Well hello there, welcome to my first post about performance art in which people pretend to compete in a fake combat sport. Since my post 3 weeks ago I have written down the matches that impressed me the most so far this year and I'll talk about them now!
Chronologically, the first match to get the reaction from me was between tag teams D.I.Y. and The Revival on the 11.01 episode of weekly NXT show. These teams have a great chemistry, despite (or perhaps because of) being a sorts of "styles clash". Gargano and Ciampa have a reputation for being "spot monkeys", meaning their matches often have many flashy spots but disregard the story aspect. Meanwhile Dash and Dawson are champions of the "old school" style of wrestling and they keep it simple with their strikes and holds, but are masters of playing with crowds' emotions. However, this just means that the former look all the hotter when they finally get to do their throws and kicks, and the latter are just as good at taking these moves as any top indie wrestler. And quite frankly the sheer level of individual skill and teamwork in respective units combined is astonishing. Anyway, this was my favorite match between the two teams. They built on the past ones, referencing some of the spots from them and taking the next step in some sequences and they trimmed a lot of fat (I thought the first fall of their 2/3 falls match were just boring). While it wasn't the highlight of the rivalry, it was a great epilogue.
Later that week the historical WWE UK Championship Tournament took place in Blackpool, being the WWE debut (and likely one time performance) for majority of contestants. Among the standouts was Pete Dunne, current Progress World Champion, who was a household name in British indies for some time now and gained wider recognition after his performance in Battle of Los Angeles 2016. He was part of my two favorite matches from that weekend. First was against Mark Andrews, a high flier small even for a cruiserweight. He's not necessarily the most athletic or flashy one either. He's really good at playing an underdog though, and his matches always seem to draw everyone's attention effortlessly, and it wasn't any different in this case. The other match was the final against eventual winner Tyler Bate, who is freakishly amazing for a 19-year-old. The two had a great back-and-forth with Dunne playing a bully and Tyler a resilient babyface. It was pretty simple overall, but executed greatly.
Speaking of Progress and British wrestling, so far I saw 2 of the 3 shows they released this year. Chapter 41 which took place at 30th of December had two standout matches. First was for the tag titles and it was a three way between Mustache Mountain (Trent Seven and aforementioned Tyler Bate), London Riots and reunited Leaders of the New School. I really like the style of Progress tag matches which often introduce a sort-of deadpan-comedy or otherwise absurd spot early on, as well as a second one closer to the middle of the match, and they are usually really good at sucking the viewer into the match before transitioning into more traditional wrestling and signature spots. In this case a lot of that was on shoulders of Marty Scurll and Zack Sabre Jr, with former playing up to the crowd with his taunting and theatrics leading to using his submission hold, and other known for using flashy holds and transitions even when they don't seem particularly effective.
However, the real barnburner happened in the main event between Will Ospreay and Jimmy Havoc, a rematch from 1.5 year ago when Ospreay beat Havoc for the title. Since then Havoc had a long break due to an injury, while Ospreay lost the title soon after and went on a year-long losing spree. Back then Havoc was a hated monster who everyone wanted to see beat, but since then he redeemed himself in eyes of the crowds. Meanwhile crowds were getting bored with Ospreay, and it fed right into the story of him being frustrated with his losses and willing to do anything to finally get a victory. Throughout the match the two kept getting more brutal and vicious, Will resembling a nerd who finally snapped and Havoc being more of a grizzled vet who wanted to put those days behind him, but was willing to channel his "older self" if that's what Ospreay wanted. The finish and post-match stuff was equally great. Early Match Of The Year standout for me.
Chapter 42 included two matches I wanna talk about as well. First was between The Origin and South Pacific Power Trip. Over the past year I fell in love with the two. SPPT are sort of like laughable villains. Their attempts at cheating are barely effective and often backfire, but they are very opportunistic and seem to simply fall into a lot of their wins. Of course the point is that they play those roles really well, and Travis Banks who acts as the straight man in the trio seems to be very versatile as a wrestler overall. It's harder to describe Origin, if I had to I would say "just couple lads fucking around". El Ligero is a goofy guy in a mask with horns and Dave Mastiff is a goofy big guy with a red beard. The match played to that, with the former team trying hard to win and barely achieving it and the latter barely giving two shits yet somehow foiling most plans of SPPT. The second match was between Paul Robinson and Rockstar Spud. The former plays a hooligan, guy in jeans with a chain around his neck, who is rabid, gross and brutal. The latter plays an "obnoxious 80s rockstar", who is pretty weak and loses a lot. This led to an unique match as Paul was just beating on Spud to the point of it being uncomfortable to watch, humiliating him in front of his parents. Finally, he had enough, stood up and started having a come back. Paul having none of it kicked Spud in the groin, which technically meant Spud won (by disqualification). This was a really good finish as it left no question who the stronger guy was, but left that hint of "maybe Spud could've won fair given the chance", as well as lots of sympathy.
Meanwhile in Japan, the yearly Fantasticamania tour took place, which is where some Mexican wrestlers from CMLL come to square off against NJPW's best. Haven't watched it all yet, but so far only one match caught my attention, at that is Hiromu Takahashi vs Dragon Lee. They've actually had a great rivalry over the past year, started when Hiromu (then known as Kamaitachi) had his excursion to Mexico and the two just keep having great match after great match, this being the latest. They actually build up on previous bouts, referencing spots, countering moves that usually worked and having to work harder for potential victories. If you like fast-paced, hard-hitting, high-flying action, this one is a must see.
And finally, there are 4 matches I want to talk about from the NXT Takeover/Royal Rumble weekend, 2 for each show. First, Roderick Strong versus La Sombra (aka Andrade Almas). No story to talk about necessarily, but it just served as a really good showcase for two of people who have done great work elsewhere. Second, D.I.Y. vs Authors of Pain which was an unique twist to the David vs Goliath story. Gargano and Ciampa had to land one shot in million and they seemingly did, but in the end it didn't matter.
Meanwhile Royal Rumble match itself was questionable, but the show had two title matches, both between a company star and someone who made his name outside of WWE first. John Cena faced AJ Styles in a very exciting back and forth match with both men pulling great stuff out of their arsenal, although sadly it still felt more like a Cena match than a Styles match, being slightly formulatic. The other match was between Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns. While Reigns isn't a very good performer, one of the best Owens' suits is just how many different moves he can do, so the idea of making Reigns look strong by taking all those strikes and throws leads to an enjoyable match. This was more of the "has issues, but also does some stuff really well" performance.
I'm looking forward to Progress chapters 43 and 44, and CMLL just keeps on delivering good (even if not always great) matches every week. Let's see what next few weeks bring.
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