AEW New Year’s Smash Night 1 Recap/Review

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By Dedrian Colon 1/7/ 2021

This show was a great escape from what transpired earlier in the day in our Nation’s capital. From the opening match to the exciting close of the show it was non-stop action. The opening match was perfect to start off this big show. Kind of wish The Acclaimed would have gotten a little more spots to showcase their talents. It’s interesting after the tag match between the Young Bucks & SCU vs The Acclaimed & TH2 , there was a brief subtle confrontation between the Young Bucks and SCU referring to future tag title match. For several weeks their have been hints of SCU ending as a tag team. So it seems to be getting some traction after this interaction.

Jon Moxley cuts a very direct promo in which he directs it toward AEW Champion Kenny Omega. We then go to a backstage with Alex Marvez interviewing Orange Cassidy & Chuck Taylor when there interrupted by Miro & Kip Sabian. There’s a match made between Chuck Taylor & Miro with a stipulation if Chuck loses he as to be Miro’s “young lion”. It’s a NJPW reference to the young wrestlers entering pro westling.

Next match is Jake Hager vs Wardlow. This match was ok. Honestly I hope it doesn’t happen again. It’s more because their styles didnt compliment each other. Wardlow looked good in this match. Matt Hardy, Private Party and Snoop Dogg are backstage. This is a continuation from BTE, which Matt Hardy wants 30% from each memeber of Private Party.

We then go to the Weigh-In between Darby Allin & Brian Cage who comes out with team Tazz. We also get to see the newly design TNT Championship. Sting came out and I hope very soon Sting starts hitting someone with the baseball bat. In the back MJF trys to talk to Jake Hager after his loss. Jurrassic Express were confronted by FTR & Tully Blanchard during an interview.

Cody Rhodes came out with Snopp Dogg and a altered version of his theme song. His match with Matt Sydal was good and had nice pacing. Afterwards there was a scuffle in the ring between Cody, Sydal and Luther & Serpentico when Snoop Dogg climbed the top rope to execute a flog splash. It could have gone sideways quick due to Snopp Dogg wearing Chuck Taylors. It came off very funny but it looked like he had a great time.

Next we had Abadon vs. Hikaru Shida. Abadon is one the most creepiest, strangest and most captivating female wrestlers right now. Abadon “bit” Shida twice. Did it look hooky? Yes. Somehow inspite of Abadon’s powerful start and summoning the powers of a walker on the Walking Dead, Hikaru Shida won. There’s a video of Tay Conti with Anna Jay, Alex Reynolds, and John Sliver discussing her match next week against NWA Woman’s Champion Serena Deeb.

In the main event, you had ‘The Cleaner’ Kenny Omega vs Rey Fenix. This was an absolute wrestling classic. I can watch this match back over and over again. It could be because of what happened after the match. After Kenny Omega pinned Rey Fenix, Jon Moxley came out with a barbed wire bat. Moxley attacked Omega when Impact Wrestling’s Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson came out to aid Kenny Omega. Few minutes into the beat down , wrestlers at ringside attempted to stop the beat down and were not successful. The Young Bucks try to presuade the Good Brothers to stop then two wrestlers grab Omega from behind , when Nick Jackson superkicks one of the wrestlers. Kenny Omega shouts at Matt Jackson then throws up the ‘Too Sweet’ hand sign. Gallows, Anderson joins Omega and hesitantly both Young Bucks join. So is it safe to safe we have a Bullet Club reunion here in the states? There are a ton of questions. There is a tremendous amount of intrigue, anticipation, and excitement surrounding this reunion. It has been 4 years since Kenny Omega, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and Young Bucks have been in the same ring.

Overall Grade : B+

1st Match – The Young Bucks & SCU vs The Acclaimed & Th2 (3/5 Stars)

2nd Match – Jake Hager vs Wardlow (2/5 Stars)

Darby Allin & Brian Cage Weigh-In

3rd Match – Cody Rhodes vs Matt Sydal (3/5 Stars)

4th Match – Hikaru Shida vs Abadon (2/5 Stars)

5th Match – [AEW World Championship] Kenny Omega vs Rey Fenix (4/5Stars)

Reuniting of The Bullet Club?

Source: All Elite Wrestling / Youtube

Impact Wrestling Recap/Results

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by Dedrian Colon 1/5/2021

This show started off with a video recap of Kenny Omega, Don Callis, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson most recent appeaance on Impact Wrestling when they beat up Rich Swann & The Motor City Machine Guns. From this point on it was a wild ride with one of the most unique, unorthodx, diverse and fun rosters in pro wrestling. The show started with a highly energetic 4-Way X-Division match between KC Navarro, Crazzy Steve, Blake Christian, Ace Austin. Keep an eye out for KC Navarro & Ace Austin. Those two guys you will hear a lot about in the next few years.

Next you have Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone paid ads during Impact. These ads keep getting better and better every week. If I would try to describe it I would not do it justice or I would ruin it. So scroll down below to watch. We then go to Kenny Omega, Don Callis, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in the bus. There were alot of Bullet Club references in this segment. The four men discuss their match at Hard to Kill against Rich Swann & The Motor City Machine Guns.

We move on to tag team action with Rhino & Cousin Jake vs Eric Young & Joe Doering w/ Cody Deanner in a very quick match. This match was just another layer in the Eric Young, Joe Doering, Cody Deanner, Cousin Jake storyline.

After this tag team match you had 8 backstage segments , 1 in-ring promo and 3 matches. All the backstage segments made sense, it added with the storylines yet it did seem a little cluttered.

The Jordynne Grace/Jazz vs Havok & Nevaeh tag match was very good. Havok ….give that woman the women’s championship. It also played into does Jazz still have enough in the tank to keep competing which was later mentioned in a backstage segment with her and Jordynne Grace. Moose vs Matthew Palmer was a great squash match this was another match that added to an already existing storyline between Moose & Willie Mack.

Now the main event was fantastic. Sami Callihan vs Eddie Edwards used every obeject that was at a Home Depot. I did not expect it to be this gritty. The music that played while Sami & Ken Shamrock attacked Eddie Edwards was different yet in a way it fit. This was a really good show before this Saturday’s Genesis PPV.

Overall Grade : C+

Below are my match ratings and a recap of the Impact Wrestling of 1/5/2021

1st Match – [X-Division match] KC Navarro vs Crazzy Steve vs Blake Christian vs Ace Austin (3/5 Stars)

Tony Khan & Tony Schiavone Paid Ad

Kenny Omega, Don Callis, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson

2nd Match – Rhino & Cousin Jake vs. Eric Young & Joe Doering (2/5 Stars)

Deonna Purazzo & Taya Valkyrie confrontation

3rd Match – Jordynne Grace & Jazz vs Havok & Nevaeh (3/5 Stars)

Rich Swann & Motor City Machine Guns confront Kenny Omega , Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson

4th Match – Moose vs Matthew Palmer (2/5 Stars)

Ethan Page

5th Match – Sami Callihan vs Eddie Edwards (4/5 Stars)

Source : Impact Wrestling

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night 2 Recap/Results

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By Dedrian Colon 1/5/2021

Night 1 of Wrestle Kingdom 15 saw Kota Ibushi defeat Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship & the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Heading into Night 2 of Wrestle Kingdom 15, Kota Ibushi defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship & the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against the Bullet Club’s Jay White. This match really elevated both men to an even higher main event status in NJPW and pro wrestling. Jay White’s post match press conference adds to the hype and intrigue of NJPW New Year’s Dash on January 6th.

There were five other amazing matches on this card, but the one match in my opinion that stole the show was for the NJPW Never OpenWeight Championship between Shingo Takagi vs Jeff Cobb. This match had storytelling, counters, suplexes, technical mat wrestling, power moves, etc. At one point Jeff Cobb executed a moonsault powerslam. Yes, a moonsault powerslam. Jeff Cobb’s ‘Tour of the Island’ is a bad ass move.

For some you may remember Jeff Cobb was on a few appearances on AEW Dynamite. If that’s all you remember of Jeff Cobb, well you need to watch this match. This guy just went to another level and that is good for all of pro wrestling.

Toru Yano! Toru Yano! This guy managed to do comedy wrestling and yet keep it serious all at the same time. Yano, Bushi , Chase Owens and Bad Luck Fale were involved in a 4-way Match which gave a nod to the “Finger Poke of Doom” (Kevin Nash vs Hollywood Hogan. Jan 4, 1999). Yano managed to get the win as both were arguing over who would get the pin.

Another standout from Night 2 of Wrestle Kingdom 15 was Sanada. His match against Evil was that match similar to Takagi & Cobb , Sanada went to another level. Sanada’s Paradise Lock is a thing of beauty and will leave like WTF is that move. His size, speed, agility and moveset is impeccable.

Similiar to Kota Ibushi , Hiromu Takahashi wrestled his second consecutive night against Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship. This match was right before the main event and another group of wrestlers who went to another level. Ishimori has the size of the Dynamite Kid and moves like Taijiri. These two guys had alot of physicality, intensity and a aggressive techinical wrestling match.

The tag match between El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato was a stellar match. Keep an eye out for Master Wato. He has a good arsenal of wrestling moves and will be having a major high profile matches in the next two years.

Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night 2 didn’t have the big names as Night 1 but the match quality was absolutely consistent and set a standard for all other wrestling promotions for the year.

Overall Grade : A

Here is a recap of Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night 2

1st Match – [4 Way Match] Bushi vs. Toru Yano vs. Chase Owens vs. Bad Luck Fale (3/5 Stars)

2nd Match – [IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship] El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato (3/5 Stars)

3rd Match – [Never Openweight Championship] Shingo Takagi vs Jeff Cobb (5/5 Stars)

4th Match – Sanada vs Evil (4/5 Stars)

5th Match – [IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship] Taiji Ishimori vs Hiromu Takahashi (4/5 Stars)

Main Event – [ IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Championship] Kota Ibushi vs Jay White (5/5 Stars)

Post Match Press Conference

Source: New Japan Pro Wrestling

WWE RAW Legend’s Night Recap/Review

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By Dedrian Colon 1/4/2021

So it was WWE Legends night on the January 4th, 2021 episode of WWE Monday Night Raw. It was the first Monday Night Raw of 2021 and the third wrestling show of 2021 behind WWE Smackdown & New Japan Pro Wrestling Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night 1. Well this show was very interesting to say the least.

The show opens with a backstage promo by WWE Legend Hulk Hogan and a Hulk Hogan phone case. From that point we treated to 8 matches and 13 backstage segments. Most of the matches were decent to good. The three matches that standout were Charlotte & Asuka vs Petyon Royce & Lacey Evans, Randy Orton vs Jeff Hardy and Drew McIntyre vs Keith Lee. Throughout the night you had former Smackdown GM Teddy Long make a tag match, Ric Flair “accidently” trip his daughter Charlotte Flair in the ring which resulted in a loss and the eventual return of WWE Legend GOLDBERG.

The GOLDEBERG return came after Drew McIntyre defeated Keith Lee, which is whole other topic. Goldberg confronted McIntyre which may lead to a championship match at Royal Rumble. Most of the Social media reaction to this and the entire Raw show was less than positive. In my opinion the show lacked grit, intensity, aggression, energy and a logical reason the wrestlers are competing with the exception of the three matches I previously mentioned. The show seemed very lethargic, sterile, bland, predictable and a few times forcing comedy. There were many times during this show I felt like changing the channel to see what’s else is on. In hindsight you can say the WWE Legends were there to set up the return of GOLDBERG. With the exception of Ric Flair tripping Charlotte, none of the other WWE Legends did anything that altered or advance a storyline.

The Legends who appeared on Legend’s Night were Hulk Hogan, Teddy Long, Alicia Fox, Tatanka, Sgt, Slaughter, Mickie James, Ric Flair, The Big Show, Jimmy Hart, Mark Henry, Molly Holly, Irwin R, Schyster, Melina, Torrie Wilson, The Boogeyman, Ron Simmons, Booker T, Jeff Jarret, The Hurricane, and Goldberg.

The one person who was showcased having the grit, intensity, aggression, energy, the bravado for the entire show was Randy Orton. Every time he interacted with someone you always felt that sense unpredictability. You were just anticipating him attacking them. Outside of him you did not feel like anything can happen.

My Overall Grade : D

Here is my match ratings and a brief recap of WWE Monday Night Raw Legends Night.

1st MATCH – New Day vs The Miz & John Morrison (2/5 Stars)

2nd MATCH – AJ Styles vs Elias (2/5 Stars)

3rd MATCH – Charlotte & Asuka w/Ric Flair vs Peyton Royce & Lacey Evans (3/5 Stars)

4th MATCH – Matt Riddle vs Bobby Lashley w/ MVP (3/5 Stars)

5th MATCH – Dana Brooke vs Shayna Baszler (1/5 Stars)

6th Match – Randy Orton vs Jeff Hardy (3/5 Stars)

24/7 Title : R-Truth defeats Angel Garza

7th MATCH – Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin vs Lucha House Party (2/5 Stars)

WWE Championship Match – Drew McIntyre vs Keith Lee (3/5 Stars)

GOLDBERG Confronts Drew McIntyre

Raw Talk – Mustafa Ali Outraged

Source: WWE / Youtube

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 – Night 1 Recap/Results

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by Dedrian Colon

This event was amazing and was a great way to start off the year for professional wrestling, The feel of the event was that of a major boxing or MMA card. The atmosphere was so competitive. New Japan Pro Wrestling managed to accomplish this while we are still getting this pandemic under control. The announcers Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton and Rocky Romero informed the viewers that the fans could not make any audible noise. The fans were only allowed to clap their hands, stomp their feet and a noise maker to express themselves when they wanted to cheer or boo. Everyone who was not wrestling or doing commentary were wearing a mask. The commentators had the plexiglass as a shield from the wrestlers and their colleagues. Overall this show get a A+. Now here is my star rating for each match for Wrestlle Kingdom 15 Night 1.

Opening Match – Hiromu Takahashi vs El Phantasmo 3/5 Stars

2nd Match – Guerrillas of Destiny vs Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi 3/5 stars

Jon Moxley Promo

3rd Match – Kenta vs Satoshi Kojima 4/5 Stars

New Japan Pro Wrestling Mobile Collection Video Game

4th Match – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Great-O-Khan 3/5 Stars

5th match – Will Ospreay vs Kazuchika Okada 5/5 Stars

Main Event – Tetsuya Naito vs Kota Ibushi 5/5 Stars

Post Match