2015 Lucha

Promociones Cara Lucha - 01.01.2015 

El Hijo de Fishman, Flamita & Sky Man vs. El Hijo del Fantasma, Fenix & Pentagon Jr.

THAT MATCH! That interpromotional heat! That violence!
Pentagon in indy is one of my favorites things in westling. He's over as hell and destroys random fuckers. What more can you ask? Flamita and Fenix just hate each other and it's awesome. The AAA trio is ruthless.
Cara Lucha seems to book great matches, it's too bad so little is available. Need more.
I love this match.
****3/4

CMLL Super Viernes - 09.01.2015 

Lightning Match 
Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi

Short and sweet. Not as good as their previous match but if the mask stuff means they will have a mascara match, these two in a longer match with drama, it could be truly great. Whatever they'll do I look forward to it anway.
***1/2

CMLL Domingos Arena Mexico - 25.01.2015 

Goya Kong, La Vaquerita & Skadi vs. La Comandante, La Seductora & Zeuxis

It was all fine but nothing especially great. Zeuxis is one more time the MVP of the match, a singles match against Goya Kong could be good. It's not planned but this match make me think about that.
***

2015 MOTY list

The Best Of Yoshihiro Takayama

*****

****3/4

****1/2

****1/4

****

Yoshihiro Takayama (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (IWGP Heavyweight Title Match - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior X - Tag 15 - 10.06.2003)

***3/4

G1 Climax 2003 - Day 1

NJPW G1 Climax 2003 - Tag 1 - 10.08.2003

G1 Climax 2003 Block B Match 
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Shibata was awesome attacking Nakamura non stop. Shinskay comeback was good too. Pretty impressive for 2 ROOKIES.
***3/4

G1 Climax 2003 Block B Match 

Yuji Nagata vs. Yutaka Yoshie 

Nagata kicking a fattie! But Yoshie is not going down to some fucking kicks and the crowd loves him. He was really good here. Loved this. MOTN
****

G1 Climax 2003 Block A Match 

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Manabu Nakanishi 

They didn't click, too much sloppyness here. Still an enjoyable match but nothng special.
**3/4

G1 Climax 2003 Block A Match 

Masahiro Chono vs. Osamu Nishimura 

A 2003 Chono singles match going 25 minutes may not seems really appealing but if someone can pull it off it's Nishimura... and he did. Good legwork, the kneedrop is an awesome visual.
***1/2

G1 Climax 2003 Block B Match 

Tadao Yasuda vs. Yoshihiro Takayama

Yasuda is bad. Takayama's offense make the match watchable but my god Yasuda is garbage and he's dangerous too.
**

G1 Climax 2003 Block A Match 

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Jun Akiyama

NOAH Akiyama invades New Japan! Tenzan is good at hitting his signature spots and the crowd popped for everyone of them. Akiyama was really good here.
***3/4

The Best Of Yuji Nagata

The Best Of Hiroyoshi Tenzan 

More Tenzan!

NJPW Ultimate Crush - 02.05.2003 

IWGP Heavyweight Title No#1 Contender Match 
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

A bit uninspired, a few strikes by Tenzan, a few nearfalls by Tanahashi, a nice finish and that's pretty much it. Still good.
**3/4

NJPW Best Of The Super Junior X - Tag 15 - 10.06.2003 

IWGP Heavyweight Title Match 
Yoshihiro Takayama (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

I really really liked this one. I loved the fact that a quick flurry by Takayama can end the match anytime. The crowd is great and wants Tenzan to finaly win the title. Takayama is just so good.
****

The Best Of Hiroyoshi Tenzan 

The Best Of Yuji Nagata

****3/4

NJPW The 2nd Judgement! - 14.12.2000 Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata vs. Masanobu Fuchi & Toshiaki Kawada

****1/2

****1/4

****

Yuji Nagata vs. Yutaka Yoshie (G1 Climax 2003 Block B Match - NJPW G1 Climax 2003 - Tag 1 - 10.08.2003)

Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 7 ~ Evolution ~ - 04.01.2013)
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Captain New Japan & Yuji Nagata (NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXI - Tag 8 - 08.06.2014) 

Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomoaki Honma & Yuji Nagata (NJPW Dominion 6.21 - 21.06.2014)

***3/4 

Kensuke Sasaki & Yuji Nagata vs. Kazuo Yamazaki & Shinya Hashimoto (WCW Tag Team Title Contenders League Final Match - NJPW G1 Climax Special 1998 - Tag 11 - 21.09.1998)

Happy New Year

ZERO1 Happy New Year - 01.01.2015

Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Yoshikazu Yokoyama

3 minutes of K-HASH stifffness! YEAH!

ZERO1 International Junior Heavyweight Title / ZERO1 World Junior Heavyweight Title Three Way Match
Jason Lee (c) vs. Atsushi Maruyama vs. Mineo Fujita

A bunch of comedic low blows and Mineo Fujita gorgeous hair make a fine little affair.

Daemon-gun (Daemon Ueda & KAMIKAZE), Kengo & VM Mask #15 vs. Dangan Yankees (Fujita Hayato, Ikuto Hidaka, Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto)

Half the match is clipped so I won't rate it but decent action. The Dangan Yankees 4 men are a pretty cool team.

Atsushi Onita, Dump Matsumoto & Ichiro Yaguchi vs. Voodoo Murders (TARU & YASSHI) & Voodoo Mask

Once again the match is too clipped. Good enough for what it was, look at the name, you know you won't get high workrate here.

Five vs. Five Tournament Match
Akebono, Daisuke Sekimoto, Ryouji Sai, Takashi Sugiura & Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Hideki Suzuki, Kohei Sato, Masato Tanaka, Shinjiro Otani & Yusaku Obata

This is clearly a one match show so all of the previous matches were heavily clipped because of the Main Event. It's a gauntlet match, it needed time and it got 1 hour.

I didn't care for the Tanaka vs Sugiura match up and this is the one who got the most time. Hideki Suzuki was a bit disappointing, he looked really good in AJPW but I don't know something was off here, he didn't adapt well to short matches. Ryouji Sai was bad.

However, I liked the Royal Rumble countdown and loved Takayama starting. He's not really agile anymore but his elbows are still fucking STIFF. Sekimoto was good as always. Obata part was really enjoyable. Otani did a couple of great things like refusing to go down on some chops by helping himself with the ropes. And the more I see them the more I love Akebono big slaps.

It was not a bad match but I don't really recommend it. If you don't know what to watch it's an ok hour of wrestling. If you don't know any of those men tho, just don't watch it, it's not a must see at all. Now that I think about it I really liked the first 3 matches of that gauntlet. An enjoyable show overall, just nothing to remember.

Black Justice?

NJPW Fighting Spirit 1996 - Tag 13 - 18.02.1996

Kensuke Sasaki, Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Otani vs. Kazuo Yamazaki, Tokimitsu Ishizawa & Yuji Nagata

Good shooty match a lot of hate and future big names with a nice armbar by Sasaki.
***1/4

NJPW G1 Climax Special 1998 - Tag 11 - 21.09.1998

WCW Tag Team Title Contenders League Final Match
Kensuke Sasaki & Yuji Nagata vs. Kazuo Yamazaki & Shinya Hashimoto

The video unfortunately starts 7 minutes into the match. I liked the sudden shoot style finish. The WCW tag title mach never happened... that's WCW at the end of 1998 for ya. Too bad I would have loved to see any of those men against Judy Bagwell.
***3/4

NJPW G1 Climax Special 1998 - Tag 13 ~ Big Wednesday - 23.09.1998

IWGP Heavyweight Title Match (vakant)
Scott Norton vs. Yuji Nagata

I didn't like this. Scott Norton no sell way too much shit and make Nagata look bad. I've heard good things about Norton but never seen much and this doesn't encourage me to watch more of him. He was dull. The match is just uninteresting.

WCW Monday NITRO #139 - 11.05.1998

Scott Norton vs. Yuji Nagata (w/Sonny Onoo)

The match don't last 2 minutes it's really short but it's enough for Norton to no sell his way into the finish. Missed by the director who rather show Sonny Onoo clapping which he did during all the match. 

The Best Of Hiroyoshi Tenzan

****1/4

Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NJPW Explosion '07 - 08.10.2007)

Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match - NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Tag 7 - 01.08.2014)

****

Yoshihiro Takayama (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (IWGP Heavyweight Title Match - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior X - Tag 15 - 10.06.2003)

***3/4 

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kensuke Sasaki (G1 Climax 1997 Final Match - NJPW G1 Climax 1997 - Tag 3 - 03.08.1997)

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Jun Akiyama (G1 Climax 2003 Block A Match - NJPW G1 Climax 2003 - Tag 1 - 10.08.2003)

I've watched some Tenzan

NJPW G1 Climax 1997 - Tag 3 - 03.08.1997 

G1 Climax 1997 Semi Final Match 

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shinya Hashimoto

I liked it but didn't loved it. Somme stuff was great like Tenzan doing the Triangle Choke. Really good finishing run too.
***1/4

NJPW G1 Climax 1997 - Tag 3 - 03.08.1997 

G1 Climax 1997 Final Match 

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kensuke Sasaki

Short match, especially for the final of a big tournament like that. But a relly well done. What makes this is the selling of the beatdown Hashimoto gave to Tenzan with the bloody mouth and ear to help. I'm probably making that up but when the bell ring Sasaki hesitate one microsecond and that was enough to Tenzan running to attack him. And after this first burst of offense he already was exausted. Good storytelling.
***3/4

NJPW Explosion '07 - 08.10.2007 

Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

Maybe I'm crazy but as of right now I consider his 2 matches agains Goto as the 2 best matches of Tenzan. Too bad they did not crossed path more than that. Tenzan is highier in the hierarchy but Goto came back from Mexico and is in a winning streak. And once the blood came you won't be able to not root for Goto. And he bled a lot which ads even more drama. This is GREAT.
****1/4

2014 MOTYCs rewatch #2: The Lion and The Gorilla

NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Tag 1 - 21.07.2014

G1 Climax 2014 Block A Match
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma

The ace of the company vs the biggest underdog. Tanahashi is so good at playing the BOSS. This is great.
****1/4

NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Tag 5 - 28.07.2014

G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match 

Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito 

They keep it short and it was for the best as it is their second best match together if I'm not forgeting one. The best being the first one, obviously. Good fast paced action. Ok, now I want to rewatch their 2012 match.
****

NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Tag 7 - 01.08.2014

G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match
Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

I've not seen a lot of Tenzan matches but this is the best one (this or his match against Tenryu) and the fact that it hapens in 2014 is pretty crazy. The Korakuen is rooting hard for him to pull the upset, the hope spots are perfectly timed, Goto is really good in his role but it's the Tenzan show. Maybe I need to see more of his work in his prime.
****1/4

PWG Battle Of Los Angeles 2014 - Tag 2 - 30.08.2014

Battle Of Los Angeles 2014 First Round Match 

Chris Hero vs. Matt Sydal 

My first review not from Japan! I don't only watch japanese stuff fyi. Maybe the best Hero match since his return in the indy. In the words of the great Scott Steiner, he's fat. And they acknowledge the size diferent, wich make this instantly better than most indy matches. It was not perfect but Hero playing the big guy that he is was nice to see.

***1/2

PWG Battle Of Los Angeles 2014 - Tag 2 - 30.08.2014

Battle Of Los Angeles 2014 First Round Match 

Adam Cole vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Adam Cole is such a dick. And it's really what makes this match. Zack Sabre is his usual self, really good excution but not much on the emotion side. With his World of Sport stuuf his more than welcomed in PWG or any indy company tbh. Good.

***1/2

PWG Battle Of Los Angeles 2014 - Tag 2 - 30.08.2014

Battle Of Los Angeles 2014 First Round Match 

ACH vs. Kenny Omega

The comedy/parody part was awesome and the more classic parts were good too but not good enough to put it on my list tho. Omega played a fine agressor. They did a lot of stuff that could turn people off but I liked it.
***3/4

2014 MOTY list

2015 Top 10 Shows Of The Year

1. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 In Tokyo Dome - 04.01.2015
2. NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2015 - Tag 6 - 19.01.2015
3. DDT Sweet Dreams 2015 - 25.01.2015
4. NJPW The New Beginning In Osaka - 11.02.2015
5. NJPW The New Beginning In Sendai - 14.02.2015
6. NJPW New Japan Cup 2015 - Tag 7 - 15.03.2015
7. Lucha Underground #1.19 - 18.03.2015
8. NJPW New Japan Cup 2015 - Tag 3 - 08.03.2015
9. DDT Saitama Super DDT 2015 - 15.02.2015
10. WWE WrestleMania 31 - 29.03.2015

Everybody should watch DDT!!!

DDT New Year's Gift Special 2015 - 03.01.2015

Kota Umeda vs. Shunma Katsumata

Nice short rookie match.

Hoshitango, Makoto Oishi & Shuji Ishikawa vs. Smile Squash (Akito & Yasu Urano) & Gota Ihashi

Akito vs Makoto Oishi for the DDT Extreme Title will hapened on the next korakuen show the 25th (as well as HARASHIMA, Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo vs. Daisuke Sekimoto, Kota Ibushi & Yuji Okabayashi) these two are gonna kill it on the mat, I'm hyped. 

Six Man Tag Team Iron Man Heavy Metal Title Match
Antonio Honda, Soma Takao & Yoshihiko (c) vs. DJ Nira, Masa Takanashi & Saki Akai

DJ Nira finally  found someone he can bully... Yoshihiko! After the match we've got a surprise appearance by Aja Kong, she will be at Saitama Super Arena, this card keep getting better and better.

Super Sasadango Machine & Super Sasadango Machine #2 vs. T2Hide (Sanshiro Takagi & Toru Owashi)

Super Sasadango Machine #2 is portrayed by Bernard Ackah. They keep parodying Lucha Libre and I've got to say that's pretty funny. The shitty shoulder block make me smile everytime.

KO-D Six Man Tag Team Title Match
Brahman Brothers (Brahman Kei & Brahman Shu) & Gorgeous Matsuno (c) vs. Golden Storm Riders (Daisuke Sasaki, Kota Ibushi & Suguru Miyatake)

The longest match of the show and the best. SO. MUCH. FUN. Highly recommended.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Tomomitsu Matsunaga

Matsunage try to show some personality, hitting big moves and targeting the back of Takeshita. Good selling. Nice little match.

Kazuki Hirata vs. Yukio Sakaguchi

A great example of the advantage to have so strong characters, the start of the match is just magic. 

KUDO vs. MIKAMI

Vintage MIKAMI! They did some stuff with a ladder, it adds a little variety to the show, why not.

HARASHIMA vs. Tetsuya Endo

Good sprint. Showing that this two could have a great title match/Main Event. I really like Endo, more than Takeshita tbh.

Michael Nakazawa vs. Shigehiro Irie

Second longest match of the show. Irie is one of my favorite wrestlers in the world. Irie should win this but Nakazawa is trying to prove himself and really want the win. Good.

Thirty Four Man Tag Team Match
Happy Motel (Antonio Honda, Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo), Brahman Brothers (Brahman Kei & Brahman Shu), Team Dream Futures (Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao), T2Hide (Kazuki Hirata, Sanshiro Takagi & Toru Owashi), Gorgeous Matsuno, Hoshitango, Kota Umeda, Makoto Oishi, MIKAMI, Shuji Ishikawa & Yoshihiko vs. Smile Squash (Akito, HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano), Shuten Doji (KUDO, Masa Takanashi & Yukio Sakaguchi), Golden Storm Riders (Daisuke Sasaki, Kota Ibushi & Suguru Miyatake), Bernard Ackah, DJ Nira, Gota Ihashi, Michael Nakazawa, Saki Akai, Shunma Katsumata, Super Sasadango Machine & Tomomitsu Matsunaga

34 wrestlers in a 8 minutes match and yes... Hirata did his dance. 

My review is maybe shitty but all the matches are really short and I'm not sure wat to say about them. I post about ot anyway becaus this is the perfect show to start watching DDT: the start of a new year, they're hyping their next big show, a lot of short matches perfect for familiarize yourself with the roster, the complete wackyness of the KO-D Six Man Tag Team Title, Yoshihiko, a ludicrous stipulation in the main event, TLDR = Come on now, watch DDT!

Hansen vs Kobashi in 2015! Kind of!

AJPW New Year Wars 2015 - Tag 2 - 03.01.2015

Naoya Nomura, Yohei Nakajima & Yuma Aoyagi vs. Masanobu Fuchi, Ultimo Dragon & Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Classic rookie stuff, nothing special.
**

Atsushi Aoki vs. Soma Takao

Aoki work over the back of Takao, I'm not a fan of these two (especially Aoki) but this was a good little match, simple and short.
***

GAORA TV Title Match
KENSO (c) vs. Ryuji Hijikata

Not interesting at all, probably should have skipped this one.
**

Akebono, Shigehiro Irie & Shuji Ishikawa vs. Jun Akiyama, SUSHI & Takao Omori

I really enjoyed this. Irie, Ishikawa and Akiyama in the same match... of course I liked it! Akebono was good too.
***1/4

Evolution (Hikaru Sato & Suwama) vs. Shingo Takagi & Zeus

Meh, this should have been better, nobody looked particularly good.
**1/2

All Asia Tag Team Title Match
Xceed (Kento Miyahara & Kotaro Suzuki) (c) vs. Mitsuya Nagai & Takeshi Minamino

At times Dark Kingdom fuckerys felt like AAA rudos stuff. Even if he's not great at showing emotions I loved angry Miyahara here. Sure, it was not perfect but I enjoy this a lot.
***1/2

Triple Crown Title Match
Joe Doering (c) vs. Go Shiozaki

THAT WAS GREAT! Big man crossbody, a bunch of clubbing blow, CHOPS, LARIATS, insane finishing run, suspense, a public who cares, great selling by Joe, Joe in general was really good here, all of that while staying a David vs Goliath match,... WATCH IT! MOTYC!
****1/4

Solid start of the year for AJPW, you absolutely should watch the Main Event, the semi main you could hate it or love it, depending on your taste but watch that Joe vs Go!

2015 MOTY list

The Raw After WrestleMania of Japan

NJPW New Year Dash 2015 - 05.01.2015

Suzuki-gun (Taichi & TAKA Michinoku) vs. Sho Tanaka & Tiger Mask

Classic New Japan opener with a Young Lion. Sho Tanaka looked good.
**1/2

Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero vs. reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly)

The worst association of last night 4way and it's still good. I tought the Forever Hooligan shenanigans were enjoyable here.
***

Suzuki-gun (Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki, Shelton Benjamin & Takashi Iizuka) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima),Captain New Japan, Manabu Nakanishi & Tomoaki Honma

Suzuki is back to black. Decent brawl but nothing amazing.
**1/2

NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title Match
Jushin Thunder Liger (c) vs. El Desperado

Really disappointing. I did get a bit excited when they announced this match, after all it's Liger defending a title in Korakuen. I'm not sure why but I expected Liger and Desperado to have good chemistry and well... it wasn't the case. Desperado is just dull. The work over of the arm wasn't interesting. Selling was ok tough.
**1/2

Team PWG BULLET CLUB (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA) & Ryusuke Taguchi

Taguchi lose his title but he just don't give a fuck. The crowd can't help but like the Bucks. Good little Jr. match. It was nice to see this kind of pin ending a match.
***1/4 

BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga) vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano)

The selling of Okada and Tonga chasing Yano around are enough for me to like it. With better aggressors this could have been something special. Not the finish one would expect.
**1/2

CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Kota Ibushi, Togi Makabe & Yuji Nagata

The Nakamura/Ibushi chemistry, Ishii/Makabe continuing to run into each other, Yoshi being Yoshi and Nakamura trying to earn a title shot. MOTN.
***1/4

BULLET CLUB (AJ Styles, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Katsuyori Shibata & Tetsuya Naito

Before the match, Cody Hall is introduced as the young boy of Bullet Club. A road show Main Event by the numbers but eh, they are so good and charismatic it worked. AJ is really over, I won't be surprised if he gets the IWGP Heavyweight Title back.
***1/4

None of the matches are worth to get out of you way to see but it's still an enjoyable show to watch in full. The 2 Main Events for The New Begining Shows announced, the debut of Cody Hall, the Okada storyline, a newsworthy show. 

2015 MOTY list

1. Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Kota Ibushi (IWGP Intercontinental Title Match - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 In Tokyo Dome - 04.01.2015)
2. El Hijo de Fishman, Flamita & Sky Man vs. El Hijo del Fantasma, Fenix & Pentagon Jr. (Promociones Cara Lucha - 01.01.2015)
3. Shuji Ishikawa (c) vs. Yuji Okabayashi (BJW Strong World Heavyweight Title Match - BJW - 02.02.2015)
4. Go Shiozaki (c) vs. Zeus (Triple Crown Title Match - AJPW Excite Series 2015 - Tag 1 - 07.02.2015)
5. Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NEVER Openweight Title Match (vakant) - NJPW The New Beginning In Sendai - 14.02.2015)
6. Fenix vs. Mil Muertes (Grave Consequences Casket Match - Lucha Underground #1.19 - 18.03.2015)
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada (IWGP Heavyweight Title Match - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 In Tokyo Dome - 04.01.2015)
8. La Resistencia (Kilvan, Rey Lobo Jr., Shadow & Yoruba) vs. Los Tortugas Ninja (Leo, Mike, Rafy & Teelo) (Promociones Cara Lucha - 07.03.2015)
9. Hideki Suzuki vs. Masakatsu Funaki (ZERO1_FOURTEEN - 01.03.2015)
10. Mascara Dorada vs. Negro Casas (CMLL World Welterweight Title Tournament Final Match (vakant) - CMLL - 02.01.2015)
11. Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns (WWE World Heavyweight Title Triple Threat Match - WWE WrestleMania 31 - 29.03.2015)
12. El Barbaro Cavernario vs. Rey Cometa (NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2015 - Tag 6 - 19.01.2015)
13. Chris Hero vs. Drew Gulak (PWG From Out Of Nowhere - 27.02.2015)
14. Happy Motel (Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo) & HARASHIMA vs. Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) & Kota Ibushi (DDT Sweet Dreams 2015 - 25.01.2015)
15. Ethan Carter III vs. Rockstar Spud (Hair Vs. Hair Match - IMPACT Wrestling #556 - 13.03.2015)
16. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. BULLET CLUB (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) (IWGP Tag Team Title Match - NJPW The New Beginning In Osaka - 11.02.2015)
17. Joe Doering (c) vs. Go Shiozaki (Triple Crown Title Match - AJPW New Year Wars 2015 - Tag 2 - 03.01.2015)
18. Monster Express (Masato Yoshino & Syachihoko BOY) (c) vs. Jimmyz (Jimmy Kagetora & Jimmy Susumu) (Open The Twin Gate Title Match - Dragon Gate The Gate Of Passion 2015 - Tag 4 - 09.04.2015)
19. Brock Lesnar (c) vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins (WWE World Heavyweight Title Triple Threat Match - WWE Royal Rumble 2015 - 25.01.2015)
20. Akito (c) vs. Makoto Oishi (DDT Extreme Title No Rope Escape Match - DDT Sweet Dreams 2015 - 25.01.2015)
21. Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) vs. Twin Towers (Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa) (BJW - 02.01.2015)
22. Chris Hero vs. Drew Gulak (EVOLVE 38 - 08.03.2015)
23. Delta, Dragon Lee & Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. El Sagrado, Kamaitachi & Misterioso II (CMLL Super Viernes - 06.03.2015)
24. La Sombra vs. Mascara Dorada (NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2015 - Tag 6 - 19.01.2015)
25. Star Jr. vs. Virus (CMLL Sabados De Coliseo - 17.01.2015) 
26. AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 In Tokyo Dome - 04.01.2015)
27. The Monster Mafia (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) (PWG From Out Of Nowhere - 27.02.2015)
28. BULLET CLUB (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) (c) vs. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata (IWGP Tag Team Title Match - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 In Tokyo Dome - 04.01.2015)
29. Kota Ibushi vs. Tomoaki Honma (NJPW The New Beginning In Osaka - 11.02.2015)
30. Bobby Roode vs. Eric Young (Last Man Standing Match - IMPACT Wrestling #556 - 13.03.2015)
31. Kamaitachi vs. Valiente (Lightning Match - CMLL - 23.01.2015)
32. Happy Motel (Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo) (c) vs. Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) (KO-D Tag Team Title Match - DDT Saitama Super DDT 2015 - 15.02.2015)
33. Drew Galloway vs. Roderick Strong (EVOLVE 36 - 09.01.2015)
34. Big R Shimizu vs. T-Hawk (Dragon Gate The Gate Of Passion 2015 - Tag 4 - 09.04.2015)
35. Blue Panther, Triton & Valiente vs. Bobby Zavala, Hechicero & Luciferno (CMLL Martes Arena Mexico - 24.03.2015)
36. Daisuke Harada vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (16 Carat Gold Tournament 2015 Quarter Final Match - wXw 16 Carat Gold 2015 - Tag 2 - 07.03.2015)
37. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) (c) vs. Roppongi Vice (Beretta & Rocky Romero) (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match - NJPW Invasion Attack 2015 - 05.04.2015)
38. Maximo, Valiente, Marco Corleone vs. Ephesto, Mephisto, Cavernario (CMLL - 08.02.2015)
39. Rob Conway (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NWA World Heavyweight Title Match - NJPW The New Beginning In Sendai - 14.02.2015)
40. Sho Tanaka & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yohei Komatsu (NJPW New Japan Cup 2015 - Tag 3 - 08.03.2015)
41. Kankuro Hoshino vs. Masashi Takeda (Ikkitousen Death Match Survivor 2015 Block A G-Shock Death Match - BJW Ikkitousen Death Match Survivor 2015 - Tag 1 - 10.03.2015)
42. Act Yasukawa, Koguma & Nanae Takahashi vs. Mayu Iwatani, Reo Hazuki & Yoshiko (Stardom New Year Stars 2015 - 11.01.2015)
43. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Shinsuke Nakamura) & Polvora vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Mistico & Stigma (NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2015 - Tag 6 - 19.01.2015)

2014 MOTYCs rewatch #1 The Power of White Pants

I'll rewatch some stuff to know if I should put him in my MOTY list and/or in what place. I'm gonna try to do a top 100. Starting with 3 Lance Archer matches in the G1 Climax.

NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Tag 2 - 23.07.2014
G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match
Lance Archer vs. Tetsuya Naito

Such a great sprint, a simple David vs Goliath story well executed with a bunch of cool power moves by Archer. These two have good chemistry, I hope they will meet again in a longer match (next Climax?).
****

NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Tag 5 - 28.07.2014

G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Lance Archer

One of the biggest surprise of the year (to me anyway) was Tenzan performance in the G1. This wasn't the best one, from what I can recall his matches against Styles, Goto and Okada were better but this was still good. Not enough to be on my list but really enjoyable.
***1/2

NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Tag 8 -  03.08.2014
G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match
AJ Styles vs. Lance Archer

Like with Naito, this is speed vs power contest. I liked the Naito match more tough. AJ working over Archer leg was nice way to gain the advantage. And it plays to the finish, wich is always appreciated. I loved the power moves here too. I'm gonna put it in my top 100 for now but I don't think if it will stay. 

***3/4

2014 MOTY list

2014 MOTY list

1. Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NEVER Openweight Title Match) (NJPW The New Beginning In Osaka - 11.02.2014)
2. John Cena (c) vs. Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) (WWE World Heavyweight Title Match) (WWE SummerSlam 2014 - 17.08.2014)
3. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) vs. The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan & Luke Harper) (WWE Elimination Chamber 2014 - 23.02.2014)
4. KUSHIDA vs. Ricochet (Best Of The Super Junior XXI Final Match) (NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXI - Tag 8 - 08.06.2014)
5. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn (WWE NXT ArRIVAL - 27.02.2014)
6. Team Dream Futures (Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie) (c) vs. Xceed (Kento Miyahara & Kotaro Suzuki) (All Asia Tag Team Title Match) (AJPW Summer Impact 2014 - Tag 1 - 16.08.2014)
7. Atlantis vs. Ultimo Guerrero (Mask Vs. Mask Two Out Of Three Falls Match) (CMLL 81. Aniversario - 19.09.2014)
8. Adrian Neville (c) vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd (WWE NXT Title Fatal Four Way Match) (WWE NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way - 11.09.2014)
9. AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito (G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match) (NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Tag 4 26.07.2014)
10. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) (c) vs. Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA) (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match) (NJPW Dominion 6.21 - 21.06.2014)
11. Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) (c) vs. Happy Motel (Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo) (KO-D Tag Team Title Match) (DDT Dramatic General Election 2014 Final Voting Day - Last Hope Special - 28.09.2014)
12. Shinobu & Shinya Ishikawa vs. Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa (BJW - 02.03.2014)
13. Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hirooki Goto (IWGP Heavyweight Title Match) (NJPW The New Beginning In Osaka - 11.02.2014)
14. Daisuke Sekimoto & Hideyoshi Kamitani vs. Twin Towers (Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa) (Saikyou Tag League 2014 Strong Block Match) (BJW Saikyou Tag League 2014 - 31.10.2014)
15. Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan (WWE Royal Rumble 2014 - 26.01.2014)
16. KUSHIDA (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match) (NJPW Destruction In Kobe - 21.09.2014)
17. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Destruction In Kobe - 21.09.2014)
18. Jun Akiyama vs. Kento Miyahara (Royal Road Tournament 2014 First Round Match) (AJPW Royal Road Tournament 2014 ~ Open Championship - Tag 1 - 15.09.2014)
19. Cesaro vs. John Cena (WWE Monday Night RAW #1082 - 17.02.2014)
20. HARASHIMA (c) vs. Shigehiro Irie (KO-D Openweight Title Match) (DDT Sweet Dreams 2014 - 26.01.2014)
21. The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe) vs. The Hardys (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy) (OMEGA Chaos In Cameron - 26.04.2014)
22. Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii (G1 Climax 2014 Block A Match) (NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Tag 4 26.07.2014)
23. Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Tomoaki Honma (NEVER Openweight Title Match) (NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2014 03.05.2014) 
24. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata (G1 Climax 2014 Block A Match) (NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Tag 4 26.07.2014)
25. Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match - NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Tag 7 - 01.08.2014)
26. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma (G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match - NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Tag 1 - 21.07.2014)
27. Biff Busick vs. Timothy Thatcher (Beyond Wrestling Secret Show - 13.04.2014)
28. Akito vs. Isami Kodaka (DDT Road To Ryogoku 2014 - 20.07.2014)
29. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. KUSHIDA (Best Of The Super Junior XXI Block A Match) (NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXI - Tag 7 - 06.06.2014)
30. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito (NJPW Kizuna Road 2014 - Tag 3 - 04.07.2014)
31. AJ Styles (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (IWGP Heavyweight Title Match) (NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling 2014 - 13.10.2014)
32. Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato (BJW BJW-ZET - 26.02.2014)
33. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze (WWE NXT Title #1 Contendership Match) (WWE NXT Takeover - 29.05.2014)
34. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) vs. The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan & Luke Harper) (WWE Monday Night RAW #1084 - 03.03.2014)
35. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomoaki Honma & Yuji Nagata (NJPW Dominion 6.21 - 21.06.2014)
36. Cachorro, Hechicero & Virus vs. Dragon Lee, El Barbaro Cavernario & Negro Casas (Six Man Tag Team Two Out Of Three Falls Match) (CMLL Super Viernes - 23.05.2014)
37. KUDO (c) vs. Akito (KO-D Openweight Title Match) (DDT Max Bump 2014 - 29.04.2014)
38. La Seductora & Princesa Blanca vs. Marcela & Princesa Sujei (Tag Team Mask & Hair Vs. Mask & Hair Two Out Of Three Falls Match) (CMLL Juicio Final 2014 - 01.08.2014)
39. Yujiro Takahashi (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NEVER Openweight Title Match) (NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling 2014 - 13.10.2014)
40. Atsushi Maruyama vs. Shinya Ishikawa (Ikkitousen Strong Climb Block A Match) (BJW Hiroshima Dai Nekkyo Pro-Wrestling - 15.06.2014)
41. Men Of Low Moral Fiber (Chuck Taylor & Kenny Omega) & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Mount Rushmore (Adam Cole & The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)) (PWG Battle Of Los Angeles 2014 - Tag 1 - 29.08.2014)
42. Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. KUSHIDA (NEVER Openweight Title Match) (NJPW Wrestling World - Tag 1 - 12.04.2014)
43. Yankee Two Kenju (Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto) (c) vs. Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo (KO-D Tag Team Title Three Way Match) (DDT Sweet Dreams 2014 - 26.01.2014)
44. Jun Akiyama vs. Takao Omori (Triple Crown Title Match (vakant)) (AJPW Dynamite Series 2014 - Tag 1 - 15.06.2014)
45. Keisuke Ishii vs. Tetsuya Endo (KO-D Openweight Title #1 Contendership Tournament - Final Match) (DDT Memories of Summer Vacation 2014 - 31.08.2014)
46. Christian & Sheamus vs. The Real Americans (Antonio Cesaro & Jack Swagger) (w/Zeb Colter) (WWE Monday Night RAW #1081 - 10.02.2014)
47. HARASHIMA (c) vs. Isami Kodaka (KO-D Openweight Title Match) (DDT Special 2014 - 26.10.2014)
48. Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito (G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match - NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Tag 5 - 28.07.2014)
49. Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Shinobu (Ikkitousen Strong Climb Block B Match) (BJW - 30.06.2014)
50. Cachorro, Hechicero & Virus vs. Dragon Lee, El Barbaro Cavernario & Negro Casas (Six Man Tag Team Two Out Of Three Falls Match) (CMLL Super Viernes - 23.05.2014)
51. Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Meiko Satomura (Fortune Dream 1 - 08.06.2014)
52. Twin Towers (Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa) (c) vs. Yankee Two Kenju (Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto) (BJW Tag Team Title Match - BJW 30.12.2014)
53. Team Dream Futures (Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie) vs. Xceed (Atsushi Aoki & Kotaro Suzuki) (AJPW New Year Wars 2014 - Tag 2 - 03.01.2014)
54. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) (c) vs. The World's Cutest Tag Team (Candice LeRae & Joey Ryan) (PWG World Tag Team Title Guerilla Warfare Match) (PWG ELEVEN - 26.07.2014)
55. Daisuke Sekimoto & Ryuichi Kawakami vs. Twin Towers (Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa) (BJW - 24.08.2014)
56. HARASHIMA (c) vs. Keisuke Ishii (KO-D Openweight Title Match) (DDT Osaka Bay Blues Special 2014 - 13.09.2014)
57. Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 In Tokyo Dome - 04.01.2014) 
58. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Captain New Japan & Yuji Nagata (NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXI - Tag 8 - 08.06.2014) 
59. BULLET CLUB (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma (NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXI - Tag 7 - 06.06.2014)
60. Kairi Hojo vs. Nanae Takahashi (Stardom 5STAR GP 2014 Red Block Match) (Stardom 5*STAR GP 2014 - Tag 1 - 24.08.2014)
61. Daichi Hashimoto & Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Twin Towers (Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa) (BJW - 07.02.2014)
62. Chessman vs. Villano IV (AAA Latin America Title Match (vakant)) (AAA Rey De Reyes 2014 - 16.03.2014)
63. Charlotte (c) vs. Sasha Banks (WWE NXT Women's Title Match) (WWE NXT Takeover: R Evolution - 11.12.2014)
64. Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) (c) vs. John Cena (WWE World Heavyweight Title Match) WWE Night Of Champions 2014 21.09.2014
65. HARASHIMA (c) vs. Soma Takao (KO-D Openweight Title Match) (DDT God Bless DDT 2014 - 30.11.2014)
66. Ares (c) vs. Pentagon Jr. (XMW 3. Aniversario 21.06.2014 - PDM Light Heavyweight Title Super Libre Match)
67. Lance Archer vs. Tetsuya Naito (G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match) (NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Tag 2 - 23.07.2014)
68. Burning (Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (c) vs. Team Dream Futures (Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie) (All Asia Tag Team Title Match) (DDT Max Bump 2014 - 29.04.2014)
69. Felino, Negro Casas & Shocker vs. La Mascara, Rush & Titan (Six Man Tag Team Two Out Of Three Falls Match) (CMLL on Fox Sports - 06.06.2014)
70. Alberto Del Rio, Bray Wyatt, Cesaro (w/Paul Heyman) & Randy Orton vs. John Cena, Roman Reigns & Sheamus (WWE Friday Night SmackDown #774 20.06.2014)
71. BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. CHAOS (Jado, Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura,Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) (NJPW Best Of the Super Junior XXI - Tag 1 - 30.05.2014)
72. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Katsuyori Shibata & Togi Makabe (NJPW Road To Power Struggle 2014 - Tag 8 03.11.2014)
73. BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & YOSHI-HASHI) (NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXI - Tag 7 - 06.06.2014)
74. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata (NJPW The New Beginning In Hiroshima - 09.02.2014)
75. Io Shirai, Masaaki Mochizuki & Mayu Iwatani vs. Genki Horiguchi HAGeeMee, Manami Toyota & Miho Wakizawa (Stardom Year-End Climax 2014 - 23.12.2014)
76. Hideki Suzuki & KENSO vs. Hikaru Sato & Suwama (AJPW Dynamite Series 2014 - Tag 1 - 15.06.2014)
77. Kotaro Suzuki (c) vs. KENSO (GAORA TV Title Match - AJPW Kyohei Wada Referee 40th Anniversary & 60th Anniversary Show ~ Kyohei Wada Produce - 14.12.2014)
78. Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi (Lightning Match - CMLL Super Viernes - 17.10.2014)
79. BULLET CLUB (AJ Styles, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima), Captain New Japan & Hiroshi Tanahashi (World Tag League 2014 Block A Match - NJPW World Tag League 2014 Tag 4 - 27.11.2014)
80. AJ Styles vs. Lance Archer (G1 Climax 2014 Block B Match) (NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Tag 8 -  03.08.2014)

Welcome to my blog

God Bless DDT 2014 - 30.11.2014

Antonio Honda, DJ Nira, Hoshitango & Michael Nakazawa vs. Shuten Doji (KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi), Gota Ihashi & MIKAMI

Nice finish.

DDT Extreme Title #1 Contendership Three Way Match

Keisuke Ishii vs. Masa Takanashi vs. Tomomitsu Matsunaga

Short match with fast action.

Kota Ibushi & Shunma Katsumata vs. Smile Squash (Akito & Yasu Urano)

This match was sponsored  by a hair salon and everyone has wacky haircuts. Nice dynamic with the rookie Katsumata and Ibushi being a kind of a dick. Katsumata looked good.

***

KO-D Six Man Tag Team Title Match 

T2Hide (Kazuki Hirata, Sanshiro Takagi & Toru Owashi) (c) vs. Brahman Brothers (Brahman Kei & Brahman Shu) & Gorgeous Matsuno

Usual Brahman Brothers goofiness, Owashi Lucha shtick, Takagi fucked up knee, Hirata crazy choreography, Gorgeous Matsuno, FUN~

***1/4

Daisuke Sasaki vs. Shigehiro Irie

They only show 5 minutes of a 15 minutes match. And a good one, it seems.

KO-D Tag Team Title Match

Happy Motel (Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo) (c) vs. Makoto Oishi & X = Shiori Asahi

Oishi and Asahi keep going for their double move while Endo plays a good FIP. Good Stuff.

***1/2

KO-D Openweight Title Match 

HARASHIMA (c) vs. Soma Takao

Soma Takao is not as good as his two partners from Dream Futures (Keisuke Ishii and Shigehiro Irie) far from it tbh. But fuck me if this was not a fine Main Event. Harashima plays really well his "Tanahashi" role in DDT. I always enjoy his control segment, here too. Takao is a good underdog and we are in the KORAKUEN so the crowd was rooting hard for him. I didn't expect much because of Takao but I really liked this.

****

It's DDT in Korakuen... WATCH IT!