POLL 6/25 - 7/1 - WHAT WAS THE BEST FREE TV MATCH OF THE WEEK? spend your holiday on the couch

[John E. Dynamite]

What a week! By far the most heart-wrenching cut list I've done. A problem you want to have. Geez, everybody brought it this week.

The deep cuts and diamonds in the rough are shining REALLY bright this time. IWRG have this "Public Exam" show where the audience grades newcomers and it's a fun concept. Plus the front row is made up of an entire children's sports team and they're LIVIN' and DYIN' on every move. Tonali vs. Fussion is an AWESOME match between two AWESOME guys. The NWA PowerrR match is the best thing from either of the Australian shows and very much worth a click. Dude, the GLEAT show finishes with a bunch of UWFi Rules matches and if nothing else you HAVE to watch the main event - and look at that tag match! Megastar KENTO MIYAHARA and wonderful Joshi powerhouse CHIHIRO HASHIMOTO tagging with EL LINDAMAN? That's the best Japanese power trio since Guitar Wolf. The women lit stuff up on CMLL Viernes and the Martes show has frickin Fugaz vs. Virus! People gotta know about Fugaz before Masacara Dorada 2.0 starts getting all the hype. Best episode of WWE Main Event in a million years? Emma 4 Evva. The Warrior Wrestling upload is one of those outdoor shows where the sun goes down halfway through and the vibes are all positive. Who knew we needed Takeshita vs. Warhorse? Oh yeah and we've got NEW JAPAN in GUADALAJARA! Satanico being an old jerk to Tiger Mask! House Show LIJ vs. GDI! Why the hell not?

STARDOM had some freebies that didn't make the cut but I think next week they will. MLW Fusion has a Shigehiro Irie vs. Alex Kane match that was cool, there was a solid Hechicero vs. Mephisto match, Derby City had a good one with Rohit Raju but I watched those a little to late in the game to squeeze them in. Like I said, BRUTAL cut list. A great time to gorge yourself on wrestling if you don't have holiday plans for a possibly rainy Tuesday.

Spoiler

MLW Adonis vs. Warner STRAP MATCH https://youtu.be/jJ7S7fLgo3A?t=868
CMLL Viernes Espectacular WOMENS TRIOS - https://youtu.be/spgxe9Ue-Is?t=1088
CMLL New Japan In Guadalajara - https://www.youtube.com/live/tYzpqR2JGwc?feature=share&t=8223
GLEAT (queued to nominated trios match) - https://www.youtube.com/live/_iZ4F23ow8g?feature=share&t=7019
IWRG Tonali vs. Fussion - https://www.youtube.com/live/cmpWmNg1i7E?feature=share&t=3527
Warrior Wrestling - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv09mun-Iiw
CMLL Virus vs. Fugaz - https://www.youtube.com/live/tK88CemNgBE?feature=share&t=3624
NWA PowerrR NWA Tag Team Titles match - https://youtu.be/UEXBpfsgYQM?t=1497

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by John E. Dynamite

[AxB]

I voted for Claudio vs Komander, but everyone should at least try to watch WARHORSE vs Takeshita. It’s a really creative approach to using the space… specifically a (American) Football field with a running track around it. So they use the Down markers and Hurdles, and then go to the rarely seen Charlie Brown spot.

[Marcel]

I'm a sucker for Jon Moxley and Tomohiro Ishii beating people like they stole something. 

When they do it to each other in a match?  Yeah, that's pretty much always going to be my pick.  I could have done without the shoot headbutts, though.

Edited July 3, 2023 by Marcel

[Noah Mark]

I went with the GLEAT 6 man tag match with Miyahara and Chihiro Hashimoto.

[John E. Dynamite]

along with Irie vs. Kane and Hechicero vs. Mephisto I'd also like to admit I shoulda kicked something off the list to make room for Dr. Cerebro vs. Cerebro Negro Jr. which was a real fun young vs. old exchange of llaves that ramped up in intensity well.

https://www.youtube.com/live/cmpWmNg1i7E?feature=share&t=4946The whole show and the vets vs. rookies concept really clicks. Most engaged I've been for a IWRG show in awhile.

[J.T.]

I'll have to go with Hayes vs. Corbin if only because it is the flashpoint for something greater.  The tale of Baron Corbin's soul searching and pending transformation is making for compelling storytelling. 

I haven't been this captivated by booking since the epic saga break-up of the Peter Avalon / Brandon Cutler tag-team on AEW Dark.

[Greggulator]

Sami had himself a week he had a PPV quality match against Gunther. But I am going with the great match he and KO had against Pretty Deadly on Smackdown. Sami and KO were over to an insane degree and made Pretty Deadly look like they could win, but without it looking like a fluke upset. PD came out of the match as legitimate stars. They have an incredible shtick. Masterful job by Sami/KO in finding that balance and huge props to PD for knowing how to heel so well. 

 

[Eivion]

The Raw matches were all generally solid or more, but Sami/Gunther outshined everything with ease. That was damn near on par with the Owens/Gunther match and really makes me hope they rematch for a title on PPV/PLE in the future.

Stratton/Thea was pretty solid with Tiffany and Thea feeding well into each other. Rather curious to see how a rematch down the line would turn out as both keep improving at a steady pace. Dragon/Frazer was unsurprisingly good. Corbin/Hayes way over delivered and was easily the best Corbin match since the King of the Ring feud with Chad Gable. It was a good reminder how talented Corbin actually is.

Ishii/Mox was good. Kind of skipped the other Dynamite matches on the list as they were the least interesting to me on the show.

Shida/Taya was decent. Claudio/Komander was generally good and makes me want to see Claudio have a run in Mexico.

KO/Sami vs. Pretty Deadly was as good as expected with Pretty Deadly getting in a nice performance and showcase despite the loss. Charlotte/Asuka was disappointing considering what the two have delivered in the past. Both women seemed a bit off and the booking for the ending didn't help.

Thought all of the Collision matches were generally solid-good with none of them quite standing out above the rest.

Hiromu/Wato seemed good. Finishing stretch in particular dragged me in though I feel both had better matches during the BOSJ tournament based off the first day and final.

The CMLL 6-women tag was ok. Thought the one from Satanico's anniversary/Fantastica Mania was better. The NJPW tags from the show were pretty fun if nothing special. Virus/Fugaz was damn good stuff.

All of the GLEAT matches were generally solid or more, but that mixed tag with Hashimoto was so damn fun. I really need to see her Kento and Lindaman team again. They gel so well as talented goofballs.

Went with Sami/Gunther in the end since it got less love than expected despite it definitely being the best match this week. Still plenty of quality stuff from all around as usual.