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 

 

July

July was a pretty quiet month for live events. I only got to 1, PROGRESS 53. But I still watched a fair bit. No surprises that the G1 was top of my watch list.

My top 5:

5: Okada vs Sanada

This was an incredible match, which included the current PWI no 1 wrestler. I love Okada and I love all of LIJ. Great match.

4: Omega vs Tama Tonga

This was another cracker, and one that I hadn’t expected to enjoy so much. It teased a bullet club vs elite war that I’m sure will eventually come and certainly raised Tama Tonga’s stock in singles division.

3: Warmachine vs London Riots 

Two amazing tag teams putting on an incredible show in why looks to have been one of the London Riots last matches together. This was a great match that followed on well from the two they had last year.

2: Zack Sabre Jr vs Juice Robinson

This match was one of a plethora of great matches in the G1 USA which really was a great scene setter ahead of the G1 climax tourney.

1: Naito vs Ibushi

My favourite this month. One of many great matches each of these two has had recently and one I could watch over and over again!

The full list of matches I loved in July. Dominated by NJPW.

• Juice vs ZSJ – G1 USA
• Ishii vs Naito – G1 USA
• Omega vs Elgin – G1 USA
• Okada vs Cody – G1 USA
• Alexa Bliss vs Sasha Banks – Great balls of fire
• Hardys vs Shemus and Cesaro – Great balls of fire
• Lethal vs Omega – G1 USA
• ZSJ vs Ishii – G1 USA
• LIJ vs Jay, Juice, Dragon Lee, Titan and Volador Jr – G1 USA
• Young bucks vs rpg G1 USA
• Omega vs Ishii G1 USA
• London Riots vs War Machine – PROGRESS 51
• Riddle vs WALTER – PROGRESS 51
• Tanahashi vs ZSJ – G1 Climax
• Ishii vs Goto – G1 Climax
• Naito vs Ibusi2- G1 Climax
• Pete Dunne vs Eddie Dennis – PROGRESS 52
• Warmachine vs BSS – PROGRESS 52
• Toni Storm vs Laura Di Matteo – PROGRESS 52
• Matt Riddle vs Travis Banks – PROGRESS 52
• Sanada vs Evil – G1 Climax
• Omega vs Suzuki – G1 Climax
• Makabe vs Ishii – G1 Climax
• Ibusi vs ZSJ ‘ G1 Climax
• Yoshi Hashi vs Naito – G1 Climax
• Juice vs EVIL – G1 Climax
• Suzuki vs Sanada  – G1 Climax
• Omega vs Tama Tonga – G1 Climax
• Yoshi Hashi vs ZSJ – G1 Climax
• Ibushi vs Ishii – G1 Climax
• Makabe vs Goto – G1 Climax
• Rob Lynch vs James Davies – PROGRESS 53
• Travis Banks vs Keith Lee – PROGRESS 53
• Toni Storm vs Candice Le Rae – PROGRESS 53
• Juice vs Suzuki – G1 Climax
• Tama Tonga vs Evil – G1 Climax
• Okada vs Sanada – G1 Climax
• Tanahashi vs Goto – G1 Climax
• Juice vs Tama Tonga – G1 Climax
• Yano vs Sanada – G1 Climax
• Suzuki vs Evil – G1 Climax
• Okada vs Kojima – G1 Climax
• Omega vs Elgin – G1 Climax
• Ibushi vs Fale – G1 Climax
• ZSJ vs Goto – G1 Climax
• Yoshi Hashi vs Tanahashi – G1 Climax
• Naito vs Ishii – G1 Climax 

Great balls of fire

What a strange name for a wrestling event.

Neville vs Akira Tozawa

Great start to the show. Two superb wrestlers putting on a good warm up match. Exactly what you want from a pre show match.

Bray Wyatt vs Seth Rollins

This match wasn’t bad. Some great parts involved and a decent opener for the show proper. I feel that both these guys need to freshen up a bit though. Nothing new has happened with them lately.

Enzo vs Cass

This match was decent. It furthered the story well and sets Cass up for a big run. I would have loved to see Enzo go over though.

Hardy Boys vs Cesaro and Sheamus

I loved this match. Great spots, a great story and two teams who have me invested. Loved every minute. 

Alexa Bliss vs Sasha Banks

I really enjoyed this match. I tho7ght it told a great story and I look forward to seeing where it goes from here.

The Miz vs Dean Ambrose

This was an enjoyable match. But I feel I’ve seen it enough for now. I’d like to see these guys go off into new feuds. I love the miztourage though.

Braun Strowman vs Roman Reigns

This was a cracker from two behemoths that I imagine will be revisiting this feud on and off for decades. The aftermath ha me intrigued and I look forward to seeing what’s next.

Heath Slater vs Curt Hawkins 

Could have been Great, two very underrated superstars not given any time and the whole.match not even shown.

Brock vs Joe 

Great for what it was. I hope this isn’t the end of the feud and I hope to see more of these twl.

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

PROGRESS Orlando

Oh my, massive show. It seems a lot bigger than the other mania weekend shows I’ve seen. Jim seemed genuinely overwhelmed at start and I could see why. Great crowd, great atmosphere and amazing video package to kick it off.

Zack Sabre Jr vs Jimmy Havoc

What a match to kick things off! Superb match, Havoc showed he can hang with the best in a technical match, as well.as the death match stuff he’s famous for. Showcased the British style.well and allowed both to show how good they are. I was impressed by the depth of PROGRESS knowledge the WWN commentary team had, obviously done their homework,  unlike some of the commentary teams on the Wrestlecon Shows.

James Drake vs Spud

It’s good to see SPUD back in PROGRESS again, and with a different, but equally great, progress branded outfit. Great match. Drake is growing into the heel bully role well and Spud is great at playing the victim role. Both guts showing they Han go at it in a fee styles and tell a good story.

Jinny vs Toni Storm

This is the second time I’ve seen these two wrestle each other in a few days. I think the matches may have been in a few days too and I think this might have actually been first. This, like the other, was a great match.  Some of the same spots but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Overall I think I preferred this one as a better story. 

SPPT vs JML

I’m a massive fan of all these guys, although I am more used to seeing JML as singles wrestlers.it was great to.see Dhalia hadn’t let a broken leg get in the way of her trip to Orlando.

This was an incredible match.  Great spots, great tag worm and great psychology..I hope to see JML back in PROGRESS. SPPT nearly fully face now. They are wrestling less like heels and the crowd are fully behind them.

Atlas title: Matt Riddle vs Trent Seven

Another great match on this awesome card. Both are solid workers and this really showed how good they are.  It’s especially amazing considering how little time Matt Riddle has been doing this for!

WWE UK title: MAndrews vs Tyler Bate

This was an incredible match. Well paced and told a great story. Tyler is going to be one of the best all rounders ever, and MAndrews is a phenomenal blur eye high flyer. Styles meshed well and I loved the whole match.

PROGRESS Championship: Mark Haskins vs Pete Dunne

Excellent main event. Told.a cracking story and Pete Dunne showed he is a master of working body parts and of drawing heel.heat. Haskins was great too,  sowing he too has matt skills as well as being an incredible high flyer. Superb match to end a great card.

I thought this was a great show, and I was massively impressed with the commentary team throughout. They had a great knowledge of PROGRESS history and each of the wrestlers and managed to interweave these facts in seemlessly while calling the match in a way to elevate the moves and help with the storytelling.  This was in stark contrast to some of the other shows that were let down by poor commentary.

NXT Takeover – Orlando

Sanity vs Roderick Strong, Tye Dillinger, Ruby Riot and Kasius Ohno 

I’m not normally a massive fan of these multinational tag matches but this one came from a good story line and furthered it really well. The match was well.booked and gave all.involved a chance to.to show what they are all about on the big stage. Potential singles matches between Ohno and Dain, Ohno and Young, Strong and Young and Strong and Dain look very interesting. I’m excited to see the WWE careers of all involved progress.

Aleister Black vs Andrade Cien Almas

I was super stoked to see Tommy End in his new personal on the big stage and this match didn’t disappoint. A good way to announce his arrival to WWE and he certainly held some of his repetoire back so has a lot of places to go. Cien was a good foil and they worked well together. I look forward to seeing where they all go. 

DIY vs The Revival vs The Authors of Pain

I was unsure how this one would pan out. I’ve been impressed by all three teams in the past but the idea of a triple threat elimination match including them all was a little hard to comprehend. When it came, however, I was blown away. The dynamic was brilliant. The DIY / Revival teaming up for bits, refusing tags to go and face AoP etc was great. It told a great atopy through out and included some awesome spots. I feel all the teams were elevated in this one. This was possibly my favourite match. Certainly in the top 2.

Asuka vs Ember Moon

This match was incredible. Two phenomenonally talented wrestler went out and put on a phenomenal match. It had some great psychology, some tough strikes and some great sequences. I very much enjoyed this and hope the feud continues a while longer.

Bobby Roode Vs Shinsuke Nakamura

Oh. My. Word. This was a sublime match. Their previous bout from San Antonio was one of my favourite ever matches and I did not think I would enjoy this as much, but in the end I think I enjoyed it more. Both guys are amazing wrestlers and great story tellers and their experience has really shown through in their feud. Their first match was great but this took it up a level and the referencesto match one just made it awesome for me. Probably my favourite match.

Bobby Roode is the real deal.and I think it’s a shame he hasn’t found his way to WWE earlier.  Nakamura has masses of talent and culd be the biggest Japanese star the WWE has ever seen. It’s an exciting time for both of them. I hope to see much much mor of them.

General thoughts:

• NXT Takeover seems to be the most consistently good thing WWE put out.  Every takeover is awesome and I really look forward to them all.
• It’s great to see that culture change in WWE that has lead to great indie wrestlers getting a chance to shine on the big stage. It will be good for WWE and will hopefully increase the appetite for indie events.
• Drew Galloway/McIntyre was at ringside. That was a shock and exciting. I hope he has resigned. He would be a great addition to any of the three brands.
• Loved the new belts

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