. Not that it much helps, as he gets hip-tossed to the outside for his troubles in a spot that would become one of many high points in this workrate heavy match. Blessed are the sixmans, as they are the ones that deliver the goods.


----------



## darkclaudio

Back To The Yokohama Arena
Ishii (c) vs Ibushi ***3/4+
Styles (c) vs Okada ***1/2

ROH War of the Worlds
Steen vs Nakamura ***1/2
Young Bucks (c) vs reDRagon ***1/2+


----------



## seabs

*Hey guys I actually watch a wrestling match. Ishii/Ibushi was good but it really wasn't great for the usual flaws. It started off really well placing Ibushi as the visible underdog in the pairing and the dynamic really worked at the start. Then Ibushi got into the match and was too dominant for the story they started off telling to work. Then it just got into the usual predictable routine with a couple of nice spots. Needed to be about 5 minutes shorter to do this match properly too. *


----------



## Chismo

Ibushi/Ishii was great, IMO, but I was expecting a legit MOTYC, tbf. But whatever, why am I complaining about a four star match, not fair. ****

Yone/Nagata from the latest NOAH show rocked, which is shocking considering it's fucking Yone we're talking about. ****


And sheeeeit, I gotta feeling that trio Rah pimped delivered in tugboats, but I'm too tired to watch anything right now.


----------



## LBThrizzy

I love AJ and Okada but both their singles matches have lacked IMO. They just don't have the chemistry or something.


----------



## Chismo

I'm pretty sure they have a MOTYC in themselves, but the Bullet Club angle is preventing it. When they're left alone, they bust out some great shit, particularly AJ.


----------



## ROHFan19

I was going to say, I feel like their in ring chemistry has actually been really really good so far. Like Chismo said, the Bullet Club interference really prevents a MOTYC, and also both matches haven't really been super long. I'd really like to see them just have a kick ass 30+ minute match with no BC at all.


----------



## Bruce L

Ishii/Ibushi felt to me like an extension of the Nakamura/Ibushi match at the G1 in the larger story of Ibushi manning way the hell up against top heavyweights. Obviously it wasn't as good as that match, but it was still damn good. I'm not quite sure if it's not quite a YES or just barely a YES, but it's definitely a ★★★★ affair. If you liked Ishii/Kushida, this is that, but a little better; both show that Ishii can be just as awesome when he's not the underdog, which is a hugely important step for him, IMO.


----------



## ROHFan19

I think a lot of Ibushi's matches for the rest of this year are going to be like that. They're obviously building him up to move up to Heavyweight...and he has to hold his own in the matches against guys like Ishii/Nakamura without making them look too weak.


----------



## Zatiel

I'll throw a YES at Ibushi Vs. Ishii. Only a few moves read as hokey (the Electric Chair into the corner can go away), while most of it felt like two guys giving it their all. I love Ibushi manning up against heavyweights - he doesn't play as tough as he did a few years ago, making the struggles and comebacks much more believable. It was also nice to see Ishii looks almost as equal with Ibushi as Okada did months ago, which is not to say Ishii and Okada are on the same level push-wise, but it was a pleasant illusion. I could watch them bowl each other over with strikes many more times.


----------



## The Black Mirror

*I just finished watching Extreme Rules so that I would be caught up on WWE PPVs for this year. I remember seeing a few mentions for The Shield vs. Evolution match, so I thought I would come in here to give my feedback.

This was not my cup of tea at all. I felt like the match was mostly uninspired and was forgettable other than a couple of spots (mostly just the one spot with Rollins diving from out of the crowd). Apart from that, this was nowhere near as good as what I've come to expect from The Shield. I can't be the only one who wasn't feeling this one that much.

After looking at the original post in this thread, I noticed that it was recommended by seven people. I just can't see what those folks are seeing in this one. The crowd was certainly freaking out over this match as if it was a much bigger deal than it actually was, so that certainly didn't help things. Although, I can't say that I blame them when you look at the rest of the card. All things considered, this was the diamond in the rough of Extreme Rules. I still can't even come close to recommending it, though. This gets 3.5 stars from me and that's being absolutely generous.*


----------



## Obfuscation

I'd say Okada & Styles have chemistry. There's portions of the match where it really gels in a good fashion. It's not great, but they certainly can play off each other in neat ways. The problem is they drag out the matches way too long and both would benefit WAY more if they worked it as a sprint. Going 20+ isn't doing them any favors. Their middle portions drag. It hurts the overall structure of the match when the start is good & finishing stretch is usually great. Bullet Club interactions don't even hurt these matches. I still don't know why some can't have a little bit of interference if it adds to the story. It's not like a WCW/TNA match where there are guys running in w/the ref knocked out and it happens 10x over. But, alas, it is what it is. I know where I stand on that aspect.

When it comes to the New Japan PPV: Ishii & Ibushi was MOTN & Naito vs Fale was great. Both making my MOTYC list.


----------



## Cabel

Pretty much every Ishii match this year has a chance at making my list.


----------



## Chismo

*Volador Jr. vs. Rush (CMLL 5/25)*

:costanza DID I JUST FUCKING SEE A WRESTLER MAKING HIS ENTRANCE ON CHRIS BENOIT'S THEME SONG? :lmao Rooosh is such a dick, probably the best heel in the business. Anyway, this match was insanely simplistic, and of course, that's something I dig very much. 95% of the match was Rooosh on offense, mauling poor Volador, who sold everything perfectly, particularly the hope spots. I was never a Volador fan, but goddamn me if this match didn't just change it. Some serious Sangre Chicana vibe right there. This really felt old school as old school can be, and don't even try to convince me otherwise. Pure character work. Fuck, I even loved the ending. My new lucha MOTY.

****1/4


----------



## ROHFan19

Hayley Seydoux said:


> I'd say Okada & Styles have chemistry. There's portions of the match where it really gels in a good fashion. It's not great, but they certainly can play off each other in neat ways. The problem is they drag out the matches way too long and both would benefit WAY more if they worked it as a sprint. Going 20+ isn't doing them any favors. Their middle portions drag. It hurts the overall structure of the match when the start is good & finishing stretch is usually great. Bullet Club interactions don't even hurt these matches. I still don't know why some can't have a little bit of interference if it adds to the story. It's not like a WCW/TNA match where there are guys running in w/the ref knocked out and it happens 10x over. But, alas, it is what it is. I know where I stand on that aspect.
> 
> When it comes to the New Japan PPV: Ishii & Ibushi was MOTN & Naito vs Fale was great. Both making my MOTYC list.



Naito's best performance since Okada at 40 Anniversary show I thought. Glad to see somebody else really enjoyed that.


----------



## flag sabbath

Yeah, count me in on the Naito vs. Fale love. A really effective flyer vs. monster performance from the revitalised Naito ****3/4*


----------



## Obfuscation

Thought it topped their strong contest from the New Japan Cup, myself. Very pleased. Both as a big Naito fan _(he really, really thrived under this setting)_ & in seeing Fale grow more and more. The dude is having a great year for himself. Coming out of his shell would be an understatement.


----------



## Chismo

****** Casas, Dragon Lee, El Cavernario vs. Virus, El Cachorro, El Hechicero (CMLL 5/23)*

Yes, this shit right here, this is what I'm talking about. Two old maestros, three young guns... and Hechicero. Yes, Hechicero is his own category, he gives Rush a run for his money when it comes to heel work. We didn't get much of Casas/Virus, but honestly, I don't give a shit after witnessing all these other combos. Tons of hectic and heated pro-wrestling. Cachorro is bound for glory, but Cavernario was the workhorse of the match, I totally did not see that coming. My NEW lucha MOTY.

****1/2


----------



## NastyYaffa

Okada/Styles - ****
Ishii/Ibushi - ****

Both were damn good matches. Gonna check out Fale/Naito later on.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW Back to the Yokohama Arena 5/25*
*
NEVER Openweight Championship:* Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Kota Ibushi ****1/2
*IWGP Heavyweight Championship:* AJ Styles (c) vs Kazuchika Okada ***1/2+

*NOAH NAVIGATION WITH BREEZE 5/17*

KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji vs Takashi Sugiura & Katsuhiko Nakajima ***1/2
*GHC Heavyweight Championship:* Yuji Nagata (c) vs Mohammed Yone ***1/2+

*CHIKARA YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE 5/25*
*
CHIKARA Grand Championship:* Eddie Kingston (c) vs Icarus ***1/2


----------



## Shotakan

People need to get on Yuji Nagata vs. Muhammed Yone from the 5/17 NOAH show. I know, I know, it's a Yone match, and a 2014 one at that. But this match was fantastic; NOAH wants Yone to win, the fans want Yone to win, and more importantly YOU will want Yone to win. The hot crowd probably helps a ton, but I'm going **** on this one.


----------



## Rah

Lucha love warms my heart


----------



## flag sabbath

The crowd for Nagata vs. Yone was indeed fantastic, but Yone's lousy performance killed the match for me. Twice he gets his leg mangled & yet he's up running around, throwing kicks & busting out top rope leg drops like it's no big deal.

Really enjoyed the CMLL trios match. Very slick stuff, but it doesn't make my list.


----------



## Obfuscation

Shotakan said:


> People need to get on Yuji Nagata vs. Muhammed Yone from the 5/17 NOAH show. I know, I know, it's a Yone match, and a 2014 one at that. But this match was fantastic; NOAH wants Yone to win, the fans want Yone to win, and more importantly YOU will want Yone to win. The hot crowd probably helps a ton, but I'm going **** on this one.


If Yone actually ends up making me root for him then it's gonna be my MOTY by absolute default.


----------



## Chismo

*KAI vs. Manabu Soya (W-1 5/4)*

Soya is one of my least favorite wrestlers, not because he sucks in the ring (he's pretty solid, actually), but because he's a lame character. That being said, there are times when he busts out a great performance, and this was one of those times. This match had a solid story behind itself, and you could feel the heat, it was a no-nonsense affair with many hard hits delivered. KAI had a lot to prove here, being a self-proclaimed Ace and all that jazz, and again, it showed in the match. Great stuff.

****1/4


----------



## Bubz

Watched Styles vs Hero from ROH 23/3. Really enjoyed it, a little sloppy in places but those guys really gave off the veteran vibe and it's my first time seeing either guy back on the indies, it's pretty weird seeing them both back in ROH. I missed Hero and his fucking ridiculous boots to faces. AJ's selling was great and it made even the corner to corner exchange pretty fun and I would usually hate that. Very back and forth but in a logical way and I loved that they didn't go into finisher fest territory but kept it simple and ended it at the right point.

Is there any other ROH matches worth watching this year? I've only seen this and Steen/Nakamura and liked both a fair amount. Anything from Hero, AJ, Cole or Steen?


----------



## NastyYaffa

Bubz said:


> Watched Styles vs Hero from ROH 23/3. Really enjoyed it, a little sloppy in places but those guys really gave off the veteran vibe and it's my first time seeing either guy back on the indies, it's pretty weird seeing them both back in ROH. I missed Hero and his fucking ridiculous boots to faces. AJ's selling was great and it made even the corner to corner exchange pretty fun and I would usually hate that. Very back and forth but in a logical way and I loved that they didn't go into finisher fest territory but kept it simple and ended it at the right point.
> 
> Is there any other ROH matches worth watching this year? I've only seen this and Steen/Nakamura and liked both a fair amount. Anything from Hero, AJ, Cole or Steen?


Check out these 3 matches:
- Steen & Young Bucks vs. Elgin & The Briscoes (Raising the Bar, night 1)
- Cole vs. Steen (Global Wars)
- Styles vs. Elgin vs. Okada (War of the Worlds).


----------



## vault21

Cole vs Jyushin Rygah


----------



## sizor

MY PICKS:
ROH
AJ Styles Vs Chris Hero (RoH 22/03)

WWE
zayn vs cesaro


----------



## chrisblaze

very nice


----------



## C-Cool

Due to NXT Takeover, we might have some WEIRD match of the year candidates. Yeah, Sami Zayn was in a good match, but the main event and... the Divas match was surprising as all hell.

I will not be shocked if two or three of those matches are considered 4 stars. But this was a weirdly great event.


----------



## PERFECTSHOW

C-Cool said:


> Due to NXT Takeover, we might have some WEIRD match of the year candidates. Yeah, Sami Zayn was in a good match, but the main event and... the Divas match was surprising as all hell.
> 
> I will not be shocked if two or three of those matches are considered 4 stars. But this was a weirdly great event.


Ill be first to throw my hat in the ring then!

*(YES!) Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze (NXT Takeover) ****1/4*: I expected this to be match of the night & what they delivered here was absolutely awesome. Sami is a good wrestler & Breeze knows his character so well & as much as both guys delivered here, I actually felt Breeze ended up looking like the standout, Ill give all the credit in the world to Zayn though for putting on his usual performance. Good Stuff!

*(YES!) Charlotte vs. Natalya - (VACANT) NXT Women's Championship (NXT Takeover) ****1/4+*: Ok...so this just blew my mind! This was probably the best women's match that I have seen in North American history, Charlottes flawless counter of the figure four was awesome. This entire match was awesome & needs to be seen to be believed, I hope I'm not eaten alive for saying this, but I am very close to giving this ****3/4, because it may honestly be the best WWE match I have seen all year.

Honorable Mention:

Tyson Kidd vs. Adrien Neville (C) - NXT Championship (NXT Takeover) ***1/2 - ***3/4: A very good match that had the unfortunate fate of following up two ****+, one of which is a legit MOTYC. I thought the story the told was good & I'm hoping the feud continues, this show may have been the best thing WWE has done in YEARS!


----------



## Chelsea411

Natalya/Charlotte from Takeover could be one of the greatest women's matches in history. I will say NO for Zayn vs Breeze on the show. Very very good match but wasn't great.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

NXT TAKEOVER-

Zayn vs. breeze ***3/4

Natalya vs. Charlotte ****1/4

Neville vs. Kidd ****1/4


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Ishii vs. Ibushi - **** (as expected, this was awesome)





Watched NXT Arrival but was half paying attention so I'm going to rewatch it later.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Jessssssssssus. Zayn/Breeze was friggin amazing. ****1/2, no joke.

I enjoyed Nattie/Charlotte, but it wasn't MOTYC-material at all imo, but it's still nice to see them getting credit.

Neville/Kid was pretty awesome too. ****


----------



## ROHFan19

EmbassyForever said:


> Jessssssssssus. Zayn/Breeze was friggin amazing. ****1/2, no joke.
> 
> I enjoyed Nattie/Charlotte, but it wasn't MOTYC-material at all imo, but it's still nice to see them getting credit.
> 
> Neville/Kid was pretty awesome too. ****


Gotta disagree totally here. Nattie/Charlotte was the best match of the show. Great storytelling, great psychology, great submissions and Flair was fucking gold. Nothing was overdone and they did some innovative shit.

Neville/Kidd was meh. IDK what it is about Neville, but he just can't get it done in the main event right now. The structure of his matches just suck. It seemed like 2 guys just doing moves rather than anything else. He's had the worst "big match" on both NXT Takeover and Arrival. You can give him Bo sucking, but Kidds a good worker.


Also, how can Zayn/Breeze be ****1/2 with 2 botches? Little bit out of hand IMO. **** is right around where it should be. If that was ****1/2 what was Zayn/Cesaro?


----------



## Saint Dick

NO for Breeze/Zayn. Very good match but I wouldn't call it great.


----------



## Cabel

Charlotte/Natalya was match of the night for me.


----------



## Platt

Charlotte/Natalya completely lost me with the figure four spot took me right out of the match with the stupidity of it.


----------



## flag sabbath

Platt said:


> Charlotte/Natalya completely lost me with the figure four spot took me right out of the match with the stupidity of it.


This. Neither they nor the commentators seemed to have a clue who was supposed to be in control. Good match, but ****1/2* tops. Toyota vs. Yamada it was not.


----------



## seabs

*Charlotte/Nattie was MOTN. Zayn/Breeze and Neville/Kidd were both good but nothing memorable. Nothing worth throwing a YES at.*


----------



## Concrete

I'm glad I wasn't the only one confused about that Figure Four spot. Looked like Nattie was trying to look like she was reversing it but she wasn't in position to which led to Charlotte having to try and adapt which then led to a back in forth of "Fuck whose in control?"


----------



## Obfuscation

I thought when Charlotte rolled back she had the pressure back on her side. But Nattie was selling it like she had it...? I dunno. Not like it was anything close to good prior so who cares. Mediocrity gets celebrated if they have vaginas. We already know this. Only match worth speaking about on the show was Zayn vs Breeze.


----------



## Chismo

*CHAOS vs. Bullet Club (NJPW 5/30)*

Wow, this was great. YOSHI-F’N-HASHI, alls I’m sayin. Hop on the bandwagon.

****


----------



## Cabel

Chismo said:


> *CHAOS vs. Bullet Club (NJPW 5/30)*
> 
> Wow, this was great. YOSHI-F’N-HASHI, alls I’m sayin. Hop on the bandwagon.
> 
> ****


Could've used more Yano in my opinion, but still a fun match. Also, I really want to see Ishii vs Fale.


----------



## Obfuscation

That match is coming on next after Liger vs BUSHI. Can't wait. New Japan and their multi-man tags always slay.


----------



## septurum

NXT Takeover:

Sami Zayn vs Tyler Breeze- **** (the botch kinda hurt it but was still great. Zayn should have won.)

Charlotte vs Natalya- **** (Yes, a WWE divas match is a MOTY contender. Wow, you aren't gonna see a better women's match in WWE.)

Tyson Kidd vs Adrian Neville- **** 1/4 (This was my MOTN, I loved it.)


----------



## Obfuscation

KAI vs Manabu Soya - _WRESTLE-1 5/4_​
_Where did this match come from? I've always been pretty big on KAI, but you can chalk that rhetorical question up towards Soya. Who has been someone I'm normally lukewarm on, unless in a tag team scenario. Soya was more than effective in this bout. Both men brought the fury. As they should. Too much was on the line & things have been building for far too long for it to NOT boil over in a rugged war. Even something the likes of a few too many nearfalls after every move was done properly in this. Normally I'm put off and then some by that type of stuff. Not here. It served a large purpose considering - it was Soya as the culprit of this, btw - his job as match maker was at stake. He didn't want to lose it. Showing desperation and smarts upon each time one of his big blows landed. Still in a bit of that post-match afterglow from this affair. Awesome stuff. They kept chugging the entire 15 minutes. Great strike exchanges throughout; headbutts & forearms in the end that saw both collapse ruled. Again, it felt right in the moment it was placed. Loved each kick out at one too. Those spots are always the best when you're left going "OOOHHH" as they happen. Rather than rolling your eyes at guys trying to hard to make the situation too much for what is being produced. Calling this W-1's best effort of 2014. Effectively trumping the great Sanada vs Aries competition by a fraction. KAI's year has been the most consistent of all the workers in the group. Fitting as he is branded to be their Ace. He now has this under his belt. A jolly great time...of MANLINESS._


Tyler Breeze vs Sami Zayn - _NXT: Takeover 5/29_​
_Competive fun to the max. Walking into this I was confident it would be good. Zayn is god & I've dug Breeze since he appeared on TV w/the gimmick. However he did feel a bit untested in the waters of a match that really mattered or had emphasis. He did have a few ten minute matches vs Neville, but I felt those lacked in the end. They started off well, but by the finishing stretch there were always these parts where both were lying there, making the match come to a stand still. Wasn't sure if that was a weird Breeze trait he likes to do in order to sell the matches in the end or what. So when this match came on, and after the early feeling out stuff took up a decent bit, I just knew this was going to get a fair bit of time. Btw, I thought the progression in the start was good. It worked up to something in the end. Good escalation storytelling. I enjoy that. Anyways, so when the match wore on, there was a bit of that Breeze point where both men were selling their wear and tear. However on this night, it felt justified and was done - again as I like to point out in reviewing matches - in that proper fashion. Both men did give a ton in this. They felt exhausted, yet continued to press on in full throttle. So while both men had a phase where they were on the ground selling in the end, it never took away from the pacing or the heat. It was a collective way to revel in the moment & use it move from the portion prior to the moment next. A different transition, albeit one that kept me hooked. Zayn is so strong at playing a babyface that I was even astounding during this match. He used a guy who is lower on the tier of experience, smaller in size, & all that to make him come off as a mega challenge and still want to have the fans pulling for him as if he could rise up from the danger of being defeated. How many guys make someone half your size not be the underdog in a match? It's wild, I tells ya. Breeze took some disgusting bumps when it came to Zayn's dives by the ramp. On two occasions Breeze took the brunt of each and had his skull smack the ground. The second one especially. Thought he was knocked loopy following that. No joke. I know there is a bit of a tift involving the Orange Crush spot. Which I knew there would be. I absolutely have zero problems w/it. I walked into this hoping WWE would let Zayn bust out something new. Something he hasn't given the fans before. Orange Crush was an ideal move for that scenario. Now it wasn't pretty the entire way, but it was the improvisation from both that really made it rule. I actually thought it was meant to transition into the guillotine choke by Breeze until Zayn popped back up to complete the move. To me, a "botch" (hardly a botch, it just wasn't a completely smooth transaction. That's it.) like that where you can use thinking on the fly to give it a bit something extra only adds to the situation. It's just like Cesaro vs Zayn's finish in the 2/3 Falls match. What if Cesaro had not almost lost Zayn before tossing him up in the uppercut? Would you not agree that it would have lost some of its "holy shit" moment? I think it would have. Cesaro thinking on the fly to not let go, much like Zayn/Breeze in this situation, proved to be the right move & gave the match the more extreme ending rather than losing him to try something else. You got to take a chance in these situations. For this match, they made real good use of something that almost lost the momentum. Finish here was something I thought was totally killer. It left a lot open w/o tarnishing anybody or anything. Breeze ducks down from the Yakuza kick and "accidentally"(?) low blows Zayn. Follows it up w/the Beauty Shot and wins practically clean. No complaints on anything. Zayn can now have a gripe behind this to remain in the hunt & Breeze finally moves on up to be the next in line for a Championship shot. Both men made in this one. Zayn still producing an amazing showing & Breeze proving he's good enough to be in the mix w/popular guys like Zayn & Neville. How NXT is booking matches like this and yet WWE is doing what they doing atm is puzzling. You'd think that mentality would be all across the same company._


Taichi vs El Desperado - _NJPW: Best of Super Juniors XI Night One_​
_Sleeper sub-six minute awesomeness here. Taichi comes out of the blocks as a mega asshole jumping Desperado during his entrance. He's relentless. Tears at the mask immediately and continues to pummel Desperado down. It's like a really rad assault too. Normally Taichi, while always good, has fun in his matches. He's like Taka to where they put their best foot forward all the time, but approach their bouts w/a lighthearted troublemaker vibe. That wasn't the case tonight. He was straight up MEAN. Maybe it has something to do w/his new rock star entrance. No more J-pop teen cuties for Taichi. Desperado got some great sympathy in the short time this was on via the mask tearing. That's a new element to be discovered for him here. Ever since he went full babyface following the loss to Ibushi, he's never really had that emoting to the audience aspect down yet. It came to life here. He was struggling to catch a breath from the moment he got jumped & it really fired the fans up to see him make a come back. When it does it's good stuff. Taking out Taka, tope con hilos, & crazy time vertebreakers to please the masses. Finish was awesome. Ultra fitting w/how Taichi made his portable microphone from his entrance actually come into play for the end. I hope that sticks. Dirty finishes like these put a big smile on my face. Not sure why. They just always have. Like it's that injustice that's so damn fun it can only come from professional wrestling. There's a random ROH match between Jimmy Rave & Jimmy Yang in 2006 that has an ending like this and I adore it. That's what it reminds me of. Among others, but that gets the reference. I would say I hope this leads to an apuesta match down the road (both have their history dipped in Lucha, after all) but I would doubt it considering New Japan only throws a bone to that come FantasicaMania time in Feb. Shame. After what was seen here, the seeds planted could kill. Desperado's mask vs Taichi's hair that he values? Those are two big time objects to be wagered. C'mon Gedo & Jado, book it. Anyways, I loved the hell out of this._


Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, & Yujiro Takahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado, & YOSHI-HASHI - _NJPW: Best of Super Juniors XI Night One_​
_I don't have to go into GREAT detail here b/c the score is the same and I've spoken about so many multi-tags from New Japan this year due to always having the same great qualities. Which of course, are all done differently to keep them worth seeing & worth praising. It's all about the characters that pop. And all these guys do whenever they're engulfed in these big melees. Sticking the majority of them in Korakuen & it's always going to work. Which it did here. You get the still kicking CHAOS vs Bullet Club program at full force, all the players adding their own flare, a super hot audience & ipso facto, you got yourself a great situation. Even though I believe it and am into it, YOSHI-HASHI's spell in the final three minutes was the strongest portion of the match. (k, Ishii fucking BRAINBUSTER'ING Fale is tied b/c holy sweet balls was that spectacular) This already loud, intense atmosphere was heighten when YOSHI-HASHI recieved the spirited slap of the hand from his partner. He came in booming & the fans were coming unglued off every move he hit. He's the next one to break out from obscurity. It's written in the stars. He pretty much already has, but next to come are some victories. I'm not saying he'll win a strap like Ishii or even be a HUGE success for the company, but he's grown to actually be somewhat of a commodity right now. He's over. He's got a charisma that is appealing to the fan base. When you're rocking, you're rocking. No denying it. Not to mention he's just actually been on since this has all come about late last year. He went from being that other job guy in CHAOS to being that cool guy looking to break out and show his worth along side some of the most loved dudes in Japan today. One of his nearfalls in the end made me jump up. Like really, it did. Shiiit, huh? Thought the finish was a bit flatter than I was wanting. Which is a bit of an understatement. It was just obvious knowing two big finishers wasn't going to mean YOSHI-HASHI would kick out so the fans just had to sit there and take it. Still, no complaints on my end. I got what I wanted here. Crazy thing is, this could have gone on for about ten minutes or longer & would have worked. There's endless potential w/these matches. That's my favorite part of it all._


----------



## Chismo

Ugh, why didn't I know about this match? Because it's AWESOME. Dirty, bloody lucha brawl in 240p, hell yes! :mark: Chessman's cornerman steals the show. Okay, no, but almost.

****1/4


----------



## Nervosa

Got a lot of catching up to do:

Ishii vs. Ibushi
***3/4
Ok, so the best thing about this match was that palm strike exchange. It works because its Ibushi's signature thing, and shows his fighting spirit. Then, when Ishii overtakes him at his own strike, and Ibushi is forced to spark out with his desperate maneuvers, the match takes off. The only problem is that the palm strike spot depends on Ibushi taking a much bigger beating up until that point then he did. It won't show his fighting sprit if he is winning not long before it starts. Sadly, that is the exact thing that happened. First 5 minutes of this ruled, but Ibushi's comeback was too early, and ended up making you forget about the initial workover way too early, throwing off the strike exchange, and then the rest of the match. The big comeback in the match ended up being from Ishii, and that just isn't how the rest of the match portrayed the story. You also have the botch on the corner move, which could have been really bad. Then, you have another occurrence of one counts being beyond stupid. Seriously, I loved it in Ishii/Shibata last year, but even then I was saying this works in THIS ONE INSTANCE, and if it becomes regular, its gonna be stupid. Now it happens in every Ishii match and its stupid.

I still have to watch Ishii/Kushida and Ishii/Honma (which I'm sure rules because I love Honma) but right now, I just want Ishii to lose a bunch of matches in a row. Seriously, I hope he loses every G1 match, just so he goes back to being the underdog 2012 version that was amazing. This version needs to go away. I hated all the Naito matches, especially the last one, just for this reason. It just becomes a bunch of spots and counters with no meaning. This, while full of action, and a good workover at the beginning, just once again shows the problems of new Ishii. Granted ***3/4 is nothing to sneeze at, but he's better than this.

CHAOS vs. Bullet Club 5/30
****
Props to this, though. Sadly, Yujiro is just as awful with Bullet club as he was with Chaos. I seriously don't know if I have ever seen him actually make meaningful contact with that running corner boot, ever. Karl was probably the best Bullet club guy here, though. He just gets it. I know why AJ won the title and all, but I still kinda wish it had been Karl. Dude works so hard, and is so awesome, especially in multi-man tags. Fale is really good at instituting a pace during his parts in these tag matches, but he is really prone to bad decisions, and he isn't a good enough athlete to get out of them once he starts. That ropes clothesline on Shinskay was bowling shoe ugly. Ishii's stuff was good, Okada's stuff was awesome, and Yoshi-Hashi is making me eat every insult I have ever had about him. The guy is truly controlling crowds now. He isn't quite as good as Ishii was in this role two years ago, but its damn close. New Japan's greatest asset is their ability to implement undercarders and make them important, and this match was a victory for that psychology.


----------



## darkclaudio

NO
Sami Zayn vs Tyler Breeze ***1/4
Charlotte vs Natalya ***1/2


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NXT Takeover 5/29*

Sami Zayn vs Tyler Breeze ***1/4
*Charlotte vs Natalya ***3/4*
Adrian Neville (c) vs Tyson Kidd ***


----------



## Bruce L

No YES votes for the Takeover, but Zayn/Breeze, Nattie/Charlotte, and Neville/Kidd are all really good.


----------



## Rah

@Nervosa

Ishii is doing really, I'd say. He's improved his game in that position a ton in the past few months. He was the dogs bollocks in the CMLL anniversary trios last September, working the beatdown, but has been really great against Kushida and Honma. The KUSH match is far better than the Ibushi match and has a similar dynamic while Honma/Ishii should be right up your alley. It's as violent as it sounds. 

Ishii is the sole source of greatness in Japan, for me, this year. Didn't think much of the Naito matches nor that match with Ibushi but he has delivered outside of them.


----------



## Obfuscation

I wouldn't say Ishii needs to go back to being an underdog. Why would he? That's where all that progression was leading towards; a run w/a championship that he has now. And it's been fucking fantastic every single time too. Said it once & I'm gonna say it again, his vs the World NEVER Openweight Championship party is my favorite thing in wrestling right now. And w/Sami Zayn out there + Chikara back in the fold, that's a large compliment on my end.

Villano IV vs Chessman was a fun brawl. Nothing I'd plug for my MOTYC however. Glad I watched tho. Apparently it's the only thing from AAA worth seeing from an actual "quality" standpoint. I'm familiar enough w/AAA to buy that. Is it weird that I still like watching? Probably not. It is wrestling. There's just only so many Jack Evans multi-man matches & Mesias 30 minute steel cage brawls I can take.


----------



## Rah

AAA has a weird pull. You know it's junk, but it's compelling junk. With Raw hitting a massive slump, AAA has become the sole TV show I am actively enjoying. Fake Parka shittiness and all. Besides, Dorian Roldan's waddle and Konnan's gifworthy facepalms and general dramatic flare are hilarious.


----------



## Chismo

Yeah, I've heard AAA is a car crash TV done right, so I might check their stuff a bit more. Anyone care to give me their best matches from this year?


----------



## USAUSA1

Chismo said:


> Yeah, I've heard AAA is a car crash TV done right, so I might check their stuff a bit more. Anyone care to give me their best matches from this year?


Daga, Pentagon Jr and Chessman vs. Angelico, Jack Evans and Australian Suicide 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjH-M6jHCLo

Angelico/Evans vs. Demon and Machine Rocker vs. Hijo del Fantasma/Psicosis vs. Aerostar/Drago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY6lGP4ygzU&feature=youtu.be


----------



## Groovemachine

Playing a bit of catch up on the stuff I've watched over the past two weeks:

Young Bucks vs ReDragon - ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds - ****

Tomohiro Ishii vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW Back to Yokohama Arena - ****

Flamita vs Jimmy Susumu - DG Dead or Alive 2014 - ****

Tyler Breeze vs Sami Zayn - WWE NXT Takeover - ****

Tyson Kidd vs Adrian Neville - WWE NXT Takeover - ***3/4

Atsushi Kotoge & Taiji Ishimori vs Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr - NOAH 4.12.2014 - ***3/4

Kushida vs Jay Lethal - ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds - ***3/4


I won't give detailed reviews as otherwise I'll be here all night, but that's the bulk of the stuff I've really enjoyed recently. Haven't got round to Okada/Styles II yet but will do later today I imagine. Really enjoyed NXT Takeover; the presentation is superb, from the top notch video packages and the time that everything got which gave each match a 'big fight feel', to the commentators doing a fantastic job of putting over ALL the talent. Regal's passion comes across very well and these wrestlers already seem like huge stars. Charlotte/Natalya was probably the best women's match I've seen in a long while, but wasn't MOTYC worthy in my book. Like others have said, the figure four spot really took me out of it. Women's division is sure looking up though; hopefully this showing from Natalya will get her used on TV in a more worthwhile role.


----------



## Concrete

I've heard decent things about a stupidly bloody Blue Demon versus Villanos IV


----------



## Rah

Err, Chessman/Villano, you mean. Blue Demon is shit.



Chismo said:


> Yeah, I've heard AAA is a car crash TV done right, so I might check their stuff a bit more. Anyone care to give me their best matches from this year?







Best means worst, so there ya go.


----------



## Concrete

Rah said:


> Err, Chessman/Villano, you mean. Blue Demon is shit.


I meant what I said and said what I meant haha. Chessman/Villano was the OTHER one.


----------



## Rah

I ain't be believin' a word you be sayin'! 

Demon's a guy who made Timothy Thatcher look actively bad, and that's no small feat. He's boring and slow, with little ability to wrestle. I have seen dozens of his matches from early into his career right until 2014, so even without seeing his match against Villano in 2012 (which was painful), I wouldn't believe that. Their opening matwork, in the match this year, was almost spot for spot cribbed from there. Even then spots are blown. Villano is this guy that people hold highly for his brawling capabilities yet I've yet to really see that come to fruition. His kicks and elbows are _terrible_, and his punches usually aren't much better.

Even if you enjoyed the brawling, I'm not quite sure how its quality could hold because of how lethargic the first half was, and how asinine the matwork came across as.


----------



## Concrete

Lets remember I said "Heard good things" with a lot of that coming from WKO.

And Demon vs Thatcher wasn't that bad you buggard


----------



## Tanner1495

Zayn/Breeze is awesome, Breeze really proved hiself here and I can't wait to see what he does on NXT for the next few weeks.


----------



## Concrete

Hayley Seydoux said:


> I thought when Charlotte rolled back she had the pressure back on her side. But Nattie was selling it like she had it...? I dunno. Not like it was anything close to good prior so who cares. Mediocrity gets celebrated if they have vaginas. We already know this. Only match worth speaking about on the show was Zayn vs Breeze.


I will so this is about as monumentally far off as you can get. Partially because without that disconnect I thought it was darn good. And Breeze vs. Zayn wasn't great at all haha


----------



## Chismo

Concrete said:


> I've heard decent things about a stupidly bloody Blue Demon versus Villano IV


Hell yeah, homes, thanks for the recommendation, keep 'em coming. Granted I haven't seen much from BDJ, but dunno where this "BDJ is shit" talk is coming from, Rah. Maybe I clicked the right thumbnails, who knows, but he never ever sucked on my watch. Sure, VIV was the better man here, but BDJ was rock solid as well. 

Anyway, this was a great match, it wasn't a pure brawl, but rather a fine mix of bloody punching and fine catching/holding/pulling. VIV didn't even have to cut into Demon's mask to make him juice, he was simply punching him through it, until it got filled with dem nectars.

****


EDIT: *CHAOS (Nakamura, Okada, YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Bullet Club (Fale, Yujiro, Tonga) (NJPW 5/31)*

Have I gone irretrievably crazy, or was this yet another super swell CHAOS/BC battle? YOSHI-HASHI with dem goodies, yet again.

****


----------



## septurum

Wyatt vs Cena- *** 3/4 (WWE Payback 2014)


----------



## WrestlingOracle

Alot of people put great stock into a finale since it is the closing of a contest, in American wrestling almost always is the launch point for the next part of a feud or whatnot, and is oftentimes the remembered portion. That said, alot of people put a whole lot more creedance into a match as a whole looking at segments with equal weight. One's viewing of where Cena/Bray LMS stands coordinates with their standing on finales in my view.


----------



## PERFECTSHOW

*YES! Evolution vs. The Shield - No Holds Barred 3-on-3 Elimination Match (WWE Payback) ****1/2*: I loved the hell out of this match! The Shield jumping off shit has made for some of the best moments in wrestling of 2014. The match started in the crowd and got itself under control for a slow tag stretch, but once the match broke down the second time, it turned into a fantastically out of control brawl that we havent seen since the attitude era. Really good stuff again, from both teams & The Shield continues to shine.

Honorable Mention:

John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt - Last Man Standing Match (WWE Payback) ****+: I didnt seem to love this nearly as much as everyone else, but I wasnt entirely sure what to expect, lots of smoke & mirrors but it worked & it was hella fun. Gimmicky finish kind of took the steam out of the match, but that tends to be the case w/ all Last Man Standing matches of this era, definitely check it out as it was one of the best LMS matches in a long time, probably since Cena vs. Edge (Backlash 2009) or Cena vs. Umaga (Royal Rumble 2007).

Cesaro vs. Sheamus (C) - WWE United States Championship (WWE Payback) ***3/4: I dont like giving openers a lot of credit, unless they are really good, because it sets to much of a standard for the rest of the show, but WWE has done a good job w/ delivering very good openers lately, sometimes too good, but this one served as a great way to get ready for a good night of wrestling. Cesaro & Sheamus have good chemistry and always seem to deliver, this was no exception, great way to get the ball rolling, some great power spots from Cesaro & Sheamus could be the most underrated performer this year. I wasnt crazy about the finish, but everything else was really good.


----------



## flag sabbath

Thought Cena vs. Wyatt was rubbish. Cartoonish back-and-forth & Attitude Era stunts. Whatever. Great opener from Cesaro & Sheamus, though ****3/4*


----------



## ZEROVampire

*WWE Payback 6/1*
*
United States Championship:* Sheamus (c) vs Cesaro ***1/4
*Last Man Standing Match:* Bray Wyatt vs John Cena ***3/4
*No Holds Barred Elimination Match:* Evolution vs The Shield ****


----------



## hgr423

ZEROVampire said:


> *WWE Payback 6/1*
> *
> United States Championship:* Sheamus (c) vs Cesaro ***1/4
> *Last Man Standing Match:* Bray Wyatt vs John Cena ***3/4
> *No Holds Barred Elimination Match:* Evolution vs The Shield ****


Given the talent involved I can't believe any of this is actually watchable.


----------



## Saint Dick

hgr423 said:


> Given the talent involved I can't believe any of this is actually watchable.


I don't get what you're trying to say.


----------



## hgr423

Saint Dick said:


> I don't get what you're trying to say.


Given that most people here thought Bucks / Red Dragon from 5/17 was 4* and all 4 from that match are talented wrestlers, how could any of those matches from WWE's PPV last night be equally as good?

Thanks.


----------



## Saint Dick

hgr423 said:


> Given that most people here thought Bucks / Red Dragon from 5/17 was 4* and all 4 from that match are talented wrestlers, how could any of those matches from WWE's PPV last night be equally as good?
> 
> Thanks.


Because Sheamus, Cesaro, Cena, Wyatt, Evolution and Shield are talented and capable of great matches? I haven't seen Payback yet but to suggest that the guys involved can't have great matches is completely ignorant and indisputably wrong.


----------



## hgr423

Saint Dick said:


> Because Sheamus, Cesaro, Cena, Wyatt, Evolution and Shield are talented and capable of great matches? I haven't seen Payback yet but to suggest that the guys involved can't have great matches is completely ignorant and indisputably wrong.


Sorry. While I believe some of them are talented, I find their current wrestling style to be pretty one dimensional and I believe they tend to repeat the same move sets and spots, often in the same order, no matter who they are wresting until the point that it gets quite predictable. I didn't mean to offend you though.


----------



## Saint Dick

hgr423 said:


> Sorry. While I believe some of them are talented, I find their current wrestling style to be pretty one dimensional and I believe they tend to repeat the same move sets and spots, often in the same order, no matter who they are wresting until the point that it gets quite predictable. I didn't mean to offend you though.


I'm not offended at all bro, don't worry about that.

Moves alone don't make good wrestling matches. WWE has been dishing out quality in-ring performances on a consistent basis all year. Last year as well.


----------



## hgr423

Saint Dick said:


> I'm not offended at all bro, don't worry about that.
> 
> Moves alone don't make good wrestling matches. WWE has been dishing out quality in-ring performances on a consistent basis all year. Last year as well.


I watched a Shield 6 man tag on Raw last year. The next week I saw another Shield 6 man tag, but it looked like the same match. I think the wrestling maneuvers are part of it. I think they are recycling the same match like when they ran Hogan / Flair on house shows in 91.


----------



## Corey

*WWE United States Championship*
Sheamus (c) vs. Cesaro (_WWE Payback_) - ****

This is one HELL of a sprint that showed both guys are capable of wrestling any type of match. Perfect length for an opener and an incredibly creative finish. I typically prefer matches that have more of a traditional structure with a long control segment followed by a comeback, but this was nothing but back and forth action for 11 minutes and it worked perfectly into the story they were going for. Great stuff. Quite easily the MOTN on this show.

EDIT:

*#1 Contender's Match*
Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze (_NXT Takeover_) - ****

I rewatched this and upped my rating. A total rollercoaster ride. You could feel the desperation and the pure NEED from both of these guys to become number one contender. Some fantastic nearfalls and the "botch" everyone has spoke of doesn't bother me too much because it looked a lot like Breeze was trying to counter into a rollup. Not what they were going for I'm sure, but it worked. Love the creative finish too. This is every bit as good as Cesaro/Zayn was imo.


----------



## seabs

*So I watched a ROH match from 2014. You can probably guess what's coming next. I figured I'd give the Bucks vs Worlds Worst Tag Name match a go because it was only 13 minutes which I had time for and for whatever reason I was kinda interested in it. It wasn't awful I guess but it certainly wasn't great either. What it was was an exhibition. Which is fine if it's treated as an exhibition match but it wasn't. I don't really follow ROH anymore so going in I had the fun game of work out who's babyface and who's heel. I had enough confidence in myself to figure it out at some point, probably pretty early on. I was wrong and I still don't really know which team were the good guys and which were the bad guys. 

Who was I supposed to be rooting for? At first I assumed The Young Bucks. They came out representing Bullet Club who I know are massive heels and they did the back rake in the corner which is heel shtick 101. So I figured from the off they were the heels as they were performing heel shtick. Makes sense right? Then I get super uber confused because MMA douche with ReDragon starts acting like a total douche and interfering in the match. So I boo this man because BOOOOO you're not in this match. But now I'm cheering for the guys who just performed an overly cocky back rake and gloated about it. Not too sure about that. Back rake guys now start to get worked over by fake (+ one real) MMA guys and I'm confused still as to who I'm rooting for. Do I want Nick Jackson to make the tag to his partner or do I want to enjoy the beating he's taking? I DON'T FUCKING KNOW SO HOW CAN I BECOME INVESTED IN THIS MATCH. 

So I decide to listen to the crowd. Maybe they'll tell me who to cheer for and I'll cheer along for them. Nobody is doing big spots right now so they're kinda quiet. Then The Young Bucks do a dive out of the ring and the crowd pop. So now I think they're the heels. But then Kyle O'Reilly also does a cool looking spot and they pop for him too. This isn't good for my health. We're now at the finishing stretch (despite only actually being halfway through the match) and I still don't know who I want to win. The live crowd don't seem to care about who wins though either. THIS IS A BIG ISSUE. Oh and Kyle O'Reilly just made a heroic save for his partner. Yes the same partner who along with him were just conducting a 2 on 1 beatdown and have some MMA jock CHEATING on their behalf for them. 

It's the very first fundamental of pro wrestling. Give the crowd a guy they want to win and a guy they want to see lose. Analogy time. NBA Finals coming up. Game 1 in San Antonio. There's a team that crowd wants to see win and a team they want to see lose. This match was an exhibition. Exhibitions aren't sustainable. Can you imagine an NBA season where they decided every match but would be an All Star Game? That'd be fucking awful. The All Star Game is nice to watch once a year but nobody really cares who wins it. It's why the Miami/SA series is being played in Miami and San Antonio not in Boston or Oklahoma. These are the very basics of pro wrestling and this match didn't have it. Oh and then the match ends and apparently the tag titles changed hands and nobody cared. That's not a good thing either. And again it does to show that nobody cares who wins or loses in ROH, it's just a series of exhibition matches where the fans only care about seeing highspots and aren't emotionally invested in the actual outcome of the match aka the part that makes you money. 

One good thing about the match though was that 450/Guillotine spot was really cool. Really it should have been the finish because the match peaked at that point and you should want the ending to be the peak because otherwise everything after the peak isn't as good and thus falls kinda flat. Finish was pretty sucky actually regardless of that fact. Kyle O'Reilly must have super shitty armbars because Jackson #1 (or #2 idk) was able to stay in with his arm fully stretched out for like 30 odd seconds before tappping. Either that or Jackson #1 or #2 has super strong arms that are very hard to actually break. Also Bobby Fish looks insanely stupid these days.*


----------



## Concrete

Watch Hardys vs Briscoes from this year. Too lazy for a write up but it is THE STUFF! And you can tell who are supposed to cheer!


----------



## seabs

*Did The Briscoes stop being bad for it? I doubt I'll watch it simply because I have so much stuff that I want to watch to catch up on from last year and not enough time. Which begs the question of why I watched that but that's curiosity for you.*


----------



## Kaiju

hgr423 said:


> Sorry. While I believe some of them are talented, I find their current wrestling style to be pretty one dimensional and I believe they tend to repeat the same move sets and spots, often in the same order, no matter who they are wresting until the point that it gets quite predictable. I didn't mean to offend you though.


As does 95 percent of the indy wrestlers. would you prefer they do 10,000 fips and kick out of every move possible? lordy some people.


----------



## Concrete

Well it wasn't worked as an INDY match but with like FIP segments and Briscoes looking like bad arses for the home town heroes, Hardys. Different atmosphere than most other promotions. Hey, there's a run in by WILLOW! Wait, you said you weren't going to watch already, right? Good, cause in theory that'll be a turn off.


----------



## Obfuscation

I'm lazy to write anything but fuck my yankee blue jeans I got everything I wanted and more out of this:



Just like HARASHIMA vs Irie, it's so great that I don't even have the words to form a little write up on. Eh. How's about that. Magic of Korakuen strikes again. b/c maaaaan, in any other area I don't think this would have felt as big as it did. Which isn't a slight. You take any compliments a building w/a generally amazing crowd can give you. Think Nakamura vs Tenzan from the Climax in 2011. Strong work, but BOOMING aura behind it adds that much more. I think Korakuen is the only building in the world that can actually make that point ring true for me.

Also, Sheamus vs Cesaro, totally making my list. Heck of a sprint.


----------



## The Black Mirror

*Andrew Everett vs. Cedric Alexander vs. Trevor Lee- PWG Mystery Vortex II (March 28, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT NOMINATED)​
I just finished watching through the first two PWG shows of the year. I'm a little disappointed because the above match is the only one that I feel deserves any mention in this thread from either one of these two shows. I enjoyed the tag between The Inner City Machine Guns and The African American Wolves (ridiculously fucking stupid team name, by the way), but it just started off way too slow for me to get fully invested in it. Had they kept the same pace throughout, I probably could have given that match at 3.75 rating, but I'm stuck on a 3.5 for it now. The main event for DDT4 absolutely fucking sucked. I can't imagine that match appealing to anybody. It's a shame too, because the talent was there. Like I said, the above match is the only one that I felt would be worth a mention here, although it is certainly not special enough to earn a recommendation.

These three guys put it all out there, without going too far. They did not wear out their welcome and the match lasted just long enough. In my opinion, this is how an opener on an indy show should be executed. There were definitely a lot of spots in this match, and it could have become overkill, but thankfully, it felt just right to me. I may have a soft spot for this match because I watch all three of these guys wrestle on a monthly basis for my local indy promotion. Regardless of that fact, though, I feel as these guys had an impressive outing. I understand that it was the first time at PWG for Trevor Lee and Andrew Everett. I also understand that it's been a while since Cedric has been there. I think these three did more than enough to earn themselves regular roster spots at PWG. From the look of it, all three of them were invited back for the Sold Our Soul for Rock 'N Roll show from a couple of weeks ago. I can't wait to check that out.

In all, I'm pretty disappointed with PWG so far this year. I know they really hit their peak in the 2010-2012 frame. Last year was 50/50 in that I enjoyed about half the shows and found the other half to be miserable. For the most part, I found both of the 2014 shows to be miserable. This match is the only one that stood out for me. Here's to hoping that the next show gets things going again for the promotion, as it used to be my favorite.*


----------



## The Black Mirror

*Cesaro vs. Sheamus - WWE Payback (June 1, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT NOMINATED)​
There isn't really much to say about this match, other than what has already been said. This was a solid opener for the main part of the show. Once again, Cesaro really displayed his strength here. He and Sheamus are a really good match-up and have pretty decent chemistry in the ring. This was an all-out fight and these guys really made the US Title seem legit here. I hope to see their feud continue into the future. They can do this on an even bigger scale and get a better match out of it. For now, I can't recommend it, but it definitely gets it's honor as being just below that threshold at 3.75 stars. Nice stuff.*


----------



## Chelsea411

Cesaro vs Sheamus at Payback was amazing. No Question ****1/2. Stole the show. The in-ring work and storytelling from these guys is Great


----------



## flag sabbath

Bullet Club vs. Tanahashi & Co. from 3/6 is another superbly assembled 10-man ****3/4*


----------



## malek

Taguchi vs Shelley from NJPW BOSJ XXI day 4 was great, especially considering BOSJ standards. ***3/4


----------



## Chismo

So, recent MOYTCs:

Cesaro/Sheamus (Payback) ****

Shelley/Taguchi (BOSJ 6/3) ****1/4

The 6/3 BOSJ event also had Taichi/Romero, BUSHI/KUSHIDA, Omega/Desperado and the Bullet Club 10-man tag, all in the almost-great territory.


----------



## malek

Would also like to up my Taguchi/Shelley rating to **** after seeing it again


----------



## Rah

Concrete said:


> Hey, there's a run in by WILLOW!


Almost as wacky as when Abyss made a run-in against Joseph Park.


----------



## Obfuscation

JOE PARK

I wonder if the Willow run-in was a cop out to use Will O' The Wisp II. b/c I think that kid still exists.


----------



## Concrete

It was weird seeing Jeff do run in in his own match and then beat up some people with an umbrella.


----------



## Obfuscation

Alex Shelley vs Ryusuke Taguchi - _NJPW: Best of the Super Juniors XXI Night Four_​
Well, I'm sure glad I watched this one a second time. Perhaps I was crashing from that daily fix of wrestling and my attention span was losing focus in taking in all this match had to offer or what, but the second viewing helped. I've stated how while I enjoy Taguchi, some of his singles matches for me don't quite get me emotionally involved as I like. Change of pace here. While I thought the match at Invasion Attack vs Devitt was "good"; this exceeding blew it away. Best darn singles match I can remember Funky Weapon having in quite some time. Shelley's consistency sticks. Match was built up so well from opening to climax. And it ended at its peak. Rather than continuing, continuing, then concluding off some moments that ended up taking away from the prime heat areas. Was very pleased w/that. Not that most New Japan matches tend to overstay their welcome, but you know, I'm still appreciative to see it remain a constant. Taguchi fed off of Shelley real well here. It was chemistry spawned from various tag team clashes in the past, highlighted down to just them. Taguchi had more fire here than usual. Or at least so far throughout the tournament. Thought he didn't do the best of jobs vs Omega - not like he was bad, but he could have been better - so seeing him hit that stride of a natural flow, real strong effort, & charisma popping as the match continued to rise & rise was fun. Constant teases - from both - for Taguchi's finisher rocked. Had a great pop when Taguchi finally hit it. Those competitive back & forth, who will get the upper hand next Japanese junior bouts. They sure are swell. Here's another one for the long list.


----------



## Chismo

Hayley Seydoux said:


> Alex Shelley vs Ryusuke Taguchi - _NJPW: Best of the Super Juniors XXI Night Four_​
> Well, I'm sure glad I watched this one a second time. Perhaps I was crashing from that daily fix of wrestling and my attention span was losing focus in taking in all this match had to offer or what, but the second viewing helped. I've stated how while I enjoy Taguchi, some of his singles matches for me don't quite get me emotionally involved as I like. Change of pace here. While I thought the match at Invasion Attack vs Devitt was "good"; this exceeding blew it away. Best darn singles match I can remember Funky Weapon having in quite some time. Shelley's consistency sticks. Match was built up so well from opening to climax. And it ended at its peak. Rather than continuing, continuing, then concluding off some moments that ended up taking away from the prime heat areas. Was very pleased w/that. Not that most New Japan matches tend to overstay their welcome, but you know, I'm still appreciative to see it remain a constant. Taguchi fed off of Shelley real well here. It was chemistry spawned from various tag team clashes in the past, highlighted down to just them. Taguchi had more fire here than usual. Or at least so far throughout the tournament. Thought he didn't do the best of jobs vs Omega - not like he was bad, but he could have been better - so seeing him hit that stride of a natural flow, real strong effort, & charisma popping as the match continued to rise & rise was fun. Constant teases - from both - for Taguchi's finisher rocked. Had a great pop when Taguchi finally hit it. Those competitive back & forth, who will get the upper hand next Japanese junior bouts. They sure are swell. Here's another one for the long list.


----------



## Obfuscation

To add to more conforming, gave Naito vs Ishii from Invasion Attack another whirl and justifiably so as I should have waited the first time around for a day that was much less hectic. Terrific finale. New Beginning is still their top prize - and one of my top prizes of this whole freakin year - although that takes nothing away from how righteous all of this was on the third outing. Naito's nutty neck tumbles & Ishii's bad assery counters all day.


----------



## Obfuscation

KUSHIDA vs Jushin Liger - _NJPW: Best of the Super Juniors Night Seven_​
Lordy it's a super great Jushin Liger singles match that finally made the rounds. My love, it's been much too long. Glad he decided to bust this out while working w/KUSHIDA. Lately these juniors are really selling hard working vs Liger in a singles match. Not that they shouldn't, but the importance this year feels much higher than usual. Match itself is a slick Veteran vs not really a-Rookie affair. Liger may have shook KUSHIDA's hand at the start, but that didn't mean he would take it easy on the young pup. Liger knows the threat he presented so after pinpointing KUSHIDA's leg, he was going to take it to hell and back. While it wasn't Regal-esque contortion, steel chairs, announce tables & a relentless barrage all on the leg made do. KUSHIDA's selling of his bum wheel was rather immaculate. He knew his offense consists of a frequent use for his legs, but damn him if he doesn't try it to thwart Liger. Springboard chop attempt only to crumble as soon as he landed on the ground; shiiiit. This kid knows what's up. As some of these formulas go, Liger had KUSHIDA wounded for the entire bout until that chance opportunity leaves Liger wounded, searching for higher ground. Liger's right arm being the appendage mentioned here. KUSHIDA did something super neat while attacking the arm at the start. He went for a kimura lock, but to spin out into position he did this tumble where it looked as if his body crumbled from not being able to support his bum knee from the previous damage done to it. A moment where Liger was hurt, caught, fooled into thinking his work had did its damage on KUSHIDA as he tumbled, then blam - sucked right into the belly of the beast. Another KUSHIDA singles match in 2014 w/a great countout tease spot. He's really good at those it seems. Taking brainbusters on the floor to sell them hard. Amen, brother. Keep it coming. Liger wasn't 100% asshole throughout this like he could have been, but his selling of a threat that KUSHIDA could up and take anything he wanted was brilliant. Which only continues to put Liger over as a god b/c the dude is wearing a mask + body suit, yet his objectives and body language is ever clear. Finish played so genius into this aspect, as well as the countout tease. Kid w/shot knee & took a brainbuster on the outside still won't go away, so he might as well have to suffer another brainbuster to learn his lesson. The catch is having to make sure KUSHIDA won't find one final opening out of it to slap on the kimura lock one more time. Liger was scrambling to power out but no go. He was caught. Fear of being trumped realized. KUSHIDA may have just arrived. Ready to take the singles Junior division to be his own. Holy moly; absolutely stellar.


----------



## Tanner1495

Praise to KUSHIDA/Liger. Both have had underrated years this year, as not only has KUSHIDA ran with every opportunity, but Liger has had some absolutely FUN tag matches in NOAH, New Japan and Wrestle-1


----------



## Chismo

*AAA 2014/5/17*

Cibernetico, Fenix, Psycho Clown vs. Averno, Chessman, Pentagon Jr.

_Ah yes, Averno with dat evil swag. This was a top notch trio, and the best part – it was only 10 minutes long, but filled with heated brawling and excellent comebacks/hope spots. There’s a moment when Ciber hits a desperate spear and the place goes nuts. Averno’s debut match for AAA, and Mistico was there as well, so this was totally newsworthy._

****​


----------



## USAUSA1

Chismo said:


> *AAA 2014/5/17*
> 
> Cibernetico, Fenix, Psycho Clown vs. Averno, Chessman, Pentagon Jr.
> 
> _Ah yes, Averno with dat evil swag. This was a top notch trio, and the best part – it was only 10 minutes long, but filled with heated brawling and excellent comebacks/hope spots. There’s a moment when Ciber hits a desperate spear and the place goes nuts. Averno’s debut match for AAA, and Mistico was there as well, so this was totally newsworthy._
> 
> ****​


I wouldn't rate the match that high but the atmosphere was crazy. AAA use the best arenas.


----------



## flag sabbath

Another topnotch Chaos vs. Bullet Club multi-man on the 6/6 NJPW show. Of course you can't go wrong with Okada, Shinskay & YOSHI-HASHI, but who'da thought Fale, Tonga & Yujiro would become such an effective combo. Plus you've got to love a hot crowd that believes Y-H can vanquish Fale ****3/4*


----------



## Bubz

so these BOSJ shows are worth watching then?


----------



## Chismo

Yep, just finished KUSHIDA/Liger, fucking tits match. ****1/4, and I though it'd be impossible to top Shelley/Taguchi.


----------



## flag sabbath

I thought grumpy Liger taking apart KUSHIDA's leg and KUSHIDA's handicapped comebacks were really good, but I wouldn't go above ****1/2* (which is what I gave Shelley vs. Misawa-with-AIDS too). Still, BoSJ has been way more entertaining than last year.


----------



## Chismo

I don't know, I'm a sucker for minimalistic wrestling, which is exactly what Kushida/Liger was. They were focused and tenacious, and I seriously LOVED the ending. The whole match had this "passing the torch" vibe.


----------



## Tanner1495

Chismo said:


> Yep, just finished KUSHIDA/Liger, fucking tits match. ****1/4, and I though it'd be impossible to top Shelley/Taguchi.


So glad people are digging KUSHIDA/Liger, went **** for it, so good!


----------



## Obfuscation

Bubz said:


> so these BOSJ shows are worth watching then?


YES.

Last year was really light-hearted in approach other than the tremendous finals, but this year has honestly rocked from top to bottom. It "feels" so much bigger. Almost like last year was just there to help push Devitt's recent heel turn + Bullet Club. Everyone has come to play in one way or another. From pissed off Taichi to ultra motivated KUSHIDA/BUSHI, to Alex Shelley's passion, etc.


----------



## Bubz

I started watching Shelley/Taguchi but got sidetracked unfortunately. I've always thought Shelley was a fantastic performer. It warmed my heart when he gave that girl his dog tags at the start.

I'm looking forward to this Liger/KUSHIDA match.


----------



## Chismo

*NJPW BOSJ XXI 6/6
*
CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga)

_New Japan is best in the world when it comes to underdogs, and how to book them. This match had YOSHI-HASHI improving his game of toughness one level up, and it made for such an impressive character progression, especially for those who follow the promotion of a regular basis. Yet another obstacle on his path of becoming a strong wrestler. That’s it, the most basic stories about wrestlers told via most simple and modest tools – in the squared circle. Fale is quickly becoming one of the best big guys in the industry. Hell, even Tonga was decent here._

****​


----------



## Obfuscation

Shelley is still the man. We don't get his glimpses of him on the mat much these days, however his assimilation into the Japanese Junior style has more than fit like a glove.

Tanahashi & Honma vs Gallows & Gun was strong consistency from the bunch & MAN what a finish. Honma is so over in most markets. While this was cooking, it was trumped by the later following Fale, Tonga, & Yujiro vs Nakamura, Okada, & YOSHI-HASHI six man which had a molten ending. Melt your face off w/the reaction from the crowd in wanting YOSHI-HASHI to knock off Fale. Reaction off his lariat knocking Fale down :mark: The close call endings to keep the crowd rumbling! AND THAT BAD LUCK FALL - AHHHHHHHHH. I'm swooning.


----------



## vault21

Liger proving he's still the shits, first against Cole and now KUSH :mark:

Fuck those 8-man matches they always stick him in.


----------



## Obfuscation

Just like last year invader asshole Liger was the high point for NOAH. There's no down time for him in any situation; always giving something great when given the chance.


----------



## The REAL MP

I pooped my pants!


----------



## Shotakan

*OM-NOM-NOM*

KO-D Openweight Championship: HARASHIMA vs. KUDO(c) _5/25/14_

So-so-so-so-so-SO much better than their disappointing match earlier. I want HARASHIMA to have a seminar where he just teaches people how to sell the leg, because he's about the only one in the world who can do it without pissing me off. There was some clipping here that WOULD have been blink-and-you-miss-it if they didn't announce the 10-minute mark...less than ten minutes into the match, including entrances and pre-match video package.

Anyway, this is everything you want in a HARASHIMA/KUDO match; hard hits, smart work, and building to their signature spots. Not a bad use of your day in the slightest.

***3/4


----------



## flag sabbath

Bloody hell. For a throwaway undercard bout with an oh-so-predictable outcome, Goto & Shibata vs. Nagata & Cap was a proper barnburner. If you include the post-match slap-off (which I am), I'm tempted to say ****** and be damned.

EDIT: Okay, okay, so I got a little overexcited. Still a solid ****1/2*, though.


----------



## Rah

*YES*


*KUSHIDA Vs Jushin Liger (06/06/2014 NJPW)* - There's something about Liger that he feels forced to start his BoSJ matches in the same formulaic manner of subpar matwork leading to a surfboard headlock. Bless KUSH as the one juniour who isn't going to struggle out of it in some contrived, floatover manner (re Ricochet). Rather, he points out the illegality of the hold, and forces the ref into making the break for him.

Liger's pretty much a fat slob, at this stage in his career, so his fluidity and offence isn't quite on point but he's not quite bare-bones in what he offers in the match, either. His little personal touches are what seperates this from being a match formula anyone else could have worked. Absolutely adored how he patted KUSH on the chest, after a ropebreak, almost to go "well done, kid, but the pains nowhere close to being over". Guy's totally dick here.

KUSH, though, proved himself as the stalwart of NJPW's juniour division, once again. This might just be the best leg-selling I've seen out of the promotion in a long time. He isn't merely grabbing at his knee, after his moves, as some false and half-arsed display of pain but actively selling within his comebacks and putting over Liger huge while Jushin is on attack. During his springboards and high-flies, he makes sure to land mostly on his healthy leg, while any bursts show him to be ever so slightly off-balance in his run. He's also made use of the perfect adrenaline-styled comeback for a junior ace in how he slowly "de-sells" his leg, as his determination grows, through making his comeback, only to then over-reach beyond what his injured knee is capable of and stagnate back into lethargy. While it's been done before, it's one that feels both fresh and innovative within the scene. Extra points for the finish coming off of work done in his first comeback sequence, too.

I'm really glad that he's getting so over (or is this not something new?), and I sincerely hope he is given more chances to work the non-irritating workers of the promotion. BoSJ isn't close to the talents of the mid-90s, and finding a good match amongst the trash is almost impossible now. It's a pity Shelley pulled out of BoSJ because that pairing might be the sole one I'm interested in viewing. Regardless, KUSH is 2-for-2 in great performances this year, and is readily becoming a Japanese must-see, along with Ishii, within a company I'd much rather ignore.


----------



## Rah

Puro:
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 12 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Tetsuya Naito (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
Okada, Nakamura, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanahashi, Goto, Naito & Captain NJ (NJPW 05/01)|| YES = 1 ||
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Masato Yoshino (DG Infinity #324) || YES = 3 ||
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara (NOAH 19/01) || YES = 1 ||
Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW 02/02) || YES = 4 ||
Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (Dragon Gate 12/01) || YES = 3 ||
Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki (AJPW 05/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 15 ||*
The Young Bucks Vs Time Splitters (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
*Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 12 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Hirooki Goto (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 7 ||
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata Vs Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 2 ||
Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Shigehiro Irie Vs HARASHIMA (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada Vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW 42nd Anniversary) || YES = 2 ||
Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa Vs Shinya Ishikawa & Shinobu (BJW 02/03) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet Vs Uhaa Nation (Dragon Gate 06/03) || YES = 1 ||
Taiji Ishimori Vs Daisuke Harada (NOAH Great Voyage 08/03) || YES = 4 ||
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW New Japan Cup 15/03) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato (BJW 26/02) || YES = 1 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 9 ||
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 3 ||
Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki Vs Suwama & Hikaru Sato (AJPW 18/03) || YES = 1 ||
Flamita Vs Jimmy Susumu (Dragon Gate: Dead or Alive) || YES = 1 ||
Twin Towers Vs Wild Network (BJW Endless Survivor) || YES = 1 ||
Kota Ibushi Vs Tomohiro Ishii (25/05 NJPW) || YES = 4 ||
KAI Vs Manabu Soya (04/05 Wrestle-1) || YES = 1 ||
Alex Shelley Vs Ryusuke Taguchi (03/06 NJPW) || YES = 1 ||
KUSHIDA Vs Jushin Liger (06/06 NJPW) || YES = 3 ||





US Indy:
Trent Barretta Vs Anthony Nese (Evolve 25) || YES = 1 ||
Sigmon Vs Vordell Walker (TCW 14-01) || YES = 1 ||
Johnny Gargano Vs Uhaa Nation (Evolve 27) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Roderick Strong (RoH 01/02) || YES = 1 || 
AR Fox Vs Chris Hero (Evolve 23/02) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs JT Dunn (Beyond Wrestling Critical Acclaim) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs Masato Tanaka (DG:USA Open The Ultimate Gate) || YES = 2 ||
Ricochet Vs Johnny Gargano (DG:USA Open The Ultimate Gate) || YES = 1 ||
Caleb Konley Vs Cedric Alexander (PWX Rise of a Champion IX) || YES = 1 ||
Biff Busick Vs Drew Gulak (CZW To Infinity) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Chris Hero (RoH 22/03) || YES = 1 ||
Young Bucks Vs ReDragon (ROH War of the Worlds) || YES = 4 ||





WWE:
*Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (Royal Rumble) || YES = 26 ||*
Daniel Bryan Vs Randy Orton (Raw 03/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Cesaro Vs John Cena (Raw 17/02) || YES = 20 ||*
*The Wyatts Vs The Shield (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 29 ||*
Elimination Chamber Match (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 4 ||
*Sami Zayn Vs Cesaro (NXT ArRIVAL) || YES = 25 ||*
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Raw 03/03/2014) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs HHH (Wrestlemania) || YES = 9 ||
John Cena Vs Bray Wyatt (Wrestlemania) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs Batista Vs Randy Orton (Wrestlemania) || YES = 5 || 
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Main Event 08/04/2014) || YES = 3 ||
The Shield Vs Evolution (Extreme Rules) || YES = 7 ||
Tyler Breeze Vs Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover) || YES = 2 ||
Charlotte Vs Natalya (NXT Takeover) || YES = 3 ||
Adrian Neville Vs Tyson Kidd (NXT Takeover) || YES = 2 ||
The Shield Vs Evolution (Payback) || YES = 1 ||
Cesaro Vs Sheamus (Payback) || YES = 1 ||





Lucha Libre:
Virus Vs Titan (CMLL 28/01) || YES = 4 ||
Rush Vs Shocker (CMLL 21/03) || YES = 1 ||
Virus, Cachorro & Hechicero Vs ***** Casas, Cavernario & Dragon (CMLL 23/05) || YES = 2 ||
Volador Jr Vs Rush (25/05 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
Villano IV Vs Chessman (AAA Rey De Reyes) || YES = 1 ||





Legend:
*Bold Red Text*: matches with a score of 10 or better
Red text: matches with a score of 5 or better


----------



## Shotakan

Super-strong *yes* to Lyger vs. KUSHIDA. Just when I was so high on HARASHIMA for his expert leg-selling, KUSHIDA gives him a run for his money and in some ways may have even done better. I like that Lyger was such a cheating dick in this match in contrast to KUSHIDA's respectful young-boy; it really highlighted how different their situation was (Lyger desperately needed a win to have any hope of advancing, while KUSHIDA just needed to force a draw).

Lyger is really brilliant here, knowing his limitations and working well within them, and unlike say a Ricochet, KUSHIDA rolls with it and we get this great little match. Haven't seen the finals yet, but I'll bet dollars-to-donuts that this ends up being the best match of the tournament.


----------



## Obfuscation

Shotakan said:


> *OM-NOM-NOM*
> 
> KO-D Openweight Championship: HARASHIMA vs. KUDO(c) _5/25/14_
> 
> So-so-so-so-so-SO much better than their disappointing match earlier. I want HARASHIMA to have a seminar where he just teaches people how to sell the leg, because he's about the only one in the world who can do it without pissing me off. There was some clipping here that WOULD have been blink-and-you-miss-it if they didn't announce the 10-minute mark...less than ten minutes into the match, including entrances and pre-match video package.
> 
> Anyway, this is everything you want in a HARASHIMA/KUDO match; hard hits, smart work, and building to their signature spots. Not a bad use of your day in the slightest.
> 
> ***3/4


Swell to hear. Hated their first match so walking into this I was lukewarm, to say the least. Knowing I can be optimistic, well I'm down for that. Today needs to be a DDT day.



Rah said:


> *YES*
> 
> 
> *KUSHIDA Vs Jushin Liger (06/06/2014 NJPW)* - There's something about Liger that he feels forced to start his BoSJ matches in the same formulaic manner of subpar matwork leading to a surfboard headlock. Bless KUSH as the one juniour who isn't going to struggle out of it in some contrived, floatover manner (re Ricochet). Rather, he points out the illegality of the hold, and forces the ref into making the break for him.
> 
> Liger's pretty much a fat slob, at this stage in his career, so his fluidity and offence isn't quite on point but he's not quite bare-bones in what he offers in the match, either. His little personal touches are what seperates this from being a match formula anyone else could have worked. Absolutely adored how he patted KUSH on the chest, after a ropebreak, almost to go "well done, kid, but the pains nowhere close to being over". Guy's totally dick here.
> 
> KUSH, though, proved himself as the stalwart of NJPW's juniour division, once again. This might just be the best leg-selling I've seen out of the promotion in a long time. He isn't merely grabbing at his knee, after his moves, as some false and half-arsed display of pain but actively selling within his comebacks and putting over Liger huge while Jushin is on attack. During his springboards and high-flies, he makes sure to land mostly on his healthy leg, while any bursts show him to be ever so slightly off-balance in his run. He's also made use of the perfect adrenaline-styled comeback for a junior ace in how he slowly "de-sells" his leg, as his determination grows, through making his comeback, only to then over-reach beyond what his injured knee is capable of and stagnate back into lethargy. While it's been done before, it's one that feels both fresh and innovative within the scene. Extra points for the finish coming off of work done in his first comeback sequence, too.
> 
> I'm really glad that he's getting so over (or is this not something new?), and I sincerely hope he is given more chances to work the non-irritating workers of the promotion. BoSJ isn't close to the talents of the mid-90s, and finding a good match amongst the trash is almost impossible now. It's a pity Shelley pulled out of BoSJ because that pairing might be the sole one I'm interested in viewing. Regardless, KUSH is 2-for-2 in great performances this year, and is readily becoming a Japanese must-see, along with Ishii, within a company I'd much rather ignore.


Yay but still, FUCK @ some comments. This will always be our disconnect.


----------



## Concrete

PS There is possibilities of a Suzuki vs Sak match sooner rather than later. Why do I bring it up here? I don't know outside that it will probably end up here after it happens.


----------



## seabs

*YES

Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Daichi Hashimoto - BJW 07.02.2014*
_Yay I found something from Japan this year that I liked. I've watched pretty much all the big New Japan PPV matches now and yeah I think I'm over that formula now. This was refreshingly great because of how simple it was. Plus Kazuki Hashimoto man. I watched the Kanemoto/Hash match to get me back into watching things and it was kinda garbage so I was really deflated that maybe even Hash wasn't still producing greatness so this was match was super duper refreshing in fact. This works because there's none of that stupid back and forth shit and shockingly the crowd actually get behind the guy who gets his ass kicked all match. It's almost like that shit's human nature. Daichi got his hair cut and looks like a generic pro wrestler now which made me sad. This works super well because of the size difference which makes the Hash's obvious underdogs and the beatdown super effective. Sato's really great here too and him and Kazuki have great chemistry in this one. Probably could have done with being a few minutes shorter but it wasn't TOO long. Wouldn't call it a legit MOTYC but I'll definitely throw a YES at because of how little 2014 stuff I've really liked outside of the usual WWE stuff._


----------



## Chismo

*BOSJ 6/8*

The CHAOS/BC 8-man tag was glorious, a fitting finale of this chapter. No need to name names here, we all know our usual suspects delivered. ****1/4

The BOSJ Finals was... fantastic. Some things they did will blow your mind (not spots, but STRUGGLE), Oberyn style. This was big. The best Junior match since the... uh... the end of the 90s? ****1/2


----------



## ZEROVampire

*YES!

RICOCHET VS KUSHIDA
*
I Love this match, this is fantastic, probably the best match of KUSHIDA's career and the best match of Ricochet this year. Yes this is better than Ricochet vs Uhaa Nation, Ricochet vs Masato Yoshino, Ricochet vs YAMATO. GREAT YEAR FOR RICOCHET.

****


----------



## Concrete

*KUSHIDA vs. Jushin Liger(NJPW 6/6/14):****1/4*
_Well, well, well. WELL, WELL, WELL! I saw the hype and I just didn’t know if it could possibly meet them. Well, it did. Love Liger’s attack on Kushida’s leg and the youngster trying his darnedest to reach the ropes like he was trying to escape the cage of velociraptor. A very cranky velociraptor. Also that table spot…YAY! I had zero problems with the selling of the leg since I could totally buy the old “adrenaline” reasoning with the way he still kept tabs on it and when he peaked the damage became increasingly more prevalent. Loved that Kushida’s comeback actually meant something in the end. The dropkicking the arm. Really snapping down on the armbar which after you watch a dozen indie guys make it look like the worst thing ever was nice treat. The ending itself was some blissful stuff. The way the kimura got scrambled into the middle of the ring and how Kushida sunk it in. Real intense stuff. So yeah, Liger has piss in his Cheerios and Kushida is rather awesome selling leg damage and working IT!_​


----------



## darkclaudio

KUSHIDA vs Ricochet - NJPW 8/06/2014 ***3/4


----------



## Groovemachine

Spoiler: BOTSJ Finals



Ricochet vs KUSHIDA - NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals 8/06/2014 - ****

This was epic, and easily in my Top 10 for the year, just slightly below Tanahashi/Nakamura from Invasion Attack. The finishing stretch alone was worth the price of admission (including an astounding struggle to lock in the Kimura), but this was about two young guns putting it all on the line and making a hell of a show. Ricochet is in the middle of having a fantastic year, but KUSHIDA was the MVP of the tournament. New Japan need to capitalise on his momentum gained here and give him a good singles push.


----------



## A.M.

I still have something to watch, but as it stands here's my Top 10:

- Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn @ NXT Arrival 27/02
- Caleb Konley vs. Cedric Alexander @ PWX Rise of a Champion IX
- Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki @ Dragon Gate Infinity 324
- Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan @ WWE Royal Rumble
- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura @ NJPW Invasion Attack
- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura @ NJPW The New Beginning, Hiroshima
- Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto @ NJPW The New Beginning, Osaka
- The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield @ WWE Elimination Chamber
- Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito @ NJPW Invasion Attack
- Ricochet vs. KUSHIDA @ NJPW Best of the Super Jr, Finals

So, YES for all this matches.



Mention to:

- Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata @ NJPW Wrestle Kingdom VIII
- Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito @ NJPW The New Beginning, Osaka
- The Shield vs. Evolution @ WWE Extreme Rules
- Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kota Ibushi @ NJPW Back to Yokohama
- John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt @ WWE Extreme Rules


----------



## seabs

*YES

Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe - NJPW 06.06.2014*
_This is my favourite New Japan match this year (granted I haven't seen everything but it's better than any of the big Tanahashi or Ishii matches) mostly because it's so simple but still so much more effective than the fake epics. First half feels like it's taken straight out of an 80's house show. Yay for the lost art of heel shtick. Anderson and Gallows are awesome heels in this smack talking the babyfaces and cheating to gain an advantage wherever possible. Spot where Anderson talks Honma up into a comeback only for Gallows to trip him up off the ropes was glorious, made even better by Tanahashi's receipting the spot later. Honma's such a naturally charismatic and sympathetic babyface that the workover and comeback just works so well. Finish run gets a pretty long amount of time for a B Show tag match but I'm glad that it did here because it was great and being a tag match you don't need to have guys leaping straight back up and not selling. I'd much rather watch this type of match then your New Japan PPV main event "epics" from 2014. Watched Liger/Kushida as well and that was very good too. Wouldn't call it great or better than this but yeah really good all the same._


----------



## flag sabbath

BoSJ Final was a good old-fashioned thrill ride with a great crowd. Loved it *****1/4 (YES!)*


----------



## Bubz

Seabs said:


> *YES
> 
> Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe - NJPW 06.06.2014*
> _This is my favourite New Japan match this year (granted I haven't seen everything but it's better than any of the big Tanahashi or Ishii matches) mostly because it's so simple but still so much more effective than the fake epics. First half feels like it's taken straight out of an 80's house show. Yay for the lost art of heel shtick. Anderson and Gallows are awesome heels in this smack talking the babyfaces and cheating to gain an advantage wherever possible. Spot where Anderson talks Honma up into a comeback only for Gallows to trip him up off the ropes was glorious, made even better by Tanahashi's receipting the spot later. Honma's such a naturally charismatic and sympathetic babyface that the workover and comeback just works so well. Finish run gets a pretty long amount of time for a B Show tag match but I'm glad that it did here because it was great and being a tag match you don't need to have guys leaping straight back up and not selling. I'd much rather watch this type of match then your New Japan PPV main event "epics" from 2014. Watched Liger/Kushida as well and that was very good too. Wouldn't call it great or better than this but yeah really good all the same._


You swine. I spent ages looking for this because you put Makabe instead of Honma.

I watched Liger/KUSHIDA too and thought it was ok. If it had been a little more compact I would've liked it way more.

*Sheamus vs Wade Barrett (RAW 9/6)* RULED. This was stiff and nasty and just a straight up brawl. I don't think there was a single wrestling hold, a suplex maybe and a couple signature moves, but this was all clubs and elbows and kicks and a fucking HEADBUTT that made me mark out way more than any time they throw headbutts in Japan these days. These two have this amazing chemistry and are willing to let the other guy beat the piss out of them because they know they can hit back even harder, almost felt like the equivalent of what some of those Benoit/Finlay or Benoit/Regal matches were back in 2005/2006 or whenever it was. Loved this, and it's better than anything from the BOSJ shows imo as far as stuff I've watched recently goes. *YES*


----------



## seabs

*Oops :$*


----------



## Obfuscation

Sheamus vs Barrett was a ton of fun & overall really good. Although not quite next to that level where I give it a plug for my MOTYC list. The ending to this was the best part - headbutt & kicks to Sheamus' skull ftw. I still have the sprint from April over this by a hair.

For something that actually makes the list for me from RAW this week: Cena, Ambrose, & Reigns vs Wyatt Family. Duh. These guys in multi-tags are the exact same thing for me as any combination New Japan likes to put together. Everyone has their characters in check & perform super well. Cena's blatant spot calling w/o hiding it kills me every time I see it - John-boy, you're basically gold pardon this crap - but that's remotely the only negative I could shoot in. Ambrose & Harper for MVPs. Harper can just stare into the camera w/his eyes; no offense the entire match & I'd want to add star ratings to this just to give it a lot b/c of him. I hope he goes backstage knowing how much better he is at his job than a lot of others in the World. And WWE better never let Ambrose go heel for a very long time. I'm loving his quirky energy as a babyface a metric ton right now.


----------



## hgr423

Bubz said:


> You swine


Cut him some slack man


----------



## Chismo

I watched those AAA pimped matches from few pages ago:



USAUSA1 said:


> Daga, Pentagon Jr and Chessman vs. Angelico, Jack Evans and Australian Suicide
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjH-M6jHCLo
> 
> Angelico/Evans vs. Demon and Machine Rocker vs. Hijo del Fantasma/Psicosis vs. Aerostar/Drago
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY6lGP4ygzU&feature=youtu.be


Really liked both matches, the first one was no-nonsense badassery, Chessman killed it. The second one was just as good, and there were tons of crazy shit, but surprisingly nothing over-the-top. Totally sumptuous stuff.

***3/4 for both.



Rah said:


>


Rah, here I am, publicly questioning your sanity after pimping this shitcunt of a match. :moody


----------



## Rah

Second worst match of the year, what's not to love?


----------



## Obfuscation

Everyone should know if Rah is pimping a AAA match, it's par for the course to be wrestlecrap friendly, rather than actually great by the positive connotation.


----------



## Super Sonic

C&P from my Road to NOLA reviews.

*WWE 2014: The Super Duper Great Shit (Pre-WM30)*

I will review the rest of 2014 next March for my annual road to WM rewatching.

*Royal Rumble 2014*
Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan

Definitely a candidate for best non-MITB opener in PPV history. D-Bry started the match dominating with his aggression and superior technical wrestling, including working on the left knee of Wyatt. After several minutes, Wyatt gained the advantage when he twisted D-Bry's left arm and slammed it on the apron. Wyatt then showed his aggressive side that we had only seen bits and pieces of, physically decimating D-Bry. However, because this is match that features a total pro like Bryan Danielson, D-Bry would make sure to keep the crowd engaged and give them hope with his occasional strikes.

Wyatt was quite unorthodox, but D-Bry was so pissed off on this night that he would regain the advantage. My favorite spot of the night is when he dropped Wyatt with a curb stomp to epitomize how livid he was after being harassed for three months by the Wyatt Family, and showing that he had not forgotten his roots on the independent scene. But with the plans for both characters going forward, Wyatt had to go over here. He didn't sell the leg down the stretch as much as I hoped, but it can be argued that enough time had gone by in this instant classic for him to heal during the match. Or maybe, just maybe, these two held back a little bit for a much bigger rematch down the line for the company's top prize should they both go on to achieve their goals at WM30. ****

*Raw - February 3, 2014*
Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan

This is the first of a five-match series Orton has against his Elimination Chamber match opponents for being so fucking high-maintenance towards the Authority. Excellent match of course. D-Bry worked on the left leg over and over again, but Orton would damage D-Bry's right shoulder to get the heat back and gain control. Now without any help, D-Bry FINALLY gets his major non-gimmick match victory over Orton. This didn't have the crowd energy of their previous Raw match, but this was great stuff, with phenomenal storytelling and the drama building as the match progressed. ****

*Raw - February 10, 2014*
Real Americans vs. Christian & Sheamus

This was great tag team wrestling, complete with a hot crowd, cutting the ring in half to build to hot tags, and hard-hitting action between the Europeans. ****

*Raw - February 17, 2014*

John Cena vs. Cesaro

One of my favorite Raw matches ever, and just as good on second viewing. Similar to Cena vs. Seth Rollins, this was Cena once again letting the new blood shine. However, this was better than that Rollins match. The pacing in this was phenomenal with some tremendous storytelling to go with it. Enough of the thesis, let's get to why this match is an instant classic.

Cesaro dominated not with technical wrestling, but with his great conditioning, tenacity, strength, and aggression. However, Cena was outstanding with his offense too when he would get his hope spots. The first time Cesaro went for the giant swing, Cena countered into an an attempted STF. Cesaro blocked that attempt and put himself in position to successfully drop Cena with a gut-wrench suplex.

Cesaro also evaded an attempted Death Valler Driver, shoving Cena to bounce off the ropes and then lifting him for a devastating European uppercut. Later in the match, Cena went for his shitty top-rope leg-drop that is going to shorten his career, but Cesaro got up and delivered another deadly European uppercut, this one so hard that it knocked Cena to the outside of the ring. Cesaro then channeled Michael Elgin moments later and delivered an apron superlex as I like to call it. By this point the crowd was just rocking.

Cena would counter Cesaro's next giant swing attempt, doing a sit-up and dropping Cesaro with a DDT. By this point the crowd knew they were witnessing something special. The match just kept becoming more visually dazzling, the drama intensifying with each minute. The third time would be the charm for Cesaro and the crowd was marking out tremendously when he got the giant swing on Cena. The audience had to sense Cesaro was going to top his peak victory over Randy Orton just the week before, but Cena managed to squeak out another victory. Outstanding match. ****1/4

*Elimination Chamber 2014*

The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family

The crowd is historically hot for this match, giving it the Joe vs. Kobashi treatment. That means the fans were already expressing their pure bliss at these two juggernaut units colliding before they even laid hands on each other.

What makes this such a special match is that it was probably the wildest we'll see from WWE in 2014. The past couple years, that nod has gone to Brock Lesnar's classics with John Cena and CM Punk. But this was chaotic, a true spectacle in every sense of the word.

Both trios did an absolutely phenomenal job of cutting the ring in half, with Seth Rollins stepping up to play a tremendous sympathetic babyface. It was a sight to behold seeing the Shield get a true taste of their style, often succumbing to the numbers game. In particular, Rollins's delivery and timing of his hope spots legitimately reminded me of Shawn Michaels.

While the Shield had come into this match with tension within their own unit, the Wyatt Family was quarterbacked by Bray Wyatt, calling the plays for Luke Harper & Erick Rowan. It was a wonderful contrast. Wyatt's disciples did a wonderful job in dominating this match.

But this was no squash. The hot-headed Dean Ambrose brought his chaotic sabotaging to what the Wyatts were doing, with Roman Reigns of course getting in his power moves. As the match kept going, the crowd never died, and rallied behind the Shield even while popping for the segments in which the Wyatt Family got the upper hand.

Ambrose and Wyatt brawled to the crowd, with only Wyatt returning, and then ordered his disciples to put Rollins through a table. Reigns put on a great solo performance once again, but this time couldn't capture the magic he had at Survivor Series 2013. As he went to spear Wyatt, Harper jumped in the ring and took the fall, allowing Wyatt to finish Reigns off in a beautiful example of teamwork.

This match will stand the test of time. Yes, it was something meant for WrestleMania. But it happened here, and it was a work of art, a piece of magic that these two teams may never duplicate together, even though I actually sense they could do better in a gimmick match environment. This was a mixture of Chikara gimmicks with golden age ROH/PWG action, complete with WWE producers' polishing. ****3/4

WWE Title - Elimination Chamber Match
Randy Orton vs. Christian vs. Sheamus vs. Cesaro vs. John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan

Another excellent match for the night, and a major improvement over the prior year's Chamber match.

Here's why this worked much better than the year before: Nobody gave a shit about a Jack Swagger push. Here, the fans actually gave a shit about the majority of the competitors, D-Bry in particular.

Sheamus and Cesaro once again brought their throwback brutality to each other to start the match, just awesome shit. And the match just kept being engaging, the action never getting boring. Most important are the moments that lead to WM30 though of course. The Wyatt Family took out Cena, allowing Orton to pin him (and also reinforcing Sister Abigail as a legit finisher). Kane came out and D-Bry gave him a receipt for what happened six days prior (D-Bry getting his left shoulder fucked up, needing it taped for this match.) Orton once again got another dirty win, with D-Bry yet again getting screwed.

But what made this so special, and will be loved more as the years go by, isn't just how great the action was and the tremendous Twin Cities crowd it was in front of. In the post-match, Michael Cole absolutely went berzerk about D-Bry, and while Cole had of course been defending D-Bry since turning face after Jerry Lawler's heart attack in 2012, this signaled how valuable D-Bry had become in the WWE hierarchy, and it was nice for Cole to do a complete 180 in his passionate commentary when it comes to Daniel Bryan. ****

*NXT: ArRival*
Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn

I loved these two's singles matches in ROH and PWG. They were some amazing spotfests, and I'm sure stand the test of time. But with years removed from those indy classics, and now under WWE guidance, they finally put on the absolutely best match they could to date here. And you know what really makes me giddy? I believe these two have a flawless masterpiece in them once Zayn debuts on the big stage. BTW, I'm sticking to my prediction that I've had for months: he debuts on the April 7, 2014 Raw in New Orleans.

These two built off of their previous NXT matches AND their indy matches. When Zayn went for his through-the-ropes tornado DDT, Cesaro knew it was coming and delivered a perfectly timed European uppercut to stop his momentum. Cesaro also worked on Zayn's left leg in devastating fashion. Of course, Zayn was fucking selling that leg in this match, delivering his hope spots, and making the crowd believe he could pull off the upset. Remember, Cesaro had just beaten WWE Champion Randy Orton two weeks before this.

Highlights of this instant classic include Cesaro doing a beautiful stretch muffler to continue damaging Zayn's left knee, and the two of them having their signature head scissors into a full rotation sunset powerbomb spot. Cesaro won this, but in the process Zayn was truly elevated, earning his rival's respect in the process. Tremendous match that will get better and better as times goes by. ****1/2

*Raw - March 24, 2014*
Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins vs. Real Americans - **** (PHENOMENAL TAG MATCH)


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Ricochet vs. Kushida (NJPW BOSJ Finals) - ****

EDIT:

Late on this but:

Charlotte vs. Natalya (NXT Takeover) - **** - YES

Best women's match in years. I rarely ever go over *** 1/2 for any women's match, let alone * or **. Amazing. Can't believe I skipped this on my first viewing.


----------



## Chismo

*ZERO1 6/1*

*NWA Intercontinental Tag Title*: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura ©

_Okay, this one had all the ingredients necessary to get awesome as fuck: interpromotional heat, the king of interpromotional feuds, young and rising indie star with a chip on his shoulder, and Korakuen. Sure, the half empty Korakuen because Z1 draws miserably, but still… Sheeeeeit, this match seals it, K-HASH is my Wrestler of the Half-Year, dude’s incredible, he’s got the masochistic psychology of modern puroresu down to a T, his selling, his ridiculous toughness/badassery and charisma are off the charts, he almost completely overshadowed the other competitors here. And it’s not his first time, mind you. His sessions with Tanaka were just pure violence and barbaric one-upmanship, brutal displays of no-nonsense attitude. There was a moment where Tanaka smacked him with a backchop to the neck so strong that a fucking foam started pouring out of K-HASH’s mouth. Jeeez. So yeah, Tanaka was great too, Sekimoto carried his share, and Sugiura was kind of invisible, but only compared to K-HASH, who’s such a brilliant underdog, even slightly better than New Japan’s Y-H/Captain/Honma triangle of swag.

TLDR, I freakin’ loved this, but one thing is sure – if you’re a puro traditionalist, you’re gonna think it’s just decent, or good at best. That’s why better be open minded, like myself._ :shawn

:lenny:lenny:lenny:lenny1/4​


----------



## flag sabbath

I thought Tanaka & Sugiura's unwillingness to show any kind of weakness kept Kazuki from truly flourishing. And when Sekimoto casually no-sold that tornado DDT it took me right out of the match. So yeah ****1/2* for me.

A better battle of the bulls was *Nagata & Sekimoto vs. Takayama & Sugiura (NOAH, 13/6)* in which all four badasses took the time to look human as well. Suigiura, of all people, was uncharacteristically unselfish when it came to taking a pounding ******


----------



## DojoBrother

My votes so far would be:

1) Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito from New Beginning in Osaka ****1/2
2) Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahasi from Invasion Attack 2014 ****1/2
3) Jimmy Susumu vs Flamita from Dead or Alive 2014 ****
4) Bray Wyatt vs Daniel Bryan from the Royal Rumble 2014 ****
5) Trevor Lee vs Cedric Alexander vs Andrew Everett from Mystery Vortex II. ****

Predictions: The inevitable Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins match will be insane.


----------



## Groovemachine

Dean Ambrose vs Bray Wyatt - WWE Smackdown 13/06/2014 - ***3/4

Maybe I'll look back at the end of the year and realise I'm overrating this a tad; put it down to personal preference, but this rocked my socks off. Ambrose puts on a masterclass of selling the injured shoulder, and it had me captivated throughout. Everything he did, every bit of offense, it all affected the shoulder, and he'd wince, grab the arm, shake it out, reference it in some way. Such good work. Loved him slamming the shoulder repeatedly into the mat, as if trying to 'put it back in the socket'. Again I have to point out how good Amrbose is as a face right now; the selling helped him garner a sympathetic reaction, and his rapid DDT works perfectly as a hope spot when he's the FIP. Wyatt dominated here and looked great too; catching Dean on a dive to the outside and retaliating with an STO on the ring apron which looked beastly. 

Shame we didn't get a proper finish (especially as all that arm work got disregarded due to Rollins' presence) as that would have pushed this into truly great territory, but what we saw was fabulous. It kind of reminded me of some of the later WWECW main events; 10-15min matches that contain a simple story and great limb work.


----------



## Chismo

Fuego/Virus (CMLL 6/15) was great, and another piece of the "Virus is Top 10 wrestler" puzzle. Just a slick and scientific matwork in the first two falls, with more high-risky tercera, and they didn't just go with "my turn, your turn" mantra, they drew emotion and excitement. Slightly weaker than the Titan defense from January, but still great.

****


----------



## Saint Dick

Groovemachine said:


> Dean Ambrose vs Bray Wyatt - WWE Smackdown 13/06/2014 - ***3/4
> 
> Maybe I'll look back at the end of the year and realise I'm overrating this a tad; put it down to personal preference, but this rocked my socks off. Ambrose puts on a masterclass of selling the injured shoulder, and it had me captivated throughout. Everything he did, every bit of offense, it all affected the shoulder, and he'd wince, grab the arm, shake it out, reference it in some way. Such good work. Loved him slamming the shoulder repeatedly into the mat, as if trying to 'put it back in the socket'. Again I have to point out how good Amrbose is as a face right now; the selling helped him garner a sympathetic reaction, and his rapid DDT works perfectly as a hope spot when he's the FIP. Wyatt dominated here and looked great too; catching Dean on a dive to the outside and retaliating with an STO on the ring apron which looked beastly.
> 
> Shame we didn't get a proper finish (especially as all that arm work got disregarded due to Rollins' presence) as that would have pushed this into truly great territory, but what we saw was fabulous. It kind of reminded me of some of the later WWECW main events; 10-15min matches that contain a simple story and great limb work.


I'll back this up. It's not worth a YES but it was very good. Great selling from Ambrose and unlike you I liked the finish. Thought the Rollins interference was appropriate and well done.


----------



## Obfuscation

Chismo said:


> *ZERO1 6/1*
> 
> *NWA Intercontinental Tag Title*: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura ©
> 
> _Okay, this one had all the ingredients necessary to get awesome as fuck: interpromotional heat, the king of interpromotional feuds, young and rising indie star with a chip on his shoulder, and Korakuen. Sure, the half empty Korakuen because Z1 draws miserably, but still… Sheeeeeit, this match seals it, K-HASH is my Wrestler of the Half-Year, dude’s incredible, he’s got the masochistic psychology of modern puroresu down to a T, his selling, his ridiculous toughness/badassery and charisma are off the charts, he almost completely overshadowed the other competitors here. And it’s not his first time, mind you. His sessions with Tanaka were just pure violence and barbaric one-upmanship, brutal displays of no-nonsense attitude. There was a moment where Tanaka smacked him with a backchop to the neck so strong that a fucking foam started pouring out of K-HASH’s mouth. Jeeez. So yeah, Tanaka was great too, Sekimoto carried his share, and Sugiura was kind of invisible, but only compared to K-HASH, who’s such a brilliant underdog, even slightly better than New Japan’s Y-H/Captain/Honma triangle of swag.
> 
> TLDR, I freakin’ loved this, but one thing is sure – if you’re a puro traditionalist, you’re gonna think it’s just decent, or good at best. That’s why better be open minded, like myself._ :shawn
> 
> :lenny:lenny:lenny:lenny1/4​


One of the bigger disappointments for me on the year, but I was still a fan at the end of the day. Should have been _so_ much better though. Same story can be said for Sato/Suzuki vs KAI/Soya. Which was painfully average. </3


----------



## Rah

That Smackdown match might just be the second or third best Ambrose performance I've ever seen. Great little tidbit spots from the Regal matches, too.

Casas, Bryan and Cesaro have a hell of a fucking fight to outdo him in a worker of the year capacity. Dean is just ungodly great now.


----------



## Shepard

I don't want babyface Dean Ambrose to end any time soon that's for sure. Something I never thought I'd say six months ago.


----------



## Obfuscation

Cesaro needs new opponents or something b/c as of late he hasn't had much to show for his contention on that claim. Despite the first three months of the year he felt like he was going to be a lock.


----------



## Rah

I can wait until a proper Sheamus blowout. It has to happen, it's Sheamus and Cesaro. But dammit if the work now isn't disappointing. I do echo your claim of a fresh programme. 

If we're going to do heel Cesaro (and make him look a joke) why not give Goldust a chance to work him? Hell, why not give Goldust a chance at anything? Reading up on Stardust Rhodes makes me weep for the squandered talent.


----------



## Obfuscation

While Payback managed to turn itself around from a shaky start for me, their series is another assortment of disappointment altogether. To make it worse, in most of the matches I don't feel anything from Cesaro. He's been holding back or coming off as forced which is highly uncharacteristic. I feel like Sheamus has been putting his best foot forward in some outings against Cesaro, but there is the disconnect. 

I'd openly welcome Goldust to be quarantined on Superstars & Main Event if it meant quality matches against quality opponents. I just don't see the point of him doing anything else right now when it doesn't matter. We'll always have 2013. 

And that tiny handful of goodness he's _actually_ been given this year.


----------



## Rah

That post made me look up Goldust/Regal and, outside of like a 3 minute nothing match, I don't think that pairing ever happened. Fuckin' wrestling, you love it and it doesn't love you back.


----------



## Brock

Rah said:


> That post made me look up Goldust/Regal and, outside of like a 3 minute nothing match, I don't think that pairing ever happened. Fuckin' wrestling, you love it and it doesn't love you back.


I have two matches listed, one on Superstars and one on ECW. Both in 2009.


----------



## Chismo

Simplicity is the key to brilliance:


*CMLL 2014/6/6*

Rush, La Mascara, Titan vs. ***** Casas, Shocker, Felino

_Yet another heated Rush/Casas trio, goddamn I love this feud. These two are basically trying to beat each other silly, and watching Rush stomping mercilessly on 55 year old Casas is fucking TITS, he’s definitely one of the best heels in the industry. Scratch that, he’s THE best. His running dropkick to the corner is batshit vicious, and is giving Shibata a serious run for his money. Titan also embraced some of Roooshness here, awesome layout from him as well, Casas was money as usual, but the killer from the shadows in the match was Shocker. Dude was crazy, angry and violent, which is much appreciated. This was an excellent all-out brawl, and while I’m not a “blood=better” guy, damn, this would’ve been a total masterpiece with some juice on Casas or Shocker._

****1/4​


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah said:


> That post made me look up Goldust/Regal and, outside of like a 3 minute nothing match, I don't think that pairing ever happened. Fuckin' wrestling, you love it and it doesn't love you back.


Oh, mate.











First video: match is at the start
Second video: match is at the end (33:00)


----------



## Rah

Moved my response to here, just to keep this thread on topic.


----------



## Obfuscation

Keyboard is gash to do a proper write-up but here are some bullet points on the Cena/Sheamus/Reigns vs Orton/Wyatt/Cesaro/Del Rio match from Smackdown tonight:



> Ok. Originally came in here to plug the Handicap main event from Smackdown tonight. It ruled. Largely b/c of the way Reigns was held off until the very end to have that EXPLOSION for the hot tag. Dude is picking up so much momentum right now. Combine that w/everyone else in the match killing it w/their facial expressions & a well laid out match - boosh. Real great stuff. Sheamus'- face getting 500x more pissed whenever Cesaro was beating on him was phenomenal. Orton continuously taunting Reigns while on the apron & then running off when he got the hot tag was splendid. Cena tried in this & it showed. Made up for the bogus match vs Kane on RAW. Just a lot of real great stuff mixed in here. Oh and I can'-t forget about Bray kneeling underneath the championships while looking up w/a big smile. Loved that. Too much fun right here.


:sansa :sansa :sansa :sansa /5


----------



## Bubz

Hayley Seydoux said:


> Keyboard is gash to do a proper write-up but here are some bullet points on the Cena/Sheamus/Reigns vs Orton/Wyatt/Cesaro/Del Rio match from Smackdown tonight:
> 
> 
> 
> :sansa :sansa :sansa :sansa /5


Just watched this. Loved the hell out of it. Everyone was great, especially Sheamus and Cesaro. Those two beating clumps out of each other will always entertain me, but it's seemed to be way more awesome to me in tag matches so far. Then you have Sheamus/Wyatt who now I genuinely swear fucking HATE each other, after this and their match on RAW, holy shit. Wyatt can stiff it out with the fucking best of 'em, guy isn't afraid to get mean and rugged and when you've got Sheamus on the other side ready to take it and dish out even harder, you're in for a treat. Cesaro and Cena was great, Cena is usually fantastic in tag matches though so no surprise there. Orton being the cowardly dick was a nice touch and complimented everyone else wanting to just FIGHT really well. Then the tag to Reigns...OH YEAH. Reigns is like a God unleashing all of his powers on poor little puny humans when he comes in off the hot tag and it's so awesome in this because he's been teased and mocked all the way through and hasn't been able to get in so far (apart from the brief breakdown in the middle with the brawl which ruled), so when he does the place goes nuts and my nuts go jizz. *YES*


----------



## Groovemachine

*Ricochet vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW Dominion 2014 - *****

This was a case of some really impressive feats and spots, strung together by sections of fierce striking and all-around intensity. Ricochet landing on his feet from a top rope hurracanrana is something he's done in Dragon Gate before, but here on the big scale it looked particularly awesome, and he capitalised on the momentum with some quick-fire offense. I wouldn't go any higher, as there were a couple of cliched moments (I'm looking at you, mis-timed flip bump from a lariat), but this was a blast to watch and the stiff strikes added some weight to all the highspots.



Spoiler: Finish



Ibushi busting out the clutching/bridging Steenalizer was neat and provided a good climax for their game of one-upmanship.



Working my way through Dominion this evening, I'm hearing good things so I imagine this won't be the last match I pimp from the show.


----------



## Srdjan99

Going to write a review for those 2 tomorrow, but a big YES to:

Alex Shelley&KUSHIDA vs The Young Bucks- ****1/2
Ricochet vs Ibushi- ****1/4


----------



## Chismo

*CMLL 2014/6/20*

*En Busca de un Idolo 2014 – FINALS*: El Hechicero vs. El Cavernario

_A totally fitting finale to a smashing tournament. Hechicero was at his creative best here, just a complete badass rudo whose experience even saved that horrific botch from Cavernario, who was also great, he’s most def come a long way, because I wasn’t really digging him at the beginning of the tournament, but in the meantime - he’s snatched my heart, damn it, such a fierce and intense tecnico, at this point I’ll watch anything he’s involved with. One great thing about lucha is that finish can happen at any time, which was really highlighted in this one._

****1/4


*Dominion 2014*


Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)

_Finally, the true YOUNG BUCKS match in New Japan, and this was the closest you’ll ever come to the PWG Bucks in Japan. Honestly, one of the best openers ever in Japan, just a top notch contest with such an organic structure and fluidity, the Splitters were insanely over, the Bucks were hated, everything simply clicked. An emotional rollercoaster that tore the house down, this might be a lock for Top 10 of the year._

****1/2


Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata & Tomoaki Honma

_“You motherless fuck, I was pissing blood in gore deathmatches back when you were just a skinny Junior who carried Hashimoto’s bags”, said Honma while beating the shit out of Shibata to start off this great match. Shibata looked like an antelope trying to fight off surly leopards, it’s safe to say he got his fucking ass kicked in this one. Honma? Well, no one books underdogs better than New Japan, as evidenced yet again here, Honma even transcended his role, he refused to take the back seat, he was in for the fight. Goto was the weakest link, I mean he wasn’t bad, it’s just that he didn’t match the other three guys, not even close. With someone else instead of him, this would’ve been a legit MOTYC._

****


King Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe) vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows

_First of all, huge props to Makabe, who worked the match semi-injured (Yokohama, Goto, jaw), only to get totally obliterated by Doc’s palm strike, that was SERIOUS. Clearly he was in big pain, but that didn’t prevent him from taking many heavy smacks and busters across the face and neck area. RESPECT! Karl and Doc might be the best duo in the world right now, they’ve found themselves tremendously in the last few months, they’re a well-oiled machine with some awesome intensity, brawling habits and overall sumptuous teamwork, and at this point, they’re better than Bad Intentions ever were. TLDR, this was excellent, high-octane and vivid._

****1/4​


----------



## Bubz

From everything I've read it sounds like Dominion is the best New Japan show for a while, or at least has the most stuff worth watching on it. Looking forward to it.


----------



## Obfuscation

Dominion tends to be ace; so the hype train seems fitting. Can't wait to see Splitters vs Bucks II.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*YES!*

*NJPW Dominion 6.21*

IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks vs Time Splitters ****
IWGP Jr Heavyweight Championship: Kota Ibushi (c) vs Ricochet ****


----------



## flag sabbath

Only half way through Dominion with work looming, but bloody hell, what a first half:

Bucks vs. Splitters ******
Goto & Shibata vs. Nagata & Honma ****3/4*
Ibushi vs. Ricochet ******


----------



## Super Sonic

Post moved to puro thread.


----------



## Noah Mark

Can somebody provide links to the Dominion Matches from the New Japan. I would be interested in the Splitter vs Bucks, Ibushi vs Ricochet, and Fale vs Nakamura.


----------



## LBThrizzy

Noah Mark said:


> Can somebody provide links to the Dominion Matches from the New Japan. I would be interested in the Splitter vs Bucks, Ibushi vs Ricochet, and Fale vs Nakamura.


They're all on Dailymotion


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yes 
Young Bucks vs Time Splitters 
****1/2

Yes
Kota Ibushi vs Ricochet 
****1/4


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## amhlilhaus

Chismo said:


> *CMLL 2014/6/20*
> 
> *En Busca de un Idolo 2014 – FINALS*: El Hechicero vs. El Cavernario
> 
> _A totally fitting finale to a smashing tournament. Hechicero was at his creative best here, just a complete badass rudo whose experience even saved that horrific botch from Cavernario, who was also great, he’s most def come a long way, because I wasn’t really digging him at the beginning of the tournament, but in the meantime - he’s snatched my heart, damn it, such a fierce and intense tecnico, at this point I’ll watch anything he’s involved with. One great thing about lucha is that finish can happen at any time, which was really highlighted in this one._
> 
> ****1/4
> ​


this idol tournament along with rush got me into watching cmll. was surprised at the finish but I think hechicero was so good it makes sense. cavernario gets a huge rub for the win, hechicero can go up the card a good deal. it's a win win. cachorro and dragon lee both have bright futures. cmll is looking to be in great shape


----------



## Chismo

Noah Mark said:


> Can somebody provide links to the Dominion Matches from the New Japan. I would be interested in the Splitter vs Bucks, Ibushi vs Ricochet, and Fale vs Nakamura.


Ustream, brother.


----------



## Brock

Noah Mark said:


> Can somebody provide links to the Dominion Matches from the New Japan. I would be interested in the Splitter vs Bucks, Ibushi vs Ricochet,


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1...t-jackson-nick-jackson-c-vs-time-splitt_sport

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1zyt9o_kota-ibushi-vs-ricochet-njpw-dominion-6-21-2014_sport

If Google brings up nothing, then ask.


----------



## Rah

*HELL YES*


*El Cavernario Vs Hechicero (20/06/2014 CMLL)* - I won't claim him an outright best in the world, quite yet, but I don't think there's been a better inventive wrestler than Hechicero. Each match in this tourney, he's busted out a new move or improvisation to wow the crowd. This time, he's hitting one, back to back, every half-minute or more in the opening workover. If he's going to ever repeat any of them, though, it has to be the sequence of him guillotine bow-and-arrowing Cavernario to the outside only to follow up with a Virus dive that looks better than Virus has ever hit it.

Equally, he may just be the best wrestler to work off of blown spots or to cover for weaker opponents. Virus is certainly a contender, and 2013 Cesaro, sure, but Hechicero is firing harder and quicker than Cesaro ever did last year. With all his SPINZ~! I was almost laughing at how eerily close Hechi is to being a Mexican Cesaro, but now there's definitely no denying that he watches WWE after this. After Cavernario botched his signature ring-post tope, Hechi laughs, bends over his dazed opponent and does the Cena "You Can't See Me" taunt. Greatest. I love this guy. Continuing the theme, later on, Cavernario rolls away too early from Hechi's choke-spin. Hechi's halfway down with his falling elbow and recovers by just driving his pointed elbow directly into Cavernario's kidney like a vicious fucking bastard.

I'm not sure this is going to beat out the WWE offerings but damn if this is not close to the Lucha MotY mark, though. This may just be a money performance for Hechicero as he takes Cavernario to his greatest ever match. Hechicero not giving Cavernario an inch, thus forcing the crazy caveman to deliver dumbfucking wild spots in opportune moments really hit into this guy's neaderthalic character of low IQ but HULKSMASH mentality. Watching Cavernario rip through Hechi's pants and scratch into his quads was something strange yet great while Hechicero gnawing into Cavernario's forehead and drawing blood (in CMLL... IN ARENA MEXICO) was just so out of character for CMLL that it really showed the desperation of both men in wanting to win this tourney. Okay, Hechicero is the best worker on the planet. Sorry, Dean.


----------



## Mattyb2266

JT Dunn vs Chris Hero - Beyond Wrestling's Uncomfortable - ****1/2

Definitely topped their first match which I loved. I'm sure this match won't be everyone's cup of tea but the Beyond crowd was so into this match and were pretty well split between the two, and that made for an awesome atmosphere. I'm on my phone and I'm technologically impaired so I can't be bothered to figure out spoiler tags, thus I won't be posting an in depth review, but if you get a chance, check out their first match from Critical Acclaim, and this match.


----------



## Bubz

*YES*
*Bucks vs Time Splitters* from Dominion was pretty great. It's spotty sure, but it's the Young Bucks and they always know how to incorporate that with fantastic heel work and a strong enough structure to support all of the spots. Best Bucks match in Japan I've seen by far, super fun from the get go, really crisp and fluid and so easy to get behind Shelley and Kushida. Crowd was great too. Everything you'd want from this kind of opener. ******


----------



## Chismo

*AJPW 6/15*

*Vacant Triple Crown*: Jun Akiyama vs. Takao Omori

_From behind, Jun Akiyama looks and walks like a giant mean baby. Okay, now onto wrestling: HELL YEAH, another great All Japan main event, and another Omori gem. He stepped the fuck up this year. This was your classic King's Road layout with two dudes having a rich backstory, where Dude A is more accomplished and "better" than Dude B, which means a structure with tons of punishment, perseverance and fighting spirit. Akiyama is all about sportmanship up until the point where Omori hurts his own shoulder, which turns Akiyama into a merciless dick who will work dat limb. He does a long workover and gets himself leverage, which turns Omori into a total underdog, which makes the crowd root for Omori hard. Basic structure, and I love it. Omori's selling was not perfect, but it was good enough, however he nailed fighting throught the pain to a T here. Not as good as Omori/Suwama, but that ain't no flaw._

****​


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Bucks/Timesplitters - *** 3/4

Ibushi/Ricochet - **** (Dat frankensteiner spot was fucking insane)


----------



## Obfuscation

Still have three matches left on Dominion but meh. posting anyways:


*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*

Young Bucks(c) vs Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA - NJPW: Dominion 2014​
_Despite being the one fan who's enjoyed everything from the Bucks in Japan, this truly was the first BIG great match they've had since coming over. The kind of heat, action, & well...everything you'd like to see from a Young Bucks match while in Japan. Couple that when their opponents are the Time Splitters - at their hottest point to date too - and boosh. This is what it should have been earlier this year. Splitters kept this contained well in the early portion. Their spirited babyface tandem work was a breeze & illicits plenty of pops from a nostalgic Japanese crowd who seem to love 80's tag team rasslin. Bucks in the early bit were being common, nowadays Bucks. Not special, using cockiness to be a bit unmotivated w/some strikes & pin covers. Nothing initially bad, but something they shouldn't even be doing to begin w/. Once Shelley started to get cut off from tags, that's when the Bucks began to hold up their end of the match. Loved seeing the dramatic spot from last year's tag match when one of the Splitters was taken off the apron just as it appeared the hot tag would have been made. Brilliant. Got just as amazing of a reaction this time around. Then that finishing stretch. Whew. I probably couldn't do it justice saying any bits of it so I won't. It was what you wanted. Now if you haven't watched, go do it so you can see it for yourself. I wanted a slightly different finish to end the match, but considering the events leading up to this, it was plenty fitting. Heat wise, it wasn't very surprising. Suppose you can say that is my claim behind it. Once you saw it; you knew the result. But hey, fine by me at the end of the day. One sweet bout right here._

----------

Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs Yuji Nagata & Tomoaki Honma - NJPW: Dominion 2014​
_Goto & Shibata have been holding themselves up as the toughest dudes on the block for a good bit now & Nagata/Homna have HAD ENOUGH. What ensues is violence. Blissful, older guys aren't going to back down violence. And Homna being one hell of a babyface you always want to get behind. All past instances where Goto/Shibata have left their opponents laying, were cut off at the pass by the two vets. Leaving the young guns near at a loss for what to even attempt to try next. Finish seemed inconclusive. I wonder if that was a slight flub or if it was cut close. Either way, this satisfied me plenty. Window left open for Shibata vs Nagata. Jesus._

----------

*NWA Tag Team Championship*

Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Lance Archer & Davey-Boy Smith Jr. - NJPW: Dominion 2014​
_Best match this pairing has seen since the original King of Pro Wrestling sh6ow. We got the KES of old. Not to say they haven't been good/great in any of their past showings this year but in their series vs Anderson & Gallows, they were the babyfaces. Which I liked, but did really miss their dominating heel presence. Which was on full display vs TenKoji. Speaking of 'em, they were on per usual. Kojima is such an ace vet you can always expect a great showing from him. Tenzan is super motivated in tags these days. He's clicking right along side everyone else. Stick the babyfaces in Bodymaker and it's something else. Heel wear down phases were swell, things were slick, got in two hot tags which was a great move - let both Tenzan & Kojima rock the crowd into a frenzy w/their signature goodies. Superb nearfall in tee very end had me believing it was done for, only to extend a touch bit more. Great match. The break in the series between both teams was needed. This came off incredibly fresh. _

----------

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*

Kota Ibushi(c) vs Ricochet - NJPW: Dominion 2014​
_This is the type of match you can only do one time. And in that one time you better hope it comes off how it should; feeling special. Which, for the benefit of these two, it did here. Good ol BODYMAKER. A pure spectacle between two dazzling wrestlers. More-so on Ricochet's end on this night; as it was a full blown showcase for him on the biggest stage he's ever worked for New Japan. Goodness how he didn't disappoint. Match went tit for tat in the absurdly athletic department. That's what the story was here; the competition to win off who could out "super junior heavyweight" the other. So while the final stretch was fairly "your turn; my turn" type pacing, I was buying into it b/c they made me. The aura surrounding this was molten. If this would have happened in most other places in the World, it probably wouldn't have worked. Only noticeable iffy part about the match was Ibushi's delayed burning lariat. Looked..bad. But other than that - my goodness - what booming excitement. Felt like I was a kid again being amazed at all the feats. (you couldn't believe my reaction the the frankensteiner spot) Once in a blue moon showcases are fine by me. Especially when they're this kind of fun._


----------



## septurum

Dolph Ziggler vs Wade Barrett (RAW 6/23)- *** 3/4


----------



## Obfuscation

Lazy again, but I DON'T CARE. Omori vs Akiyama 6/15 for the Vacant Triple Crown Championship ruled. Wonderful match. Great on all aspects. Best championsh6ip match All Japan has had all year. Akiyama was legit in demolishing Omori's arm for a large duration of the bout & Omori was righ on par w/his selling. Including everything post match. Which is the true icing on the cake. Match was straight out of all the proper building blocks under the King's Road style. Absolute blast. Couldn't help but be enamored. Would say this is a shade under Omori vs Suwama from the first night of the Champions Carnival as All Japan's MOTY. But it's close. You almost can't go wrong w/some of these big Omori matches right now. Who saw that coming? Watch this.


----------



## Chismo

Everyone should watch La Sombra vs. Shocker from CMLL 6/9. It's rather incredible.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*AJPW Dynamite Series 6/15

AJPW Unified Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship: Takao Omori vs Jun Akiyama
*

Wow this match was GREAT, the Omori's Selling was very very good. The first minutes is about two veteran technical wrestlers showing his experience and then tries to prove who is the best. Omori vs Suwama is not great for me, whereby this is the best AJPW match of this year so far. 

******

*YES!!!*​


----------



## Joshi Judas

Really really really liked Nagata/Honma vs Shibata/Goto from Dominion. ****

All guys were great in this. Well Goto was just kinda there but he didn't bring it down. Shibata, Nagata and Honma were absolutely top notch imo. Goodness what a fantastic underdog/babyface Honma played here. Glorious. And Nagata was kinda like the big dog, who comes in and fucks shit up and then leaves. Shibata of course was his usual awesome self.


Just salivating at the thought of Shibata vs Nakamura in a lengthy match from G1 :banderas


----------



## Obfuscation

Well, it's the climax so I doubt it'll be very "lengthy" at all. Not to mention how I'd rather see an explosive sprint over a long, drawn out match between those two. Stick w/Shibata's strengths. Swift matches that get straight to the point.


----------



## Chismo

The overlooked moment from the final BOSJ show was Shibata busting out the TENRYU COMBO mark, we never talked about it, IIRC.

Hopefully he smacks Shinsuke like this:


----------



## Obfuscation

Well, until I finally saw it got posted on Dailymotion, I still need to see Goto/Shibata vs Nagata/Captain New Japan. That explains why I neglected it. :side:


----------



## Chismo

Yujiro/Ishii was sumptuous as fuck. Very smashmouth and physical. Insane Korakuen heat in the finishing run. Also, the only reason Ishii didn't break his neck is simply because he has no neck to break.

****1/4


----------



## Corey

*Money in the Bank Ladder Match*
Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger vs. Rob Van Dam - *YES YES YES*!!!

Not even gonna write a full review of this or give it a star rating yet, just know it needs to be on your lists fellas. So many fantastic storylines throughout, a molten crowd, and some fuckin crazy spots. Dean Ambrose became a star tonight. 

Usos vs. Rowan & Harper was pretty damn good as well.


----------



## Rah

*NOMINATION*


*Timothy Thatcher Vs Biff Busick (13/04/2014 Beyond Wrestling)* - wrestling just took a huge turn toward the weird side. AAA had a phenomenal major show and now I'm seriously considering an American indy match as a close match of the year contender. Like, top 3. I would need to rewatch Busick/Gulak, as it didn't grasp me the first couple times, but this easily trumps Gulak/Thatcher from AWO. I think what separated this particular match from the pack was that it felt aggressive. Rather than simply applying a hold, these two guys scratched and clawed for dominance and would rub their knees or elbows into the worked limb during their holds. It's the little things like this that are required to make this type of match shine, and they hit every note. Thatcher was superb, here, in his submission work, transitions and general expressions. He works this pseudo-Rudge persona flawlessly, and treats himself as a legitimate threat whether up-close (submission work) or at a faster pace with his high-impact offence (Cesaro-esque, in a way). There's a running uppercut about halfway in that levels Biff off the turnbuckle and into a crack between the ring and the wall and it's tremendous. Credit to Biff in making it look so great, too. Doubly credit for the impressive sequence that finishes Thatcher off; so simple yet so smart.

If the Gulak/Thatcher FIP match is better than this, as others have praised it, then I don't see how it cannot be a slum-dunk MotY. Depresses me that I never bought the show, now.




Beyond put this match up free here.


----------



## Concrete

Oh yeah, Thatcher vs Busick giving some of that love.


----------



## Groovemachine

Traditional Money in the Bank Ladder Match - ****

The finish screamed of lazy booking, but there were some fantastic storylines fed throughout this one, most notably the awesome exchanges between Ambrose and Rollins. How the hell Rollins was still standing towards the end I have no idea; those were some gruesome bumps he took. Also that pop Ambrose got during Rollins' climb up the ladder...wow, that gave me chills. Ambrose is over, as is this feud between the two former Shield members. Their one on one match is going to be spectacular. Everyone else had some great hope spots...for a few seconds, I genuinely thought they were going to let Kofi Kingston go over. I know, right?!


----------



## Zatiel

Rah said:


> *NOMINATION*
> 
> 
> *Timothy Thatcher Vs Biff Busick (13/04/2014 Beyond Wrestling)* - wrestling just took a huge turn toward the weird side. AAA had a phenomenal major show and now I'm seriously considering an American indy match as a close match of the year contender. Like, top 3. I would need to rewatch Busick/Gulak, as it didn't grasp me the first couple times, but this easily trumps Gulak/Thatcher from AWO. I think what separated this particular match from the pack was that it felt aggressive. Rather than simply applying a hold, these two guys scratched and clawed for dominance and would rub their knees or elbows into the worked limb during their holds. It's the little things like this that are required to make this type of match shine, and they hit every note. Thatcher was superb, here, in his submission work, transitions and general expressions. He works this pseudo-Rudge persona flawlessly, and treats himself as a legitimate threat whether up-close (submission work) or at a faster pace with his high-impact offence (Cesaro-esque, in a way). There's a running uppercut about halfway in that levels Biff off the turnbuckle and into a crack between the ring and the wall and it's tremendous. Credit to Biff in making it look so great, too. Doubly credit for the impressive sequence that finishes Thatcher off; so simple yet so smart.
> 
> If the Gulak/Thatcher FIP match is better than this, as others have praised it, then I don't see how it cannot be a slum-dunk MotY. Depresses me that I never bought the show, now.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Beyond put this match up free here.


Thanks for sharing this! Had never heard of either guy and they both impressed the heck out of me.

Lots of good technical details, liked how Thatcher kept going back to the arm. They kept the mat stuff very struggle-based, which is what I love to watch. I knew it'd eventually break down into strikes and suplexes, but even that wacky segment wasn't too long or ridiculous. I also loved Busick going back to the Sleeper/Choke as the desperation submission. God damn, too, I have seldom seen that version of the hold look so legit as in the finish.


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah said:


> *NOMINATION*
> 
> 
> *Timothy Thatcher Vs Biff Busick (13/04/2014 Beyond Wrestling)* - wrestling just took a huge turn toward the weird side. AAA had a phenomenal major show and now I'm seriously considering an American indy match as a close match of the year contender. Like, top 3. I would need to rewatch Busick/Gulak, as it didn't grasp me the first couple times, but this easily trumps Gulak/Thatcher from AWO. I think what separated this particular match from the pack was that it felt aggressive. Rather than simply applying a hold, these two guys scratched and clawed for dominance and would rub their knees or elbows into the worked limb during their holds. It's the little things like this that are required to make this type of match shine, and they hit every note. Thatcher was superb, here, in his submission work, transitions and general expressions. He works this pseudo-Rudge persona flawlessly, and treats himself as a legitimate threat whether up-close (submission work) or at a faster pace with his high-impact offence (Cesaro-esque, in a way). There's a running uppercut about halfway in that levels Biff off the turnbuckle and into a crack between the ring and the wall and it's tremendous. Credit to Biff in making it look so great, too. Doubly credit for the impressive sequence that finishes Thatcher off; so simple yet so smart.
> 
> If the Gulak/Thatcher FIP match is better than this, as others have praised it, then I don't see how it cannot be a slum-dunk MotY. Depresses me that I never bought the show, now.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Beyond put this match up free here.


Level of excitement reading this is peaking. Tonight just got good.


----------



## Last Chancery

Huge YES vote for Thatcher/Busick. Never saw either compete, and holy shit, those two delivered. Real hard-hitting, stiff bout that felt like nothing I've watched all this year. About as close you can get to a shoot inside a wrestling ring. Everything they threw looked down-to-earth and believable, and there was nothing there that seemed out of place for the context of this particular match. The Beyond atmosphere helped, and I am really excited to check out more from this company, these two guys, and this style of 'fighting.'

Any recommendations would be welcomed.


----------



## Concrete

I have Busick versus Thatcher as a top 10 match overall this year Rah so feel free to add my vote if you haven't


----------



## Chismo

*CMLL 2014/6/22*

LIGHTNING MATCH: Blue Panther vs. Ephesto

_Number of punches and Irish whips: ZERO. All they did was exchanging holds in the middle of the ring in a highly grueling fashion, and it was fantastic._

****1/4


*Noches de Coliseo 2014/6/22*

*UWA World Middleweight Championship*: Silver Star vs. Charles Lucero ©

_Where has the old fuck Lucero been my whole life? Smh… The old maestro displayed some of the most scientific pro-graps I’ve ever seen, and you know funny thing? Silver Star is not too much behind. The sanctity of clean title matches in lucha was respected to a T here, and I don’t really know what to write about the match other than “tons of slick, gracious matwork and catapults done at a frantic pace”. This was a pure, sinewy struggle with an amazing finish. The lucha MOTY._

****1/2
​


----------



## NastyYaffa

Have you guys seen Devitt vs. ZSJ from PROGRESS Chapter 13? If not, you guys gotta check it out. What a great match. Easily a MOTYC.


----------



## Concrete

Silver Star and Lucero do it again, eh? I can jive with that.


----------



## Obfuscation

NastyYaffa said:


> Have you guys seen Devitt vs. ZSJ from PROGRESS Chapter 13? If not, you guys gotta check it out. What a great match. Easily a MOTYC.


Is there a link available online? b/c I'd love to check it out.



Concrete said:


> Silver Star and Lucero do it again, eh? I can jive with that.


planned to make a day where I'd see all of this Lucero goodness a week ago & my internet decided to be gash. OF COURSE. Soon I'll make amends.


----------



## Last Chancery

Hayley Seydoux said:


> Is there a link available online? b/c I'd love to check it out.
> 
> 
> 
> planned to make a day where I'd see all of this Lucero goodness a week ago & my internet decided to be gash. OF COURSE. Soon I'll make amends.


http://youtu.be/it2coTptmlM?t=1h37m5s

Got you right after the entrances. Skip back two minutes to see Devitt come out as Joker.


----------



## Obfuscation

Fabulous.

Tommy End vs El Ligero on that show too? Well, how do you do.


----------



## Brock

Loved that Devitt Joker Entrance:


----------



## Concrete

*Arkángel de la Muerte vs. Gallo(CMLL):***3/4*
_Lucha title matches can be real rad. This is one fun title match. I have seen neither wrestler to the best of my knowledge. That’s me being new to lucha. Arkangel is a vet and Gallo is the young upstart I suppose. First fall has lots of energy with some swell matwork. Arkangel also busts out a nutty dive right into Gallo’s face. Second fall has a lot less meat but I was a fan of Arkangel going back after the head with a kneedrop but he also misses it which goes against the leg that got worked over in fall one. Fall three feels like a proper concluding fall for a title match. The transition into Arkangel’s camel clutch is real bonkers. I thought Gallo was just fine in this match but Arkangel was just super. 
_​


----------



## Rah

*Jun Akiyama vs Takao Omori (15/06 AJPW)* - Akiyama must be the single best wrestler alive nobody here talks about. Which is an odd claim, considering Misawa's torch was passed directly to him fourteen years ago in a star-making performance. Outside of Chismo and Hayley, does anyone even follow AJPW, let alone his matches? Crying shame how far AJPW has fallen, because it leaves Akiyama wallowing into this obscurity.

I think, in the past year, I've seen three or four Akiyama matches; two Burning tags, this bout and his Carnival Cup exchange with KAI. Each and every time he's looked like the best guy in Japan by miles. Credit to Ishii and his wondrous streak of goodness, so far in 2014, but he hasn't come close to THIS. Kinda like the Kai CC match, this isn't so much a one-sided affair, either. I'm not sure I'd say Omori was actively better in selling or working from underneath as KAI was, but he wasn't too far removed, either. The finishing stretch was wondrous. It's bomb-hitting, finisher running done right in that it holds a point and isn't used to pop a dead crowd. Here's Omori, struggling to survive, and not getting big enough opportunities to capitalise on. He realises it's kill or be killed time and starts hammering Akiyama with his injured arm. Up unto this point, Akiyama has struggled to put Omori away and realises its go-time, as well. Cue the lariats and headdrops!

I think what keeps me from a lot of the AJPW/puro mains is how lengthy they tend to be. Often times they feel too extended or come in as slow burners, AJPW especially. I was a little hesitant in seeing the run-time of the video sitting around the 40 minute mark, but the match is antitypical to what I've just described. Terrific pick-up-and-go wrestling.


*Mid-year MotY listing:*

1) The Wyatts Vs The Shield (WWE Elimination Chamber)
2) Sami Zayn Vs Cesaro (WWE NXT ArRIVAL)
3) Timothy Thatcher Vs Biff Busick (13/04 Beyond Wrestling) 
4) Virus Vs Titan (CMLL 28/01)
5) The Wyatts Vs The Shield (WWE Raw 03/03)
6) Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (WWE Royal Rumble)
7) Jun Akiyama vs Takao Omori (15/06 AJPW) 
8) Cesaro Vs John Cena (WWE Raw 17/02)
9) El Cavernario Vs Hechicero (20/06/2014 CMLL) 
10) Virus, Cachorro & Hechicero Vs ***** Casas, Cavernario & Dragon (CMLL 23/05)
11) The Wyatts Vs The Shield (WWE Main Event 08/04)
12) Tanahashi Vs Nakamura (NJPW Invasion Attack)
13) The Real Americans Vs Rhodes Dynasty (Main Event 18/03)
14) Daniel Bryan Vs HHH (WWE Wrestlemania XXX)
15) Tomohiro Ishii vs. KUSHIDA (12/04/2014 NJPW) 
16) Sheamus Vs Dean Ambrose (Smackdown 09/05)
17) AJ Styles Vs Chris Hero (RoH 22/03)
18) Elimination Chamber (WWE Elimination Chamber)
19) KUSHIDA Vs Jushin Liger (06/06/2014 NJPW)
20) Rush Vs Shocker (CMLL 21/03)


----------



## Corey

I checked out the two indy matches that were posted last page. *Devitt vs. Sabre Jr.* from Progress 13 was pretty badass, mainly because of the joker stuff. ZSJ did his usual armwork and psychology while Devitt sold it pretty well throughout. Some really fun moments on the outside and luckily the strike exchanges didn't go overboard or feature a bunch of no-selling. I liked it a good bit, buuuut like many indy matches I watch these days I just didn't feel like it had enough substance to make it standout amongst many matches that are similar to it. A very high **** 3/4* though. Fun stuff.

The *Thatcher vs. Busick* match was pretty decent but I didn't get into it as much as you other folks did. Honestly at times I felt like I was watching some kind of gay porn. Both dudes don't wear much attire and there's a bunch of weird shirtless dudes standing around a small ring in a run down warehouse. :lol Anyway, solid stuff but I didn't think that highly of it. Never felt like it really built to anything imo. Those open hand slaps that one of them threw were pretty nasty looking though.


----------



## Obfuscation

AJPW is legit. Down on its luck business wise, but they're a blast to watch. Then epic goodies such as Akiyama vs Omori come along & you know your happy to be keeping up w/'em. Plus, any company that gives Shigehiro Irie championships & exposure will always be on my good side.

Rah, your list was a bit of a surprise in some regards. Assumed KUSH vs Ishii would be higher & didn't know Virus vs Titan was THAT liked by you, even after we've rambled about it and I seemed to be more favorable on the whole of it. _(liking the first fall that is)_ Also, Chamber match love. The ending hurt it to a favorable degree for myself. At least, as far as giving it a plug ITT goes.

Being away from the internet world has allowed me to fall behind on ZBJ vs Devitt & Busick vs Thatcher. Soon. Maybe. I dunno. Whenever I have the time. Better yet, when I have the interest.


----------



## Shotakan

*Punch Perm contra Punch Perm: Chihiro Tominaga vs. "Mr. High Tension" Kotoka ***3/4*​

I thought more highly of this than I have of other recent Dragon Gate singles matches. Sure, it was the two lowest card guys fighting it what feels like the annual "mock the bottom totem pole boys" match Dragon Gate puts on because it makes CIMA laugh, but these two made the most of it, always going for a win and struggling with holds, strikes and submissions, making them a nice contrast to the rest of the roster with their posing and constantly getting into positions for spots (Shingo waiting around for Flamita to grab him REALLY annoys the shit out of me, as does Susumu's Exploder suplex where the other guy just waits around all because Susumu beat him up to the top rope like it's a race or something). You really felt like neither one of these two men wanted to lose, which only makes sense when the eventual loser comes out later looking ridiculous. (He DOES headbutt Shingo right in his smug-prick face for sucking though, so it's all good.)

Anyway, definitely a match to check out. Shame that the rest of the roster will do everything they can to suck the talent out of these guys the way they are doing with the Millenials.


----------



## Corey

I believe I've finally seen everything I need to throughout the first half of the year. A random TV match could sneak in here from the past few months but I'm sure it'll be in the bottom half of the list if so. Haven't seen anything from US Indies this year that's truly stuck out to me, so my entire list is WWE:

1. The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (WWE Elimination Chamber) - **** 1/2
2. Triple H vs. Daniel Bryan (WrestleMania XXX) - **** 1/4 
3. The Shield vs. Evolution (WWE Extreme Rules) - **** 1/4
4. John Cena vs. Cesaro (WWE Raw 2/17) - **** 1/4
5. Traditional Money in the Bank Ladder Match (WWE Money in the Bank) - ****
6. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (NXT Arrival) - ****
7. Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (WWE Royal Rumble) - ****
8. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze (NXT Takeover) - ****
9. Sheamus vs. Cesaro (WWE Payback) - ****


----------



## Alan4L

Updated for 7/7 (New additions in bold) 

NOW JAN 1 – DEC 31 

*WWE: *
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (2/23) *****
Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Batista (4/6) ****1/2
Daniel Bryan vs. HHH (4/6) ****1/2
Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (1/26) ****1/2
Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (2/27) ****1/2
Antonio Cesaro vs. John Cena (2/17) ****1/2
*John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt (Last Man Standing) (6/1) ****1/2*
The Shield vs. Evolution (5/4) ****1/4
The Elimination Chamber (2/23) ****1/4
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (4/8) ****1/4
John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt (4/6) ****1/4
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (3/3) ****1/4
John Cena vs. Luke Harper (3/24) ****
Real Americans vs. The Shield (3/24) ****
Antonio Cesaro vs. Randy Orton (2/17) ****
The Shield vs. Bryan/Cena/Sheamus (1/27) ****
Paige vs. Emma (2/27) ****
CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns (1/6) ****
The Shield vs. CM Punk & The Usos (1/3) ****
*Rusev vs. Big E (6/29) ****
The Wyatt Family vs. The Usos (6/29) ****
The Shield vs. Evolution (Elimination) (6/1) *****

*Puro: *
Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (1/16) (DG) *****
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii (2/11) (NJPW) ****3/4
Ricochet vs. Uhaa Nation (3/6) (DG) ****3/4
Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk (5/9) (DG) ****3/4
Takagi/Yoshino/Tozawa vs. Hulk/Doi/Kong vs. Kanda/Kagetora/QuuQuu vs/ Eita/T-Hawk/Flamita (4/8) (DG) ****1/2
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii (4/6) (NJPW) ****1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (4/6) (NJPW) ****1/2
Takagi/Yoshino/Tozawa vs. Susumu/Kagetora/Horiguchi vs, Eita/Maria/Flamita (3/6) (DG) ****1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi (3/6) (NJPW) ****1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito (1/4) (NJPW) ****1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto (2/11) (NJPW) ****1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (2/9) (NJPW) ****1/2
Okada/Nakamura/Ishii vs. Goto/Tanahashi/Naito (2/2) (NJPW) ****1/2
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kota Ibushi (5/25) (NJPW) ****1/2
Tozawa/Takagi vs. Mochizuki/Fujii (5/5) (DG) ****1/2
YAMATO vs. Ricochet (5/5) (DG) ****1/2
*The Young Buck$ vs. The Timesplitters (6/21) (NJPW) ****1/2
Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet (6/21) (NJPW) ****1/2*
Flamita vs. Jimmy Susumu (5/5) (DG) ****1/4
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma (5/3) (NJPW) ****1/4
Daisuke Harada vs. Atsushi Kotoge (4/19) (NOAH) ****1/4
AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada (5/25) (NJPW) ****1/4
YAMATO vs. Uhaa Nation (4/8) (DG) ****1/4
Taiji Ishimori vs. Daisuke Harada (3/8) (NOAH) ****1/4
Akebono vs. Go Shiozaki (2/23) (AJPW) ****1/4
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii (3/15) (NJPW) ****1/4
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara (1/19) (NOAH) ****1/4
Shibata/Goto vs. Okada/YOSHI-HASHI (2/9) (NJPW) ****1/4
Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki (2/5) (AJPW) ****1/4
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto (1/4) (NJPW) ****1/4
*Jun Akiyama vs. Takao Omori (6/15) (AJPW) ****1/4
Goto/Shibata vs. Tanahashi/Naito (7/4) (NJPW) ****1/4
Monster Express vs.. The Millenials (7/3) (DG) ****1/4
Monster Express vs. The Jimmys (6/5) (DG) ****1/4
Mochizuki/Kid vs. T-Hawk/Eita (6/5) (DG) ****1/4
Sekimoto/Miyahara vs. Hino/Sato (6/8) (FD) ****
Goto/Shibata vs. Honma/Makabe (6/29) (NJPW) ****
Jimmy Susumu vs. T-Hawk (5/31) (DG) ****
Kenny Omega vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (5/30) (NJPW) ****
Kenny Omega vs. El Desperado (6/3) (NJPW) *****
Golden Lovers vs. Yankii Ni Cho Kenji vs. Endo/Takeshita (1/26) (DDT) ****
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (1/12) (DG) ****
Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!! vs. Super Shiisa (1/12) (DG) ****
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (1/4) (NJPW) ****
Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi (1/4) (NJPW) ****
KENTA vs. Takeshi Morishima (1/5) (NOAH) ****
Mascara Dorada vs. Volador Jr. (1/19) (NJPW) ****
Akebono vs. Kento Miyahara (3/18) (AJPW) ****
Masato Yoshino vs. Ricochet (3/2) (DG) ****
The Jimmys vs. CIMA/Shiisa/K-Ness (3/2) (DG) ****
Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!! vs. Yosuke SantaMaria (3/1) (DG) ****
Yuji Nagata vs. KENTA (2/22) (NOAH) ****
Nakamura/Ishii vs. Naito/Tanahashi (3/6) (NJPW) ****
Yuji Nagata vs. Mohammed Yone (5/17) (NOAH) ****
Millenials vs. Kid/K-Ness/Shiisa (5/5) (DG) ****
Escape The Cage Mascara Contra Caballera (5/5) (DG) ****
Millenials vs. Ricochet/Takagi/Yoshino (5/5) (DG) **** 
HARASHIMA vs. KUDO (3/21) (DDT) ****

*PWG: *
African-American Wolves vs. Inner City Machine Guns vs. Unbreakable F'N Machines (3/28) ****1/4
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Johnny Gargano (3/28) ****1/4
Chris Hero vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Drake Younger vs. Kyle O’Reilly (1/31) ****1/4
*Mount Rushmore vs. Gargano, Alexander, Lee (5/23) ****1/4
Rich Swann vs. AR Fox (5/23) ****
ACH vs. Ricochet (5/23) *****
Trevor Lee vs. Andrew Everett vs. Cedric Alexander (3/28) **** 
Inner City Machine Guns vs. African American Wolves (1/31) ****

*DGUSA/EVOLVE:*
Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet (4/4) ****1/4
Masato Tanaka vs. Chris Hero (4/4) ****1/4
AR Fox vs. Chris Hero (2/23) ****1/4
Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong (2/23) ****
Nese/Trent vs. Swann/Strickland (2/23) ****
Ricochet vs. Chris Hero (1/10) ****	

*ROH: *
reDRagon vs. The Young Buck$ (5/17) ****1/2
AJ Styles vs. Roderick Strong (2/1) ****1/4
Chris Hero vs. Roderick Strong (3/7) ****1/4
reDRagon vs. The Young Buck$ (3/8) ****1/4
AJ Styles vs. Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada (5/17) ****
Kevin Steen vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (5/17) ****
reDRagon vs. Adrenaline RUSH (2/21) ****

*wXw:*
Tommy End vs. Jonathan Gresham (3/15) ****1/2
Adam Cole vs. Chris Hero (3/16) ****1/4
Johnny Gargano vs. Big Van Walter (3/15) ****1/4
Hot & Spicy vs. Inner City Machine Guns (3/14) ****1/4

*Other:*
*Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (6/15) (RevPro) ****3/4
Prince Devitt vs. Adam Cole (6/15) (RevPro) ****1/2*
Virus vs. Titan (1/28) (CMLL) ****1/2
Jimmy Havoc vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (1/26) (PROGRESS) ****1/4
Swords Of Essex vs. FSU (1/26) (PROGRESS) ****1/4
*Prince Devitt vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (5/18) (PROGRESS) ****1/4
Danny Cannon vs. Michael Elgin (3/9) (IWA: MS) ****1/4
2Unlimited vs. Osperay/McCluskey (6/15) (RevPro) ****
Marty Scurll vs. Kevin Steen (6/15) (RevPro) ****
Swords Of Essex vs. Project Ego vs. London Riots vs. Haskins/Samuels (5/18) (PROGRESS) ****
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Josh Alexander (6/8) (SMASH) *****
Jimmy Havoc vs. Rampage Brown vs. Marty Scurll (3/30) (PROGRESS) ****
Timothy Thatcher vs. Drew Gulak (4/4) (Wrestling Odyssey) ****
Timothy Thatcher vs. Biff Busick (4/13) (Beyond) **** 
Danny Cannon vs. Buxx Belmar vs. Davey Vega vs. Matt Cage (2/16) (Beyond) ****


----------



## The Black Mirror

*I've been watching some ROH the last couple of nights. Here are the two matches that I actually enjoyed:

Kevin Steen vs. Michael Elgin - ROH Supercard of Honor (April 4, 2014) - ★★★★ (NO!/NOT NOMINATED)

reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) - ROH Raising the Bar Night 2 (March 8, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT NOMINATED)​
Unfortunately, I do not have the time to leave detailed thoughts on these matches (or any matches for the foreseeable future). I still want to participate in this thread as much as possible. I'm catching up on a lot of watching now (I'm always behind, especially this year) thanks to recommendations that all of you are making. Please keep it up (with the recommendations) so that I can watch the matches that get mentioned in here and then leave my thoughts as well. Thanks to all of you!*


----------



## Chismo

Oh, sweet Jesus, School Casas vs. School Virus (Torneo Cibernetico) was marvelous. Just incredible. Future brings so many potential 1-on-1 classics from the match, with Cavernario/Virus and Hechicero/Casas being especially mouthwatering. 

****1/2


----------



## Bubz

Chismo is that Nakamura being killed by Big Tak? When did that match happen?


----------



## Chismo

January 4th 2010, the most underrated Dome match ever.

IMO.


----------



## Obfuscation

^^^Irie vs KUDO from the latest DDT Korakuen show. Have you experienced it yet?


----------



## Chismo

Hayley Seydoux said:


> ^^^Irie vs KUDO from the latest DDT Korakuen show. Have you experienced it yet?


Saw the whole show yesterday, but didn't post the review in the non-spoiler thread because my post is the last one (why don't people post there more often, smh). But fuck it, I just did it now.

Oh, ANDHAVE YOU EXPERIENCED IMPECCABLE ELIMINATION TACTICS AND SUPER SASADANGO MACHINE'S POWERPOINT PRESENTATION? :mark:

/Jakovasaurus mode.


----------



## Obfuscation

Absolutely. All I have left to see is the finals itself. Eliminations left me in stitches as did the surprises & a KO-D Openweight Championship match made awesome by the use of only one specific move. Amazing. DDT, baby.


----------



## Obfuscation

Double posting w/not much behind this post & I don't even care:

Big plug to Busick vs Thatcher from Beyond Wrestling. A super natural game of human chess w/o any awful mechanical or contrived BS plaguing it. Those two knew exactly what they're doing. After seeing this crap done wrong so many times recently _(oddly, to an extent, w/a lot of matches involving women. And even w/Biff himself.)_ it was mighty fine to see it done properly. Engaged the entire near twenty minutes it went. Just oh so swell. WRESTLING.


----------



## DGenerationMC

Anything with The Young Bucks.


----------



## darkclaudio

*YES* Nagata (c) vs Marufuji ****


----------



## NastyYaffa

Top-10 matches of the year, so far imo:
1. The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (WWE Elimination Chamber 2014)
2. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (NXT ArRival)
3. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H (WWE Wrestlemania 30)
4. Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (WWE Royal Rumble 2014)
5. Ricochet vs. KUSHIDA (NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XXI)
6. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista (WWE Wrestlemania 30)
7. Prince Devitt vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. (PROGRESS Chapter 13)
8. The Young Bucks vs. Time Splitters (NJPW Dominion 2014)
9. Cesaro vs. John Cena (WWE RAW 02/17)
10. The Young Bucks vs. reDRagon (ROH War of the Worlds)

Been a great year for wrestling, so far.


----------



## Groovemachine

*Yuji Nagata vs Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH 'Great Voyage in 2014' 05.07.14 - *****

Nagata is just killing it this year. Marufuji played a terrific resilient underdog in this, but really this was the Nagata show. Seeing his priceless reaction after he gave Marufuji the exploder on the apron, I'd pretty much given it four stars for that alone. Someone needs to GIF that, stat. Some lovely counters in this as well, and although Marufuji ate quite a lot of offense, it didn't necessarily feel like overkill as they gave time to the spots and each subsequent pinfall was given the space to seem weighty and important. I perhaps could have done with a little more build up to the finish, but that's nitpicking. I've hardly seen any NOAH this year but this is sure to rank highly come December.


----------



## flag sabbath

Coupla very good matches on the 30/6 Big Japan show. Ishikawa vs. Ishikawa builds steadily to a teeth-rattling payoff ****3/4* And Sekimoto vs. Shinobu is an electric size mismatch saga - Korakuen sure loves an underdog ******


----------



## Obfuscation

For shits & giggles and pure happiness I want to shout YES after watching Tanahashi & Naito vs Goto & Shibata from 7/4. Even more than I expected for a hot, upper card, G-1 climax showcase tag in Korakuen. Long finishing stretch made this pop louder than having Goto/Shibata rely on an extended beatdown segment which has proven to wear thin in the past. My struggle to write any proper comprehensible review continues but I LOVED ALL OF THIS. Sums it up in so many words.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Groovemachine said:


> Someone needs to GIF that












Yes to the match btw. Nagata in NOAH has been hit and miss but when he hits it's fucking wonderful. His control segments were great, the highspots were neat, the crowd played along with them and Marufuji's comeback was simple and to the point.


----------



## flag sabbath

Junior Stars vs. American Wolves from Wrestle-1 6/7 is an exciting match, but it's crying out for a more enthusiastic crowd. The 5K at that show sounded more like 200 all evening. Still ****3/4*

I'm throwing a stubborn ****1/2* at Nagata vs. Marufuji. Nagata's performance was godlike, but Marufuji's contribution was barely adequate & the finish was unconvincing.


----------



## Zatiel

Big, fat YES to Naito & Tanahashi Vs. Shibata & Goto from 7/4. My favorite 2-on-2 tag of the year so far with Shibata and Naito being merciless to each other. I'm not sure why Naito's insistence on proving his toughness worked better on me here than in the Ishii and Fale matches, but it definitely did. It was also fun to see Tanahashi almost play the dad role over the guy who was previously marked to take his spot. Meanwhile Shibata was a great jerk, getting fed up with Tanahashi and eventually just taking cheap shots at him. I don't know anyone who no-sells like Shibata these days, picking the most surprising or dramatic moments to shrug something off and retaliate. That corner attack was brutal.


----------



## darkclaudio

NO

Naito & Tanahashi vs Shibata & Goto ***1/2
Akiyama vs Omori (Triple Crown) ***1/2

YES

Eita & T-Hawk vs Shingo & Tozawa (c) (KOBE) ****+


----------



## Groovemachine

*The Usos vs The Wyatt Family [2 out of 3 Falls] - WWE Battleground - ***3/4*

An easy MOTN, although it didn't have any competition, but that shouldn't take away from the fact that this was a really well worked 2 out of 3 falls match. It definitely felt like the 'finale' of their rivalry, as they had lots of callbacks to their previous matches, making the nearfalls and kickouts all the more exciting. This feud has really helped the Usos; it's such a shame the rest of the tag division has fallen to the wayside recently as it would have been great to see the Usos ride this wave of momentum.


----------



## Zakerias

My Favourite was Kota Ibushi vs Okada from March of this year.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Anyone got any reviews for G1 matches from Day 1?


----------



## ROHFan19

I'm only up to Kojima/Nagata but Ishii/Fale was very good. ***1/2ish


----------



## septurum

Usos vs Wyatts- **** (2/3 Falls-WWE Battleground)


----------



## ZEROVampire

*YES!

Akira Tozawa & Shingo Takagi vs T-Hawk & Eita ****1/4 (KOBE) THIS IS THE BEST TAG MATCH IN YEARS*

NO!

BxB Hulk vs YAMATO ***1/2+ (KOBE)
The Usos vs Luke Harper & Erick Rowan (Battleground) ***1/2


----------



## flag sabbath

I guess I'm the only one, but I really enjoyed the Mad Blanky vs. Jimmyz Triangle Gate match from Kobe World. Sure, it was Dragon Gate by-the-numbers, but with a strong heel vs. face dynamic, slick execution & a scintillating home straight, who's complaining? ****3/4*

Shingo & Tozawa vs. T-Hawk & Eita is fucking epic. Inevitably won't be to all tastes, but for me they skirted just the right side of excess by giving the battered men recovery time & using saves judiciously *****1/2*


----------



## Rah

With more unnecessary colour than Ric Flair's career, it's the WF match of the year contenders!



Puro:
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 12 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Tetsuya Naito (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
Okada, Nakamura, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanahashi, Goto, Naito & Captain NJ (NJPW 05/01)|| YES = 1 ||
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Masato Yoshino (DG Infinity #324) || YES = 4 ||
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara (NOAH 19/01) || YES = 1 ||
Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW 02/02) || YES = 4 ||
Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (Dragon Gate 12/01) || YES = 3 ||
Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki (AJPW 05/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 16 ||*
The Young Bucks Vs Time Splitters (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
*Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 13 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Hirooki Goto (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 8 ||
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata Vs Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 2 ||
Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Shigehiro Irie Vs HARASHIMA (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada Vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW 42nd Anniversary) || YES = 2 ||
Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa Vs Shinya Ishikawa & Shinobu (BJW 02/03) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet Vs Uhaa Nation (Dragon Gate 06/03) || YES = 1 ||
Taiji Ishimori Vs Daisuke Harada (NOAH Great Voyage 08/03) || YES = 4 ||
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW New Japan Cup 15/03) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato (BJW 26/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 11 ||*
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 4 ||
Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki Vs Suwama & Hikaru Sato (AJPW 18/03) || YES = 1 ||
Flamita Vs Jimmy Susumu (Dragon Gate: Dead or Alive) || YES = 2 ||
Twin Towers Vs Wild Network (BJW Endless Survivor) || YES = 1 ||
Kota Ibushi Vs Tomohiro Ishii (25/05 NJPW) || YES = 4 ||
KAI Vs Manabu Soya (04/05 Wrestle-1) || YES = 1 ||
Alex Shelley Vs Ryusuke Taguchi (03/06 NJPW) || YES = 1 ||
KUSHIDA Vs Jushin Liger (06/06 NJPW) || YES = 5 ||
Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Daichi Hashimoto - BJW 07.02.2014 || YES = 1 ||
CHAOS vs Bullet Club (08/06 NJPW) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet vs KUSHIDA (08/06 NJPW) || YES = 5 ||
Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma || YES = 1 ||
Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazuki Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura (01/06 BJW) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW Dominion) || YES = 3 ||
Time Splitters vs The Young Bucks (NJPW Dominion) || YES = 5 ||
King Ace vs Bullet Club (NJPW Dominion) || YES = 1 ||
Takao Omori vs Jun Akiyama (15/06 AJPW) || YES = 2 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Yujiro Takahashi (NJPW Kizuna Road) || YES = 1 ||
Yuji Nagata vs Naomichi Marufuji (05/07 NOAH) || YES = 1 ||
Tetsuya Naito & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto (NJPW Kizuna Road) || YES = 1 ||
Monster Express vs The Millenials (Dragon Gate Kobe World) || YES = 2 ||





US Indy:
Trent Barretta Vs Anthony Nese (Evolve 25) || YES = 1 ||
Sigmon Vs Vordell Walker (TCW 14-01) || YES = 1 ||
Johnny Gargano Vs Uhaa Nation (Evolve 27) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Roderick Strong (RoH 01/02) || YES = 1 || 
AR Fox Vs Chris Hero (Evolve 23/02) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs JT Dunn (Beyond Wrestling Critical Acclaim) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs Masato Tanaka (DG:USA Open The Ultimate Gate) || YES = 2 ||
Ricochet Vs Johnny Gargano (DG:USA Open The Ultimate Gate) || YES = 1 ||
Caleb Konley Vs Cedric Alexander (PWX Rise of a Champion IX) || YES = 2 ||
Biff Busick Vs Drew Gulak (CZW To Infinity) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Chris Hero (RoH 22/03) || YES = 1 ||
Young Bucks Vs ReDragon (ROH War of the Worlds) || YES = 4 ||
Trevor Lee vs Cedric Alexander vs Andrew Everett (PWG Mystery Vortex II) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs JT Dunn (Beyond Wrestling Uncomfortable) || YES = 1 ||
Timothy Thatcher Vs Biff Busick (Beyond Wrestling 13/04) || YES = 3 ||
Prince Devitt vs Zack Sabre Jr (Progress Chapter 13) || YES = 1 ||





WWE:
*Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (Royal Rumble) || YES = 28 ||*
Daniel Bryan Vs Randy Orton (Raw 03/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Cesaro Vs John Cena (Raw 17/02) || YES = 21 ||*
*The Wyatts Vs The Shield (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 31 ||*
Elimination Chamber Match (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 4 ||
*Sami Zayn Vs Cesaro (NXT ArRIVAL) || YES = 27 ||*
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Raw 03/03/2014) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs HHH (Wrestlemania) || YES = 9 ||
John Cena Vs Bray Wyatt (Wrestlemania) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs Batista Vs Randy Orton (Wrestlemania) || YES = 5 || 
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Main Event 08/04/2014) || YES = 3 ||
The Shield Vs Evolution (Extreme Rules) || YES = 7 ||
Tyler Breeze Vs Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover) || YES = 2 ||
Charlotte Vs Natalya (NXT Takeover) || YES = 4 ||
Adrian Neville Vs Tyson Kidd (NXT Takeover) || YES = 2 ||
The Shield Vs Evolution (Payback) || YES = 1 ||
Cesaro Vs Sheamus (Payback) || YES = 1 ||
Bad News Barrett vs Sheamus (Raw 09/06) || YES = 1 ||
John Cena, Sheamus & Roman Reigns vs Cesaro, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt & Alberto Del Rio (Smackdown 20/06) || YES = 1 ||
Money in the Bank Ladder Match (Money in the Bank) || YES = 1 ||\





Lucha Libre:
Virus Vs Titan (CMLL 28/01) || YES = 4 ||
Rush Vs Shocker (CMLL 21/03) || YES = 1 ||
Virus, Cachorro & Hechicero Vs ***** Casas, Cavernario & Dragon Lee (CMLL 23/05) || YES = 2 ||
Volador Jr Vs Rush (25/05 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
Villano IV Vs Chessman (AAA Rey De Reyes) || YES = 1 ||
Rush, La Mascara, Titan vs ***** Casas, Shocker, Felino (06/06 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
El Hechicero vs. El Cavernario (20/06 CMLL) || YES = 2 ||
Blue Panther vs Ephesto (22/06 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
Silver Star vs Charles Lucero (22/06 Noches De Coliseo) || YES = 1 ||
Cachorro, Cavernario, Dragon Lee, Soberano Jr. & ***** Casas vs Virus, Hechicero, Star Jr., Guerrero ***** Jr. & Super Halcon Jr (27/06 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||







Legend:
*Bold Red Text*: matches with a score of 10 or better
Red text: matches with a score of 5 or better


----------



## Concrete

Indies and lucha get shafted -_-

Side note to the side note, I didn't even know 31 different people have posted in this thread this year so THAT'S something.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Looking to get into Lucha Libre. Had tried random CMLL matches on Youtube 2-3 years ago but everything I watched felt too choreographed- more like a dance than a fight so I had lost interest. Plus every match being 2/3 falls.

I'd like to believe I have grown as a wrestling fan since then and want to give it another try with a more open mind. This list in Rah's post should be a good start. Any workers to look out for so I can check out their stuff from the last 1-2 years too?

I keep hearing Virus, ***** Casas and Rush a lot.


----------



## Concrete

I'd throw Hechicero into the mix who had a wonderful few matches with Charles Lucero last year in Monterrey (lucha independent). This year he's been in CMLL and tore it up in a tournament they run which is full of sub-10 minute matches that I'd say if you like DG or something of that ilk could be of big appeal. Just high quality sprints that don't wear out their welcome. There are actually a few guys from that tournament that did really awesome so I'd look towards that for some bite size nuggets.

Other than that, Virus and Casas are good guys to watch out for. Rush I'd say yes to as well with the caveat that most of his best stuff involves Casas and/or Shocker.


----------



## Rah

Forget your notions on Lucha being a dance-off, this is why I love lucha:







***** Casas, Blue Panther, Virus, Rush and Hechicero are all pretty much guaranteed good performances. If it's a singles match then Panther and Virus will hardly, if ever, disappoint (especially if its a Virus title match). Forget the Casas/Panther match from January 2014, but get on their January 2012 single fall before tackling the hairs match. Those and the Hechicero/Lucero Poder Y Honor match seem like the best of the recent primers.


----------



## Obfuscation

Night one of the Climax gave me four additions for my list:

Nagata vs Kojima was a well orchestrated sprint among the veterans. Yuji was mean, Kojima was explosive & reliable when selling a bum limb. A hot time.

Naito vs Yujiro became amazingly fresh thanks to Naito's recent hard luck turned full swing momentum into attempting to build himself back up & Yujiro's super heel turn has inspired him to a career high. Which is actually a positive and not a shine on his past lukewarm tendencies. Every blow in this was vile & impactful. Naito bumps so wonderfully & can earn sympathy as he takes it, even better. Glad he won the fans back b/c he excels in this department. Damn near the strongest match these have had & probably will ever have. I'll always get caught holding my breath on every Stardust Press spot.

Tanahashi vs Honma hit all the simplistic sweet spots you knew they could. Clocking in at barely the ten minute mark, these two knew how to control the audience w/o the slightest bit of strain. You can easily center a match around Honma needing to hit his headbutt & it can work. Tana pinpointing certain areas to be a dick can differ on the match, but where he chose to strike in this was acceptable. b/c you knew it had to happen eventually. New Japan crowds sure love an underdog. It always makes from a great show. 

Nakamura vs Shibata proved divisive. Understandable. You either got behind the hot strike exchanges/counters & methodical mentality balance the match provided or was slightly deflated b/c they didn't go full retard on each other. I'm of the former. Both men incorporated their even skills of an MMA background fused w/their hot spots that they knew the fans would go ape for. Toss in a deep, intricate use of a chinlock to dictate the dominance & I am sold.


----------



## flag sabbath

Nakamura vs. Shibata lost me with the figure four, which Shinskay stopped selling the second he got back to his feet.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Same here. I understand some people saying I should just accept it since Shinsuke's got cyborg legs and all but it bugs me :lol

He had him in the Figure four for a long time, and there was no selling at all.


----------



## seabs

*Nakamura/Shibata just bored me. Like I can't even see why people thought it was great like I can matches like Ishii/Naito.*


----------



## Obfuscation

Seems like an argument on a typical Dragon Gate match, for me. :draper2


----------



## seabs

*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 06.04.2014*
_Ok so at least one of these matches was great so yay! I'll get the one negative about Tanahashi out of the way right now. It's always kinda odd when he starts working like a heel despite his role. Like he's the #1 babyface but so often in these matches he acts like a total douche but he never really goes full out with it either. Eh. Anyway aside from that I thought Tanahashi was awesome in this with his attack on the leg. As that was all happening I was fairly convinced that Nakamura was going to undo all the great work when they go to the finishing stretch and Nakamura has to run about on the leg that's been worked over all match to get his moves in. I was doubly convinced that was happening when he did exactly that during his first failed comeback. Call me pleasantly surprised though because they actually managed to work a finishing stretch that wasn't 10 minutes long and full of near falls and spots that crap on all the great limb work earlier in the match. Maybe it's because I was expecting the worst at the end from a match that really delivered up to that point but I thought the way they worked the final few minutes from Nakamura's comeback on was superb and did the rest of the story told earlier in the match justice. Nakamura's leg got killed and it got killed to an extent more than your usual work the leg so the middle has focus so the usual finishing stretch wouldn't suffice. Having Nakamura go after the arm to expose a ***** in Tanahashi's armour was really smart because they did it in a way that was believable that it could really weaken Tanahashi in a short space of time compared to the 20 odd minutes Tanahashi had been working over Nakamura. Along with a ugh knack for not selling leg work (hence the fear here) another thing that annoys me about Nakamura now is how the Boma Ye has become something that he almost has to hit 3-4 times in a match for a finish. Here that worked perfectly though because Nakamura needed to go HAM on Tanahashi to make up for not getting anything in all match and the sequence of knees worked really well. The camera angle on the knee that sends Tanahashi into the ropes looked amazing and was probably the best Boma Ye Nakamura has delivered for a long time. By the end I think he hit like 5 in a short space and where it might seem like overkill on paper it worked really well in the context of this match because Nakamura needed to go HAM to make Tanahashi going down after controlling 80-90% of the match seem credible. I was all ready to shit on Nakamura undoing the great work earlier in the match by not doing the leg work justice with his selling but I ended up being (gladly) wrong. Sell job when he got his knees up on the High Fly Flow was terrific too. Best New Japan match this year by some margin._

*YES ****1/4+*

*Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW 03.05.2014*
_So I knew this was going to be great and shit over the matches vs Naito and Ibushi and I didn't expect it to be to this extent. This was brilliant and lacking all the major faults of them matches. The main reason it worked is that this wasn't just a fancy finishing stretch where nothing worth mentioning really happened in the first 2/3rds of the match. This was consistently brilliant and actually built up to the great finishing stretch which made stuff matter rather than there coming a point in a dry match where they decide to really turn it up. Every single spot in this feels like a real battle but the important part is they sell it as such too. Ishii's selling is phenomenal. If I was being a douche then I'd say he goes to the big sell too often so it loses some of it's credibility in terms of making people think he's really hurt and just appreciating how he's selling being hurt. Better that than the opposite though. Ishii's obviously got the big sell down to a tee but his subtle selling is great too. Like for instance they do the big chop battle but instead of just shrugging them off like they're nothing like everyone else does Ishii beefs his way through them and just winces at his chest a little as he retreats afterwards. The sell of the neck during the home stretch is amazing and it plays into all of Honma's big moves too. German that serves as the catalyst for the selling being turned up the max looked nasty as fuck and was the perfect spot to really dial that sell job up to the level that he did. Finishing stretch is as good as ever but now the big spots mean something because when Honma drops Ishii on his head you can really feel the pain and the fight it takes from Ishii to kick out rather than it just being "woah he just dropped him on his head". Brilliant match. As far as genuine MOTYCs go I have these 2 matches I've talked about today, Bryan/Wyatt and Shield/Wyatts I so this is at least a top 4 MOTY for me right now. Flabbergasted that it isn't getting half the praise the Naito and Ibushi matches are. I guess I know why it's just not getting AS much but it feels like barely anyone really gave it the due it deserves._

*YES ****1/4+*

*Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW 26.07.2014*
_Not quite as great as their 1st match but only really because they don't work quite as big of a match here yet it's still ALMOST as good. Premise of the match is the same but it in no way feels like a copy of the 1st match. Usually I hate them strike battles because they're meaningless but with these two they make everything mean something and a chop battle turns into a mini victory for Honma. Ishii's selling is always superb but it's always 100% worth mentioning how great it is too. This is benefited a lot from Honma being 0-3 so far and essentially being a jobber in New Japan because everyone wants to see him win so much and few more so than me which means I'm immediately invested in the match and the outcome which helps the match a lot. That's all on Ishii and Honma being routinely awesome and having such great characters though along with the New Japan booking creating such a clear roster hierarchy that allows a Honma to be a huge underdog by default. The near falls are just amazingly well done but they mean something because of the build up to them provided from the characters and the story told throughout the match. Honma feeling so close to victory and Ishii having to fight through everything just to stay alive let alone possibly even win. Ishii almost fluffs the powerbomb spot but I love how he turns a potential negative into a new mini story by selling the effects on his body that wouldn't allow him to lift Honma up properly and then having another struggle just to get Honma up. Thank the lord for Ibushi getting knocked out so we could get this again. Ishii and Honma are so far away the 2 best wrestlers outside of WWE right now so it's no shock 2 of my top 5 matches this year came from both of them together. Just a fantastic match._

*YES ****1/4*


----------



## Zatiel

NO to Nagata Vs. Marufuji from 7/5. A great last eight minutes of struggle and Nagata character don't make it a MOTYC. The first half particularly drags in characteristic NOAH ways, ways Kobashi and Misawa could make work, but they are gone. A younger Marufuji could have been in motion more to play dynamic challenge, but his toe-to-toe attitude here just didn't work.


----------



## Rah

*Seabs*, Ishii/Kushida, pls


----------



## seabs

*I watched it. It was good but not really worth mentioning in here. Or even talking about all that much. *


----------



## almostfamous

Day 4 of G1 was packed full of contenders.

I was really impressed with Naito v AJ. Naito getting color and toughing through the pain is bound to wonders for his pretty-boy image. I have a feeling that the NJPW brass don't feel he is tough enough to hold the title, but that performance dispelled that myth. 

Styles is just ridiculously good lately.


----------



## Joshi Judas

*YES*

AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito: G1 Climax Day 4

****1/2

Amazing match. Best match of the tournament so far.



*NO*

Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito Day 5 ****1/4
Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma Day 4(?) ****1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tomoaki Honma Day 1 ****
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata Day 4 ****


----------



## smitlick

Uhh wtf how is a ****1/4 match a no?


----------



## Concrete

smitlick said:


> Uhh wtf how is a ****1/4 match a no?


If said person already has 10-20 ****1/4+ matches ahead of it then that'd be how.


----------



## Joshi Judas

smitlick said:


> Uhh wtf how is a ****1/4 match a no?



:shrug

Feel they will be surpassed and on a second viewing my ratings for them may go down a notch. I may say YES to them if I find them better after a second viewing, right now they don't seem MOTYC to me despite being very good.


----------



## Rah

Concrete said:


> If said person already has 10-20 ****1/4+ matches ahead of it then that'd be how.


THIS and exactly why I'd much prefer people focusing on that rule rather than a rating as a base for gauging the worthiness of a vote/nomination.


----------



## Concrete

Fun Fact: Also the reason I don't vote. Cause I have a horrible time judging if something feels like a Top 20 match for a promotion or region.


----------



## Obfuscation

It's why I make a big ol list, b/c I know everything on it I love. So simple.


----------



## Bruce L

_*GHC Heavyweight Championship
Yuji Nagata (c) vs. Naomichi Marufuji *(NOAH, 7/5)_
★★★★½ — *Yes.*


----------



## NastyYaffa

I say *YES* to *Adam Cole vs. Prince Devitt* from *Rev Pro: SummerSizzler '14*. ****1/4


----------



## Rah

*YES*


*15) Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma (NJPW G1 Day 4)* - Impeccably built, and a heaven for the underdog story. The elbow exchanges to start were banal, and dragged this down for me, but the offence from about a quarter in was superb from Honma. I'm not quite sure I'd call this the Honma show, but he brought a lot to the table here. His characterisation and selling is probably the best I've seen in a long while and, so far, the highlight of a great tourney. Beautiful finishing stretch that had me energetically engaged within the match; something I usually do not get out of New Japan these days.

Better than their first match, mostly due to the context offering Honma a role to latch vehemently on to. Still, I'm not sure these two deliver overly great matches, but this was still really good. Third best match out of Japan that I've seen.


----------



## flag sabbath

Halfway through the G1, these matches have made my list:

*****1/4*
Tanahashi vs. Shibata

******
Ishii vs. Honma
Okada vs. Naito

****3/4*
Okada vs. Styles
Styles vs. Naito
Styles vs. Goto
Nakamura vs. Honma
Kojima vs. Shibata


----------



## vault21

I see zero love for Shinskay vs THE ANTI-AGING HERO. It was beast. Easily ****


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Hell Yes! 
AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki 
****3/4 maybe *****
Amazing match AJ is probably the MVP of the G1 this year.This is the best he's been in a really long time.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Good News Barrett

Styles/Suzuki - Yes. One of the best matches i've seen in a long time. five stars? not sure, but clearly that match was AMAZING.


----------



## C-Cool

I will also nominate Styles vs. Suzuki. I don't nominate that many matches, but I didn't expect something that great from this pairing. The wrestlers are great, but I thought that they wouldn't mesh well together. I was definitely proven wrong.


----------



## Lazyking

YES to AJ/Suzuki My favorite match of the whole tourney it might be. This match was legit in every way, great pacing.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Big time YES for Suzuki/Styles. UNBELIEVABLE.


----------



## Joshi Judas

*YES*

AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki, Day 7, G1 Climax 2014

May bring the rating down by a quarter star later but ***** for now.


*EDIT:* Yep, rating being slightly brought down after a second watch. Still a phenomenal match though.

Final rating: *****3/4*


----------



## Bruce L

_*G1 Climax
A.J. Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki *(NJPW, 8/1)_
★★★¾/★★★★ — *Mmmmm... not quite.*


----------



## USAUSA1

Not even a puro fan but Styles vs. Suzuki is one of the greatest matches I've seen in my life. Surprise AJ Styles still got fingers. I love the post match antics as well, no stupid respect handshakes or hugs. The loser was pissed.

Oh I guess I give it *****,10/10


----------



## SWITCHBLADE

Styles/Suzuki=MOTY. Seriously, A+ ***** 10/10 5/5 4/4 and any kind of perfect grade in between.

Storytelling clinic at its finest. Bryan Danielson would've been proud of it honestly.


----------



## Rah

*NOMINATION*

*Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii (G1 Day 7, NJPW)* - _lacking the build of Honma/Ishii but this was smart fucking pro-wrestling. Admittedly, I didn't find the beginning half to be more than decent but it served as a foundational narrative to their end-game, at least. What was that story? "Fuck with the bull, you're gonna get the horns" - well, a crushing lariat to the neck, in any case. Swagsuke had to learn the hardway that his fanciful shtick wouldn't cut this time, and playing to his ego through the audience wouldn't win him this match. Each taunt, each signature, Ishii had scouted and countered with a massive bit of offence on his part.

When this becomes a no-nonsense slugger, though, this peaks as high as anything I've seen from the G1. Ishii gets a good rep for how well he can sell his opponent's offence, but Nakamura is an absolute wizard at emoting pain and struggle - something that sold the finishing three Boma Ye's as credible rather than wasted moves. Confident, piss-taking Nakamura was reduced to almost tears, visibly hoping he could put Ishii away, moments before that final knee. Glorious._



Will be watching Styles/Suzuki later in the day.


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah I gots to ask you to watch Ishii vs Honma from Wrestling Dontaku again. b/c I thought that one was quite head & shoulders about their rematch in the Climax. so b/c I said so, listen pal. :tucky

and wow, I have to see Styles vs MiSu immediately, apparently. MiSu finally had his first non crap performance on Day Five. I guess he finally decided to care & work. GOOD. Although, if things continue, nobody is dethroning Naito as tournament MVP.


----------



## SWITCHBLADE

Two more nominations (both from Day 7 of the G1):
Yuji Nagata vs. Katsuyori Shibata: ****1/2. Hard hitting war. Strong Style at its finest.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii: ****1/2. Great face/face dynamic. Crowd is was red hot for it and like Nagata/Shibata, two dudes just beating the shit out of each other.


----------



## flag sabbath

I've still got four matches to go on Day 7, but I'm surprised no one's even mentioned Goto vs. Tenzan. Or are we just taking this amazing run of vintage Tenzan performances for granted already? Goto deserves credit too for playing it subtle - younger, stronger, faster vs. Tenzan's never-say-die spirit & massive surge of fan support. Loved this ******

Edit - Naito vs. Makabe was also superb ******


----------



## 5*RVD

I just watched the AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki match. Man, that was some fine art of wrestling. Perfectly timed spots, very intense, great amount of storytelling, and I love how they went back and forth. Beautiful match! I'd give it 4 1/4 after my first viewing.


----------



## DOPA

So Rah or someone (I can't remember who) said they missed me being in this section and hoped I would be back. Well here I am . In all honesty, I got burned out of pro wrestling in general and needed a long break but now I'm itching to start watching again. In honesty and this might sound stupid to some people but I think critiquing matches and fussing over star ratings eventually depleted my enjoyment of it all, which is my own fault essentially. So I'm gonna take a different approach this time and just watch and comment on what I did and didn't enjoy. I may throw out a star rating every now and then but I'm not gonna bother really deciphering matches like I did in the past.

Anyway I want to ask people to recommend me matches from this year that I HAVE to go out of my way and see. Preferably non WWE and nothing from TNA (because I hate that company anyway). I will probably start off by watching the G1 series from NJPW because I miss watching that promotion and probably some ROH and PWG too. I really need to start catching up . I heard Suzuki vs Styles was an unbelievable match so I'm looking forward to it :mark:.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Suzuki vs Styles, Styles vs Naito, Okada vs Naito, Ishii vs Nakamura, Ishii vs Honma, Shibata vs Tanahashi, Nakamura vs Nagata, every Tomoaki Honma match in order, Shibata vs Kojima just to name a few (Y)


----------



## SWITCHBLADE

There's been quite a few matches that have been damn good. IMO, here are the matches from the G1 that are must see (so far):

*Day 1*:
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Katsuyori Shibata
AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada

*Day 2*:
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Satoshi Kojima

*Day 3*:
Kazuchika Okada vs. Togi Makabe

*Day 4*:
Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Tetsuya Naito vs. AJ Styles
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata

*Day 5*:
Hirooki Goto vs. AJ Styles
Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada

*Day 6*:
Satoshi Kojima vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii

*Day 7*:
Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito
AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki
Yuji Nagata vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shinsuke Nakamura


----------



## NastyYaffa

Just watched Shinskay/Ishii, and wow. Definitely gonna say *YES!* for it. ****1/2.


----------



## seabs

*AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW 01.08.2014*
_Eh. I suppose everyone else is just overlooking the character that AJ Styles and Bullet Club are supposed to be in New Japan. He's the #1 heel in the company who cheated to steal the belt. What happened to all of that here? I'm sorry but am I supposed to forget every AJ match before this one? Am I supposed to forget the fact that the job of the #1 heel is to be the most hated guy in the promotion? These are like wrestling fundamentals from where I'm watching from at least and they threw them all out of the window here. The Bullet Club run in save annoyed me the most. If you've seen any Bullet Club match then you should know why Anderson and Gallows running out to make the big babyface save was stupid. With G1 you do end up with heel vs heel matches but when you do you don't turn the heel at the top of the food chain. I can't believe I'm the only one to bring that up so far on here but I guess the idea of faces and heels is just an afterthought for modern pro wrestling fans which is really lame. Looking past that stupid dynamic then the match was very good but I can't even see where ***** comes from. I mean with matches like Ishii/Naito that I don't rate that high I can at least see where it comes from. I'm not so sure with this one though. Yes it was very well worked outside of the heel/face dynamic but I didn't feel it peaked at this crazy high level at any point during the match or had this incredible finishing stretch that was just amazing despite a lackluster build to it. They had a very well worked match but I didn't think it was anything more than that to be brutally honest. Honestly thought Nakamura/Ishii was better :shrug_


----------



## ErickRowan_Fan

Seabs said:


> *AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW 01.08.2014*
> _Eh. I suppose everyone else is just overlooking the character that AJ Styles and Bullet Club are supposed to be in New Japan. He's the #1 heel in the company who cheated to steal the belt. What happened to all of that here? I'm sorry but am I supposed to forget every AJ match before this one? Am I supposed to forget the fact that the job of the #1 heel is to be the most hated guy in the promotion? These are like wrestling fundamentals from where I'm watching from at least and they threw them all out of the window here. The Bullet Club run in save annoyed me the most. If you've seen any Bullet Club match then you should know why Anderson and Gallows running out to make the big babyface save was stupid. With G1 you do end up with heel vs heel matches but when you do you don't turn the heel at the top of the food chain. I can't believe I'm the only one to bring that up so far on here but I guess the idea of faces and heels is just an afterthought for modern pro wrestling fans which is really lame. Looking past that stupid dynamic then the match was very good but I can't even see where ***** comes from. I mean with matches like Ishii/Naito that I don't rate that high I can at least see where it comes from. I'm not so sure with this one though. Yes it was very well worked outside of the heel/face dynamic but I didn't feel it peaked at this crazy high level at any point during the match or had this incredible finishing stretch that was just amazing despite a lackluster build to it. They had a very well worked match but I didn't think it was anything more than that to be brutally honest. Honestly thought Nakamura/Ishii was better :shrug_


Suzuki isn't a face either, so it was a match between two scumbags. _Respected _scumbags, but still the bad guys. There was no face turn, the crowd just showed some respect for a gritty performance by Styles.

Bullet Club making the save is just logical booking, of course they're going to help Styles out if he's attacked by members of an opposing group. It's not so much about forgetting that heels/faces exist, as it is about not insulting the intelligence of the crowd by making up black & white baddies or good guys.

Personally I loved every second of the match. Suzuki when he's on and has somebody selling for him, has one of my favorite styles in wrestling. But I can understand that his grinding submission style won't work for everybody, he's the guy that puts on the breaks for other people's fast-paced offense which makes for an interesting dynamic.


----------



## seabs

*The point is if one was going to work as babyface in that match it shouldn't have been the guy who's the champion and the #1 heel they want people to see pay to see get beaten. The Bullet Club save was stupid. Just listen to the crowd reaction when your #1 heel stable make the save. That's not the goal of your #1 heel stable to be getting babyface pops. The solution is just don't create that situation with the initial interference because you force the crowd to pop for heels. If that has to happen then get them to pop for the heel lower down the card.*


----------



## malek

Bullet club should have made Taka pay for getting involved, with the epic beat-down, even dragging him backstage with them.


----------



## LBThrizzy

Seabs said:


> *The point is off one was going to work as babyface in that match it shouldn't have been the guy who's the champion and the #1 heel they want people to see pay to see get beaten. The Bullet Club save was stupid. Just listen to the crowd reaction when your #1 heel stable make the save. That's not the goal of your #1 heel stable to be getting babyface pops. The solution is just don't create that situation with the initial interference because you force the crowd to pop for heels. If that has to happen then get them to pop for the heel lower down the card.*


Yeah that didn't make sense to me either. Suzuki was clearly being a heel in the match, really confused me.


----------



## Saber Rider ^-^

AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki, I give that a ***** - btw Thank You Raven 

Lived up to the hype without question. I get the alignment misgivings I do, I fully expected a heel/heel dynamic going in and if there was a skew toward face it would be Suzuki and not AJ. In saying that though I honestly can’t say that took away any enjoyment to what was an incredible performance from both men full of so many fantastic layers. What an absolute hateable bastard of a heel Suzuki can be when he’s on. That moment when he hit AJ with that closed fist strike made me suspend my belief completely and hate him with every fibre of my being. Bullet Club getting a pop for the save was as strange as fuck as well. And yes, they’ve undoubtedly screwed themselves over here with heel AJ. Not sure how you could boo him now after this tbh. 

I can only assume that they’re planning a Suzukigun / Bullet Club angle with the Bullet Club as faces :shrug

Still have to watch the Swagsuke / Ishii and Goto / Tenzan matches which both look good as well. AJ has been, well, phenomenal :


----------



## Toonami4Life

Suzuki's always been a heel and a guy who doesn't like anybody. He could be pitted up against Andre after he attacked Hogan and Andre would be getting cheers.

It looks more like the line of evil vs evil between the two groups after that match. Besides, remember CHAOS is a group of heels as well.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Hah that reminds me when was the last time, if ever, that we see the entire Chaos together as a group? :lol


----------



## SWITCHBLADE

I loved the post match antics of Suzuki. Classic heel.


----------



## dukenukem3do

G1 Climax 24 Block B Match AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki
****1/2


----------



## Bruce L

I think CHAOS collectively turned face when they started feuding with Suzuki-Gun a couple of years ago. I certainly can't remember the last time any of them either did anything heelish or was received as a heel... except maybe Yano acting like one, but everybody already loved him for it, so I'm not sure it counts.


----------



## seabs

*Undercard CHAOS were heels for a while after with Yujiro and Iizuka still in there but now it's just Yano doing heel shtick as a babyface. New Japan definitely try to be a lot more western but their western elements aren't all that good tbh.*


----------



## darkclaudio

YES HONMA VS SHIBATA - G1 CLIMAX DAY 8


----------



## DOPA

Finished Day 1 of G1 Climax. Was definitely a lot of fun to watch. Favourite matches from it were *Styles vs Okada* and *Tanahashi vs Honma.* Didn't really dig Nakamura vs Shibata until the finishing stretch to be honest. I mirror whoever said they lost it with the figure four. I zoned out until the final few minutes after that. There were other good matches on the card as well for sure. I only really didn't like Benjamin/Gallows and Suzuki/Yano (mainly because of how short it was in the latter's case).

Good start on G1 Climax. Reminds me why I love NJPW in the first place .


----------



## Concrete

*AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki(NJPW 8/1/14):****1/2*
*This match for all intents and purposes shouldn’t work. There are few truly annoying tropes this match brings to the table where one or two could easily make a perfectly fine match seem pointless. This match has a ref bump, interference bonanza, and trading ankle lock counters. Yet somehow none of those elements come close to damaging this match. Because despite those pieces coming into play there were too many fantastic parts to the match that were blended together to make this so darn good. The stare down into the high octane start as super-duper and the crowd was ELECTRIC for it. Suzuki goes after the arm whenever he gets the chance and it is swell. Styles is in the ropes? Breaking that arm. Just smashed Styles face into a chair? Using the chair to break that arm. Styles comes springboarding into the ring with his arm just hanging out there? You get the point. Lets get to the strike exchanges shall we? They were RUGGED! Really shouldn’t be a surprise with Suzuki in there but Styles certainly held his own. Suzuki landing that rocket punching closed fist was brilliant as was the Pele that followed. Remember that ankle lock sequence I was talking about as well? Yeah it was a bit silly but it began awesome and ended awesome. Absolutely adore when a wrestler sits on a counter like Suzuki did to deliver the scariest armbar I’ve ever seen in a wrestling match. It looked TOO real. Styles having to use a one legged Styles Clash was totally cool. Brutal strikes, countering that doesn’t feel incredibly rehearsed, nasty submissions from Suzuki, great selling especially from Styles, and a just brilliantly paced match. Easy Top 5 MOTY at this point. *​
That is C&P'd from a word doc I'm using but to tackle the direct point of "ignoring Styles character" I'd say that that might be more of a viewing philosophy. Like I'm not watching a ton of NJPW these days so I'm going to view the match more in a vacuum but at the same time the Bullet Club matches I've viewed usually has DA CLUB play a pretty big and annoying role with the wrestlers in the ring not doing much different besides maybe showboating a little bit more. Here the BC is taken care of with the interference train that allows me to take away the most "heel" aspect of them it seems. Except for Gallows who just hits people with chairs I suppose. That's simply the way I view it though and don't intend to put any thoughts in your mouth (or keyboard).


----------



## Joshi Judas

*YES*

Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma: Day 8

****1/2

Wow. Best Honma match AND best Shibata match in the tourney so far imo, and that is saying something. Phenomenal work by both guys.


----------



## malek

RAVEN said:


> *YES*
> 
> Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma: Day 8
> 
> ****1/2
> 
> Wow. Best Honma match AND best Shibata match in the tourney so far imo, and that is saying something. Phenomenal work by both guys.


Agree with both, great match.

Felt soooo sorry for Honma afterwards. As brutal punishment as I've ever seen wrestler take.

One thing I didn't like is that Honma didn't sell figure 4, just like Nakamura when he faced Shibata.


----------



## Joshi Judas

EDIT: Shit, I have to rewatch that? Are you sure? I don't even remember Shibata using a Figure 4 here.


Careful with spoilers in this thread (Y)


I think you may have watched this match from 2013:

k5J3gonsENdekI4T4Do


The correct match I believe is this:

k5WO7aw52TPcjC8uyHl


----------



## malek

Cr*p ! I'm right embarrassed now.

Loved the match, though


----------



## Joshi Judas

Happens mate :lmao

Same uploader, same attire on both, same arena too I believe. When you type Shibata vs Honma in Google, the 2013 match pops up as the first result. I luckily got the correct link from a friend on Facebook (Y)


----------



## seabs

*Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW 03.08.2014*
_You know what this is going to be so it's really just the extent to which they do it. I know coming from me this will probably be amusing but I thought they had more they could give in this one during the final stretch to really make use of that Osaka crowd and how over both guys were. I thought they had one final gear they could go into at the end with the really big spots and near falls that they didn't advance up to. That's not a knock on this rather than a limitation of it though. I kinda wish Shibata had given Honma a little more too in terms of offence. Everything they did do though was super surly and worked really well. Don't this reached the peak that both the Ishii/Honma matches did and nowhere near the peak that Ishi/Shibata reached last year but it's still probably the 2nd best G1 match this year just ahead of Ishii/Nakamura.

(tentative)_ *YES *****


----------



## tboneangle

id say styles vs suzuki was ****1/2 great match,but it was so hyped maybe i was expecting more.


----------



## NastyYaffa

*YES* for *Shibata vs. Honma from G1 Climax Day 8*. Very good stuff. ****1/4.


----------



## malek

RAVEN said:


> Happens mate :lmao
> 
> Same uploader, same attire on both, same arena too I believe. When you type Shibata vs Honma in Google, the 2013 match pops up as the first result. I luckily got the correct link from a friend on Facebook (Y)


Thanks mate, but I feel ashamed because, although I'm Shibata mark I've never even heard of this match :cuss: Off to see the right one :cheer


----------



## malek

Btw. I've finally seen said match, and reaction is - Oh my God ! Perhaps the best match of this year's G1, and one of the best matches I've seen in the short time (couple of years) that I'm following NJPW.

What makes it great for me is that if I was the booker, I would have booked Honma to beat Shibata.

And how about Honma ?! Certainly strong candidate for G1's MVP. Really shows why NJPW is the best federation in the world, when they can get guy off the bench, and he can offer such performances in return.


----------



## flag sabbath

I've yet to register my *YES!* for AJ vs. MiSu. Insanely good match that completely lived up to the hype. Suzuki is back from Yano limbo with a vengeance & Styles has obliterated all doubts & expectations. Tremendous *******

I didn't dig much about Nagata vs. Shibata, though. It just felt like a succession of unrelated standoffs & beatdowns, although the finish was pretty cool. Slightly better than Shibata vs. Shinskay, but lacking the coherence of Nagata vs. Nakamura ****1/4*

Shinskay vs. Ishii was all about stubbornness & subtleties. It suffered slightly from never feeling like either man was on top, but that was whole point ******

And holy shit, Honma vs. Shibata was immense. So basic, yet so brilliant. I'd go full whack, but the finishing stretch was a little too one-sided. Western indie clones will be failing miserably to replicate this match for the foreseeable *****3/4*


----------



## malek

Don't really know if it is a right thread to ask, but can anyone answer what was the general opinion on here about Shibata vs Honma from 2013, at the time it got aired ?

Thanks


----------



## flag sabbath

I went ****1/2* at the time. Haven't watched it again. Other reviews ran from ***3/4* to ******


----------



## malek

Thanks a lot. It would have got **** from me if I was to rate it now, but I loved Nakamura match from this year's G1as well, so perhaps I don't know my wrestling that well


----------



## flag sabbath

Ultimately, it's all just personal taste. Chin-stroking & nitpicking be damned - if you enjoyed it that's all that really matters :bo

Speaking of which, I guess I'm alone in giving a big fat *YES!* to Tanahashi vs. Nakamura. Just two top guys bringing their A-games & going all out for the win in an amazing big-fight atmosphere. The urgency distinguished it from their IC title series, but there were some fantastic references in there too. Mind blown *****1/2*


----------



## Rah

Probably a stupid question, but I take it that's from their G1 encounter? Day 8?


----------



## KAMALAWRESTLING

Damn it! Given all these replies I really gotta watch that aj g1 match!


----------



## flag sabbath

Rah said:


> Probably a stupid question, but I take it that's from their G1 encounter? Day 8?


Yeah, that's the one :dance


----------



## Joshi Judas

Top G1 matches this year so far imo:

1. Styles vs Suzuki
2. Shibata vs Honma
3. Styles vs Naito

4-5 matches atleast will be tied for the 4th spot I think, but those 3 are my clear choices. Haven't watched any Day 9 matches yet.


----------



## NastyYaffa

RAVEN said:


> Top G1 matches this year so far imo:
> 
> 1. Styles vs Suzuki
> 2. Shibata vs Honma
> 3. Styles vs Naito


Nice list, my list would be:
1. Styles vs. Suzuki
2. Nakamura vs. Ishii
3. Styles vs. Naito.


----------



## Nervosa

I know I'm behind, but here's Day 1. I'm trying to just watch the very best matches from each Night. Well, and Yano matches because I love him.

Let me know if I miss anything

G1 night 1

Tanahashi vs. Homna
***1/2
A good fun match for gutsy Homna, but nothing really ever made you think he was gonna win.

Shibata vs. Nakamura
***1/2
I don't really get the hype. I can't stand Shinsuke's no-selling and I can stand his repetitive Bome ye's even less. New Japan depends on the 'first to hit their finisher wins' formula. If you break that rule too much, it ruins matches, and it did here. Last 30 seconds were awesome, but I was more disappointed then I was entertained.

Styles vs. Okada
****1/2
Amazing stuff. The counters here were excellent. They really seemed to tell a story of Okada learning from the past matches. Styles Clash into Tombstone was out of this world. 

I heard Makabe/Goto was good, but if I hate Goto most of the time does anything think that match will change my mind?

Also, am I correct in saying that Ishii/Kojima is the only thing worth watching on day 2, and that Okada/Makabe is the only thing worth watching on day 2?


----------



## Joshi Judas

Yeah Ishii/Kojima is the only standout from Day 2, but Okada/Tenzan was much much better than expected too. Tenzan's been good so far, complete opposite of how he was last year.


----------



## Corey

_DISCLAIMER: Don't read the next to last paragraph if you don't want the winner spoiled._

I just finished watching *Styles vs. Suzuki *from the G1. Now keep in mind I don't watch or follow New Japan too closely, so I have a couple questions:

1. Is Styles a heel? Thought he was wrestling heel with the belt as a member of Bullet Club, but maybe I'm just way behind and don't know what I'm talking about. Either way this had 100% babyface performance written all over it, which is what I'm certainly accustomed to seeing from Styles.

2. Suzuki is definitely heel right? I've seen a handful of matches from him and he's literally always heel from my understanding. He seemed to get a lot of positive reaction from the crowd too. Maybe out of just respect for the veteran? Idk.

Anyways, I enjoyed the match but absolutely nowhere near the extent that everyone else is hyping this up to be. The opening minutes were fantastic as Styles does his usual acrobatic stuff. Suzuki's armwork was absolutely brutal as well. I however don't think any of the middle portion was necessary. The ref bump and multiple run ins seemed pointless followed by the very indy-looking and feeling strikefest that I've just grown apart from in the last few years. I could've done without the first one of those due to it not really being that late into the match and they certainly didn't need to resort to fisticuffs. 

The latter portion of the match is pretty damn good though. Suzuki's relentless attack on AJ's right arm along with all the nasty finger pulling really makes you think the champ is goin down, but Styles refuses to give up and son of a bitch that desperation one-armed Styles Clash was beautiful. The 2nd strikefest I had no problems with because it made sense in the situation and that straight punch Suzuki thre followed up by the pele kick was a wonderful segment. While I do think it makes the champ look incredible in victory to overcome all that punishment, part of me really thinks Suzuki should've won this one with a tapout victory. Oh well, what do I know about current New Japan anyway? 

So to sum this up, really good match but I'm on the fence with the YES/NO. It's somewhere between **** 3/4 and *****, so either way it would probably just be a NO from me. Just don't see the 5* vibes from it, guys.

EDIT: Read back a page or two and figured out the answers to my own questions. Agree with a good portion of what Seabs had to say, although it looks like I liked the match a little bit better.


----------



## Nervosa

Day 2

Kojima vs. Ishii
****
This is the first time I've seen Ishii worked over enough to have to make a comeback in about a year....making this the first Ishii match I've liked it about a year. 

Nagata vs. Honma
***3/4
I know I said I was only going to watch the big matches, but I decided to watch all the Yano and Honma matches since they are awesome. And I sure am glad that I did! I know others didn't like this as much, but for me, it was everything Tanahashi/Homan was and more. Nagata is just awesome. He had one bad slip here, but other than that, he just created an awesome workover and story. The crowd still loves all of his trademarks, too. It remains crazy to me how Naito, Anderson, and Goto seem to get title matches every year, and Nagata is better than all those guys combined and still never gets title matches. 

Yano vs. Styles
***1/2
Don't sleep on this one. Once you get what it is Yano does, and how well he does it as a babyface, this mach is pretty excellent. Aj's heel stuff goes really well with the cheating bastard face that is Yano.

Day 3
Yano vs. Naito
***1/2 
Really fun stuff that made the most of the blood. I think when Naito is reigned in a little, he wrestles better.

Okada vs. Makabe
****
While I'm not a fan of Makabe, I always love his matches with Okada. They have a really strong chemistry and play to each other's strengths. Okada's neck work was great as always and the jaw stuff played into Red Ink to make it much stronger.

Day 4

Yano vs. Goto
*****
I love Toru Yano because I've never seen a wrestler make the little things mean so much. I despise Hirooki Goto because I've never seen a wrestler make the huge things mean so little. I enjoyed this match because it was so very just. I can watch that finish all day long.

Honma vs. Ishii
****1/4
I like this for a lot of reasons. I liked Honma looking like he had a legitimate chance and had several 'he did it!' moments. I also like Ishii's neck becoming a story, and how well he sold it. Most of all I liked, for the first time in a year, that Ishii was a bit of an underdog for a minute there and had to dig deep instead of just trading blows the whole time. Great crowd, too. I actually think I preferred this to their first match, making it my favorite effort from either man this year.

Nagata vs. Nakamura
****
Nagata is just awesome. I love the story of Shinsuke not respecting him, and Nagata just refusing to be underestimated. Would have been 4 and a half easy if it wasn't for the infuriating Bome Ye Spamming. Damn I want a Nagata title match, preferably when Okada is champion.

Styles vs. Naito
****1/4
Sometimes its nice to pretend its the same Naito from 2 years ago. This was kinda like that. For the first time in a while he actually let himself get worked over instead of just trying to force in all his shit. Styles really elevated his heel stuff for this, and the crowd got into the finish as a result. Honestly, we all know that this match wouldnt have been nearly as good if it wasn't for the blood. That makes Toru Yano the MVP of the match for busting Naito open the night before!

Anderson vs. Okada
****
I liked this because Anderson's insane agression took Okada from his default neck-work mode, and one could look at this match and be able to say that is why he lost. Okada was rather dominated here, and I'm glad it didn't even-steven out at the end, because it fed into the story that Okada got thrown off without the ability to pace himself back into the match with his usual strategy. As usual, these guys know each other well enough to have nice counters into the finish as well. 

I wanted to finsih night 4, but Tanahashi/Shibata will have to wait for tomorrow.


----------



## Obfuscation

Seabs said:


> *AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW 01.08.2014*
> _Eh. I suppose everyone else is just overlooking the character that AJ Styles and Bullet Club are supposed to be in New Japan. He's the #1 heel in the company who cheated to steal the belt. What happened to all of that here? I'm sorry but am I supposed to forget every AJ match before this one? Am I supposed to forget the fact that the job of the #1 heel is to be the most hated guy in the promotion? These are like wrestling fundamentals from where I'm watching from at least and they threw them all out of the window here. The Bullet Club run in save annoyed me the most. If you've seen any Bullet Club match then you should know why Anderson and Gallows running out to make the big babyface save was stupid. With G1 you do end up with heel vs heel matches but when you do you don't turn the heel at the top of the food chain. I can't believe I'm the only one to bring that up so far on here but I guess the idea of faces and heels is just an afterthought for modern pro wrestling fans which is really lame. Looking past that stupid dynamic then the match was very good but I can't even see where ***** comes from. I mean with matches like Ishii/Naito that I don't rate that high I can at least see where it comes from. I'm not so sure with this one though. Yes it was very well worked outside of the heel/face dynamic but I didn't feel it peaked at this crazy high level at any point during the match or had this incredible finishing stretch that was just amazing despite a lackluster build to it. They had a very well worked match but I didn't think it was anything more than that to be brutally honest. Honestly thought Nakamura/Ishii was better :shrug_


Just saw the match and this is literally the only review that makes sense to me. The arm work in the end coming back was something I really liked, but why was Styles so anti-heel in this match? He actually CHECKED ON THE REF when he took a bump. wtf? Oh, I'm not even gonna touch that Bullet Club babyface save. b/c....wow. Shame when the work is swell but the logic is lacking in a major way. b/c everyone knows Bullet Club > Suzuki-gun > CHAOS _(when they were all still largely heels) _ in the order of how heels rank each other. So why was it different under some bizarre world for this match? More over-abundance of love too b/c a crowd was molten. You know some people can't resist chucking perfection at that.


----------



## almostfamous

So I finally caught up to the Styles/Suzuki match from Day 7 :duncan

That is the MOTY in my opinion and it's not even close. Heels, faces, irrelevant. That was an absolute war between two leaders of men, two ideologies. Fuck english commentary, those two told a better story in the ring than words ever could. I literally forgot that I was watching two people act in the ring. From the first slap to the final punch, it was so brutal and so intense for the ENTIRE match. Not a wasted moment. It made Suzuki a legit title contender in an instant. It finally cemented AJ Styles New Japan run as the best thing he's ever done, even better than his work in early TNA.

So yeah... I liked the match.

And I still have day 8 and 9 to catch up on :dance


----------



## Obfuscation

almostfamous said:


> That is the MOTY in my opinion and it's not even close. *Heels, faces, irrelevant.* That was an absolute war between two leaders of men, two ideologies. Fuck english commentary, those two told a better story in the ring than words ever could. I literally forgot that I was watching two people act in the ring. From the first slap to the final punch, it was so brutal and so intense for the ENTIRE match. Not a wasted moment. It made Suzuki a legit title contender in an instant. It finally cemented AJ Styles New Japan run as the best thing he's ever done, even better than his work in early TNA.
> 
> So yeah... I liked the match.
> 
> And I still have day 8 and 9 to catch up on :dance


Might want to rethink that statement.


----------



## Lazyking

It's a totally different match if AJ plays the heel and that's why I'm okay with the match working the way it does.. Not saying it couldn't have been done but I looked at the story they were trying to tell and really enjoyed it. I would actually not mind if AJ did go face and get kicked out of the BC.


----------



## Obfuscation

Lack of their own current happenings is a pretty big problem though. I get MiSu is legit & totally looking to assert his dominance vs anybody, but the route it took was completely head scratching. Styles could have been just as much of a dick & MiSu being cheered for just being his badass self would have translated so much better. Not denying that on paper, Styles is more of a babyface than MiSu, but look at the roles over the last few months. _(or just when Styles debuted)_ Completely out of left field. Kind of stuff takes me out it. Doesn't resemble anything good or great at all.

But largely, the acknowledgement of alignment are building blocks for wrestling. Any denying of this is...bonkers. Heel vs Heel matches do happen, yes, & all up to this point via, New Japan, have been constructed well. But when the company decides to do a "fuck it" type booking move, idk how I'm supposed to react to it. Like why wasn't this the case any other night? Will this last? etc.


----------



## almostfamous

Hayley Seydoux said:


> Might want to rethink that statement.


That's just how I read into it. I took it as "Yeah we're both badass leaders of heel groups that think we're the best, now it's time to prove it in the ring, even if we have to die in the process."

Granted, you're not wrong that AJ dropping the cheating gaijin persona is troublesome if you think too hard about it. It's also true that having a cheating heel vs badass tweener would be a completely different match. I loved everything about that match, and wouldn't ask them to change a thing.


----------



## flag sabbath

Hayley Seydoux said:


> More over-abundance of love too b/c a crowd was molten. You know some people can't resist chucking perfection at that.


Yeah that describes my relationship with this G1 for sure. But isn't a molten crowd one of the best indicators that the guys in the ring are doing their job perfectly? I didn't stop to analyse Styles vs. Suzuki once because I was completely swept along by it.


----------



## Lazyking

flag sabbath said:


> Yeah that describes my relationship with this G1 for sure. But *isn't a molten crowd one of the best indicators that the guys in the ring are doing their job perfectly?* I didn't stop to analyse Styles vs. Suzuki once because I was completely swept along by it.


I agree with the bold. A bad crowd can really take me out of a match and even though the alignment was wack, I feel like the people watching live in that building left happy with a good match.

Plus it helps it wasn't the main so the alignment isn't the last thing those people were probably thinking of anyway.


----------



## Obfuscation

flag sabbath said:


> Yeah that describes my relationship with this G1 for sure. But isn't a molten crowd one of the best indicators that the guys in the ring are doing their job perfectly? I didn't stop to analyse Styles vs. Suzuki once because I was completely swept along by it.


Nope. Never ever subscribed to people being over as any indication that the match at hand is any good. If that was the case everything from PWG would be phenomenal. Or like that Barrett vs Ziggler match right before MITB. Supremely run of the mill, but the crowd was eating it up. Meant zero to me. Crowds being great can certainly add to stuff, but if what I'm seeing isn't connecting, then fans cheering or chanting "this is awesome" is the last thing I'm gonna take notice of. Another good example of this is Cena vs Wyatt Last Man Standing. Hated that garbage, yet the audience was enthralled.

Not to mention the last thing I'd expect is a sold out Korakuen to not be very hot for two popular, over workers the likes of MiSu & Styles. All felt irrelevant behind the work/structure. A given.

And I'd hardly say I analyzed the match. It was just the first thing I noticed. Styles not heeling it up was a rather large oversight. :draper2



> Plus it helps it wasn't the main so the alignment isn't the last thing those people were probably thinking of anyway.


I think this was worded poorly, but nonetheless, a statement like this is part of the problem w/some stuff in wrestling today. w/o that interest or notice for alignment, the lines can be blurred. Once that happens, a lot of the point goes out the window.


----------



## flag sabbath

Fair play - I hated Cena vs. Wyatt too. Although I guess it was a great match for that rabid audience. "This is awesome" chants make me hate a crowd. I've stopped watching PWG, but I never quite drank the Reseda Kool Aid. Those guys go nuts for certain sequences, but it's rarely the kind of sustained heat that makes me believe - and that's what Korakuen brought to AJ vs. MiSu.


----------



## Lazyking

Not every match will be up to the level the live crowd feels its at, especially American crowds who feel the need to join in on easy chants pretty quickly. "This is awesome" is the most overused chant in the last ten years. Not everything is awesome or even good. 

I felt like the respect for both AJ and Susuki was there and those fans weren't thinking too much about alignment. I'm not saying that's right, but sometimes you get swept up in the moment. I got swept up in the moment. I respect and understand your pov though, Hayley (We're not on real first name basis lol)


----------



## Rah

*YES*

*Tomoaki Honma vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 8)* - Honma has been the saving grace of the G1 tournament. He may not be responsible for every great match from it, but his inclusion over a far less talented Ibushi means that we're treated to a great underdog performance on a daily basis. No no-selling and shitty strikes here, thank you very much. Just ten minutes of superb work and surly burly kicks to the face.




Spoiler: match direction



I quite imagine watching Honma's matches in small tastes helps put over the meaning of his booking. I'd wager that them going for a resilient performance only to lose, day in and out, would soften the effectiveness of his fighting spirit (especially with losses to lower card guys). Most seemingly question the parity booking NJPW has used throughout this tourney, so this appears to be an extension of Jedo/Gado's inability here, but I do feel that Honma should have gone over the lower talents - even if it was by a mere margin. Of course taking a loss to Tanahashi would be inevitable, but they could have set up a massive throng of support for Honma had he gone over in this match or against Ishii. "The little guy who could" was what solidified Ishii, after all, and it isn't as if Honma is not capable of filling in that missing gap, now. He's a gem of a wrestler that has working the crowd down to a tee.


----------



## DOPA

*NJPW G1 Climax days 2 & 3* were fun to sit through but didn't really have any stand out matches barring two. It really was a tale of two different structured days as far as high points are concerned in my opinion. *Ishii vs Kojima* had a great hard hitting match that really nothing else on the card could come close to following. A couple of very good matches afterwards but the majority were either good or just okay.

*Okada vs Makabe* once again had a great face vs face match which reminded me of their match from last year for the IWGP Heavyweight title. These guys have great chemistry with each other which shows a lot with Okada being the cocky confident young stud against the wiley determined veteran in Makabe. Makes for some intriguing and enthralling work.

So far Day 1 has definitely been the best day. Overall there's been nothing terrible but the standout matches are few and far between. But I also understand that day's 4, 7 and 8 are all supposed be fantastic and I've got day 4 coming up next so I'm looking forward to those shows. Favourite matches of the tournament thus far:

Styles vs Okada: *****1/4*
Okada vs Makabe: ******
Ishii vs Kojima: ******
Tanahashi vs Honma: ******


----------



## Lazyking

Day 4 is still my favorite day of the G1.. Memory is shit but not really a bad match on that show. Some great ones as well.

I'd also like to nominate Makabe/Minoru Suzuki from Day 8. Great performances by both men, especially Suzuki. He's really turned it up a notch the last few days. I'm a huge Makabe fan and his selling of the jaw, then working over Suzuki's leg was a work of art. I'd say a 4 star plus effort.


----------



## Mr. Kennedy

Rah said:


> *YES*
> 
> *Tomoaki Honma vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 8)* - Honma has been the saving grace of the G1 tournament. He may not be responsible for every great match from it, but his inclusion over a far less talented Ibushi means that we're treated to a great underdog performance on a daily basis. No no-selling and shitty strikes here, thank you very much. Just ten minutes of superb work and surly burly kicks to the face.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: match direction
> 
> 
> 
> I quite imagine watching Honma's matches in small tastes helps put over the meaning of his booking. I'd wager that them going for a resilient performance only to lose, day in and out, would soften the effectiveness of his fighting spirit (especially with losses to lower card guys). Most seemingly question the parity booking NJPW has used throughout this tourney, so this appears to be an extension of Jedo/Gado's inability here, but I do feel that Honma should have gone over the lower talents - even if it was by a mere margin. Of course taking a loss to Tanahashi would be inevitable, but they could have set up a massive throng of support for Honma had he gone over in this match or against Ishii. "The little guy who could" was what solidified Ishii, after all, and it isn't as if Honma is not capable of filling in that missing gap, now. He's a gem of a wrestler that has working the crowd down to a tee.


This gets my vote. Wasn't sure how my opinion that it's the best match of the G-1 so far would go down, but fuck, I thought it was completely outstanding.


----------



## DOPA

I think I'm going to limit my YES votes to either *****1/4* or *****1/2* and above because my ratings tend me a bit more generous than most people .


----------



## Rah

Right, so I finally finished watching *Suzuki/Styles*. Outside of AJ checking on the ref, he wrestled cockily and typical of his G1 self. He has continually postured to the crowd following the taking of advantage against an opponent just, this time, he wasn't outright denouncing the crowd and telling old women to "shut the hell up". I can accept him working a less cocksure, crowd taunting gimmick as Suzuki had his number the entire way, and was rabidly savaging his arm. Get the job done, then act brash. The crowd popping for Bullet Club and cheering for AJ (there was a Minoru chant along the way, by the by), is also something not out of the norm for AJ's performances and something I've been stating since the G1 started/Meltzer went on the crazy train. If you denounce this match, one needs to denounce his other works, too, especially the one against Okada. Quite honestly, too, I did not feel too phased by the lackeys coming out to help their guys. That said, however, it would have only worked if AJ had changed his reaction to hitting the ref from one of enquiry to that of angrily degrading the ref for getting in his way. I understand that they needed a stall to get the Suzukigun stable out and onto AJ, but focusing his anger onto the ref for a few seconds would have done the job oh so much better.

Most importantly, though, I had a problem most with the work within the match. Suzuki delivered an impeccable workover of AJ's arm, and was a brilliant crazy bastard in control throughout. He ripped and teared through AJ's arm and fingers whenever he had the chance, delivering it in varying ways that kept things both fresh and disgusting. What does Styles do, to take control of the match following the interference, though? ELBOW STRIKES. FUCKING ELBOW STRIKES. He shrugs it all off and continues as if things are fine with his arm. This isn't a compressed sprint like Shibata/Honma where you can forgive immediate resurgences following corner dropkicks and clotheslines (as there isn't a lasting damage effect). If AJ was to throw offence, he needs to have emoted his pain better and kept his selling up. It's such a shame, as outside of that latter half and the stupid ref spot, this was trying damn hard to deliver a massive classic. They could have had that, too, and then some. Not quite Wyatt/Shield, but it would have been pretty damn close. Pity that.


----------



## Nervosa

Tanahashi vs. Shibata 
***3/4
I was mostly unthrilled with this. Legowrk ended up going nowhere and shibata no sold a bunch of stuff. I get the story with Tanahashi leaving what is familiar to him, and it ultimately costing him the match, but there were too many problems with selling and other issues. The Texas Cloverleaf spot and the sleeper spot really slowed the crowd down rather than ramping them up. It was the 'Red Ink' affect on letting the crowd rest so much that they lose intensity.


----------



## ZEROVampire

AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW 8/1
****1/2
*YES*

Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW 8/3
****1/4
*YES*


----------



## ErickRowan_Fan

Rah said:


> Right, so I finally finished watching *Suzuki/Styles*. Outside of AJ checking on the ref, he wrestled cockily and typical of his G1 self. He has continually postured to the crowd following the taking of advantage against an opponent just, this time, he wasn't outright denouncing the crowd and telling old women to "shut the hell up". I can accept him working a less cocksure, crowd taunting gimmick as Suzuki had his number the entire way, and was rabidly savaging his arm. Get the job done, then act brash. The crowd popping for Bullet Club and cheering for AJ (there was a Minoru chant along the way, by the by), is also something not out of the norm for AJ's performances and something I've been stating since the G1 started/Meltzer went on the crazy train. If you denounce this match, one needs to denounce his other works, too, especially the one against Okada. Quite honestly, too, I did not feel too phased by the lackeys coming out to help their guys. That said, however, it would have only worked if AJ had changed his reaction to hitting the ref from one of enquiry to that of angrily degrading the ref for getting in his way. I understand that they needed a stall to get the Suzukigun stable out and onto AJ, but focusing his anger onto the ref for a few seconds would have done the job oh so much better.
> 
> Most importantly, though, I had a problem most with the work within the match. Suzuki delivered an impeccable workover of AJ's arm, and was a brilliant crazy bastard in control throughout. He ripped and teared through AJ's arm and fingers whenever he had the chance, delivering it in varying ways that kept things both fresh and disgusting. What does Styles do, to take control of the match following the interference, though? ELBOW STRIKES. FUCKING ELBOW STRIKES. He shrugs it all off and continues as if things are fine with his arm. This isn't a compressed sprint like Shibata/Honma where you can forgive immediate resurgences following corner dropkicks and clotheslines (as there isn't a lasting damage effect). If AJ was to throw offence, he needs to have emoted his pain better and kept his selling up. It's such a shame, as outside of that latter half and the stupid ref spot, this was trying damn hard to deliver a massive classic. They could have had that, too, and then some. Not quite Wyatt/Shield, but it would have been pretty damn close. Pity that.


I thought the one-armed Styles clash along with AJ nearly losing the match after trying an elbow strike on Suzuki was enough to put over his arm injury. 

I mean this was a critical moment in the match:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2...h-aj-styles-vs-minoru-suzuki_sport&start=1192

Suzuki didn't work on AJ's left so it made sense that he would still use it for strikes.


----------



## Corey

Yeah Rah, I'm not sure if you're thinking about the first strike exchange where Styles' arm isn't in too rough shape as of yet or the last one where it's been destroyed, but he sold it very well in the 2nd one. Only struck with the left arm and when he attempted the right he sold that it hurt like hell.


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah said:


> Right, so I finally finished watching *Suzuki/Styles*. Outside of AJ checking on the ref, he wrestled cockily and typical of his G1 self. He has continually postured to the crowd following the taking of advantage against an opponent just, this time, he wasn't outright denouncing the crowd and telling old women to "shut the hell up". I can accept him working a less cocksure, crowd taunting gimmick as Suzuki had his number the entire way, and was rabidly savaging his arm. Get the job done, then act brash. The crowd popping for Bullet Club and cheering for AJ (there was a Minoru chant along the way, by the by), is also something not out of the norm for AJ's performances and something I've been stating since the G1 started/Meltzer went on the crazy train. If you denounce this match, one needs to denounce his other works, too, especially the one against Okada. Quite honestly, too, I did not feel too phased by the lackeys coming out to help their guys. That said, however, it would have only worked if AJ had changed his reaction to hitting the ref from one of enquiry to that of angrily degrading the ref for getting in his way. I understand that they needed a stall to get the Suzukigun stable out and onto AJ, but focusing his anger onto the ref for a few seconds would have done the job oh so much better.


Awesome. I'm in the clear. Okada vs Styles sucked, in my eyes.


----------



## Rah

I rewatched this from the interference onward. Normally I'd simply gif the parts I mean, but my internet is deciding to be annoying this morning. Keep in mind, the interference angle is run following two corner elbows that AJ has only sold as hurting his injured arm, after hitting them, via means of simply shaking the arm. Post-offence whiffs is not selling, nor should selling only be used as a spot setting up the finishing run.

*13:25 *- the two start with some offence exchange in which AJ clocks Suzuki with two or three right arms. No visible selling until he takes a clearly choreographed back bump when Suzuki sells (he bends over, stares at Suzuki for the signal and then falls, for suck sake) . AJ did start with the left arm, and he should have stayed using it. Suzuki hadn't worked on that side as much, only doing so a bit before the interference shtick.

*14:15* - after the two rise to their feet, AJ slaps Suzuki off him with the right arm. Doesn't bother selling.

*16:15* - a minute or so after AJ gets caught delivering a springboard clothesline, with the bad arm, he's hitting knife edge chops to Suzuki with the bad fucking arm, no selling, and doing a run for a clothesline only to get caught. No selling.


Before there's a complaint that I'm being selective, those are the only moments where AJ takes control, again, with his hope spots. That's also the point I stopped rewatching for this post. He emotes well, when Suzuki has him trapped, but he doesn't seemingly bother when he's on offence, outside of selling exhaustion and grasping onto the ropes. Selective selling annoys me, and it negates the work done by the opponent. Okada may still use his injured arm, yet he emotes and sells it as if it hurts him in that moment. He also lets it hang loosely, grasping at it every so often, as if he really has lost a lot of feeling or control over it and all he can do, is try let it lie as painlessly as possible. AJ isn't doing that, he's gesturing and seemingly maintains full movement control. I'm not asking for independent matches to maintain the same level of continuity/selling, as that's ludicrous, but I do expect the selling to match the work done. There was a rather recent TNA performance where AJ's playing babyface, letting his right arm sit loose, and is only using his left, so it isn't as if this concept is new to him. He just wasn't playing ball, here. Equally, I switched off as he's trying to go for his first Styles Clash that he cannot hook properly. Nowhere is he selling it as if his right arm cannot hold Suzuki's weight. His entire body is shutting down as if it's exhausted (as he has been selling it to be).

I still enjoyed the match, and I do YES vote it, but that's mostly on Suzuki delivering such a wondrous performance. If I'm holding merit in Tanahashi delivering a performance as he had in Invasion Attack, while equally degrading Nakamura (which I do believe i did worse than in Suzuki/Styles), I cannot look past this. The face/heel incongruity and AJ's performance aside, this had a better workover by Suzuki and felt a much better match in the points it did work. I'm not degrading this as the worst match ever, far from it, as it's currently #11 on my list, but I do have a massive problem with AJ's performance and it is what stops it from reaching the level of quality that it had elements of being. It's in that Kofi/Cesaro or Fuego/Virus lot where the match is really, really good thanks to one man but the other guy fucking sucks. Just, well, AJ wasn't _that_ bad.


----------



## Obfuscation

The people making AJ Styles BITW comments will hate you for the rest of the year after that post.


----------



## Joshi Judas

I didn't mind AJ that much but yeah Suzuki was the better man unquestionably.


----------



## ErickRowan_Fan

Rah said:


> I rewatched this from the interference onward. Normally I'd simply gif the parts I mean, but my internet is deciding to be annoying this morning. Keep in mind, the interference angle is run following two corner elbows that AJ has only sold as hurting his injured arm, after hitting them, via means of simply shaking the arm. Post-offence whiffs is not selling, nor should selling only be used as a spot setting up the finishing run.
> 
> *13:25 *- the two start with some offence exchange in which AJ clocks Suzuki with two or three right arms. No visible selling until he takes a clearly choreographed back bump when Suzuki sells (he bends over, stares at Suzuki for the signal and then falls, for suck sake) . AJ did start with the left arm, and he should have stayed using it. Suzuki hadn't worked on that side as much, only doing so a bit before the interference shtick.
> 
> *14:15* - after the two rise to their feet, AJ slaps Suzuki off him with the right arm. Doesn't bother selling.
> 
> *16:15* - a minute or so after AJ gets caught delivering a springboard clothesline, with the bad arm, he's hitting knife edge chops to Suzuki with the bad fucking arm, no selling, and doing a run for a clothesline only to get caught. No selling.
> 
> 
> Before there's a complaint that I'm being selective, those are the only moments where AJ takes control, again, with his hope spots. That's also the point I stopped rewatching for this post. He emotes well, when Suzuki has him trapped, but he doesn't seemingly bother when he's on offence, outside of selling exhaustion and grasping onto the ropes. Selective selling annoys me, and it negates the work done by the opponent. Okada may still use his injured arm, yet he emotes and sells it as if it hurts him in that moment. He also lets it hang loosely, grasping at it every so often, as if he really has lost a lot of feeling or control over it and all he can do, is try let it lie as painlessly as possible. AJ isn't doing that, he's gesturing and seemingly maintains full movement control. I'm not asking for independent matches to maintain the same level of continuity/selling, as that's ludicrous, but I do expect the selling to match the work done. There was a rather recent TNA performance where AJ's playing babyface, letting his right arm sit loose, and is only using his left, so it isn't as if this concept is new to him. He just wasn't playing ball, here. Equally, I switched off as he's trying to go for his first Styles Clash that he cannot hook properly. Nowhere is he selling it as if his right arm cannot hold Suzuki's weight. His entire body is shutting down as if it's exhausted (as he has been selling it to be).
> 
> I still enjoyed the match, and I do YES vote it, but that's mostly on Suzuki delivering such a wondrous performance. If I'm holding merit in Tanahashi delivering a performance as he had in Invasion Attack, while equally degrading Nakamura (which I do believe i did worse than in Suzuki/Styles), I cannot look past this. The face/heel incongruity and AJ's performance aside, this had a better workover by Suzuki and felt a much better match in the points it did work. I'm not degrading this as the worst match ever, far from it, as it's currently #11 on my list, but I do have a massive problem with AJ's performance and it is what stops it from reaching the level of quality that it had elements of being. It's in that Kofi/Cesaro or Fuego/Virus lot where the match is really, really good thanks to one man but the other guy fucking sucks. Just, well, AJ wasn't _that_ bad.


Suzuki's arm bar, the most devastating attack on AJ's left arm, only occurred _after_ those moments though. You can't expect the man to work a whole match with one arm only because Suzuki has done some work on it. 

He's being held to a different standard from the rest if you expect this much out of him. This is the kind of work you would expect from old school American wrestling promotions, not NJPW. The man even went as far as pulling off a one-armed Styles Clash in order to sell an injury, while other NJPW wrestlers will occasionally shrug off several finishing moves and sell nothing from guys like Suzuki. 

There's a reason why Suzuki had his best match against Styles while having mediocre matches with the rest and it's because he was facing a guy that was willing to sell for him. A guy that didn't do macho comebacks after being worked over the whole match, but was instead able to convey the type of pain that Suzuki was putting on him. Suzuki wasn't facing a freaking Kofi Kingston in there, but a wrestler that has been having decent matches with everybody in the tournament, something that cannot necessarily be claimed for Suzuki himself.


----------



## DOPA

*Day 4* of the G1 climax was a great great show. Three real standout matches in my opinion. *Honma vs Ishii* was a freaking amazing match. Honma is almost as good as Ishii being the underdog babyface. The man is so over and really put on a fantastic performance in this match. I already knew how great Ishii is....though having him also put on a performance with him being the dominant force in this match as good as he did surprised me a lot too because most of Ishii's best performances have been as the plucky underdog. Not this time however. This match has really made me take notice of Honma and how good he really is. He had a great match with Tanahashi on day 1 but this easily blew it out of the water. Match of the tournament thus far for me from what I have watched so far without a doubt.

*Nakamura vs Nagata* was also a really great match. It was awesome to see Nakamura heeling it up a bit and being that cocky son of a bitch we know he can be. Disrespecting the legend all the way throughout the match whilst Nagata refused to let Nakamura pysche him out. Great dynamic here. The only thing that bothered me slightly is Nakamura spamming the Boma Ye. I think it really devalues and takes away the meaning of his finish by having every wrestler kick out of it at least once and using it as much as three times in a match. I expect that sort of thing in WWE and the american Indys but not NJPW where finishers are treated with such importance. Still a minor gripe in a largely great match.

*Styles vs Naito* was the second best match of the night and the second best in the tournament so far. This was utterly fantastic. I know the likes of Rah and HayleySabin will hate me for saying this but thus far I completely disagree with their assessment of Styles in this tournament from what I've seen so far. With the exception of Honma, Styles up to day 4 at least has been the MVP of the tournament and has been putting on fantastic performances especially in regards to this match. Absolutely ruthless and vicious showing no remorse whatsoever. And yet for all the praise I give Styles for this match, the star here was Naito. I have not been Naito's biggest fan since his return. I think he has been largely style over substance for the majority of what I've seen from him since returning last year but in this match he gave such a sympathetic babyface performance that was close to perfect. The selling and facials were fantastic. Yes the blood did really help as well and I got to give both workers credit for exploiting that and using it to really add drama to the match but it was still largely Naito who ultimately made that all work. Brilliant stuff from both men.

One match I did not love as much as I've seen some here comment on however was *Tanahashi vs Shibata*. Shibata's selling throughout the match really bothered me. It was extremely inconsistent. At some points he was completely no selling the leg whether running or on offense. Once or twice out of pure adrenaline is forgivable but this was a common theme throughout the match. It really made it harder to get into the match overall. Tanahashi was great in this and it still ended up being a very good match but I was really disappointed with Shibata's performance in this. Not up to his best work in my opinion.

Great show though, definitely the best one I've seen thus far from this year's G1. My updated matches of the tournament with some YES's as well .

Honma vs Ishii (YES): *****1/2*
Styles vs Naito (YES): *****1/4*
Styles vs Okada (YES): *****1/4*
Okada vs Makabe: ******
Ishii vs Kojima: ******
Tanahashi vs Honma: ******
Nagata vs Nakamura: ******


----------



## Joshi Judas

I didn't even pay much attention to Nagata's work before this year but I'm loving angry old man Nagata so far.

Agreed with L-DOPA about Styles. I liked his Okada match, Archer match and loved his Naito and Suzuki matches. Yet to see him vs Anderson but I'm liking AJ Styles in this tournament so far.


----------



## seabs

almostfamous said:


> That's just how I read into it. I took it as "Yeah we're both badass leaders of heel groups that think we're the best, now it's time to prove it in the ring, even if we have to die in the process."


*That would have been totally fine except it's not what happened. AJ played babyface. In that scenario they're both heels so they should both act like heels. You can workover a heel and have them sell without having to act like a babyface and assassinate the character you're supposed to be playing. It's like when Bray Wyatt looks to the crowd for babyface pops. It's just stupid and not in character regardless of the moment. Heels don't do nice things like check on a ref in a babyface manner when he gets knocked down. The whole point of a heel is to get the crowd to dislike you and AJ did nothing to get the crowd to dislike him in that match. If you watch Suzuki/Makabe then Suzuki works an awesome segment where he's in peril and having to sell like a babyface but throughout the match he still keeps all of his heel shtick that makes his character a heel. That's what AJ didn't do.

It may seem like a minor thing to some but this is why it isn't a minor thing. AJ Styles is the #1 guy in your big heel faction who have cheated and done run-ins during pretty much every Bullet Club match since they formed. He's the guy who holds the belt right now. He's the guy who has a big influence in the business New Japan do while he's champion. The idea of a heel champion at the top of the card is to be THE BAD GUY and to get crowds to dislike him and like his opponent and then pay to see him lose to the good guy because they don't like the bad guy and want to see him get what's coming to him. Who the fuck watched AJ/Suzuki and thought that? I can't believe one single person watched it and thought "man I can't wait to see that AJ Styles piece of trash lose that title". That's how wrestling works. None of this would be a problem if AJ wasn't playing a heel character or even if he was playing a heel character in the midcard but he isn't and thus it becomes a problem. Sure you can watch that match in a vacuum and think it's amazing because AJ was such a great babyface in it but when you put it into any context it was silly character work.*


flag sabbath said:


> Yeah that describes my relationship with this G1 for sure. But isn't a molten crowd one of the best indicators that the guys in the ring are doing their job perfectly? I didn't stop to analyse Styles vs. Suzuki once because I was completely swept along by it.


*No because it's all relative to the aims. The aim shouldn't have been to get AJ a babyface ovation after the match was done. If that was the aim then he has to turn babyface and start working the same for the rest of G1. He's gone back to working heel again every show since. The aim of a heel is to get booed. AJ never once got any heel heat in that match, just a ton of babyface heat. In other words he got the exact opposite reaction to what his character should be looking for.*



ErickRowan_Fan said:


> Suzuki's arm bar, the most devastating attack on AJ's left arm, only occurred _after_ those moments though. You can't expect the man to work a whole match with one arm only because Suzuki has done some work on it.
> 
> He's being held to a different standard from the rest if you expect this much out of him. This is the kind of work you would expect from old school American wrestling promotions, not NJPW. The man even went as far as pulling off a one-armed Styles Clash in order to sell an injury, while other NJPW wrestlers will occasionally shrug off several finishing moves and sell nothing from guys like Suzuki.


*He still had his arm worked over before though. When a guy gets a body part worked over for a whole segment of a match and he then doesn't sell that body part IMMEDIATELY after then it doesn't put anyone over. It doesn't make the opponent's workover look dangerous because he was working on Styles' arm and clearly it didn't hurt AJ that much because he was flinging it about willy nilly straight after so that makes Suzuki look weak. Selling also makes the guy selling look better than not selling as well. If you sell then you show everyone that you're hurt. What's more impressive, being able to come back when you're hurt or when you're not hurt? Obvious answer right. That's why you sell. It puts everyone over at a higher level. Bah gawd that guy's arm must have been virtually hanging off his body and the tough son of a bitch still managed to come back and find a way to win WITH ONE GOD DAMN ARM. What a guy he is. What a fighter! That's a pretty great reaction to get but you can only get there by selling. 

And if you're going for the "AJ sold here and there" then it's still poor selling because it was inconsistent as Rah covered. If you're going to try and sell an injury then you still have to do a good job of it for it to be "great selling".*


----------



## Mattyb2266

Styles vs Suzuki - ****1/2

Great match. Definitely a yes. It seems like the match has been picked apart enough so ill try to keep it light and optimistic. I thought both guys really meshed well here bar some of the strike exchanges, although to be honest I was alright with that. 

The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the ref bump/run in. Admittedly I haven't seem any New Japan this year outside of this match so it might have made perfect sense but I always hate run ins during a match. Always.

Still, one hell of a match that's well deserving of a lot of the praise its getting. Makes me want to catch up with New Japan.


----------



## Corey

Copied and pasted from the TNA thread. This match isn't making my list but I figure I'll throw it in here to let people know TNA actually still exists and they had a good match. Maybe give you guys something different to watch:

*TNA World Heavyweight Championship*
Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Austin Aries (_Destination X 2014_)

I thought this sounded good on paper and it actually turned out pretty well. I really really liked the opening minutes as Aries tries the hit and run approach and goes for a quick submission win with Last Chancery, but Lashley is way too strong and powers out with ease. Smart wrestling from the challenger early on as he tries to go after the big man's legs but goes for a high risk move too early and gets caught with a sweet looking belly to belly on the floor. Lashley's workover segment was good as he targeted Aries' midsection and threw him around like a rag doll. After a couple failed attempts Aries finally makes a comeback but Lashley insists on never selling for him and almost never leaving his feet, so it comes off kinda weird. Aries throws a ton of nasty spinning forearms and strikes, but at times you feel like they don't know what to do next and Lashley still comes off like he's green as goose shit. That's ultimately what holds this back (along with a couple awkward moments in the final minute or two). The brainbuster is this match looks fucking GRAT though. Aries kills himself in trying to get the World Title again, but Lashley is way too big and way too strong in the end. I gotta say, I liked this a whole lot but Lashley hardly looks to have improved at all since his WWE run and still looks stiff and upright in the ring. Oh well, great match anyway. **** 3/4*

Oh and here's the link I watched it at. Match starts at about 11 minutes in:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/kx8YdNaVOZtCF88tHvS


----------



## Lazyking

Thought Aries vs. Lashley was good as well although it never hit that next gear to be a MOTYC.


----------



## The Black Mirror

*I don't have time to go into detail right now, but I have watched some more ROH lately, and here's what I've got:

Adam Cole vs. Kevin Steen - ROH Global Wars (May 10,2014) - ★★★★ (YES!/RECOMMENDED)

The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. ReDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) - ROH War of the Worlds (May 17, 2014) - ★★★★ (YES!/RECOMMENDED)

Cedric Alexander vs. Michael Elgin - ROH Flyin' High (March 22, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT RECOMMENDED)

The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero) vs. The Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA) - ROH Global Wars (May 10, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT RECOMMENDED)

AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Michael Elgin - ROH War of the Worlds (May 17, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT RECOMMENDED)

I plan to watch some more this evening.*


----------



## Nervosa

Day 5

Goto vs. Styles
****
Well I'll be damned. Goto was great here. Really did well getting his beck worked over and remembering it throughout the match, leading to a very effective comeback before ultimately succumbing. AJ also pulled out moves he hasn't used in a while, which was nice and fresh. I'm just shocked how much I enjoyed this.

Nakamura vs. Honma
***1/2
I am losing faith in Shinsuke more and more as the year goes on. This really didn't have much substance for the most part. Honma had some exciting nearfalls, but the botch really messed them up, and they didn't recover quickly. Add in some more Boma Ye spam and you have a disappointing match.

Naito vs. Okada
****
Lot of things I liked here, a lot of things I didn't. Good neck work by Okada, but Naito pretty much shrugged it all off. The crowd did get behind the comeback though, just because of such a great workover. By now these guys have good counters to all of each others moves, but then again we have seen most of it. Good crowd, but the finish was maybe a little too even as there were a couple changes in momentum that struck as a bit too random.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

The Boma Ye spam is a ridiculous criticism. There are certain types of Boma Yes Nak wins with that are protected like "normal" NewJa finishers. The regular one, the running one and the one to the side of the head. That means Nakamura actually has two ways MORE to finish off his opponents than most of the roster and I believe none of the versions he wins matches with have been kicked out of (at least for a very long time). Also criticizing ONLY Shinsuke is wrong because what you're attacking him is a modern NewJa trope. Davey Boy's Powerbomb never beats anyone and the Sitout one is his finisher. Anderson lets everyone kick out of the Fireman's Carry Gun Stun-even the top rope one-and only wins matches with the regular one. Nagata does about five million Backdrops before finishing someone with a Bridging Backdrop. Fuck it what is Yano's finisher anyway? The Reverse Bloody Sunday he beat Tanahashi with? How many roll-ups per match does he do?


----------



## The Black Mirror

*I finally got to see NXT Takeover. This was a great show!

Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze - NXT Takeover (May 29, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT RECOMMENDED)

Charlotte (with Ric Flair) vs. Natalya (with Bret Hart) - NXT Takeover (May 29, 2014) - ★★★★ (YES!/RECOMMENDED)

Adrien Neville vs. Tyson Kidd - NXT Takeover (May 29, 2014) - ★★★★¼ (YES!/RECOMMENDED)*


----------



## seabs

ywall2breakerj said:


> The Boma Ye spam is a ridiculous criticism. There are certain types of Boma Yes Nak wins with that are protected like "normal" NewJa finishers. The regular one, the running one and the one to the side of the head. That means Nakamura actually has two ways MORE to finish off his opponents than most of the roster and I believe none of the versions he wins matches with have been kicked out of (at least for a very long time). Also criticizing ONLY Shinsuke is wrong because what you're attacking him is a modern NewJa trope. Davey Boy's Powerbomb never beats anyone and the Sitout one is his finisher. Anderson lets everyone kick out of the Fireman's Carry Gun Stun-even the top rope one-and only wins matches with the regular one. Nagata does about five million Backdrops before finishing someone with a Bridging Backdrop. Fuck it what is Yano's finisher anyway? The Reverse Bloody Sunday he beat Tanahashi with? How many roll-ups per match does he do?


*I get what you're saying but I don't think it's a "ridiculous criticism". That's a bit of an exaggeration. I think the issue is it's not really clear which knee should be the be all and end all. It's obvious at this point that the first regular one never does it. I'd be fine with if he decided from now on the top rope knee is the be all and end all for the big matches. Eh right now it's a little messy imo and I feel he could do with differentiating his knee strikes out from one another and settling on one as the big finish rather than what he's currently doing which is more along the lines of he has different variations and he's probably gonna need at least 3 of any variation to finish the match.*


----------



## ErickRowan_Fan

ywall2breakerj said:


> The Boma Ye spam is a ridiculous criticism. There are certain types of Boma Yes Nak wins with that are protected like "normal" NewJa finishers. The regular one, the running one and the one to the side of the head. That means Nakamura actually has two ways MORE to finish off his opponents than most of the roster and I believe none of the versions he wins matches with have been kicked out of (at least for a very long time). Also criticizing ONLY Shinsuke is wrong because what you're attacking him is a modern NewJa trope. Davey Boy's Powerbomb never beats anyone and the Sitout one is his finisher. Anderson lets everyone kick out of the Fireman's Carry Gun Stun-even the top rope one-and only wins matches with the regular one. Nagata does about five million Backdrops before finishing someone with a Bridging Backdrop. *Fuck it what is Yano's finisher anyway?* The Reverse Bloody Sunday he beat Tanahashi with? How many roll-ups per match does he do?


Right now it seems to be a kick or punch in the nuts and a roll-up.

I see the Boma Ye as a finisher that's repeated until the opponent has been rendered completely unconscious. The first hit isn't too severe and can be potentially kicked out of but nobody has kicked out of multiple Boma Ye's, so at this point the "Boma Ye spam" is the finisher.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

> Right now it seems to be a kick or punch in the nuts and a roll-up.


And that gets kicked out of all the time which was my point.


> I get what you're saying but I don't think it's a "ridiculous criticism".


It is if he doesn't show consistency in his argument. If he did it wouldn't be.


> I think the issue is it's not really clear which knee should be the be all and end all. It's obvious at this point that the first regular one never does it.


The "Sliding" Boma Ye is the one he never wins with. It's not really hard to pick it up especially with the commentators actually calling the moves. And apart from the addition of the Sliding Boma Ye nothing has significantly changed. The Diving Boma Yes never served as match enders. He HAS added additional match ending Boma Yes, but they have all been WAY more protected than say, the High Fly Flow. 


> Eh right now it's a little messy imo and I feel he could do with differentiating his knee strikes out from one another and settling on one as the big finish rather than what he's currently doing which is more along the lines of he has different variations and he's probably gonna need at least 3 of any variation to finish the match.


He might use two, four, six Boma Yes per match-but the last one he hits and wins with is the one that doesn't get kicked out of permanently. Honestly all of this "Nakamura spams the Boma Ye" talk wouldn't happen if folks didn't mistake the "sliding" Boma Ye for the killer Boma Ye. And if they don't mistake it and just dislike the fact they look alike-fine. BUT then at least show some consistency in your criticism.


----------



## Good News Barrett

Tanahashi always hits the switchblade 2-3 times in a match too, which is repetitive, imo


----------



## Nervosa

I actually have to disagree with you, breaker. I hate that Anderson's Gun Stun and Smith's Powerbomb aren't treated like finishers, and I seem to be the only one who regularly criticizes that, especially in Anderson's case, which ruins a great deal of his singles matches for me. I promise you that Shinsuke is not the only one I criticize for this, but he is the most egregious offender since he gets main event singles matches so often. 

I don't think the Slingblade was ever a finisher so that doesn't bother me. 

I understand that there are different kinds of Boma Yes, and I even understand that they are booked with varying degrees of power. It is similar, as you said, to how Tanahashi often does a HFF to someone's back before rolling them over. The problem is that I HATE than Tana does that, because I don't get why one finishes people and the other doesn't for what is essentially the same exact move. One thing I do like that Tana does is that if he hits the one to the back, he usually rolls them over without pinning them so he can do the normal one. This mittigates the problem a little.

The problem with the Boma Ye is that before a year ago, there weren't all the variations, with some of them being finishers and some not. It was a hard fast rule that except in the most desperate cases, one Boma Ye always ended the match. I think you'll remember last year, during the G1 when Ibushi kicked out of the first one, it was a pretty shocking occurrence, and stood out because it just DIDNT happen. Before that he just didn't use the other variations. Sure, he used the one off the rope,s but he got no momentum on those, and announcers hardly ever even called them boma Yes, they just said flying Knee. Since then, its always the second or third Boma Ye, regardless of what variation it is. It makes it so there's no suspense after he hits the first one. I understand the variations are different, but they are too similar to believe one is all that much better than the others. 

Also, Yano is a completely different case. A move that knocks somebody out for a win is something that needs to be protected. A preferred way of cheating or playing the odds does not need protection. Yano's whole thing is that he doesn't have the skill to even have a move that wins. He just takes his chances with %50/50 roll-ups and cheating, usually both. The idea behind the roll-up is that it is expected to fail, and shocking when it succeeds. A real finishing maneuver should be expected to succeed and shocking when it fails. The fact that he gives his three different roll-ups names is just done to make his hilarious shtick go further. 

Its why he has the noblest brain!


----------



## LBThrizzy

As a guy who just got in to NJPW about a year and some change ago, it just comes across as "Shinsuke's finisher is weak as fuck, cause he has to hit four of them per match to win, and sometimes people even kick out after that"


----------



## Nervosa

LBThrizzy said:


> As a guy who just got in to NJPW about a year and some change ago, it just comes across as "Shinsuke's finisher is weak as fuck, cause he has to hit four of them per match to win, and sometimes people even kick out after that"


This is certainly how I see it, especially when just one year ago, one usually finished the match.


----------



## Joshi Judas

I don't mind Tanahashi because he never goes for the pin after the first HFF to the back. Shinskayy's multiple Boma Ye's really bother me. I don't care about all the variations, to a casual watcher, they mostly look the same and when you need to hit it multiple times, it doesn't come across as good.

I prefer Okada's Rainmaker and Shibata's G2PK combo coz when they hit one, it's usually over.


----------



## Lazyking

I could understand the boma ye spam if it wasn't used on everyone. Not everyone should be able to take 4 boma ye a match but that is what's happening.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

> The problem with the Boma Ye is that before a year ago, there weren't all the variations, with some of them being finishers and some not. It was a hard fast rule that except in the most desperate cases, one Boma Ye always ended the match.


This is incorrect. Nakamura has been using the Enzui Boma Ye and the Diving Boma Ye since 2009-2010 and he never finished matches with them. The ONLY addition he made was the sliding one. ONE move. That's it.



> I think you'll remember last year, during the G1 when Ibushi kicked out of the first one, it was a pretty shocking occurrence, and stood out because it just DIDNT happen. Before that he just didn't use the other variations. Sure, he used the one off the rope,s but he got no momentum on those, and announcers hardly ever even called them boma Yes, they just said flying Knee.


Nakamura hit Ibushi with two Diving Boma Yes and then hit him with the first Sliding Boma Ye he had ever done. Ibushi kicked out at one. It was an amazing moment. Nakamura used this amazing combination and even debuted a new move (which I didn't recognize as such at first) and Ibushi kicked out before anyone got the chance to contemplate the events beforehand. But as soon as Nakamura started using the Sliding Boma Ye Ibushi heroically kicked out of as a regular move it was clear that move wasn't finishing anyone off. And he started using it as a regular move in last year's G1. For me the moment had as much as merit as it did because a shitty DDT junior kicking out of 3 killer Nakamura moves AT ONE was totally inconceivable, not because it was a "kick out of a move no one's kicked out of before". I don't like Ibushi. I wasn't that high on the match. It was still a great moment. It would've been a great moment if Tanahashi kicked out of the Boma Ye 4 times before Nakamura faced Ibushi.



> Since then, its always the second or third Boma Ye, regardless of what variation it is.


As I've mentioned before this is hardly anything new. 


> It makes it so there's no suspense after he hits the first one. I understand the variations are different, but they are too similar to believe one is all that much better than the others.


It could be interpreted that the slide makes that particular version more focused on the speed of the maneuver which makes it easier to connect but also means it deals less damage while the regular one is more focused on the sheer damage done which makes it harder to connect but when it does it's instant kill.




> Also, Yano is a completely different case. A move that knocks somebody out for a win is something that needs to be protected. A preferred way of cheating or playing the odds does not need protection. Yano's whole thing is that he doesn't have the skill to even have a move that wins. He just takes his chances with %50/50 roll-ups and cheating, usually both. The idea behind the roll-up is that it is expected to fail, and shocking when it succeeds. A real finishing maneuver should be expected to succeed and shocking when it fails. The fact that he gives his three different roll-ups names is just done to make his hilarious shtick go further.


I like Yano. I like the fact that his strategy is to severely injure someone's groin and do a million roll-ups until one of them works. Nakamura's strategy is to hit someone with a million knees to the head until he damages them enough to hit them with one of his Death Knees. One works for a credible main eventer, one works for a midcard guy.




> It is similar, as you said, to how Tanahashi often does a HFF to someone's back before rolling them over. The problem is that I HATE than Tana does that, because I don't get why one finishes people and the other doesn't for what is essentially the same exact move. One thing I do like that Tana does is that if he hits the one to the back, he usually rolls them over without pinning them so he can do the normal one. This mittigates the problem a little.


I wasn't even talking about that, I was talking about how everyone relevant has kicked out of it  Nakamura goes straight for the cover after his knee strikes or uses them as big transitions and sells exhaustion afterwards. People just no sell Tanahashi's finisher by avoiding the next one or lifting their knees up. It's not something I even brought up in the first place but that's my take on it.


----------



## The Black Mirror

*Don't mind me. I'm still playing catch-up, this time with some DGUSA from earlier this year.

Rich Swann and Shane Strickland vs. The Premier Athlete Brand (Anthony Nese and Trent Barreta) - DGUSA Way of the Ronin (February 23, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT RECOMENDED)

Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong - DGUSA Way of the Ronin (February 23, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT RECOMMENDED)*


----------



## Nervosa

ywall2breakerj said:


> This is incorrect. Nakamura has been using the Enzui Boma Ye and the Diving Boma Ye since 2009-2010 and he never finished matches with them. The ONLY addition he made was the sliding one. ONE move. That's it.


Well then the sliding One is the one I have the problem with. I can't believe I have to pretend that one doesn't hurt much but the normal one does. The differences are negligible. 




> Nakamura hit Ibushi with two Diving Boma Yes and then hit him with the first Sliding Boma Ye he had ever done. Ibushi kicked out at one. It was an amazing moment. Nakamura used this amazing combination and even debuted a new move (which I didn't recognize as such at first) and Ibushi kicked out before anyone got the chance to contemplate the events beforehand. But as soon as Nakamura started using the Sliding Boma Ye Ibushi heroically kicked out of as a regular move it was clear that move wasn't finishing anyone off.


But that's my problem with it. When he first used it, it was used for a big nearfall, then nearly immediately used as just another move, even though it so strongly resembles his finisher. Besides that is the fact that is he can hit the Killer Boma Ye, why would he hit the sliding one if the it is SO MUCH weaker? It doesn't make sense. 

I'll totally grant you that they are different moves. I don't even mind the ones where he leaps off the ropes, because without the running start, they never look strong. I just think the other two are too similar to say one is a finisher and one isn't. The fact that one is protected more actually makes it stupider to me, because it makes me wonder why he would ever intentionally hit a weaker version of the move.


----------



## Lazyking

^It wouldn't be as bad if the "weaker " versions actually finished off weaker competition but nope so I just assume his finisher is actually three boma ye at minimum. lol


----------



## Nervosa

Night 6

Shibata vs. Kojima
***1/2
Fine, aggressive match, but too much of a retread of the vastly superior match they had in last year's tournament.

Tenzan vs. AJ
***1/2
It was nice to see Tenzan not only physically mobile, but quite creative as well, and AJ continues to be MVP so far. 

Okada vs. Yano
***1/2
A lot of fun, and an awesome big nearful for Yano made this something special. Okada has probably had the best tournament besides AJ.

Tanahashi vs. Ishii
***1/2
I don't know, I just don't really get the hype. Not enough of a workover to create a meaningful comeback, meaning I wasn't very invested in all the moments at the end. The finish itself was really very flat as well.

Kinda bummed by Day 6. I hear 7 is amazing though, so onwards and upwards.


----------



## malek

I for one love how Nakamura doesn't have "end it all" finisher, but uses his strongest move as often as possible. So refreshin when compared to almost everyone else.


----------



## Joshi Judas

It doesn't look good when your strongest move needs to be hit multiple times to finish someone off.

The Boma Ye looks vicious and should be treated as such. One hit KO.


----------



## Nervosa

Day 7

Tenzan vs. Goto
****
Didn't hear much praise for this, but it was excellent. Don't look now, but Goto managed three good matches this tournament, which is 2 more than he had last year. Workover was good...comeback was amazing. Crowd loved Tenzan so much.

Makabe vs. Naito
****
For Fucks sake, that was fun. Crowd hates Naito so much, and it plays into their satisfaction of him being brutalized by Makabe. Naito should totally turn and go ditzy airhead heel, like Kurt Angle 2001. It would be the only time he would ever be good at something. Felt like a legit upset, too, and the crowd was happy to see it. The final exchange for the Spider German was really cool.

Styles vs. Suzuki
****1/4
Ok, so a lot of good stuff here. Awesome armwork that the crowd went nuts for, and finger stuff was the best. Good reversals, and re-reversals, too. Korakuen was also white hot, which added so much to this match.

But I don't get the 5 star hype, here. It's not even really one of the top 3 matches of the tournament, for me, and I would say AJ Okada from Night 1 was clearly AJs best match. AJ did largely ignore the armwork, which is a problem for me, big time. I also think AJ checking to see if the ref was ok was one of the silliest things ever considering his character so far. It just doesn't fit. AJ thrives when the ref isn't looking, why would he worry then? Why would he even care? I really didnt mind that the match structured him as the face, because there are often surprise babyfaces in Korakuen, which recognizes hard work over alignment, booing lazy Naito and Goto even though they are faces. But there needed to be more selling here, in my opinion. Good match, but not five stars for me, or really anything close.

Shibata vs. Nagata
****
Awesome beginning, bad middle, amazing finish. Nagata is so good at playing the story of being disrespected by a young punk early, and then having the story be his quest to make them pay. That happens here, with an awesome series of maneuvers on the outside.

Then the match shifts back to the ring and it gets kinda lame. The novelty of Shibata's no selling has officially worn off on me. I have no desire to ever see trading back suplexes. They are just stupid. There was also some other timing issues, plus several instances of shibata just shaking off being hit with a big move just to hit his own. I'm just not interested in that. 

The trading slaps was amazing, especially when Shibata gets the upper hand and goes for the PK only to get slapped through it. Finishing stretch ruled. Could have been MOTN had Shibata acted hurt a little more.

Ishii vs. Nakamura
***1/2
I think I've belabored my point a little too much as to why I don't like extra Boma Yes, so it should come as no surprise how much I hated it when Ishii kicked out of the second Boma Ye at 1. I almost just turned it off right there. Match had an ok story of Ishii knowing Nakamura's trademarks so well that he stayed a step ahead, but there really wasn't enough control to ever get a real story going.


----------



## seabs

*Tomohiro Ishii vs Yuji Nagata - NJPW 08.08.2014*
_Behind Ishii/Honma this was the G1 match I was maybe most looking forward too and it delivered and then some. Nagata has always had great matches with Ishii way before Ishii was allowed to have great matches so to speak and this is the first time that pairing has been reintroduced since Ishii's momentum really got going. It's the same type of Ishii/Nagata match as you got before except now Ishii has credibility and the opportunity to take the match up yet another level to what they reached last time in 2011. Normally I hate those elbow exchanges where they end with both guys falling down to *cue crowd pop* but Ishii puts his own slant on them so well by actually having someone win and lose the strike battle. And then when Ishii finally goes down all loopy it puts the other guy over and gets over that Ishii's behind in the match now so to speak. Ishii's wrestling with a separated shoulder in this which is bonkers. Someone should show AJ Ishii's last two matches for how to sell you arm during your comeback. Granted Ishii's arm is legit fucked up but he's still wise enough to dial the selling of the arm up because you know, that's what good wrestlers do. AJ does the elbow exchange after the workover and just drops the selling to throw elbows while Ishii throws the elbows one handed with the bad arm clutched into his body or just lying there limp. I'm glad Ishii toned down on the omg my neck is broke big sell in the later matches this week because that's something you need in every match. His selling where they zoom in on him writing an literally screaming in pain was brilliant though. Nagata is great in this too and it plays to 2014 Nagata's strengths as he gets to pull great facial expressions during strike exchanges and lay really big "I'm not washed up just yet" slaps. I think another thing people are glossing over with these matches is how barely any of them are over 15 minutes and matches like this and Ishii/Honma and Honma/Shibata are like 12 minutes long which is brilliant. _

*YES ****1/4*

*Kazuchika Okada vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW 08.08.2014*
_Thought this was Okada's finest showing for a while. He always wrestles well but here he added some brilliant babyface fire that really took him up to another level with this performance. The arm selling is good although it could be better. There wasn't anything wrong with it like no selling issues for me but I've seen Okada sell arm work better before so I guess it's Okada being a victim of his own greatness in this case. Lots of stuff to like here. The arm work and subsequent selling was generally very good. Okada egging Suzuki on to lay into him with kicks to the arm was super. Any moment when Okada fired up was brilliant. Okada initially not being able to hook Red Ink and then mustering the will to hook it albeit momentarily was great. I liked the finish even though at first it seemed a tad abrupt. Okada's reaction to that awesome punch from Suzuki is really how you'd imagine someone would react to a sucker punch like that which didn't knock them out. Suzuki puts in a contender for best bump off The Rainmaker too. This was probably the best conventional New Japan match so far this G1 obviously excluding the Ishii/Honma/Shibata type match. _

*YES *****


----------



## NastyYaffa

G1 Climax Day 11

*Yuji Nagata vs. Tomohiro Ishii - ****1/4 - YES!*


----------



## The Black Mirror

*I finally got to sit down and watch PWG's Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n Roll. I enjoyed the show overall. My recommended matches are below.

ACH vs. Ricochet - PWG Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n Roll (May 23, 2014) - ★★★★¼ (YES!/RECOMMENDED)

Cedric Alexander, Johnny Gargano and Trevor Lee vs. Mount Rushmore (Kevin Steen, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) - PWG Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n Roll (May 23, 2014) - ★★★★ (YES!/RECOMMENDED)

AR Fox vs. Rich Swann - PWG Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n Roll (May 23, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT RECOMMENDED)*


----------



## flag sabbath

Not a high-end MOTYC, but this'll definitely appeal to folks who've enjoyed the more concussive end of the G1 ****3/4*


----------



## Joshi Judas

Day 11 matches aren't out on Dailymotion yet :jose

Anyone got a link?


----------



## darkclaudio

Yes Suzuki vs Okada Day 11
No Ishii vs Nagata Day 11


----------



## NastyYaffa

RAVEN said:


> Day 11 matches aren't out on Dailymotion yet :jose
> 
> Anyone got a link?


Honma/Shelton: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k47KUj4QPaSaDJ8xiLP
Yano/Yujiro: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k66Jl1qBgrqMLY8xiQe
Goto/Archer: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k3wtWYdPp3EXHG8xiV6
Naito/Anderson: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k66rOPFDuomJg28xiZA
Shibata/Gallows: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k46cLAtm9dFrok8xj8N
Nagata/Ishii: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k7F8i74ONjD3uA8xj4T
Nakamura/Fale: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k79XOS8PvgxHa48xjiU
Makabe/Styles: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k6dTdpWO2l96o78xjnk
Tanahashi/Davey: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k3nsRErfdwgGMO8xjuc
Okada/Suzuki: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k4SfLjFCRs71Ip8xjzQ


----------



## Joshi Judas

kada kada kada

Thanks a lot mate really appreciate it (Y)


----------



## Bubz

Holy shit, been out of the loop for a few weeks, looks like I've got the whole of G1 to watch next week. Cool.


----------



## Nervosa

Day 8
This is the much vaunted show with 7 (alleged) four star matches. We shall see!

Ishii vs. Smith
***1/4
Good action of course, and a great crowd, but other than that, this everything I hate about both guys. A lot of needless no selling, too short of a workover, DBSJ’s powerbomb meaning nothing, Ishii trying counters he isn’t physically capable of pulling off. Just the usual fare. Expected a lot more when I saw other reviews, though.

Goto vs. Naito
***3/4
Goto just might be finally turning the corner and becoming a decent worker, as he had another good effort here. When Naito went heel, the crowd was rabid to see Goto win, not unlike the previous night where Makabe was the hero, although this match wasn’t quite as good as that one. The more I think about it, the more I realize this was a slightly weaker version of Makabe/Naito the night before.

That said, Naito needs to stop winning strike exchanges, or doing them at all. His awful chops and elbows are so weak, I just have no clue how I supposed to believe he wins strike exchanges with any other heavyweight. He was better when he was a guy who used his speed to always try to get in 3 small strikes for every one big one. 

Styles vs. Archer
***1/4
Woof. And people have this at 4 stars? It had a good legwork story, but once again styles is the babyface and I just don’t get that. There was also a weird botch in the corner. I’ll say this though: AJ’s chokeslam counter was gorgeous, as was a good number of spots in the match that the crowd reacted well to. 

Suzuki vs. Makabe
****1/4
DON’T SKIP THIS MATCH! It was awesome. Suzuki works over the Jaw until Taka gets involved, Makabe dispatches of Taka, and when Suzuki tries to take advantage, he hurts his own leg. Makabe has a really brutal workover of Suzuki’s leg, leading to a lot of familiar spots from the Suzuki/Tanahashi match including an epic leg submission struggle. The finish to the match though….by god it was brutal. Just an awesome aggressive fury. Please make sure you didn’t skip this one.

Honma vs. Shibata
****
Good but not great. As much fun as honma has been, the match against Ishii is still his best of the tournament. Why? Because it’s the one that felt like he might win. The action and the guts here were awesome, but I never really thought he was gonna win this. This was probably the match where Honma looked the toughest, but looking tough and creating the suspense of an upset are two different things. Shibata has also gotta start selling sometime soon.

Yujiro vs. Okada
***1/4
There just aren’t words to describe how shitty Yujiro is. He is ‘Id-rather-watch-shelton’ levels of bad. Okada did his best, but wow. …people gave this four stars?


Nakamura vs. Tanahashi
***1/4
How can two such talented wrestlers have absolutely no chemistry between them? 4 Matches this year and I didn’t really like any of them, and this was probably the worst. This was basically just two guys trading cool moves for 20 minutes with no rhythm, workover or comeback. I guess I’m just someone who can’t enjoy a match if there isn’t a formal workover comeback structure in it. Its why I couldn’t enjoy Nakamura/Ishii and its why I didn’t enjoy this. Finish was ridiculous too. An entire match of just one-upping and countering and that’s how it ends? Weird.

So yeah, the whole “seven four star matches” thing didn’t live up to the hype for me. Give me day 4 over this show any day. Everyone see Makabe/Suzuki if you haven’t though.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

RAVEN said:


> I don't mind Tanahashi because he never goes for the pin after the first HFF to the back. Shinskayy's multiple Boma Ye's really bother me. I don't care about all the variations, to a casual watcher, they mostly look the same and when you need to hit it multiple times, it doesn't come across as good.
> 
> I prefer Okada's Rainmaker and Shibata's G2PK combo coz when they hit one, it's usually over.


Definitely feel this way. Same for AJ's finisher (forget name atm) but it was a huge deal, to me at least, that he hit it on MiSu and the match continued after that...he didn't go for the cover obviously. 

Even with Okada's "rainmaker", the only time somebody has kicked out is when he's taken time to cover them because they worked over his arm (IA and KoPW vs Tanahashi).

I've not seen anybody kick out of Shibata's combo finisher.

Even when Yujiro hit his finisher on Okada...I thought Yujiro was going to win because I hadn't seen anybody kick out of that. Not saying it hasn't happened because I don't watch all his matches but I've watched a lot from him.

I'm pretty much a mark and don't put too much thought into booking and outcomes and just want to see good matches. Over the past few years I've been entertained by Shinsuke but his ramping up from one Boma Ye a match a year ago to 3 or 4 nowadays has taken me out of enjoying them so much because it feels like he's being lazy. That combined with always working the stomach while always being inconsistent with selling is laziness.


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW "G1 CLIMAX 24", 10.08.2014 Day 12
Seibu Dome 

1. Special Eight Man Tag Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., TAKA Michinoku & El Desperado **
2. Special Six Man Tag Match: Bad Luck Fale, Doc Gallows & Yujiro Takahashi vs Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & BUSHI *1/4
3. Special Six Man Tag Match: Toru Yano, Kazushi Sakuraba & YOSHI-HASHI vs Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka & Shelton Benjamin *1/4
4. Special Tag Match: Adam Cole & Michael Bennett (w/ Maria Kanellis) vs Jushin Thunder Liger & Captain New Japan *3/4
5. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match*: Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA (c) vs Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish ***1/4
6. G1 Climax 24 Special Singles Match: Tetsuya Naito vs Tomoaki Honma ***
7. G1 Climax 24 Special Singles Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs Karl Anderson ***
8. G1 Climax 24 Special Singles Match: Katsuyori Shibata vs Hirooki Goto ***
9. G1 Climax Special Singles Match: AJ Styles vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***1/2
10. *G1 Climax - Final*: Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura ****1/4 (MOTN/MOTT/MOTY)


----------



## NastyYaffa

From G1 Climax Day 12

*Time Splitters vs. reDRagon - YES! - ****1/4*

*AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - YES! - ****3/4*

*Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - YES! - ******


----------



## malek

Time Splitters vs ReDragon ****1/4 - YES !!!

Even better then Time Splitters last match vs Young Bucks. Fantastic action in the ring, while telling great story. Really two of the best tag-teams in the world today, certainly two I like the most.

P.S. I expected Fish would have got pinned, so we might get the chance to see KUSHIDA vs O'Reilly for a singles title...


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yes!!!
Okada vs Nakamura 
G1 Climax 24 Day 12
*****

Yes
AJ Styles vs Hiroshi Tanahashi 
G1 Climax 24 Day 12
****1/4


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## flag sabbath

Just watched Tanahashi vs. Styles. Don't get the initial hype tbh - it struck me as a Raw-style main setting up a ppv title match. Guess I need to watch again, but on first viewing it mostly meandered & was purposely below what these two are capable of ****1/2*

Really enjoyed Splitters vs. ReDRagon, though ****3/4*


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

EscapedIllusion said:


> Yes!!!
> Okada vs Nakamura
> G1 Climax 24 Day 12
> *****
> 
> Yes
> AJ Styles vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
> G1 Climax 24 Day 12
> ****1/4
> 
> 
> Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


Same. God fucking damn was that main event special. AJ/Tanahashi was weird in that no finisher was hit which was fine with me and especially funny after the talk about finishers yesterday.

I may end up with ****3/4 cuz the beginning was kinda slow.


----------



## almostfamous

Wow guys, that Okada v Nakamura match was something else. I really don't know how you improve on that performance. In the running for MOTY.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 CLIMAX 24 TOP MATCHES*
*
YES!!! 1 - 7*

*1. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kazuchika Okada 8/10 ****1/2
2. AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki 8/1 ****1/2
3. Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma 8/3 ****1/4
4. Kazuchika Okada vs Minoru Suzuki 8/8 ****
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata 7/26 ****
6. Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma 7/26 ****
7. Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata 8/6 *****

NO! (8-12 _Notable Matches but no MOTY candidates_)

8. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii 8/1 ***3/4
9. AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito 7/26 ***3/4
10. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs AJ Styles 8/10 ***3/4
11. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Katsuyori Shibata 7/21 ***3/4
12. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura 8/3 ***3/4


----------



## The Black Mirror

*I finally got to finish Payback. Two really good matches at the end of this one.

Bray Wyatt (with Erick Rowan and Luke Harper) vs. John Cena (with Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) - WWE Payback (June 1, 2014) - ★★★★ (YES!/RECOMMENDED!)

Evolution (Batista, Randy Orton and Triple H) vs. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins) - WWE Payback (June 1, 2014) - ★★★★ (YES!/RECOMMENDED)*


----------



## ROHFan19

flag sabbath said:


> Just watched Tanahashi vs. Styles. Don't get the initial hype tbh - it struck me as a Raw-style main setting up a ppv title match. Guess I need to watch again, but on first viewing it mostly meandered & was purposely below what these two are capable of ****1/2*
> 
> Really enjoyed Splitters vs. ReDRagon, though ****3/4*


Felt the same way, although I had it at ***3/4. Thought the exact same as you, clearly setting up a title match in the near future. Wasn't really a fan of the finish but it's the only way Tanahashi can go over clean without making AJ look weak. AJ needed the win more though IMO. 


Nakamura/Okada at ****3/4. So many feels. Again though, thought the wrong guy went over.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

I rewatched AJ/Tana and Okada/Naka. Took it down 1/4 of a star to put it at **** for the former and the latter is still "8 billion stars".

My MoTY top 4 is:
Shinskay vs Okada
Honma vs Shibata
Wyatts vs Shield - EC
Zayn vs Cesaro

This year seems to really suck for WWE.  They got:
The two above, Cesaro/Cena, Bryan/Wyatt, Bryan/HHH, Bryan/Batista/Orton. Is there anything else that is ****? Evolution/Shield I is close and didn't rate when I watched so would have to watch again. Maybe Usos/Wyatts from the last ppv...my stream cut out for the last 5ish minutes and I never went back to watch after being spoiled.


----------



## ROHFan19

Yeah I'd say the first Evolution/Shield match was around ****. Wyatts/Usos not quite ****. Has been a down year for match quality but that's mostly due to Punk being gone, Bryan being hurt, Cesaro doing nothing and the Shield being broken up. Those were your 4 big time match quality guys.

I suspect we'll get a few from Summerslam though. Fully expecting Cena/Brock and Ambrose/Rollins to be around the ****+ mark.


----------



## Corey

I've also got Zayn/Breeze from NXT Takeover, Sheamus/Cesaro from Payback, and the traditional MITB Ladder match all at ****.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Yeah Bryan's absence coupled with the Shield split has hurt the match quality, hope it picks back up in the last four months.

Those 4 guys were basically what made 2013 a great in-ring year for WWE. Along with Cesaro but he's stuck in limbo too and Ziggler is directionless so there you have it.


----------



## KicksToFaces!

StuckInHell4-Life said:


> I rewatched AJ/Tana and Okada/Naka. Took it down 1/4 of a star to put it at **** for the former and the latter is still "8 billion stars".
> 
> My MoTY top 4 is:
> Shinskay vs Okada
> Honma vs Shibata
> Wyatts vs Shield - EC
> Zayn vs Cesaro
> 
> *This year seems to really suck for WWE. They got:
> The two above, Cesaro/Cena, Bryan/Wyatt, Bryan/HHH, Bryan/Batista/Orton. Is there anything else that is ****? *Evolution/Shield I is close and didn't rate when I watched so would have to watch again. Maybe Usos/Wyatts from the last ppv...my stream cut out for the last 5ish minutes and I never went back to watch after being spoiled.


Well... IMO none of these 4 are **** matches.
Cesaro-Cena - ***3/4
Bryan-Wyatt - ***1/2
Bryan-HHH - ***3/4
Bryan/Batista/Orton - ***1/4
I do agree the first 4 were really great. 



AND BTW, HOW FUCKING AWESOME WAS OKADA-NAKAMURA?homer MOTY 4 shure. HELL YES!

Grades for the whole show.

*Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr & Taka Michinoku & El Desperado*
Eh, it was okay I guess. A typical NJPW tag team opener.
****

*Yujiro Takahashi & Bad Luck Fale & DOC Gallows vs Yuji Nagata & BUSHI & Manabu Nakanishi*
Another meh match, but this one had Yuji Nagata and Takahashi. That's a plus!
***1/4*

*Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba & YOSHI-HASHI vs Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Lizuka & Shelton X Benjamin*
Yep, anothe one. Whatevs.
****

*Jushin Thunder Liger & Captain New Japan vs Adam Cole & Michael Bennett*
A fun tag team match. Maria looked fucking amazing.
***3/4*

*ReDragon vs Time Splitters - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match*
This was really good. But, I kinda think it's overrated. It was a good match, but I saw some people rate it like ****+, isn't that a bit too much? Still a good match.
****1/4*

*Tetsuya Naito vs Tomoaki Honma*
Really solid match. Poor Honma.  Haha.
*****

*Tomohiro Ishii vs Karl Anderson*
I really liked this one. Isshi is amazing, even though this isn't his best G1 match I still enjoyed it.
****1/4*

*Katsuyori Shibata vs Hirooki Goto*
Another solid match, but I just think they can do much better. It was actually kind of dull. GTS/Penalty Kick combo was good as always.
*****

*AJ Styles vs Hiroshi Tanahashi*
Mah gawd! This was really great! They did a really good job. I am an AJ Styles mark, but I'm glad Tanahashi won because we'll probably see another one with the title on the line and they will get more time.
******

*Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kazuchika Okada*
WOW... Just... WOW!! Amazing, fucking beautiful. That Rainmaker/Flying Armbar counter was really awesome and I loved the 3 Rainmakers at the end. I was rooting for Nakamura, but I'm okay with Okada winning.
*****1/2-****3/4*


----------



## NastyYaffa

Top-10 matches of the year, so far imo:

1. Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - G1 Climax Day 12 - *****
2. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki - G1 Climax Day 7 - *****
3. The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family - Elimination Chamber - *****
4. AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - G1 Climax Day 12 - ****3/4
5. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn - ArRival - ****3/4
6. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H - Wrestlemania 30 - ****3/4
7. Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt - Royal Rumble - ****1/2
8. Ricochet vs. KUSHIDA - Best of Super Juniors - ****1/2
9. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista - Wrestlemania 30 - ****1/2
10. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - G1 Climax Day 7 - ****1/2


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

KicksToFaces! said:


> *Katsuyori Shibata vs Hirooki Goto*
> Another solid match, but I just think they can do much better. It was actually kind of dull. GTS/Penalty Kick combo was good as always.
> *****


This was their fourth meeting (maybe 5th) and I thought it was their worst. For me, after about 7 or 8 minutes I realized it wasn't going to be a good wrestling match and sure as hell wouldn't be as good as prior ones so I just enjoyed it for what it was...two guys literally beating the everloving shit out of each other for no reason other than to show that they can. I give it ****1/4 but definitely not because it was good as a wrestling match, it was fun as an exhibition of how not to wrestle.


----------



## Bubz

Finally got around to watching some wrestling. I'll post as I go through the G1 with my thoughts on the best matches I see I guess. Only watched the stuff that really appeals to me, because screw watching 12 whole shows of stuff that may or may not be any good. First New Japan I've watched for a while, probably since that Ishii/Naito match which sucked, I think that left a bad taste in my mouth with this company, probably because that's the stuff people were calling amazing when it was anything but. Anyway...

*G1 Climax Night 1*

*Shibata/Nakamura* – Thought this was really good and great in certain parts. The only thing letting this down for me was the figure four spot which ended up serving no purpose at all other than to kill a little time. I liked pretty much everything else apart from trading Germans. Fuck that shit. But there was enough here for me give this a recommendation. You pretty much know what you're going in to with these guys, and that feels like something I'll say a lot watching this tournament, which I don't think is a bad thing.* ***3/4 (NO)*

*AJ/Okada* – This was great. Some of the sequences ruled so much. AJ plays a great dick without actually doing anything that heelish in terms of his tactics in the ring, especially in the first half of this. They played it pretty back and forth, AJ has his turn in control then Okada has his and then back again, but it's really well done. Glad Okada isn't using up all his neck work stuff in the opening matches even against someone like Styles so that's why it worked for me I think. Spot where AJ leaps the barricade only to be followed by Okada who leaps it himself with a cross body was fucking phenomenal. That Okada, never fails to impress me. Finishing sequence was short but insanely sweet, could have done without the Yujiro run in but I expected it so meh, whatever, it only took me out of it for half a minute. ***** (YES)*

Laptop is being gay so I'll watch more tomorrow. Nothing on nights 2 and 3 really appeal to me, but i'll see how I feel. Night 4 looks super though.

*Night 4*

*Nakamura/Nagata -* Really liked this, similar to the last match I remember them having together but this felt really urgent going down the stretch to me which elevated it. Loved the point where the match transitioned in to a all out strike fest with Shinsuke dicking about with Nagata. Sequence towards the end with Nakamura missing those spinning kicks in succession and getting nailed with that wheel kick was so well done. Nagata still has the ability to surprise me and he was great in this, also one of the better Shinskay matches recently because Nagata didn't insist on working the leg. Super fun, hard hitting stuff. ******

*AJ/Naito -* And holy shit, the biggest surprise ever goes to this fucking match. Absolutely not the match I expected from these two, in fact I almost skipped it because I usually don't like watching Naito at all but I figured I'd do it for Styles to see how he's doing in New Japan (only other match I've seen is the Okada match from Night 1), and I'm so glad I did because he was bloody amazing in this. I've not been a huge fan of his for a long time, but after seeing these and a few of his good ROH matches recently, it feels like he was being seriously held back working TNA's style for so long. Firstly his heel stuff is seriously entertaining, he does stuff I rarely ever see, little things like just tossing Naito out of the ring over the top rope out of a headlock, acting totally smug and despicable about every little thing. Then he starts working over the cut on Naito's head and it's glorious from that point on. Everything Styles does entertains me here. From trash talking to getting in a sneaky thumb to the injury as Naito attempts to fire back, to kipping up after a move just because he can and then posing. The workover is great, Naito's comebacks are better than usual and Styles constantly finding ways to cut him off and make him land on his head whether it's from the apron or the top rope is so good. I really thought AJ was phenomenal in this. And that pun probably was intended but I think it's true here. Oh, and the blood helped too, Naito was way more sympathetic a babyface because of it and I thought he did really well selling it and being glazed over after every move, although he usually looks like that. Fantastic match, simple but so effective. *****1/4 - YES*


----------



## almostfamous

Bubz said:


> *AJ/Naito -* And holy shit, the biggest surprise ever goes to this fucking match. Absolutely not the match I expected from these two, in fact I almost skipped it because I usually don't like watching Naito at all but I figured I'd do it for Styles to see how he's doing in New Japan (only other match I've seen is the Okada match from Night 1), and I'm so glad I did because he was bloody amazing in this. I've not been a huge fan of his for a long time, but after seeing these and a few of his good ROH matches recently, it feels like he was being seriously held back working TNA's style for so long. Firstly his heel stuff is seriously entertaining, he does stuff I rarely ever see, little things like just tossing Naito out of the ring over the top rope out of a headlock, acting totally smug and despicable about every little thing. Then he starts working over the cut on Naito's head and it's glorious from that point on. Everything Styles does entertains me here. From trash talking to getting in a sneaky thumb to the injury as Naito attempts to fire back, to kipping up after a move just because he can and then posing. The workover is great, Naito's comebacks are better than usual and Styles constantly finding ways to cut him off and make him land on his head whether it's from the apron or the top rope is so good. I really thought AJ was phenomenal in this. And that pun probably was intended but I think it's true here. Oh, and the blood helped too, Naito was way more sympathetic a babyface because of it and I thought he did really well selling it and being glazed over after every move, although he usually looks like that. Fantastic match, simple but so effective. *****1/4 - YES*


Glad you loved that one. With all the fanfare of some of the other matches have received, this one isn't getting talked about enough. This had me actively rooting for Naito--and I'm a much bigger AJ fan. The blood probably inflated the intensity of the match, but it deserves a lot of praise.


----------



## Rah

So, it finally happened...



*NOMINATE*


*Rush vs ***** Casas (01/08/2014)* - This is like something you'd see on WorldStarHipHop.com. It's just 20 minutes of a punk kid delivering a world of hurt to a broken down old man. Two years ago Casas was delivering a world of hurt to Panther, not looking a day over thirty. In the space of the last year, the booking has slowly built the toll of this feud onto Casas, ever so slowly losing steam and ability to hang with Rush in the chaotic brawls. With a body that's breaking down, he had to dig deep to overcome the cocky youth and he made sure you knew that. He would overswing and make use of the momentum of his entire upper body in delivering his forearms and elbow smashes, to make up for the lack of power in his muscles. It would just never be enough, though. It would keep Rush down for a moment, before a vicious headbutt or punch swung the momentum once again.

To his credit, Rush sold this masterfully and at just the right amount to make Casas not look overly weak in the portrayal of his offence never being good enough. What sets him apart from just about anyone else in wrestling, though, is that he can carry himself and a match as important. He's rocking a Cuban gangster suit and smoking a cigar in his entrance, dammit. He toyed with Casas, throughout, and his controls following Casas' hope spots were all built in a way of mocking what Casas had done. Full points to him for following Casas' signature senton to the outside with a running dropkick off the apron that hit squarely into Casas' chin. Even more for him following it up in trapping Casas in the ropes, lightly tapping Casas in the gut indicating Casas hits like a girl, smirking and throwing some vicious lefts and rights directly back to that injured jaw. Best hope food blenders are cheap in Mexico, because Casas may never eat solids again.

Depressingly, this does fall very short of my expectations. The booking within the match is everything I hoped it wouldn't be (yet thankfully better than how I had read it). There's interference in the segunda, which is slightly mitigated by Sombra costing Rush the fall, and a sneak-foul that gets the win. It's kind of like the Ambrose/Rollins Summerslam brawl being slapped with a lumberjack gimmick. The guys here are talented beyond measure, and they're trying their guts out to deliver something of worth, but there's always going to be that glass ceiling. Still, remember that moment when Cole had his face hard pressed against his "Cole Mine" glass wall? That's how close this match comes to that glass ceiling. Barring some missed timings, and cutoffs, this was flawless.


----------



## LBThrizzy

KicksToFaces! said:


> Well... IMO none of these 4 are **** matches.
> Cesaro-Cena - ***3/4
> Bryan-Wyatt - ***1/2
> Bryan-HHH - ***3/4
> Bryan/Batista/Orton - ***1/4
> I do agree the first 4 were really great.


Cesaro/Cena > Nakamura/Okada


----------



## darkclaudio

NO

Cesaro vs Cena (Raw) and Wyatt vs Bryan (Royal Rumble) ***1/4


----------



## JustJoel

So, a little over the halfway mark and my WWE MOTYs are as follows:

1. Bryan/Wyatt RR ****1/2
2. Shield/Wyatt's EC ****1/2
3. Cena/Cesaro SD! - **** (TV MOTY)
4. Cesaro/Zayn Arrival - ****
5. Orton/Bryan/Batista WMXXX - ****
HM: Cena/Wyatt LMS - ****

I went back and watched these six over the last couple weeks, and yeah, Bryan/Wyatt kill RR. I came away thinking how much it put Wyatt on the map. Instant credibility, and not just for the booking. Take some heat for Cena/Wyatt LMS, but fuck that. Match was pure excitement. The rubber match mixed with so much over-the-top action just played havoc on the adrenaline. Crowd was crazy for it too. A touch slow in the middle, some overbooking at the end (did Harper _really_ need to Superplex an Uso through a table on the outside?) prevent it from cracking the top 5, but I loved it anyway. Also, lolcenawins put people off to it as well - don't give me 'spotfest' when I see ****+ dished out _on the regular_ for Puro matches that consist of little more than two dudes slinging taters at each other.


----------



## ErickRowan_Fan

I don't rate matches but three stars is the average rating so I don't see a problem with handing out 4 stars for a match that was entertaining. It's the 5-star matches where people will usually have differences of opinion, since that rating is usually reserved for memorable classics.


----------



## Concrete

JustJoel said:


> So, a little over the halfway mark and my WWE MOTYs are as follows:
> 
> 1. Bryan/Wyatt RR ****1/2
> 2. Shield/Wyatt's EC ****1/2
> 3. Cena/Cesaro SD! - **** (TV MOTY)
> 4. Cesaro/Zayn Arrival - ****
> 5. Orton/Bryan/Batista WMXXX - ****
> HM: Cena/Wyatt LMS - ****
> 
> I went back and watched these six over the last couple weeks, and yeah, Bryan/Wyatt kill RR. I came away thinking how much it put Wyatt on the map. Instant credibility, and not just for the booking. Take some heat for Cena/Wyatt LMS, but fuck that. Match was pure excitement. The rubber match mixed with so much over-the-top action just played havoc on the adrenaline. Crowd was crazy for it too. A touch slow in the middle, some overbooking at the end (did Harper _really_ need to Superplex an Uso through a table on the outside?) prevent it from cracking the top 5, but I loved it anyway. Also, lolcenawins put people off to it as well - don't give me 'spotfest' when I see ****+ dished out _on the regular_ for Puro matches that consist of little more than *two dudes slinging taters* at each other.


Please send me matches of dudes SLINGING GAWD DAMN TATERS AT EACH OTHER! That sounds like something I absolutely wanna watch. 

Casas against Rush sounds like something I should have watched yesterday.Soon enough. Hmmmm...what shall 81st anniversary yield.


----------



## Lazyking

ErickRowan_Fan said:


> I don't rate matches but three stars is the average rating so I don't see a problem with handing out 4 stars for a match that was entertaining. It's the 5-star matches where people will usually have differences of opinion, since that rating is usually reserved for memorable classics.




Agreed and I've never understood how you break down a match in half or quarter stars. I don't do stars either but *****= Great match that I could watch over and over again. Like Rey/Eddie from Halloween Havoc.


----------



## JustJoel

Concrete said:


> Please send me matches of dudes SLINGING GAWD DAMN TATERS AT EACH OTHER! That sounds like something I absolutely wanna watch.
> 
> Casas against Rush sounds like something I should have watched yesterday.Soon enough. Hmmmm...what shall 81st anniversary yield.


Honma/Shibata
Honma/Ishii (both)
Sato/KHash

Not that there's anything wrong with that, but the usual canard is that anybody can do 'spotz', and my usual response is that anybody can hit hard. It's about _how_ it's done, and what it means within the context of a match. I've long held that there are many ways to work a great one, and I think Cena/Wyatt was an example of that (think I gave Honma/Shibata ***3/4 or ****, don't remember off-hand).


----------



## Nervosa

Day 9

Naito vs. Suzuki
***1/2
This was fine. Naito got his leg worked over, but ignored it in his comeback. He also whiffed badly on several strikes, including a key koppo kick. This was a really good night for Suzuki though, so the match ended up being decent. 

Styles vs. Anderson
***
This was just there, for me. Almost had a back work story, but not really. Then some spots happened, which were ok ,but there was never a real story here. 

Goto vs. Okada
****1/4
I know everyone hates Goto, and usually no one hates him more than I do…but he’s been very good in this tournament. His timing is better, his moveset makes more sense, he sells better, and when he is in there with a quality worker, awesome stuff happens. And this was awesome stuff. It awesome because at first it feels like a normal Okada neckwork match, and then Goto hits Okada with a big lariat to kick off the comeback, and Okada starts selling like hes been knocked loopy. I know Okada’s selling has come in to question, but it was amazing here. He stumbles running the ropes, he falls during strike exchanges when its his turn, and he holds is jaw throughout the match. His jaw selling was absolutely incredibly, and the crowd rallied because Okada looked like he was fighting through being knocked loopy. There were some awesome, surprising counters at the end as well. Crowd was insane for this, buying into every nearfall.

In general I love the chemistry these two have. I gave their title match from February ****1/2 stars, and this was just under that.

Night 10

Shibata vs. Ishii
***1/2
Some really good spots, but mostly just a lamer rehash of last years match. The striking contest was great last year, this year it was just ok. The one counts were dramatic and big last year, this year they are lame. The no-selling wasn’t too problematic last year, this year it was. I did love Shibata putting one arm behind his back because of Ishii’s injury, but then Ishii ended the exchange by using his arm for a suplex, so that kinda wasted a cool visual, for me. Fun, but not amazing.

Night 11

Ishii vs. Nagata
***3/4
Loved this. Nagata wants to prove he can strike with Ishii, but when strikes don’t work, he goes to work on Ishii’s injured arm. This created some awesome drama, with the crowd rallying behind the clearly hurt Ishii. Nagata had an INCREDIBLE counter to the sliding lariat into the Nagata lock. Other than that, just the usual quality from Nagata’s matches. Ishii’s injury actually forces him to wrestle underdog again, which is great.

Okada vs. Suzuki
****1/2
This was AMAZING! Match of the tournament for me, and I’m not even kidding. The arm work by Suzuki was glorious. And the selling….the Selling! Okada sold his arm like death. It was a sight to see. The crowd got way into a long arm submission, and then they were red hot through the finishing stretch. Excellent pace, awesome counters, and the whole match played on all their previous matches. Add in the fact that Okada needed this to make the finals, and everything was there. This was just excellent.


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura 
G1 Climax 24
****1/2

I loved this match so much.It was different than their usual limb work matches which can get repetitive.This match was about the counters and sequence,and there were a lot of great ones.Tanahashi's reverse sling blade was awesome (wish Nakamura sold it better) and Nakamura's dragon screw counter was great too.They really had the crowd in the palm of their hand during the last couple minutes but unfortunately the match ended shortly after.If they had went 5 more minutes I think this would have been their best match.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Obfuscation

Playing some catch up and this lacks any form of true depth, but Naito vs Honma from the final night makes my list. Specific mention b/c two dudes I consider to be top tier best in the world level had themselves _(warning, frequent comment overload)_ a heck of a sprint. If only the finishing stretch was meant to be a killer, this would have been a supremely great match. Still great for what it was. Naito is untouchable this year _(oh he's probably my WOTY at this point, I really don't have to think about it. The heat that will follow this is gonna make me laugh. _:side & Homna, ffs. The dude feels like he can't do any wrong as long as he just tries. Which he always does. And we always support him for that. I want to shake his hand. A great man.


----------



## Nervosa

G1 Finals

Tanahashi vs. Styles
***1/2
Good action, but that’s all. Basically a move exhibition with a sloppy rollup finish. 

Nakamura vs. Okada
****
I liked it, I didn’t love it. Shinsuke sold the neck really well, which added a lot. The counters were really excellent, I guess I just wish Shinsuke’s arm strategy had been more focused. As it was, Okada sold it, but it was almost too much selling. Early part of this was also nothing too special, even if the ending stretch was good. Like I said, this was good, but I don’t get the MOTY buzz. 

Anyway, here’s my final standings for top matches of the tournament:
Okada vs. Suzuki Night 11 ****1/2
Okada vs. Styles Night 1 ****1/2

Ishii vs. Honma Night 4 ****1/4
Suzuki vs. Makabe Night 8 ****1/4
Goto vs. Okada Night 10 ****1/4
Styles vs. Suzuki Night 7 ****1/4
Styles vs. Naito Night 4 ****1/4

Makabe vs. Naito Night 7****
Honma vs. Shibata ****
Okada vs. Makabe Night 3 ****
Goto vs. Styles Day 3 ****
Tenzan vs. Goto Night 7 ****
Nakamura vs. Okada Night 12 ****
Naito vs. Okada Night 5 ****
Kojima vs. Ishii Night 2 ****
Shibata vs. Nagata Night 7 ****
Nagata vs. Nakamura Night 2 ****
Anderson vs. Okada Night 4****

Based on this, my top performers for the tournament were 
1.	Okada
2.	Styles
3.	Suzuki
4.	Makabe
5.	Goto (seriously)


Wasn't gonna watch Naito/honma because I heard bad things, but now that Hayley recommends it I probably will.


----------



## Obfuscation

Only about ten minutes. Can't hurt to give it a look. (Y)


----------



## Rah

*Drew Gulak vs Biff Busick (27/04/2014 CZW)* - fourth time's the charm. From memory, the Thatcher/Busick match felt a lot more fluid than this, and didn't "suffer" from the pitfalls of this style in running too many reset spots. I'd gladly accept that to be more on my onus than on a gripe of the match's quality, but it certainly was something that kept me out of enjoying this the first few times I did see it. That said, they are used to convey how equally matched these two are, with neither getting a deciding upper hand thus forcing the two to break and try again.

For as tight as they worked this, I'd have hoped Busick blocking Gulak's punch threats with Gulak's clasped left arm and shoulder were worked harder for. It was an ingenuitive spot that became one of a good few moments that have set this match apart from the other Gulak/Thatcher/Busick pairings we've had the past couple years. I'd have enjoyed a more focused workover from Gulak, but I can accept an argument that he latched onto whatever he could in the hopes of keeping Busick down and gaining the submission win. The changing work helped negate the lack of extended selling on Busick's part, though. Biff does shrug off his injured arm and leg, but if he's to adequately sell all of the offence Drew put on, he'd have to be acting as a paralyzed prune. Rather too little than too oddly selective, I guess.

I wouldn't place this higher than the Busick/Thatcher match, as that goes a better length and is more effective in constructing their offence and matwork, but this isn't too far from it. Sadly, I'd equate this more to an exhibition than a legitimately tremendous match. But an exhibition in the Solar/Navarro type of sense. Hell, this is probably better than the average lot of Solar/Navarro matches I've seen, to boot.


----------



## Obfuscation

Is that the To Infinity match that went like 30 minutes? I actually can't believe you liked it.


----------



## Rah

Could be. 

Didn't check the show name but I know they faced each other on back to back shows. One was good (well after three watches of it being "okayish"), the other was eh.


----------



## Obfuscation

Second match wasn't anything too special either, but I know I preferred it over the 30 minute affair. The terrible crowd for the Biff Championship win was really a bother. They wanted absolutely nothing to do w/seeing that match & it was tripe to see them boycott b/c of an angle taking out Scott Dickinson. _(who really sucks, btw)_ Only match between those two I really felt was anything sort of special was from National Pro Wrestling Day last year. Real good stuff. Captured their even to a tee essence well. And certainly stronger than all of their other matches.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Cena vs Lesnar *****


----------



## DGenerationMC

ywall2breakerj said:


> Cena vs Lesnar *****


----------



## darkclaudio

Summerslam 
*NO!
*Rollins vs Ambrose ***1/2 
Lesnar vs Cena ***


----------



## Corey

*WWE World Heavyweight Championship
*John Cena (c) vs. Brock Lesnar (_WWE Summerslam_)

How in the hell can we get a match compiled of NOTHING but german suplexes that ends up being a MOTYC. Because it's BROOOOCK LESNAR the Conqueror! God this was great. Immediately from the opening Cena makes the stupid mistake of charging Lesnar and gets hit with an F5 that made me jump out of my seat. You knew Cena never truly stood a chance after seeing that. Lesnar follows up with german suplex after german suplex after german suplex. Cena tries to fight back and hits an AA. 2 count, bitch. Lesnar sits up and MOCKS THE FUCKING UNDERTAKER!? Oh my god I love this man. That smile, that laugh. Cena is confused and beaten half to death. Paul Heyman: "Ring the bell or he's gonna kill him!" Magical. More german suplexes. Brock wants Cena to quit or have the ref stop the match. Doesn't happen. Cena tries for a fucking STFU!? Are you kidding me!? Lesnar rolls through and punches the shit out of him. He's done playing around. Picks him back up for another F5. Wins this thing clean as all fuck. Wow.

This is without a doubt the greatest squash match I've ever seen. Lesnar trained for this moment for two years after that loss to Cena in 2012. He was never going to lose, never in any danger. This entire thing was so surreal. Why didn't we just listen to Heyman like last time? This man beats everything put in front of him. Cena has never been dominated like this before, and THAT'S why this match was so great. It's unlike anything we've ever seen, JUST LIKE the last time these two faced off. The entire match was nothing but these two throwing bombs at each other and it was nearly perfect for what it was trying to accomplish. Probably now jumps out to #2 on my list behind Shield/Wyatts... for now. 

***** 1/4*

Honorable mention goes out to Rusev/Swagger and Orton/Reigns as well. Two damn good matches highlighted by an INCREDIBLE selling performance from Rusev. My goodness!


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

darkclaudio said:


> Summerslam
> *NO!
> *Rollins vs Ambrose ***1/2
> Lesnar vs Cena ***


I'd go about the same on these. If this was anybody but Cena everybody would put this match at *** or just over that but people want Cena to be utterly destroyed. Just solid booking and Brock being Brock.


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Ambrose vs Rollins 
****
Loved every second of this match,great action.Best Lumber Jack match ever.

Cena vs Lesnar 
***3/4
Decent match but a tremendous angle.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Zatiel

NO to Orton/Reigns and Rollins/Ambrose. Ambrose was a great character in his match but the lumberjacks kept distracting from should have been a substantial match.

I'm not sure about Cena/Lesnar. It's definitely the most fun I've had watching a WWE match in a while, but I'll have to re-watch it to actually judge its quality.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*WWE SUMMERSLAM 8/17*

*NO!!!
*
*Lumberjack Match:* Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose ***1/4
*WWE World Heavyweight Championship: *John Cena (c) vs Brock Lesnar ***1/2


----------



## NastyYaffa

*WWE World Heayvweight Championship:*
*John Cena (c) vs. Brock Lesnar **** - YES!*

Best WWE match I've seen all summer, tbh.


----------



## Corey

Inb4 everyone loses their shit on Ambrose vs. Rollins Falls Count Anywhere on RAW tonight. Awesome match and better than their Lumberjack Match, but not MOTYC level for me. These types of matches need to have more of an unpredictability factor or a couple surprise spots for it to make it over the 4* hump. This was a damn fun brawl with a few good spots but the ending still leaves room for more. I'll tell ya though, when these two get inside of (hopefully) Hell in a Cell and Kane doesn't get involved, it should be incredible.

This is right along the same lines as Kane/Bryan from Extreme Rules, which I also highly enjoyed. *** 3/4 for both contests.


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yes 
Ambrose vs Rollins on Raw
****1/4

Amazing match,it really overachieved.Told a great story and got Ambrose time off while making him look incredible.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Cena vs. Lesnar - **** - YES


As a match, Lesnar/Cena was really good. I'd probably give it *** 1/2-*** 3/4 as a match itself, but I bumped it up to 4 stars simply for the fact that John Cena got decimated and we haven't seen anything like that before in a championship match, just like the announcers said. It was shocking and crazy. I thought Lesnar would win but Cena barely got any offense in so it was different from the usual Cena gets beat up then overcomes the odds and wins. This time he didn't overcome the odds and he got what people have been wanting to see for a long time coming.


----------



## Obfuscation

I can't believe one person actually mentioned that DUD known as Ambrose vs Rollins Lumberjack in here. Ambrose's character couldn't outweigh the absolute mess that was.

Brock vs Cena gets a plug. b/c it was great. Don't understand the comments about "ok match, great angle" though. Umm. They go together, people. Its the same thing. unless moves to you only = a match... or Cena getting owned = a great match. Don't know which is more alarming.

Rusev vs Swagger w/their top notch selling put their match into great territory for me too. Hot damn Rusev selling the ankle like it was about snap off was phenomenal.


----------



## ZEROVampire

Random Matches

NO!!!

The Hardy Boyz vs Team 3D - Impact Wrestling 8/14 ***
NXT Championship: Adrian Neville (c) vs Tyler Breeze - WWE NXT 8/14 ***
Falls Count Anywhere Match: Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins - WWE RAW 8/18 ***1/2


----------



## Saint Dick

Hayley Seydoux said:


> I can't believe one person actually mentioned that DUD known as Ambrose vs Rollins Lumberjack in here. Ambrose's character couldn't outweigh the absolute mess that was.
> 
> *Brock vs Cena gets a plug. b/c it was great. Don't understand the comments about "ok match, great angle" though. Umm. They go together, people. Its the same thing. unless moves to you only = a match... or Cena getting owned = a great match. Don't know which is more alarming.*
> 
> Rusev vs Swagger w/their top notch selling put their match into great territory for me too. Hot damn Rusev selling the ankle like it was about snap off was phenomenal.


Exactly this. Seeing people say stuff like "I don't know how to rate that match" and "it was amazing to watch but as an actual match it was just solid", etc. What does that even mean? At least say something logical like "I can't get into a match as one sided as that, it was basically a squash" (which is a train of thought I don't subscribe to btw). For me it went 16 minutes and was thoroughly enjoyable. Brock was a fucking beast, his character work was excellent, and Cena took a ridiculous amount of punishment. Great match. *YES* for Cena/Lesnar.

Rusev/Swagger didn't hit MOTYC level for me so *NO* for that but it was very, very good. I feel the same about Ambrose/Rollins from SummerSlam. Yet to see falls count anywhere.


----------



## Zatiel

For me it was a blast to watch on first viewing. My question is whether it'll hold up, with its relatively simple story across the match length, on repeat viewings. Suzuki/Styles impressed me because it did.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*REVOLUTION PRO: SUMMER SIZZLER 6/15

REALLY GOOD MATCHES BUT NO MOTYC!*

Zack Sabre Jr vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***3/4
2 Unlimited (Jay & Patrick Sammon) vs Jake McCluskey & Will Ospreay ***3/4
Adam Cole vs Prince Devitt ***3/4 (MOTN)


----------



## ErickRowan_Fan

Lesnar/Cena is not a classic that will stand the test of time. However it was a perfectly executed match for what it was, a one-sided massacre of the biggest star in WWE for the past 10 years by a "mercenary" who had walked away from WWE 10 years ago. There's no way it can be rated as an "average match". Whenever a match makes you almost forget that it is a "work" (unless somebody actually gets hurt), it's automatically better than your average choreographed workman-like effort. 

This was nothing like the Undertaker/Lesnar match which was simply a labouring effort by Lesnar to carry an old, injured man to the end of the match. It didn't feel "big" until Taker actually lost, while Lesnar/Cena had the big match feeling throughout after Cena was nearly squashed in 20 seconds.

I hope they don't miss the opportunity to put Brock Lesnar over not only as a threat to his opponents, but the company itself. He should be treated as an "invader" who claims superiority to wrestling, easy way to turn the fans completely against him as a mega heel.


----------



## KicksToFaces!

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Inb4 everyone loses their shit on Ambrose vs. Rollins Falls Count Anywhere on RAW tonight. Awesome match and better than their Lumberjack Match, but not MOTYC level for me. These types of matches need to have more of an unpredictability factor or a couple surprise spots for it to make it over the 4* hump. This was a damn fun brawl with a few good spots but the ending still leaves room for more. I'll tell ya though, when these two get inside of (hopefully) Hell in a Cell and Kane doesn't get involved, it should be incredible.
> 
> This is right along the same lines as Kane/Bryan from Extreme Rules, which I also highly enjoyed. *** 3/4 for both contests.


Totally agree. It was really really good, I loved the Curb Stomp on the bricks spot, but still IMO it's not ****+. I can't wait for Dean to return from shooting his new movie, so maybe, we'll see a match that's even better than this one.
I actually wouldn't mind seeing them in a 30 Minute Iron Man match again because the first one was really awesome.


And btw:
Lesnar-Cena - YES! This is actually my favourite match this year, watched it 3 times already and I'm not even a Cena hater.


----------



## Obfuscation

Not sure if anyone felt Lesnar vs Cena II _(rather III)_ was a classic to stand the test of time. Merely a great match w/a stunning & well done execution. Holds up fine for me. Maybe I'm just crazy b/c I also thought Brock vs Undertaker was great too. But that was chugging on WAY harder emotion.

------------

Semi-inspired for a brief ramble b/c I have to get my plug in for Honma vs Shibata. Their forgotten classic late last year flew under the radar, but not this year. Climax was the perfect showcase to show fans what these two lunatics would do to each other if ever locked up _(in a singles match)_ again. Of all the evasions done by opponents predicating timed moments from clear "studying" in preparation vs Shibata, Honma & Shibata's tit for tat display may have been the best of the bunch. So many sequences were turned on its ear in that one. Honma's most defiant match yet. He was ON _(full display)_ more than he has been all tournament. Splendid.


----------



## Obfuscation

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Konosuke Takeshita - _DDT: Ryogoku Peter Pan 8/17_


A genius match. Nearly flawless in execution. _The impossible dream._​
Truthfully, I couldn't be happier w/how this match turned out. Konosuke's anointed role of being The Future has put him in line for the ultimate pressure test. A one on one battle vs New Japan's Ace at the biggest event for DDT of the year. X factors at play put the kid's back up against the wall. It was welcomed w/plenty of determination & honor. Wanting to prove the future is here and now by scoring what would no doubt be the upset of the year & all the while giving massive kudos to his home promotion, DDT, on their own turf vs the resident juggernaut in Puroresu. Not one, but two large goals to accomplish for Konosuke. Narrative leaps off the page once the bell rang. Tanahashi, often met w/grand fanfare, was met w/little to no support by the loyal DDT audience. Over 9,000 plus in favor of hot young prospect. Facial expressions tell the story at every turn. Tana is a bit miffed, or rather impressed by the reaction. It soon would grow to prepared respect as the battle would rage on.

Tana's early bump on the turnbuckle was nuts. Got an honest holy shit reaction out of me. Absolutely loved how that moment didn't last long before Tana scrambled to used his brain and sustain the advantage on his side only moments later. That would end Konosuke's brief control of the match. From this point on it would be an uphill battle. Tana would soon appear to be egging Konosuke on the remainder of the control segment. Wanting him to plow into him w/harder strikes & a more passionate attempt at unseating his status as the Ace. Tana was great in this role. It deviated from the norm of his more traditional formula and showed how he's got legs in other areas. w/o acting like a random dick for the specific match like he's done this year vs Nakamura & Honma. The target of the midsection & eventual capture of the dragon screw to work the legs all tied into the strong Texas Cloverleaf sequence. Immense drama as Konosuke was clinging to survive the pain & reach the ropes. His facial expressions during this moment were glorious. You can feel every bit of pain. Every lunge for the ropes speaking out a greater desire than we can imagine. I swear even the official was rooting for him to make the ropes. A booming sequence. As were all the times Konosuke met Tana's demands of finally striking back w/everything he had. Tana had an answer following every time it happened, which only made the execution of everything that much more complete, but Tana's selling of it was, whew, another positive adjective, b/c I may be running out at this point. Going one moment from looking like _"this is too easy"_ to _"wow, I better end this the next time I have my chance"_ had me glued. Between Konosuke's selling of being physically & mentally depleted in the home stretch, his bursts of adrenaline entering & exiting his body were neatly timed. Busting out his Yakuza Kick & attempted top rope brainbuster combo, stemming from his debut match vs El Generico two years ago, always wins my heart. It never felt more essential than it did here. Loved how Konosuke turned the brainbuster fail into the top rope ace crusher. Hell of a moment. Followed by an even more believable counter cradle. Gosh, kid was on fire in the finish. Deadlift german moment :mark: Just when you knew all he needed was one more chance to snake in a pinfall or hit his final blow, Tana was Tana & went back to his back of tricks that rarely ever fail. Wrap around neckbreaker counter spun the fiery spirit of the youngster _(And DDT...)_ straight down on their head. Almost signifying the final death blow in the constant upheaval to triumph. As Tanahashi only moments earlier looked like he didn't want to have to end it for the kid & the fans, he knew it was time. The most crushing High Fly Flow I can remember seals the deal & give New Japan another successful outing at DDT's shining moment of the year. You can hear the breath leave everyone in the crowd on the slap of the three count. It may have not ended happy for Konosuke's but the appreciation shown by the fans at the end lets him know that they'll always have his back for the remainder of what should be a very successful career.

Everything that should have happened in this match did. That's what blew me away so much by it. From the can't miss story that was put out for the world to see, to the top notch work by both Tana & Konosuke, respectively. It really won me over. And in the way I think they absolutely wanted it to happen. Pro-DDT. Pro-Konosuke. Hanging off every moment it looked like he will win. Magical stuff. Adored it all. From start to bittersweet finish.


----------



## Lazyking

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Konosuke Takeshita - DDT: Ryogoku Peter Pan 8/17

YES!

Watched this on Hayley's rec and being the big Tana mark I am. So glad I did. Great stuff. Tana knew he was the heel and each time the young kid rose up, Tana was there to bring him back down. I cringed at that turnbuckle spot with Tana almost hitting his head on the post. Never seen that before. Marked big time for the El Generico inspired spots. Also that like GTS like manuvear by Konosuke. Never seen that before.

Konosuke is only 19? That is freaking amazing.

Anything else from the show I should check out?


----------



## Bubz

*G1 Day 7
AJ/Suzuki* - There was some swell stuff in this for sure, but the 5 star reactions are way over the top. It's not even that the thing with AJ checking on the ref annoyed me so much (it did annoy me), but the actual stuff they did in it wasn't supportive of the 5 star rating I've been seeing. They started doing ankle lock exchanges for no reason at all. that was my biggest problem with it. But apart from that I did really enjoy it. Some of the exchanges were definitely incredible and both guys did really well with the limb work. One criticism I don't get is AJ ignoring the arm work which I didn't think he did, I thought he sold it really well and Suzuki was awesome in control. AJ has been by far my favourite guy in this tournament so far, just beating out Okada. His character stuff was off in parts here but he never seemed to wrestle that differently to his other matches so far, only more intense because it looked like him and Suzuki straight up hated each other at the start. I thought the match was overall great despite the annoyances. ******

*Nakamura/Ishii* - I really liked this, typical of what you'd expect from these two really. No real control or workover but a lot of neat sequences and hard hitting that I felt worked. Ishii is very hit and miss for me, sometimes his formula works, sometimes I hate it. I guess it depends who he's working but Nakamura complemented him well here. The final sequence ruled. ******


----------



## Groovemachine

Just caught up on Summerslam as I've been away, and to be honest nothing really stood out for me. Lesnar/Cena had its moments, and Cena's comeback was a great little segment, but I thought it wasn't anything special. I enjoyed the fire shown by both Ambrose and Rollins in their match, but the Lumberjack stip was a bit messy. So yeah, nothing MOTYC worthy from me. 

The Ambrose vs Rollins Falls Count Anywhere match from Raw the next night was very good and a fitting stop gap until Dean's return. The spots got more and more violent and were built up to very well. Kane's interference continues to be an annoying, unnecessary part of this feud and took away a bit from the final rating, but this was definitely ***3/4 and one of the better Raw main events we've had in a while.

Also realised I never went through my G1 ratings on here! I loved the tournament as a whole but didn't go quite so orgasmic on the well-received matches as others have. For me, the cream of the crop were:

Minoru Suzuki vs AJ Styles - NJPW G1 Climax Day 7 - ****1/4

Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW G1 Climax Finals Day 12 - ****

Katsuyori Shibata vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 4 - ****

Tomohiro Ishii vs vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 4 - ****

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax Day 7 - ***3/4

Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax Day 10 - ***3/4

Yuji Nagata vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax Day 11 - ***3/4

AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 4 - ***3/4

So yeah, in my eyes, Ishii rocked it once again. MVP for the tournament.


----------



## Obfuscation

Lazyking said:


> Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Konosuke Takeshita - DDT: Ryogoku Peter Pan 8/17
> 
> YES!
> 
> Watched this on Hayley's rec and being the big Tana mark I am. So glad I did. Great stuff. Tana knew he was the heel and each time the young kid rose up, Tana was there to bring him back down. I cringed at that turnbuckle spot with Tana almost hitting his head on the post. Never seen that before. Marked big time for the El Generico inspired spots. Also that like GTS like manuvear by Konosuke. Never seen that before.
> 
> Konosuke is only 19? That is freaking amazing.
> 
> Anything else from the show I should check out?


About to watch the main event right now, so I'm hoping it delivers like it can. Ibushi vs Kondo was real good. It was worked as a spectacle & contained an entire match where they threw bombs at each other, but was held together w/the story of Ibushi wanting to triumph on DDT's big stage like he should as their beloved Ace. Brought his recent injury into play, which was super swell stuff.

Entire show is a blast. I'd give it a rec.


----------



## The Black Mirror

*My ratings for SummerSlam...

Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins - WWE SummerSlam 2014 (August 17, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT RECOMMENDED)

John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) - WWE SummerSlam 2014 (August 17, 2014) - ★★★★ (YES/RECOMMENDED!)*


----------



## Obfuscation

*Flag Match*

Alexander Rusev vs Jack Swagger - _WWE: SummerSlam 8/17_​
Rusev wins SummerSlam was my original grandiose statement and I still feel that way. What a man. What a way to sell a truly mangled body part the way he did. Pain etched in his face was worse than being dragged across a bunch of jagged shards of glass. Credit to Rusev's fabulous performance in the match, he was assisted by working vs a great wrestler in his own right, in Jack Swagger. Swagger provided a strong job in his role capturing the pride of America all within his work. Sold his equally damaged body part well at every point here. Ankle lock false finish was SO amazing. Unthinkable almost happened; Rusev openly looked like he was about to submit. It wasn't a decent moment. It was a supremely credible moment. It looked like a dream was about to quickly become a reality. Great match between two real gems among the current WWE roster.


----------------

*WWE World Heavyweight Championship*
John Cena(c) vs Brock Lesnar - _WWE: SummerSlam 8/17_​
F-5. German suplex. Knees to the gut. All you need to demolish Cena if you're Brock Lesnar. Magic follows these two in both of their outings. An excellent match all built up by its unique approach. Brock's facial expressions & talk during his matches always has a neat way of putting the story over the top. Lines like "I WILL KILL YOU", "you made a big mistake" & "DIE, DIE" say it all. That was Brock's MO. Cream of the crop was the Taker insult. Sitting up & looking at Cena a la the Dead Man. Brilliant. The kid in me hates him for doing so & that makes me love it all the more. By no means was this a one man show. Cena was great in this too. If only for being simply John Cena. _(Yes, Brock was great for simply being Brock, too Both have the magnanimous power to do so)_ Cena's selling was sympathetic & earnest. He's been down this road once before, knowing it would happen again. He tried taking it Brock a few times, but that never came close to working. It was his small windows of hope to be his guide in attempting to win the match. A flurry here & his big flurry there in the middle where it looked like he was gonna snake out another sh6ocker victory. Cena is so awesome to where he doesn't come close to holding anything back in those short moments he is on offense. Lays into Brock HARD w/the elbows. Best part is, I bet Brock encourages it. These two know how to make it all feel so natural. It's electric. Every blow. Every moment. You know something big can go down. Personally don't have a problem w/the STF moment. It was one final drag of dramatic flare before Brock finally decided to pussyfoot around & end the massacre. We've seen it time & time again that Cena can inch a out a victory in a flash w/that hold, so teasing the fans that it would happen one more time was great in my eyes. Whole aura of the match was so surreal. Not quite as surreal as Brock vs Taker, but close. Throughout this you kept saying, ok when is Cena gonna make is comeback? And pardon a flurry, it wasn't there. You kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting. Until it hits you that Cena isn't gonna find that chance. Humanity as WWE knew it was slipping. Not only has a god fallen at the hands of Brock Lesnar. But now their strong willed, modern day superhero will too. Domination. Destruction. Devastation. All words to sum this match up. However, there is truly only one appropriate word for it all; CONQUERED. Welcome to the Brock Lesnar era.


----------



## KingKicks

I wanted to get caught up with NJPW before heading back to university, so I spent the last couple of weeks watching as much as possible and boy have New Japan been having a great year.

*NJPW Wrestle Kingdom*

Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata - ******
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito – *****¼*
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - ******

*NJPW New Beginning in Osaka*

Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii – *****½*

*NJPW Strong Style 42nd Anniversary Show*

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi - *****¼*

*NJPW Invasion Attack*

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito - ******

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - ******

*NJPW Wrestling Dontaku*

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma - *****¼*

*NJPW Back to Yokohama Arena*

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kota Ibushi - ******

AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada - ******

*NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XXI: Day 8*

Ricochet vs. KUSHIDA – ******

*NJPW Dominion*

The Young Bucks vs. Timesplitters – ******

Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet – *****¼*

Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata & Tomoaki Honma - *****¼*

*NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 1*

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Katsuyori Shibata - ******

AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada - ******

*NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 4*

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata - ******

AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito - ******

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma - *****¼*

*NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 5*

Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito - ******

*NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 7*

AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki - *****¼*

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - *****¼*

*NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 8*

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomoaki Honma - *****¼*

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - ******

*NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 11*

Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki - ******

*NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 12*

AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - *****¼*

Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - *****¾*


----------



## NastyYaffa

Been doing some re-watching, and here's my current top-30:

*******
*1*. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazuchika Okada - NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 12

*****3/4*
*2*. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki - NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 7
*3*. The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family - WWE Elimination Chamber
*4*. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H - WWE Wrestlemania 30
*5*. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn - NXT ArRival

*****1/2*
*6*. AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 12
*7*. Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt - WWE Royal Rumble
*8*. Ricochet vs. KUSHIDA - NJPW Best of Super Juniors XXI
*9*. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista - WWE Wrestlemania 30
*10*. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 7

*****1/4*
*11*. Time Splitters vs. reDRagon - NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 12
*12*. Prince Devitt vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. - PROGRESS Chapter 13
*13*. Time Splitters vs. The Young Bucks - NJPW Dominion
*14*. Cesaro vs. John Cena - WWE RAW 02/17
*15*. The Young Bucks vs. reDRagon - ROH War of the Worlds
*16*. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW Invasion Attack

******
*17*. Paige vs. Emma - NXT ArRival
*18*. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane - WWE Extreme Rules
*19*. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar - WWE SummerSlam 
*20*. The Young Bucks vs. Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan - PWG ELEVEN
*21*. Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet - NJPW Dominion
*22*. AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito - NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 4
*23*. The Usos vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan - WWE Battleground
*24*. Randy Orton vs. Cesaro vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Christian vs. Sheamus vs. John Cena - WWE Elimination Chamber
*25*. Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan - WWE RAW 02/03

****3/4*
*26*. Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins - WWE RAW 08/18
*27*. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW G1 Climax Day 4
*28*. Adam Cole vs. Kevin Steen - ROH Global Wars 
*29*. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Steen - ROH War of the Worlds 
*30*. Yuji Nagata vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax Day 11

Most matches:
Daniel Bryan - 6 matches
Shinsuke Nakamura - 4 matches
AJ Styles - 3 matches
Cesaro - 3 matches
Randy Orton - 3 matches.

So as you can see, Bryan is still my WOTY. He had some great matches before he got injured.


----------



## Shotakan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAwbWnydrH0


The day Saito decided he wasn't taking any shit anymore. I loved this match. You had Sugiura thinking he was going to take it easy against a man who barely qualified as a has-been, and instead eats it. It's almost a low-end Kobashi/Honda, although I hate making the comparison because it puts undue expectations on the match. Still, it's a great story of the younger, more accomplished athlete having to struggle to keep up with the old vet with nothing to lose. Ugly, UGLY finish. ***3/4


----------



## Natecore

I'm surprised in a MOTY thread the total shitfest that was Brock Cena from SummerSlam is having any kind words thrown it's way. It's the very definition of a match that didn't deliver on the promise of the build. And that's the original sin in professional wrestling. It's a cardinal sin for all promoters and bookers to build and promise to deliver on a main event and then proceed to not deliver on a match. Cena/Brock had no business being a Main Event for the second biggest show of the year. It needed to be nothing more than a Raw segment. How a wrestling fan can allow the WWE to get away with this is fascinating to me. The only thing I got out of that match was the realization that the WWEN has changed the E forever and I for one am not excited about a future main events not delivering. You can only do that when you value your product at $9.99.

I will never watch that squash again and it'll forever be a gigantic disappointment for me. I rank it right along with The Finger Poke of Doom. I was 12 when I saved all my money up to see Nitro in the Georgia Dome that night and it was a huge let down to promise a Main Event then have it be unbelievable dreck.

Brock/Cena SummerSlam 2014 was, is and forever will be a DUD and the worst match I'll ever see.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

I rewatched Brock vs cena a few hours ago for the fourth or fifth time. I love it and find it thoroughly entertaining but only around ***1/2 for me.


----------



## BillThompson

Brock/Cena from SS is the very definition of a match that delivered on its build. The build was Brock saying he was going to completely destroy Cena, and Cena saying that wouldn't happen. The match happened and Brock completely destroyed Cena delivering on what the build had told you might happen. Not only was it a well worked match, but it was tremendous booking, a great payoff, a breath of fresh air for the company, and hopefully an angle that pans out in the long run.


----------



## Groovemachine

Two matches worth pimping from PWG Eleven:

*Adam Cole vs Roderick Strong - ***3/4*

Terrific stuff here; shame the Kendrick/Kazarian match killed off the crowd, but Cole and Strong eventually brought them back into it. Some nice subtle work on Strong's knee provided a throughline for the match. These guys have worked together numerous times before so they were able to keep the pace up and make everything look smooth and sleek. 

*Guerrilla Warfare match:
World's Cutest Tag Team vs The Young Bucks - *****

Brutal! Gummy bear stuff was funny but I'm not sure comedy has a place in a Guerrilla Warfare match. It was brief though so I'm not too bothered. Candice took some ridiculous bumps; that tandem piledriver on the outside, sheesh! Not to mention the superkick with the tack-embedded shoe, that was like a gunshot going off. For me though, the sickest bump was Matt almost 'bowling' the trash can end-first into Joey's face. Disgusting.


----------



## KingKicks

****** from me also for the Guerrilla Warfare match. The tack superkick on Candice was utterly insane!


----------



## Alan4L

Updated for 8/30 (New additions in bold) 

NOW JAN 1 – DEC 31 

*WWE: *
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (2/23) *****
*The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family (7/20) ****1/2
Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose (Falls Count Anywhere) (8/18) ****1/2*
Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Batista (4/6) ****1/2
Daniel Bryan vs. HHH (4/6) ****1/2
Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (1/26) ****1/2
Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (2/27) ****1/2
Antonio Cesaro vs. John Cena (2/17) ****1/2
John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt (Last Man Standing) (6/1) ****1/2
The Shield vs. Evolution (5/4) ****1/4
The Elimination Chamber (2/23) ****1/4
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (4/8) ****1/4
John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt (4/6) ****1/4
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (3/3) ****1/4
*Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (8/17) ****1/4
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins (Lumberjack Match) (8/17) ****
The Wyatt Family vs. The Usos (7/7) *****
John Cena vs. Luke Harper (3/24) ****
Real Americans vs. The Shield (3/24) ****
Antonio Cesaro vs. Randy Orton (2/17) ****
The Shield vs. Bryan/Cena/Sheamus (1/27) ****
Paige vs. Emma (2/27) ****
CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns (1/6) ****
The Shield vs. CM Punk & The Usos (1/3) ****
Rusev vs. Big E (6/29) ****
The Wyatt Family vs. The Usos (6/29) ****
The Shield vs. Evolution (Elimination) (6/1) ****

*Puro: *
Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (1/16) (DG) *****
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii (2/11) (NJPW) ****3/4
Ricochet vs. Uhaa Nation (3/6) (DG) ****3/4
Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk (5/9) (DG) ****3/4
*Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Shinobu (6/30) (BJW) ****3/4
Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki (8/8) (NJPW) ****3/4
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito (7/28) (NJPW) ****3/4
Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (8/10) (NJPW) ****3/4
Minoru Suzuki vs. AJ Styles (8/1) (NJPW) ****3/4
Tomoaki Honma vs. Katsuyori Shibata (8/3) (NJPW) ****3/4
Yuji Nagata vs. Tomohiro Ishii (8/8) (NJPW) ****3/4
Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada (8/4) (NJPW) ****1/2
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii (8/6) (NJPW) ****1/2
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shelton Benjamin (7/28) (NJPW) ****1/2
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (7/26) (NJPW) ****1/2
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma (7/26) (NJPW) ****1/2
Yuji Nagata vs. Tomoaki Honma (7/23) (NJPW) ****1/2
AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada (7/21) (NJPW) ****1/2
The Millennials vs. Mochizuki/Dragon Kid (8/17) (DG) ****1/2
Takagi/Tozawa vs. The Millennials (7/20) (DG) ****1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (8/3) (NJPW) ****1/2
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (8/1) (NJPW) ****1/2
HARASHIMA vs. Kenny Omega vs. Isami Kodaka (8/17) (DDT) ****1/2*
Takagi/Yoshino/Tozawa vs. Hulk/Doi/Kong vs. Kanda/Kagetora/QuuQuu vs/ Eita/T-Hawk/Flamita (4/8) (DG) ****1/2
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii (4/6) (NJPW) ****1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (4/6) (NJPW) ****1/2
Takagi/Yoshino/Tozawa vs. Susumu/Kagetora/Horiguchi vs, Eita/Maria/Flamita (3/6) (DG) ****1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi (3/6) (NJPW) ****1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito (1/4) (NJPW) ****1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto (2/11) (NJPW) ****1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (2/9) (NJPW) ****1/2
Okada/Nakamura/Ishii vs. Goto/Tanahashi/Naito (2/2) (NJPW) ****1/2
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kota Ibushi (5/25) (NJPW) ****1/2
Tozawa/Takagi vs. Mochizuki/Fujii (5/5) (DG) ****1/2
YAMATO vs. Ricochet (5/5) (DG) ****1/2
The Young Buck$ vs. The Timesplitters (6/21) (NJPW) ****1/2
Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet (6/21) (NJPW) ****1/2
Flamita vs. Jimmy Susumu (5/5) (DG) ****1/4
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma (5/3) (NJPW) ****1/4
Daisuke Harada vs. Atsushi Kotoge (4/19) (NOAH) ****1/4
AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada (5/25) (NJPW) ****1/4
YAMATO vs. Uhaa Nation (4/8) (DG) ****1/4
Taiji Ishimori vs. Daisuke Harada (3/8) (NOAH) ****1/4
Akebono vs. Go Shiozaki (2/23) (AJPW) ****1/4
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii (3/15) (NJPW) ****1/4
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara (1/19) (NOAH) ****1/4
Shibata/Goto vs. Okada/YOSHI-HASHI (2/9) (NJPW) ****1/4
Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki (2/5) (AJPW) ****1/4
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto (1/4) (NJPW) ****1/4
Jun Akiyama vs. Takao Omori (6/15) (AJPW) ****1/4
Goto/Shibata vs. Tanahashi/Naito (7/4) (NJPW) ****1/4
Monster Express vs.. The Millennials (7/3) (DG) ****1/4
Monster Express vs. The Jimmys (6/5) (DG) ****1/4
Mochizuki/Kid vs. T-Hawk/Eita (6/5) (DG) ****1/4
*Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito (8/3) (NJPW) ****1/4
Lance Archer vs. AJ Styles (8/3) (NJPW) ****1/4
Yuji Nagata vs. Katsuyori Shibata (8/1) (NJPW) ****1/4
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto (8/1) (NJPW) ****1/4
Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito (8/1) (NJPW) ****1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (8/8) (NJPW) ****1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii (7/31) (NJPW) ****1/4
AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito (7/26) (NJPW) ****1/4
Kazuchika Okada vs. Togi Makabe (7/25) (NJPW) ****1/4
Hirooki Goto vs. Togi Makabe (7/21) (NJPW) ****1/4
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (7/21) (NJPW) ****1/4
Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii (7/23) (NJPW) ****1/4
Twin Towers vs. Yankee Nichokenju (5/31) (BJW) ****1/4
Antonio Honda vs. Shigehiro Irie (6/15) (DDT) ****1/4
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (8/3) (NJPW) ****1/4
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Satoshi Kojima (8/4) (NJPW) ****1/4
Tetsuya Naito vs. Minoru Suzuki (8/4) (NJPW) ****1/4
BxB Hulk vs. Naruki Doi (8/17) (DG) ****
AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (8/10) (NJPW) ****
The Timesplitters vs. reDRagon (8/10) (NJPW) ****
Minoru Suzuki vs. Togi Makabe (8/3) (NJPW) ****
Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (7/26) (NJPW) ****
AJ Styles vs. Hirooki Goto (7/28) (NJPW) ****
AJ Styles vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (7/31) (NJPW) ****
Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (7/28) (NJPW) ****
Karl Anderson vs. Hirooki Goto (7/31) (NJPW) ****
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma (7/21) (NJPW) ****
Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi (7/23) (NJPW) ****
Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (7/23) (NJPW) ****
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (7/23) (NJPW) ****
KUDO vs. Shigehiro Irie (6/29) (DDT) ****
Yuji Nagata vs. Naomichi Marufuji (7/5) (NOAH) ****
Dangan Yankees vs. TMDK (7/5) (NOAH) ****
Daisuke Harada vs. Kenou (7/5) (NOAH) ****
Fujii Heya vs. Maria/Hayashi (8/5) (DG) ****
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bad Luck Fale (8/8) (NJPW) ****
Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer (8/6) (NJPW) ****
Isami Kodaka vs. Akito (7/20) (DDT) ****
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (7/21) (NOAH) ****
Ryouji Sai vs. KAI (8/3) (Z1) *****
Sekimoto/Miyahara vs. Hino/Sato (6/8) (FD) ****
Goto/Shibata vs. Honma/Makabe (6/29) (NJPW) ****
Jimmy Susumu vs. T-Hawk (5/31) (DG) ****
Kenny Omega vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (5/30) (NJPW) ****
Kenny Omega vs. El Desperado (6/3) (NJPW) ****
Golden Lovers vs. Yankii Ni Cho Kenji vs. Endo/Takeshita (1/26) (DDT) ****
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (1/12) (DG) ****
Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!! vs. Super Shiisa (1/12) (DG) ****
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (1/4) (NJPW) ****
Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi (1/4) (NJPW) ****
KENTA vs. Takeshi Morishima (1/5) (NOAH) ****
Mascara Dorada vs. Volador Jr. (1/19) (NJPW) ****
Akebono vs. Kento Miyahara (3/18) (AJPW) ****
Masato Yoshino vs. Ricochet (3/2) (DG) ****
The Jimmys vs. CIMA/Shiisa/K-Ness (3/2) (DG) ****
Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!! vs. Yosuke SantaMaria (3/1) (DG) ****
Yuji Nagata vs. KENTA (2/22) (NOAH) ****
Nakamura/Ishii vs. Naito/Tanahashi (3/6) (NJPW) ****
Yuji Nagata vs. Mohammed Yone (5/17) (NOAH) ****
Millennials vs. Kid/K-Ness/Shiisa (5/5) (DG) ****
Escape The Cage Mascara Contra Caballera (5/5) (DG) ****
Millennials vs. Ricochet/Takagi/Yoshino (5/9) (DG) **** 
HARASHIMA vs. KUDO (3/21) (DDT) ****

*PWG: *
*ACH vs. Cedric Alexander (7/26) ****1/4*
African-American Wolves vs. Inner City Machine Guns vs. Unbreakable F'N Machines (3/28) ****1/4
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Johnny Gargano (3/28) ****1/4
Chris Hero vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Drake Younger vs. Kyle O’Reilly (1/31) ****1/4
Mount Rushmore vs. Gargano, Alexander, Lee (5/23) ****1/4
Rich Swann vs. AR Fox (5/23) ****
ACH vs. Ricochet (5/23) ****
Trevor Lee vs. Andrew Everett vs. Cedric Alexander (3/28) **** 
Inner City Machine Guns vs. African American Wolves (1/31) ****

*DGUSA/EVOLVE:*
Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet (4/4) ****1/4
Masato Tanaka vs. Chris Hero (4/4) ****1/4
AR Fox vs. Chris Hero (2/23) ****1/4
Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong (2/23) ****
Nese/Trent vs. Swann/Strickland (2/23) ****
Ricochet vs. Chris Hero (1/10) ****	

*ROH: *
reDRagon vs. The Young Buck$ (5/17) ****1/2
AJ Styles vs. Roderick Strong (2/1) ****1/4
Chris Hero vs. Roderick Strong (3/7) ****1/4
reDRagon vs. The Young Buck$ (3/8) ****1/4
AJ Styles vs. Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada (5/17) ****
Kevin Steen vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (5/17) ****
reDRagon vs. Adrenaline RUSH (2/21) ****

*wXw:*
Tommy End vs. Jonathan Gresham (3/15) ****1/2
Adam Cole vs. Chris Hero (3/16) ****1/4
Johnny Gargano vs. Big Van Walter (3/15) ****1/4
Hot & Spicy vs. Inner City Machine Guns (3/14) ****1/4

*Other:*
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (6/15) (RevPro) ****3/4
*Ricochet vs. Akira Tozawa (7/26) (DGUK) ****1/2
The Hardy Boyz vs. The Briscoes (4/26) (OMEGA) ****1/2*
Prince Devitt vs. Adam Cole (6/15) (RevPro) ****1/2
Virus vs. Titan (1/28) (CMLL) ****1/2
Jimmy Havoc vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (1/26) (PROGRESS) ****1/4
Swords Of Essex vs. FSU (1/26) (PROGRESS) ****1/4
Prince Devitt vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (5/18) (PROGRESS) ****1/4
Danny Cannon vs. Michael Elgin (3/9) (IWA: MS) ****1/4
*CIMA vs. Naruki Doi (7/26) (DGUK) ****1/4
BxB Hulk vs. YAMATO (7/25) (DGUK) ****1/4
The Wolves vs. The Hardy Boys (7/31) (TNA) ****1/4
Haskins/Scurll vs. Ricochet/Tozawa (DGUK) *****
2Unlimited vs. Osperay/McCluskey (6/15) (RevPro) ****
Marty Scurll vs. Kevin Steen (6/15) (RevPro) ****
Swords Of Essex vs. Project Ego vs. London Riots vs. Haskins/Samuels (5/18) (PROGRESS) ****
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Josh Alexander (6/8) (SMASH) ****
Jimmy Havoc vs. Rampage Brown vs. Marty Scurll (3/30) (PROGRESS) ****
Timothy Thatcher vs. Drew Gulak (4/4) (Wrestling Odyssey) ****
Timothy Thatcher vs. Biff Busick (4/13) (Beyond) **** 
Danny Cannon vs. Buxx Belmar vs. Davey Vega vs. Matt Cage (2/16) (Beyond) ****


----------



## almostfamous

Alan4L said:


> *Other:*
> Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (6/15) (RevPro) ****3/4


This sounds great (how did I miss this?). Is it worth getting the whole show?


----------



## NastyYaffa

almostfamous said:


> This sounds great (how did I miss this?). Is it worth getting the whole show?


I think he is overrating the match tbh. The match was good but definitely not a ****3/4 match lol. My rating for it is ****


----------



## KicksToFaces!

Just rewatched the Guerrilla Warfare match from the Anniversary show, and it's awesome. IMO the best PWG match this year. It really was great. Candice is a fucking badass! I loved how Joey Ryan was her damsel in distress.  I also loved the Thumbtacks Balls-Plex ending spot too. :clap
****1/4

My personal top 10 of the year:

1. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kazuchika Okada - NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 12 - ****3/4
2. John Cena vs Brock Lesnar - WWE SummerSlam 2014 - ****1/2 (greatest squash of all time, I really love this match and I'm not even a Cena hater)
3. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 7 - ****1/2
4. AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 7 - ****1/4
5. Sami Zayn vs Cesaro - NXT ArRIVAL 2014 - ****1/4
6. World's Cutest Tag Team vs The Young Bucks - PWG ELEVEN - ****1/4
7. Chris Hero vs AJ Styles - ROH Flyin' High 2014 - ****1/4
8. The Shield vs The Wyatt Family - WWE No Way Out 2014 - ****
9. Kota Ibushi vs Ricochet - NJPW Dominion 2014 - ****
10. The Young Bucks vs ReDRagon - ROH/NJPW War of The Worlds - ****


----------



## Obfuscation

NastyYaffa said:


> I think he is overrating the match tbh. The match was good but definitely not a ****3/4 match lol. My rating for it is ****


Lets talk about his opinion on HARASHIMA vs Omega vs Kodaka instead. 8*D


----------



## NastyYaffa

ROH All Star Extravaganza 6:
AJ Styles vs. Adam Cole - ****

EDIT: Changed the rating of Cole/Styles after re-watching it.


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yes
AJ Styles vs Adam Cole 
****1/2
Awesome match a bit slow paced but still I loved it.I thought the 1st Pele spot was one of the best spots of the year.Loved this a lot.

Not Sure 
ReDRagon vs The Young Bucks 
Not sure how to rate this cause the link I watch the sound was synced up wrong so I watched it with the sound off,so not sure how much the crowd was into it.I do believe the work was ****+ however.Gonna have to rewatch this.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## NastyYaffa

NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way:
Adrian Neville vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd - ****1/2

Top-10 WWE matches ATM:
1. The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family - Elimination Chamber - ****3/4
2. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H - Wrestlemania 30 - ****3/4
3. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn - ArRival - ****3/4
4. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista - Wrestlemania 30 - ****1/2
5. Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd - Takeover: Fatal 4-Way - ****1/2
6. Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt - Royal Rumble - ****1/2
7. Cesaro vs. John Cena - RAW 02/17 - ****1/4
8. Paige vs. Emma - ArRival - ****
9. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane - Extreme Rules - ****
10. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar - SummerSlam - ****


----------



## Lazyking

NXT takeover Fatal Four way:

Zayn vs. Neville vs. Breeze vs. Kidd

Great match, definte YES MOTYC imo. Loved the teases of Neville and Zayn and that finishing stretch was off the charts.


----------



## almostfamous

NXT fatal-4-way is definitely over 4 stars. Really enjoyed it, great story-telling, a must watch. Probably ****1/4.


----------



## darkclaudio

NO

*NXT Championship Match*: Adrian Neville © vs Sami Zayn vs Tyson Kidd vs Tyler Breeze ***1/4


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NXT Takeover: Fatal 4 Way*

*NXT Championship:* Adrian Neville (c) vs Tyler Breeze vs Sami Zayn vs Tyson Kidd

Ok this match was pretty entertaining, the story in the ring was good. The finish was not bad, but not is the best. Definitely this match is not MOTYC, and not is in my top 10 of WWE matches.

*NO!*
****1/2*


----------



## Obfuscation

Fatal Four Way Match was perfect. That's a "five star" bout & worthy of why that phrase was coined. As painful as the ending was, god damn it knocked me for a loop. Excitement w/wrestling in North America still does exist. Most definitive match w/that gimmick since Final Four in '97.

Sami Zayn, still BITW.


----------



## TigerDriver91

Meh


----------



## Chismo

The 4-way ruled indeed. I refuse to label NXT as a WWE product, tbf. ****1/2, same like Cesaro/Zayn.



Hayley Seydoux said:


> Lets talk about his opinion on HARASHIMA vs Omega vs Kodaka instead. 8*D


It was a fantastic 3-way, Top 3 ever. Everyone was glorious in the match, particularly Kodaka. You seen that short Kodaka/Akito gem? You seen that recent IRIE All Asia tag? You seen that most recent Burning/Xceed title tag? You seen Kotaro/Nakajima? Or Hikaru/Aoki? 

All Japan is fabulous, shame they only air twice a month, meanwhile that truck of shit called NOAH gets 5 dates a month. Imagine how much of Marufuji that is.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

> All Japan is fabulous, shame they only air twice a month, meanwhile that truck of shit called NOAH gets 5 dates a month.


Literally everyone on the NOAH roster is better than the fucking Triple Crown champion.


----------



## Chismo

And my dead grandma is better than the fucking GHC Heavyweigth Champion. Better hairdo and more personality too. All that while being dead for six years now.


----------



## Obfuscation

I know I'd take Joe Doering over Marufuji. And All Japan over NOAH, for that matter too.

Chismo, I've seen some & still need to see others. If anyone can make me like an Aoki match, it will be Hikaru Sato. I hope. I got tomorrow to cram the rest. But we're on two areas for the DDT three way. I hated it. Basically a DUD.


----------



## seabs

*Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn vs Tyson Kidd vs Tyler Breeze - NXT Takeover II*
_This was way better than I imagined it being. I guess whether you love it or just like it pretty much depends on how much you dig the middle section of the match with Kidd in control but I really enjoyed it personally. Setup to it with the suplexes was neat and I thought Kidd worked that segment just right for most of it. That extended chinlock segment should have been scrapped though because the story was Kidd needed to grab the win while he had Zayn on his own but instead some WWE agent clearly told them to have a rest hold segment before they enter the finishing stretch because that's how the WWE formula has to work. Thought Kidd was really good in this. Neville was ok. I don't think having him working with Zayn so often does him any favours because he'll always be overshadowed by Zayn's charisma compared to his. I thought his facial expressions to sell the finish were great though. The match kinda passed Breeze by although I thought his selling of his near falls were brilliant. He was basically the 3rd] 4th wheel in this but he had a simple and short story which was told really well with him trying to steal the win. That near fall off the SSP was one of the best near falls I've seen in a long time because it fit so perfectly into the story for it to be an actual finish. Zayn obviously stole the show. That dive onto Neville looked reckless as hell which was awesome. A finishing stretch this long I'd normally dislike but with 4 guys who can fall in and out it worked. Probably around a top 5 match this year._

*YES ****1/4+*


----------



## Groovemachine

*Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn vs Tyler Breeze vs Tyson Kidd - WWE NXT Takeover II - ****1/4*

The action in this was great but for me it was all about the storytelling. For a match that predominantly focused on the exchanges between Zayn and Neville, they did a wonderful job of keeping Kidd and Breeze relevant. Kidd in particular looked very strong in his control segment. Nearfall off the SSP was perfectly executed, and I'm so pleased it was an SSP rather than the Red Arrow; we're hooked in thinking it could be the finish, and yet the kickout doesn't ruin any of Neville's main offense. Thus when the Red Arrow connects later on, it has such significance. Zayn and Neville had classics on the indy circuit, so we know what they're capable of technically, but here they show they can back that up with character progression and solid storytelling. The reactions regarding the last few minutes were sublime. Easily in my top 10 for the year.


----------



## NastyYaffa

*ROH Death Before Dishonor XXI:* 

*AJ Styles vs. Kyle O'Reilly - ****1/4 - YES!*
*The Young Bucks vs. The Briscoes - **** - YES!*

Great stuff.


----------



## The Black Mirror

*Some matches I have seen recently:

ACH vs. Cedric Alexander - PWG ELEVEN (July 26, 2014) - ★★★¾ (NO!/NOT RECOMMENDED)

The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. The World's Cutest Tag Team (Candice LeRae and Joey Ryan) - PWG ELEVEN (July 26, 2014) - ★★★★ (YES!/RECOMMENDED)

Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd - NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way (September 11, 2014) - ★★★★¼ (YES!/RECOMMENDED)*


----------



## ZEROVampire

*TNA Impact Wrestling: No Surrender 9/17

TNA World Tag Team Championship - Ladder Match: 
The Wolves (c) vs Team 3D vs The Hardyz
****

YES!*


----------



## NastyYaffa

ZEROVampire said:


> *TNA Impact Wrestling: No Surrender 9/17
> 
> TNA World Tag Team Championship - Ladder Match:
> The Wolves (c) vs Team 3D vs The Hardyz
> ****
> 
> YES!*


Nice, gotta check that out. My current TNA MOTY is Wolves vs. Hardyz, was this better than that?


----------



## Chismo

That 3-way ladder match: DUD.




*Union 8/31*

*Union MAX Championship*: Shuji Ishikawa vs. Hikaru Sato ©

_As much as I freakin’ love this match, I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone. It goes half an hour, it’s slow, sluggish and methodical, and its physical selling is mostly based on fatigue and exhaustion. You really have to be into the characters to fully grasp and appreciate this beauty of the match, I dug it immensely, an excellent match between two great pro-wrestlers who are both having a career year. Well, Hikaru at least._

****1/4​


----------



## ZEROVampire

NastyYaffa said:


> Nice, gotta check that out. My current TNA MOTY is Wolves vs. Hardyz, was this better than that?


Hardyz vs Wolves is ***1/4, on that show Aries vs Lashley was better for me. But the last night match was AWESOME. I saw the Hardyz of ten years ago in this match, Matt and Jeff make a incredible performance in this match.


----------



## Raindust

*
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kazuchika Okada (Finals) **** 1/2

Minoru Suzuki vs AJ Styles (Day 7) **** 1/4

Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada (Day 11) **** 1/4

Katsuyori Shibata vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (Day 4) ****

AJ Styles vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (Finals) ****

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii (Day 7) ****

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Day 10) ****

Tomoaki Honma vs Tomohiro Ishii (Day 4) ****

Tetsuya Naito vs AJ Styles (Day 4) *** 3/4

AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada (Day 1) *** 3/4

Tomoaki Honma vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Day 8) *** 3/4

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Day 1) *** 3/4

Yuji Nagata vs Katsuyori Shibata (Day 7) *** 3/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Day 8) *** 3/4

Yuji Nagata vs. Tomohiro Ishii (Day 11) *** 3/4

Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada (Day 9) *** 3/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma (Day 1) *** 1/2

Kazuchika Okada vs Togi Makabe (Day 3) *** 1/2

Kazuchika Okada vs Karl Anderson (Day 4) *** 1/2

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yuji Nagata (Day 4) *** 1/2

Tomoaki Honma vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Day 5) *** 1/2

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii (Day 6) *** 1/2

Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA vs. Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish (Finals) *** 1/2
*


----------



## darkclaudio

*No
*
*TNA World Tag Team Championship - Ladder Match*: The Wolves (c) vs Team 3D vs The Hardyz ***1/2 - TNA No Surrender 2014


----------



## wildpegasus

Aj Styles vs Kyle IO' Reily was terrific fighting spirit wrestling. Very well put together and a definite MOTY candidate.


----------



## Chismo

C/P from lucha thread:



> My reaction for main event and the aftermath:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Watched the opener, cabellera match and main event, obviously. Opener was good enough, three stars. Cabellera was FANTASTIC, CMLL's got themselves something truly special in Cavernario, dude's already the Top 10-15 material, world wide, if they don't fuck him up he might become a huge draw, the Mistico level. Rey Cometa impressed as well. *****1/2*
> 
> Main event was cinematic, incredible and immensely emotional, such a rollercoaster of feels, the whole aura of the match was bigger than life. Technically, the match WAS NOT perfect, but this is not gymnastics where you grade moves and execution, no, this is pro-wrestling - a complicated yet so simple art of performing and entertaining the crowds. *****3/4*


----------



## hgr423

wildpegasus said:


> Aj Styles vs Kyle IO' Reily was terrific fighting spirit wrestling. Very well put together and a definite MOTY candidate.


Yes but Bobby Fish interfered in the match. He pulled AJ's leg when the ref wasn't looking. As much as I enjoyed the match, matches with outside interference can't be considered for MOTY.


----------



## asdf0501

Chismo said:


> C/P from lucha thread:


Tag title match was also pretty great. If you have been follow the rivalry between Shocker/Casas vs Los ingobernables. Another take on probably the best thing going on in CMLL


----------



## NastyYaffa

hgr423 said:


> Yes but Bobby Fish interfered in the match. He pulled AJ's leg when the ref wasn't looking. As much as I enjoyed the match, matches with outside interference can't be considered for MOTY.


Well, I personally have Jericho/Michaels from No Mercy 08 rated 5-stars, and it did indeed include an outside interference by Lance Cade. So obliviously matches with ouside interferences CAN be considered MOTYC's.


----------



## EscapedIllusion

hgr423 said:


> Yes but Bobby Fish interfered in the match. He pulled AJ's leg when the ref wasn't looking. As much as I enjoyed the match, matches with outside interference can't be considered for MOTY.



Honestly that may be the stupidest thing I have ever read on this thread.

Fish pulling AJ's leg added to the story of the match.I didn't think the match was all that great but just because there was interference doesn't mean it's automatically a lesser match.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Brock

hgr423 said:


> Yes but Bobby Fish interfered in the match. He pulled AJ's leg when the ref wasn't looking. As much as I enjoyed the match, matches with outside interference can't be considered for MOTY.


What lol. Brock/Punk immediately springs to mind, he'll HBK/Mankind is one if the best WWF matches from the 90's full stop, and that ended in a DQ after a clusterfuck finish.


----------



## antoniomare007

yeah, I'ma need a link for that Dory/Brody match that keeps changing on Chismo's sig.


----------



## Chismo

antoniomare007 said:


> yeah, I'ma need a link for that Dory/Brody match that keeps changing on Chismo's sig.


----------



## Obfuscation

What was the main event on the CMLL show you pimped a few posts above?


----------



## asdf0501

Atlantis vs Ultimo Guerrero. Mask vs mask
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x26agzp_atlantis-vs-ultimo-guerrero-mask-vs-mask_sport

I think it seriously a runner for MOTY


----------



## almostfamous

Hayley Seydoux said:


> What was the main event on the CMLL show you pimped a few posts above?


Here ya go. Atlantis vs Ultimo Guerrero.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKRR9wv-buM


----------



## asdf0501

almostfamous said:


> Here ya go. Atlantis vs Ultimo Guerrero.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKRR9wv-buM


Resolution is better in the link from the cubsfan Daylimotion page i posted before. That video of youtube is taked directly from the Terra stream but on worst resolution, i don't know why, maybe the page was working slowly


----------



## almostfamous

asdf0501 said:


> Resolution is better in the link from the cubsfan Daylimotion page i posted before. That video of youtube is taked directly from the Terra stream but on worst resolution, i don't know why, maybe the page was working slowly


Yup, I didn't see your post. Go with that one.

I still trying to process how I felt about the match. Like how do you quantify/rank a performance like that? The in ring action wasn't overwhelming or anything, but the emotion invoked is incredible. It's like comparing apples to oranges with some of the G1 climax matches.


----------



## asdf0501

If you base matches on workrate sure. But then Davey Richards is the best wrestler in the world and not a mong, which i'm sure he is.

Match was worked beautifully and is as far as you can get on emotion today on mask matches considering that the violence and blood isn't there anymore to put the epicness. To get two guys with more than twenty years of history was a great idea and you don't need pure workrate to get a compelling story, the spot where Atlantis is able to lock the Atlantida for the second time only to colapse on the ropes, for example, is probably the best sequence i saw on a match this year BY FAR


----------



## Chismo

Rush & Mascara vs. Casas & Shocker ****1/4

Not on the level of the apuesta matches, but great nevertheless. Tercera was smashing.




almostfamous said:


> I still trying to process how I felt about the match. Like how do you quantify/rank a performance like that? The in ring action wasn't overwhelming or anything, but the emotion invoked is incredible. It's like comparing apples to oranges with some of the G1 climax matches.


Wrestling is about telling stories, that's the ultimate goal, it's just that not everyone uses the same tools. With that in mind, Ishii/Honma is no different than Atlantis/Ultimo and vice versa. Or Lesnar/Cena from SummerSlam (which I find fantastic and 10x better than ER).


----------



## Rah

Did you guys watch the tag with Mascara replaced by Sombra? It's on the CMLL 7/18 show as a lead-in for the apuesta. Probably the best tag match that isn't Shield/Wyatts and rather western (Southern tag) in its structure so I'm sure most will be able to appreciate the tale it weaves.

Sombra may just be the most improved wrestler of 2014.


----------



## Raindust

*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata ***3/4 NJPW Destruction 2014 Kobe NO!* 

*Shinsuke Nakamura vs Bad Luck Fale ***1/4 NJPW Destruction 2014 Kobe NO! *


----------



## Groovemachine

*Zack Sabre Jr vs Biff Busick - Evolve 35 - *****

A glorious technical affair here. Sabre Jr seems intent on snapping Busick's arm off throughout the whole match via a wealth of different holds, some of which are cringe-worthy. Busick was on form too, and I literally jumped out of my seat when he slapped on a rear naked choke out of Zack's bridging pin. The match didn't outstay its welcome, which is never a bad thing but honestly I would have liked a few more minutes. Testament to both guys, no doubt. Sabre Jr needs to be brought back to the States as soon as is feasibly possible.


----------



## antoniomare007

*Atlantis vs Último Guerrero - CMLL Aniversario 81*

I've only seen a couple of Lucha matches in my life so I'm far from the best person to have an opinion on this match. But I'm on the camp of "very good, emotional match", didn't seem like a classic to me. Kinda felt like Michaels vs Taker at WM 26 with the big move-kickout-sell-move-kickout layout. But then again, I have no connection to both guys so I probably missed a very important piece to completely "get" what they were doing. The post-match was something else though.

And damn, is commentary always that horrible in current Lucha? Not that they were saying anything wrong but the lack of real (or believable) emotion for such a big match was surprising. I was expecting something resembling to Eduardo Lama, Carlos Aguilar and Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. in Box Azteca.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*CMLL ANIVERSARIO 81*

*NO!!!*

*Cabellera contra Cabellera: Cavernario vs Rey Cometa ***1/4
Mascara contra Mascara: Atlantis vs Ultimo Guerrero ***


----------



## flag sabbath

There was lots to love about KUSHIDA vs Taguchi. Both went for the kill from the off, and the limb work, blocks & counters were really compelling ******


----------



## Chismo

Yep, Taguchi/Kush was marvelous, and I like even more than you, it was done so well I'm going ****1/2 for it, I'm just a sucker for a focused, minimalistic style.

Also, I loved Cena/Lesnar, would've loved it even more if they didn't make Rollins a numbskull. ****


----------



## hgr423

EscapedIllusion said:


> Honestly that may be the stupidest thing I have ever read on this thread.
> 
> Fish pulling AJ's leg added to the story of the match.I didn't think the match was all that great but just because there was interference doesn't mean it's automatically a lesser match.
> 
> 
> Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


The point is that it was illegal and it would have been a DQ if the ref saw it. I'm not saying it's a lesser match but as fans we shouldn't be encouraging that type of behavior by including those matches in MOTYC lists. It's up to us to stop it by not rating those matches highly.


----------



## BillThompson

Seriously, what exactly are you on about? Interference has always been a part of wrestling, always will. Sometimes it's bad and can hurt a match, sometimes it actually helps the story of a match. A match can be a MOTYC and have bad interference, it all depends on the given match and the given interference. People need to keep rating great wrestling highly, simple as that.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NO!!!*

*NJPW DESTRUCTION in KOBE 9/21*

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship:* KUSHIDA (c) vs Ryusuke Taguchi ***1/2
Katsuyori Shibata vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***3/4
*IWGP Intercontinental Championship: *Bad Luck Fale (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***1/4

*WWE Night of Champions 9/21*

*WWE United States Championship:* Sheamus (c) vs Cesaro ***1/4
*WWE World Heavyweight Championship:* Brock Lesnar (c) vs John Cena **3/4


----------



## Japanese Puroresu

Kyle O'Reilly vs AJ Styles ****1/2.


----------



## Chismo

*NJPW Destruction 2014 in Kobe*

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

_After the first watch, I thought this was good, but not great. But then I got this feeling, my gut was telling me to watch again because I missed something, and it was right, this match was fantastic. It feels like a complete match, like something’s come to an end, like the stage one of the rivalry is now over, that post-match handshake is big, and it affects the bell-to-bell action too, that handshake was a significant part of the whole story they told here. These two have a tremendous chemistry together, they really upgraded and build on the first two matches, so like I already said, it felt like a complete match and there was this tangible sense of closure. I loved how Tana was booked here, one part of the story was that his style of puroresu is better than Shibata’s style, it was clear cut storytelling and you could feel it every time Tana made transitions from Shibata inspired stiffness to his own arsenal of signature spots. “First I’m gonna stand toe-to-toe with you in YOUR OWN puroresu, than I’m gonna finish you off with mine, SUPERIOR puroresu, ergo, I AM A BETTER MAN!” Fantastic stuff all around._

****1/2​


----------



## BKKsoulcity

O'Reilly and Styles >>>>> Cole and Styles

That Toronto match is extremely overrated


----------



## Groovemachine

*KUSHIDA vs Ryusuke Taguchi - NJPW Destruction 2014 - ****1/4*

LOVED THIS. Such good limb work and some incredibly slick and impressive counters. A gargle of joy legit escaped my throat as KUSHIDA countered the half nelson into a guillotine choke. Yep, KUSHIDA made me gargle...can't sing any higher praise than that. Absolutely fantastic finishing stretch only further sealed this as a high MOTYC, currently #8 on my list.


----------



## darkclaudio

No AJ Styles vs Kyle O'Reilly ***1/2


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Finally caught up with G1

I can't remember the last time I posted but holy shit *Okada/Suzuki *from night 11 surprised the hell out of me and is probably my MOTY, with* AJ/Suzuki* being a hair behind it. YES to both. 

Both are **** 1/2 and my MOTYs so far. 



As for the finals:

AJ/Tanahashi - ****
Okada/Nakamura - **** 1/4 (wow this was really slow towards the beginning and I was disappointed but they really turned this around as the match progressed - awesome stuff)


----------



## flag sabbath

So *YES!* & *YES!* for El Cavernario vs. Rey Cometa (*****1/4*) and Atlantis vs. Ultimo Guerrero (*****1/4*) from CMLL 81 Aniversario. Both were pretty special, albeit for very different reasons.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*AJ Styles vs Kyle O'Reilly from Death Before Dishonor (ROH TV 9/13) ***1/2 NO!*


----------



## Raindust

*
Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW G1 Climax 24 Finals 2014) ****1/2 YES!

Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 11 2014) **** 1/4 YES!

Minoru Suzuki vs AJ Styles (NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 7 2014) ****1/4 YES!

Ricochet vs KUSHIDA (NJPW Best of Super Jr XXI 2014) ****1/4 YES!

Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (Dragon Gate Infinity #324 2014) ****1/4

Ricochet vs. Uhaa Nation (Dragon Gate 3/6 2014) ****1/4

Tomohiro Ishii vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW Back to the Yokohama Arena 2014) ****1/4

Ricochet vs Johnny Gargano (DGUSA Open The Ultimate Gate 2014) ****1/4

AJ Styles vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW G1 Climax 24 Finals 2014) ****

Sami Zayn vs Cesaro (NXT ArRival 2014) *****


----------



## Bruce L

Revisiting, month-by-month, the matches that stand out in my memory as MOTYCs, and seeing how well they stack up. January first, obvs:


*YES!*

*Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt *(WWE, 1/26) — ★★★★¼

*Masaaki Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk *(Dragon Gate, 1/12) — ★★★★¼


*Not Quite*

*Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata *(NJPW, 1/4) — ★★★★

*DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Title match
Johnny Gargano (c) vs. Uhaa Nation *(EVOLVE, 1/12) — ★★★★

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship match
Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. Hajime Ohara *(NOAH, 1/19) — ★★★¾

*AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Championship match
Último Dragón (c) vs. Atsushi Aoki *(AJPW, 1/2) — ★★★¾

*FIP World Championship match
Trent Barreta (c) vs. Anthony Nese *(EVOLVE, 1/10) — ★★★¾


*NO!*

*Open the Dream Gate Title match
Masato Yoshino (c) vs. Masaaki Mochizuki *(Dragon Gate, 1/16) — ★★★½


February later tonight or tomorrow.


----------



## Rah

*NOMINATE*


*Caifan vs Rey Hechicero (05/07/2014 Luchamania Monterrey)* - Witnessing the opening matwork, here, I can't even begin to imagine what Solar/Hecichero must have pulled out at the beginning of this year. Hechicero seems clearly on his way to becoming the next maestro of Lucha with his ability to trap his opponent from almost any angle. For two guys who have known each other and tagged together for more than half a decade, though, they sold their knowledge well and developed a well woven story of both men fighting to prove themselves as the best man of the now defunct duo. Because of this, we're treated to some of the most beautiful counter-counter wrestling all year. Caifan may be a little more straight-shot in his matwork approach, but it was Hechicero's typical flare for fluff that caught him out and placed control mostly within his opponent's hands as the opening work moved on. What Hechicero's always had over Caifan, though, is his raw strength and when he starts busting this out in trying to get one-up on Caifan, this match seperates itself from the pack of other contenders.

Cena lifting Lesnar with one arm may have been impressive, but seeing Hechicero deadlift Caifan off the mat and onto his shoulder with his trapped arm was awe-inspiring. Hechicero's comebacks may have left him rejuvinated in ego, egging a now grounded Caifan on, but Caifan alwas dictated the pace and could bring Hechicero back down to size - most especially with a grizzly powerbomb onto a rugged-looking garden chair. What has always been a specialty of both men, though, is their ability to time spots and build towards them so they mean something and come across as integral in the greater scheme of things. Each high spot allowed for the match to not only breathe, but take on a new direction with just enough play on the old pathway that it didn't come across as wasted time as may be the habit of other self-conscious Lucha epics. They, at least, stayed succinct to their cause.

Without the rather odd counter spots towards the end, this may have been my match of the year. It's not a wholly damaging case, but it is one that left me scratching my head. The Irish Whip to the turnbuckle and hanging onto the ropes have become tropes of wrestling, but they're hardly effective in this environ when the opponent has already seen the spot coming and still plays into it. It's a different instance when the turnbuckle headstand is used by Dean Allmark, as his audience is predominantly children and he wrestles a more goofy/cartoonish match. Within a deciding mano-a-mano, though, it just makes the other guy come across as a chump. Strong MotYC, regardless.


----------



## flag sabbath

*HARASHIMA vs. Keisuke Ishii (DDT, 13/9)* is a cracking title match. The champ dominates with a masterful midsection workover until Ishii hits that one killer move which turns him from a scrappy underdog into a serious threat. It`s just a shame this didn't take place before DDT`s Korakuen faithful ******


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Meltzer just gave Tanahashi and Shibata 5 stars ....haven't watched it yet but thoughts?


----------



## flag sabbath

More DDT goodness, this time from Korakuen on 28/9, as Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi defend the tag titles against Tetsuya Endo & Konosuke Takeshita. The champs appear to have everything well in hand, but these youngsters possess oodles of never-say-die ******


----------



## Groovemachine

The Young Bucks vs ReDRagon - ROH All-Star Extravaganza VI - ****1/4

Fabulous stuff; they used the 2 out of 3 falls stip well here, building on each fall, peaking at the right moment. Better than their War of the Worlds match, although both are admittedly very good. The Bucks continue to bust out new and innovative offense; how the hell do they keep doing it?


----------



## Chismo

flag sabbath said:


> *HARASHIMA vs. Keisuke Ishii (DDT, 13/9)* is a cracking title match. The champ dominates with a masterful midsection workover until Ishii hits that one killer move which turns him from a scrappy underdog into a serious threat. It`s just a shame this didn't take place before DDT`s Korakuen faithful ******





flag sabbath said:


> More DDT goodness, this time from Korakuen on 28/9, as Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi defend the tag titles against Tetsuya Endo & Konosuke Takeshita. The champs appear to have everything well in hand, but these youngsters possess oodles of never-say-die ******


I have yet to check those two shows, but oh my fuck, Endo/Ishii from 8/31 was incredible. Sanshiro Takagi deserves all the Booker of the Year awards possible.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*DDT DRAMATIC GENERAL ELECTION 2014 9/28

KO-D Tag Team Championship: Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi (c) vs Tetsuya Endo & Kenosuke Takeshita
****

YES!!!*


----------



## Máscara Dorada

*NOMINATE*

*Diamante Azul, Dragon Lee & La Sombra vs. Cavernario, Hechicero, ***** Casas* *14/09/16, CMLL Guadalajara* (Watch it on YouTube)

Everyone gave it their best in this match. The usually bland luchador Diamante Azul looked legit strong here. Watch how La Sombra launches his partner Dragon Lee like 15 feet up in the air on the final dive. Hechicero & Cavernario keeps being impressive and they both looked very good here. Hechicero even managed to submit La Sombra at one point. I think the fact that everyone looked their best here is what makes the match so good. I loved how Cavernario got some height on his reverse plancha finisher, he should do it like this at all times. Anyway, you should watch this, it's a great match!

*****1/4*


----------



## Máscara Dorada

*Some other nominations:
*
*YES for:*

Titán/Cavernario - ****3/4
Rey Cometa/Cavernario - ****1/4
Caifan/Rey Hechicero - ****1/4

*Barely*
The Young Bucks/ReDRagon- ****
Atlantis/Ultimo Guerrero ****


----------



## Bubz

I actually watched some PWG for the first time this year, and that Young Bucks/Joey & Candice Guerilla Warfare match is up there with the most I've enjoyed watching wrestling this year. Candice is amazing, Bucks are still doing the dick thing better than almost anyone, but when you've got Bucks being extra dickish to a woman and superkicking her with thumbtacks and piledriving her on a concrete floor and throwing chairs at her head it's even more entertaining than ever. Some of the stuff in this is...insane. Sounds weird but I could watch Candice get obliterated by the likes of Bucks, Steen or Cole forever and it would be enjoyable all the time because nobody can create sympathy like that. Her blade job in this is sick. Oh and Joey Ryan was there, never been a fan but he's fine in his role.


----------



## Raindust

*AJ Styles vs Kyle O'Reilly Death Before Dishonor (ROH TV 9/13) *** 3/4* Nope.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Michael Elgin vs. Tommaso Ciampa (Death Before Dishonor in Chicago) ****3/4 = YES

Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano (DGUSA Wrestlemania Weekend Show) ****1/4 = YES

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Destruction) ****1/2 = YES


----------



## ZEROVampire

*No MOTYC but RECOMMENDED*
*
Open the Twin Gate Titles:* Eita & T-Hawk vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid - Dragon Gate: Dangerous Gate 8/17 ***3/4
Eita & T-Hawk vs Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora - Dragon Gate: Summer Adventure Tag League 9/23 ***1/2 (_Hot Crowd_)


----------



## Bruce L

Belated February rewatch ratings. March/April to come... sometime.


*YES!*

*The Shield vs. the Wyatt Family *(WWE, 2/23) — ★★★★½

*NEVER Openweight Championship match
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii *(NJPW, 2/11) — ★★★★½

* Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn *(WWE [NXT], 2/27) — ★★★★½

* Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, & Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, & Tomohiro Ishii *(NJPW, 2/2) — ★★★★½

* IWGP Intercontinental Championship match
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura *(NJPW, 2/9) — ★★★★¼


*Not Quite*

* John Cena vs. Antonio Cesaro *(WWE, 2/17) — ★★★★

* IWGP Heavyweight Championship match
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hirooki Goto *(NJPW, 2/11) — ★★★★

* Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan *(WWE, 2/3) — ★★★★


*NO!*

* GHC Heavyweight Championship match
Yuji Nagata (c) vs. KENTA *(NJPW, 2/11) — ★★★½

*AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship match
Akebono (c) vs. Go Shiozaki *(AJPW, 2/23) — ★★★½ 

*Jr. Battle of Glory, Block A
Kotaro Suzuki vs. Atsushi Aoki *(AJPW, 2/5) — ★★★½


----------



## Chismo

Well, the Next Generation vs. Golden Lovers tag from 9/28 was fabulous, almost a perfect match, one of the greatest stories of the year, the masterpiece from the magical workshop of Sanshiro Takagi who simply MUST "collect" all the Booker of the Year awards available. That's how you put over young guns, folks. ****3/4

I gotta rewatch Honda/Togo, but as of right now, this is the GOAT DDT match.


----------



## Stardust Genius

*Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jonatham Gresham @ wXw World Triangle League Night 1*

For me one of top 5 matches I have seen live. They started with some classic british mat wrestling and great counters. After that, Zack attacked the arm of Gresham to prepare the armbar, whereas Gresham attacked the leg of Zack. At the end there were some submission battles and high impact moves to avoid the time limit draw. I don't have seen the match on DVD yet, but for the live experience I would give *****1/4 - ****1/2* and of course a "yes".


----------



## ZEROVampire

*TNA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - FULL METAL MAYHEM
The Wolves (c) vs The Hardyz vs Team 3D
Impact Wrestling 10/8
***3/4

No MOTYC but Recommended

Really good 3-Way Tag Team Series from TNA.*


----------



## Raindust

*The Wolves (c) vs The Hardyz vs Team 3D (TNA Impact Wrestling 10/8) ***3/4


Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi (c) vs Tetsuya Endo & Kenosuke Takeshita (DDT Dramatic General Election) **** 1/4 YES!*


----------



## Raindust

*Destruction in Okayama

IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership Match

Karl Anderson vs. Kazuchika Okada

*** 1/2

NO*


----------



## Alan4L

Updated for 10/12 (New additions in bold) 

NOW JAN 1 – DEC 31 

*WWE: *
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (2/23) *****
The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family (7/20) ****1/2
Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose (Falls Count Anywhere) (8/18) ****1/2
Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Batista (4/6) ****1/2
Daniel Bryan vs. HHH (4/6) ****1/2
Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (1/26) ****1/2
Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (2/27) ****1/2
Antonio Cesaro vs. John Cena (2/17) ****1/2
John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt (Last Man Standing) (6/1) ****1/2
*Cesaro vs. Sheamus (9/21) ****1/2*
The Shield vs. Evolution (5/4) ****1/4
The Elimination Chamber (2/23) ****1/4
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (4/8) ****1/4
John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt (4/6) ****1/4
The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (3/3) ****1/4
Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (8/17) ****1/4
*Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd (9/11) *****
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins (Lumberjack Match) (8/17) ****
The Wyatt Family vs. The Usos (7/7) ****
John Cena vs. Luke Harper (3/24) ****
Real Americans vs. The Shield (3/24) ****
Antonio Cesaro vs. Randy Orton (2/17) ****
The Shield vs. Bryan/Cena/Sheamus (1/27) ****
Paige vs. Emma (2/27) ****
CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns (1/6) ****
The Shield vs. CM Punk & The Usos (1/3) ****
Rusev vs. Big E (6/29) ****
The Wyatt Family vs. The Usos (6/29) ****
The Shield vs. Evolution (Elimination) (6/1) ****

*Puro: *
Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (1/16) (DG) *****
*The Jimmys vs. The Millennials (9/23) (DG) *****
Akira Tozawa vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (10/9) (DG) ****3/4*
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii (2/11) (NJPW) ****3/4
Ricochet vs. Uhaa Nation (3/6) (DG) ****3/4
Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk (5/9) (DG) ****3/4
Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Shinobu (6/30) (BJW) ****3/4
Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki (8/8) (NJPW) ****3/4
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito (7/28) (NJPW) ****3/4
Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (8/10) (NJPW) ****3/4
Minoru Suzuki vs. AJ Styles (8/1) (NJPW) ****3/4
Tomoaki Honma vs. Katsuyori Shibata (8/3) (NJPW) ****3/4
Yuji Nagata vs. Tomohiro Ishii (8/8) (NJPW) ****3/4
*CIMA/Gamma vs. The Millennials (9/9) (DG) ****3/4
Golden Lovers vs. Happy Motel (9/28) (DDT) ****1/2
KUSHIDA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (9/21) (NJPW) ****1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata (9/21) (NJPW) ****1/2
Irie/Ishii vs. Suzuki/Miyahara (8/16) (AJPW) ****1/2*
Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada (8/4) (NJPW) ****1/2
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii (8/6) (NJPW) ****1/2
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shelton Benjamin (7/28) (NJPW) ****1/2
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (7/26) (NJPW) ****1/2
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma (7/26) (NJPW) ****1/2
Yuji Nagata vs. Tomoaki Honma (7/23) (NJPW) ****1/2
AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada (7/21) (NJPW) ****1/2
The Millennials vs. Mochizuki/Dragon Kid (8/17) (DG) ****1/2
Takagi/Tozawa vs. The Millennials (7/20) (DG) ****1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (8/3) (NJPW) ****1/2
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (8/1) (NJPW) ****1/2
HARASHIMA vs. Kenny Omega vs. Isami Kodaka (8/17) (DDT) ****1/2
Takagi/Yoshino/Tozawa vs. Hulk/Doi/Kong vs. Kanda/Kagetora/QuuQuu vs/ Eita/T-Hawk/Flamita (4/8) (DG) ****1/2
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii (4/6) (NJPW) ****1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (4/6) (NJPW) ****1/2
Takagi/Yoshino/Tozawa vs. Susumu/Kagetora/Horiguchi vs, Eita/Maria/Flamita (3/6) (DG) ****1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi (3/6) (NJPW) ****1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito (1/4) (NJPW) ****1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto (2/11) (NJPW) ****1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (2/9) (NJPW) ****1/2
Okada/Nakamura/Ishii vs. Goto/Tanahashi/Naito (2/2) (NJPW) ****1/2
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kota Ibushi (5/25) (NJPW) ****1/2
Tozawa/Takagi vs. Mochizuki/Fujii (5/5) (DG) ****1/2
YAMATO vs. Ricochet (5/5) (DG) ****1/2
The Young Buck$ vs. The Timesplitters (6/21) (NJPW) ****1/2
Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet (6/21) (NJPW) ****1/2
Flamita vs. Jimmy Susumu (5/5) (DG) ****1/4
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma (5/3) (NJPW) ****1/4
Daisuke Harada vs. Atsushi Kotoge (4/19) (NOAH) ****1/4
AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada (5/25) (NJPW) ****1/4
YAMATO vs. Uhaa Nation (4/8) (DG) ****1/4
Taiji Ishimori vs. Daisuke Harada (3/8) (NOAH) ****1/4
Akebono vs. Go Shiozaki (2/23) (AJPW) ****1/4
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii (3/15) (NJPW) ****1/4
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara (1/19) (NOAH) ****1/4
Shibata/Goto vs. Okada/YOSHI-HASHI (2/9) (NJPW) ****1/4
Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki (2/5) (AJPW) ****1/4
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto (1/4) (NJPW) ****1/4
Jun Akiyama vs. Takao Omori (6/15) (AJPW) ****1/4
Goto/Shibata vs. Tanahashi/Naito (7/4) (NJPW) ****1/4
Monster Express vs.. The Millennials (7/3) (DG) ****1/4
Monster Express vs. The Jimmys (6/5) (DG) ****1/4
Mochizuki/Kid vs. T-Hawk/Eita (6/5) (DG) ****1/4
Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito (8/3) (NJPW) ****1/4
Lance Archer vs. AJ Styles (8/3) (NJPW) ****1/4
Yuji Nagata vs. Katsuyori Shibata (8/1) (NJPW) ****1/4
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto (8/1) (NJPW) ****1/4
Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito (8/1) (NJPW) ****1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (8/8) (NJPW) ****1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii (7/31) (NJPW) ****1/4
AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito (7/26) (NJPW) ****1/4
Kazuchika Okada vs. Togi Makabe (7/25) (NJPW) ****1/4
Hirooki Goto vs. Togi Makabe (7/21) (NJPW) ****1/4
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (7/21) (NJPW) ****1/4
Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii (7/23) (NJPW) ****1/4
Twin Towers vs. Yankee Nichokenju (5/31) (BJW) ****1/4
Antonio Honda vs. Shigehiro Irie (6/15) (DDT) ****1/4
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (8/3) (NJPW) ****1/4
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Satoshi Kojima (8/4) (NJPW) ****1/4
Tetsuya Naito vs. Minoru Suzuki (8/4) (NJPW) ****1/4
*Jun Akiyama vs. Kento Miyahara (9/15) (AJPW) ****1/4
Shingo Takagi vs. Dragon Kid (10/9) (DG) ****1/4
Shuji Kondo vs. Kaz Hayashi (9/22) (W-1) ****1/4
Monster Express vs. Team Veteran Returns (9/23) (DG) ****
Go Shiozaki vs. Joe Doering (9/15) (AJPW) ****
Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Takashi Sugiura (8/31) (BJW) ****
Hirooki Goto vs. Togi Makabe (9/21) (NJPW) ****
Anderson/Gallows vs. Okada/YOSHI-HASHI (9/21) (NJPW) ****
Goto/Shibata vs. Tanahashi/Makabe (9/15) (NJPW) ****
Suwama vs. Go Shiozaki (8/16) (AJPW) ****
Miyahara/Suzuki vs. Akiyama/Kanemaru (7/27) (AJPW) ****
Atsushi Aoki vs. Hikaru Sato (7/27) (AJPW) ****
Keisuke Ishii vs. Tetsuya Endo (8/31) (DDT) ****
Timesplitters vs. Suzuki-gun (9/23) (NJPW) *****
BxB Hulk vs. Naruki Doi (8/17) (DG) ****
AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (8/10) (NJPW) ****
The Timesplitters vs. reDRagon (8/10) (NJPW) ****
Minoru Suzuki vs. Togi Makabe (8/3) (NJPW) ****
Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (7/26) (NJPW) ****
AJ Styles vs. Hirooki Goto (7/28) (NJPW) ****
AJ Styles vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (7/31) (NJPW) ****
Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (7/28) (NJPW) ****
Karl Anderson vs. Hirooki Goto (7/31) (NJPW) ****
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma (7/21) (NJPW) ****
Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi (7/23) (NJPW) ****
Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (7/23) (NJPW) ****
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (7/23) (NJPW) ****
KUDO vs. Shigehiro Irie (6/29) (DDT) ****
Yuji Nagata vs. Naomichi Marufuji (7/5) (NOAH) ****
Dangan Yankees vs. TMDK (7/5) (NOAH) ****
Daisuke Harada vs. Kenou (7/5) (NOAH) ****
Fujii Heya vs. Maria/Hayashi (8/5) (DG) ****
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bad Luck Fale (8/8) (NJPW) ****
Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer (8/6) (NJPW) ****
Isami Kodaka vs. Akito (7/20) (DDT) ****
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (7/21) (NOAH) ****
Ryouji Sai vs. KAI (8/3) (Z1) ****
Sekimoto/Miyahara vs. Hino/Sato (6/8) (FD) ****
Goto/Shibata vs. Honma/Makabe (6/29) (NJPW) ****
Jimmy Susumu vs. T-Hawk (5/31) (DG) ****
Kenny Omega vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (5/30) (NJPW) ****
Kenny Omega vs. El Desperado (6/3) (NJPW) ****
Golden Lovers vs. Yankii Ni Cho Kenji vs. Endo/Takeshita (1/26) (DDT) ****
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (1/12) (DG) ****
Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!! vs. Super Shiisa (1/12) (DG) ****
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (1/4) (NJPW) ****
Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi (1/4) (NJPW) ****
KENTA vs. Takeshi Morishima (1/5) (NOAH) ****
Mascara Dorada vs. Volador Jr. (1/19) (NJPW) ****
Akebono vs. Kento Miyahara (3/18) (AJPW) ****
Masato Yoshino vs. Ricochet (3/2) (DG) ****
The Jimmys vs. CIMA/Shiisa/K-Ness (3/2) (DG) ****
Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!! vs. Yosuke SantaMaria (3/1) (DG) ****
Yuji Nagata vs. KENTA (2/22) (NOAH) ****
Nakamura/Ishii vs. Naito/Tanahashi (3/6) (NJPW) ****
Yuji Nagata vs. Mohammed Yone (5/17) (NOAH) ****
Millennials vs. Kid/K-Ness/Shiisa (5/5) (DG) ****
Escape The Cage Mascara Contra Caballera (5/5) (DG) ****
Millennials vs. Ricochet/Takagi/Yoshino (5/9) (DG) **** 
HARASHIMA vs. KUDO (3/21) (DDT) ****

*PWG: *
ACH vs. Cedric Alexander (7/26) ****1/4
African-American Wolves vs. Inner City Machine Guns vs. Unbreakable F'N Machines (3/28) ****1/4
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Johnny Gargano (3/28) ****1/4
Chris Hero vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Drake Younger vs. Kyle O’Reilly (1/31) ****1/4
Mount Rushmore vs. Gargano, Alexander, Lee (5/23) ****1/4
Rich Swann vs. AR Fox (5/23) ****
ACH vs. Ricochet (5/23) ****
Trevor Lee vs. Andrew Everett vs. Cedric Alexander (3/28) **** 
Inner City Machine Guns vs. African American Wolves (1/31) ****

*DGUSA/EVOLVE:*
*Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Timothy Thatcher (9/13) ****1/2
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Biff Busick (9/14) ****1/4*
Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet (4/4) ****1/4
Masato Tanaka vs. Chris Hero (4/4) ****1/4
AR Fox vs. Chris Hero (2/23) ****1/4
*Drew Galloway vs. Roderick Strong (9/14) ****
Bravados vs. Fox/Swann vs. Conley/Nese (9/14) *****
Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong (2/23) ****
Nese/Trent vs. Swann/Strickland (2/23) ****
Ricochet vs. Chris Hero (1/10) ****	

*ROH: *
*Jay Lethal vs. ACH (8/23 TV) ****3/4
The Briscoes vs. The Young Buck$ (9/13 TV) ****3/4
AJ Styles vs. Kyle O’Reilly (9/13 TV) ****1/2*
reDRagon vs. The Young Buck$ (5/17) ****1/2
AJ Styles vs. Roderick Strong (2/1 TV) ****1/4
Chris Hero vs. Roderick Strong (3/7 TV) ****1/4
reDRagon vs. The Young Buck$ (3/8 TV) ****1/4
*Addiction vs. The Young Buck$ (9/6 TV) ****1/4
reDRagon vs. The Young Buck$ (2/3 Falls) (9/6) ****1/4
Michael Elgin vs. Jay Briscoe (9/6) ****1/4
AJ Styles vs. Adam Cole (9/6) ****1/4
Jay Lethal vs. Cedric Alexander (9/6) ****
War Machine vs. The Briscoes (8/30 TV) ****
Jay Lethal vs. Matt Taven (Cage Match) (8/15) *****
AJ Styles vs. Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada (5/17) ****
Kevin Steen vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (5/17) ****
reDRagon vs. Adrenaline RUSH (2/21) ****

*wXw:*
Tommy End vs. Jonathan Gresham (3/15) ****1/2
Adam Cole vs. Chris Hero (3/16) ****1/4
Johnny Gargano vs. Big Van Walter (3/15) ****1/4
Hot & Spicy vs. Inner City Machine Guns (3/14) ****1/4

*Other:*
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (6/15) (RevPro) ****1/2
*Ultimo Guerrero vs. Atlantis (9/19) (CMLL) ****1/2*
Ricochet vs. Akira Tozawa (7/26) (DGUK) ****1/2
The Hardy Boyz vs. The Briscoes (4/26) (OMEGA) ****1/2
Prince Devitt vs. Adam Cole (6/15) (RevPro) ****1/2
Virus vs. Titan (1/28) (CMLL) ****1/2
Jimmy Havoc vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (1/26) (PROGRESS) ****1/4
Swords Of Essex vs. FSU (1/26) (PROGRESS) ****1/4
Prince Devitt vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (5/18) (PROGRESS) ****1/4
Danny Cannon vs. Michael Elgin (3/9) (IWA: MS) ****1/4
CIMA vs. Naruki Doi (7/26) (DGUK) ****1/4
BxB Hulk vs. YAMATO (7/25) (DGUK) ****1/4
The Wolves vs. The Hardy Boys (7/31) (TNA) ****1/4
*Cavernario vs. Rey Cometa (9/19) (CMLL) ****1/4*
Haskins/Scurll vs. Ricochet/Tozawa (DGUK) ****
2Unlimited vs. Osperay/McCluskey (6/15) (RevPro) ****
Marty Scurll vs. Kevin Steen (6/15) (RevPro) ****
Swords Of Essex vs. Project Ego vs. London Riots vs. Haskins/Samuels (5/18) (PROGRESS) ****
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Josh Alexander (6/8) (SMASH) ****
Jimmy Havoc vs. Rampage Brown vs. Marty Scurll (3/30) (PROGRESS) ****
Timothy Thatcher vs. Drew Gulak (4/4) (Wrestling Odyssey) ****
Timothy Thatcher vs. Biff Busick (4/13) (Beyond) **** 
Danny Cannon vs. Buxx Belmar vs. Davey Vega vs. Matt Cage (2/16) (Beyond) ****


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Okada vs. Naito (KOPW 2014) ****1/2

Any other year this would be a YES but DAMN New Japan has set the bar high so NO

Match was beautifully orchestrated but couldn't feel intensity or story behind the match as much as I'd like


----------



## NastyYaffa

*NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling:*

*Time Splitters vs. The Young Bucks vs. Forever Hooligans - ****

Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito - ****1/4

AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - *****

Gonna watch Ishii vs. Yujiro later on, heard that the match was great.


----------



## darkclaudio

King of Pro Wrestling 2014
Time Splitters vs Young Bucks vs Forever Hooligans ***1/2 
Takahashi vs Ishii ***3/4+
Okada vs Naito ***3/4+
AJ vs Tanahashi ***1/2


----------



## flag sabbath

Still got three matches to go on KOPW, but *Ishii vs. Yujiro* was boss, with Ishii slipping back into his underdog role for much of it & putting Takahashi over big time. I often catch myself wondering what Yujiro's opponents are selling he does so little, but that wasn't the case here with by far the best performance I've seen from him ******

*Three-way junior tag* was on its way to being very good until Koslov splatted. There were some cool moments after that, but it was disjointed & peaked before the finish. Maybe ****1/2*


----------



## Raindust

*
Yujiro Takahashi (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (MOTN)

*** 3/4

Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito (Great offence by Naito who went for the jaw but Okada just forgot to sell)

*** 1/4

AJ Styles (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 

*** 3/4*




*NOPE!*


----------



## Joshi Judas

Eh? I thought Okada's selling was splendid and made the match but to each his own.


----------



## almostfamous

Okada vs Naito is worth a watch. Great match but par the course for NJPW. **** MOTN.


----------



## flag sabbath

Great drama from *Okada vs. Naito* - plenty of struggle & desperation - although I do hate how Okada's tombstone has become the set-up for his opponent dodging the Rainmaker. Still ******

*AJ vs. Tana* needed someone to take control of the match for a spell. It never really settled. And Jarrett can just fuck off ****1/4*


----------



## Rah

I totally forgot about this :side:


Puro:
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 12 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Tetsuya Naito (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
Okada, Nakamura, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanahashi, Goto, Naito & Captain NJ (NJPW 05/01)|| YES = 1 ||
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Masato Yoshino (DG Infinity #324) || YES = 5 ||
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara (NOAH 19/01) || YES = 1 ||
Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW 02/02) || YES = 4 ||
Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (Dragon Gate 12/01) || YES = 4 ||
Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki (AJPW 05/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 16 ||*
The Young Bucks Vs Time Splitters (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
*Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 13 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Hirooki Goto (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 8 ||
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata Vs Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 2 ||
Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Shigehiro Irie Vs HARASHIMA (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada Vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW 42nd Anniversary) || YES = 2 ||
Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa Vs Shinya Ishikawa & Shinobu (BJW 02/03) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet Vs Uhaa Nation (Dragon Gate 06/03) || YES = 2 ||
Taiji Ishimori Vs Daisuke Harada (NOAH Great Voyage 08/03) || YES = 4 ||
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW New Japan Cup 15/03) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato (BJW 26/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 12 ||*
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 4 ||
Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki Vs Suwama & Hikaru Sato (AJPW 18/03) || YES = 1 ||
Flamita Vs Jimmy Susumu (Dragon Gate: Dead or Alive) || YES = 2 ||
Twin Towers Vs Wild Network (BJW Endless Survivor) || YES = 1 ||
Kota Ibushi Vs Tomohiro Ishii (25/05 NJPW) || YES = 5 ||
KAI Vs Manabu Soya (04/05 Wrestle-1) || YES = 1 ||
Alex Shelley Vs Ryusuke Taguchi (03/06 NJPW) || YES = 1 ||
KUSHIDA Vs Jushin Liger (06/06 NJPW) || YES = 5 ||
Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Daichi Hashimoto - BJW 07.02.2014 || YES = 1 ||
CHAOS vs Bullet Club (08/06 NJPW) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet vs KUSHIDA (08/06 NJPW) || YES = 6 ||
Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma || YES = 1 ||
Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazuki Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura (01/06 BJW) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW Dominion) || YES = 3 ||
Time Splitters vs The Young Bucks (NJPW Dominion) || YES = 5 ||
King Ace vs Bullet Club (NJPW Dominion) || YES = 1 ||
Takao Omori vs Jun Akiyama (15/06 AJPW) || YES = 2 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Yujiro Takahashi (NJPW Kizuna Road) || YES = 1 ||
Yuji Nagata vs Naomichi Marufuji (05/07 NOAH) || YES = 2 ||
Tetsuya Naito & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto (NJPW Kizuna Road) || YES = 1 ||
Monster Express vs The Millenials (Dragon Gate Kobe World) || YES = 2 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma (NJPW Dontaku) || YES = 1 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma (NJPW G1 Day 4) || YES = 5 ||
AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito (NJPW G1 Day 4) || YES = 4 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 4) || YES = 2 ||
*AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki (NJPW G1 Day 7) || YES = 21 ||*
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW G1 Day 7) || YES = 3 ||
Yuji Nagata vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 7) || YES = 1 ||
Tomoaki Honma vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 8) || YES = 9 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW G1 Day 8) || YES = 2 ||
AJ Styles vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Day 1) || YES = 4 ||
Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Day 11) || YES = 5 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Yuji Nagata (NJPW G1 Day 11) || YES = 2 ||
Minoru Suzuki vs Togi Makabe (NJPW G1 Day 8) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW G1 Day 12) || YES = 6 ||
AJ Styles vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW G1 Day 12) || YES = 3 ||
Time Splitters vs ReDRagon (NJPW G1 Day 12) || YES = 2 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 10) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto (NJPW G1 Day 9) || YES = 1 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Konosuke Takeshita (DDT 17/08) || YES = 1 ||	
KUSHIDA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW Destruction in Kobe) || YES = 2 ||	
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Destruction in Kobe) || YES = 2 ||
Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs Tetsuya Endo & Kenosuke Takeshita (DDT 28/09) || YES = 3 ||
Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito (NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling) || YES = 1 ||



US/Europe Indy:
Trent Barretta Vs Anthony Nese (Evolve 25) || YES = 1 ||
Sigmon Vs Vordell Walker (TCW 14-01) || YES = 1 ||
Johnny Gargano Vs Uhaa Nation (Evolve 27) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Roderick Strong (RoH 01/02) || YES = 1 || 
AR Fox Vs Chris Hero (Evolve 23/02) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs JT Dunn (Beyond Wrestling Critical Acclaim) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs Masato Tanaka (DG:USA Open The Ultimate Gate) || YES = 2 ||
Ricochet Vs Johnny Gargano (DG:USA Open The Ultimate Gate) || YES = 3 ||
Caleb Konley Vs Cedric Alexander (PWX Rise of a Champion IX) || YES = 2 ||
Biff Busick Vs Drew Gulak (CZW To Infinity) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Chris Hero (RoH 22/03) || YES = 1 ||
Young Bucks Vs ReDragon (ROH War of the Worlds) || YES = 5 || 
Trevor Lee vs Cedric Alexander vs Andrew Everett (PWG Mystery Vortex II) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs JT Dunn (Beyond Wrestling Uncomfortable) || YES = 1 ||
Timothy Thatcher Vs Biff Busick (Beyond Wrestling 13/04) || YES = 3 ||
Prince Devitt vs Zack Sabre Jr (Progress Chapter 13) || YES = 1 ||
Adam Cole vs Prince Devitt (Revolution Pro Summersizzler) || YES = 1 ||
Adam Cole vs Kevin Steen (RoH Global Wars) || YES = 1 ||
ACH vs Ricochet (PWG Sold Our Soul For Rock & Roll) || YES = 1 ||
Cedric Alexander, Johnny Gargano and Trevor Lee vs Mount Rushmore (PWG Sold Our Soul For Rock & Roll) || YES = 1 ||
Drew Gulak vs Biff Busick (CZW 27/04/2014) || YES = 1 ||
World's Cutest Tag Team vs The Young Bucks (PWG Eleven) || YES = 2 ||
AJ Styles vs Adam Cole (RoH All Star Extravaganza 6) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles vs Kyle O'Reilly (RoH Death Before Dishonor XXI) || YES = 2 ||
The Young Bucks vs The Briscoe Brothers (RoH Death Before Dishonor XXI) || YES = 1 ||
The Wolves vs Team 3D vs The Hardyz (TNA No Surrender) || YES = 1 ||
The Young Bucks vs ReDRagon (RoH All Star Extravaganza 6) || YES = 1 ||
Michael Elgin vs Tommaso Ciampa (RoH Death Before Dishonor XXI) || YES = 1 ||
Zack Sabre Jr vs Jonathan Gresham (WXW 16 Carat Gold Night 1) || YES = 1 ||




WWE:
*Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (Royal Rumble) || YES = 29 ||*
Daniel Bryan Vs Randy Orton (Raw 03/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Cesaro Vs John Cena (Raw 17/02) || YES = 21 ||*
*The Wyatts Vs The Shield (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 31 ||*
Elimination Chamber Match (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 4 ||
*Sami Zayn Vs Cesaro (NXT ArRIVAL) || YES = 28 ||*
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Raw 03/03/2014) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs HHH (Wrestlemania) || YES = 9 ||
John Cena Vs Bray Wyatt (Wrestlemania) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs Batista Vs Randy Orton (Wrestlemania) || YES = 5 || 
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Main Event 08/04/2014) || YES = 3 ||
The Shield Vs Evolution (Extreme Rules) || YES = 7 ||
Tyler Breeze Vs Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover) || YES = 2 ||
Charlotte Vs Natalya (NXT Takeover) || YES = 5 ||
Adrian Neville Vs Tyson Kidd (NXT Takeover) || YES = 3 ||
The Shield Vs Evolution (Payback) || YES = 2 ||
Cesaro Vs Sheamus (Payback) || YES = 1 ||
Bad News Barrett vs Sheamus (Raw 09/06) || YES = 1 ||
John Cena, Sheamus & Roman Reigns vs Cesaro, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt & Alberto Del Rio (Smackdown 20/06) || YES = 1 ||
Money in the Bank Ladder Match (Money in the Bank) || YES = 1 ||
John Cena vs Bray Wyatt (Payback) || YES = 1 ||
John Cena vs Brock Lesnar (Summerslam) || YES = 5 ||
Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins (18/08 Raw) || YES = 1 ||
Adrian Neville vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd (TakeOver 2) || YES = 6 ||





Lucha Libre:
Virus Vs Titan (CMLL 28/01) || YES = 4 ||
Rush Vs Shocker (CMLL 21/03) || YES = 1 ||
Virus, Cachorro & Hechicero Vs ***** Casas, Cavernario & Dragon Lee (CMLL 23/05) || YES = 2 ||
Volador Jr Vs Rush (25/05 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
Villano IV Vs Chessman (AAA Rey De Reyes) || YES = 1 ||
Rush, La Mascara, Titan vs ***** Casas, Shocker, Felino (06/06 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
El Hechicero vs. El Cavernario (20/06 CMLL) || YES = 2 ||
Blue Panther vs Ephesto (22/06 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
Silver Star vs Charles Lucero (22/06 Noches De Coliseo) || YES = 1 ||
Cachorro, Cavernario, Dragon Lee, Soberano Jr. & ***** Casas vs Virus, Hechicero, Star Jr., Guerrero ***** Jr. & Super Halcon Jr (27/06 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
Rush vs ***** Casas (CMLL Judicio Final) || YES = 1 ||
Rey Cometa vs Barbaro Cavernario (CMLL 81st Aniversario) || YES = 3 ||
Ultimo Dragon vs Atlantis (CMLL 81st Aniversario) || YES = 3 ||
Caifan vs Rey Hechicero (Luchamania Monterrey 05/07/2014) || YES = 2 ||
Diamante Azul, Dragon Lee & La Sombra vs. Cavernario, Hechicero, ***** Casas (CMLL 16/09) || YES = 1 ||
Titan vs Barbaro Cavernario (CMLL 02/08) || YES = 1 ||







Legend:
*Bold Red Text*: matches with a score of 10 or better
Red text: matches with a score of 5 or better


----------



## Concrete

I really should get on all this...


----------



## Rah

You should rather just watch Rush/Casas, you swine.


----------



## Concrete

How have I not watched it yet? WHY DO I NOT LIKE NICE THINGS?!?! 

Okay, I plan on doing MOTYC catching up. Throw me like 5 matches (directed towards anyone and everyone) that I should watch so I don't feel like a weirdo/slacking.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Just watched Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii from King Of Pro-Wrestling, and I'd rate it ****1/4. Fantastic match, and MOTN. Great stuff.


----------



## Raindust

Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW G1 Climax 24 Finals 2014) 

Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 11 2014) 

Minoru Suzuki vs AJ Styles (NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 7 2014) 

Ricochet vs KUSHIDA (NJPW Best of Super Jr XXI 2014)

Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi (c) vs Tetsuya Endo & Kenosuke Takeshita (DDT Dramatic General Election)


----------



## NastyYaffa

So, I decided to re-watch Tanahashi/Shibata from Destruction, and I gotta say that it's indeed a MOTYC. My rating for it on the first watch was 'just' ***3/4, and now I would rate it ****3/4. What a match!

And here's my updated list of top-10 matches of 2014:

1. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazuchika Okada - NJPW G1 Climax 
2. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki - NJPW G1 Climax 
3. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H - WWE Wrestlemania 30
4. The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family - WWE Elimination Chamber 
5. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW Destruction in Kobe
6. Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro - NXT ArRival 
7. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista - WWE Wrestlemania 30 
8. Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd - NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way 
9. AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW G1 Climax 
10. Ricochet vs. KUSHIDA - NJPW Best of the Super Jr.


----------



## wheelofsteel

Greetings from Puerto Rico. Just saw ROH Champions vs All Stars on VOD. The Main Event was great (even though the Champions vs All Stars from 2013 was a little bit better) with ACH shining all around. But this event in general belonged to Christopher Daniels vs Cedric Alexander who literally stole the show all around and is one of my favorite matches of 2014 in ROH and in all of Pro Wrestling.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Mount Rushmore (Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson & Adam Cole) vs Low Moral Fiber (Chuck Taylor, Kenny Omega & Zack Sabre Jr.)
PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 1 8/29
****

YES!!!*


----------



## Deptford

Virus vs Titan is getting slept on. Two of the best in the game. The only 5 star match this year IMO. 

of course I don't watch as much Puro as some people here.


----------



## C-Cool

Deptford said:


> Virus vs Titan is getting slept on. Two of the best in the game. The only 5 star match this year IMO.
> 
> of course I don't watch as much Puro as some people here.


As a recent lucha viewer, I will also nominate this as a candidate. If there's one great Virus match to watch this year, this is it.

Meanwhile, Titan has two great matches under his belt (this and his Cavernario match).


----------



## Rah

There's another two Virus title matches I am sure you guys will enjoy (against Sagrado and Fuego). His opponents are none too good in them but he's damn great and well worth the length. 

Cachorro/Virus in a lightning match (sub 10min) should air this week. Now THAT will be something.


----------



## 6ARIQ

*KOPW Ratings by Dave Meltzer :
*​1. Togi Makabe & Kota Ibushi & Yuji Nagata & Tomoaki Honma vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows & Tama Tonga & Bad Luck Fale in 7:48. Fast paced match but given the talent involved. **3/4
2. Chase Owens vs. Bushi - 7:02. **
3. Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan - 11:22. Good match. ***
4. Kazushi Sakuraba & Toru Yano beat Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka in 5:30. **1/4
5. Alex Shelley & Kushida vs Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) and Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov - 18:56. Great match. ****
6. Ryusuke Taguchi vs Desperado in 12:12. ***1/4
7. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yujiro Takahashi - 17:48. This was the best singles match with Takahashi that I’ve ever seen. ****½
8. Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Yoshi-Hashi - 12:43.***3/4
9. Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito - 19:17 They did a different match, and some thought it
was their best match because of the story. I thought they’ve had several better ones, but this
was excellent. ****1/4
10. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. A.J. Styles - 27:04. ****½​


----------



## Zatiel

Tanahashi Vs. Styles from KOPW: NO
Naito Vs. Okada from KOPW: NO, but it was great
Mochizuki Vs. T-Hawk from 1/12: YES
Shingo/Tozawa Vs. T-Hawk/Eita - Anniversary Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 7/20: YES
Yamato Vs. BxB Hulk: NO


----------



## NastyYaffa

Some BOLA MOTYC's!

Night 1:
*The Young Bucks & Adam Cole vs. Chuck Taylor, Kenny Omega & Zack Sabre, Jr. - ****1/2 - YES!*

Night 2:
*Adam Cole vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. - **** - YES!
ACH vs. Kenny Omega - ****1/4 - YES!*

Night 3:
*Kyle O'Reilly vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. - ****1/4 - YES!
Biff Busick, Drew Gulak, Bobby Fish, Cedric Alexander & Tommaso Ciampa vs. Chris Hero, Chuckie T, Willie Mack, Rich Swann & Joey Ryan - **** - YES!*

ZSJ is incredible.


----------



## DOPA

So lazy with wrestling, gonna just accept that and roll with it.

Watched *Styles vs Suzuki* from G1 which was a great great match but I don't understand where the 5 stars are coming from. Whilst it was excellent I wouldn't say it was outstanding. Styles had a fantastic performance. *****1/4*

*Okada vs Nakamura* was amazing, a fantastic match to end this years G1 on. Loved the drama in this and Naka's reversal of the Rainmaker into the armbar is one of the greatest counters I've ever seen. *****1/2*


----------



## Shotakan

*DDT Extreme Division Championship: Akito(c) vs. Antonio Honda *****

This match is absurdly good; two dudes rip each other's limbs apart and start applying some nasty submission holds. Akito is absurdly good, and am so glad he made the top ten of the DDT fan poll. Just a very good old-school match out of everyone's favorite comedy promotion.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

RE-watched ReDragon and Young Bucks from WAR OF THE WORLDS 2014 and shit that is a mega YES! to me 

****3/4


----------



## the frenchise

Okada/Nakamura/Ishii vs Tanahashi/Shibata/Goto NJPW Tv show Kurakuen hall

Amazing match, they're teasing the next ppv and the dome show and they're delivering a non stop action match. The final sequence is great.
**** 

Can't wait for Shibata/nakamura

(edit) oups wanted to post that in the puro match thread not motyc... sorry


----------



## Smithy

For me 

*WWE* Shield vs Wyatt Family - Elimination Chamber 

*Puro* Okada vs Naito - Wrestle Kingdom 8


----------



## Groovemachine

Daisuke Harada (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NOAH 4.11.2014) - ****1/4

Glorious. An exciting display of technical wrestling with some superbly worked nearfalls. Harada's elbow drop countered into an armbar was drool-worthy, it looked so slick. Minus points for a kickout-at-1 sequence, but that was the only duff moment. ZSJ continues his year of spectacular performances.


----------



## Sephiroth

Been playing catch up but here are some off the top of my head.

ROH/NJPW Show:
Kevin Steen vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - ****

42YA:
Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi - **** 1/2

G1 Climax:
AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki - **** 3/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - **** 1/4
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kuzuchika Okada - **** 3/4

BOSJ:
Ricochet vs. Kushida - **** 1/4

Dominion:
Kushida/Shelley vs. Young Bucks - **** 1/4
Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet - **** 1/2

I need to stop cherry picking the G1 matches and just watch it all


----------



## flag sabbath

I dug Harada vs. ZSJ, but NOAH crowds drag everything down a notch ****1/2*

The NJ 25/10 six man main was a typically rewarding set up for Power Struggle ****3/4*

And the Eita & T-Hawk vs. CIMA & Gamma Twin Gate title match from Gate Of Destiny was heated & exciting - a rarity for DG nowadays ****3/4*


----------



## Good News Barrett

Goto vs Ishii - Power Struggle 2014 (NJPW) - ****3/4


----------



## NastyYaffa

*Ishii vs. Goto - ****1/2 - YES!*


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NEVER Openweight Championship
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Hirooki Goto
NJPW Power Struggle 11/8
****1/4

*


----------



## Toonami4Life

Ishii and Goto is a MOTYC. It was a classic which Power Struggle was worth seeing for alone.


----------



## Raindust

Ishii vs Goto **** 1/2 *YES!*

Nakamura vs Shibata **** NO!


----------



## flag sabbath

Ishii vs. Goto gets ****** from me. It was an incredibly one-dimensional, distilled version of what Ishii in particular has been doing or the last few years. I can understand why folks loved it even more, but I was hankering for some kind of twist on the formula & definitely preferred the second Yujiro-Ishii.


----------



## flag sabbath

Serious tag team MOTYC right here. Kamitani takes a pasting from the beastly Towers, leaving Sekimototo to dig double deep *****1/4*


----------



## the frenchise

Ishii vs Goto ... OMG this match. ****3/4 at least.

it tops AJ/Suzuki and equals Okada/nakamura.


----------



## flag sabbath

I'm likely on my lonesome, but I much preferred Shinskay-Shibata at Power Struggle to their G1 no-sell clusterfuck ****3/4*


----------



## Joshi Judas

Oh fuck, so behind on this.

Any other match worth seeing from Power Struggle? I'm catching Goto/Ishii obviously.


----------



## NastyYaffa

*Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn - NXT 11/13 - **** - YES!*
*Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Cesaro - SmackDown 11/14 - ****1/4 - YES!*

2 fantastic matches.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NO MOTYC but Recommended matches*

Daisuke Sekimoto vs Takashi Sugiura - NOAH Global League 11/8 ***3/4
*NXT Championship:* Adrian Neville (c) vs Sami Zayn - NXT 11/13 ***1/2
*Intercontinental Championship:* Dolph Ziggler (c) vs Cesaro vs Tyson Kidd - Smackdown 11/14 ***1/2+


----------



## the frenchise

RAVEN said:


> Oh fuck, so behind on this.
> 
> Any other match worth seeing from Power Struggle? I'm catching Goto/Ishii obviously.


Shibata vs Nakamura is great too.

Timesplitters vs redragon is very good.

That's about it for the show imo


----------



## flag sabbath

The Road to Power Struggle from 3/11, which just aired this weekend, had a fantastic main of Tanahashi, Makabe, Goto & Shibata vs. Okada, Nakamura, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI ******


----------



## ZEROVampire

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship: 
Daisuke Harada (c) vs Zack Sabre Jr.
NOAH Global League 11/4
****

YES!*


----------



## septurum

Naomichi Marufuji (C) vs Katsuhiko Nakajima (GHC Heavyweight Championship-NOAH 7-21) ****


YES


----------



## Concrete

I remember when the MOTYC thread was BUMPIN' for Wrestling Forum. I've slacked. Lots of other people have too so I don't feel bad. Wish we had more thoughts and less slapping of star ratings but oh well. So lets come with a few cool matches instead of posting on my blog(which you should totally check out).

*Cedric Alexander vs. AJ Styles(PWX 1/19/14):*****
*Good times when a great match goes down in an awesome little venue in North Carolina. This match moves at a real good pace with killer exchanges sprinkled in. You have the indie star making his return to the scene in one corner and the local dude who has been gaining steam in the other. Like the more methodical approach by Styles to counter Alexander early on who was coming like lightning in a bottle with some pin attempts. Both guys really laid it in on each other throughout which is a big positive for this match which ups the ante. Cedric isn’t light with his feet nor is Styles. Cedric’s punches were on point throughout with Styles selling the hell out of them including dumping himself to the outside. Really adds a ton to the match. Big fan of most of Cedric’s pin attempts ended up getting kicked out of because of resistance into the pin or poor positioning. 

Down the stretch this becomes more indie exchange-y but both these wrestlers are really good at holding it all together and making it NOT seem like moves for the sake of moves such as Styles gaining actual momentum at the heels of a suplerplex counter into a front superplex sorta thing. It was more gratifying after several big cut-offs by Alexander. Based on all the work prior in the match the more indie style ending felt like a proper escalation of the match. Cedric’s backbreaker is utterly ridiculous and beautiful to see. There is interference which is dumb but doesn’t hurt the match. Great match and one of the best non-grapple heavy indie matches I’ve seen this year. 
**************************
Timothy Thatcher vs. Biff Busick(EVOLVE 8/9/14):****1/4
These two had a match back in April for Beyond Wrestling which if you have seen my review you know I was a huge fan of. This match definitely comes near equal footing to that match and may actually have surpassed it. They take quite a few things from the Beyond match such as the behind the double behind the back wristlock spot but add a few wrinkles here that makes it feel quite different. 

In the early goings they did some awesome gritty grappling. One of the cooler moments in the match was a gogoplata by Thatcher. They worked in an absolutely BONKERS head-butt sequence that made me cringe. Both men had a submission focus but based on the submission the strategies were much different. For Thatcher he wanted to latch on his Fujiwara Armbar and needed to work over the arm in order to get the tap out. Busick on the other hand was looking to latch on his choke which is in itself is a move that wears down the opponent and is more of kill hold than one that can be worked towards. He’d take any moment to get a choke which was the case when he was perched on the top turnbuckle and went for a guillotine. 

Quickly after that we get to the more strike heavy aspect of the match that is done extremely well. Busick’s slaps are sold like death and seem to come from a more desperate place. Busick also has an INCREDIBLY explosive sequence that comes off meeting Thatcher in the middle of the ring with an uppercut followed by a half-nelson suplex. The ending wasn’t worked to pure perfection but the idea was so neat and plays off the ending of their Beyond match. Must see match from this year. Awesome grappling, awesome pro wrestling exchange, and a satisfying end. 
**************************
Timothy Thatcher vs. Biff Busick(WWN):***3/4
We are coming from good ole’ CHINA! Blows my mind that these two performed in front of over 8,000 people. If you’ve seen the Beyond match and the EVOLVE match then this match really doesn’t cover any new territory. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing since those were some of the best matches in the year. They take the less rugged grappling parts and piece together a match that doesn’t quite flow as well but well enough. You have the Busick explosion of strikes that lacks a bit of the explosion and feels like more of a flurry of his strike based offense. You also have his top turnbuckle spot that gets countered into a European Uppercut. You have Thatcher bringing some grappling to the table as well as dumping Busick into the corner with a gutwrench suplex. More a styles battle than anything and a proper extension of their matches so far given the location. 
*​


----------



## Obfuscation

Actually got inspired to write something:

Zack Sabre Jr. vs Timothy Thatcher - _EVOLVE 34: 9/13/14_​
You know when I see this match on paper I get really excited. b/c I know the way it can turn out. Can't ever say I've seen these two ever stray from how they work 99% of their matches, and well, they didn't remotely attempt to change anything up here. It's mindblowing once you realize their constant motion while grappling. It's some of the most brisk, easy to get sucked into work on the market today. If you really want to pile on the nostalgia, you immediately date back to any Bryan Danielson match during his days where he would tear through folk in any promotion. The entire match is a complete dogfight. Commentary did a nice job emphasizing how you're guaranteed to see it contained in the center of the ring, b/c that's what these two do. No smoke & mirrors kind of stuff, although, why would you expect that? It was a game of who can manipulate a body part into submission for a large portion. At least the first ten was all of that. Sabre attempts to latch on his cross arm breaker, blam, immediate sensibility from Thatcher he needs to bust out of it quickly & attack a limb on his end. Thatcher's selling going from "respectable down & dirty grapple-fest" to "I'm fucking pissed now" once his arm became wounded gave the match the latest wrinkle of its depth. He both sold the dire pain & frustration like an animal caught in a trap, needing to break free. Once he did, it was furrowed brows, grimaces, & really, really hard shots to Sabre's head. Which he couldn't help but continuously poke the bear. Sabre lying in the corner off of a struggle, shouting "bring it on!" which immediately turns scary b/c Thatcher didn't need any more fuel to pulverize so he proceeds to stomp him down & out, while clinging to his bum wing. Selling of Thatcher's more pent up frustration was key in containing the finish. It was neck & neck the entire way, but Sabre made sure not to fall into the most sudden of traps. Early on he was almost caught in a surprise heel hook which put the fear of God in him as he scurried to the ropes; a way out not often used b/c it almost breached their seemingly silent code of honor. Sabre was cool & focused. Thatcher focused, yet infinitely more rugged & determined to get the edge. Following the damage of his arm, he almost was DOA the moment a tiny opening to tear the arm from the socket was in sight. In a battle of constant limb manipulation, it was just one more counter needed to capture arm. Ingenuity provided to take away Thatcher's clear strength advantage by having Sabre slam his knee into the mat, take focus from above to below; allowing him to strike. Sabre's cross arm breaker variety is disgusting & proves to remain the same here. Followed up by calling Thatcher out on the aggressive chart, he threw in short kicks to the back of the head before it was finally called. My sick pleasures are rewarded in that moment. It's outstanding at how they can piece together everything at the start & have it come around in the end as if nearly nothing changed, yet it evolved on every sequence throughout it's sub-18 minute duration.


----------



## Rah

Thought Concrete gave Thathcer/Busick 26 stars and double-took before realising it was simply a means of dividing his reviews. Normal people may have used the Enter key, but when have wrestling fans ever truly been normal? Match deserves 26 stars, btw.


*YES*

*Biff Busick vs Timothy Thatcher (Evolve 32)* - now this didn't disappoint. Very rarely do you see limb work play off into a match's finish, but these two are masters in generating a coherent and logical story that centres upon their work. I'm not much a fan of the EVOLVE commentators but they really solidified the build with the line "do you want to carry on with your career or try to prove something?" early into the match when Thatcher makes a lucky application of his armbreaker noting, that if the ropebreak hadn't happened, Busick would have had to submit. Equally, there's some enjoyable call back spots to reward those who are following their little traveling act. Most notably, Thatcher finally knew to block the chop that Busick normally throws after his opponents call a ropebreak while Busick centred his offence on working Thatcher down via headlocks knowing he wouldn't be as proficient in meeting Thatcher hold-for-hold, otherwise (radiating on the win it had given him over Raideen the night before). I may have preferred the more continually and viscerally violent offence by Busick in their Beyond match but watching him dent Thatcher's skull in with some nasty headbutts and laying waste into his neck with full-forced slaps satiated enough of my sadistic needs. Busick's enough of a bastard to truly milk towards Thatcher's eventual cut-offs and scrap enough in building an exquisite finish. I had their Beyond match as the third best match of the year. This match is even better.


*Zack Sabre Jr vs Timothy Thatcher (Evolve 34)* - Not as good as the Thatcher/Busick matches, but still a treat nonetheless. Thatcher's a talented bloke at scrappy American matwork, but you can really see his bread-and-butter lies in his British heritage. While definitely not his best matches, his best performances have been in his British Rules match against Gulak and, now, against a World of Sport throwback wrestler in Sabre. What sold me in watching the show was glimpsing Thatcher/Sabre doing a double headstand leglock application. Seeing that spot in full made me appreciate it even more, mostly due to the absurdity of two grown men resting on their noggins, now striking the tar out of each other's faces - half going red from the rush of blood, half from the slaps.

Months after HayleySabin first showed me one of his matches, I still wince every time I see Sabre do that elbow stomp onto his opponents. Thatcher's damn great at emoting pain so it almost became a moment where you simply have to look away thinking something had gone wrong. I wish Sabre had been that violent on the outset, however, and that may be my sole peeve on his behalf. He seemed too hesitant in roughing Thatcher up in those moments he had his opponent locked up. His elbow rubs and punches looked comically bad compared to those delivered moments before by Thatcher. It's thankfully something he grew past as the match wore on, leading to a wondrous desperation attempt at securing a submission by stomping into the ribs and head of a reluctant Thatcher. Lower-tier MotYC. The Thatcher train rolls on!


----------



## WOOLCOCK

*Timothy Thatcher vs Biff Busick, (8/9/14)*

Very impressive first viewing of this pairing, one that no doubt would increase upon seeing the rest of their series as Rah alluded to callback spots that would otherwise be lost on me. Thatcher looked infinitely more composed and impressive on the mat, even at times appearing to have to ease a limb for Busick to hook onto when transitioning, but given they worked to communicate Busick as apprehensive and wary of Thatcher's prowess I had no complaints with Thatcher looking a step above his opponent. Busick's continual attempts to lock in the sleeper gave the match a consistent narrative that benefitted the slick and polished grappling, as well as providing a sense of escalation when Thatcher couldn't immediately counter and was forced to find alternative means to foil Busick. Thatcher's consistent and rigid armwork was detailed and consistent, and the only small complaint was Busick failing to noticeably sell the arm. In fairness, he did avoid using the arm for much of his offence (right handed slaps/running uppercuts), but I would have been ecstatic had he showed glimpses of the armwork impacting on his ability to lock in the sleeper. Busick resorting to the strikes before Thatcher again communicated his need to pursue other avenues to find success against Thatcher, which I appreciated, and the running uppercut would have been the strike of the match had it not been for the FUTEN esque headbutt exchange. The finish was beautiful in its simplicity with Busick aiming to replicate the same transition into the sleeper, only falling victim to Thatcher having the ploy scouted and waiting to employ a decisive counter. Superb stuff and I'm glad to see an heir apparent to Fujiwara roaming the independent scene. I hear Ishikawa is currently in Canada and Thatcher/Ishikawa is firmly on my radar for dream matches in 2014.



*Timothy Thatcher vs Zack Sabre Jr, (9/13/14)*

Like Rah, I thought this was a step below the Busick encounter. I've seen glimpses of Sabre Jr and he's still very much someone I feel is still trying to put everything together. At times he feels more like a caricature of famed WOS holds, rather than someone who invokes the spirit and technique of Joint Promotions ala Thatcher. I felt the respective performances here accentuated that difference quite well. One of my favourite aspects of British Wrestling that people rarely acknowledge, is how well their best workers were able to organically create heated and intense matches worked cleanly and without cheating. Very often in wrestlling the old adage of someone having to abruptly play the default heel in a face/face match can be lazily done, whereas in Joint Promotions there was often a subtle but deliberate change in one or both wrestlers to put over the heated affair. Thatcher here gave a very subtle but still visible anger as the match progressed. He put over Sabre's vicious offence very well and you could begin to see his frustration simmer with every hold and counter he found himself trapped in. Compare that with Sabre Jr, who neither embraced the heel role (bar a brief air guitat spot) nor made much effort to build rapport with the fans, and it felt almost like a performance within a vacuum from him. Nearly all the tension and drama stemmed from Thatcher's growing frustration with Sabre, culminating in some subtle yet petty acts that illustrated his anger (stapping on the arm when Sabre had the ropes, smashing Sabre's face off of the apron ala Finlay). Sabre Jr was at his best when he abandoned the WOS attempted trickery, and utilised more of a shoot style matwork. I particularly enjoyed his kick to the head whilst locking in the armbar, and his instinctive targetting of the knee to soften Thatcher up for the armbar near the end was very impressive in its attention to detail. The double headstand leglock and the entire build around it was the peak of the match for me and very reminiscent of Joint Promotions' finest executing the same sequence. Thatcher busting out the headstand-criss cross ankle spot also brought a smile out of me, as it's a classic babyface spot that the likes of Grey and Cortez executed flawlessly.

I felt Busick's deliberate recognition of being an inferior grappler gave the first match a more organic and consistent narrative than this match, which developed into a heated affair but which could have done with more on Sabre Jr's end imo to really push the match into the next category. Giving him a more sustained period of control and really allowing Thatcher's frustration to simmer and develop for example could have really elevated the match. As it is, it was a nicely worked match which fused shoot style with traditional british matwork, but Sabre Jr still has a while to go before he puts everything together ala Thatcher. For anyone who loved this style of match, I would greatly recommend Jim Breaks vs Adrian Street from '72, which is on youtube. That match still remains to me the pinnacle of organically developing a respectful contest into a heated and tempestuous affair.


----------



## Groovemachine

That finish to Sabre Jr/Thatcher was insane. ZSJ/Busick was a slightly better match, but I've got both at ****. Loving this re-invigorated push for technical wrestling in Evolve at the moment. About the only distinct thing Evolve has got going for it, but I'm not complaining.


----------



## Concrete

TREND SETTING WITH THE REVIEWS! 

I jest BUT Rah A)Don't gimme your crud B) It didn't look QUITE right with just a gap between the reviews cause I had gaps IN my reviews. 26 STARS IT WAS! Deciding whether to transition to "Fun, Good, Great, Excellent" for matches. Need to categorize but also feel weird about star ratings right now. UGH! 

Now to dig through matches and figure out what to watch next...hmmmm


----------



## BillThompson

Who are you to think you can come into this thread and do more than just list matches with snowflakes after them? For shame...


----------



## Morrison17

Uhaa Nation vs. Brian Cage from PWG Untitled 2 was definitelly one of the best matches of 2014.


----------



## Rah

Concrete said:


> Now to dig through matches and figure out what to watch next...hmmmm



You've done a part one to your getting to know Mysterio, so I've got a recommendation for part two. It's not on that list via Prowrestlingonly nor does anyone seemingly talk about it, but it's, like, really, really, really good. Prelude to JBL's match at Judgment Day 2004.


----------



## Concrete

Someone reads my blog. Woot!

I was more looking for 2014 stuff but I'll be adding that to my list for that.


----------



## septurum

Yuji Nagata (c) vs Naomichi Marufuji (05/07 NOAH-GHC Heavyweight Title)- **** 1/4

YES


----------



## Zatiel

Tomohiro Ishii Vs. Hirooki Goto - YES
-Harkens back to the Ishii/Goto matches that first made Ishii stand out for me and my friend, but the story is more bombastic. Ishii is a great babyface under abuse, and Goto was great at playing the biggest possible victory in Ishii career. Here he was defending this title against someone who was above his league, and the story really dug into that. Gobbled it up.

Shinsuke Nakamura Vs. Katsuyori Shibata - NO, but I enjoyed the heck out of it
-Pretty much made my night just by Shibata trying to stomp Nakamura's face after the dueling leg locks. Enjoyed a lot of the holds work, and Shibata's minimalism, like knowing he was being set up for the enzigiri spot and just slapping the crap out of Nakamura. Nakamura, meanwhile, has great expressions while selling and is such a fantastic character. I enjoyed them at the G1, but liked this better.

Yuji Nagata Vs. Naomichi Marufuji - NO
Heeeell no. I like both guys, but Jesus, this dragged. It was like they didn't know how to fit each other's offense into a story.


----------



## Corey

Team Cena vs. Team Authority at Survivor Series simply because of Ziggler's career performance and the fact that they made me mark out like I was 9 years old again. Snowflakes don't matter here. It's a YES


----------



## Morrison17

Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee
Survivor Series 2014

WWEs best match for sure. 
No joking. Watch it. Dat spot with Brie.


----------



## Gretchen

The second half of that SVS Tag was just phenomenal. Felt dead the entire time. Shit was epic - Dolph had his career performance and amazing HBK-like performance on that note, and FUCKING STING. Purely epic, I vote YES as this is def my favorite WWE match of the year.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Superkick said:


> The second half of that SVS Tag was just phenomenal. Felt dead the entire time. Shit was epic - Dolph had his career performance and amazing HBK-like performance on that note, and FUCKING STING. Purely epic, I vote YES as this is def my favorite WWE match of the year.


FUCKIN HYPED to see this match once I get home. :mark: DOLPH F'N ZIGGLER!


----------



## Gretchen

I'm pretty sure you'll love it bro. Hope you do.


----------



## NastyYaffa

*Survivor Series *
*Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose - **** - YES!
Team ZIGGLER vs. Team Authority - ****1/4 - YES!*

Great matches.


----------



## Concrete

*AR Fox/Rich Swann vs. Mikey Whipwreck/Tajiri (2CW 4/19/14):****
Having had this match vetted to make sure I wasn’t bias for being there live for it I now feel very comfortable calling this one of the best indie tag matches of the year. To some extent it is disappointing that Tajiri pretty much took this as a trip to get a couple of his students some matches in America and didn’t put all TOO much effort in. On a more positive note, Mikey F’n Whipwreck worked his ass off. A true workhorse in there. He pulls off a sequence with Swann that really builds and is something he should not be able to do for a man his age with a body that is in the shape that it is in. Him and Tajiri really had some sweet double team offense that looked absolutely brutal including Fox getting dropkicked in the noggin’ and unceremoniously dumped. In the latter portion of this match Fox and Swann went after Whipwreck’s arm to put the heat on him and to their credit they looked like sharks going after it. Wicked kicks to it and especially loved Swann pulling it over the top rope and giving it a quick snappy kick before Whipwreck bumped on the apron. Working over a body part isn’t worth much if the wrestler doesn’t sell and Whipwreck sure as hell does that. He holds it at his side like an injured wing and when he’s about to hit a big DDT he goes with the wrong arm and goes back on the defensive. The way they lead to Tajiri’s mist was also great. If nothing else Tajiri threw a few wicked kicks. Swann is one of those guys who is so good yet rarely stands out cause he doesn’t have these overwhelming positives or these negatives. AR Fox takes dumb bumps and does some quality shit talking. Guys…I might be turning the corner a bit on Fox. Still shite sometimes but sometimes not. Here he isn’t. OKAY, GREAT MATCH EVERYONE!
​*


----------



## Rah

Rather uneventful past month, so there's not too many changes

Puro:
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 12 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Tetsuya Naito (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
Okada, Nakamura, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanahashi, Goto, Naito & Captain NJ (NJPW 05/01)|| YES = 1 ||
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Masato Yoshino (DG Infinity #324) || YES = 5 ||
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara (NOAH 19/01) || YES = 1 ||
Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW 02/02) || YES = 4 ||
Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (Dragon Gate 12/01) || YES = 5 ||
Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki (AJPW 05/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 16 ||*
The Young Bucks Vs Time Splitters (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
*Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 13 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Hirooki Goto (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 8 ||
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata Vs Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 2 ||
Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Shigehiro Irie Vs HARASHIMA (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada Vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW 42nd Anniversary) || YES = 3 ||
Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa Vs Shinya Ishikawa & Shinobu (BJW 02/03) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet Vs Uhaa Nation (Dragon Gate 06/03) || YES = 2 ||
Taiji Ishimori Vs Daisuke Harada (NOAH Great Voyage 08/03) || YES = 4 ||
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW New Japan Cup 15/03) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato (BJW 26/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 12 ||*
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 4 ||
Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki Vs Suwama & Hikaru Sato (AJPW 18/03) || YES = 1 ||
Flamita Vs Jimmy Susumu (Dragon Gate: Dead or Alive) || YES = 2 ||
Twin Towers Vs Wild Network (BJW Endless Survivor) || YES = 1 ||
Kota Ibushi Vs Tomohiro Ishii (25/05 NJPW) || YES = 5 ||
KAI Vs Manabu Soya (04/05 Wrestle-1) || YES = 1 ||
Alex Shelley Vs Ryusuke Taguchi (03/06 NJPW) || YES = 1 ||
KUSHIDA Vs Jushin Liger (06/06 NJPW) || YES = 5 ||
Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Daichi Hashimoto - BJW 07.02.2014 || YES = 1 ||
CHAOS vs Bullet Club (08/06 NJPW) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet vs KUSHIDA (08/06 NJPW) || YES = 7 ||
Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma || YES = 1 ||
Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazuki Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura (01/06 BJW) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW Dominion) || YES = 4 ||
Time Splitters vs The Young Bucks (NJPW Dominion) || YES = 6 ||
King Ace vs Bullet Club (NJPW Dominion) || YES = 1 ||
Takao Omori vs Jun Akiyama (15/06 AJPW) || YES = 2 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Yujiro Takahashi (NJPW Kizuna Road) || YES = 2 ||
Yuji Nagata vs Naomichi Marufuji (05/07 NOAH) || YES = 3 ||
Tetsuya Naito & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto (NJPW Kizuna Road) || YES = 1 ||
Monster Express vs The Millenials (Dragon Gate Kobe World) || YES = 3 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma (NJPW Dontaku) || YES = 1 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma (NJPW G1 Day 4) || YES = 5 ||
AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito (NJPW G1 Day 4) || YES = 4 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 4) || YES = 2 ||
*AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki (NJPW G1 Day 7) || YES = 23 ||*
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW G1 Day 7) || YES = 3 ||
Yuji Nagata vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 7) || YES = 1 ||
Tomoaki Honma vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 8) || YES = 9 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW G1 Day 8) || YES = 3 ||
AJ Styles vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Day 1) || YES = 4 ||
Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Day 11) || YES = 5 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Yuji Nagata (NJPW G1 Day 11) || YES = 2 ||
Minoru Suzuki vs Togi Makabe (NJPW G1 Day 8) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW G1 Day 12) || YES = 8 ||
AJ Styles vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW G1 Day 12) || YES = 3 ||
Time Splitters vs ReDRagon (NJPW G1 Day 12) || YES = 2 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 10) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto (NJPW G1 Day 9) || YES = 1 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Konosuke Takeshita (DDT 17/08) || YES = 1 ||	
KUSHIDA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW Destruction in Kobe) || YES = 2 ||	
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Destruction in Kobe) || YES = 2 ||
Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs Tetsuya Endo & Kenosuke Takeshita (DDT 28/09) || YES = 3 ||
Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito (NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling) || YES = 1 ||
Daisuke Harada vs Zack Sabre Jr. (NOAH 4/11) || YES = 2 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Hirooki Goto (NJPW Power Struggle) || YES = 6 ||
Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Hideyoshi Kamitani (BJW 31/10) || YES = 1 ||
Naomichi Marufuji vs Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH 21/7) || YES = 1 ||




US/Europe Indy:
Trent Barretta Vs Anthony Nese (Evolve 25) || YES = 1 ||
Sigmon Vs Vordell Walker (TCW 14-01) || YES = 1 ||
Johnny Gargano Vs Uhaa Nation (Evolve 27) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Roderick Strong (RoH 01/02) || YES = 1 || 
AR Fox Vs Chris Hero (Evolve 23/02) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs JT Dunn (Beyond Wrestling Critical Acclaim) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs Masato Tanaka (DG:USA Open The Ultimate Gate) || YES = 2 ||
Ricochet Vs Johnny Gargano (DG:USA Open The Ultimate Gate) || YES = 3 ||
Caleb Konley Vs Cedric Alexander (PWX Rise of a Champion IX) || YES = 2 ||
Biff Busick Vs Drew Gulak (CZW To Infinity) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Chris Hero (RoH 22/03) || YES = 1 ||
Young Bucks Vs ReDragon (ROH War of the Worlds) || YES = 6 || 
Trevor Lee vs Cedric Alexander vs Andrew Everett (PWG Mystery Vortex II) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs JT Dunn (Beyond Wrestling Uncomfortable) || YES = 1 ||
Timothy Thatcher Vs Biff Busick (Beyond Wrestling 13/04) || YES = 3 ||
Prince Devitt vs Zack Sabre Jr (Progress Chapter 13) || YES = 1 ||
Adam Cole vs Prince Devitt (Revolution Pro Summersizzler) || YES = 1 ||
Adam Cole vs Kevin Steen (RoH Global Wars) || YES = 1 ||
ACH vs Ricochet (PWG Sold Our Soul For Rock & Roll) || YES = 1 ||
Cedric Alexander, Johnny Gargano and Trevor Lee vs Mount Rushmore (PWG Sold Our Soul For Rock & Roll) || YES = 1 ||
Drew Gulak vs Biff Busick (CZW 27/04/2014) || YES = 1 ||
World's Cutest Tag Team vs The Young Bucks (PWG Eleven) || YES = 2 ||
AJ Styles vs Adam Cole (RoH All Star Extravaganza 6) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles vs Kyle O'Reilly (RoH Death Before Dishonor XXI) || YES = 2 ||
The Young Bucks vs The Briscoe Brothers (RoH Death Before Dishonor XXI) || YES = 1 ||
The Wolves vs Team 3D vs The Hardyz (TNA No Surrender) || YES = 1 ||
The Young Bucks vs ReDRagon (RoH All Star Extravaganza 6) || YES = 1 ||
Michael Elgin vs Tommaso Ciampa (RoH Death Before Dishonor XXI) || YES = 1 ||
Zack Sabre Jr vs Jonathan Gresham (WXW 16 Carat Gold Night 1) || YES = 1 ||
Mount Rushmore vs Low Moral Fiber (PWG BoLA Night 1) || YES = 2 ||
Adam Cole vs Zack Sabre Jr. (PWG BoLA Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
ACH vs Kenny Omega (PWG BoLA Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. (PWG BoLA Night 3) || YES = 1 ||
Biff Busick, Drew Gulak, Bobby Fish, Cedric Alexander & Tommaso Ciampa vs. Chris Hero, Chuckie T, Willie Mack, Rich Swann & Joey Ryan (PWG BoLA Night 3) || YES = 1 ||
Timothy Thatcher vs Biff Busick (EVOLVE 32) || YES = 2 ||
Zack Sabre Jr vs Timothy Thatcher (Evolve 34) || YES = 1 ||




WWE:
*Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (Royal Rumble) || YES = 29 ||*
Daniel Bryan Vs Randy Orton (Raw 03/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Cesaro Vs John Cena (Raw 17/02) || YES = 21 ||*
*The Wyatts Vs The Shield (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 31 ||*
Elimination Chamber Match (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 4 ||
*Sami Zayn Vs Cesaro (NXT ArRIVAL) || YES = 28 ||*
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Raw 03/03/2014) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs HHH (Wrestlemania) || YES = 9 ||
John Cena Vs Bray Wyatt (Wrestlemania) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs Batista Vs Randy Orton (Wrestlemania) || YES = 5 || 
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Main Event 08/04/2014) || YES = 3 ||
The Shield Vs Evolution (Extreme Rules) || YES = 7 ||
Tyler Breeze Vs Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover) || YES = 2 ||
Charlotte Vs Natalya (NXT Takeover) || YES = 5 ||
Adrian Neville Vs Tyson Kidd (NXT Takeover) || YES = 3 ||
The Shield Vs Evolution (Payback) || YES = 2 ||
Cesaro Vs Sheamus (Payback) || YES = 1 ||
Bad News Barrett vs Sheamus (Raw 09/06) || YES = 1 ||
John Cena, Sheamus & Roman Reigns vs Cesaro, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt & Alberto Del Rio (Smackdown 20/06) || YES = 1 ||
Money in the Bank Ladder Match (Money in the Bank) || YES = 1 ||
John Cena vs Bray Wyatt (Payback) || YES = 1 ||
John Cena vs Brock Lesnar (Summerslam) || YES = 5 ||
Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins (18/08 Raw) || YES = 1 ||
Adrian Neville vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd (TakeOver 2) || YES = 6 ||
Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn (NXT 13/11) || YES = 1 ||
Dolph Ziggler vs Tyson Kidd vs Cesaro (Smackdown 14/11) || YES = 1 ||
Team Authority vs Team Cena (Survivor Series) || YES = 3 ||
Bray Wyatt vs Dean Ambrose (Survivor Series) || YES = 1 ||






Lucha Libre:
Virus Vs Titan (CMLL 28/01) || YES = 4 ||
Rush Vs Shocker (CMLL 21/03) || YES = 1 ||
Virus, Cachorro & Hechicero Vs ***** Casas, Cavernario & Dragon Lee (CMLL 23/05) || YES = 2 ||
Volador Jr Vs Rush (25/05 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
Villano IV Vs Chessman (AAA Rey De Reyes) || YES = 1 ||
Rush, La Mascara, Titan vs ***** Casas, Shocker, Felino (06/06 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
El Hechicero vs. El Cavernario (20/06 CMLL) || YES = 2 ||
Blue Panther vs Ephesto (22/06 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
Silver Star vs Charles Lucero (22/06 Noches De Coliseo) || YES = 1 ||
Cachorro, Cavernario, Dragon Lee, Soberano Jr. & ***** Casas vs Virus, Hechicero, Star Jr., Guerrero ***** Jr. & Super Halcon Jr (27/06 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
Rush vs ***** Casas (CMLL Judicio Final) || YES = 1 ||
Rey Cometa vs Barbaro Cavernario (CMLL 81st Aniversario) || YES = 3 ||
Ultimo Dragon vs Atlantis (CMLL 81st Aniversario) || YES = 3 ||
Caifan vs Rey Hechicero (Luchamania Monterrey 05/07/2014) || YES = 2 ||
Diamante Azul, Dragon Lee & La Sombra vs. Cavernario, Hechicero, ***** Casas (CMLL 16/09) || YES = 1 ||
Titan vs Barbaro Cavernario (CMLL 02/08) || YES = 1 ||







Legend:
*Bold Red Text*: matches with a score of 10 or better
Red text: matches with a score of 5 or better


----------



## seabs

*Watched some stuff over the past couple of weeks:*

*Tanahashi vs Shibata - NJPW 21/9* _- Yeah I guess this was good but it didn't feel like a legit great match watching it. IDK, they do tell a nice story but it's never one I'm emotionally invested in for the finish._

*Taguchi vs KUSHIDA - NJPW 21/9* _- This was definitely good for Taguchi and New Japan juniors standards and probably could have hit a YES if Taguchi was half as good as KUSHIDA was and the ankle was worked a bit more during the middle segment to believably weaken it up more over time._

*Okada vs Anderson - NJPW 23/9* _- Ok not a YES but this was pretty simple in New Japan main event terms but because of that I really enjoyed it. It wasn't trying to be an epic which cut many faults out of this one. Heel Anderson isn't as consistently good as babyface Anderson but this was a really stellar heel showing. Built really well to a finish and for once I thought the Bullet Club shtick added something to the match._

*Ishii vs Yujiro - NJPW 13/10* _- Much better than most of the Ishii epics this year because Ishii played a much better underdog here and despite knowing the outcome, the emotional investment was there to get behind Ishii's comeback. Yujiro flat out sucks though and keeps it from being a YES from me. His offence is awful, he looks so unnatural inside the ring and has a legit I don't want to put up with you personality in the ring. Best Ishii performance this year though outside of the Honma and Nagata matches which were really a step ahead of anything else._

*Tanahashi vs Styles - NJPW 13/10* _- I'll YES this one because it was really well worked for a main event title change and although I wouldn't call it great, I did think it was really good with few faults and a very strong final few minutes filled with good tension._ *YES*

*Ishii vs Goto - NJPW 8/11* _- I guess if you like the recent Ishii/Goto matches then you love this. If you loved the obviously much better IC Title match they had before Ishii was something and hated their last few then skip this. They hit each other hard a lot and that's the story. No thanks._

*Nakamura vs Shibata - NJPW 8/11* _- I liked this a lot and it's probably not a coincidence that it wasn't much over 15 minutes. Because of that the middle segment felt fast enough and filled with enough meaningful stuff rather than time filler. Really good pace to the match and a great outing from Shibata. Borderline great but I'll give it a YES all the same._ *YES*

*Sekimoto vs Shinobu - BJW 30/6* _- Super strong match. Underdog matches work when you establish throughout the match that one guy is the dominant one and in this case clearly higher up the food chain and that the underdog is always battling upwards and not on level ground with the more dominant star. This is why control segments that don't go back and forth are necessary. What this does really well that others don't is that it knows its finish and sets up that Shinobu has a glimour of hope from the get go with him "winning" the first few minutes and showing that it's possible that he can get the better of Sekimoto in some exchanges. Middle could be better and keeps it being from a legit MOTYC for me but the finish is super duper great._ *YES*

*Sekimoto vs Ishikawa - BJW 26/7* _- I think I'm like 70% more likely to enjoy a match in 2014 if it's under 15 minutes, especially in Japan. Once they go over 15 the middle almost has no choice to drag because nobody tells interesting stories throughout matches and just go for hot trading nearfalls finishes. This is awesome because Ishikawa is really big and built like a fucking tree so automatically anyone facing him is working from underneath and Ishikawa has offence that will make you cringe. Those headbutts. Jesus fucking christ it was like watching a brutal scene in a horror movie where how VIOLENT those headbutts were. Legit cringed at most of them. 13 minutes also allows them to work a fast pace throughout with no time in the middle to catch your breath so to speak. Ishikawa is always on top but with 13 minutes it's short enough to constantly add in short burst and hope spots from Sekimoto. Crowd get super hot the final few minutes which helps a lot. Shame that Ishikawa fluffed a spot when the crowd was at their peak but they recovered well and it was near enough to the finish that it didn't kill any real momentum that hurt the match. There aren't too many matches from this year that I'd argue non fans of 2014 wrestling should watch but this is one of them because it's got a good story with a big fucking TRUCK refusing to be taken down and it's the optimum time for this type of match with no "play on your phone while they sit in pointless submission holds during the middle". _ *YES*

*Sekimoto/Kamitani vs Ishikawa/Sato - BJW 31/10* _- Sato and Ishikawa have been great this year because they're big fucking dudes who beat up on guys smaller than themselves and don't go down easily which makes it mean something when they do. This could have been a legit MOTYC but the structure limited it from being one. I would have much preferred for them to kill Kamitani for an extended heat segment rather than breaking it into basically 3 short heat segments with Kamitani tagging out and in again. Felt like they didn't trust Kamitani to work the heat segment for too long at once which was a shame. What they did do though is really good and then underdogs vs ruthless big guys dynamic works very well here. I'll throw a YES at it because Big Japan probably isn't getting the quantity of them they deserve and this at worst is really good._ *YES*


----------



## seabs

*KUDO vs Akito - DDT 29/4* _- Akito was good in this but fuck KUDO killed anything good Akito had going with his pathetic selling of the pretty good leg work from Akito. Just the dirt worst selling from KUDO. Sure he sorta sells when Akito is in control but what's the point when he neglects it all when he's on offence. Really it's pretty dumb to work over the leg of someone whose entire offence is kicks and knee strikes from a non-kayfabe perspective. Just work the upper body instead and then he probably won't undo all the limb work I just sat through. KUDO starts his comeback and the first thing he does is a springboard dropkick. So he leaps up on the ropes just fine, pushes off the ropes just fine, kicks his legs forward just fine and lands on his knees just fine. Fucking brilliant. Akito looked good though and the chain wrestling to open was pretty intriguing even if it's not the best chain wrestling you'll ever see but it was something I cared about watching. Sell the leg and maybe this is great but don't sell it at all and what's the point._

*Mochizuki vs T-Hawk - Dragon Gate 12/1* _- They had something for the first 5-10 minutes but then it just kept going and going and got way too back and forth that I lost interest. They had something with Mochizuki killing T-Hawk at the start though._

*Mochizuki vs Yoshino - Dragon Gate 16/1* _- Cut 10 minutes off this and it's probably great. Those extra 10 minutes hurt a lot though because after so long the spots blend together and I stop caring._

*Jimmy Susumu vs Flamita - Dragon Gate 5/5* _- Ok this Flamita guy is awesome and super exciting in the ring. Oh the joys of sub 15 minute matches of this style too. It helps so much because I don't get chance to burn out on the spots. Granted this also had Flamita who was tons more fun to watch than all the other guys doing this match with twice as much time. Yokosuka is always really good too but duh this is the Flamita show. That springboard 450 looked crazy funky. Actually though they could have got away with much more down the finishing stretch but I'd much rather be left wanting more than nothing else with 10 minutes left._ *YES*

*SHINGO/Tozawa vs T-Haw/Eita - Dragon Gate 20/7* _- I did like this but it was also 30 minutes and at best they had a 20 minute match which meant a lot of meaningless filler in the middle and 5 minutes more of back and forth spot trading at the end than was needed. Granted as far as spot filled matches go I guess this was one of the stronger ones I've watched this year but it's still a match that had me done 20-25 minutes and totally disinterested come the finish. I swear I see that kick out at 1 spot in every major puro match now and just ugh. These matches are like NBA All Star games. Sure you get cool dunks during the game (swap dunks for spots) but ultimately you're just watching for dunks/spots and you don't care who wins. You only really care about the All Star game when a little story breaks out like two guys going back and forth shooting and not missing and these matches maybe have those moments during small parts of it (see the start of Mochizuki/T-Hawk for example) but it's still just a small part of the match. The difference between Basketabll and Wrestling is the All Star game happens once a year and this happens all the god damn time._

*Sekimoto/Hashimoto vs Tanaka/Sugiura - ZERO-1 1/6* _- Well this at least has KAZUKI HASHIMOTO going for it, or more precisely Hash getting hit really hard and being Hash and taking shit from no one. Sekimoto's great in it too and this would have been a YES if not for Sugiura being so passive in it and Tanaka being everything wrong with modern pro wrestling. Oh look Tanaka does a table spot in another match that he still can't build to properly._

*Ricochet vs ACH - PWG Sold Our Soul For Rock & Roll* _- I largely enjoyed this apart from a stretch in the middle where they seemed to lose any momentum for a little bit. Other than that this was two guys who I'm glad that I still like having a pretty strong match that didn't outstay its welcome for too long. Ricochet killing ACH during a crowd surf. Awesome._ *YES*

*Young Bucks & Kevin Steen vs 3 GEEKS - PWG Sold Our Soul For Rock & Roll* _- Gargano still does nothing for me and I thought sucked here. Alexander does pretty spots. Yay. I was actually interested in seeing Trevor Lee given the hype and I thought he sucked here. Dude loves doing closed first punches with fake noises which I hate so much because it's so stupid and only buries your own punches when they have no effect. Hey I punch a guy with a closed fist right in the face and it had no effect. Fuck I suck. Bucks are still awesome. I thought Steen hurt this despite being fun in it. The problem was he was hurting what the Bucks were doing because he was just goofing around and attracting babyface pops which was killing the Bucks' heat. These guys work so damn hard to get legit heel heat on an Indy show in 2014 and Steen just undoes it all. Great. Put Steen on the babyface team doing exactly the same stuff and awesome. This didn't outstay its welcome either and was largely pretty fun. Would be a YES if the babyface team didn't suck._

*Young Bucks vs Worlds Cutest Tag Team - PWG Eleven* _- Yeah this had a couple of great spots but I felt like the match was defined by those spots and because of that they missed out on having a great match. For starters I never really felt the heat between the two teams. Ok they did hardcore spots but that was it. Gummy Bears shit I hated because it's a fucking Guerilla Warfare match and comedy spots have a time and a place and it's not here. I also hated Steen not giving this the serious call either. They start off hot but it felt like they really slowed down the momentum as soon as they went into the crowd which hurt the match early on and it felt like it never really got going until pretty late into the match. Bucks are still awesome and are fabulous dicks. Forgot to mention this but Nick superkicking the streamers. Golden. Thumbtack boot is a great spot that looked brutal. That trash can spot was the worst though. Candice is awesome because she's a tiny chick who takes brutal superkicks and they look awesome because it's a tiny chick who is super likeable taking them. They thumbtack superkick really should have been the end of her though and I wasn't a fan of Candice being the one to get the win and recover after that but okay. Post match stuff I thought made those guys look really bush league but good for them if they enjoyed themselves I guess._


----------



## Groovemachine

Glad you liked Flamita/Susumu, I was a big fan of that one. I forget, did you ever see the Captain's Fall match from the Gate of Passion? T-Hawk, EITA & Flamita vs Ricochet, SHINGO & Akira Tozawa. Flamita & Ricochet had some AWESOME encounters in that one. My DG MOTY, just above Flamita/Susumu.


----------



## seabs

*What's the date on it?*


----------



## Groovemachine

04/27. Here's the DM link:


----------



## seabs

*37 minutes :jaydamn

Thanks. :Frankie*


----------



## Bruce L

Concrete said:


> *AR Fox/Rich Swann vs. Mikey Whipwreck/Tajiri (2CW 4/19/14):****
> Having had this match vetted to make sure I wasn’t bias for being there live for it I now feel very comfortable calling this one of the best indie tag matches of the year. To some extent it is disappointing that Tajiri pretty much took this as a trip to get a couple of his students some matches in America and didn’t put all TOO much effort in. On a more positive note, Mikey F’n Whipwreck worked his ass off. A true workhorse in there. He pulls off a sequence with Swann that really builds and is something he should not be able to do for a man his age with a body that is in the shape that it is in. Him and Tajiri really had some sweet double team offense that looked absolutely brutal including Fox getting dropkicked in the noggin’ and unceremoniously dumped. In the latter portion of this match Fox and Swann went after Whipwreck’s arm to put the heat on him and to their credit they looked like sharks going after it. Wicked kicks to it and especially loved Swann pulling it over the top rope and giving it a quick snappy kick before Whipwreck bumped on the apron. Working over a body part isn’t worth much if the wrestler doesn’t sell and Whipwreck sure as hell does that. He holds it at his side like an injured wing and when he’s about to hit a big DDT he goes with the wrong arm and goes back on the defensive. The way they lead to Tajiri’s mist was also great. If nothing else Tajiri threw a few wicked kicks. Swann is one of those guys who is so good yet rarely stands out cause he doesn’t have these overwhelming positives or these negatives. AR Fox takes dumb bumps and does some quality shit talking. Guys…I might be turning the corner a bit on Fox. Still shite sometimes but sometimes not. Here he isn’t. OKAY, GREAT MATCH EVERYONE!
> ​*


The Unholy Alliance reunites? And it's _good_? *And it involves Rich Swann?!?!?!* :homer6


----------



## seabs

*I actually watched that and I wouldn't go as far as Concrete did. Mikey was great in it though but Fox/Swann were pretty meh in control and Tajiri was pretty passive in it.*


----------



## Bruce L

Yeah, I'm not expecting a "YES" vote. But it _is_ my favorite "Tragically Short-Lived Tag Team That Should Have Conquered the World" reuniting, and Rich Swann is in it, so it would have to actively suck something fierce for me not to at least want to check it out.


----------



## Concrete

GUT SAYS you'd be more in line with Seabs than I but WHO KNOWS?! Look forward to your thoughts. Meanwhile...

*Atlantis/ Delta/ Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Barbaro Cavernario/ Hechicero/ Mephisto (CMLL 11/25/14):*****
_Comes in at around 15 minutes and it is indeed 15 minutes of good times. Truth be told if you simply watched this match for the Cavernario and Guerrero Maya Jr. exchanges you would not be disappointed at all. Every time they stepped in the ring with each other the match instantly went up a notch. So much fire! Even when in the opening exchange between the two where they were just grappling it felt like each guy was trying to put a little more pressure on the moves and struggling a little more to get out of them. When they start whaling on each other soon after you can’t help but get overjoyed. That is a singles match that needs to happen. Carvernario pulls something I don’t see too often when his partners are being pinned he simply bails at the last moment instead of taking it to Maya cause why bother? In the segunda caida, more awesome Cavernario and Maya battles. There is a moment where Maya is making a comeback and in a natural progression hits a big dive on Carvernario. So I am not simply gushing over those two I want to say Hechicero remains stupidly good. Honestly he didn’t quite have the opportunities to really show off as Carvernario did but that is more than fine in my book. Everything he did looked good, his going through the ropes to the floor always gets me, and he managed to make Delta look competent at times. Okay, that probably isn’t fair because I haven’t seen enough Delta but whatever. The rudos as a unit worked really well especially giving a beating to Maya and then to Atlantis. Speaking of the old geezer, he certainly has lost a step but managed to bring a different dynamic for a spot of the last fall but for me as a viewer it was important because it kept me on my toes which sometimes doesn’t happen with lucha. The whole last fall is full of twists and turns. The ending while some may call crappy, I call fantastic and really a swell way to finish off a non-big-time trios match. _​


----------



## Concrete

Sorry to double post (not entirely sorry actually but I don't think I'm really burying posts with nonsense) 

*Manabu Hara/Kosei Kubota vs Mitsuhisa Sunabe/Shuichiro Katsumura (Hard Hit):***3/4*
_The Tomoya Miyshita Memorial Tag Match. Okay, maybe it is “a” instead of “the”. Actually, have no idea who that is. Anyway, still haven’t wrapped my head around that Hard Hit is the baby sister promotion of DDT. Like, the exact opposite sorta promotions. This is the best match from this event and it is hella fun. Hara and Kubota are a bad ass team. Both came to mess some skinny pricks up. And mess them up they did. They did a real good job of cutting off the ring when they were on the offensive. Like they were in the ring with a frightened antelope. Opening sequence with Hara and Katsumura was sweet. Kat is not a big man but he still looked about twice the size of his partner. What he had going for him was a lot of grappling skill and he even tries to stay on the ground when Kubota is standing over him to get the match there. But he also was willing to throw hands…and get dumped on the back of his head. Oh, watching this just to see Kubota murder Sunabe might be worth the short amount of time this match lasts. If you’re into shoot style than watch this and enjoy. Maybe not great in the striking aspect of it but the grappling and some throws are totally rad. _


*Dragon Lee/ Fuego/ Triton vs Cancerbero/ Okumura/ Raziel (CMLL): ***3/4*
_FUN TRIOS ACTION IN GOOD OLD CMLL! These guys probably weren’t going nutty but I dug the dynamic of the lightning fast technicos up against the gang mentality of the rudos. None of the rudos stuck out as a leader but more a group of bad guys which I very much appreciated. That said Raziel looked the best of the group though Cancerbero was far from bad. Don’t watch enough lucha obviously but he seems like quality midcard heel you can plug in there. The match opens with quality matwork between Raziel and Fuego followed up by some more good stuff between Lee and Cancerbero. I don’t need too much more. Triton seemed sorta generic in the primera but whatever. Segunda had a wicked comeback by the young speedsters where they used agility to get the rudos off balance so they could hit a nice blitzkrieg of offense. In the final fall you have Lee possibly bust Cancerbero’s chest with a tree of woe double stomp that looked straight NUTTY! Maybe the finish won’t be for everyone but I am a big fan of leaving openings for future matches that don’t detract from the match and in my view create a satisfactory conclusion.
_

*Shinsuke Nakamura/ Tomohiro Ishii vs Toru Yano/ Kazushi Sakuraba (NJPW): *****
_Sometimes NJPW stars align and they certainly did here. Nak and Ishii are already a pretty sweet duo and when you match Nak against Sak after WK7 you only increase my interest. This match seemed like a return to form, or a match outside of tired Suzuki stuff, for Yano that just worked. He was willing to duke it out with Ishii which was just fantastic and started to remind me that Yano is good when given the opportunity. He also used the chair on Nakamura in a compelling way by targeting the arm. The Nakamura and Sakuraba stuff obviously never hits WK7 levels but it is still a totally different thing than we are used to in NJPW and was still done extremely well. You have well done grappling and you have STIFF strikes. That it is more or less what I was expecting and wanting out of them. Sakuraba did not take the night off in the least. His grasping of submissions was great. Yano’s cheating ways played a role in the ending stretch of the match and things like the exposed turnbuckle were built upon in a natural way earlier on. I enjoy Ishii quite a bit but he is a bit of a one trick pony but he can do that trick real well. Great match that mixed a lot of things together coherently. Real gem within the tricky to navigate World Tag League.
_​
ALSO TO NOTE: I have lost most of my "star rating sense" so these are rough guidelines of how much I liked them. I at least thought "Hey, that was really good, I should talk about that"


----------



## Sick Graps-V2

I can see it's already on the list; but I really enjoyed Ricochet and Kushidas' match from this years NJPW BOSJ finals.

x1ywoce_njpw-best-of-super-juniors-2014-finals-ricochet-vs-kushida_sport


----------



## ninetwentyfour

Concrete said:


> *AR Fox/Rich Swann vs. Mikey Whipwreck/Tajiri (2CW 4/19/14):****
> Having had this match vetted to make sure I wasn’t bias for being there live for it I now feel very comfortable calling this one of the best indie tag matches of the year. To some extent it is disappointing that Tajiri pretty much took this as a trip to get a couple of his students some matches in America and didn’t put all TOO much effort in. On a more positive note, Mikey F’n Whipwreck worked his ass off. A true workhorse in there. He pulls off a sequence with Swann that really builds and is something he should not be able to do for a man his age with a body that is in the shape that it is in. Him and Tajiri really had some sweet double team offense that looked absolutely brutal including Fox getting dropkicked in the noggin’ and unceremoniously dumped. In the latter portion of this match Fox and Swann went after Whipwreck’s arm to put the heat on him and to their credit they looked like sharks going after it. Wicked kicks to it and especially loved Swann pulling it over the top rope and giving it a quick snappy kick before Whipwreck bumped on the apron. Working over a body part isn’t worth much if the wrestler doesn’t sell and Whipwreck sure as hell does that. He holds it at his side like an injured wing and when he’s about to hit a big DDT he goes with the wrong arm and goes back on the defensive. The way they lead to Tajiri’s mist was also great. If nothing else Tajiri threw a few wicked kicks. Swann is one of those guys who is so good yet rarely stands out cause he doesn’t have these overwhelming positives or these negatives. AR Fox takes dumb bumps and does some quality shit talking. Guys…I might be turning the corner a bit on Fox. Still shite sometimes but sometimes not. Here he isn’t. OKAY, GREAT MATCH EVERYONE!
> ​*


Live bias from ol' Sammy boy. Match was barely passable.


----------



## Concrete

I was genuinely wondering if that was the case myself. Didn't like it too much live but on video it was great stuff. Forced Dylan Hales to watch to make sure I wasn't looking with Rose tinted glasses.


----------



## Concrete

*Masayuki Mitomi vs. Goro Junior (UNION 11/3/14):***3/4*
_Heard of neither wrestler coming in, to my recollection, so I was totally clueless entering and totally surprised at the end. A ton of this match is Goro Junior working Mitomi’s leg with vicious submissions and some gnarly Dragon Screws. I mean real gnarly. He does one where he has Mitomi sat upon the apron that just looks like he got his leg ALL twisted up. It was also a very focused attack which lasted from one opening to the final second. Mitomi was good at emoting pain which adds to the whole thing. Things start getting tense down the stretch leading Mitomi to put his hand on Goro’s throat, against the code of honor, which leads to a ROCKET PUNCH from Goro. That isn’t his last sweet strike where he BACKHANDS THE PISS OUTTA Mitomi in the corner. Mitomi might shrug stuff off a LITTLE on offense but really didn’t get enough traction where it was a negative. The ending while maybe a little sloppy had the concept around it that overshadowed that and had me let out a verbal “AAAAAHHHH”. Good times. A little pro wrestling mixed with a little more realism. _​


----------



## BillThompson

Question Sammy, what is your cut off for a great match, or to be more specific a MOTYC? Does it depend on the year, how many great matches you've seen, or is there a rating that a match has to be above?


----------



## Rah

Still waiting for Rush/Casas, mate.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Christmas Graps-V3 said:


> I can see it's already on the list; but I really enjoyed Ricochet and Kushidas' match from this years NJPW BOSJ finals.
> 
> x1ywoce_njpw-best-of-super-juniors-2014-finals-ricochet-vs-kushida_sport


Top-10 match for this year, in my opinion. Amazing.


----------



## Concrete

FIRST, Bill: My star ratings go ***3/4= really good and ****+=varying levels of GREAT! Now you are probably wondering,"Why the heck is he putting something that he doesn't think is great in this thread," WELL that is something sorta established for awhile. Some people only post matches they think are great, or **** and above, and though my tastes have DRASTICALLY changed I try to stick to my REALLY GOOD AND ABOVE mentality for this thread. Real world and outside the confines of this thread what do I consider a MOTYC? Couldn't even tell you. I should be able to tell at this point but I really don't know until the end of the year. Like I couldn't tell you what the nominees for Motion Picture of the Year should be upon release but I could tell you at the end of the year. Hopefully that makes some sense. 

HEY RAH, HOP OFF MATE! But really, I watched it. I forgot to write thoughts. So now I'll have to watch again  Upon first watch it didn't crack into my Top 10 off the bat. We'll see how it fairs on rewatch but my guess is I won't love it quite as much as you.

EDIT: Also, anyone who just posts star ratings or a sentence in this thread does gain my ire. JUST SO YOU KNOW!
EDIT 2x: Also Bill, this thread has been used in the past to point to good stuff, not your ***-***1/2 malarky, from the year and not solely meant for MOTYCs.


----------



## flag sabbath

Concrete's ire ****1/4*

Seriously, though, if you wanna go in depth & paint pictures, vaya con dios. Personally, I relish trying to sell or slate a match in a snappy sentence or two.


----------



## BillThompson

Concrete said:


> FIRST, Bill: My star ratings go ***3/4= really good and ****+=varying levels of GREAT! Now you are probably wondering,"Why the heck is he putting something that he doesn't think is great in this thread," WELL that is something sorta established for awhile. Some people only post matches they think are great, or **** and above, and though my tastes have DRASTICALLY changed I try to stick to my REALLY GOOD AND ABOVE mentality for this thread. Real world and outside the confines of this thread what do I consider a MOTYC? Couldn't even tell you. I should be able to tell at this point but I really don't know until the end of the year. Like I couldn't tell you what the nominees for Motion Picture of the Year should be upon release but I could tell you at the end of the year. Hopefully that makes some sense.
> 
> EDIT: Also, anyone who just posts star ratings or a sentence in this thread does gain my ire. JUST SO YOU KNOW!
> EDIT 2x: Also Bill, this thread has been used in the past to point to good stuff, not your ***-***1/2 malarky, from the year and not solely meant for MOTYCs.


I had read up on the thread a bit, so the first part was more what I was getting at, ie; why you post what you do in this thread. For me, though I don't post much, I appreciate any matches that people post and give their thoughts on because I very much find pro wrestling analysis/critiquing to be a communal thing.


----------



## Concrete

flag sabbath said:


> Concrete's ire ****1/4*
> 
> Seriously, though, if you wanna go in depth & paint pictures, vaya con dios. Personally, I relish trying to sell or slate a match in a snappy sentence or two.


See, for people I know I share some similar opinions with that sometimes works for me. But most times I need a little more detail on what was good to see if that is worth my time. I mean, I won't come after anyone who just posts star ratings but in the back of my head I'll just go "UGH". Personally I liked the days of 4 pages of arguing over a match more than 90 pages of 

"Team Cena vs Authority: ****1/2
Best Ziggler performance ever"

Type stuff cause that will never help me and probably won't help too many others. But I think the work Rah does with that YES biz helps to a degree.


----------



## BillThompson

I'm more in line with Sammy on this one. I'm not going to tell anyone not to take the star rating and minimal writing approach. But, I get a lot more out of someone breaking down why a match deserves that rating, or just what they liked/didn't like about a match in general than I do a simple ****1/4 and going about their business.

I'm also more likely to give a match a chance if someone breaks it down, versus someone just offering up a rating. Of course, as Sammy pointed out, there are exceptions to this mainly based on how well I know someone and where our tastes intersect.


----------



## smitlick

Personally we shouldnt discourage anyone from posting in this thread no matter how long/brief their posts are.


----------



## Concrete

Hey, post whatever you want.

EDIT: This isn't a new thing.


----------



## GothicBohemian

I appreciate a little more to go on than star ratings. I’m not familiar enough with the individual tastes of many of the various contributors to know immediately if this is someone who my wrestling preferences align with. I also just enjoy the way some folks describe a match.

But there’s nothing wrong with short posts either. That's more than I contribute while I lurk this thread and there's lots to admire in simplicity.


----------



## Rah

The nomination list is merely there as a go-to guide for anyone who wants to get into what the best has to offer. It's impossible to scroll through the entire thread looking for recommendations, and the majority of people's top 10s come toward the end of the year, anyway. Of course there's flaws in a consensus vote, and there's a saturation of NJPW matches (indicative of what the majority of this section enjoy more than anything else), but the top voted matches on that list are high tier. I do not enjoy NJPW's approach to wrestling, for the most part, but Tanahashi/Nakamura and Styles/Suzuki are high up on my own list and would be matches I'd give to someone wanting to try the promotion out. While there's a group of mainstays within the thread, it's not only viewed by us and so something like the nomination list is a great resource and a brilliant idea by Seabs.

That said, I have noticed there being less discussion. Loss of interest (a shitty wrestling product all around doesn't help) and stratification to other websites/priorities are both to blame. Arguments bordering on flaming also didn't help, and seemed to be quite often this year. Not quite the whole RoH sucks/fuck you split we had a while back but almost. Plus the guys who usually would contend a point (Nervosa/Capone7x) are no longer around.

I tend to avoid star ratings, now, as they seem to cloud the actual content of my review for some. I'll be the first to admit I'm perhaps a bit too lenient in dolling them out, but sometimes individuals couldn't understand that a 4 star match can have negatives to it. I do not mind how people nominate matches, as long as they do. One-liners and simple star ratings have sparked discussion. Of course it's hard to gauge why they enjoyed the match, but you do tend to understand certain posters tastes after a while. Moreover the wrestlers' names may pique your interest and the addition of a simple rating may sway you in giving it time. I haven't watched that Dragon Gate tag and I'm just using it as an example but you could see those involved and be interested, yet the run time gives you hesitation. Seeing someone like Groovemachine pimp it, though, should/could mitigate that hesitation in it wasting your time. Star ratings do have merits. Again, Groovemachine usually does make a write-up so this is still just an example.

Some people aren't either comfortable nor inclined to writing ad nauseum (anyone still reading this, btw?). If you want more on a match, ask the poster. If you want to tut, tut. There's definitely a handful of posters that do want to discuss wrestling but perhaps need a bit of a prod to do so. 


*TL;DR Smackdown had a *** 1/4 match you should watch*


----------



## Concrete

There were arguments bordering on flame wars? WHAT A FRIGGIN' RIB!

EDIT: Also, I need to change this Spandex Are Still Cool pic. As much as I love it there is simply too many fat men that need love. Just a side note.


----------



## seabs

*Longer explanations are cool but not obligatory. The thread is probably more quiet this year because it's been a pretty poor year in terms of MOTYCs and the high end stuff is largely agreed on (see Styles/Suzuki for example for what happens when people disagree). A lot of the big disagreements in past threads were people loving/hating the ROH style but people seem to not care about giving ROH/NOAH matches that level of praise anymore.*


----------



## NastyYaffa

*ROH Final Battle*
*The Young Bucks & ACH vs. The Addiction & Cedric Alexander - **** - YES!
Jay Briscoe vs. Adam Cole - ****1/4 - YES!*


----------



## Morrison17

Chikara Tomorrow Never Dies

Devastation Corporation vs. Throwbacks


----------



## Gretchen

Yes to Jay Briscoe vs Adam Cole from Final Battle. Most entertaining match of the year if I'm not forgetting about anything.


----------



## KO Bossy

What is the voting process and how does it work? I looked for an explanation and am unsure.


----------



## Rah

Basically, any match that ranks **** 1/4 is added to the list if it doesn't have a nomination/yes vote. Otherwise, the process of voting is more on if you feel the match will be a true reflection of the best of its class come end of year. Ideally top 10 but that's not quite happening.


----------



## Bubz

You know what sucks? The fact that I used to come here all the time to find matches that might be worth watching, but now I sit here and read through the last several pages for the first time in ages and absolutely nothing sounds appealing to me any more. I've just lost all interest in wrestling this year. I'm becoming like Seabs, something I swore to my mother I'd never ever become.


----------



## seabs

*Why the fuck is ripping on Seabs becoming a thing between you "elite" guys? :goaway

I have about a handful (and maybe an odd finger) of matches that I thought were great this year.

Edit: Honma/Ishii x2, Ishii/Nagata, Shield/Wyatts I, Bryan/Wyatt, Sekimoto/Ishikawa. SIX GUYS. SIX.*


----------



## Bookockey

For me the Young Bucks have been in several MOTYC's. The one I was most entertained by all around was vs. Candice & Joey at PWG Eleven. I enjoyed that match like I have enjoyed few matches since I was a kid, like total mark and I loved it.

Plenty of other good Buck's matches could be considered, but if I'm picking one it would be this.


----------



## Concrete

I have about 25 at the **** or above mark.

1	The Shield vs. The Wyatts (2/23/2014)
2	***** Casas/Cavernerio/Dragon Lee vs. Virus/Cachorro/Hechicero (5/23/2014)
3	AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki (8/1/2014)
4	Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (2/27/2014)
5	Cesaro vs. John Cena (2/17/2014)
6	KUSHIDA vs Jushin Liger (6/6/2014)
7	Timothy Thatcher vs. Biff Busick(4/13/2014)
8	Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (1/11/2014)
9	Hechicero vs Cavernario (6/20/2014)
10	Matt Hardy/Jeff Hardy vs Mark Briscoe/Jay Briscoe (4/26/2014)
11	Timothy Thatcher vs. Biff Busick (8/9/2014)
12	Sheamus/Christian vs. Cesaro/Jack Swagger (2/10/2014)
13	Andrew Alexander vs. Shaun Tempers(Dog Collar Match) (1/4/2014)
14	Blue Panther/Black Panther/Cacharro vs. Felino/Puma/Tiger(3/28/2014)
15	Virus vs. Titan	(1/28/2014)
16	Charles Lucero vs. Silver Star (3/2/2014)
17	Jun Akiyama/Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Keisuke Ishii/Shigehiro Irie	(4/29/2014)
18	AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito	(7/26/2014)
19	Arkalis/Meyer/Paris vs Guerrero Espacial/Rey Apocalipsis/Toro Bill Jr	(9/16/2014)
20	Cavernerio vs. Rey Cometa (9/19/2014)
21	Villano IV vs. Blue Demon Jr. (4/19/2014)
22	Virus vs. Fuego	(6/15/2014)
23	John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt (Last Man Standing)(6/1/2014)
24	Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins(Falls Count Anywhere)(8/18/2014)
25	AJ Styles vs. Cedric Alexander	(1/19/2014)

So you may also notice I have forgotten to put some matches in that I have done write-ups on. That is based on lazyness/forgetfulness. The list also gets progressively less clear as it goes so more look at the matches than the number since that means very little. Tons of rewatching I still need to do but those are my "great" matches this year. Tons of stuff I still haven't seen that I'll catch up on after the semester.


----------



## seabs

*Oh shit I forgot about Cesaro/Zayn and the 4 way. EIGHT GUYS. EIGHT.

Edit: Wait there was a great Nakamura/Tanahashi match too. NINE GUYS. NINE.*


----------



## smitlick

Lol Seabs do you even watch the same amount of wrestling as you used to? I rarely see any review of U.S. Indy stuff from ya these days. (beside PWG)


----------



## KO Bossy

OK well the 10 best matches that I've seen this year are (in no particular order):

1) Tanahashi/Nakamura Invasion Attack-might be my favorite, seeing Tanahashi play complete heel, babyfacing Nakamura, was awesome

2) Okada/Nakamura G1 final-perhaps the best spot of the year where Nakamura flawlessly counters the Rainmker in mid-air right into an arm bar

3) Styles/Suzuki G1 Day 7-Suzuki is probably the best heel in the industry today. The part of the match where he took the hammer they use to ring the bell, he grabs it and deliberately waits for the ref to see him holding it (like saying "hey, I'm gonna cheat ref...", the ref demands he give it over, Minoru goes to hand it to him and then pulls it back and swings it around, taunting the ref to come get it, and throws the hammer into the ring when the ref comes outside. Just a total dick. Then he takes AJ into the crowd where he attacks him there (while the ref retrieves the hammer and isn't paying attention). I howled and replayed it like...10 times. I am stunned that people watch Puro and say they don't get it, this is so easy to understand, yet so effective

4) Shibata/Tanahashi Destruction in Kobe-good lord, these two beat the shit out of each other

5) Okada/Goto New Beginning in Osaka

6) Ishii/Nakamura G1 Day 7

7) Riccochet/Ibushi Dominion

8) Shibata/Honma G1 Day 8

9) Ibushi/Ishii Return to Yokohama Arena

10) Okada/Ibushi Strong Style 42nd Anniversary Show


There are others that deserve mention. Basically, http://www.profightdb.com/top-rated-matches.html?year=2014 sums it up pretty accurately. Specifically the NJPW stuff is worth watching and all deserves YES ratings. As for the 10 best this year, I just picked what I enjoyed most.


----------



## Bubz

the joy~! of seabsmas said:


> *Why the fuck is ripping on Seabs becoming a thing between you "elite" guys? :goaway*


Don't know what you mean


----------



## seabs

smitlick said:


> Lol Seabs do you even watch the same amount of wrestling as you used to? I rarely see any review of U.S. Indy stuff from ya these days. (beside PWG)


*I watched some of the really high praised matches and none were great. I still need to see the BOLA MOTYCs and the EVOLVE stuff though but stuff like reDRAGON matches will never be my thing anyway. I've watched enough of the high praise stuff to know that watching much more would be pointless because I just wouldn't like it. Even in Japan which I've caught up on most of now there's only them matches that I'd consider "MOTYCs". All the major promotions wrestle styles with the same modern irks now so unless you like the modern style you're not going to find much to enjoy from 2014 (Lucha sucks :evil).*


----------



## Groovemachine

My top 15 (just cuz :cool2):

1) Cesaro vs Sami Zayn - WWE NXT Arrival - ****3/4

2) John Cena vs Cesaro - WWE Raw 2.17.14 - ****1/4

3) The Wyatt Family vs The Shield - WWE Elimination Chamber - ****1/4

4) Daniel Bryan vs Triple H - WWE Wrestlemania XXX - ****1/4

5) Minoru Suzuki vs AJ Styles - NJPW G1 Climax Day 7 - ****1/4

6) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW Invasion Attack 2014 - ****1/4

7) Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn vs Tyler Breeze vs Tyson Kidd - WWE NXT Takeover II - ****1/4

8) Daisuke Harada vs Zack Sabre Jr - NOAH 4.11.2014 - ****1/4

9) KUSHIDA vs Ryusuke Taguchi - NJPW Destruction 2014 - ****1/4

10) The Young Bucks vs ReDRagon - ROH All-Star Extravaganza VI - ****1/4

11) Ricochet vs Kushida - NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals - ****

12) Johnny Gargano vs Uhaa Nation - Evolve 27 - ****

13) Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW G1 Climax Finals Day 12 - ****

14) T-Hawk, EITA & Flamita vs Ricochet, SHINGO & Akira Tozawa [Captain's Fall match] - DG The Gate of Passion (04.27.14) - ****

15) Flamita vs Jimmy Susumu - DG Dead or Alive 2014 - ****


It's definitely been a weaker year for genuine MOTYCs, but then again I absolutely adored Cesaro/Zayn so it would have taken something mighty epic to displace it from the top spot.


----------



## KO Bossy

Gee and I thought I judged matches harshly...I think with everything in NJPW alone, this has been a very good pro wrestling year. Its like everything I see out of Tanahashi, Okada, Nakamura, Ishii, Ibushi, AJ, Suzuki and Shibata is just dynamite. Even Naito and Goto as well, but to a lesser extent. Honestly, nothing in WWE has been anywhere close to the level of matches these guys are putting out. Perhaps I'm just tired of the WWE style, where its very formulaic. Occasionally, you'll get something very solid, like SvS Main Event or Shield vs Evolution, but nothing that holds a candle to NJPW. As a fan, what they do makes so much more sense to me. This is a big gripe I have about WWE style. Its just hitting moves 99% of the time. No rhyme or reason. But watching the Puro style where the matches have limb work to explain a part of the overall story, or punch contests to shift momentum, or even just stiffing each other, it helps matches make so much more sense. And after seeing matches of this caliber, I find it very hard to go back to WWE, where its just "time for Cena's spin out backdrop because...he hasn't hit it yet, and that's the sequence of the match". NJPW matches play out in a logical manner that I'd expect the story of a fight to go. Okada's finisher uses his arm? OK, so it makes absolute sense that an opponent would target his arm so he can't hit it, and if he does, he's doing more damage to himself. Shibata relies heavily on strong strikes? OK, taking out his knee so he can't stand up to punch/slap you is a perfectly logical way to combat him.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Since others are posting their top matches, here's my top-15 too:

*15) Jay Briscoe vs. Adam Cole (ROH Final Battle)
14) Kenny Omega vs. ACH (PWG Battle of Los Angeles)
13) The Young Bucks & Adam Cole vs. Chuck Taylor, Kenny Omega & Zack Sabre, Jr. (PWG Battle of Los Angeles)
12) Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (WWE Royal Rumble)
11) Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW G1 Climax)
10) Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW G1 Climax)
9) Ricochet vs. KUSHIDA (NJPW Best of the Super Jr.)
8) Adrian Neville vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way)
7) Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista (WWE Wrestlemania)
6) Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (NXT ArRival)
5) Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW Destruction in Kobe)
4) The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (WWE Elimination Chamber)
3) Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H (WWE Wrestlemania)
2) AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW G1 Climax)
1) Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Climax)*


----------



## Concrete

BITE ME SEABS! Lucha is awesome :'-(


----------



## Groovemachine

KO Bossy said:


> Gee and I thought I judged matches harshly...I think with everything in NJPW alone, this has been a very good pro wrestling year. Its like everything I see out of Tanahashi, Okada, Nakamura, Ishii, Ibushi, AJ, Suzuki and Shibata is just dynamite. Even Naito and Goto as well, but to a lesser extent. Honestly, nothing in WWE has been anywhere close to the level of matches these guys are putting out. Perhaps I'm just tired of the WWE style, where its very formulaic. Occasionally, you'll get something very solid, like SvS Main Event or Shield vs Evolution, but nothing that holds a candle to NJPW. As a fan, what they do makes so much more sense to me. This is a big gripe I have about WWE style. Its just hitting moves 99% of the time. No rhyme or reason. But watching the Puro style where the matches have limb work to explain a part of the overall story, or punch contests to shift momentum, or even just stiffing each other, it helps matches make so much more sense. And after seeing matches of this caliber, I find it very hard to go back to WWE, where its just "time for Cena's spin out backdrop because...he hasn't hit it yet, and that's the sequence of the match". NJPW matches play out in a logical manner that I'd expect the story of a fight to go. Okada's finisher uses his arm? OK, so it makes absolute sense that an opponent would target his arm so he can't hit it, and if he does, he's doing more damage to himself. Shibata relies heavily on strong strikes? OK, taking out his knee so he can't stand up to punch/slap you is a perfectly logical way to combat him.


That's interesting about the WWE style; moreso this year than before, I've found a lot more enjoyment watching WWE than the indies, as the indies have really seemed to succumbed to the 'hitting moves' structure. I feel that in WWE (in the case of the big-time matches at least), they do build up to the big spots and take time to make everything mean something.

Of course, you're totally right about New Japan and I LOVE limb work, but to be honest that's been my biggest gripe about them this year. Many of their 'top' matches this year I have around the ***3/4-low **** mark, as they've been great contests but there have been countless occasions of questionable selling which drag them down in my eyes. The way I see it, if you're going to make limb work an integral part of a match, you have to see it all the way through. I can somewhat forgive moments of no-selling in a spotfest, but when a match is laid out where an arm or leg is worked on, and then 30 minutes down the line it's all shrugged off, that tends to annoy me.


----------



## darkclaudio

Top 15 Matches

1. Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW G1 Climax 24 ****1/4
2. Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW The New Beginning In Osaka ****
3. Minoru Suzuki vs AJ Styles - NJPW G1 Climax 24 ****
4. Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa (c) vs T-Hawk & Eita - Dragon Gate Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival ****
5. Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW G1 Climax 24 ****
6. Cesaro vs Sami Zayn - WWE NXT Arrival ****
7. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito - NJPW Road To The New Beginning ****
8. Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan & Luke Harper vs Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins - WWE Elimination Chamber ****
9. Yuji Nagata (c) vs Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH Great Voyage In Tokyo Vol. 2 ****
10. Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada - NJPW G1 Climax 24 ****
11. Triple H vs Daniel Bryan - WWE Wrestlemania 30 ****
12. Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW The New Beginning In Hiroshima ***3/4
13. Taiji Ishimori (c) vs Daisuke Harada - NOAH Great Voyage In Tokyo ***3/4
14. Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson (c) vs Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA - NJPW Dominion ***3/4
15. Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW The New Beginning In Osaka ***3/4


----------



## Morrison17

Chikara Moonraker: 4 on 4 tag partners clash

Easily the best match of 2014. Nothing can even touch the awesomness of that perfomance. This is what real wrestling is. Pure sports entertainment.


----------



## Sephiroth

Alright, I'll go first.

NXT Takeover [R]Evolution
*NXT Title*: Adrian Neville(c) vs. Sami Zayn - *******

The video packages, the buildup throughout the show, the Zayn/Steen eye contact in the lockerroom, the match, the crowd, the storytelling, THE FUCKING AFTERMATH.

:sodone :sodone :sodone


----------



## darkclaudio

NXT TakeOver
Charlotte vs Sasha Banks ***
Sami Zayn vs Adrian Neville ***3/4-****


----------



## NastyYaffa

*NXT Takeover: R Evolution*
*Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks - ****
Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn - ****1/2*


----------



## Raindust

NXT TakeOver
Charlotte vs Sasha Banks *** 1/4
Sami Zayn vs Adrian Neville ****


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NXT Championship
Adrian Neville (c) vs Sami Zayn
WWE NXT Takeover: R-Evolution 12/11
****

YES!!!*


----------



## Violent By Design

Hey fellas, long time no see. Haven't watched some wrasslin since Wrestlemania, going to plan on catch back up with the MOTY contenders.

Anyone got a good place to check out some of these pimped matches? If you can't say it here, feel free to PM me. Looking to check out that Final Battle main event, maybe some chikara stuff and WWE stuff (don't have WWE Network anymore though). Everything else I am fairly certain I can find on youtube.


----------



## flag sabbath

The Lucha Underground 3-way ladder match was a superb payoff to six weeks worth of fat-free storyline. I loved how the numbers game swung back & forth, shifting each guy's focus throughout. And the creativity, execution & pacing were all stellar ******


----------



## seabs

*YES to Charlotte/Sasha and Zayn/Neville.*


----------



## Groovemachine

Sami Zayn vs Adrian Neville - WWE NXT Takeover R-evolution - ****

I wouldn't go as high as some have, as the stalling towards the end when Zayn had the belt really killed the pace for me. I've seen others say it was an homage to the ending of the Steen/Generico Final Battle 2010 match, which I can understand and is pretty cool, but for me it didn't quite deliver. Still, there was a LOT of emotion in this match and some absolutely fantastic nearfalls that were timed beautifully. These guys had me in the palm of their sweaty hands. 

The show overall was awesome by the way. SO MUCH for us indy geeks to enjoy. Itami's GTS attempt, the silent Owens/Zayn exchange in the locker room, Banks doing the Alex Shelley 'skullfuck', Balor being a total boss...I genuinely haven't enjoyed watching a show like that from start to finish in a very long time.


----------



## flag sabbath

Yeah, Zayn vs. Neville was great overall, but it took 'em a while to get there and the home stretch melodrama was overcooked ******

Engaging stuff from Sasha and Charlotte too. Banks is incredibly charismatic in all aspects of her performance ****3/4*


----------



## Bubz

Zayn/Neville is an easy *YES*


----------



## malek

For once in my life I can say that I really, really enjoyed diva's match. That Sasha Banks is such a natural heel, and one of the best I've seen in recent years. 

Title match was amazing, and when Neville kicked away Zayn's hand, just to hug him was a perfect little detail.I never, ever thought that NXT would play on ex-ROH rivalry, and familiarity of their fans with it, but yet they did it. I hoped how they would get more time to establish their close friendship, before NXT will pull the trigger starting their feud. Still, Owens hanging around the ring for so long raised my suspicions.

Really good show everything considered.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler from TLC was pretty damn awesome. **** for the match.


----------



## Gretchen

Yes for Ziggler vs Harper. Best WWE ladder match in years as well as best IC Title match in years.


----------



## smitlick

Massive NO to Ziggler/Harper. Fine match but not over ***-***1/4 at most. Had no flow just some spots and the whole Ziggler bleeding Harper waiting on the ladder didnt help at all. Harper was a bit slow a few times in stopping Ziggler and the finish was just lame.

Will watch the rest of the show later. Miz/Sandow annoyed me enough to turn off the Network plus the whole Siege thing going on Sydney has me watching the news.


----------



## Gretchen

I expect most of the regular posters in here will trash the match.


----------



## darkclaudio

No
Dolph Ziggler vs Luke Harper ***1/4-***1/2


----------



## ZEROVampire

NO to Dolph Ziggler vs Luke Harper, match of the night LOL
***1/4+


----------



## Good News Barrett

RuDOLPH St. Ziggles said:


> Yes for Ziggler vs Harper. *Best WWE ladder match in years *as well as best IC Title match in years.


dude we know you're a ziggler mark, but don't think you this is just ridiculous?


----------



## Raindust

Dolph Ziggler vs Luke Harper NO *** 3/4

Match of the night, solid match.


----------



## Joshi Judas

*YES

Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn ****1/2*


The kicking away the hand/hug at the end was a reference to the singles match for the NXT #1 Contendership match last year between the same two men I think. It was Zayn who kicked away Neville's hand before hugging him then. Neville returned the favor at REvolution. Great little touch.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Good News Barrett said:


> dude we know you're a ziggler mark, but don't think you this is just ridiculous?


Which ladder matches have been better in the past few years, in your opinion? WWE only. TLC matches don't count.


----------



## Gretchen

Good News Barrett said:


> dude we know you're a ziggler mark, but don't think you this is just ridiculous?


Actually, scratch that comment. Punk vs ADR vs Miz was probably better than that to me but I can't think of anything else. Maybe one of the MITB matches but this is one of my favorite WWE ladder matches in recent years. Not a very tall order tbh.

And don't think my rating is biased. Whenever Ziggler's matches, suck, I call it as I see it. I usually dislike his matches against bigger opponents because most elements of the match come off very fake but I liked this one.


----------



## Zatiel

Zayn Vs. Neville - YES! Maybe the best babyface-takes-the-title story I've seen since Aries knocked off Roode in TNA. Zayn was much more goodie-goodie, but they built some great late-match spots around that.

Ziggler Vs. Harper - NO! Some absolutely sick spots, but it never came together into a compelling match. Rather, it felt like I was just waiting for the next awful thing they'd do to each other. Not nearly enough flow to be high-end caliber. As far as "best recent WWE ladder matches" go, I can't think of anything off the top of my head that I'd vote YES! on since the Jericho Vs. Michaels feud (which was a classic) or Morrison Vs. Sheamus. I may be forgetting some.


----------



## Bruce L

*A.R. Fox & Rich Swann vs. the Unholy Alliance *(2CW, 4/19) - NO
I liked this, because I'm not going to _not_ like any match that reunites the Unholy Alliance (I can't overstate what a mark I was for them in '00-'01), and if that match includes Rich Swann, my threshold for liking it goes through the roof. But I can't say there was really anything special about it, beyond the relief that came from Mikey's ability to work being so far beyond what his present-day appearance would suggest.


*Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks *(NXT, 12/12) - ★★★¾ (NOT QUITE, BUT ALMOST)

*Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn *(NXT, 12/12) - ★★★★¼ (YES)

*Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler *(WWE, 12/14) - ★★★¾ (NOT QUITE, BUT ALMOST)
Yeah, I'm not sure this quite reached ★★★★, but I also have no problem saying it was the best non-MITB ladder match since Morrison/Sheamus.


----------



## Joshi Judas

*YES

Sasha Banks vs Charlotte: ****1/4*


Sasha pulled off the best women's performance in a WWE match in how long now? In years.


----------



## Concrete

Once *Rah* watches that 2CW tag and doesn't like it I'm gonna just start laying the verbal SMACKDOWN on errybody up in here.


----------



## Good News Barrett

Rollins vs Cena (Raw 15/12) - ****1/4

Awesome TV match


----------



## Concrete

C&P from my blog because I am VERY good at giving away content. Not only that, I threw in a star rating. EXCLUSIVE WRESTLING FORUM CONTENT! Match starts at about 33:20.

*Mickie “Moose” Knuckles vs Angel Dust (RESISTANCE Pro 11/4/14):***3/4*




_We are supposed to get Darcy Dixon against Mickie Knuckles, a match I have seen before and it was alright, but Dixon hasn’t been a nice person so she is not getting a shot at the belt. Fans are NOT happy about it. Some polo wearing prick gives a title shot to Angel Dust. Dixon is supposed to be the face here it seems but she is coming off like a real shit. Dixon gets dragged out by a couple of goofs. MATCH TIME!

Trying to get me not laugh at Mickie Knuckles’ nickname would take a ton of effort. On one hand it reminds me of TNA which is always worth a good chuckle. On the other hand, MOOSE KNUCKLES! This might be my favorite women’s match in America for 2014 (No, I did NOT forget about NXT). They did “big vs little” and it is sweet. Knuckles is part kodiak bear or part something else that is really big and violent. Angel Dust is so friggin’ tiny she is hard to take serious sometimes. Luckily, she is working with Ms. Bull Nakano Cosplay winner for 2013 and 2014 so Angel Dust looks tiny but heck, she is supposed to. They open with Dust, not related to Star or Gold, being quick and throwing kicks cause she has clearly been studying her Bruce Lee. She wants to armdrag Knuckles like a dummie and ends up getting just CHUCKED into the bottom turnbuckle. They take it to the outside where Knuckles busts her ass on the ring apron and then dies via hurricanrana. But oh yeah, Mickie is a monster so she big swings her into the ring steps, onto chairs, and does not gracefully let Angel Dust go on the floor. Mickie throws some of them MUAY THAI knees…or just knees to the face, either way they looked wicked. She does get negative points for not giving Angel some color. She gets those points back by a slap/palm strike in response to Angel DARING to fight back. Oh, Angel gets to fight her way out of a stretch muffler with knees, NEAT! Mickie deadlifts her and powerbombs her, NEATER! Angel Dust takes some sentons which makes me cringe. WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF?! THIS IS HOW PEOPLE GET HURT! Thank you Angel Dust for avoiding the second rope senton. I would have been worried for your life. Angel goes to the top, cause she is a risk taker and all, avoids Mickie’s foot and then NAILS Mickie in the noggin’ and crumples on Mickie for one of those nearfalls. Angel’s comeback is full of FIRE! The fact that she counters a swinging sideslam into a crucifix driver is good times too. Wanna know the real bonus of Angel Dust being tiny? Mickie Knuckles’ murder ending feels even more murder-y. Watch this!

Post match, Mickie Knuckles calls Darcy Dixon a bag of crap who disrespected everyone up in here. Dixon comes running out and slaps on the FIGURE-FOUR on Mickie. Crowd is hot. I’m more interested in that match now than I should be. RESISTANCE PRO BABY!

Beating the 10 Count: Great big versus little, INDIE BULL NAKANO VS SKINNY WOMAN!_​


----------



## Mattney

I honestly think Cesaro v. Sami Zayn from NXT Arrival is my clear MOTY, that's including all promotions. For the poster who commented that you'll only find formulaic wrestling with no story in WWE I urge them to watch this match. This - like other NXT matches this year - had a transparent yet captivating story, many great sequences and an engrossed crowd. Cesaro really shone throughout the year, it's unfortunate he's been let down in the booking. WWE really have no idea what to do with him, his talents could be utilised in another promotion such as NJPW where I think he would really come into his own as a competitor. WWE has the talent, but booking has and will always continue to be a problem.


----------



## Bruce L

Full disclosure: I've seen nothing from ROH this year, nothing from PWG, and only what's been uploaded into the media section here for DGUSA/Evolve. Additionally, both Tanahashi/Shibata matches and some of the more pimped DDT bouts have been sitting in my "To Watch" queue for a while. That said, here's my top 30 as of now:


30. Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre, Jr vs. Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge (NOAH, 3/21)

29. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe (NJPW, 6/21)

28. Johnny Gargano vs. Uhaa Nation (EVOLVE, 1/12)

27. Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet (DGUSA, 4/4)

26. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomoaki Honma (NJPW, 8/3)

25. Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Timothy Thatcher (EVOLVE, 9/13)

24. Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet (NJPW, 6/21)

23. Shingo Takagi, Akira Tozawa, & Ricochet vs. T-Hawk, Eita, & Flamita (DG, 4/27)

22. Jimmy Susumu vs. T-Hawk (DG, 5/31)

21. Tomohiro Ishii vs. KUSHIDA (NJPW, 4/12)

20. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW, 5/25)

19. Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE, 2/3)

18. Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk & Eita (DG, 7/20)

17. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW, 2/9)

16. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 8/1)

15. Taiji Ishimori vs. Daisuke Harada (NOAH, 3/8)

14. John Cena vs. Antonio Cesaro (WWE, 2/17)

13. Masaaki Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (DG, 1/12)

12. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naitō (NJPW, 4/6)

11. Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW, 8/10)

10. Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn (WWE [NXT], 12/11)

09. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, & Tetsuya Naitō vs. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, & Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 2/2)

08. Ricochet vs. KUSHIDA (NJPW, 6/8)

07. Yuji Nagata vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH, 7/5)

06. Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (WWE, 1/26)

05. Tetsuya Naitō vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 2/11)

04. A.J. Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW, 8/1)

03. Ricochet vs. Uhaa Nation (DG, 3/6)

02. Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (WWE [NXT], 2/27)

01. The Shield vs. the Wyatt Family (WWE, 2/23)


----------



## Natecore

My Top 5:

Neville/Zayn Revolution
Styles/Suzuki G1
HANSON/Everett ROH top prospect tourney
WeeLC (MOTY)
Bucks/reDRagon War of the Worlds

Best matches I saw live:
Hardy/Bennett vs Briscoes BITW
Fred Yehi vs Kyle Matthews local Georgia promotion back in January
Pain/Bill the Butcher vs the BFFs NWA Atlanta


----------



## flag sabbath

That Lucha Underground 10-way was pure thrills. ****** for the sheer audacity of it all.


----------



## Oui Monsieur-hehe

1. Styles vs Suzuki- G1 Climax

It's been the first one that comes to mind whenever I see this question.


----------



## Bruce L

A few recent views: none crack my top 30 (I saw all of these before I made the list), but all deserve a mention:


*Zack Sabre, Jr vs. Timothy Thatcher *_ (EVOLVE, 9/13)_ — ★★★★¼


*All Japan Royal Road Tournament final
Suwama vs. Go Shiozaki *_ (All Japan, 9/28)_ — ★★★★


*GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship match
Daisuke Harada (c) vs. Zack Sabre, Jr *_ (NOAH, 11/4)_ — ★★★★


*GHC Heavyweight Championship match
Naomichi Marufuji (c) vs. Daisuke Sekimoto *_ (NOAH, 10/12)_ — ★★★★


*Zack Sabre, Jr vs. Biff Busick *_ (EVOLVE, 9/14)_ — ★★★★


*Open the Freedom Gate Title match
Ricochet (c) vs. Uhaa Nation *_ (EVOLVE, 9/14)_ — ★★★¾


*GHC Tag Team Championship match
Takashi Sugiura (c) & Masato Tanaka (c) vs. Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls *_ (NOAH, 10/12)_ — ★★★¾


*Open the Twin Gate Title match
T-Hawk (c) & Eita (c) vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid *_ (Dragon Gate, 8/17)_ — ★★★¾


*Global League Tournament
Yuji Nagata vs. Chris Hero *_ (NOAH, 10/18)_ — ★★★¾


----------



## seabs

*CIMA & Gamma vs T-Hawk & Eita - Dragon Gate 9/9* _- As far as Dragon Gate tags this year goes this was one of the better ones in the sense that they actually made me care somewhat about who won and it told a pretty good story. If you want to have the 2 old guys beat the 2 young guys then portraying them as the underdogs this match portrayed them as is the way to go. Not a big CIMA fan but this was a really strong CIMA performance. Match isn't as all out as other Dragon Gate MOTYCs which works in its favour. T-Hawk looked really stupid on the finish but ok. Probably not enough for a YES from me personally but I'll drop one for it anyway because this a Dragon Gate tag to watch if you're gonna watch any._ *YES*

*Jun Akiyama vs Kento Miyahara - AJPW 15/9* _- Strong match carried by a really good Akiyama performance. First quarter is nothing but then Akiyama decides that murder is an appropriate course of action to deal with Miyahara and the match gets good. Miyahara takes a good beating more than he sells a good beating but grumpy old man Akiyama killing young juniors has always been fun and the best way for me to enjoy Akiyama. Didn't think Miyahara brought much at all comeback included but at least Akiyama sold the finish brilliantly. Shockingly this was really good because it went 16 minutes and would have got stale going 25 with at least an extra 3 momentum swings._ *YES*

*Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii vs Kotaro Suzuki & Kento Miyahara - AJPW 16/8* _Every year there's a match that I shouldn't like and debate even watching that ends up being awesome out of nowhere and this is 2014's entry. On paper this isn't something for me but it's around 15 minutes and shockingly again that makes the match much better by removing many of the modern pitfalls. Miyahara is pretty much a passenger in this and adds nothing to it so lucky him for being carried to 2 really good to great matches in the space of a month. Suzuki takes an awesome beating. That pounce from Irie. Jesus wept. He's constantly the one taking the big bombs and he looks ready to just crumble after each one. Ishii is a bit flimsy but he's good and Irie is the star of the show with a fantastic performance. Amazingly the DDT guys really got me invested in the outcome of this one too because I genuinely wanted those 2 to win so the near falls actually worked on me this time and only lasted for a few minutes so I didn't get drained out on them. Oh how much it helps these junior tags when you have a good dynamic and no more than 15ish minutes. This isn't just a YES because it was the best match of its kind this year (and it was) but it's a YES because it's a genuinely great match that probably even sniffs around my top 5._ *YES*


----------



## Concrete

Seabs, there is like a 30 minute AJPW tag match featuring Miyahara and Akiyama that is calling your name


----------



## Rah

Didn't find it overwhelmingly good but every moment Akiyama was in it, it was magic. Top 10 worker? I'm beginning to think so.



EDIT: I also enjoy seeing Irie getting love. Needs to happen more often.


----------



## Bubz

Akiyama is always one of the people I most enjoy watching in Japan, so it doesn't shock me he's getting praise this year. I've thought he was one of the best guys each year since 2011, especially since he shaved his head and became super grumpy old timer.


----------



## seabs

*Yeah I ain't watching anything go 30 minutes. 

I've always liked Irie but it feels like he gets bogged down having to work the routine main event formula in DDT. 

Rah, what are the matches from Japan this year that you'd call really good and worth seeing not including New Japan stuff? I'll just go through what you say as we're pretty similar in liking puro stuff from this year and stuff like Akiyama/Miyahara probably falls under the radar on popularised MOTYC lists.*


----------



## Groovemachine

Seabs did you check out Daisuke Harada vs Zack Sabre Jr from NOAH 4.11.2014? Glorious stuff.


----------



## darkclaudio

2014 Recommended Puroresu Matches [No New Japan and Dragon Gate Matches]

-Yuji Nagata (c) vs KENTA - NOAH The Second Navigation 22/02
-Taiji Ishimori (c) vs Daisuke Harada - NOAH Great Voyage In Tokyo 8/03
-KENTA & Masato Tanaka vs Tetsuya Naito & Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH Great Voyage In Tokyo 8/03
-Yuji Nagata (c) vs Takashi Sugiura - NOAH Great Voyage In Tokyo 8/03
-Yuji Nagata (c) vs Mohammed Yone - NOAH Navigation With Breeze 17/05
-Jun Akiyama vs Takao Omori - AJPW Dynamite Series 15/06
-Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka (c) vs Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls - NOAH Great Voyage In Tokyo Vol. 2 5/07
-Yuji Nagata (c) vs Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH Great Voyage In Tokyo Vol. 2 5/07
-Daisuke Sekimoto vs Hideki Suzuki - ZERO1 Fire Festival 13/07
-Masato Tanaka vs Shinjiro Otani - ZERO1 Fire Festival 13/07
-Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura © vs Daisuke Ikeda & Mohammed Yone - NOAH 8th NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League 2/08
-Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii © vs Kento Miyahara & Kotaro Suzuki - AJPW Summer Impact 16/08
-Go Shiozaki vs Suwama - AJPW 2nd Royal Road Tournament 2014 28/09
-Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega (c) vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo - DDT Dramatic General Election 2014 Final Voting Day 28/09
-Daisuke Sekimoto vs Takashi Sugiura - NOAH Global League 8/11
-Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori vs Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara - AJPW Osaka Bright Fun Intense Part 2 6/12


----------



## BillThompson

*WMC: Mania No. (08-24-2014) Kortiz vs. El Brazo Jr.*

Much to my dismay Brazo is not actually related to the Brazo clan, though he does have their permission to use the name. Kortiz is very much a Villano, and it shows. Starts off as a Kortiz mauling, then the tables are turned and Brazo pays back his blood loss by bashing Kortiz's head into various places. The end is all about exhaustion and how much these two hate each other. I would have liked a better finishing sequence, but all in all a great hate filled brawl that transported me back to 1980s Lucha for twenty minutes.


----------



## BillThompson

*IWA Mid-South: Derby Madness '14 (05-01-2014) Kongo Kong vs. Danny Cannon*

Brilliant stuff, about as perfectly worked of a match as I've seen in some time. They tell a great story and it's all because of timing and execution. There's no cheap nearfalls or silly moves, just one guy using speed to try and topple down a tree that will not topple. If Kong isn't on your radar he better be, he's one of the best big men I've seen in some time.


----------



## Gretchen

Just watched Nakamura vs Okada in the G1 Climax 24 Final. Fucking awesome. I give it 4.75 stars.


----------



## Rah

the joy~! of seabsmas said:


> *
> Rah, what are the matches from Japan this year that you'd call really good and worth seeing not including New Japan stuff? I'll just go through what you say as we're pretty similar in liking puro stuff from this year and stuff like Akiyama/Miyahara probably falls under the radar on popularised MOTYC lists.*


Not that I know of. I'll probably take a day or two and go through Wrestlingdata to find if I missed anything this year but I'm pretty sure you've watched it all. There's nothing else for Akiyama, unless you're looking to make a case for him. Tajiri probably had nothing of worth given to him. Do you like Sabre Jr? 

I'm no longer in my home city, btw, so I probably won't be able to finalise the nominations/votes in this thread until about the 4th when I get back to a computer. Not sure if there's much difference since I last tallied, but if someone else wants to do it before then I won't mind.


----------



## BillThompson

*WestCoast Wrestling Federation: WCWF Arena (01-11-2014) Timothy Thatcher vs. Dave Dutra*






Great mat wrestling here, which is to be expected from Thatcher. I loved how Thatcher busted out his throws, something he needs to do more often. This played really well into the slight rivalry these guys have had for a few years now. Dutra didn't fly around this time, because usually Thatcher gets the best of him when he does that. Instead he grapples with Thatcher and holds his own. Lots of great hold for hold wrestling, and shortly before his retirement Dutra shows he's just hitting his strike as a pro wrestler.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori vs Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara
AJPW Real World Tag League - Osaka! Bright! Fun! Intense! Part 2 12/6
****

YES!*


----------



## flag sabbath

*Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto vs. Abdullah Kobayashi & Ryuji Ito (200 Light Tubes, BJW, 21/11):* A resurgent Big Japan plays it 'safe' going with familiar faces and format for this year's tag league final. Still, the Korakuen faithful laps it up and these guys build expertly from broken glass and bloody backs to a genuinely dramatic home stretch ****3/4*

The tag tournament semis from the same show are also well worth checking out, both pitting Strong Style vs. Death Match tandems. As is the all action sub-10 minute 8-man in which BJ youngsters try to prove their salt opposite the merciless Twin Towers.


----------



## flag sabbath

*HARASHIMA vs. Soma Takao (DDT, 30/11):* Fantastic title match right here. HARASHIMA brutalises the challenger's neck and shoulders with all kinds of precision stiffness & Takao appears to be out of his depth. But when he finally fires back, holy shit, things get nasty ******


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Match of the year (wrestling)

Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki - **** 1/2 (NJPW G1 Climax Day 11)


Match of the year (storyline and wrestling)

Daniel Bryan vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton - **** 1/4 (WWE Wrestlemania 30)


Wrestler of the year

Tomohiro Ishii


Female wrestler of the year

Candice LeRae


Moment of the year

Daniel Bryan winning the WWE championship


Promotion of the year

New Japan Pro Wrestling


Show of the year

PWG BOLA Night 2


Tournament of the year

NJPW G1 Climax


Most unique and funny match of the year

Team Biff Busick vs. Team Chris Hero (PWG BOLA Night 3)



Here are my matches that I gave ****+


1. Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki - **** 1/2 (NJPW G1 Climax Day 11)
2. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki - **** 1/2 (NJPW G1 Climax Day 6)
3. Honma vs. Shibata - **** 1/2 (NJPW G1 Climax Day 8)


Tanahashi vs. Nakamaru - **** 1/4 (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8)
Naito vs. Ishii - **** 1/4 (NJPW The New Beginning)
The Shield vs. The Wyatts - **** 1/4 (WWE Elimination Chamber)
Triple H vs. Daniel Bryan - **** 1/4 (WWE Wrestlemania 30)
World's Cutest Tag Team vs. Young Bucks - **** 1/4 (PWG Eleven)
Daniel Bryan vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton - **** 1/4 (WWE Wrestlemania 30)
Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano - **** 1/4 (DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate)
Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro - **** 1/4 (WWE NXT Arrival 2/27)
Young Bucks vs. ReDragon - **** 1/4 (ROH War of the Worlds)
Yoshino and Ricochet vs. CIMA and Matt Sydal - **** 1/4 (Dragon Gate Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival)
Yoshino and Ricochet vs. CIMA, and Matt Sydal - **** 1/4
Ishii vs. Honma - **** 1/4 (NJPW G1 Climax Day 4)
Okada vs. Nakamura - **** 1/4 (NJPW G1 Climax Finals)
Shibata vs. Tanahashi - **** 1/4 (NJPW Destruction in Kobe)
Ishii vs. Goto - **** 1/4 (NJPW Power Struggle 2014)
Okada vs. Naito - **** (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8)
Naito vs. Ishii - **** (NJPW Invasion Attack)
John Cena vs. Cesaro - **** (WWE Raw - 2/17/14)
Ishii vs. Ibushi - **** (NJPW Back to Yokohama Arena)
Ricochet vs. Kushida - **** (NJPW Best of Super Juniors Finals)
Natalya vs. Charlotte - **** (WWE NXT Takeover)
Ibushi vs. Ricochet - **** (NJPW Dominion)
Tozawa and Shingo vs. T-Hawk and Eita - **** (Dragon Gate Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival)
Nakamura vs. Shibata - **** (NJPW G1 Climax Day 1)
Tanahashi vs. Shibata - **** (NJPW G1 Climax Day 4)
Cena vs. Lesnar - **** (WWE Summerslam 2014)
Ishii vs. Shibata (NJPW G1 Climax Day 10)
Ishii vs. Nagata (NJPW G1 Climax Day 11)
AJ Styles vs. Tanahashi (NJPW G1 Climax Final) - ****
Mount Rushmore vs. Low Moral Fiber - **** (PWG BOLA Night 1)
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Zach Sabre Jr. - **** (PWG BOLA Night 3)
Timesplitters vs. Forever Hooligans vs. Young Bucks - **** (NJPW King of Pro Wrestling)
Yujiro Takahashi vs. Ishii - **** (NJPW King of Pro Wrestling)
Okada vs. Naito - **** (NJPW King of Pro Wrestling)
Nakamura vs. Shibata - **** (NJPW Power Struggle)
Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper - **** (WWE TLC)
Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville - **** (NXT R Evolution)





Honorable Mentions:

Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt - *** 3/4 (WWE Royal Rumble)
Naito/Tanahashi/Goto vs. Nakamura/Okada/Ishii - *** 3/4 (NJPW Road to the New Beginning)
Okada vs. Ibushi - *** 3/4 (NJPW Strong Style 42nd Anniversary)
Inner City Machine Guns vs. African American Wolves - *** 3/4 (PWG DDT4)
Inner City Machine Guns vs. Unbreakable Machines - *** 3/4 (PWG DDT4)
Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena - *** 3/4 (WWE Wrestlemania)
Flamita vs Jimmy Susumu - *** 3/4 (Dragon Gate Dead or Alive)
Andrew Everett vs. Cedric Alexander vs. Trevor Lee - *** 3/4 (PWG Mystery Vortex II)
Tyson Kidd vs. Adrian Neville - *** 3/4 (WWE NXT Takeover)
Young Bucks vs. Time Splitters - *** 3/4 (NJPW Dominion)
Okada vs. Styles - *** 3/4 (NJPW G1 Climax Day 1)
Ambrose vs. Rollins - *** 3/4 (WWE Hell in a Cell)
Nakamura vs. Ishii - *** 3/4 (NJPW G1 Climax Day 7)
Tanahashi vs. Nakamura - *** 3/4 (NJPW G1 Climax Day 8)
Suzuki vs. Naito - *** 3/4 (NJPW G1 Climax Day 9)
Okada vs. Naito - *** 3/4 (NJPW G1 Climax Day 5)
Worlds Cutest Tag Team vs. Inner City Machine Guns vs. Kaz/Daniels - *** 3/4 (PWG BOLA Night 1)
Michael Elgin vs. Tomasso Ciampa - *** 3/4 (PWG BOLA Night 1)
Kushida vs. Taguchi - *** 3/4 (NJPW Destruction in Kobe)
Rich Swann vs. Candice LeRae - *** 3/4 (PWG BOLA Night 2)
Matt Sydal vs. Chris Hero - *** 3/4 (PWG BOLA Night 2)
Kenny Omega vs. ACH - *** 3/4 (PWG BOLA Night 2)
Young Bucks vs. Bad Influence - *** 3/4 (PWG BOLA Night 2)
Team Cena vs. Team Authority - *** 3/4 (WWE Survivor Series)
Tananashi vs. AJ Styles - *** 3/4 (NJPW King of Pro Wrestling)
Timesplitters vs. ReDragon - *** 3/4 (NJPW Power Struggle)
Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt - *** 3/4 (NJPW TLC)


----------



## NastyYaffa

Top-10 matches of the year:
*1. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Climax)
2. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW G1 Climax)
3. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H (WWE Wrestlemania)
4. The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (WWE Elimination Chamber)
5. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW Destruction in Kobe)
6. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (NXT ArRival)
7. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista (WWE Wrestlemania)
8. Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd (NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way)
9. Ricochet vs. KUSHIDA (NJPW Best of the Super Jr.)
10. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW G1 Climax)*

Most **** or better matches this year:
*1. Daniel Bryan, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson = 6
2. AJ Styles, Cesaro, Sami Zayn = 5
3. Adam Cole, Hiroshi Tanahashi, John Cena, Kyle O'Reilly, Luke Harper, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, Zack Sabre Jr. = 4
4. Adrian Neville, Bobby Fish, Bray Wyatt, Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, Katsuyori Shibata, Kazuchika Okada, Kevin Steen, KUSHIDA, Randy Orton = 3
5. Alex Shelley, Cedric Alexander, Chuck Taylor, Dean Ambrose, Jay Briscoe, Joey Ryan, Kane, Kenny Omega, Minoru Suzuki, Ricochet, Seth Rollins, Sheamus, Tyler Breeze, Tyson Kidd = 2*


----------



## Joshi Judas

Bring on the 2015 thread. Lets hope for a good year in wrestling.


----------



## Raindust

_*1. Tomohiro Ishii vs Hirooki Goto (NJPW Power Struggle) **** 1/2

2. Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW G1 Climax 24 Finals) ****1/2

3. Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs Tetsuya Endo & Kenosuke Takeshita (DDT Dramatic General Election) **** ¼

4. Ricochet vs KUSHIDA (NJPW Best of Super Jr XXI) ****1/4

5. Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 11) **** 1/4

6. Minoru Suzuki vs AJ Styles (NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 7) ****1/4

7. Tomohiro Ishii vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW Back to the Yokohama Arena) ****1/4

8. Ricochet vs. Uhaa Nation (Dragon Gate Glorious Gate) ****1/4

9. Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (Dragon Gate Open The New Year Gate) ****1/4

10. Ricochet vs Johnny Gargano (DGUSA Open The Ultimate Gate) ****1/4

11. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto (NJPW Road To New Beginning) **** 1/4

12. Katsuyori Shibata vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (G1 Climax 24 Day 4) ****

13. Tomoaki Honma vs Tomohiro Ishii (G1 Climax 24 Day 4) ****

14. KUSHIDA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW Destruction In Kobe) ****

15. Ricochet vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW Dominion) ****

16. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 7) ****

17. Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW Strong Style 42nd anniversary) ****

18. The Young Bucks vs Time Splitters (NJPW Dominion) ****

19. Time Splitters vs. reDRagon (NJPW Power Struggle) ****

20. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 10) ****

21. Sami Zayn vs Cesaro (NXT ArRival 2014) ****

22. The Young Bucks vs reDRagon (ROH NJPW War Of The Worlds 2014) ****

23. AJ Styles vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW G1 Climax 24 Finals) ****

24. YAMATO vs. Ricochet (Dragon Gate Dead Or Alive 2014) ****

25. Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson & Adam Cole vs Chuck Taylor, Omega & Zack Sabre Jr. (PWG BOLA Night 1) *****_


----------



## RLStern

Daniel Bryan vs Batista vs Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania XXX was match of 2014 with Triple H vs Daniel Bryan as runner up.


----------



## flag sabbath

*Keiji Mutoh vs. Seiya Sanada (Wrestle-1, 22/12):* I would never have bothered with this if Chismo hadn't pimped it in his blog. It's the simple tale of a legend getting out-smarted, out-quicked & out-wrestled until he calls upon his greatest hits package and rolls back the years one more time ****3/4*


----------



## Bruce L

*Campeonatos de Parejas
The Throwbacks (c) vs. the Devastation Corporation *(Chikara, "Tomorrow Never Dies" - 12/6)
★★★★

*Chikara Grand Championship
Icarus (c) vs. Jimmy Jacobs *(Chikara, "Moonraker" - 10/26)
★★★¾

*Steel Cage match
Icarus (c) vs. Deucalion *(Chikara, "Tomorrow Never Dies" - 12/6)
★★★½


----------



## mk92071

Since its the start of 2015, I'm finally going out of my way to catch up on 2014's good matches that I've missed (which is a lot because I didn't watch a ton from this year), so I was wondering if you guys could help me figure out what I need to watch. What are the must see matches from Lucha? Maybe like a top 10? I also haven't seen anything from LUCHA Underground except for Puma vs. Mundo. So recommendations on that would be nice. Thanks. And also any exceptional WWE/NXT TV matches that should be noted. I just went through and watched all the notable PPV matches from the year, but I don't know what TV matches have been pimped.


----------



## Corey

mk92071 said:


> Since its the start of 2015, I'm finally going out of my way to catch up on 2014's good matches that I've missed (which is a lot because I didn't watch a ton from this year), so I was wondering if you guys could help me figure out what I need to watch. What are the must see matches from Lucha? Maybe like a top 10? I also haven't seen anything from LUCHA Underground except for Puma vs. Mundo. So recommendations on that would be nice. Thanks. And also any exceptional WWE/NXT TV matches that should be noted. I just went through and watched all the notable PPV matches from the year, but I don't know what TV matches have been pimped.


Some of my personal favorite TV matches from the year:

Randy Orton vs. Cesaro - Smackdown 2/14
John Cena vs. Cesaro - RAW 2/17
Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio - Main Event 3/25
The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield - Main Event 4/8
Alberto Del Rio vs. Roman Reigns - Smackdown 7/25
Beat the Clock: Alberto Del Rio vs. Dean Ambrose - RAW 8/4
Falls Count Anywhere: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins - RAW 8/18

I imagine there's many more I haven't seen myself.


----------



## aivaz

Time for the 2015 thread


----------



## NastyYaffa

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Some of my personal favorite TV matches from the year:
> 
> Randy Orton vs. Cesaro - Smackdown 2/14
> John Cena vs. Cesaro - RAW 2/17
> Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio - Main Event 3/25
> The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield - Main Event 4/8
> Alberto Del Rio vs. Roman Reigns - Smackdown 7/25
> Beat the Clock: Alberto Del Rio vs. Dean Ambrose - RAW 8/4
> Falls Count Anywhere: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins - RAW 8/18
> 
> I imagine there's many more I haven't seen myself.


I'd add Orton vs. Bryan from February to your list, it's personally my 2nd favorite tv match of the year.


----------



## Matt_Yoda

*Dragon Gate 2014 Year In Review*







It was a damn good year for Dragon Gate, I felt that they kept up their momentum from 2013 and produced a lot of good stuff. The main difference between last year and 2013 was that Dragon Gate had a much stronger first half than second half but booking wise Dragon Gate has been on their game. As far as my favorite faction I'll throw that to the Millennial Unit as they were elevated in a big way this year. Now my MVP is easy and that goes to Ricochet for carrying an absolutely fantastic first half with a string of strong singles outings. Following up would be Flamita.

In terms of shows, it's always hard for me to rate them because as a promotion Dragon Gate is typically very consistent across their major shows. With that said, my show of the year is for another year, Dead or Alive (2014) as by leaps and bounds Dragon Gate blew that show out of the park and I knew they weren't going to top that. So in conclusion, a fine year by DragonGate with a very strong first half on top of a great second half and I look forward per usual to their 2015.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year.


> *My Top 5 Dragon Gate matches:
> Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (1.16.2014)
> Masato Yoshino vs. Ricochet (3.2.2014)
> Flamita vs. Jimmy Susumu (5.5.2014)
> BxB Hulk vs. Cyber Kong (10.5.2014)
> T-Hawk & EITA vs. CIMA & Gamma (11.2.2014)*


----------



## Rah

I will try and keep this as brief as possible, so I can finalise the nomination list before 2014 becomes as relevant as Bray Wyatt's career. I will probably end up writing (far too much in) my Year In Review tomorrow.




*NOMINATE* 

*Virus vs Dragon Lee (09/12 CMLL)* - cracker-jack performance by Virus and his second best match of the year. The Titan match may have had a better second-half but I thought this had the more coherent narrative. Dragon Lee did his part in keeping up on the mat and I thought he did an exceptional job in building towards the finish of the primera. It's one thing to see Virus abandon his matwork strategy out of frustration, but Lee using his speed to feign intention only to deliver a move so completely different in order to capitalise on this frustration was a treasure to behold. His counters and setups, throughout the match, were really good, too. An Irish Whip into a Fireman's Carry Fujiwara? Yes please. There's so much upside to this 19 year old. Virus is the guy you came to see, though, and he doesn't disappoint. He gives Lee just enough to look like a threat, yet never too much to dismiss his maestro label. Whether its his own or Lee's, he knows how to make each hold mean the very most. I think they may have gone too big for their finishing stretch, and paid the price in the quality of execution, but the earlier seated dropkick into STF sequence may have been the best wrestling spot of the year. People may enjoy their NJPW finishing stretches, but Virus is the king as far as I'm concerned.


*NOT VOTING*

*Unholy Alliance vs AR Fox & Rich Swann (19/4 2CW)* - When did 2CW's crowd become so incessantly obnoxious, anyway? Shouting "ECW" and "this is awesome" before the match even begins. There was even signs of life of a "this chant is awesome" sing-along at one point. Tajiri and Whipwreck going as hard as they did to start wasn't the best idea, especially against someone like Fox. The double-teaming may have looked vicious in the moment, but the minute Fox springs up and takes control almost immediately with no visible selling, this sways from good wrestling to a bad 2010 American Wolves dance-off parody.


----------



## Rah

And, ladies and gentlemen, that's a wrap.


Puro:
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 12 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Tetsuya Naito (Wrestlekingdom) || YES = 7 ||
Okada, Nakamura, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanahashi, Goto, Naito & Captain NJ (NJPW 05/01)|| YES = 1 ||
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Masato Yoshino (DG Infinity #324) || YES = 5 ||
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara (NOAH 19/01) || YES = 1 ||
Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW 02/02) || YES = 4 ||
Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (Dragon Gate 12/01) || YES = 5 ||
Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki (AJPW 05/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 16 ||*
The Young Bucks Vs Time Splitters (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
*Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 13 ||*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Hirooki Goto (The New Beggining Night 2) || YES = 8 ||
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata Vs Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi (The New Beginning Night 1) || YES = 2 ||
Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Shigehiro Irie Vs HARASHIMA (DDT Sweet Dreams) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada Vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW 42nd Anniversary) || YES = 3 ||
Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa Vs Shinya Ishikawa & Shinobu (BJW 02/03) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet Vs Uhaa Nation (Dragon Gate 06/03) || YES = 2 ||
Taiji Ishimori Vs Daisuke Harada (NOAH Great Voyage 08/03) || YES = 4 ||
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW New Japan Cup 15/03) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato (BJW 26/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 12 ||*
Tetsuya Naito Vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW Invasion Attack) || YES = 4 ||
Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki Vs Suwama & Hikaru Sato (AJPW 18/03) || YES = 1 ||
Flamita Vs Jimmy Susumu (Dragon Gate: Dead or Alive) || YES = 3 ||
Twin Towers Vs Wild Network (BJW Endless Survivor) || YES = 1 ||
Kota Ibushi Vs Tomohiro Ishii (25/05 NJPW) || YES = 5 ||
KAI Vs Manabu Soya (04/05 Wrestle-1) || YES = 1 ||
Alex Shelley Vs Ryusuke Taguchi (03/06 NJPW) || YES = 1 ||
KUSHIDA Vs Jushin Liger (06/06 NJPW) || YES = 5 ||
Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Daichi Hashimoto - BJW 07.02.2014 || YES = 1 ||
CHAOS vs Bullet Club (08/06 NJPW) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet vs KUSHIDA (08/06 NJPW) || YES = 7 ||
Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma || YES = 1 ||
Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazuki Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura (01/06 BJW) || YES = 1 ||
Ricochet vs Kota Ibushi (NJPW Dominion) || YES = 4 ||
Time Splitters vs The Young Bucks (NJPW Dominion) || YES = 6 ||
King Ace vs Bullet Club (NJPW Dominion) || YES = 1 ||
Takao Omori vs Jun Akiyama (15/06 AJPW) || YES = 2 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Yujiro Takahashi (NJPW Kizuna Road) || YES = 2 ||
Yuji Nagata vs Naomichi Marufuji (05/07 NOAH) || YES = 3 ||
Tetsuya Naito & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto (NJPW Kizuna Road) || YES = 1 ||
Monster Express vs The Millenials (Dragon Gate Kobe World) || YES = 3 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma (NJPW Dontaku) || YES = 1 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma (NJPW G1 Day 4) || YES = 5 ||
AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito (NJPW G1 Day 4) || YES = 4 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 4) || YES = 2 ||
*AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki (NJPW G1 Day 7) || YES = 24 ||*
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW G1 Day 7) || YES = 3 ||
Yuji Nagata vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 7) || YES = 1 ||
Tomoaki Honma vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 8) || YES = 9 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW G1 Day 8) || YES = 3 ||
AJ Styles vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Day 1) || YES = 4 ||
Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Day 11) || YES = 5 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Yuji Nagata (NJPW G1 Day 11) || YES = 2 ||
Minoru Suzuki vs Togi Makabe (NJPW G1 Day 8) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW G1 Day 12) || YES = 9 ||
AJ Styles vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW G1 Day 12) || YES = 3 ||
Time Splitters vs ReDRagon (NJPW G1 Day 12) || YES = 2 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Day 10) || YES = 1 ||
Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto (NJPW G1 Day 9) || YES = 1 ||
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Konosuke Takeshita (DDT 17/08) || YES = 1 ||	
KUSHIDA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW Destruction in Kobe) || YES = 2 ||	
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Destruction in Kobe) || YES = 2 ||
Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs Tetsuya Endo & Kenosuke Takeshita (DDT 28/09) || YES = 3 ||
Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito (NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling) || YES = 1 ||
Daisuke Harada vs Zack Sabre Jr. (NOAH 4/11) || YES = 2 ||
Tomohiro Ishii vs Hirooki Goto (NJPW Power Struggle) || YES = 6 ||
Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Hideyoshi Kamitani (BJW 31/10) || YES = 2 ||
Naomichi Marufuji vs Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH 21/7) || YES = 1 ||
Katsuyori Shibata vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW Power Struggle) || YES = 1 ||
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Shinobu (BJW 30/6) || YES = 1 ||
Shuji Ishikawa Vs Daisuke Sekimoto (BJW 26/7) || YES = 1 ||
CIMA & Gamma Vs T-Hawk & Eita (DRAGON GATE INFINITY #349 ) || YES = 1 ||
Jun Akiyama Vs Kento Miyahara (AJPW 15/9) || YES = 1 ||
Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii Vs Kotaro Suzuki & Kento Miyahara (AJPW 16/8) || YES = 1 ||
Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori Vs Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara (AJPW 06/12) || YES = 1 ||






US/Europe Indy:
Trent Barretta Vs Anthony Nese (Evolve 25) || YES = 1 ||
Sigmon Vs Vordell Walker (TCW 14-01) || YES = 1 ||
Johnny Gargano Vs Uhaa Nation (Evolve 27) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Roderick Strong (RoH 01/02) || YES = 1 || 
AR Fox Vs Chris Hero (Evolve 23/02) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs JT Dunn (Beyond Wrestling Critical Acclaim) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs Masato Tanaka (DG:USA Open The Ultimate Gate) || YES = 2 ||
Ricochet Vs Johnny Gargano (DG:USA Open The Ultimate Gate) || YES = 3 ||
Caleb Konley Vs Cedric Alexander (PWX Rise of a Champion IX) || YES = 2 ||
Biff Busick Vs Drew Gulak (CZW To Infinity) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles Vs Chris Hero (RoH 22/03) || YES = 1 ||
Young Bucks Vs ReDragon (ROH War of the Worlds) || YES = 6 || 
Trevor Lee vs Cedric Alexander vs Andrew Everett (PWG Mystery Vortex II) || YES = 1 ||
Chris Hero Vs JT Dunn (Beyond Wrestling Uncomfortable) || YES = 1 ||
Timothy Thatcher Vs Biff Busick (Beyond Wrestling 13/04) || YES = 3 ||
Prince Devitt vs Zack Sabre Jr (Progress Chapter 13) || YES = 1 ||
Adam Cole vs Prince Devitt (Revolution Pro Summersizzler) || YES = 1 ||
Adam Cole vs Kevin Steen (RoH Global Wars) || YES = 1 ||
ACH vs Ricochet (PWG Sold Our Soul For Rock & Roll) || YES = 2 ||
Cedric Alexander, Johnny Gargano and Trevor Lee vs Mount Rushmore (PWG Sold Our Soul For Rock & Roll) || YES = 1 ||
Drew Gulak vs Biff Busick (CZW 27/04/2014) || YES = 1 ||
World's Cutest Tag Team vs The Young Bucks (PWG Eleven) || YES = 2 ||
AJ Styles vs Adam Cole (RoH All Star Extravaganza 6) || YES = 1 ||
AJ Styles vs Kyle O'Reilly (RoH Death Before Dishonor XXI) || YES = 2 ||
The Young Bucks vs The Briscoe Brothers (RoH Death Before Dishonor XXI) || YES = 1 ||
The Wolves vs Team 3D vs The Hardyz (TNA No Surrender) || YES = 1 ||
The Young Bucks vs ReDRagon (RoH All Star Extravaganza 6) || YES = 1 ||
Michael Elgin vs Tommaso Ciampa (RoH Death Before Dishonor XXI) || YES = 1 ||
Zack Sabre Jr vs Jonathan Gresham (WXW 16 Carat Gold Night 1) || YES = 1 ||
Mount Rushmore vs Low Moral Fiber (PWG BoLA Night 1) || YES = 2 ||
Adam Cole vs Zack Sabre Jr. (PWG BoLA Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
ACH vs Kenny Omega (PWG BoLA Night 2) || YES = 1 ||
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. (PWG BoLA Night 3) || YES = 1 ||
Biff Busick, Drew Gulak, Bobby Fish, Cedric Alexander & Tommaso Ciampa vs. Chris Hero, Chuckie T, Willie Mack, Rich Swann & Joey Ryan (PWG BoLA Night 3) || YES = 1 ||
Timothy Thatcher vs Biff Busick (EVOLVE 32) || YES = 2 ||
Zack Sabre Jr vs Timothy Thatcher (Evolve 34) || YES = 2 ||
The Young Bucks & ACH Vs The Addiction & Cedric Alexander (RoH Final Battle) || YES = 1 ||
Jay Briscoe Vs Adam Cole (RoH Final Battle) || YES = 2 ||
Dasher Hatfield, Ashley Remington, El Hijo del Ice Cream & Scott Parker Vs Mr. Touchdown, Archibald Peck, Ice Cream Jr. & Shane Matthews(Chikara Moonraker) || YES = 1 ||




WWE:
*Daniel Bryan Vs Bray Wyatt (Royal Rumble) || YES = 29 ||*
Daniel Bryan Vs Randy Orton (Raw 03/02) || YES = 1 ||
*Cesaro Vs John Cena (Raw 17/02) || YES = 21 ||*
*The Wyatts Vs The Shield (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 31 ||*
Elimination Chamber Match (Elimination Chamber) || YES = 4 ||
*Sami Zayn Vs Cesaro (NXT ArRIVAL) || YES = 29 ||*
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Raw 03/03/2014) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs HHH (Wrestlemania) || YES = 9 ||
John Cena Vs Bray Wyatt (Wrestlemania) || YES = 1 ||
Daniel Bryan Vs Batista Vs Randy Orton (Wrestlemania) || YES = 5 || 
The Shield Vs The Wyatts (Main Event 08/04/2014) || YES = 3 ||
The Shield Vs Evolution (Extreme Rules) || YES = 7 ||
Tyler Breeze Vs Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover) || YES = 2 ||
Charlotte Vs Natalya (NXT Takeover) || YES = 5 ||
Adrian Neville Vs Tyson Kidd (NXT Takeover) || YES = 3 ||
The Shield Vs Evolution (Payback) || YES = 2 ||
Cesaro Vs Sheamus (Payback) || YES = 1 ||
Bad News Barrett vs Sheamus (Raw 09/06) || YES = 1 ||
John Cena, Sheamus & Roman Reigns vs Cesaro, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt & Alberto Del Rio (Smackdown 20/06) || YES = 1 ||
Money in the Bank Ladder Match (Money in the Bank) || YES = 1 ||
John Cena vs Bray Wyatt (Payback) || YES = 1 ||
John Cena vs Brock Lesnar (Summerslam) || YES = 5 ||
Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins (18/08 Raw) || YES = 1 ||
Adrian Neville vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd (TakeOver 2) || YES = 6 ||
Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn (NXT 13/11) || YES = 1 ||
Dolph Ziggler vs Tyson Kidd vs Cesaro (Smackdown 14/11) || YES = 1 ||
Team Authority vs Team Cena (Survivor Series) || YES = 3 ||
Bray Wyatt vs Dean Ambrose (Survivor Series) || YES = 1 ||
Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover: REvolution) || YES = 8 ||
Charlotte Vs Sasha Banks (NXT Takeover: REvolution) || YES = 2 ||
Dolph Ziggler vs Luke Harper (TLC) || YES = 1 ||
Seth Rollins vs John Cena (RAW 15/12) || YES = 1 ||









Lucha Libre:
Virus Vs Titan (CMLL 28/01) || YES = 4 ||
Rush Vs Shocker (CMLL 21/03) || YES = 1 ||
Virus, Cachorro & Hechicero Vs ***** Casas, Cavernario & Dragon Lee (CMLL 23/05) || YES = 2 ||
Volador Jr Vs Rush (25/05 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
Villano IV Vs Chessman (AAA Rey De Reyes) || YES = 1 ||
Rush, La Mascara, Titan vs ***** Casas, Shocker, Felino (06/06 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
El Hechicero vs. El Cavernario (20/06 CMLL) || YES = 2 ||
Blue Panther vs Ephesto (22/06 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
Silver Star vs Charles Lucero (22/06 Noches De Coliseo) || YES = 1 ||
Cachorro, Cavernario, Dragon Lee, Soberano Jr. & ***** Casas vs Virus, Hechicero, Star Jr., Guerrero ***** Jr. & Super Halcon Jr (27/06 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||
Rush vs ***** Casas (CMLL Judicio Final) || YES = 1 ||
Rey Cometa vs Barbaro Cavernario (CMLL 81st Aniversario) || YES = 3 ||
Ultimo Dragon vs Atlantis (CMLL 81st Aniversario) || YES = 3 ||
Caifan vs Rey Hechicero (Luchamania Monterrey 05/07/2014) || YES = 2 ||
Diamante Azul, Dragon Lee & La Sombra vs. Cavernario, Hechicero, ***** Casas (CMLL 16/09) || YES = 1 ||
Titan vs Barbaro Cavernario (CMLL 02/08) || YES = 1 ||
Virus vs Dragon Lee (09/12 CMLL) || YES = 1 ||







Legend:
*Bold Red Text*: matches with a score of 10 or better
Red text: matches with a score of 5 or better


----------



## Concrete

"... this sways from good wrestling to a bad 2010 American Wolves dance-off parody"
BITE ME!

Don't agree with you on the match one bit. The crowd? Yeah, crowd has gotten worse in recent times.

EDIT: Also, wish there was a way to give a better rundown of globally wrestling with this voting but seems not to be.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Can't believe Daniels/Cole isn't n the list. Awesome match.


----------



## flag sabbath

It's still 2014 to me, dammit! 

*Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa vs. Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto (BJW, 30/12):* You can't keep Kodaka & Miyamoto down, but you sure can have fun trying. The Yankii boys keep firing back and the Towers keep beating them down until a thrilling tornado war erupts. Easily *****1/4*


----------



## Corey

EDIT: Yeah never mind anything I said here because this match did not happen in 2014.


----------



## Bruce L

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Am I missing something or do I actually not see that match on any lists???


You'll see it on _everybody's_ lists...

... when you go and look at the MOTYC thread from 2013. When it took place.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*MY TOP 100 BEST WRESTLING MATCHES OF 2014*



Spoiler: Top 100



100. Lashley vs Austin Aries - TNA Impact Wrestling: Destination X 7/31***1/2
99. T-Hawk, Eita & Flamita vs Ricochet, Akira Tozawa & Shingo Takagi - Dragon Gate The Gate of Passion 4/27 ***1/2
98. Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan vs John Cena vs Sheamus vs Cesaro vs Christian - WWE Elimination Chamber 2/23 ***1/2
97. Big Ryck vs Drago vs Fénix vs King Cuerno vs El Mariachi Loco vs Mascarita Sagrada vs Pentagón Jr. vs Prince Puma vs Son of Havoc vs Super Fly - Lucha Underground 12/17 ***1/2
96. Zack Sabre Jr. vs Timothy Thatcher - EVOLVE 34 9/13 ***1/2
95. AJ Styles vs Adam Cole - ROH All-Star Extravaganza 6 9/6 ***1/2
94. Kyle O'Reilly vs AJ Styles - ROH Death Before Dishonor XII 8/22 ***1/2
93. Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura vs Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste - NOAH Great Votage 2014 in Yokohama 10/12 ***1/2
92. Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii vs Kotaro Suzuki & Kento Miyahara - AJPW Summer Impact 8/16 ***1/2
91. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan - WWE Monday Night RAW 3/3 ***1/2
90. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW G1 Climax 24 7/28 ***1/2
89. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yuji Nagata - NJPW G1 Climax 24 7/26 ***1/2
88. KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley vs Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly - NJPW G1 Climax 24 8/10 ***1/2
87. ACH vs Kenny Omega - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 2 8/30 ***1/2
86. Biff Busick vs Timothy Thatcher - Beyond Wrestling: Secret Show 4/13 ***1/2
85. Adrian Neville vs Tyler Breeze vs Sami Zayn vs Tyson Kidd - WWE NXT Take Over: Fatal 4 Way 9/11 ***1/2
84. Michael Elgin & Brian Cage vs Ricochet & Rich Swann - PWG DDT4 1/31 ***1/2
83. Jimmy Susumu, Jimmy Kanda & Naoki Tanizaki vs CIMA, K-Ness & Super Shisa - Dragon Gate Champion Gate in Osaka 3/2 ***1/2
82. KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley vs Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly - NJPW Power Struggle 11/8 ***1/2
81. Tomohiro Ishii vs Yuji Nagata - NJPW G1 Climax 24 8/8 ***1/2
80. Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins - WWE Monday Night RAW 8/18 ***1/2
79. Cedric Alexander vs Trevor Lee vs Andrew Everett - PWG Mystery Vortex II 3/28 ***1/2
78. Prince Devitt vs Adam Cole - Revolution Pro: Summer Sizzler 6/15 ***1/2
77. Yuji Nagata vs Mohammed Yone - NOAH Navigation with Breeze 5/17 ***1/2
76. Daisuke Harada vs Zack Sabre Jr. - NOAH Global League 11/4 ***1/2
75. KENTA & Masato Tanaka vs Tetsuya Naito & Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH Great Voyage in Tokyo 3/8 ***1/2
74. Katsuyori Shibata vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW G1 Climax 24 7/26 ***1/2
73. AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW G1 Climax 24 7/26 ***1/2
72. Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt - WWE Royal Rumble 1/26 ***1/2
71. Takao Omori vs Jun Akiyama - AJPW Dynamite Series 6/15 ***1/2
70. Johnny Mundo vs Prince Puma vs Big Ryck - Lucha Underground 12/10 ***1/2
69. Drew Gulak vs Kyle O'Reilly - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 1 8/29 ***1/2
68. Dolph Ziggler vs Cesaro vs Tyson Kidd - WWE Friday Night Smackdown 11/14 ***1/2
67. Kyle O'Reilly vs Zack Sabre Jr. - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 3 8/31 ***1/2
66. Kevin Steen, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs Michael Elgin, Mark Briscoe & Jay Briscoe - ROH Raising the Bar 3/7 ***1/2
65. Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10/13 ***1/2
64. El Desperado vs Kenny Omega - NJPW Best of the Super Jr XXI 6/3
63. Michael Elgin vs Cedric Alexander - ROH Flyin' High 3/22 ***1/2
62. Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards vs Bully Ray & Devon vs Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy - TNA Impact Wrestling 10/8 ***1/2
61. Tetsuya Naito vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW G1 Climax 24 8/4 ***1/2
60. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW G1 Climax 24 8/3 ***1/2
59. Zack Sabre Jr. vs Shinsuke Nakamura - Revolution Pro: Summer Sizzler 6/15 ***1/2
58. Charlotte vs Natalya - WWE NXT Takeover 5/29 ***1/2
57. Flamita vs Jimmy Susumu - Dragon Gate: Dead or Alive 5/5 ***1/2
56. AJ Styles vs Kazuchika Okada - NJPW G1 Climax 24 7/21 ***1/2
55. Katsuyori Shibata vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 1 7/21***1/2
54. T-Hawk & Eita vs Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora - DG The Gate of Victory 10/5 ***1/2
53. Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Cedric Alexander vs Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson & ACH - ROH Final Battle 12/7 ***1/2
52. Kevin Steen vs Shinsuke Nakamura - ROH War of the Worlds 5/17 ***1/2
51. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW Road to Power Struggle 10/25 ***1/2
50. Adam Cole vs Michael Elgin - ROH Best in the World 6/22 ***3/4
49. Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 5/3 ***3/4
48. John Cena vs Cesaro - WWE Monday Night RAW 2/17 ***3/4
47. Ricochet vs Uhaa Nation - Dragon Gate: Glorious Gate 3/6 ***3/4
46. Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW G1 Climax 24 8/6 ***3/4
45. Kota Ibushi vs Ricochet - NJPW Dominion 6.21 6/21 ***3/4
44. Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards vs Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy vs Bully Ray & Devon - TNA Impact Wrestling: No Surrender 9/17 ***3/4
43. Triple H, Randy Orton & Batista vs Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns - WWE Payback 6/1 ***3/4
42. Masato Yoshino vs Ricochet - Dragon Gate: Champion Gate in Osaka 3/2 ***3/4
41. Daisuke Sekimoto vs Takashi Sugiura - NOAH Global League 2014 11/8 ***3/4
40. Bray Wyatt vs John Cena - WWE Payback 6/1 ***3/4
39. Adam Cole, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs Chuck Taylor, Kenny Omega & Zack Sabre Jr. - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 1 8/29 ***3/4
38. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW Destruction in Kobe 9/21 ***3/4
37. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley - NJPW Dominion 6.21 6/21 ***3/4
36. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 1/4 ***3/4
35. Katsuyori Shibata vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 1/4 ***3/4
34. T-Hawk & Eita vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid - Dragon Gate: Dangerous Gate 8/17 ***3/4
33. Masato Yoshino vs Masaaki Mochizuki - Dragon Gate: Open the New Year Gate 1/16 ***3/4
32. Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly vs KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley - ROH Final Battle 12/7 ***3/4
31. Yujiro Takahashi vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10/13 ***3/4
30. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan - PWG Eleven 7/26 ***3/4
29. Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW Invasion Attack 4/6 ***3/4
28. Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2/11***3/4
27. Taiji Ishimori vs Daisuke Harada - NOAH Great Voyage 2014 in Tokyo 3/8 ***3/4
26. Ricochet vs YAMATO - Dragon Gate: Dead or Alive 5/5 ***3/4
25. Yuji Nagata vs Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH Great Voyage 2014 in Tokyo Vol. 2 7/5 ***3/4
24. Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega vs Tetsuya Endo & Kenosuke Takeshita - DDT Dramatic General Election 9/28 ****
23. Tomohiro Ishii vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW G1 Climax 24 8/1 ****
22. Tomohiro Ishii vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW Power Struggle 11/8 ****
21. Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori vs Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara - AJPW Real World Tag League Day 11 12/6 ****
20. Triple H, Randy Orton & Batista vs Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns - WWE Extreme Rules 5/4 ****
19. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW The New Beginning in Hiroshima 2/9 ****
18. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly - ROH War of the Worlds 5/17 ****
17. Triple H vs Daniel Bryan - WWE Wrestlemania XXX 4/6 ****
16. Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 1/4 ****
15. Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada - NJPW G1 Climax 24 8/8 ****
14. Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan vs Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns - WWE Elimination Chamber 2/23 ****
13. Tomohiro Ishii vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW Back to the Yokohama Arena 5/25 ****
12. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito - NJPW Road to The New Beginning 2/2 ****
11. Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW G1 Climax 24 7/26 ****
*10. Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW 42nd Anniversary Show 3/6 ****
9. Adrian Neville vs Sami Zayn - WWE NXT Takeover: R-Evolution 12/11 ****
8. Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW G1 Climax 24 8/3 ****
7. Sami Zayn vs Cesaro - WWE NXT ArRival 2/27 ****
6. KUSHIDA vs Ricochet - NJPW Best of the Super Junior XXI 6/8 ****
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW Invasion Attack 4/6 ****1/4
4. Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs T-Hawk & Eita - Dragon Gate: Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2014 7/20 ****1/4
3. AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW G1 Climax 24 8/1 ****1/4
2. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kazuchika Okada - NJPW G1 Climax 24 8/10 ****1/2
1. Tetsuya Naito vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2/11 ****1/2*


----------



## BREEaments03

well well well

for wwe:
1. Shield vs Wyatts - EC
2. Zayn vs Cesaro - ArRIVAL
3. the rest


----------



## NastyYaffa

*Top-20:*

*1. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 Climax)
2. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW G1 Climax)
3. Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H (WWE Wrestlemania)
4. The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family (WWE Elimination Chamber)
5. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW Destruction in Kobe)
6. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (NXT ArRival)
7. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista (WWE Wrestlemania)
8. Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd (NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way)
9. Ricochet vs. KUSHIDA (NJPW Best of the Super Jr.)
10. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW G1 Climax)
11. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW G1 Climax)
12. Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn (NXT Takeover: R Evolution)
13. Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (WWE Royal Rumble)
14. Kenny Omega vs. ACH (PWG Battle of Los Angeles)
15. Time Splitters vs. The Young Bucks (NJPW Dominion)
16. The Young Bucks & Adam Cole vs. Kenny Omega, Chuck Taylor & Zack Sabre, Jr. (PWG Battle of Los Angeles)
17. Prince Devitt vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. (PROGRESS Chapter 13)
18. AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW G1 Climax)
19. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hirooki Goto (NJPW Power Struggle)
20. AJ Styles vs. Kyle O'Reilly (ROH Death Before Dishonor)*


----------



## Corey

You changed your post. I assume you realized that Tanahashi & Nakamura did indeed wrestle multiple times in 2014. BREE


----------



## Groovemachine

Catching up on the tale end of last year. Really enjoyed The Throwbacks vs The Devastation Corporation from Chikara Tomorrow Never Dies. An easy ***3/4, verging on four stars, due to a great structure, classic FIP action with a well-placed hot tag and an awesome third fall. Commentary was pretty grating, especially towards the end as they oversold stuff, but tune that out and it's a great little match.


----------



## Bruce L

Well, since somebody else has bumped it back up, I'll throw in a couple of last-minute endorsements too:

_*GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship
Daisuke Harada (c) vs. Atsushi Kotoge *(NOAH, 12/6)_
★★★★

_*GHC Heavyweight Championship
Naomichi Marufuji (c) vs. Takashi Sugiura *(NOAH, 12/6)_
★★★★


----------



## EscapedIllusion

Yes!
Shuji Ishikawa (c) vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (BJW)
****3/4

Probably the second best match of the year behind Ibushi/Nakamura.Arguably the hottest crowd I've seen all year,towards the end that crowd sounded like a Misawa/Kawada match.There were some selling issues but if you can get past that this is a true MOTYC.Watch this match!

Edit:Wrong thread lol can't delete it cause I'm on my phone 

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Joeisgod

I know I'm really late, but I'm finally caught up on everything from 2014. I still have to watch two more puro matches and I'll post my top 25 puro matches from 2014. Here is the best of 2014 from America!

*TOP 10 TNA MATCHES*​1)	Full Metal Mayhem- Team 3D vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The American Wolves (TNA Impact) ****1/4
2)	Ladder Match- Team 3D vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The American Wolves (TNA Impact No Surrender) ****
3)	Austin Aries vs. Sanada (TNA ONO Global Impact 2014) ****
4)	Cage Match- Eric Young vs. Bobby Lashely vs. Austin Aries (TNA Slammiversary 2014) ***3/4
5)	Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki vs. Kaz Hayashi (TNA Bound For Glory 2014) ***3/4
6)	TWO OUT OF THREE FALLS- Austin Aries vs. Sanada (TNA ONO X-Travaganza 2) ***3/4
7)	LADDER MATCH- Bad Influence vs. The American Wolves (TNA ONO X-Travaganza 2) ***1/2
8)	Beer Money vs. The American Wolves (TNA ONO Jokers Wild 2) ***1/2
9)	I QUIT MATCH- Gunner vs. James Storm (TNA Sacrifice 2014) ***1/2
10)	Hardy Boyz vs. American Wolves (TNA Impact) ***1/2


*Top 20 WWE MATCHES*​1)	The Shield vs. The Wyatts (WWE Elimination Chamber 2014) ****1/2
2)	Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville (NXT rEVOLUTION) ****1/4
3)	Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (WWE NXT Arrival) ****1/4 
4)	SURVIVOR SERIES ELIMINATION MATCH- Team Cena (John Cena, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback) vs. Team HHH (Seth Rollins, Kane, Mark Henry, Rusev, and Luke Harper) (WWE Survivor Series 2014) ****1/4
5)	The Shield vs. Evolution (WWE Extreme Rules 2014) ****1/4

6)	HHH vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE Wrestlemania 30) ****1/4
7)	Antonio Cesaro vs. John Cena (WWE Raw) ****1/4
8)	The Wyatts vs. The Uso’s (WWE Battleground) ****1/4
9)	Money In The Bank Ladder Match- Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins vs. RVD vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston (WWE Money In The Bank 2014) ****1/4
10)	Daniel Bryan vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton (WWE Wrestlemania 30) ****
11)	Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (WWE Royal Rumble 2014) ****
12)	Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Adrian Neville (NXT Fatal 4 Way) ****
13)	Elimination Rules- The Shield vs. Evolution (WWE Payback) ****
14)	Elimination Chamber- Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus vs. Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Christian vs. Antonio Cesaro (WWE Elimination Chamber) ****
15)	Falls Count Anywhere- Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose (WWE Raw) ****
16)	Ladder Match- Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper (WWE TLC 2014) ****
17)	Antonio Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyson Kidd (WWE Smackdown) ****
18)	Last Man Standing Match- Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena (WWE Payback 2014) **** 
19)	Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton (WWE Raw 02/03/14) ****
20)	Sheamus vs. Antonio Cesaro (WWE Night of Champions)****


*TOP 20 ROH MATCHES*​1)	TWO OUT OF THREE FALLS- The Young Bucks vs. redDragon (ROH All Star Extravaganza 6) ****1/2
2)	AJ Styles vs. Kyle O’Reilly (ROH Death Before Dishonor 2014) ****1/2
3)	redDragon vs. The Young Bucks (ROH War of the Worlds) ****1/4
4)	The Young Bucks vs. redDragon (ROH Raising the Bar Night 2) ****1/4
5)	AJ Styles vs. Adam Cole (ROH All Star Extravaganza 6) ****1/4
6)	NO DQ- Tomasso Ciampa vs. Cedric Alexander (ROH TV) ****
7)	Michael Elgin vs. Cedric Alexander (ROH Flyin High) ****
8)	Kevin Steen vs. Michael Elgin (ROH Supercard of Honor 8) ****
9)	ACH vs. Matt Sydal (ROH Survival of The Fittest Night 1) ****
10)	AJ Styles vs. Michael Elgin vs. Okada (ROH War of the Worlds) ****
11)	Michael Elgin vs. Adam Cole (ROH Best in the World 2014) ****
12)	redDragon vs. Time Splitters (ROH Final Battle 2014) ****
13)	The Briscoes, and Michael Elgin vs. The Young Bucks, and Kevin Steen (ROH Raising The Bar Night 1) **** 
14)	AJ Styles vs. Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin vs. Jay Briscoe (ROH Field of Honor) ****
15)	Chris Hero vs AJ Styles (ROH Flyin High) ****
16)	Young Bucks vs. Sydal and ACH (ROH TV) ****
17)	Fight Without Honor- Jay Briscoe vs. Adam Cole (ROH Final Battle 2014) ****
18)	AJ Styles vs. Matt Sydal (ROH TV) ***3/4
19)	Time Splitters vs. Young Bucks vs. Forever Hooligans (ROH Global Wars) ***3/4

20)	Cedric Alexander, and The Addiction vs. ACH, and The Young Bucks (ROH Final Battle 2014) ***3/4



*Top 20 Other Wrestling*​1)	Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano (DGUSA Open The Ultimate Gate) ****1/4
2)	Bill Busick vs. Zach Sabre Jr. (EVOLVE 35) ****1/4
3)	Bravado Bros vs. The Premiere Athlete Brand vs. AR Fox and Rich Swann (EVOLVE 35) ****1/4

4)	AR Fox vs. Davey Richards (Evolve 25) ****
5)	Ricochet vs. Trent Baretta (Evolve 26) ****
6)	Drew Galloway vs. Roderick Strong (EVOLVE 35) ****
7)	Ricochet vs. Matt Sydal (EVOLVE 32) ****
8)	Two out of Three Falls- The Throwbacks vs. Devastation Corporation (CHIKARA Tomorrow Never Dies) ****

9)	Uhaa Nation vs. Ricochet (EVOLVE 35) ****
10)	The Young Bucks vs. Hardy Boys (N.E.W 8/8/14) ****
11)	Roderick Strong vs. Johnny Gargano (DGUSA Way of the Ronnin 2014) ****
12)	Uhaa Nation and AR Fox vs. Anthony Nese and Trent Baretta (EVOLVE 29) ****
13)	Timonthy Thatcher vs. Zach Sabre Jr. (Evolve 34) ****
14)	Chris Hero vs. Masato Tanaka (DGUSA Open The Ultimate Gate) ****
15)	Uhaa Nation and AR Fox vs. Johnny Gargano and Jon Davis (Evolve 26) ****
16)	Evolutions End Match- Johnny Gargano vs. Rich Swann (EVOLVE 33) ****
17)	Anthony Nese vs. Trent Baretta (EVOLVE 25) ***3/4
18)	Johnny Gargano vs. Drew Gulak (EVOLVE 35) ***3/4
19)	Johnny Gargano vs. Calbeb Konley (EVOLVE 32) ***3/4
20)	AJ Styles vs. Cedric Alexander (PWX) ***3/4


*TOP 20 PWG MATCHES*​1)	Gurrilla Warefare Match- Worlds Cutest Tag Team vs. The Young Bucks (PWG Eleven)****1/2
2)	Adam Cole vs. Zach Sabre Jr. (PWG BOLA 2014 Night 2) ****1/4
3)	Guerrilla Warfare Match- Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O’Reilly (PWG Black Cole Sun)
4)	Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole (PWG Sold Our Soul For Rock and Roll) ****1/4
5)	Ricochet vs. Kyle O’Reilly (PWG Black Cole Sun) ****1/4
6)	Young Bucks vs. AR Fox and ACH (PWG Untitled 2) ****1/4
7)	The Young Bucks and Adam Cole vs. Chuck Taylor, Kenny Omega, and Zach Sebre Jr. (PWG BOLA 2014 Night 1) ****1/4
8)	Ricochet vs. Kenny Omega (PWG BOLA Night 3) ****
9)	The Young Bucks vs. Best Friends (PWG Mystery Vortez II) ****
10)	The Young Bucks, and Kevin Steen vs. Trevor Lee, Gargano, and Cedric Alexander (PWG Sold Our Soul for Rock and Roll) ****
11)	The Inner City Machine Guns vs. AR Fox and ACH (PWG DDT 2014) ****
12)	The Young Bucks vs. The Addiction (PWG BOLA 2014 Night 2) ****
13)	Michael Elgin vs. Tomasso Ciampa (PWG BOLA 2014 Night 1) ****
14)	ACH vs. Ricochet (PWG Sold Our Soul For Rock and Roll) ****
15)	Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O’Reilly (PWG Untitled 2) ****
16)	Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong (PWG BOLA Night 3) ****
17)	Trevor Lee vs. Cedrick Alexander vs. Andrew Everett (PWG Mystery Vortex II) ****
18)	Michael Elgin vs. Uhaa Nation vs. Biff Busick vs. Tomasso Ciampa (PWG Black Cole Sun) ***3/4
19)	Kenny Omega vs. ACH (PWG BOLA 2014 Night 2) ***3/4
20)	The Addiction vs. Worlds Cutest Tag Team vs. Inner City Machine Guns (PWG BOLA 2014 Night 1) ***3/4


----------



## Joeisgod

*FULL LIST*​
Best Matches of 2014
1.	Gurrilla Warefare Match- Worlds Cutest Tag Team vs. The Young Bucks (PWG Eleven)****1/2
2.	The Shield vs. The Wyatts (WWE Elimination Chamber 2014) ****1/2
3.	TWO OUT OF THREE FALLS- The Young Bucks vs. redDragon (ROH All Star Extravaganza 6) ****1/2
4.	AJ Styles vs. Kyle O’Reilly (ROH) ****1/2
5.	Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville (NXT rEVOLUTION) ****1/4
6.	redDragon vs. The Young Bucks (ROH War of the Worlds) ****1/4
7.	Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano (DGUSA Open The Ultimate Gate) ****1/4
8.	Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (WWE NXT Arrival) ****1/4 
9.	SURVIVOR SERIES ELIMINATION MATCH- Team Cena (John Cena, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback) vs. Team HHH (Seth Rollins, Kane, Mark Henry, Rusev, and Luke Harper) (WWE Survivor Series 2014) ****1/4
10.	The Shield vs. Evolution (WWE Extreme Rules 2014) ****1/4
11.	HHH vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE Wrestlemania 30) ****1/4
12.	Adam Cole vs. Zach Sabre Jr. (PWG BOLA 2014 Night 2) ****1/4
13.	Antonio Cesaro vs. John Cena (WWE Raw) ****1/4
14.	Bill Busick vs. Zach Sabre Jr. (EVOLVE 35) ****1/4
15.	Guerrilla Warfare Match- Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O’Reilly (PWG Black Cole Sun) ****1/4
16.	FULL METAL MAYHEM-Team 3D vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Wolves (TNA Impact) ****1/4
17.	Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole (PWG Sold Our Soul For Rock and Roll) ****1/4
18.	The Wyatts vs. The Uso’s (WWE Battleground) ****1/4
19.	Bravado Bros vs. The Premiere Athlete Brand vs. AR Fox and Rich Swann (EVOLVE 35) ****1/4
20.	Money In The Bank Ladder Match- Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins vs. RVD vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston (WWE Money In The Bank 2014) ****1/4
21.	The Young Bucks vs. redDragon (ROH Raising the Bar Night 2) ****1/4
22.	AJ Styles vs. Adam Cole (ROH All Star Extravaganza 6) ****1/4
23.	Ricochet vs. Kyle O’Reilly (PWG Black Cole Sun) ****1/4
24.	Young Bucks vs. AR Fox and ACH (PWG Untitled 2) ****1/4
25.	The Young Bucks and Adam Cole vs. Chuck Taylor, Kenny Omega, and Zach Sebre Jr. (PWG BOLA 2014 Night 1) ****1/4
26.	NO DQ- Tomasso Ciampa vs. Cedric Alexander (ROH TV) ****
27.	Ricochet vs. Kenny Omega (PWG BOLA Night 3) ****
28.	The Young Bucks vs. Best Friends (PWG Mystery Vortez II) ****
29.	The Young Bucks, and Kevin Steen vs. Trevor Lee, Gargano, and Cedric Alexander (PWG Sold Our Soul for Rock and Roll) ****
30.	The Inner City Machine Guns vs. AR Fox and ACH (PWG DDT 2014) ****
31.	AR Fox vs. Davey Richards (Evolve 25) ****
32.	Daniel Bryan vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton (WWE Wrestlemania 30) ****
33.	Ricochet vs. Trent Baretta (Evolve 26) ****
34.	Michael Elgin vs. Cedric Alexander (ROH Flyin High) ****
35.	Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt (WWE Royal Rumble 2014) ****
36.	Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Adrian Neville (NXT Fatal 4 Way) ****
37.	Drew Galloway vs. Roderick Strong (EVOLVE 35) ****
38.	Kevin Steen vs. Michael Elgin (ROH Supercard of Honor 8) ****
39.	Elimination Rules- The Shield vs. Evolution (WWE Payback) ****
40.	The Young Bucks vs. The Addiction (PWG BOLA 2014 Night 2) ****
41.	Elimination Chamber- Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus vs. Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Christian vs. Antonio Cesaro (WWE Elimination Chamber) ****
42.	ACH vs. Matt Sydal (ROH Survival of The Fittest Night 1) ****
43.	Falls Count Anywhere- Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose (WWE Raw) ****
44.	Michael Elgin vs. Tomasso Ciampa (PWG BOLA 2014 Night 1) ****
45.	Ladder Match- Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper (WWE TLC 2014) ****
46.	Antonio Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyson Kidd (WWE Smackdown) ****
47.	ACH vs. Ricochet (PWG Sold Our Soul For Rock and Roll) ****
48.	Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O’Reilly (PWG Untitled 2) ****
49.	Last Man Standing Match- Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena (WWE Payback 2014) **** 
50.	Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton (WWE Raw 02/03/14) ****
51.	AJ Styles vs. Michael Elgin vs. Okada (ROH War of the Worlds) ****
52.	Ladder Match- The Hardyz vs. Team 3D vs. The American Wolves (TNA Impact No Surrender) ****
53.	Ricochet vs. Matt Sydal (EVOLVE 32) ****
54.	Two out of Three Falls- The Throwbacks vs. Devastation Corporation (CHIKARA Tomorrow Never Dies) ****
55.	Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong (PWG BOLA Night 3) ****
56.	Uhaa Nation vs. Ricochet (EVOLVE 35) ****
57.	Sheamus vs. Antonio Cesaro (WWE Night of Champions)****
58.	Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin (ROH Best in the World 2014) ****
59.	Time Splitters vs. redDragon (ROH Final Battle 2014) ****
60.	The Young Bucks vs. Hardy Boys (N.E.W 8/8/14) ****
61.	Roderick Strong vs. Johnny Gargano (DGUSA Way of the Ronnin 2014) ****
62.	Uhaa Nation and AR Fox vs. Anthony Nese and Trent Baretta (EVOLVE 29) ****
63.	The Briscoes, and Michael Elgin vs. The Young Bucks, and Kevin Steen (ROH Raising The Bar Night 1) **** 
64.	Trevor Lee vs. Cedrick Alexander vs. Andrew Everett (PWG Mystery Vortex II) ****
65.	Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze (WWE NXT Takeover) ****
66.	Chris Hero vs AJ Styles (ROH Flyin High) ****
67.	Timonthy Thatcher vs. Zach Sabre Jr. (Evolve 34) ****
68.	Young Bucks vs. Sydal and ACH (ROH TV) ****
69.	Chris Hero vs. Masato Tanaka (DGUSA Open The Ultimate Gate) ****
70.	Austin Aries vs. Sanada (TNA Global Impact) ****
71.	The Shield vs. The Wyatts (WWE Main Event) ****
72.	Uhaa Nation and AR Fox vs. Johnny Gargano and Jon Davis (Evolve 26) ****
73.	Fight Without Honor- Jay Briscoe vs. Adam Cole (ROH Final Battle 2014) ****
74.	AJ Styles vs. Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin vs. Jay Briscoe (ROH Field of Honor) ****
75.	John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (WWE Summerslam) ****
76.	Evolutions End Match- Johnny Gargano vs. Rich Swann (EVOLVE 33) ****
77.	Michael Elgin vs. Uhaa Nation vs. Tomasso Ciampa vs. Biff Busick (PWG Black Cole Sun) ***3/4
78.	Kenny Omega vs. ACH (PWG BOLA 2014 Night 2) ***3/4
79.	The Addiction vs. Worlds Cutest Tag Team vs. Inner City Machine Guns (PWG BOLA 2014 Night 1) ***3/4
80.	Charlotte vs. Natalya (NXT Takeover) ***3/4
81.	The Wyatts vs. The Shield (WWE Raw) ***3/4
82.	The Wyatts vs. The Uso’s (WWE Money In The Bank) ***3/4
83.	Anthony Nese vs. Trent Baretta (EVOLVE 25) ***3/4
84.	Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville (WWE NXT) ***3/4
85.	Johnny Gargano vs. Drew Gulak (EVOLVE 35) ***3/4
86.	HELL IN A CELL MATCH- John Cena vs. Randy Orton (WWE Hell In A Cell) ***3/4
87.	Time Splitters vs. Young Bucks vs. Forever Hooligans (ROH Global Wars) ***3/4
88.	Johnny Gargano vs. Kyle O’Reilly (PWG Mystery Vortex II) ***3/4
89.	AJ Styles vs. Matt Sydal (ROH TV) ***3/4
90.	Lumberjack Match- Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose (WWE Summerslam) ***3/4
91.	Johnny Gargano vs. Calbeb Konley (EVOLVE 32) ***3/4
92.	Cedric Alexander, and The Addiction vs. ACH, and The Young Bucks (ROH Final Battle 2014) ***3/4
93.	Drew Gulak vs. Kyle O’Reilly (PWG BOLA 2014 Night 1) ***3/4
94.	Jay Lethal vs. Kushida (ROH War of the Worlds) ***3/4
95.	Cage Match- Eric Young vs. Bobby Lashely vs. Austin Aries (TNA Slammiversary) ***3/4
96.	The Young Bucks vs. Sydal and Sabin (PWG Black Cole Sun) ***3/4
97.	Adrenaline Rush vs. redDragon (ROH 12th Anniversary Show) ***3/4
98.	AJ Styles vs. Cedric Alexander (PWX) ***3/4
99.	The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE Raw) ***3/4
100.	Johnny Gargano vs. Chuck Taylor (PWG BOLA 2014 Night 2) ***3/4
101.	Chris Hero vs. AR Fox (Dragongate USA Way of the Ronnin) ***3;4
102.	Ricochet vs. Chris Sabin (PWG BOLA 2014 Night 2) ***3/4
103.	The Young Buck, and Rich Swan vs. The Bravo Bros and Johnny Gargano (Evolve 25) ***3/4
104.	Bad News Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE Raw) ***3/4
105.	Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki vs. Kaz Hayashi (TNA Bound For Glory 2014) ***3/4
106.	The Inner City Machine Guns vs. The Unbreakable Fucking Machines (PWG DDT 2014) ***3/4
107.	TWO OUT OF THREE FALLS- Austin Aries vs. Sanada (TNA ONO X-Travaganza 2)***3/4


----------



## Joeisgod

Here are my top 25 puro matches from 2014

*BEST PURO MATCHES OF 2014*​1)	Katsuhiko Nakajima & Takashi Sugiura vs. KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH 05/17/15) *****
2)	AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW G1 CLIMAX DAY 7) ****3/4
3)	Daisuke Harada vs. Atsushi Kotoge (NOAH Great Voyage 2015) ****3/4
4)	Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma (NJPW CLIMAX DAY 4) ****1/2
5)	Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW G1 Climax Day 12) ****1/2
6)	The Millenials (T-Hawk & Eita) vs. Team Veteran (Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid) (DG Dangerous Gate 2014) ****1/2
7)	Daisuke Sekimoto vs.Takeshi Sugiara (NOAH Global League Day 12) ****1/2
8)	Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (DG 01/16/15) ****1/2
9)	Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW G1 CLIMAX DAY 9) ****1/2
10)	Time Splitters vs. The Young Bucks (NJPW Dominion 2014) ****1/2
11)	Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW G1 CLIMAX DAY 7) ****1/2
12)	Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kaysuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Climax Day 4) ****1/2
13)	Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW Power Struggle 2014) ****1/2
14)	Tomoaki Honma vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW G1 Climax Day 8) ****1/2
15)	Ricochet vs. Uhaa Nation (Dragon Gate) ****1/4
16)	Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW 42nd Anniversary Show) ****1/4
17)	AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW King of Pro Wrestling) ****1/4
18)	Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW Donaku) ****1/4
19)	redDragon vs. Time Splitters (NJPW Power Struggle 2014) ****1/4
20)	Daisuke Harada vs, Zach Sabre Jr (NOAH 04/11/14) ****1/4
21)	Ricochet vs. Kushida (NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XXI) ****1/4
22)	Katsuyori Shibata vs.Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW G1 CLIMAX DAY 10) ****1/4
23)	Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW New Japan Cup Day 1) ****1/4
24)	Osaka 06 vs. The Millenials (Dragongate) ****1/4
25)	Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJPW G1 Climax Day 11) ****1/4


----------

