Day 7 2019

AEW Dark 12/3/19

Proud-N-Powerful (Santana and Ortiz) vs. Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt)

Tag team wrestling can be great. Whether its something old school and story heavy like DIY vs. Revival or something fast paced and spot heavy aka Lucha Six Man Tags. And then there’s ones that have a little of both. 

While this match is quick paced it’s not an outright spotfest. PNP actually isolate, dominate, and mock the much, much smaller Stunt. Jungle Boys hot tag is great and the match gets a little more spotty towards the end on the part of the faces.  Both have great chemistry between the partners and judging from this match between each other as well. Not an all time classic but a very good, very fun sprint. 

Day 6 2019

WrestleCon: Mark Hitchcock Memorial Show 2019

Eddie Kingston vs. Masato Tanaka

The WrestleCon SuperShow has been a staple of WM weekend since about 2013. Like the name implies, the show brings together big names from the Indy scene and overseas. Hell this show alone also featured Tajiri and Jushin Thunder Liger mixing it up with the likes of LAX and Caleb Konely, while elsewhere on the card is Bandido vs. Will Ospreay and the Lucha Brothers competing against each other. But it’s the opener we’re here to discuss. 

Kingston is one of the premier brawlers of the 2000s and beyond Indy scene and Tanaka is a goddamn madman best known for his wars against Mike Awesome both in Japan and stateside in ECW. He’s out his boy through near literal hell and barely aged a day. He can also take and give as much as he ever could, just a little slower. 

Aside from the obvious slugfest this match becomes, Tanaka runs through his highlight reel. A Diamond Dust, Elbow Strikes, the Sliding D, Tornado DDT, etc. and it all looks good. He’s not selfish either as Kingston gets in a good amount of stiff offense including some nasty looking Saito Suplexs. 

A damn good slugfest between two legends of different scenes. Tanaka shows that he can still hang and Kingston makes him look like a million bucks. Well worth a watch via the Highspots Network (or whatever streaming sites you prefer I’m not here to judge.).

Day 5 2019

WWE Extreme Rules 2019

Cesaro vs. Aleister Black

I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the way they’ve booked Black since the split from Ricochet, but it did get us this match. It also looks like we’ll be getting Black vs. Buddy Murphy out of this stupid gimmick, so if great wrestlers keep knocking on Aleisters door then I guess beggars can’t be choosers. These two are two of my current day favorites to watch, so naturally this booking made me happy. 

The two waste no time and spend most of the match exchanging strikes. Both of these men are so goddamn smooth, the make this shit look easy. The two first time singles opponents have a great chemistry together. Both men excel at the wrestling and the selling during this match, and of course I can’t finish this review without bringing up the spot where Cesaro catches Blacks Meteora and turns it into a Very European Uppercut. Cesaro is a goddamn treasure.  

Fuck this match is great. I don’t know how many 100 Matches of 2019 this will make but it’s definitely one to seek out if WWE hasn’t been your cup of tea this year. Fuck the crowd for being silent most of this match. 

Day 4 2019

WWE Fastlane 2015

Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan

Hot off the heels of what might be the most polarizing Royal Rumble match, the Roman Reigns hype train was full speed ahead to a showdown with Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title at WM Play Button. The crowds didn’t take well to this and even four years later some of the fans haven’t budged. In what almost feels like WWE higher ups fucking with the vocal audience, Daniel Bryan was given a chance to take the WM opportunity away from Roman. 

At first the match goes as expected with Bryan outmaneuvering Reigns. But his cockiness gets the best of him and Roman takes control turning the match into his preferred brawling style. One thing I didn’t remember is how slow the match is. On a match to match basis slower paced can either make for a tense match, or a boring one, for this one it works. 

The two throw everything at each other. From Bryan’s signature strikes to Roman pulling out moves I don’t think we’ve seen since (seriously when was the last time he used one Pump Handle Suplex, let alone three in a row?). The audience wavers in and out of this match but they bite for every near fall. 

This was a proving match for Roman and I’d say it almost succeeded. Bryan brought out the best in Reigns and they delivered a hell of a match. The stand out of possibly the first two or three Fastlanes. Great match, if it’s been a while I’d say check it out. 

Day 3 2019

Hakim Zane vs. Space Monkey- Glory Pro Wrestling: Only the Strong Survive

This is the first full match I’ve seen from Zane but if you’ve been watching Impact the past year or two, you’re  probably already familiar with him and questioning my credentials to be doing this...you should be doing that regardless. As for Space Monkey, he’s a hyper intelligent monkey whose been to space...hence the name. He’s well traveled wrestling in his native Canada, and in America for various promotions of varying degrees of notoriety, from as well known as CZW to smaller promotions like Freelance. 

Now I know what you’re thinking when you see the name Space Monkey. He’s comedic, he does banana spots, uses tail in spots, checks opponents for bugs...and you’re right he does all of that. But he’s also a really good wrestler. From watching Zane is no slouch either.  With both men being from the same scene, it’s no surprise they work pretty well together. No major spots to really write about, it’s a good match but it’s just kind of card filler. 

While the action is good and I’d recommend checking out Space Monkey, I do have to talk about a negative portion of this match. One of the commentators is refusing to put over Monkeys gimmick. Maybe I got worked but he drained the fun out of the match and sounded legit pissed that Zane would have to sell for a comedy gimmick. Fuck him, it annoyed the hell out of me. 

Day 2 2019

WCW Starrcade 1990

WCW World Tag Team Championship Street Fight

Four Horsemen (Barry Windham and Arn Anderson) vs. Doom (Ron Simmons and Butch Reed)

Originally supposed to be Arn and Flair but Flair was attacked in his limo in kayfabe. But I think the Black Scorpion being booked in a Cage Match on the same show may have had something to do with the switch.  I have no idea of the backstory but apparently things got heated. 

In a nice touch both teams come out dressed in appropriate street clothes. It doesn’t take long for this match to turn ugly...it literal becomes a fight as soon as the champions Doom step in the ring. Like a good old classic blood feud the weapons and the blood come quickly. By the end of this match all four men are busted open and beating the shit out of each other with fists, chairs, belts, and a small bit of wrestling.

Then the finish happens. Oh boy the finish happens. Both teams get the pin, leading to a no contest. The two teams continue brawling after everything is settled but nobody seems to really know what to make the situation. A good, intense fight with a pretty cruddy ending. 

Day 1 2019

NXT War Games 3

Yes the whole fucking show. For the third year straight NXT is giving the War Games a spotlight. And once again The Undisputed Era head in to the match. UEs run in NXT has been three or four of straight dominance while also having their moments out of the main spotlight (Cole being North American Champ while Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa dominated the main event). War Games has become something of a signature match for UE, the rules allowing them to utilize their brotherhood. In kayfabe of course, in shoot the four are great at just about everything and KOR, Fish, and Cole aren’t afraid to bump like madmen. Their War Games match against Ciampa, Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic, and Kevin Owens headlines the show and is just as nuts as the previous two. All eight bumped like crazy with highlights being a Panama Sunrise in the steel beam connecting the two rings and an Air Raid Crash off the top of the cage through two tables. A brutal, creative fight featuring eight great talents. 

On the undercard were a Triple Threat match between Pete Dunne, Damien Priest, and Killian with a shot at Adam Coles NXT Title at Survivor Series on the line. Dunne would end up a fun spot fest but the match they had to follow was almost unstoppable but the three tried their damndest.  The second undercard match was Matt Riddle (taking a shoot injured Garganos place in the feud and match) against Finn Balor. That match was a let down. It felt like both men were holding back on a much better match then what we got. Not saying it was bad, it was pretty good but it could’ve been better.

And the opener for this show was the historic all women’s War Games Match. Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Io Shari, and Kay Lee Ray vs. Rhea Ripley, Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, and Tegan Nox...sort of. They turned Kai heel and wrote out Nox in the process which made the match a four on two handicap match. These eight had something to prove and not only did they deliver on the potential of this match, they stole the whole show. Like the men all four didn’t back down for crazy bumps (i.e. Ray getting swatted out of mid-air with a dented broken trash can, and Shayna taking Ripleys finish onto two chairs) but something this one topped the men’s.

With two very, very good bookends, a really good undercard match, and a pretty meh one, this maybe isn’t the strongest top-to-bottom Takeover. The show as an easy watch as always, and nothing felt dragged out. The two War Games matches were the highlight as the name implies and my God both should be required viewing if you’re trying to watch the best of 2019. The Triple Threat was fun and Riddle/Balor could’ve been on free TV, but still quality show overall. 

(On the pre-show was Shane Strickland vs. Angel Garza, a last minute addition. It had some really good moments and was a really good match overall. But there were a few sloppy moments and like Balor/Riddle, it felt like it could’ve been so much more.)