Hawke’s Top 20 Matches From January 2017

Can’t guarantee I’ll be able to do this properly every month, but I watched a fairly absurd amount of wrestling in January so why not do it at least once this year.

 

Notable Omissions: Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega vs. Tiger Ali,  Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito, Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode, Caristico vs. Mephisto, Davey Richards vs. Matt Sydal, Kento Miyahara vs. Takao Omori, Kyle O’Reilly vs. El Phantasmo, Aja Kong vs. Chihiro Hashimoto, Lightning & Thunder vs. La Revolucion, Tajiri & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Samoa Joe & Bobby Roode, HARASHIMA vs. Mike Bailey

 

Just Missed the Cut: Chris Hero vs. Keith Lee, Charlotte vs. Bayley, Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax, John Cena vs. AJ Styles, Matt Riddle vs. Katsuyori Shibata, Mark Andrews vs. Pete Dunne, Michael Elgin vs. Fenix, Chris Dickinson vs. Darby Allin, Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole and like 300 #SDLive matches

 

20. Oney Lorcan vs. Andrade Almas – WWE – 1/5/2017

These two only got five minutes so they decided to beat the shit out of each other the entire time. That is how you make the most of your circumstances. A “short” match can be an excuse for some wrestlers to do nothing. These two instead tried to have one of the best matches they could within five minutes. They were flying all over the place. Stiffing the fuck out of each other. It was lovely stuff. Andrade Almas hid in the ropes until Oney was distracted enough by the ref to finish him. (***1/2)

 

19. Io Shirai vs. Viper – Stardom – 1/15/2017

This was for Shirai’s World of Stardom Championship.

This was a big change of pace for the usually dominant Io. Viper is quite the large performer, and she naturally dominated the entire match. Io obviously then had to work underneath, and it was fascinating to see her switch roles so seamlessly. When you’re great though, you’re great.

The other big notable aspect of this match was that Viper performed at a level that indicated that she is quite limited in the ring. She looked unsure of herself at times and did not dominate as brutally as she needed to in order to truly become the monster star she has the capability of becoming. Seeing Io carrying her here was impressive to say the least.

This match was probably on the long side, and it doesn’t stand out in a bubble the way a lot of Io matches clearly do. It was a fascinating watch though just to see Io be great in a completely different manner than usual. Io won cleanly after a STRAIT JACKET GERMAN MY GAWD. (***1/2)

 

18. Asuka vs. Billie Kay vs. Peyton Royce vs. Nikki Cross – WWE – 1/28/2017

This was for Asuka’s NXT Women’s Championship.

This match was SO good and such a nice change of pace compared to the expected women’s championship match (even if that expected match is almost always good).

Nikki Storm was running around and being a lunatic. She clearly likes to fall off of high things which is historically one of the greatest gimmicks a professional wrestler can have. Good stuff.

She was tragically thwarted from winning this one though by the NEW GREATEST ACT IN WWE: Peyton Royce and Billie Kay! They are best friends. They make their entrance together! They just love being good friends who help each other! Yes!

Their plan nearly worked, too. They tossed Nikki off the commentation station (shaped like a table) and through a table. From there, they went to finish off Asuka 2 on 1. Asuka made a wild and sudden comeback though and kicked off their heads until she won.

Fun action. Good pace. Great crowd reaction. Everyone looked good. What was not to like about this one? (***1/2)

 

17. NEXTREAM (Jake Lee, Kento Miyahara & Naoya Nomura) vs. Jun Akiyama, Yutaka Yoshie & Zeus – AJPW – 1/9/2017

This main event was both very satisfying, interesting in the moment, and intriguing for the directions going forward that the match implied.

For starters, this match seemed to clearly indicate that Zeus is getting the March Triple Crown Championship match. Between his partner, The Bodyguard, getting the February shot and the fact that Zeus had not had a shot since Miyahara beat him for the vacant title, it already seemed like a matter of time. The fact that he and Miyahara paired off here in this match indicated that the match is certainly on the horizon. You put 2 and 2 together, etc. You would hope that Zeus gets a 2-month reign or something like that to spice things up and add some intrigue to the Champion Carnival. I guess we’ll see though.

The bigger story to some might be the use of Naoya Nomura in the match. This guy was all over the bloody place in this one. While he in no way looked like a force to be reckoned with or anything of that nature, it was clear that he was positioned to look tough as fuck. He suffered a lot of damage in the match, and he seemingly just kept fighting until finally Yoshie put him away with a terrifying top-rope splash. So much of the match revolved around him. It was just a good showcase for Nomura in a lot of ways, and it’s exciting to see what happens next with him. (Having Akiyama be the one to conclude the match with him instead of Yoshie would have been better mind you.)

Finally, the match itself was just fun and well put together. The pace was great. There was a strong amount of action. The 22 minutes went by super fast. Yay, AJPW.  (***1/2)

 

16. Davey Richards vs. Bobby Lashley – TNA – 1/6/2017

What the fuck. This was very nearly great.

This was Davey’s return match after a lengthy stay on the injured list. Blaster wasn’t taking any chances though and jumped Davey before the bell. Davey was not getting squashed or anything like that, but he was really struggling to get going at all.

Davey knew he needed to go big to get back in the match. He promptly connected on three straight dives to give himself a chance.

Davey had the momentum now. It was Blaster’s turn to go for a big move. He managed to hit Davey with an Emerald Flowsion of all things on the apron to erase Davey’s comeback.

That whole sequence was a great example of making big and potentially dangerous spots mean something. Good job.

From there, things got a little more basic for a bit and thus, less interesting. However, a late choice made up for that. Davey applied the ankle lock. Blaster survived and seemed primed to come right back. His leg collapsed though, and Davey immediately struck back with a sliding kick. Such a simple sequence really makes late twists and turns so much more satisfying.

Blaster then caught him with a kimura out of nowhere to steal the win.

This match felt fresh, had a lot of logic, was worked at a fun pace, and it took place in a shockingly lively environment. In other words, this was very fucking good! Yay, TNA. (***3/4)

 

15. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi) vs. Dragon Lee & Titan – NJPW – 1/22/2017

This was very good in the moment and did a wonderful job of building to the upcoming Dragon Lee vs. Takahashi title match on the upcoming NJPW tour.

LIJ strolled to the ring as they have been wont to do. Titan and Dragon Lee jumped them with stereo tope suicidas. This was great strategy and also effectively set a great tone for the match.

Titan and Lee continued to run through LIJ for a bit, but LIJ eventually managed to cut them off. After a solid heat segment from LIJ, Titan and Lee made a spectacular comeback with all sorts of fun stuff.

Things were looking great for the tecnicos, but BUSHI managed to catch Titan with a bridging pin. Lee and Takahashi continued to go at it after the match. (***3/4)

 

14. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler – WWE – 1/3/2017

This was…good? #SDLive is such a magical place for professional wrestling that Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler of all people have suddenly become good professional wrestlers. Baron beat him up. A lot. Dolph took his ass beating. Dolph flailed helplessly around time and time again. He then ran into the End of Days. WHAT A MATCH WHAT A SHOW WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE (***3/4)

 

13. Twin Towers (Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa) vs. Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) – BJW – 1/2/2017

This was for the Twin Towers’ BJW Tag Team Championship.

This was pretty damn great. While this whole match was well done, it really stood out for its pacing. The match gradually just got more and more competitive, intense, and violent as it went on in a fairly organic way.

Strong BJ (particularly Sekimoto) were just completely outmatch early on, and it established a compelling dynamic for the rest of the match. Strong BJ were obviously able to fight back, but it took them a while to really seem like they were going to win.

It all built to this terrifying sequence where Ishikawa gave Sekimoto a headbutt that busted open the latter something fierce. One moment, everything was fine. In the next moment, Sekimoto had a total crimson mask.

Sekimoto fired up though and then finished Ishikawa with a bridging German. This was really entertaining from bell to bell with a good story keeping it together. (****)

 

12. Pete Dunne vs. Sam Gradwell – WWE – 1/15/2017

This was a quarterfinal match in the Paul UK tournament thing.

This was a amazingly well-done tournament match. So much of UK wrestling feels like dicking around as the crowd drunkenly sings and chants that it was downright jarring to see such a subtle match executed here.

(That’s going to come off like a HEAVY SHOT, but it’s really just a matter of tastes. A lot of UK wrestling is targeting to the live audience which is an understandable decision. There was a clear difference in the way this match was worked, and it deserves attention/analysis/discussion/whatever.)

Dunne ended night 1 attacking Gradwell to make a name for himself. Gradwell, not happy with that, came into this match guns blazing. It was such a simple story, but that was why it was effective.

Gradwell really had all the momentum early, and it seemed like he was well on his way to victory. Every time Dunne managed to fight back a little, Gradwell kept firing back.

Dunne’s immoral actions the night before paid off in spades though. Dunne managed to just drop Gradwell to the floor though. What happened on that move? Gradwell crashed on the apron and re-injured his lower back…which Pete Dunne had injured the night before on his unwarranted attack.

From there, Dunne gave him a Michinoku Driver into the turnbuckle, and it was all over for Pasty BJ Whitmer.

This was very fucking good and one of the best Pete Dunne performances. He sold a ton to make Gradwell look good but managed to win by being smart instead of just hitting more movez.

This was a great match to make Gradwell look far more talented than he actually appeared to be. He’s a bit awkward in the ring, but he showed a ton of fire and consistently sold his back in key moments to set up the finishing sequence.

Between all of that, the fun environment and excellent commentary by Michael Cole and Nigel McGuinness, we had ourselves a bloody great start to this show. My gawd. (****)

 

11. Euforia vs. Mistico – NJPW – NJPW – 1/22/2017

What a match! New Mistico rules! He does so much crazy shit! He’s a fantastic underdog! He times his comebacks incredibly well! Everything is great! Euforia was awesome here as well on top! Everything is awesome! FANTASTICA MANIA~! Mistico won with La Mistica. (****)

 

10. KUSHIDA vs. Hiromu Takahashi – NJPW – 1/4/2017

This was for KUSHIDA’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

Despite one really bad looking botch, this was a great match and one of the best contests for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in #OneFour history. (Admittedly, that’s not the biggest compliment in the world given how few of those matches have turned out to be all that compelling or good.)

They came out hot trying to kill each other. Kamaitachi got control in one of the most emphatic ways possible via a sunset flip powerbomb to the floor. KUSHIDA fought back. Kamaitachi almost killed himself and KUSHIDA with an attempted diving ‘rana to the floor.

KUSHIDA finally was able to make a substantial comeback once he caught Kamaitachi with a cross armbreaker on the floor. Those spots are labored as fuck, but this one at least carried huge significance for the match.

The match then became about KUSHIDA trying to submit Kamaitachi with the kimura over and over again before Kamaitachi was able to put him away. This made for great wrestling strategy for KUSHIDA and for dramatic in-ring storytelling.

KUSHIDA failed in his quest, as one of Kamaitachi’s brutal movez finally put him away. This was bloody fantastic. They should wait a long time to go back to the rematch or just move KUSHIDA to the NEVER division. This is a matchup that is special enough that you cannot waste it on just filling out B-PPV cards. (****)

 

9. Rampage Brown vs. Matt Riddle – PROGRESS – 1/15/2017

This was for Rampage’s PROGRESS Atlas Championship.

This was a helluva contest.  Early on, Riddle was struggling to deal with the size and strength advantage that Rampage possessed.

Once Riddle was able to make it competitive though, the match got very back and forth with both guys just constantly battling to get the upperhand in order to finish the match. Riddle was eventually able to do so after a jumping tombstone.

He delivered so many strikes to the head that Rampage eventually could not kick out anymore. Great match. (****)

 

8. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne – WWE – 1/15/2017

This was the finals of Paul’s UK tourney thing with the winner becoming the first WWE United Kingdom Champion.

This was one of the most interesting, entertaining, and objectively successful main events for WWE in the last couple of years. That’s not to say there haven’t been better main events, but few in recent memory have been as interesting to see unfold as this one.

From just an in-ring storytelling perspective, this match basically had the ambition of a Sasha Banks vs. Bayley NXT special match (basically the highest compliment one can give for in-ring storytelling).

After Bate had won his semifinal bout, Dunne came out and attacked him. That attack continued the excellent “Pete Dunne is a massive dickhead” storyline that was going on all weekend. Dunne’s actions left Bate with an injured shoulder, and there was a tease that he would not be able to compete in the final.

Bate managed to get medically cleared though (and in RECORD time I might add) but needed to have his shoulder taped up. Based on what we learned about Dunne in the quarterfinal round, we knew he was going to target and exploit that injury. Sometimes though knowing what’s to come makes everything a little bit sweeter in wrestling.

The first half of the match was what you expected, but the execution was so good that predictability of it did not matter one bit. Dunne knew he had the upper-hand and patiently waited to aim for the bulls-eye. He got firm control of Bate by targeting the shoulder eventually, and he seemed well on his way to victory.

Bate picked the classic strategy for making an effective and exciting comeback: he went big. Bate essentially used three huge spots to even things up in the match: reversing a triangle into a Rampage Powerbomb, a fucking Fosbury Flop, and then a 450 double stomp. (Yes, I just used a colon twice in that two-sentence paragraph. It’s a free blog. Get over it.)

Basing your comebacks around big moves when you’ve been underneath for a while is just great pro wrestling psychology. They all stand out as important AND maintain the basic logic of pro wrestling that connecting on a handful of big maneuvers should pay big dividends.

The Rampage Powerbomb spot was certainly questionable though. They probably JUSSSSST got away with it, but it was a strange decision all the same given that the match and tournament had such a high attention to detail. Why not do something that did not involve a deadlift-one-armed-move with an injured arm?

From there, the match took another odd path. They made the mistake of having Bate sit in a number of arm submissions that Dunne applied to the injured area. This is is classic pro wrestling psychology mistake. There is so much more drama to be had from conditioning fans to believe that submissions nearly always mean instant victory. Sitting in them for long stretches of time is basically the equivalent of finisher kickouts. How bad is Dunne’s submission game that he can’t make Bate submit to fully applied holds on a very damaged limb?

The last two bits did not come anywhere close to ruining the match, but they definitely took some juice out of the story. The emotion of the match was thankfully not derailed though. Bate won the title shortly after surviving the arm submissions in one of the most emotionally satisfying finishes in recent WWE memory. (****)

 

7. Matt Riddle vs. Dustin – Evolve – 1/27/2017

This was a STREET FIGHT.

This was FUCKING GREAT! Chuck has a long history in Evolve of having great plunder brawls with a wide variety of opponents. Riddle is an incredible pro wrestler who has yet to reveal a significance weakness in his game. The stage was set for some great fun, and that was exactly what we got.

They just went balls to the wall for ten minutes. There was great urgency. There were some genuinely cool spots (the tope con hilo through a table was nuts). We got an awesome finish with Riddle decided to just shoot on Dustin to end the nonsense. Riddle is great. Dustin is great. Evolve is great. Life is great. (****)

 

6. Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman – WWE – 1/2/2017

This was a last person standing match.

This was some lovely, lovely stuff. Both guys were awesome throughout, and it led to what will likely be one of the best WWE matches of the year.

Sami took the fight to Braun right away and established a violent and urgent tone for the contest. Braun of course used his size/strength advantage to get control, and it led to a wild brawl throughout the building.

They made their way back to the ringside area, and Braun was finally able to keep Sami down after a powerslam on the floor. This was basic wrestling story executed in an exciting manner that made everyone involve look far better just for being in the match. Kudos. (****)

 

5. Ultimo Guerrero vs. Volador Jr. – NJPW – 1/22/2017

This was absolutely fantastic. They worked the general story of the stronger wrestler vs. the flippy wrestler. They combined that with the general lucha psychology of just trying to murder each other with crazy shit. They worked a blistering pace. It was just so much fun.

They also had a smart finish. After setting up the Guerrero Special as a definitive finisher all tour, Volador kicking out of it here felt big. Volador then hitting the One-Man Spanish Fly was a great exclamation point on this contest. This was pretty much the best way to finish the tour possible. (****1/4)

 

4. #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs. The Authors Of Pain (Akam & Rezar) – WWE – 1/28/2017

This was for #DIY’s NXT Tag Team Championship.

Watching Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa become one of the best tag teams in the world has been a joy. In the past 18 months or so, they’ve gone from a fun novelty team to one of the best teams in the world (based on their NXT work – the less said about their indie work the better).

Having great matches with The Revival is one thing though. Those guys are probably the actual number one unit on the planet. Having a great match with the Authors of Pain, as they did on this night, solidifies them as something beyond the ordinary levels of “great.”

To take such an inexperienced and physically limited team like AoP and to have this kind of match with them was so impressive. The timing was out of this world. The way they executed each segment (shine, heat, comeback) was beyond well done. They did all of that while also telling the classic wrestling story of big men vs. little men made which made it all the better.

The wild environment that they created was impressive. The fact they made a callback to the finish of the Revival/Toronto match felt so earned.  Everything about this was great. GREAT.

It is unlikely that the Authors of Pain will be able to recreate this kind of artistic success with other teams, but they at least won the belts cleanly on a very high note. (****1/4)

 

3. Chris Hero vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Evolve – 1/28/2017

This was Chris Hero’s final independent wrestling match (though we’ve said that before).

Saying goodbye to Chris Hero on the independent scene is not something you can do all that easily over the course of a year let alone during a single weekend. Evolve gave the ol’ College Try though and made a pretty decent go of it.

The first match against Keith Lee was marred by the ring breaking of course. However, that’s scarily appropriate for Chris Hero, seemed somewhat poetic for the end of anyone’s independent wrestling career, and actually improved the quality of their work together based on the available evidence.

The actual final match of Hero’s final indie weekend though here against Zack was spared from the mixed bag nature of the night before. Instead, it was just universally swell and captured everything that made Hero reach his artistic peak in 2016.

This match contained so many elements of great professional wrestling. Both guys were working as if they were trying to win all the time. (Yes, Zack finally working with some urgency again.)

There was a clear desire to actually BEAT each other. They did not mind hurting the opponent in order to win.

They also did not waste any time. They went 20+, but you would have no idea with out time flew.

Beyond that, they told the classic story that made so many of Hero’s 2016 singles matches instant classics: Hero is a big hoss bully who is going to dominate almost everyone across from him in the ring. They timed all of Zack’s comebacks perfectly to properly maximize the drama and excitement. (If you’re claiming you knew who was going to win this one based simply on how they worked the match, you’re absolutely lying.)

When you combine ALL of that with the nostalgia and pathos that came from knowing this might actually be Hero’s final independent wrestling matches, you have yourself one of the most satisfying wrestling matches in recent memory. Goodbye, Chris Hero. The independent wrestling scene will desperately miss you. Zack won via death submission. (****1/2)

 

2. Eddie “Eddie Edwards” Edwards vs. Bobby Lashley – TNA – 1/8/2017

This was a 30-minute iron person match for EEEE’s TNA World Championship.

These guys are both super talented, and their chemistry allows them to be an automatic good match every time out there probably. The layout of this match really put it over the top though as a lowkey MOTYC.

It was 50/50 early on with neither guy appearing to be close to getting control, let alone an actual fall. Then Blaster connected on a spear out of nowhere to pick up the first fall.

Shortly after that, they ended up on the floor, and the Blaster got some FIRM control of the match. He gave EEEE a devastating release powerbomb on the ring ramp. EEEE was so toast after that he was counted out in the most casual manner possible. It seemed all but over.

EEEE managed to make his way back to the ring. He seemed dead in the water, but he managed to get a fluke fruit roll-up victory out of nowhere.

A few minutes after that, EEEE hit the Busaiku Knee on the floor. He followed that up with another one in the ring to even things up.

EEEE just kept going and going, but he eventually got trapped in a submission that forced him to tap out. From there, Blaster tried to stall and that seemed to be working. EEEE continued to take the fight to him though and ended up applying a choke sleeper. It looked like EEEE might pull off the tie, but Blaster held on as time expired to pick up the win and the title.

This will be flat-out one of the best world title matches of the year. Blaster Lashley is a fucking god among insects, and you cannot allow anyone tell you any differently. My gawd. Seek this bad boy out. (****1/2)

 

1. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto – NJPW – 1/4/2017

This was for Shibata’s NEVER Openweight Championship.

My gawd.

The broad story of this match was that Goto ain’t fucking shit compared to the far superior Shibata. That was an awesome story to tell and a major improvement for these two when they work each other in the ring. It paid off hugely too and became one of the best matches in NJPW history.

Don’t get me wrong, they lost the thread a couple of times and drifted back into some bad habits. A couple of sequences had gratuitous “tough guy” spots and no-selling spots that only distracted from this story’s human core.

They far from overwhelmed the match though. Instead, they easily recovered those mental lapses and let the broader story carry them through to the end.

Shibata is fucking great, and Goto ain’t shit. Shibata was always a step ahead of him and tougher than Goto. Goto seemingly was a dead fucking duck.

Goto got crazy though. He took brutal shots at Shibata’s injured neck and was throwing crazy strikes and headbutts. Shibata’s neck took so much damage that Goto was able to connect with a (somehow) brutal Final Cut to end things.

This was one of the best matches in NJPW history. These crazy physical matches get upgraded so much when there is a larger story to play into. This match should serve as a template for wrestlers looking to get crazy in the ring with each other.  (****3/4)