WWE Smackdown 5/3/2024

WWE Smackdown 5/3/2024

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/04/wwe-smackdown-4262024.html

The show aired live in France on TV today (since it is in France) so it got posted on some sites after 3PM US Time which was nice.

We see Cody, AJ, Orton and Owens arrive.

Naomi, Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair and Bayley vs Tiffany Stratton, Asuka, Kairi Sane and Dakota Kai

Sane forearms Naomi over, who is wearing french colors. Naomi corner dropkicks Sane then Bianca handspring standing moonsaults on Sane for 2. Bianca suplexes Sane. Asuka is thrown out by Bianca then Sane urakens Bianca. Asuka pulls Bianca out and hits her. Tiff spinebusters Bayley for 2.

We go to break and return. Sane sliding forearms Bianca then Asuka sliding knees Bianca. Kai stomps on Bayley in the corner. Bayley's head is banged into Asuka's butt for 2. Tiff handspring back elbows Bayley then cartwheels into an alabama slam on her for 2. Tiff knocks Jade off the apron then throws Bayley into Naomi on the apron. Bayley backdrops Tiff.

Bayley and Bianca argue as Bayley goes for the tag. Jade is tagged in. She pump kicks Kai then chokeslams Asuka. Jade swinging side backbreakers Sane. Jade splashes Kai then hits a stiff powerbomb. Jade then dominators Bianca onto Kai for 2. Asuka top rope dropkicks Jade.

Everyone starts coming in to hit moves and leave. Kai hits a scorpion kick then Bianca hits a KOD to win it.

It was a quick tag. We didn't get to see a lot of some of the people in it. It was fine for what it was but it was just average. The crowd was real hot for this.

Austin Theory and Grayson Waller do a promo. Theory says they get the greatest tag champs in their first title defense. Waller smells something. Theory says it's cheese and Waller says that's what the audience smells like. He said it smells like smoke. He says The Street Profits want smoke and they are smoke.

Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair are interviewed. Jade says they are confident for tomorrow. Bianca says she is ready for this to be done and is sick of talking about it. Bianca looks at Bayley and said Damage Ctrl has been at them her whole career. She then mouths at Bayley more and Jade stops her.

Carmelo Hayes talks to Nick Aldis. Nick said he proved he belonged here. Nick said you need to show up and show out here and said he did. Melo said he almost beat Cody last week. He said he's gotta keep himself in motion here and said he is declaring for King of The Ring. Bobby Lashley comes in. He congratulates him and says if there's anything he can do for him, call him. Melo says he'll be good. He said he's a first round pick, he was in the ring with the WWE champ and said he got this figured out. Bobby said it's not the shot you shoot, it's about making the shot count. He said Melo lost last week. Melo asks him when the last time was that he shot his shot. Bobby says to be careful who you disrespect around here. Nick mouths "Wow".

It was a nice segment showing Melo's going to be a heel and maybe setting something up with Bobby.

New Catch Republic vs The Authors of Pain

Akam throws Dunne out by the throat. Dunne hits enzugiri's and dropkicks. NCR punch Akam together and back him up in the corner. Bate running euros Akam then is hit with a big lariat. Bate is held for gut punches from Razar.

Bate gets on Razar's back with a sleeper. Dunne double stomps Razar's arm off the top. AOP both go out. Bate then bounces off of Dunne's shoulders to tope con hilo AOP from the apron. Bate springboard euros Razar. Bate takes a corner death valley driver.

We go to break and return. Bate takes a backbreaker + top rope kneedrop. Bate's head is banged off the mat. Bate is bearhugged. Bate is picked up and dropkicks his way out of it. Bate hits punches on Akam then rebound lariats him. 

Dunne is tagged in and hits step up enzugiri's. Dunne stomps Razar's hands then basemnet dropkicks him. Dunne then moonsaults off the apron. Dunne hits a standing shiranui for 2. Dunne misses a top rope moonsault and rolls into a tag off of it.

Bate does an airplane spin and a slam off of it. Bate hits a running SSP and Dunne hits a running knee for 2. One of AOP gets his fingers split then he is knocked out of the ring. Razar is knocked out of the ring. Scarlett gets on the apron to distract Dunne and Bate tope con hilos Razar through the ropes. Karion Kross hits something like an F-5 on Bate on the floor. Dunne plancha's Kross then Razar hits a uranage on Dunne. Dunne takes a suplex + sitout powerbomb and is pinned.

It was a decent tag as expected. There was no way this was going to suck. Dunne and Bate got a lot more in than you would think and they didn't even fully lose clean here which is good for them. 

Nick Aldis and Paul Heyman talk. Paul asks if Nick got his memo. Nick says his request is denied on Owens/Orton being pulled out of the tag match. Paul says he can leave them in the match but what happens to them is not on his conscience. He says it's on Aldis' conscience. Nick asks if it's by orders of the tribal chief and Paul says it's not funny. Nick asks if he is charge. Paul says there's a difference between being in charge and in control. Paul slips up and said he hadn't spoke to Roman Reigns since Wrestlemania. Nick then asks how did Roman pull himself out of The WWE Draft. Paul said he pulled Roman out of The WWE Draft. He said he had no choice and said he can't subject Roman to the chaos that is going on with Bloodline right now. He said Nick can't subject Owens and Orton to the chaos tomorrow. Nick tells Paul he can try getting Owens and Orton to pull out of the match next (they are in the next segment).

The RKO Show

Doing an English speaking talk show in front of people who likely don't speak great English is a dumb move. Owens talks to the fans in French. Orton said he'd usually have to be talked into doing something like this but the people are so amazing. 

Kevin said Orton had concerns about their guest tonight. He said he got a lot of calls about it and said Paul Heyman asked to be on the show tonight. Owens said Paul told them he has something important to say. Owens asks Orton if he wants to introduce Paul. Orton said he wants to introduce him to an R-K-O.

Paul Heyman comes out. He talks about himself in French and calls himself the undisputed wise man. He said he has respect and wisdom today. Owens tells Orton he can't RKO him right away and Orton says he's more of an out of nowhere kind of guy. Paul says there will be no RKO's this evening. Orton says he begs to differ.

Owens asks Paul what he wants. Paul said he gets why he would doubt him. The crowd chants "We Want Roman" and Paul says he does too. Paul said the rules with Solo and Tonga are different than with Roman. He tells Owens to back up of the match with them. Orton questions this as does Owens. Owens says everything is falling apart around Paul.

Orton asks who the real Tribal Chief is. Paul says Orton put him in a bad position. Paul says there's only one Tribal Chief. Solo and Tama Tonga then nail Orton and Owens from behind. Orton and Owens fight back then fight outside. Officials and refs try to break it up. Owens bites Tama's face. Orton throws security guard over the one table and backdrops the other one on the table. Owens flip dives off the top onto Tama/Solo and security.

I liked the segment here and I am curious as to where they are going with it. I think they need to do something big tomorrow to put over Tama and Solo.

The Street Profits do a promo. They say SD is on fire tonight and say it's funny that Waller/Theory think they know French. Ford says they have been practicing French. Ford said they will put a whooping on their opponents and Dawkins says "oui oui". Ford says they will walk out tag champs and say they want the smoke.

LA Knight vs Angel

A QR code shows up on the screen. LA side headlocks him then shoulders him over. Angel clubs on him then uppercuts him. LA lariats him out of the corner then LA neckbreakers him. They go out and LA bangs Angel's head off the apron. Angel is lariated over the top then dropkicked through the ropes. LA corner lariats him and suplexes him.

We go to break and return. LA hits shots in the corner then takes a headbutt from Angel. LA flying lariats him then hits a running knee in the corner. LA slams him then elbow drops him. Berto gets on the apron, gets hit and LA hits a BFT on Angel soon after. LA gets the win.

It was too long with a super obvious outcome. There was no way Angel was winning this.

LA gets on the mic after. LA says it's another Smackdown and another dummy dropped on his head. He said he's not going to say it's his ring. He said he is going to enter King of The Ring though.

Santos Escobar gets on the mic. He says LA keeps talking. He says while he is talking, he'll be winning. LA says he'll keep talking. He says when he stops talking, Santos will get stomped out. He says Santos knows whose game this is.

This wasn't that interesting.

Byron interviews Carlito. He asks why he attacked Dragon Lee. Carlito said he has been away from WWE many times. All he wanted was his Wrestlemania Moment. He said he was mad that Rey chose Lee over him at Mania. He said it wasn't personal. Dragon Lee then attacks Carlito and it is quickly broken up. Well, at least that is some explanation but it's still pretty weak, stupid and silly.

WWE Tag Titles - Grayson Waller and Austin Theory (c) vs The Street Profits

Waller nails Ford on the apron then Theory hits Dawkins from behind. Theory knee chokes Dawkins in the corner. Dawkins is held up for shots then he flying back elbows Waller. Ford hits a nice dropkick on Waller. Theory takes a double flapjack. Ford rock bottom's Waller then Dawkins top rope swantons Waller. Ford tope con hilos both opponents.

Waller takes a double backdrop. Dawkins twisting splashes Waller in the corner. We go to break and return. Ford lariats Theory then springboard back elbows him. Ford backdrops Theory.

Theory flips out of a double backdrop and tags out. Waller gets caught up top and hits a springboard coast to coast dropkick on Dawkins in what looked like a weird spot. Theory slingshot rolls in and is pounced in mid-air. Waller rolls in and takes a sky high. Theory is on Dawkins' shoulders and Ford hits a top rope blockbuster for 2. Dawkins back rolls Theory then Waller flatliners Dawkins. Theory gets the win.

I felt like it didn't fully click here though they had some nice spots. The coast to coast dropkick spot was really weird here as something was definitely botched.

AJ Styles and Cody Rhodes have a face to face segment in the ring. Cody does his "what do you want to talk about" line in French. Cody tells AJ he has his full attention. Cody said he grew up watching AJ. AJ said he doesn't need that crap. He said he's still in his prime and Cody asks who is saying otherwise. AJ said he didn't have to and they knew what he meant.

AJ said Cody had the path laid out for him because everyone wanted to sign the son of Dusty. He said WWE welcomed Cody in with open arms. He said things got rough and Cody couldn't handle it, then he does a Stardust taunt. He said Cody packed his bags and left. AJ said he was kept out of WWE for years and wasn't welcome with open arms. He said he had to prove himself and make his own way to the top. He said he did it all by himself.

AJ said Cody had hall of famers watching his back so he could finish his story. AJ said he beat those guys the same way he will beat Cody tomorrow night. He said he will find his way to the top and show everyone that he is phenomenal. Cody asks him who he is trying to convince. He says not to tear down his accomplishments.

Cody said he made many mistakes and sacrifices to get here. He said his first title defense is their first match. He says AJ will always be phenomenal. He said he won't be looked at as phenomenal, just his first. He says that's too sweet. Cody tries to give him a "too sweet" hand sign and AJ slaps him. AJ then leaves.

I liked some of this but thought they should have went with the angle of them having to get into WWE different ways earlier on in the build for this. For me it's just too little, too late. WWE just dropped the ball on this feud and AJ is almost guaranteed to lose tomorrow.

We cut to the back and Bloodline is still brawling with Orton and Owens. Security is trying to break it up and Solo is hit with a chair by Orton to end the show.

Overall thoughts: It wasn't my favorite edition of SD. They did a bunch of talking segments in front of a crowd that doesn't speak English and it was a weak card. The AJ/Cody feud isn't working and the Carlito/Lee feud isn't working either. I don't know where they are going with Paul Heyman and Bloodline, but I'm interested to see it play out and see what kind of havoc comes out of their tag match tomorrow. I wouldn't recommend this one.

New Japan Pro Wrestling 5/3/2024 Wrestling Dontaku 2024 Day 1

New Japan Pro Wrestling 5/3/2024 Wrestling Dontaku 2024 Day 1

I saw all but one match here:

Oleg Boltin & Shoma Kato vs. Katsuya Murashima & Togi Makabe

KM = Katsuya Murashima

Togi and Oleg start us off. They shoulder battle and Oleg shoulders him over. Togi knocks him over. Kato hits forearms on Togi in the corner. Togi slams him. KM shoulders over Kato then stomps on him. Kato takes a hiptoss for 2 then slams him.

Togi hits forearms and bangs Kato's head off the buckles. KM forearms Kato then stomps him. Kato and Togi trade forearms. Kato dropkicks him. Oleg gets in and shoulders over both opponents. Oleg hits karelin's lift on Togi and kips up. Oleg is double shouldered over then takes a dropkick from KM for 2.

KM crabs Oleg but Oleg poers out of it. Oleg spinning slams KM for 2. Oleg crabs KM. Kato dropkicks Togi ten KM dropkicks leg. Oleg finlay rolls KM and wins it.

It was a short young lions match here and was nothing of note. Kato and KM got more in than I expected.

United Empire (Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan) vs. Just 5 Guys (Taichi & Yuya Uemura)

Yuya and Khan start us off. Khan trips him and front facelocks him. They roll and stand off. They do more grappling. Khan takes him down and fujiwara armbars him.

Yuya armdrags Khan, flying armdrags him then armlocks him. Khan shoulders him over. Newman and Taichi fight. Newman hits forearms and they trade facekicks. Taichi side kicks him.

Newman trips Taichi then double stomps his back. Khan sleepers Taichi then kicks him in the back. Khan corner lariats Taichi then sits on his neck in the corner. Khan slams Taichi and does a one footed pin on him. Khan hits mongolian chops then Taichi chops him back. Taichi hits an STO.

Newman running facekicks Taichi when they get in. Newman corner dropkicks him then hits a suplex. Newman PK's him then Yuya back body drops him. Yuya chops Newman in the corner then backdrops him.

Yuya chops Newman then Newman dropkicks him off of his crossbody attempt. Newman rolls him up for 2. Yuya blocks an os cutter. Newman spinning forearms him then Yuya hits a front suplex for the win.

It was a short tag match as expected. Newman and Yuya tried a little bit here but Khan really didn't. 

TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) vs. Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo, Hikuleo & Jado)

Mikey and Hiku trade forearms. Hiku forearms him then lariats him. Hiku corner splashes Mikey then ELP corner lariats Mikey. Mikey is side slammed into a 2nd rope elbow drop from ELP. Hiku ddt's Shane following ELP's leapfrog. Kosei takes a double boot.

Hiku lariats Kosei, sending him on his neck. Shane kicks Jado in the back and dances. Shane pulls Jado's ears then Mikey does as well. Kosei slams Jado for 2. Kosei hits forearms then Jado blocks a PK. They flip each other off and Jado shoulders him over.

Hiku shoulders Mikey over. Shane chops Hiku then Hiku drops him with a chop. Mikey is dropped with a chop then Hiku splashes and lariats both. Shane face kicks Hiku then takes a big boot. Shane dropkicks ELP for 2 then ELP takes a rock bottom + powerbomb combo for 2. Kosei enzugiri's Jado then ELp superkicks Kosei.

Hiku is double gorilla pressed by TMDK but escapes it. ELP then grabs the tights of Mikey and pins him.

It was another short and nothing match that really just filled time.

Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & Tiger Mask vs. BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens, KENTA & Taiji Ishimori)

The faces are attacked before it starts and everyone fights outside. Goto's head is banged off the apron. Chase and Kenta are sent into eac hother then shoulders over. Tiger top rope crossbodies Taiji then the faces triple club Taiji's back.

Chase sentons Goto then Taiji chokes Goto with a shirt. Goto's head is banged off the exposed buckle. He fights off a double team then takes triple clubs on his back and the heels do his pose. Goto is double shouldered then stomped by both opponents. Kenta misses a hiptoss onto Goto.

Yoshi is tagged in and neckbreakers Chase. He chops Kenta then hangs him over the top rope for a dropkick. The heels thwart the faces then Yoshi lariats Kenta down. Chase and Tiger get in. Tiger hits a step up enzugiri then crucifixes him. Tiger hits a tiger driver for 2.

Chase backdrops Tiger for 2. Tiger hits punches on Chase then Chase spinning back elbows him. Chase pumping knees him then does a package piledriver. Chase then wins it.

It was a total nothing match and a very lazy effort by all involved.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd & Gedo)

LIJ is hit before it starts like usual. Gabe hits shots on Shingo. Drilla and Naito trade. Naito tries to get over the top but can't make it. Naito running back elbows him then baseball slides him. Drilla takes a double team double axe handle. Hiromu corner lariats him then is pulled out by Clark. Drilla baseball slides Hiromu and Hiromu is sent into the rails by Clark. Shingo and Gabe lariat each other in the aisle way.

Shingo and Hiromu both get sent into walls outside. The heels try to stop Hiromu from getting into the ring before the countout. He then is then beaten up when he gets in. Gedo snapmares Hiromu then rakes his face with his boot. Gedo stands on Hiromu's neck then Clark suplexes Hiromu. Clark elbow drops Hiromu. Clark chinlocks Hiromu then powerslams him. 

Hiromu avoids a double team and hits a double dropkick. Hiromu dragon screws Clark. Gabe and Shingo get in. They shoulder battle and trade forearms. They shoulder battle and both go down. Shingo corner lariats Gabe then hits forearms. Shingo suplexes Gabe. Gabe hits him from behind then suplexes him.

They trade lariats. Gabe drops him with a punch and a lariat then Shingo drops him with a lariat. They collide with lariats. Gabe slaps him and goes down to a punch. Bushi and Gedo get in. Bushi flying headscissors him at 10 minutes. Bushi spinning neckbreakers him. Drilla spinebusters him then double stomps him. Calrk gets crotched on the top then Naito neckbreakers Drilla.

Gedo takes a spinebuster and dropkick to the knee. Bushi then taps out Gedo with a figure four variation.

It was an 11 minute multi-person tag. It hyped up Gabe vs Shingo a little and was okay for what it was but not really that special. Gedo being in these matches is getting silly as he gets beaten every single time.

El Desperado, Jon Moxley & Shota Umino vs. House Of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)

Mox didn't come out to Wild Thing here.

Mox poses on the ropes and Ren hits him as the heels attack prior to the bell. Ren takes off Mox's jacket and throws it at him. Ren eye rakes and beats up on Mox. Ren kicks him in the side of the head then Mox hits a big lariat. Mox throws Ren into the rails.

Ren takes a double back elbow, gets his legs split then takes a basment dropkick + PK in the ring. Shota hits elbows on Ren's neck then euros him. Shota is sent into the exposed buckle then the rail. Togo hits Shot with the turnbuckle pad then Shota is double suplexed on the floor. Evil eye rakes Shota outside.

Kanemaru slams Shota and hits knees to the back. Kanemaru then chinlocks him and elbows him in the face. Evil tries to choke Shota with a towel, the ref takes it and Evil chokes him with a chain. Despy stops it and is eye raked. Shota hits forearms on Evil then Kanemaru trips him outside.

Shota stops a double team and tornado ddt's Evil at 5 minutes.Mox gets in and hits shots on Ren. Mox germans Ren then hits corner lariats. Mox hits corner punches on Ren. Ren abdominal stretches him and Mox hiptosses him to escape it. Mox sliding lariats Ren.

Ren flying knee presses Mox then Mox cutters Kanemaru. Kanemaru takes corner attacks then Despy spinebusters Kanemaru. Shota hits ignition on Kanemaru for 2. Despy does a bomb on Kanemaru for 2. Togo chokes Despy with a weapon while Ren distracts the ref. Mox plancha's Ren and Shota sends Evil in the rails. Kanemaru spits whiskey at Despy, sends him into the exposed buckle and pins him.

This was bogus. They had Mox in here and instead of doing a nice 15 minute tag, we got like an 8 minute affair filled with the usual HoT nonsense. This was nothing of note.

HoT group stomps Mox after.

NJPW World Television Title Match - Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Jeff Cobb

They try to take each other down. Zack wristlock takedowns him then Cobb reverses the wristlock. Zack goes for the armbar and Cobb ropebreaks. Cobb side headlock takeovers him then Zack headscissors him. Cobb headstands out of it and twists Zack's foot. Zack misses a pele kick on the arm and Cobb teases a standing moonsault.

Cobb throws him down. Cobb beale throws him then throws him hard into the buckles. Cobb hits a big belly to belly suplex then Zack tornado ddt's him. Zack hits euros then Cobb hits forearms. They roll each other up. Zack rolls out of a backslide and twists Cobb's neck with his feet. Zack then PK's him.

They trade forearms. Zack face kicks him several times then Cobb face kicks him back. Zack pele kicks the arm then germans him. Cobb then release germans him. Cobb throws him on a backdrop then standing moonsaults him for 2. They lariat each other at the same time.

Zack kicks Cobb's arm and michinoku drivers him for 2. Zack hits slaps and is knocked back hard with a dropkick. Cobb carries him to the top rope then Zack sleepers him on the 2nd rope. Zack powerbombs Cobb while Cobb is on the 2nd rope.

Cobb rolls him up for 2. Cobb rolls out of a choke and does a nice F-5. Zack tries to crucifix Cobb off a tour of the islands slam. Cobb like clubs on him/downward lariats him and Zack ties the arm up. Zack armbars him then Cobb picks him up and tour of the island slams him for the win.

It was a fun match at times but did get a little too clever at times for its own good. Zack's matches tend to be all over the place at times with random submissions that destroy the flow and this was one of those times. I thought they could have had a better on in them had they focused a little more on Cobb roughing him up and Zack using his trick submissions to escape it. 

David Finlay vs. Yota Tsuji

Yota side headlocks him then shoulders him over. DF slides out to stall. DF misses a charge and takes corner spears. DF knocks Yota outside then rams him into the rails. DF throws him on a suplex then hits headbutts to the gut. DF legdrops him.

Yota is thrown hard into the buckles then DF stomps his hand and chinlocks him. DF sentons him then is suplexed into the buckles. Yota corner splashes him then flying headscissors him out. Yota topes him over the rails outside. Yota gutbusters him then bodyscissors him.

Yota hits a shot to the gut. DF gets stuck up top. Yota enzugiri's him then sunset flips him out of the powerbomb attempt. DF hits a blue thunder then hits a dominator for 2.  Yota back body drops him then tilt-a-whirl backbreakers him. Yota falcon arrow/orange crushes him for 2.

Yota double jump springboards and is caught with a cutter. DF buckle bombs him then hits oblivion for 2. Yota cradles him then hits his curbstomp combination. DF hits euros while they are on their knees then stands up and euros him. Yota hits forearms then takes euros. Yota backslides him and they trade strikes. Yota flying pumping knees him for 2. Yota hits a sitout swinging slam for 2.

Yota curbstomps him then double jump curbstomps him for 2. Gedo gets on the apron. Yota is distracted and gets speared. Yota cutters him out of the suplex then spears him. Yota misses a spear then DF powerbombs him for 2. DF powerbombs him then knees him in the face off a suplex lift. DF then wins it.

It was your usual average David Finlay match. I don't know what it is, but he's just not exciting to watch in the ring and he never is able to get his matches up to the next level. It was one of Yota's better efforts though and he didn't do overdo it like he had in prior big matches. Yota losing isn't totally surprising, but Finlay winning doesn't do a whole lot for me.

IWGP Global Heavyweight Title Match - Nic Nemeth (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Nic is out of the TNA PPV this weekend due to this match. They ran an injury angle for him on Impact because of it. 

Nic and Tana lock up. Tana wristlocks him and rolls him. hey stand off. Nic rolls him on the mat then Tana side headlocks him on the mat. Tana hits armdrags and they end up doing another stand off. Nic takes him down and Tana side headlocks him again. Nic hits a dropkick and tries to german him over the top. Tana dragon screws Nic and Nic rolls out. Tana back elbows him out of the corner then 2nd rope twisting crossbodies him. Tana dropkicks him in the knee then Nic does it back. Nic ddt's the leg then pulls it while rolling.

Tana hits forearms then Nic kicks him in the leg again. Nic bangs the leg off the mat and elbow drops him for 2. Nic leglocks him then they trade forearms for punches. Nic boots him in the knee then jumping ddt's him for 2. Tana flying forearms him and slams him. Tana 2nd rope swantons him for 2. Tana is thrown over the top but skins the cat. Nic is thrown over the top and skins the cat. They collide with crossbodies in mid-air. They trade forearms and Nick headbutts him. Tana slingblades him then top rope crossbodies him for 2.

Tana misses a high fly flow off the top. Nic superkicks him for 2. Tana slaps Nic then hits a twist and shout. Tana slingblades him for 2 and Nic gets his knees up on the high fly flow. Nic hits a dangerzone then hits a second one for the win.

It wasn't a real good match. They spent a bunch of time on legwork here that ultimately meant nothing in the match. There weren't any real big spots or moments here. They got under 20 minutes here and that's not enough for these guys to do a classic. And with no heel or face roles here or any other storyline, a classic was about all they could attempt to do. It was real disappointing and we would have gotten a match that was twice as good about 5 years ago. Yes, Tana's old and injured but compare this to the Nemeth/Moose match a few weeks ago and it's clear this was an effort issue above all else.

Tana holds up Nic's hand after. David Finlay comes in and beats down both after. DF and Nic roll around trading punches. Young Lions try to stop it then War Dogs pull DF off. Nic gets on the mic after. He calls DF a coward. He says DF takes the easy way out and is a little sh!t. He says he will defend the title against him anytime and anyplace. He challenges him for a Global Title match tomorrow.

Overall thoughts: It was not one of NJPW's best shows. The main was nothing special. Finlay had his usual average match with Yota. Zack/Cobb had some fun parts to it but Zack got too clever as he often does and messed up some of the pace. Mox got a whole 8 minutes of wrestling in during his match and the rest of the show as just mild midcard stuff. I don't recommend this.

WWE Speed 5/3/2024

WWE Speed 5/3/2024

Wednesday's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/05/wwe-speed-512024.html

This is the first Friday edition of Speed. I don't know if it's permanent or just a one-off.

WWE Speed Title Tournament Final - Johnny Gargano vs Ricochet

JG = Johnny Gargano

This has a 5 minute time limit instead of the usual 3 minute time limit.

Ric leapfrogs and JG armdrags him into a pin attempt. Ric rolls him and JG armdrags him off the shoulders. They trade shots. Ric is flipped. JG rolls him and Ric does a standing SSP.

JG goes to springboard and is enzugiri'd. JG blocks Ric's moonsault with his feet. Ric moonaults to nothing outside then JG tope tornado ddt's him on the floor. Ric step up enzugiri's him, handsprings and is caught with a russian legsweep. JG puts him in the gargano escape then Ric throws him backwards into the buckles.

JG superkicks him then hits a poisonrana. Ric no sells it and germans him for 2. JG is up top and Ric enzugiri's him. Ric is dropped face first on the top rope. JG superkicks him for 2. JG hits forearms then Ric fireman's carries him into a facekick. Ric hits a recoil single leg codebreaker. Ric handsprings into a cutter for the win at 4:21.

It was a super fast paced match. They did a lot of evading and blocking some of the flying early which sucked since that's what you watch this for. Them getting the extra 2 minutes to work with here kind of defeats the point of Speed but I'm not complaining. As usual, it wasn't must see or anything.

They announced that a #1 Contender's Tournament for the title starts next Wednesday. Ric got fireworks for his win.

Overall thoughts: There was only one match as usual but unlike usual, it was 5 minutes long instead of 3 minutes. It wasn't must see but they did fill the match with lots of action.

Ring of Honor on HonorClub 5/2/2024 Episode #62

Ring of Honor on HonorClub 5/2/2024 Episode #62

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/04/ring-of-honor-on-honorclub-4252024.html

The Infantry vs The Outrunners

The Outrunners have some girl named Laser Linda with them which is is a first for TV. Trish lariats Linda for no reason during their entrance.

The four fight and The Runners miss dropkicks. The Infantry then dropkicks them out.Dean hits some armdrags on Turbo then Bravo elbow drops Turbo's arm. Turbo takes a double atomic drop, double hiptoss and double fist drop. Truth then takes the hiptoss and fist drop too.

Truth distracts the ref and Turbo hits Dean in the eyes. The runners go for a double team but Bravo pulls Dean out and The Runners hit each other. Bravo plancha's outside onto Turbo. Truth is put over Bravo's knee then Dean fist drops Truth (they do a thing with catching an invisible grenade during it). Bravo superkicks Turbo then is nailed in the gut.

Bravo trips Truth and pulls his crotch into the post. Turbo then double axe handles Bravo off the apron. Bravo is held for a kick then bravo sunset flips Truth. Turbo bulldog headlocks Bravo. Bravo chops both Runners then takes a double hiptoss. The Runners then do a double elbow drop.

Bravo slingshot cutters Truth. Dean is tagged in and hits shots on both opponents. Truth is back body dropped. Dean hits offense on The Runners then ddt's Turbo. Dean elbow drops Turbo. Dean knocks down Truth with his crossover punch then Dean top rope splashes Turbo for 2.

Truth begs off and gets his eye poke blocked. Turbo facekicks Truth on accident then Truth takes bootcamp (russian legsweep + face kick). Truth is then pinned.

It went a little long here for the match they had set up. It was a decent match with The Runners being stooges and The Infantry being the faces here.

2.0 do a promo. Parker says he was going to retire a few weeks ago. Then he said he got the biggest news of his life. He says that lit a fire under his @ss. He said Ruby will be at home and he has to figure out what's next. Parker says there's a lot to fight for. Menard says Parker has his priorities in order.

Menard said they have an issue with The Undisputed Kingdom. Menard said they should get the van and take a road trip. Parker says they will go on a trip to the promised land. Mendard tells Undisputed Kingdom to get ready.

Proving Ground Match - The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) vs The Qrown (Leonis and Maximus)

They didn't really mention which Qrown member was which here and they didn't get an entrance. Leonis has the red bandana and is bigger. Mike chops and forearms Leonis. Leonis is tripped into a Taven elbow to the neck. Taven then stops Leonis. Mike hits forearms and boots on Linus in the corner.

Leonis fights off the 2v1 and belly to belly suplexes Taven. Leonis takes a couple of shots and is knocked down. Mike stomps on Leonis. Leonis hits chops and throws Taven out. Mike is back body dropped and Maximus gets in. Max hits nice lariats then uranages Mike. Taven springboard kicks Max then  Max takes a spike piledriver. Mike pins Max.

It was a quick squash here. Maximus got a little shine with some nice lariats before being put away.

JD Drake does a promo. He said he's been lost for the last month. He said his brain is foggy and he doesn't know if he's coming or going. He said it showed in his bowling game too and he asked where did he go from here. He said he got change for a $5 at the bowling alley with three $1 bills and  a $2 bill. He said his grandfather used to put $2 bills in every picture frame. He said JD would need to talk to him one day and said this will be the message. He said when times get tough, you either quit or tighten your boot straps and get back to work. He says The Workhorsemen might not be a thing for the forseeable future but it's time for him to be a Workhorseman. He said it's time to give ROH a $2 bill worth of @ss whooping.

This was a nice promo here and was more helpful than anything JD has done for the last year.

Toa Liona vs Jimmy Wild

Toa offers a handshake. Jimmy takes it then Toa doesn't let go. Toa running back elbows him then hits chops and shots to the gut. Toa chokes Jimmy on the ropes then belly to belly suplexes him. Jimmy step up enzugiri's him then hits a dropkick. Toa superkicks him then sentons him on the apron.

Toa then grabs the camera and yells. Toa running pounces him  then sits on him to pin him.

It was a quick squash here with Toa looking good. Will it lead to anything? I doubt it.

Toa throws Jimmy out after.

The Dark Order (Evil Uno, John Silver and Alex Reynolds) vs Adam Priest, Zicky Dice and Sean Maluta

You may remember Sean Maluta from WWE's Cruiserweight Classic a few years ago. The Order appear to be faces again here. John shoulders Sean over. Sean goes for a hurricanrana and is powerbombed down. John back body drops Adam then Dice backs off from John.

Sean is double tripped and takes a triple basement dropkick. Dice knees Uno from the outside and Sean hits Uno from behind. Dice sends Uno into the post.

Dice cravates Uno and does a neckbreaker out of it. Adam gets shots in on Uno then Dice footslaps Uno. Uno gives  Dice's foot to the ref then neckbreakers him. Alex running back elbows Adam and knocks the ref over. Alex plancha's Dice and Sean outside then he double underhook powerbombs Adam. Sean enzugiri's Alex the Uno face kicks Alex. Dice hits a spinning forearm on Uno then John superkicks Dice. John canadian destroyers Adam then Adam takes a triple pendulum powerbomb. The Dark Order get the pin.

It was a short squash here. It's too bad they didn't let it go longer because it would have been good.

The Iron Savages do a promo. They say they are underappreciated and undervalued. They say they have been paraded like a circus act. They haven't been in any tournaments or on PPV's. They sayd making people laugh is not bringing them success. Jameson says the fans don't deserve their entertainment and are done trying to win over low testosterone losers.

Aaron Solo vs Jon Cruz

Jon wants a handshake. Solo gives him one then boots and punches him. Solo suplexes him then takes a flying headscissors and lariat. Jon slams him and shakes the ropes.  Jon misses a top rope splash and is german suplexed. Solo corkscrew kicks him and gets the win.

It was just a quick squash here.

Queen Aminata vs Robyn Renegade

They lock up. RR side headlocks her and Queen headlock takeovers her. RR step up enzugiri's her then backcrackers her. Queen is hanging over the 2nd rope and RR double stomps her. Queen cradles her then hits lariats.

Queen snapmares her and running knees her. Queen running knees her through the ropes and we see Athena watching this with Billie Starkz. RR sunset flips her then is snapped suplex. RR drops her down on her chest then basement dropkicks her. RR hits an attitude adjustment for 2.

Queen germans her then corner hip attacks her. Queen running facewash kicks her in the corner then hits an air raid crash for the win.

It wasn't real interesting here. They seemed to have gotten lost at one point near the end of this with Queen hitting some bad strikes.

They show then ends at around 51 minutes.

Overall thoughts: I'm not sure why the show was shorter this week. I wouldn't think people paying for this service would be happy about it though it makes my job easier. This episode was a backwards step for ROH as we went back to the pointless squashes, we only had one champ on the show and nothing was really built. I wouldn't recommend this one.

TNA Impact 5/2/2024

TNA Impact 5/2/2024

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/04/tna-impact-4252024.html

AJ Francis is with Rich Swann and Bun B in the luxury box seats. They said they wanted to hear Joe Hendry's apology in the VIP section. AJ says to feel free to come up here and get kicked out by security.

Mustafa Ali vs Chris Bey

They lock up and trade wristlocks. Ali headflips out of a wristlock then side headlock takeovers him. Ali side headlocks him and shoulders him over. Ali back elbows Bey and takes chops in the corner. Bey hits corner punches then flips Ali with a lariat.

Ali flips out of a backdrop and is ddt'd for 2. Ali stomps on him. Ali is put in tree of woe then Bey does a coast to coast elbow drop in a cool spot. Bey is swept down onto the top buckle then Ali tilt-a-whirl backbreakers him. Ali is thrown into the 2nd buckle face first.

Bey running lariats Ali then enzugiri's him on the apron. Ali flips over him then is spinebustered for 2. Bey gets on the 2nd rope then is pushed over and then dropkicked to the floor. Bey spin kicks Ali when Ali slingshots in.

They trade shots and Ali tries to pin him with his feet on the ropes. Ace knocks Ali's feet off the ropes. Ali's security then argue with Ace and Ali topes Ace. Bey then tope con hilos Ali. Bey top rope crossbodies Ali then Ali superkicks him.

Bey pumping knees him then hits a kudo driver. Bey gets on the 2nd rope and is german suplexed on the apron. Ali misses a 450 then Bey flying cutters him. Ali's guards hit Bey with a flag while he's up top. Ali 450's Bey and gets the win.

I liked it at first but then it kept going and going and I ended up not liking it. The Bey coast to coast elbow was nice but it ended up meaning nothing as did the Ali german to Bey on the apron. They did too much here.

Dani Luna vs Alisha Edwards

Lars Frederiksen is on commentary here. Masha is with Alisha and Jody Threat is with Dani. Alisha slaps her then is piefaced over. Dani drops her with a forearm then corner lariats her twice. Dani exploders her for 2. Dani knocks her over with a forearm and Masha tries to coach Alisha.

Dani is pulled into the ropes then Alisha splashes her on the ropes. Masha chokes Dani on the ropes then Alisha hits a tornado ddt. Alisha yells at the fans and Dani stares her down. Dani slams her then hits lariats and back elbows. Alisha takes a nasty slingshot blue thunder bomb.

Masha gets on the ropes and distracts Dani. Jody threat pushes Masha and Alisha dropkicks Jody. Masha gets in and hits a northern lights bomb on Dani. Alisha then picks up the pin.

It was a short one here and wasn't that great. Alisha got thrown around like a kid by Dani here.

Sami Callihan does DMTV with an old school TV show intro.We see him spit and he says he can say anything he wants. He said he wants to right the wrongs of the past. He then does his thumbs up and thumbs down thing. This was very fast paced and extremely hard to hear and follow.

Deaner gets on the mic and says it looks like he has a battle ahead of him. He said he talked to Santino and said they can add a stipulation to this. Hammer takes the mic away. He said he's been in TNA for a few months and said this is the worst part of the experience. He calls it a sad sorry attempt to pander to idiots. Hammer says they should make this an arm wrestling match as a stipulation. Deaner said they should get in crazier since they are in Vegas and have an anything goes, no DQ, Sin City Streetfight. Deaner says it's not either one of their choices, it's the people's choice. Deaner asks the crowd which match they want and the crowd chooses the street fight. 

Sin City Street Fight - Hammerstone vs Cody Deaner

Deaner hits Hammer with the mic saying the people have spoken. Deaner dropkicks him in the knee then grabs a trash can lid. He hits Hammer with it and Hammer just gets mad. Hammer pump kicks him then stomps him in the corner.

Hammer back elbows Deaner then throws him out. Hammer pulls Deaner shoulder first into the post. We go to PiP break and return. Deaner takes a forearm to the spine then Hammer hits crossface shots. Hammer tells him he wanted this and chokes him on the ropes.

Hammer gorilla presses Deaner on the chair top edge. Deaner hits forearms and falls over when he tries to slam Hammer. Hammer hits mounted shots then Deaner slams Hammer on chairs for 2. Deaner grabs a table. He tries a forearm but Hammer no sells it then Hammer exploders him. Hammer chokeslams Deaner through a table. Hammer torture racks Deaner and wins it.

It was a longer match than it needed to be. Deaner had no real shot here and it would have been better as a squash.

Jake Something flies in over the top rope onto Hammer. They fight on the mat then security breaks it up. Hammer teases fighting Jake then walks off. Security stops Jake.

We see a doctor working on Nic Nemeth. He says Nic has a bad injury to his neck to Santino. He said Nic won't be able to compete at Under Siege and he said he is pulling him. Matt Hardy comes in. He said he will team with Seven and Bailey instead of Nic to fight The System. Santino makes the match.

Trent Seven, Mike Bailey and Matt Hardy talk. Trent says The System needs to be taken down. Mike says it will be time for them to delete The System tomorrow. Matt says The System must be annihilated and deleted. Matt says Trent and mike will be made temporary members of House Hardy. He said Trent will be "Trent the Seventh" and Mike will be "The Ball of Speed". He said they will render The System obsolete.

We get another Jonathan Gresham video. He talks to Santino. Santino says he's "jack up". Santino said he hopes this time in TNA is smooth sailing. JG gets lost with images of bugs and Santino says welcome back. They shake hands and one of them gets black liquid on their hands. The guy in the octopus mask then walks in and sits across from JG. Santino tries to wash the black stuff off but can't.

AJ Francis and crew are in the VIP seats. He asks if the crowd agrees that it has been a great episode of TNA, then tells them he doesn't care. AJ said he doesn't Joe Hendry but will see if he's a man of his word.

Joe Hendry comes out with a guitar and a mic. He says it's time for him to apologize to First Class. He said his issues with them began here with a song. Joe says it's important to end things the same way, with a song. He said he needs to put his apology into context. He said his last song mocked them brutally. He then sings the song, mocking AJ failing at the NFL and rap. In the song, he says he'll never win any titles and says he's the cheese of champions.

Joe then said he did a second song and sings it. The lyrics talk about AJ being banned from diving. Joe then says it's time for the apology song. He said he went low before and will go higher this time. The lyrics say he's sorry for making fun of him as there's so much material. He shows a photo of AJ holding up Rich with his hands on Rich's butt. He then sings a rip off of "Can you take me higher?" with the lyrics, "Can you please get fired? Because it happened twice before."

I thought it was a good segment but Joe kind of was a jerk for saying he would apologize and then ripping him further.

Gia Miller interviews The System. Eddie ask who is on the poster for Under Siege and says they are. Eddie says TNA needs them. Brian Myers asks how Speedball Mountain got in this and said they are riding the coat tails of Matt Hardy. Moose says the show will have the return of TNA legend, Matt Hardy. Moose said he became a TNA legend while Matt was gone. He says Matt talks about deleting people but says The System can't get deleted. He says Matt and Speedball Mountain will be deleted at Under Seige. Alisha says you always trust The System.

Trey Miguel vs Ace Austin

They lock up and go into the corner. Trey lock-up drags him but Ace holds on. They shove each other and punch each other. They roll on the mat with punches and Wentz/Bey each get on the apron. Ace rolls and trips Trey into a kick in the back. Ace armdrags him and dropkicks him. Trey goes out.
Aces goes to springboard and Wentz pulls Ace down. Trey rakes Ace's back. We go to full break and return.

Ace is sent into the corner hard. Trey chokes him with his knee then front facelocks him. Trey flying bodyscissors Ace then hits mounted punches. Trey hits kicks then double stomps Ace's back. Ace gets his knees up on Trey's asai moonsault. Ace russian legsweeps him then legdrops him.

Ace hits corner lariats on Trey then 2nd rope kicks him for 2. Trey rolls up Ace for 2. Trey moonsaults over Ace, who is on all fours, then dropkicks him in the back. Trey kicks Ace in the chest. He tells a fan that he just hurt his leg and still moves better than him.

Trey enzugiri's Ace. Ace misses a springboard kick then his head is superkicked into the buckles. Trey ear claps Ace then sunset flips him off the top for 2. Ace drives Trey's head into the mat then hits a running headhunter to win it.

It started off well and pretty much tailed off for the rest of the match until the finish.

Josh Alexander and Eric Young do a promo. Josh says he doesn't like Kazarian or Maclin. Eric agrees and says he doesn't like Kazarian. Eric says they are coming straight at Kaz/Maclin and are coming for them tomorrow night.

George Iceman gets on the mic. He says what's a Knockouts title match without a perfect spectator? He then brings out Ash by Elegance, who is in the box seats. 

Knockouts Title - Jordynne Grace vs Miyu Yamashita

Grace wristlocks her. Miyu rolls through it and wristlocks her. Grace shoulders her over then cartwheels over her. Miyu hits a chest kick then Grace does a regal suplex on Miyu's head. Miyu triangle kicks her during the break then hits knees to the face. Miyu drops her with a kick the ndoes it again wit h chest kick. Grace sweeps her on the apron.

Grace jackhammers her on the floor. Grace goes for a dive and is kicked on the attempt. Miyu hits kicks on the apron then high kicks her. Miyu hits an attitude adjustment on the apron.

Miyu throws her over with a cobra clutch. Grace slaps her then is slapped back. Miyu chest kicks her then is slammed. Miyu gets up and chest kicks Grace. Grace slams her again. They go down at the same time with a uraken and high kick to each other. 

Grace back elbows her in the corner then slaps her. Miyu knees her in the face on the buckles then grace hits headbutts. Grace back body drops her off the top. Miyu high kicks her then is clotheslined. Miyu legsweeps her then spin kicks her in the head for 2. Grace spinning back elbows her then hits a made in Japan. Grace then gets the win.

It didn't have much build to it but they did give Miyu enough offense here to make you think she had a chance. They were super stiff with each other here and Miyu really lit her up with kicks. I ended up liking this one and thought it was a brutal looking match.

Steph de Lander and Kon come out after. Steph face kicks Grace. Steph tells Kon to break her neck then the lights go out. PCO appears in the ring and chops Kon. Grace lob blows Kon. PCO lariats Kon over the top. Steph lariats Grace. PGO grabs Steph by the throat and Steph tries to flirt with him. Grace then throws Steph out.

Overall thoughts: I liked the main and the Hendry concert but not much else here. It just felt like a lot of filler and the show was skippable. It didn't do much to build to the PPV tomorrow, but the PPV is so weak that no amount of build will do much for it anyway. I wouldn't recommend this.

FREEDOMS 2/8/2024 Go Beyond The Limit 2024

FREEDOMS 2/8/2024 Go Beyond The Limit 2024

Kengo, Takahiro Katori & Toru Sugiura vs. F-SWAG (Gaia Hox, Jun Masaoka & Yuya Susumu)

We get some forearm trades to start. Jun takes a triple basement dropkick then takes a gubuster into a basement dropkick. Hox rakes Jun's eyes with his feet and slingshot swantons him for 2. Yuya snapmares Kengo then kicks him in the back for 2. Jun boots him out of the corner and takes a back body drop.

Toru gets in and shoulders over Jun. Toru slams Hox then Kengo and Toru do stereo tope con hilos outside. Toru corner forearms Jun then basement dropkicks him. Jun dropkicks Toru in the knee and axe kicks him in the head for 2. Toru forearms Jun then suplexes him when he tries to springboard.

Katori and Hox go at it. Katori knees him. Toru slams Hox and Kengo top rope double foot stomps him. Katori backdrops Hox for 2. Katori gets hit with a sign from Jun while running the ropes then he takes corner attacks. Katori takes a codebreaker into a double stomp on the back. Hox hits a neat northern lights bomb type of slam.

Katori hurricanrana's Hox then Hox pumping knees him. Katori backrolls Hox and wins it at 9:53.

It wasn't anything too special here. Nothing wrong with it but it needed more time. Katori didn't even get his stuffed animal toy out here and we didn't see much of Toru.

GENTARO & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. HAKKA & Rekka

Hak and TT go at it. Hak wristlocks him then TT grabs his leg. Hak hits some shots on TT then Rek gets some in. Rek and TT trade forearms and chops then TT lariats him over. Gen snapmares Rek and elbow drops him. Gen neckbreakers him then Rek dropkicks him. Rek hits another dropkick then Hak pounds on Gen. Hak slams him then elbow drops him.

Hak is tripped into the buckles then TT hits a chop flurry on Hak. TT corner lariats Hak then Hak suplexes him. TT takes chops from both opponents then lariats both opponents. Hak running lariats TT. Rek hits forearms on TT then misses a dropkick. Gen slaps and hits punches on Rek. Gen gutwrench suplexes Rek then top rope dropkicks him for 2.

Rek springboard dropkicks Gen then corner dropkicks him. Gen takes a sandwich forearm and double suplex. Gen slaps Rek then TT lariats Rek off a piledriver attempt. TT death valley drivers Hak. Rek no sells a Gen backdrop then is backdropped again for a 1 count. Gen backdrops Rek again and wins it at 10 minutes.

It was a solid tag here with both teams getting a little in. They just stuck with real basic wrestling and it was okay for what it was.

Mammoth Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, Takahiro Katori & Takashi Sasaki vs. ERE (Dobunezumi Fukki, Kyu Mogami, Toshiyuki Sakuda & Violento Jack)

Everyone fights at the bell and 6 of the 8 go out to fight. Kyu takes a double boot then a double shoulder from Mammoth and Takashi. Fukki and Katori trade then Katori dropkicks him for 2. Fujita is dropkicked off the apron then Fukki backdrops Katori.

Fukki chairs Katori in the back then Jack hops over Fukki's back to elbow drop Katori. Jack then sentons Katori. Katoi and Sakuda go at it. Sakuda smashes Katori's fingers between legs of a ladder. Kato tries forearms on Kyu but gets nowhere. Kyu low blows him then is suplexed. Mammoth chops Kyu then double arm spinebusters him. Fujita is suplexed by Jack then Takashi tries to lariat battle with Jack.

Takashi ripcord high kicks Jack then lariats him. Mammoth grabs a ladder and swings it at Fukki and Kyu then throws it at Kyu. Mammoth powerbombs Takashi so he can superplexex Fukki in a dumb spot. Fujita chinbreakers Kyu. Sakuda and Katori trade.

Katori boots him out of the corner and is caught with a rolling death valley driver when he jumps off the 2nd rope. Fujita holds Sakuda for a Katori dropkick. Sakuda is bridged on the ropes. Katori top rope dropkicks him and Fujita ddt's Sakuda down.

Katori knees Sakuda in the face then backdrops him. Sakuda drives Katori into the ropes for a Jack kick then Jack running lariats Katori over. Jack sitout powerbombs Katori for a close near fall. Jack does a grounded octopus to Katori that Fujita breaks up.

Kyu cutters Fujita to get him out. Katori does a flying octopus on Jack but is side slammed. Katori goes for a ground submission but is rolled into a pin attempt. Jack chairs him, lariats him in the back of the neck then does a side electric chair driver on him. Jack gets the win at 9:45.

It wasn't a bad 8-man. It didn't have enough time for everyone to really do much here. However, they didn't get to  do stupid stuff and therefore didn't have to sell the stupid stuff, which made the match a lot better.

Barbed Wire Board Death Match - Daisuke Masaoka vs. Yusaku Ito

DM = Daisuke Masaoka

Ito face kicks him and pounds on him at the bell. they try to push each other's heads into the boards, which are made of the thinnest wood ever. DM is driven into the boards first and breaks it with ease. Ito pushes DM's head into the barbed wire. He slams the board onto DM then headbutt drops the board into him.

DM gets his head pushed into the barbed wire then Ito footpresses DM's head into it. Ito pushes barbed wire into DM's head and they trade forearms. Ito knocks him over with a headbutt for 2. Ito chairs a barbed wire board onto DM then Ito is back body dropped onto a chair pile. DM flying knees Ito.

Ito is slammed on the mat and DM vader bomb corkscrew elbows him. DM slams Ito then hits an asai moonsault for 2. Ito throws a chair at DM's head then Ito michinoku drivers him for 2. A chair is bridged on 3 chairs. Ito sitout powerbombs DM through the contraption for 2.

A board is bridhed on chairs. Ito gets stuck up top with barbed wire wrapped around his head. They fight up top and Ito gets headbutted. DM 2nd rope rolling snapmares Ito through the bridged board. DM fire thunders Ito onto the barbed wire board for 2. Ito crucifix drivers DM for 2.

Ito wraps his fist in barbed wire and punches DM. They trade forearms and Ito face kicks him. Ito hits a big headbutt then DM headbutts him back. Toru Sugiura is seen enjoying this as they headbutt each other move. DM rolls Ito and pins him.

It was going okay until the rolling snapmare spot through the board. They didn't sell the spot much and just kept going. The finish wasn't too good either and didn't really hit what they were doing here.

Razor Cross Board & Bamboo Skewer Cross Board Death Match - Jun Kasai vs. Crazy King

They lock up. Jun side headlocks him and they shoulder battle.Jun cradles him and headlock takeovers him. King headsicssors him and they stand off. Jun gives him the middle finger then chairs him. King uses the chair on himself then 2nd rope dropkicks a chair into Jun.

Jun is sent right into both sets of cross boards and has a skewer sticking out of his ribs. King shoves skewer sticks into Jun's mouth then pump kicks them. King powerbombs Jun. Kin nudo's Jun then shoves the sticks in Jun's head and poses.

Jun piledrivers King onto chairs then pulls the sticks out of his own head. King and Jun each let each other hit the other with razorboards. Jun headbutts a razorboard into King's head then running lariats him. Jun corner spears and suplexes King.

Jun top rope headbutt drops King for 2. King puts sticks in his own head and Jun puts sticks in his own head. They forearm the other. Jun then hits a sitout elevated pedigree for 2. Jun gets caught up top. King 2nd rope death valley drivers him at 10 minutes.

King sentons Jun for 2. King spinning forearms and death valley drivers Jun for 2. King heatseeker piledrivers Jun over the 2nd rope. King goes for another heatseeker but is thrown back onto the skewer stick board. Jun runs the ropes fast and lariats King for 2. Jun slams Jack then top rope splashes him for 2.

Jun forearms King then does a jay driller. Jun kisses King then does a cross-arm pilerdriver for the win at 13:23. 

It wasn't good for several reasons. They put sticks into their own heads to show it didn't hurt. King didn't sell much at all  and there was just not a lot there besides the hardcore spots. That's nothing new and I expected it.

King Of FREEDOM World Title / Barefoot King Title Barefoot Fluorescent Lighttubes & Thumback Alpha Death Match - Masashi Takeda vs. Takayuki Ueki

Both of these guys are indeed barefoot here. Both avoid going into the light tube ropes to start. They swing tubes at each other and Ueki gets hit with a tube in the foot. MT is sent into the tubes then bdropkicks Ueki into the tubes. Ueki then sends MT into the tubes again. Uei goes headfirst into the tubes and MT hurts his foot after stepping on one.

MT bangs a tube off Ueki's foot then presses a tube into Ueki's foot. Ueki is hit in the head with a tube. MT hits Ueki in the head with scissors. MT then stabs and scraps Ueki's foot with the scissors. MT slams Ueki on tubes.

Ueki drops MT feet first on the tubes. Ueki avoids being dropped feet first into tacks then cartwheels to avoid the tacks. Ueki is headlock takeovered onto the tacks. MT tries to double stomp him but just stomps the tacks. MT has a whole bunch of tacks stuck in his feet.

Ueki does an octopus on MT while his foot is in the tacks. Ueki carves lemons onto MT's head. MT is put in tree of woe with his head on the tack board then Ueki presses down on him, forcing tacks into MT's head.

Ueki chairs the tacks into MT's head. MT shotgun dropkicks tubes into Ueki but hurts himself since he is barefoot. MT chairs Ueki. MT bulldogs Ueki then bangs his head off the tack board at 15 minutes. MT chairs a chair, pushing Ueki's head into the tackboard. Ueki has about 15 tacks stuck in the side of his head.

MT dominators Ueki. MT goes for a dropkic, misses and dropkicks a gusset plate board. MT is then battering rammed head first into tubes. Ueki drives himself into tubes and hits fist drops. Ueki uses tubes as canes to walk around then stomps tubes into MT.

Ueki takes his pants off then jawbreakers MT. Ueki ddt's MT into the tacks then misses a falling headbutt drop, going into the tacks. Ueki misses a dropkick and goes into the tacks then is release german'd. They each grab the same set of tubes and headbutt each other.

Ueki puts a gusset plate in his head, as does MT. They trade forearms and headbutts. Ueki blocks a knee and puts Mt inot the tacks feet first. Ueki flying headbutts him then death valley drivers him onto tacks. Ueki comes off the 2nd rope and headbutts tubes into MT. MT uraken's a tube stack into Ueki's head then knees him for 2.

MT top rope swantons tubes into Ueki for a 1 count. MT knees a stack of tubes into Ueki's head then does an elevated lifting reverse ddt for 2. MT knees more tubes into Ueki's head then does an abdominal stretch suplex on Ueki into tubes. Takeda wins it at 19:59

It went on longer than it needed it. It straddled a fine line between creativity and stupidity. They didn't sell a lot in the final stretch but they did keep it entertaining. I liked it overall but it was flawed and was not the smartest match.

Overall thoughts: It was your typical Freedoms show. The undercard was watchable. The hardcore matches were mostly stunt shows with little wrestling. The main wasn't the smartest but it was entertaining and creative. I wouldn't recommend this one.

All Japan Pro Wrestling TV 1/11/1998

All Japan Pro Wrestling TV 1/11/1998

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/05/all-japan-pro-wrestling-tv-131998.html 

These matches are from the 1/2/1998 show.

Asunaro Cup Tag League Match - Akira Taue & Kentaro Shiga vs. Jun Izumida & Tamon Honda

 

We join this in progress. Jun tries to shoulder over Taue but gets nowhere. Jun and Taue do sumo then Jun does a sumo chest slap flurry. Taue throws him and boots him in the back of the head. Taue hits a stiff lariat for 2.

Jun and Shiga go at it. Shiga sunset flips him and Jun just buttdrops him multiple times. Honda airplane spins Shiga into a gutbuster. Shiga was thrown out and sent into the rails by Jun. Jun stomps on him outside then slams him on the floor mat. Honda throws Shiga hard into the buckles and Jun does a strangle hold alpha to Shiga.

Honda chest clubs Shiga and headbutts him. Shiga hits a nice running tornado ddt. Jun STF's Shiga then headbutt drops him. Shiga is sent into the buckles shoulder first and Honda yanks on the arm. Honda throws Shiga down then armbars him. Taue breaks it up with a boot.

Honda hits a nice belly to belly on Shiga for 2. Taue comes in and ddt's Honda. Taue face kicks Honda and Jun. Honda flying neckbreakers Taue. Taue takes a headbutt into a chokeslam then a 2 person headbutt drop for 2.

Jun pump kicks Taue then takes a boot in the corner. Taue jumping face kicks him. Shiga top rope dropkicks Jun then springboard splashes him for 2. Shiga tornado ddt's Jun for 2. Shiga double boots him in the corner then is powerslammed for 2. Jun hits a stiff lariat on Shiga then Taue drops Shiga onto Jun for 2. Shiga dropkicks Jun.

Shiga running forearms Jun then Taue nodowa otoshi's Jun. Taue backdrops Shiga onto Jun and wins it.

We sadly saw most of this one. It was long and it front of a totally dead crowd who wasn't interested. Jun was pushed as someone of a threat here which didn't really work considering he's dressed up like Kamala. Shiga did some flying here but was still green at this point. Honda got little in. This wasn't good.

Gary Albright, Ricky Santana & Steve Williams vs. Jun Akiyama, Maunakea Mossman & Mitsuharu Misawa

 

Kea = Maunakea Mossman

This is joined in progress, though likely not by much. Kea and Ricky go at it. Rick hits chops and Kea hiptosses him. Ricky upkicks him then spinning lariats him. Ricky face kicks him, hits forearms then is dropkicked. Kea side headlocks Ricky then Kea is backdropped. Ricky STF's Kea.

Gary snapmares and rolls Kea into a pin attempt. Jun gets in. They lock up and Jun is taken down. Gary chinlocks him and is put in a hammerlock. June is spinebustered and Steve elbow drops him. Steve and Jun stand off. Steve takes him down and armlocks him. Misawa gets in. Steve drops him with some shots for 2. Steve side headlocks him at 5 minutes.

Misawa arm throws Steve then arm and wristlocks him. They trade shots and Steve falls down after a forearm. Kea running boots Steve in the gut then hammerlocks him. Steve hits a big punch on Kea then throws him out. Kea is whipped into Ricky's lariat outside. Doc brainbusters Kea for 2.

Gary clubs on Kea then throws him on a suplex. Gary then throws him on a double underhook suplex. Kea fujiwara armbars Ricky and Steve breaks it up. Jun hits forearms on Ricky then jumping knees him. Jun snapmares and chinlocks him. Ricky slips out then Steve running double axe hammers Jun's back. Gary sends Jun into the rails outside then Jun is lariated by Steve outside.

Steve bangs Jun's head off the buckles and hits a corner lariat. Steve hits corner spears on Jun then Jun backdrops Steve. Misawa top rope springboard forearms Steve. Misawa flying corkscrew lariats Steve for 2.

Steve spinebusters Misawa and tags in Gary. Misawa takes a double shoulderblock for 2 then Gary does a big abdominal stretch slam. Misawa 2nd rope dropkicks Gary then Kea gets in. Kea hits strikes on Gary then is slammed down hard. Ricky flying forearms Kea then corner lariats him. Ricky tornado ddt's Kea for 2. Ricky misses a top rope splash. Kea hits a TKO for 2.

Jun corner forearms then northern lights suplexes Ricky for 2. Misawa forearms Gary out then Jun exploders Ricky for the win.

We saw almost all of this 14:12 match. It wasn't that good. The crowd wasn't into it and it ended before it really got going. Steve and Ricky really did try here but there were too many tags and Misawa didn't get to do much. 

We then see slow-mo highlights of Hiroshi Hase & Takao Omori vs. Johnny Ace & Johnny Smith.

Overall thoughts: There were only 2 matches. The crowd was totally dead for both. Both went long and neither were good. I wouldn't recommend this.