Top Matches I Watched in August 2022

Top Matches I Watched in August 2022

By Alex Kalil

What a month for wrestling! Was able to watch the entire G1 (at least the matches worth watching), some excellent AEW, Impact and even GCW and Dragon Gate matches. Fantastic month to be a wrestling fan!

G1 Climax 2022 Block A Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb at NJPW G1 Climax 32 Day 1: A good match of the monster vs. the wrestler. Cobb is able to shut down Okada's offense early on with his size and power. While Okada is able to use his speed to get some momentum here and there, Cobb keeps shutting it down every time Okada starts rolling and goes to work on his back. Okada is eventually able to use the Money Clip to wear down Cobb and get some real offense in. Also nice touch of Cobb using Okada's own moves to work him over. Cobb goes for the Tour of the Island but Okada escapes and lands the Inoki Enzuigiri and an Emerald Flowson to rock the big man. A Rainmaker finally ends it for Okada. ****

ROH World Championship Match: Claudio Castagnoli (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita at AEW Battle of the Belts III: This was an awesome match! Claudio and Takeshita come out swinging for the fences but quickly slow it down into an even wrestling match up. Claudio has the slight edge in terms of power and wrestling skills but Takeshita is able to surprise him with his skills. Claudio switches his strategy by targeting the back of Takeshita to take away some of his strength. Some good back work by Claudio before Takeshita makes his comeback and starts throwing bombs. Claudio responds in kind and here we go! This match becomes a 90s AJPW all out fight! The crowd is standing as these men throw everything they have at each other while withstanding their opponent's best shots back. Takeshita's hurt back prevents him from landing the killing blow and Claudio is able to hit a Ricola Bomb at last to win it. This was very much a peak 2008 ROH title match. Fantastic! ****1/4

G1 Climax 2022 Block C Match: KENTA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. at NJPW G1 Climax 32 Day 2: A good match between a striker and a wrestler. KENTA wants to just punish and beat down Sabre with his kicks and strikes and work him over while Sabre looks to sucker him into his submission game and tap him out. A good back and forth match with Sabre going after KENTA with strikes only to switch to the submissions when it's clear that KENTA has the edge there. KENTA is able to rock Sabre with strikes and all but knock him out but wants to keep hurting him more and won't go for the pin. Sabre takes advantage of the opening and ties KENTA up and goes after the bad left arm to get the tap out of nowhere. ****

G1 Climax 2022 Block D Match: Shingo Takagi vs. YOSHI-HASHI at NJPW G1 Climax 32 Day 4: A hard hitting match between two tough lads. Both men have similar styles and look to just use their power to batter the other into defeat. Shingo is stronger and has the clear advantage but YOSHI-HASHI keeps fighting back. YOSHI-HASHI is finally able to unload on Shingo and start to get some close near-falls. The fans start to believe that he can do it, that he can defeat Shingo and score the upset. Shingo is able to counter YOSHI-HASHI and get in a wrestling move to score the pin! After all the hard hits, it was a wrestling move that sealed the deal. ****1/4

G1 Climax 2022 Block B Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jay White at NJPW G1 Climax 32 Day 4: White starts off by messing with Ishii only for Gedo to nail him with a chair. White is all over Ishii and works him over most of the match. White targets the midsection of the big man and while Ishii makes small comebacks, White keeps going to the midsection to take the wind out of him. Ishii finally has enough and charges at White full force and unleashes everything he has on the champ. The two trade counters to try and land the one big blow until Gedo trips Ishii and gives White the opening to finally counter Ishii's Brainbuster attempt to nail the Blade Runner. ****

G1 Climax 2022 Block C Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito at NJPW G1 Climax 32 Day 5: Another really good match in the rivalry between these two. Both start out testing the waters and trying to instigate the other into acting impulsively and take advantage. Naito is able to keep his cool and go to work on Tanahashi's neck before the Ace returns in kind by going after Naito's knees. Nice work by both men at picking a target and working it over all match to play into their strategy. Tanahashi is able to get some momentum and looks to end it with a High Fly Flow but Naito rolls out of the way. Naito sets him up for Destino but Tanahashi sees it coming and rolls-ups Naito to get the upset win. ****

G1 Climax 2022 Block D Match: Juice Robinson vs. David Finlay at NJPW G1 Climax 32 Day 6: A perfect modern day babyface vs. heel match. Match starts off and Finlay has the advantage in terms of straight up wrestling so Juice goes right after the bad shoulder of Finlay. Great heel work by Juice as Finlay tries to make a comeback but keeps getting cut off. Juice goes for a piledriver on the floor but Finlay backdrops him on the bare floor! Now Finlay is in control and goes after the powerful left hand of Juice, who tries to beg his former friend for mercy. Juice is able to take back over by running Finlay, shoulder first, into the ringpost. Match goes back and forth as both men battle for control. Finlay hits Trash Panda but Juice rolls out of the ring! Left Hand of God by Juice followed by Pulp Fiction only gets 2! Finlay hits a pair of stunners but Juice gets his foot on the rope! Finlay goes for a dive on the outside but Juice catches him with a right hand. Piledriver on the floor! Finlay is out! Back in the ring, Juice goes for Rock Slide but Finlay lands on his feet and Juice runs into the referee! Juice gets the US title belt and swings at Finlay. He ducks and grabs his shillelagh. Knockout shot to Juice! Trash Panda gets Finlay the 3 and the win! Fantastic match! ****1/2

G1 Climax 2022 Block C Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. at NJPW G1 Climax 32 Day 8: A good match between these two. Both men start off with some basic wrestling and very quickly Sabre takes over on Tanahashi and goes to work picking apart his limbs and body parts. Tanahashi tries every trick and strategy he can to try and match Sabre's wrestling IQ, and finds the most success with punches to the gut of Sabre and going after the knees. Good back and forth as Sabre looks for the submission win and Tanahashi fights to survive and for an opening. The match picks up as the two trader counters and Tanahashi is able to counter a submission into a pin to get the win out of nowhere. ****

Black Taurus, Gringo Loco and Jack Cartwheel vs. ASF, Komander and Laredo Kid at GCW The People vs. GCW: A crazy wild lucha tag match. Everyone got a chance to shine and show what they could do. Tons of insane action that peaked and then kept going and got even crazier! Crowd was losing their mind during this. Just a crazy 15 minute match with a ton of wild moments. ****

Open the Twin Gate Championship Match: Shun Skywalker and Diamante (c) vs. Jacky "Funky" Kamei and Jason Lee at Dragon Gate Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2022 Night 1: A really great match from these two teams. Skywalker and Diamante use their size and power all match against the smaller but quicker Kamei and Lee. Really enjoyed the back and forth flow of this match as both teams would take over at times using their strengths and working their pace and style. Skywalker and Diamante look for their finisher, Cielo Finale, all match which the babyfaces keep countering and avoiding. Eventually the heels are able to hit Cielo Finale off the top to take out Jason Lee for a good chunk of time but Kamei refused to give up and kept fighting back and bought his partner enough time to recover. Skywalker goes to end it but Kamei is able to counter out and hit Project A to secure the win. Fantastic match where both teams played their roles to perfection. ****1/4

Impact World Championship Match: Josh Alexander (c) vs. Alex Shelley at Impact Wrestling Emergence 2022: A really great wrestling match. Both men start off looking for the wrestling advantage and just when it looks like Alexander is going to use his strength to take control, Shelley is quick to use his veteran instincts and speed to go to the knee of Alexander and work over his left arm. Story of the match becomes Shelley working over Alexander and Alexander having to use his power to try and out wrestle the veteran. Some great back and forth action and a lot of great counters as Shelley throws everything he has at Alexander to try and put a chink in the armor of the champion. Alexander is able to withstand Shelley's best shots and counter out of Shell Shock with one of his own before a C4 Spike ends it. ****1/4

Battle of Los Angeles 2022 Final Match: "Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Daniel Garcia at PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2022-Final Stage: A good finals to the tournament. Bailey comes in hurt and Garcia goes right after his hurt knee. Garcia works over the knee and Bailey is forced to try and fight through the pain to do any kind of offense. Any time Bailey starts to get some momentum, Garcia is quick to go back to the knee. Good match as Garcia looks to submit Bailey while Bailey looks for a knockout blow with his strikes. At long last, Bailey is able to land a series of moves to take Garcia off his feet, Bailey goes for Ultimo Weapon to finish it but Garcia gets his knees up! Scorpion Deathlock in deep and Bailey has to tap out. ****

Best Two Out of Three Falls Match: Bryan Danielson vs. Daniel Garcia at AEW Dynamite 8/17/2022: A hard hitting fight between these two. Both men start off testing the waters with mat wrestling and looking for holds before both start unloading shots at the other. Danielson tries to ground Garcia into a Triangle but Garica lifts him up and drops him with a piledriver! Dragon Sleeper locked in and Danielson passes out! Garcia starts the second fall all over Danielson. He bloodies him and lights him up with hard shots while Danielson tries to keep fighting back. Garcia goes for the Dragon Sleeper again but Danielson sees it coming and is able to roll him into a pin for the second fall. All tied up now and both men go after each other hard. They ram each other into the ring post before a close count-out. Both men are busted open now. Brutal back and forth as both men kick, chop and slap the hell out of each other. Garcia tries to use Danielson's own offense on him but Danielson is able to counter and deliver it himself. Danielson locks in the Triangle again and once again Garcia looks for a piledriver but he can't lift him now. He's too hurt. Hammer fists by Danielson and the LeBell Lock is in! Garcia passes out! What a fight! ****1/2

AEW World Trios Championship Tournament First Round Match: Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks vs. La Faccion Ingobernable at AEW Dynamite 8/17/2022: Omega is back! And goes right to work showing off how healthy he is... or is he? A few missteps by Omega before he tags out. The Bucks work over the smaller Dragon Lee before Omega gets another chance to shine. Andrade is tagged in and a cheap shot by Rush gives the heels the opening to work over Omega and get the heat. Omega makes a big hot tag and the Bucks run wild for a while before the heels use the numbers to take back over. Match breaks down into a wild trios match as everyone hits big moves. Omega still looks hurt and is the main target of the heels. The Bucks are able to take out Andrade and Rush to allow Omega to nail Dragon Lee with a V-Trigger and barely gets him up for a One-Winged Angel for the win. The Bucks and Omega win but how healthy is Omega? ****

G1 Climax 2022 Block B Match: Jay White vs. Great-O-Khan at NJPW G1 Climax 32 Day 12: O-Khan starts off toying with and messing with White before White goes low and targets the knee. White does a great job working over his knee while O-Khan sells perfectly. Every time O-Khan starts to get some momentum, either his knee slows him down or White takes a shot at it. White goes to end it with Blade Runner but O-Khan uses the Iron Claw to stop him. O-Khan looks to wear down White with submissions in a last ditch effort to win. Iron Claw is locked back in but White slips out and hits Blade Runner for the 3. Great showing by O-Khan but White is still a level above him. ****

G1 Climax 2022 Block D Match: Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay at NJPW G1 Climax 32 Day 12: Another banger from these two foes. The match unfolds like so many of their previous matches. Shingo looks to use his power and strength while Ospreay looks to keep things moving and use his speed. Amazing back and forth action from the two as they know each other so well they are able to counter just about anything the other one can throw at them. Ospreay goes back into his playbook and starts to use more of his high flying to take down the big man. He looks for the Hidden Blade but Shingo blocks it and damages the right arm of Ospreay. The two start to pull out each other's own moves as Shingo hits an Oscutter and Ospreay hits Made in Japan but even that isn't enough. Ospreay goes for Stormbreaker but his arm is too hurt to hit it. Shingo takes advantage and unleashes Pumping Bombers and elbows on Ospreay before Last of the Dragon gives him the win. What a match! ****1/2

G1 Climax 2022 Block A Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. JONAH at NJPW G1 Climax 32 Day 13: A perfect big man vs. smaller wrestler match. Okada wants to try and wrestle JONAH and prove that he can slam the bigger man, but JONAH shuts him down fast. He batters Okada and throws him around to punish him and his back. Okada starts to get some shots in using his speed and strikes to rock JONAH while still looking to slam him. At long last, Okada does slam the big man and nails an elbow drop. Okada looks for the Rainmaker but JONAH is too strong and is able to stop him. Okada goes high risk with a dropkick but JONAH catches him with a powerbomb! And a second one before JONAH hits the Torpedo to pin Okada to the shock of the crowd! Excellent match here! ****1/4

G1 Climax 2022 Block A Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tom Lawlor at NJPW G1 Climax 32 Day 15: A good battle that really played into the style of mat wrestling vs. pro wrestler. Lawlor goes to the arm of Okada right away and looks to work it over to take away his best tools, especially the Rainmaker. Okada tries to keep it in his wheelhouse but Lawlor knows his plays and moves too well and keeps cutting him off by going back to the arm again and again. Okada finally is able to string together some offence and looks for the Rainmaker to end it but his left arm is too hurt to hold on and he can't hit it. Lawlor starts to unleash knees on Okada's head to end it but Okada is able to pull off a Hail Mary and get a Jackknife pin on Lawlor to get the win. Okada didn't beat Lawlor, he just won. ****

G1 Climax 32 Semi-Final Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Will Ospreay at NJPW G1 Climax 32 Day 19: A great first time match up and straight up wrestling match. Ospreay comes in with a hurt neck and Naito makes a target of it all match. Ospreay uses his quickness and strikes to keep the match even. A fantastic back and forth match as these two keep finding ways to counter the other and land heavy blows. An insane finishing stretch as Naito counters Stormbreaker with a Destino before hitting another proper one moments later for a 2 count. Naito goes for Destino again but Ospreay shoves him off and hits the Hidden Blade to Naito's face and bad eye! Still only 2! But a Stormbreaker ends it! Excellent match! ****1/2

G1 Climax 2022 Final Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay at NJPW G1 Climax 32 Day 20: What a battle of endurance! Okada goes right after the neck of Ospreay which is already hurt from the grueling tournament. Ospreay responds by using his agility and high flying on Okada before an Oscutter on the floor gives Ospreay an opening. The two work over each other's necks with Okada utilizing the Money Clip and Ospreay using his quick strikes. The match becomes an incredible battle of back and forth action as both men throw the best shots they can on each other. Ospreay starts to pull out the offense of men that have beaten Okada in the past. A High Fly Flow and Styles Clash only get 2. V-Trigger by Ospreay! He goes for the One-Winged Angel but Okada slips out and hits the Rainmaker for a huge near-fall. Both men are exhausted as they try for a knockout blow. Ospreay lands a pair of eHidden Blades to the back of the head and Okada's face but can't get the Stormbreaker in. Ospreay looks for another Hidden Blade but Okada plants him with the Cobra Flowson. Rainmaker finally ends it and gives Okada the win. Ospreay fought with heart and passion but the Rainmaker is still the top guy. *****

Jay Lethal vs. Dax Harwood at AEW Dynamite 8/24/2022: A hard hitting and physical match up. Dax and Lethal are both pretty even in skills but Dax is able to land harder chops and strikes. Lethal changes up the pace of the match by trying to use the Figure Four. Dax responds by looking for Sharpshooter but Lethal is able to keep blocking it. Dax is finally able to counter out of the Figure Four and gets the Sharpshooter in but Sonjay runs out for a distraction. Dax and Lethal go back and forth before Lethal is able to counter Dax into a roll-up and grab the tights to steal the win. **** AEW World Trios Championship Tournament First Round Match: Death Triangle vs. Will Ospreay and Aussie Open at AEW Dynamite 8/24/2022: An insane, action packed trios match! Death Triangle targets Ospreay who is coming off a draining G1 and maybe the weak link. Babyfaces run wild and work over Ospreay until Aussie Open are able to attack Fenix from behind and allow the heels to take over. The match becomes an incredible back and forth battle as both trios throw their bodies and everything they have at each other to get the win. PAC and Ospreay have an awesome battle before PAC takes out the heels on the floor. PAC is jumped by Kip Sabian who takes him out of the match. This allows the heels to triple team Fenix and hit an elevated Oscutter to get the win. Fantastic bell to bell, action filled match! ****1/4

RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship Match: Will Ospreay (c) vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey at RevPro Ten Year Anniversary Night 1: A good back and forth battle. Both men start off looking for quick strikes and offense with Bailey clearly being a step faster than the champion. Ospreay is able to tie Bailey up in the ropes and goes after the knee to slow him down and take away his powerful kicks. Bailey does a nice job selling the knee while still looking to fight back. Lots of good back and forth action and near-falls. Ospreay hits a Hidden Blade to the knee which I loved but Bailey keeps countering him when he goes for the finishing blow. Bailey goes high risk to finish Ospreay only to get his leg kicked out from under him. As Bailey recovers, he is nailed with a Hidden Blade and a Stormbreaker to end it. Great showing by both. ****1/4

RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship Match: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Ricky Knight Jr. at RevPro Ten Year Anniversary Night 2: A super heated battle between these foes. Right at the bell, they go at it with Ospreay being the crafty veteran and RKJ being the fiery young babyface who is willing to keep fighting no matter what is thrown at him. The match goes back and forth with both men trying every trick they have to keep the other down: RKJ going to the neck and Ospreay going after the back. When RKJ keeps getting back up, Ospreay starts to unleash strike after strike at his head. A ref bump allows Ospreay to go for a belt shot but misses and RKJ nails him with one instead. Ospreay responds by dropping RKJ onto a table for a big count-out near-fall. Ospreay goes for the kill. Using the Rainmaker and V-Trigger to add insult to the win. But RKJ counters out of the One-Winged Angel into one of his own! A knee and a Rikishi Driver ends it! New champ! Ospreay made the same mistake RKJ made last time: he toyed with his opponent instead of going for the win and it cost him. ****1/2

AEW World Trios Championship Tournament Semi-Final Match: Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks vs. Will Ospreay and Aussie Open at AEW Dynamite 8/31/22: An incredible trios match! Omega and Ospreay start off and go right after each other! The Bucks and Omega are able to isolate Ospreay for a few before Aussie Open gets involved and the match becomes more of a back and forth battle. Ospreay and Omega go at it again with Omega out-smarting Ospreay before a double team by Aussie Open allows Ospreay to work over the various hurt body parts of Omega. Hot tag to the Bucks allows The Elite to take back control. A ton of wild and crazy offense! Ospreay cuts off the Meltzer Driver with a cutter and then a Shooting Star Indytaker for a HUGE near-fall! Bucks and Omega are able to take out Ospreay and Omega nails the V-Trigger and One-Winged Angel on Fletcher to get the win. What a match! So much potential left between these two trios! ****1/2