AEW Dynamite - New Years Smash Night One Review - January 6th, 2021

AEW Dynamite

New Years Smash Night One

January 6th, 2021 

Commentators - Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, & Chris Jericho 

1) The Young Bucks, Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Jack Evans, Angelico, & The Acclaimed

Perrrrrfect way to kick off 2021 and this show. The Acclaimed does a rap and it’s actually funny, The Bucks are riled up and so is the crowd. The action here almost never slows down and it shouldn’t have. Just super fast paced stuff with a crazy spot or two down the stretch. Daniels ends up with a slightly scraped/bloody nose, but he, Kazarian & The Bucks come out on top. 

Match rating - ***

Post match, Daniels & Kazarian confirm the rumors that if they lose another tag match they will stop teaming together, however, they want The Bucks one on one so they can not only become champs, but also beat the best tag team in the world. Bucks & SCU shake hands so I guess that’s happening sometime soon down the line? I’m up for it! Bucks/Daniels & Kazarian is always a good match and with these high stakes? I think they’ll deliver something great.

UP NEXT: Jon Moxley returns! 

Awesome Moxley promo aaaaaas usual. It is very weird seeing him without the World Title. He says he isn’t gonna bitch & moan and he isn’t gonna attack Kenny tonight because he has a championship match with Fenix, someone who has been fighting for this chance for over a decade. He says he will get even with Kenny and then some, and Kenny will realize he screwed over the wrong guy.

Backstage it’s CHUCK AND ORANGE. Trent is out for 4-5 months with a torn pec :( Miro interrupts and offers for Chuck to be his young boy basically. Chuck responds with a counter offer of “How about I beat your big goofy ass in the center of the ring next week?” And I DIEEEEEDD LMAO. So that match is set for next week and I’m stoked.  

2) Wardlow vs. Jake Hager 

Our Lord and Savior Wardlow has done it again. He pulled a banger out of Jake Hager in a match that has been somewhat anticipated since MJF & Wardlow joined Inner Circle and Wardlow & Hager kept staring at each other. Wardlow showed here yet again that he has potential to be a successful singles star with his power and agility setting this match apart from being a plodding big man match. Just great shit. And he hit Hager with the F-10 for a clean pin????? Nuts!

Match rating - ***1/4

Private Party is backstage and Snoop Dogg walks up. Matt Hardy joins and presents them with their contracts to I guess be managed or whatever by him. 

TNT Title Match Weigh In

Team Taz looks sick as always. Ricky Starks is such a legend. Darby is out next. Taz makes a big deal about Cage having to weigh in first. Cage weighs in at 270 and Darby at 170. A 100 pound difference. Darby gets the mic and cuts a rare promo in ring. He says this match has been building 27 years because he’s been dealing with shit from people like them all his life. Darby says we all know how this ends so let’s get to the fun part and gets his skateboard ready for an assault. Before the numbers can take control, lights go out and Sting shows up. Sting saves Darby once again. As they all stand in the snow and Team Taz flees to the stage. Taz drives the build for next week home in saying he’s tired of Sting and he’s tired of Darby and next week, Cage is taking the TNT title from him “you rotten son of a bitch.” Darby feels so.... larger than life right now. Sting by his side also helps big time. I’m just ready to see what this relationship is and maybe see something from Sting besides these walk out appearances he’s been doing each week. 

Replays of Dark last night, where Marko and Brodie Lee Jr. had a confrontation. Jurassic Express is up for an interview and FTR interrupts to make fun of them and Stunt in particular. This leads to FTR vs. Marko/Jungle Boy being made for next week!

3) Cody Rhodes (w/ Snoop Dogg) vs. Matt Sydal 

Happy to see Matt getting a big TV match here against Cody. It isn’t bad once they shook the cobwebs out in the early going. Sydal hit a nice shooting star press and Cody had to hit two cross rhodes to put him away. 

Match rating - **1/2

Post match, Luther & Serpentico attack Cody and Sydal. I guess cause Cody threw Sydal onto them at ringside during the match. They fight back and set Serpentico up for a shooting star, but Snoop Dogg stops them and HITS A SPLASH OFF THE TOP ROPE DEAR LORD LMAO. 

4) Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Abadon - AEW Women’s World Title Match 

This was so weird and sorta bad. Abadon is a character I’ve been neutral on, but them doing a bit where she crawls under the ring and bites Shida’s neck... man. This didn’t feel like some AEW shit at all. I’m disappointed because if you discount that, the match wasn’t too bad, still though, there could be so much more done with the women’s division than this. Shida retains. 

Match rating - **

Next week, Tay Conti challenges Serena Deeb for the NWA Women’s Title. Conti cuts a promo with Anna Jay, John Silver, & Alex Reynolds and says they will be at ringside with her. 

 

Also next week: Chuck Taylor faces Miro, PAC faces Eddie Kingston (!!!!!), and The Inner Circle announces their New Year Resolutions. 

5) Kenny Omega (c) vs. Rey Fenix - AEW World Championship Match 

Omega and Fenix really had to go out and set the bar insanely fucking high for 2021 didn’t they? What a fucking match. This is my favorite match of the year so far even if I rated two matches from Wrestle Kingdom slightly higher. Fenix should be at the top of the card all the time and Omega did what he does best and delivered another epic match. Just crazy and brutal from bell to bell. Omega retains with a one winged angel after 20 minutes of insanity. 

Match rating - ****1/2 

After the match, we get yet another moment that I doubt can be topped this year as Omega & Callis show Fenix that Eddie Kingston & Butcher & Blade are assaulting PAC & Penta backstage. Omega says he’s gonna end Fenix’s career when JON MOXLEY HITS THE RING WITH A BARBED WIRE BAT. He nails Omega BUT HERE COME KARL ANDERSON AMD LUKE GALLOWS. THE IMPACT WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS IN AEW. WhATTTYS. They destroy Moxley. The roster tries to fight back and jump the rails but they fight them all off in badass fashion aND GALLOWS POWERBOMBS A MOTHERFUCKER THROUGH A TABLE! This is insanity. And if it isn’t great enough... here comes The Young Bucks. They try to calm down Anderson, Gallows & Omega until Pillman Jr and someone else from ringside grab Omega and SUPERKICKKKKLKK FUCKKKKKK. Omega, Anderson, & Gallows too sweet each other and wait and THE BUCKS JOIN IN. WHAT A MOMENT TO CLOSE THIS SHOW HOLY HELLLL. 

So much to unpack here. So many people involved. AEW NAILED their first show of the year and there is so many different ways they could go from here, I can't wait to see how it all unfolds!

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Armageddon 2002 Review - December 15th, 2002

WWE: Armageddon 2002 

December 15th, 2002

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Awesome opening video package

1) Chris Jericho & Christian (c) vs. Booker T & Goldust vs. The Dudleys vs. William Regal & Lance Storm - World Tag Team Championship Match 

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Smackdown Review - December 12th, 2002

WWE Smackdown

December 12th, 2002

Atlanta, GA

Replays of last week’s Torrie Wilson and Dawn Marie thing open the show. Dawn is basically trying to seduce Torrie into sleeping with her and she won’t marry her father if she does.. “Your father isn’t the only Wilson I’m interested in...” 

TONIGHT: Edge & Kurt Angle vs. Big Show & Albert + Scott Steiner signs with Smackdown 

1) Rikishi vs. B-2 (w/ John Cena) 

Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Monday Night Raw Review - December 9th, 2002

WWE Raw

December 9th, 2002

University of Tennessee 

General Manger Eric Bischoff & Chief Sean Morley are in the ring to start the show. They announce that Shawn & Triple H's World Heavyweight Title Match at Armageddon will now be a 2/3 Falls Match with the first match being a street fight, the second match being a steel cage match, and if neccessary, the third match will be a ladder match! Shawn & Hunter watch on from the titan tron as this announcement is made.

1) Booker T & Goldust vs. William Regal & Lance Storm

NJPW: Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night Two Review - January 5th, 2021

NJPW: Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night Two 

January 5th, 2021 

Tokyo Dome - Tokyo, Japan

After last night, we saw Ibushi achieve greatness, but can he remain there? Less than 24 hours after winning the big one and becoming double champion, he faces a man who earned this opportunity by beating him - Jay White. 

1) Toru Yano vs. BUSHI vs. Bad Luck Fale vs. Chase Owens - KOPW 2021 Match 

Well this is a thing. It happens and critique aside it’s harmless. Fale & Owens argue over who’s gonna get the fall on BUSHI and Yano capitalize to retain.. or regain his trophy??? However that works. 

Match rating - **

2) El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato - IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match 

DESPYYYYYYY. He is reunited with Kanemaru here after he was out with injury and missed BOSJ. They looked good here. Taguchi & Wato as a team is whatever, but they held up their end here and this was a fun little match. Desperado & Kanemaru retain. 

Match rating - **3/4

3) Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Jeff Cobb - NEVER Openweight Championship Match 

This was insane. I was left disappointed by the G1 Climax meeting between these two. It was good however I knew there was more in them and holy hell they laid it all out here and then some. Cobb seemed a lot more motivated, everything he did felt more motivated than anything he’s done in NJPW besides the second half of his G1 run which was also great. This is his best NJPW match undoubtedly and possibly the best match in his career. Just two big boys beating the everloving hell out of each other. We even got some verbal exchanges from Cobb which we don’t get normally as he yelled “COME ON SHINGO” as they were trading blows. Cobb gets his nose busted open near the end which just adds to the drama. Shingo puts him away with Last of the Dragon after one hell of a battle. Wow. Good luck to everyone following this! 

Match rating - ****3/4 

4) EVIL (w/ Dick Togo) vs. SANADA 

I dreaded this match, but they really pulled off a great contest all things considered. There wasn’t any lagging and although it went longer than I hoped or expected, the time flew by and they made the most of the time they had. The Dick Togo stuff didn’t overstay it’s welcome and the table bump was fun. Several awesome near falls and such, in the end, SANADA gets a big win over his former stablemate. 

Match rating - ***1/2

5) Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi - IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title Match 

These two just can’t have a bad match. The stakes here are much higher than their BOSJ match so you know they had to turn it up. Not only is the title on the line, but it’s also the first time the Junior title has semi-main evented WK. Hiromu is coming off a disappointed match against El Phantasmo but let’s forget about that because this match fucking ruled. They made this feel special and really tore into each other. Ishimori targeted the arm and shoulder in route to his various submission locks that he likes to use. By the end of it, they are tearing into each other with stiff elbow shots and strikes that really look like they are flattening Hiromu at one point. Takahashi, however, overcomes and for the second year in a row becomes the IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion at Wrestle Kingdom. 

Match rating - ****1/4

6) Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Jay White - IWGP Heavyweight/IC Title Match 

Alright it’s time. Night two main event. The go home show. The big one. THE main event. The story is perfect. Ibushi fell short last year. White fell short last year. Ibushi recooped and won the G1. White coaxed Ibushi into a match with the title shot briefcase on the line and won. Taking away the spark of Ibushi’s history making G1 victory. Naito still wanted Ibushi on Night One. Ibushi beats Naito and becomes double champion despite the odds. Now, he meets the man who tried to take it all away from him. The biggest heel in the company, Jay White. So with all that said, this has the makings of a classic. A five star contest, but for me, it fell short. The story was there, the action was there at points, but 48 minutes? It felt like there was no need for this to go almost an hour and I think they only did it to set a record which was previously held by Okada/Omega and MAYBE that’ll be used in an Omega/Ibushi feud down the line and if so hell yes, but the fact remains it dragged and felt unnecessary for me. I liked a lot of what they did here however pushing Jay White into an Okada style epic? That isn’t how I feel like Jay White can perform best. It’s not even Ibushi’s forte but he can manage. So yeah, I watched this around 6am this morning. Literally woke up and thought I wonder if WK is still on, as I normally watch these shows the day after. Turned it on and caught the final 20-25 minutes. And that? That was great. When I heard the call that the match had been going 35-40 minutes I was like wOW. This is either an all time classic, or a match that coulda been shaved down to 30. It was the latter as I found myself bored in the early going in my full rewatch. The idea was good, but drawn out. That’s not to say this is a BAD match though. Because it isn’t. I squealed in my bed at the near falls watching the final 20 live. These two can go and they did and I was on the edge of my seat. I just feel like they could’ve accomplished the same thing in different fashion and far less time. I was so ecstatic when Ibushi won, it was the perfect feel good moment to end this set of shows. I just can’t help but feel this fell short in comparison to all the amazing WK main events in recent years.  

Match rating - ****

Post match, SANADA comes down and it looks like that’s the next program for the belt. I wish I could say I was excited for that. 

After the event, some headlines began to circulate about Jay White’s post show comments. White cut an AMAZING promo hinting toward a face turn and says “maybe I’d be better off somewhere else” which followed with headlines of New Year Dash being his last NJPW event... is White leaving the company? Is he just taking a break? What the hell does this mean?!? I don’t know, but he KILLED this post match promo and has me insanely excited for what’s next. The idea of him as a baby face coming off this promo.. MAN. I guess only time will tell.

NJPW: Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night One Review - January 4th, 2021

NJPW: Wrestle Kingdom 15 

Night One

January 4th, 2021

Tokyo, Japan - Tokyo Dome 

It’s that time of year y’all!!! And yes I know I haven’t done my 2020 year end stuff yet but it will be up in the next few days I promise! 

For now though, it’s WRESTLE KINGDOM TIME. First big wrestling show of 2021 and it’s two nights of loaded cards so let’s dive into it. 

Kevin Kelly immediately dedicates this broadcast to Brodie Lee :’( 

1) El Phantasmo (Bullet Club) vs. Hiromu Takahashi (LIJ) - Winner Faces Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title On Night Two 

I’m half and half on Elp and as a SPOILER, Hiromu was my NJPW Wrestler of the Year for 2020 so let’s see how this goes. It’s BOSJ winner vs Super J Cup winner. Elp throws around the jacket he was awarded for winning the J Cup during his entrance and oof. I can’t think of a better kick off to the opener than Takahashi flying drop kicking Phantasmo through the railing as he tried to taunt Jushin Liger with the jacket he won in the J Cup saying “where’s Liger?” This triggers a hot start that sees Phantasmo hit Hiromu’s apron flapjack powerbomb on Hiromu himself and WOW. First gasp of the night there. So yeah hot start, but man it just never seemed to flow or click after that. They hit a lot of big stuff, but it felt like just that.. a bunch of big stuff. Only the moves/nearfalls in the last minute or two felt big or believable. Elp did call backs to former Bullet Club leaders nailing Hiromu with a Styles Clash and also going for a one winged angel. Hiromu kicked out of the clash and reversed the one winged angel and ends up with the victory moments later. There was some good moves/exchanges here, but as a whole it was super disjointed. Still a pretty fun time though. 

Match rating - **3/4

2) Dangerous Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi) (w/ DOUKI) (Suzuki-gun) (c) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (Bullet Club) - IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match 

AYYYYEEE DOUKI IS HERE!! GOD won the World Tag League which led them to this title opportunity. It’s heel v heel so it’s interesting to watch this play out. Both teams bring their A game and this turn out to a pretty good little tag match. They do a cool spot where the Tekkers do something outside of their normal repertoire and Zack yells “It’s the fucking Tokyo dome!” As he motivates Taichi to help him through the move, a powerbomb / suplex off the top rope that saw Zack sacrifice himself for the sake of the gold. It all proved to not be enough though as in the end, GoD wins their 7th tag team title using the iron glove as a weapon to get the cheap victory. 

Match rating - ***1/4

We get a video package and it’s IWGP US CHAMPION JON MOXLEY. HES FINALLY COMING BACK TO NJPW TO DEFEND HIS TITLE!!!

3) KENTA (c) vs. Satoshi Kojima - IWGP US Title Opportunity Briefcase Match 

Kojima is a last minute replacement for Juice Robinson. When Juice when out with injury, the veteran issued the challenge to KENTA and here we are. This really felt like a NOAH style match. KENTA played coward as always recently. He shoves Kojima into Tenzan at ringside at one point early. Kojima fights back and hits a damn DDT on KENTA on the ring apron for a short lived advantage. They got really stiff for a little while here and it was awesome. KENTA puts Kojima away with the Go to Sleep after a solid match. Jon Moxley is FINALLY next. KENTA has defended his briefcase over and over and now he finally seemingly is going to get his championship match. 

Match rating - ***

4) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great O Khan 

Alright this one caught me off guard. I wasn’t the least bit interested in this aside from it being a Tanahashi match, but GOK really had a great first big singles performance here. That is, if we forget the disappointing Okada match. None the less, yeah, this was real fun and both men looked great. The story of Tana fighting from underneath worked well and his comeback ruled. Tana wins with a high fly flow on the back then a normal version. 

Match rating - ***1/2

5) Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay (w/ Bea Priestly)

Well god damn. I truly did not expect this to rule so hard. This was prime Okada and subsequently it was also prime Ospreay.. but mostly Okada because when he’s on, he’s better than anyone on this planet. Every little thing he does feels big and he sold the disgust of the betrayal super well in this match. This felt like some WWF shit for a minute as we got a fucking table bump with Ospreay hitting a falcon arrow on Okada through the announce table. There were a lot more spots like that than you might expect here, but it undoubtedly added to the excitement and made for a few gasp worthy moments. This went 35 minutes or so, but it really didn’t feel like it. There were times were I thought the end would be near and it wouldn’t be and I’d wonder are they stretching this too far? Then they’d do something that proved it was worth it to continue. Ospreay busting out a tombstone, rainmaker and rainmaker pose of his own was an epic moment late in the match. Okada finally destroying Ospreay after being slapped in the face was the ultimate pinnacle to this rivalry. Okada is still the fucking man and he gets the W. This was very stiff and told an awesome story. Just top notch stuff. I loved it. 

Match rating - ****3/4

6) Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Kota Ibushi - IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Championship Match 

As an Ibushi fan for a little over 10 years, this match is the culmination of a decade of hard work. Ibushi has never been able to win the big one. He had his biggest chance of all stolen from him by Kenny Omega in 2015 before they reunited in 2017 which led to Ibushi accompanying his best friend as he achieved his dream of winning the IWGP Heavyweight Title. A bitter sweet moment for the Golden Star. Ever since that moment Ibushi has worked his way back into having this chance. He won the G1 in 2019 only to fall short against Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 14. He fought back all over again in 2020 with the mission of “becoming god” and clawed his way back to another G1 Climax victory which led us here. Ibushi & Naito have had a number of matches, mainly known as bombfests due to the insane amount of neck bumps they throw at one another. This had spurts of that was laid out more traditionally and not just as a spotfest. For that reason, it was a little less.. I don’t know, thrilling as prior bouts between the two despite the story being stronger than ever. So, yeah, that’s a good analysis on how this went. They wrestled a great spotfest that was pretty well spaced, but it didn’t exceed into epic level or even the level of Okada/Ospreay. Still- seeing Ibushi finally get this moment was amazing and something that is so well deserved I can’t help but be glowing with excitement. The finish was super strong and felt like Ibushi scrambling and fighting so hard as he felt this big victory at the grasp of his fingertips. 

Match rating - ****1/4 

Overall, this was a very good first night of Wrestle Kingdom. Okada/Ospreay is match of the night & a match of the year contender and Ibushi besting Naito is a moment that fans will cherish forever. I'm excited at the prospect of what Ibushi/White may bring tonight though. Night Two is hours away as of this writing and I am anticipating something special with Ibushi, the beloved babyface coming off the biggest win of his career and White, the despicable, sly, cocky heel looking to ruin his fun time like he knows he can due to the fact that he beat him to even get this shot in the first place.

NJPW: Best of the Super Juniors/World Tag League 2020 Finals - December 11th, 2020

NJPW: BOSJ/WTL 2020 Finals

December 11th, 2020

1) Taiji Ishimori, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens vs. SHO, Robbie Eagles & Toru Yano 

It’s Bullet Club vs. CHAOS here in this opener and it’s more fun than any Fale/Owens match from WTL. Honestly surprised me how enjoyable this was. Very action packed and compact with BC getting a dominant win and bullying Yano post match for trying to slam Fale. They break his KOPW trophy and his go pro :( 

Match rating - **3/4 

2) Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, & Great O’ Khan (w/ Bea Priestley) vs. Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Toa Henare 

It’s the first time seeing the Empire all together in the same match. Okada calls out Ospreay to start and surprisingly gets him and we get a preview of January 4th to start which is cool. Since this the Empire’s first trios match it’s important they get an impressive showing and they definitely did. Henare looked like he may have Cobb beat, but he doesn’t and gets put away with Tour of the Islands. Another fun match that helped further build towards Wrestle Kingdom with GOK taking a chair to the leg of Tanahashi after an OsCutter from Ospreay. So not only are we getting Okada/Ospreay, but boy does it look like GOK/Tana is likely now too. 

Match rating - **1/2

3) EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Shingo Takagi & SANADA

Togo chokes out SANADA early and Shingo is in a 2 on 1 situation. This makes for an insane comeback from SANADA as he shows an urgency and intensity I’ve NEVER seen from him as he attacks EVIL and throws stiff blows to his former partners face. Meanwhile, this allows Shingo to destroy Yujiro for the win. Very short match, more about the brawl between SANADA and EVIL which carried on after the match and into the back.

Match rating - **1/4

Shingo is left alone in the ring and Jeff Cobb shows up. He takes the NEVER belt. Shingo tries to take it back and gets pulled into tour of the islands! Awesome spot. Cobb wants Shingo’s NEVER title as he poses over him with it after this assault. 

4) Kota Ibushi & Master Wato vs. Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI 

Wow, what a huge match for Wato to be in. And wow we are getting to see Naito & Ibushi link it up before WK. They are really pushing how dangerous those two are in the ring together by having a doctor at ringside even for this match and that scares me for what they will do at Wrestle Kingdom. This was the best of the opening matches on this show. Wato gets worn down by LIJ, Ibushi gets the hot tag and there’s an awesome finishing run. Wato does a corkscrew plancha onto Naito whilst Ibushi hits BUSHI with kamigoye for the win.

Match rating - ***

5) Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) vs. FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) - World Tag League Tournament Finals

FinJuice are looking for their second tournament victory in a row. GoD has kinda been the story of the tournament, as expected, as they are trying to get the one thing that has always alluded them - the World Tag League Tournament victory/trophy. The match is about what you'd expect. They deliver some good action and there's some interference. Jado is thrown out early, but returns which allows for fellow Bullet Club member KENTA to SMACK Juice with the IWGP US Title briefcase which leads to the GoD victory & also busts Juice open OOF. That was nasty. GoD gets the victory they have been preaching about for a while. Fun stuff. 

Match rating - ***1/2

6) Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Desperado - Best of the Super Juniors 27 Tournament Finals 

If you would’ve told me this would be the finals match a few month ago, I’d probably be underwhelmed. As someone who has watched NJPW moderately for a couple years, I admit Desperado is not someone who ever caught my eye. I watched mostly all big events then just the standout matches, so I never saw much of him except a couple of Junior tag matches or some random BOSJ stuff from prior years. I really regret that because in this tournament that some people have called less star studded without the additions of many outside talent and the loss of Shingo & Ospreay to the heavyweight division, I feel a number of people who have been around a while got a chance to break out. And El Desperado is undoubtedly the one that not only broke out, but completely solidified himself as a top singles star in the Junior division. Great matches across the board and the history I’ve learned he has with Hiromu & DOUKI.. it’s just all so fucking good. And then we get here and holy shit almighty. This match is one of the best NJPW matches of the entire year and possibly my favorite one. As said before, Hiromu & Desperado have a steep history together as young lions. One I highly recommend looking into because it’s what makes this match so special. Hiromu has been a star for a while, Desperado has been on the back burner and he’s sick of it and will do anything to show Hiromu up on the biggest stage of all. These two throw absolute bombs and give each other everything they’ve got. The moment that turned this into an epic though was Hiromu ripping part of Despy’s mask off and Despy stands up and rips the rest of it off himself and they ABSOLUTELY TEAR INTO EACH OTHER. FUCK. These two went to war. Despy gets the Death Valley driver into the corner that has the turnbuckles exposed and it bruises and cuts his back/shoulder open. He’s bleeding in his front teeth. He fought like hell and refused to give up even after a timebomb. It takes two to put him away after the best match of his career and the best match of this tournament. Hiromu wins his second BOSJ. Epic match. Wow. 

Match rating - ****3/4