POLL 6/18-6/24/2023- WHAT WAS THE BEST FREE TV MATCH OF THE WEEK? the completely permitted door

[John E. Dynamite]

Is there an obvious winner here? I don't know. There was a wide variety of good stuff this week and I get the feeling like everybody might have their particular favorite. Or maybe we all realize it's DOUKI's world and we're just living in it. 

This poll filled up quick with a bunch of pretty good TV matches - the indie lucha pick is a Laredo Kid-led multiman indy flipfest (REAL FUN! CHECK IT OUT!) instead of some solid walk-n-bleeds. SANADA vs. Tsuji is a revelation in maybe three or four different ways. Athena might be the best thing going. PRESTIGE put a brand new Roderick Strong vs. Kevin Blackwood match up for free just because, and their generosity is recognized. Caught the GLEAT upload at the last minute and it had a good multiman main AND a beefy sprint. The secret super fun show of the week is NWA PowerrR live from a castle, or something? They're in AUSTRALIA in a really cool outdoor venue and the local talent gets some shine. CMLL was rock-solid but for my pesos the co-main is the standout. McDonagh vs. Crews is another keeper. Can Johnny TeeVee stop the "MLW champion who just signed to AEW" curse? No!

  

Spoiler

Roderick Strong vs. Kevin Blackwood - https://twitter.com/WrestlePrestige/status/1671965416200212480

NWA PowerrR / NWA Australia - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBXf38U-kc8

CMLL Viernes Espectacular - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCM1DfpL8NY

Laredo Kid vs. Black Taurus vs. Epydemus Jr. vs. Aero Boy - https://youtu.be/Z0LEOZlkd-8?t=3041

GLEAT co-main + main - https://youtu.be/02671jMYCXY?t=5825

MLW Hennigan vs. Fatu - https://youtu.be/l5ib28VjI-k?t=1813

Edited June 25, 2023 by John E. Dynamite

[Boydy]

There was a few decent matches this week but for me because of the build up and cos it involves one of my faves Athena I have voted for Athena Vs Kiera Hogan. 

I just really enjoyed the intensity of the match and both women put a shift in.

 

[dragonzombie]

For me it's the Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Swerve Strickland - COLLISION option.

 

[Noah Mark]

I went with FTR/Ricky Starks/CM Punk vs Jay White/Juice Robinson/The Gunns

[Noah Mark]

Does anybody have any links to the CMLL matches.

[John E. Dynamite]

1 hour ago, Noah Mark said:

Does anybody have any links to the CMLL matches.

In the spoilers under "CMLL Viernes Espectacular". Two hours, every Sunday on YouTube, on a two week delay.

We've got a NINE-WAY TIE

[Noah Mark]

Ok thanks.

Edited June 27, 2023 by Noah Mark

[John E. Dynamite]

Upon rewatch, Willow vs. Nyla was exactly what I wanted it to be and I feel conflicted. But SANADA vs. Tsuji dared to dream the impossible dream and make a <20 minute IWGP title classic happen.

Edited June 30, 2023 by John E. Dynamite

[Eivion]

Raw had some fun stuff. Trish/Raquel stood out for Trish's bumping and selling. The 6-man tag was super fun and the highlight with Dom being such a dick and Rhea's reactions on the outside.

Lee/Bate underwhelmed just a bit due to the strangeness of Ali's reffing. Seth/Bron was good though it feels like they have a better one in them. 

Dynamite matches were generally fine though the OC/Shibata tag was the fun standout. 

Athena/Hogan surprisingly did little for me. Much of the action was nice, but it lacked engagement or strong storytelling for me. 

Pretty Deadly vs. Street Profits was nice. As was the unification match for the women's tag titles. Still it was Solo and Sheamus beating the shit out of each other that stole the show, especially with some fine exhaustion selling from Sheamus as the match went on.

Perry/Douki was solid with Douki getting in way more of a showcase than expected. Played well in Perry's gradual heel turn over the weekend's events as well.

United Empire vs. CHAOS was solid. Swerve/Tanahashi was pretty entertaining even with Tanahashi's physical limitations coming into play. Andrade/King was another solid match. Willow/Nyla was decent battle of big women. CMFTR/Starks vs. Bullet Club Gold was good. I dug this so much more than the 6-man tag from the first Collision. Punk did a fine job playing FIP, and I loved the interactions with White. White looked like a star here and got much more to do not just with Punk but tin the match as a whole. The gunns made for fine henchmen and fite will with White and Juice. I only wish this was the match that happened in Chicago. The heat would been nuclear. 

3-way for the tag titles was far more fun than expected with HOT working well as heels no one wanted to see win. Sanada/Yota was good stuff and a nice star making performance for Tsuji. Yota looks, acts, and wrestles like star lacking nothing in confidence. Sanada was probably the perfect return opponent for him in some ways as he just feels way more vulnerable than previous recent champs while still being solid in his role.

Still need to catch CMLL. Nothing is running away with the win for me currently. Right now it's probably down between Solo/Sheamus, Sanada/Yota, and the 8-man tag from Collision.

[Eivion]

All of the CMLL matches were pretty fun. The tag titles match started off well though dipped a bit in the last falls with some minor. Rugido/Guerrera Maya had some neat stuff throughout. Main event was kind of the standard solid-good. What I loved was that Los Infernales match. So much much good action from Los Infernales and the breakdown was well built up to. Ended up giving it the vote for the week since it definitely deserves some love.