Saturday 21 January 2017

PROGRESS Wrestling - 15/01/17 Live Report

My first live wrestling show of 2017 was PROGRESS Wrestling in Birmingham. With the WWE UK Tournament happening the same weekend, some of the talent was unavailable (including the World and tag team champions, Pete Dunne and Moustache Mountain respectively) and the likes of Ospreay, Sabre and Scurll missing, the card looked lacking. Luckily PROGRESS had some surprises up their sleeves.

PROGRESS Wrestling
CHAPTER 42 - Life, The Universe and Wrestling
15 January 2017
O2 Academy, Birmingham

Before any in-ring action. Jim Smallman opens and talks about some of the talent working the WWE Tournament but he said he had no hard feelings because he also has friends in WWE. This brought out Finn Balor to an almighty pop. He joked around and randomly, played a game of musical chairs. It was an amazing surprise start to the show and great to see Balor in such a small place.

1) Ringkampf (Axel Dieter Jr. & WALTER) beat The London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch) - Great opener. Dieter looks like a natural heel with a smug look plastered on his face whilst WALTER is just a big brute who makes the London Riots look small. Ringkampf really impressed me and I also liked the look of London Riots. MOTN.

2) Jack Sexsmith beat Sebastian - Bit of a comedy match really, nothing to write home about. After the bout, William Eaver, who was at ringside with Sebastian, looked like he would turn face but ended up leaving with Sebastian.

Jimmy Havoc came out to a great reaction. He ran down the recently reformed Swords of Essex after Will Ospreay turned his back on him at the last event. Havoc then called out someone from the back for an impromptu match. It turned out to be the recently WWE bound Tommy F'N End.

3) Jimmy Havok beat Tommy End - It was great seeing End live before he joins NXT. Understandably he didn't go all out here but it was still a decent exhibition which felt special. End put Havok over then amazingly travelled down to Blackpool on the same day to debut against Neville at the UK Tournament.

4) Alex Windsor beat Livii Grace - This was in the Women's Championship tournament and was easily the worst match of the night. It was the match after the break and could have been placed elsewhere. It was slow, sloppy and not a good welcome back.

5) South Pacific Power Trip (TK Cooper & Travis Banks) beat The Origin: Banter Edition (El Ligero & Dave Mastiff) - Fun match, obviously some comedy from Ligero and Mastiff. Mastiff even put on an El Generico match and did some lucha spots. I still believe Ligero is one of the most underrated UK talents.

6) Spud beat Paul Robinson - Spud was the hometown boy and making his PROGRESS debut. Robinson is part of the Sword of Essex with Ospreay and attacked before he match with his belt. Spud nearly killed himself with a trio of suicide dives and won by DQ.

Rampage Brown was to defend his Atlas Championship (over 205 pounds) in an open challenge. He was answered by Matt Riddle!

7) Matt Riddle beat Rampage Brown to win the PROGRESS Atlas Championship - Bro are you kidding me? Finn, End and Riddle as three surprises? I've always liked Riddle but he's become one of my favourites recently as I track down random matches of his, so I was so happy to see him live. The finish came a little out of nowhere but that's Riddle for you bro. It sent me home happy in a show where I didn't expect much but it really delivered.

Sunday 8 January 2017

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 Review

Wrestle Kingdom is like the WrestleMania of New Japan. I don't think I've seen a Wrestle Kingdom from start to end, I think I've always picked matches but I decided this year to watch every match, including the pre-show matches.

1) New Japan Rumble: This was like a Royal Rumble but as eliminations also occur by pinfall and submission. So like Aztec Warfare then, except this one is full of old vets who struggle to bump. Michael Elgin was man number 1 which was cool as he was returning from injury. Then man number 2 was Billy Gunn, really? Someone needs to tell Billy to tone down the gimmickry. He's awful but not the worst, that goes to Bone Solider who looks like a CAW I thought up as a child on Smackdown Know Your Role. Plus, he can't wrestle. Instead of brawling in between the entrances, everyone seems to stand and stare when the countdown starts like they ran out of spots. It's awful. Liger doesn't get eliminated then gets eliminated and I don't know what's going on. It comes down to Elgin and Cheeseburger. They try and save the match but it's well beyond saving. Elgin hits Cheeseburger with a powerbomb to finish a truly awful match.

2) Tiger Mask W vs. Tiger the Dark: This is based on the new anime show. Tiger Mask hit the Golden Triangle Press to the outside, just in case you were wondering who was under the mask. My suspicions are right about Tiger the Dark as it's ACH. Ibushi and ACH could have one hell of a match even in limited time but they keep it simple here. Ibushi hits the Last Ride Powerbomb for good to triumph over evil (although Tiger the Dark is apparently more of a Anti-Hero rather than straight up evil).

Quick note, I'm listening to the English commentary by ROH team Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino. They are awful in the pre-show but get better when the show starts. Still not great but good enough to listen to, even with limited knowledge of NJPW.

3) IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: The Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice: I'm not a fan of either team but will admit the Bucks can be enjoyable in short doses. There's some good spots like the Bucks faking the countout and hitting Superkicks on the entrance ramp and trying to win by countout and Nick Jackson's counter to Rocky's springboard hitting a bulldog/missile dropkick. The Bucks move out of the way of Trent's dive which leaves Trent hitting the floor hard. The Bucks work over the Rocky but he survives for Trent to recover, block the More Bang for Your Buck and allow Rocky to get the roll up win. It's meant to be a big title win but the titles change hands so much, it's hard to care. If they insist on using Americans, why not bring back MCMG.

4) NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships: Gauntlet: We start with Bullet Club versus Chaos. It's short and uneventful. Ospreay goes on a little run but is a little sloppy and Adam Page follows with a SSP off the apron. The Bullet Club advance but are quicky dispatched by Los Ingobernables de Japon. The match picks up with Ricochet and Finlay working well together, Kojima having a run and LIJ being straight up bad guys. LIJ pick up the win and take the titles. It's the right call as EVIL, Bushi and Sanada are all too good to be doing nothing but the titles switches in the 6-Man tag titles is almost every match.

5) Cody vs. Juice Robinson: I've read a review where the reviewer called this the worst match on the card. It's harsh, it's not that bad. Juice pulls out a great performance but Cody is a little too over the top. Now I've seen a few matches of Cody outside of WWE, it seems he's not going to be the performer who gets MOTYC. He plays his character very well (as he did in every character in WWE) but he's in the odd position of working like a WWE wrestler on the indies, NJPW and TNA. He's best off going back, it may be a longshot but in the last year we've seen AJ Styles, Nakamura and Chris Hero sign to WWE so stranger things have happened. Cody wins obviously, gotta wonder why he wasn't booked against Japanese talent, surely that's the point of going to New Japan.

6) ROH World Championship: Kyle O'Reilly vs. Adam Cole: I'm biased because I don't see the appeal in Cole. He competed in one of my favourite matches in 2016 but basically hung on the coat-tails of the other five men in the match. All he has going for him is his catchphrase and I imagine that gets annoying quickly. Luckily O'Reilly controls this match. He's bulked up a bit which suits him if he is going for heavyweight and his strikes were brilliantly stiff. Cole works the limb but then hits a suplex over the knee to win it. And that's it. Cole becomes the first ever three time champ in a lackluster match. I was a bit out of the loop and now found out that O'Reilly didn't sign a ROH contact. O'Reilly deserved the title ages ago and should have been the man to defeat Lethal.

7) IWGP Tag Team Championships: Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano: Not much to say about this match. Honma was Honma, Yano was Yano, everyone was everyone, The best bit of the match was Tanga Roa dropping the F-bomb a record number of times. Corino had to go off commentary for laughing too much and I had tears in my eyes. I don't know why English speakers swear so much in NJPW. I remember Ospreay being pretty potty mouth against Ricochet last year. Yano and Ishii wins which is an odd pairing I'm not sure I like.

8) IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: KUSHIDA vs. Hiromu Takahashi: This was one of the matches I was looking forward to. I've always liked the Junior division, it's what first drew me into New Japan when Prince Devitt won the tag titles. The former Kamaitachi had a great match with Dragon Lee last year while KUSHIDA is always a joy to watch. The match disappointed me slightly but maybe I was expecting too much .Takahashi looked a little sloppy but that could just be nerves in his first big match. I was very happy to see two Japanese wrestlers face off, and I imagine they will continue this feud and get better matches.

9) NEVER Openweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto: With all the other titles changing hands, it was clear which way this was going to go. You gotta be good to have the nickname 'The Wrestler' and Shibata is that good. He owns the NEVER Openweight division and has made the title his own. They worked a stiff match, not as good as the title match from last years Wrestle Kingdom but decent enough. I didn't get too invested and as predicted Goto won. Good match but nothing special

10) IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: Naito is so cool, how he isn't main event is the big question (like how Pentagon Jr isn't the focus of Lucha Underground). Naito brought something different out of Tanahashi. Tanahashi didn't do the clean break and stole Naito's taunt. They both work over the legs and traded submissions. They sold the legs well as the match wore on. Naito hit the Destino to be the only champion to retain so far. It doesn't make up for not main eventing Wrestle Kingdom 8 but beating Tanahashi to retain where everyone else lost the titles, is a good sign. Also every member of LIJ hold gold. The match itself was great but didn't reach MOTYC standards.


11) IWGP Heavyeight Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega: What a match. It's pretty much a perfect match. Metzer gave the match 6... out of 5. I don't agree with that. It's an amazing match but not as good as Nakamura/Zayn from 2016 for me. Omega plays the Terminator in a fun sketch before his entrance. There was some heat on these two for main eventing but Okada pumped out another performance which solidifies him as the face of New Japan. Despite his popularity, Omega has had his critics but he put in a best in the World performance here. He showed he had it all, speed, strength, skill and his strikes were as stiff sounding as anyone's. It was a long match but there was no slowing down from the bell. There was also some huge spots, like Omega's shoutout to to Ishi by clearing the barricade and hitting Okada spot on with the Golden Triangle Press. The Bucks and Gedo are at ringside supporting both men but thankfully never get involved. The Bucks do set up a table which Okada brings out. Okada hits a big back body drop on Omega from the ring to the floor and through the table. Okada cut his back open at some point but sells the abdomen as Omega does well to work it over. Omega then switches to the neck which is fitting as Okada has had problems. It's worrying how much damage Omega is doing to Okada's neck, it must hurt so bad. Okada hits a tombstone and hits a couple of Rainmakers with Omega copying with a knee. They trade finishers some more with Okada getting the win with a final Rainmaker.

Final thoughts: I've seen a lot of praise for the event but I thought much of the card lacked. The final few matches delivered and the main event is one I will be talking about at the end of the year as one of my favourites. I skipped through from New Years Dash and watches a few matches. A few things happened. Dragon Lee debuted and took out Hiromu Takahashi but I thought it was Fenix when he first showed up. Ospreay does not like Shibata, that's a match I want to see. SUZUKI-GUN are back even though I don't know how many matches of them I want to see aside from Okada/Suzuki. And the 6-man tag titles changed hands again because it doesn't really matter. Oh and Omega said he is going to re-assess his future. Quite what that means is uncertain but I would imagine it's a bluff and he'll be back before anyone realises he's missing.

Tuesday 3 January 2017

Top Wrestlers of 2016

2016 has been a great year for wrestling, so many good matches from a whole host of promotions. My list will obviously be based on what I've watched this year. I've watched all the WWE PPV's, all of NXT, Lucha Underground Season 3 and a bit from series 2 also assorted matches from the likes of NJPW, Evolve, PWG, ROH. Below are the 15 wrestlers I consider had the best 2016:

Special Mention - Matt Hardy - I didn't feel like he deserved to be in the top 15 but Broken Matt Hardy has been the reason why I have seen any TNA in 2016. His battle with Jeff and the New Years Special were loads of fun. It's exactly what TNA should be doing as an alternative to WWE. He's nailed the character in everyway and is soon to appear in ROH which will be very interesting.


15) Ricochet - Whether he is competing in NJPW, PWG, Evolve or Lucha Underground, Ricochet can always be relied upon to have a great match. His series of matches with Will Ospreay in multiple different promotions were a highlight.


14) Matt Riddle - Evolve was my indie promotion of 2016. Good storylines and good wrestling but most importantly Evolve was Bro. Riddle has intrigued me since swapping MMA for wrestling and has been getting rave reviews for his in ring work. I've recently caught up and become a fan. For a 'rookie' he just makes it look easy.

13) Zack Sabre Jr - Sabre is one of my favourites but he has had a rough year. Some fans have grown tired of his style but it doesn't stop him from pumping out classic matches against the likes of Chris Hero and Will Ospreay. He won the PWG title and even stopped off in WWE to compete in the Crusierweight Classic, it's a shame he isn't going to compete in the upcoming WWEUK tournament but he seems happy killing it on the indy scene.


12) The New Day - They may not be the tag team champions anymore but they went almost the entire year as champions breaking Demolitions old record. Not only that but they've been entertaining both on the mic and in the ring. Matches against the likes of the Club and Sheamus and Cesaro have shown they can back up their smack talk.

11) 
Chris Hero - Despite not holding a major title or winning a big tournament, Hero has been called the indy MVP due to his high quality performances against the likes of Zack Sabre Jr in Evolve and his year of stellar matches in PWG. Whether singles or as a tag team with Tommy End or JT Dunn, Hero has been someone you can rely on.


10) Samoa Joe - Joe got the distinction of being the first ever two-time NXT Champion. His run where he would destroy competitors shouting "Bring me Nakamura or bring me my title" was one of the best storylines of 2016. Thankfully there was a pay off as he won the belt off the back of it but has since been Nakamura's whipping boy. A call-up should be imminent and hopefully 2017 should be a bright year for the Samoan Submission Machine.


9) #DIY - One of the feel-good moments of 2016 was watching Gargano and Ciampa win the NXT titles but before that they suffered a heart-wrenching loss to the Revival where Gargano was forced to tap. Add in their battle at CWC and you have two of the most reliable performers in wrestling today. I was hesitant at first when WWE used these two as a team but they have gone from strength-to-strength. No matter who they face, when they are in the ring, you know your in for a good match.

8) The Miz - I've always been a fan of the Miz from when he first competed in Tough Enough. This year everyone has caught up with me and found why Miz is one of the best heels today. His second half of the year in particular has been amazing. With his verbal feud with Daniel Bryan and his actual feud with Dolph Ziggler exceededing expectations. It's also easy to overlook his time as IC champ before the brand split which included a very good fatal four way.


7) TJ Perkins - What a win for TJP. He was the guy I wanted to win the CWC but I didn't even expect him to get passed Gargano. Before his Crusierweight Classic win, he competed as part of Catchpoint in Evolve and rarely put in a below par performance. The Crusierweights have had a tough time since the CWC but TJ has performed solidly since.

6) Kevin Owens - Since he first showed up on NXT, Owens has been must watch TV. Also there's barely been a time when he hasn't been champion. He won the NXT title in his first 2 months then IC champ and then this year he became the second Universal champion (If Balor was fit for the rest of the year, I have no doubt he would have made this list)  His run with Jericho as his best friend has been entertaining and his matches are always good. He may have had to play second fiddle to the Women on Raw but he's been the man to watch in WWE all year.


5) The Revival - These twp call themselves the "Top Guys" it's pretty clear to see why. I believe they have been the best tag team all year. A few years ago with tag teams dying out that wouldn't have been a compliment but the tag divisions in all promotions have made a comeback. The Revival are the best at this and they do it with old school tactics. Their matches with DIY, American Alpha and TM61 have all been of the highest quality. Now without the titles, 2017 seems the year that the Revival will take over WWE.


4) Charlotte Flair - Controversial but you can't dispute that many people have had a better 2017 than Charlotte Flair. Her PPV record speaks for itself. She did have an overly long feud with Sasha Banks but every match was at least good and some very good. I didn't expect her to make such a good heel after her time in NXT but she has owned it. A lot of praise must also go to Sasha for her work opposite her and also Becky and Bayley but I don't think the women's division would be were it is today without Charlotte. Although, last year was the year of the Divas Revolution, this year has been the year where the women get treated as equally as well as the men. Hurrah.


3) Shinsuke Nakamura - As I have said in my favourite matches post, Nakamura had the my favourite match of 2016 in his first ever match. But before that he put on a barnstormer against AJ Styles at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom. Once in NXT, Nakamura battled Finn Balor in the biggest match on NXT TV then went on to win the NXT title against Samoa Joe. His battles with Joe haven't been classics but they have always been entertaining. Even his squash matches have been much watch TV. Plus if all that isn't enough, his entrance is easily the greatest in all of wrestling,


2) Will Ospreay - When making my list of favourite matches, one name kept on cropping up. Ospreay is someone I don't think I knew about in 2015 but ever since seeing him in 2016, he's become one of my favourites. I've always been a fan of highflyers, TNA's X-Division 2004-2006 is one of my favourite times in all of wrestling and Ospreay is like all the best X Division wrestlers on hyper speed. He's been everywhere and done everything including competing in the BoLA, winning BoSJ and becoming ROH TV Champion. For me, 2016 was all about tracking down the latest Ospreay match and having my jaw drop to the floor in every match after he performed something that I thought was impossible. It was hard for me to put Ospreay in second place, I even changed around the order twice but after thinking about the achievements of the first placed guy, I think Ospreay is just edged out into second.


1) AJ Styles - I think most people would put AJ as number one, it's pretty easy to see why. After establishing himself as one of the aces of NJPW he then jumped ship to WWE, a sight the majority of wrestling fans thought would never happen. Then when some thought he would just be used in the midcard, he turned heel and challenged John Cena. Even better than that, he beat John Cena and took over his mantle as "The Face That Runs the Place". To cap off the year, he won the World title to become "The Champ that Runs the Camp". He's been must watch all year and it's amazing that he's still one of (if not the) best wrestler around after all these years. He's adapted with age and picked up new styles but he's still the same AJ who hits the springboard elbow, Styles Clash and my favourite move in all of wrestling, the Springboard 450 (nobody does it as good as AJ). He has proven once again why he's the best in the world and tops my list for 2016.



Sunday 1 January 2017

WWE 2016 Predictions Reviewed

I made some predictions at the start of 2016 for WWE. It's been an unpredictable year, so how correct was I?

Rollins will Return as Heel: Correct. Although he has since become a babyface.


Reigns the Three Time Champ: Correct, although I had to fact check this. He lost the title in the Rumble match to Triple H and regained it in a lacklustre WrestleMania main event.

Still no magic 16 for Cena: Correct, he's challenged a few times but never got there.

Triple H back in the ring: Correct and he even became World Champion again.

'Taker wins at Mania: Correct. He beat Shane O'Mac in a match that ultimately meant nothing at all. But at least we still have memories of that bump from the top of the cage.

Zayn versus Owens: Correct. We had this early on in the year with a series of awesome matches.

Breeze wins Gold: Incorrect. I think this was more of a wish than a prediction. I can't see any gold in Breeze's future now he is paired with Fandango.

Corbin gets Called-Up: Correct. He won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal and ended the year challenging for the title.

American Alpha win the titles: Correct. I predicted they would win the NXT tag titles, they did but Jordan and Gable just captured the Smackdown tag titles. Well deserved, hopefully they have a great 2017.

I'm not doing any further predictions, it's pretty clear from the above that I go for safe bets.


I also went to a Insane Championship Wrestling show in November entitled Pray for Mojo which I was informed was a Simpsons reference The show was held on 3rd November in the build to their big show of the year back in Scotland, Fear and Lothing. Here's the results:

1) Trent Seven defeated Davey Blaze MOTN
2) Kay Lee Ray defeated Nixon Newell
3) Polo Promotions (Jackie Polo & Mark Coffey) defeated Joe Hendry & Kenny Williams
4) Sha Samuels defeated Chris Renfrew
5) Matt Cross defeated Stevie Boy
6) Joe Coffey defeated Joel Redman
7) Wolfgang defeated BT Gunn
8) Iestyn Rees, Mike Bird & Wild Boar defeated Bram, Jack Jester & Lionheart which included interference from (I believe) Chris Renfrew who I assumed was a rowdy fan next to me but then he jumped the barricade and got involved.