Tag: Best of 2018

The Year In Wrestling: ROH-NJPW to MSG, Rousey wins WWE gold

Posted on by Josh Nason

As you well know, a lot happens in a year especially in sports and entertainment. When I do my year-end MMA review shows, I am always amazed looking at all the little things that happened in a given month that ended up being bigger things later on.

But, we had never really done a comprehensive month-by-month look at the year that was in pro wrestling, so here we are. I tasked website contributor Josh Molina to help me out and that’s exactly what he did. 

There was so much that happened that I had to split this up into four separate posts, the first of which covered January-March and then April-June. We now move into July, August, and September which featured a company other than WWE making moves at MSG, a legend announcing his return to the ring, and Ronda Rousey winning the WWE Raw women’s title.

July

  • ROH and NJPW announced plans for a combined Madison Square Garden show on April 6, the night before Wrestlemania
  • WWE announced their first all-women’s PPV, Evolution
  • Jay Lethal won the ROH world title
  • Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat had hip replacement surgery
  • WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar challenged Daniel Cormier to a UFC heavyweight title match after Cormier won the belt
  • New Japan Pro Wrestling held a show at San Francisco’s Cow Palace. On the show, Josh Barnett shoot got involved in the Jay White vs. Juice Robinson match after a table bump injured Jim Ross
  • Phoenix Police Department released a report on the sexual assault allegations against Enzo Amore after they dropped the investigation
  • WWE held a rare mid-year Madison Square Garden house show
  • Raymondo Rodriguez, the original Piratita Morgan, one of the top mini-wrestler heels in the 1990s, passed away at age 49
  • Nathaniel Whitlock, a heel manager for Nate the Rat in the USWA, passed away
  • Tessa Blanchard signed a two-year deal with Impact
  • Ric Flair had surgery to remove his temporary colostomy bag
  • Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said the earliest he would run for U.S. president is 2024
  • The Miz & Maryse show debuted on USA
  • WWE Hall of Famer Nikolai Volkoff passed away
  • After a three-year suspension, Hulk Hogan returned to WWE
  • Under his real name Harry Smith, Davey Boy Smith Jr. captured a gold medal in the expert division of he shoot-style Billy Robinson Classic
  • Ayako Hamada, 37, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and three years probation for possession of methamphetamine
  • David Arquette, former WCW champion, had his first wrestling match since 2000
  • Tom Lawlor and Bryan Alvarez (The Chop & Roll Express) teamed up to battle The Rock & Roll Express
  • Brian Lawler (aka Brian Christopher) died of suicide while in jail

August

  • Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam while Ronda Rousey defeated Alexa Bliss easily to become the first woman to hold both the UFC and WWE championships
  • The ROH/NJPW MSG show sold 9000 pre-sale tickets on their first day and sold out in 19 minutes after the public onsale
  • In the main event of AAA’ s biggest show Triplemania, El Hijo del Fantasma lost his mask in a four-way match against L.A. Park, Pentagon Jr., and Psycho Clown
  • Former professional wrestler and MMA fighter Aya Koyama passed away due to cancer at 45
  • Ed Cohen, WWF arena booker in the 1980s, passed away at the age of 62
  • Michael Luisi was fired as president of WWE Studios
  • WWE finally released Neville after he walked out in October 2017
  • Villano III passed away due to a brain hemorrhage at 66
  • Former pro wrestling announcer and Roller Derby host Walt Harris passed away at 97
  • Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart passed away at 63 due to a seizure
  • Daniel Bryan re-signed with WWE
  • Kane (aka Glen Jacobs) was elected mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Sami Zayn had surgery on his left rotator cuff
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi won the 2018 G1 Climax
  • Colt Cabana filed a lawsuit against CM Punk, claiming breach of contract

September

  • Shawn Michaels announced his return to wrestling in a tag team match at WWE Crown Jewel in October
  • All In and Starrcast weekend happend in Chicago to great fanfare and buzz
  • WWE announced the second season of Mixed Match Challenge
  • Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair to win the Smackdown women’s championship
  • An New York State appeals court dismissed concussion lawsuits filed by 60 wrestlers against the WWE
  • Frank Andersson, one of the most decorated amateur wrestlers to turn professional, passed away at 62 from heart surgery complications
  • A Go Fund Me campaign raised $10,000 to pay Paul Orndorff’s property taxes. Orndorff, 68, is suffering from severe memory issues
  • WWE 205 Live became a taped show instead of live
  • CMLL, the longest-lasting pro wrestling company in history, held its 85th anniversary show
  • Former UFC fighter and indie wrestling talent Matt Riddle finally signed a deal with WWE and began at NXT
  • Renee Young replaced Jonathan Coachman on WWE Raw
  • Ric Flair and Wendy Barlow (Fifi in WCW) got married
  • WWE announced a show for Helsinki, Finland, in 2019
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kazuchika Okada at Destruction in Kobe, setting up a brutal beatdown of Okada by Jay White. Gedo also turned on Okada during the angle
  • New Japan Pro Wrestling held a show in Long Beach, CA
  • Brie Bella accidentally kicked Liv Morgan in the face during a match doing a Daniel Bryan kick spot, giving her a concussion

October-December coming up later today.

WON/F4W Best of 2018 audio, part 3

Posted on by F4W Staff

Thanks to subscriber Philippe Perez and voting on The Board, we present the final part of the Best of 2018 podcast series. Here’s part one and part two if you missed them.

In this two-hour show, we go through moments 13 through 33 with stops on the Bryan & Vinny Show, Filthy Four Daily, Wrestling Observer Radio, Karl Stern, Big Audio Nightmare, and Wrestling Observer Live.

For subscribers looking to get this on their device of choice, use the F4W Classics RSS feed: https://www.f4wradio.com/feed/classic.rss. 

12. NWO Black & White Battle Royal / Michael Buffer Ring Intros (B&V 3 Apr)
11.Take One (FFD 14 Mar)
10. Granny vs. the Evil Flu / Brian vs. the Guilt Trip (B&V 22 Feb, B&V 1 Mar)
9. Flair, Hollywood Hogan, Helicopters, Florida Man, & WCW Goes Off a Cliff (B&V 13 Feb)
8. Bryan vs. Doritos / Thanksgiving Song Contest (FFD 28 Nov)
7. Is Duplex A Wrestling Word? (B&V 28 Dec 2017, B&V 5 Jan, B&V 8 Nov)
6. The Wrong Dave Meltzer (MMA Tonight 1 Feb, WOR 1 Feb)
5. Elizabeth’s Testimony / Kevin Nash is a Spoon? / The Finger Poke Of Doom (B&V 2 Jan)
4. The Velveeta Dream (B&V 1 Mar, B&V 4 Mar)
3. Iceland Dick (B&V 24 Dec 2017)
2. Choppin’! (B&V 17 Dec 2017, FFD 17 Jan, FFD 24 Jan)
1. Vinny Shoot Wins a Battle Royal and Quits Wrestling (B&V 29 Mar)

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The Year In Wrestling: Bruno passes away, WWE TV deals announced

Posted on by Josh Nason

Photo: Associated Press

As you well know, a lot happens in a year especially in sports and entertainment. When I do my year-end MMA review shows, I am always amazed looking at all the little things that happened in a given month that ended up being bigger things later on.

But, we had never really done a comprehensive month-by-month look at the year that was in pro wrestling, so here we are. I tasked website contributor Josh Molina to help me out and that’s exactly what he did. 

There was so much that happened that I had to split this up into four separate posts, the first of which covered January-March. We now move into April, May, and June which featured WrestleMania, the passing of a wrestling icon, great matches, and the usual amount of weird stuff.

April

  • The grea Bruno Sammartino dies at 82
  • HBO debuts the Andre The Giant documentary to great criticial acclaim
  • WWE holds the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia to kick off their decade-long deal. Daniel Bryan lasts 76:06 in the GRR, a Rumble record
  • Mike Bennett and wife Maria Kanellis-Bennett have their first child
  • “Blockers” starring John Cena and “Rampage” starring Dwayne Johnson debut at movie theatres
  • Charlotte Flair returns after missing two weeks due to dental surgery
  • At WrestleMania, Ronda Rousey impressed everyone in her pro wrestling debut while Universal Champion Brock Lesnar shocked everyone by defeating Roman Reigns to retain her title
  • After getting engaged in the ring, John Cena and Nikki Bella announced their separation
  • Johnny Gargano defeated Tommaso Ciampa in a five-star match at NXT TakeOver
  • WWE Network announced they had reached 1.8 million subscribers
  • Cody defeated Kenny Omega in their first meeting
  • “Luscious” Johnny Valiant passed away at 71
  • Wrestler/manager Paul Jones passed away at 75
  • Motoko Baba, wife of Shohei “Giant” Baba dies at 78
  • Danny Davis sold Ohio Valley Wrestling, the WWE’s first developmental territory, to Al Snow
  • Impact held its first PPV under its new creative leadership of Don Callis and Scott D’Amore called Redemption
  • Bob Backlund, 68, returned in a tag team match with Riki Choshu and Tatsumi Fujinami to defeat Tajiri, Jinsei Shinzaki, and Kasma Sakamoto
  • Jake “The Snake” Roberts pressed charges against Davey Boy Smith Jr, alleging that Smith threw hot coffee on him at an event
  • Dwayne Johnson welcomed his third daughter into the world
  • WWE women’s wrestler Paige abruptly retired due to a neck injury

May

  • WWE announced Smackdown was moving to Fox while Raw would stay on USA through two separate five year deals worh a combined $2.4 billion
  • First day ticket sales for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s San Francisco Cow Palace show were slow at just 3300
  • Kane won the Republican nomination to run for mayor of Knoxville
  • Universo 2000, who held the CMLL title for a combined seven years over three reigns, passed away at 55
  • Tony Schiavone signed contract to announce Major League Wrestling events
  • “Bipolar Rock & Roller”, a documentary about Mauro Ranallo’s battles with bipolar disorder, debuts on Showtime
  • Batista starred as Drax the Destroyer in “Avengers: Infinity War”, one of the biggest movies of the year and of all-time
  • Believed to be the patriarch of the Samoan dynasty, Prince Neff Maiava passed away at 93
  • All In sold out (10,000+ tickets) in roughly half an hour
  • Raw Women’s Champion Nia Jax challenged Ronda Rousey for a title match
  • The Phoenix (AZ) Police Department dropped their sexual assault investigation into Enzo Amore
  • Amore also releaseed a widely panned rap single
  • John Hennigan (Johnny Morrison/Nitro/Impact) was announced as part of the Survivor cast
  • Dr. Chris Amann’s slander suit against CM Punk and Colt Cabana went to trial

June

  • WWE aired their first NXT UK shows on WWE Network
  • AXS TV announced the launch of Women of Wrestling show for early-2019
  • Jose Luis Hernandez, who wrestled as El Egipcio in EMLL, passed away at 61
  • John Greene, who wrestled as Johnny Attitude in WCW in the 1990s, passed away at 53
  • Eli Drake signed a multi-year deal with Impact Wrestling
  • Anthem (parent company of Impact Wrestling) hired former MTV executive Peter Einstein as COO
  • A police dog attacked and bit Shinsuke Nakamura at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, CA, forcing the cancelation of a planned title match against Jeff Hardy
  • Sami Zayn underwent shoulder surgery
  • WWE released Big Cass due to multiple backstage problems
  • Pop singer Shania Twain invited Kevin Owens on stage during her concert at the Bell Centre in Montreal
  • Leon White, aka Vader, passed away due heart failure
  • Madison Square Garden temporarily dropped a planned ROH show due to their relationship with WWE
  • Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss won briefcases at WWE Money in the Bank
  • In her first title shot, Ronda Rousey shone brightly in her debut singles match against Raw women’s champion Nia Jax, but lost via DQ
  • AJ Styles got the cover of the WWE 2K19 game
  • John Cena settled out of court with Ford after he sold a rare $450,000 Ford GT Supercar that was supposed to be just for him
  • Kenny Omega defeated IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada in an all-time classic match, becoming the first Canadian to win NJPW’s top prize
  • CM Punk lost his second MMA fight at UFC 225 in Chicago
  • Tough Enough winner Matt Cappotelli lost his longtime battle with cancer at just 38
  • WWE returned to Sumo Hall in Japan
  • Juan Jose Avila, known as Chicano Power, passed away
  • An Illinois jury ruled in favor of CM Punk and Colt Cabana in a defamation lawsuit filed by WWE doctor Chris Amann

Next: July-September

WON/F4W Best of 2018 audio, part 2

Posted on by F4W Staff

Thanks to subscriber Philippe Perez and voting on The Board, we present part two of the Best of 2018 podcast series. Here’s part one if you missed it.

In this two-hour show, we go through moments 13 through 33 with stops on the Bryan & Vinny Show, Filthy Four Daily, Wrestling Observer Radio, Karl Stern, Big Audio Nightmare, and Wrestling Observer Live.

For subscribers looking to get this on their device of choice, use the F4W Classics RSS feed: https://www.f4wradio.com/feed/classic.rss. 

33. The Light Bulb Disaster (B&V 7 Jan, WOL 8 Jan, B&V 9 Jan)
32. Tito Says He’s Training Six Days Per Day (WOR 30 Aug)
31. Herbal Ass Treatment (B&V 14 Aug)
30. The Chair (I’m Not Going to Yank My Knob on Camera) (B&V 27 Feb)
29. Little Buddy (WOR 19 Jun)
28. Craig Goes YAHHHHHH (B&V 27 Mar)
27. Producer Rob’s Botched Run-In (B&V 30 Oct)
26. Marriage Proposals (B&V 8 Feb)
25. Dave, We Gotta Talk About Conor! / Isn’t He Dead? / The Flat Earth Guy / Bone Soldier Merch (WOR 1 Feb)
24. The Nitro Girls Were Dancing When Scott Steiner Comes Out to Fuck Them (B&V 16 Jan)
23. The Elephant in Mike Sempervive’s House (BAN 4 Jan)
22. Minka’’s Movies (WOL 28 Oct B&V 28 Oct)
21. AC Jazz Jokes (B&V 6 Mar, B&V 30 Oct)
20. Domino’s Pizza Review (FFD 29 Aug)
19. Producer Rob Wants to Watch Nitro / Wiener in a Sliding Glass Door (B&V 15 May)
18. Brent Kremen Invades The Christmas Show (B&V 24 Dec 2017)
17. Alexa, Tell Me A Love Spell / Farmer Calls Police Over Tiger in Cow Shed (DKD 18 Feb)
16. Midnight Dong (B&V 13 Nov)
15. Hello, You Cute Little Jalapeño (WOL 12 Jan)
14. RD Reynolds vs. Eric Bischoff at Starrcast (WOL 7 Sep)
13. Granny Says Hello to Facebook / Mae West Classic (B&V 13 Sep)

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WON/F4W Best of 2018 audio, part 1

Posted on by F4W Staff

Thanks to subscriber Philippe Perez and voting on The Board, we present part one of the Best of 2018 podcast series.

In this 90-minute kickoff, we go through 34-50 with stops on the Bryan & Vinny Show, Filthy Four Daily, Wrestling Observer Radio, Karl Stern, and Wrestling Observer Live.

50. Hold On, I Think I Can Find Out Very Quickly… (WOR 26 Apr)
49. RICM Gets Banned (WOL 27 Apr, WOL 29 Apr)
48. Kane Returns (FFD 27 Jun)
47. Great Things Happened on 9/11 (WOL 11 Sep)
46. How To Spot An Idiot On Twitter / Kurt Angle & Mike Tenay Cancel Their Interviews (WOR 19 Jun)
45. Bam Bam Bigelow Gets Counted Out in a Falls Count Anywhere Match (B&V 6 Nov)
44. Just Dragging the Coffin / Sixty Pounds of Hamburger Meat in Women’s Panties / Chris Benoit and Barrister (B&V 5 Jan, B&V 12 Jan)
43. WWE’s Cowardice (WOL 25 Oct)
42. David Flair vs. Eric Bischoff (B&V 16 Jan)
41. The Ultimate Warrior, Yokozuna, and The Guy With the Crown in Saudi Arabia (30 Apr WOR)
40. What Turns Granny On? (B&V 8 Nov)
39. Marko Stunt Calls In (WOL 14 Sep)
38. UFC is Somebody Tom Used to Know (FFD 15 Aug)
37. Booker T’s Promo (B&V 30 Jan)
36. Paisley Says A Naughty Word (B&V 22 Feb)
35. Why in the World is Jerry Jarrett Not in the Hall of Fame? (DKK 9 Oct)
34. Who Was That Masked Man? (B&V 20 Dec 2017)

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Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of 2018: Tanahashi vs. Okada

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: Voices of Wrestling

Throughout the week leading into December 31st, we are taking you back to some of Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of the past year, starting with the five star matches and ending up with a seven star classic.

15 matches got the five star treatment while six matches garnered ratings above that level. You can check them out under Columns & Opinions on the front page.

What follows is an edited version of Dave’s writeup from the match from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, available in full for subscribers. Also, we want to give a big shoutout to Cagematch.net who makes research for this list ridiculously easy. 

IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Day 2 | May 4, 2018
*****1/2

“Kazuchika Okada broke the all-time record for consecutive IWGP title defenses, beating Hiroshi Tanahashi, who he was tied with, in one of the best storytelling and psychological matches you’ll ever see to headline the second Wrestling Dontaku show on 5/4 in Fukuoka.

Okada had tied Tanahashi’s record set in 2011 and 2012, which ended at 11 when Okada beat him on February 12, 2012, in Osaka. All of the booking of the title, notably the question regarding Okada not losing to Tetsuya Naito at the Tokyo Dome, were done to set up this storyline. The negative was it was in Fukuoka, which is traditionally the company’s most difficult major city when it comes to crowd reaction. And the first night of Dontaku didn’t give a positive indication that this was the place for an epic match, because the crowd was very tough. For whatever reason, on the second night, they were hot, and they were on fire for the match.

The match was less reliant on big moves than any of their previous matches, but it was all about the story of Tanahashi trying to win back the title, his selling his injuries, and was really a classic in pacing and making every move mean something. The only match I could compare it was with one of the Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada matches (I think it 1997 and not the 1994 match that a lot of modern fans feel was the greatest match of all-time) when it was slow, deliberate, and every single movement built to the story. 

The crowd was super hot for the start and were behind Tanahashi ending the streak. They used their normal spots and did creative counters. For example, Okada always does the dropkick while his foe is sitting on the top rope. Tanahashi, instead of taking a bump to the floor, held on and was in the skin the cat position. Tanahashi tried to flip him over the top from there, but Okada blocked and instead used a draping DDT. He did another draping DDT on the floor. Okada hit another DDT and a neckbreaker over the knee. He hit the Randy Savage elbow, and went for the Rainmaker, but Tanahashi got in his face, and then ducked for a dragon screw. This was slow and deliberate with perfect pacing. They weren’t rushing, and made sure everything meant something. This was really almost a clinic of doing a long world title match that was both off the charts and safe, based on selling. Tanahashi did the high fly flow to the floor, which was probably the most dangerous thing in the match.

You have to also give the announcers a ton of credit as they didn’t miss any key things and Don Callis, who is usually a heel, was leading the audience into being into Tanahashi’s quest and made that aspect feel even more real and significant. They basically made you feel you were watching one of the most important matches in history between two of the best ever. Obviously, it was not the former even if it was the latter. Tanahashi ran at him but Okada caught him with a tombstone piledriver on the floor, and then collapsed. Okada barely beat the 20 count and Tanahashi dove in at 19 ½.

They traded elbows, and Tanahashi dropped Okada three times in the exchange. Okada missed a dropkick. Tanahashi blocked a flapjack and turned it into a twist and shout and a sling blade. He went for the high fly flow, but Okada moved. Okada then hit a dropkick to the back and another dropkick to the front. Okada tried the rainmaker, but Tanahashi hit the sling blade. Tanahashi did a high fly flow to the back, and went for his winning high fly flow, but Okada got his knees up. Okada hit a German suplex and Tanahashi kicked out at one. Tanahashi ducked a rainmaker and hit a dragon suplex. Okada hit the dropkick and Tanahashi hit the sling blade. Tanahashi went to the top for another high fly flow, but this time Okada dropkicked him as he flew off. Okada went for the rainmaker, but Tanahashi ducked and hit the rainmaker on Okada, who kicked out at one.

Tanahashi was slapping him around and started slapping him hard. Okada’s left cheekbone area was swollen. Okada kept going for the Rainmaker and Tanahashi ducked and slapped him, and when you were sure he wasn’t hitting it, he did, and got the pin at 34:36 of a match that felt much shorter because of how well it was paced.

Unlike most classics, this wasn’t about kicking out of finishers. It was the story that got over and not the spectacular spots. It was a safe match by modern big bout standards. Tanahashi three times went for the winning regular high fly flow. The first time, he missed. The second time Okada got his knees up. The third time, Okada got to his feet and hit a dropkick as he came off.

Another notable point is that even though the Fukuoka International Center Arena was sold out with 6,307 paid, and I believe set the company’s gate record in the building they’ve been running forever, to see Okada go for the record, probably 90 percent of the audience was behind Tanahashi with the story of wanting to instead see Tanahashi preserve his record. Okada played the role perfectly with subtle heel facials to make the story all about Tanahashi’s quest rather than his own quest.

It was really something to see because it was the example of protecting a championship (only the elite get to hold the title under Gedo’s booking) and building of wins, losses and records. There have been some ups and downs in recent weeks with New Japan, but this was a Gedo booking plan that turned out to perfection.

This put the 11 match series between Tanahashi and Okada in Okada’s favor with five career wins to four for Tanahashi and two draws.”

Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of 2018: Takahashi vs. Ishimori

Posted on by Josh Nason

Throughout the week leading into December 31st, we’ll take you back to some of Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of the past year, starting with the five star matches and ending up with a seven star classic.

15 matches got the five star treatment while six matches garnered ratings above that level.

What follows is an edited version of Dave’s writeup from the match from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, available in full for subscribers. Also, we want to give a big shoutout to Cagematch.net who makes research for this list ridiculously easy. 

Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals | June 4, 2018
*****1/2 

“Takahashi and Ishimori had what could be argued was the year’s best match, and definitely the greatest finale in the long history of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, on 6/4 at Korakuen Hall.

It was not only the best match of the tournament, but one of the best matches I’ve ever seen. Emotionally, physically and mentally, it would be in the handful of matches, five so far, that I’d give ****** to. The only negative is not wanting to reward too much dangerous activity as Takahashi has such a lack of looking at his future, which makes him incredible today, but pro wrestling is a marathon, not a sprint. Ironically, his opponent, the current IWGP jr. champion, is becoming the ultimate historical sprinter, compared to both the brilliance and self-destructive long-term performances of the Dynamite Kid.

Considering the performance Takahashi put on in the Ishimori match, and consider that was only the No. 2 match of his current run, and now he’s facing Ospreay at Dominion, who tore it up every night himself, and they’re facing each other on what is New Japan’s second biggest event of the year, the goal would be to have the greatest match of the year, or die trying. But they do not have the pressure on that Okada and Omega have. They can have the 10th or 15th best match of the year and people will rave about it.

So in the first big spot, Takahashi went for his sunset flip power bomb and Ishimori did a backflip out of it. They hit hard elbows on the foot back and forth. They ended up in the bleachers and Takahashi ran from one side of the arena to the other in the walkway and hit Ishimori with a dropkick on the floor. He then went to power bomb Ishimori down the stars, but Ishimori turned that into a huracanrana sending Takahashi rolling down an entire staircase. Ishimori threw him into the post and gave him an amazing sliding German suplex. Takahashi finally came back hitting the sunset flip power bomb to the floor.

After working his safest big match of his life with Kushida, Takahashi decided to make up for it here. Takahashi followed with a wheelbarrow pancake on the floor and then a dropkick off the apron. Ishimori came back with a dynamite plunger and a crossface and then the bloody cross. He had him in he submission and the ref was about to stop it and just then Takahashi made the ropes. The timing of reading the crowd and the ref and getting to the ropes at the peak point was perfect here. Takahashi’s selling her was fantastic. Takahashi did a belly to belly into the corner and hit the dynamite plunger for a near fall. Takahashi did a front rolling cradle bomb off the middle rope for a near fall. Ishimori did a reverse huracanrana and Takahashi got up and did a reverse huracanrana and both collapsed. Ishimori landed badly on the second one. They teased a double knockout but both got up before ten.

They did a big elbow exchange and Takahashi went down. Ishimori did a jumping knee and killer clothesline but Takahashi kicked out at one. Ishimori did a Woo dropkick and running double knees, followed by a tombstone into double knees for another near fall. Ishimori used a bloody cross and Takahashi reversed into an armbar and Ishimori power bombed him, and then Takahashi got the triangle on for the first time. Ishimori tried a power bomb but Takahashi blocked him. But Ishimori was able to power bomb him into the turnbuckles. Ishimori used a uranage and then went for the 450, but Takahashi got his knees up. Takahashi was then selling his knee. Ishimori went for a huracanrana but Takahashi reversed back into a triangle. Ishimori got out with a power bomb. Takahashi used a double arm piledriver and followed putting on the triangle again. Ishimori made the ropes. Ishimori came back with the bloody cross but Takahashi powered out and gave him a Death Valley bomb into the turnbuckles and followed with the time bomb for the pin.

Takahashi then did an interview and said he doesn’t want to be called the Best of the Super Juniors winner, and the goal is the title and challenged Ospreay. Ospreay came out and said, “Well done. We’re all so proud of you.” Then Ospreay showed his belt and said that this proves he’s the junior heavyweight champion of the world and noted he’s beaten Takahashi twice. He said he’d see him in Osaka for Dominion. Takahashi then said that this is our Super Junior tournament and the whole building was on its feet clapping for him including Liger and Milano Collection A.T. at ringside. He said that five years ago he was right here at Korakuen Hall and his dream was to win the IWGP jr. title and bring it back here to Korakuen Hall. Naito, Evil, Sanada and Bushi came out to congratulate him.

The trophy he got broke in the celebration.”

Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of 2018: Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Posted on by Josh Nason

Throughout the week leading into December 31st, we’ll take you back to some of Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of the past year, starting with the five star matches and ending up with a seven star classic.

15 matches got the five star treatment while six matches garnered ratings above that level.

What follows is an edited version of Dave’s writeup from the match from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, available in full for subscribers. Also, we want to give a big shoutout to Cagematch.net who makes research for this list ridiculously easy. 

Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii
NJPW G1 Climax | August 4, 2018
*****1/2

“The experiment in running the Edion Arena in Osaka on two straight nights was a financial success, as both shows sold out. The first night featured Omega vs. Ishii which seems to be considered the best match of the tournament.

While there are a number of candidates for this honor (Omega vs. Naito, Ibushi vs. Ishii and Ishii vs. Goto the ones mentioned the most often), this seems to have the most support. It would easily have won match of the year most years, but this year is just ridiculous, but even so, a number of matches here would probably be ranked anywhere from two to ten in match of the year so far, and really, because there are so many that could be, some will likely be lost in the shuffle. But that also happens every year.

The crowd was hot for this right away. The story here was that if Omega, with 12 points, lost to Ishii, with four, it would tie the biggest point differential upset in G-1 history. The other eight point differential was last year in the same building, when Omega, with ten points, lost to Robinson, with two. That record ended up being broken the next day when Yano beat Omega, which was a ten point differential.

The story early is Omega was a better athlete, too fast, and he’d slap him around, but he couldn’t hurt Ishii badly and finish him. Ishii then started slapping Omega around. Omega did a huracanrana out of nowhere and followed with the Terminator dive, which was the move he hurt his heel with in the Cody match in San Francisco and he’s still doing it on most shows. They did sick chops. Ishii did a delayed superplex. Omega’s mouth was bleeding from what looked to be a hard clothesline, and got worse as the match went on. Ishii’s mouth was also bleeding. Omega kept hitting V triggers and Ishii got stronger. Ishii was back with elbows. Omega did the reverse huracanrana. Omega also did a springboard double foot stomp onto Ishii who was draped on the apron.

Omega landed on his feet after a German suplex and hit another V trigger followed by a J driller but Ishii kicked out again. Ishii was killing him with hard lariat and Omega was back with V triggers. Ishii did two more head-butts and Omega did an inside out bump after a lariat. Omega hit the brainbuster, Ishii’s finisher, on him but Ishii kicked out at one. Ishii did another sick lariat, a headbutt, an enzuigiri and finished him with a brainbuster.”

Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of 2018: Five stars, pt. 3

Posted on by Josh Nason

Throughout the week leading into December 31st, we’ll take you back to some of Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of the past year, starting with the five star matches and ending up with a seven star classic.

We kick off with our floor: five star ratings. In 2018, 15 matches got that honor, a mix of New Japan Pro Wrestling, NXT, and even an indie group out of Spain. 

What follows are edited versions of Dave’s writeups from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, available in full for subscribers. Also, a big shoutout to Cagematch.net who makes research for this ridiculously easy. 

And now, enjoy looking back at part two of three of Dave’s five star matches from 2018 in the order in which they happened. Based on this list alone, it was a hell of a year. Here’s part 1 and part 2 if you missed it.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
NJPW G1 Climax finals | August 10, 2018

“Tanahashi went to a 30:00 draw with Okada in the A block final. Because Tanahashi came in with a 7-1 record and Okada at 6-2, Tanahashi only needed a draw to win. Tanahashi vs. Okada at this point has to be considered among the greatest long-term programs in wrestling history. Nearly every match has been a match of the year candidate, ironically, perhaps except this one because of what a freaky year this has been. Still, this was a tremendous match with the story that Tanahashi hit the high fly flow to the back, but Okada kicked out, just as time expired.

Tanahashi needed the visual of being strong to go to the final and, in theory, if he goes all the way to the Tokyo Dome main event. You could argue for the win to make it more clear, but it appears the plan now, based on Tanahashi at the press conference, is to do Tanahashi vs. Okada for the briefcase sometime this fall with the idea of a longer time limit match and thus the draw and not doing the pin makes long-term sense.

So the draw accomplished two things. The first is it leaves an opening for Okada to still be in the title match at the Tokyo Dome, as he’s been every year since 2013. Okada is coming off his record-setting title run, and since losing the title, he has not gotten a rematch. The draw was a surprise if only because Tanahashi and Okada had draws in their last two G-1 matches, in 2013 and 2016 and you just wouldn’t think they’d do it again. But the key is that in the Tanahashi vs. Okada program, Tanahashi hasn’t beaten Okada since January 4, 2015, and given that pretty much every match that has had a finish has been past the 30:00 mark there is a story there as well.

There was the belief earlier this year that maybe, with Okada becoming the clear major star, that he never would never lose to Tanahashi again. But very clearly, this will be the biggest briefcase match in history.

I would not say this was the best match of G-1, although some would. In some ways it was my favorite, because as far as a match where every single move meant something, this was pretty much textbook. It was paced perfectly and while hard hitting and very physical, it was never scary at any time. But as big as this seemed, the next two nights rocked the crowd more.”

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
IWGP Title Shot Contract On The Line
NJPW Destruction In Kobe | September 23, 2018

“The story behind the match is that this was their 13th career singles match, and Okada came in with a 5-4 edge in wins with three of the matches being 30 minute draws in G-1 competition. But Tanahashi hadn’t beaten Okada since January 4, 2015, nearly four years ago. Also, every match the two have had in at least six years has gone either to a 30 minute draw or longer.

With three high-profile big show classics in one year, this feud is very much like Okada vs. Omega in 2017 and Flair vs. Steamboat in 1989. It’s all a matter of opinion, but I’d rate the May match the best because of the story elements which I think is the best of the 13 matches the two have had. This was a different match, but similar in quality to the G-1 match. It would be among the best of the series, but not top three.

The crowd was pro-Tanahashi in a big way. Tanahashi dropkicked Okada off the apron and hit a pescado, but in doing so, started selling the left knee. His ability to sell the left knee with his facial expressions is as good as anyone. Okada started doing some Negro Navarro style knee submissions. Okada dropkicked the knee as Tanahashi hung upside down in the corner, and used a kneebreaker and a figure four. Tanahashi reversed the figure four and the two rolled into the ropes. They were fighting on the floor, when, out of nowhere, Tanahashi gave Okada a tombstone piledriver on the floor. The story is Tanahashi could have won via count out, but instead did a high fly flow to the floor, and of course, his knee went out, leading to him selling the knee like crazy. As far as the ability to produce a long dramatic match where every move means something, Tanahashi is one of the greatest of all-time.

Both were fighting over a tombstone piledriver but couldn’t get it until Okada dropkicked Tanahashi in the left knee. They each kept reversing out of big moves. Okada chop blocked the knee, but Tanahashi hit a sling blade as Okada went for the rainmaker. Tanahashi went for a high fly flow but Okada got up and dropkicked him and hit the tombstone. But Okada’s left knee went out. Tanahashi ducked two rainmakers but Okada finally hit a spinning rainmaker. He went for another rainmaker but Tanahashi hit the dragon suplex for a near fall. Tanahashi went to the top rope but Okada dropkicked him. Okada teased a tombstone piledriver off the middle rope, and then a gut wrench superplex but Tanahashi blocked. Okada fell off the ropes and as he was falling, Tanahashi jumped off and crushed him with a high fly flow. Tanahashi went to the top, but Okada got to his knees, not standing, and was hit with another high fly flow. Tanahashi did a third one on the prone Okada for the pin.”

Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi
NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed | September 30, 2018

“The tag team main event where Omega & Ibushi beat Okada & Ishii had four of maybe the six best wrestlers in the world right now, and it was perhaps the best tag team match of the year. Really, the Omega & Ibushi vs. Young Bucks match in the same building would be its challenger. They were very different. This past week’s match was crisper and reached more of a fever pitch in the New Japan realistic style and had the great explosive moves at the right time. The prior match had a unique emotional element, was built with a most in-depth story going in and was longer and told more of a story. It’s really a matter of taste.

This was a great match. The story was to keep Omega and Okada apart for most of the match as this was the first time the two were in the same match in the U.S. So a lot of early action was Ibushi vs. Ishii. The one thing about this match is that every combination, Omega vs Okada, Omega vs. Ishii, Ishii vs. Ibushi and Ibushi vs. Okada, give you constant match of the year level action and intensity. Omega did an ugly DDT on Ishii and got up limping but that didn’t play a part in the match. Omega & Ibushi did the golden triangle, which was Omega giving Okada a moonsault off the middle rope to the floor and Ibushi doing the same to Ishii. At 13:00, Omega and Okada finally squared off and started throwing the elbows. They did a series of reversals until Omega hit the snap dragon suplex. Okada hit a dropkick on Omega and went for the rainmaker, but Ibushi saved.

Omega used a V trigger and Ibushi a moonsault on Okada. Ibushi did a plancha on Ishii. After a series of reversals, Okada hit the tombstone on Omega and Ishii followed with a sliding lariat on Omega, but Ibushi saved. Okada went for the rainmaker but Omega ducked and hit a uranage. Ishii and Ibushi started trading elbows. Ibushi did a standing double knees moonsault on Ishii. Omega picked up Ishii and power bombed him into a moonsault by Ibushi for a near fall. Okada went for a dropkick and Omega stepped back, caught him and power bombed him, and Ibushi followed with a Pele kick. Ibushi and Ishii did another crazy exchange and blows that was ridiculous. Ibushi was bleeding from the mouth.

Ibushi went for the Kamagoye but Ishii ducked and went for a German suplex, but Ibushi landed on his feet and clotheslined him back. It ended when Omega hit a high kick on Ishii and Omega & Ibushi did the double golden trigger for the pin. Omega then did an interview with The Young Bucks in the ring and talked about wrestling Ibushi when Cody came out to set up the three-way and then Omega ended the show.”

Hiroshi Tanahashi and Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi
NJPW Road To The Tokyo Dome | December 15, 2018

“The 12/15 show featured the annual dream tag team match, and this year’s version may have been the best tag team match of the year. The best tag match of the year to me was Young Bucks vs. Omega & Ibushi, largely due to the storytelling. But as far as crisp action and excitement, Omega & Ibushi’s win over Tanahashi & Ospreay was better. Ospreay, who was pinned by Omega’s One Winged Angel in 28:46, was the star of the match with his fire, facial expressions, and intensity. The big spot was Ibushi doing a ropewalk super Frankensteiner off the top and Ospreay flew over and landed on his feet. The camera work captured this amazingly as Ibushi made his face that seemed to say, “I hear the crowd but as long as I don’t turn around I can pretend he didn’t do that.”  So, Omega opened 2018 with a ***** match and ended it with a ***** match. The show ended with Omega & Ibushi doing a promo which included Omega singing and snow coming down from the ceiling.”

Starting Saturday and twice a day, we begin our dive into Dave’s top six rated matches of the year, all above the ***** mark.

Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of 2018: Five stars, pt. 2

Posted on by Josh Nason

Throughout the week leading into December 31st, we’ll take you back to some of Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of the past year, starting with the five star matches and ending up with a seven star classic.

We kick off with our floor: five star ratings. In 2018, 15 matches got that honor, a mix of New Japan Pro Wrestling, NXT, and even an indie group out of Spain. 

What follows are edited versions of Dave’s writeups of match from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, available in full for subscribers. Also, a big shoutout to Cagematch.net who makes research for this ridiculously easy. Please support them in any way you can.

And now, enjoy looking back at part two of three of Dave’s five star matches from 2018 in the order in which they happened. Based on this list alone, it was a hell of a year. Here’s part 1 if you missed it.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Unsanctioned Match
NXT TakeOver | April 7, 2018

“With two of the best matches in WWE history bookending the card, the 4/7 NXT Takeover show from New Orleans ended up as the best show over WrestleMania weekend, and one could argue the best from an in-ring standpoint in company history. It ended with a dramatic war where Johnny Gargano got his job back in beating Tommaso Ciampa in an unsanctioned match, a brutal and dramatic battle.

This was just a crazy match. Gargano did his spear into the ring, whipped Ciampa over the barricade, and followed with a running dive over the barricade. Ciampa suplexed Gargano off the table to the floor. Ciampa then back suplexed Gargano onto another table. Gargano powerbombed Ciampa off the apron onto the floor after the mats were removed. Fans chanted “you deserve it” at Ciampa who then brought in a crutch from a planted fan at ringside. They had a tug-of-war over the crutch that Gargano won, and he hit Ciampa’s stomach, back and head with it. Gargano tried another spear into the ring but got caught with a knee. Ciampa did a power bomb for a near fall. Gargano got the Gargano Escape on for the first time. Because this was a non-sanctioned match, apparently that meant no rope breaks. Ciampa escaped by raking the eyes.

Gargano came back with punch after punch until Ciampa hit a low blow, a crutch shot to the back, and a power bomb into double knees. Gargano came back with a lawn dart spot, throwing Ciampa’s head into an exposed turnbuckle. Gargano hit two superkicks but Ciampa kicked out. After several more near falls, Ciampa pulled off his brace and his sleeve to expose his knee. Gargano got the crutch and was about to hit him with it. Ciampa begged off and Gargano wouldn’t hit him. Ciampa’s right eye was all swollen by this point. Ciampa then tired to hit Gargano with the crutch, but Gargano put on the Gargano Escape and used Ciampa’s knee brace around his throat to give it more pressure and get the submission, the picture of which you can see above.”

The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong) vs. Trent Seven and Tyler Bate
NXT Tag Team Titles
NXT TV Tapings | June 21, 2018 (airdate July 11, 2018)

“The show featured the best match in a long time, perhaps ever, on the NXT television show with Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly regaining the tag titles over Trent Seven & Tyler Bate. I gave this match ***** as it was that great, the second best tag team match I’ve seen this year behind only Omega & Ibushi vs. Young Bucks. The full on seriousness of this match made every twist and turn mean something and nothing felt like it was done out of context. The basic format worked because of the story and while there were some cool moves, it was more about drama than moves or spots.

The crowd was electric by the end, the storytelling was excellent, and the finish of throwing in the towel because Bate was concerned for his partner who wouldn’t give up would often be used as a heel move but the announcers got it over as a face move, because the build to the finish made that the natural context ending and not a fake way out. The crowd kept chanting “Mustache Mountain/Undisputed” for minutes on end which was unique but also wasn’t reacting to what was going on. But once they stopped, they reacted to everything. This was classic storytelling.

O’Reilly & Strong kept working on Seven’s legit bad left knee, selling like he was Tanahashi, and went for a hot tag but O’Reilly pulled Bate off the apron. They kept working on Seven’s knee. The second time he went for a tag to Bate, O’Reilly kicked Bate off the apron and put him in a heel hook. Finally Bate got the hot tag and went crazy. He did a giant swing and airplane spin at the same time on both guys. It was great hot tag and he got some near falls. Seven was selling his knee but wanted to tag in. Bate wouldn’t tag him in, seeing his partner was hurt. Strong kept working over Bate, who wouldn’t tag out. Seven finally tagged himself in and got a lot of offense in on both guys. Seven was limping around, including giving Strong a lariat.

Seven tried a torture rack but his knee gave out. Strong then chop blocked him and put him in the Stronghold. Bate made the save. O’Reilly knee dropped onto Seven’s bad knee and put him in a heel hook. Seven wouldn’t quit and both ended up slapping each other back and forth on the ground. O’Reilly went for a double kneebar. Seven wasn’t going to quit. Bate picked up a towel. He kept hovering between throwing in the towel while O’Reilly kept the submission on Seven who wouldn’t submit. Finally Bate threw in the towel.

Very often a finish like that, particularly in a U.S. match, wouldn’t work since you need a legit feel to the match to do it. But, it worked here.”

Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito
NJPW G1 Climax | July 15, 2018

“The thing notable here was the conditioning of these guys going so fast for so long while it didn’t turn into a numbing sprint. The crowd was so into this because of both the personalities and the work. Omega gave Naito a back suplex on the apron. Omega gave him a Frankensteiner out of nowhere. Naito blocked a Terminator dive and used a tornado DDT. Omega used a sliding kick that sent Naito over the barricade and then did a springboard plancha several rows deep into the stands. It was really amazing. He went for a missile dropkick but Naito got up and crotched him on the top rope. Naito went for a Frankensteiner off the top but Omega reversed and hit a snap dragon and a doctor bomb.

Naito went for a German suplex, Omega landed on his feet and hit a V Trigger to the back. Omega went for the One Winged Angel and Naito escaped with a reverse huracanrana. Naito hit a Frankensteiner off the top an Gloria for a near fall. Omega was back with a spinning heel kick and a V trigger to the back fo the head. He teased a dragon superplex but Naito blocked. Naito used a power bomb off the top rope and a destino, but Omega kicked out. Omega finally won with a Jay driller, a V trigger and the One Winged Angel.”

Kenny Omega vs. Hirooki Goto
NJPW G1 Climax | July 19, 2018

“Omega hit a huracanrana out of nowhere. Goto blocked the Terminator dive. Omega set up a crazy springboard plancha with Goto a few rows deep. Goto grabbed a chair and threw it at Omega and hit him squarely, knocking him off the ropes. The timing to pull that off was incredible. Omega could only balance for a split second and Goto had to throw the chair at his head (Omega actually blocked it with his hands while still balancing) from a few rows deep to hit him in the head at that second. The crowd booed heavily as they wanted to see the move. Goto hit a GTR on the floor. They were fighting in the bleachers and Omega slammed Goto on the wooden permanent benches at Korakuen Hall. Omega then did a moonsault off the stair banister while Goto was in the wooden bleachers. Omega did sick chops and Goto was back with a Saito suplex and an ushigoroshi.

Goto went for a German suplex, Omega landed on his feet and hit the V trigger. Goto came back and went to the top rope, but Omega hit a running V trigger and Goto sold it like he was knocked out. This was tremendous. Omega went for a muscle buster top rope superplex but Goto reversed into a code red off the top rope. They traded hard elbows and Omega hit the snap dragon suplex but Goto back came with a lariat. Omega kicked out of shoten kai. There was molten heat at this point. Omega then won after a jumping V trigger, an ushigoroshi, another V trigger and the One Winged Angel. Just incredible.”

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hirooki Goto
NJPW G1 Climax | July 21, 2018

“This was just all action and hard hitting from start-to-finish. Everything was hard and it was non-stop. They’d hit each other and stay up. They kept hitting super hard clotheslines and neither would go down. They did all their big spots like Ishii’s delayed superplex and Goto’s ushigoroshi. Goto clotheslined him out of his boots. Ishii got out of the GTR and put Goto in the dragon sleeper. Ishii hit a Saito suplex but as he went for the brainbuster, Goto hit the shoten kai and Ishii kicked out. They ran at each other with head-butts to the others’ shoulder until Ishii hit the sliding D and brainbuster for the pin.”

Keep watching for our Best of 2018 lookbacks all week.

Dave Meltzer’s top matches of 2018: Five stars, pt. 1

Posted on by Josh Nason

Throughout the week leading into December 31st, we’ll take you back to some of Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of the past year, starting with the five star matches and ending up with a seven star classic.

We kick off with our floor: five star ratings. In 2018, 15 matches got that honor, a mix of New Japan Pro Wrestling, NXT, and even an indie group out of Spain. 

What follows are edited versions of Dave’s writeups of match from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, available in full for subscribers. Also, a big shoutout to Cagematch.net who makes research for this ridiculously easy. Please support them in any way you can.

And now, enjoy looking back at the first part of three of Dave’s five star matches from 2018 in the order in which they happened. Based on this list alone, it was a hell of a year.

Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega
NJPW U.S. Championship | No DQ
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 | January 4, 2018

“Wrestle Kingdom 12, headlined by Kazuchika Okada’s retaining the IWGP title over Tetsuya Naito and Kenny Omega beating Chris Jericho in a U.S. title match was the biggest non-WWE pro wrestling event on a worldwide basis since the collapse of WCW.

The appearance of Jericho brought a new fan base that watched new Japan for the first time, either on New Japan World, AXS TV, or through other means. It wasn’t just the idea that a WWE star was facing a New Japan star in the “Alpha vs. Omega” match, but the brilliance in which the angle played out. You could have a bigger WWE star like Roman Reigns, John Cena, or Brock Lesnar face a New Japan star, and it’s extremely doubtful they’d have drawn the same money just because the angles and storylines wouldn’t have been as good. It wasn’t WWE vs. New Japan that was the main draw, although it was an underlying theme. It was more a newly-reinvented Jericho and the series of angles that built to the match, combined with Omega becoming such a strong underground draw in the U.S. It was also the work of serious hard promotion.

In many ways, it was a career climax for Jericho. He’s been in tons of big shows before, headlining many PPVs in WWE. He was a key part of several WrestleManias and in the main event position in one, in 2002, with HHH, although the real main event on that show was Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock. Nevertheless, with the show billed as a double main event, Jericho did join only Ric Flair and Brock Lesnar as men who have headlined both a New Japan Tokyo Dome show (Hulk Hogan headlined an SWS show in that building and was on a few New Japan shows, but never in the main event) and a WrestleMania.”

Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas
NXT Championship
NXT TakeOver | January 27, 2018

“Several months ago, I saw Andrade Cien Almas and Johnny Gargano work the opening match at an NXT house show in San Jose and they had one of the best WWE house matches I’d seen in years. Reports of their matches from other cities was similar.

The idea that the two would get to work in a main event position on a TakeOver show was as close to a guarantee of a great match and the probable WWE match of the weekend if not the pro wrestling match of the weekend. But it delivered all of that and more in a classic that ended when Almas drove the back of Gargano’s head into the ring post with double knees on the apron, and followed with his second hammerlock DDT for the pin.

Gargano’s selling and ability to engage the crowd was really the story of the match. While Almas was outstanding, and has completely turned around his WWE fortunes since being put with Zelina Vega, it was Gargano’s crowd connection that made it special.

It becomes an interesting question of what is next for Gargano because Sami Zayn and Bayley were the last NXT stars to have that kind of a crowd reaction and both sputtered as babyfaces on the main roster. It was also notable that Gargano wasn’t put in the Royal Rumble, where he’d have torn the house down if he had come out.

This was really an incredible, almost flawless match.”

Golden Lovers (Omega/Ibushi) vs. Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson)
NJPW Strong Style Evolved | March 25, 2018

“It was the main event that stole the show. It was a unique match, because from a storytelling standpoint, with the pained facial expressions and mixed feelings by Kenny Omega in particular, and Matt Jackson to a degree, it in that realm was the closest thing to that type of a match since the Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair match at the 2008 WrestleMania. But this match was athletically and technically in a different world from that one. The match story was that Matt Jackson refused to lose even taking incredible punishment on his injured back. Omega had mixed feelings about hurting his longtime friend. Reality also struck in the match as Ibushi may have suffered a concussion. He completely missed his spot on the double golden triangle moonsault off the middle rope. Omega hit his on Nick.

Then he tried to improvise doing it off the apron and Matt wasn’t there. He eventually just threw Matt down. Then came the “You can’t escape” spot, but Ibushi hit the moonsault off the middle rope after the double fireman’s carry. Omega then went for a moonsault but Ibushi didn’t get out of the way in time and they bonked heads. Omega ended up with swelling under his right eye and at first thought he broke his orbital bone. Ibushi may have gotten hurt on that spot as well, but ended with a busted lip. With Matt selling a very legit back injury (he also had a neck injury stemming from his last match in New York) it was up to Nick to carry the load when it comes to all the high flying spots the team is known for and while Omega and Matt were the emotional stars, Nick was the athletic star of the match.

After 39:21, Omega & Ibushi both pinned Matt after the Golden trigger, a double knee strike. Cody then came out and yelled at the Young Bucks for losing. He threw down Nick. Omega & Ibushi ran in and chased Cody away. Omega shook hands with Nick, but Matt refused to shake Omega’s hand. Omega then closed the show, saying that this wasn’t a happy world, but the Golden Lovers are back to stay. He said that he would make sure both he and Ibushi were in a big match when they return (the Cow Palace show), and said people like Cody are only good at talking and that he would beat the ever loving poop out of him.”

Marty Scurll vs. Will Ospreay
NJPW Junior Heavyweight Championship
NJPW Sakura Genesis | April 1, 2018

“Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll have had one of the best in-ring rivalries in wrestling over the past several years. It was their series in the U.K., where Scurll won every time in some of the best bouts seen in that country, that, along with Ospreay’s loss to Kazuchika Okada, really put him on the map as one of the best young talents.

On 4/1, the two had what would be their biggest singles match to date, a battle for Ospreay’s IWGP jr. title at Sumo Hall, in one of the key matches of the Sakura Genesis show.

The match in many ways was not just a match of the year candidate, but the first match this year to in some ways rival with Okada-Kenny Omega level of 2017.

On the flip side, in going more than 30:00 of a match where the story was Scurll working over Ospreay’s neck, Ospreay took some dangerous looking falls that were concerning. It seemed to continue the narrative that Ospreay is headed to be this generation’s Dynamite Kid, an incredible talent whose style of giving so much of himself in the ring led to his body turning on him at a young age, and a short career.

Late in the match, Ospreay went for a Spanish fly off the apron. In doing so, instead of landing on the floor, his head hit the apron at a bad angle. It was more than just concerning. In the locker room, the talent, those who had seen Yoshitatsu’s career nearly end with a broken neck a few years back when he took an A.J. Styles Styles clash wrong, got flashbacks of that. At press time, it appears Ospreay’s injuries weren’t serious, since he sent word that he’s going to do his complete WrestleMania week schedule.

Ospreay continued the match and didn’t feel badly in the ring, continuing to sell the neck as part of the match story, and working with his head all bloody. If anything, the concern over the injury and visual of the blood created more drama to many, and scared many others. I’m not sure being scared for someone’s safety and long-term is the kind of emotion one is looking for, but it’s the one he’s getting and it’s the same feeling I had when Ospreay faced Hiromu Takahashi in a title defense. You have the conflict because the matches are incredible, but if you say they’re incredible it feels like it’s encouraging those type of risks.

The reality is if you took the really dangerous spots out of Ospreay’s matches with Takahashi and Scurll, they would still be two of this year’s best matches. Yet, on the flip side, what will make people remember Ospreay vs. Scurll more than the plethora of incredible matches pro wrestling now produces on a weekly basis is that Spanish fly spot, and Ospreay continuing while being bloodied up.”

Adam Cole vs. EC3 vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream
NXT North American Championship Ladder Match
NXT TakeOver | April 7, 2018

“The storyline on EC 3 is that he comes from a family that owns a number of restaurants and other commercial properties, so he’s doing the same rich kid character as in TNA. They tried to initially put him over strong to the audience as a heel, particularly since they knew this crowd would never boo him. The place went nuts when Ricochet was introduced last. The crowd was jacked before the match ever started, and they stayed hot throughout.

I won’t go so far to say it was the best ladder match period. There were risky spots for sure, and it was very physical, but previous ladder matches that had more dangerous stunts. But this topped it with the athletic big men in Sullivan and Dain, the ridiculous athleticism of Ricochet, and Cole came across as a real superstar personality wise with this crowd.”

A-Kid vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
White Wolf Wrestling | April 14, 2018

Outside putting over the match on Wrestling Observer Radio and briefly in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave didn’t do a full review as he saw the match months after it happened. You can watch the match free on YouTube.

Watch for more Best of 2018 on the website all week long.