10/14/24 GHC Tag Team Title: Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura vs. Keno & Alejandro 13:08
ML: A fast-paced action packed match from start to finish that was elevated dramatically Keno's intensity and seriousness. Moves wises this wasn't much different from an AEW tag, especially when the quasi Luchador Alejandro was in, but the fight was non-stop, and it didn't feel jokey. Keno and Alejandro each delivered a very stylistically different entertaining action sequence before the veterans slowed it down for their passable heat segment on undersized Alejandro. Sugiura is just going to beat down, and Alejandro is just going to run and jump, but Keno and Marufuji do enough different things to keep the match from falling into a pattern. Alejandro needs a little more impact on his strikes just so it even seems reasonable that he's fighting the opposition off for 5 or 10 seconds before getting overwhelmed. He pissed them off by using Marifuji's shiranui on him, and Seguira's Olympic slam on him. He then ascended to the top for his own finisher, but Suguira got up and finished him with an avalanche Olympic slam. This was the result you expected all along, but Marufuji and Sugiura went out of their way to put over the opposition throughout, so Alejandro, who was very over-matched physically, ended up coming off as the star of the match as much as much as was possible in match where he was the wrestler that didn't belong who had to prove himself. The best stuff was definitely when Keno was in, with his segments with Marufuji being more interesting because they were a lot less straightforward. It started better than it finished, but that was partly because they had to get the audience to suspend disbelief so Keno had a chance with an outgunned partner. Reality could set in later, and this was definitely a match that actually could just end without 35 near falls because Alejandro isn't a top guy. He had his run. ***

9/4/26 ONE Kickboxing: Ryoya Inai vs. Daniel Vortiah 3R
ML: Vortiah looked like he should win this fight. He's longer and faster, more fluid and creative. He had the style and flare, while Inai was more the meat and potatoes fighter, but he wasn't even that solid, he just had heart and determination really. Inai pressured, but he was at the same time somewhat hesitant in the first round and a half because Vortiah had the speed and was a much cleaner striker. Inai was striking too much with his arms or legs, not really involving his core, or just winging haymakers. Vortiah was waiting for Inai to make his move, mixing up his kicks and knees and cutting an angle to maintain distance. There were a lot of switches from Vortiah, setting up moments of aggression. Vortiah did some impressive things, such as landing a jumping knee. Vortiah was really taking over in the middle of the second, and I think he just got too cocky. Vortiah didn't get out of the corner quickly enough, and he got caught with an overhand left that he could have avoided if he had room to back up, but instead it sent him to the canvas. This turned a fight that Vortiah was easily winning for two rounds into a fight he was now down in. Inai was trying to taunt Vortiah into slugging it out throughout the third round. Vortiah wasn't fully recovered, and was more hesitant now. This was the most competitive round of the fight, but Inai was more active and aggressive. Inai's heart and guts untimately carried the day. Vortiah is the more talented fighter, but the knockdown was the difference, and Inai walked away with a split decision. Good match.

8/3/25 STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 2025 Block C: Yuna Mizumori [2] vs. Mei Seira [5] 9:28
ML: This was mostly a High Speed match, but not entirely. Like most Seira matches, it's excellent when she's allowed to do what she's arguably the best in the world at, and fine to good otherwise. It's unfortunate that they don't really want to take advantage of what they have with her or actually really push her because she stands out amidst all the wannabe gymnastics and parkour practitioners because she can do these sequences that much faster than virtually anyone else, and it's the speed that makes them as reasonable as they are ever going to. She's not another wrestler who's just doing a style because it's in fashion, whether you like the style or not, when you see her it should be readily apparent that this is clearly one of the people that should be doing it. Mizumori was able to keep up. She's another wrestler who didn't start her career in STARDOM, and had a good idea of how to work when she arrived there from ChocoPro in 2022, but she's also improved and wrestled more seriously since she got here. She's not an A level opponent by any means, but this isn't a style you can really just be along for the ride in. Mizumori had to also be good here for this match to work. She's not the athlete that Mei is, but she did the sequences in a manner that also wasn't making them looked contrived and obvious, while adding some power to the mix. She surprisingly was able to win the battle of flash pins, scoring her first win over Seira to set up a rematch for the High Speed Championship in September that went to a draw before taking the title at the end of the year. ***1/4

7/22/26 NJPW G1 Climax 2026 Block B: Callum Newman [4] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [2] 20:11
ML: Newman has been moving away from the Will Ospreay wannabe stuff, which is good in the sense that he understands the need to be his own man to make it to the top, but replacing it with generic heel stuff isn't improving things any. This wasn't anywhere near as good as the ZSJ vs. Ospreay matches, but it was more inspired than anything Ospreay has done this year, even though it would have been better at about 12 minutes. The Prince of Pace was responsible for the fastest action here, and this was generally the best stuff to match had to offer. However, he was usually the one who was slowing things down because a heel in 2026 primarily meanders and plays to the crowd. These two had good chemistry and worked well together though. ZSJ targeted Newman's injured shoulder, of course, but I assumed Newman would be fighting from underneath here, rather then controlling with speed and brawling. That did come, but since the primary job here was to put Newman over, him getting off to a good start before his body betrayed him certainly made sense. ZSJ should have been leaning into the heel stuff more than Newman though because this was essentially the babyface overcoming adversity storyline, but they generally worked it in a manner that made you want to root for Sabre, if anyone. Newman did a good job in places of putting over his shoulder by relying on his legs for much of his offense, whether it be kicking, running, or jumping. The match was generally all over the place though. There were impressive bursts, but also 5 minutes of laying around selling to pad at the time. The beginning and ending portions were really good, and in the middle they did enough to hold your interest. Sabre seemed poised to win with the flash pin, but after a Pele kick to the arm, Newman ducked under his penalty kick and rolled him up for the win. Sabre had won their only prior meeting in last year's G1. ***1/4

NJPW 6/4/15 Chino, BOSJ XXII Block B: Nick Jackson vs. Mascara Dorada 9:44.
DC: The high flying was off the charts. Nick Jackson has the ability to act silly yet still be impressive at the same time. Nick's timing and execution were superb. His chemistry with Mascara Dorada was really good. And both workers were clearly very talented pro wrestlers. There were many cool spots in this match, but the way they worked towards those spots made it memorable and more than just a spotfest. There was one little botch, but they covered it up so well due to their flexibility and their ability to react quickly that it really doesn't count as a botch. This was a fascinating match, and they left the viewer constantly wondering what was going to happen next. Very good match. ***¾ 

NJPW 8/16/15 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson vs. Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish 17:35.
DC: This was an interesting blending of styles. Bobby Fish and especially Kyle O'Reilly had a style that was deeply rooted in American indy sources but was relatively realistic and quite compatible with strong style puroresu. The Young Bucks had a style that was deeply rooted in American indy sources but was quite unrealistic yet very spectacular and clever. Both teams clearly had a lot of respect for each other, because they tried to not undermine the ethics of the other team, and they tried to actually make both approaches meet in the middle and create a match that made sense within the contexts of two different styles battling it out. The match relied a lot on unexpected counters, escapes and turnarounds that came seemingly out of nowhere and finding openings that were seemingly not there. While this caused the match to feel a bit too showy and at times even a bit exhibition-y, it was never boring. and it was indeed very entertaining. The fact that the Young Bucks and reDragon were familiar with each other made the sequences look quite smooth. All in all, this was a recommendable mid 2010s match. Very good match. ***½ 

NJPW 9/22/16 Hiroshima, ROH World Title: Adam Cole vs. Will Ospreay 12:17.
DC: This was the first singles match between these two. While Adam Cole certainly has the looks and is quite good at interviews, promos and character work in general, he has rarely proven himself to be an in-ring performer worthy of focusing too much on. This match took place during the time Will Ospreay had the world talking about him as a tremendously gifted talent. Ospreay was still hungry to be as good of a junior heavyweight as he could be. This match heavily relied on whatever Ospreay was going to make of this. Cole certainly was not useless, and he was adequate at what he did, but it was up to Ospreay to turn this potentially into something worth writing home about. Cole treated this match like it took place in Pennsylvania, while Ospreay treated it like an international and competitive contemporary bout that could have taken place in Japan or England. What made this match work is how Ospreay literally worked around whatever Cole was doing and managed to weave Cole's scribbling into the artistic painting Ospreay was working on. I truly believe Cole tried his very best here. Whatever Cole did here was simply as good as he could be on this day in this match. The effort was there. However, it was very clear that Ospreay was the groundbreaking master painter of the two, and Cole was simply someone who likes color-in illustration books. This is probably one of the best Adam Cole singles matches you'll ever see, and it's yet another example of how great mid 2010s Will Ospreay was. Overall, this was quite an interesting match. Very good match. ***½ 

NJPW 9/22/16 Hiroshima, IWGP Tag Team Title: Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe 15:02.
DC: The work was so smooth, but it almost felt like the Briscoes were a bit too respectful towards the Bucks. The fact that the Briscoes won the belts was cool, but it felt like it kinda came out of nowhere. I mean, the weird pants were cool and fit their redneck chicken farmer gimmick, but I'm not sure if that's enough to say they actually deserved the belt here. That being said, the more I see of the Briscoes, the more they go up in stock for me (I haven't seen a lot of their work because I never really was much of an ROH guy back in the day). Very good match. ***½ 

NJPW 2/26/17 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Kenny Omega & Adam Cole vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe 22:00.
DC: This was Kenny Omega's first match in NJPW since the week of the famous WrestleKingdom 11 show that got NJPW World over 10,000 new subscribers. I actually appreciate and like Adam Cole in general, and I would even call myself someone who is mildly considering himself an Adam Cole fan (and I'm guilty of screaming his name and catchphrase many times very loudly at major wrestling events in major cities), but as a pro wrestling critic/historian, I have to admit he isn't quite as good a wrestler as I wish he was. In this match, he heavily relied on getting the crowd to repeat the famous words: “Adam Cole bay-bay!” This resulted in a slightly annoyed Kevin Kelly burying Adam Cole on commentary by making sarcastic comments, like: “See, it's harder than it looks” (when Cole simply kept relying on his “Adam Cole bay-bay!” catchphrase) and “Before Adam Cole could think about flying… it's not really his forte” (after Kenny Omega hit a springboard moonsault on the guardrail into the crowd onto the Briscoes). Cole was definitely a step or three behind the other ones in the match, almost like he was not really part of the match. The Briscoes were interesting here, as they just do their unconventional thing their own way, regardless of whether they are in Japan or the United States. The Briscoes, in general, were always unique and different while trying to have a match on the card that people would remember. Omega was the worker of the match, obviously, as he was the one who made this match worth writing about. The way Omega wrestled with the Briscoes made the Briscoes look like they should be the top main eventers in NJPW. Mark Briscoe was particularly impressive, as he showed tremendous intensity. At some point in the match, he delivered ferocious chops to Cole while yelling at Cole: “come on pretty boy!” in an attempt to get Cole to do something back. A bit later in the match, Jay hit a tremendous tope suicida on Omega. In the end, however, Cole pinned Mark for the win. This was a surprisingly good match. Very good match. ***½  

NJPW 5/26/17 Nagano, BOSJ XXIV Block A: Will Ospreay vs. Dragon Lee 10:05.
DC: What an incredible display of athleticism and precision! Both these guys were two of the very best high flyers in the world at the time, and they were really trying to outdo each other to see who was the most impressive flyer. Ever the showoff, Ospreay even did some submission stuff as well. Dragon Lee was indeed very impressive, and his chemistry with Ospreay was very clear. However, it looked like Ospreay had a better idea of how to make this match truly work as a whole, as he did the right things at the right time in a clever manner. He definitely was the one pushing the pace and intensity of the bout while using Dragon Lee's tremendous athletic skills to his advantage to craft a memorable bout. It was only ten minutes long, but they made the most with the time given. Excellent match. ****  

NJPW 8/13/17 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan, G1 Climax Final: Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito 34:35.
DC: Jushin Thunder Liger was one the commentators on the Japanese broadcast team. Don Callis was one of the commentators on the English language broadcast team. Tetsuya Naito is definitely not a completely useless wrestler by any means. The main issue with him is that he's one of those typically overrated NJPW top stars who seem to get praised more whenever they do less. Sometimes less is indeed more, but not one when it's in matches over 30 minutes. The main thing that was interesting about this Naito bout was obviously that it was against Kenny Omega, who was arguably the best men's pro wrestler in the world at that time (and arguably even THE  best pro wrestler in all of pro wrestling of the year 2017). Omega had his Elite stablemates the Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) in his corner to support him. Omega had become an expert at carrying Kazuchika Okada, one of the other sacred cows of NJPW. While Okada usually completely relies on the opponent's ability to carry him while doing his usual stuff, Naito is a bit more of an unpredictable wrestler who may or may not bring at least something to the table in a big match (but could potentially also drag a match down a lot by being overrated NJPW star Naito). That being said, Naito definitely relied a lot on the opponent's ability to uplift the match quality. Naito's ability to let Omega carry him was similar to that of Okada, but it feels that Okada had a bit more of a feeling and understanding of Omega's timing, while Naito was arguably more interested in ensuring the finishing stretch was one that could be described as overkill. Relatively early in the match, there was a big table spot that saw Naito botch a piledriver on the table that almost hurt Omega badly. It was Omega's selling and overall psychology to prevent Naito's random actions from leading to a disjointed match. And it wasn't just the psychological aspects of Omega's work that made this match interesting, it was certainly also his hard work and high workrate, in spite of the match being over 30 minutes long. Naito would do just enough to remind people that this match wasn't just all Omega. One of Omega's most awesome moves in this match was an incredible tope con giro. The match benefited a lot from this being the final of a grueling G1 Climax tour, which made it more plausible and okay for Naito's apparent lack of interest in trying to outmaneuver his opponent. And this was further incorporated into the storytelling by Omega, which made this match be more sensible and fascinating than most of Naito's matches. The excitement level of the crowd and commentators was quite high since this was the tournament final, so that also added to the match in a positive manner. This was probably the best singles match Naito was ever in. Omega gave a great performance. Naito was better than usual, but his interest in ensuring the finishing stretch was one that was simply overkill with not enough purpose displayed was one of the factors that prevented this match from being excellent. Very good match. ***¾    

NJPW 9/24/17 Kobe World Hall, IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Title: Kenny Omega vs. Juice Robinson 32:55.
DC: The story of the match was built around the fact that Kenny Omega had knee surgery less than two weeks prior to this match. In spite of his bad leg, Omega managed to hit the tope con hiro excellently. Don Callis mentioned that Omega was bothered by the fact that Juice Robinson had scored a fluke win over Omega during the G1 Climax on 8/5/17. Omega was truly at his peak as an in-ring general around this time, as he did a great job of laying out and building the match while providing great pure work as well. Robinson showed that he understood enough about ring psychology and was decent enough of a worker to be carried by Omega to a memorable match. The crowd was not happy with Robinson's cowardly and unsportsman-like behavior, as Robinson started focusing solely on Omega's left leg. They took a big bump when Omega brainbustered Robinson off the apron to the floor. That literally took the wind out of Robinson. Omega started making a comeback and hit several cool-looking moves, including more suplexes and V-Triggers. They then teased that Robinson might win until Omega hit a big One-Winged Angel off the second rope for the win. The build, storytelling and execution were all very good, but perhaps the most impressive part was Omega's strong performance in spite of a recovering left knee. Very good match. ***¾   

NJPW 12/11/17 Fukuoka Convention Center: Kenny Omega & Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson vs. SHO & YOH & Rocky Romero 11:11.
DC: On commentary, they were hyping the upcoming Tokyo Dome match between Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho. That was a huge match-up at the time, and it was actually the reason I subscribed to NJPW World for the first time. It was also mentioned that Kenny and the Bucks have really taken pro wrestling to the next level. The great thing about the Young Bucks, Nick & Matt Jackson, is that they are always really into what they are doing; they're always in the zone, so to speak. This really helps with the story they are telling in their matches, and it makes it very easy to get drawn into their performances. Kenny and the Bucks certainly all have that innovative mindset that made them stand out so much from the rest of the pro wrestling world at the time. They were always thinking with a progressive mindset. As you'd expect with this line-up, there were plenty of spectacular highspots. SHO & YOH, Roppongi 3K, were very impressive as a babyface tag team, and this was right in the middle of their 8-year run as a tag team. It was only around the time of this match that Rocky Romero had joined forces with them. What was really good about Romero's role here was that he let SHO and YOH shine. While he was certainly useful himself, Romero understood that it was really about them and not about him. Omega was the top guy in this match, but teaming with the Bucks allowed him to put his stamp on the match without having to break bones to carry workers that were heavy loads to carry, like we've seen so often in Omega's singles matches (especially the so-called greatest matches ever against the so-called great wrestler Kazuchika Okada). By no means was Omega taking a night off here, though. In fact, the finish was awesome, all due to his input. Omega won the match when he pinned Romero via the one-winged angel. The fact that neither the Bucks nor SHO or YOH got pinned, left things wide open for the next time those two tag teams would meet. This wasn't a MOTYC or anything, but it was a very entertaining bout, and exactly the type of match you want to see Kenny and the Bucks in whenever they are not in a super huge main event type of match. While the match probably would have been even better if it was 5 to 8 minutes longer, it didn't even really feel necessary here, especially since this wasn't necessarily the type of show that called for more from these guys. All in all, this was a satisfying bout. After the match, a video was played on the arena screen in which Jericho hyped his upcoming match with Omega. After the video ended, it turned out that Jericho was in the ring right behind Omega! Don Callis: “Jericho is in Fukuoka!” Jericho attacked Omega, and Omega sold it really well, as he even juiced. A concerned Callis entered the ring and asked Jericho “what are you doing!?” Jericho then hit the code breaker on Callis! The Bucks showed up with a baseball bat and chased Jericho out of the ring. This was a really well-done angle that almost overshadowed the match that preceded it. Very good match. ***¾ 

NJPW 1/4/18 Tokyo Dome, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title: SHO & YOH vs. Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson 18:49
DC: The great thing about Matt Jackson's selling of his back was that people have not been able to figure out if it was a work or a shoot that he hurt his back. In the end, it doesn't really matter, because the way Matt sold and incorporated that (perhaps legitimate or perhaps illegitimate) back injury really played a big role in the storytelling aspects of the match. If it was legit, kudos to him for continuing and making it work within the context of the story of the match. If it was a work (which I believe is what it truly was), kudos to him for selling so well that he pretty much made everyone viewing second-guess if he was hurt hard-way. A really cool moment was when SHO and Nick were trading elbows, Nick randomly kicked the selling YOH's back, and an appalled SHO then kicked Matt's hurt back. Not long after, Nick made YOH submit via the sharpshooter. The Bucks may not be the only tag team who can put on a display of exciting highspots, but they are certainly unique in their style of approaching and building a match. The Bucks care about what they do. When they show up for a wrestling show, they are the Bucks and they will give you a memorable performance. You can tell they enjoy giving an entertaining performance. Excellent match. ****¼ 

NJPW 1/28/18 Sapporo Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson vs. SHO & YOH 22:34
DC: Their 1/4/18 received a lot of praise, and rightfully so. However, this rematch seems to be relatively overlooked. The storytelling was really strong. The first part of the match was all about the Young Bucks being the Young Bucks. However, after a highspot by Matt Jackson, he started selling his back. Matt's selling was tremendous, but his brother Nick certainly gave a stellar performance as well. Nick's athleticism and eye for detail made everything he did so effective, sometimes in a very clear manner, other times in a more subtle manner. While SHO & YOH deserve credit for once again being involved in a match of this quality, it was mainly thanks to the Bucks being able to make this match captivating from start to finish that this match never had a dull moment. The Bucks certainly silenced all critics by working an excellent match featuring fantastic psychology. The Bucks made every move feel meaningful thanks to their timing, pacing and selling of everything they did. The only downside of the match is that the finish came a bit too unexpected. The idea that it came out of nowhere was cool, but it feels that the match had the potential to go a few minutes longer. While Kevin Kelly got out of his chair to celebrate Roppongi 3K winning the title, the rest of the arena didn't seem overly excited with this result. Perhaps this was because most people realized that The Bucks deserved the win more. Excellent match. ****¼ 

NJPW 3/25/18 Long Beach, California Walter Pyramid: Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson 39:21
DC: Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi, the Golden Lovers, had recently reunited. And this was a much-anticipated tag team match, because this returning dream team was scheduled to face what was arguably the best tag team in the world at the time, the Young Bucks. This match really has so many layers of in-ring and angle storytelling that to fully get the most out of this match, it would be useful to do some research on what led up to this match. I'll try to mention most of it here, though. Essentially, Kenny and The Bucks had been having each other's backs for a while, but now that there has been dissension in the Elite stable (which included Cody Rhodes turning his back on Kenny), things aren't so black-and-white anymore in this sub-stable of the Bullet Club. Now with the recent reunion of the Golden Lovers, which happened due to Ibushi (a non-member of this stable) saving Kenny from an attack by Cody, things got even more complicated in terms of where peoples' trust and priorities lie. The match started right off with all this complicated emotional baggage, as Matt Jackson right away said: “I want Kenny!” when he was about to square off with Ibushi. Kenny told Ibushi it's okay, and Kenny did indeed start the match against Matt. Commentary was done by the duo of Jim Ross and Kevin Kelly. Those of you who watched WWF around 1996-1998 might find this nostalgic. They did quite a good job of putting over the angles. Omega did a fantastic job of selling the emotion of the match. Ibushi played his part in the story very well by simply being Ibushi. And from an in-ring perspective, Ibushi's tremendous athleticism and well-hit strikes made his work just as essential as that of Kenny and the Bucks. The Bucks were tremendous in their role as quasi-antagonists. While Matt was certainly great at the character-based and angle-driven storytelling aspects, his brother Nick Jackson was once again fantastic when it came to his timing and his ability to be arguably the most spectacular in-ring worker of the match. Kenny excelled in being better than anyone in mastering the delivery and uplifting of the high quality big match. As you'd expect from these two teams, there were plenty of wonderful high-risk moves that displayed the athletic ability and daredevil mindset of these competitors. Both teams performed like well-oiled machines. The Bucks, obviously two brothers who grew up wrestling together, already knew what the other was thinking before it happened. And Kenny & Ibushi had so much love and respect for each other that their loyalty and trust for each other made their teamwork super well. While the in-ring quality of this match certainly was awesome enough that this would have worked in Japan as well, it was probably most fitting that this took place in the United States due to this bout being such an storyline-driven one (and the in-ring storytelling was off the charts as well). They teased that Matt was going to put Kenny through a table via a top-rope move, but after initially teasing it, we eventually did indeed get that payoff moment, which made it arguably more satisfying. I love that his match went so long, because I wanted it to never end. However, once it did end, it did feel like a perfect moment to end it, which is even more credit for these four guys when it comes to understanding what to do when and how to build a match to a beautiful climax. This match is a truly great example of how to execute contemporary pro wrestling perfectly. Outstanding match. *****

2/15/14 Beyond, CLL International All Star Title: AR Fox vs. Danny Cannon 9:16
ML: This was one of the handful of matches Cannon did with Beyond, and he was the big underdog because he was basically unknown in New England, having rarely ventured outside of Illinois, while Fox was a well traveled featured indy wrestler who had won titles in CZW, IPW, DGUSA, & EVOLVE. This was a junior heavyweight style match that, due to Cannon, did a much better job of maintaining some air of legitimacy early on. I like Fox, great high flyer, but his approach to the fight was the same as every other cooperative pro wrestler, while Cannon was actually putting in the extra effort to depict how he might enact his style if the opponent wasn't just standing there letting him do whatever the hell he wanted, and that made things a lot more compelling even though Fox wasn't really even joining him in this. Cannon was the smaller fighter, but he had the more powerful strikes, and was using footwork to land his kicks on the outside. Once this got going, it was about what you'd expect from a short junior style match, exchanging flashy flying moves, but Cannon maintained his intensity, and executed in an explosive manner. The announcer was bragging that Fox dove like the Undertaker over the top rope, which was true in the sense that he did the dive Undertaker does once a year, but Fox's vertical is surely three times that of even a young Undertaker. The bizarre architecture of this little New England Pro Wrestling Academy gym gave the match some extra flavor, starting with when Cannon answered Fox's dive with a moonsault off a refrigerator that was against the wall. Fox did a nasty air raid crash variation where Cannon was over his right shoulder rather than across his back. Cannon tried a climb up, but got pushed off, so he jumped onto the windowsill, and tried a missile kick off, but Fox answered with his own dropkick. This would have been really cool, but the timing of Fox dropkicking Cannon out of mid-air was off, so it was a lot of crash without much impact from the actual moves. This was the opening match on the show, so they kept it brisk and exciting. Cannon kicked out of Fox's lo mein pain, but then lost to the 450 splash. ***1/4

9/2/26 AEW TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Mark Davis 9:56
ML: Davis was really physical here. Everything he did looked like it would actually hurt. He is basically AEW's answer to Gunther, but he's using a more different high impact moves and a lot less repetitive striking, which to me is a lot more interesting. While 99.9% of wrestlers only get worse in AEW both because almost no one does anything beyond flashy moves with zero setup, just walking back over to the opponent after posing, and because they quickly realize the booking is so terrible their standing will never actually improve, Davis is currently seeming like the .1%. This was a serious match where everything was done with conviction. It felt like they were trying to win because they kept fighting like in the days when wrestling at least loosely resembled a fight instead of just being cosplayers posing every time the opponent was prone. Davis jumped Darby before the bell, and brutalized him on the outside for several minutes before the match officially started. Darby did get in a coffin drop off the entrance way and a high crossbody over the guard rail. His high risk was an equalizer of sorts, but he was generally seeming way overmatched by Davis' power and impact. Darby did a really good job of putting over Davis throughout with his huge bumps, and with Davis' size and strength, Darby was seeming like a 1 pound bag of potatoes. Davis did the most impressive back body drop I've seen in years because Darby leaped in the air and Davis started to straighten up, so he contacted him from a less bent over position than normal and used his hands to shoot Darby high up and over. Everything they did was really impressive, but it felt like they didn't really logically transition from here to a finishing sequence. Darby just countered a gutwrench powerbomb with an awkward code red right after this, and went on a run with a tope, missile kick to the floor, and two coffin drops for the win. I don't think Darby should be winning decisively over Davis, and he hit his finisher twice in a row so it's obviously fine to end it there, we don't need 17 more kickouts like Will Ospreay in between the most cringeworthy acting on the planet. It was definitely something lacking in the transition from the body of the match to a run of moves from Darby ending it though. Even though the code red is a key Darby move, it didn't feel much like Darby finally succeeded in converting his advantages to the win as just that they needed to move on to the other bs so they showed a few flashy moves and were on to the next item on the menu. Josh Alexander resurfaced to beat up Sting's son in the post match. I didn't care about any of this, but it was way better having a real match and then having the faction fighting than what we saw on the All In PPV between Darby & Knight, which might as well have just been a 6 man tag. ***1/4

7/21/26 NJPW G1 Climax 2026 Block A: Oleg Boltin [4] vs. Shingo Takagi [2] 19:10
ML: This was mostly bull charging because the physicality is what they do well. The announcers stating that Takagi's only advantage is his experience is a great example of how deeply stuck in the Dark Ages pro wrestling still is. An 8+ year age gap in real fighting means the younger fighter wins 2/3 of the time, and their losses are more like a 30-year-old beating a 22-year-old. Over 40 fighters probably do still win about 1/3 of the time, but keep in mind that unless you are Randy Couture or Anderson Silva, you probably aren't fighting in the UFC at Shingo's age of 43 to begin with, and even Silva never won a fight this late in his career, he was almost 42 when he scored his last win over Derek Brunson. Definitely the big issue for Shingo is he's just not going to out physical Boltin. Takagi obviously has the speed advantage, but his speed isn't evasive, it's charging at a stationary target and trying to bowl them over, which again goes back to the physicality difference. Takagi had to try to get Boltin out of his comfort zone, bait him and catch him off guard to gain the advantage to be credible here. Oleg also got caught getting overconfident and straying from the playbook, trying to jump off the top rope and getting superplexed for his trouble. Oleg is probably the only fighter in the promotion who doesn't just mindlessly walk over to the opponent all the time, he actually still uses some entries and feints from his amateur wrestling background, but not during the actual strike exchanges (perhaps because they're all about being braindead). It was almost comical (in a good way) how easy Oleg hoisted Shingo around in gutwrench position setting up the Boltin shake. This was a heavyweight match in the sense that it had a lot more impact than pace, but it actually felt like they were trying, and it wasn't completely lifeless like virtually everything else I've seen in the first 4 days of this tournament. The middle portion, while decent enough, was really more filler in between a good opening and closing. This would have been better being 5 minutes shorter because Boltin doesn't really have that much offense and loses some of his oomph beyond 12 minutes or so. Takagi was technically the one who slowed it down, but he's proven repeatedly he can go long distances even though his better matches these days are 15 minute or less NEVER matches. I think he was largely doing it strategically rather than out of necessity for himself. I'm not really a big takedown guy in MMA of course, but it's preposterous to have an amateur wrestling legend not even try a single takedown in a fight against a guy who is a good striker but doesn't have a hundredth the pedigree on the mat. Shingo was on a roll, and seemed about to put Oleg away until he took two massive powerbombs after getting his Frankensteiner countered, and Bolton eventually broke his grasp on the top rope and hit the Kamikaze for the win. ***

3/8/89 AJPW NWA World Heavyweight Title: Ricky Steamboat vs. Tiger Mask 13:47
ML: This was the 6th and final match of Steamboat's only Japan tour of 1989, and actually his last match with All Japan Pro Wrestling, who he had worked for when he came to Japan since 1980, because his final Japan tour in 1990 was with New Japan. This was a good match, but not the match you'd hope for at the time, much less in retrospect when Misawa has ascended to the highest pantheon of respected top workers. It feels more like a house show match than an NWA Title defense or a Budokan semifinal, much less a dream match between one of the best of the '80s vs. one of the best of the 90s. One main issue is that Tiger is the one getting the highspots in, in this case dropkicks, to lead into the mat wrestling. While Tiger has more exciting offense than Steamboat in terms of what moves he does, he lacks the energy and dynamics of Steamboat to get any more out of it than just doing the move. When Steamboat is motivated, he works with a lot more precision and energy than Tigersawa, but without participating in the fast action that was leading into the slow, he never really amps up the intensity and is overall too laid back. He's still a million miles better than his passionless robotic immitator Yuya Uemura, but this is more towards the lifeless version of Steamboat for far too long. While Steamboat wrestles scientifically, he's essentially stuck in the role of the heel. Steamboat takes a lot less offense than normal here, making a sincere effort to put over the up and coming star. Steamboat is more methodical with his chops here so as not to get the crowd energized for him, but they work because he isn't just waiting for Tiger to return fire. For me the standout feature is that there's never a moment where they aren't fighting one another. It always feels like they are trying to win, so even some of the less inspired matwork feels more useful than a lot of the flashier empty offense guys run through today. Misawa gives Steamboat a piledriver on the floor, and things heat up as they exchange chops next to the apron, teasing the double count out. The intensity kept increasing, and the match did a good job of drawing you in, even though it could have been more spectacular and seemed higher stakes. Tiger gets a hope near fall rolling through a reverse diving body attack, and kicking his way out of the piledriver so he falls down on top, before Steamboat instead flash pins him countering into a sunset flip position. Steamboat made Tiger look good, and this lucky finish probably helped Tiger as well. This wasn't the sort of opponent Steamboat needed to bring his highest level for though, and that was the main thing that kept the match from reaching the level it should have, even then. Tiger provided most of the entertainment, but was a little bit sloppy. This wasn't the ideal match to showcase either performer, but they did a good enough job with the scenario they were working with. ***

5/15/94 JWP: Dynamite Kansai & Devil Masami vs. Hikari Fukuoka & Candy Okutsu 24:54
PA: This is JWP’s monthly Korakuen for May, one week before the big show at Ariake Coliseum. Due to that, this show wasn’t televised, and never received a commercial release. One notable thing from earlier in the show was Mayumi Ozaki vs. Hiromi Sugo, which was a three minute squash match, but saw Chigusa jump Ozaki afterward and set up their match for the Arike show. This match was way better than anything on the Ariake show. Handheld is from a good spot on the balcony, and its good quality. This one actually followed the action on the outside too. This was a really fun and entertaining match. Hikari and Candy spent most of it getting dominated, but made nice comebacks, and hit their good offense. They showed good teamwork to stay competitive, so even if you couldn’t really buy them as winning, they were in the match. The worst part was the slow stretching phase, but Masami cut that off before it got too much, and once they kicked it up a gear, it turned into an excellent match, with the youngsters getting in plenty before they were put away. The crowd were hot for this hoping for an upset. The best part of the match wasn’t even their high flying moves, which were good, but it was when they were taking turns hitting suplex after suplex Devil, as soon as one would hit a German, the other would immediately hit another, giving Devil no time to recover. ****

5/22/94 JWP: Candy Okutsu vs. Kyoko Inoue 15:31
PA: If you looked at this card and had to pick what would be the best match of the show, there’d be at least two matches (up to four) ahead of this one. The match didn’t end in the most climactic way, but throughout Kyoko proved herself far more of a professional than Chigusa by making Candy (who was a junior) look more threatening than Chigusa did with Ozaki (JWPs #2 star) in the previous match. Kyoko led the kind of match you’d expect from her, she did her lucha submissions, and the crowd pleasing, goofy dancing deathlock and gave Candy comebacks at the right times to show she could take it. Candy got some submissions of her own. They each did their bigger moves and dives, and Candy got the crowd behind her. The build was fine, but it turned into a really good match when Candy was able to land some German Suplexes. Kyoko made her earn her offense and tried for her own; one of the best spots they did was Candy catching Kyoko trying a springboard elbow and hitting a German Suplex. She followed it up with a run up plancha after Kyoko bailed out, and then a German on the floor, which was a good touch because Candy needed to hit something like that to have a chance in such a mismatch. Kyoko sold the damage pretty well and fought back, catching Candy with a throw when she went up top. Candy’s counter afterward was in the form of sleepers, which were good counters to Kyoko’s offense, and set up another German Suplex. She did hit the Rolling German’s about as well as she could on Kyoko, and Kyoko just barely made it out at three, it was so close it fooled everyone but the ref into thinking Candy and pulled off an upset. But that was it, after the German’s, Candy had nothing else left, and beating Kyoko was now impossible. That didn’t mean Kyoko had to just pop up and end it immediately, but that’s pretty much what happened. She just elbowed her way out of another German Suplex attempt, hit a powerbomb, a diving elbow, then won with that stupid STF facelock she beat Yamada with. This was a really good veteran vs. junior match though, all I’d really change is the finish; I’d have had Candy crash and burn on a dive, then Kyoko can end it in three moves, that would have given the idea that Candy still had something left she could beat Kyoko with had she landed whatever she tried, and been a logical transition, but still, what we got here was way better than expected, and easily the best match on the show. ***1/2