August

Blimey, what a month this was, Live I saw RevPro, ROH/NJPW/CMLL, TIDAL, RISE and WCPW all in the space of about 10 days. It was incredible. Plus there was the second half of the G1. It’s been hard to marrow it down, but I reckon the 5 I enjoyed most were (to narrow it down I tried to limit it to 1 match per wrestler/promotion):

5: Asuka vs Ember Moon – NXTTAKEOVER 

This was an incredible march on a truly fantastic show. Each match on the card was immense and I think in the end this was my favourite.

4: Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar vs Samoa Joe vs Braun Strowman – Summerslam

Another decent card for August, but this match was the best by a mile. It was truly perfect for what it was.

3: David Graves vs Liam Slater – 2 out of 3 falls – RISE Summer sesh

Two incredible young local.talents putting on a technical wrestling match as good as any you’ll see. In a tiny ding in a tiny room. Amazing.

2: Will Ospreay vs Marty Scurll – WCPW Stacked 17

Marty vs Will is a match for the ages and this one was incredible. On a stacked card that also featured Rey vs Ricochet, Mike Bailey vs Takahashi and Travis Banks vs Kushida it still somehow managed to shine brightest.

1: Kenny Omega vs Kazichuka Okada – G1 Climax 

The third instalment in an incredible feud was again perfection. And a great pay off. I’m intrigued to see when they will meet again. These have to be the two best wrestlers working today.

• Ibushi vs Tanahashi – G1 Climax 
• Evil vs Omega – G1 Climax 
• Tanahashi vs Makabe – G1 Climax 
• ZSJ vs Naito – G1 Climax 
• Sanada vs Kojima – G1 Climax 
• Juice vs Omega – G1 Climax 
• Evil vs Okada – G1 Climax 
• Ibushi vs Yoshi Hashi – G1 Climax 
• Naito vs Makabe – G1 Climax 
• Tanahashi vs Ishii – G1 Climax 
• Elgin vs EVIL – G1 Climax 
• Omega vs Sanada – G1 Climax 
• Okada – Suzuki – G1 Climax 
• Goto vs Ibushi – G1 Climax 
• Tanahashi vs Naito – G1 Climax 
• Ishii vs ZSJ – G1 Climax 
• Elgin vs Juice – G1 Climax
• Okada vs Omega – G1 Climax 
• Bucks vs Ricochet and Tagushi – G1 Climax 
• Warmachine vs Cody/Page – G1 Climax 
• Bubblegum vs DJZ vs El Ligero – TCW LEEDS 
• Sexsmith vs Trivet – TCW LEEDS 
• Brookes vs ZSJ – Summer Sizzler 
• Gibson vs Castle – Summer Sizzler 
• Rey vs Marty – Summer Sizzler 
• Jay White vs Travis Banks – Summer Sizzler 
• Jushin thunder liger vs Josh Bodom – Summer Sizzler 
• Briscoes vs All Day Swerve – Summer Sizzler 
• Mark Briscoe vs Ryan Smile – WOTW London 
• Kushida vs Titan – WOTW London 
• LIJ vs Bullet Club – WOTW London
• Hideo Itami vs Aleister Black – NXT Takeover 
• Asuka vs Ember – NXT TAKEOVER 
• Roode vs McIntyre – NXT TAKEOVER 
• Ambrose/Rollins vs Shemus/Cesaro – Summerslam
• AJ vs KO – Summerslam 
• Brock vs Joe vs Reigns vs Braun – Summerslam 
• Kushida vs Travis Banks – WCPW
• Ricochet vs Rey Mysterio – WCPW
• Marty Scurll vs Will Ospreay – WCPW
• Liam Slater vs David Graves – RISE
• El Ligero vs Saxon Huxley vs Pastor Bill Eaver vs Joe Conners – RISE
• Sean Only vs Boris Kozlov – RISE 
• Kairi Saine vs Tessa Blanchard – MYC 
• Grizzled young vets vs FSU- PROGRESS 54
• Doug Williams vs Tim Thatcher – PROGRESS 54
• Gallagher vs Gibson – PROGRESS NYC 
• SPPT vs BSS – PROGRESS NYC 
• Walter vs Riddle – PROGRESS NYC 
• Travis Banks vs Jack Gallagher – PROGRESS Boston
• Ringkampf vs BSS – PROGRESS Boston 

 

May 2017

Well, I’ve not managed to write up many of the plethora of wrestling events I’ve seen recently, but I have managed to keep track of matches I loved. Here is the top 5 from May, followed by the full list.

5: Breezango vs The Usos – Backlash

This match had it all, a great story, some amazing wrestling and some of the best comedy going. I’m loving the heel Usos , but to me Breezango are the current standout team.in the WWE. Real.chemistry in the ring and when they are running comedy. Two guys who’ve been handed shoddy gimmicks making the best of it and doing it really well. I see this springboarding two amazing careers. 

4: Marty Scurll vs Dragon Lee: BOSJ

This was one of a plethora of amazing matches from and amazing tournament. I knew how good most of the competitors were at the outset, but is never seen Dragon Lee before and he’s now one of my favourites.

3: Riddle vs Cobb – Super Strong Style 16

This match was a dream match for me and it lived up to my massively high expectations. Two of the best indie wrestlers in the world and I very much enjoyed every no it’s of it.

2: Will Ospreay vs Kushida – BOSJ Final

This whole tournament as phenomenal but the final was a step above even the other brilliant matches. Kushida is the whole package, And Ospreay will be very soon and is already way better than anyone should be at such a young age. The juniors have raised the bar. The G1 have a lot to live up to.

1: Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate – Takeover Chicago

This match as incredible and I think really put UK wrestling on the map in a big, big way. They built a phenomenal story, had the crowd hooked nd had some great spots. They even had a vociferous chicago crowd chanting “UK UK UK”, superb.

• Omega vs Ishii- Dontaku 
• Ospreay vs Scurll – BOSJ Night 1
• Takahashi vs Dragon Lee – BOSJ Night 1
• Tyler Bate vs MANDREWS – WWE UK Championship Special
• Trent Seven vs Pete Dunne – WWE Championship Special
• Tyler Bate vs Pete Dunne – NXT Takeover Chicago
• Bobby Roode vs Hideo Itami – NXT Takeover Chicago 
• AJ Styles  vs KO – Backlash
• Randy vs Jinder – Backlash
• Breezango vs Usos – Backlash
• Shinsuke Nakamura vs Dolph Ziggler – Backlash
• Jinny vs Session Moth – PROGRESS 48
• Travis Banks vs Trent Seven – PROGRESS 48
• Tyler Bate vs Matt Riddle – PROGRESS 48
• Pete Dunne vs MANDREWS vs Mark Haskins – PROGRESS 48
• Tanahashi vs Adam Cole WOTW
• Young Bucks vs LIJ WOTW
• Will Ospreay vs Jay White WOTW
• Will Ospreay vs Ricochet BOSJ Night 2
• Marty Scurll vs Dragon Lee BOSJ n2
• Ricochet vs Dragon Lee BOSJ
• Will Ospreay vs Dragon Lee BOSJ
• Ospreay, Okada and Gedo vs Fale, Omega and Scurll – BOSJ
• Kushida vs Ryuske Taguchi – BOSJ
• Marty Scurll vs Ricochet BOSJ
• Will Ospreay vs Takahashi BOSJ
• Banks vs Havoc – SSS16
• Starr vs ZSJ – SSS16
• Ospreay Kushida BOSJ
• Gibson Sexsmith SSS16
• Riddle vs Cobb SSS16
• BATE vs Haskins SSS16
• Flamita vs Banks SSS16
• David Starr and Pastor vs Trent and Dunne – SSS16
• TonI Storm vs Jinny vs Laura do Matteo SSS16
• Banks vs Bate – SSS16
• RIDDLE vs Bate – SSS16
• 6 MAN wasteland challenge -sss16

April 2017

So it’s nearing the end of may now nd I figured I’d better publish my list from April. There are still a few shows I’d like to see, but I doubt I’ll bet round to it for a while so here is the list.

5 Ringkampf vs British Strong style – PROGRESS 47

A great match that really showcased how amazing all these guys are. I can certainly see big futures in WWE for all 6 of them.

4: AJ Styles vs Shane McMahon – Wrestlemania

This match was incredible and for me was by far and away the best match on the know card. AJ is possibly the best worker in the world, and Shane understands psychology and how to hook a crowd. Superb match.

3: DIY vs Authors of pain vs The Revival – NXT Takeover

An incredible three way tag match that blew me away. I knew already that the revival and DIY were two of the best teams in the world but I had not previously realised how good the authors of pain are. An instant classic.

2: Marty Scurll vs Takahashi – EPIC Encounter 

This match was captivating from the get go. Two incredible talents telling an amazing story and for me stealing the show on a real stacked card. Definitely worth checking out if you missed it.

1: Okada vs Shibata – Sakura Genesis.

This match was incredible. Start to finish it was amazing. The injury to Shibata bit a damper on it in the aftermath, but the match itself was out if this world. Two of the best wrestlers alive throwing everything at each other. Great technique brutal strikes and excellent spots.

• Sean Only vs CJ Banks – TCW Discombobulated
• The Proven vs Sons of Ulaid – TCW Discombobulated 
• Sanity vs Strong, Dillinger, Riot and Oh no – Takeover Orlando
• DIY vs The Revival vs Authors of Pain – Takeover Orlando
• Shinsuke Nakamura vs Bobby Roode – Takeover Orlando
• AJ Styles vs Shane McMahon – Wrestlemania
• Y2J vs KO – Wrestlemania 
• HHH vs Seth Rollins – Wrestlemania
• Brock Lesnar vs Bill Goldberg – Wrestlemania  
• Su Yung vs Taya Valkyrie – Wrestlecon Women’s Supershow
• Martin Stone vs Luke Phoenix- Cockpit 15
• CCK vs Shane Strickland and Ryan Smile – Cockpit 15
• Omega vs Shibata – Sakura Genesis
• Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, Taguchi and Ricochet vs LIJ – Sakura Genesis
• Tanzania and Kozima vs War machine- Sakura Genesis
• Goto vs ZSJ – Sakura Genesis
• Marty Scurll vs Takahashi- Epic  Encounter 
• Josh Bodom vs Will Ospreay – Epic Encounter
• ZSJ vs Kushida – Epic Encounter
• SPPT vs Catch point – Mercury Rising 
• Dunne vs ACH – Mercury Rising 
• ZSJ vs Haskins- Mercury Rising 
• WWN Championship six man – Mercury Rising
• Samoa Joe vs Seth Rollins- Payback
• Y2J vs Kevin Owens – Payback
• Goto vs Suzuki – NJPW Road to Dontaku 
• Naito vs Juice Robinson- NJPW Toyota no kuni
• Takahashi vs Ricochet- Toyo no kuni
• Tanahashi vs Evil – Toyo no kuni
• Riots vs SPPT – PROGRESS 47
• MAndrews vs Haskins PROGRESS 47
• Ringkampf vs BSS – PROGRESS 47
• Jack Gallagher vs Tyler Bate – NXT

March 2017

It seems weird that I’m writing this now,at rather end of April, but it has taken me a while to catch up on the plethora of events that happened in march and even now I’ve not seen everything I wanted to. There has been some amazing events in march, wXw’s 16 Carat being my favourite overall. Many wrestlers have hit my list multiple times this month and it has been massively hard to pick a top 5. But I’ve tried to anyhow, limited to 1 per card and 1 per wrestler…..

5: Zack Gibson vs El Ligero – PROGRESS 46

This matchbwas the funniest match I’ve seen in ages, plus it told a great story and furthered a great feud really well. I was lucky enough to be there for it and loved it.

4:  SPPT vs JML – PROGRESS Orlando

4 of the most talented wrestlers in the world put in one hell of a show. Possibly the best match of mania weekend, certainly the best of the weekend that fell in march. Big spots, plenty of emotion. Great all round.

3: Shibata vs Ishii – NJCUP Semi Final

This was an incredible match from two of the world’s best strikers. I was heavily invested in it and it took me on an emotional rollercoaster. The whole New Japan Cup was brilliant,  but this match was a step above.

2: Speedball Mike Bailey vs Matt Riddle – wXw 16 Carat Gold Night 2

I was genuinely in awe throughout this one. It was fast, it was furious, it was funny and it had me hooked. I didn’t want it to end. Two guys go have come to pro wrestling from different fighting backgrounds putting on a match that had it all. 

1: Walter vs David Starr – wXw 16 Carat Gold night 1

It was tough to pick a top 5, even tougher to pick a top 1, but this was, for me, the best of March. David Starr is,in my opinion, one of the top 3 wrestlers in the world at the moment and Walter is just incredible. The emotion, the power, the spots and the storybook this match were intense. A phenomenal match, and my match of the month.

The full list of matches I loved is below, stars indicate the ones that I shortlisted while making the top 5.

• Shibata and David Finlay vs Davey Boy Smith Jr and Suzuki – NJPW Road 1.3.17
• Neville vs Jack Gallagher – WWE Fastlane *
• Hiromu Takahashi vs Ryuske Taguchi – NJPW 45th Anniversary
• Kazuchika Okada vs Tiger Mask W (Kota Ibushi) – NJPW 45th Anniversary *
• Evil vs Tanahashi – Nj cup 1st round *
• Kenny Williams vs Martin Kirkby – ICW Taping
• Liam Slater vs Joe Hendry – ICW Taping
• Pete Dunne vs Trent Seven vs BT Gunn vs Chris Renfrew – ICW Taping
• Shibata vs Suzuki NJ Cup round 1
• Ishii vs Omega NJ Cup round 1
• Sanada vs Ishii NJCUP Round 2
• Ishii vs Shibata NJCUP SEMI *
• Shibata vs Bad Luck Fale – NJCUP Final *
• Sami Zayn vs Samoa Joe – Raw 20.03.17
• Usos vs AA – SD LIVE 21.03.17 *
• BSS vs SPPT – PROGRESS 45
• Gibson vs Ligero – PROGRESS 45 *
• Ospeay vs Mandrews – PROGRESS 45
• Havoc vs Dunne – PROGRESS 45
• Ringkampf vs Hunter Brothers – PROGRESS 45
• Zack Gibson vs Eddie Dennis – Cockpit 14
• David Starr vs Bubblegum – Cockpit 14 *
• Dave Mastiff vs Jeff Cobb – Cockpit 14
• Ryan Smile vs Pete Dunne – Cockpit 14
• Sterling and Redman vs CCK – Cockpit 14 *
• Timothy Thatcher vs Matt Riddle – Cockpit 14
• Marty Scurll vs Ricochet  – RevPro Orlando *
• David Starr vs Josh Bodom – RevPro Orlando *
• Will Ospreay vs Rey Fenix – RevPro Orlando
• Thatcher vs Kanemoto – wXw 16 Carat
• Riddle vs Dijak – wXw 16 Carat
• Speedball vs ACH – wXw 16 Carat
• Walter vs David Starr – wXw 16 Carat
• Speedball vs Riddle wXw 16 Carat
• Cody Rhodes vs Bad Bones – wXw 16 Carat
• David Starr vs Cody Rhodes vs Jurn Simmons vs Erin Sitoci – wXw 16 Carat
• Dijak and Dunn vs Bailey and ACH – wXw 16 Carat
• Origin vs Origin Banter – PROGRESS 46
• MAndrews vs Dunne – PROGRESS 46
• Walter vs Riddle – PROGRESS 46
• Haskins vs Axel Dieter Jr – PROGRESS 46 *
• SPPT vs JML – PROGRESS ORLANDO *
• Mandrews vs Bate – PROGRESS ORLANDO 
• Dunne vs Haskins – PROGRESS ORLANDO

RPW Epic Encounter

Martin Stone and Sami Callihan v CCK

A great match up to start this off. Very chaotic at times and certainly didn’t stick to the rules but there was a lot of good spots and some great double team moments. A great start to the show. CCK are a great addition to the roster.

Jay White vs Angelico

Jay White has grown so much, in size,  stature and character over the last year that he’s almost unrecognisable and he gets better every time I see him. Angelico is someone I’ve heard a lot about, but hadn’t yet seen, so when this was booked I was excited. The match itself was good. Spots galore and a great amount of chain wrestling and a decent story.

Zack Gibson vs Goto

Now we reach dream match territory. Two of my favourites who wrestle what I had imagined would be complementary styles. This was a cracker full of brutal strikes, some good power moves, good submission work and some great comedy. I always pop when Gibson gets the car stereo.

Marty Scurll vs Hiromu Takahashi

Probably the match on the card I was most looking forward to and boy this did not disappoint. I presume it was the first half main, and I needed to pause the 9n demand feed and have a break myself. There was masses of innovation from both guys, they told an amazing story and included some great technical wrestling and some big spots. Wow.

Josh Bodom vs Will Ospreay

These guys had one hell of a job to follow the previous match but they were certainly up to the task. They told a phenomenal story based around Ospreay’s injured back and Will working Bodom’s knee. A clear face heel dynamic, some incredible false finishes another brilliant match.

Sha Samuels vs James Castle

These two were never going to be able to follow the previous two matches in a pure wrestling match, but by including a no DQ stipulation they certainly managed it. Some brutal spots, some great comedy and an awesome pop for Sha when he levelled referee Chris Roberts!

Zack Sabre Jr vs Kushida

Another of the matches I’d been looking forward to and it was another incredible match.  Amazing technical wrestling on show from both wrestlers and this match was a back and forth contest that was hard to take your eyes off. Brilliant match.

The Elite vs Lio Rush, Shane Strickland and Ryan Smile

This was a main event for the ages and a worth match to top off an excellent card. There was some massive spots, lots of fun, great banter and plenty of controlled chaos, also a plethora of super kicks. The elite showing why they are selling out arenas world wide and Rush, Smile and Strickland showing they can hang with the best.

Well done RevPro on another cracking York Hall event.

RPW Cockpit 15

Eddie Dennis vs Rob Lias

It’s been good to see the evolution of Rob Lias recently and this as a good showing against the pride of Wales.  The match had some funny moments, some good spots and a good narrative that looks to further the evolution. A great starting match and one that was well placed on the card.

Dan Magee vs Gideon Grey

Recently I’ve been very impressed with the work of Gideon Grey, and I’ve also enjoyed Magee’s matches and ongoing feud with Lias, so I was hoping this would be a good Un. It was an enjoyable match that told a good story and built the mystery around Gideonas well as the Magee/Lias angle.

Jinny vs Toni Storm

It’s good to see RPW are finally taking women’s wrestling seriously and this is a serious match to book. Two of the best women on the independent circuit. This was a racking match that built both women’s character and story and certainly lifted the bar for the women’s division going forward 

Zack Gibson and Josh Bodom vs Will Ospreay and Bubblegum

4 of my favourites on the RevPro roster in one epic tag match. Plenty of story telling, loads of spots and even though someweren’t as clean as they could have been.this was an excellent match that I very much enjoyed.

Martin Stone vs Luke Phoenix

Stone is someone I’ve enjoyed watching for years, and Luke is someone I’ve only ever seen once but who very much impressed me in that match. This was a good solid match. Worked well from both guys. Told.a great story and helped with the ongoing push of the guv’nor.

RJ Singh vs Sha Samuel

Two solid guys who put on a decent match that furthered a storyline and allowed both guys to showcase their abilities.

CCK vs Ryan Smile and Shane Strickland

The second cockpit showing a row that the tag titles took the main event, and rightly so given the quality that is currently residing in the RevPro tag division. This was a great main eventhing that told a great story and featured plenty of high spots.  I think Ryan Smile could be the breakout star of 2017.

RPW Orlando

Sami Callihan vs Jay White
Exciting match to be booked first up. Sami has been a top guy everywhere for years and Jay is one of the fastest rising stars. This was a great match, it told a great story and kept me enthralled throughout with some great outside of the ring work and amazing matt and submission work.

Martin Stone vs Jeff Cobb

Good solid match from two awesome wrestler’s.  Great technical work on show from both and a good narrative throughout. Cobb is fast becoming a firm favourite of mine and Stone has been for years.

Gideon Grey vs Swoggle 

This promised to be an instant classic for any comedy wrestling fans. It delivered on the entertainment value and didn’t go too long. Rather enjoyable.

Marty Scurll vs Ricochet 

This match was incredible. It was fast paced, had plenty of high spots and some very funny moments. Great crowd interaction and some heartfelt promos to end it. I very much enjoyed this one.

Josh Bodom vs David Starr

Another amazing David Starr match, he is an incredible talent and Bodom was a great foil.for him. They told a great story though some amazing chain wrestling, some great high spots and perfectly executed false finishes. This was an instant classic.

Rey Fenix vs Will Ospreay 

Seeing these two in a match is amazing. Two of the world’s premier high flyers ginger at it at pro wrestling’s biggest weekend. The match itself was very bit as a amazing as I imagined it would be. Full of flips and spins and everything lucha libre. It also told a great story and made both guys look incredible.

Shane Strickland and Ryan Smile vs Unbreakable F’N Machines

Two of the best high flyers around vs two of the biggest and strongest men in the industry. This meeting of contrasting styles could have gone either way and fortunately for all.of us it worked really well. A great story was told and all 4 guys got to play to their strengths and they all made me laugh.

Penta Zero M vs Zack Sabre Jr

Another quality match and a fitting end to the show. ZSJ never ceases to impress with his submissions and transitions. Penta is an excellent worker and the styles meshed well. Heel Zack is certainly something different and I’m enjoying this run.

RPW Cockpit 14

Rob Lias vs Curtis Chapman

This squashed to match was a great way to continue the evolution of Rob Lias from honorable contender to main card heel. The subsequent run in from Dan Magee built well on their ongoing story and I look forward to seeing more.

Zack Gibson vs Eddie Dennis

Two of my favourite British wrestlers going head to head. Great promos from both to start then a well worked match that had everything: power moves, high flying, matt wrestling and comedy. Loved it.

David Starr vs Bubblegum 

I had never heard of David Starr before he arrived at my local promotion in October for TCW vs CZW. I was blown away by how good he was and he seems to be a little bit better everytime I see him. Bubblegum has been around the UK scene for.a long while and I’ve seen him have great matches with lots of people, but this was probably my favourite match of his so far. I loved everything about it.  It was amazing. Probably my match of the night, but that’s a tough call on what was probably the best independent show of the year so far. Certainly the best RevPro show.

Moustache Mountain vs Revolutionists

Another quality match. Interesting Dynamic with Sha and Castle and I look forward to that feud panning out. Great team spots, good story, good high spots and generally 4 talented guys going at it.

Dave Mastiff vs Jeff Cobb

Great power match. The highlight for me was some awesome suplexes that put even Lesnar and Angle to shame. Jeff Cobb is an amazing talent and I imagine he will be WWE bound very soon.

Jinny then came abd cut a great promo and had a good square off with Rhea O’Rilley. I hope this signifies a new dawn for RevPro as a good quality women’s division, or even programme, has been the only thing lacking.

Pete Dunne vs Ryan Smile

Another great match. Pete Dunne is one of the best in the world and I think Ryan Smile is on his way to join him. Great work from both and my favourite moment was a no sold Canadian destroyer, although I do worry about the cheapen in of that move. It looks amazing, but it’s used so often and by most people for false finishes (used at least twice on this card and not for a finish) that I fear it will lose its impact as a finisher.

Josh Bodom vs RJ Singh 

Solid match. RJs return from retirement continues to impress me. Good heat for Josh and a postscript that set up a great build for an Orlando match with Starr.

Timothy Thatcher vs Matt Riddle

Great match. Good submissions hard strikes. These two are suberb stuff strikers and both know their way around the matt. The finish was one of the most painful submissions I think I’ve ever seen!

CCK  vs Redman and Sterling 

This was a brilliantly worked match that had be marking out left right and center. Some awesome work from all 4 guys, all of whom are supremely talented individuals. The false finish arena restart was brilliant and Chris Roberts played his part really really well. Very much enjoyed this one.

WRW Chapter 3: A new beginning

Chapter 3 of White Rose Wrestling is in the books and @chimerarouge and @atlaswrestling have lots of great conversation about all that’s happened in the world of pro wrestling over the last 4 weeks or so.

As always you can catch the latest episode on soundcloud here or cast box here. You can also check out all past episodes on cast box. 

This time we discussed (start times in brackets):

WWE – including Fastlane, the road to Wrestlemania and the Hall of Fame class of 2017 (0:00)

PROGRESS Chapter 44 – Old Man Yells at Cloud (17:30)

New Japan Pro Wrestling – including Honor Rising and the 45^th Anniversary show (27:00)

RevPro – Live at Portsmouth 7 and Live at the Cockpit 14 (39:00)

Tidal Championship Wrestling – Wipeout – A local promotion doing well! (44:00)

ICW Fight Club Tour – Leeds (50:00)

CZW 18^th Anniversary show (57:00)

Ring of Honor – including Manhattan Mayhem and 15^th Anniversary (1:00:00)

Promotion Focus –  in which Atlas talks Melbourne City Wrestling (1:05:00) and Chimera talks Pro Wrestling Guerilla (1:08:00)

Wrestling Podcasts (1:11:00)

Controversies – Including PCW and the Hardy Boys (1:16:00)

Listener questions, top 3 moments and matches (1:20:00)

February 2017

After January’s brilliance February had a lot to live up to. There may not have been any matches that got the world talking in the way Okada and Omega or Cena Styles did, but there was certainly some incredible matches during the month.

Here I’m going to run down my top 5 and 8ve also included a list of matches I loved at the end. This isn’t a comprehensive list, I’ve not seen all the events,  so if you like any I’ve not mentioned please let me know so I can check them out. There are a couple of events I plan to watch, so I may add to this. I have limited myself to 1 match per show to help narrow it down!

5. Elimination Chamber Match

This match was superb. It was booked really well, set up and furthered feuds well and included dome great spots and great wrestling segment. Plus it had the brutality of an elimination chamber. 

4. Shibata and Jay Lethal vs Cody Rhodes and Hangman Page – Honor Rising Day 1

4 supremely talented wrestlers going at it hammer and tongs. I think Shibata is incapable of having a bad match! I enjoyed this from the start and am excited to see where Shibata and Cody’s feud heads next.

3. Adam Cole vs Yoshi-Hashi – Honor Rising Day 2

This match was amazing. They worked the crowd into frenzy after frenzy, had some awesome comedy sections, some great heel work, some beautiful moves and some technical brilliance. Well worth a watch.

2. Matt Riddle vs David Starr – CZW 18

These are two of my favourite wrestlers in the world at this moment in time and this match was incredible. It had brutal strikes, brilliant technical wrestling, awesome spots and hilarious comedy – including a ref piledriver! On top of that it told a great story and had me marking out throughout. 

1. Nathan Cruz vs El Ligero – PROGRESS 44

Oh. My. Word. After January’s ZSJ vs Villain match I thought it would be a long time before I saw a British match that good, but this one was certainly up there with it! I’ve herd Cruz call Ligero his mentor and I know they have a big history together. I believe they once spent a whole summer wrestling each other 10 times a week in All Star so that shows how well they know each other. 

Their story in PROGRESS has been running since the very start. They feuds for the title than formed a tag team and stable that has rin ever since. This is the first match in a feud that has come about from the gradual break up of that stable.

The match was incredible. It drew on their previous story really well, bit itvalso told a story well enough for people to be hooked even if they had never seen either guy before.Cruz was at his magnificent heel best and Ligero was his usual awesome self. It was funny, emotional and genuinely jaw dropping. I can’t wait to see them go at it again.

• Elimination Chamber Match – EC
• Mickie James vs Becky Lynch – EC
• Gideon Gray vs Timothy Thatcher – LAC 13
• ZSJ vs Speedball Mike Bailey – LAC13
• Marty Scurll vs Luke Phoenix – LAC13
• Travis Banks vs Ryan Smile – LAC13
• Okada vs Minoru Suzuki – New Beginnings in Sapporo
• Juice Robinson vs Goto – New Beginnings in Sapporo
• Michael Elgin vs Naito – New Beginnings in Osaka
• Dragon Lee vs Takahashi – New Beginnings in Osaka
• Rampage vs Eddie Dennis – Tidal Wipe out
• Riots vs New Nation – Tidal Wipe out
• Big Show vs Braun Strowman – Raw 20.02.17
• Matt Riddle vs David Starr – CZW 18
• Scarlett and Graves vs EYFBO – CZW 18
• Joey Janela vs Stockade – CZW 18
• Pete Dunne vs MAndrews – NXT 22.02.17
• Travis Banks vs Jordan Devlin – PROGRESS 44
• Pastor Bill Eaver vs Sebastian – PROGRESS 44
• MAndrews vs Strickland – PROGRESS 44
• Nathan Cruz vs El Ligero – PROGRESS 44
• Haskins, Havoc and Webster vs BSS  – PROGRESS 44
• The Young Bucks vs War Machine – Honor Rising Day 1
• Shibata and Jay Lethal vs Cody Rhodes and Hangman Page – Honor Rising Day 1
• The Briscoes vs Omega and Cole – Honor Rising Day 1
• Adam Cole vs Yoshi-Hashi – Honor Rising Day 2
• Okada, Ospreay and the Briscoes vs Omega, Rhodes and the Young Bucks – Honor Rising Day 2