EVOLVE Tag Team Title: Johnny
Gargano & Drew Galloway © vs. The Premier Athlete Brand (Anthony Nese &
Caleb Konley) (04/01 - EVOLVE) (*** ¾)
EVOLVE 58 - Dallas, Texas
This match is going to be remembered (if at all...) for 2 things. 1: No
one watching at home was able to see it. 2: The finish had no ring bell
ringing, causing mass confusion. The WWN More Than Mania weekend, despite
producing a bunch of fantastic matches was a pretty epic disaster. Plagued with
all sorts of streaming issues, it made for an incredibly frustrating experience
for fans trying to watch at home. Starting the weekend out with a really hot
title match seems like a great idea in theory. The actual result was fans not
getting to see a marque match that they paid for. Sadly, this mistake would be
made the very next day as well. WWN was thankfully prompt with getting the
replay up and this turned out to be a great little tag match in front of a
fired up crowd. Konley and Nese are two very solid wrestlers spinning their
wheels in a stable that was going nowhere. The gimmick here was that a loss
would disband the stable. For the sake of both men, that happened. It'll be
interesting to see if Gabe gives each guy a new direction or stops using them
on these shows. Either way, a reinvention is definitely needed. Gargano and
Galloway as champs was something I was really intrigued by giving the other
promotions they work for but it seems to have limited shelf life. That coupled
with the l extra stipulation gave the match some intrigue. A bunch of great
sequences and a hot finishing stretch lead to... And incredibly awkward
submission finish. There was no bell to ring so the crowd (and wrestlers) had
no idea if the match was over or not. It was as cringe-worthy as it sounds. To
his credit, the divine Drew Galloway made the best of it by bringing a fan into
the ring post-match to recreate the finish with a bell ringing and a big
babyface celebration. This match is going to forever fly under the radar given
the circumstances of it. That, plus the quality work, makes it worth a
look.
Ricochet vs. TJP (04/01 -
EVOLVE) (*** ¾)
EVOLVE 58 - Dallas, Texas
Smart booking: Take two of the smoothest wrestlers going and let them
wrestle each other. For a promotion not based around storylines, it's that
easy. This was as good as you would expect. TJ Perkins is the most underrated
independent wrestler of the past decade, in my opinion. The guy is so good but
has never gotten that real chance to shine. EVOLVE seems robe majorly behind
him now giving him a number of big wins (including this one) and seemingly a
spot in the upcoming WWE Cruiserweight tournament which hopefully finally gives
him that platform to stand out. For a guy seen only as a high-flyer, Ricochet
is game to go on the mat and strike so this was a fun mix of styles. These guys
had a very solid, short match in PWG 2 years ago. Here they get a few more
minutes and are able to have a better match because of it. This doesn't get
ridiculous with near/finishes and ends on the right note at the right time. A
very easy, fulfilling way to spend less than 15 minutes of your time.
Best In The World Series Match
#3 - The Flyer: Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Will Ospreay (04/01 - EVOLVE) (**** ½)
EVOLVE 58 - Dallas, Texas
Man alive. These guys met up at the 16 Carat (review soon-ish!) and it
was very, very good. This is on another level. It's a similarly structured
match. Sabre picks apart and grounds Ospreay until Will gets his openings to
hit his flashy offended. It's a tried, tested and true formula and it works
amazingly well here. They had a dynamite crowd for this and this was the first
match to scream "Mania Weekend". This weekend was all about Will
Ospreay, for my money, the best wrestler in the world right now, making a huge
impact in front of tons of fans from all over the world. He crushed it all
weekend. Had the man not have already signed a NJPW contract, he would have
been offered a WWE deal of some sort from his performances in Texas. This match
highlights him perfectly but Sabre also gets to show why he is oh so good as
well in cutting Ospreay off and bending him in all sorts of disgusting ways.
This match was a complete success in every level and the first (of multiple)
MOTYCs that weekend.
Heroes Eventually Die (Chris
Hero & Tommy End) vs. Catch Point (Drew Gulak & Tracy Williams) (04/01
- EVOLVE) (****)
EVOLVE 58 - Dallas, Texas
This was curious booking. After an incredibly outstanding sub-15-minute
match that fired up the crowd we get a slow-paced, gruelling, almost 30-min tag
match to close the show. Man, was it ever good though. Heroes Eventually Die
(what a name!) have very quickly become the tag team to watch, for my money.
Chris Hero is in another world as far as putting together matches are concerned
in 2016 and the way he and Tommy gel as partners that also sort of want to kill
each other is a delight. They go really long here and the crowd isn't totally
with it after the Sabre/Ospreay match but this is a fight to the end. Drew
Gulak is an amazing pro wrestler. He gets the little nuances so well. Tracy Williams
is the perfect protégé working under him. Hot Sauce gets absolutely decimated
for a lot of this match. My only criticism outside of the match placement is
that Gulak gets the deciding fall and not Hot Sauce. That would have been a
better conclusion to the story they were telling. This is a messy tag match.
Tags get completely abandoned for a long, long stretch of time as all 4 guys
hang out in the ring throwing bombs. The work is so violent though that it's
easy to overlook the logistic problems. This isn't for everyone but 4 world
class wrestlers hitting and stretching each other for almost 30 minutes is
right up my alley. Good stuff and I hope we see a rematch for the titles before
long.
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Matt Sydal
(04/01 - ROH) (*** ¾)
ROH Supercard Of Honor X - Night
1 - Dallas, Texas
On paper, this was one of the best looking "just a match"
matches of Mania Weekend. These two have been on an absolute terror both in ROH
and elsewhere consistently for the past couple of years. This was a first time
ever meeting and exactly the type of match ROH needed to book for the biggest
wrestling weekend of the year. It delivers in that it is very, very good. It's
a hard match to review though in that it goes how one would expect and there's
nothing to separate it from any of the other 50 great matches happening in
Texas that weekend. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. ROH followed up
a great Philly show with a great Dallas show with quality matches top to
bottom. As someone watching since 2002, ROH has lost a lot of its freshness and
appeal to me in recent years. These 2 shows were great progress to get back to
a level that will once again have me interested in he product. Matt Sydal is a
gem, Kyle O'Reilly is a warrior. They mesh well and have a great match.
Adam Cole vs. ACH (04/01 - ROH)
(*** ¾)
ROH Supercard Of Honor X - Night
1 - Dallas, Texas
The story of ACH continues! Homie comes out of his hot match with
KUSHIDA and then rocks Dallas in a little war here with Adam Cole. He just
can't pick up a win to save his life. Cole really should have went over here,
so it's almost a moot point, but how much does a hard-fought win over ACH
do for him when the dude hasn't beaten anyone? I think it shows a lot about how
ACH has slipped down the ladder (hat he was never near the top of) when a few
years ago the crowd was dying for him to beat Jay Lethal in the same state and
here they're solidly behind Cole. ACH is from Texas. These guys bust their
butts though and have a great back-and-forth match with a couple of brutal
spots around super kicks. ACH takes one to the back of the legs after he leaps
onto the guardrail and crashes on the back of his head on the arena floor.
Later he launches himself into the ring for that slingshot step-in flatlined
move he does and eats a super kick that busts his mouth up pretty good. What a
champ that ACH is. But again, another show, another great ACH performance,
another loss. Hopefully change eventually comes and we either see this guy with
the TV Title or making a great run in EVOLVE or NXT. He deserves better.
ROH World Title: Jay Lethal ©
vs. Lio Rush (04/01 - ROH) (****)
ROH Supercard Of Honor X - Night
1 - Dallas, Texas
This is a ballsy match for ROH to
book on such a big weekend but I love it. Lio Rush is a phenom. For his age and
experience level, there is no way he should be as good as he is. If he doesn't
crash and burn and seriously injure himself, he is going to have a hell of a
career. The idea behind this is that Rush won the Top Propspect Tournament that
ROH runs annually (a great decision) and earned a TV Title shot. With Tomohiro
Ishii being champion and in Japan until the May tour, Rush was upgraded to this
World Title shot. What a great dynamic it made for. Lethal was amazing as the
heel champion feeling he was above his challenger with constant comments about "ROH
running out of ideas." The challenge with this match was going to be
having the crowd not only get behind Rush, a newcomer, but have them by a title
change. While it may not have 100% succeeded in that, it did a damn good job.
Rush got enough of his big moves in to wow the crowd and Lethal cut him off
without making Lio look like a chump. The closing moments were great with
Lethal treating Rush like someone completely below him only to make a mistake,
get caught and nearly have his title taken. The finish was great with Lethal
having to bust out a super finish to survive and then uncharacteristically
putting Rush over after the match. We won't talk about the post-match since it
doesn't affect this contest and everyone either likes it or hates it but what we
get here for 20 minutes is excellent. I had high hopes for this and it
delivered.
The Motor City Machine Guns
(Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
(04/01 - ROH) (*** ¾)
ROH Supercard Of Honor X - Night
1 - Dallas, Texas
ROH takes great pride in their tag team division and while I feel it
isn't the strongest it's ever been, like they're presenting it to be, this was
a smart main event. 4 absolute pros at what they do got to close out a
tremendous show with a slew of standout singles matches by having a great,
clean tag team match. These teams have excellent chemistry from years ago
battling in PWG and an extended feud in TNA. 6 years removed, they find that chemistry
again and have a well-executed, action-packed match. Shelley and Sabin are two
guys that have unfortunately had a lot of setbacks in recent years but I'm
hopeful the reformation of their team will be what they need to be revitalized.
I absolutely think it is the best use of both guys. This has all of the dives
and super kicks you would imagine but a bit more structure than the 3-way tag
these teams were in previously and the 4-way tag they would have the next
night. This was a marque match fitting of its main event spot on the biggest
wrestling weekend of the year. If ROH is serious with the tag team renaissance,
these are the two teams to have at the forefront. There is tons that young, new
prospective teams can learn from them.
NXT Tag Team Title: The Revival
(Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) © vs. American Alpha (Chad Gable & Jason
Jordan) (04/01 - WWE) (****)
WWE NXT TakeOver: Dallas - Dallas,
Texas
This match, kicking of this show, with these wrestlers, in front of
this crowd was magic. American Alpha is an interesting team. We all love them.
We all want them to be pushed to the moon. Gable and Jordan are both
unbelievable athletes. Outside of a match with Baron Corbin and Rhyno of all
people, there hasn't been a real standout American Alpha match. This was
finally that match and it should come as no surprise as The Revival is the best
tag team in the world. Think about that. The Young Bucks exist. Those two guys
just get it. They are a tag team through and through. WWE likes to break up tag
teams too frequently. Dawson and Wilder should never be singles wrestlers. The
way they isolate an opponent to build to a hot tag is something not done this
well since the Midnight Express. The easy comparison for these teams is The
Steiner Brothers and The Brainbusters and it's pretty accurate. This match is
really well structured with a great build to the hot tag and a great, great,
great finishing run. The crowd is molten and with it the whole way and the pop
for the title change and genuine emotion shown by the new champs is a great
scene. This match would have been great at Full Sail. It was a borderline
classic in Dallas. We are going to see this match a lot in the next few years
and we need to count our lucky stars for it. The main WWE roster needs to count
theirs for how much better The Revival will make them look when they get the
call up. Hopefully American Alpha can roll with the momentum from this match
and start to turn in the great performances we want from them and know they're
capable of.
Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (04/01
- WWE) (*****)
WWE NXT TakeOver: Dallas - Dallas,
Texas
It's a match like this that makes me contemplate if it's worth writing
wrestling reviews for the blog. I can write about backstory or moves or why a
match is important or how smoothly it's executed. I struggle to write how a
match can make me feel. Not joy like when someone I like wins a championship.
Not disappointment when there's something I feel is a bad booking decision or a
match disappoints. Not uneasiness like a wild Brock Lesnar match or a UFC
fight. That feeling that runs through your body, through your soul and you know
you're witnessing something special and it sucks you in. You're immersed and
nothing else matters. I watched NXT TakeOver Dallas at 1 AM the night it aired,
spoiler-free. When this match was done, I stood up and applauded my TV, unaware
of what my body was doing. That is a feeling. That is a feeling I haven't had
in my 25+ years of watching wrestling. The energy running through me at home,
on my couch, makes me ponder how the live crowd in attendance was feeling.
People will disagree, Dave Meltzer has vocally disagreed, but this is the
career best performance for both of these men. I saw my first Sami Zayn match
in 2003 and Nakamura match in 2004 so that covers a lot of ground. I did a
podcast with Alan4L and Mike Falcone and one of our topics of discussion was
how Nakamura would react to the pressure of this match and how everyone would
deal with it falling short of expectations. This match shattered any I could
have ever had. This match is perfect. I will never forget it. "Fight
Forever."
NXT Women’s Title: Bayley © vs.
Asuka (04/01 - WWE) (*** ¾)
WWE NXT TakeOver: Dallas - Dallas,
Texas
These poor women. This was the match I thought would be the best match
of TakeOver. It was doomed before it began the moment Sami Zayn walked back
through the curtain. How do you follow that? Bayley and Asuka damn sure tried
and still managed to have a hell of a match and keep that crowd engaged. That
alone is almost a bigger accomplishment than if these two managed to have the
all-time classic I would have predicted. While not able to hold up to the
ridiculously high standard that Bayley set with Sasha Banks or create the
atmosphere of the criminally underrated Bayley/Nia Jax match from London, this
was still very good. This was a much harder match to get that out of though.
Taking away what it was following, you have two baby faces working a clean
match with a title change the crowd could turn on. They kept it together and
managed to deflate the crowd in the best way possible. A finish that keeps
Bayley protected, makes Asuka look like a killer and makes an upset crowd able
to come to turns with their goddess losing. I haven't done so yet, but I'm
interested to see how this match comes off when watched on its own, without the
comedown from Nakamura/Zayn. As it stands after a single watch, this is still a
damn good showing, lost in the shuffle of the weekend.
NXT Title: Finn Bálor © vs.
Samoa Joe (04/01 - WWE) (**** ½)
WWE NXT TakeOver: Dallas - Dallas,
Texas
Irony: I am typing this review, on my iPhone, while sitting in a
waiting room at the hospital waiting to get my eyebrow stitched up after an
errant head butt during a basketball game. Life works in funny ways. This is a
polarizing match, depending on how you view it. Samoa Joe bleeds. A lot. The
match gets stopped for his cut to be treated. A lot. Does the stoppages kill
the momentum and take you out of the match? Does it add to the realism, the
spectacle of the match and the overall story? That's for the viewer to decide.
For me, it was the latter. I loved this match. Seeing Samoa Joe in NXT makes me
overjoyed. He's found his groove and he's got that spring in his step that has
been missing for years. For someone that was one of the best wrestlers going
from 2004-2005, it has been a frustrating experience watching Joe toil away in
TNA. His NXT run took a while to get going but the Balor match in London was a
revelation and this is just as good. There's so much to love here: The
intensity and urgency that both guys wrestle with, the crazy crowd that gets
even more wound up by the stoppages, Joe looking like a badass by refusing
treatment, Finn looking like a badass by taking the fight to the bigger Joe and
busting him open and a finish that works perfectly and leaves the door open
(and me banging at it) for a rematch. Blood in WWE is such a rarity that it
creates a buzz whenever it makes an appearance. For that, I like the no blood
policy. I feel for the wrestlers who had their momentum cut several times and
no doubt had to change their match. I hope their reward is the knowledge that
they still had a classic they should be incredibly proud of.
Best In The World Challenge Series
Match #4 - The Fighter, USA vs. Europe Series Match #2: Zack Sabre, Jr. vs.
Matthew Riddle (04/02 - EVOLVE) (**** ½)
EVOLVE 59 - Dallas, Texas
This was SO good. Like, unbelievably good. I dare you to find a better
match this year that goes less than 10 minutes. I honestly don't know how I can
praise Matt Riddle anymore but here's another great thing about this guy: He's
bought into so much as an MMA guy that it turns even the most basic of moves
(like a vertical suplex) into a big spot that gets a reaction. It's astounding.
The story here is so great. Sabre is winding down his Best In The World Series
and is 3-0. This is also part of the USA vs. Europe Series which Europe is up
1-0. Sabre tries to be Sabre but every time he gets "too cute" like
he did against Ospreay the night before, he ends up paying and Riddle counters
and gets control. Of course the former UFC fighter knows how to counter a
guillotine choke or a kimura. The grappling as superb, the strikes and throws
were great and the story was executed flawlessly. This was an absolute gem, one
of the best matches all year and a marvel for how much they accomplish in such
a short amount of time. This is going to get overlooked because it's not a
25-minute epic but very few can get as much out of 25-minutes as these two pros
got out of 9.
USA vs. Europe Series Match #4:
Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay (04/02 - EVOLVE) (****)
EVOLVE 59 - Dallas, Texas
You know if this match is going to be your cup of tea right from
looking at who the two participants in it are. This could have been an
absolutely mental 15 minute match with a million dives but instead we got a bit
longer of a match with the big moves more spaced out. It maybe wasn't the match
I completely wanted because of that but I appreciated the effort to give it a
bit more of a story. The story itself was relatively simple: The former nutty
high flyer battles the new crazy high flyer that is able to one up him at every
turn. Ricochet hits a standing moonsault, Ospreay hits a standing corkscrew
moonsault. Ricochet hits a 450 Splash, Ospreay hits a second rope Phoenix
Splash. It worked well and paid off in the end with Ricochet catching Ospreay
off a flippy do and killing him with the Benadryller, the move he won the
Freedom Gate Title with 2 years prior. Seeing Ricochet as the veteran,
old-timer high flyer is so weird as it doesn't seem *that* long ago that he was
the frizzy hair double moonsault kid. This is a match we're going to end up
seeing in New Japan someday and I can't wait for it. As it stands here, this
didn't feel as special as Ospreay/Sabre but the crowd loved it and they had
delivered in the main event spot of the early-afternoon show.
ROH Tag Team Title #1
Contenders, Four Corner Survival: The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) vs. The
Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) vs. The Young Bucks
(Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. The Addiction (Christopher Daniels & Frankie
Kazarian) (04/02 - ROH) (****)
ROH Supercard Of Honor X - Night
2 - Dallas, Texas
This was complete chaos. It's a hard match to review without
play-by-play because it was literally spot after spot after spot. There was no
compelling story or anything to set the match apart, but it was a lot of fun.
This was pretty much on par with the 3-way in Philly without the Briscoes. It
was the same crash course style match with bodies flying everywhere and a
million super kicks. The Briscoes being in this actually made it seem a little
fresher, which is a little odd given that I've found the Briscoes to be a
little stale for quite some time now. This didn't have and insane finish like
the Philly match (though that same one was teased) but it still had its fair
share of big-time spots, capped off by Mark Briscoe superplexing Kazarian onto
everyone on the floor. Sadly, that spot has felt really overused in the past 2
years or so. One spot I really liked was Kazarian countering the Doomsday
Device into essentially the Flux Capacitor. That was something the Briscoes did
a lot a decade ago that I haven't seen in a long time. This was for the #1
Contendership to the ROH Tag Titles and the right team went over in that
regard. I raved about Night 1 of Supercard Of Honor above (and there was a few
matches I didn't write about from that show that were still pretty damn good)
and up until this point, this show was really rough. Thank goodness for the
last two matches saving this show from being a huge dud. This match was a big
turning point leading into the main event insanity that was to come.
No Holds Barred: Adam Cole vs.
Kyle O’Reilly (04/02 - ROH) (**** ½)
ROH Supercard Of Honor X - Night
2 - Dallas, Texas
These two men are lunatics. As I said in my review of the last match,
this show needed something big to make it worthwhile and these two guys
delivered and then some. ROH has went to the well a lot recently with the No DQ-type
match with War Machine/ANX, Castle/Young and now this. This is head and
shoulders above those matches and anything else ROH has done in recent memory.
Cole and O'Reilly excel at this type of match and they don't get to do it
often. Here they were able to construct a war that served as a perfect
conclusion to their feud. Cole got a similar big match on this stage two years
ago in a Ladder War with Jay Briscoe that I thought greatly under delivered. He
was amazing here, getting lots of "big pop" hardcore spots while
managing to continuously be an unlikable heel. On the flip side, O'Reilly was a
great fiery babyface. They got to all of their big spots in clever ways, my
personal highlight being the Necro Butcher-style sit down bar fight that did
not feel contrived and also called back to their star-making NYC match years
prior. Steve Corino was great on commentary here referencing Cole's CZW
background (although not naming CZW by name) which ROH tends to avoid. It added
another great little note to this match. This ends up having an awesome,
satisfying finish and leaves O'Reilly poised as the man to carry the company.
Whether that happens or not we'll have to see.
The Heart Of SHIMMER Title
Tournament First Round: LuFisto vs. Nicole Savoy (04/02 - SHIMMER) (*** ½)
SHIMMER Volume 80 - Dallas, Texas
For the past few years, the SHIMMER show has been one of my personal
highlights of WrestleMania Weekend. I don't watch nearly as much of the product
as I would like, which primarily has to do with the huge delay it takes in the
shows getting released. SHIMMER tapes 4 shows in a weekend with those shows
generally not seeing a DVD release for anywhere between 9 months - one year. By
the time the shows are released, I've completely forgotten about them and no
longer care. With this yearly show, we get the chance to watch it live and it
reminds me what I'm missing. The SHIMMER show always winds up being a
well-booked show with all of the women working hard and delivering a few
standout matches. Last year SHIMMER decided to run a tournament for a #1
Contenders shot at their title to save on the amount of talent booked. It
worked very well so we got it again this year, only to crown the promotion's
first secondary champion instead. Thus, we had a 12-woman tournament for the
awkwardly named Heart Of SHIMMER Championship. On paper, this match looked to
be the barn burner of the tournament and it delivered. Nicole Savoy really made
an impact in last year's tournament as it was a lot of people's first exposure
to her. She had worked the previous set of SHIMMER tapings but footage had yet
to see the light of day. She was eliminated in that tournament in the second
round but she was back with a vengeance. LuFisto has seemingly been around
forever at this point and has went from death match wrestler, 10 years ago, to
someone that a promoter can depend on for a great match that can elevate a
talent. Here she gives Savoy a lot but fires right back and while not the total
war it would have been as a stand-alone match, we get a heck of a first round
contest. They told a sound story with Savoy being a little disrespectful and
arrogant and LuFisto trying to beat her senseless for it. Nicole would use
LuFisto's aggression to capitalize on a mistake and grab a submission before
eventually putting her down with the great Savo Lock. This was as good as a
first round match in a one night tournament that you'll see. SHIMMER would be
wise to have a rematch at the next tapings where neither woman has to hold
back. If we're lucky, maybe we'll see it in a year and a half.
The Heart Of SHIMMER Title
Tournament Semi-Finals: Nicole Matthews vs. Heidi Lovelace (04/02 - SHIMMER)
(*** ¾)
SHIMMER Volume 80 - Dallas, Texas
Colour me surprised by this match. I like Heidi Lovelace. I think she
works really hard and has a good crowd following. I think Nicole Matthews is
alright. I loved the Canadian NINJAS with her and Portia Perez and thought they
were a great heel act. I thought it was an act that belonged in the tag team
division though and when Matthews won the SHIMMER title I had my reservations
as to how her style would translate as champion. SHIMMER has had some really
big time title matches through the years and Matthews' old-school, very vocal,
heel style doesn't quite suit that. I've only seen one match from her title
reign (last year's iPPV against Tomako Nakagawa) and I wasn't impressed. This
match made me want to seek out her title reign. This was so, so good and
completely surprised me. This is the closest thing you'll see to a Bayley NXT
TakeOver title match on an indie show (ironic because Bayley was in SHIMMER
pre-WWE). The crowd lives and dies with Heidi and Matthews is perfect with her
cut-offs and heel tactics. At one point the crowd even borrows from the NXT
TakeOver: London fans by coming up with a song to sing, chanting Heidi
Lovelace's name to the tune of "We Will Rock You" by Queen. This is a
really satisfying match with the crowd fully engaged and the right person going
over. When the entrances were happening, I was ready to tune out but this ended
up being, quite possibly, the best match of the show and a treat to watch. Hats
off to both woman.
The Heart Of SHIMMER Title
Tournament Finals, Elimination: Candice LeRae vs. Nicole Savoy vs. Heidi
Lovelace (04/02 - SHIMMER) (*** ¾)
SHIMMER Volume 80 - Dallas, Texas
The finals of a one night tournament is always a little dicey.
Expecting any wrestler to not only wrestle three times in the span of a 3 hour
show but to turn in 3 quality performances is a lot to ask. What ends up
happening a lot of times is either the first round matches are cut for time one
lieu of a lengthy finals or the first round matches get time with the rest of
the show moving quickly. This show did a fine job and creating a balance
throughout in that nothing felt necessarily rushed and the finals still got an
appropriate amount of time to develop and be, perhaps, the best match on the
show. All 3 women should be commended for putting together a match of this
quality after already having wrestled twice. The 3 wrestlers that put on the best
performances leading into the finals getting the main event slot was smart,
fitting booking. This match was well laid out, had some great sequences and
lots of drama down the stretch. A smart plot device was Heidi Lovelace
finishing both of her previous matches with a top rope back senton and Savoy
winning both of hers via submission. When each woman gets these moves near the
end if creates some great nearfalls and drama. While Candice did a great job,
this was really about the super babyface Lovelace and the arrogant but skilled
Savoy battling for the title. In the end, the right woman won for my liking and
this was a very satisfying cap to a very satisfying show. I can't wait to see
what SHIMMER puts together next year for us.
PROGRESS World Title: Marty
Scurll © vs. Will Ospreay (04/02 - WrestleCon) (*** ¾)
WrestleCon Supershow 2016 -
Dallas, Texas
This match just makes the cut for my recommendations, which given its
quality, really says a lot about how good the whole weekend was for wrestling.
This is a world class match-up, arguably the best one-on-one feud we've seen in
ages. Ospreay and Scurll are meant to be rivals. They are two perfectly matched
up opponents. I will write novels about their matches as time goes by with
these reviews. This is a big match for 2 reasons. It is he first time this
match has taken place on US soil. It is also the first time the PROGRESS Title
has been defended outside of the U.K., making it officially a World
Championship. I am so thankful for these WrestleCon shows as they get large,
hot crowds and are just so wacky and random that they're must watch. There's
most definitely a ceiling as to how good a match on these shows can end up
being and this match hits that ceiling. In short, it's good, very good, in
fact. If you haven't seen Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll before, it might blow
your mind. If you have, you know this is essentially a "greatest
hits" match of theirs and that it barely scratches the surface of what
these two men can accomplish. Opponents like this eventually find their groove
and can create a touring match that can be performed in their sleep that, to someone
that watches a lot of tape, is repetitive but to a 1st time live viewer is a
great impression. Can Punk and Colt Cabanada, Jimmy Jacobs and Alex Shelley and
Matt Sydal and Delirious are all great examples of this. This match takes what
has made their previous encounters great but strips away the intangibles that
have made them truly epic. As mentioned in the SHIMMER reviews, one reason
behind this is the fact that both men have 3 matches in one day to deliver on.
There is no shame in this not being the 30-minute blowout we've come to expect.
As it is, it's a very good little "big moves" match with some
historical significance and a testament to the quality of both Scurll and
Ospreay in that they can produce a match of this quality under the schedule they
had that weekend.
Best In The World Challenge
Series Match #5 - The Rival: Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Chris Hero (04/02 - WWN) (****
½)
WWN Mercury Rising 2016 - Dallas,
Texas
This was a complete war. For 25 minutes, Hero and Sabre brutalized each
other for personal pride, the pride of their countries and the entertainment of
the fans. At times it was borderline uncomfortable. They stretched and hit each
other senseless with a very apparent hatred. This match is an interesting
contrast to the one they had at Limitless Wrestling in January (review some
day!). Both are absolute quality but that one was almost more of a friendly
exhibition with one man trying to catch the other in a mistake. This match was
a grudge match with both men trying to kill the other. Billed as "The
Rival" in Zack Sabre's great Best In The World Challenge Series, EVOLVE
did a great job at stressing why each man had to win, by also making this he rubber
match of the USA vs. Europe Series that took place earlier in the day. The card
placement of this match was a mistake but with Hero and Sabre having to wrestle
(and team!) on the WrestleCon show, there's not much that could have been done.
What we get is a long but engagingly brutal opener that is among the best
matches all year this far. I could watch these two wrestle a million more times
as it's always good and you'll always get to see something a little by
different. It'll be interesting to see where Zack Sabre, Jr. goes from here in
EVOLVR having lost the last 2 matches of his series. A rematch has already been
booked and I couldn't be happier.
Matthew Riddle vs. Tracy
Williams (04/02 - WWN) (****)
WWN Mercury Rising 2016 - Dallas,
Texas
The idea behind he Catch Point stable is so fresh and so great. They're
not in the same biker gang or a bunch of freaks. They are a group of wrestlers
that have the same wrestling philosophy and push themselves to improve through
competition, not being afraid to mix it up with each other. This proves that
point as Hot Sauce and Riddle tear into each other, much as they did back in
January, and have just as good a match as they did them. Like that one, both
guys rely on their strengths (technical expertise and strikes) but are forced
to go out of their comfort zones with high flying and big moves to try and out
the other down for three. I've raved about Riddle being the future of
professional wrestling but Tracy Williams is right there proving his worth too.
Here we get a hard-fought match with the right winner and the need for a rubber
match, which I am completely on board for. This had to follow a similarly
styled, super-long Hero/Sabre match and held its own in every way. 2016 will
continue to be great for these two young men.
Days Of Future Past 6 Man Tag:
Team EVOLVE (Johnny Gargano, TJP & Kota Ibushi) vs. Team Europe (Will
Ospreay, Tommy End & Marty Scurll) (04/02 - WWN) (**** 1/2)
WWN Mercury Rising 2016 - Dallas,
Texas
This match had so much going for it and so much going against it
simultaneously. The 6 Man Tag tradition during WrestleMania Weekend is
well-storied and with this being the 10th anniversary of it, Gabe Sapolsky put
together a special match. We had a cool concept with the wrestlers from EVOLVE
1 taking on the Europeans that are the talk of the wrestling world right now, a
cool tagline for the match (I loved that X-Men movie!) and the buzz worthy US
return of Kota Ibushi, fresh off of quitting NJPW in a shocker. Needless to
say, a lot of hype was generated for this match. Unfortunately, this match had
its work cut out for it as it was in the main event spot on a hellaciously long
show, capping off a long and draining weekend of independent wrestling shows
out the wazoo. Somehow, this still worked. The crowd got up for it and the
visual of the audience coming to their feet the first time Ospreay and Ibushi
step into the ring together is pretty amazing. This match was well-designed as
everyone seems to have a dance partner they match up with. Gargano and Scurll,
Perkins and End (who had a very solid match earlier in the day) and the one
everyone wants to see in Ibushi and Ospreay. The early portion of the match
sticks to those pairings until we get to a heat sequence and then all hell
broke loose. It's during that stage that the match really shines. In typical
Dragon Gate 6 Man tradition, the moves hit a mile a minute and everyone gets
their spots to shine. Everyone ends up in the crowd for Ospreay (who is fortune
he didn't slip and die) and Ibushi hitting stereo moonsaults off a balcony
before returning to the ring, alone, to have the square-off everyone wants to see.
This match might have the flaws of the style of match lends itself to, but I
had no issue getting caught up in the action and atmosphere and not paying any
mind to legal men or the length of moves being sold. It was such a cool novelty
to see Ibushi in there. He looked a little frail and didn't get a ton of action
as one might have hoped but he still held up his part of things tremendous. His
NJPW exit is puzzling to me but hopefully he finds success and happiness
wherever he ends up. This match screamed "WrestleMania Weekend" to me
and reminded me of why this is the most wonderful time of year to be a
wrestling fan.
WWE Intercontinental Title,
Ladder: Kevin Owens © vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz vs. Stardust
vs. Sin Cara vs. Zack Ryder (04/03 - WWE) (****)
WWE WrestleMania 32 - Arlington,
Texas
This match over delivered. The IC Title Multi-Man Ladder Match of doom
took place last year and was long-rumoured to happen again this year. When it
was eventually signed, it seemed to have locked it in as a new yearly
tradition, replacing the Money In The Bank Ladder Match after it got its own
PPV event way back in 2010. The line-up for this match was bizarre. For
starters, I think every internet wrestling fan was hoping for a one-on-one
Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn match for the Intercontinental Title. Secondly, it would
have made a lot more sense to turn the random Kalisto/Ryback US Title Match
into the Ladder Match. This whole thing was set-up by Zayn, The Miz and Ziggler
fighting over the right to be #1 contender for Mania. Owens, in a great troll
job, arranges for a triple threat #1 contenders match but brings out Sin Cara,
Stardust and Ryder for it. The whole thing was hilarious but essentially
displayed those three as jokes. After a brawl, Stephanie McMahon declared Owens
would defend his title against all 6 guys in a big "WTF?" moment.
Going in this seemed like it would be a by-the-numbers ladder match cluster
with all of the random bodies in it, but everyone stepped up huge. Sin Cara was
a total force in this, getting two huge spots. The first was a Nick Jackson-like
springboard summersault plancha while being pushed off a ladder. The second was
the big moment of the match when he was pushed off a gigantic ladder and ended
up splashing Rhodes through a ladder bridged between the apron and barricade.
Zayn got a big spot to shine hitting a nutty tope con hilo through the opening
of a standing ladder to the floor and immediately followed it up with the
thread-the-needle DDT to Owens on the floor. Stardust got to do a nice tribute
to his dad, Dusty, who was honoured over Mania Weekend, with a polka-dot
ladder. The last couple of minutes of this were really good though with high
drama. Owens looks like he has the win, is stopped by Zayn who kills him with a
half-and-half suplex on a ladder. Zayn looks like he has the win but is stopped
by The Miz. Then, in a brilliant camera shot, as Miz is about to unhook the
title, ZACK RYDER, comes out of nowhere to knock him off and take the title.
Ryder's win got a HUGE pop in my house from my casual fan family. Totally a nicely
done surprise that I turned out to be perfectly okay with despite viewing Ryder
being in the match as a joke. Of course, WWE would take the title off him the
next night and forget about him but, for one night, this was special.
WWE Women’s Title: Charlotte ©
vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch (04/03 - WWE) (*** ¾)
WWE WrestleMania 32 - Arlington,
Texas
Like Asuka/Bayley at NXT TakeOver, these women were in a tough spot.
Not because of what they had to follow but because they were given a huge slot
on this gigantic show and therefore an immense amount of pressure to deliver.
They did a great job. While this wasn't the quality of the NXT 4-way they had 1
year ago, which additionally included Bayley, this was still a very solid
match. It had a great scale to it too. A great video package pre-match, big WrestleMania-style
entrances for Sasha Banks, being accompanied by Snoop Dogg, and Charlotte, in a
robe made from Flair's Retirement Match robe, the big deal with it being to
crown a WWE Women's Champion and retirement of the Divas Title. The whole shebang
got 30 minutes of show time, which considering the Divas matches were always
used as filler or celebrity fluff, was a big step-up. Sasha was a little off in
this, which is unfortunate, as she is is one of the best wrestlers in the
company, but she pulled it together after a few awkward moves. At one point she
hits a crazy Homicide/like tope con hilo that I'm not convinced was
intentional. Charlotte got the big shine spot of the match with a gorgeous
moonsault to the floor. Becky Lynch was the 3rd piece of this puzzle and just
seemed sort of there but might have been the glue that held this together. The
finish was screwy but didn't leave me feeling unfulfilled as it protected Banks
and kept Charlotte in her current role. This was as good as the other best women's
matches of the weekend. It wasn't the epic, era-defining match I hoped for but
it was a very good start.
Hell In A Cell: The Undertaker
vs. Shane McMahon (04/03 - WWE) (**** ¼)
WWE WrestleMania 32 - Arlington,
Texas
Writing these reviews can be a little bit of a chore sometimes. It can
be hard to try and recall specifics from matches I watched weeks or months ago.
It can be even more difficult to try and find interesting things to write about
matches that are simply "very good" but have noting that really sets
them apart from anything else I would write about. The reviews I enjoy are the
ones like this match. The polarizing reviews where I gush about matches that
many may think the complete opposite about. I'm not necessarily trying to sell
the reader on my opinion being right, or anything remotely of that sort. I'm
just making an effort to provide a different take on things and, agree or disagree;
I think that's something of value. This was the weirdest match possible. It was
thrown together, made no sense and had every right to be a mess... But it had
buzz. Shane McMahon was back after 7 years and was working The Undertaker, at
WrestleMania, inside Hell In A Cell. It was so crazy it might have just worked.
Maybe it did, maybe it didn't. For me, this was an endearing match. It started
out clunky and awkward. It was plodding and sloppy and seemed a little phoney.
Then something happened. It turned into a WrestleMania spectacle. They went to
the weapons and the big moves and the kickouts and the drama. Suddenly this
became something gripping, for me at least. I was with Shane McMahon, the
non-wrestling dad that brought his boys to the ring. As he fought valiantly
against the greatest performer in WrestleMania history for something he
believed in and to show his kids to stand up for what's right, I was with him
every step of the way. As he survived everything that a man desperately trying
to hold onto his reputation threw at him, I too survived. When Shane McMahon
climbed to the top of Hell In A Cell with 'Taker sprawled across the
announcer's table, everything stopped. As he fell to the floor, seconds felt
like minutes. As he crashed through the table, the dad in me shuttered at what
his sons must have been feeling in that moment. It was something else, man. A
highlight reel spot for the ages. A WrestleMania Moment. The rest was academic
(although I wanted a mindfuck ending of Taker pulling Shane on top of him and
taking the fall) but that match was all about that one spot. Whether you cared
about why it was happening determines if the match was successful or not. Maybe
it's a dad thing.
