Wrestling with Work #26 (NJPW STRONG, Raw)

This is a ratings-heavy edition, as most of it has to do with the NJPW STRONG event over the weekend. I watched a fair amount of the matches, not all, and most of what I saw was fine-to-good. I have no strong feelings on anything I saw there. Scroll down for the ratings and for the one match I had something to say about.

Ratings

Just 5 Guys vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (NJPW Super Jr. Tag League Road To Power Struggle 2023 Night 7)

Rating: ***1/4

Intergalactic Jet Setters vs Ichiban Sweet Boys (NJPW Super Jr. Tag League Road To Power Struggle 2023 Night 7)

Rating: ***1/4

El Desperado & Master Wato vs Catch 22 (NJPW Super Jr. Tag League Road To Power Struggle 2023 Night 7)

Rating: ***1/2

Satoshi Kojima vs Fred Rosser vs Jeff Cobb vs Alex Coughlin (NJPW STRONG Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2023)

Rating: ***

Atlantis, Atlantis Jr, Mistico, & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tiger Mask, Soberano Jr, Rocky Romero, & Adrian Quest (NJPW STRONG Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2023)

Rating: ***1/4

NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship: Giulia (c) vs Hyan (NJPW STRONG Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2023)

Rating: ***

NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championships: Hikuleo & El Phantasmo (c) vs Lance Archer & Alex Zayne

Rating: **1/2

NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship: Eddie Kingston (c) vs HENARE (NJPW STRONG Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2023)

Rating: ***1/4

Reviews

Alpha Academy vs The Creed Brothers (WWE Monday Night Raw 10/30/23)

I was looking forward to this one on the competitors alone, and it’s certainly a fine first outing for the Creeds on the main roster, but they’re still rather unrefined and not always in an endearing way. On commentary, Michael Cole compared the Creeds to the Steiners which is only apt in that both teams had collegiate backgrounds and often had moves or sequences that make me grimace with worry. There’s a lot of potential there athletically and as personas for the Creeds, and this match has some fun, big spots, but they feel underdone in terms of how to put a match together and even when it comes to safety in the ring at times. Moves like these from NXT to main roster are no longer a sure bet thanks to the developmental third brand being the rockiest it’s ever been, and I hope this isn’t an official call-up for the Creeds just yet.

Rating: ***

The blog be bloggin’. See ya!

Wrestling with Work #25 (Weekend catch-up)

I had a majorly busy weekend, so returning to the wrestling schedule is a welcome bit of normalcy for me. Let’s see what happened over the weekend…

Ratings

Dalton Castle vs Anthony Henry (ROH on HonorClub 10/26/23)

Rating: **1/2

Gravity vs Slim J vs Blake Christian vs Gringo Loco (ROH on HonorClub 10/26/23)

Rating: **1/2

Intergalactic Jet Setters vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (NJPW Super Junior Tag League 2023 Road To Power Struggle Night 5)

Rating: ***1/4

Bullet Club War Dogs vs El Desperado & Master Wato (NJPW Super Junior Tag League 2023 Road To Power Struggle Night 5)

Rating: ***1/2

Bullet Club War Dogs vs Just 5 Guys (NJPW Super Junior Tag League 2023 Road To Power Struggle Night 6)

Rating: ***

Los Ingobernables de Japon vs Catch 22 (NJPW Super Junior Tag League 2023 Road To Power Struggle Night 6)

Rating: ***1/4

Intergalactic Jet Setters vs El Desperado & Master Wato (NJPW Super Junior Tag League 2023 Road To Power Struggle Night 6)

Rating: ***1/2

Reviews

Angelico vs Metalik (ROH on HonorClub 10/26/23)

I appreciate ROH getting as much meat off the Angelico bone as possible currently. Sure, it’s Angelico, but he’s one of the many lower-to-mid-card talent since AEW’s inception that felt like they could have used more of a look in than “wins squash matches.” I imagine the upcoming Kingston match will be a one-and-done, but while we’re on the road there, might as well make the most of it.

Rating: **1/4

Grudge Match: Mike(?) Santana vs Ortiz (AEW Rampage 10/27/23)

I can’t help but look at this as a disappointment. Santana & Ortiz were a fairly hot early signing for AEW’s tag division, but never exactly got their moment in the sun as a team. Their association with Jericho did elevate their standing amongst fans and both continued to show potential in occasional singles opportunities and promos, but they would only become victims of one of AEW’s worst habits, the stop-start booking. Now, these former friends and partners hate each other’s guts and want to settle it in the ring, but it doesn’t exactly feel like the dissolution of a brotherhood in any sense.

It’s not so much that the build has been inconsistent for this match, as there has been interaction and promos over the past couple of months, but it has never come across (to me, at least) as important or even all that heated. Mike Santana (weird name) and Ortiz talk the talk, but something about it never felt like a top priority. Then, once it finally got in the ring, it was just a fairly good match as opposed to a heated friend-vs-friend confrontation. Both are capable performers and put on an entertaining match, but I wasn’t exactly feeling the hate or the animosity radiating off of them. Maybe it’s my fault for not watching the 25 minute YouTube video about their feud, but this ended up being just a match, and it kinda bums me out.

I continue to hope for the best out of both these guys, but it still doesn’t feel like either one will be a priority any time soon.

Rating: ***1/4

Konosuke Takeshita vs Kyle Fletcher (AEW Rampage 10/27/23)

I wish this match was a bit more of Takeshita beating the shit out of Fletcher. That’s not an insult to either, I just think it’s cool when Konosuke Takeshita beats the shit out of people, and Fletcher is good at getting his ass kicked.

Rating: ***1/4

Jay White vs AR Fox (AEW Collision 10/28/23)

Of the ***1/4 matches on AEW this week, this is probably my favorite, a very solid and sound midcard match between two guys who can go. There’s less to complain about or to be left wanting of, it worked well to keep Jay heated but give Fox a bit of shine (speaking of stop-start).

Rating: ***1/4

AEW Women’s World Championship Fright Night Fight: Hikaru Shida (c) vs Abadon (AEW Collision 10/28/23)

One thing about me is that I am an Abadon homer. Ever since their debut on Dark a few years ago, I have always made time for the Abadon squash match, simply because I think their character is cool and I appreciate greatly how closely they adhere to their own performance. This was a fun and silly holiday plunder match with two of my favorites in the women’s division; it wasn’t anything to write home about, technically, but I got what I wanted. Using Double Bubble, the hardest candy known to man, is a well-considered detail for that spot.

Rating: **3/4

AEW World Championship: MJF (c) vs Kenny Omega (AEW Collision 10/28/23)

This is the MJF/Kenny Omega match; nothing more, nothing less. Watching these matches a couple of days removed means that I get to see the instant reactions to them, as well as the reappraisal after initial thought. This was bound to be praised to the heavens by many at first, and I have seen some critique after the clarion call of support for it, but ultimately, I think this is what it is.

MJF and Omega are two very flashy, technically-sound in-ring wrestlers. This match was always going to have a level of quality to it from that perspective that is, to me, undeniable. I read a great Tweet over the weekend about how MJF’s style is greedy in that he tries to be every type of wrestler at once, a point that I agree with, but he’s young enough and seemingly focused enough to mostly pull it off at times (which can make it all the more frustrating). As well, despite his age, Omega is still Omega, and has a big match mode where he can still absolutely bring it.

Kenny is also someone who doesn’t always have great ideas, but seems to do well in leading younger talent to a better match. In that way, this match reminds me of my favorite Omega match of this year, him against Ospreay at Wrestle Kingdom. I remember mildly dreading that match before it happened, but as I recall, it ended up being a fairly focused, if long, match that told its story well and kept the indulgent spots limited. This Collision match feels similar, it just doesn’t have as good of a run-up as the Wrestle Kingdom match, and little in its proceedings especially reflected the incoming angle (MJF overtaking Omega’s world title record).

That’s what ultimately holds it back, despite being quite good: Despite the “[x] days, bitch” aspect of it, nothing about this match demonstrated to me that this was anything other than “big main event match for a world title.” That’s a fine story, tale as old as time, but there’s nothing special about it. Omega and MJF had exactly the match you picture in your head when you think of the moves and sequences they could do together. Good on them, it worked fine; it’s just not anything beyond that.

Rating: ****

Phew, okay, now I’m almost caught up. Catch-up continues tomorrow with the NJPW STRONG show…

Wrestling with Work #24 (Dynamite, NJPW, Wrestling REVOLVER)

Sounds like Dynamite was good last night, let’s see if there’s anything worth writing home (blog) about.

Ratings

Dynamite Diamond Ring Final: MJF vs Juice Robinson (AEW Dynamite 10/25/23)

Rating: ***1/4

HOOK & Rob Van Dam vs Dark Order (AEW Dynamite 10/25/23)

Rating: **1/2

Miyu Yamashita vs Allie Katch (Wrestling REVOLVER REVOLVER THURSDAY 4/6/23)

Rating: **1/2

Just 5 Guys vs Catch 22 (NJPW Super Jr Tag League 2023 Road To Power Struggle Night 4)

Rating: ***1/4

Bullet Club War Dogs vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (NJPW Super Jr Tag League 2023 Road To Power Struggle Night 4)

Rating: ***

Master Wato & El Desperado vs Ichiban Sweet Boys (NJPW Super Jr Tag League 2023 Road To Power Struggle 2023 Night 4)

Rating: ***1/2

Reviews

CHAOS vs Blackpool Combat Club (AEW Dynamite 10/25/23)

Easily the match of the night from Dynamite, and it’s a bit of that ol’ CHIKARA magic when Cassidy and Claudio go at it here. Claudio’s reputation as one of wrestling’s best bases is upheld here, as some of the sequences he does with Orange are unexpected in the best way, just marvelous to watch. I also appreciated the furthering of the Dragon/Okada rivalry, as well as the novelty of seeing Okada do his thing on American TV. A very solid tag affair that leaves me hoping for singles spin-offs of both pairings.

Rating: ***1/2

Bullet Club War Dogs vs Intergalactic Jet Setters (NJPW Super Jr Tag League 2023 Road To Power Struggle Night 3)

Tied with the main event of Night 4 as the best of this tournament so far, but I’m giving an edge to this one because it wasn’t as expected that these two teams would have this kind of match together. I like 3/4s of the guys in this match and they do their best here, especially as this is the IJS getting a key win over the champs, so Knight bumps his ass off for the War Dogs. There’s some good close calls near the end and the finish is a believable flash pin moment that helps to sell the victory. Really good stuff.

Rating: ***1/2

I’ll be busy this coming weekend and change, so I’ll be holding off on these for a bit. See ya when I see ya!

Wrestling with Work #23 (Raw, NXT, NJPW, AJPW)

A bit of a lighter docket today, since I am cutting way down on the SJTL matches from here on.

Ratings

Master Wato & El Desperado vs Titan & BUSHI (NJPW Super Jr. Tag League 2023 Road To Power Struggle Night 3)

Rating: ***1/4

The New Day vs Alpha Academy (WWE Monday Night Raw 10/23/23)

Rating: ***

Jey Uso vs Damian Priest (WWE Monday Night Raw 10/23/23)

Rating: **1/2

Reviews

Sami Zayn vs Drew McIntyre (WWE Monday Night Raw 10/23/23)

Very solid TV match. Drew is a pliable clay for guys like Sami, who just need a decent length of time to make a compelling match.

Rating: ***1/4

Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs Lyra Valkyria (NXT 10/24/23)

I wonder sometimes about my relationship with the current WWE product. I see no end of people online whom I respect and admire say how it does nothing for them, at very least, while I find myself still returning to it week after week. Now, when I say “returning to it,” I can’t say that I’m exactly fulfilled by the television product front-to-back, but I still watch the matches of my personal favorite performers, and I find that the in-ring quality of WWE recently is at least up from when I started watching, and potentially the strongest it’s been in recent memory.

However, this week was a wake-up call to remind me that WWE “excelling” at anything is the exception, not the rule. This match between Becky and Lyra is as formula WWE as you can get, with the added negatives of it being on WWE’s least-consistent weekly show, and it being in service of a direction that has me a bit confused. Valkyria seems to have been a pet project of WWE since the days of NXT UK, but one that always seemed like they were just about to get to, never actually committing to. The pandemic certainly didn’t help any momentum she looked to gather, but for the past 3-4 years, I just haven’t seen it with her across the bigger opportunities she’s gotten. She never stood out in a way that served her character or style or anything, and seemed destined to be slotted in a mid-card challenger role.

To have her go over Becky somewhat ignominiously here is a bit of a head-scratcher, as is giving her this superhero treatment that feels at odds with how she’s come off at every turn. She gets to kick out of Becky’s finisher, Becky does NXT face (she is the worst culprit of this) and sells for her sluggish offense like a cartoon, and she rolls her up for the win. It remains to be seen what the direction is here, but I don’t exactly see how this will pan out positively going forward. If anything, this feels like the one title win Valkyria will get so that commentary can continually bring up the fact that she’s “a former NXT Women’s Champion” while she gets beat by everyone else, a kind of legitimacy to the paper tiger.

Anyway, this was not good and I just don’t get it.

Rating: **1/2

Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Voodoo Murders (AJPW Rise Up Tour 2005 Day 10)

I watch a lot of random matches that I find off of YouTube channels, and it can be hard sometimes to understand the context of a certain wrestler or rivalry in a particular match. This was almost the case here, but thankfully, wrestling took my hand and led me through a great little match.

I know enough to know that Kensuke Sasaki is a legendary figure in puroresu, and that Nakajima (the one I’m most familiar with) was his protoge for a long time before striking out on his own. The most I know about YASSHI and Shuji Kondo pretty much begins and ends with Fire Pro Wrestling Returns, and Kondo is one of my favorite wrestlers to play as in that game. After a cursory Wikipedia glance, I soon realized that as long as I know that “Voodoo Murders heel, Sasaki and Nakajima babyfaces,” I was good to go.

This is classic wrestling storytelling in a compact, fun package. Nakajima gets busted up by the VMs and is bleeding like mad. Sasaki is a powerhouse and can take on both, but it’s basically 3-on-1 thanks to interference on the outside, although Sasaki’s wife Akira Hokuto does her best to even the odds. Nakajima eventually rallies and does a bit of damage, but it’s too much for the heroes and the youngster gets hit with a brutal lariat, dropping the fall to the Murders. The VMs are great at maximizing the heel advantage and are so slimy, even getting pot shots in on Hokuto for good measure. Sasaki believably gets cut off by them at points, but also tellingly refuses to do the legwork for Nakajima. Even though the kid is fucked, Sasaki tags him in to get his pride back, and it’s a cool detail that told me more about their relationship than I knew before.

This isn’t life-changing or anything, but it was good fun and more of that good ol’ in-ring, show-don’t-tell story construction.

Rating: ***1/2

See you again soon!

Wrestling with Work #22 (DPW, Impact, Super Jr. Tag League)

Phew, man, a full schedule thanks to the first 2 nights of the Super Jr. Tag League. I love these little tournaments, especially focused around the junior heavyweight talent. Let’s go!!

Ratings

Knockouts Tag Team Championship: MK Ultra (c) vs Deonna Purrazzo & Tasha Steelz (Impact Wrestling Main Event Mondays 10/23/23)

Rating: **1/2

Worlds Tag Team Championship: Violence Is Forever (c) vs CDK (DPW x Gatoh Move Tokyo Crossover Night 1 4/25/23)

Rating: ***1/2

Intergalactic Jet Setters vs Just 5 Guys (NJPW Super Jr. Tag League 2023 Road to Power Struggle Night 1)

Rating: ***1/4

Bullet Club War Dogs vs YOH & MUSASHI (NJPW Super Jr. Tag League 2023 Road to Power Struggle Night 1)

Rating: **3/4

Ryusuke Taguchi & The DKC vs Titan & BUSHI (NJPW Super Jr. Tag League 2023 Road to Power Struggle Night 2)

Rating: ***

Just 5 Guys vs Ichiban Sweet Boys (NJPW Super Jr. Tag League 2023 Road to Power Struggle Night 2)

Rating: ***

YOH & MUSASHI vs El Desperado & Master Wato (NJPW Super Jr. Tag League 2023 Road to Power Struggle Night 2)

Rating: ***

Bullet Club War Dogs vs Catch 22 (NJPW Super Jr. Tag League 2023 Road to Power Struggle Night 2)

Rating: ***1/4

Reviews

Just 5 Guys vs Boltin Oleg & Oskar Leube (NJPW Super Jr. Tag League 2023 Road to Power Struggle Night 1)

Wanted to watch this to check in on the two Young Lions, as well as stay abreast of how Yuya is doing back in NJPW. Oleg and Leube are friggin’ huge, so it’s funny to see the lanky Leube tower over the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, while Oleg is a meat castle of a man. I’m still looking for input on the latter, but Leube seems to have a lot of promise for where he is right now. Keep it up, boys!

Rating: **1/2

Ichiban Sweet Boys vs Catch 22 (NJPW Super Jr. Tag League 2023 Road to Power Struggle Night 1)

I’m pleased that my boy Robbie Eagles doesn’t have to keep up the team with Tiger Mask, and I’d much rather see the continued development of Kosei Fujita in a setting like this. Right now, Fujita has good fire and snappy offense, so I’m excited to see how the TMDK association will pan out for him over the next year or so. Fun match here, good kick-off to the proceedings; Catch 22 are a great team and always deliver in one way or another.

Rating: ***

The DKC & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Master Wato & El Desperado (NJPW Super Jr. Tag League 2023 Road to Power Struggle Night 1)

The Wato/Desperado team is a fun prospect and it seems to have gotten off on the right foot here. Wato is trying to be as friendly as possible to a guy who has said multiple times hates his guts and wants nothing to do with him. If Wato wasn’t already the BOSJ winner, they’d probably be my pick to win, but I’m interested to see how they’ll go with this through line. Hey, it’s a funny bit, and there’s a lot of these shows to fill, so whatever helps ’em!

Rating: ***

World TV Championship: Zack Sabre Jr (c) vs Boltin Oleg (NJPW Super Jr. Tag League 2023 Road to Power Struggle Night 2)

This was a big test for Oleg and, for where he is, I’d say he passed. He’s lucky now, in that the bar for success with Young Lions is so low that, as long as he doesn’t embarrass himself, it’s a win. Not only did he not do that, but he did a good job of holding his own and taking advantage of how much ZSJ gave him here.

Zack bumped like mad for this kid and it helped to emphasize the physical gulf between them. Zack is the noodle man, obviously, but Oleg is a hulk of a Young Lion, not all that far removed from Katsuya Kitamura (RIP). He looks like a jacked-up ogre, so it’s believable that someone of his station would just throw Zack around, and Zack is very generous to do so here. If anything, Zack almost gave him too much, narrowly squeaking out a submission win after getting bodied for 75% of the match.

Oleg has some personality to him along with his presence, so I’ll be watching his development with great interest. Between him and Leube, there’s an abundance of huge white boys that could become something for NJPW before too long.

Rating: ***1/4

I think I’ll be a bit more discerning with my SJTL matches after today, this was a lot to watch in essentially one go. See ya tomorrow!

Wrestling with Work #21 (WWE, AEW, Impact weekend shows)

A big ol’ collection of this weekend’s matches, we’ll see which one ends up being the best…

Ratings

Bryan Danielson vs Andrade El Idolo (AEW Collision 10/21/23)

Rating: ***3/4

X Division Championship: Chris Sabin (c) vs KENTA (Impact Wrestling Bound For Glory 2023)

Rating: ***

Impact Tag Team Championship: The Rascalz (c) vs ABC (Impact Wrestling Bound For Glory 2023)

Rating: ***

Reviews

WWE Women’s Championship: Iyo Sky (c) vs Charlotte Flair (WWE Smackdown 10/20/23)

Personally, I’m a fan of a champion being featured on TV and having consistently good matches. Iyo is certainly not the only person in WWE doing that right now, but when it comes to that company, you can’t take it for granted.

Rating: ***1/2

2 Out of 3 Falls Match: Mistico vs Rocky Romero (AEW Rampage 10/20/23)

Lucha is my biggest blind spot as a wrestling fan, so I’m grateful for any direction towards it that following American wrestling affords me. I ended up getting into NJPW and puroresu at large almost by accident, by finding illegally uploaded shows on YouTube and just filling in the blanks as I went. It’s not an ideal approach, although I did have fun doing it, but now that I’m older and have less free time, I find it harder to do the same for CMLL, AAA, and Lucha history. If nothing else, this match made me do a bit of research about Mistico and CMLL.

I’m certainly happy that Mistico has at least one opportunity here to leave his previous US excursion in the past. This match with Rocky is a fairly good TV match; nothing especially amazing, as far as I could see, but Mistico carried himself well and came across like someone special (helped by his presentation and commentary talking points). Perhaps 2024 will be the year I find out more about wrestling south of the border…

Rating: ***1/4

Memphis Street Fight: Eddie Kingston vs Jeff Jarrett (AEW Collision 10/21/23)

This match has the greatest 5 second stretch of wrestling in 2023: Tony Schiavone refers to Karen Jarrett as “an evil bitch;” Jay Lethal hits a cutter to Kingston off the stage through a table; Tony Schiavone cries, “Holy smokes!” An absolute blast from start to finish.

Rating: ****

AEW World Tag Team Championship: Ricky Starks & Big Bill (c) vs Blackpool Combat Club (AEW Collision 10/21/23)

A really good tag main event that earned its length. Yuta is believable and fiery in the babyface-in-peril role, and you want a heel team like Bill and Rick to talk as much shit as they do. At some point, I thought to myself, “Big Bill is a good tag wrestler, why hasn’t he done that before?” and then had myself a wee little giggle.

Rating: ***3/4

AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs John Silver (AEW Battle of the Belts VIII)

As a former CHIKARA freak, I was always going to watch Fire Ant vs The Shard 2K23. Orange is back to his routine of solid TV defenses, and Silver is always game in these rare singles occasions. The stop-start nature of Dark Order’s involvement in AEW and ROH has worn me out over the past couple of years, and as such, there’s no bigger flatline to my interest than anything they are involved in. Hey, every promotion needs a low-card comedy gimmick, but they don’t even do comedy anymore, so Silver, Reynolds, and Uno have never felt less necessary than right now.

Rating: ***

AEW TBS Championship: Kris Statlander (c) vs Willow Nightingale (AEW Battle of the Belts VIII)

It speaks to Willow’s career-long character work as the bubbly, uber-positive babyface that seeing her work heel here feels morally wrong, like something no person should see. It sucks that it’s in front of a visibly yawning crowd, as she and Stat have to pull out every big spot to get them even a little into it, so the match seems worse than it actually is. I watch a lot of these matches on mute normally, but you really aren’t missing anything cutting the sound off for this one; if anything, it’s a bit less sad that way.

Rating: ***

Will Ospreay vs “Speedball” Mike Bailey (Impact Wrestling Bound For Glory 2023)

There’s a few wild moves in the back third of this (Speedball with a snappy hurricanrana pin, top-rope fisherman buster, Ospreay’s head-drop move) that nearly pushed this into 4-star territory, but ultimately, this is exactly what it looks like. I will say, I was afraid that this would be a lot more annoying, as both of these guys have their silly tendencies when allowed to go nuts, but this (by their standards) was fairly restrained. Destined to be loved by everyone looking for this sort of moves-based wrestling, and it’s a good one of those, but I certainly don’t have the feeling for this as I do for the Memphis Street Fight.

Rating: ***3/4

Impact World Championship: Alex Shelley (c) vs Josh Alexander (Impact Wrestling Bound For Glory 2023)

The phrase that occurred to me during this match, regarding Josh Alexander, is “frustratingly consistent.” Since he’s ascended to main event status in Impact over the last couple of years, and not dissimilar to what I said about the Ospreay/Speedball match, you always know what you’re getting with Alexander. A really good-not-great match.

Personally, I prefer the type of match that Alexander has to those out of Ospreay, for example, but I always end up expecting more from Alexander’s performance when I really shouldn’t. His match here with Shelley is full of fluid sequences, it escalates believably, and is ultimately satisfying, but I never end up feeling all that pulled in. Alexander is a great wrestler (as is Shelley), but this was another case of an Alexander match capping at “very good.” Consistency in a performer is great and it is totally working for Josh Alexander, I just need to remind myself to not expect more than that from him.

Rating: ***3/4

The Super Jr. Tag League has already begun, so get ready to see a lot of that in here starting tomorrow. Until then!

Wrestling with Work #20 (Impact, ROH, WWE Evolution, Funk vs Hart)

A few catch-up items before a big weekend, plus a very interesting item from the ol’ Watch Later list.

Ratings

“Speedball” Mike Bailey vs Samuray Del Sol (Impact Wrestling 10/19/23)

Rating: ***1/4

Gravity vs Angelico (ROH on HonorClub 10/19/23)

Rating: ***

Komander vs Metalik (ROH on HonorClub 10/19/23)

Rating: **3/4

Gates of Agony vs The WorkHorsemen vs Action Andretti & Darius Martin (ROH on HonorClub 10/19/23)

Rating: **1/2

Trish Stratus & Lita vs Mickie James & Alicia Fox (WWE Evolution)

Rating: **1/4

Reviews

No DQ Match: Crazzy Steve vs Black Taurus (Impact Wrestling 10/19/23)

Here’s a case of someone I want to like, and someone I want to be elsewhere. I’m actually a pretty good fan of Impact Wrestling since last year, I’ve really enjoyed the wrestling it’s put on and how it’s picked itself up from the floor to become a solid, steady promotion.

There are still some guys who have been there through the tough times, including Crazzy Steve, who is the person I wish I liked more. I think his aesthetic is really interesting, I like the horror references he’s worked into his gear and look, but I have a hard time getting into what he’s doing. I think it’s the common problem where mainstream wrestling can only go so far; as much as he wants to be a horror movie villain, you know he’s not gonna kill anybody or get too bloody, so much like The Fiend character, it’s hard to really suspend disbelief with what he does. He’s also terminally fine as a wrestler, never rising above acceptable.

Frequently rising above acceptable, and directly into my heart, is Black Taurus. Taurus has impressed me from the first time I saw him a few years ago, from basically every aspect of his game. He’s an exciting wrestler who’s fun to watch, his look is awesome, and I enjoy him practically any time I see him. As much as I like Impact, it is still a relatively minor stage in American wrestling, and Taurus is someone that I feel could really turn a lot of heads if only more people saw him. I’m certainly not privy to any backstage or political reasoning why Taurus has not shown up on AEW when many other luchadors have, but I would just love for him to get a great run somewhere that isn’t Impact, as they seem to only want him at a very specific, limited capacity.

Rating: **3/4

No DQ Match: Terry Funk vs Bret Hart (Terry Funk Presents Wrestle Fest: 50 Years Of Funk)

This one is a real vibes-based gem. It’s a curiosity of its time, with ECW’s Terry Funk facing the WWF Champion Bret Hart in a show featuring talent from both shows. Even better, the version I’m watching is recorded on a good-not-great consumer-grade camera, so the whole thing has a yellowed visual that gives it an archival feel when watching it. The mechanics of the match aren’t super impressive to me, but it’s just an interesting collision of two of the all-time greats, gathered together to celebrate Terry Funk, in some of the same footage that you would see later in Beyond The Mat.

Rating: ***1/2

Have a good weekend!

Wrestling with Work #19 (AEW Dynamite, BJW, Bound For Glory 2015, King of the Deathmatches 1995)

Still tweaking some formatting changes, as we enter a big full work day with a lot of wrestling to accompany it.

RATINGS

Penta El Zero Miedo vs Jay White (AEW Dynamite 10/18/23)

Rating: ***

Women’s World Championship Eliminator: Hikaru Shida vs Emi Sakura (AEW Dynamite 10/18/23)

Rating: **3/4

Kenny Omega vs Kyle Fletcher (AEW Dynamite 10/18/23)

Rating: ***

Astronauts vs Crazy Lovers (BJW Saikyou Tag League Final 2022)

Rating: ***1/2

TNA World Tag Team Championship: The Wolves (c) vs Brian Myers & Trevor Lee (TNA Bound For Glory 2015)

Rating: ***1/4

King of the Mountain Championship: Bobby Roode (c) vs Lashley (TNA Bound For Glory 2015)

Rating: ***

King Of The Death Matches 1995 Final No Ropes Barbed Wire Exploding Barbed Wire Boards & Exploding Ring Time Bomb Death Match: Terry Funk vs Cactus Jack (IWA King of the Deathmatch (IWA Japan Kawasaki Dream)

Rating: ***

Reviews

Ultimate X Match for the X Division Championship: Tigre Uno (c) vs Andrew Everett vs DJ Z vs Manik (TNA Bound For Glory 2015)

Not much to say about this, but I did want to note that it’s a real shame that this era of TNA has been memory-holed so hard because Andrew Everett takes one of the most “that had to suck” bumps off the top of the cables I’ve ever seen at the very end. It’s fucked up.

Rating: ***

Women’s Knockout Championship: Gail Kim (c) vs Awesome Kong (TNA Bound For Glory 2015)

Speaking of memory-hole, if you asked me if Gail Kim and Awesome Kong had a match outside of their vaunted mid-2000s feud, I’d say, “I dunno, probably not.” Hell, watching this cold, I thought this might have been a retirement match for Kong, but no, she was active in 2015. I’ll grant you that my memory is poor, but so much of 2010s TNA (post-Hogan) slipped through my mind like a sieve. I never allowed it to keep any traction, because it was TNA and I “didn’t have to.” I probably saved myself a few headaches, but I also think I missed out on some good wrestling, and on seeing future mainstays of wrestling before they caught fire.

At any rate, this is certainly not to the level of their stuff from a decade prior, but Gail and Kong have great chemistry together and are still able to make something happen here. It’s the classic big/little dynamic, with a bit of

Rating: ***1/4

No Disqualification Career Threatening Match: Kurt Angle vs Eric Young (TNA Bound For Glory 2015)

I think most people would say that Kurt Angle’s final run in WWE a few years ago left a bit to be desired, especially considering how limited he had become in the ring, but hey, at least it wasn’t this.

The idea here is that Eric Young is a ruthless psycho who will go out of his way to reaggravate Kurt’s neck injuries, while Kurt fights for his career, in the metaphorical sense and in the sense that it’s part of the match stipulation. Now, Kurt was definitely washed at this point, and considering that he would leave TNA not long after this, it was reasonable to assume that he was basically done. You can see it in his physique, his movement, his age, he just don’t got it no more. It’s fine, it happens.

What I really don’t like is the whole show of it all here. Yes, Kurt is a broken down piece of meat and Eric Young is a real meanie, but Jesus, more than half this match is the histrionics and hand-wringing around Kurt reaggravating his neck after an EY piledriver. This is especially meaningless watching in 2023, but even in its context, this match is a boring, overwrought layup for Kurt, with EY playing the broadest BADDIE possible. Waste of my fuckin’ time.

Rating: *1/2

TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Ethan Carter III (c) vs Drew Galloway vs Matt Hardy (TNA Bound For Glory 2015)

MJF is 2020s EC3, and I’m still not really over that. Now, between the two of them, MJF is the better worker in almost every respect, and history has proven him right, but it’s wild to go back to the heyday of the EC3 character and just see the same beats again in a different guy so soon afterward.

The remixing of past popular wrestlers is a big talking point among fans today, especially with the advent of guys like LA Knight and Ricky Starks (I apologize for putting them in the same sentence), with accusations levied at anyone who remotely resembles the top stars of the past. That’s one thing, but to me, what really sticks in my mind about comparing MJF and EC3 is both how blatant the copy seems, but also, and much like with the above examples, how it ultimately doesn’t matter.

The first time I ever heard of MJF, well before AEW even existed, I just wrote him off as an EC3 knockoff, right down to the name. Watching EC3 in this match, so much of the performance of the character hits the same notes as MJF: Cocky, young, rich heel that is somehow beloved by the crowd; expressive and stooge-like heel character in the ring; they even kind of look similar. As much as guys like Drew Galloway were able to use TNA/Impact as a testing ground for themselves en route to greater success elsewhere, EC3 feels like someone trying the MJF gimmick altogether out before grafting it onto a different, better guy.

And as I’ve said, although it bugs me that I don’t see people talk about this very much (there’s that memory hole again), it really doesn’t matter. Not only has MJF taken this character far beyond where EC3 was ever able to, but in the past several years, EC3 has torpedoed any momentum his career ever had with baffling choices and wrongheaded associations, showing him to be another bust-in-the-making. I don’t really have a grand point to this, I just wanted somewhere to write about these two and their interpretations of the same character, a phenomenon that will always recur in wrestling.

Bad match.

Rating: **

See ya!

Wrestling with Work #18 (Raw, Bound for Glory 2008, WWE, New Texas Pro)

Started this one yesterday, but ended up punting it to account for the extra matches.

Falls Count Anywhere: Ricochet vs Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE Monday Night Raw 10/16/23)

Rating: ***

Unified Tag Team Championship: Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso (c) vs The Judgment Day (WWE Monday Night Raw 10/16/23)

Rating: **3/4

Steel Asylum Match (TNA Bound For Glory 2008)

Rating: **3/4

TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs Sting (TNA Bound For Glory 2008)

Rating: ***

Smackdown Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs Charlotte Flair (WWE Super Show-Down 2018)

Rating: ***

WWE Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs Shawn Michaels (WWE Cyber Sunday 2007)

Rating: ***1/2

New Texas Pro Championship: Bryan Keith (c) vs Timothy Thatcher (New Texas Pro Five Year Anniversary Show)

Rating: ***1/2

Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs Bronson Reed (WWE Monday Night Raw 10/16/23)

I was looking forward to this defense and it certainly delivered, for a TV match. I’m happy for the recent successes and upward momentum of Bronson Reed, as I think there’s a fair amount he offers that one can take advantage of; I don’t know if I’d put a non-tag belt on him, necessarily, but his like is a crucial part of your singles mid-card. Here, he’s an interesting and curious test for Gunther, who has to alter his game slightly to get the best of him. I wish this went on for a bit longer, but for what it was, it was quite good.

Rating: ***1/2

Monster’s Ball Match for the TNA World Tag Team Championships: Beer Money (c) vs Abyss & Matt Morgan vs LAX vs Team 3D (TNA Bound For Glory 2008)

Big, dumb, n’ loud. This is a tremendous popcorn match with extreme spots (for the time and place), blood, and all kinds of foolishness. Plus, Mongo’s there. I found this a very interesting contrast to the Ricochet/Nakamura match; where that one seemed to just adapt in-ring wrestling to the outside, this match really feels more like a spree of violence. Yes, one is more coordinated and less messy than the other, but there’s much more of a charm and honesty in the naked violence of the latter.

Rating: ***

Booker T vs Christian Cage vs AJ Styles (TNA Bound For Glory 2008)

I wasn’t so keen on this to start off with, but again, the way this triple threat was laid out felt a bit more novel and less structured than what we may be used to seeing today. It follows the classically-derided formula of “One guy out, other two fight”, but hey, most of these guys are a treat to watch in-ring, so I’m cool with it. There’s also opportunity for weird little spots you wouldn’t get elsewhere (a double scissors kick, top-rope finisher variants), so again, there’s a novelty to the proceedings that help make it a little more fun than what you might expect.

Rating: ***1/4

Jeff Jarrett vs Kurt Angle (TNA Bound For Glory 2008)

Some pro wrestling-ass pro wrestling. I don’t mean that to sound dismissive; if anything, I’m impressed that both Jarrett and Angle not only committed to a pretty classic match formula, but made it watchable and enjoyable. It’s the rare case where Jarrett is the babyface, so he really digs into his old playbook and is game for the role, and he’s actually pretty believable. Angle, of course, is a ruthless and acidic heel by contrast, and they wrestle very well together, keeping things tight and crisp. There’s an added element of Mick Foley as a special guest enforcer which digs more into your typical Memphis bullshit and it’s easily the limpest part of the match, but I’m surprised at how outright enjoyable this was.

Rating: ***1/2

Eddie Guerrero vs Randy Orton (WWE Smackdown 10/14/05)

A perfectly cromulent slice of TV wrestling, albeit with a DQ finish. It’s charming to see this era of Orton, before he picks up the more steely persona of his later peak, so he’s doing big, exaggerated faces all over the place. He’s not bad at it, either, it just feels like a bit of a less-natural fit than what he’d find later.

Rating: ***

Io Shirai vs Rhea Ripley (WWE Mae Young Classic 2018)

Speaking of contrasting a performer’s younger self with their later persona, holy shit this match. It’s only 5 years old, but a lifetime of growth and development has happened for both of them, and I was surprised to find out that not all of it is for the better.

This match is essentially what remains of STARDOM Io taking on the for-all-intents-and-purposes rookie Ripley, albeit the latter has a previous MYC tournament under her belt, where she was REALLY a baby. I remember seeing Rhea in her first year and thinking there was something there. She was athletic and competent for her skill level, but she had a bit of sass to her. She seemed to get the character side of things a bit more fully than some of her other fellow tournament competitors. Hell, she got it more than some of those who had years of experience on her. Fast forward a year, and she felt like a far more complete package, having bulked up and turned up her facial acting and attitude. She had a far better sense of herself as a performer, and it really brings this match together. She’s constantly haranguing Io, using really weaselly submissions and constantly swaggering around. She makes you believe that she belongs here.

Io, of course, is great. The way she’s able to fling her body around and bump for Rhea does her a tremendous service, but her speed also conveys a greater sense of impact than her frame should be able to give out. Her momentum shifts feel earned here, and it’s a match that really feels above the station of Ripley, so much more nascent than Io.

Five years later, both are experiencing fairly large success in WWE at large, but it’s a bit disheartening to see Rhea today and have her not be as promising as she once was. She’s not a bad wrestler by any means, but her current role doesn’t emphasize her in-ring performance to any great degree; great for her long-term health, no doubt, but Judgment Day Rhea is less compelling to me than Charmeleon Rhea is here. For as much as she is continuing to gain notoriety for her excellent look and growing persona, I hope she finds a way back to tying it all together in the ring, like she did here.

Rating: ***1/4

WWE Tag Team Championships: The Shield (c) vs Cody Rhodes & Goldust (WWE Monday Night Raw 10/14/13)

The Battleground match between these teams is one of my all-time favorite matches. This is very similar, but the Big Show comes out at the end and costs The Shield the belts. So, y’know, worse.

Rating: ***1/2

I’m thinking about changing up the layout and release of these writeups. Not sure yet what makes sense, but I’ll hopefully find a new way to make these a bit more succinct and readable. Until then!

Wrestling with Work #17 (Collision, Royal Quest III)

I hope you had a good weekend. Thankfully, a pretty straightforward weekend catch-up here, so let’s see what all the fuss is about.

ROH World Television Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs Willie Mack (AEW Collision 10/14/23)

Rating: ***

TBS Championship: Kris Statlander (c) vs Skye Blue (AEW Collision 10/14/23)

Rating: ***

TNT Championship: Christian Cage (c) vs Bryan Danielson (AEW Collision 10/14/23)

A lot is said about how great Bryan Danielson still is, including by me, but goddamn, I gotta talk about how fucking good Christian Cage is.

For years, Christian has been people’s answer for “most underrated” or “secretly the best wrestler,” but it’s often been harder for me to see, personally. He’s always been good, no doubt, but I never saw the master technician or ring general in the way others did. I never vibed with Christian’s moveset or his seemingly rote heel tactics or his good-not-great babyface work. “Good-not-great” is how I’ve felt about Christian for a long time. With this recent AEW run, I’m seeing now what people have been talking about for a long time, and especially here when he’s against one of the best in the world.

I think Christian needed to get older, he needed to be the age he is now, before it really made sense to me what he’s trying to do. At a time when a lot of heels are content to let the people cheer for them or buy their merch or prop them up, Christian is so committed to the bit that it leaves no room for self-aggrandizement. In this match, Christian is not a better wrestler than Bryan Danielson, but he is craftier, more cunning, more willing to take the low road to get the same result. After getting out-wrestled for minutes, Christian takes shortcuts (ie. a poke to the eye) to work on Bryan’s shoulder, a tactic that slows down his momentum and later prevents him from getting the most out of the LeBell Lock. All the while, Christian is showboating in his way, but there’s less of a preening, cocky edge to it, like you might see from him in his initial WWE run. Instead, he’s a self-assured older man who knows how to get things done, while still being a dick about it. It always helps to have a gamer like Danielson, who is great in his plug-in role as superior-yet-disadvantaged babyface, who just needs to get momentum going and can totally beat this guy’s ass if he does.

It’s so refreshing to see an act in wrestling that doesn’t feel like it’s begging for your attention or so sweaty and nervous that you might look away that it has to be everything all at once. A friend of mine recently said how it feels like Christian and MJF have the other’s belts, and I responded that it’s because Christian is carrying himself like a world champion. He’s an excellent wrestler, but not in a way that begs you to notice that fact. He’s funny, but in a self-evident way that isn’t looking to the audience for approval. He’s a fucking asshole heel, but it feels less like a big character and more just what he’s like as a person (I’m sure Jay Reso is a nice dude).

Christian Cage feels like the antidote to a lot of my problems with some modern wrestlers, and I’m drinking deep, baby!

Rating: ****1/4

Shingo Takagi vs Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW Royal Quest III 10/14/23)

A pretty good one of these.

Rating: ***3/4

IWGP United States (UK) Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay (c) vs Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW Royal Quest III 10/14/23)

It’s funny that I ended up watching this on the same day as Christian/Danielson, because it feels like the spiritual opposite of that match.

Don’t get me wrong, this is “good” and all. It’s a well-wrestled match that builds at an acceptable pace and elevates to a crescendo within the abilities of both performers. Like Shingo/Ishii, it’s a good one of these; “these” being an Ospreay main event, which is something I have a very hard time personally buying into. I wouldn’t say I straight-up dislike Ospreay as a wrestler, but he needs to be in there with a very certain type of guy (ideally one more experienced than him) to have, to me, a truly great match. Zack Sabre Jr, unfortunately, is not that guy.

ZSJ is one of my favorite wrestlers going right now, I love his stuff, but he’s not perfect and, like many other modern wrestlers, he has this shit to get in. My only 5-star match of 2023 so far is ZSJ/Danielson, which felt like a true rarity in that it was a technical match that was also visually astounding and paid off seemingly everything it set down, a factor I attribute to Danielson taking the lead. ZSJ and Ospreay have wrestled each other so much over the years and are clearly very comfortable working with each other, but this ends up being Ospreay’s kind of match, which means that any submission or limb work ZSJ lays down is ultimately for show. There’s no greater story, there’s no payoff later, it’s just Moves Moves Moves until someone stays down for some reason.

This never rose above “good” for me; it’s fairly sound and I can see why people were gushing over it over the weekend, but it’s just not what I’m looking for in wrestling.

Rating: ****

WWE Divas Championship: Beth Phoenix (c) vs Eve Torres (WWE Vengeance 2011)

This era has those who staunchly defend it to a fault, whereas I grew up in it and largely ignored it. Between those two viewpoints, you can sometimes find something of a gem from a time and place where women weren’t really allowed to be great. This is a quick match between Beth and Eve that manages to feel like one of the liveliest from this era, thanks to Beth being extra mouthy, and Eve responding in kind. There’s a bit more passion and hate (relative to WWE) in what they’re doing here, and it helps it to stand out from a lot of the other fare that was getting <10 minutes on PPVs 10 years ago. This won’t blow your mind or anything, but it was genuinely pretty good!

Rating: ***