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#it's so nice to see kushida in impact
dreamsandflowers · 2 years
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andymull · 5 years
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WWE NXT Takeover Toronto 2019 – Preview & Predictions
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Adam Cole (c) vs Johnny Gargano – NXT Championship 2 Out Of 3 Falls Match
The third big match of their rivalry takes place tonight, and truthfully mostly everything has already been said about both guys. The extra touches to this feud recently have been some great video packages put together by the NXT team, the Cole celebration tour video visiting Gargano’s father as well as his gym, and this weeks hype video were both awesome in adding the extra touches to make this feel different to the other matches.
Now the added difference here with the 2 out of 3 falls stipulation is both guys getting to select their own stip to one of the falls, and NXT GM William Regal adding one for the 3rd fall if needed. A straight one on one match as well as a street fight have already been chosen by the competitors, but come on this is blatantly going 3 falls so all comes down to Regals choice. The smirk/grin that Regal gave during this weeks show when talking about it had got me thinking one of two things, either we go completely comedic to confuse everyone and Regal names the 3rd fall as musical chairs. Or, they go 1-1 and both guys are yelling at Regal to make a bigger stip like a first blood match for example, Regal must beat it and announces, ‘loser leaves NXT’. The crowd will pop in confusement and shock and both wrestlers will love the chance to vanquish the other, then we can have them regret the decision very quickly after allowing some interesting promos after by Regal in regretting the decision but HAVING to go big. Maybe just a cage match with weapons....
I don’t see the result here going any other way than Cole walking out as champion as I need Gargano to be out of the title picture as he has bored me a fair bit lately, out of NXT or not I just need him doing something fresh for awhile – COLE
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Shayna Baszler (c) vs Mia Yim – NXT Women’s Championship Match
Ive been saying it for months but is this actually the time to take the title away from Shayna and close out her second title reign? The women’s division does need a change as she’s mowed threw most of the women she’s faced, but, I don’t really rate Yim that highly.
After Mia came in I said to friends that I don’t rate her but gave her time to show me more in her NXT run, but she really hasn’t done too much to impress me sadly. The story is there for her, the video package was great, but her in-ring isn’t my favourite (not saying she’s awful in the slightest) and calling herself the HBIC is dreadful. If you’re outside of the WWE and a heel then great the Head Bitch In Charge is a decent gimmick to sell shirts from, but in the WWE the Head Baddie In Charge (or Blasian) just sounds stupid especially as she’s a face lol
But as I mentioned I still think they have her take the strap, more on Shayna later, then we move to Io moving into the title scene and quickly taking the belt herself – YIM
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Pete Dunne vs The Velveteen Dream (c) vs Roderick Strong – NXT North American Triple Threat Match
This match should be great, all talented guys that will be around for years growing and growing, and for this match I see Roddy being the guy to shine. He’s been such a monster in the ring for quite awhile now and goes so far under the radar its unbelievable, if the guy was a foot taller he’d be in main events on Raw or Smackdown destroying people.
I did originally want a longer Dream title reign but to be honest he’s a character that really doesn’t always need a title to defined him and his character, so its not a big loss if he does indeed lose. And we don’t really know about Dunne and if he’s over in NXT for awhile or just a one off, I lean to him being around for longer and being the next challenger for this title but really he should be on Smackdown making an impact right now for me – STRONG
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The Street Profits (c) vs The Undisputed Era – NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Another match I sadly see as being pretty easy to predict, with the Profits being on Raw weekly they really are just counting down the days with NXT until the move is a full one, and the final chapter they need to close is that of having the tag titles. But the main thing here is that they NEED to have a top notch quality match tonight to see them make the move more smoothly, if they stink up the joint they may see their NXT stay extended (they wont, don’t worry).
Will be nice to see them make the jump to Raw but really are a team that needs more seasoning for another year as the top guys in the division, as they really haven’t had a long run on tv compared to others as they seem to have been slightly streaky in their appearances for awhile. Plus, I think the company is missing a trick by not having them both make the jump with Bianca Belair at their side, all three as equals making an impact all motivating each other to success, would be a super positive stable.
Sadly the Undisputed Era don’t seem to be close to getting called so while in NXT I need them all in main events as much as possible, I don’t think they fully know what they have with the group until they don’t have them. These guys are vital in getting newer wrestlers tv ready as well as giving them vital in-ring experience working with great wrestlers. Plus the key thing for me is that if you hadn’t noticed this show will finish with ALL of the Undisputed Era holding gold to close the show…… - UE
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Candice LaRea vs Io Shirai
A second women’s match on a Takeover, at last, this match should be really fast paced and passionate with both women being great. Io’s new heel character is undoubtedly awesome and if your more than just a WWE viewer you’ve most likely seen her before and know the damage she can produce. And isn’t it nice that Candice finally is getting the chance and a bigger spotlight to shine her-self, as she really hasn’t had the focus she deserves since joining the company (Hi Keith!)
A one-sided match this should become but that doesn’t mean it wont be fun along the way, Io takes the win and moves higher up the card. Man, how much better and more passionate though would this have been if Kairi hadn’t have been called up and Io had turned on her? – SHIRAI
 This should, as usual, be a really fun NXT Takeover, albeit a heel heavy winners side.
I have a feeling there may be afew callups in the near future and some of the results tonight may make it clearer as to who will be gone soon or who will be wound down slightly over the next month before leaving. Dream/Profits/Shayna are the main people im thinking about and the ones to keep an eye on, I expect the Profits to take a round of applause after their bout similar to Ricochet and Black did previously.
As well as the matches announced I think they may still do something with Riddle/Dain after them not having their match on this weeks tv, maybe a quick match or another big angle to setup something for tv perhaps?
The depth they have currently is massive when you cant guarantee a Matt Riddle match, let alone having Keith Lee under contract and not really doing anything solid with him in a year, or Kushida who hasn’t been a focus the past few weeks after being focused on pretty heavy since his debut.
And to lead on from that Im not sure we really need more guys coming BACK to NXT from the main roster, Breeze/Dango/Crews and potentially more. While it does give them the chance to alter their gimmicks and regain some confidence from how they’ve been handled the past few years on the main roster, they really just are taking tv time from others that need it more. The problem we have is that the company aren’t releasing people anymore with AEW as competition so many guys are just backstage during Raw watching the show or eating in catering, at least the guys mentioned are guys that have requested to move down to help theirselves better what they do, but at the same time they’ve had the opportunity and haven’t been able to cling to it while others are desperate for that same opportunity. But hey, this is a topic we could talk on A LOT more another time.
Enjoy the show folks and keep your eyes peeled, I smell a breakout guys invasion with Stokely looking for someone to manage.
Bye for now
Andy
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ROH Best in the world 2018 Review: Friday June 29, from the UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, Maryland
ROH Six man Tag team titles: The Kingdom vs LIJ:[***]
Not a bad opener to start things off. Crowd into the match and obviously they all cheared for the New Japan Guys, while Matt taven did everything to get hated by the crowd and even mimicked Naito and his famous taunt. As predicted by many of us, Kingdom kept their titles after their rockstar super nova on Bushi and personally it's a smart move as they protected Sanada and EVIL before their rematch with the Young Bucks
Winners AND STILL ROH Six Man Tag Team Champions: The Kingdom
Bully Ray vs Flip Gordon:[*1/2]
On Paper it could have been a good match...on paper tho because it has been pretty bad to be honest. Flip did his best to make the match look good but at the end it just lasted 5 mins, Bully did fuck all and got DQ. Post match beatdown was ok but still it was a bad match overall and i can't honestly understand Bully's stint in ROH thus far. He has done nothing at all, if you don't count all the retirement speeches. Just do something for the sake of wrestling
Winner by DQ: Flip Gordon
Sumie Sakai, Jenny Rose, Mayu Iwatani, and Tenille Dashwood vs. Kelly Klein, Kagetsu, Hana Kimura, and Hazuki:[***]
Not a bad at all from the ladies, even tho it started in a quite sloppy fashion but as it moved on, the match got much better and all the ladies had their time to deliver a good performance. The babyfaces won thanks to a nice tiger suplex with a bridge from Mayu Iwatani on Hana Kimura. Sakai vs Dashwood should be the next title match for the next ROH PPV. And maybe it could be a good time to give the title to Tenille as, in my honest opinion, sumie still has to do something to impress me and the match with the former Emma could be a good time to shine
Winners: Sumie Sakai, Jenny Rose, Mayu Iwatani, and Tenille Dashwood
Austin Aries vs Kenny King:[***1/2]
Getting in the hot part of the card, we have a match that delivered as we expected and that actually told a nice story: Kenny tried to be a friend with Aries while the nowadays Impact World Champion did anything to win: lies, tried to cheat, used every shenenigans in his book to win and he actually made it...the final stretch was really good: kenny went for the royal flush, aries lied and he got saved and then as he rolled him back in the ring, Kenny got rolled up by Aries...few minutes later, roles are switched but Aries did the brianbuster outside of the ring, got rolled up for two but then King raised white flag after a rolling forearm and another brainbuster by Aries. Wondering what ROH has planned for Aries since he can work with both ROH and Impact and it would be cool to see him face the ROH world champ or winning the TV title.
Winner: Austin Aries
KUSHIDA vs Jay Lethal:[****]
In the last couple of months, Lethal went on a quest to beat every guy who beat him in a 1 on 1 match. There was one last guy: KUSHIDA. I was expecting Lethal to be the heel here but it was actually KUSHIDA who stole lethal's move as Black Machismo and even poking fun at him. Really great match between those guys who tore the house down, lots of cool spots, cool storytelling and Lethal won as he should. Now i'd say Lethal goes back in the ROH World Title picture as there is only thing left for him after he beat the guys who beat him in the past. Also it would be a good move to put the belt on him as he is the franchise of the company at the moment. Also, when it was the last time these two guys had a bad match with someone? (and ROH actually did what i said the next day)
Winner: Jay Lethal
Baltimore Street fight for ROH TV Championship: Punishment Martinez vs Adam Page:[***1/2]
So this match felt really weird to me: it was brutal, it had a good storytelling but at the same time it had a two moments where i thought “Why?”. The ziptie stuff was not a good thing for me, because usually when a heel goes for tape, cuffs or zipties during a match, that turns against him (unlike it is in NXT where a heel can win while being handcuffed and also be a great heel) and the ending: Martinez shoulder were DOWN and i'm not even sure that Page had his shoulders down...unless it is a way to set a rematch, this is poor botch, but i'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Page is really growing on me, not as a character, but he is getting a really great performer and honestly he deserves a title reign...and if Punishment Martinez won the TV Title (not a fan of him), also Page can and will have a better run for sure #PushHangman
Winner AND STILL ROH TV Champion: Punishment Martinez
ROH Tag Team Championship: Young Bucks vs The Briscoes:[****1/4]
Easily...easily the best match of the night. Young Bucks are on a roll at the moment and they are delivering everywhere they wrestle, even tho this time i felt that The Briscoes weren't on a good day..or maybe it's just me. The match was great and i loved how the Bucks went all out as always to get the W, even Nick's comeback on the outside was really cool and the tried some new stuff like the springboard cutter..Briscoes could have won the match with a Jaydriller on a chair but Matt kicked out and that moment was really cool too...and at the end of the day, they regained with their red neck bogie. Post match we had the champs attacking the Bucks and SCU came in and they attacked the Briscoes and not the bucks as you would expect after a long feud they had, which means something will happen during BTE...and which also means that SCU will get a title shot soon.
Winners AND STILL ROH Tag Team Champions: The Briscoes
3 way for the ROH World Championship: Marty Scurll vs Cody vs Dalton Castle:[***1/2]
New theme for Scurll which i'll link you HERE so you can hear it, because it is a really great work from a guy who makes sick covers. The match was actually good even tho Castle is really banged up with all his injuries and felt very limited, but at the same time, the way they produced it was nice. Booking wise tho not a big fan of the result, even tho some part of the storytelling were great: Aldis helping cody trying to win because he wanted to fight for the ROH title at All in, Marty going after Cody even tho they are part of Bullet Club...but Castle winning and marty being pinned isn't smart at all...i get why Cody didn't win, because he will lose soon to Omega and they want their champ to look good, but at the same time, if your champ is wrestling while injured pretty badly, why not giving the title to Scurll? Castle is a good wrestler and character but his title reign so far has been bad. Wrestling wise ROH always does a great job, but booking wise....
Winner AND STILL ROH World Champion: Dalton Castle
Overall: First ROH Review on the blog and i believe i picked the right event to start because it was really solid and all matches have been good (the Bully Ray vs Flip Gordon i wouldn't even call it a match to be fair). Booking tho has been a bit missing and it's the only downside of a really good event you should check out. Hopefully more great ROH PPVs are on the way [7.5]
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placetobenation · 7 years
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September 16th, 18:00 from Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall, Hiroshima
The second of three Destruction shows sees Hiroshi Tanahashi defend his Intercontinental title against Zack Sabre Jr., KUSHIDA vs. El Desperado for the junior title and both sets of tag titles on the line. Let’s get to it.
Here we go…
Tiger Mask IV, Jushin Thunder Liger & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. CHAOS (Jado, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto)
Jado extended a handshake to Liger, but it was a ruse! Liger responded by flattening every opponent with a Shotei, only to be tripped on the apron and subsequently imperilled. Yoshi-Hashi and Goto took turns hitting signature offence, but Liger cut Goto short with a top-rope superplex and made the hot tag to Tenzan. Mongolian Chops and a suplex to Goto earned two, then they traded elbows before Tenzan was clotheslined and Yoshi returned. Tag made to Tiger Mask too, who scored a diving crossbody and crucifix pin for a near-fall, and a Tiger Driver got the same. Yoshi scored a left-handed lariat, however, and tied Tiger up in the Butterfly Lock for a submission victory. A very solid little opener. **1/4
Taguchi Japan (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) vs. Bullet Club (Leo Tonga & Bad Luck Fale)
A reminder that Leo Tonga, son of Haku and brother to the Guerrillas of Destiny, is replacing Kenny Omega, who is due back for next weekend’s main event. This is a repeat of the Fukushima match.
Finlay and Juice dropkicked Fale from the ring to target Tonga, but the plan was short-lived and Juice was soon double-team whipped into the guardrail outside, giving the big men the advantage. Back in, Tonga and Fale pummelled Juice, with Tonga’s delayed suplex earning two before Juice hit back and Tonga accidentally knocked his partner from the apron. Plancha from Finlay onto Fale outside, and Juice’s senton on Tonga got two. Tonga caught Juice coming down from the top, but Finlay was in to hit a Stunner and Juice followed with Pulp Friction for a second win in over their opponents. Juice gets a win, Tonga gets some ring time. Job done. *1/2
Roppongi Vice (Rocky Romero & Beretta) vs. Bullet Club (Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi)
Romero and Beretta mutually agreed to part ways after losing the junior tag titles at the G1 Special in the USA: Night 2 show in July and this has been promoted as Roppongi Vice’s final match. Yujiro, meanwhile, has taken exception to Beretta’s heavyweight ambitions on this tour and has so far bested him at every opportunity, including last weekend’s tag match in which Beretta teamed with Jado.
Bullet Club attacked before the bell, naturally, then targeted Beretta, keeping him cornered and earning a couple of two-counts (including one from Owens’ slingshot Codebreaker), but Beretta countered Owens’ straitjacket chinlock, hit a tornado DDT and made the hot tag! Springboard crossbody from Romero and he hit both opponents with Forever clotheslines. Roppongi Vice scored a double-team dropkick on Yujiro, but Owens blocked Strong Zero and legal man Beretta was planted with an assisted neckbreaker for two. The package piledriver was blocked, then Roppongi scored a double knee lift and Romero wiped out Yujiro with a suicide dive. Strong Zero to Owens! One, two, three! And Roppongi Vice’s final match as a team ends in a win!
Yujiro got on the mic to challenge Beretta to a singles match, then Roppongi Vice celebrated as a team one last time. Aww, that was a nice moment and a decent match to boot. **3/4
Kota Ibushi, Michael Elgin & Togi Makabe vs. Suzuki-gun (TAKA Michinoku, Takashi Iizuka & Minoru Suzuki)
The fight spilled to the floor before the bell had rung and when it returned to the ring Ibushi was the subject of Iizuka’s dishonourable intentions, then in came Suzuki to swipe at the Golden Star with elbows and a headbutt. Next was Taka, who let the side down, allowing the tag to be made to Makabe, who pounded at Suzuki with mounted punches and landed a Northern Lights suplex for two. Penalty Kick from Suzuki, then they exchanged elbow strikes before Makabe floored Suzuki with a clothesline. Ibushi was back in for a strike flurry, but Iizuka choked him with a rope behind the referee’s back and looked to jab him with the metal glove, but Elgin made the save. High kick and standing moonsault from Ibushi for two, then he smashed Iizuka with the Kamigoe for the three-count!
Suzuki smashed young lions with chairs post-match, but you already knew that. There wasn’t much evidence here that the Suzuki/Elgin feud is continuing, but then Elgin didn’t do much of anything. It’s always a pleasure to see Ibushi. **1/2
IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship
Taguchi Japan (Ricochet & Ryusuke Taguchi) (c) vs. Suzuki-gun (Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Taguchi and Ricochet’s pre-match dancing was a beautiful sight. Once the bell rung, they followed with a one-man train of corner charges from Ricochet and of course Taguchi’s first effort was unsuccessful. Isolated, he tried to apologise his way out of trouble, but this did not work, and Kanemaru nailed him outside with a leg drop over the guardrail, then back in the ring Taichi used a ringbell hammer, catching him in a delicate area with a counter atomic drop. Taguchi’s sunset flip counter failed and Kanemaru used hip attacks of his own, only for Taguchi to overcome the odds and make a hot tag to Ricochet. The high-flyer ran wild, dropkicking Kanemaru out of mid-air, then hitting Taichi with a springboard clothesline and standing SSP and planting Kanemaru with a suplex combo for two. The Benadryller was blocked, Taichi was tagged and he scored an enzuigiri before removing his stripper pants, but Ricochet nailed a twisting cutter. The Shooting Star Press hit the knees and a Gedo Clutch almost brought the with for Suzuki-gun, then Taichi went for the Last Ride, but Ricochet slipped out and a springboard dropkick preceded the hot tag.
Taguchi missed a pair of hip attacks and a counter back suplex from Kanemaru got two. Deep Impact diving DDT! Two-count only! Taguchi countered a German suplex into the ankle lock, but Taichi jabbed Taguchi with his cane then poured whisky down his throat. Double dropkick from Suzuki-gun and Taichi’s powerbomb was followed with Kanemaru’s moonsault. One, two, no! Taguchi blocked another double-team attempt with a back-jumping hip attack and Richochet returned for a top-rope frankensteiner and Benadryller to Kanemaru. Double-team Dodon/Codebreaker from Taguchi Japan, but the count was broken up by Taichi! Suicide dive from Ricochet to Taichi, then Kanemaru almost got the win with a roll-up, but Taguchi caught him in the ankle lock! Ricochet lent a hand by crunching Kanemaru with a springboard 450, then flattened Taichi once more with a twisting tope, while in the ring Kanemaru finally tapped! Taguchi Japan retain the titles!
Post-match, Rocky Romero entered the ring and said the next generation of Roppongi would be born and that Roppongi 3K are coming for the junior tag titles. Ricochet replied by saying he and Taguchi – aka Funky Future – would be the champs forever. The match was an absolute blast. A satisfying mix of Taguchi’s beautiful nonsense, Suzuki-gun’s blatant shenanigans, and Ricochet’s world-class flying. Everyone brought it. Great stuff. ****
***INTERMISSION***
IWGP Tag Team Championship
War Machine (Hanson & Raymond Rowe) (c) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) vs. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer)
Take 2 of this match, for some reason. Hanson and Archer charged at each other, then GOD took charge, then War Machine took charge, then Hanson pounced at Hanson and the match broke down (to a greater extent than the regular three-way tag “structure”). Archer again shoulder blocked Hanson out of his boots for a two-count then threw the referee to the floor in frustration. More stuff happened and the Guerrillas were back in, Loa’s Olympic Slam on Hanson earning two. Hanson made the hot tag to Rowe, who ran wild for a minute before being interrupted by KES, who in turn were interrupted by the Guerrillas. A parade of signatures culminated in KES almost hitting the Killer Bomb, but War Machine were in the right place at the right time to plant Davey Boy Jr. with Fallout for the three-count. War Machine retain.
And no-one cared. War Machine have now beaten the Guerrillas and KES in successive matches, so why is there another one of these next week? Would it have been too much to ask that we get a pair of two-on-two title matches then a three-way, if you must, on the third show? Because these matches have seriously chipped away at whatever goodwill the division was building. Mindless, heatless nothingness. *1/2
CHAOS (Gedo, Will Ospreay, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japón (Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI, SANADA, EVIL & Tetsuya Naito)
Ospreay (sans cat facepaint) and Hiromu faced off first in a swift exchange, culminating in a dive fake-out from Ospreay and a stand off. Yano and Sanada were next, with Yano insisting on a “Break!” before being caught with a rolling cradle for two then tied up in the Paradise Lock. The fight continued outside as Yano remained prone, then Sanada returned to dropkick him before Bushi choked him with a t-shirt. Ishii and Naito entered the fray and Naito’s spitwad resulted in him being dumped with a big suplex for two, but he recovered to score a low dropkick and over-the-knee drop. The slingshot corner dropkick landed and allowed LIJ to swarm while Naito earned another near-fall, but Ishii blocked the tornado DDT and hit a backdrop to put both men down. Tags made to Okada and Evil, with the former scoring first with the reverse neckbreaker and diving elbow before signalling the Rainmaker. It was ducked, however, and Evil’s fisherman buster was followed with a corner clothesline and the side kick. Lariat – two-count only. Okada blocked the STO, nailed The Dropkick, and flapjacked legal man Bushi to bring in Gedo. Gedo scored a couple of punches and set off a series of strikes and signature moves from everyone in the match. Evil planted Okada with the STO and stood over him as Bushi nailed Gedo with the MX for the win.
Post-match, Naito continued to attack Ishii’s taped leg and applied a modified figure-four, while Evil dumped Okada onto a pile of chairs with Darkness Falls! Typically good stuff here, with lots of entertaining interactions and yet more heat added to the King of Pro-Wrestling matches. ***1/4
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
KUSHIDA (c) vs. El Desperado (w/ TAKA Michinoku)
Suzuki-gun’s El Desperado earned this shot by defeating KUSHIDA in a very good match on the opening night of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament way back in May. It’s his first time challenging since October 2014.
An intense lock-up and wristlock exchange saw Kushida work his way to an advantage that was capped with a handspring elbow. Desperado pulled him off the apron, however, and followed with a vicious flipping suicide dive before taking the fight into the crowd, where he applied Numero Dos (Stretch Muffler). After Kushida limped back in, Desperado continued to punish the leg, and threatened to smash it with his guitar only to be stopped by referee Red Shoes. He settled for whipping Kushida with a belt instead, then applied a chinlock, from which Kushida broke free and landed a low dropkick. A jumping DDT planted Desperado, then Kushida took a shortcut with an eye rake and capitalised with a diving armbreaker from the middle-rope. Arm-trapped stomps allowed the double-wristlock to be applied, but Desperado countered into Numero Dos! Nicely done.
He dragged Kushida to the middle of the ring and wrenched the hold, but Kushida somehow wriggled to a rope-break. The trainer checked on Kushida while Desperado wedged a chair in the turnbuckle, but he was hoist by his own petard and then Kushida went for the arm. Desperado confused Red Shoes by claiming Kushida had ripped off his mask, then landed a low blow and Guittara de Muerta! Two-count only. Kushida blocked Pinche Loco and scored an overhead kick, but Desperado blocked Back to the Future and tripped Kushida into the wedged chair. Up top, Desperado went for super Pinche Loco, but Kushida brought him down with a flipping double-wristlock! He rolled Desperado back into the middle of the ring then planted him with Back to the Future! One, two, three.
The flow was harmed by Desperado’s many attempted shortcuts and sadly it was not the equal of their Best of the Super Juniors effort. A slightly disappointing end to Desperado’s strong run over the past few months, but a decent match nonetheless. ***1/4
Post-match, Will Ospreay was out to challenge, and acknowledged that he hadn’t been able to beat Kushida. But wait, Hiromu Takahashi was out too! And then Ospreay floored him before he had a chance to speak. Looks like Kushida/Ospreay is on at King of Pro-Wrestling.
IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (w/ TAKA Michinoku)
Sabre Jr. made a instant impression in his debut G1 by forcing Tanahashi to submit on the opening night of the tournament. As if that wasn’t enough, he repeated the trick in a tag match on the final show, so he’s more than worthy of this shot at the Ace of the Century’s title.
Tanahashi, still wearing a support on his arm, was understandably tentative in locking up with Sabre, and was promptly caught in elevated headscissors from which he eventually escaped. Sabre then yanked him down into an armbar and Tanahashi scrambled to the floor. Good idea. Back in, Sabre controlled the left arm via the wrist, but Tanahashi used his power in reply, grounding Sabre until the Englishman slid his back into control with a straitjacket chinlock. Tanahashi powered into a counter hold, drawing applause, Sabre reversed again at the second time of asking, then Tanahashi snaked back into the hold and an irritated Sabre took a time out on the floor.
When Sabre returned, Tanahashi targeted his leg, putting pressure on the hips, but Sabre somehow slipped out and wrenched Tanahashi’s injured arm with his feet! He tied up Tanahashi’s legs as he manipulated the arm, then threw dismissive kicks and some stiff European uppercuts, but a dropkick from Tanahashi sent him to the floor. No matter, as the follow-up plancha was countered mid-air to a Fujiwara armbar! Back in, Sabre scissored the arm and applied an ankle lock to both legs before once again stomping the injured arm. Tanahashi tried and failed to make an impact with elbow strikes, but did succeed in dropping Sabre on his head (accidentally) from what might’ve been a rope-hung neckbreaker. Leaping forearms from Tanahashi, and an attempted armbar was blocked with a grounded Dragon Screw, then he landed a low dropkick. Sabre kicked at the arm to block the Cloverleaf, leading to an extended exchange of pinning combinations, eventually culminating in Sabre’s overhead kick to Tanahashi’s arm. Sabre wrenched the arm and caught Tanahashi in a triangle choke, but Tanahashi turned it into the Cloverleaf! Sabre reversed again, though, and Tanahashi made the ropes.
Another low dropkick connected, but Sabre clamped back on with the Octopus Hold, modifying it mid-hold, until Tanahashi practically collapsed into the ropes. Out on the apron, Tanahashi scored a Dragon Screw, then followed up with High Fly Flow crossbody from the top-rope to the floor! High Fly Flow crossbody in the ring, but with the referee distracted Minoru Suzuki appeared to block the splash. Sabre nailed Tanahashi with a Penalty Kick for a near-fall, then Big Mike came to the rescue, and he elbowed Suzuki all the way to the back. Uppercuts from Sabre, but another Penalty Kick was countered to the Sling Blade! One, two, no! The High Fly Flow hit the knees and Sabre applied the hammerlocked armbar, but was almost rolled-up for three. European Clutch from Sabre – two-count only! Sabre jumped into a Guillotine Choke, but Tanahashi countered into a trio of spinning neckbreakers. Sling Blade again! High Fly Flow! One, two, three!
A very good match, though I suspect it won’t be to everyone’s taste. The duelling limb work was great and the slow build worked for me. Suzuki-gun interruption was unnecessary but you knew it was coming (and it seems Elgin/Suzuki is not done). Sabre Jr. looks comfortable at any level and that was no different here. I hope he gets more opportunities to main event shows in New Japan. ****
Post-match, Tanahashi called out Ibushi and Ibushi obliged. It’s on at King of Pro-Wrestling. Tanahashi gets to close out the show with his schtick, something we don’t see as much these days, and we’re out.
Final thoughts: A big step up from last week’s show even if some of the matches didn’t quite reach the heights I hoped they might. The junior tag title match was great, as was the main event, and the show as a whole was very watchable. Just skip the three-way for the heavyweight tag titles.
The final Destruction show takes place next Sunday in Kobe, headlined by Kenny Omega vs. Juice Robinson. I’ll likely be a day late with my review as I’m away. See you then.
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grapsandclaps · 7 years
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ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK!!
Hello again everyone!! Welcome to the story of show 63 of the #100showyear taking me on an international journey of sorts to the Valleys of Wales and to be precise - Cardiff for my first taste of ATTACK Pro Wrestling who have built a good reputation amongst twitter glitterati for being an all in all fun night of wrestling and I for one wasnt dissappointed at the end of the night with it. So where do I start? Well with a 650am journey to Manchester for a meet up with @clinay (Chris) @rawcass (Sean) and the self proclaimed @theboozerweight (Chris Duffy) all of whom are decent lads and are worth a follow on Twitter. Meeting place which possibly must have been voted somewhere as one of the top 5 worst Wetherspoons - The Piccadilly Gardens Spoons which is usually infiltrated with Spice addicts and the occasional morning drunkard that frequent that certain area on a weekday. I went for a Large Breakfast and a large latte which come to at least a quid dearer than any other spoons, as the waitress turned up to table 14 she presented me with the wrong breakfast - a large vegetarian breakfast but still with my 2 pieces of black pudding in contact, i would recommend this type of breakfast apart from the bland taste of the Quorn Sausages. Breakfast done it was on our way on the long and arduos journey to Cardiff - all 3 hrs and 48 minutes picking up a few more characters, Our Geoff, Golazo Dan and Phil from Creeeeeeeewwwwwwweeeee to add to the mornings entertainment. So with a selection of energy drinks, Old Mout Cider, IPAs and water laid across the table seats it was time to chew the fat over Mad Japanese Wrestling, Who is everyones favourite Parker? and the night before's NXT and the upcoming festivities of WWE Summerslam - All interesting topics of conversation were had. 115pm was the time we arrived in Cardiff to meet up with other Twitter luminaries (The Noncebusters) and it was off to explore the bright lights of Cardiff till the show doors opened up at 645pm for a 730pm start. First port of call was Tiny Rebel Cardiff Brewery Tap next to the gigantic once rumored venue for a WrestleMania - The Millenium Stadium. Now this pub had a wide selection of craft ales with many from the rebel range and other breweries from across the British Isles, I settled for the Summer Fruit Stout (4.5%) at a cost of £3.50 and it was a good start to the day's drinking. Next stop was one amongst many a Brains Brewery pub in the City Centre - The Duke of Wellington which produced a really nice keg pint of Black Stout at a cost of £3.80. Very much recommend one of their pubs if visiting Cardiff, at least 4/5 to go around. It was time to go and reconvene with the rest of the group in the Great Western Wetherspoons near the station. Probably the only downpoint of the day was this pub with its poor selection of real ales (even though they were in the £2.50 marker), we somehow stopped in here for over 2 hours or so till moving on to pastures new of The Cambrian Tap which was another Brains pub with around 10 ales on tap plus a special offer of 2 pork pies topped with a cranberry sauce with a side of mustard grain for £3.50 complimented with another ale costing £3.70. Now as in previous issues of Graps and Claps you will know of the ongoing britwres fans Pool Championship currently held by our Geoff. Well the long search for a pool table in Cardiff took us to the Queen Vaults which is a pub down a side street offering Sky Sports, 8 real ales, a carvery and more importantly 3 pool tables. Results in this session of pool included myself losing 4-1 to Geoff and the title rematch between Geoff and former champion Chris Linay in a thrilling tussle with Chris missing the final black leaving Geoff open to clear the remaining 3 yellows and the all important black ball to retain his title to send Big Chris to the back of the contenders line. Rumours of a match with britwres oracle Alan Boon look set for Wolverhampton in 2 weeks on the King of Trios weekender - Stay Tuned. 645pm hit and it was time to hit the Walkabout venue for ATTACK Pro Wrestling Winterslam 2. A packed crowd of 350/400 surrounded the lower and balcony levels of the building to see the red hot action that was about to be produced, so lets see what went down in the matches that took place. Eddie Dennis vs Sarge Travis Banks was first up and it was great to see Banks Comedy side which is far away from the strong style kiwi buzzsaw character we are more accustomed to on these shores. This went a good 15 minutes going back and forth with Eddie Dennis proving he can hang with one of the scenes best, hitting Banks in one spot with a Razors edge type manaeuver whilst Banks was waving atop saying goodbye, some great facials from Travis here. The end came when Dennis reversed a move into the Next Stop Driver for the big 1-2-3 win fantastic opener to get the crowd going and a pleasure as ever to see Banks in a different role that works. Next up was a scramble with Drew Parker vs Goldschlager vs Beano (a bubblegum type character) vs Charlie Sterling vs Bronco Brendan vs Charli Evans in what you can expect with a Scramble match with lots of high impact moves, dives, shenanigans and tower of doom spots. Very good to see Charlie Sterling again after not seeing him for a while, not sure what his gimmick is supposed to be but he was getting a lot of Aaaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhhing from our section. Charli Evans who has just come over from down under to follow in her compatriots footsteps of trying to make a name for herself over here like TK Cooper, Travis Banks and Aussie Open impressed in her first outing in front of my eyes and i would certainly like to see a bit of in the coming months. Evans picked up the win with a very popular pop up powerbomb to Drew Parker to get the win. Next up following a turn from hostage victim Split Mcpins on his partner Fat Cat Lloyd Kat joined forces with the Brothers of Obstruction to face Kat and The Aussie Open in a very fun 6 man match that has some great stuff in it with Mark Davis showing off his considerable power to Piledriver The Obstructors. Finish came after much shenanigans with Splits turning on his new allies (Batista style) and joining his Kat friend to defeat the bad guys with Davis hitting The Awful Waffle to a huge pop and a popular win. Next is a topic of huge conversation today on Twitter with Bird & Boar vs Chris Brookes and Ryan Smile in what i thought was a decent tag match but was infiltrated with The Local Village Idiots antagonising Smile over comments Young Ryan made on the old Twitter machine about LGBT. Whilst some of the comments Ryan made were not welcome, no one deserves being told to "kill themselves" as said previous this spoilt a decent match by people with an agenda. Boar picked up the win for his team here with a package piledriver. Next up was Elijah vs the ever popular Omari in a short 8 minute match with Elijah i think picking up the surprise victory here over young Omari. This was alright whilst it lasted and two wrestlers with a bright future on the UK Scene. Main event time with Career vs Title as Flash Morgan Webster faced Champion NO FUNNNNAAAAHHH Damien Dunne in a fantastic 25 minute main event which went Walkabout around the Walkabout spilling to the merch table, many a run in from varipus rosters members including Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher pulled this awesome facial reaction when he got dived on - search it out on Alan Boons Twitter for the picture, I was rolling in stitches at this. Eddie Dennis hit a razors edge on the giant Los Federales Jr to a huge pop, Former ATTACK 24/7 Champion Warren speared Purser as well this was mental stuff. Despite skullduggery from crooked official Shay Purser, Morgan Webster picked up the victory thanks to dissension between Damien Dunne and Travis Banks (Banks hit the Slice of Heaven to Dunne, Webster only picked up a nearfall from this but reveresed it into a strangke to get the win and the ATTACK title to send the masses dancing to their booths for Summerslam later on. I only ended up stopping at the Walkabout till midnight as i was flagging abit, so decamped to The Marriott Hotel across the road (£62 for the night) and a fantastic hotel. Beer and food at the Walkabout included £2 a pint for Fosters, £2.60 for a pint of coke 😔. Food i can only go off what our Geoff had which was basically chilli con carne and 3 potato wedges in a baked bean tin for £4.75 (ripoff tory britain strikes again). As i type i am now on the way home from Cardiff having spent the morning sampling the Spoons Breakfast (£1 cheaper than yesterdays effort) and also trying out a couple more pubs charging under £2.50 for a pint. Overall a fun trip meeting as ever some good people and a chance to see a fantastic promotion like ATTACK who dont take themselves too seriously but provide great entertainment, but despite the 4 hour journey down from Manchester I would recommend anyone to go down and experience them live you will not be disappointed by them. Next review is WCPW Leeds which takes place tomorrow at the 02 Academy and looks a fantastic card including Banks vs Kushida, Mysterio vs Ricochet and Scurll vs Ospreay. Also it is my 33rd Birthday tomorrow so its a nice thing to actually see graps on my birthday, till then #grapsandclaps
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NJPW 45th Anniversary Match Predictions: (bold indicates predicted winner) Manabu Nakanishi vs Tomoyuki Oka Oka is going up against his spiritual dad in what should be a basic match here. It will be interesting to see what exactly Oka can do against a man as beaten down as Nakanishi is. I’m not sure what to expect, I’m hoping for something lighthearted so no one gets hurt. Goto, Hashi, Gedo, Jado vs Suzuki, DBSJr, Desperado, Taka Suzuki-Gun have been eating pins since they arrived back in New Japan. Suzuki will be participating in the New Japan Cup next week so I don’t see his team taking another pin. I expect Jado to take the fall. Omega, Yujiro, Tama, Loa vs Makabe, Nagata, Liger, Tiger IV With Bullet Club not being a presence anywhere else on the card I feel they must highlight themselves by getting the win here. Tiger is the usual guy to take the fall but with W in the main event it’ll be interesting to see if someone else takes the fall for the night. Naito, Sanada, Evil, Bushi vs Tanahashi, Elgin, Kushida, Juice LIJ are likely winning here. They’ve looked really strong all year but if any team is to beat them ,i’s one with Tanahashi as captain. I would expect Evil to continue his dominance on Tanahashi with their upcoming New Japan Cup match. Roppongi Vice (c) vs Kanemaru & Taichi Injuries have made his Suzuki-Gun angle very interesting in that it’s not for certain whether they’re going to continue the plan of the stable being dominant. Vice are a team who struggled through the later half of 2016 and got it together at WK11 with a win for the belt. This could be a title match but I wouldn’ t think it’d be a smart move. Keep the titles on Vice and move beyond these Suzuki-Gun juniors. Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs Zack Sabre Jr. For the second time in as many months the Revolution Pro Wrestling championship will be defended inside of Japan. Last Month Shibata got past Ospreay, now Sabre Jr. is making his debut in New Japan for the title Shibata took from him last year. The two have wrestled each other a couple times before so their chemistry should be good here. This can go either way. It’s possible that Sabre makes his impact known by beating an established New Japan guy on his first appearance but I doubt it.  Ishii & Yano (c) vs Tenzan & Kojima I believe this joke of a team between Ishii and Yano was supposed to end tonight when Makabe and Honma were going to get their revenge and take the titles. This would have Ishii looking forward to the New Japan Cup, getting back to being the fantastic singles wrestler he is. With the injury to Honma, the plans may be all goofed. But I still think they go with the change here. A more serious and well established team like Tenzan and Kojima are a much better feud for other teams down the line. Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs Ryusuke Taguchi This will be the match of the night. The build for the match between these two has been fantastic. Hiromu is the cocky new kid in the company and Taguchi is the jokester but what Hiromu learned is that Taguchi is psycho. He may seem all nice and fun but when it involves a title, Taguchi flips a switch and becomes obsessed. The mind games that have been played back and forth have really enhanced interest in this match. I’m normally not into either man but the build has been fantastic and I haven’t looked forward to a junior match like this in a while. There isn’t much doubt that Hiromu sustains his reign here but what they’ll do in the ring will be special. Kazuchika Okada vs Tiger Mask W As exciting as a match between Okada and Ibushi is, there is no way Okada is losing this one. That’s completely fine though as what we will get here will be really special. These are two of the most respected wrestlers in all the world, both in their prime and it will be fun. So that’s that. The main card here should be a lot of fun. As much as I haven’t been into this Ishii and Yano team, I straight 2 on 2 match with them will be better than the three at tags they’ve been having. A special show that will see Zack Sabre Jr’s debut in New Japan as well as an Okada versus Ibushi match in the main event. There is no doubt in my mind that Taguchi and Hiromu will tear the house down and be the match of the night. My excitement level going in is at a 7/10. As usual feel free to make fun of me if anything I said here doesn’t happen.
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