Csonka’s Top 16 Matches of February 2018: WWE, NJPW, ROH, EVOLVE, PROGRESS, & More

WELCOME back, back to the column that makes lists and hopes that you enjoy them. This week’s column will look back and the month of February 2018 and the top 16 matches I have watched for the month. I always hear a lot of people saying that they can’t decide what to watch because they do not have enough time to follow everything, so maybe this will help those of you short on time find some stuff to check out. Have fun, and always, thanks for reading. Also, if you saw matches from companies I do not regularly catch; feel free to share them with the others. The more wrestling we share, the more fun we can have. Thanks for reading! As always, consider this my play list of great matches, recommendations for the month. It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful, and don’t be a dick.” FYI: I have started omitting results after requests from readers.

#HonorReignsSupreme pic.twitter.com/ChvhWyOEjM

— Italo Santana (@BulletClubItal) February 10, 2018

16. From ROH Honor Reigns Supreme – Jay Lethal vs. Jonathan Gresham [****]: This was a great match, and easily the best thing on the Honor Reigns Supreme show. The limb work was really great, and Gresham’s counter work was really excellent, as was Lethal’s selling. Gresham gains a lot, going toe to toe with Lethal like this, and not only delivered, but looked in Lethal’s league. Lethal continues to deliver, which is something many overlook, he was the best singles performer in ROH during 2017, and is off to a good start here in 2018. If you have time, make sure to check this out.

15. From WWE Elimination Chamber 2018 – Raw Women’s Championship Women’s Elimination Chamber Match: Bayley vs. Mandy Rose vs. Mickie James vs. Sonya Deville vs. Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss [****]: This was a great match to kick off the PPV, it was laid out extremely well, and had the right mix of big spots, in ring action, and storytelling. This was a match where everything came together really well, it didn’t feel forced, and the ladies delivered big time as everyone got to shine.

14. From ROH Honor Rising 2.23.18 – Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, & Chase Owens vs. Cody, Marty Scurll, & Hangman Page [****]: This was great, and a great execution of a match and continuing the storyline. They gave us enough Cody vs. Kenny to keep that going but not to burn it out, especially since there is another tag tomorrow night. Owens taking the loss was what most expected, and also keeps Page’s momentum going for his US Title shot. I also loved the underlying story of Marty not wanting to fight Kenny and being conflicted over the whole situation. Cody was a spectacular dick here, looking to ruin the reunion of the golden lovers. The great story work really added to the match and made it a complete package. This was a great way to close the first Honor Rising show.

13. From EVOLVE 100 – Champion Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Austin Theory [****]: This was another great match, and Theory did a good job of carrying himself like a star in his first big time WWN main event. I was concerned about how he would handle the pressure and if the fans would buy into him challenging such a dominant champion like Sabre. But they worked a smart match, Theory got a lot in and came off like a legit challenger and even threat to the champion. Sabre retains here, continuing his great title run, while also helping to elevate Theory, who had a breakout performance here.

12. From NJPW Road to New Beginning 2.06.18 – IWGP Tag Team Title Match: SANADA & EVIL vs. Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto [****]: This was a great match, with an absolutely awesome closing stretch. They not only did a great job of setting up the two title matches on the 10th, but SANADA & EVIL looked great and like legit challengers heading into those matches. The match was simply a ton of fun, and not only delivered in terms of in ring action, but was a really great final sell for the upcoming title matches. This was everything I wanted and hoped this would be, without giving too much away. SANADA scoring with the rainmaker was a spectacular moment.

11. From WWE 205 Live Review 2.05.18 -Cruiserweight Title Tournament Match: Roderick Strong vs. Hideo Itami [****]: This was an absolutely great match, worked in a completely different style than the opener on the same show. They took an exhausted crowd, that you could feel wasn’t all that familiar with them and pulled them into the match with hard-hitting action, which beautifully escalated throughout, and kept you guessing in terms of who was going go win. I think most expected Itami, the 205 regular, to walk away with the win, but the Strong win came of as a refreshing surprise, and perfect closure to a great match to close out a stellar show.

10. From NXT TV 2.21.18 – Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Johnny Gargano [****]: As you would expect, the fourth meeting of these two was another great match. They did some nice callbacks to their previous meetings, and they continue to make it look so easy. The match was filled with a lot of believable near finishes, and had great drama. The involvement with Zelina & Candice was short-lived but made complete sense, playing into their interaction at the Takeover special and on TV recently. It was part of the story and completely served its purpose. While I tend to loathe ref bump finishes, this one not only protected Gargano from a straight loss. But also worked to ensure that Ciampa is the most hated man on the planet. This was all so great.

9. From EVOLVE 100 – Matt Riddle vs. James Drake [****]: This was an absolutely great match, and a breakout performance for Drake as a singles performer in EVOLVE. He’s mostly been a tag worker for the company, and while he’s been good, this was a huge chance for him, as he stepped up big time with one of EVOLVE’s best. Drake not only worked up to Riddle’s level, but they worked such a great back and forth match that it was believable that he had a real chance of winning. I also dig Riddle trying to make more matches no-rope break matches, they add a different dynamic to the cards and he’s the best guy for the gimmick, delivering each time out. This was a great effort from both guys.

8. From WWE Raw 219.18 – Braun Strowman vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. Elias vs. The Miz [****¼]: This was great, including an absolutely tremendous hour with Seth Rollins shining as a complete star. In just under an hour, Rollins pinned Reigns & Cena clean as a sheet, adding fuel to his new found fire. I thought that it was laid out well, everyone got some time to shine, the mini-interviews were good and added to the story and build to the Chamber match as well. This was a refreshing experiment from WWE here, one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I don’t know if we’ll ever see something like this again any time soon, but it was really great, It’s nice to focus on wrestling matches on a wrestling show.

7. From EVOLVE 100 – Champion Keith Lee vs. AR Fox [****¼]: Great match here, with Lee retaining as expected, but both guys working a great layout, playing into the size & style difference very well, and most importantly, putting doubt into who was actually going to win. The escalation of the action and drama was a very well done, and the final few minutes caused some excellent crowd reactions, and the homestretch kicked ass. Fox’s return to EVOLVE has been really well done and not only is he delivering, but he’s evolving into a better performer.

6. From PCW Road to Glory Show 1 2.10.18 – Zack Sabre Jr vs. Matt Riddle [****¼]: I really love both guys, and have been rarely disappointed by them, so when I heard that they were facing off on this PCW show, I fired up the Powerbomb TV gimmick and wasn’t disappointed. This was really unique, Sabre is so great in taking control of matches, because he does it without power and size, but against Riddle he couldn’t do that because Riddle could over power him and could also match Sabre with his grappling. Riddle controlled early with suplexes and strikes, which transitioned into some great and extremely smooth grappling exchanges. The work is almost effortless, but kept a great sense of drama in terms of who you’d think would win. Sabre took control down the stretch, working some great submissions, but Riddle did everything he could, including biting the ropes to escape before scored the pin out of nowhere. This had great drama, great action, and just beautiful work from both.

5. From PROGRESS 63 – WALTER vs. Mark Davis [****¼]: This is a completely different match than the two previous matches discussed, which were very technical. WALTER can do technical, but he’s also the big fucking daddy of hoss, and destroyed Davis here. Davis started of the chop battle, which was a huge mistake, as WALTER started to destroy him and busted his chest open with his vicious brand of chops. This broke down into two men kicking the shit out of each other, it was brutal, it was violent, it had an amazing atmosphere, and it felt real, raw and completely different. WALTER simply beat on Davis until he couldn’t protect himself anymore, and finished him with the Gojira Clutch. Davis’ chest will never be the same.

4. From NJPW New Beginning in Osaka – Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA [****¼]: This was an absolutely great main event with a tremendous story. Okada was the overconfident champion, facing the challenger who hasn’t yet lived up to his potential. So while Okada was looking to almost cruise and be a dick to teach SANADA a lesson, SANADA ended up being way more of a challenge that he expected. The crowd actually tuned on Okada here a bit as SANADA was proving himself worthy of the main event spot, and the Osaka faithful started to believe in him, and started to rally for him and really believe. From there things really got great, as they set up the second half with a strong first half. When we got to the second half, the crowd was fully invested and believed that SANADA could win, and that turned quality counters and near falls into next level things to them. It was very unlikely that Okada was losing here, so to make this great, the key was getting the fans to emotionally invest in SANADA, which they did. The home stretch was really great, and while he lost, SANADA looked like the star many of us feel he is, and delivered his best NJPW singles outing to date. This crowd loved him, they wanted him to win, and that will go a long way for his future. With this reaction and the crowd at the dome, it feels like NJPW fans are primed and ready for a tile change, and whoever beats Okada will get a Godlike reaction. This was great, great stuff.

3. From ROH Honor Rising 2.24.18 – Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. Cody & Marty Scurll [****½]: This was a completely awesome match, a beautiful blend of great wrestling, a compelling angle, and great character work from all involved. Cody is finally hitting his stride and is an amazing asshole heel, and no longer feels as if he’s “playing bad guy wrestler.” Scurll has gone from unsure about fighting Kenny to drinking Cody’s Kool-Aid, buying in and following the leader. Ibushi is an amazing babyface, completely sympathetic, and of course amazingly athletic. Omega is the former villain, reunited with his best friend, atoning for his sins and trying to do the right thing as he gets the second chance he thought he’d never get. You take a great story, with great characters, and let them do their thing in the ring and it all falls in place as the crowd is fully invested into the story, the work, the match and everything they do. Make sure you take the time to watch this for sure, because all four guys were awesome.

2. From PROGRESS 63 – Zack Sabre Jr vs. Tyler Bate [****½]: Once again, I love both guys and they almost never disappoint. This was a lot of Sabre picking apart Bate, and twisting him in ways the body shouldn’t go. I cannot express how smooth and clean that Sabre’s work is, and that was amplified by the selling of Bate here. Bate finally took advantage, using his more varied offense, including great strikes. Sabre makes the comeback, working his grappling and some vicious kicks, which only served to fire up Bate. Just as Sabre looked to go for more submissions, Bate countered out with a tombstone for a great near fall. But Sabre was more than resilient, countering the Tyler diver into a triangle and Hyper Normalization for the win. This was awesome.

1. From NJPW New Beginning in Osaka – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Champion Will Ospreay vs. Hiromu Takahashi [****½]: This was an excellent match, and in my opinion, the best match on the show. They teased a crazy pace early on, before settling into a good back and forth match, with some amazing counter work and doing an excellent job of upping the intensity the longer the match went on. The closing stretch was absolutely insane, with the crowd into everything and both men scoring some great near falls. The chemistry between these two is so damn good, as everything they did appeared to come off as effortless. I expected Ospreay to retain, but they did an excellent job of making the crowd and myself believe that Takahashi could win. I absolutely loved this.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia.”