WWE SURVIVOR SERIES

Orlando

THE MIZ "BATTLE ROYALE" (12:00): Survivor Series is one of WWE's "Big 4" ppv's...although it hasn't exactly been much of a big deal for years. Apparently there used to be a lot of big shows back in the day on the night before Thanksgiving but even this show moved away from the holiday and is now on the Sunday before. While I actually kind of enjoy the actual 5 on 5 elimination style matches...I'd kind of rather also see a big title match or something as the main event. It doesn't help that the winners of these elimination matches get nothing. Last year they did something kind of unique by having matches featuring three teams; NXT vs. Smackdown vs. RAW. This year it was back to basics with no NXT stars in sight. This first, pre-show match was a superfluous battle royale with an oh-so typical ending. The Miz went under the ropes and when Dominik Mysterio thought he won, The Miz came back in and tossed him over the top rope. Not like we haven't seen that before a billion times. This was at least short for a battle royale, so it was fine. **

TEAM RAW (AJ STYLES, BRAUN STROWMAN, KEITH LEE, MATT RIDDLE & SHEAMUS) vs. TEAM SMACKDOWN (JEY USO, KEVIN OWENS, KING CORBIN, OTIS & SETH ROLLINS) (19:25): This is typically the "big" Survivor Series match...so it was a little weird seeing it go on first. Seth Rollins is from RAW, right? Isn't his moniker "The Monday Night Messiah?" There was a draft awhile back that I didn't watch...so maybe he was drafted. Either way, Rollins went in and laid down to get pinned for whatever reason. Maybe because his girlfriend, Becky Lynch, is expecting their child soon and he has to be written out of the show so he can take time off. Whatever. The big story was that RAW won by eliminating everyone on Smackdown without losing any of their team. Jey Uso was the last one left and he lost, thus apparently pissing off his tribal chief, Roman Reigns, who's a heel now in the weird, quasi-homoerotic tribe storyline. This was mostly just an entertaining, forgettable RAW main event type of a match, but it was fun. I will admit that this was a good show and every match was pretty good, which is kind of shocking considering the WWE hasn't been very good for a very long time. **1/2

THE STREET PROFITS vs. THE NEW DAY (13:40): This was entertaining stuff. Both teams are fun to watch and go full speed and do a lot of high flying. Big E was absent...I think he's injured or something. This was the first of the night's champions vs. champions matches. These two teams are tag team champions. The WWE would be a lot better if they didn't have 2 separate rosters...but I guess they kind of do it to keep each show fresh and also to cut down on guy's traveling. Can you believe that the WWE doesn't pay for travel expenses like hotels and airfare? I still can't. Unions have been prominent in the news for various reasons concerning the WWE lately. One reason is a California law that tried to make workers like pro-wrestlers and UBER drivers be employees instead of part time workers as their companies call them. That law was rejected in November by voters. The other big news item was Zelina Vega was fired and then on twitter said she supports unions. She was denied using her WWE name on various internet platforms like Twitch and Onlyfans. Maybe this match wasn't that great since I'm talking about unions. It was actually pretty good, though. **1/2

BOBBY LASHLEY vs. SAMI ZAYN (7:50): This was the one big dud on the show. I love Zayn, but they never push him as a wrestler, they always push him as a conniving snake. I actually just watched an old Zayn match. It was The Young Bucks vs. Kenny Omega and El Generico from PWG. It's one of PWG's most famous matches. The WWE has never really believed in Zayn, so it's kind of surprising he's not only still around but has a title (the IC). Lashley is part of the all black guy group, The Hurt Business. This has to be Vince's Black Lives Matter answer. Right? 1/2*

SASHA BANKS vs. ASUKA (13:05): This was really good. Sasha is great and Asuka is at least better than the Barbie Dolls that make up the women's division. Too bad this was just another dumb title vs. title match with no real stakes or purpose. ***

TEAM RAW (LACEY EVANS, LANA, NIA JAX, PEYTON ROYCE & SHAYNA BASZLER) vs. TEAM SMACKDOWN (BAYEY, BIANCA BELAIR, LIV MORGAN, NATALYA & RUBY) (23:20):

The story here was that everyone on the RAW team was treating Lana like the high school nerd that gets bullied and belittled and stuffed in a locker. So of course Lana ends up the sole survivor and wins the match. The problem was that they didn't want anyone to actually get pinned...so Shayna was DQ'd because she didn't break a hold and a Belair and Nia were counted out. The one thing I noticed is that Shayna does all of these hard, Kenta-like kicks that nobody knows how to sell or take. And so it looks like Shayna is in a NJPW ring wrestling models in a WWE ring and it doesn't work at all. But Vince wants pretty faces! Eh, Stardom has pretty faces, too, and they know how to wrestle. This match was kind of a mess. *1/2

ROMAN REIGNS vs. DREW MCINTYRE (24:50): This match was great. I can't even remember the last really good WWE match. It seems like the only good matches that occur in this company are in NXT. These two did big moves and it was mostly all action and mostly back and forth and it was dramatic and very entertaining. Reigns only won thanks to Jey Uso interfering, a Reigns low blow, and a ref bump. I'd really like to see these two main event for a title someday. And I usually can't stand McIntyre...so this was a lot better than I expected. The lame ending was really the only bad thing in this. ***

THE UNDERTAKER RETIREMENT CEREMONY: So Mick Foley, Kane, and a bunch of others came out. Vince said some stuff. And then we got the whole 'Taker entrance and departure. This was the 30th anniversary of 'Taker's debut...so that's why they did it. I guess his last match will be the AJ Styles graveyard match. He hasn't been in a good match in years (remember that Goldberg match in Saudi Arabia? That might've been the worst match I've ever seen) so it's time to go. Now watch him go start wrestling in Impact like Ric Flair, Hogan, and Mick Foley did post-retirement. 

DDT D-OU GRAND PRIX

 Day 1: Sunday, November 22nd, from Tokyo (Korakuen Hall)

A Block

AKITO vs. MAO (7:08): I watched and reviewed the entire All Japan Carnival, Noah's N-1, and NJPW's G-1 tournaments...so I figured I should probably check out DDT's version as well. I don't know a lot about DDT, though I have watched a few matches here and there this year (there was one particular Masato Tanaka match from March that I thought was a MOTY). DDT will probably just always be known as that promotion that was awesome when Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega were in it. Those glory days are gone, and the promotion is usually just noted as being the comedy promotion...which it is. This was the only true comedy match in the tournament tonight, though, which was good, as I can't take too much of that. This show was held at Korakuen with fans, and the place actually did look sold out, albeit the fans were socially distanced so some of the seats were empty. As far as tournaments go...this first night wasn't on par with the G1 but it was definitely more entertaining than the usual nights of the N-1 and Champions Carnival. DDT has some exciting wrestlers like Endo and Ueno and most of the guys are on the younger side which helps. This match was mostly comedy stuff so not particular much of anything to talk about. *1/2

A Block

HARASHIMA vs. CHRIS BROOKES (11:13): Brookes is the one foreigner in the tournament, though he is a DDT regular. He's very tall and very skinny and does more of a Young Bucks style of offense. This was a good match. Fast paced, entertaining. Brookes reminds me of El Phantasmo. Actually, I'd probably never guess who is who if they stood together in a line up. Harashima did a bunch of hard kicks and slammed Brookes into the metal ringside fence at one point. Brookes is wearing this protective shoulder thing so I guess he's beat up. Harashima won with a running, flying double knees to the face maneuver which was pretty cool. **1/2

A Block

DAISUKE SASAKI vs. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (13:45): This started off super slow and super boring, but by the end it got fairly entertaining. Sasaki has long hair and wrestled in a t-shirt. It was his own DDT t-shirt. Is he trying to shill his own merchandise? Takeshita did a few really dangerous looking German suplexes but he really let Sasaki go flying in the air at the end of them. I was surprised he didn't land right on his head. Takeshita tapped out to a sort of a choke submission move. After this show, DDT revealed that Sasaki injured his shoulder and is out of the tournament. Instead of replacing him they said that all of his matches will just be no contests. Considering Sasaki isn't exactly all that great...I don't think this is that bad of a thing. **

B Block

MAKOTO OISHI vs. SHUMA KATSUMATA (7:39): This was the match of the night. These two are both so quick that it made this super engaging. Katsumata tapped out. Every move they delivered looked painful. Oishi landed on the back of his head a few times hard. They did a lot of rolling, schoolboy pin attempts and a bunch of short submission attempts. I'm not sure these two could do a great, long match but this was great while it lasted. ***

B Block

YUKI UENO vs. KAZUSADA HIGUCHI (11:49): Ueno is pretty much a Kota Ibushi ripoff. That's not exactly a bad thing, though. Even his ring gear looks the same (white and gold trunks and boots). Higuchi is a tall and mean dude and came to the ring with some random title. So we got Higuchi doing all the powerful, big man stuff and Ueno doing all the crazy high flying. Ueno did an awesome finishing sequence where he did a top rope splash, a top rope moonsault, and then his DDT/slam like finisher. Good stuff. **1/2

B Block

TETSUYA ENDO vs. JUN AKIYAMA (14:00): Endo is the champion. He beat Masato Tanaka in June at the Peter Pan event to win the title. And if you're wondering...is that the same Masato Tanaka that was in those epic battles against Mike Awesome twenty years in ECW then you would be correct. It's kind of crazy that Tanaka is still alive yet alone still wrestling and still in main events (Mike Awesome, sadly, hung himself years ago). Tanaka is in All Japan at the moment, wrestling in their tag tournament. His partner is Tajiri...from ECW...which is kind of insane. Endo did a great move in this match that's Ospreay's famous maneuver: the running and flipping in the ring to flipping over the top rope onto your opponent on the floor. Akiyama is an older, bald dude. Akiyama can still go, though, so this was a decent match. It seems kind of ridiculous that Endo is even in this tournament considering the winner of the tournament gets a title shot at his title. Endo won with a shooting star press. I don't watch a lot of DDT...though I've learned that a lot of it is very fast paced with a lot of big, exciting moves. So far this tournament is shaping up to be fairly exciting. **1/2

Standings:

A BLOCK

Akito 1-0, Brookes 0-1, Harashima 1-0, Mao 0-1, Sasaki 1-0, Takeshita 0-1

B BLOCK

Akiyama 0-1, Endo 1-0, Higuchi 0-1, Katsumata 0-1, Oishi 1-0, Ueno 1-0

Day 2: Friday, November 27th, from Tokyo (Narimasu Act Hall)

A Block

MAO vs. DAISUKE SASAKI: As noted previously, Sasaki is injured so all of his matches are just won by the wrestler he was supposed to face.

B Block

KAZUSADA HIGUCHI vs. MAKOTO OISHI (9:07): There was a decent size crowd for this show even though it was at a small, gymnasium looking building. They did have announcers but a weird camera from high up looking down at the ring that made this kind of look like a lame, B-show from a state fair or something. Higuchi, the big, tall dude beat the young, fast pup here in a totally forgettable match. The first night of this tournament was pretty great and this show was pretty terrible. Oh, well. *

B Block

SOMA TAKAO vs. YUKI UENO (12:01): There really wasn't much to this match except being a showcase for Ueno's high flying. He did the standing, backwards flip into a pin that Jeff Cobb always does. And Ueno did his moonsault and then his shooting star press. I'm kind of wondering if Ueno ever wrestled Endo for the title because that match would be awesome. **

B Block

TETSUYA ENDO vs. SHUNMA KATSUMATA (11:45): This was by far the most memorable match on this show simply because it turned into a hardcore Lego match. Katsumata came out with Joker/clown face paint on for some unknown reason. Then he dumped Legos outside of the ring and eventually dumped Legos inside the ring. He also had a bat with Legos. Both guys got slammed onto the Legos multiple times. The ref seemed to not care about any of this so I guess DDT is like New Japan and AEW and never DQ's anyone. I have seen Legos used before in hardcore matches. I guess the thinking is that when you step on a Lego with your bare feet it really hurts so of course if you get body slammed onto a pile of them it will be incredibly painful. Not that this match was great or anything, but it was at least something unique. **1/2

A Block

YUKIO SAKAGUCHI vs. CHRIS BROOKES (10:45): Brookes tapped out so he's 0-2. He's the one resident white dude/foreigner on the roster. Maybe he did what Omega did and saw DDT online and wanted to join so he flew out to Japan and his dreams came true. He'll never be a star on Omega's level because he's not that good but he's at least serviceable. This match wasn't that great, though. 1/2*

A Block

KONOSUKE TAKESHITA vs. AKITO (29:32): I kind of figured this match was going to go long when one of them stood outside the ring and waited until the 19 count and then ran in real fast. They also brawled a bit in the crowd to kill time. The first 25 minutes of this match were an utter bore. The last few minutes were fast and great but by then it was kind of too late. *1/2

Standings: 

A BLOCK

Akito 1-1, Brookes 0-2, Harashima 1-0, Mao 1-1, Sakaguchi 1-0, Sasaki 1-1, Takeshita 1-1

B BLOCK

Akiyama 0-1, Endo 2-0, Higuchi 1-1, Katsumata 0-2, Oishi 1-1, Takao 1-0, Ueno 1-1

Day 3: Saturday, November 28th, from Tokyo (Narimasu Act Hall)

A Block

YUKIO SAKAGUCHI vs. DAISUKE SASAKI: No contest...because Sasaki is injured. Sasaki was actually in the main event of their last big show, Ultimate Party, where he lost to Endo. I guess that means losing Sasaki in this tournament is kind of a big blow. Kenny Omega was supposed to face Endo on that show but thanks to the pandemic that never happened. 

A Block

CHRIS BROOKES vs. AKITO (13:10): They did one good sequence where they did a bunch of reversals and schoolboy pin attempts for a minute or two non-stop. Other than that, this was pretty monotonous stuff. Brookes gets his first win. Brookes had the secondary title earlier this year but lost it to Ueno at Ultimate Party. I should note that most of the title names in this company are pretty ridiculous. The main title that Endo has is called the KO-D Openweight Championship. I mean...would it kill them to just call it the DDT Championship? The one strange thing in this match was that Akito got on the mic before the match and said something and then set up his phone in the corner and both guys were looking at the phone during the match. I'm guessing it had something to do with setting the timer on the phone...like Akito said he'd beat Brookes in five minutes or something. I don't speak Japanese and DDT doesn't have English commentary so that whole aspect of this match was lost on me. Maybe it would've been better if I knew what the fuck was going on? Eh, I doubt it. *1/2

A Block

HARASHIMA vs. MAO (12:49): This was actually the best match on the show, although it wasn't spectacular or anything. They both worked fast and Harashima delivered a bunch of brutal chops. **1/2

B Block

SOMA TAKAO vs. MAKOTO OISHI (2:30): This was short but they both worked at a frenetic pace. They did a bunch of quick schoolboy pin attempts...which is seemingly something everyone in DDT loves to do for some reason. Takao won after both guys ran the ropes and Takao just slammed into him and got the pin. **

B Block

JUN AKIYAMA vs. SHUNMA KATSUMATA (9:53): They brawled outside in the crowd a bit. Katsumata gave Akiyama a DDT on the concrete floor though it didn't look all that devastating. Katsumata must have been watching Yano matches lately because he taped Akiyama's feet together outside the ring and Akiyama had to beat the count. Jun Akiyama is 51 years old, and apparently is currently in AJPW (he was a 2 time champion in All Japan...probably a long time ago I'm guessing). He wasn't in this year's Champions Carnival and I'm not sure why he's in a DDT tournament...although Noah's Go Shiozaki was in last year's DDT Grand Prix for whatever reason. *1/2

B Block

KAZUSADA HIGUCHI vs. TETSUYA ENDO (20:56): Nice! A double KO finish! In the main event! What is this? A Last Man Standing Match? Both guy's were out and the ref counted to ten. I'm not sure why that's a ten count when the outside the ring count is 20. Endo didn't do any of his high flying in this match, although he did take off the ring post barrier thing (more shades of Yano) and brought some chairs into the ring (he slammed Higuchi's knee into a chair after slamming him from the top rope). Kind of a dull main event. This tournament has pretty much fallen apart since the good first night. The tournament isn't that long so they'd better get going. *

Standings: 

A BLOCK

Akito 1-2, Brookes 1-2, Harashima 2-0, Mao 1-2, Sakaguchi 2-0, Sasaki 1-2, Takeshita 1-1

B BLOCK

Akiyama 1-1, Endo 2-1, Higuchi 1-2, Katsumata 0-3, Oishi 1-2, Takao 2-0, Ueno 1-1

Day 4: Sunday, November 29th, from Osaka (Azalea Taisho Hall)

A Block

HARASHIMA vs. DAISUKE SASAKI: This was a pretty forgettable show for one reason: it was a one-camera, no announcers show. Kind of surprising, since the card was pretty good. This was another DQ win since Sasaki is injured. Or "no show" win. It's called nichtantritt...which is "not showing up" in German. I'm not sure why it says that on the cagematch website...which I use to see the match times for all these shows. I mean...it's not like Germany is known for their history of pro-wrestling. 

B Block

KAZUSADA HIGUCHI vs. SOMA TAKAO (11:30): This was decent, albeit just a standard wrestling match. Higuchi is a big guy so all of his big slams look oh-so powerful. He won with just a running, push slam, like he was an NFL linebacker or something. *1/2

B Block

JUN AKIYAMA vs. MAKOTO OISHI (10:49): Sting showed up on AEW Dynamite this week...which was a huge surprise. Sting is 61. Will he actually wrestle again? Or just, like, be a manager type? Akiyama is 51 and still in good enough shape to have somewhat okay matches. It does seem like wrestlers in Japan keep wrestling for longer. Is it the diet? They seem to have a better diet with all of that rice and fish and you don't tend to see too many overweight folk there, not that I've been. Akiyama just won with a roll up and Oishi just sat there on his knees in the ring for awhile like he was shocked. Should be, since he lost to a fifty year old. *

B Block

TETSUYA ENDO vs. YUKI UENO (22:56): I had said previously that these two should be in a main event title match. I guess DDT doesn't think so, as this wasn't even in the main event on a random tournament show. They did go over 20 minutes, though, so they at least gave them more time than usual for non main events. This was good, not great, but it was the best match on the show. While they did all of their high flying, there wasn't much drama and these two don't seem to have much chemistry together to ever produce a masterpiece. **1/2

A Block

MAO vs. YUKIO SAKAGUCHI (9:53): Mao needs a haircut. It's not long, just a mound of hair. Sakaguchi has dyed blonde hair and tattoos all over. They worked pretty fast. Mao won with a body slam. I think he needs a more spectacular finisher. This was okay. *1/2

A Block

CHRIS BROOKES vs. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (21:41): The surprise was that when Brookes won he did the usual talk on the mic to the crowd and he spoke in Japanese. Will Ospreay has been wrestling in Japan for two years or so and he doesn't even do that. Maybe Brookes has been there longer...or took Japanese lessons...or is just smarter. As for the match...it was pretty exciting by the end but took awhile to get there. I'm still unsure as to why this was the main event and Endo/Ueno wasn't. Maybe these two have a big feud that goes back years or something. **

Standings: 

A BLOCK

Akito 1-2, Brookes 2-2, Harashima 3-0, Mao 2-2, Sakaguchi 2-1, Sasaki 1-3, Takeshita 1-2

B BLOCK

Akiyama 2-1, Endo 3-1, Higuchi 2-2, Katsumata 0-3, Oishi 1-3, Takao 2-1, Ueno 1-2

Day 5: Friday, December 4th, from Tokyo (Narimasu Act Hall)

A Block

AKITO vs. DAISUKE SASAKI: They're back in Narimasu Act Hall. Huh. I wonder if they get the same people that come to these shows. Tokyo is a big city and all but, still, they already did two shows in this building a week ago. I think this was the free show...but are tickets to DDT even that expensive? And are there people that are big DDT fans and don't watch New Japan? I'd like to meet them. This match was another DQ win since Sasaki is injured.

B Block

YUKI UENO vs. MAKOTO OISHI (17:23): I thought Ueno was pretty impressive on that first night but he hasn't really impressed me much at all since then. This tournament has also taken a nose dive in quality since that first night. Endo seems to be the only wrestler that's one to watch...but even he isn't at the same level as Kento Miyahara...who saved the Champion Carnival this year. So far Endo has not saved the D-Ou Grand Prix. Wikipedia calls it the D-Oh Grand Prix. I'm assuming the "D" has something to do with Dino, the wrestler that started this tournament. This match was a bore since Oishi put Ueno in a headlock for like ten minutes. *

B Block 

SHUNMA KATSUMATA vs. KAZUSADA HIGUCHI (10:59): This was the classic, big vs. little guy battle. Eventually they both crawled under the ring and when Katsumata, the big dude, came back out his arms were taped to his chest. So then Higuchi beat him up and did a tope rope leap on him while Katsumata couldn't move his arms. Since he's the Hulk he broke free of the tape but still lost by a quick schoolboy. I mean...the ending was kind of amusing. **

B Block

JUN AKIYAMA vs. SOMA TAKAO (8:22): They used these big, metal, trashcan looking lids in this match for some unknown reason to hit each other with. They might have been, like, cooking pots. I'm not sure...but even tables in Japan look different than the ones they always break in American wrestling. Akiyama won after a few brutal knees to the head. I probably should go look up some of Akiyama's old matches when he was in his prime and see if he was a worthy champ. *1/2

A Block

YUKIO SAKAGUCHI vs. HARASHIMA (10:17): These two just grappled on the mat the whole time like it was an MMA match or something. I'm not sure what, exactly, they were trying to prove unless it was how fast they can put people to sleep. -No Stars-

A Block

KONOSUKE TAKESHITA vs. MAO (22:46): This was long and fairly dull. The only memorable moment came when Mao slipped on the top rope trying to jump and fell right on his head, thankfully the back of his head so he wasn't paralyzed for life. Takeshita won quickly after that. *

Standings: 

A BLOCK

Akito 2-2, Brookes 2-2, Harashima 3-1, Mao 2-3, Sakaguchi 3-1, Sasaki 1-4, Takeshita 2-2

B BLOCK

Akiyama 3-1, Endo 3-1, Higuchi 2-3, Katsumata 1-3, Oishi 1-4, Takao 2-2, Ueno 2-2

Day 6: Sunday, December 6th, from Tokyo (Narimasu Act Hall)

A Block

CHRIS BROOKES vs. DAISUKE SASAKI: Chris Brookes gets the points for a win in this match even though it was just a DQ win because Sasaki is injured...but Chris Brookes wrestled in a singles match on this show for some unknown reason anyway. I watched it, too, because I thought it was part of the tournament. And it was a pretty good match. Chris Brookes is not a great wrestler or anything, but he's one of the more watchable wrestlers in DDT. He started in the summer of 2019 in DDT, so he hasn't been with the company that long. I wondered...because he was speaking Japanese that one night where he won in the main event. Maybe he grew up in Japan. I should investigate this. Or maybe Japanese is easier to learn than I thought. I doubt that, as I've watched Japanese wrestling with Japanese commentary for the last five or so years and I've only learned one word: "High" means "Yes." Granted, it's not spelled "high." It's probably some weird symbol. 

A Block

KONOSUKE TAKESHITA vs. YUKIO SAKAGUCHI (11:26): Another show in Narimasu Act Hall. I should probably note that DDT has been having other shows not part of this tournament while this tournament is going on. They had a show with an exploding ring and exploding barbed wire bat gimmick and Onita was in the match. I watched it and the exploding ring was stupid...just looked like they put a bunch of fireworks above the ring. I used to have an Onita VHS tape with all of his big matches. I still can't believe they filled stadiums to see exploding barbed wire matches. The Japanese are sick fucks. Funny how that never caught on in the U.S. I guess we have, like, safety codes and standards. I honestly don't even remember most of this show even though I watched it yesterday. Show was a bore. The Chris Brookes match was decent but that wasn't part of the tournament. The main event was 4 minutes...kind of anti-climatic. They had a match where a girl was wrestling guys. They don't do that in the U.S., either, which baffles me. I should note, since DDT is the comedy promotion, that during that intergender match they had four wrestlers sit on each ring post and stick their butts out while the other wrestlers tried to throw their opponent face first into the ass. Vince McMahon would've loved it. Right up his alley. As for this actual match, which I'm not even talking about...Sakaguchi has bleached blonde hair and tattoos and always does MMA grappling stuff. I guess he used to do MMA? Yawn. 1/2*

A Block

AKITO vs. HARASHIMA (16:26): This was a double pin finish. I haven't seen that in awhile. I recall the WWE doing that once or twice and then you have to watch RAW the next night to find out who won and what happened. Harashima kept trying to deliver his double knees to the face finisher but Akito moved first and then rolled out of the ring second. They at least worked fast for the most part. **

B Block

YUKI UENO vs. SHUNMA KATSUMATA (13:56): Ueno slammed Katsumata off of the ring apron down onto a pile of chairs at ringside. Katsumata also hit his head on the ring post in what looked like a botch when he was running at Ueno and Ueno moved and Katsumata went too fast than he probably wanted to. There was also a spot where Katsumata put two chairs at ringside and sat down and wanted Ueno to come and sit with him but Ueno wouldn't so Katsumata kept breaking the count to go and sit back down. Finally Ueno sat down and of course Katsumata choked him with a towel. Katsumata also gave Ueno a DDT out on the concrete floor. I suppose this match was eventful...though kind of just average. **

B Block

SOMA TAKAO vs. TETSUYA ENDO (16:37): I should probably go watch the match from June where Endo won the title from Masato Tanaka. It was probably terrific. I did watch the Endo/Sasaki title match from Ultimate Party, their other big show, in November and was bored. This was just okay and pretty forgettable. *1/2

B Block

KAZUSADA HIGUCHI vs. JUN AKIYAMA (4:03): The two big guys are in the main event. It was good but so fucking short it was kind of pointless. They did a bunch of running collisions. Higuchi won with his stupid face claw. Higuchi also did a top rope splash that was extremely awkward looking. This probably would have reverted to a slow bore if they had gone longer so I suppose I can't complain. **1/2

Standings: 

A BLOCK

Akito 3-2, Brookes 3-2, Harashima 4-1, Mao 2-3, Sakaguchi 3-2, Sasaki 1-5, Takeshita 3-2

B BLOCK

Akiyama 3-2, Endo 3-2, Higuchi 3-3, Katsumata 1-4, Oishi 1-4, Takao 3-2, Ueno 3-2

Day 7: Saturday, December 12th, from Tokyo (Narimasu Act Hall)

B Block

SHUNMA KATSUMATA vs. SOMA TAKAO (10:05): They did the Yano ending here. Both guys went behind the curtain to the back and Takao came out wrapped in tape and couldn't make the count. They also used those big, steel pans again to hit each other over the head with. One of the pans had Legos and they fell all over the ring. I guess this was a spectacle. *1/2

B Block

JUN AKIYAMA vs. YUKI UENO (11:51): Akiyama, the 51 year old, bald dude won here and everyone else contending in the B block lost so Akiyama made the final. That's a little bit surprising. You kind of want the final to be exciting and dramatic and not featuring a 51 year old man. Maybe he's a bigger star in Japan than I realize. They should have put Ueno in the final, as he's at least an Ibushi-lite. *1/2

B Block

MAKOTO OISHI vs. TETSUYA ENDO (19:26): Endo lost, eliminating him from the final. That kind of makes sense since he's already the champion. He lost by submission, which is kind of a lame way for the champ of your company to lose. Endo did do the Ospreay running cartwheel flip into a flip over the top rope which is always awesome to see. I wonder who did that first, Ospreay or Endo? Endo was supposed to wrestle Omega this year but that didn't happen. That'd be a hell of a match if it ever occurs. **

A Block

AKITO vs. YUKIO SAKAGUCHI (8:56): This show wasn't terrible or anything but it was forgettable. DDT did a show on Dec 23rd that featured a match at a swimming pool and another match with explosions and Onita. So maybe DDT just doesn't really care too much about this Grande Prix tournament. They certainly didn't seem to put much thought into it. Why even do it then? Just because every wrestling company in Japan does a tournament? I watched 4 tournaments this year and the G1 was the only one worth watching. Akito won and was tied with Takeshita by the end of this show but Takeshita beat him earlier in the tournament so he was eliminated. These two just did a boring mat wrestling match. -No Stars-

A Block

MAO vs. CHRIS BROOKES (14:28): Mao is one of the DDT guys that is kind of exciting. Maybe he'll transform into a star one day, who knows? I like Chris Brookes, too, but there's just something missing with him. That's probably why he's in DDT. This had it's moments but was kind of forgettable like the rest of this show. **

A Block

KONOSUKE TAKESHITA vs. HARASHIMA (20:39): Whoever won this match would win the A block. Takeshita won. They started off really slow but the last few minutes were exciting with kicks and near falls. This sets up a Takeshita vs. Akiyama final which, let's face it, nobody wants to see. **

Standings: 

A BLOCK

Akito 4-2, Brookes 3-3, Harashima 4-2, Mao 3-3, Sakaguchi 3-3, Sasaki 1-5, Takeshita 4-2

B BLOCK

Akiyama 4-2, Endo 3-3, Higuchi 3-3, Katsumata 2-4, Oishi 2-4, Takao 3-3, Ueno 3-3

Day 8 (Final): Saturday, December 27th, from Tokyo (Korakuen Hall)

JUN AKIYAMA vs. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (23:39): The 51 year old won the tournament...which is kind of a surprise, although the crowds did seem to like him and I'm assuming he was somewhat of a big star twenty years ago. Akiyama will face Endo for the title but not until February. As for this match...it was pretty boring. They brawled a bit out of the ring. They traded suplexes. Akiyama won with a chickenwing armlock. Takeshita didn't tap out, though, the ref just stopped it. Akiyama is kind of a tough, old, brute of a heel...so his matches these days are more beatdowns than anything. I would have rather seen two, young, fast guys do an exciting 30 minute match than this. This tournament was pretty much a letdown, although the first night was enjoyable. *1/2

AEW FULL GEAR

 

Jacksonville

SEREENA DEEB vs. ALLYSIN KAY (10:25): This was a really good show, which isn't too much of a surprise since the card, save for the main event, was stellar. They had a crowd, too, although they sold 1,000 seats but didn't sell out. You can probably blame the fact that it didn't sell out to a) they've had crowds at their shows every other week at the same building in Jacksonville for the last three months so anyone living nearby probably wasn't going to attend every show and b) it's the middle of a pandemic, so smart people didn't want to attend. There was enough of a crowd, though, to chant Jericho's theme song and to cheer during the matches so that helped the atmosphere. Nothing helped this match, the pre-show match for the NWA women's title. The NWA doesn't really exist now since they haven't had a show since the pandemic started and might not ever start back up. Why an NWA women's title match was even on this show is beyond me. It also was totally boring so that didn't helped. The AEW women's division has never really turned into anything exciting. It didn't help that Riho left to go to Japan and Britt Baker got injured. 1/2*

KENNY OMEGA vs. HANGMAN PAGE (16:25): This was a phenomenal match, one of the year's best and the best singles match that Omega and Page have had in AEW. This reminded me a lot of Omega/Okada 3. If you recall, those two had 2 really epic, long, dramatic matches and then their 3rd match in the G1 was short but was just all action and fast paced from start to finish. This was similar. It was short but from the opening bell they just went full speed and non-stop and it was awesome. A ton of near-falls, big moves, and no slow spots. I think this would have been perfect and gotten 4 stars if it was a main event for the title and a sold-out, packed crowd was there. Alas, these are dark times so that didn't happen. Still, this was Omega at his peak and Page has never looked better. Omega won so he gets a title shot. ***1/2

ORANGE CASSIDY vs. JOHN SILVER (9:40): Silver is hilarious...and he's showcased that on Being the Elite, the weekly comedy show that I rarely watch. He was so great on Being the Elite that they've pushed him and now he's on the PPV in a singles match. This match was great. Besides both wrestlers being fairly comical, they both deliver the goods in terms of quick action and big moves. This was a lot of fun. Cassidy is the one wrestler that's really hurt by not wrestling in front of large, raucous crowds but this was so entertaining I didn't mind. ***

DARBY ALLIN vs. CODY RHODES (17:00): Allin won the TNT title here. I'm sorry...but shouldn't the TNT title only be defended on TNT? And I still have a hard time watching Cody matches now that he has that God-awful tattoo on his neck. It's so distracting. I still wonder how stupid he is to have made such an awful mistake. Does he realize it? He had to. Can he get it removed? How far has tattoo removal technology advanced? See? I'm not even thinking about the match! This was a good match albeit not spectacular or anything. They did a bunch of roll-ups at the end and Allin pinned Cody on one of of them. Allin is usually only good in hardcore matches, but Cody knows how to create drama and put together a good wrestling match. **1/2

HIKARU SHIDA vs. NYLA ROSE (14:10): As noted previously, the women's division has never amounted to much. It seems like the roster constantly changes and there's always new faces every week. Nyla Rose was gone all summer and returned only to lose. This was sloppy and kind of boring. Shida did pick up Nyla twice to slam her which was impressive. Vicky Guerrero is Nyla's manager for some unknown reason. This was pretty bad. *

THE YOUNG BUCKS vs. FTR (28:35): This started out kind of average but eventually turned into an excellent match. FTR have been very disappointing so far in AEW and I think even they realized that because they tried literally everything to make this great; spearing guys through the ropes to the floor, doing 450 splashes. The story in this was that everyone was doing moves from the great tag teams of the past...like the spear through the ropes that the Steiner brothers used to do. The other story was that the one Buck had an injured leg that FTR worked on during the match. This culminated in FTR taking off the one Buck's boot and sock to damage his foot. And of course the Buck did a superkick with the injured foot to win the titles (I still haven't attempted to differentiate Matt and Nick Jackson...nor do I know who's who on FTR). This was long and brutal and dramatic and the kind of match when it's over you just exhale. This was spectacular stuff. ***1/2

MATT HARDY vs. SAMMY GUEVARA (19:39): This was a taped match at the Matt Hardy compound. It was kind of like all the other "Deletion" matches that TNA used to show years ago. Hence, we've kind of seen all of this shit before and this went on too long. I did laugh when "Hurricane" Helms got beat up and then came back as the reporter to ask questions, a la Clark Kent. Grendel, from WWE's The Brood, also showed up. Private Party and Santana and Ortiz also brawled in a ring set up outside. They eventually went inside where Guevara did a Swanton Dive off of a ladder through a table. Then they did a spot in really poor taste where Hardy put Guevera through two tables and there was fake blood where Guevera's head landed on the concrete. After their last match at All Out, I never wanted to see these two wrestle again. That match should have been stopped because Hardy seemingly got knocked out. To use fake blood and a fake injury type of spot in this match that played on their last match was a real low point on this show. Guevera's great and Hardy should just retire. *1/2

MJF vs. CHRIS JERICHO (16:10): MJF won with a sneaky roll up and is now a member of the Inner Circle. This match was just okay and kind of boring. Both guy's are terrific on the mic and in skits (their musical routine on Dynamite two weeks ago was one of the best segments in wrestling all year) but both are pretty dull in the ring. I'm guessing that eventually MJF will lead the Inner Circle and Jericho will retire or take time off or go and tour with his band. At least MJF in the IC sets up some interesting stuff they can do on the TV show every week. Otherwise, this was pretty forgettable. *

JON MOXLEY vs. EDDIE KINGSTON "I QUIT MATCH" (17:35): This card was great...except for the main event. Moxley defending the title against a guy that just joined AEW like a month ago? Lame. Both of these guys used to be in CZW years ago...so this was set up as the guy that made it and became a star (Moxley) against the loser that never got a shot (Kingston). I kind of thought that this would be more brutal and more hardcore, considering they were in CZW and also because the last time Moxley did a hardcore match it was fucking insane (against Omega at last year's Full Gear). They used barbed wire, thumbtacks, rubbing alcohol, and chairs. Kingston wrapped the barbed wire around his fist to punch Moxley and cut his forehead. Moxley got slammed on the thumbtacks. Kingston got suplexed onto a sitting chair. Kingston poured rubbing alcohol on Moxley's back. Moxley wrapped barbed wire around his arm and choked Kingston out until he quit. This was just okay. It was at least entertaining, as I do love deathmatches (though since I watch Big Japan a lot...this kind of shit seems tame to me), though Kingston is not a very good wrestler (he's good on the mic, though, which is probably the only reason they signed him). Moxley tends to only be good in hardcore matches, though even this was kind of slow and methodical and not particularly exciting. Moxley will face Omega for the title next, which may or may not be good. The last time they wrestled it was certifiably insane. Good luck following that one up. *1/2

NJPW POWER STRUGGLE

Osaka

attendance: 2,834

TORU YANO vs. ZACK SABRE, JR. (12:11): This was for the new King of Pro-Wrestling title. I think the last thing New Japan is a new title. They already have the IWGP title, the Jr. title, the NEVER title, the 6-man title, the Intercontinental title, the Jr. tag team title, and the tag team title. Oh...that's not enough, you greedy bastards? The KOPW title is only different because every match has to have a stipulation. New Japan never does good stipulations, though, nor do they do gimmick matches like cage or ladder matches (they did a ladder match once with Omega and it was awesome and you'd think that would've opened their eyes to doing things like that more). The stip here was that there were no turnbuckle pads...I guess because Yano always takes them off anyway. Yano did win when he tied Zack's shoelaces together around the metal ringside barrier. Sometimes Yano matches are mildly amusing. This was not one of those times. 1/2*

SHINGO TAKAGI vs. MINORU SUZUKI (18:56): I actually thought that this would be a lot better than it was. Everyone online that reviewed this show loved this match...but I thought it wasn't very good at all considering both of these guys are hard hitting and brutal and the match should have been stellar. It probably didn't help that Suzuki either got knocked out towards the end or just got dazed by one of Shingo's clotheslines because Suzuki was practically falling over in a concussion haze and they went right to the finish. *1/2

KAZUCHIKA OKADA vs. THE GREAT O-KHAN (12:58): The Great O-Khan sucks. Everyone has kind of noted that his stupid, racist cliche Mongolian character is something you might have seen in the WWF in the 80's. That wouldn't really bother me if he was a great wrestler or did exciting moves or, really, anything of note. His big offensive move is a double chop to his opponent's shoulder blades. Jesus Christ. The crowd for this match was a silent tomb. I guess New Japan is stuck with him now. Will he get any better? They did give him a great storyline/feud with Okada and Ospreay. They must have seen something in him to give him that, right? Ospreay was at ringside in a suit and after the match he called out Okada then gave a weird Ric Flair promo about expensive watches. If you can't have a good match against Okada then really there's no hope for you. 1/2*

KENTA vs. HIROSHI TANAHASHI (19:57): This show was really bad. It probably didn't help that I watched AEW's Full Gear before this and that show was phenomenal. The card for this show sucked, though, so it wasn't a total surprise. Kenta retained his briefcase in this match. Yep, there were two briefcase matches on this show. And everyone says Gedo is a great booker. Does he also write the stupid storylines? Kenta's briefcase is for a title shot at the lame U.S. title that hasn't been defended since February because Jon Moxley is the champ and can't really come to Japan until the pandemic is over (he could...but would have to quarantine for 2 weeks before his match...meaning he'd be off AEW's Dynamite for like 3 weeks). The crowd really was surprised when their star, Tanahashi lost. Especially considering Kenta fucking sucks. I'm wondering if anyone can get a good match out of Kenta these days. Could Ospreay? Hiromu? Doubtful. *

JAY WHITE vs. KOTA IBUSHI (18:47): I think it's safe to say that Gedo's genius booking has officially died this year. I've never really bought into his booking skills, anyway, considering he took way too long to give Omega the title and had Okada beat Naito at that Wrestle Kingdom show two years ago that was a terrible decision. I think people just say how great his booking is because they're used to how God-awful the WWE booking is and by comparison he looks like a Nobel laureate or something. Well Gedo's booking has been atrocious this year. First off he gave Evil the title. Then he had Ibushi lose his Wrestle Kingdom title shot in this match...only to have Ibushi still wrestling for the title at Wrestle Kingdom. Huh? This match was for the briefcase that contained the Wrestle Kingdom title shot. Ibushi got it by winning the G1. Nobody has ever lost the briefcase before. White won it in this match by putting his feet on the ropes to cheat and win. That was a shock. But WK is two nights, so at a press conference, Naito just decided that Ibushi still deserves a shot and so it'll be Naito/Ibushi for the IC and IWGP titles on Night #1 and the winner of that match vs. Jay White on Night #2 for both titles. So Ibushi lost...but didn't really lose? Bryan Alvarez on the Observer radio show railed for like ten minutes on how preposterous this was. And it is! Yes, you need 2 main events for WK and yes, of course everyone wants to see Ibushi/Naito. But do it in some other way that's not utterly ridiculous. And, really, nobody wants to see Jay White in a main event. I can't see why they didn't just have Ospreay/Okada as the main event on Night #1...considering that'll be the best match of 2021 probably. This match was decent, and the shocking finale at least woke me up. I'll give it that. **1/2

TETSUYA NAITO vs. EVIL (38:08): We got a 38 minute match between Naito and Evil who are amidst the worst feud of the year. Thanks! This was probably their best match to date, though that isn't saying much. There was so much interference in this match it bordered on ludicrous. Naito gave Evil two Destino's and was all set to win when Dick Togo pulled the ref out of the ring. Eventually the whole fucking roster ran out and there were more ref bumps. Sanada ran out to save Naito. Jay White ran out to tease turning on Evil but just beat up Naito instead. Ibushi came out to get Jay White out of the ring and then just stared at him. All of this was ridiculous...but also made this at least more compelling that the usual, terrible Naito/Evil match. This was the 4th Evil/Naito match since July. I hope I never see another one. **