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Ring Crew Reviews: Top 54 Matches from 2014 (Part IV: 21-11)

February 28, 2015 | Posted by Jack Bramma
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Ring Crew Reviews: Top 54 Matches from 2014 (Part IV: 21-11)  

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More ****1/4 matches.

21. The Shield vs. Evolution. WWE Extreme Rules. 05/04/2014. Since the Authority was formed, their hired goons had been The Shield, collectively watching the backs of Randy Orton and Kane. After DB won the belt at Mania XXX, Trips tried to make short order of YesMania by booking himself into a title shot the next night on RAW. At the moment of truth, The Shield turned on Trips. Trips did the next obvious option and reformed Evolution and made a 6-man at EE. This, by the way, is one of my favorite feuds all year, along with Cena-Brock (up to NOC) and Rollins-Ambrose.

• They repeat the staredown from Wyatts/Shield that had happened a few times by that point. It erupts into a brawl with the Shield clearing the ring easily. Trips feeds right back in solo and gets pummeled. The bell finally rings and it’s Rollins/Trips. Rollins cuts him off like a jobber and dropkicks him down. Burrito in the corner and Trips is clotheslined to the floor. Suicide dive follows and Batista and Orton just look on helplessly. Back in, Trips flips him at the pass with a LARIATO. Boo-tista in sporting red gear tonight. Roo-tista? Batista goes to the shoulder surges and Orton stomps a mudhole behind the ref’s back. Trips in with a jawbreaker and Papa Smurf tags in for the Batista kick. YEAH! VINTAGE BATISTA! Cover gets 1, 2, no on Rollins. Orton drops him on the ropes and goes to the chinlock. Rollins counters out with a Protobomb and the crowd wants the hot dog but Evolution knocks Ambrose and Reigns off the apron to BIG heat. Orton slingshots Rollins but he lands on his feet and enzuigiris Orton. Slick. Tag to Ambrose. Dropkick to Orton and a crossbody into GnP. Ambrose piefaces Batista to the floor and hits the Nigel LARIATO on Orton. F4 on Orton but Trips breaks it up with ease. It’s a brawl now as Reigns tosses Batista into the barricade. He tries a SPEAR on Trips but gets sent into the stairs. With Rollins recovering and Reigns out cold, it’s 3-on-1 on Ambrose.

• Crowd chants against BOOTISTA as he clotheslines Ambrose. Orton clotheslines Ambrose as well and goes back to his bread and butter: Chinlocks. Ambrose tries to escape so Orton Bluechipper dropkicks him. H in for haymakers and a Spinebuster. Cover gets 1, 2, no. Batista in to steal a page from Randy’s book with the OrtonLock. Ambrose with a jawbreaker but runs into another BATISTA KICK WHILE STILL SELLING THE JAWBREAKER! Seriously, you’d think he had a legit concussion. Awesome selling. Trips wants the Pedigree but Ambrose avoids and hits Dirty Deeds, the DDT version. Hot tag to Reigns. Burritos on Orton and Batista. Jumping Batista kick on Batista and he disposes of Orton and Trips into the barricade. Back in, Batista tries to cut him off to HUGE HEAT! ROLLINS IN WITH A FLYING KNEE! THE CROWD IS FEELING IT! Superman punch from Reigns. Triple powerbomb on Batista for 1, 2, Orton and Trips breaks it up. Rollins tries the suicide dive but H moves and Rollins faceplants on the floor. Ouch. Pedigree on Reigns. Ambrose tackles H and they tumble into the announce table. Batista drapes the arm for 1, 2, 2.99999999999999999999. THISISAWESOMETHISISAWESOMETHISISAWESOME. RKO ON REIGNS! 1, 2, broken up by Rollins. Rollins and Orton brawl to the floor. Orton takes over with a BLATANTTHUMBTOTHEEYE and dumps Rollins to the timekeeper area. Ambrose races across all the announce tables and drives on all of them. Orton/Ambrose and Trips/Rollins tussle into the crowd. Neither team is able to get a clear advantage while Batista/Reigns are down selling. H eats a backdrop ON THE STEEL! Ambrose takes a spill down some stairs and Evolution moves in for the kill. BUT WAIT! ROLLINS DIVES OFF THE BALCONY ON ORTON AND TRIPS! In the ring, Batista is up for a SPINEBUSTER! YEAHHHHH! Reigns shakes it off for the Superman punch. SPEARSPEARSPEAR puts down Evolution at 19:52.

• An awesome match, but not the best 6-man the Shield had by far and also not the best they’d even have with Evolution – that would come next month at Payback. This is probably even behind the 6-man they had with the Wyatts at EC in the yearly pecking order. Still, it’s a really good match that was revealing at the time for how much the “stars” were willing to sell and show ass to put over the new blood. If you remove the starpower, it’s pretty standard issue until all hell breaks loose with the Reigns hot tag and later with Rollins dive off the balcony. Crowd heat was excellent throughout elevating it a notch above. ****1/4

20. Two-out-of-Three Falls Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship: The Wyatts vs. The Usos (c). WWE Battleground 2014. 07/20/2014. The Usos won tag gold from the NAO back in March and have been riding high, relatively speaking at least, ever since defeating the Real Americans, Rybaxel, Los Matadores, The Rhodes Brothers, 3MB, though they still were unable to get over the hump of a Evolution megateam of Batista and Orton back in April that ultimately went nowhere. The Usos though mostly settled into second and third fiddles in Cena’s feud with the Wyatts. Things were calm on the tag belts front for the feud until Harper and Rowan pinned them a few times on Main Event and RAW back in late May and early June. The Wyatts got their shot at the gold at MITB but came up short. Yet another clean pin of the champs on RAW in Montreal, so we’re having one more go at it on PPV to settle the score once and for all.

• I’m sure I’m the only one who gives a damn, but The Wyatts’ tag music was much better as a creepy harmonica than as Damien leading into a standard rock song.

• We get replays of the match from Montreal and it turns out the wrong Uso was pinned and thus the match still counts. Still, nice follow up on the rules and continuity. King: “I’m glad to see that Harper dressed up for the occasion: he put on his cleanest dirty shirt.” Says the guy who used to wear a robe with no undershirt and now wears Ed Hardy shirts. ANYWAY, let’s get rolling. Jey and Rowan to start. Jey goes to the smack and knocks off the sheep mask. Rowan sells disbelief only to club him down with a shoulderblock. Rowan goes to the patented headbutts and CLUBBINGBLOWS as the crowd chants for Uso. Having made his point, he tags in Harper. Harper chokes and goes for the LARIATO but gets dropkicked to the floor. Rowan tries to cheat but gets cut off and the Usos are cooking early. The Wyatts regroup on the floor near a fan who points at them one at a time and tells each one separately that he sucks. Back in, Harper and Jey go at it. Harper gets him in the corner for the chokes and fish hooks. Jey tries a charge but gets thrown to the floor. Jey sells the hell out of it and takes a breather. Back in, he gets suplexed and booted down. Rowan tags in for the usual. Bodyslam gets 1, 2, only 2. Rowan puts him through the paces of this neck wrench. Jey avoids a backdrop but gets booted down for another 2 count. Harper in and drops a knee right on his face nicely for another 2 count. Gator roll and Harper gets top position with a chinlock. Jey suplexes his way free and Harper tries blocking the tag by grabbing his foot but no dice. Jimmy in but runs into the BOOT OF FEAR for 1, 2, 3 to put the Usos down 1-0 at 4:44.

• That was a VICIOUS big boot and totally believable as a pinfall. Jimmy staggers to his feet in time for Ho Train. He covers again for 1, 2, kickout. Rowan in for a splash and a 2 count. He elbows him on the noggin a few more times and goes to the Slaughter knuckle sandwich and Cole picks up on that. Good stuff. Jimmy elbows free and goes to the breadbasket. He tries a scoop but the back gives and Rowan falls on top for 1, 2, no. Tag to Harper for the Andre spot. Harper: “AAYEAYEAYAAYAEAYEYEAYA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Well said. Harper clubs him with a few Euro uppercuts. Jimmy tries fighting back with uppercuts but Harper just gets pissed and starts paintbrushing the fuck out of him and throws him down into the mat. After flipping out of a suplex, Jimmy tags out and Jay’s back in. Jey with a quick School boy for 1, 2, shoulder up, 3 to tie it at 1-1 at 8:11.

• The Wyatts ain’t exactly geniuses but they have enough fingers, toes, and teeth between them to know that 2 ain’t 3, so they put the boots to Jey for his unnatural counting ways. Harper doesn’t want a DQ though, so he smacks Rowan back to their corner. Then, he makes a legal tag and brings in Rowan for the Snap Ab Suplex. Awesome character stuff there. He hooks the leg for 1, 2, 2 ½. Rowan busts out his fifth different choke of the match and brings Harper back in for a slingshot into the ropes. Cover on Jey gets another nearfall. Rowan takes his time whiffing on a harpoon, so Harper tags in and shitcans himself whiffing on a Liu Kang kick. Hot tag to Jimmy who planchas to the floor on Harper. Rowan tries to sneak him, so he gets dumped out for his trouble and splashed as well. Jimmy takes a bit too long setting up the barricade run and dive on Harper but hits it anyway. Back in, Jimmy heads up top for a crossbody on Harper for 1, 2, 2.99. Jimmy goes to the superkicks. Harper blocks one but Jimmy spins around into an enzuigiri. He follows up with the Runaway Samoan Semi. Harper no sells for a Ho Train. He wants the New Jersey Naptime but Jimmy lands on his feet. Jimmy counters back with Whisper in the Wind for 1, 2, 2.999. Crowd is now really getting into the nearfalls. Jimmy wants a superkick but Harper blocks to set up a facewash in the corner that sends Jimmy reeling to the floor. Harper then gives a look into the camera and it’s official – he’s taken over the best in-ring facial expressions mantle from Mark Henry. I don’t know if there’s a single wrestler right now who gets every fiber of his character with every mannerism and tic the way that Luke Harper does. Bray, of course, is a master at this as well which is one of the reasons it’s a shame they don’t win much.

• ANYWAY, Harper gathers a head of steam for his TOPE SUICIDA. Harper is feeling it and he wants another dive on Jey but Jimmy cuts him off with a SUPERKICK! SCHOOL BOY! ONE, TWO, THREEOHNOHEALMOSTGOT’IM! Harper comes right back with New Jersey Naptime. 1, 2, 2.99999999999999999. Harper shakes the cobwebs free and tags in Rowan who promptly whiffs on a splash. Harper tries one as well but gets crotched. Jimmy in with the SUPERFLY SPLASH! 1, 2, KICKOUT! Jey can’t believe it, so he wants another splash. Harper grabs his foot long enough for Rowan to cut him off. They jockey for position and Jimmy joins them up top. Rowan takes over with a coconut and preps the DOUBLE SUPERPLEX! Delayed cover gets 1, 2, 2.999999999999. Match is going crazy now and shifting into another MOTYC gear. U-SO-U-SO-U-SO says the crowd. The Wyatts want the double ChokeSlam but Jey jumps them from behind long enough to break it up. He gets dumped out and Harper avoids a roll up for a WYATT SUPERKICK! He says it’s over and wants the LARIATO! NO! SUPERKICK! NO SELL! DISCUS LARIATO HOMICIDA! 1, 2, BROKEN UP! Jey gets dumped out again. Both Usos get on the same page and lay him out with a double superkick. Another for Rowan and now the DOUBLE SPLASH ON HARPER! 1, 2, 3 to retain the straps at 18:49.

• Great match. It’s the usual Wyatts-Usos match with a booking upgrade and a few more false finishes thrown in to spice it up. There’s almost no heat (something the entire division could benefit from – if the crispness to some of the high spots is a tad delayed and takes a bit too long to set up. But what does make it very good is the 2/3 falls stip. Both teams have wrestled each other a dozen times this year and each guy has been pinned in the feud at least a few times by now, so picking a winner really is a crapshoot. But when you add in both teams losing to a big boot and a roll up inside of 10 minutes, you have the highest drama possible for that final fall. Both teams had to try multiple times for their signature stuff and even then, it still didn’t guarantee a victory as we had kickouts galore from signature moves and finishers. Just a great match. ****1/4

19. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yuji Nagata. NJPW G1 Climax 24 – Night 11. Ishii is sporting a taped up shoulder. They slowly move in for the lockup and that goes to a break. Ishii smacks away Nagata from getting the upperhand with SPORTSMANSHIP! Ishii goes to the forearms and headbutts, and Nagata shakes all of it off for the OLD MAN STRIKES! Ishii comes right back and they slug it out. Ishii starts talking trash, so Nagata switches to kicks and disposes of Ishii by going to the injured shoulder. Nagata taunts him with more forearms, so Ishii goes to the smacks. The intensity here is off the charts. These two motherfuckers are trying to kill each other. Ishii finally staggers Nagata with headbutts, but that’s short lived. They go face to face and just start smacking the shit out of each other. It’s back and forth for a solid 20 seconds until Nagata smacks him down for the Ishii flop. Nagata celebrates with the FRONT DOUBLE BI! Ishii gets to his feet and keeps trying to troll yell his way into a fire up, but no dice. The mind is willing, but the body can’t go. Ishii does manage to block a kick in the corner, but Nagata boots him ass down and catches him with a slick Exploder suplex.

• Ishii ducks behind to avoid a kick for a German suplex. Ishii with a clothesline in the corner and SELLS THE SHOULDER! MY MAN! Ishii sets up the DELAYED HANGING VERTICAL SUPERPLEX WITH AN INJURED SHOULDER! 1, 2, 2 1/2. Nagata comes back, and they go to the forearms. Ishii tries to son him down with three straight stiff shots. Nagata is disgusted with this weak shit and forearms his ass across the ring and yanks the bad shoulder. Ishii’s selling is awesome, awesome, awesome. Step up knee in the corner from Nagata and he puts Ishii up top. Ishii tries a few headbutts and the MDK BOMB to counter. 1, 2, kickout. Ishii with a LARITO that Nagata tries to no sell, soIshii drops him with a DDT. SEATED LARIATO! NO! FUJIWARA ARMBAR! Nagata’s eyes roll back in his head while he torques the arm. He rolls Ishii into a regular armbar. TAPTAPTAPTAPTAP. The hold goes on a bit too long before Ishii inevitably makes the ropes. Nagata moves in for the kill, but Ishii headbutts him away and it’s time for the man up sequence. Smacks and forearms galore. Nagata shrugs it all off for a front roll kick (used to know the name of this but can’t remember) and a Thunder Death Driver. 1, 2, 2.99. Ishii blocks a suplex, so Nagata goes back to the shoulder. Ishii ignores for HEADBUTTS! FOREARMS! LARIATO! 1, 2, 2.99999999999. SEATED LARIATO TO THE BACK! BRAINBUSTER! 1, 2, 3 and Nagata is out at 11:47.

• Super intense match with tremendous selling from Ishii and facial expressions from both guys. The strikes were hella stiff, and the man up psychology was awesome. I only wish that Ishii had had a more extended comeback or that Nagata got a few more kickouts. As it is, it feels like Nagata kicks his ass most of the match, and Ishii wins it clean with some power strikes in the last 60 seconds. Still, a really good match. ****1/4

18. Ladder Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship: Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler (c). WWE TLC(S) 2014. After BNB went down with a shoulder injury, Dolph seemed poised for the big time. He was the sole survivor at Battleground in the battle royal for the vacant belt, except for Miz who hid on the floor for most of the match and dumped him out at the last second. Dolph and Miz would trade the IC belt back and forth over the summer before Dolph moved on to being Cena’s right hand man in the feud with the authority leading into SS. On the go-home RAW before SS, Luke Harper would return to join Team Authority and be gift wrapped the IC belt after a pre-match beatdown on Dolph. At SS, Dolph would be the sole survivor with Sting’s help. He would use that momentum to try and regain his belt in a ladder match at TLC(S).

• Big hometown reception for Dolph tonight in Cleveland. Harper tries a powerbomb, but Dolph slides out and Harper avoids a superkick. ECW STANDOFF! They both retreat to get ladders and bring in a couple each. Harper gets Dolph from behind and tosses him into a ladder on the floor. Harper shitcans Dolph into the timekeeper. Back in, Harper sets up and starts to climb, but Dolph shoves the ladder over only to eat the BOOT OF FEAR! Harper wants a powerbomb on a ladder but Dolph slides out again. Harper catches him though in a Black Hole Slam on the floor. Harper then casually shoves a ladder over on top of Dolph. Harper rearranges the furniture and climbs up again but no dice. Harper manhandles Dolph and throws him into the ladder and then drops it on him AGAIN. Dolph’s already got a few welts going at less than 4 minutes in. Harper picks him up and tells him to take it like a man, not a bitch. Harper then throws a ladder on top of him a few times. Dolph throws it back on him to come back a bit. Dolph tries the ladder ride but Harper DROPKICKS THE LADDER INTO DOLPH KNOCKING HIM OFF THE TOP TO THE FLOOR! Harper then press slams the ladder down onto Dolph on the floor. Man, this is practically murder and Dolph has barely even hit a move. I love it. Dolph stands up a ladder and Harper stupidly suicide dives right into the ladder. That probably sounded good on paper, but looked idiotic on Harper’s part.

• Dolph piggy backs him and quickly runs up a ladder. Harper pulls him down from behind and then shoves over the ladder as Dolph eats it to the ropes and down to the mat. Harper shoves another ladder into Dolph and talk about beating a dead ladder into a DOA Dolph. This is getting ridiculous with the amount of ladder violence (in a good way). Harper calls for the powerbomb but AGAIN Dolph slides out for the Bluechipper dropkick. Dolph tries the Fame-asser, but Harper counters and finally gathers him up for the POWERBOMB ON A LADDER! YEAHHHHHHH! Harper puts the ladder on Dolph’s face and then slingshots him into the ladder into the ropes. Dolph is DONE and busted open hardway. Harper slowly climbs to cover, while the doctor tends to Dolph. Dolph gets the cut treated and races up to stop Dolph. BOOYEABOOYEABOOYEA slug it out and both tip over and fall to the mat. Harper tries to bring in another ladder and shoves it back into Dolph. Harper tries another powerbomb but Ziggler counters to the facebuster on the ladder. LET’SGOZIGGLERLET’SGOZIGGLER! Crowd is fired up. Dolph sets up the ladder and climbs, but Harper has him again. Dolph counters into a FALLING DDT! Dolph heads up top, but Harper gets the ladder around his neck for some Terry Funk Carouseling. He waffles Dolph a few times before succuming to a superkick. Dolph smacks him down with another ladder and Harper falls off the apron onto ANOTHER ladder. Dolph is up. CLIMBING! GET IT, DOLPH! HARPER SHOVES IT OVER AND DOLPH WIPES OUT! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Ziggler back up and he gets a ladder in the corner. Harper meets him but Dolph rides the ladder into Harper taking him out on the way down. Dolph climbs slowly but Harper waffles him from behind. That’s at least the second time they’ve got me with a nearfall. Harper sets up another ladder but Dolph SUPERKICKS HIM OFF THE LADDER! DOLPHDOLPHDOLPHDOLPH! Dolph pulls down the belt at 16:43.

• Another star-making performance for Dolph in 2014 and really for Harper as well. This match was easily the highlight of TLCS and possibly the best WWE match since Summerslam (up there with the Survivor Series main event). I’m hoping that Dolph doesn’t get forgotten like perennial winter heroes when the heavyweights and main eventers return for Mania in a few months, because he’s just been so good. He took the concussion demotion in stride and he’s finally back to near-2011/2012 levels and it’s been amazing to watch.

• Harper is making the most of his exposure post-Wyatts as well, even if he can’t buy a clean victory. He dominated the match and focused on ladder brutality more than spots in a way that I really appreciated. I loved the way he had to fight for the powerbomb and he just kept coming at Dolph and didn’t stay down for long, no matter what move he hit. I’ve read in a few places that this was all over the place and spot-heavy and didn’t focus much on the climb and I didn’t get that vibe at all. Stellar match to end the year on. ****1/4

17. Money in the Bank Ladder Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Contract: Seth Rollins vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Jack Swagger vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Dean Ambrose. WWE Money in the Bank 2014. 06/29/2014. Pre-match, we get the awesome, old-school, into-the-camera RR promos from each guy about how they are going to win. Unfortunately, Rollins comes off like an alien who is still mimicking human emotions.The rest of the field try to shoehorn in a catchphrase in 15 seconds except for Big Hoss Jack Swagger who lets Zeb do it for him.

• In what has to be some of the most depressing booking all year, this match can only rightly be deemed the losers’ MITB match because each and every guy lost a qualifying match to be in the ladder match for the strap tonight, except for Rollins (and Ambrose). In the first qualifier, the night after Payback, ADR beat Ziggler to be in this ladder match, but then the fed changed plans mid-stream, realizing DB was going to need to vacate, and said it was actually a qualifier to be in the OTHER MITB ladder match for the belt. Then, the following week, Cesaro beat RVD and Sheamus beat BNB to further divide the winners and losers. In case, you were worried about the rest of the field, Roman Reigns won a battle royal the following week for the last spot in the main event, that also had BNB, Dolph, Swagger, Kofi, and RVD to round out the losers’ bracket.

• Dean is last out and he makes a beeline right for Rollins as the crowd erupts for the brawl. They go to the floor and Ambrose takes him intothe front row. Everyone else clears the ring as Kofi hits a burrito on RVD. Kofi gets a ladder, but Swagger shoves it back into him. Kofi uses Swagger as a fulcrum and runs UP the ladder and dives onto RVD. Bluechipper dropkick on Swagger who has to roll into place on the ladder in a bad spot. Kofi kicks him around for the Boom Drop on a ladder. Kofi then dumps out Swagger with the ladder. Kofi starts the climb but Ambrose is back in to shove the ladder over. Kofi steals the Young Bucks spot and springboards off the top rope with a DOUBLE JUMP TOPE! Crowd loves that one, but they need to see PWG TEN. ANYWAY, Rollins and Ambrose are now fighting over the climb and Ambrose trashes Rollins into the ladder. They fight over a suplex on a ladder and Ambrose plants him and Rollins sells it gloriously. Swagger cuts off Ambrose, but they can’t decide who’ll go first; Everyone in to fight for the climb. Kofi and Dolph race up, but Swagger in again. Ambrose dumps out Swagger and gets clotheslined out himself. Kofi and Dolph literally run up the ladder and then pull each other down by the hair. Rollins back in and takes out both using the ladder as a joust. RVD takes over on Rollins with the usual ending in a monkey flip. Spinwheel kick in the corner on the ladder follows and Van Dam wants the corner to corner Rolling Thunder on the ladder. Nice. Ambrose in only to get kicked out by RVD.

• RVD cleans house including a slick spot where he fakes out Dolph using the ladder as a low bridge and superkicks him down. Mule kick on Swagger. 5SFS on Swagger. RVDRVDRVDRVDRVD. RVD climbs up but Kofi is up to meet him at the summit. RVD takes a nasty, perhaps unintended spill on a ladder. RVD and Kofi pair up to take out Swagger then implode on each other. RVD avoids a shitcan with a Stun Gun. They battle on the turnbuckle, but Swagger’s got a ladder and he’s all WE THE PEOPLE and disposes of Kofi and stands up the ladder in the corner. RVD knocks Swagger to the mat. ROB! VAN! DAM! THE! WHOLE! F’N! SHOW! MR! MONDAY! NIGHT! MR! PAY! PER! VIEW! 4:20! As you can imagine, RVD gloats a little too long and Rollins cuts him off. Swagger back up for an MDK BOMB ON RVD OFF THE LADDER! Ambrose back up for the SUPERPLEX OFF THE LADDER! After a cool down for selling, Ziggler is in but Swagger catapults him into the ladder into Ambrose. Swagger tosses Kofi and drops a ladder on him. VaderBomb and Kofi rolls to the floor. Swagger climbs and RVD is with him. Ambrose gets a measure of revenge on Swagger and clotheslines him down. Rollins pulls RVD off thetop. Rollins and Ambrose race up again and they slug it out up top . Ambrose drops him with a haymaker. Swagger tries the desperation cut off but gets caught in a SWEET DDT! Rollins tries to steal it, but Ambrose dumps him. Ambrose hurt his shoulder on the fall and tries pullingthe Eric Roberts/Mel Gibson route of popping his dislocated shoulder back into place, but even this medical staff doesn’t make prognoses based on 80s movies. The doctors take him to the back and the crowd HATES IT! Rollins is up and almost gets the briefcase but RVD is there. Kofi joins them and bridges a ladder between the top rope and the other ladder. RVD takes another nasty fall getting his leg tangled up in the ladder. Rollins almost has it won BUT WAIT! KOFI BACKDROPS HIM ON THE LADDER BRIDGE! BRUTAL! KOFIKOFIKOFIKOFIKOFIKOFI!

• Ziggler, though, has a long memory and remembers Kofi’s last brush with main event glory that involved dumping paint on Randy Orton’s NASCAR and thankfully, saves him and us from that booking and ends his rally. Stinger Splash on Swagger from Ziggler and a neckbreaker. RVD crawls in to eat a Fame-asser. Swagger gets a ladder that gets superkicked back into him. Ziggler fires up and Zig Zags Kofi on the ladder. ZIGGLERZIGGLERZIGGLER! Swagger kills the entire arena’s buzz with the Patriot Act on Ziggler. Ziggler no sells and keeps climbing with just his arms. He kicks off Swagger. REACH UP, DOLPH! C’MON! Rollins sends him crashing back to reality with a few chairshots on Ziggler. Rollins is climbing BUT WAIT! DEAN AMBROSE HAS COME BACK OUT! CHAIRSHOT TO ROLLINS! ANOTHER! ANOTHER! YESYESYESYESYESYES! AMBROSEAMBROSEAMBROSEAMBROSE! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! IT’S THE HEAT VACUUM KANE! He plants him with a ChokeSlam and Tombstone to kill Ambrose and the crowd. Kane steadies the ladder and Rollins pulls down the briefcase at 23:18.

• As always, the MITB comes through in spades with a MOTYC. They got loads of time to tell their complete story and each guy got a chance to shine, which is both a strength and a marginal weakness. The only real lulls were the Kofi/Dolph 50/50 sequence relatively early in thematch and some of the fire ups as literally each guy with a go-home got to hit his entire go-home. In some cases, it went over huge – Ziggler, RVD, etc. In other cases – Kofi, Swagger – not as much. The hottest parts of the match were obviously the false finish with Dolph, becausethe crowd is/was just so ready to get behind him again and everything with Rollins/Ambrose. Kane’s lazy and uninspired run-ins have been a running joke for months, but this was probably the cardinal example of it. ****1/4

• Post-match, The Authority comes out to congratulate him for no particular reason.

****1/2 Matches.

16. AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito. NJPW G1 Climax 24: Day 4. AJ is still IWGP champ at this point, though he’s already lost to Okada in t his tournament. Naito injured his head the previous night in the tournament against Yano. Lockup gets nothing in the ropes as Naito gives a clean break. They try some chain, and AJ shitcans him to the apron to regroup. Naito stalls, and they go back to circling. Back in, they trade wristlock counters, and Naito tries another kip up but AJ drops down into side control nicely. Naito tries to send him off, but AJ hangs on for the Bret Hart headlock. Naito fights him off with a back suplex, but AJ KEEPS THE HEADLOCK GOING! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! AJ lands on his feet out of a suplex, but Naito cuts HIM off with a Bluechipper dropkick. GIMMICK INFRINGEMENT! Naito continues the thievery by headlocking AJ into side control. AJ sends him off, but Naito HANGS ON AS WELL! WHO WILL OUTSHIT OUT ON EACH OTHER’S GIMMICK! OR SOMETHING! ANYWAY, AJ escapes out and now it’s time for HIS Bluechipper dropkick that FLIPS NAITO! BULLETCLUBBULLETCLUBBULLETCLUB! Naito is busted open fresh on the cut from last night, and AJ goes to work. These first few minutes have been beautiful. AJ with the Bombs Away, and he TEARS OFF THE BAND-AID! NAITO IS BUSTED WIDE OPEN! AJ elbows the cut a few times and takes his time. Naito tries to fire up, but AJ goes to the eyes. AJ springboards in with a burrito, kips up, and the crowd HATES HIM! FUCK YOU, GAIJIN! AJ levels him with a Bret Hart backbreaker, and Naito is selling death. Cover gets 1, 2, no. TOTHECHINLOCK! AJ releases to elbow the cut and then argues with the ref about whether or not an elbow to the heat is illegal and GETS THE REF TO ADMIT THAT IT’S LEGAL! YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARD!

• On another note, Naito looks like a walking corpse, and it’s wonderful. This match, all the stars. ANYWAY, AJ goes back to the chinlock. Naito gets the ropes, but AJ continues putting the boots to him and Naito is DEAD. It’s crazy how sympathetic Naito is by adding a little blood. Naito blocks a suplex and fights back with forearms and avoids a backdrop. Naito tries to fire up and shitcans AJ out with a desperation backdrop. Naito tries to capitalize but AJ trips him up and Naito eats it ON THE CUT! Double clothesline and a double down on the floor follow. Both stagger and beat the count at 19. Naito finally gets going with a hiptoss and a basement dropkick. A somersault senton and a missile dropkick later and Naito is cooking. NAITONAITONAITO! Naito wants a superplex, but AJ counters again to the cut and the referee considers stopping the match. AJ moves him out of the way for the BucklePlex. AJ says it’s over and preps the Styles Clash. Naito tries to counter but eats Pele! BLOODY SUNDAY! AJ tries the Clash again but Naito drives him into the post for a dropkick combo. TOP ROPE RANA! NO! SUPER STYLES CLASH! NO! Naito escapes to the safety of the mat and dropkicks AJ down. Teardrop German gets 1, 2, 2 1/2. AJ fires up for his strike combo. Naito comes back with an enzuigiri and a burrito. Gloria and he calls for the Stardust Press. He hits it and AJ’s down for 1, 2, 3 at 15:57.

• Just a little bit more heat from AJ and working of the cut and this is a front-runner for MOTY for me. It has shades of Bret-Austin and Dolph-ADR in its singular focus on the destruction of a face through head trauma and blood loss, just with the face winning and no double turn. That closing stretch just feels a little thin for a heroic, epic, back from the dead victory for Zombie Naito, but it’s still a terrific match that’s heavy on storytelling. ****1/2

15. Triple H vs. Daniel Bryan. Wrestlemania XXX. The winner is entered into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship main event with Batista and Randy Orton.

• DB is sporting a taped up shoulder, due to an attack at the hands of Trips. DB is ready to go, and Trips smirks his off as a nobody. Trips offer a shake. THE CODE OF HONOR! ROH REPRESENTING! DB though kicks away the hand in disgust and tries a quick school boy for 1, 2, no. DB uses his speed to go to the kicks early, and H ducks an enzuigiri to take a breather. Back in, H goes right to the hurt shoulder. DB rolls through and dropkicks him down. DB goes to a headlock, and H uses the hair to get free. He bowls over DB with a shoulderblock to big heat. DB comes right back with a knee to the breadbasket and into side control with a headlock. H tries a headscissors, so DB counters again and goes to the Euro uppercuts. Trips gets him into the corner and wraps the arm across the top rope. DB tries some kicks, so H takes over with a DSLW. H tries some dastardly deeds on the post, so DB dropkicks him to the floor for a TORNADO DDT OFF THE APRON! TOPE OFF THE TOP TO THE FLOOR! Back in, DB covers for 1, 2, no. DB heads up top, and H crotches him. H follows up with a haymaker that sends DB reeling to the floor. H wants to make things interesting and preps the table for a Pedigree. DB fights back until the SINGLE ARM DDT ON THE ANNOUNCE TABLE! MY MAN! Back in, H goes to a mounted Americana and torques the arm. JBL: “YOU TALK ABOUT RING RUST?! THIS IS A 13-TIME WORLD CHAMP! THE BRAIN DOESN’T RUST!” Good stuff.

• DB comes back and dumps out the Hs. He wants the suicide dive, but H blasts him down. ARM-ASSISTED BACK SUPLEX ON THE APRON! YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! DB beats the count again right into a CROSS-FACED CHICKEN WING! DB’S ALTERNATE ROH FINISHER! DB tries to elbow free, but gets pulled into the CRIPPLER CROSSFACE! TRIPLEHTRIPLEHTRIPLEHTRIPLEH! DB struggles but gets the ropes. Trips stays on the arm and uses a few arm wringers to drive DB into the mat. DB Hulks up for a burrito. H goes low, but DB flips up and over. NO! Trips catches him, but DB counters back for a German suplex. ROLLING GERMANS! 2! Trips blocks another and goes back to the CFCW. DB blocks, so it’s TIGER SUPLEX TIME! 1, 2, 2 1/2. H puts him up top, but DB blocks for the MDK BOMB! YESYESYESYESYES! IED! ANOTHER! ANOTHER! NO! TRIPS FLIPS HIM WITH A LARIATO FROM GREENWICH! H wants the Pedigree, but DB counters to the jack knife roll up for 1, 2, 2.99. DRFG enzugiri and the crowd is feeling it. DB heads up top for the diving headbutt. H GETS THE KNEES UP! CC! NONONONONONONONONONONONONO! DB ROLLS THROUGH BUT H HANGS ON! DB stacks him up and counters in the YES LOCK! CAN DANIEL BRYAN FORCE THE GAME TO TAP OUT! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! H MAKES THE ROPES! H rolls to the floor to recover, but DB pounces with the suicide dives. Back in, missile dropkick, but DB hurts the shoulder on the landing. Kip up and DRFG’s follow. DRFG enzuigiri gets 1, 2, 2.999. DB says it’s Busaiku knee time. YESYESYESYESYES! NO! SPINEBUSTER! PEDIGREE! ONE SECOND, ONE PEDIGREE, THAT’S ALL IT TAKES!

• ONE, TWO, THREEOHNOHEALMOSTGOT’IM! H is in disbelief and gets pulled into a small package for 1, 2, 2.99. H shrugs it off to mount for GnP in the corner. H wants another Pedigree, but DB backdrops him into a cover for 1, 2, 2.99999. H can’t get the Pedigree, so he drops a few BRUTAL knees on DB. DB reverses again for an enzugiri. H wants another German. NO! DB LANDS ON HIS FEET! BUSAIKU KNEE! 1, 2, 3 and DB advances to the main event of Mania at 25:58.

• A fantastic match that taps into a lot of the IWC zeitgeist about Triple H and vanilla midgets and all that jazz. H reverts to 2008-ish form, or to be more iconclastic, 2000-2001 form, to work DB’s bad arm like a mad man and uses the vaunted psychology to try and stay a step ahead. DB, of course, shows why he’s the best mat wrestler going on almost a decade as well. I would have liked a bit more selling from DB going into some of his signature moves of the shoulder, but all-in-all it’s a terrific performance. H even puts him over like a giant letting him kick out of the spinebuster-pedigree in seamless sequence with none of that delayed cover nonsense. Just a terrific, main event-caliber match. ****1/2

14. NXT Championship: Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Adrian Neville (c). NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way. 09/11/2014. Short version: Breeze is the selfie-taking narcissist, Zayn is the people’s champ who hasn’t won the big one, Kidd is the “I don’t need these fans”, “Nattie’s wife” trying to prove himself, and Neville is the high-flyer, fighting champ. For the RAW right before this show, Zayn and Neville defeated Kidd and Breeze in a tag champ, but Zayn and Neville still went eye-to-eye to play up the friction in the teams.

• At the bell, they all pause to soak in the moment and the crowd jumps on Kidd with TYSONCHICKEN/NATTIE’SWIFE dueling chants. Breeze jumps Zayn and Kidd goes after Neville. Both pairs brawl to the floor slugging it out. The faces eventually get the best of the exchanges. Back in, it’s just Zayn and Neville now. They tease finally locking up but of course, get jumped by the heels. The heels pound away and tumble back to the floor. Breeze and Hart try to work them over, but it’s short lived as Zayn and Neville get the advantage again. Zayn steals Breeze’s smartphone for a little selfie high-five all over Breeze. Crowd loves that and starts in with the OLEOLEOLEOLEOLEOLE and such. Someone in the production truck must really be losing his marbles week after week trying to figure out what a pale, white guy from Canada has to do with a Mexican soccer chant. ANYWAY, more rote forearms follow until Kidd picks up the pace and jumps Zayn from behind. Seriously, that was 4 minutes of “brawling” that easily could have been cut in half or spiced up some. Back in, Zayn cuts off Kidd with the Downward Spiral into the KOJI CLUTCH! Breeze breaks that up though. Neville pulls Breeze to the floor and goes to the chops. Kidd chases him down and clips the knee from behind, DUNGEON IN LAW STYLE! Breeze and Kidd deliver a double suplex on the floor. Zayn tries a rally but the heels overcome and double team him as well for another double suplex on the ramp. In the ring, they put the boots to Zayn. Neville tries coming in for the save but they toss Zayn into him to knock him off the apron. Kidd preens and the crowd hates him as Breeze chokes away. NATTIE’SBETTERNATTIE’SBETTERNATTIE’SBETTER says Full Sail.

• Neville still can’t get out of the blocks as Breeze knocks him to the floor. The heels sync up for a double back elbow and Breeze wants the cover but Kidd breaks it up. Kidd’s all IT’S NATTIE’S BETTER, NOT BREEZE’S BETTER but Breeze sidesteps a detante for MOARKICKING on Zayn. Kidd promptly lays him out with a roundhouse and then lands a neckbreaker for Zayn. Cover gets 1, 2, no. Neville up and back down to the floor. Kidd goes to the chinlock to slow things down. Zayn comes back with a jawbreaker but eats a LARIATO from Kidd. NEVILLE IN! SHITCAN NEVILLE OUT! And so on. Kidd hits the DR FG on Zayn for 1, 2, kickout. Kidd chokes away and then mounts for some GnP. Guillotine leg drop out of the ropes gets 1, 2, 2 ½. Kidd hooks Zayn in the Tree of Woe. Tom Phillips/Rich Brennan, describing, Kidd’s motivation: “I’M GOING TO WIN THE NXT CHAMPIONSHIP AND I’M GOING TO TAKE IT TO TOTAL DIVAS! I’M GOING TO MAKE MY CHAMPIONSHIP MAINSTREAM, JUST LIKE MY WIFE!” Thanks for that. NEVILLE IN! NEVILLE OUT! DR FG OFF THE APRON! IED into Zayn from Kidd. Cover gets 1, 2, 2.99. Zayn staggers to his feet and tries to smack his way out of the corner but Kidd has seen his NJPW and knows that when a man smacks you, you no sell it and put him on his ass with more smacks. And just like a New Japan vet, Kidd goes to the chinlock. Zayn tries to fire up and Kidd puts him back down in the chinlock like he’s Foley in ECW doing an Uncle Eric tribute. Breeze has been selling a spinkick for somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 hours at this point. NEVILLE IN! SHITCAN NEVILLE OUT! Man, I would never get tired of that spot no matter how many times they did it. He stacks up Zayn in the corner but NEVILLE IN and he’s a house of clotheslines and backdrops. Breeze back in as well to waffle Neville from behind. Zayn quickly capitalizes and dropkicks Breeze to the floor. He wants the no hands plancha. NO! TOP ROPE ASAI MOONSAULT FROM NEVILLE! IT’S NEVILLE AND ZAYN WITH NO ONE BETWEEN THEM!

• Neville goes to the kicks and a basement dropkick to get the early advantage. He wants the handspring back elbow but Zayn cuts him off. Unfortunately, Neville overshoots and misses Zayn and they botch it. Small botch but still. Zayn covers but Kidd breaks it up and dumps him out. Kidd and Neville jockey for position on the top rope. Zayn in but he gets alley ooped by Kidd into Neville for NEVILLE OUT! Swinging fisherman suplex from Kidd gets 1, 2, 2.7. Kidd wants the Sharpshooter but Zayn kicks him off. He tries a monkey flip but Kidd hangs on for the Jackknife roll up into the SHARPSHOOTER! NO! Kidd counters with an enzuigiri. He tries to springboard in for an elbow drop but Zayn gets the knees up. SPINWHEEL KICK FROM BREEZE TO TAKE OUT ZAYN! SUPERMODEL KICK TO KIDD! BLUECHIPPER DROPKICK TO CUT OFF NEVILLE! ONE, TWO, THREEOHNOHEALMOSTGOT’IM! THE ERA OF GORGEOUSNESS COULD BE ON THE HORIZON!

• Breeze can’t get a 3 count on Kidd either and throws a tantrum because he can’t believe it. Breeze puts Neville up top and Kidd joins up and Zayn gets under them for the Powerbomb/Double suplex Tower of Doom. Zayn drapes an arm on Kidd for 1, 2, 2.999999999999999999999999. Quadruple KO spot as everyone sells. Zayn clears the ring and now he fires up on Kidd. He gathers up a head of steam but Neville cuts him off with a boot in the corner. Neville heads up top for the Red Arrow. He changes tacks for a SSP instead. He nails it but Breeze sneaks him and NEVILLE OUT! Breeze covers for 1, 2, 2.999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999. Another KO spot as Breeze mostly sells disbelief, while the others sell exhaustion and injuries. Breeze wants the Beauty Shot but Zayn ducks and he lands in the SHARPSHOOTER! KIDD’S GOT ‘IM! Breeze reaches and is about to tap but NEVILLE IN and he grabs the arm to stop the tap. Zayn quickly follows to break up the hold. Zayn and Neville are the only ones left to slug it out. Zayn backdrops NEVILLE OUT! BUCKLE EXPLODER ON KIDD! He charges in but fakes out everyone and TOPE SUICIDA ON NEVILLE! ZAYNZAYNZAYNZAYNZAYN! TORNADO DDT THROUGH THE ROPES ON BREEZE! YAKUZA KICK ON KIDD! ONE, TWO, NEVILLE PULLS THE REF OUT!

• Zayn is PISSED and rushes to the floor right into a superkick from Neville. Red Arrow on an already down Kidd for 1, 2, 3 to retain at 24:13.

• Ending is a major downer that pulls the still-beating heart out of Zayn’s chest and Red Arrow’s it right in the middle of the ring. They’re obviously going for the slow burn on Zayn eventually getting the title in a single’s match over Neville, but let’s just hope this doesn’t turn into a Dreamer/ECW belt situation for him. Very awesome match especially on the back-end with false finishes galore and an airtight, multi-layered story with Breeze trying to steal a victory, Kidd being the master strategist trying to keep Neville out of the entire match, Zayn being the never say die babyface who wouldn’t go away, and Neville being the top dog just waiting for his opportunity. The wrestling in the first 10-ish minutes was pretty lax as the brawling was uninspired and Kidd doing a few long chinlocks, but the story and the ending overrides. ****1/2

13. WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (c). WWE Summerslam 2014. 08/17/2014. The Authority finally got their wish after Payback and DB had to vacate the strap. Unfortunately, against all odds (again), Cena prevailed at MITB and left the Authority title-less. They tried to welcome him into the stable the next night, but Cena declined even though he was given an Ivan Drago-like tapestry welcome for the WWE 2K15 cover. At Battleground, Cena prevailed over Reigns, Orton, and Kane, so it was time for a little Plan C going into SS and The Beast was unleashed.

• For some reason, going into SS, Cena started rocking inverted Hogan colors for a little Ronald McDonald touch. Cole: “This is what Cena is facing in the man of Brock Lesnar: He broke Triple H’s arm twice; he broke Hardcore Holly’s neck; he’s the only man to defeat Hulk Hogan by the match being called off by the referee.” Good stuff. LET’S GET TO IT!

• Cena storms in to try an early TD, and Brock easily rolls through into GnP. Some shots to the breadbasket lift Cena off the ground. Brock ignores Cena’s paltry offense for an F5! 1, 2, 2.9999999999999999999999 at 30 seconds in. Cole: “F5! THE MOVE THAT SLAYED THE UNDERTAKER ALMOST TOOK THE TITLE FROM CENA!” Heyman is giddy with delight at the early going, and Brock settles in for the kill. LET’SGOBROCKLET’SGOBROCKLET’SGOBROCK! Brock: “I WILL KILL YOU!” Cena can barely stand, and Brock folds him up with the first German suplex. Cena now CAN’T STAND, and Brock flips him with another German. Cole: “It’s been almost, I dare say, easy for Brock Lesnar so far.” Brock obliterates Cena with a knee to the gut, and Cena immediately has diverticulitis. GIMMICK INFRINGEMENT! ANYWAY, a regular suplex and DOWN GOES CENA! Cena shoots for a double, but Brock completely negates the rally with another knee to the breadbasket. JBL: “It’s almost as if Brock was defended that John kicked out of that F5.” Brock tries a chinlock and ignores some elbows to throw down Cena like a sack of shit. King: “Michael, hang on, it’s like you are completely writing off John Cena, counting him out. What’s wrong with you? I’ve seen him rise to the occasion every single match.” Cole: “Look at what Lesnar has done in the first 5 minutes of the match. John Cena has amassed no offense.” Finally, the commentary is coming through on a big match.

• Lesnar stalks over Cena: “You screwed up big time.” Cena tries another rally, but one knee and one forearm stops that idiocy and Brock holds Cena in place standing on his hand. This is a work of art. THIS is how you make a monster and put him over. Two more Germans fold up Cena. Another two, and the announcers want the match stopped. JBL: “BROCK LESNAR CAME HERE TO DESTROY JOHN CENA! HE WON’T QUIT! THE REFEREE HAS TO STOP THE MATCH!” Brock toys with Cena and ANOTHER German. Seven total at this point. ANOTHER GERMAN! Cena is face-down on the mat, kayfabe dead and we’re not anywhere near finished. Cena is up for a post-mortem fire up, and he clubs Brock around, slides out of an F5, and hits an FU. 1, 2, 2 1/2. Double down. Brock with the ZOMBIE SIT UP! ZOMBIE BROCK VS. ZOMBIE CENA! Brock is daring Cena to meet him in the middle of the ring, and Cena seems exhausted and fed up with this beating. He mounts a token comeback, and Brock pulls him into some UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP GNP! Brock releases because he wants Charles Robinson to stop the match, and Heyman pleads on his behalf as well: “HE’S GOING TO KILL HIM!” ANOTHER GERMAN! 2! 3! 4! TWELVE GERMAN SUPLEXES! STOP THE MATCH! Zombie Cena has had him energy bar depleted again. MOARGERMANS! 1! 2! 3! EATSLEEPSUPLEXJOHNCENASIXTEENTIMESREPEAT! Cena though powers up with a mushroom and drops Brock into the STF. After a brief tease, Brock rolls him over into more GnP. ANOTHER F5! 1, 2, 3 to squash Cena at 16:08.

• I don’t know if a top face has ever laid down like this. Sure, they’ve all lost the title before and some heels have gotten squashed in title matches, but a reigning, defending, undisputed centerpiece face of the promotion going down like a chump? Barely getting any offense or hope spots or anything that could qualify as a decent false finish? There’s maybe some Sting-Vader match that rivals this in terms of squashing of a mega babyface, but probably nothing else. Brock is also easily settling into one of my favorite wrestlers ever. Has any guy had his limited schedule performing only a few dates a year and coming out of a multi-year hiatus at that settled into having pretty much a ****+ match every time out? There’s an outlier here or there, but Brock is a machine and is one of the best pure talents ever. The combination of Heyman and Brock together is perfect in a way few pairings ever are. I can’t heap enough praise on this match, but it’s still a squash. ****1/2

12. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata. NJPW G1 Climax – Day 4. 07/26/2014. Crowd pops at the bell but they both circle slowly. Waistlock reversals go nowhere before a rope break. Shibata gives the clean break but then smacks HT. HT comes right back with the receipt. They forearm it out and HT tries a dropkick but whiffs. DRFG misses as well from Shibata. He tries a yakuza kick in the corner and again HT bails to the floor to avoid. Good stuff early with the whiffed finishers. HT cuts offShibata at the pass with a dropkick and a plancha to take over. Back in, HT goes to the knee and NOW WE GO TO SCHOOL, MASKED DEVILOCK STYLE! HT with some lethargic strikes to the leg but misses a Stinger Splash and gets kicked to the floor. Nicely, Shibata sells the leg and takes to shake some life back into it. Shibata sends HT off on the floor for the SVR whip the entire length of ringside and yakuza kicks him into the crowd. Suplex on the floor from Shibata.

• Back in, Shibata goes to the kicks and keeps selling the leg. HT tries to fire up and gets spinkicked back into the corner. HT gets the feet up and avoids another yakuza kick. Burrito and HT is feeling it. Scoop slam and HT heads up for a Swanton for 1, 2, no. Crowd gets behind HT but he runs into a knee to the breadbasket from Shibata. Shibata goes to the forearms and preps the yakuza kick. HT no sells to fire right out with the IED. Shibata no to FOREARM THE SHIT OUTTA HIM!. IED from Shibata and a suplex gets 1, 2, no. Shibata tries a Sleeper but HT ducks behind for a German suplex. NO SELL! GERMAN FROM SHIBATA! THE LEG COLLAPSES AND HE CAN’T CAPITALIZE! That’s pretty sweet even if there hasn’t been any leg work in a minute. Shibata wants the DRFG but HT catches the leg! DSLW! ANOTHER DSLW! SOMEBODY STOP THE MATCH! THIS MAN HAS A FAMILY! TEXAS CLOVERLEAF! Crowd chants for Shibata as he fights the hold and makes the ropes. Shibata can’t walk as HT corkscrews the leg a few more times. HT fires up butShibata avoids the Sling Blade for the Sleeper. HT is out of it. DRFG! NO! SLING BLADE! HIGH FLY FLOW TO THE BACK! ANOTHER HIGH FLY FLOW! SHIBATA GETS THE KNEES UP! SHIBATASHIBATASHIBATASHIBATA! They slug it out from their knees with forearms and work their way up to their feet. HT tries to fire up with a few smacks and a EURO UPPERCUT! SHIBATA SPINNING BACKCHOPS THE FUCK OUTTA HIM! Shibata tries to pick up his remains for the G2S! NO! SMALL PACKAGE! ONE, TWO, THREEOHNOHEALMOSTGOT’IM! DRAGON SUPLEX! BLOCKED BY SHIBATA! G2S! DRFG! 1, 2, 3 AND SHIBATA BEATS THE UNBEATABLE TANAHASHI AT 16:18!

• Now, this is more like it. A nice mesh of the hard-hitting NJPW with more American-style cutoffs with neither guy able to get an advantage in the early going. HT’s leg psychology was fine and Shibata’s selling was pretty damn good even if a tad overplayed before the first DSLW. But easily the highlight of the match is the layout that put overShibata as a man who would not be denied and he had a few perfect no sells with no answer from Tanahashi in the no selling department. Easily a MOTYC. ****1/2

11. Kyle O’Reilly vs. AJ Styles. ROH Death Before Dishonor XII. 08/22/2014. O’Reilly is tag champs with Bobby Fish and Styles is IWGP champ and head of the Bullet Club. Code of honor handshake to start. Commentary immediately picks up on Bobby Fish getting involved previously in O’Reilly’s matches and that could cost AJ. Good stuff. They lock up and trade takedowns and counters back to a stalemate. O’Reilly goes after the arm working a standing armbar and arm wringer. AJ scoops him up and dumps him out to escape. Fish has been beefing up on his Bill Watts Mid-South because he wants a DQ, but no one under 65 understands or cares. Back in, AJ blocks a kick and O’Reilly is rattled because he’s clearly never had a kick blocked before. O’Reilly is out of ideas and grabs a headlock. AJ sends him off but O’Reilly stops short and rolls through into Plan B: another kick, this time of the yakuza variety. O’Reilly with a head of steam but runs into a Bluechipper dropkick from AJ. O’Reilly bails out and AJtries to follow with a double foot stomp but O’Reilly avoids and AJ lands on his feet. No harm, no foul. Back in, O’Reilly goes back to the arm with an arm wringer and armbreaker.

• He runs into a kick in the corner and AJ rolls through a sunset flip into the STYLES CLASH! NO! O’Reilly escapes but still eats a LARITO. AJ with a Bret Hart backbreaker. AJ with a knee drop and taunts Fish from the ring. AJ tries to springboard in from the apron but Fish grabs his leg. AJ boots him off, but O’Reilly capitalizes with MOARKICKS and an arm breaker on the apron. NICE! We take a break and are back to O’Reilly trashing AJ into the barricade. Back in, O’Reilly drops a few knees on the arm. AJ tries to fight back but gets swept back onto the arm in a cool spot. O’Reilly works a kimura, while the fans get on Fish for having Rollie Fingers’s old stache. O’Reilly then trips AJ into a sweet single arm DDT. They have a pitiful slug it out sequence until they sync it up and O’Reilly grabs the arm for some PSYCHOLOGY!~! Kylewants a Tornado DDT but AJ counters into a BUCKLEPLEX! AJ heads up top for the PHENOMENAL BURRITO. FU neckbreaker but Styles is too hurt to capitalize. He wants the Styles Clash but O’Reilly backdrops into the HOLD 1024, ARMBAR! AJ extends the arm and counters forSTYLES CLASH! NO! O’Reilly knees out and then sidesteps to post AJ. RUNNING IED OFF THE APRON! We take another break with Jay Lethal trying to sell health insurance and we’re back to AJ just barely beating the count back in. O’Reilly is pissed and THROWS HIS GUM AT AJ! THE NERVE! He then kicks AJ in the bad arm and pulls him into an armbar and joins it with a triangle choke. AJ powers up and WHILE STILL IN THE ARMBAR LANDS THE STYLES CLASH! Double KO spot. The crowd is feeling it as they come to their feet for the dueling banjo forearms. O’Reilly goes to the knees and tries a sweep but AJ jumps over. They both block combos and Kyle curb stomps him but AJ no sells for the PELE! DOUBLE KO! AJ up first for the DISCUS LARIATO. 1, 2, 2.99. AJ hooks him up for the DOUBLE ARM BRAINBUSTER! AJ says it’s over butKyle rotates through into a guillotine choke. AJ has HAD IT WITH THE MMA HORSESHIT and drops him on his fucking head. Styles Clash attempt is blocked so AJ drops him down on his head AGAIN. Kyle’s selling is fantastic as he’s DOA. STYLES CLASH. 1, 2, 3 for AJ to take it at 19:40.

• The beginning feeling out process was typical but didn’t detract any. The back and forth for kicks and cutoffs took it up a few notches nicely. Once O’Reilly started going after the arm, it was getting awesome and the mano-y-mano go home was awesome with AJ fighting off the arm attacks for aStyles Clash but still selling. The final stretch with AJ just dropping him on his head and O’Reilly’s selling was fantastic. Fish’s early involvement ended up being moot. ****1/2

• Follow me on Twitter – @RingCrewReviews

10.0
The final score: review Virtually Perfect
The 411
10.0 is a default rating for the best matches of the year.
legend

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WWE, Jack Bramma