The Month That Was: Looking at The Best From February 2016

Thanks to everyone that checked out last month’s article, especially those that commented. Before we jump into the best of February there are a few house keeping notes to take care of. PWG still has not sent out their January show, however they finally sent out nights 1 and 2 of their All Star Weekend from December 2015. Night 1 was great, and night 2 was one of the best shows in PWG’s history. I debated including matches from both nights to this column with the rationale of unless you were in Reseda that night, there was no way to see any of these matches before now. However, in the end I am going to keep those in 2015 and continue to wait an add their January show to my archive later this month to keep things simple. I really hope that at some point soon PWG realizes that the world is going digital, and it is time for their shows to do the same; at a MUCH faster rate of speed.

Last month did see one change to the top 10 after publication. PROGRESS 25 (which was the 3rd best show of the month) produced Will Ospreay vs Marty Scurll which I ranked as the 8th best match of the month, as a result some changes were made to the “Wrestler of the Year” standings. The full review of the show can be found HERE.

With all that out of the way, let’s get to February and take a look at where the wrestling I watched this month came from.
Beyond (18 matches) (2 shows)
CWF Mid-Atlantic (1 match)
CZW (8 matches) (1 show)
Dragon Gate (12 matches) (2 shows)
GPW (1 match)
Lucha Underground (13 matches)
NJPW (27 matches)
NOAH (8 matches) (1 show)
PROGRESS (7 matches) (1 show)
ROH (26 matches) (1 show)
ROH/NJPW (16 matches) (2 shows)
Stardom (3 matches)
TNA (3 matches)
WRESTLE-1 (1 match)
WWE/NXT (91 matches) (1 show)
TOTAL: 235 matches (14 shows)

The omissions for shows that I plan to catch later on are: AAW The Art of War and SMASH F8tful Eight. SMASH has yet to release the show on their VOD service at the time of publication and I have not had a chance to watch AAW yet. The article has been done since February 1st but I was waiting on those two shows. However, after looking at the cards I don’t think either will give us anything to shake up the top 10, but if they do I will let you know next month.

While there was not as much wrestling to consume in February as we saw in January, there were just as many quality matches, just none of them hit the ***** that Styles/Nakamura were able to hit (which is no surprise as that is only the third match to get the full boat in the last 5 years.)

Top 10 Matches of February
10. IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title: Young Bucks (c) vs Matt Sydal & Ricochet vs reDRagon [NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2/11]: This is part of the weird formula where it feels as though I have seen this match on repeat for the last 18 months, but the action remains consistently great. Sydal & Ricochet have been a welcome addition to the division as they have freshened things up slightly, but it is hard to feel like their win here meant anything as the belt moves so much. It took Cody Hall all of about a minute before he started interfering, which is fine as it was just a simple trip. The spots hit by all six men were high impact and everything looked crisp, just as you would expect from 6 of the best juniors in the world. The only downside to this match was Cody Hall running the stupid spot where he runs away with Kyle O’Reilly, where the hell does he bring them? reDRagon continues to be the most protected act in NJPW as The Bucks eat the pinfall to loose the belts in their first defense that they have held for just over a month. (****)
9. WWE Title #1 Contender Triple Threat Match: Brock Lesnar vs Dean Ambrose vs Roman Reigns [WWE Fastlane 2/21]: This match was on pace to be much higher on this list, and then they seemingly shaved the last 5 minutes off the match. With those extra 5 minutes, there is no doubt to me that this would have hit ****1/2 territory (though according to Meltzer they did that anyways). Reigns’ no selling of the chair shots and hitting the spear was a large frustration point for me. The action was intense throughout. I liked the ways that Ambrose & Reigns worked together to eliminate Lesnar from the equation, only thing missing was a spear through the barricade or breaking the third table. Reigns is not who I wanted to see win the match, but there was never really a point in the match that I thought he may not walk out as the winner. This match has me very excited to see what Amborse vs Lesnar will look like next month in Dallas. For the second straight month Dean Ambrose was part of the best match WWE had to offer. (****)
8. Mike Bailey vs Sami Callihan [CZW Seventeen 2/13]: (From my CZW Seventeen Review) This is one of those matches that you don’t really think of how awesome it would be, until you see it booked. The crowd is crazy into this match before the bell can even ring, surprisingly to me their support was going much stronger for Bailey. Bailey was able to get in a lot of his signature kicks and fast paced offense early on, but Callihan quickly gained control and slowed the offense down. Bailey hit a picture perfect moonsault off the top rope and onto Callihan while on the floor. Bailey continued on offense once back in the ring and just laid into Callihan’s chest cavity with at least 15 kicks, Callihan responded with some chops to Bailey. Callihan spit in the face of Bailey after challenging Mike to kick him harder. Neither man could keep the offense for more than a minute or two, lots of nearfalls. Callihan pulled out of the left kickpad of Bailey and sent his leg crashing into the ropes, great psychology to set up for Callihan’s stretch muffler. Towards the end of the match it appears that Bailey may have split his tights down the middle of the back. Callihan hit a tombstone but was barely able to get a 1 count! Callihan responded with a stiff lariat to put an end to it all. This match rocked, I would go as far as to say this is the best match I have ever seen in a CZW ring. (****1/4)
7. Stardom Wonder of Stardom: Santana Garrett (c) vs Kairi Hojo [Stardom 5th Anniversary Day 5 2/21]: Before last month I had never heard of Kairi Hojo, now I am in love with her in ring ability. Hojo was the challenger last month for Io Shirai’s World of Stardom Title. This month she challenged Santana Garrett and while the match was not quite on the level of an epic feel as last month, it was still hands down the best women’s match of the month. Both ladies showed a lot of athleticism with their moves and transitional offense, along with that every time they connected with an elbow or strike it looked damn real. The final three matches from the show all ranged from very good to great; I think had I watched the 4 undercard matches that the show may have squeezed into the top 5 for the month. CHECK IT OUT (****1/4)
6. PROGRESS Title: Marty Scrull (c) vs Mark Haskins [PROGRESS Chapter 26 2/14]: This was Scrull’s first defense of the PROGRESS title, Haskins was a great choice to start the reign off with. There was a beautifully produced video package before the match, highlighting the road that has brought both men to today. Scurll made sure to live up to his villainous reputation very fast in this match, delivering a powerbomb to Haskins into the ring post on the outside of the ring. Scurll continued the attack on the back by throwing Haskins into the barricades and delivering a back suplex onto the ring apron. Haskins did such a great job here at playing the plunky babyface who won’t say die, and it made his comeback that much more exciting. No one thought that Scurll was losing the belt on his first defense, but Haskins was able to get people to believe in a number of near falls. Both of these men are so damn talented. Scurll is finally getting his recognition in the US, people are slowly starting to realize how good Haskins is as well I believe. (****1/4)

5. Losing Unit Disbands Elimination Match: Dia.HEARTS vs. Monster Express vs. VerserK [Dragon Gate Truth Gate 2016 Day Two 2/4]: When I first saw Dragon Gate wrestlers competing stateside in 2006 I fell in love with what I was seeing. The action was fast, the moves were crisp an their matches had high entertainment value. 10 years later Masato Yoshino, Akira Tozawa, Dragon Kid and Naruki Doi are still doing all those things in Dragon Gate. This is a fairly common match in Dragon Gate as they have more stables than old school TNA and every so often it is time to weed some out. Current Open the Twin Gate Champions Naruki Doi & YAMATO looked especially strong coming out of this match, scoring the decesive pinfall that eliminated Dia.HEARTS from the company. The highlight of the match though was seeing self proclaimed weak link of Monster Express, Shachihoko BOY, get the pinfall that eliminated current Open the Dream Gate champion Shingo. The final five minutes of the match are edge of your seat exciting, and the action never slows down once. Seek out this match and see how awesome it is for yourself, you will surely not be disappointed. (****1/2)
4. NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Title: The ELITE (c) vs ACH, KUSHIDA & Matt Sydal [ROH 14th Anniversary 2/26]: Once this match was announced it instantly became the one I was most looking forward to seeing, and boy did they deliver! The first five or so minutes were worked at a conservative pace, but the final 12 were non-stop fun. This is not a match that you expect to see a ton of psychology, but you know that all six men are amazing athletes and are ready to perform. Matt Sydal appears to be hitting his in-ring peak the last 2 years, which makes sense as he is only 32; a fact that amazes me since I remember watching him in 2004 compete in IWA Mid-South and ROH). The match so lots of flips and kicks, made better by a crowd that was very into the action. The only downside to this match was Delirious does not understand how to put a proper card together and put a solid ANX/War Machine match right after this to die a slow death. (****1/2)
3. NEVER Openweight Title: Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii [NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2/11]: These are two of my favorites in NJPW, and they have proven over the years that they have amazing chemistry. Their match from Day 8 of G1 24 is one of the best 10 minute matches I have ever seen, and is probably in my top 10 NJPW matches of all time. I was looking forward to this one a lot as I felt they left a lot on the table last month compared to the previous three times I have seen these two face off. The armbar sequence towards the end was not only executed in a unique and painful looking way, but both men sold the drama perfectly. Last month’s match dropped a quarter rating on a second viewing, this one went up. The match was as brutal as you would expect with all the strikes from both men and I continue to be amazed at how both men do it. (****1/2)
2. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kenny Omega [NJPW The New Beginning in Nigata 2/14]: We could very well be looking at the breakout year for Kenny Omega. Last year in NJPW he was hit or miss at times, often depending on how much of his DDT humor he tried to incorporate into matches. Through the first 3 major shows of 2016 for NJPW, we have seen a lot more of the serious Kenny Omega. Omega dismissing the Bullet Club early on made Matt & Nick Jackson coming from under the ring with menacing faces that much better. I didn’t find the interference to take away or really add anything to the match, and it was far away enough from the finish that it did not taint Omega’s victory (like Eddie Guerrero in 2004). Tanahashi’s injured shoulder was an obvious concern before the match but really he showed no signs of wear. Throughout the final 5 to 8 minutes of the match I was biting on nearly every near fall, as much as I wanted Omega to win, I just had a fear they would go with Tanahashi. We perhaps saw the beginning of the next great American heavyweight, when the three count finally hit and Omega’s hand was raised. I would call this Omega’s best singles match since his ROH run in 2009-2010 that featured ****1/2 matches against Christopher Daniels, Davey Richards & Austin Aries; actually I think I would just plain call this his best singles match to date, but I would not be surprised if he topped himself this year. (****1/2)
1. DG Open the Dream Gate Title: Shingo Takagi (c) vs Jimmy Susumu [Dragon Gate Truth Gate 2016 Day Eight 2/14]: Valentine’s Day in Japan this year was an amazing day for wrestling, the date saw the best two matches of the month and 2 honorable mention matches. For reasons that I have not been able to really figure out yet, Dragon Gate fans HATE Shingo. It seems to be Roman heat, where they don’t feel he should be champion, but I am not entirely certain on that. I never saw Shingo as a top guy when he was a regular on the ROH roster, but certainly saw him as a very good wrestler. In my watching of Dragon Gate the past 6 months I have gained an understanding for why he is on top, he has a lot of talent! This was the sixth defense of Shingo’s 2nd title reign and both guys went at things full throttle. The ring was surrounded by members of Jimmyz & VerseK cheering on their respective man and the crowd stayed very into the contest. The false finish after YAMATO threw powder mistakenly into the eyes of Shingo was done to perfection. Shingo & Jimmy wrestled for 30 minutes and never once did the match come close to not being engaging, the clothesline finish was one of beauty. (****1/2)

HONORABLE MENTION (****+)
Last Luchador Standing Match: Fenix vs. King Cuerno [Lucha Underground 2/10] (****)
IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Hirooki Goto [NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2/11] (****)
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: KUSHIDA (c) vs BUSHI [NJPW The New Beginning in Nigata 2/14] (****)
AJ Styles vs Chris Jericho [WWE SmackDown! 2/11] (****)
WRESTLE-1 World Title: Yuji Hino (c) vs Minoru Tanaka [WRESTLE-1 Tour 2016 W-Impact Day 1 2/14] (****)
Six Man Tag: Monster Express & Kzy vs. VerseK [Dragon Gate Truth Gate 2016 Day Eight 2/14] (****)
ROH TV Title: Roderick Strong (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii [ROH/NJPW Honor Rising Night One 2/19] (****)
NEO High Speed Title: Mayu Iwatani © vs Evie [Stardom 5th Anniversary Day 5 2/21] (****)
AJ Styles vs Chris Jericho [WWE Fastlane 2/21] (****)
Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Minoru Suzuki [NOAH The Second Navigation 2016 Day Ten 2/24] (****)
ROH World Title Three Way Match: Jay Lethal (c) vs Adam Cole vs Kyle O’Reilly [ROH 14th Anniversary 2/26] (****)
Adam Cole vs Matt Sydal [ROH TV 2/28] (****)
Brian Fury vs Eddie Edwards [Beyond State of the Art 2/28] (****)
Donovan Dijak vs Sami Callihan [Beyond State of the Art 2/28] (****)

Top 5 Shows of February
5. ROH 14th Anniversary [8]
4. NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka [8]
3. NJPW The New Beginning in Nigata [8]
2. Dragon Gate Truth Gate Day 2 [8.5]
1. Dragon Gate Truth Gate Day 8 [8.5]

Promotion of the Month:
Unlike last month when EVOLVE (who ran no shows in February) was the clear winner, this month required some thinking. The final choices were between eventual winner NJPW and the company that produced the two top shows of the month, Dragon Gate. It would seem since DG had both the MOTM and Show of the Month that they would be a clear winner. However, NJ had the #3 and 4 shows of the month and were a large part of #5 on the list. In addition to that NJPW experimented with their Young Lions Project, while the show did not feature anything stand out it was certainly great to see Juice Robinson get a chance to really show what he has. Along with that NJPW co-booked two shows with ROH in Japan, one that saw one of their most popular superstars score a shocking upset for the ROH TV title.

Top 10 Wrestlers of February
Here is a reminder of the point system I will be using (1st 15 2nd 12 3rd 10, 4th-10th go down by one point each and everyone who had an HM gets 1 point). This is likely to be tweaked once PWG releases their BOWIE show, but who knows when that will be!
Nick Jackson (10)
Matt Jackson (10)
Matt Sydal (10)
KUSHIDA (10)
6. Katsuyori Shibata (10)
5. Tomohiro Ishii (11)
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi (12)
3. Jimmy Susumo (15)
2. Kenny Omega (21)
1. Shingo Takagi (23)

Wrestler of the Year Top 10
1. Shingo Takagi [Dragon Gate] (30)
2. Kenny Omega [NJPW, ROH] (22)
3. AJ Styles [NJPW, WWE] (19)
4. Marty Scurll [PROGRESS, RevPro] (18)
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi [NJPW] (17)
6. Sami Callihan [Beyond, CZW, EVOLVE] (17)
7. Jimmy Susumu [Dragon Gate] (16)
8. YAMATO [Dragon Gate] (16)
9. Shinsuke Nakamura [NJPW] (15)
10. Kairi Hojo [Stardom] (15)

I know the year is still very young, but a lot of the names in the top ten are not who I pictured, or where I would have picture them to be two months ago. There is a lot of great wrestling coming up in North America the next 3 months, it will be interesting to see if the foreigners can hold onto their stranglehold on the top 10.

To see the whole list, or to keep up with the rest of the January edits check out the link below and click the tab titled “WOTY”.

Tag Team of the Month: The ELITE
While I could have easily given this just to the Young Bucks, this felt like the more natural selection. As a unit they only competed three times together, but all three of those matches were at least good, with the last one ranking quite high on MOTM. The Bullet Club couldhave easily died a quiet death after the loss of Styles, Gallows & Anderson; instead they are looking stronger than ever with another addition (I predict Moose) coming soon. The winning of NEVER belts got a huge pop from myself, an if anyone can make people care about those belts it will be The ELITE.

Worst Show of February: NOAH The Second Navigation 2016 Day 3 [2.5]
This was the easiest “award” to hand out for the month, it was the only show I went below a 6 on. This was my first time watching a full NOAH show, and it was not the best first time choice to make. The only reason I saw it was because it happened to be airing at 10PM ET one night, so I sledged through the show even though I was bored out of my mind for the most part. A lot of sloppy wrestling with wrestlers that I had no reason to care about. Katsuhiko Nakajima/Naomichi Marufuji vs Minoru Suzuki/Takashi Sugiura was the main event and was a good match, but not nearly enough to save the show.

Worst Match of February: Evil Uno vs Pinkie Sanchez [Beyond State of the Art 2/28]
This one makes me sad to say as about an hour before the match I had a lengthy conversation with Uno and he came across as a great guy. I had never seen either of the Smash Brothers in singles action before last Sunday’s Beyond show but loved their tag action from C4 and PWG. Uno is currently touring the US again, now that he is allowed back in the country. Sanchez is a guy who I have never been a fan of, even though after a show he is a great guy. Before the match Sanchez turned on manager Larry Dallas, for no apparent reason and it just made the match feel more odd. I would actually call this the worst live match I have ever seen.

All My 2016 Ratings

It’s 2016, so of course I’m on Twitter