NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10 Review (1/4/16)
NJPW New Year Dash Review (1/5/16)
Dragon Lee (c) vs. Kamaitachi - CMLL Championship Match - NJPW/CMLL Fantasticmania - 1/24/16
I've heard a lot about the series of matches these two had in 2015, but never got the chance to check any of them out. So, when I heard they had another match to start off this year and that it lived up to their previous encounters, I made it a priority to watch this. Needless to say, it was well worth it. From the time Dragon Lee jumped over the top rope to catch Kamaitachi with a hurricanrana off the apron to the floor, I knew I was in for a ride. You could tell that these two had faced off before due to how flawlessly executed everything was. The majority of the match was fast paced with an array of high flying and lucha esque moves however they did turn to submissions during the final half which created some nice false finishes. They did a good fighting spirit exchange with each man nailing suplexes only to pop right back. A lariat from Lee would finish this battle that left us with another stalemate. The final few minutes were the hottest of all with Lee popping Kamaitachi up for a powerbomb only to receive a flipping piledriver for his troubles. Un-be-lievable. Kamaitachi is your new CMLL Champion.
Match rating - ****
The New Beginning In Osaka Review - February 11th, 2016
Jay White vs. David Finlay - New Beginning In Osaka - 2/11/16
Opening match of the evening between two young lions. It's only a 6-7 minute affair, but it's pretty solid. White fights from underneath for most of the match and has a few good comebacks. Finlay dives into the corner with a flipping senton only to get caught and put to the mat as White locks him in a boston crab. Finlay dives towards the ropes only for White to pull him back and wrench back on the hold with his knee across the neck which forces Finlay to tap out.
Match rating - **
Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NEVER Openweight Title Match - New Beginning in Osaka - 2/11/16
Ishii & Shibata are at it again. As mentioned in previous reviews, their match at the G1 Climax in 2013 is what got me hooked on NJPW so I'm hooked on their meetings right off the bat. However, I wasn't that blown away by their WK10 match despite it being another EXTREMELY solid effort of strong style and fighting spirit from two guys who do it better than anyone. For that reason, I wasn't overly excited for this, but by the time it got going, Ishii & Shibata completely pulled me into it by doing what they do best. Tearing the house down. Ishii bleeding from the mouth was a great visual that accentuated the fight we were seeing unfold in front of us. One thing I also liked was the more extensive use of submissions here. As opposed to these two just slugging it out, they added some submission offense which was a nice change of pace as seeing Ishii convulse whilst locked in the triangle choke was amazing. It was a "take your breath away" moment that led to a gasp when he finally got to the ropes. But trust me, the strikes were here as well and it got EPIC in the final few minutes. Awesome match here, I enjoyed it much more than their WK10 encounter.
Match rating - ****1/4
The Young Bucks (c) vs. ReDragon vs. Ricochet & Matt Sydal - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match - New Beginning In Osaka - 2/11/16
These six guys are all amongst my favorite things in wrestling today so I knew this would rule. The Bucks are the champs, but only a month into their reign as they won the titles at WK10 in a four-way match involving ReDragon, Ricochet & Sydal, & RPG Vice. I enjoyed this match even more than that one. These junior tags in NJPW can get repetitive especially when they're multi team so having this trimmed down to three helped it. Everybody got their signature spots in and as always, they delivered some stuff you haven't seen before. There was an awesome sequence where ReDragon tried to hit a double frog splash off the top rope on Ricochet & Sydal which is really similar to their finisher (the double shooting stars), but they moved. So, The Bucks tried for the same and ReDragon moved which gave Ricochet & Sydal the chance to hit the dueling SSP's, but The Bucks moved for them and all three teams are down. Fish gets superkicked on the apron and Nick hits a senton on him to the floor. Cody Hall takes Kyle O'Reilly to the back which effectively eliminates ReDragon from the match since Fish is left on his own. The Bucks and Ricochet & Sydal have the final minute or two to themselves and the dueling Shooting Star Presses are finally nailed. We have new IWGP Junior Tag Champs.
Match rating - ***3/4
New Beginning in Niigata Review - February 14th, 2016
KUSHIDA vs. BUSHI (w/ Testuya Naito & EVIL) - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match - New Beginning in Niigata - 2/14/16
These two are the perfect counterpart for one another when it comes to their characters and stance with the fans. Junior heavyweight wrestling isn't often known for that which is what made this so cool. BUSHI is a part of Naito's Los Ignorables group which is a villanious stable that uses cheap tactics to get ahead. KUSHIDA is the young man who's finally been crowned as the ace of the junior division and BUSHI is determined to take that away from him immediately. KUSHIDA flurried early, but BUSHI would come back with a stalling DDT on the ring apron which allowed him to gain control. He started working over KUSHIDA on the mat, targeting the head/neck. The champion started to come back only for BUSHI to spit green mist in his face. This is where things really started to pick up as KUSHIDA fought off interference from Naito & EVIL along with more cheap tactics from BUSHI, all the while sporting a face covered in the green mist that was spat onto his face by BUSHI. Awesome visual that brought the crowd and myself into it. KUSHIDA locks in the hoverboard lock as Naito & EVIL are held off from interfering, but BUSHI is near the ropes. KUSHIDA lifts him up and thrusts him down into the center of the ring and re-applies the hold. BUSHI is forced to tap and KUSHIDA retains! Great, unique match. The action was solid as you'd expect, albeit a bit more stiff than normal, and the story/character work made this what it was.
Match rating - ***3/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kenny Omega - IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match - New Beginning in Niigata - 2/14/16
With Shinsuke Nakamura's departure to WWE came the vacation of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship which he held for the majority of the past two years. That leads us here to this match to crown a new champion. It's Kenny Omega's first big match as a heavyweight and Tanahashi's chance to rebound following his monumental loss to Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 10. They did a good job early on of making people think Omega might be turning over a new leaf as he kept it clean with multiple basic feeling out exchanges and even made Cody Hall and Takahashi leave from ringside. Bullet Club is out of the picture and it's just one on one. Omega even offers Tanahashi a handshake although the ace wouldn't accept it. They do a good job of keeping an ongoing story going through the entire match on several different leaves. The first thing I mentioned about Omega's character, but also with the limb work that bridged all the way to the opening stretch. Tanahashi targeted the leg and Omega targeted the arm. Both men went back to these body parts throughout the match in logical fashion and it came off really well. There WAS interference in the form of the Young Bucks coming from under the ring however it proved to add to the drama of the match. Following the Bucks' appearance, Omega & Tanahashi went into their finishing sequence and IT. FUCKING. RULED. Omega with a reverserana on Tanahashi made me pop only for TANAHASHI TO COME BACK WITH A REVERSERANA OF HIS OWN, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS GOING ON??! I could have done without the second set of interference, but it is what it is, this match was high drama the entire time with awesome action to boot and a great story was told so I can't complain whatsoever. Omega pins Tanahashi after finally hitting the one winged angel to become the new IC Champion!
Match rating - ****1/4
Honor Rising Night One Review - February 20th, 2016
KUSHIDA vs. Frankie Kazarian - Honor Rising Night One - 2/20/16
Kazarian is replacing Adam Cole on these set of shows. Shame we didn't get to see Cole/KUSHIDA, but this was decent for what it was. Back in the day, this would've been a dream match showcase, this day and age, though, it's a more of a veteran/newcomer match up. KUSHIDA tried to lock in the hoverboard lock early and often, Kazarian avoided it and beat on KUSHIDA without mercy while also taking verbal jabs at him. KUSHIDA finally makes his comeback and forces Kazarian to tap out in the end.
Match rating - **1/2
Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs. The Briscoes - Honor Rising Night One - 2/20/16
This is one of Anderson & Gallows last appearances before heading to WWE. So it's pretty emotional during their entrance with Anderson muttering the words "I love this place" however things get serious quick when Mark & Jay Briscoe rush the ring. That sets the pace for the match as the action never slows down and this ends up being a 8-9 minute sprint and it's okay. Nothing worth really seeing, though. Briscoes win with a neckbreaker followed up by an elbow drop from Mark.
Match rating - **1/4
ReDragon & Katsuyori Shibata vs. The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega - Honor Rising Night One - 2/20/16
Six of my favorite wrestlers in one match. This was a BLAST. ReDragon & Shibata do an awesome spot right out of the gate in the form of a triple cross arm breaker on the Bullet Club trio. It's a sequence like that which perfectly describes this match because everyone got their shit in during this 10-12 minute sprint. O'Reilly reversed out of the one winged angel in an exchange that made me want an O'Reilly/Omega singles SOOOO bad. They are both so smooth, it'd be incredible, their exchanges here ruled despite the ending coming off slightly awkward between the two.
Match rating - ***1/2
Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI HASHI vs. Jay Lethal & Tetsuya Naito - Honor Rising Night One - 2/20/16
IWGP Champ vs. ROH Champ in this one. I also love the team of Lethal & Naito despite the dissonance early on with Lethal trying to establish a relationship with him only for Naito to brush him off. Lethal & Okada start things off and it's beautiful. They lock up early & often during this match and that's really the main reason to check this out, for all their exchanges. Lethal tries to tag in Naito and even has a hard time doing that. They start working together pretty well as time goes on, but then Jay accidentally superkicks him. Cooler heads prevail and Jay tosses him the book of truth to nail Okada with while he puts away YOSHI HASHI for the win.
Match rating - **1/2
Roderick Strong (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii - ROH World Television Title Match - Honor Rising Night One - 2/20/16
So hyped about this because it's my first time really seeing Roddy in 2016 since I'm so fucking behind on everything. He's heeling it up here in his Japan debut and it's the best thing ever. He is taunting Ishii which rules because the Stone Pitbull looks pissed as fuck yet unphased. Roddy runs away from Ishii a lot early on before picking his spots and taking control. The final half of the match sees this turn into vintage Ishii with strong style and fighting spirit all around. There were a few dull moments, but I still really enjoyed this. It's not the MOTY candidate you'd expect from the two in a main event title match however it's still one solid match with a surprising finish. ISHII is your new ROH World Television Champion!
Match rating - ***1/4
Honor Rising Night Two Review - February 21st, 2016
KUSHIDA & Moose vs. Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI - Honor Rising Night Two - 2/21/16
MOOSE IS OVER AF IN JAPAN. It's unreal, man. He was getting more of a reaction here than KUSHIDA which is saying something considering how beloved he is. Then again, this crowd has established itself with a reputation of being overly excited about the fresh match ups that the ROH stars bring, but I'd say Moose is more over than any of the other ROH guys that made their debut in NJPW on this particular weekend. So, yeah, this match was all about him and it was pretty fun. Moose gets the pin after a spear on BUSHI.
Match rating - **1/2
The Briscoes & Toru Yano (c) vs. The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega - NEVER Trios Title Match - Honor Rising Night Two - 2/21/16
This match was a hoot. Bucks & Omega pretty much ran the whole thing which caught me off guard, but it was awesome. Yano got some comedy in with Omega which was ace. This was essentially the BC dismantling The Briscoes & Yano as the champions fought from underneath the entire match and eventually got put down. Bucks & Omega are the new trios champions after one hell of a flurry of maneuvers.
Match rating - ***1/4
Jay Lethal (c) vs. Tomoaki Honma - ROH World Title Match - Honor Rising Night Two - 2/21/16
Lethal & Honma both go for their finishers early which leads to a stalemate after an awesome exchange. Lethal ends up taking control and tries to keep Honma grounded. After an extensive control period, Honma starts firing back and it's great bc it's Honma. He nails the headbutt off the ring apron to the floor. It seems like he's coming close to victory until Naito & BUSHI run in when the ref gets knocked down. This provides a distraction and Lethal is able to hit a Lethal Injection to score a cheap victory. Good match, though.
Match rating - ***1/4
BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS 2016
Tomohiro Ishii, Will Ospreay, & Beretta vs. Satoshi Kojima, Bobby Fish, & Volador Jr - BOSJ Night One - 5/21/16This was a lot of fun which is what an opener should be so yee. Ospreay & Volador ruled in their exchanges. Ishii & Kojima were at each other's throats the whole time and that's kind of what the match was built around. Volador got fired up for a few moments and even took his own mask off at one point. I'm not sure if that's a regular occurence for him during matches, but if it's not then what the fuck, haha. Volador snags the pin on Beretta following a hurricanrana off the top turnbuckle.
Match rating - **3/4
Yuji Nagata, Jushin Liger, & Tiger Mask vs. Katsuyori Shibata, Jay White, & Juice Robinson - BOSJ Night One - 5/21/16Shibata and Nagata have a great staredown early on before the bell rings. They have the main issue here thus they have the best exchanges of the match. Jay White gets a nice flurry and battles with Nagata in the closing moments before he gets put away with a saito suplex that dropped right on his dome. Fine enough sprint.
Match rating - **1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ricochet, Yoshitatsu, & Captain New Japan vs. Kenny Omega, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, & Bad Luck Fale - BOSJ Night One - 5/21/16Another decent multi-man with no real complains other than I'm ready for the tourney matches to begin. BC takes the cheap route every chance they get per usual. Ricochet got a nice hot run. Bad Luck Fale shuts the babyfaces comeback down and plants Captain New Japan with a chokeslam to end it. Post match, Kenny Omega snaps and the BC assaults CNJ some more. Omega then targets Tanahashi with a ladder and lays a beating on him. They carry off Tanahashi on a stretcher following the beatdown.
Match rating - **1/4
Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, & YOSHI HASHI vs. Tetsuya Naito, Sanada, & EVIL - BOSJ Night One - 5/21/16
This Los Ingnorables story is just pure gold. It provided us with another fiery undercard match here. Also, this was my first time seeing Sanada since he came to NJPW and dear lord, he was amazing. The Sanada/YOSHI HASHI exchange at the end made this match. Quality stuff with some close falls. In the end, the Ignorables come out on top.
Match rating - ***
Highlights of all the non-tournament matches are shown along with a run down of what's to come on tonight's card. Meanwhile, Kazuchika Okada joins the commentary team for an interview.
Rocky Romero vs. David Finlay - BOSJ Night One - 5/21/16Finlay got in this tournament thanks to both the Young Bucks getting injured and it's gonna make some interesting first time pairings such as this. Romero isn't praised highly that often, but the reality is that he's a solid as fuck worker. With Finlay being on the come up, this was a pretty enjoyable little match. I'd say it went a bit too long because it lost my attention after a bit, but it definitely gave you some of the goods you'd expect. Romero wins with a jumping/running knee.
Match rating - **1/2
Gedo vs. BUSHI - BOSJ Night One - 5/21/16The crowd was really into this one due to the Ignorables involvement with BUSHI representing them, the most hated faction in NJPW. Okada being on commentary in very vocal support of Gedo added to the importance of this bout as well. It ended up being a fairly short contest, but it was fiery the entire time and meant something. BUSHI looked to have the upperhand on the veteran, but one simple mistake and he found himself in the Gedo clutch with his shoulders to the mat for three. Huge upset in the first night of action.
Match rating - ***
Matt Sydal vs. Ryusuke Tagachi - BOSJ Night One - 5/21/16Unexpected really good match. Sydal is so so crisp. I say it in nearly every review I do of something involving him, but damn. Taguchi held his own here as well and they delivered a hot match with an awesome finishing stretch. It got turned up a notch when a strike resulted in a cut above the eye of Taguchi. This didn't turn brutal because it was more of an affair for the sake of competition than anything, but it definitely brought more interest into the match at the perfect time as they went into their closing run soon after.
Match rating - ***1/4
KUSHIDA vs. Kyle O'Reilly - BOSJ Night One - 5/21/16Rematch from the finals of last year's BOSJ here on the first night of Block A action. Every match these two have is killer and this contest was no different. It wasn't quite on the level of their finals match last year or their meeting RevPro from the fall however it definitely lived up to the hype. My favorite moment of the match came with O'Reilly catching KUSHIDA in mid-air on the outside in a crossarm breaker. It was simply breathtaking as I wasn't expecting it all. The axe and smash combo bloodied the mouth of KUSHIDA and turned this one up a notch in the late going. Lots of great counters and reversals as you would expect with each man thinking ahead considering how well they know each other. O'Reilly picks up the victory in the end by tapping KUSHIDA out after falling down from a triangle choke into what looked like a reverse cross arm breaker. Awesome contest.
Match rating - ****1/4
BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS NIGHT TWO
Ricochet vs. Tiger Mask - BOSJ Night Two - 5/22/16You can't go wrong with a Ricochet sprint. This was a lot of fun. He hit all his signature stuff precisely and Tiger Mask looked good as well. 10 minutes of easy on the eyes action. Ricochet wins with the benadryller.
Match rating - **3/4
Jushin Liger vs. Bobby Fish - BOSJ Night Two - 5/22/16Fish targets the leg and works on it from bell to bell. Liger flurries and goes for a frankensteiner off the top turnbuckle only to eat shit. He lands awkwardly on the leg and Fish jumps right back on him. Fish Hook ankle lock for a false finish before Liger gets the ropes. Liger has one more burst of offense as he goes for the capo kick only to roll right into another ankle lock before somehow managing to work Fish into a pinning predicament for a quick three count. Extremely well worked match.
Match rating - **3/4
Beretta vs. Volador Jr - BOSJ Night Two - 5/22/16Pretty basic match here. Volador is always fun to watch and Beretta can usually keep up although his strength for me is charisma. That wasn't on display much here, but he hit his finishing manuever, the name of which is slipping my mind right now, and that makes up for it because it rules. Guillotine driver thingy gets him the win.
Match rating - **1/2
Will Ospreay vs. Chase Owens - BOSJ Night Two - 5/22/16Ospreay has the crowd popping from his entrance alone. Me and the New Japan faithful have a lot in common. The Aerial Assasin gave us a show here. He's similar to Ricochet in that any match of his is gonna be super fun and entertaining because even his most basic offense is extremely smooth and fun to watch. Chase Owens did impress me here as well however, they did this crazy spot with him superkick Ospreay in mid air off a spring board free fall. It was SICK and makes this a sprint worth watching.
Match rating - ***
BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS NIGHT THREE
Matt Sydal vs. BUSHI - BOSJ Night Three - 5/23/16Back to Block A action here on Day Three. Sydal & Bushi get things started with a fast paced opener. It was probably on 8 or 9 minutes and was as straight to the point as you can get in. It features one HELL of a shooting star press though, like, good lord it was beautiful. Sydal couldn't even cover immediately after. But once he did, he got the three count.
Match rating - **1/2
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Gedo - BOSJ Night Three - 5/23/16
Cool first time match up here (I think). Gedo is the heel and runs from O'Reilly on several occassions while also using cheap tactics. O'Reilly fights back and hits a number of his signature maneuvers before locking Gedo in the cross arm breaker thus forcing him to tap.
Match rating - **1/4
KUSHIDA vs. Rocky Romero - BOSJ Night Three - 5/23/16
Extremely solid stuff here as you'd expect from these two. KUSHIDA is the junior heavyweight champ for reason and Romero is super consistent & underrated in that regard. Both men are known for cross arm breakers so this was interesting in the submission aspect of things. Romero is probably the better strike and more well rounded, but KUSHIDA is also fluent in a number of styles. This was your basic junior heavyweight showcase with a little spice as they threw in a number of false finishes to make you think Romero could win even though I didn't think anyone believed he would. Then, he did. They pulled the trigger and the shocking ending was the perfect boot to the match. Solid stuff all around. Romero gets on the mic post match and claims that the BOSJ is his this year. BIG singles win for him, undoubtedly.
Match rating - ***
Will Ospreay vs. Trent Baretta - BOSJ Day 4 - 5/24/16
This was super good. Baretta shocks the crowd early on by showcasing a clean break followed by a handshake only to follow that sequence up with a cocky pat on the head. Ospreay responds by doing some crazy flippy shit and patting Baretta on the head following it. For this to be a first time meeting, they meshed well. These two guys generally can work with anyone and have a solid match so it's not too suprising. Baretta hits a sick german on the apron on Ospreay which kinda turned the tables. Ospreay fights back a few minutes later in the ring with an awesome reverserana. The last several minutes were pretty high drama with both men trading big moves and near falls. Finally, Baretta cradles Ospreay and drives him headfirst into the mat with the crunchie to get the victory.
Match rating - ***3/4
Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet - BOSJ Day 6 - 5/27/16
What hasn't already been said about this match? It's a must watch and one for the ages, without a doubt. The buzz it caused alone makes it as such, however, it certainly delivers on it's own. Ospreay & Ricochet are two equally spectacular athletes from two different eras so seeing them clash has been a dream match for many for quite some time. They HAVE met prior to this in EVOLVE, but it was no where near the level of this contest that defied everything that pro wrestling is supposed to be. A phenomenal, competitive, acrobatic display that left the Japanese fans chanting for "one more match" between the Britain and the Kentucky bred American.
Match rating - ****1/2
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Matt Sydal - BOSJ Day 7 - 5/29/16
Two of the smoothest wrestlers in their class collide and it rules. High flyer against hybrid is always a good match up and this was no different. O'Reilly & Sydal honestly delivered a flawless exhibition here. There was no particular story aside from two men competing for a victory in the most prestigious junior heavyweight tournament in the world, but that was enough. They threw their best at each other and it was awesome to watch unfold. Sydal nails O'Reilly with a meteora from the top followed by a shooting star press for the win.
Match rating - ****
KUSHIDA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi - BOSJ Day 7 - 5/29/16
I admit that I am one of those people who shows little interest in Taguchi. Despite that, I began this tournament expecting that to completely change just because I knew that was one of the big talked about things of it following the finals match considering a lot of people doubted him and his abilities as well as how far he would go in the tourney. This was the first match to do that because holy shit it was so good. KUSHIDA targeted the arm, Taguchi targeted the leg, and all the work & callbacks to that in the process of this match was killer. Taguchi proved he can more than hang with the current generation of juniors and KUSHIDA continued to display why he's the best of his class. This was just a great match, all around. I won't even go into many details, just check this one out for yourself.
Match rating - ****
Ricochet vs. Jushin "Thunder" Liger - BOSJ Day 8 - 5/30/16
Every Ricochet match is fun and in a tournament like this where, as an athlete competing on such a demanding schedule, there are times where you have to phone it in. Even when Ricochet does that, his matches are enjoyable, however this wasn't one of those times. This was an undercard match on this particular show which wasn't even broadcasted live despite it being a virtual dream match, but neither guy treated as such. They don't go out and have an all time classic however they didn't just have your average exhibition either. This made me want another match between these two because it was sick and exactly what you'd expect from a prime Ricochet/Liger match. Generations collided and it was sweet.
Match rating - ***1/2
Rocky Romero vs. Matt Sydal - BOSJ Day 9 - 5/31/16
Pretty random match here that somehow made it onto my watch list when scanning through reviews deciding what matches to review. This didn't reach it's full potential or peak really at all so there's not much to say because there wasn't really anything wrong with it either. Technico/high flying matches always produce a cool dynamic so it had it's fun moments with Rocky being Rocky and Sydal being Sydal. It was well worked and smooth, but nothing memorable or worth going out of your way to see.
Match rating - **3/4
KUSHIDA vs. Gedo - BOSJ Day 9 - 5/31/16
THIS WAS SO GOOD. KUSHIDA is killing it in this tournament. Usually, you expect a champion in a tournament like this to try to take an easy route to victory so he doesn't get hurt, but good lord, KUSHIDA is going out there like every night is his last. Gedo gave an almost career performance here as well. The little things here are what made it brilliant such as KUSHIDA kicking out of the Gedo clutch which got a massive pop only for Gedo to follow up by doing the Rainmaker pose and going for the Rainmaker himself. I marked out so hard for that. Awesome stuff here. KUSHIDA taps out Gedo following the rainmaker attempt.
Match rating - ****
Will Ospreay vs. Bobby Fish - BOSJ Day 10 - 6/2/16
This totally blew my expectations out of the water. This was more of an Ospreay match than a Fish match so it was super fast paced and exciting. It did keep the chemistry/focus of a Fish match in the sense that his target was the leg and he would go for it at any chance he could. Ospreay also sold it well on several occasions. So it was an Ospreay match with a hint of Fish, just without the plodding sense that some Fish matches have so it allowed him to showcase his more exciting side and it ruled. Cradle suplex on the floor, shooting star press of the apron, this one had it all and some awesome nearfalls to boot. 15 minutes flew by. Ospreay wins with a springboard cutter.
Match rating - ****
Ricochet vs. Baretta - BOSJ Day 10 - 6/2/16
Fun match here between the homies. This reminded me a lot of old DGUSA/Evolve stuff for whatever reason. They kinda went into a finishing sequence about five minutes in so there were a lot of big moves and cool spots that led to false finishes. Therefore, this was a really entertaining match to watch and a killer undercard bout. Ricochet picks up another W.
Match rating - ***1/2
KUSHIDA vs. Matt Sydal - BOSJ Day 11 - 6/3/16
Rematch from ROH last summer where Sydal gained a victory over the then IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion. KUSHIDA still has the title this go round and the stakes are much more high so it was kinda cool watching to see if Sydal could repeat what he did last August. KUSHIDA worked the leg, but Sydal fired back. Sydal's pre-match promo on him being the most determined in this tournament was good foreshadowing. They trade some awesome manuevers and a few false finishes before KUSHIDA is finally able to force Sydal to tap. Great contest.
Match rating - ***3/4
Ricochet vs. Volador Jr - BOSJ Day 12 - 6/4/16
Another super solid effort from Ricochet and Volador Jr was great to match it. This came across a fine exhibition between two equally smooth athletes. Volador hit a sick reverse canadian destroyer looking thing. Forgive me for my lack of accuracy on the name of moves, sometimes. I'm a new to Volador so my apologies. The point is, it was sick. Really fun match.
Match rating - ***1/2
Will Ospreay vs. Volador Jr - BOSJ Day 13 - 6/6/16
Much like the Ricochet match, Volador squared off with one of the finest juniors in the world and hung right in there and didn't look out of place AT ALL. Ospreay hit a shooting star press off the apron with precision. Volador had a good moonsault to the floor. Good showcase for both men. Ospreay wins in route to the finals.
Match rating - ***1/2
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Rocky Romero - BOSJ Day 13 - 6/6/16
This is a not often talked about dream match pairing, to be honest. Rocky is basically a toned down, less appealing version of Kyle. As rude/demeaning as that sounds, it's not meant as insult because I like Rocky, just an observation and explanation to why this match was bound to be great from the start. Both guys are known for the hybrid style of wrestling and O'Reilly's version of it just happens to be more flashy than Rocky's thus the popularity difference. None the less, these two meshed well here and gave us a really good pure wrestling contest. There were several hot false submission finishes down the stretch and a lot of top notch grappling. Romero picks up what I would say is a big win by submitting Kyle to the cross arm breaker.
Match rating - ****
Ricochet, Matt Sydal, & KUSHIDA vs. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask IV, & Volador Jr - BOSJ Day 14 - 6/7/16
I was scanning through the final day of BOSJ action and I couldn't skip a loaded six man tag like this. So much greatness and it definitely lived up to the billing on paper. Every exchange early on was filled with jaw dropping counters & exchanges. Ricochet/Volador and Sydal/Liger in particular ruled super hard. Things broke down quite quickly with a bunch of dive sequences with KUSHIDA plunging off the top turnbuckle to the outside onto Tiger Mask & Volador. In the end, the champions team of Rico, Sydal, & KUSHIDA get the win.
Match rating - ***1/4
Will Ospreay vs. Ryusuke Taguchi - Best of the Super Juniors Final Round Match - BOSJ Day 14 - 6/7/16
Now, this is a surprising final. I never expected Taguchi to make it to the final round however in restrospective, I can't complain because this ruled. BUT I will say it didn't quite live up to the last two year's finals, especially O'Reilly/KUSHIDA. It was a fitting finale, though, and gave us one hell of a showcase to send things off. Ospreay got his ankle/leg worked over and sold it well which made for some cool moments. The crowd bit on it completely so when Taguchi locked in the ankle lock late in the match, there was a huge gasp, particularly when he clamped it down in the center of the ring. Ospreay flings him off, and catches him with the inverted flip thingy in mid air for a two count. A series of false finishes on Taguchi follow before Ospreay ends it with a a springboard cutter. Will Ospreay is the 2016 New Japan Best of the Super Juniors Champion.
Match rating - ***3/4
MORE REVIEWS TO COME, BOSJ COVERAGE CONTINUES, CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES
LAST UPDATED: 10/26/16
G1 COVERAGE COMING NEXT <3
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