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Welcome to the first edition in my new weekly wrestling roundup. I’m going to take this opportunity to explain what the aim of this series is. The goal is to highlight the best matches from around the wrestling world each week. I’m going to try and not focus on WWE or AEW matches unless I have something particularly interesting to say as I feel those matches are already extensively covered in online spaces including this website in the case of AEW. I’m also aiming to cover at least one classic match a week. My source for finding and choosing these matches is the wrestling playlist project linked here: https://t.co/RV90u09n03 I will discuss the project a bit more in the classic matches section.
I should also mention that I expect this week's issue to be significantly longer than average. This week had the fortunate combination of being a very busy week in wrestling and being a week where I happened to have much more free time than usual. I expect a typical week to include 5-10 matches. I think that’s all I have to say and there is a lot of wrestling to cover so let’s get right into it!
CMLL 91. Aniversario
Los Depredadores (Magia Blanca, Magnus and Rugido) vs Futuro, Max Star and Hombre Bala Jr.
This was a fun trios match to kick off CMLL’s 91st anniversary show. This Los Depredadores trio are always a good bet for a good match. Futuro is one of the most exciting young wrestlers on the roster and Max Star isn’t too far behind him. Hombre Bala Jr. is a guy that’s been around a long time without ever really clicking but I think he’s settled into a good spot teaming with these guys. This was wrestled at a pretty frantic pace with some really nice dives. Futuro was the star of the show and his team picked up the win.
Match rating: 3.25
Templario, Neon and Star Jr. vs Niebla Roja, Angel De Oro and Soberano Jr.
This looked like a potentially mouth-watering trios match on paper and while I don’t think it lived up to that it was still pretty good. The first two falls weren’t really anything special but this came alive in the third fall. The tecnico trio got off a lot of their best stuff including an insane powerbomb from Templario on Soberano. Unfortunately for them though, Los Chavez and Soberano picked up the win.
Match rating: 3.5
Mascara Dorada vs Titán
The finals of the Copa Independencia saw The CMLL World Welterweight Champion Titán face off with the World Historic Welterweight Champion Mascara Dorada. These two had a CMLL MOTYC contender in 2023 in the main event of Noche De CAmpeones. This match while great, didn’t reach the same level which shouldn’t be too surprising given its placement on the card. That being said these are arguably the two best in-ring wrestlers in the company so this was great. Titán gets the victory with his version of the Muta lock. That means Mascara Dorada is now 0-2 against Titán in singles competition, something to keep an eye on.
Match rating: 4.25
Willow Nightingale vs Zeuxis
Zeuxis pins Willow Nightingale with an avalanche spanish fly to win her first CMLL World Women’s title! Zeuxis is not Stephanie Vaquer but as far as the CMLL women’s division is concerned right now she’s probably the next best thing. I’m looking forward to seeing what she does with the title.
Match Rating: 3.25
Orange Cassidy, Rocky Romero and Satoshi Kojima vs Volador Jr., Ultimo Guerrero and Atlantis Jr.
CMLL Aniversario is probably the only place in wrestling where you could possibly see a heel trio of Orange Cassidy, Satoshi Kojima and Rocky Romero. I thought this match was really fun without ever veering into great territory. Volador Jr. got the decisive pinfall with the canadian destroyer on Rocky Romero. I thought the interactions between Kojima and Orange were particularly enjoyable. Kojima didn’t seem impressed by Orange’s strikes to say the least. Flip Gordon also hopped the rail to attack Rocky Romero at one stage to further set up their feud which I have to imagine will lead to the best work of Flip’s CMLL career.
Match rating: 3.5
Esfinge vs Valiente vs Euforia vs Hechicero
We arrive at the (match that should’ve been the) main event. This was the mask vs mask four way match. The way this stipulation works is essentially an elimination match. The person that loses their mask is the third person eliminated. If you get eliminated first or second you are simply sent to the back. This was unquestionably the match of the night. The early portion of this was chaotic and fast paced, everyone brought their A game. Perhaps with the exception of Hechicero it is easily the best I’ve seen any of them look in a CMLL ring. Euforia pinned Esfinge first, then Hechicero submitted Valiente. We were down to the final two, Hechicero and Euforia. One of these men was going to see their life and career change forever.
With the other two men eliminated this became more of a slow paced heavyweight clash. I’ve seen a lot of praise online for Hechicero after this match which is of course deserved. Hechicero has definitely gained the most from CMLL’s partnerships with AEW and Revpro and this was another excellent performance in what has been a fantastic year for him. I do want to take this opportunity to heap praise on Euforia though because he absolutely rose to the occasion here despite being 49 years old he is still in incredible shape. Euforia has definitely been cycled down by CMLL in the last couple of years with not many big Arena Mexico spots so I wasn’t sure if he had this performance in him but he absolutely did.
The mask vs mask stipulation in lucha libre brings out a special atmosphere unlike anything else in wrestling. It is such an emotive experience. Euforia was definitely the favourite to lose his mask once it got down to the final two but that didn’t stop the match from creating drama as there were some moments where they made you fearful for Hechicero. Ultimately Hechicero got the victory by submitting Euforia in a classic match. The post match was brilliant as is often the case with this stipulation. For the lack of a better term the aura of the winner of a mask match in lucha is always off the charts and there wasn’t an exception with Hechicero here as he celebrated his victory. Meanwhile Euforia is joined in the ring by his son Soberano Jr. and I believe his brother(?) for a highly emotive unmasking. All around incredible stuff and a must-watch match.
Match rating: 4.75
Mistico vs Chris Jericho
I put out a tweet last week that said I would bet money on this easily being Jericho’s best match of 2024. I was wrong, very wrong. This match had to follow the amazing mask match and it did a terrible job. It was best two out of three falls. The first two falls were basically fine but I thought this match really lacked heat to be the main event. It couldn’t hold a candle to the previous match. After the second fall I think it got even worse. Jericho’s physical limitations really began to show. I suppose there was one good moment where Jericho countered a springboard into a codebreaker but this was rough. Mistico won with the slowest La Mistica you will ever see. Mistico was visibly ticked off at the whole thing shaking his head and certainly not having the enthusiasm for a post match celebration befitting of an Aniversario main event. To make matters worse it didn’t stop there. Jericho and Big Bill attacked Jericho after the bell only for Orange Cassidy to make the save. Whoever was responsible for having an angle for a midcard AEW feud that no one wants to see be what closed a CMLL Aniversario event should be ashamed. You can understand given the name value of the men involved why this main evented but it was a huge mistake, it could never follow the atmosphere of the mask match.
This should be a lesson for CMLL. This probably isn’t the last time AEW are going to send a big star to work this show. The main event of Aniversario should always be an apuestas match. The atmosphere of an apuestas match in Arena Mexico is so unique and special it should always be the main attraction of the show. Even if AEW had sent someone that would have delivered like Ospreay or Swerve the mask match still would’ve been the best choice for the main event. As far as Chris Jericho goes this really opened my eyes to how dire he has gotten. I was sure he could deliver a good match here, it’s not that long ago since he had that incredible match with Bandidio on Dynamite, it’s less than a year since he went to DDT and had a great match with Takeshita but he looked very rough here. Everyone is sick of seeing Chris Jericho. For his own sake as well as for the viewers I hope he goes on an extended break soon and tries to come back rejuvenated because right now it’s getting ugly.
Match rating: 2.25
TNA Victory Road
Mike Bailey vs Zachary Wentz
Mike Bailey challenges Zachary Wentz in his contractual rematch for the TNA X-division title and it is electric. You know with Speedball you're going to get a very good match but this definitely over shot my expectations. It didn't deviate from the usual Speedball formula but Wentz just had the performance of his career here.
This had everything you want in an X-division title match. A lot of nice high flying innovative offence coupled with some great near falls. Bailey got the win with the flamingo driver after Wentz had kicked out of the shooting star press earlier in the match. Mike Bailey is now a 3x X-division champion ending the 14 day run of Wentz. The decision for Wentz to cut Bailey’s reign short was always a strange one but at least he has the belt back now. Perhaps WWE didn't want a TNA guy getting a win on one of their premium live events unless they were a champion or maybe TNA just wanted to show off the belt, who knows? The belt is back on Speedball, that's the most important thing.
Match rating: 4.5
Joe Hendry vs Josh Alexander
Josh Alexander had cost Joe Hendry the TNA title at Slammiversary with a low blow in the 6-man elimination match to set up this feud. They decided to play into the real chatter online with Alexander being angry that Hendry is the one representing TNA in NXT when he's not able to back it up in the ring. Hendry of course not being renowned for great matches but also recently losing a NXT title match to Ethan Page giving this a double meaning that the fans understand. Josh clearly believes he's superior to Hendry in the ring but Hendry is out to show why he isn't to be underestimated.
Joe Hendry is over, the fans are behind him and that definitely added to this match but Alexander is brilliant as the heel here. Hendry despite being called a meme wrestler has a strong amateur background and has a strength advantage. He gets the better of Alexander on a couple of occasions and Alexander is great at showing his frustration.
Incredibly, Joe Hendry makes Alexander tap out to the ankle lock but the referee is down so it doesn't count. Alexander hits Hendry with a low blow just like Slammiversary but this time Hendry is prepared with a cup. Hendry gets the ankle lock back on and expertly blocks Alexander’s attempts at escaping causing him to tap out! Joe Hendry has submitted Josh Alexander in a TNA ring.
This match put Hendry over huge, getting the visual submission on Alexander twice puts him over on a technical level and also the cup spot puts over his smarts. Hopefully this is the start of a series of matches between the two. They can tell the story of Alexander being too over confident and not taking Hebdry’s abilities seriously the first time. However, while the match did put over Hendry huge you could argue Alexander submitting twice makes him look too weak. It kind of makes you wonder.
Match rating: 3.5
Stardom Namba Grand Fight
Natsupoi vs Hazuki
Natsupoi makes her first defence of the Wonder of Stardom title in a spectacular match. Natsupoi and Hazuki are two of the best workers on the roster and they showed out here. This had some fierce hard hitting strikes, great intensity and a sense of one upmanship throughout. Hazuki kicks out of Natsupoi’s diving twisting splash before getting caught in a flash pin. Hazuki refuses to shake Natsupoi's hand after the match. This is definitely a match I'm interested in seeing again. It is also worth noting that Thekla came out after the match and offered Natsupoi a HATE scarf after whispering in her ear. Natsupoi didn't seem amused by this and left the scarf in the ring.
Match rating: 4.5
Maika vs Tam Nakano
This is the second first title defence of the show. This time it's Tam Nakano making her first defence of the World of Stardom title against Maika who earned her title shot by winning the 5Star Grand Prix.
This was another fantastic match but not quite as good as the last one. Maika has really risen in the Stardom ascendency in the last year and she made Tan fight for this win. This had a bit of a lull in the middle but the closing stage was excellent. Tam eventually won with the Twilight Dream suplex. Tam Nakano called Suzuki Suzuki to the ring after the match.
Match rating: 4.25
An aside about the general state of Stardom - These were both excellent title matches but I saw very little chatter about them online. It seems that Stardom has suffered a lot from the Marigold split in that regard. Attendance for this show is also down a little from the last few ppvs in this arena. Something to keep an eye on.
NOAH Star Navigation
Yu Owada vs Daiki Odashima
This was Daiki Odashima's pro wrestling debut. He made his entrance in Korakuen Hall wearing red attire and immediately got a reaction from the crowd. It is unusual for a debutant to not be wearing black gear and that coupled with the fact that he made his debut in Korakuen Hall tells you what the company thinks of him. He was super impressive here against Owada before tapping out to the Boston Crab. NOAH don't have the best record with dojo graduates making it to the top in recent years and have been criticised for waiting too long to give them a real push such as in the case of Inamura. However, both of these guys look to be real prospects so hopefully they can capitalise on that.
Match rating: 3
Daga, El Hijo Del Dr. Wagner Jr and Galeno Del Mal vs Super Crazy, Dragon Bane and Alpha Wolf
Luchadores doing Lucha things in Korakuen Hall. What's not to love?
Match rating: 3.25
Manabu Soya vs Ulka Sasaki
Manabu Soya finally wins his first singles title in NOAH!! Defeating Ulka Sasaki for the GHC National Championship. In January Soya challenged Kengo for the GHC Heavyweight Championship on the new year show. I always thought being a major heavyweight title challenger was a bridge too far for Soya but I think he can definitely be a good National champion. He called out Wagner Jr after the match which should be excellent.
This was the first defence for Ulka Sasaki. The former UFC fighter won the title within a year of making his pro wrestling debut so while this reign was underwhelming I highly doubt it will be his last. The match was really good with the crowd really getting behind Soya. It was largely based around the submission skills of Sasaki vs the power of Soya.
Match rating: 3.75
Kaito Kiyomiya vs Ryohei Oiwa
Ryohei Oiwa faces the GHC heavyweight champion Kaiti Kiyomiya in a non-title match in the main event. The backstory here is that Oiwa is a NJPW young lion who went to NOAH on his excursion where Kiyomiya took him under his wing. Oiwa requested this match as his last NOAH match before returning to NJPW. They had previously wrestled a singles match a month prior in the N-1 Victory tournament which ended in a 30 minute time limit draw. That match got motyc praise from some and I thought this match was even better.
This was not a nice friendly encounter between two friends but rather two men fighting each other with the best they had. Kaito got the win with a flash pin. Kaito gave Oiwa a great endorsement after the match. It is clear that Oiwa has a really high ceiling. I don't think it's controversial to expect more from him in NJPW than any of Tsuji, Umino, Uemura or Narita. It's definitely not coming for young lions to go on excursion to other Japanese companies but the success of Oiwa certainly points to that being a thing that should become more common. Kiyomiya and Oiwa feel like pro wrestling soul mates, there is a magic connection between the two. With Oiwa returning to NJPW it is unknown when they will meet again but when they do it will be special.
Match rating: 4.25
Netflix Produce Gokuaku Joo Release Commemorative Event - Very Evil Pro Wrestling
Maria, Mio Momono, Takumi Iroha and Riko Kawahata vs Chikayo Nagashima, Dash Chicago, Drake Morimatsu and Zap T
This was a really good joshi tag but the main reason it's included is because it was produced by Netflix to promote the Dump Matsumoto documentary. The Netflix production gives us a view of Japanese wrestling and Korakuen Hall like it's never been shown before and that alone makes it worth watching. The story of this match was simple. The underdog babyfaces vs the violent heels.
As soon as this started Dump Matsumoto who was at ringside starts attacking Momono with her kendo stick which was brilliant. Momono is one of the best underdog babyfaces in the world and would have surely made an incredible opponent for prime Matsumoto. While Momono had the best performance on the babyface side it was Chisako who was the most impressive heel, hitting her diving splash off a ladder and through a table at ringside. If you hadn't already guessed this was a tag match where the rulebook kind of went out the window. A fitting match to promote a Dump Matsumoto documentary. It's on the Netflix Japan YouTube channel. Check it out.
Match rating: 3.75
Freedoms/Jun Kasai Produce Tokyo Death Match Carnival 2024 Vol. 2
Jun Kasai vs Daisuke Masaoka
This was a high construction scaffold, fluorescent light tubes and glass board death match. If you've ever watched Freedoms before you probably have a very good idea of what this looks like. Jun Kasai is a very fun wrestler to watch and unsurprisingly there was a lot of crazy stuff in this. They did do a little too much for my taste though, and by that I don't mean it was too violent. I mean they moved on from/kicked out of a lot of stuff that I think could have been made to be a bigger deal. I gave this four stars but I think it had the tools to be even more.
Match rating: 4
Classic matches
As I mentioned earlier these matches are chosen through Wrestling Playlists. This is a really cool project which is a daily newsletter taking a chronological look at wrestling footage over the last two years starting at the turn of the 20th century. You can subscribe to the substack at https://t.co/RV90u09n03. The project is currently working its way through 1985 so all matches will be before then. Today’s matches were selected from issues #98 and #99 respectively.
AJPW Summer Action Series - Day 15 25/07/1974
The Destroyer vs Mil Mascaras
This match was a best two out of three falls match for The Destroyer’s PWF United States Heavyweight title. It was also the first match in a trial series for The Destroyer to prove he was the best masked wrestler in the world. The Destroyer also known as Dick Beyer first arrived in Japan in 1963. He was a major opponent for Rikidozan in the JWA and also for Giant Baba in the same promotion after Rikidozan's passing. When Baba formed AJPW in 1972 The Destroyer joined him making him one of the first major foreign stars to make Japan his primary wrestling base.
His opponent Mil Mascaras was no stranger to him. They had another great match in AJPW the year before which The Destroyer won with the figure four. (They also have an earlier meeting in Los Angeles which unfortunately we don't have on tape). Mil Mascaras was the first luchadore to really become a major draw all around the world. He had already been working regularly in the US for years by this point but the Destroyer feud is really what made his name in Japan.
The first fall of this match is the longest fall and feature some outstanding technical wrestling. Mil Mascaras has a reputation for not being very good in the ring and this rivalry shows that definitely wasn't always true. He absolutely holds his own here in a technical masterpiece with the Destroyer. The Destroyer wins the first fall with a diving knee drop.
The second and third falls saw the match take less of a match based focus and both men left their feet more. This allowed Mil Mascaras to get the advantage and he won the second fall with a diving cross body.
I mentioned before that The Destroyer won the previous match with the figure four. Both men try multiple times to get the figure four on in the first two falls but are never successful. The audience know how crucial this move could be to winning the match and there is great anticipation every time it is attempted. It is in the third and final fall where The Destroyer finally cinches it in and the crowd erupt as they think they have a winner. Incredibly Mascaras is able to roll under the bottom rope and force a break. The pace really begins to pick up as they head towards the finish, which is unfortunately a disappointing one. The Destroyer accidentally hits Mil Mascaras in the groin area as he jumps in the air and the referee renders Mascaras unable to continue and awards the win to the Destroyer. Mil Mascaras also had a reputation for not liking to be pinned clean and that was probably this was but make no mistake this was a brilliant match, especially the first fall.
Match rating: 4.25
Joint Promotions 15/08/1974
John Naylor vs Zoltan Boscik
We head over to Britain now for another 1974 technical encounter albeit one of a different nature. This was fought under traditional British rules meaning 6 rounds at 5 minutes each. This was a one fall match. I think this is a good introduction into what we know as world of sport wrestling if you've never seen it before. Boscik and Naylor are both very easy on the eye. They're both very agile and technically gifted competitors. What they deliver is a really cool technical match with some hints of comedy here and there.
There is no real heel/face dynamic here. It is just two very talented people having a friendly but competitive wrestling match. The thing with old school British stuff like this is that you're almost guaranteed to see something that you've never seen before which makes the match worth watching.
Match rating: 3.5