NOAH Kohai 2: The Road to New Sunrise 2020

This review article is part of a series where I Chronicle my attempts to watch all of Pro Wrestling NOAH's 2020 catalogue. The previous article can be found here and the next one chronologically, if I haven't fallen off the reviewing wagon, can be found here. Give them all a read if you want the full context of what I'm talking about.

If you have issues with the fact I use Star Ratings for some of the matches I review here, kindly follow this link for my explanation.

Alright, the biggest show of the year is over with. There's a new singles championship that the entire roster can gun for with the National title, RATELS have control over both of NOAH's Junior titles, and Kongo went 0-2 in their attempt to take over the Heavyweight Division. The next significant show in the timeline, to me, is the New Year's show on January 4th of the cursed year 2020. But that doesn't mean we have nothing to do until then. We have four title matches over the course of three regular shows. On top of that, we have a trio of "Produce" shows run by three of NOAH's factions; RATELS' Showtime, Kongo's DIAMOND, and Sugiura-Gun's All Dogs Gather! (That Exclamation is part of the show name, not reflective of my excitement for the show). 

If I tried to attentively give every match on all of these shows a full blown review I'll probably burn myself out, almost definitely not finish by the time Budokan show gets here. So there's select matches I'll definitely give the full treatment, title matches or important singles matches mostly, but the best I'm probably going to do in between the big shows on my timeline is to glance over and give general feels on the smaller build up shows. I guess, at this point I'm trying to figure out if I can even FINISH before Budokan, I thought the show was on the 21st of February and not the 12th. But the success is in the effort, not the results for this one. Let's get started.

Pro Wrestling NOAH Starting Over, Night 5 November 16th 2019

This was the first show I watched after Aesthetic and I honestly wasn't expecting much, barring the crown jewel match I knew was coming. But, after the first two matches, all three of the 6-man tag matches on the show ended up being really good/ The RATELs/Stinger War was a break neck match which somehow surprised me, Kongo vs Kaito, Marafuji, and Hi69 was a good bounce back performance for Kenoh's unit, and the main event was a great prelude to the National title match coming up between Sugiura and Taniguchi. But the obvious reason anyone would watch this show was-

IPW UK Junior Heavyweight Title [1st Defense]

Atsushi Kotoge (c) (STINGER) vs Daisuke Harada (RATELS)

The Peach Twisters EXPLODE for the...Jesus Christ Daisuke Harada and Atsushi Kotoge have wrestled 34 times. I'm not joking, it's all right here. 

 

Anyway, THIS MATCH RULED. Oh my God this match was so good. It started with Daisuke outmatching Atsushi in the grappling department and keeping on the offense for the opening stretch of the match. Any time Atsushi gained the advantage, it was due to a high risk maneuver or from brawling outside the ring and into the crowd. You can see throughout the whole match that these two men know each other so well; each man at one point went for a splash that was countered with the same knee raising and quick pin, while later in the match each was able to easily avoid or endure the other's sugnature maneuvers. Technical exchanges turned to crowd brawling, which itself turned into an exchange of strikes in the ring. First  Elbows, then slaps, until both men were brought to the ground while the crowd rose to their feet. Finally, Atsushi gained control and almost had Daisuke with a top rope Spanish Fly. This is his one shot and I think he knew it as well. He landed a vicious headbutt on his old friend and a Killswitch for the two count. Desperation set in with some amazing and baffling roll ups from both men. Kotoge's luck ran out, as all luck does against the Young Master, who railed the champion with a knee and rolling elbow, a Katayama German, and finally the infamous top rope Katayama German Suplex for the Three Count. What a Goddamn War.

****

NOAH Kohai: Best of the Best, Battle of Aesthetics

 Happy New Year!

With 2021 coming around the corner, there's a lot of change in my life. I turned 27 a few days ago, just got my MBA from the University at Buffalo, and I'm about to finish buying a condo. With all the shake up in my life, I'm hoping I'll have a lot more time to work on my blog (maybe finally find a good name for it) and watch a lot more wrestling.

I've always called Pro Wrestling NOAH my Soul Mate promotion. Since I started watching it on and off in 2016, I've always felt a connection to it somehow. Maybe I appreciated the story behind it's founding, maybe it's because I like a good underdog story, or maybe (definitely) it's because I followed Katsuhiko Nakajima here from his performance in the 2016 G1 Climax and he immediately won the Heavyweight title at NOAH's next show right after that tournament finished. On the 21st of February, NOAH returns to Budokan hall and I wanna be there...in a metaphorical sense. So I'm planning to take the next month and a half to power through the end of 2019 and all of 2020's shows to get myself ready for the company's return to Budokan. We're starting with their biggest show from 2019 that also had the best name of the year; Battle of Aesthetic.

 

KAZMA SAKAMOTO, El Hijo del Dr. Wager, Jr., and Kinya Okada (Sugiura-Gun) vs Hitoshi Kumano, Mohammed Yone, and Quiet Storm

I wish I could say I payed attention to this match at all, but I used the time this match was on to set up the bones of the review...so Hijo del Dr. Wagner won the match with a Moonsault press that got a lot of hangtime and I miss Hitoshi Kumano.

Akitoshi Saito and Masao Inoue vs Mitsuo Momota and Tamon Honda

This was a comedy match, mostly between Masao Inoue, Momota, and Honda. The moments that Akitoshi came in resembled more of a match than when Inoue was in, but that's about the best I can say about it. No disrespect meant to the four men, but it just wasn't for me. The best part of the match was watching the 71 year old Mitsuo get a pretty complicated roll-up on Masao.

Hi69, Junta Miyawaki, and Osamu Nishimura vs. Hajime Ohara, NOSAWA Rongai, and Kazushi Sakuraba (Sugiura-Gun)

Miyawaki has a shirt here that says ORANGE RIOT and if I can get my hands on it I would like one. A good, fast paced match that mostly got me excited to be watching more Kazushi Sakuraba in the next few months. Actually, this match had more than a few of my low key favorite NOAH roster members in it, including Junta with his creamsicle gear and Hajime Ohara. Definitely can't wait to watch a whole bunch of Junior Heavyweights having respectful, peaceful matches.

Kazushi won the match for Sugiura-Gun with a heel hook into a Figure Four on Nio Hi69.

Masaaki Mochizuki, Minoru Tanaka, and Super Crazy vs. Atsushi Kotoge, Chris Ridgeway (Stinger), and Eddie Edwards

Another good exhibition of the NOAH Junior Heavyweights, mixed in with some outside talent. I was reminded how much I liked Chris Ridgeway and I'm sorry that I wont be seeing much of him in the next month of my watching. Good finishing scramble that left Super Crazy and Eddie Edwards in the ring together. Eddie used the Tiger Driver and a Shining Wizard to put away Crazy...so mixed message there.

Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Shuhei Taniguchi

Alright, the show really starts now; Kenta Mother Loving and Respecting Kobashi is in the commentary booth. 

 

This match was brutal but in an amazing way. To give a really short and probably bastardized rundown, Fujita was an Antonio Inoki prospect and three time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. MMA trained and 1st degree Inokism, I wouldn't want to fuck with Fujita. But Taniguchi, it seems, wants to fuck around with Fujita, taking him down early in the match and punting him in the head. The whole match is characterized by long bouts of Taniguchi having control but occasionally losing it to a much stronger and harder hitting Fujita. Shuhei showed amazing spirit here, more than I have ever seen out of him, and while ultimately coming up short got me to think differently of him. If you prefer your wrestling to be hard hitting, I would go out of your way to watch this short but brutal contest.

 

***3/4 This is a weird case. The high rating is for the intense heat from the crowd moreso than the the actual wrestling. If you watch this match on silent the rating drops hard. But as it is, everyone likes a good outsider dick story.

GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles [6th defense]

Kotaro Suzuki and Yoshinari Ogawa (Stinger) (c) vs. Daisuke Harada and Tadasuke (RATELS)

Oh my God RATELs feels so long ago. The story of this match was an easy one. "AYY! Tadasuke! you can't step up to the plate." At least that's the feeling I got from it. It was otherwise a basic tag team match. Daisuke is NOAH's best Junior Heavyweight in my opinion. I'm torn between wanting him to step up and fight heavyweights and maybe go after the National title or be the Ace for NOAH's junior heavyweights. Match ends with a Lariat/German Suplex combo and a...well, it looks like an Eight Second Ride, James Storm's old finisher, so we'll go with that. Tadasuke gets the pin.

**3/4, but the audio got desync'd on my video towards the end so it might be better.

GHC Junior Heavyweight Title[2nd Defense]

HAYATA (RATELS) (c) vs. YO-HEY (RATELS)

I know I just gushed about Daisuke in the last match, but I would like to take a hot second to gush about my boy HAYATA. I sincerely believe that if they wanted to, NOAH could build the Junior Heavyweights around HAYATA like they could around Daisuke. Maybe he's a little more flashy than the Young Master, but he's got the look and the crowd behind him and the handsome face...yeah, I think HAYATA is handsome, fight me. Early on in the match, HAYATA hit The Headache as YO-HEY was hanging between the ropes and it was terrifying. Both men bring out some serious high flying offense and high impact good shit in pursuit of the blue and silver belt. I was waiting the whole time for the match to slow down but it never really did. It was a great exchange of two men who each knew the other's moves and thought processes. HAYATA eventually planted YO-HEY with a Thrust Kick, a Headache in the middle of the ring (for a 2 count) before going for a moonsault but getting caught with YO-HEY's knees for another 2 count. YO-HEY kept fighting for kickouts, but after another Headache the match was over.

***3/4

GHC Tag Team Title 

Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Masa Kitamiya and Yoshiki Inamura (KONGO)

 First RATELS and now AXIZ. Leave the memories alone, damnit! This is an awesome match up; Brute power from THE TOUGH against the focused technique of AXIZ. The young determination of Yoshiki, the sadism of Nakajima. This match fucking ruled. AXIZ isolating Inamura early for punishment, Nakajima taking joy in humiliating his opponent as he took him apart. Shiozaki got in on the action himself, showing a brutal side we don't often see today (I know it's only been a year but this still holds). The hot tag was eventually made to Masa who came in a house of fighting spirit, vinegar, and fire. He would stay in the rest of the match and get several close falls on both men. The Kongo pair did their best to put AXIZ away, but their raw power and determination couldn't match the skill and focus of their opposition. The match ended the way one would hope, with Nakajima in the ring with his old tag partner and friend, knocking him out with a high roundhouse kick and a Vertical Spike Brainbuster. I can't do this match justice, this is the first match on this show I would highly recommend anyone who's a fan of pro wrestling watch. THIS is NOAH.

****1/2

 

Great Muta vs. Naomichi Marufuji

Alright, I guess we have to cool down from that awesome tag title match we just watched, right?

God bless both these men and bell their knees. They tried but the result of this match was a plodding, gimmick filled match. I love both men (not enough to want Mutoh to win the GHC title at Budokan in a few months( but this wasn't a good match. Quite frankly I don't know how good it could have been. Out of respect to how I feel about Mutoh and how great I know Marufuji's matches normally are, plus what I feel for sure is a match that wasn't structured to be conventionally good, I'll pass on rating this one.Don't watch this one.

GHC National Title Match (vacant)

Takashi Sugiura (Sugiura-Gun) vs. Michael Elgin 

Some one call Big E, cause we're about to have two meat men slapping meat for a Meaty, red strapped title. Great touch in the opening package to show why both men were chosen to be in this crowning match; Sugiura was the losing finalist in the N1 League (missing out on the Main Event tonight) and Michael Elgin killed Marufuji with a Burning Goddamn Hammer at Impact Wrestling's Bound For Glory event the month before. It's rare to see Takashi "Murder Uncle Mk II" Sugiura being the sympathetic wrestler in the match, but for the first part of the match Michael Elgin was able to take it to him hard. When Sugiura got his feet back under him with a big ol' Spear the match became the hard hitting contest I was excited for it to be. In the vein of New Japan's NEVER Title, Big Japan's Strong Divion title, or seemingly any ZERO1 Heavyweight title match, these two men set the pace and the taste that the National Title seemingly promised to give. As the year goes on, we'll see that advertised style be refined and evolve. If you don't like the strike heavy, fighting spirit focused matches of Japanese pro wrestling, this match won't be for you, and that's okay. but if you're all for this kind of wrestling I can't recommend this match enough, An accidentally hilarious exchange saw Elgin his Sugiura with two rolling German Suplexes, shortly before Sugiura got an Ankle Lock. That'd be incidental at best, but Elgin transitioned into a Crossface from being in the Ankle Lock. Which just makes me want to watch Angle/Benoit after this. Not to mention Sugiura going for the Olympic Qualifying Slam a minute later. After failing to put Takashi away with a rocking Lariat and a Post-Bucklebomb Powerbomb, Big Mike went for the Burning Hammer, which you can't do in Misawa's house. His hubris cost him as Sugiura locked in a Guillotine that almost ended that match. The strike exchange at the end of the match lead to two Olympic Qualifying Slams to crown Sugiura the first National Champion.

****1/4 A Hell for Leather (is that how it's said? I dunno) contest that set up the new title extremely well

GHC Heavyweight Title [6th Defense]

Kaito Kiyomiya (c) vs. Kenoh

Okay it was a hell of a struggle to watch this match. I went to go watch this match on Youtube and about ten minutes into the video the audio desyncd. I went onto Dailymotion and found a different version of the match and...okay no Dailymotion's version is way too pixelated on my bigger screen so that one ended up being out, too. Last resort, my hard drive that has this full show on it. Finally, I had a great looking and properly sounded version.

I could watch Kenoh and Kaito feud for the next decade and, hopefully, that seems to be the actual plan. The opening moments of this match were arguably some of the best, with Kenoh belittling Kaito on a rope break that lead to an opening exchange of strikes. The contest was pretty even until Kenoh caught the champion with a rocking DDT on the apron, followed by a scary Double Foot Stomp to the back of Kaito's neck. For the next stretch of the match, Kenoh kept the champion down with submissions and beat downs, letting Kaito only come back with one or two strikes before being smothered once more. Kaito made a proper comeback started with an AMAZING dive from the ring to the floor over the turnbuckle pole onto Kenoh, followed by one of his beautiful top rope dropkicks to the back of Kenoh's head. Shit's on. Both men start going for Tiger Suplexes and Double Foot Stomps, but most miss and the other takes the opportunity to swing the match into their favor off of it. I thought it was over once Kenoh nailed a Dragon Suplex on the apron (Baba help me that was terrifying) but somehow, somehow Kaito managed to kick out. Finally, Kenoh was caught by a trio of dropkicks strait to the face and a par of Tiger Suplexes for the successful defense by Kaito in what was an awesome match that did good by the name of GHC.

****1/4

Was every match on this show a homerun? Not exactly, but every match I expected to be great at the very least met my expectations.I'm really looking forward to watching more of the shows as I carve my way through 2020. I'm really hoping you join me, and that I've convinced at least SOMEONE to watch Pro Wrestling NOAH off this review. Next time, before I watch the New Sunrise show that kicked off NOAH's 2020, I'm going to be taking a look at the handful of shows the company ran in 2019 and give selected recommendations from those shows. Keep a lookout for those!

Thanks for reading! I'm glad that I can turn my passion for wrestling into something that so many people enjoy. If you want to get regular updates on when I release more reviews, you can follow me at Twitter at @LSWayne21. Big shoutout to Hisame, the one woman workhorse translating NOAH news and interviews. You can catch her updates, translations, and overall charm at her Twitter here.
See you down the Road.

G1 Climax 29, B Block Session 2: The Middle Nights

We're two thirds of the way there, and I'm starting to feel the heat. Reviewing 5 really good singles matches every other odd day sounds really great at first, until you try putting that shit in practice. While I don't think it's gonna burn me out like the effort to watch every G1 match last year did, I'm definitely going to need a week or so away from wrestling after this year's tournament wraps up. If you wanna read my thoughts on the first three nights, you can find them here. But, for now, let's get going or I'll never get finished.

G1 Climax Night 8, 7.24.19

Juice Robinson vs. Toru Yano (CHAOS)
Juice Robinson had, at the time, the best match with Yano in the G1 (this wouldn't last). Yano tried to ply his usual tricks, but Juice countered most by just bull rushing through. Pulp Friction put Yano away.
**1/4

Hirooki Goto (CHAOS) vs. Taichi (Suzuki-Gun)


Easily the best match these two have had, out of the three. Taichi tried getting into Goto's mind early by attacking one of the LA Dojo Young Lions, which Goto did not appreciate. The last minute was very good, with Taichi trying to use his mic stand, Goto thwarting it, then landing a Mexican Foul and a Gedo Clutch for the pin. Wish I had more to say, but this was better than I'm making it sound.
 ***1/2

G1 Climax 29, B Block Session 1: The First Three Nights

We are one third of the way through the tournament and it's been...really solid?

I've heard people call it the best tournament of all time. Which is a stretch, especially since last year's G1 was so amazing. I think a lot of people are using last year's G1 as the benchmark to make this claim so...that's a victory for 2018. Anyway, I decided there was no way that I was reviewing both blocks. So I picked B-block due to who was in it and the matches that excited me. I did a preview to the Block you can find here, but now we have to start looking at the tournament itself. Which is below. Let's fucking start this good shit.

G1 Climax Night 2, 7.13.19

Juice Robinson vs. Shingo Takagi (Los Ingobernables de Japon)
This was a weird pick to open the B Block, but in the end it turned out to be a really good, back and forth match. These two have never had a singles match together as far as I know, but what they got from a cold open was actually above anything I could have expected. The crowd was wild and getting really into both men at the finish. Juice picks up the surprise win here with the Pulp Friction after the Left Hand of God.
***1/4

G1 Climax 29: B Block Preview!

Like Andy Williams said, 'It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year'...

Fuck, man. It's the G1 Climax! It's basically the reason I haven't watched any wrestling in a month, and why I probably won't be watching much for the month after it's over. Can't let yourself get burned out. I'm covering the B Block alone here because it's the block that I'll be following in it's entirely this year. If you want to see someone's opinions on A Block, go check out my co-blogger Justin's A Block preview here. Probably 5 people will read this blog and I'm loaded on craft beer. Let's fucking break this down.

"Death Rider"
Jon Moxely
Age: 33
Pro Debut:2004
G1s: 1
Title History: 1x IWGP US heavyweight Champion (Current), 1x WWE Champion, 3x WWE Intercontinental Champion, 1x WWE US Champion, 2x WWE RAW Tag Team Champion, 2x CZW World Heavyweight Champion
Adopted Shota Umino as his son at Dominion this year.
Man, Jon's doing fucking great for himself. I hope he makes it through this tournament unscathed, With Ishii and Cobb in this block, I'm hoping Mox doesn't get dumped on his pretty face too much. As much as I'm looking forward to the singles matches he'll be in, I'm just as excited to see him in the opening tag matches with his new son Shota Umino. Hopefull he can give Shota the edge he needs to one day fight Kaito Kiyomiya and beat him.

"The Flamboyant"
Juice Robinson
Age: 30
Pro Debut:2008
G1s: 3
Title History: 2x IWGP US Heavyweight Champion
Somehow went from too much dread to not enough dread in like two years
Well, Juice has certainly been loose since the last G1. After a run that could be considered "meh" he lost and regained and lost his US title again. I wish I could be more excited for him, but if this year isn't a shot in his arm via major pickups over Naito, Moxley, or Ishii, I don't know what to tell you about him.

Pro Wrestling NOAH Presents: Global Junior Tag League, Night One

Well, it's been a while. Don't really have an excuse, but I'm here now, and I'm gonna be reviewing what I can. So, starting off this fourth(?) run of trying to review wrestling is the first night of Pro Wrestling NOAH's Global Junior Tag League. The downside is that the actual tournament matches on the card tonight were outdone by the semi-main and main event 6-mans that followed them. There is an upside, though, in that this was a perfect show that a non-fan of NOAH could jump in on. What do I mean by that? Hopefully once you've heard me talk about this card you'll see why.

Akitoshi Saito, Masao Inoue and Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Mitsuya Nagai and 50 Funky Powers (Mohammed Yone and Quiet Storm)
I think the best thing I can say about this match is that it was inoffensive. There was nothing in this match that would cause someone to not keep watching the show, but I also wouldn't highly recommend it to anyone. It's the opener, what're you gonna do. Taniguchi eventually got the submission on Quiet Storm with some kind of Hammerlock Camel Clutch.
**

Tadasuke (RATELS) vs. Yoshiki Inamura (Kongoh)
Yoshiki is, or was, one of the local Young Boys in NOAHand he's only been here for less than a year. Although he's now in Kongoh (more on these glorious bastards later) I don't know whether his graduation was official or not. Here he squared off against Tadasuke of RATELS, who I've always subconciously classified as "the other RATEL" between him and his three stablemates. Inamura had a really fun match with Yuji Hino at the finals of the Tag League in early MAy I suggest you try and find, but this match turned out to be alright. Yoshiki landed an Oklahoma Stampede, getting brownie points from me, and went for what looked like a copy of Yuji Hino's FUCKING BOMB, which I will henceforth refer to as the GODDAMN BOMB if it becomes a regular thing. Tadasuke got out of the attempted plagiarism and after some quick pin attempts he nailed the rookie in the back with an elbow and got the pin with some kind of clutch. A neat match that did a good job at showcasing Inamura, even in loss.
**1/2

This Month on The Online, January 2019

Wrestling in America right now is fucking awesome.

I know that that seems kind of moronic to say, but to me it's true. I've been so buried in New Japan for the past few years, I haven't really been paying attention to the American companies. I knew Impact was not only still alive, but doing good, that ROH was recently signing like a dozen new, major stars, and that a company named Major League Wrestling vaguely existed. well, with a new year came a new interest in getting away from New Japan. At least in terms of being my entire focus. I've wanted to do articles like this ever since I started Falcon Arrow Emporium, and I'm glad I finally got to do it starting in 2019. A few things to have in mind as you read my Top 10.

1) I'm new to this format, so if I seem jumbled and disjointed in my recaps, that's why. I'm much more used to reviewing full shows. Hopefully I'll get better as I continue this.
2) I'm only watching ROH, Impact, and MLW right now, because those are easy for me to watch and easy for me to get into with the familiar faces and convenient methods of watching. I might watch more companies in the future, but for now these are the only groups I'll be watching.
3) This is my opinion, the way every wrestling fan has an opinion. My taste isn't yours or the next readers. I'm just letting people know what matches I recommend from the given month, this isn't me trying to make a definite list of final quality.

Got it? Cool, let's get going.

10) Rich Swann vs. El Hijo de Vikingo
Impact Wrestling, 1.25.19
Taking the lowest spot this month is a match featuring a wrestler who was instantly made in my eyes. Before watching this episode of Impact, I had no idea who El Hijo de Vikingo (SON OF THE FUCKING VIKING) was. After this match I think I need to find more of him. He was pretty good here and he has a look that speaks to me on a styles clashing level. This was also the first match of the Impacts that took place in Mexico, and this crowd was just alive. Rich Swann was dominant for most of it, breaking down with Vikingo trying everything he had in the end, before Rich 450'd him from the middle rope, which was like 4 feet in the air.

9) Moose vs. Brian Cage
Impact Wrestling, 1.18.19
If you like Hoss Fights, this was your big match of the month. Moose probably shattered his hand chopping the ring post outside at some point, based on the noise it made. It effected him through the whole match, but he was still able to hold control for most of it. But Cage is, in fact, a fucking Machine, and he was able to come back and nail Moose (who is 6'5" and almost 300 lbs.) with a Drill Claw (Which is the Steiner Screwdriver, so Jesus Christ). Low on the list but I still heavily enjoyed it.

8) The Rascalz vs. The Lucha Bros.
Impact Wrestling, 1.11.19
I didn't really know who the Rascalz were before I started watching wrestling this month, but they've really started impressing me, despite the Rufio/Lost Boys thing they do all the damn time. Not much to talk about here, just a wild, 800 moves at 70 miles an hour. Lucha Bros. are awesome, and I hope they get those fat AEW checks for a long time.

7) Dragon Lee vs. Rich Swann
Major League Wrestling, 1.12.19
Major League wrestling breaks Impact's hold on this month's top ten with a real great opener from a few weeks ago. What starts as an even contest of sportsmanship is turned quickly by Swann as he takes the liberties he saws fit to steal. Dragon Lee came back from it though, and eventually pinned his opponent after a Suplex into a powerbomb that has a name I don't trust myself to type properly. Fun match, places higher than 8 by the virtue of Swann taking over for most and Dragon making a good show of coming back.

6)Sami Callihan vs. Willie Mack
Impact Wrestling, 1.11.19
A rematch from the Pay-Per-View the previous Sunday. Sami and Willie fought for a series of roll ups towards the end, before Sami went for a Piledriver that Mack countered for a roll-up pinfall. Better than the match from the previous night in my mind, both of these men could step up and be contenders for the Heavyweight title in Impact, or any other company, whenever they really wanted to. Not as Hoss a Hoss fight as Number 9, but a better match than Moose and Cage by virtue of the final minutes in the ring.

5) Low Ki vs. Fred Yehi for the MLW Heavyweight Championship
Major League Wrestling, 1.12.19
The first MLW match on the list and the first title match. Low Ki is some kind of next level when it comes to presentation, if this past month of MLW has shown me anything. This title defense came on the same show as Tommy Dreamer and Brian Pillman caning each other (more on that later) and kind of came out of nowhere to me. It was a great, tense match that had the definite air of a heavyweight title match. Unfortunately, Fred Yehi was definitely not as ready for Low Ki as he needed to be to even survive. Despite being kicked around for a good part of the match, Fred managed to try and take it to the champion, but it proved futile a lot of the time. Low Ki seemed 2 steps ahead of him at most points. Ki caught Fred on the top rope, threw him down, and Double Foot Stomped him. Would have liked to see it go longer, but what we got was still good.

4) Tracey Williams vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
Ring of Honor, 1.11.19
I fucking love technical wrestling, and I'm going to be very bias at times on these lists. But I believe even beyond my bias this was a fantastic match. I really can't go into detail with a match like this because I'd just be going " And then Zack put him in a hold, then Tracey escaped and put him in a hold, then Zack tried escaping and-" yeah you get it. Match ends with Zack locking in...
Hold on, lemme find the proper name...

"Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than the Last; The Inexorable March of Progress Will Lead Us All to Happiness"

...Wait, all these wacky submissions have names?


3) Brian Pillman, Jr. vs Tommy Dreamer, Singapore Cane Match
Major League Wrestling, 1.12.19
Told you this one was coming back.
 Let me make it public right now. I love Brian Pillman, Jr. I love him as much as a heterosexual man can love another heterosexual pro wrestler he may never actually meet. I wasn't a wrestling fan while his father was still alive, but I'm a fan for this glorious fucker. I'm not one for no-DQ style matches, especially halfway through a feud, but this one was great. All you needed was both men's promos before the match to grasp the general feel of the match. Brian came out in like 4 layers of clothing that were ceremoniously stripped as the match went on. I didn't think I'd be a hyped for the match as a whole as I ended up being, I've been weary of Tommy for a while now. But I'm glad I was proven wrong. Pillman won with a Strait Jacket Neckbreaker after going back and forth with Tommy with the canes and various other plunder. This match is on Youtube for free,GWN or Honorclub needed. Go fucking watch it.

2) Johnny Impact vs. Killer Kross, Street Fight
Impact Wrestling, 1.11.19

Taking the silver medal this month is not, in fact, the Impact Heavyweight title match from the end of the month. Rather, its Johnny Impact and Killer Kross' Street Fight from a few weeks prior. If there's one wrestler I'm really hot on since watching Impact again, it's Kross. I demand a Low Ki and Killer Kross match with UWFi rules. We need this on the next Jericho Cruise. This fight was great in showcasing Johnny as the big dog in house (even though he fucked Cage over at Homecoming) and Kross came out as a dominant force that could take the title, really at any time he wanted to. They fought outside for a long time, they had a lot of good exchanges in the ring, copious plunder was introduced, and none of it really felt out of place. Impact almost had Kross, before Moose of #9 fame ran in to distract the champion long enough to give Kross the time to hook in a Rear Naked Choke. I loved this match, and I almost put it as number one. But, after watching this match and the eventual number one, I couldn't make that choice.

1) So Cal Uncensored vs. The Briscoes for the ROH Tag team Championships
Ring of Honor, 1.11.19

When I first watched this match, I kind of knew that this wouldn't be topped. All action, all hype, completely ROH Tag title style. The fans ate it up the entire way through. It started hot and heavy with SCU giving no fucks throwing chairs in the ring. Briscoes, not liking to take any kind of shit without throwing some themselves, responded in kind with weapons. SCU tried everything to get their tag titles back within the scope of the rules, and several times it looked like they were going to get their belts back. But the Briscoes persisted, as they do, eliminating Scorpio Sky from the equation with a Jay Driller, leaving Frankie alone to fight off the champions. He put a great fight, getting up when most people really would've chosen to stay down, but was finally planted with a Powerbomb/Neckbreaker combination for the pin. It wasn't the biggest technical showcase, or maybe the match with the biggest personal issue, or involving my favorite wrestlers, but this match had the air of a war, and the crowd was insane and fueled on bloodshed and violence the whole way.


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All of Impact Wrestling's shows are archived on Global Wrestling Network 
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