Tags
Adam Cole, AEW, AEW Dynamite, AEW Heavyweight Championship, AJ Styles, Authors Of Pain, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Bobby Fish, Bray Wyatt, Candice LaRae, Chris Jericho, Dakota Kai, Damian Priest, Daniel Bryan, Dominik Dijakovic, Drew McIntyre, Finn Bálor, Io Shirai, Jacob Fatu, Jimmy Havoc, Jon Moxley, Karl Anderson, Kay Lee Ray, Keith Lee, Kenny Omega, Kevin Owens, Killian Dane, Kyle O'Reilly, Mance Warner, MLW, MLW Fusion, MLW Fusion On Thanksgiving, MLW Heavyweight Championship, NXT, NXT Championship, NXT North American Championship, NXT Takeover, NXT TakeOver: WarGames, NXT Women's Championship, Pac, Pete Dunne, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Rhea Ripley, Ricochet, Roderick Strong, Ross Von Erich, Scorpio Sky, Seth Rollins, Shayna Baszler, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tegan Nox, The Butcher And The Blade, The Fiend, Tommaso Ciampa, Top Matches Of The Week, Wrestling, WWE, WWE Intercontinental Championship, WWE Raw Women's Championship, WWE Smackdown Live Women's Championship, WWE Survivor Series, WWE Survivor Series 2019, WWE United States Championship
We are back again with another edition of The Top Matches of the week and this was an amazing week of wrestling especially in the WWE. There is so much wrestling at our fingertips that it’s absolutely mind blowing. There is Smackdown On Fox on Friday night, MLW Fusion every Saturday night, Raw on Mondays, Impact on Tuesdays, NXT on USA Network and AEW Dynamite on TNT on Wednesday nights, and Beyond Wrestling Uncharted Territory on Thursday nights. As you can see, you can occupy your week well if you try to watch all the wrestling promotions in the world right now, but my job is to give you what I thought was the best of every show that I watched during the week. So, get some refreshments, take a seat, and let me be your guide to the wonderful world of professional wrestling. Now the style is going to be a little different in the way that if there is more than one great match then they’ll just be short descriptions, but if not then we’ll go over the match.
NXT TakeOver: WarGames (11/23/2019)
This was an amazing night of wrestling and it all kicked off with the first ever Women’s WarGames match. The match featured Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, and Kay Lee Ray took on Rhea Ripley, Candice LaRae, Tegan Nox, and Dakota Kai. Well , it was supposed to be Dakota and Tegan, but Dakota had her heel turn and took Tegan and herself out of the match. She essentially made it a 4 on 2 match and despite the odds, Rhea found a way to win the match pinning Shayna Baszler. The men’s WarGames match was even more exciting as it was the Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly, and Roderick Strong) who took on Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic, and their mystery fourth member who turned out to be Kevin Owens. The match featured some amazing moments from guys like Lee, but it was that final moment that took your breath away as Ciampa dropped Cole from the top of the cage through a table.
WWE Survivor Series 2019 (11/24/2019)
What should have been the second consecutive amazing night for the WWE kind of fell short. None of the traditional 5 on 5 on 5 matches deserve to be up here, but two matches do. The first match saw Adam Cole having to defend his NXT Championship against Pete Dunne who won the opportunity the night before. Despite being battered and bruised up, these two gave everything they had including an incredible Panama Sunrise from Cole to Dunne on the outside apron. The other match that I thought was great was the match that saw NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong take on WWE United States Champion AJ Styles and WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. The match went back and forth and Shinsuke shined in this match despite taking some bumps including a styles clash that saw Roddy come out of nowhere as he proceeded to throw AJ out of the ring and he took the pinfall for the win.
WWE RAW (11/25/2019)
It was a weird night on RAW and the two redeeming matches of the night was the Fatal 4 way to decide the man who would face AJ Styles for the WWE United States Championship as Rey Mysterio, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, and Randy Orton all did battle. Rey would get the best of Ricochet with a roll up for the win and it was up to him to get the job done against AJ. AJ was punishing Rey through out the match attacking Rey’s knee, but after Rey successfully hit the 619 on AJ, AJ’s momentum carried him into the referee who went down. This allowed Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows to come in and attack him, but thanks to Randy Orton clearing the ring and hitting AJ with an RKO, Rey was able to win the title. The other match of the night that was good was the match between Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens which happened thanks to Owens delivering a stunner to Seth at the beginning of the show. The match did wonders as it helped possible set up a heel turn for Seth with maybe A.O.P. (Authors Of Pain)?
NXT On USA (11/27/2019)
This week’s episode of NXT wasn’t a terrible one, but it had a couple of memorable matches on the card with the first one being a NXT Tag Team Championship match that saw The Undisputed Era’s Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish take on the team of Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic, but that would quickly change as Bobby Fish suffered an injury in the beginning moments that then saw Roderick Strong step in to do the match. It was an excellent match that went back and forth, but UE would take advantage of a distraction by Adam Cole to retain the titles. The other great match on the card was between Tommaso Ciampa and Finn Balor and there is no need to tell you how good the match was, but the ending is what is worth watching since Adam Cole once again made an appearance.
AEW Dynamite (11/27/2019)
There were a lot of great moments in this episode of Dyanmite like the debut of The Butcher and The Blade or the Jerigoat, but there were also a lot of strange finishes to matches as well. Nonetheless, you knew the minute you saw that Kenny Omega had his rematch with PAC that it was going to be an amazing match and it indeed delivered. After escaping each other’s attempts at finishers, Kenny was able to pull off a win against the number one ranked PAC with a second crucifix pin. I had high hopes for Scorpio Sky who I think is a future star, but we also knew that there was no way he was walking away AEW Champion against Chris Jericho. After some amazing back and forth, Jericho was able to get the win with a lion tamer. What was great about this was the fact that Jon Moxley sort of confronted Jericho at the end of the match making us wonder if that match is on the horizon.
Honorable Mention:
Mance Warner and Jimmy Havoc had themselves one hell of a match on MLW Fusion that saw them leave the arena, go to Jimmy’s house and so much more in a falls count anywhere in Orlando match. The triple threat match between Damian Priest, Pete Dunne, and Killian Dane to decide the number one contender for the NXT Championship was great, but not better than the two WarGames matches. The Fiend (Bray Wyatt) vs Daniel Bryan from Survivor Series was a decent match and while I thought WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley vs NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler was a little too slow, it was definitely a lot better than most of the matches that night. Dakota Kai taking on Candice LaRae on NXT On USA had potential to be an excellent match, but the rivalry between these two will be far from over. On Thanksgiving, MLW had a special edition that feature Ross Von Erich take on Jacob Fatu for the MLW Heavyweight Championship and it was a really good match until the predictable heel turn of Filthy Tom Lawlor happened.
It has been a while since the last time I did The Top Matches Of The Week, but we are back in business again. There is so much wrestling at our fingertips that it’s absolutely mind blowing. There is Smackdown On Fox on Friday night, MLW Fusion every Saturday night, Raw on Mondays, Impact on Tuesdays, NXT on USA Network and AEW Dynamite on TNT on Wednesday nights, and Beyond Wrestling Uncharted Territory on Thursday nights. As you can see, you can occupy youyr week well if you try to watch all the wrestling promotions in the world right now, but my job is to give you what I thought was the best of every show that I watched during the week. So, get some refreshments, take a seat, and let me be your guide to the wonderful world of professional wrestling. Now the style is going to be a little different in the way that if there is more than one great match then they’ll just be short descriptions, but if not then we’ll go over the match.
This might not have been the first pay per view for AEW, but it was definitely there first that was built up with a weekly show. The card was stacked with matches that had the potential to steal the show, but only two matches did that in my opinion with one being honorable mention. The night started out with an amazing slug fest between The Bastard PAC and Hangman Adam Page. At times, it looked like PAC was going to remain undefeated, but right in the end, Page was able to block PAC’s cheating ways en route to a win. The other match that was absolutely amazing, but in the end was absolutely insane was the Lights Out match between Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega. These two put each through literal hell with a barbwired covered baseball bat, broken glass, a board with mouse traps, and even a barbwired bed, but when it was all said and done, Jon Moxley survived the insanity and was victorious.
On a night that featured short matches and great moments that build future rivalries, there were only two matches on the whole card that impressed me the most from AEW Dynamite. The rubber match between “The Bastard” PAC and Hangman Adam Page was almost just as good as their AEW Full Gear match and proved that these two can be exciting. PAC was his usual brutal self at the end of the match as he stomped away at Page’s head before putting on that Rings of Saturn like submission called the brutalizer for the win. The second match on the card that impressed me was the main event that saw AEW World Champion Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevera take on AEW World Tag Team Champions SCU (Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky). Sammy Guevara put in a lot more work then Jericho did in the match, but it was competitive and Scorpio Sky continues to shine as he was able to get the pinfall victory over Jericho (the first time Jericho has been pinned).
As I have said many many times and I’ll say it again there is an abundance of wrestling at our disposal that it’s almost a dream come true because I remember being a teenager and wanting more wrestling than just the WWE and WCW because they were only on certain nights of the week. Now, we live in a world where you are getting WWE’s programming (RAW, Smackdown Live, 205 Live, NXT, NXT UK plus PPV’s when applicable), Impact Wrestling (free on Twitch), and so much independent wrestling whether it be Ring Of Honor TV on Fite, or all the various independent promotions that are on Independent Wrestling TV like Beyond Wrestling and ICW New York to name a few. Now, we are in the midst of a revolution in wrestling especially since AEW debuted with Double Or Nothing and with the fact that they have a weekly show coming in September. So with all this wrestling going on, I am once again here to present to you guys what I consider to be the top matches of the week from all the promotions that I have watched. If there is any match I may have missed and you think I should check it out then tweet me 
It was a dream match to have the CEO of Villain Enterprises Marty Scurll take on Lifeblood’s Bandido in a one on one match. This was the first time these two competitors were facing off and they did not disappoint whatsoever. The match really started out and it was both men trying to get into each other’s heads, but in the end Marty got the best of that and he took the first advantage of the match. Bandido would come back with his fast paced, high flying style that definitely connected and left it’s mark, but Scurll took advantage again and attacked the shoulder ready as he tried to prep Bandido for the crossface chicken wing. At one point in the match, it looked like Bandido was in full control as he set Marty up on the top turnbuckle and the both of them climbed to the very top and Bandido launched them as they flipped around into a cross body that was absolutely awesome. You were left wondering how Marty could come back, but out of nowhere he did as he first nailed him with a under-hook suplex, but after failing to get the pinfall he followed it up with the black plague which sealed the deal.
It was a strange match only because we haven’t seen a lot from the Horror King Vinny Marseglia as Ring Of Honor has been holding him back. Not to mention, he was taking on Rush, a Mexican bulldozer who has a solid and legitimate stake in a Ring Of Honor world title match. Vinny for the most part laid the ground work for how to fight Rush’s game as he matched Rush slap for slap and then manhandled him on the outside which is what Rush does best, but it didn’t last very long as Rush gained some momentum. He took Vinny to the outside and ran him into each barricade and then Rush put Vinny through a table. After getting a little cocky, Rush almost paid for it as he tried for a backflip off the top rope and missed as Vinny moved away. Vincent then climbed to the top and he nailed redrum, but Rush kicked out of the ensuing pin attempt. As Vinny tried to climb the ropes again, he was met by Rush who hit him with a devasting right that landed him in the corner where Vinny was then met with the bulls-eye (missile dropkick) and that was all it took to get the 1-2-3 as Rush won.
One of the best wrestlers in the WWE is without a shadow of a doubt Cesaro and i say that because the man has stellar matches no matter where he goes. After a long lackluster Raw, it was refreshing to see him take on Cedric Alexander who is also been having stellar matches as well. For the most part, Alexander was holding his won against Cesaro despite the high powered offensive attack, but during the commercial break Cesaro was able to take advantage of the match when he injured the knee of Alexander against the LED Screen on the side of the ring. The injured knee would haunt Alexander throughout the match and Cesaro ever the opportunist would take advantage. At one point, it looked like Cesaro had an answer for everything as he placed Alexander into an ankle lock submission, but Alexander was able to counter by sending Cesaro to the outside, but when Cesaro came back in, he was met with the Lumbar check and that was all it took for him to get a huge win over the Swiss Cyborg.
Buddy Murphy is quickly climbing the ranks as the former cruiserweight champion has been having phenomenal matches against the main roster talent. This week, he faced Ali in a first round King Of The Ring tournament match that was promising to be great. It was a hard fought match for Ali as Buddy Murphy put him through absolute hell throughout the match and it’s no surprise as these two know each other very well from their 205 Live days. At one point after dueling, it looked like Murphy was going to take the win as he hit Ali with a short range kick followed by a powerbomb, a knee to the face, and a brainbuster to top it all off, but Ali somehow kicked out of it. Then somehow with Buddy Murphy in between the top and middle rope, Ali pulled off a tilt a whirl ddt that spiked Murphy and then he went to the top and delivered a 450 splash that was all she wrote as Ali moves on to the next round.
The last time these two gargantuan men last met in a NXT ring, it ended in a draw and the question was still burning in our minds as to who was the better of the two, Dominik Dijakovic or Keith Lee? Unfortunately, we had to wait to find out after Dominik Dijakovic was out with an injury, but this past Wednesdays episode of NXT saw the return of Dijakovic who was now ready to settle the score and what you honestly got out of the night was an NXT TakeOver caliber match for free. These two threw everything at each other and they were doing things that no big man should be able to do as these are two freaks of nature. I mean how is Keith Lee able to pull off a Spanish Fly from the very top rope? Well, he did it and he almost got the win, but Dijakovic wasn’t willing to go down without a fight. The pivotal moment in the match came though as Keith Lee was climbing to the top for a moonsault, Dijakovic caught him knocking him into a sitting position on the top rope and he delivered his patent feast your eyes maneuver for the win.
As I have said many many times and I’ll say it again there is an abundance of wrestling at our disposal that it’s almost a dream come true because I remember being a teenager and wanting more wrestling than just the WWE and WCW because they were only on certain nights of the week. Now, we live in a world where you are getting WWE’s programming (RAW, Smackdown Live, 205 Live, NXT, NXT UK plus PPV’s when applicable), Impact Wrestling (free on Twitch), and so much independent wrestling whether it be Ring Of Honor TV on Fite, or all the various independent promotions that are on Independent Wrestling TV like Beyond Wrestling and ICW New York to name a few. Now, we are in the midst of a revolution in wrestling especially since AEW debuted with Double Or Nothing and with the fact that they have a weekly show coming in September. So with all this wrestling going on, I am once again here to present to you guys what I consider to be the top matches of the week from all the promotions that I have watched. If there is any match I may have missed and you think I should check it out then tweet me 
Jushin is one of the most legendary wrestlers to ever come out of Japan in my opinion and the man is currently on his retirement tour and he made a stop at CMLL in Arena Mexico for a match with Negro Casas, Ultimo Guerrero, and Caristico (the original Sin Cara) in a one fall match. At first it was looking like a tag team match as Ultimo Guerrero dominated the ring against Caristico and occasionally Negro Casas would help him out. It was until Jushin made his way into the ring that it was clear that it was supposed to be a fatal four way. Eventually at one point, it looked like Ultimo Guerrero had Caristico in the corner, but whenhe launched himself, Caristico moved out of the way just in time sending Guerrero to the outside. Right after this Caristico launched himself from inside the ring over the turnbuckle and onto Ultimo Guerrero with a huge cross body, but it took the both of them out of the match. Jushin took advantage by hitting Negro Casas with a kick to the stomach and he followed it up with a powerbomb which was enough for the 1-2-3 and the win.
You want to talk about two of the biggest names in the world of Mexican Lucha Libre then there are none bigger than the Los Parks (LA Park & El Hijo de La Park) and The Wagners (Dr. Wagner Jr. & El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.). Well that clash of families took place once again, but this time in a MLW ring as the two battled. The match was dominated by The Wagners in the beginning as they proved that there is no tighter bond than that of father and son. Eventually the Los Parks would have their shot at dominating the match proving that they can work just as well together. The rest of the match was an all out war as they literally threw everything they could at each other, but in the end one mistake proved fatal. LA Park was on the outside of the ring when Dr. Wagner Jr. hit him with a suicide dive that practically sent him into the front row. El Hijo de LA Park would then launch himself with a suicide dive of his own into Dr. Wagner Jr., but when Dr. Wagner Jr’s son tried to do the same thing, he went right into his own father knocking him right out of the match. El Hijo de LA Park would throw El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. back into the ring where he was met with a spear from LA Park and that was all she wrote as they got the 1-2-3.
One guy that I am certainly happy to see getting some in ring time is Apollo Crews for sure as he is a very talented wrestler especially after his match last week with Kushida. While RAW Reunion was an absolute dud in matches, Smackdown definitely tried picking up the slack by having him face WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. The match was pretty even for the most part as both men were showcasing what they had, but at one point it looked like Shinsuke was about to put Crews away for good with a Kinshasa, but Crews was able to stop him in his tracks with a kick and then n Olympic slam out of nowhere. Unfortunately for Crews, it wasn’t enough to put him away so he tried climbing the ropes, but Shinsuke was there to put a halt to that and it ultimately lead to a Kinshasa that connected and allowed Shinsuke to get the win. It was a very good outing for Apollo, but he unfortunately couldn’t get the W, but I hope this is the beginning of more to come from him.
Drew Gulak was looking for anyone to come knocking on his door from any where in the company and someone answered in the form of NXT Newcomer Isaiah “Swerve” Scott. This was going to be an interesting match considering that Gulak had mentored him down in Evolve Wrestling for many years. One thing was for sure in the beginning of the match and that is Swerve was not scared or intimidated by Gulak as he matched him move for move and dare I say controlled most of the beginning of the match. It wasn’t until Scott injured his right hand hitting Gulak in the skull that the tide began to change and Gulak had more control as he tried to pick up the arm and hand of Scott. After dishing out some further punishment, Gulak slapped on the Gulak (a modified camel clutch) that was punishing Scott every second that he was in it, but some how Swerve made it to the bottom rope to break the hold. Swerve tried to muster up a flurry of offense, but in the end the hand came back to bite him when it counted and Gulak was able to hit the Cyclone clash to help secure him the 1-2-3 and the win. This is a match of the week contender right and I can’t wait to see more from Swerve in the future.
It’s the first match in the semifinals of the NXT Breakout Tournament and the match featured two of what I believe are the best left in the tournament as Jordan Myles took on Angel Garza. The match in the beginning looked like it was going to favor Jordan Myles until Garza pulled the ring apron out from under him, literally! It was such an awkward fall that you were left wondering what kind of condition was Myles going to be in for the rest of the match. Nevertheless, he never gave up and he kept moving forward eventually hitting Garza with a running discuss clothesline that allowed him to muster up some offense. After Garza missed Myles with a moonsault, he hit Garza with a series of moves that involved a kick to the head, a running discuss clothesline, and a huge German suplex into a pinning combination that Garza just couldn’t kick out of. Jordan was the big winner of the match and on his way to the finals.
In a record two minutes last week, “Red Death” Daniel Garcia shocked everyone when he pinned Discovery Gauntlet champ Christian Casanova, but this week he has a tougher challenge. Some time ago last year, Daniel Garcia and Kevin Blackwood were involved in a bad car accident that left the two in the hospital to recover. Now, the two are in the ring at the White Eagle Hall in Worcester, MA to do battle for the right to return the following week. These guys in the beginning of the match pulled out the big guns and they threw everything they had at each other, but neither would stay down or quit. I mean for most of the match, these guys were matching each other move for move like it was a give me your best shot contest. After several big time moves and kick outs, it looked like Kevin Blackwood was finally going to take this home as he started to slap on Just Like Heaven (STF), but he struggled to look in the final arm and Daniel Garcia took advantage and reversed it into a death shooter (Sharp Shooter). As soon as Daniel leaned all the way back, Kevin had no choice, but to tap out.
As I have said many many times and I’ll say it again there is an abundance of wrestling at our disposal that it’s almost a dream come true because I remember being a teenager and wanting more wrestling than just the WWE and WCW because they were only on certain nights of the week. Now, we live in a world where you are getting WWE’s programming (RAW, Smackdown Live, 205 Live, NXT, NXT UK plus PPV’s when applicable), Impact Wrestling (free on Twitch), and so much independent wrestling whether it be Ring Of Honor TV on Fite, or all the various independent promotions that are on Independent Wrestling TV like Beyond Wrestling and ICW New York to name a few. Now, we are in the midst of a revolution in wrestling especially since AEW debuted with Double Or Nothing and with the fact that they have a weekly show coming in September. So with all this wrestling going on, I am once again here to present to you guys what I consider to be the top matches of the week from all the promotions that I have watched. If there is any match I may have missed and you think I should check it out then tweet me 
It’s the tenth anniversary special from Evolve wrestling and what a way to start it off then two of the best in the indies in Josh Briggs and the Retrosexual Anthony Greene in our opening contest. For those of us that follow Indy wrestling, we know who these two are, but for those that don’t they were in for a treat as these two brought it right from the get go. Josh Briggs would use his size to his advantage for the beginning of the match and when he needed it later, it came in handy. Anthony Greene though was scrappy and he wasn’t going to let Josh walk away with an easy win as he did what any smart competitor does. He did his homework and for most of the match he worked on the once injured hip of Josh Briggs. We thought for sure at times that Anthony was some how going to steal a win, but Briggs wouldn’t quit as well and when the opportunity arose he took it in the form of a choke slam into a powerbomb that was all it took to declare Josh Briggs the winner.
When you think of these two men, the words that pop into your head is that this is going to be one intense heavyweight battle between Jeff Cobb and the “Stone Pitbull” Tomohiro Ishii and they did not disappoint. These two monsters of men were throwing everything they could at each other whether it be shoulder blocks by Cobb or some vicious slaps and forearm/elbow shots from Ishii that found their mark. It was truly a back and forth battle as both men were vying to get a 1st win in the G1 Climax 29 tournament. I mean they were literally throwing everything from dueling vertical suplexes, tons of exchanges like slaps and headbutts, and even more suplexes. At one point, Cobb would hit Ishii with a Urinagi suplex, but Ishii got right back up, countered the lariat, and hit Cobb with a dragon suplex. At one point, the action was just too much for Cobb who couldn’t hit his patent tour of the islands due to his back giving out and Ishii took advantage. They’d go through a few more exchanges that found Cobb hitting the mat and Ishii would follow up with a seated lariat and then a brainbuster that found it’s mark allowing Ishii to cover Cobb for the 1-2-3.
Out of all the matches that were on AEW’s Fight For The Fallen card, this was one of the matches that I wanted to see the most. It was hard to comprehend with all the experience that both Kenny Omega and Cima have that this was the first time these two would meet in action. This was also a match that had a lot riding on the line for both competitors in the match as Kenny was still looking for a singles win while Cima who trains all of the OWE wrestlers was looking to build off of his successful win over Christopher Daniels the month before. For the most part, it looked like Kenny had a gameplan as he attacked the knees of Cima, but after receiving a meteroa from Cima on top of the bell keepers table, Cima would be in control of the match. Despite receiving four more Meteroas during the match, Omega was not giving up. After knees to the back of the head and a tiger driver 98 from Omega, Cima would kick out, but unfortunately the one winged angel would put him away for good.
There was a lot of tension in the air when this match went underway because even at home I could feel it as I watched Dustin and Cody Rhodes take on the Matt and Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks. The two teams definitely matched the tension with intensity as both teams brought it as when the match began Cody and Nick went move for move. It was when Dustin was tagged in that momentum shifted and they began teeing away on Dustin, but eventually in the match one mistake almost changed the complexity of the match when Matt went to bury his shoulder into Cody and instead caught the ring post. In turn, being the savvy veterans that they are, you can bet your last bottom dollar that Cody and Dustin went after that shoulder. Despite everything they tried though, they couldn’t put the Young Bucks away and the Bucks eventually rose to the occasion hitting stereo superkicks and a Meltzer driver to Cody that put the match away leaving the Young Bucks undefeated in AEW.
Some time ago, The Dynasty had stolen one of the tag team belts off of a member of The Hart Foundation so a challenge was issued for a ladder match and the challenge was accepted. So, it was Teddy Hart and Brian Pillman Jr. defending the tag titles against The Dynasty’s Richard Holiday and MJF in a ladder match. Questions were swirling around the Dynasty especially in MJF who seemed to be scared of climbing the ladder and eventually it showed as MJF at one point made Aria Blake climb the ladder for him because Holiday was indisposed of at the time and it backfired. The two teams continued to go to war throwing everything at each other including MJF going through a door. It looked like it was Pillman’s time to climb the ladder, but then Alexander Hammerstone came and interfered in the match. Even though Davey Boy Smith Jr came down to even the odds, it wasn’t enough. Both Richard Holiday and Brian Pillman Jr. climbed the ladder, but Aria Blake would prove to be a worthy distraction as Holiday disposed of Pillman by hitting him with a chair. As Pillman hit the mat, Holiday reached out and grabbed the belts.
A match with a lot riding on the line as far as respect is concerned as the one common thread between Kenta and Hiroshi Tanahashi is Katsuyori Shibata. Shibata helped Tanahashi get into to shape to win last year’s G1 Climax tournament and he was here to do the same for Kenta this year. Tanahashi was in full control of the match when it started, but made the mistake of bringing the fight to the outside where Kenta took over. Throughout the match, Kenta was really stepping up his striking game with Tanahashi to the point that if looked like Tanahashi was about to have the advantage, Kenta was able to shut it down with a flurry of kicks. At one point in the match, it looked like Tanahashi was going to win the match with his flurry of sling blades and a huge cross body from the top rope that sort of landed, but on his last attempt at a splash from the top rope, Kenta was able to get his knees up. Kenta would follow it up with a PK and then his patent GTS (Go To Sleep) that left Tanahashi seeing stars as Kenta got the 1-2-3 and his second win of the tournament.
If there was ever physical evidence as to why two men should be at the top of the food chain in the WWE, then last night at WWE Extreme Rules Aleister Black and Cesaro provided said evidence. It was the first singles match in Aleister Black’s WWE PPV career and he asked for someone to knock on his door and the Swiss Cyborg did just that and the end result took your breath away. The match started with Black looking like he was in full control until Cesaro was able to dump him to the outside. Cesaro would then nail what had to be the move of the match with a springboard European uppercut that hit it’s mark. Cesaro brought the fight to Aleister, but Aleister held it together with his martial arts strikes. The other wow moment of the match once again belonged to Cesaro who took a Meterora attempt and turned into another Euro uppercut. After trading strikes back and forth, Aleister out of nowhere hits the black mass and gets the win. One thing will be said, Cesaro definitely proved in this match that he deserves to be a champion.
The first battle between Gentleman Jack Gallagher and Chad Gable was absolutely tremendous even though the match ended in a count out victory for Gable. I suppose that the result was eating away at the both of them as they wanted to prove who was the better man so on this week’s episode of 205 Live, they battled for a second time. Much like the action in the first fight, these two started the match going hold for hold and move for move as they tried to one up each other, but then the action heated up when Gable began focusing on the ankle and knee of Gallagher, but it didn’t phase him as they continued to go to war. At one point the action heated up as Gable went to the top to try and moonsault, but Gallagher was able to get his feet up just in time to catch Gable right on the chin sending him to the far corner where Gallagher then answered with an amazing missile drop kick. Gallagher then set up Gable right on the top turnbuckle where he proceeded to climb where he was looking to suplex Gable, but as soon as the two were in the air, Gable was able to readjust to hit a splash that sent Gallagher reeling. Gable being the professional that he is proceeded to grab Gallagher and he delivered a punishing rolling German suplex that was enough to secure the win for Chad Gable.
As I have said the last couple of weeks, there is an abundance of wrestling at our disposal that it’s almost a dream come true because I remember being a teenager and wanting more wrestling than just the WWE and WCW because they were only on certain nights of the week. Now, we live in a world where you are getting WWE’s programming (RAW, Smackdown Live, 205 Live, NXT, NXT UK plus PPV’s when applicable), Impact Wrestling (free on Twitch), and so much independent wrestling whether it be Ring Of Honor TV on Fite, or all the various independent promotions that are on Independent Wrestling TV like Beyond Wrestling and ICW New York to name a few. Now, we are in the midst of a revolution in wrestling especially since AEW debuted with Double Or Nothing and with the fact that they have a weekly show coming in September. So with all this wrestling going on, I am once again here to present to you guys what I consider to be the top matches of the week from all the promotions that I have watched. If there is any match I may have missed and you think I should check it out then tweet me 
The first match between the two very best wrestlers in NXT today was one of the best matches of the year as Johnny Gargano won the best two out of three falls match. So, the question then became how were these two men going to top what they did a couple of months back? It didn’t look like they were worried at all as both men went into the match ready for a battle. At first, it seemed that no matter what Adam Cole tried to do wasn’t good enough because Gargano had him well scouted. The only problem for Gargano was the fact that while there were times that he was able to lock in the Gargano escape, Adam Cole had an answer for that. There was so much energy in the arena and so much emotion as we hung in by the edge of our seat every time one of them came close to a three count, but after 32 long grueling minutes, a winner was finally decided and after failing to hit the panama sunrise, Cole got right back up and hit Gargano with another one ands topped it off with the last shot that put him away for good. It is the match of the year and might be one of the greatest wrestling moments I have ever been apart of.
It was Jon Moxley’s much anticipated debut in New Japan Pro Wrestling and his first actual match since his departure from the WWE. The match was not pretty or technical by any means, it was brutal and it was just the way fans would want it from them. The action started in the ring, but it quickly went to the outside as Jon was just teeing off on Juice, but Juice was a different man in this match with the haircut to match, he gave it right back even climbing to the top of the platform where the video screens are just to sacrifice himself in hopes of punishing Moxley. After going back and forth in the ring, the action ended up back outside where Moxley just began punishing Juice by suplexing him through a table and then punishing his knee against the steel post. These guys threw everything at each other through out this 20 plus minute match. Moxley put Juice through a table, well no problem because Juice puts Moxley through a table. Juice puts Moxley into a modified Boston crab, well no problem because Moxley put Juice into a Texas cloverleaf. In the end, it was two dirty deeds that would eventually put Juice away with the second one given a little extra emphasis to make sure that he didn’t kick out again. Jon Moxley is your new IWGP United States Champion.
This was a match that all fans of great wrestling were looking forward to as the winner of Block A “The Dragon” Shingo Takagi took on Block B winner Will Ospreay who was also the Best Of The Super Juniors 2016 champion. The two competitors roads to the finals were different as Shingo finished undefeated in his block while Ospreay had lost to El Phantasmo and Robbie Eagles. The match between the two was unbelievable as the high flying style of Ospreay met the power and agility of Shingo in what Dave Meltzer gave 5.75 stars for a rating. There was so much action in this fight as both men went back and forth just trying to jockey for an advantage that could lead them to the promise land. At one point Ospreay turned a vertical suplex into a cutter that helped him buy some time. At another point, Ospreay tried for a top rope huricanrana, but Shingo saw it coming and turned it into a death valley driver, but it wasn’t enough to put Ospreay away. After going back and forth trading finishing moves, Ospreay emerged with a hidden blade to the back of Shingo’s head, he followed that up with an Os Cutter, and finished him off with a stone breaker to get the 1-2-3 ending Shingo’s 97 match win streak.
It has been a very long time since the last time I posted an article on this blog and there is a perfectly good explanation for that. Back in January, I started a podcast with a couple of friends of mine in The Afterman Devin and Juicy Josh called Five Star Wrestling Podcast. It’s a weekly episodic podcast where we discuss the events of the WWE’s shows like Raw and Smackdown as well as NXT and on occasion NXT UK. We also discuss every WWE pay per view when it is time to and we try to branch out as best as we can when it comes to All Elite Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and Ring Of Honor. We just released our eight episode of the podcast and I really like the direction that it is heading in. You can find the Podcast at 
There is something that we should all be thinking about when it comes to tonights Impact Wrestling Pay Per View entitled Homecoming. Is the end near for Impact Wrestling as we know it? How much more into obscurity can this company go to when it switches to a channel that does not exist in my neck of the woods. It is the saddest deal that I have ever seen a company get excited about especially with the news of the new promotion AEW (All Elite Wrestling) that is sure to be the final nail in the proverbial coffin for Impact Wrestling. It really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone considering they tried to sell their company to AEW (Don’t believe me, just click 
So if you are a wrestling fanatic like yours truly, then you are probably looking for something to watch tonight on New Year’s Eve as you prepare to see what 2018 will provide you. Well, I have an answer for all of you and it’s in the form of one of my favorite independent wrestling organizations in Beyond Wrestling. The company is holding an even tonight known as Heavy Lies The Crown which is happening at The White Eagle in Worcester, MA and features a pretty entertaining card. The event is also being held online (if you cannot make the event in person) on 
Now the other match that actually attracted me to this event is the main event match between David Starr who takes on Bad Boy Joey Janela in a Fans Bring The Weapons Match. The mere thought of fans bringing the weapons is just pure insanity, but the question moving forward is will this top a match both these man had before in an anything goes match at Beyond Wrestling Presents Paying Paul. That match was absolutely brutal and I do not expect anything less when Joey Janela shows up to town. Another match that will get extreme is the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs tag team match that sees EYFBO (Mike Draztik & Angel Ortiz) as they take on Doom Patrol (Chris Dickinson & Jaka). Some of you may know EYFBO as the current Impact Wrestling tag team champions LAX (Ortiz & Santana), but tonight it’s back to their Indy names against the hard hitting Chris Dickinson who is just pure intensity and his charismatic tag team partner Jaka. The event also features one of the most exciting and top 5 guys in Indy wrestling Keith Lee taking on up and comer Josh Briggs in what should be a great battle of the big men. Matthew Riddle is holding an open challenge tonight because his original opponent Jimmy Jacobs had to cancel due to injury.
There are plenty of other matches on the card like Joey Ryan, Johnny Cockstrong, & Massage NV (Dorian Graves & VSK) taking on the Amityville Project (Dan Barry, Mike Verna, Rex Lawless, Ryan Galeone). AR Fox will be taking on Ricky Shane Page while Jordynne Grace takes on John Silver. Now that is just the main card, there is also a mega pre-show card that starts at 6PM ET that features matches like a Santiago Street Fight between Zenshi and Brandon Watts as well as Jonathan Gresham with Stokely Hathaway taking on “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams and many more. If that doesn’t entice you to want to watch this end of the year mega card then I don’t know what will. Oh and fans in attendance will have a special appearance by NXT superstar Oney Lorcan which is pretty damn cool. The pre-show starts at 6PM ET and the main card starts at 9PM ET so tune in to Powerbomb.tv and use the promo code BEYOND to check it out. Do not be left in the cold and Happy New Year to all you wrestling fanatics out there.
When it comes to different types of No Holds Barred matches, I have been scouring the internet looking for them. We’ve hosted an ambulance match, a deathmatch, and now we have for all of you out there a parking lot brawl. On the September 11, 2003 episode of WWE Smackdown, John Cena would battle Latino Heat Eddie Guerrero in a parking lot match. After months of the pestering Cena who was a much better and grittier character in 2003 then he is in 2017, Eddie Guerrero was out to end this feud especially after Cena had stolen his low rider. The two when the match finally started were just beating the hell out of each other as they slammed each other on top of the cars. After bodyslamming Cena on top of a car, Eddie climbed it and went to deliver a vertical suplex, but Cena reversed it and delivered it to Eddie forcing him to land on the roof of the car. At one point, Cena opened up a minivan and started grabbing weapons which was everything from a lawnmower to a shovel to try and use on Guerrero to which he failed every time to land a shot. Thank God for that because the lawnmower would’ve not been a pretty site to see what damage it caused.
Eddie would proceed to use a car to his advantage as he hit Cena with the car door and then proceeded to beat him while he choked thanks to a seatbelt being around his neck. Cena would eventually do the same as he backbody dropped Eddie on to a windshield and then started beating him with the car door. The match was not pretty at all as both men would proceed to go through a car window at some point in the match head first. This is everything a WWE fan wants in a match and they were delivering. At one point in the match, John was looking to end it by delivering an FU (basically an AA) to Eddie on top of a car, but Eddie was able to reverse it with a hip toss. Then out of nowhere, Chavo comes out and smashes something on top of Cena’s head which gave Eddie the time to hit a five star frog splash from the top of a car for the win as he covered John for the 1-2-3. The rest as they say is history and we will always miss Eddie Guerrero.