Evil Otto

On that note, tonight's card, Night 3 in Hiroshima, has Shota vs. Gabe Kidd. Even before the tournament got underway, that struck me as major angle alert potential, and even more so now. I was more of an avid watcher of All Japan before Covid hit, and Jake Lee was a key player back then. I saw plenty of good to great matches with him in them from that period, and I've always wanted him to truly reach that next level. In some ways, he already has, but in my eyes, something still appears to be lacking. Again, I hope he proves me wrong.

Really great first night! Given the fact of having 10 matches, nothing dragged at all, an intriguing watch all the way through. ZSJ vs. O-Khan, Cobb vs. Goto, and Takeshita vs. Tsuji are all well worth your time. Sleeper match for me was Finlay vs. Uemura, and I'll be damned, Gabe vs. Evil was the best Evil match in a very long time! A few additional thoughts:

Coming out of Forbidden Door, who honestly looks like the best New Japan wrestler? It's certainly not Naito. It's Zack.

Oiwa's return should be huge when it finally happens. He's future main event level, for sure. Happy for Douki.

Well, if you want to tell your fans you’re finally going significantly forward and not then taking two steps back like you usually do, that is how you do it. I’m fully on board with this way of thinking.

Orienteering With Napalm Death!

It was fucking great. I'm actually watching it for the second time now, which is something I almost never do. I hope people can find a way to see it eventually. A few notes below:

Takeshita is a great choice for this, and it's something he really needs right now. I could actually see both him and Jake Lee somehow being factored into Wrestle Kingdom coming out of this. Not in terms of either one winning the thing, but just getting fans excited with (hopefully) hot angles leading to future matchups. A much more effective use of outside talent than Nemeth and Riddle. (I liked Nemeth, but still...)

This looks like a tremendous G1 Climax. Everyone who's in it deserves to be there. A Block is crazy.

Wow, didn't realize they were doing that match, and that I could actually watch it (with my "bottom tier" access)! Thanks for the tip!

Well, at least they're now overtly telling the story that Kyle, although looking great in doing so, is actually losing the big matches. I'm completely fine with them leaning into that.

Yeah, I agree, Oleg has a huge amount of potential. I probably dislike strike challenges more than anything in wrestling, but they're ubiquitous at this point. What's great about Zack is that he willingly takes a nasty shot and sells like death, which is actually getting the most out of that type of spot. Eagles and Fujita should definitely be a team going forward, and a rivalry with War Dogs will produce some intense match-ups. TJP-Ishimori was amazing. Highly recommended.

I'm with you on that one. Hechicero certainly wants it as he's mentioned ZSJ in promos over the years. Hechicero's placement at the end of the Casino match was no accident, either. Something is in the works for him.

Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer from New Japan Strong Resurgence 2023 was an outstanding match, one of my favorites from last year, and one that was almost immediately overshadowed by Mercedes getting injured in her match with Willow at the end of that evening. Unfortunate in multiple ways then, I suppose. I'm definitely looking forward to the rematch.

Tape delay is indeed the way. On that note, they could've easily cut an hour from this card and then it would have been almost perfect. Then again, I'm going to assume the logic from their end is to make sure everyone gets their money's worth to justify seemingly monthly ppvs from here on out. Not a big fan of that, but here we are. Some of these matches, returns and heel turns could have been saved for Dynamite and Collision, for sure. That all being said, I loved so many things on this show. Ospreay and Roddy was terrific, a really smart choice to kick off the show. I think Toni vs Deeb and OC-Trent may be overlooked coming out of this show, but both were really solid. I can't believe how great Mariah May is at this stage in her career. Willow-Mercedes felt special to me, and I think Mone completely delivered in a match in which she absolutely had to do so. The camera work during the match introductions was outstanding, it really set the table. Crowd was buzzing all the way through. The Final Countdown segment and the split screen was peak insanity, just brilliant. So yeah, a little long perhaps, but some tremendous in-ring action, a Warriors reference, and Slayer? I still love this company.

Completely agreed with the last two posts of match recommendations. Desperado and Clark was one of the top matches of the tournament for me, delightfully off the rails at all times. Robbie Eagles is really standing out to me this tournament, so smooth and precise, and he seems to be at least moving towards being one of the final contenders. I skim through a lot of these cards, but I tend to watch most Fujita matches to see how he's progressing. I continue to be impressed.

The Vancouver crowd was tremendous, ending AEW's Canada run on a much-needed high note. It didn't hurt that they gave them some damn good matches. The pacific northwest seems to be a really solid market for them overall.

Last night's Defy show in Seattle streamed live, but I think now it's still available to watch from the beginning: https://www.youtube.com/live/bFYDn1eW03k?si=JkCJkqtKMyjbUON5

The KOPW match was thoroughly engaging from start to finish due to Great O-Khan going above and beyond to make it so. Don't believe me? Fair enough. Tire-based offense! O-Khan, master of lemons! Considering how bizarre it all was, Uemura certainly earned it.

The good thing about Shingo vs. Gabe going on (apparently) right before Moxley vs. Narita, is that is will be nasty and brutal and Mox will surely be inspired to match or even top it. Welcome to the deep end, Ren. Of course, some HoT fuckery is potentially on the menu as well, but I hope this match is more about providing proof that Narita can convincingly be in a main event. (I still need convincing, honestly.) So, hoping it's significantly less of the former, and much more of the latter.

NJPW Windy City Riot:

Naito vs. Tsuji was tremendous. There are only two rational ways to book this match. Yota wins, or Naito wins but the match is fabulously good. At least it didn't disappoint in either case. The junior tag 3-way was insane. Well worth a watch. Kosei Fujita certainly seems like a star in the making. Gabe vs. Shingo should be a nasty one. Looking forward to it. Jack Perry threw out some allusions to the Jacksons, but I'm guessing that still may be a bit further down the line. Overall, this was much more of a "feel good" show than recent events. It was sorely needed.

I watched Adonis & Murdoch vs. Windham & Rotundo go to a time limit draw at the Meadowlands in NJ in January 1985. To this day, it was the greatest match I've ever seen live.

Very sad news to hear. I loved Coughlin. An absolute beast. I truly think he had limitless potential, and he was well on his way. That being said, being rational enough to realize how his debilitating injuries would impact his quality of life (or even worse, to be honest) and to make such an agonizing decision to finally let go of his dream is sad, yes, but far more than that, admirable.