Lucha Forever - Card Subject to Change - 02/11/2017 - Live Report

Lucha Forever - Card Subject to Change - 02 November 2017 - Banking Hall, Cardiff Bay

Lucha Forever returned to Cardiff Bay with the very apt title "Card Subject to Change". All the show's they have put on have been plagued with problems like wrestlers pulling out and arena changes, however, everything was running smoothly until we got the show and they informed us that the ring hadn't arrived yet. Ryan Smile took to the ring to explain that was only one the problems they faced as they nearly didn't have the venue and the two big guest appearances weren't even here yet. Regardless, Ryan said they will put on a great show and he wasn't lying.

1) Chris Brookes, Travis Banks & Toni Storm beat Mike Bird, Drew Parker & Chief Deputy Dunne - originally meant to be Brookes versus Bird this changed due to the show being Card Subject to Change. MOTN

2) The 198 (“Flash” Morgan Webster & Wild Boar) beat Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) - Dunkzilla Mark Davis got injured pretty early on and so they wrapped this up early. Not the best of starts for the debut of the 198.

3) Chris Ridgeway beat Jimmy Havoc

4) Kip Sabian beat Jack Sexsmith

5) Non-title: Lucha Forever Champion, Mark Haskins beat Matt Riddle

6) Eddie Dennis beat WWN World Champion, Keith Lee

Overall a great night, the opener gets MOTN for being a wild match but the main event comes a close second, the fans love Eddie and he made a great comeback to overcome Lee. Both Lee and Riddle put on fun showcase matches and rather surprisingly, both went away with two loses. "Superbad" Kip Sabian continues to shine on Lucha Forever shows.

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.

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.