Best of the Month – May 2016: Naito vs. Ishii, KUSHIDA vs. Liger, War Machine vs. Briscoes, More

May 2016

IWGP Heavyweight Championship- Tetsuya Naito © vs. Tomohiro Ishii from NJPW Wrestling Dontaku
Ishii fires away and throws some head butts at Naito. He trucks Naito who quickly bails. Back in, Ishii chops away and he works over Naito in the corner. Naito comes back with a basement dropkick and he sends Ishii into the railings on the floor. EVIL puts a chair around the head of Ishii and he drives Ishii into the post. Back in, Naito stomps away on Ishii in the corner and he hits a back elbow into a basement dropkick for 2. Head scissors by Naito but Ishii goes to the ropes to break. Naito pounds away on Ishii but Ishii comes back with a power slam. Corner lariats by Ishii and he trucks Naito again. Suplex by Ishii gets 2. He chops away on Naito but Naito comes back with a reverse DDT back breaker followed by a basement dropkick to the back. Hanging neck breaker by Naito gets 2. Dropkick to the leg by Ishii and he catches Naito with a dragon screw leg sweep. Ishii rolls Naito into a heel hook but Naito makes the ropes to break. Ishii puts Naito on top and follows up. Naito blocks a superplex attempt and knocks Ishii off with a head butt. Missile dropkick by Naito and he follows up with a swinging neck breaker. Naito shoves Ishii into the ref, knocking him to the floor. EVIL nails Ishii in the head with a chair and Naito catches him with the slingshot basement dropkick in the corner. Inverted atomic drop into the flatliner by Naito and he catches Ishii in the inverted Koji Clutch. Ishii fights to the ropes to break!!! German suplex by Naito gets 2. They trade counters and Ishii catches Naito with a knee breaker. They trade blows and Ishii drives Naito’s bad leg over his shoulder. Enzuigiri by Ishii and he hits a power bomb for 2!!! He goes back to the heel hook but Naito still won’t quit, so Ishii drives Naito’s knee into the mat before grabbing an Ankle Lock!!! Naito shoveas the ref away, allowing EVIL and BUSHI to come in and attack Ishii, forcing him to break the hold. Okada catches EVIL with a dropkick and he and Gedo drag them to the back. Battery ram head butt by Ishii and he hits a lariat for 2!!! Sliding D by Ishii gets 2!!! Naito blocks the Brainbuster and Ishii attempts to counter the Tornado DDT back into the Brainbuster but Naito is able to complete the DDT at the last second!!!! Naito goes up and hits a missile dropkick to the back of Ishii. Naito puts Ishii on top and follows up. Frankensteiner of the top by Naito gets 2. Hammerlock side walk slam by Naito gets 2. Spine buster by Naito and Ishii counters Destino into an Island Driver for 2!!!! Brainbuster by Naito and he throws a battery ram head butt. Capo kick by Naito and he hits a Dragon suplex for 2!!!! Ishii peppers Naito with forearms but Naito comes back with an enzuigiri. Lariat by Ishii and he throws a head butt. Flying forearm by Naito and he hits Destino for 3!!!
Winner and Still IWGP Heavyweight Champion- Tetsuya Naito ****1/2 ( My favorite match of Naito’s heel run to date and an absolutely spectacular match. Ishii wasn’t taking any of Naito’s shit right from the start and used his brute force to inflict pain on Naito and forced Naito to take him seriously unlike he has with his other opponents in recent months. Once the interference was taken out of the match, the final stretch was incredible and the crowd felt that Ishii had a real chance when the contest became a fair fight between the two. Once again, the Destino gets the job done for Naito and he escaped with his championship. Phenominal storytelling and a great first defense for Naito, who now has a rematch with Okada on the horizon.)

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship- KUSHIDA © vs. Jushin Liger from NJPW Wrestling Dontaku
Feeling out process and we reach a stalemate. Liger catches KUSHIDA in the Rowboat and then catches him in the Mexican surfboard. Inverted atomic drop into a dropkick to the leg by KUSHIDA and he throws a kick to the arm of Liger. Short arm scissors by KUSHIDA but Liger escapes. KUSHIDA huts his leg attempting to block a tilt-a-whirl back breaker so Liger dropkick the leg, forcing KUSHIDA to bail. Knee breaker on the railings by Liger and he hits a Brainbuster on the floor!!! KUSHIDA makes it back in before the 20 count!!! Palm strike in the corner by Liger and he hits the Liger Bomb for 2. They go up and Liger attempts a Frankensteiner but KUSHIDA rolls through for 2. High kick to the shoulder by KUSHIDA and he hits a handspring back elbow. Standing moonsault by KUSHIDA gets 2. KUSHIDA goes up for a moonsault off the top but it eats knees. Kimura by Liger but KUSHIDA is able to counter into the cross arm breaker. Liger rolls to the ropes to break. Dropkick to the arm by KUSHIDA and they trade turns work over each other’s shoulders. Liger catches KUSHIDA in the Ankle Lock and he grabs the grape vine but KUSHIDA makes the ropes to break. Knee breaker by Liger and he follows up with a Capo Kick. Straight right by KUSHIDA but Liger comes back with a Thesz press for 2. Palm strike by Liger gets 2. Brainbuster by Liger gets 2. KUSHIDA tries to roll Liger into the Hoverboard Lock but Liger moves close to the ropoes. KUSHIDA rolls him back to the center of the ring and locks it in, forcing Liger to tap!!!
Winner and Still IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion- KUSHIDA ***3/4 (Man, it’s incredible to me that Liger can still go at a high level even in his 50s. This had a good story of the veteran Liger smartly taking advantage of KUSHIDA’s little mistakes and mishaps, knowing he needed every advantage he could take to get a win. However, KUSHIDA beat his idol at his own gain, picking apart Liger’s arm throughout the match and catching him in his unbreakable submission hold. Not a mind blowing spectacle like the Ospreay match last month but this had some great storytelling and it was another strong win for KUSHIDA who’s having one hell of a run as champion right now. )

ROH World Tag Team Championships- War Machine (Hanson and Ray Rowe) © vs. The Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe) from ROH Global Wars 2016
Mark and Hanson start. Hanson dumps Mark to the floor and Rowe works him over on the floor. Back in, Rowe knocks Mark down with a hard forearm and he throws some knees at Mark. Tag to Hanson and he slams Mark. Rowe slams Hanson onto Mark for 2. Jay brings Hanson to the floor and works him over quickly before rolling him back in. Double suplex to Hanson gets 2. Basement dropkick by Jay gets 2. Tag to Mark and he hits a side Russian leg sweep for 2. Clothesline by Mark and Jay tags in. He throws some uppercuts and Mark tags in. Springboard forearm by Mark and Hanson backdrops him to the floor to come back. Rowe goes after Mark on the floor but Jay saves. Hanson takes everyone out with a suicide dive!!! Back in, Mark hits a T-Bone suplex on Rowe and Jay hits a double stomp off the apron putting Hanson through a table!!!! Sitting neck breaker by Jay to Rowe gets 2. Exploder suplex by Jay but Rowe hops right back up and hits one of his own. Now Jay is back up and Rowe drills him with a rolling elbow. Mark catches Hanson with a big boot but he answers right back with a lariat!!! Both teams slug it out and Hanson hits a release sidewalk slam on Mark. Mark answers back with an enzuigiri and Rowe and Jay slug it out. Jay clotheslines Rowe to the floor and Mark dumps Hanson out. Suicide dive by Jay to Rowe!!! Mark catches Hanson with the Blockbuster on the floor!!!! Back in, Jay catches Rowe with a lariat for 2. Rowe catches Mark coming off the top with a forearm and he hits a knee strike on Jay for 2. Jay escapes Fallout and he catches Rowe with a Saito suplex. The Briscoes go up and hit a flying splash/froggy bow combo on Hanson for 2!!! They put Hanson on top but Hanson fights them off. He catches Mark with the standing seated senton and War Machine hit the Path of Resistance on Jay. Power bomb by Rowe and Hanson goes up. Moonsault off the top misses and Jay hits the Jay Driller for 2!!! Rowe blocks the Doomsday Device and he hits a back suplex on Mark. Spin kick by Hanson to Jay and War Machine hits Fallout on Mark for 3!!!
Winners and Still ROH World Tag Team Champions- War Machine **** ( This match was just a blast. They two teams just had instant chemistry and they decided to forgone any heat segment and story and just went balls to the walls, which for these teams worked like a charm. They had some great near falls and they didn’t have to resort to a parade of moves and counters to put together an action packed, engaging contest. )

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Chris Hero from EVOLVE 60
Sabre Jr. targets to the arm to start but Hero puts him in the corner to force a break. Sabre grabs a STANDING cross arm breaker but Hero rams him into the corner to break. Straight right by Hero and he works Sabre over in the corner. Sabre fires back with upper cuts but Hero dumps him to the floor and connects with a hard forearm to come back. Uppercuts by Sabre and Hero comes back with another boot. Back in, Hero stomps the elbow of Sabre and goes for a back senton but Sabre counters into the cross arm breaker!!! Hero slingshots Sabre in the ropes to break and Sabre blocks another stomp to the elbow. Single leg dropkick by Hero but Sabre comes back with a PK Kick. Springboard enzuigiri to the back by Sabre and he stomps the elbow of Hero. Sabre works over the now bad elbow and he grabs an Octopus. Big boot by Hero and he hits a bicycle kick but Sabre refuses to fall off the apron. Hard elbow by Hero finally brings Sabre down to the floor. Hero looks to dive but Sabre moves and he hits a PK Kick from the apron. Uppercut off the apron by Sabre and back in, Sabre struggles trying to hit a German suplex on Hero. Pele kick to the arm by Sabre and he hits another stomp to the arm. Sabre kicks away at the bad arm of Hero and Hero comes back with a rolling elbow for 2!!! Sabre sweeps the legs of Hero and goes for a bridging roll-up but Hero counters into the Dragon Sleeper. Sabre counters into a Kimura but Hero escapes back into the Dragon Sleeper!!! He converts it into the Hero’s Welcome for 2. Hero works over Sabre and Sabre comes back with another Pele to the arm. Big boot by Hero and Sabre catches Hero in a jackknife roll-up for 2. Piledriver by Hero and he goes for the Tombstone but Sabre counters into a bridging cradle for 2!! Snap pile driver by Hero gets 2!!! Sabre counters a pile driver into Jim Breaks’ Armbar and he converts it into a cover for 2!!! Release German suplex by Sabre and he hits a release Dragon suplex!!! PK Kick by Sabre gets 2!!! Ripcord Elbow by Hero and he hits a basement cyclone knee. Tombstone by Hero gets 3!!!
Winner- Chris Hero ****1/2 (Awesome main event that topped their incredible effort from WrestleMania weekend. It had a better pace and I liked the idea that Sabre Jr. ended up dominating the majority of the match, showing he learned from his previous encounter with Hero and was relentless on working the arm. However, Hero withstood and just brutalized him at the finish, dropping him on his head and beating him silly with strikes, once again showing that he’s still better than Sabre. You still get the feeling they’ve held back a bit and when Sabre Jr. finally gets his victory it will be an epic moment. )

WWE Cruiserweight Classic Qualifying Match-Fred Yehi vs. TJP from EVOLVE 61
They grapple to start and TJP catches Yehi with a dropkick. TJP grabs a head scissors and he converts it into a cover for 2. Yehi takes TJP down and stomps the leg of TJP. Butterfly suplex by Yehi and he grabs a neck crank. TJP escapes and catches Yehi in the Octopus before converting into the Muta Lock. Yehi makes the ropes to break and TJP slams him into a Hilo for 1. Yehi trips TJP up and he stomps the midsection of TJP. Body scissors by Yehi but TJP rolls through into a rear surfboard. Yehi rolls back into the body scissors and he coverts into a roll-up for 2. Yehi stomps away to block a sunset flip and TJP comes back with a wheelbarrow roll-up for 2. They trade blows and TJP catches Yehi with a super kick. Leg lariat by TJP and both men are down. Neck breaker by TJP and he hits a chicken wing gut buster for 2. Suplex into a back suplex by TJP and he goes up. Frog Splash misses and Yehi hits a flat liner into the Koji Clutch!!! TJP makes the ropes to break!!! Release German suplexes by Yehi and he charges but misses and gets caught in the ropes. Slingshot dropkick by TJP and he goes for a missile dropkick but misses. Inside cradle by Yehi gets 2!!! TJP throws some strikes and hits a high kick. Lights Out by TJP and he goes up. 450 Splash by TJP gets 3!!!
Winner- TJP ***1/2 (Really good match. The opening grappling session was OK but not all that engaging but once they hit that final stretch where they went hot and heavy it was excellent. They both wrestled a smart match, capitalizing on the other’s mistakes and TJP’s experience was too much for Yehi on this night. )

WWE Cruiserweight Classic Qualifying Match- Tracy Williams vs. Drew Gulak from EVOLVE 61
They grapple to start and we reach a stalemate. Test of strength and Williams breaks it up with a shot gun dropkick forcing Gulak to bail. Suicide dive by Williams and back in, he covers for 1. Key lock by Williams but Gulak escapes and Williams gets a backslide for 2. Power bomb by Gulak gets 2. Gulak grabs a key lock of his own and he stomps away on Williams. Gulak works the leg of Williams but Williams escapes and attempts to go for the arm. Gulak rolls into the ropes to escape and goes back to work on the leg. Spinebuster by Williams and he goes up. Flying splash by Williams gets 2. Williams chops away and he grabs an arm bar. Bulldog on the arm by Williams and he hits a basement dropkick for 2. Hard forearm by Gulak and he goes up. Flying clothesline off the top by Gulak gets 2. Basement dropkick by Gulak and he slams Williams in the ropes for 2. Corner clothesline by Gulak and he puts Williams on top. He follows up but Williams catches him with a DDT ONTO THE TURNBUCKLE and follows up with a Brainbuster for 2!!! Crossface by Williams but Gulak makes the ropes to break. Saito suplex by Williams and he goes up. Flying splash eats boots and Gulak hits a discus lariat, taking both men down!!! Gulak covers for 2 and he goes for a second rope lariat but Williams counters into the Crossface!!! Gulak rolls out of it and he catches Williams with a backslide for 2. Big boot by Williams and he chops away on Gulak. Discus lariat by Williams gets 2. Basement dropkick by Williams and he hits a shotgun dropkick in the corner. Sunset flip by Gulak gets 2 and he catches Williams in the Dragon Sleeper!!! Williams taps!!!
Winner- Drew Gulak **** (This was just a straight up great wrestling match. The chain wrestling was well done, the near falls were well executed and the finish was great, as Gulak saw his opening and took it, and Williams tapped quickly knowing there was no means of escape. The Catch Point unit has just been tearing it up over the past several months and this is just another great match under their impressive resume. )

Best of the Super Juniors Block A- Kyle O’Reilly vs. KUSHIDA from NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Night 1 5-21
They grapple to start and go to the test of strength before reaching a stalemate. Inverted atomic drop followed by a dropkick to the leg by KUSHIDA. Cartwheel dropkick by KUSHIDA and he begins to work the arm. KUSHIDA stands on the elbow of O’Reilly and O’Reilly fires back with strikes before sweeping the legs of KUSHIDA. Back elbow by O’Reilly gets 1. O’Reilly works the leg of KUSHIDA but KUSHIDA goes to the ropes to break. Knee breaker by O’Reilly and he throws a kick to the leg. O’Reilly hammers KUSHIDA on the mat and goes for the Ankle Lock but KUSHIDA quickly gets the ropes to block. Enzuigiri from the apron by KUSHIDA and he goes up. O’Reilly follows and KUSHIDA takes him off the top with a super Divorce Court!!! Dropkick to the arm by KUSHIDA and he hits a springboard Karate Chop. KUSHIDA tries to go for the standing moonsault but O’Reilly tries to counter into the Triangle Choke!!! KUSHIDA rolls through into the cross arm breaker and O’Reilly makes the ropes to break. Knee strike by O’Reilly and he counters the Pele into an Ankle Lock. KUSHIDA fights out and catches O’Reilly with the Pele. O’Reilly comes back with a Jawbreaker lariat followed by a regular lariat. KUSHIDA answers back with a Brainbuster and both men are down!!!! Forearms by O’Reilly but KUSHIDA knocks him off with a Capo Kick. O’Reilly sweeps the legs of KUSHIDA on the floor and he hits a knee breaker onto a chair!!!! Kicks to the chest by O’Reilly and he GOES FOR A DROPKICK OFF THE APRON BUT KUSHIDA CATCHES HIM WITH A CROSS ARM BREAKER ON THE FLOOR!!!!! Bulldog on the arm onto the floor by KUSHIDA and back in, they trade kicks. Axe Kick by O’Reilly followed by a rolling elbow. KUSHIDA comes back with a Dragon Suplex for 2!!! Hoverboard Lock by KUSHIDA but O’Reilly counters with a wheelbarrow roll-up for 2!!! Knee strike by O’Reilly and KUSHIDA catches O’Reilly with a flatliner in the corner. Regal Plex by O’Reilly gets 2. O’Reilly puts KUSHIDA on top and follows up. KUSHIDA fights him off but O’Reilly sweeps the legs and goes back up. O’Reilly goes for a back superplex but KUSHIDa blocks for 2!!! O’Reilly blocks a tilt-a-whirl with a knee lift and he hits a Brainbuster for 2!!! He repeatedly stomps the head of KUSHIDA and grabs the cross arm breaker. KUSHIDA taps!!!!
Winner- Kyle O’Reilly ****1/2 (What a war and a worthy follow up to their epic finale in last year’s tournament. There were some incredible sequences where both men had counters to their counters and everything looked crisp and realistic no matter how challenging the spot was. The constant arm work from both guys was terrific and it’s really satisfying when it pays off at the finish. This is probably O’Reilly’s greatest individual performance in New Japan and maybe in his career and he now looks like a strong contender to win the whole thing. You can’t ask for a better start to this year’s tournament.)

*Note: The last three matches were done with the format change that I’ve been working on.

Best of the Super Juniors Block B- Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet from NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5-28
We open up with the much talk about sequence where both men used their amazing arieal abilities to avoid one another and have the most athletic stalemate in wrestling history. Ricochet begins to hammer away but Ospreay is able to stop him with a dropkick as Ricochet was spring boarding into the ring. Ricochet nails Ospreay with a rolling spiked DDT and follows up with a springboard corkscrew plancha to the floor!!! Ricochet takes control with a variety of submissions but Ospreay is able to eventually catch him with the handspring enzuigiri. Springboard forearm by Ospreay, complete will an all-time great one-liner (Pip-Pip Cheerio MOTHERFUCKER). They have a crazy sequence of trading maneuvers, culminating in both men drilling each other with high kicks. They fight on the apron and Ricochet hits a DVD on the apron. When he tries to roll Ospreay back in, Ospreay catches him with a reverse hurricanrana ON THE FLOOR!!! They make it back for the twenty count and have another spectacule sequence, going blow for blow on impact moves and strikes. 63- Splash by Ricochet misses, allowing Ospreay to go nuts with a barrage of kicks and hitting the springboard Ace Crusher for 3!!! This was certainly the most controversial match of the month. Vader’s disapproving tweet eventually led to this match being the most viral non-WWE match in ages and got national attention. While I wasn’t a huge fan of the opening sequence, as impressive as it was, the rest of the match was incredible is one of my favorites of this year so far. It was a super intense match, showing the new hybrid high flying/strong style that has helped put these two on the mat. This had the big fight atmosphere, with the crowd engaged from beginning to end and doing American style chants out of respect for what they were witnessing. Ricochet’s selling was top notch, Ospreay reactions and quotes throughout the match were amazing, and this was a clinic for what wrestling is supposed to be in 2016. This smoked their EVOVLE encounter and if you are still one of the ones who have yet to watch this I implore you to seek it out.
Winner- Will Ospreay ****3/4

Best of the Super Juniors Block A- Matt Sydal vs. Kyle O’Reilly from NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5-29
Even exchange early, with Sydal surprisingly getting the upper hand on the mat before they reach a stalemate. Sydal takes down O’Reilly with series of hurricanranas and catches him with enzuigiri. Series of kicks into a leg sweep gives O’Reilly back control. Abdominal stretch by O’Reilly and heconverts it into a roll-up for 2. O’Reilly stretches the ribs/abdomen of Sydal but Sydal is able to reach to the ropes. Spinning heel kick by Sydal completes his comeback. Sydal throws a series of kicks and connects with the standing leg drop gets 2. O’Reilly counters the standing moonsault into the Kimura but Sydal makes the ropes to break. Sydal uses a series of roll-ups to prevent various submission attempts so O’Reilly DRILLS him with knee strike. Regal plex gets 2 and O’Reilly grabs the Triangle Choke but again Sydal makes the ropes. O’Reilly misses a kick on floor, driving his leg into the post. O’Reilly blocks the Asai moonsault, sending Sydal crashing to floor. Shot gun dropkick onto floor by O’Reilly and they both make it back in before the 20 count. They trade blows in ring and O’Reilly creams Sydal with a Jawbreaker Lariat. Suplex countered into hurricanrana by Sydal gets 2. Pump Handle Driver by Sydal gets 2. He goes up but O’Reilly follows. Sydal fights him off and hits the Meteora. SSP by Sydal gets 3. This was a really good match. I liked Sydal matching O’Reilly in strikes and finding ways to block most of O’Reilly’s submission attempts, knowing he couldn’t beat O’Reilly at his game. They didn’t need to bring the action to the floor and do O’Reilly’s shotgun dropkick gimmick, as this was going real well as a straight in ring slugfest. It felt like the floor spots were just for the sake of doing them and added nothing to the match. I prefer the ROH match from April better, but this was still a blast.
Winner- Matt Sydal ***1/2

Best of the Super Juniors Block A- Ryusuke Taguchi vs. KUSHIDA
Grappling to start and we quickly reach a stalemate. KUSHIDA drives Taguchi’s arm into the mat and throws a series of chops. Basement dropkick by Taguchi and he hits some hip checks to the head of KUSHIDA. Head scissors by Taguchi and he repeatedly drives KUSHIDA’s head into mat for 2. Taguchi blocks the handspring attempt with a dropkick, forcing KUSHIDA to the floor. KUSHIDA snaps Taguchi’s arm off ropes and HITS THE DIVORCE COURT TO THE FLOOR!!!! Back in, KUSHIDA dropkicks the leg but misses the follow up basement dropkick. Ankle Lock by Taguchi but KUSHIDA fights out. Capo kick knocks Taguchi to the floor and KUSHIDA follows up with a summersault plancha to the floor!!! KUSHIDA hits a dropkick as Taguchi comes back in and goes up for the moonsault that gets 2. KUSHIDA goes right into Hoverboard Lock attempt but Taguchi quickly gets to ropes. Taguchi counters the Kimura into Two Amigos but KUSHIDA escapes the third. Taguchi grabs the Ankle Lock and adds the grape vine but KUSHIDA bridges out. Taguichi hits Dodon for 2!!! They trade blows and Taguchi hits a dropkick to leg, Enzuigiris by Taguchi but KUSHIDA catches him with a flatliner into corner. Air Raid Crash gets 2. Punt to arm and KUSHIDA grabs the cross arm breaker, forcing Taguchi to tap!!! Awesome match, best I’ve seen Taguchi in a long time. This had some great counters and both men broke out some cool stuff they don’t usual do, added an extra level to the match. I loved Taguchi’s rugged style and ways of countering against the polished offense of KUSHIDA. In a weird way, it made exchanges more believable seeing Taguchi struggle to grab cradles and try to take control of KUSHIDA’s who obviously designed to be the best wrestler in the division. This felt like a true completion and made it a really exciting match they exceeded my expectations.
Winner- KUSHIDA ****