Day…something of quarantine and chill, we had a bright spot with a few Japanese promotions returning to fan filled events; while some still did empty arena. The Top 5 Matches voting has been very telling to me, since the Puroresu fans have been more active claiming their enjoyment; as opposed to the North American TV promotions.
With that said, DDT Judgement: Ko-D Openweight Title: Masato Tanaka (c) vs Konosuke Takeshita, won the week. Funnily enough, the Dragon Gate match was in second place. Now this week we have a tie at the 5th position, because I like to look across many promotions. A few known names pop up this week!
There will be a good bit of Japanese wrestling on the Top 5 this week. Let’s hope everyone has been expanding their horizons with more time at home and access to the internet.
Quick Top 5:
- AJPW Dream Power Series: Triple Crown Championship: Kento Miyahara (c) vs Suwama
Rating: **** 3/4 - NOAH The Chronicle Vol. 2: GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship: Yoshinari Ogawa (c) vs Daisuke Harada
Rating: **** 1/2 - BJW Ikkitousen ~Strong Climb~ Block A: Daichi Hashimoto vs T-hawk
Rating: **** - NOAH The Chronicle Vol. 2: GHC National Championship: Minoru Tanaka vs Takashi Sugiura (c)
Rating: **** - AEW Dynamite: AAA Mega Championship: Kenny Omega (c) vs Sammy Guevara
Rating: *** 3/4 - MLW Fusion: MLW National Openweight Championship: Alex Hammerstone (c) vs T-Hawk
Rating: *** 3/4
Honorable Mentions:
- NOAH The Chronicle Vol. 2: GHC Heavyweight Championship: Go Shiozaki (c) vs Kazuyuki Fujita
Rating: *** 1/2 - AJPW Dream Power Series: All Asia Tag Championship: Jake Lee & Koji Iwamoto (c) vs Yankee Two Kenju (Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka)
Rating: *** 1/2 - IMPACT!: Michael Elgin & Taya Valkyrie vs Tessa Blanchard & Eddie Edwards
Rating: *** 1/4 - NXT: Roderick Strong vs Matt Riddle
Rating: *** 1/4 - BJW Ikkitousen ~Strong Climb~ Block C: Ryota Hama vs Yuji Okabayashi
Rating: *** 1/4 - NOAH The Chronicle Vol. 2: GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Championship: Atsushi Kotoge & Kotaro Suzuki (c) vs YO-HEY & HAYATA
Rating: *** 1/4 - WWE Raw: Ricochet & Cedric Alexander vs Angel Garza & Andrade
Rating: *** - NXT UK: Cruiserweight Championship: Jordan Devlin (c) vs Travis Banks
Rating: *** - AEW Dynamite: Darby Allin vs Kip Sabian
Rating: *** - AJPW Dream Power Series: KAI, Yuma Aoyagi & Zeus vs Gianni Valleta, Ayato Yoshida & Ryoji Sai
Rating: *** - IMPACT!: Reno Scum vs Dez & Wentz
Rating: *** - AJPW Dream Power Series: World Junior Heavyweight Championship: Susumu Yokosuka (c) vs Izanagi
Rating: ***
5t. MLW Fusion: MLW National Openweight Championship: Alex Hammerstone (c) vs T-HawkÂ
Now this is the first match this week that T-Hawk is in; the power of tapings is wonderful at times. Openweight matches allow for interesting matchups since the weight classes are less stringent. Hammerstone is one of the bright spots of MLW and T-Hawk is making his way around a bunch of promotions; proving himself to be a major player for years to come.
Hammerstone kept T-Hawk in check for most of the match with his power, but T-Hawk did make a great comeback towards the end. The Philadephia crowd was very supportive of T-Hawk, helping him lift Hammerstone for feats of power spots. But Hammerstone is very athletic for being the Beefcastle that he is.
With that, Hammerstone managed to stifle T-Hawk’s offense and put things away with the Nightmare Pendulum. But not until T-Hawk got a few believable near falls in.
Winner: Hammerstone via Nightmare Pendulum
5t. AEW Dynamite: AAA Mega Championship: Kenny Omega (c) vs Sammy Guevara
Sammy catches his breath as he stands and heads for a corner. The party rallies for Omega but he’s in the drop zone. Sammy reaches the top rope and says BANG, Shooting Star! It FLOPS as Omega moves! Omega aims at Sammy as he stands, for a V-TRIGGER!! Omega drags Sammy up, takes aim, but Sammy BITES the bad hand again! The ref counts, but Omega POINT-BLANK V-TRIGGERS! Omega drags Sammy into position, then runs, but Sammy dodges! Sammy waistlocks, Omega standing switches, SNAP DRAGON! But Sammy lands on his feet! Sammy kicks, Omega blocks and spins Sammy, but Sammy Dragon Whips! Sammy torture racks and flips Omega, FEAST YOUR EYES! Omega staggers but he V-TRIGGERS back!
Omega drags Sammy up, underhooks, and hits a JAY DRILLER! Cover, TWO!?! Sammy survives Omega’s take on a move from #DemBoys! But Omega has ammo to spare. Omega watches Sammy rise, and Sammy flips Omega off. So he gets a V-TRIGGER! Omega drags Sammy into the Electric Chair, ONE WINGED ANGEL!! Cover, Omega wins!!
Winner: Omega via One Winged Angel
4. NOAH The Chronicle Vol. 2: GHC National Championship: Minoru Tanaka vs Takashi Sugiura (c)
Much like the MLW National Openweight Championship, this title is basically an Openweight title as well. Minoru Tanaka is the first Junior Heavyweight to challenge for it, and Sugiura is a bonafide killing machine. So…yeah I don’t feel good for Tanaka.
This was a fun match once Tanaka started using his speed and striking ability to get an advantage. Sugiura was working on Tanaka’s legs, even though Tanaka had heavy tape on his right arm. So I feel there was a psychology oversight, since, yes we know Sugiura uses an Ankle Lock…but tape is basically a bullseye.
Anyway, if you look past the questionable offense from Sugiura; it was hard fought and showed that the Juniors aren’t out of their depth. It took Sugiura applying the Ankle Lock for a third time, and this time having to drop down on the leg; applying extra pressure at the knee and ankle, nearly stopping Tanaka’s ability to move. Tanaka taps out, and we see Katsuhiko Nakajima step up as the next challenger.
Winner: Sugiura via Ankle Lock
3. BJW Ikkitousen ~Strong Climb~ Block A: Daichi Hashimoto vs T-hawk
We get an early matchup between two great wrestlers. Daichi is currently the BJW Strong World Heavyweight Champion; and T-Hawk is a popular and talented member of Strong Hearts.
This match starts fast, they take the action into the crowd and fight, duck and dodge outside of the ring. T-Hawk is definitely filled with an attitude, especially when the crowd starts chanting for Daichi. Yes, as the last name may explain; Daichi is the son of NJPW legend Shinya Hashimoto. So it’s to be expected that he’d have some built in crowd support.
Since Strong Hearts tend to fluctuate between heel and face depending on promotion; and I’m not fluent in BJW, I can’t expound on the dynamic. I can say that this was a tremendous tournament match which saw tons of hard strikes, blocked signatures and near falls for both wrestlers. Daichi has an early lead in the tournament after this victory, but damn it set the a tone.
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