Kevin’s Top 15 Matches of August 2017

The G1 Climax. SummerSlam weekend. The Cueto Cup. PROGRESS in the United States. We were treated to some standout shows and matches in August and I came up with 16 matches that I gave ****+. I’d like to point out that I still have yet to rewatch several matches that I could see myself possibly bumping up (Asuka/Ember, Ishii/Nagata and Suzuki/Okada, for example). Those matches could jump into my year-end list and some other stuff could fall. For now though, we’re just going based on the scores I currently have for these matches. As usual, I’m including my original review for the matches included.

Honorable Mention: Juice Robinson vs. Kenny Omega – G1 Climax 8/5/17

15. Cueto Cup Semi-Finals: Fenix vs. Prince Puma – Lucha Underground 8/16/17

I believe this match only happened once and that was way back in season one for the Lucha Underground Title. This is a much different Puma, though. They worked this at a quick pace and showed how evenly matched they are. It was a battle of the top two faces in LU history. Neither guy seemed to gain a clear advantage, until Fenix got a near fall on a kick to the back of the head. Vampiro and Melissa Santos were way into this at ringside, rooting their respective guy on. Marty Martinez arrived to stalk Melissa and Fenix took him out. That opened the door for the guy who isn’t the clear good guy anymore, Puma, to strike. A Michinoku Driver wasn’t enough but the 630 was, giving Puma a ticket to the finals at 10:27. Awesome stuff. The crowd was hot, the action was wild and even the Marty stuff was fine as it added to the story. [****]

14. Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.- NJPW G1 Climax 8/4/17

This is one of the most interesting matchups in the whole tournament. It could be great or a bad matchup of styles. This started with the usual tranquilo Naito pose after he sent Sabre outside. It was clear early that Sabre had him scouted, countering his signature dropkick in the corner and wrenching him into submissions and putting focus on the neck. Sabre had counters for everything, from key stuff like Destino, to little things like rollups. He dominated, forcing Naito to get serious and not play his usual games. Sabre got a near fall on the European Clutch pin that everyone seemed to bite on. Even when Naito gained momentum, like after a desperation German, Sabre would catch him in a submission or something, right after. Naito finally managed to avoid the PK and hit Destino for the win at 14:20. I loved how this was laid out. Naito wasn’t in control like usual, so he had to change things up. Sabre continues to look great in this tournament. He dominated Tanahashi and Naito, but left one opening against Naito, and it cost him. [****]

13. WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: Cesaro and Sheamus [c] vs. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins – WWE SummerSlam 8/20/17

The mini-Shield reunion has been fun and has potential to be a highlight of the rest of 2017. Dean and Seth have been lost in the shuffle of the singles scene on Raw and could be a kick in the ass for the tag division. Take note, NJPW. The crowd was into this, but really got going when Cesaro hopped into the stands and popped a beach ball some bored fans were playing with. This was not the match to pull something like that, as it was a lot of fun. There were great tandem moments from both teams, awesome spots and close near falls. Cesaro and Sheamus are a great team that I think get very underrated. The end saw Seth super rana Cesaro into Sheamus and Dean, causing a huge car wreck like scene. Seth then hit superkicks and his Rainmaker V-Trigger spot, before Dean got the win with Dirty Deeds in 18:34. Awesome match. Lots of action, a match that moved along briskly and had a hot crowd. Once Cesaro popped the beach ball, this picked up and never stopped. I’m all for a big rematch at the next Raw PPV. The Tag Title matches shined tonight. [****]

12. PROGRESS Atlas Championship: WALTER [c] vs. Matt Riddle – PROGRESS: New York City 8/12/17

Riddle retained the Atlas Title over WALTER at Chapter 46 (***¾) and lost it to him at Chapter 51 (****¼). They also both competed in a great four-way earlier in the day for Riddle’s WWN Title (****¼). Their early mat exchanges were very even, so WALTER responded with his arsenal of vicious chops. Like in their previous matches, Riddle was not afraid to answer back with his own. After some brutality outside, they moved back to the ring and started throwing one another around. I’ve seen Riddle deadlift WALTER on multiple occasions and it’s always very impressive. Riddle started busting out all the offense he could, using two Bro to Sleeps and a German, yet he couldn’t keep WALTER down. WALTER got his knees up on a senton and applied a rear naked choke, but Riddle made it to the ropes. Riddle fought back and succeeded on the senton for two. He was stunned for a split second, but pounced with the Bromission. He added chops to WALTER’s chest and won back the title in 15:58. Not quite as great as their second match, but better than the first. They took what worked and played off it. Riddle changed up his game plan a bit, knowing that WALTER had him expertly scouted last time. They weren’t major changes, but just enough to win the title back. The sheer viciousness of their strikes always leaves me in awe. I dig Riddle, but I do wish WALTER got a longer reign. [****]

11. EVIL vs. Kazuchika Okada – NJPW G1 Climax 8/5/17

In his previous match, EVIL looked like he got legit knocked out by Omega. A win here keeps him alive. This started the way you’d expect, with solid exchanges inside before things moved outside. Instead of that leading to the Okada cross body spot, we got EVIL’s chair stuff. I prefer that as it does a lot to weaken an undefeated guy. It felt like, for the first time in a while, Okada wasn’t in control. He fought from behind and EVIL had an answer for most of his stuff. There was a wild spot where EVIL hit Darkness Falls onto a bed of chairs outside, which had to hurt. They both beat the countout, leading to a more traditional Okada finishing stretch. He surprised with a Rainmaker and, though it was subtle, he hilariously positioned himself to fall on his back so he could do the wrist hold spot like normal. Another Rainmaker hit and guess what? He went for a third and it was countered. Like almost every other match. However, someone finally bested Okada, as EVIL avoided another Rainmaker and hit an STO for the 1-2-3 at 22:47. Parts of it felt like an Okada match, but I appreciated how it was more set up for EVIL to be the man. Okada’s overconfidence finally bit him in the ass and I’m all for a big win for EVIL. I worry the rematch may not be as good, but for now, this ruled. [****]

10. WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The New Day [c] vs. The Usos – WWE SummerSlam 8/20/17

The Kickoff MAIN EVENT! These teams tore the house down last month, though we got Big E instead of Kofi Kingston this time. The most important thing to note, was that Xavier Woods was still involved. He came out looking like a star. He played a great face in peril and the Usos were great at cutting off the hot tag. Big E got to run wild once he got it, which was when the action and pace picked up. The Usos busted out some new offense, including an incredible spot where they did the Alley-Uce from in the ring to the outside. I’ve never seen anyone do that. New Day came close to winning, but the pin was broken up. I completely bought into it. The same could be said for a splash spot on Woods at one point. Big E had a tope suicida cut off with a superkick, before being taken out with a splash. Woods ate another splash for another title switch in 19:12. Slightly below their Battleground match, but still something great. This was the first thing the crowd got excited for, the chemistry between the teams was off the charts and we even got a bit of history. The Usos joined Edge & Christian, the Dudley Boyz, the Hardy Boyz and the New Age Outlaws as the only teams to win four Tag Team Titles. [****¼]

9. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW G1 Climax 8/1/17

Their G1 25 match (****¼) ruled. Kagoshima is Ibushi’s hometown, so they LOVED him. Tanahashi called to the crowd at the bell, but they just chanted Ibushi’s name. That response opened the door for the heel Tanahashi that I love. He delivered cheap shots instead of clean breaks, setting the tone. Tanahashi attacked the leg and neck, stopping to trash talk the fans or play some air guitar. It made for a great reaction each time Ibushi got something going. He hit the Golden Triangle Moonsault, but Tanahashi cut off the apron German with a dragon screw. Ibushi eventually did nail the deadlift German, which nearly killed Tanahashi. The desperation in Ibushi’s scramble to cover Tanahashi showed how badly he wanted to stay alive in this tournament. Tanahashi went for High Fly Flow, but Kota got his knees up. However, he couldn’t take advantage due to the knee work. After a brutal kick, he nailed the Golden Star Bomb for an insane near fall. Not wasting too much time on disbelief, he delivered a brutal knee to pick up the win at 20:40. One of the better recent main events. It was a compelling match that told a great story, made better by heel Tanahashi. I would’ve liked a bit more selling of the leg from Ibushi to put this over the top though. [****¼]

8. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 8/6/17

A Tanahashi win would eliminate Ibushi, Ishii and Fale here, making for a lackluster feel for the final A Block show. In the G1 23 they killed it (****½), the G1 24 was not their best but still high quality, (***¾) and the G1 26 was back to form (****¼). We got some great back and forth to start, with Ishii as the aggressor. He screamed at Tanahashi, only for the champ to dropkick the knee. When Ishii avoided the Texas Cloverleaf, Tanahashi made the mistake of trading strikes. Ishii clearly won out there, leading to a battle of suplexes. Tanahashi eventually applied the Texas Cloverleaf, but Ishii fought free. Then, in a great twist, Ishii delivered a dragon screw and went to a Sharpshooter! Tanahashi made it to the ropes after a dramatic struggle, though I never fully bought into him tapping out. Maybe if it was work on the injured arm. Both men racked up good near falls late, before they each kicked out at one from signature moves (Ishii on slingblade and Tana on a lariat). Tanahashi used a series of High Fly Flows to pick up the win in 23:30. As usual, these two are awesome. Some good drama mixed in with great exchanges. The intensity was great throughout, and I believed Ishii would win more than once. With one match left against Sabre (their G1 Special match was excellent), Ishii’s my pick for tournament MVP. [****¼]

7. Cueto Cup Finals: Pentagon Dark vs. Prince Puma – Lucha Underground 8/23/17

The giant Cueto Cup Tournament came down to arguably the two biggest stars in Lucha Underground. Prince Puma was the first champion and the ultimate hero. Pentagon Dark epitomized the anti-hero, as his violent tactics made him a fan favorite. However, Puma had a transformation in season three and was crossing to the dark side. They met in season two, with some questionable finishes. This took what worked in those matches and built on it to make a great tournament closer. You won’t find many better sub-ten minute matches. It clocked in at 9:34 and was action from bell to bell. There was a sense of urgency in everything they did, adding to the important of the Cueto Cup. Puma had been to the top before, but Pentagon just kept coming up short. After a barrage of wild offense, Puma connected on a super rana. He looked over to Vampiro, who gave a thumbs down signal. Puma finished Pentagon with the 630 and earned another Ultima Lucha main event. Pentagon failed again, watching his old mentor celebrate with his replacement protégé. Excellent action and a great piece of a larger story. [****¼]

6. WWN Championship: Matt Riddle (c) vs. Keith Lee vs. Tracy Williams vs. PROGRESS Atlas Champion WALTER – Evolve 91 8/12/17

Interesting situation for Riddle here, as WALTER took the Atlas Title from him and Lee nearly beat him back in June. Right from the start, they teased the HOSS BATTLE, but Riddle and Williams interrupted. When it finally went down, they traded suplexes and strikes. I enjoyed their exchanges, but I was also intrigued by Williams and Riddle joining forces. Their Catch Point past issues be damned when there are two BIG BOYS that need to be taken care of. They built to tons of great moments late and the barrage of chops throughout were brutal. Everyone’s chest looked to be destroyed. Riddle wisely raining elbows down on WALTER and Lee to try and knock them out was great. When Williams snuck in and hit him with a piledriver, I bought him stealing the title. Riddle kicked out though, and countered the crossface into the Bromission to retain in 15:49. Great main event and one of the best Evolve matches all year. The crowd was way into this and the interactions between WALTER and Lee felt like a big deal. The Riddle/Williams stuff was a nice underlying story as well. [****¼]

5. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III 8/19/17

I admit, I’m probably giving a biased opinion here because Almas and Gargano are my two favorite wrestlers in NXT. Even if I wasn’t, I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed the hell out of this. It had most of the elements I look for in a great match. It was the perfect choice to open TakeOver: Brooklyn. Gargano has a Sami Zayn like lovable quality and the crowd ate up everything he did. Almas was in the midst of an angle where his new manager Zelina Vega was making sure he focused to turn his win/loss record around. There were elements of Almas reverting back to his old form with tranquilo taunts, and it would cost him. When he finally got serious, he was right on Gargano’s level. Some people didn’t like the finish, but I thought it worked great. Just when Gargano had things in hand, Vega threw a #DIY shirt at him. That distraction allowed Almas to win at the 13:13 mark. It worked perfectly because it helped establish Vega’s presence as a valet, protected Gargano, got Almas a much-needed win and added to the #DIY split angle. Gargano had been ignoring it since returning, but here it was, thrown in his face to cost him his first big singles match since the split. I’m probably the high man on this, but I loved it. [****¼]

4. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 8/11/17

It all came down to this. Four years ago today, they met in a super disappointing G1 final (**¾), won by Naito. Since then, I’ve seen them wrestle four times. Tanahashi won two, at KOPW 2015 (***¾) and Dominion 2017 (****), while Naito won in the G1 25 (****) and Wrestle Kingdom 11 (****½). Rocky Romero noted that Naito is, without a doubt, the most popular Japanese wrestler on the roster. They also talked about how Naito got screwed out of the WK main event in 2014. The fans were SUPER behind Naito. Tana played right into it as Naito gave a clean break on the ropes, but he slapped him twice when he got the chance. He also interrupted Naito’s signature taunt, to massive heat. Naito attacked the arm, while Tanahashi cut him off and went to the leg, which is how he won the IC Title. They both kept that focus. Tanahashi was great at having counters ready for Naito’s best stuff. Naito avoided High Fly Flow, but took a top rope dragon screw and got placed in the Texas Cloverleaf. That’s how he lost the IC Title at Dominion. He sunk deep but Naito desperately made it to the ropes. Putting so much pressure seemed to take it out of Tana’s bad arm. Naito hit a Destino variation for two and Tanahashi countered his next attempt. Naito fought him off and nailed tow more Destinos to win the A Block in 26:41. Excellent match that was better than their Dominion outing and just a bit below their WK11 showing. Great callbacks and a molten hot crowd. I loved Tanahashi playing up the heel stuff, while the arm and leg work was top notch. [****½]

3.WWE Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar [c] vs. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe

Ah, now this is more I like it. A major title match that felt like a big deal and delivered like one. I wanted a war and that’s exactly what I got. This was magnificently chaotic. Braun came out looking like the biggest star in the world. He owned Lesnar, putting him through two tables and dropping a third on top of him. Brock did the stretcher job to avoid doing too much work. Braun also launched the announcer’s chair again, because he’s awesome. Reigns got booed every time he did something, while Joe was kind of just there. Not that he was bad, but he didn’t play a major role and I wish he did. Although, he did come close a few times with the Coquina Clutch. Brock made his return and went right at Braun. It was incredible to see Brock sell so much for a non-part timer. We had several broken tables, a broken guardrail, chairs and four beefy dudes beating the shit out of each other. What more could I ask for? The multi-man match doesn’t always work, but WWE got it right this time around. Brock retained after hitting Reigns with an F5 at 20:52, to end a fantastic match. This was one of the best SummerSlam main events ever. I gave the same score to the closing matches in 1992, 2009 and 2013, but that’s about it. [****½]

2. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega – NJPW G1 Climax 8/12/17

Kenny must win, but Okada can let time expire and win the block. They both went for bombs early, looking for their finishers. Guardrail cross body, elbow and Rainmaker pose within the opening minutes. I liked how Omega didn’t waste time on his tope with the Terminator taunt. He knew time was valuable. He worked the neck and back, which Okada had taped up. There was a great moment where Okada hit a DDT and tried his usual kip up, but he physically couldn’t. With Omega in control, he got too cocky with the Terminator dive and Okada cut him off. Omega’s reverse rana on the outside had extra “oomph” on it because of Okada’s neck, who sold it like death. Kenny stopped the doctor from checking on him and hit a snapdragon suplex on the apron, followed by Aoi Shoudou for a great near fall. Okada countered the One Winged Angel into a tombstone, but instantly fell out. Okada started the comeback, but unlike the Minoru match in February, it felt like it was out of desperation. He couldn’t sustain anything or fully capitalize. He delivered three Rainmakers as we got close to the time limit. The next one got countered (as always) and Okada kept blocking the One Winged Angel. Okada kicked out of a few more big blows, until Omega finally hit the One Winged Angel to win in 24:40. Their best match so far. Unlike the others, this didn’t feel like it was going long for the sake of it. Everything mattered. The pace was wild and Kenny’s focus on the neck was awesome. Okada finally sold at an incredible level. He didn’t wave it off to get his stuff in, it hurt him throughout. There was a bit of V-Trigger spam, but not too much and some of the near falls late were a bit much. I like that Okada’s style has finally caught up to him with a loss, draw and loss to close the G1. [****¾]

1. Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 8/13/17

Their G1 match last year was the MOTY for a lot of people. I have it at a sexy ****½. Coming into this, Naito’s average rating in this tournament is 3.52 stars, while Omega is at 3.25. The crowd was pumped from the start. Naito was tranquilo to start, avoiding a grapple. Kenny returned the favor, but grew frustrated when Naito was a step ahead. Naito targeted the neck, which is something he’s done lately to set up Destino. I loved Naito faking Omega out by seemingly going for his tranquilo taunt, only to hit a suicide dive. Like he learned from last year. It led to a wild PILEDRIVER ON A TABLE spot. Usually, I’d be against something like that coming so early in a match, but with the table not breaking and Omega only hitting the edge, it made sense that he’d be able to beat the countout. Inside, Omega had Naito scouted and focused on the injured shoulder. Thankfully, he continued to sell the neck, even when on offense. Both men took an absurd amount of damage. The slow motion replays on some of the bumps were sickening. Naito took a rough bump when dropped on the turnbuckle, but kicked out of a V-Trigger. Omega delivered a DDT into the ring post that legitimately made me concerned for Naito’s health. It looked nasty. Then, Naito fucking countered a super bomb with a super rana in midair. I lost my mind. He followed with a super reverse rana for a near fall. Turning back the clock, Naito went for the Stardust Press, but missed. Naito’s kickout timing is unreal, evidenced by the Jay Driller near fall. Omega hit the best V-Trigger he ever has, but it still wasn’t enough. The first One Winged Angel attempt got countered to a reverse rana and Naito hit Destino from out of nowhere. Omega survived, tried the One Winged Angel and had that countered into an awesome Destino! Both men were down and traded exhausted slaps until Naito hit a spinning Destino. That still wasn’t enough. Another one finally kept Omega down at 36:35. Incredible. Better than the Okada/Omega series. Better than Naito/Tanahashi. They went long, but the pace was absurd and everything mattered. No fluff. There was a sense of urgency that you want from a match as important as this. The neck and shoulder work was brutal, smart and the crowd was crazy hot throughout. If I had one issue, it was how many Destinos it took to win. I’d have ended it on the spinning one. It usually takes Naito two or three though, so I guess four in a match like this wasn’t too bad. Does that mean it’s gonna take 12 to beat Okada? Either way, this is my current MOTY. [*****]