Top Matches I Watched in August 2023

Top Matches I Watched in August 2023

By Alex Kalil

The Summer comes to a close with the G1 Climax ending in specular fashion! Summerslam being a very good show. AEW delivering their biggest show to date with All In and weekly TV still giving us some great matches all month.

G1 Climax 2023 Block D Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr. at NJPW G1 Climax 33 Night 12: A good match between these two foes. Early on Sabre tries to mock Naito, only for Naito to get serious right away and go to work on Sabre's neck. Sabre fights back by going to the arm of Naito and looking for submissions. A really nice back and forth with both men working a nice heated style. Both men are able to hit their big finishers but neither man stays down. As time starts to run out, both men start rushing to put the other away. Naito is just able to counter Sabre long enough to get a small package in and get the win. A very fun and enjoyable match. ****

Parking Lot Fight: Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Best Friends at AEW Rampage 8/4/23: A wild and violent fight. Both teams go right at it and make great use of the environment; using the cars and even car parts to punish and hurt each other. Best Friends play the underdog babyfaces and try to fight from underneath but the BCC are quick to maul and work them over with the 2 on 1 advanage anytime they can. Chuck tries to up the violence with a flaming barbed wire 2x4 but Yuta stops him and attacks his former friend with a screwdriver! Orange Cassidy arrives to try and even the odds but it doesn't take long for the BCC to once again take over. Moxley curb stomps Trent into a windshield to finally end this bloody and violent fight. ****

Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes at WWE Summerslam 2023: This was a great David vs. Goliath match. Cody wastes no time going right after Lesnar with big offense and trying to stick and move. It doesn't take Lesnar long though to grab hold of Cody and start suplexing him out of his boots. Lesnar works the ribs of Cody to soften him up and take the air out of his lungs before trying to mercifully end it by throwing Cody to the floor and looking for a count-out. Cody doesn't stay down though. Cody keeps getting back into the ring, frustrating the beast. A F5 on the floor and through the announcer's table but Cody still beats the count! Lesnar is shocked as Cody starts to fire back at Lesnar! They fight to the floor and Cody is able to run Lesnar shoulder first into the ring post. The Beast is wounded! Cody hits a Disaster Kick and a pair of Cody Cutters for a nice near-fall. Cody looks for Cross Rhodes but Lesnar grabs the Kimura. Cody fights and crawls and somehow gets to the ropes! Lesnar looks for a F5 to end it but Cody shoves Lesnar chest first into an exposed turnbuckle and Cody locks the Kimura on Lesnar's hurt arm! Lesnar is still too strong and just powers out of the hold and again looks for the F5. Cody slips out again and hits Cross Rhodes. A second and a third Cross Rhodes and Cody pins Lesnar! A little slow at the start for me but what a finish. Cody survives and beats the Beast to earn Lesnar's respect. ****

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Gunther (c) vs. Drew McIntyre at WWE Summerslam 2023: This was a very fun, hard hitting match. Match starts off even with both men wrestling for control and Drew seemingly getting the early advantage. Gunther takes over after a slam on the ring steps and goes to work on the back of Drew. Some nice heat by Gunther as he even starts to mockingly slap the back of Drew's head. Drew starts firing up and here we go! Both men start throwing hard shots and big bombs at each other. Drew keeps looking for the Claymore but Gunther counters with a big dropkick to Drew. Powerbomb and a top rope splash only gets a 2 count for Gunther. Both men go back to throwing shots at each other before Drew hits a Claymore out of nowhere. Only 2! Drew takes Gunther to the top but Gunther starts to fight out of it. Gunther drops Drew crotch first on the top rope and hits a big splash before he has time to recover. Gunther unloads on Drew with a big lariat and powerbomb to finally put him down. ****

World Heavyweight Championship Match: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Finn Balor at WWE Summerslam 2023: A really great match from these two rivals. Things start off heated with both men going after each other right away. Balor goes after the arm of Rollins, playing off their match 7 years ago where Balor got hurt. Some nice heel work by Balor, who forces Rollins to fight from underneath for a nice comeback. Balor runs Rollins into the ring post to take back over and even uses the Buckle Bomb into the barricade on Rollins. The two start going back and forth before Rollins gets a big near-fall with a Pedigree. Damian Priest comes to ringside and catches Rollins with a right and he falls right into a Pedigree by Balor. Only 2! Judgement Day comes ringside for the distraction and Priest tries to give Balor the MITB briefcase to use, but Balor refuses. Rollins with the Curb Stomp but only 2 again! Rollins takes out Judgement Day on the outside but rolls into the ring and Balor takes the opening and hits the Coup de Grâce for another near-fall! My God! Now Balor wants the briefcase. Priest distracts the referee again but Rollins Curb Stomps Balor into the briefcase to finally put Balor away. A good match to start that nicely played off their past match before the finishing stretch got super hot with the crowd biting for all the big near-falls. ****1/4

G1 Climax 2023 Block A Match: Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Ren Narita at NJPW G1 Climax 33 Night 13: A really fun match-up from these two. Both men start off with some basic wrestling with Kaito going after the knee in the early minutes to look for the Figure Four. Narita does a great job selling the hurt knee while still fighting back. Some good back and forth action with Kaito working a more flashy, modern style while Narita sticks to the basics of wrestling but done very well to counter him. A nice battle of Misawa vs. Inoki in a sense. Kaito starts nailing his Tiger Suplexes and looks for the Shining Wizard but Narita is able to counter for a bridging suplex to get the pin. A great showing by both men with Narita able to stick to his style of match and counter Kaito once too many times in the end to steal the win out from under him. ****

G1 Climax 2023 Block B Match: El Phantasmo vs. Will Ospreay at NJPW G1 Climax 33 Night 14: A fantastic match! ELP comes in with a must win situation on his hands. ELP starts off hot against Ospreay with his fast pace and high risk offense. Ospreay is quick to shut this down by using his size and strikes to start to work over ELP, particularly his neck and shoulder. ELP does a great job of staying alive by landing big shots to surprise Ospreay and keep himself in the match. Ospreay is able to hit an Oscutter on the apron and ELP barely beats the count-out. Ospreay goes for a coast to coast dropkick as ELP rolls in, only for ELP to nail a superkick! ELP has his second wind and starts throwing everything he has at Ospreay to put him down but Ospreay keeps kicking out. Ospreay tries to end it but ELP keeps countering all of Ospreay's big offense for his own near-falls. ELP hits an Oscutter of his own and the CR2 but only gets 2! ELP goes high risk again but is caught in a cutter by Ospreay, followed by an Oscutter for 2. Hidden Blade looks to end it but NO! ELP is still alive. Ospreay has enough and breaks out Storm Driver 93 to put an end to this match and ELP's G1 hopes. What an underdog performance by ELP, who did everything he could to withstand and beat Ospreay but just couldn't do it on this night. Excellent stuff. ****1/2

King of Gate 2023 Final Match: BIG BOSS Shimizu vs. Kota Minoura at Dragon Gate King of Gate 2023 Night 12: A good battle between these two young stars. Shimizu comes out the gate and looks to hammer Minoura right at the bell with his size and power. Minoura is able to fight back and we get a more even back and forth match. Both men are exhausted from their previous matches but they are still trying to fight for the win. Shimizu is able to counter a knee by Minoura and starts to throw every big shot and bomb he has in his arsenal to try and put him down. Power-Boss and Big Boss Press doesn't get the job done. Shimizu hits the Shotput Slam but Minoura gets his foot on the rope! Shimizu tries for a second splash but Minoura rolls out the way this time. Minoura starts to fire up and Shimizu tries to keep control with another Shotput Slam but Minoura counters out. A desperation roll-up is Shimizu's last gasp of trying to pull off the win but Minoura kicks out again and hits the Golden Rose to get the win. Shimizu fought with heart and gave his all but couldn't put down Minoura on this night. ****

G1 Climax 2023 Quarter Final Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr. at NJPW G1 Climax 33 Night 17: A really great match-up between these two again. After some early grappling in the ring, Okada takes the match to the outside to hit a DDT on the floor and puts a target on Sabre's neck right away. Sabre does a great job working through the pain and trying to tie up Okada in submissions to work him over. We get a really good back and forth with Okada looking to run through his trademark offense all working the neck of Sabre while Sabre is able to keep out-wrestling Okada with submission holds. Lots of great near-falls for both men and Sabre seems to have Okada on the ropes with some brutal strikes but Okada starts to fire back. Sabre counters a Rainmaker into another submission to wear Okada down but Okada is able to spin Sabre into a Cobra Flowson. Okada is finally able to hit the Rainmaker and that is all. Sabre worked his style of match perfectly but Okada was just too aggressive and relentless here to be put down. ****1/4

G1 Climax 2023 Semi-Final Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Will Ospreay at NJPW G1 Climax 33 Night 18: An incredible match by two men giving it their all to win. We get a nice slow start before Ospreay looks to use his quick offense early. Naito starts to go after the neck of Ospreay to set up for Destino and break Ospreay down. Naito hits a neckbreaker on the apron and then the floor for a nice count-out tease before locking in Pluma Blanca for a good stoppage tease. Ospreay counters a reverse rana and starts leveling Naito with big shots. Ospreay looks for Stormbreaker to end things only for Naito to counter with an insane DDT! Naito starts firing back on Ospreay and goes for the Stardust Press but misses! Both men are exhausted and fight to their feet. Naito hammers Ospreay with elbows to the neck only for Ospreay to land a series of hook kicks to rock Naito! Hidden Blade, Oscutter and the Leap of Faith only gets a 2 count and Naito is once again able to counter the Stormbreaker to avoid the killing blow. Ospreay catches Naito with a nasty kick and Naito is out on his feet. Ospreay toys with Naito as he tries for the finishing blow but Naito hits Destino out of nowhere and follows up with a second one for a big near-fall. A third and final Destino ends it and Naito advances! Ospreay was on fire here as he fought back even with his hurt neck but Naito was able to keep avoiding the killing blow and stuck to his strategy of going for the neck until it paid off in the end. ****3/4

AEW World Trios Championship Match: The House of Black (c) vs. CMFTR at AEW Collision 8/12/23: A very fun trios match. CMFTR starts off hot together and are able to use quick tags to keep in control early. House of Black are able to take over on Dax by using the numbers advanage and just start mauling on him. Love Brody King in these trios matches just being a monster all match. Punk eventually gets the hot tag to run wild but gets crotched on the top rope after a distraction by Julia Hart for a second heat segment. Nice heat on Punk before he hits a GTS out of nowhere on Buddy and gives Cash the hot tag. We get a really great finishing stretch with CMFTR pulling off some great trio moves like a double suplex Power and Glory and even a 3 man Shatter Machine on Brody. Punk takes out Malakai on the outside but is choked out by Samoa Joe in the crowd! Dax gets distracted by Julia again and turns into a big lariat by Brody to give the champs the win. Finish was a little sudden but everything leading up to it was so good. Great stuff. ****

G1 Climax 2023 Final Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito at NJPW G1 Climax 33 Night 19: A fantastic match between these two rivals. We get a nice slow feeling out process with Naito looking off a step after getting rocked in his match last night. Okada plays the black hat of the match by going to the neck of Naito with a DDT on the floor and then toying with Naito back in the ring. Naito does a nice job of fighting from underneath and targeting Okada's neck as well. A nice little touch with Naito using neckbreakers and arm drags but adding a knee to them so Okada lands right on it. We get a great back and forth with both men knowing each other so well that they are able to counter or block all their best shots. Naito starts rolling and goes for broke with a Stardust Press but misses! Okada looks to take advantage like he has in the past but Naito is still alive. Naito keeps countering and blocking the Rainmaker in a phenomenal closing stretch. Naito hits Destino for a big near-fall. Naito goes for a second one but Okada counters into a Cobra Flowson! Rainmaker... NO! Destino again! And a third Destino gets the win! Naito was able to avoid the Rainmaker of Okada all match and fight through everything that Okada could throw at him to endure, survive and win the G1! ****1/2

Rey Fenix vs. Komander at AEW Rampage 8/18/23: Fight for the Fallen 2023: A super fun back and forth match. Komander starts off faster than Fenix and looks for a quick pin early on. We get a nice story of the match with Komander being faster and taking more risks while Fenix is the more stronger and calculated one with his high risk offense. Lots of back and forth Lucha spots and some great near-falls with Komander holding his own well all match. Fenix is able to finally put down the young Luchador with a Black Fire Driver in a great TV match. ****

Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage at AEW Collision 8/19/23: Fight for the Fallen 2023: A really great TV match with perfect storytelling. Darby is the faster, resilient babyface to Christian's more cerebral and bigger heel. Darby starts off fast as Christian tries to avoid him early on and control the pace. Christian goes to work on Darby's arm for some fantastic heat and forces Darby to fight from underneath. Darby is able to take over with his high risk offense and throwing himself full force at Christian in some great back and forth action. Darby tries for a Coffin Drop on the apron but Luchasaurus pulls Christian out of the way and Darby crashes into the apron hard! Luchasaurus distracts the referee, allowing Christian to nail Darby with the TNT title but Darby gets his foot on the rope! Christian hits a brutal Spear but Darby still kicks out! Christian looks for the Killswitch and Darby is able to reverse it and roll up Christian to get the win out of nowhere! Darby was smaller and outnumbered with a hurt arm but still kept fighting to get the win. What a babyface! Great stuff! ****

All Star Junior USA Tournament Final Match: "Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Kevin Knight at NJPW All Star Junior Festival 2023 USA: A phenomenal match from both these men. Knight comes in banged up with hurt ribs and arm and Bailey wastes no time going right to work on punishing him. Bailey is strategic and precise with his strikes to work on Knight's ribs while also looking for arm submissions. Knight plays an incredible babyface as he fights back time and time again to try and stay alive while throwing anything he can at Bailey with the hope of pulling off an upset. As the match goes on, Knight is able to gain more and more momentum, and we get a fantastic finishing stretch. Knight keeps trying for anything to put away Bailey, who is able to keep countering Knight's best shots. Knight goes for a jumping DDT as a last ditch effort but Bailey counters and suplexes him into the turnbuckle. An Ultimo Weapon and Flamingo Driver follows and Bailey gets the win in a fantastic match. ****1/4

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Gunther (c) vs. Chad Gable at WWE Raw 8/21/23: A really good TV match that told a great story. Gable comes in looking to prove himself against the monstrous and powerful Gunther. From the start of the match, Gable looks to use his speed to out-wrestle Gunther and try to keep him on the mat. Gunther is just too powerful though and is able to easily fight off Gable's wrestling attempts with just raw power. Great heat by Gunther as he mauls and punishes Gable with big shots and a dominant show of power. Gable does a great job staying alive and trying to grab holds on Gunther to try and find a chink in his armor. Some great back and forth action before things spill onto the floor. Gable is able to duck a chop by Gunther, who smacks the ring post. Gable shoves Gunther face first into the ring post before dumping the big man over the barricade with a German Suplex. Gable rolls into the ring as the referee counts 10 and Gable gets the win over Gunther but not the title. A clever finish to keep this feud going and still leave a lot these two can do together. ****

Real AEW World Championship Match: CM Punk (c) vs. Samoa Joe at AEW All In London: A very fun match. Punk tries to stick and move against Joe, who has the easy power advantage. Some nice exchanges early on with both men knowing each other so well that they easily counter the other. Joe is finally able to get a hold of Punk and starts to work him over with stiff strikes and chops before tossing him into the announcer's table and busts Punk open. Punk does a nice job of fighting from underneath and even plays with and mocks Joe in the hopes that Joe will make a mistake. That mistake comes when Joe follows Punk to the top, only for Punk to literally bite his way free of Joe's grasp and hits a Pepsi Plunge on the big man for the win. Punk fought tooth and nail to survive and finally conquer his rival. ****

AEW World Tag Team Championship Match: FTR (c) vs. The Young Bucks at AEW All In London: A phenomenal match between these two rival teams. FTR looks to start off working a slower pace suited more to them but the Bucks use their speed and fast paced offense to start off in control. We get some great early moments as the Bucks look to isolate and work over FTR including Matt superkicking Dax off the apron to prevent the hot tag. FTR starts to rally and fight back before locking the Bucks in dual Sharpshooters. The big near-falls start coming as we get callbacks to the finishes of their previous matches for huge pops. The Bucks hit the BTE Trigger but Dax makes the save. Dax ends up walking right into a Shatter Machine by the Bucks! BTE Trigger again but another kickout! Holy shit! The Bucks look for the Meltzer Driver but Dax catches Nick on the springboard and hits Shatter Machine! FTR gets the win! A great match with an incredible finishing stretch with some of the best near-falls I have ever seen! ****3/4

Stadium Stampede Match: Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Mike Santana and Ortiz vs. Eddie Kingston, Penta El Zero Miedo, Orange Cassidy and Best Friends at AEW All In London: An insane, wild and bloody fight! Everyone goes right after each other from the start and here we go! Kingston and Claudio fight all over the back. Santana and Ortiz brutalize Best Friends. Moxley gets stabbed with skewers! Penta is taken out by Santana so now the babyfaces are a man down. Chairs, chains, tables, ladders, barbed wire and even a fork come into play as everyone is busted open. Sue comes out and Best Friends start to fire up. Penta returns as Penta Oscuro and takes out Santana! We get a wild fight in the ring as everyone starts getting taken out. Kingston returns and attacks Claudio with a barbed wire chair! Moxley stops Kingston and the two friends go at it and take out each other. Cassidy hits an Orange Punch covered in glass to knock out Claudio and gets the win. This was fucking awesome! A wild brawl that let everyone shine with some clever and unique violent spots. ****1/4

Will Ospreay vs. Chris Jericho at AEW All In London: A very good back and forth match. Both men come in looking to prove themselves against each other. Ospreay is the faster and more athletic wrestler and Jericho is forced to roll back the clock to try and keep up with him before trying to work the back and neck and slow things down. Nice heat by Jericho as he forces Ospreay to fight from underneath. We get some great back and forth with Jericho pulling off some impressively agile spots. Jericho starts to get desperate to win and tries to cheat with a baseball bat shot and a low blow but Ospreay doesn't stay down. Ospreay hits a Stormbreaker but somehow Jericho kicks out. Jericho knows he is beaten as he flips off Ospreay, who nails a Hidden Blade. One final Stormbreaker ends it and Ospreay gets the win. Very good straight up match from these two. ****

AEW World Championship Match: MJF (c) vs. Adam Cole at AEW All In London: A fantastic story-telling match. Both men start off with some nice clean wrestling and keep things friendly. MJF toys with Cole a little bit and Cole gets pissed at this and starts to up the intensity of the match. Cole goes to work on the neck of MJF, even using MJF's Heatseeker on him while MJF tries to fight from underneath and tries to go after Cole's arm. Match spills to the floor as MJF teases a Tombstone Piledriver on the announcer's table but he can't do it to his friend, but Cole can and does! Back in the ring, MJF again starts to fight back as both men hit each other with clotheslines for the double pin?! It's a draw! NO! Both men agree to restart the match and things pick up. We get a great back and forth with both getting big near-falls before the referee is taken out by accident. MJF looks to use the Diamond Ring but can't do it! Roderick Strong kicks MJF low! Cole hits the Panama Sunrise and The Boom. The referee recovers for the slow count but only 2! Roderick tries to make Cole use the belt on MJF but Cole refuses! Cole tells Roderick to leave and walks right into a small package which allows MJF to get the win. Cole was willing to do just about anything to win but in the end, he couldn't out right screw his friend out of the World Title and it cost him. Meanwhile, MJF is able to beat Cole with no shortcuts and prove that he is truly a new man to the fans. Perfect story-telling and a great match! ****1/2

AEW International Championship Match: Orange Cassidy (c) Penta El Zero Miedo at AEW Dynamite 8/30/23: A really fun and well done TV match. Cassidy comes in, once again, banged up and hurt and Penta wastes no time going to work on him. A really good back and forth as Cassidy has to fight from underneath almost all match but Penta seems to have an answer or counter to whatever Cassidy throws at him. Cassidy won't stay down though and Penta starts to look for the armbreaker but again Cassidy keeps fighting out of it. A brutal Fear Factor on the apron but Cassidy gets his foot on the rope! Penta finally gets the armbreaker on Cassidy and another Fear Factor still only gets 2! Cassidy gets a crucifix pin on Penta out of nowhere and steals the win. Another really good title defense from Cassidy, who continues to fight back no matter how much punishment he takes to somehow get the win. ****