Best of the Month – January 2016

Best of the Month- January 2016

In what’s going to be a monthly feature going forward, I’m going to check out and review some of the more noteworthy and highly praised matches throughout the month of January. I’m still going to do my reviews of all WWE/NXT specials and some of the occasional New Japan shows but these reviews will kept me up to date on what’s going on in other promotions and will hopefully get you guys interested in a wide variety of wrestling. Let’s get to it!

Marty Scurll vs. Will Ospreay- Revolution Pro High Stakes 1-16
Scrull overpowers Ospreay to start and Ospreay comes back with a sunset flip for 2. O’Connor roll by Ospray gets 2 and we reach a stalemate. Scurll throws some chops and Ospreay fires back with his own. Scurll pokes the eye to end that and Ospreay catches him with a head scissors followed by a dropkick. Ospreay goes for a handstand head scissors but Scurll blocks with a super kick for 2. Springboard dropkick knocks Scurll off the apron and he follows up with a suicide dive. Back in, Ospreay goes up for the SSP but it eats boot!!! Super kick from the apron by Scurll and he gordbusters Ospray on the barricade. Running uppercut by Scurll knocks Ospreay into the crowd. Ospreay comes back with a summersault plancha off the entrance ramp!!!! Both men make it back in before the ten count. Arm wringer drivers by Scurll and Ospreay comes back with a roll-up for 2. Back elbow by Scurll gets 2 and he drives Ospreay’s knees into the mat. Mexican Surfboard by Scurll and he rolls Ospreay around the ring in the hold. Jaw breaker by Ospreay and he catches Scurll with a handspring enzuigiri. Springboard dropkick by Scurll and he hits the springboard corkscrew plancha to the floor!!! Back in, Ospreay hits the springboard spinning press for 2. Reverse suplex by Scurll and Ospreay catches him with a backslide for 2. Enzuigiri by Ospreay and he follows up with the standing SSP for 2. Ospray goes up but Scurll cuts him off with an uppercut and follows up. Scurll goes for a Frankensteiner off the top but Ospreay lands on his feet!!! Ospreay misses a spinning enzuigiri and Scurll catches him with Cattle Mutilation!!! Ospreay rolls through and goes for the standing SSP but eats knees. Small package by Scurll gets 2. High kick by Ospreay and Scurll catches him with a knee strike for 2. They trade chops and slaps until Scurll cuts him off with a knee strike!!! Head butt by Ospreay and Scurll fires back with one of his own. Punches in the corner by Scurll and he hits a mule kick out of the corner. Bicycle kick by Ospreay and he throws a superkick. Scurll answers back with a super kick!!! Ospreay counters a suplex into the Stunner and he springboards into the Crossface Chickenwing from Scurll!!!! Ospreay escapes and eats an uppercut but answers back with an enzuigiri!!!!! Wow!!!! Super kick by Scurll and he hits the summersault DDT for 2!!! Corner enzuigiri by Scurll but Ospray comes back with a running enzuigiri intot he corner. Enzuigiri by Ospreay and he hits a Tornado DDT. Crossface Chickenwing by Ospray but Scurll RIPS AT THE FINGERS TO BREAK!!!! Spanish Fly by Ospreay and he goes up. Red Arrow by Ospreay gets 2!!!! Ospreay goes for the DDT through the turnbuckles but gets caught and Scurll dumps him on the apron. Suicide dive into a Tornado DDT on the floor by Scurll and back in, he gets 2!!! Crossface Chickenwing by Scurll and Ospreay’s arm doesn’t go down 3 times!!!! Ospreay makes the ropes to break!!! Basement super kicks by Scurll and Ospreay is still fighting. They trade slaps and Ospreay throws a super kick. Springboard Ace Crsuher by Ospreay and he hits a basement spinning enzuigiri. Ospreay goes up and misses the Shooting Star Press. Tornado DDT by Scurll and he goes back to the Crossface Chickenwing. He throws some rapid elbows and Ospreay taps!!!!
Winner- Marty Scurll ****1/2 ( This match probably went too long, clocking in at thirty minutes. They tried to fill some time early on with a bunch of flashy sequences that lacked a steady flow. Now, with that being said, the rest of the match RULED. It became a total battle of attrition with both men just throwing everything they had at one another. I’ve never seen sequences pulled off at such a fast rate so flawlessly like I did in this match, it blew my mind. Ospreay is in store for a mega year in 2016 and don’t sleep on Scurll either, these two should be proud of what they pulled off here. An incredible match that should hold up strong as one of the best matches of 2016.)

CMLL World Lightweight Championship- Dragon Lee © vs. Kamaitachi from NJPW Fantastica Mania Day 6 1-24
They trade chops and Lee hits a hurricanrana forcing Kamitachi to bail. Dropkick by Lee knocks him back to the floor and he follows up with a suicide dive!!! Back in, Kamaitachi hits a super kick and a dropkick knocks Lee back to the floor. Dropkick off the apron by Kamaitachi and back in, Kamaitachi hits a super kick for 2. Dragon screw leg sweep by Kamaitachi and he begins to work the leg of Lee. Slam by Kamaitachi and he goes up. Knee drop off the top onto the bad leg of Lee and Lee catches him with a enzuigiri. Lee LAUNCHES HIMSELF into a hurricanrana taking Kamaitachi off the apron!!!! Back in, Lee hits two dropkicks knocking Kamaitachi back to the floor. Summersault plancha to the floor by Lee!!!! Back in, Lee hits the cradle power bomb for 2. Lee puts Kamaitachi on top and follows up. Kamaitachi brings him off with an overhead belly to belly suplex but Lee hangs him outside for the double stomp to the floor!!!! Back in, Lee puts Kamaitachi on top and misses the double stomp this time around. Kamaitachi puts Lee on top and knocks him to the floor with a dropkick. Kamaitachi knocks Lee off the apron and he goes up. Cannonball off the top to the floor onto Lee!!!! Back in, Kamaitachi hits a dragon screw leg sweep and he grabs the Figure-4!!! Lee makes the ropes to break. Release German suplex by Lee but Kamaitachi comes back with his own. Lariat by Lee and both men are down!!! Wheelbarrow roll-up by Lee gets 2 and Kamaitachi rolls him up for 2. Kamaitachi rolls through a hurricanrana for 2. Big boot by Lee and Kamaitachi comes back with a hurricanrana for 2. Crossface by Lee and he converts it into the Crowbar!!! He grabs the other arm to prevent a rope break so Kamaitachi gets his leg on the ropes to break!!!! Lee puts Kamaitachi on top and follows up. Double stomp by Lee gets 2!!! Regal Plex by Lee gets 2. Figure-4 by Kamaitachi again but Lee makes the ropes to break!!! German suplex by Kamaitachi and he rolls through into a second one for 2!!! Standing Spanish Fly by Lee gets 2. Canadian Destroyer by Kamaitachi gets 3!!!!
Winner and NEW CMLL World Lightweight Champion- Kamaitachi ****1/4 ( These two had about eight singles matches in CMLL in 2015 and was one of the most underrated rivalries of the year, so I’m glad they got the chance to showcase the feud in New Japan. These two tore the house down and made the most of their opportunity, just putting it all on the line with insane dives and bringing the intensity of their feud to a new stage. The lack of follow up or incorporation of the leg work was my major gripe but this was a star making performance from both men in New Japan and hopefully they become stables of the Jr. Division by the time Best of the Super Juniors rolls around. )

Chris Hero vs. Sami Callihan- AAW Chaos Theory 2016 1-15
Callihan charges in with a bicycle kick to start and he hits an exploder suplex for 2. Big boot by Hero gets 2. Bicycle boot by Hero and Callihan bails. Hard rights by Hero and they head back in. Enzuigiri by Callihan and he hits a springboard clothesline knocking Hero off the apron. Suicide dive by Callihan and he sends Hero into the railings. Back in, Hero catches Callihan with a dropkick through the ropes and they head back in. Hero throws some boots in the corner and Callihan bails again. Hero sends Calihan into the railings but misses a big boot. Callihan drives a chair into the bad leg of Hero and they head back in. Callihan grabs the Indian Deathlock but Hero quickly goes to the ropes to break. Callihan wraps Hero’s leg on the top rope and he charges in the corner but eats boot. Rolling elbow by Hero gets 2. Chops by Hero and he throws a hard forearm at Callihan. Single leg dropkick by Hero and he hits a release suplex for 2. Corner knee strike by Callihan and he hits a basement bicycle kick in the corner on Hero. Rolling elbow by Hero and he hits a flying forearm for 2. Twister by Callihan gets 2. They trade blows and Callihan throws a bicycle kick. Hard forearm by Hero and they boot each other in the face, knocking each other down. They both knock each other down with boots again. Knee strike by Hero and he hits a pile driver for 2. Bicycle kick by Callihan and he hits the Saito suplex. Sliding D by Callihan gets 1!!! Bicycle kick by Callihan gets 2!!! Three more bicycle kicks by Callihan gets 3.
Winner- Sami Callihan ***1/2 ( I expected this have a ton of strikes and boy this it live up to my expectation. The entire match was made up of elbow and boot strikes and it was just pure fun to watch. It was missing a signature moment to really hook me in but I appreciate that they tried something different and for the most part, it worked. )

British Heavyweight Championship- AJ Styles © vs. Zack Sabre Jr.- Revolution Pro High Stakes 1-16
They grapple to start and eventually reach a stalemate. Cradle by Styles gets 2. They trade snap mares and Sabre Jr. manages to gain control of the arm. Styles escapes his clutch and we reach another stale mate. Sabre Jr. trips up Styles and rolls him up for 2. Sabre Jr. maintains a side headlock but Styles breaks with a back suplex. Back breaker by Styles and he goes for the Calf Killer but Sabre Jr. quickly goes to the ropes to block. Knee breaker by Styles and he throws a kick to the back. Knee drop by Styles but Sabre Jr. grabs Styles’ arm and stomps on the exposed elbow. Sabre Jr. works over the arm of Styles and he sweeps the legs of Styles when he attempts to fight back. Suplex by Sabre Jr. gets 1. Running uppercuts in the corner by Sabre Jr. but Styles answers back with leaping corner clotheslines. German suplex by Sabre Jr. gets 2. Hammerlock suplex by Styles and he hits the pump handle gut buster for 2. Springboard kick to the back by Sabre Jr. and Styles comes back with the springboard forearm. Half nelson suplex by Sabre Jr. gets 2. Kick to the chest by Sabre Jr. and he goes up but misses a knee drop to the arm. Styles rolls Sabre Jr. into the Calf Killer but Sabre Jr. attempts to counter into the cross arm breaker. Styles rolls him up for 2 and Sabre Jr. finally catches him in the cross arm breaker. Styles goes to the ropes to break. They trade blows and Styles catches Sabre Jr. with the Pele. Sabre Jr. blocks the Styles Clash and rolls Styles up for 2. PK Kick by Sabre Jr. gets 2. Sabre Jr. throws some kicks to the arm of Styles and he goes for the Cross Arm Breaker but Styles counters into the Styles Clash for 2!!! Bloody Sunday by Styles and Sabre Jr. counters the Styles Clash into Jim Breaks Arm Bar!!!! Styles gives!!!
Winner and NEW British Heavyweight Champion- Zach Sabre Jr. ***3/4 ( With this being one of Styles’ last matches on the indies, he didn’t go all out like he normally would in a big main event like this. But still, with Styles holding back this was still an excellent match, as Sabre Jr. dominated with his technical mastery and by being relentless on the arm of Styles, it took away Styles’ ability to fully hit the Styles Clash which caused his eventual downfall. An incredibly well worked match and a nice sendoff for Styles while simultaneously passing the torch to Sabre Jr. who is going to be the face of the US and British independent scene this year. )

EVOLVE Tag Team Tournament Quarterfinals- Heroes Eventually Die (Chris Hero and Tommy End) vs. Sami Callihan and Zack Sabre Jr. from EVOLVE 53 1/22
Sabre Jr. and Hero start. Sabre Jr. works the arm of Hero and Hero throws some chops to fight him off. Sabre Jr. regains control of the arm and Callihan tags in. He grabs a head lock and Hero overpowers him before following up with a back senton. Tag to End and he throws some kicks at Callihan. Basement dropkick by End gets 1. Test of strength and Callihan wins the battle while proceeding stretch End across his knee!!! End catches Callihan with a knee to break and Sabre Jr. tags in. Sabre Jr. and end grapple for a bit until we reach a stalemate. Big boot by End and Hero tags in. Sabre Jr. tries to fight out of the opposing corner but Hero cuts him off with a big boot. Hard forearm by Hero and End tags in. Knee drop by End gets 2 and Hero tags in. Chops and kicks in the corner by Heroes Eventually Die and Hero hits a basement knee strike for 2. Chin lock by Hero but Sabre Jr. starts to fight out so Hero throws more boots. Tag to End and he grabs the key lock. They trade uppercuts and End hits a suplex for 2. End sends Sabre Jr. hard into the corner and Hero tags in. Double knee drop followed by a back senton from Hero and he steps on the midsection of Sabre Jr. Sabre Jr. rolls out of the clutches of Hero and tags Callihan who fires away with bicycler kicks. He hits the Twister on End while simultaneously taking Hero over with a head scissors. Saito suplex by Callihan and he hits the basement forearm for 2 as End saves. Corner knee strike to End and Hero and Callihan and he hits the basement knee strike on Hero. Another one for End!!! Hard forearm by Hero and Heroes Eventually Die hit a knee strike/release suplex combo for 2. Tag to End and Callihan gets a wheelbarrow roll-up for 2. Kick to the chest by End and they go up. End blocks a Sunset Bomb and hits a spinning knee strike. German suplex by End gets 2 as Sabre Jr. saves. Everyone trades hard shots and Sabre Jr. hits a release Dragon suplex on Hero!!! Callihan misses a bicycle kick on End and nails Sabre Jr. by mistake!!! Sabre Jr. blocks a kick from End and Callihan and Sabre Jr. hit a basement dropkick/tombstone combo for 2!!! Sabre Jr. begins to stretch the arm of End and he looks for Jim Breaks Arm Bar but Hero throws some big boots!!! Sabre Jr. refuses to let go and Callihan grabs Hero in a sleeper!!!! Hero fights out and he catches Sabre Jr. with a back senton to save End. Kicks to the leg by Sabre Jr. but Heroes Eventually Die hit a double knee strike. Leg sweep/elbow strike combo on Sabre Jr. gets 2!!! Hero throws some shots at Sabre Jr. and he begins to throw rapid chops at Sabre Jr. Running uppercut by Sabre Jr. and he rolls Hero up with a bridge for 2. Pile driver by Hero A second pile driver by Hero and he puts Sabre Jr. on top. He goes for the super pile driver but Callihan breaks it up. He takes Hero out of the corner with a power bomb and he hits a suicide dive onto End!!! PK Kick by Sabre Jr. gets 2. Big boot by Hero and he hits the rolling elbow for 2. End goes up and hits a moonsault press to the floor onto Callihan!!! Sabre Jr. counters the Gotch Piledriver into the Kimura but Hero escapes that. Sabre Jr. tries to counter the rolling elbow into the cross arm breaker but End breaks it up with a double stomp off the top. Rolling elbow/knee strike combo gets 3!!!
Winners- Heroes Eventually Die ****1/4 ( This was a fantastic blend of technical wrestling and hard striking. Everything about the match was engaging from the intense feeling out process to the resiliency shown by Sabre Jr. throughout the match. Hero and End already make for an awesome team and hopefully they become mainstays to the EVOLVE tag division. The match probably went on too long and overstayed its’ welcome by about five minutes but you can’t take away the effort and creativity shown in this match. )

Gift of the Gods Championship- Fenix © vs. King Cuerno from Lucha Underground 1-27
Head scissors take over by Fenix and he hits a standing moonsault. Cuerno catches Fenix with a hanging DDT to the floor and he follows up with a suicide dive to the floor!!!! Back in, Cuerno covers for 2. Springboard dropkick by Fenix and he hits a springboard fireman’s carry take over. Handspring Ace Crusher by Fenix and he dropkicks Cuerno to the floor. Springboard twisting press to the floor by Fenix!!! Back in, Fenix hits a Yakuza kick in the corner and Cuerno comes back with a flying forearm. Super kick by Fenix and Cuerno comes back with a single leg drop kick. Handspring Ace Crusher again by Fenix and he holds on, turning it into a Dragon Sleeper. Cuerno escapes and he catches Fenix in the Mexican Surfboard. He releases, driving Fenix head first into the turnbuckle. Fenix puts Cuerno on top and follows up with a double stomp to the back for 2!!! Thrill of the Hunt by Cuerno gets 2!!! Super kick by Fenix and he goes up. Springboard 450 splash misses and Cuerno hits a Package Tombstone for 3.
Winner and NEW Gift of the Gods Champion- King Cuerno ***1/2 ( As good a match as you can get for seven minutes. They welcomed everyone back to Lucha Undergound with a great high flying exhibition capped off with hot near falls and a good decisive victory for Cuerno. Can’t ask for more than that from your season opener. )

Philly Street Fight- The Kingdom (Adam Cole and Michael Bennett) w/Maria Kanellis and Matt Taven vs. reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish) vs. Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) from Ring of Honor 1-16
The Bucks attack reDRagon as they come out to the ring and it’s a SUPERKICK PARTY~!!!! Stereo kicks to the chest of Matt by reDRagon and they hit a tilt-a-whirl back breaker/knee drop combo on Nick. O’Reilly low bridges Cole to the floor and Fish hits a summersault plancha off the apron onto everyone on the floor!!! Summersault plancha by Nick!!! Hanging cross arm breaker to Bennett by O’Reilly but Cole breaks it up with a chair shot. Cole grabs a chin lock by Matt is seated in a chair but Matt breaks with a jaw breaker onto the chair. Handspring chair shot to the back by Matt!!! O’Reilly leaps off the apron but eats a super kick from Nick as we go to break!!!!!
Back and Matt ROLLS COLE IN A SHOPPING CART INTO A SUPERKICK FROM NICK!!!! Dropkick off the apron by O’Reilly to Bennett. High/Low onto Matt by reDRagon and they hit Double Dragon onto Nick. Cole drives a ladder into reDRagon and back in, he does the same to the Bucks. Cole swings the ladder into the Bucks but reDRagon nails him with chairs. Tilt-a-whirl back breaker/knee drop combo using the chair by reDragon. O’Reilly throws some kicks at Bennett but he comes back with a spine buster onto a ladder!!! Matt power bombs Bennett onto the ladder!!! Assisted Swanton Bomb onto Bennett on the ladder!!! Nick super kicks O’Reilly off the apron and the Bucks hit More Bang For Your Buck for 2 as Cole pulls the ref out at the last second!!!! Nick goes for a super kick but misses and he creams Kevin Kelly!!! Everyone lays each other out as we go to break.
Back and Cole hits the Canadian Destroyer on Nick. Super kick by Matt but Bennett comes back with one of his own. Chasing the Dragon on the floor onto Bennett!!!! O’Reilly and Cole brawl all the way to the back and Fish tries to fight off the Bucks in the ring. Fish drives Bennett through a table on the floor!!!! Back in, Nick catches Fish with a corner knee strike and the Bucks super kick Fish off the apron through a table!!!! FROG SPLASH TO THE FLOOR BY NICK!!!! Back in, the Bucks put Bennett on a chair and look for the double super kick but Maria goes low to block. AJ Styles comes out and prevents Bennett from using the chair. Bloody Sunday by Styles and the Bucks hit the Meltzer Driver on Maria!!!!!!! Assisted Indy Taker to Bennett and the Bullet Club hit the double super kick into the Styles Clash for 3!!!
Winners- Young Bucks **** ( This was just an absolute blast of a brawl. Everyone was going a mile a minute, highlighting the hatred all three teams had for each other and not going way over the top on violence and spots. The brawl felt organic and you have to love the finish as it killed off both the Kingdom and the Bullet Club while vaulting the Young Bucks into one of the top acts in ROH. Just pure fun from start to finish. )

9.5

The final score: review Amazing

The 411

NOTE: My score is a reflection of my thoughts about pro wrestling as a whole per month and not just the matches reviewed here. 2016 kicked off with a bang as this is probably one of best starts to a year in terms of match quality as I've seen in some time. We had WresteKingdom 10 producing three MOTY contenders, the WWE put on a solid effort with the Royal Rumble, and promotions such as Revolution Pro and EVOLVE got off to hot starts by producing killer shows. The Ospreay/Scurll and Dragon Lee/Kamaitachi matches blew me away and these four men look like they're going to make huge strides in their career's this year off the back of their incredible performances. With so many roster changes and the return of Lucha Underground, the industry is finally getting some freshening up and all these changes will make for better shows and even better matches throughout the year. We're off to one hell of a start and hopefully the trend keeps going up as the year moves on.