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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 14, 2022 18:07:50 GMT -5
46. Edge vs. Seth Rollins – WWE SummerSlam
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| Edge came out with the Brood theme, glasses, and fire entrance, which was dope as hell and set a great tone for this feeling special. He and Seth Rollins delivered in the early stages with some good exchanges that made you feel like they’ve wrestled against each other before. Edge busted out stuff that he hadn’t done in a while like top rope neckbreakers. Those are risky for him. Seth got going and did the superplex into the Falcon Arrow (he did the deal!) which got a great response from the crowd. Edge pulled out a Big E with a spear through the ropes in a massive spot. We also got cool stuff like Ede doing a Glam Slam and Seth catching a Spear into a Pedigree like he did to Roman at Money in the Bank 2016. Those are pretty fantastic moments. Their final exchange saw Edge avoid the Curb Stomp and turn his Edgecator over into a crossface. He slammed Seth’s head into the mat several times before getting the tap out in 20:34. An outstanding match built around the Curb Stomp being avoided and delivering in spades. Other than his first match with Orton, Edge has had nothing but bangers since returning. [****¼] |
*This is the final match from SummerSlam.
2020 Match #46: AEW Tag Team Championship: Hangman Page and Kenny Omega [c] vs. The Lucha Bros – AEW Dynamite 2/19/20 2019 Match #46: EVIL vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2018 Match #46: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki – NJPW G1 Climax 7/14/18 2017 Match #46: WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The New Day [c] vs. The Usos – WWE SummerSlam 8/20/17 2016 Match #46: Marty Scurll and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. SANADA and Tetsuya Naito – RPW Global Wars UK 11/11/16 2015 Match #46: Chris Hero vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Evolve 48 8/16/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 14, 2022 20:13:29 GMT -5
45. Kota Ibushi vs. Shingo Takagi – NJPW G1 Climax 10/3/21
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| Their meeting in last year’s G1 came in at #13 on my list. Both Kota Ibushi and Shingo Takagi were slow to start here but in a way that felt like it was to not make the first mistake and not just done for the sake of killing time. Things picked up after just a couple of minutes when they got into an intense slap exchange. Ibushi came across like a man possessed like he knew a win could earn him a shot at the title he lost. From there they began throwing bigger offensive moves out like suplexes and dragon screws. They also had a kick exchange that nearly rivaled the slap one from earlier. Made In Japan and the Golden Star Powerbomb were both not enough to keep the other man down as they hit the 20 minute mark, making this a long outing for Kota following his illness earlier in the year. Shingo surprised me by kicking out of the Kamigoye and I haven’t paid enough close attention to remember how many people have done that. Shingo blocked a second and went for Last of the Dragon but Ibushi snapped off a poison rana. He added a knee and two more Kamigoye strikes to win after 23:57. [****¼] |
2020 Match #45: Daniel Bryan vs. Drew Gulak – WWE Elimination Chamber 2019 Match #45: Aleister Black vs. Buddy Murphy – WWE TLC 2018 Match #45: NXT Championship vs. Career Match: Andrade Almas [c] vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT 2/21/18 2017 Match #45: Chris Hero vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Evolve 77 1/28/17 2016 Match #45: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 7/18/16 2015 Match #45: WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns – WWE WrestleMania 3/29/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 14, 2022 22:28:24 GMT -5
44. WWE Universal Championship Last Man Standing Match: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Kevin Owens – WWE Royal Rumble
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| Right off the bat, these guys did a really good job of using the Thunderdome. They battled all over it and utilized most aspects from throwing Reigns into a screen to throwing Owens off a level and through a table. I loved Owens going after Roman’s legs with a chair since you can’t answer the 10 count if you can’t stand. Smart wrestling. Owens also got run over by a damn golf cart in what was a wild ass match that went all over Tropicana Field. Owens came back with a splash through a table and then a Swanton off of a forklift and through another table. It’s interesting to see how little of Tropicana Field is used for the Thunderdome. They fought back towards the arena where they got to do WWE’s favorite spot as Roman Speared KO through the stage setup. I loved how KO only beat the count because he slid off of where he was laying. I also dug the whole, “I CAN’T QUIT, THERE’S NO WAY I CAN GO HOME IF I QUIT” deal. The best close call was Roman getting handcuffed to the point where he literally couldn’t get up, only to take out the referee and stop the count. After a low blow from Roman, Heyman showed up to uncuff him. Reigns choked out KO with the guillotine and a new referee counted him down for 10 after 24:52. Another absolute banger from Roman Reigns. That man simply cannot miss these days. Match quality, character work, he’s nailing everything. [****¼] |
*This is the last match from Royal Rumble.
2020 Match #44: IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night One 2019 Match #44: Taichi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 8/11/19 2018 Match #44: Moustache Mountain and Ricochet vs. The Undisputed Era – NXT 6/27/18 2017 Match #44: WWN Championship: Matt Riddle [c] vs. Kyle O’Reilly – Evolve 84 5/20/17 2016 Match #44: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Extreme Rules Match: Roman Reigns (c) vs. AJ Styles – WWE Extreme Rules 5/22/16 2015 Match #44: AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 1/4/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 15, 2022 8:29:51 GMT -5
43. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks – WWE Smackdown 10/15/21
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| There are just some pairings that work in every setting in wrestling and one of them is Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. Their matches at TakeOver: Unstoppable, Hell in a Cell 2019, and Clash of Champions 2019 were all great. This meeting on an episode of Supersized Smackdown would rank third among those and was something truly great. They headlined this episode, competing against Rampage and being commercial free. The only thing holding back this match was a flub here or there where things looked awkward. Other than that, this was incredible. The two of them threw out their signature spots like frog splashes and Bexploders but made sure to incorporate other quality aspects like arm work and spots involving the ring post. Even the finish, which involved Bianca Belair at ringside distracting Becky, worked in this case due to the feud and because it didn’t feel overly cheap like some other bouts. That distraction allowed Banks to hit a Backstabber and pick up the win in 18:37, which marked the first singles loss for Lynch since Royal Rumble 2019, which is pretty absurd when you think about it. Just two of the best ever, doing what they do best. [****¼] |
2020 Match #43: NXT North American Championship: Keith Lee [c] vs. Dominik Dijakovic – NXT TakeOver: Portland 2019 Match #43: IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito [c] vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW G1 Supercard 2018 Match #43: Kenny Omega vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 8/1/18 2017 Match #43: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi [c] vs. Ricochet – NJPW Wrestling Toyonokuni 4/29/17 2016 Match #43: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 7/30/16 2015 Match #43: ROH World and Television Championships: Jay Briscoe (c) vs. Jay Lethal (c) – ROH Best in the World 6/19/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 15, 2022 20:20:52 GMT -5
42. Shingo Takagi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 31 9/23/21
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| This was one of my most anticipated matches of the G1 31. Shingo got an early advantage and sent ZSJ out for a breather and he paid tribute to Naito, which was a cool touch since ZSJ put Naito on the shelf. The idea here was as simple as it is when Sabre Jr. has classics with Ishii. He’s the submission specialist who will grapple with anyone and use that to his advantage, while Shingo could send him back with his hard hitting style. Sabre would wear him down and Shingo would respond with a big move that sent him down for a bit. Sabre’s ability to just slip and wriggle free of Shingo’s grip gave him the upper hand so often. The intensity ramped up late, with Sabre Jr. avoiding Last of the Dragon and transitioning into submissions. Shingo went for a powerbomb but ZSJ turned it into a modified arm lock hold and made the champion tap after 27:17. An outstanding match that really played to both guys strengths and they told a hell of a story. Their rematch later in the year wasn’t quite as good. [****¼] |
2020 Match #42: NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto [c] vs. Shingo Takagi – NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo Night One 2019 Match #42: The Revival vs. The Undisputed Era – NXT 11/20/19 2018 Match #42: WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre [c] vs. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins – WWE Hell in a Cell 9/16/18 2017 Match #42: Donovan Dijak vs. Keith Lee – Evolve 81 3/31/17 2016 Match #42: ROH World Championship: Jay Lethal (c) vs. Lio Rush – ROH Supercard of Honor 4/1/16 2015 Match #42: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba – NJPW Dominion 7/5/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 15, 2022 22:45:44 GMT -5
41. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair – WWE Survivor Series
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| The hype coming into this was that the former real life best friend had backstage heat. They came out with some PPV gear and this felt important even if I didn’t care much about the build. This ended up being right up there with their match at Evolution as their best together. It didn’t need the stipulation, to go 30 minutes, or to overdo stuff down the stretch. It was just an intense, hard hitting match between two women who can really go in the ring. Sure they did wrestling moves and some of their signature stuff but a lot of this match felt like a fight between two people who don’t like one another. They included lots of shouting swear words for the sake of it and Charlotte’s moonsault outside is still pretty terrible. Other than that though, this ruled. The finish saw Charlotte try to use the ropes for leverage on a pin only to be caught by the referee, so Becky turned it into her own rollup with the ropes, winning in 18:32. I loved this match and though the ending actually played well into their styles, especially with both being heels at the time. [****¼] |
*This is the final appearance of Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. *It is the last Survivor Series match.
2020 Match #41: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi [c] vs. Taiji Ishimori – NJPW Summer Struggle in Jingu 2019 Match #41: RevPro British Heavyweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii [c] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13 2018 Match #41: Ricochet vs. The Velveteen Dream – NXT TakeOver: Chicago 6/16/18 2017 Match #41: Kazuchika Okada vs. Satoshi Kojima – NJPW G1 Climax 7/27/17 2016 Match #41: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – WWE Payback 5/1/16 2015 Match #41: Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns – WWE Fastlane 2/22/15
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JoDaNa1281
Crow T. Robot
Jackie Daytona, Regular Human Bartender. #BLM
Posts: 40,417
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Post by JoDaNa1281 on Jan 15, 2022 22:59:33 GMT -5
What shows/brands do you watch, so we can know what to expect on here?
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 16, 2022 8:09:34 GMT -5
40. Last Woman Standing: Raquel Gonzalez vs. Rhea Ripley – NXT New Year’s Evil
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| As much as I love a good case of BIG MEATY MEN SLAPPING MEAT, it’s even better when you get to see BIG MEATY WOMEN SLAPPING MEAT. Raquel Gonzalez and Rhea Ripley are two of the bigger, tougher females in WWE, so I was pretty stoked to see them beat the hell out of each other. Their Halloween Havoc match in 2020 was good but they managed to take things to the next level this time around due to the stipulation. Almost immediately, they went outside and made sure this was going to have an intense setup with hard hitting violence. The whole thing went 17:26 and there really weren’t all that many moments that felt like they were slowing things down. They made really good use of the stipulation with weapons, big spots, and stuff like a back body drop onto the edge of a table. I cracked up at Dakota Kai getting involved, only for Ripley to literally stuff her into a small locker. As you would expect, they saved the best for last with a massive spot that saw Raquel deliver her not yet named Chingona Bomb off of the steel steps and through the stage. Ripley couldn’t answer the ten count and Gonzalez landed the biggest win of her career ahead of the NXT Women’s Title victory. [****¼] |
*This is the last appearance of Rhea Ripley and Raquel Gonzalez. *It is the final Last Person Standing match.
2020 Match #40: AEW Tag Team Championship: FTR [c] vs. The Young Bucks – AEW Full Gear 2019 Match #40: Best of the Super Juniors Finals: Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 6/5/19 2018 Match #40: Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey vs. Stephanie McMahon and Triple H – WWE WrestleMania 34 4/6/18 2017 Match #40: Flash Morgan Webster, Jimmy Havoc and Mark Haskins vs. Pete Dunne, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate – PROGRESS Chapter 44: Old Man Yells at Cloud 2/26/17 2016 Match #40: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 8/3/16 2015 Match #40: Aztec Warfare – Lucha Underground 1/7/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 16, 2022 8:10:20 GMT -5
What shows/brands do you watch, so we can know what to expect on here? Everything from WWE and AEW as well as most of NJPW (I skipped a lot of the World Tag League and the "Road to" shows).
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 16, 2022 11:16:46 GMT -5
39. Edge vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Smackdown 9/10/21
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| The trilogy between Edge and Seth Rollins was truly something special. Not only was it a dream match the first time around but they actually managed to improve their performances each time out. After a banger at SummerSlam, they met on a special episode of Smackdown from the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden. Like the PPV outing, this was given a lot of time and started with two guys building up to something bigger. When those big moves came out, they meant a lot and featured some really cool moments. Rollins kicked out of the Spear which doesn’t happen often against Edge, even in a world where finisher kickouts are far too common. Edge taking a Buckle Bomb still looks rough to me knowing his history. I loved how a lot of what Rollins did targeted the neck given their history. He seemingly had it won after attacking the neck and firing off a barrage of superkicks. Edge wouldn’t go down and Seth even shouted, “WHY WON’T YOU DIE?” He added yet another and then the Curb Stomp after 24:32 to even the score against his foe. One of the best TV matches all year. [****¼] |
2020 Match #39: WWE Universal Championship TLC Match: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Kevin Owens – WWE TLC 2019 Match #39: New Japan Cup Semifinals: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW New Japan Cup 3/23/19 2018 Match #39: Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan – WWE Survivor Series 11/18/18 2017 Match #39: NXT Women’s Championship Last Woman Standing Match: Asuka [c] vs. Nikki Cross – NXT 6/28/17 2016 Match #39: Trios Championship: Ivelisse and Son of Havoc (c) vs. The Crew and Joey Ryan vs. Dragon Azteca Jr., Rey Mysterio Jr. and Prince Puma vs. Fenix, Jack Evans and PJ Black – Lucha Underground 4/27/16 2015 Match #39: Chris Hero vs. Timothy Thatcher – PWG Battle of Los Angeles 8/29/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 16, 2022 14:56:51 GMT -5
38. IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. Shingo Takagi – NJPW Dominion
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| After the injury to Will Ospreay, NJPW had an opportunity on their hands. That could stick to the status quo of Kazuchika Okada even after his atrocious 2019 title reign or they could go with the fresh call of putting the title on Shingo Takagi. You could tell they were going long early on as this had some Okada formula aspects with the feeling out process stages. However, it got twisted when Shingo got his knees up on a senton, triggering a focus on Okada’s bad back. He proceeded to focus on that and beat the hell out of Okada, who would pipe in teases of a true comeback but couldn’t get it totally going. The pacing of this was strong as it neared the 30 minute mark and didn’t really feel like it had been that long. That’s typically not something that happens with Okada formula so I dug it. They teased the Money Clip, a move I hate but one that put down Shingo last year, so it made sense. Thankfully, he survived and he also had the Rainmaker scouted, countering it at every turn and hitting one of his own. It took several big moves later but Shingo finally won with Last of the Dragon after 36:06. A great main event that built and built. It could’ve been a few minutes shorter but still worked really well and felt like Shingo truly accomplished something. [****¼] |
*It is the last appearance of Kazuchika Okada. *There are no more matches from Dominion.
2020 Match #38: NXT UK Women's Championship: Kay Lee Ray [c] vs. Piper Niven vs. Toni Storm – NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II 2019 Match #38: NXT Women's Championship: Shayna Baszler [c] vs. Rhea Ripley – NXT 12/18/19 2018 Match #38: WWE Intercontinental Championship: The Miz [c] vs. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins – WWE WrestleMania 4/8/18 2017 Match #38: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: KUSHIDA [c] vs. Hiromu Takahashi – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 1/4/17 2016 Match #38: Chris Hero vs. Tomohiro Ishii – RPW Global Wars UK 11/10/16 2015 Match #38: KUSHIDA vs. Roderick Strong – ROH War of the Worlds 5/12/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 16, 2022 18:35:56 GMT -5
37. War Games: Team 2.0 vs. Team Black And Gold – NXT TakeOver: War Games
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| A lot was made of this being NXT’s past against the future and that was clear at the start with the former North American Champion Johnny Gargano against the present one, Carmelo Hayes. This was another wild War Games match because absurd things happened, so it fight into the new era of NXT. Obviously we had the expected big spots like belly to belly suplexes through tables and elbow drops off the top of the cell. We also had Trick Williams getting chased away from the ring by Dexter Lumis and Tony D’Angelo just being Tony D’Angelo. I liked how this worked in that the veteran guys were clearly leading the way but the young guns all more than did their part. Another big aspect of this match was that Johnny Gargano seemed to be on the way out, so he got to have reunion moments with Tommaso Ciampa, including hitting the old DIY finisher. It set up a fantastic near fall but then Bron Breakker put Ciampa through a table and pinned him following a press slam at the 38:13 mark. I think this was my favorite of the men’s War Games matches in WWE. [****¼] |
*This is the final appearance of Grayson Waller, Bron Breakker, Tony D'Angelo, LA Knight, and Carmelo Hayes. *It is the last match from TakeOver: War Games.
2020 Match #37: Eliminator Tournament Quarterfinals: Penta El Zero M vs. Ray Fenix – AEW Dynamite 10/21/20 2019 Match #37: Dragon Lee vs. Shingo Takagi – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5/23/19 2018 Match #37: Extreme Rules Match: Adam Cole vs. Aleister Black – NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia 1/27/18 2017 Match #37: Number One Contender’s Match: Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Seth Rollins – Raw 5/1/17 2016 Match #37: Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown – WWE Survivor Series 11/20/16 2015 Match #37: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW G1 Climax 7/20/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 16, 2022 22:59:38 GMT -5
36. El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 11/21/21
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| There’s no doubt that two of the best junior heavyweights in the world are El Desperado and Hiromu Takahashi. In fact, their match in the finals of last year’s tournament ranked at the top of my list for 2020. The big rematch in the tourney came on night seven with both guys not ranking near the top of the standings at that point. They started this with the intensity that has come to define their history. Just two guys beating each other up as soon as the bell rang. They’re incredible so they know how to start hot and keep it going down that route better than most others could. That fact that they kept this going at the level that they did is honestly remarkable because there is little to no slowdown in this entire thing. Desperado had a rough moment where it looked like he wrecked his knees on a tope con hilo into the barricade. If you’re watching these two, one or both is bound to put their body on the line in wild fashion. They continued the trend of throwing big bombs at each other and it became clear that this would be testing the time limit. In fact, Desperado blocked Time Bomb 2 just as time expired at the 30:00 mark, ending this in one of the best matches to go to a draw. [****¼] |
*This is the final appearance of El Desperado. *It is the last Best of the Super Juniors match.
2020 Match #36: Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT TakeOver: Portland 2019 Match #36: NXT Tag Team Championship Ladder Match: Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan vs. The Forgotten Sons vs. The Street Profits vs. The Undisputed Era – NXT TakeOver XXV 2018 Match #36: Juice Robinson vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 7/21/18 2017 Match #36: PROGRESS Atlas Championship: Matt Riddle [c] vs. WALTER – PROGRESS Chapter 51: Screaming for PROGRESS 7/9/17 2016 Match #36: Lucha Underground Championship: Mil Muertes (c) vs. Pentagon Jr. vs. Prince Puma – Lucha Underground 3/9/16 2015 Match #36: NXT Women’s Championship: Charlotte (c) vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks – NXT TakeOver: Rival 2/11/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 17, 2022 9:52:30 GMT -5
35. NXT UK Women's Championship: Kay Lee Ray [c] vs. Meiko Satomura – WWE NXT 6/10/21
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| Instead of simply bringing in Meiko Satomura and having her instantly end the NXT UK Women’s Title reign of Kay Lee Ray, the brand went a different route. KLR won the first match between them and it was well-received. Satomura built herself back up and earned a rematch a few months later. The much anticipated rematch proved to be a slight improvement on the original. This had a big fight feel as a match should when the champion has held the gold for 649 days. Satomura came out with kicks early and went for her finisher but KLR had it scouted and slipped free, looking to slow the pace. While that worked to the champ’s liking, there was also a sense of her growing frustration. Satomura had come close before and this time around, KLR couldn’t seem to put her away. Satomura kept kicking out and surviving. KLR’s frustration even led to her teasing a walkout only to get caught with a Death Valley Driver outside. Down the stretch, they went into close calls, counters, and finisher teases, as you’d expect. Satomura avoided a Koji Clutch, rolled into a huge spin kick, added the DVD, and then used the Scorpion Rising Kick to win the title in 18:25. A spectacular title match that ended a great reign on a high note. [****¼] |
*This is the final appearance of Kay Lee Ray and Meiko Satomura. *It is the last NXT UK Women's Title match.
2020 Match #35: NXT Title No. 1 Contender's Match: Kyle O'Reilly vs. Pete Dunne – NXT 12/16/20 2019 Match #35: Worlds Collide Tournament Finals: Tyler Bate vs. Velveteen Dream – WWE Worlds Collide 2/2/19 2018 Match #35: IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi [c] vs. Minoru Suzuki – NJPW The New Beginning In Sapporo 1/27/18 2017 Match #35: Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 8/19/17 2016 Match #35: NEVER Openweight Championship: Yuji Nagata (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata – NJPW Dominion 6/19/16 2015 Match #35: Adam Cole vs. AJ Styles – ROH War of the Worlds 5/12/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 17, 2022 12:57:02 GMT -5
34. AEW World Championship Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match: Kenny Omega [c] vs. Jon Moxley – AEW Revolution
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| To get the painfully obvious out of the way early, everyone knows that the post-match stuff here went off like a wet fart. AEW promised explosions and hilariously gave us 10x fewer pyro than a typical Wednesday night Cody Rhodes entrance. Unfortunately, since most of us remember how bad that was, it means we tend to forget that the match that came before it was actually pretty great. Jon Moxley was desperate to get back the AEW World Title that was taken from him through nefarious means and this environment was perfect for the big fight with Kenny Omega. They did a good job of teasing how violent and dangerous this could be while adding in just enough big spots to make it feel like it was delivering on the promise. There were some solid explosions at points and moves onto barbed wire boards will almost always come off well. The Paradigm Shift one off the apron even led to Omega getting bloodied. Of course, things were hampered by the interference from Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows, which helped set up the Omega victory after 25:09. Again, though the entire segment ended as weakly as possible, the match was pretty great. [****¼] |
*This is the final appearance of Jon Moxley. *It is the last match from Revolution. *There are no more exploding death matches.
2020 Match #34: WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Jey Uso – WWE Clash of Champions 2019 Match #34: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals – 6/5/19 2018 Match #34: WWE Championship: Daniel Bryan [c] vs. AJ Styles – WWE TLC 12/16/18 2017 Match #34: PROGRESS Championship No Disqualifications Match: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Jimmy Havoc – PROGRESS Chapter 45: Galvanize 3/19/17 2016 Match #34: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa – WWE Cruiserweight Classic 8/3/16 2015 Match #34: Adrian Neville vs. Finn Balor – NXT TakeOver: Rival 2/11/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 17, 2022 16:41:00 GMT -5
33. Shingo Takagi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 31 9/18/21
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| These two guys simply do not miss. Their prior matches got ****¾, ****½, and **** from me. Shingo Takagi won the first two and Tomohiro Ishii got his win in the most recent. This was a different Shingo though. He entered as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion and the company’s top dog. New Japan likes to start their G1 with a big night one main event and this delivered in a huge way. The action was as great as you’d expect given the fact that these are two of the best wrestlers in the world. What helped boost this was having a hot crowd as Osaka is typically one of the best cities for NJPW to visit. It was the Ishii special in some ways as they charged at each other at the bell and just wailed on one another for the entire 27:56 runtime. Other than one botch that stood out, the rest of this was just a war and everything else hit was crisp. Although they got near the time limit for G1 matches, a draw never felt like it was going to happen. They threw bombs at the end and Shingo won by hitting Last of the Dragon, starting his tournament off on the right foot. [****¼] |
*This marks the final appearance of Tomohiro Ishii.
2020 Match #33: Edge vs. Randy Orton – WWE Backlash 2019 Match #33: NXT UK Tag Titles: Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Moustache Mountain – NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool 2018 Match #33: G1 Climax Finals: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW G1 Climax 8/12/18 2017 Match #33: WWN Championship: Matt Riddle [c] vs. Keith Lee – Evolve 87 6/25/17 2016 Match #33: IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Naomichi Marufuji – NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10/10/16 2015 Match #33: AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – NJPW G1 Climax 8/14/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 17, 2022 19:02:22 GMT -5
32. AEW World Championship: Kenny Omega [c] vs. Rey Fénix – AEW New Year’s Smash Night One
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| I’m one of the people who doesn’t feel that Kenny Omega’s AEW World Title reign was anything special. It was certainly good but it wasn’t anything earth-shattering. I think it started way better than it ended and matches like this are a clear indication of why. Rey Fénix is basically a great opponent for Omega because he’s small enough so Omega can play the power game and athletic enough to blow us away with their exchanges. They played into those aspects and that worked because I think Kenny is actually really good in the role of being the bigger aggressor. Omega’s neck was targeted with some big offense including a double stomp, while Fénix just got worked over in almost every way as Omega threw him around with things like German suplexes. It never truly felt like either guy took a clear upper hand though, which made for an engaging major title match even though the outcome was obvious. Despite Fénix’s best efforts, there was no way he’d walk out as champion. He missed a frog splash which opened the door for a V Trigger and the One Winged Angel, ending this after 17:50. One of Kenny’s best title defenses regardless of championship. [****¼] |
*This is the final match from New Year's Smash.
2020 Match #32: AEW TNT Championship: Cody Rhodes [c] vs. Darby Allin – AEW Full Gear 2019 Match #32: NXT Championship: Adam Cole [c] vs. Matt Riddle – WWE NXT 10/2/19 2018 Match #32: Tyler Bate vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – PROGRESS Chapter 63: Take Me Underground 2/11/18 2017 Match #32: Matt Riddle vs. Travis Banks – PROGRESS Chapter 52: Vote Pies 7/23/17 2016 Match #32: WWE Championship: AJ Styles (c) vs. Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena – WWE No Mercy 10/9/16 2015 Match #32: NXT Championship: Kevin Owens (c) vs. Finn Balor – WWE Beast in the East 7/4/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 18, 2022 0:04:43 GMT -5
31. World Title Eliminator Tournament Semi-Finals: Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Kingston – AEW Rampage 10/29/21
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| Bryan Danielson’s run in AEW has been nothing short of spectacular. He has had great matches almost every single time out there and one of the best was this encounter with Eddie Kingston. In a lot of ways, this felt like a styles clash that would be a problem. Danielson is an excellent technical wrestler while Kingston is known more for his brawling. But as is often the case, those differing styles worked well when put against each other. Danielson quickly found himself in trouble as Kingston beat his ass to the point where his chest was nearly bleeding. Danielson eventually rallied and tried giving it back as hard as he was getting it. There was a point where both men ended up on the mat and the crowd gave them a standing ovation. That’s so rare in the middle of a match. Kingston looked out of it and collapsed before Bryan could hit the Busaiku Knee, only to pop up and counter Bryan into a DDT. It all looked impressively smooth. The finish was even better with Bryan catching a crawling Kingston in a triangle choke. As he faded, Kingston flipped Bryan off defiantly until he passed out from elbows and the referee called for the bell at the 16:24 mark. Outstanding match that played to the strengths of both men and was everything I could want from them. [****¼] |
*This is the last match from the World Title Eliminator Tournament.
2020 Match #31: Street Fight: Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox – NXT TakeOver: Portland 2019 Match #31: WWE United States Championship: Samoa Joe [c] vs. Andrade vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio – WWE Fastlane 2018 Match #31: Kota Ibushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 7/28/18 2017 Match #31: IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Tournament Finals: Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Special in USA 7/2/17 2016 Match #31: Johnny Gargano, Kota Ibushi and TJ Perkins vs. Marty Scurll, Tommy End and Will Ospreay – WWN Mercury Rising 4/2/16 2015 Match #31: Lucha Underground Championship: Prince Puma (c) vs. Mil Muertes – Ultima Lucha 8/5/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 18, 2022 10:25:00 GMT -5
30. WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Edge – WWE Money in the Bank
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| There was a big fight feel here and this felt special. Both of them nailed everything little thing including the mannerisms even before the bell. Though they started with a relatively even back and forth, Roman took control and began wearing Edge down with his usual power-based offense. He did his trash talking in between though it wasn’t a clear with a live crowd to drown him out. Every Edge rally was snuffed out by Roman delivering a big strike or move. Edge countered the Superman punch into a backslide that sent this into next gear. He started his rally with his signature moves but none were enough to keep the champion down. Edge slapped on the crossface that nearly beat Roman at WrestleMania and Roman started to power out but couldn’t. Instead, he had to get to the ropes to survive. He responded with the Guillotine but Edge sent them outside to break it. After Roman went through the guardrail on a spear, Edge stopped the countout and Speared Roman through the other guardrail. A ref bump led to Roman bringing in the broken piece of a chair, which Edge turned around and used on him for the Crossface. The Usos were cut off by the Mysterios, only for Seth Rollins to show up and superkick Edge, breaking the hold. Edge still hit a Spear but the referees stupidly weren’t around so it gave Roman time to kick out. Another Seth appearance distracted Edge enough to fall to a Spear in about 33:13 but my feed cut out at one point so the time might not be right. [****¼] |
2020 Match #30: WWE Intercontinental Championship Tournament Finals: AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan – WWE Smackdown 6/12/20 2019 Match #30: Adam Cole vs. Aleister Black vs. Matt Riddle vs. Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream – NXT 3/20/19 2018 Match #30: Men’s Royal Rumble Match – WWE Royal Rumble 1/28/18 2017 Match #30: Keith Lee vs. Tomohiro Ishii – RevPro Global Wars UK 11/9/17 2016 Match #30: RPW British Heavyweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Chris Hero – RPW Global Wars UK 11/11/16 2015 Match #30: AJ Styles vs. Katsuyori Shibata – NJPW G1 Climax 7/20/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 18, 2022 15:29:17 GMT -5
29. NXT United Kingdom Championship: WALTER [c] vs. Tommaso Ciampa – NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night One
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| Remember when Tommaso Ciampa tried growing out his hair and it looked really odd since he was still bald in the center? Thankfully, he went back to the fully bald look on this night, making him look like a total badass which he needed to be since he was going up against arguably the most impressive badass out there, WALTER. I didn’t come in with high hopes since Ciampa hadn’t been back to his pre-neck injury level but he proved me wrong on this night. He went to war with WALTER and though his plan was to avoid chops and big blows from the start, he didn’t shy away from getting into the physical stuff. Ciampa knew he was outmatched so he resorted to things like biting WALTER’s hand in an attempt to get any kind of upper hand against the large champion. They didn’t go overly long, ending this after 16:58 of wild action, which was a plus. Ciampa came close with a middle rope Air Raid Crash and the bridge he did with WALTER on him was one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen. From there, WALTER threw big blows with powerbombs, a half nelson suplex, and finally retaining with a massive chop. WALTER is just the best. [****¼] |
*This is the final appearance of Tommaso Ciampa.
2020 Match #29: IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Tetsuya Naito [c] – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 2019 Match #29: IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Juice Robinson [c] vs. Jon Moxley – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals 2018 Match #29: El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5/22/18 2017 Match #29: Super Strong Style 16 Quarterfinals: Jeff Cobb vs. Matt Riddle – PROGRESS Chapter 49: Super Strong Style 16 5/28/17 2016 Match #29: IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Michael Elgin (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW Destruction in Kobe 9/25/16 2015 Match #29: WWE United States Championship: John Cena (c) vs. Cesaro – WWE Raw 7/6/15
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