wrestling / Columns

Csonka’s Top 37 Matches of April 2018: WWE, NXT, NJPW, EVOLVE, PROGRESS, & More

May 4, 2018 | Posted by Larry Csonka
Johnny Gargano Tomasso Ciampa NXT Takeover: New Orleans WrestleMania Image Credit: WWE

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 April 2018 and the top 37 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.

* 37. From NJPW Wrestling Hi No Kuni: Minoru Suzuki vs. Tetsuya Naito [****]
* 36. From NJPW Sakura Genesis 4.01.18 – Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. Cody & Hangman Page [****]
* 35. From NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku 4.24.18: Jay White vs. David Finlay [****]
* 34. From AJPW Champion Carnival Night 7: Kento Miyahara vs. Shuji Ishikawa [****]
* 33. From CZW Welcome to the Combat: Dezmond Xavier vs. Will Ospreay [****]
* 32. From PROGRESS Chapter 66 Mardi Graps: Will Ospreay vs. Mark Haskins [****]
* 31. From AJPW Champion Carnival Night 11: Jun Akiyama vs. Zeus [****]
* 30. From ROH Masters of The Craft: Jonathan Gresham vs. Jay Lethal [****]
* 29. From AJPW Champion Carnival Night 8: Shuji Ishikawa vs. Naoya Nomura [****]
* 28. From AJPW Champion Carnival Night 7: Shingo vs. Yuji Hino [****]
* 27. From PROGRESS Chapter 66 Mardi Graps: Timothy Thatcher & WALTER vs. David Starr & Keith Lee [****]
* 26. From GCW Joey Janela’s Spring Break 2: WALTER vs. PCO [****]
* 25. From Stardom Dream Slam in Nagoya: Toni Storm vs. Mayu Iwatani [****]
* 24. From NXT Takeover: New Orleans: Shayna Baszler vs. Ember Moon [****]
* 23. From SHIMER 100: Madison Eagles vs. Deonna Purrazzo [****]
* 22. From PROGRESS Chapter 67: Bourbon Is Also A Biscuit: WALTER vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [****]
* 21. From AJPW Champion Carnival Night 14: Shingo Takagi vs. Shuji Ishikawa [****]
* 20. From EVOLVE 102 – Will Ospreay vs. AR Fox [****]
* 19 From EVOLVE 103 – Matt Riddle vs. Daisuke Sekimoto [****]
* 18. From EVOLVE 102 – Matt Riddle vs. Zack Sabre Jr [****]
* 17. From Mercury Rising 2018: Chris Dickinson & Jaka vs. WALTER & Timothy Thatcher [****]
* 16. From WrestleMania 34: Champion Charlotte vs. Asuka [****]
* 15. From WrestleMania 34: Seth Rollins vs. The Miz vs. Finn Balor [****]
* 14. From Mercury Rising 2018: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Munenori Sawa [****]
* 13. From Mercury Rising 2018: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Keith Lee [****]
* 12. From ROH Supercard of Honor: Kota Ibushi vs. Adam Page [****]
* 11. From WrestleMania 34: Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon [****]

 photo Rev Pro Live in New Orleans I_zpsu48xec3b.png

10. From Rev Pro Live in New Orleans – Will Ospreay, Chuck Taylor, & Rocky Romero vs. Kota Ibushi, Shane Strickland, & Flip Gordon [****¼]: This was a great match, with the Ospreay & Ibushi stuff being particularly amazing; the crowd was molten for these two, they liked every on else and reacted well to the action, but they were here for Ibushi & Ospreay. CHAOS heeled it up a bit, creating the needed dynamic, and Romero & Taylor carried a good bit of the match until the closing stretch, as it was all a big set up for Ospreay & Ibushi to go one on one. Their closing stretch was absolutely incredible, filled with amazing counters and effortless work together including flippity doos and a great, hate filled striking exchange. The body of the match is very good and worth the time to watch, but the Ospreay & Ibushi closing stretch elevated this by a huge margin; they were incredible.

 photo NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku Review 4.27_zpsu53tefyc.jpg

9. From NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku 4.27.18 – Hirooki Goto vs. Juice Robinson [****¼]: This was an absolutely great match, with a heavily invested crowd that was behind Juice and doing their best to will him to victory. This was a great effort by Juice, who continues to make huge strides as he grows as a performer and keeps proving himself in big matches. It’s another setback for now, but when he wins a singles title, the crowd is going to go mental for it. The closing stretch was particularly great, filled with some beautiful near falls, and Juice had the crowd believing he could win as he not only survived, but picked up near falls that the repeatedly bought into. This was so very great, and it’s been a blast watching Juice’s journey and evolution. He’s left the ghost of CJ Parker far behind.

 photo NXT_NewOrleans_AlmasAleister_zpsxgca9hcs.jpg

8. From NXT Takeover: New Orleans – NXT Title Match: Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Aleister Black [****¼]: Almas has had a great run as NXT champion, and his paring with Vega has been money. Almas was solid, but floundering until the pairing, but once they hooked up, we got the man many had been waiting for as he’s had some excellent performances. Black is the guy on the rise, running wild on the roster, winning all of his Takeover matches, and has been one of the more protected guys on the roster. He’s been made to look important, has delivered, and the title shot made complete sense and was coming at the right time. These two delivered once again on a Takeover, continuing their streaks of great matches. They worked a great match with really great pacing, laying out the peaks and valleys really well while mixing in great athleticism and drama. Interference spots are way over done in wrestling still to this day, but there is s proper way to do it without taking away from a match and making the fans feel rewarded as the heels get punished for their shenanigans. I loved the story/psychology of having Vega constantly try to help Almas, but ultimately being the reason he lost after successfully helping him so many times during their run. That’s how you do interference spots and pay it off properly. In all aspects, Vega has been the reason for Almas’ success, so it’s only right that she was eventually his downfall. Also, Black coming full circle, facing and beating the man he beat this time last year to accomplish the NXT title win. He has been great over the past year, and while Almas has been great as champion, it felt like the right time to change the title especially with rumors of an Almas call up. I really hope Vince doesn’t sign Del Rio, because he already has a better Del Rio under contract in Andrade “Cien” Almas, and there is no reason (yes I know, shitty creative) that his pairing with Vega shouldn’t thrive on the main roster; they are an absolutely amazing act.

 photo roh scoh ladder match_zpssbceuahr.jpg

7. From ROH Supercard of Honor: ROH Six-Man Tag Team Titles Ladder Match: Champions SoCal Uncensored vs. Flip Gordon & The Young Bucks [****½]: This was an excellent ladder match, with great teases, great big bumps and just great work from the two teams. It really felt as if they were on thier way to another absolutely classic ladder match, but the stuff with the Kingdom hurt that. The only real good thing about their interaction is that they got put through table, and they could have done the belt-stealing angle without it. Still, this was beautiful insanity, with the Bucks, Daniels, and Kaz continuing their long history of working extremely well together. Those four guys know themselves so very well, and the interactions between the four come off as almost effortless. Sky and Flip also played their roles very well, and this was the chaotic spectacle that you likely expected from this match; it flat out delivered.

 photo Rev Pro Live in New Orleans 2_zpsoaueldue.png

6. From Rev Pro Live in New Orleans – Zack Sabre Jr vs. Tomohiro Ishii [****½]: This was part of the Zack Sabre Jr loses all of his titles tour since he’s signed a deal with NJPW. Zack is coming off of an amazing New Japan Cup run, where he owned the top of the NJPW roster before losing to Okada in an excellent match. Zack of course was able to counter Ishii’s power and size advantage by using his sublime grappling and submission game. This allows him to work to his strengths and to allow Ishii to use an under appreciated part of his game, his selling. Ishii is so versatile, because he can come off as a believable monster, but his selling is just as good as his beasting. Zack is so slick and smooth when they pickup the pace, effortlessly moving from hold to hold. Zack’s undoing is when he gets frustrated that he can’t put Ishii away, it leads to an amazing homestretch, where Ishii draws Zack into a striking exchange, changing the tone of the match. They amp up the intensity as they trade some amazing near falls, the drama was excellent and then Ishii finally overcame and hit the brainbuster to finally win some gold.

 photo riddle-ospreay_zps3jywt7og.png

5. From Mercury Rising 2018 – Matt Riddle vs. Will Ospreay [****½]: THIS… THIS is what I had been waiting for, we’ve had a lot of good, and very good, and even great this week so far, but we’ve been missing that outstanding match and finally got it here. This was an excellent match. The story was simple, Riddle was coming in on the championship high, he just beat Sekimoto and Sabre, and the match was under his rules. On the other hand, Ospreay was coming in all banged up and he knew that. He attacked right away, shock and awe, looking to win the match as quickly as possible. It was a great plan, but his reckless nature is what allowed Riddle to take control, and he focused on that neck. This match had the most heat of anything on the WWN shows this week, by a wide margin. Riddle was awesome, showing a ruthless side here, while Ospreay played the resilient babyface, doing his all to overcome. The homestretch was amazing, with excellent near falls, and a real feel that Ospreay could actually win here. This fucking ruled.

 photo NJPW Sakura Genesis 1_zpskidysa3z.jpg

4. From NJPW Sakura Genesis 4.01.18 – Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr [****¾]: This was absolutely excellent, and felt very different from most Okada matches. Okada spent nearly 10-minutes working lucha style submissions, and that was all well and good, but Sabre finally figured out his game, and started to take control. Sabre took control, and showed that he did in fact have counters for every trademark Okada spot, including the rainmaker. Sabre’s early work on the arm is what allowed him to survive down the stretch, due to Okada being weakened, but the champion, as expected, overcame. The crowd was great for this, they were really worried for Okada, and were wowed at Sabre’s submission, and were rallying hard for the champion to overcome down the stretch. Okada varying his game and Sabre’s simply excellent, clinic like work, just meshed together so well here. Okada ties Tanahashi’s title defense record with the win, and Sabre is now a made man after this month, and I eagerly anticipate his 2018 G1 run.

 photo NJPW Sakura Genesis 3_zpsby6slzjk.jpg

3. From NJPW Sakura Genesis 4.01.18 – Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll [****¾]: It was Easter Sunday, and Will Ospreay decided that he wanted to one up Jesus by dying and coming back on the same day in this match. There were a lot of people unhappy about “having to see this match again” since they have faced off a lot, but this was excellent. It started with them playing off of their past efforts and how well they knew each other. Ospreay was again trying to show that he’s a well rounded performer, which turned the momentum and that surprised Scurll. With Scurll thrown off of his game and looking to regain the championship, he got vicious, attacking Ospreay’s neck and really punishing him. Scurll was great here as the relentless heel, really punishing Ospreay, and Ospreay was absolutely tremendous in his selling and babyface comebacks coming at just the right time. This was incredible, they broke from formula, played off of previous matches, and absolutely killed it; this was big for both guys in terms of their standing in NJPW. The in showed that Ospreay beating Scurll wasn’t a fluke, and that he could move on and continue his legacy, as the new ace of the division. And the post match played perfectly into that, as Ospreay wants to continue proving himself, and HE challenged KUSHIDA for a title match.

 photo 20180323_NXT_NewOrleans_EC3_Cole_Dream_Ricochet_Lars_Dain_zpswesggjj3.jpg

2. From NXT Takeover: New Orleans – NXT North American Title Ladder Match: EC3 vs. Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Killian Dane vs. Ricochet [****¾]: While there is only one winner here, the best part about a ladder match like this is that no one person takes a loss. While your winner obviously gets elevated, and in this case wins a championship, if you properly book and lay out the match, you can make everyone look good and get stars over big time. This diverse lineup, in front of a traditionally hot Takeover crowd, was the perfect place to do that. The match not only gave us the first NXT North American champion, but was also the first step in a new division for the NXT brand. You had monsters (Dain & Lars), a gifted highflier (Ricochet), an up and comer (Dream), a returning star (EC3), and a guy NXT sees a lot in (Cole). I had to review ROH first tonight so that we had live coverage of both shows, and had just watched a pretty awesome ladder match. I loved the ROH ladder match, it was excellent and insane, but the booking of that match (interference bullshit) really held it back. I absolutely loved this match, the monsters did monster things, Ricochet got to do Ricochet things in WWE (which still feels wild), Cole continues to thrive in gimmick matches, Dream got to shine once again as he continues to grow as a performer, and EC3 felt right at home in his WWE return. I thought that they played to the stipulation extremely well, save us some spectacular and memorable spots and delivered one of the best matches of the Mania weekend and 2018 as a whole. Once they realized that they kept cutting each other off, they essentially went murder death kill in order to try and win. We have a new champion, everyone looked great and is now more over after that match and it was simply awesome stuff; mission accomplished. The match was everything I wanted, and way much more. When all is said and done, this may end up as one of the best PPV openers in WWE history.

 photo NXT_NewOrleans_Gargano_Tomasso_zpsfxfh1e5y.jpg

1. From NXT Takeover: New Orleans – Unsanctioned Match: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano [*****]: I think that it’s absolutely possible to have excellent matches based purely on skill and ring work as long as you can make the crowd hot for the action, but I think to achieve pure greatness, you need to have a great story and emotional hook. So far the best matches (in my opinion) this year are Gargano vs. Almas & Golden Lovers vs. The Bucks. They were both amazing pieces of in ring work, truly excellent; but they both had back-stories and took you on a pure emotional journey during that excellent in ring work. Ciampa & Gargano had that back-story, a friend betraying a friend, ruining his life at every turn and trying to take his career from him in the process. Ciampa was a pure bastard, the heel with no redeeming qualities, while Gargano is not only the hero, he’s the chosen man of the people. Ciampa coming out to no music and simply basking in the heel heat was a tremendous call. Both guys are in great shape, maybe the best of their careers; Ciampa looks like he hasn’t even looked at a carb in 12 months. They had a great stare down and immediately went crazy fists. They didn’t fuck around as Gargano ran wild and was a man possessed. They immediately set the right tone for the match, which is vital when working a stipulation like this for such a heated feud, so many matches like this lack that. I have said it numerous times, but Gargano is such an amazing babyface, and his work to start off was so great, not only looking for revenge, but to also win and get back into NXT. Ciampa’s ruthlessness played perfectly against Gargano, as he was purely looking to hurt Gargano and make his life even more miserable than he’s already made it. The work here was absolutely tremendous, completely filled with hate from both men. They captured the tone perfectly, a credit to both men as they fed off of the crowd, who was awesome here, and completely into the action and story. The sick look from Ciampa as he stole crutches from a fan was amazing, and his attempt to use them was a great call back to his previous attacks on Gargano. It’s those little things that add so much. The crowd willing Gargano to fight and chanting “you deserve it” when Gargano powerbombed Ciampa to the floor was amazing, they not only wanted Gargano to overcome and win, they wanted that bastard Ciampa to pay for his sins. Gargano getting payback with the crutch shots and the reaction to that was further proof. Ciampa calling back to the DIY finish was tremendous, he’s just a pure asshole, and there is nothing likeable about the man from a character standpoint. The spot with the wrist tape, both men holding on as they traded strikes, signifying their link together, was a tremendous visual. The near fall on the super project Ciampa was amazing. The home stretch was just amazing, with great near falls and drama; the crowd was locked in and reacting to every thing like it mattered so mush, it’s amazing that when you tell great stories and let great wrestler do their thing that this happens. And yet after all of this, after all Ciampa had done, and with Ciampa prone to attack, Gargano had the crutch but pulled up, giving his former friend one last chance to repent and make things right. Gargano even sat by him like in the CWC, but Ciampa was a bastard and Gargano used the knee brace and locked in an STF, getting revenge and winning his way back into NXT. This was amazing, it was everything I thought it could and hoped it would be. And was easily worth staying up to 5 AM to watch, and it never felt long to me. I love my fucking job.

MY TOP MATCHES OF 2018 SO FAR (not a set order at this time)
From NXT Takeover: New Orleans: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano [*****]
From NXT Takeover Philadelphia: Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Johnny Gargano [*****]
NJPW Strong Style Evolved 2018: The Golden Lovers vs. The Young Bucks [*****]
From NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 1.27.18: Minoru Suzuki vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [****¾]
From NXT Takeover: New Orleans: EC3 vs. Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Killian Dane vs. Ricochet [****¾]
From NJPW Sakura Genesis 4.01.18: Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll – [****¾]
From NJPW New Japan Cup Finals: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [****¾]
From PROGRESS 62: Walter vs. Timothy Thatcher [****¾]
From NJPW WK 12: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito [****¾]
From NJPW Sakura Genesis 4.01.18 : Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [****¾]

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

 photo fe36ffd0-0da4-4e3b-a2d3-b026b341dd87_zps41ef5d61.jpg
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”