Top Matches I Watched in August 2025

Top Matches I Watched in August 2025

By Alex Kalil

Another quality month of wrestling! Lots of really good WWE stuff while AEW continues to have incredible matches on a weekly bases. Got around to starting the G1, which has been very fun. Good time to be a wrestling fan

Triple Threat Match for the Women's World Championship: Naomi (c) vs. Rhea Ripley vs. IYO SKY at WWE Summerslam 2025 Night 2: A really exciting and fast paced 3 way match. Naomi starts off the match trying to avoid the 2 challengers. Rhea and IYO are able to corner her but a missed boot by Rhea takes out IYO and allows Naomi to take over on both women and control the ring. Eventually, Rhea and IYO rally and team up to take out Naomi and we get a great bit of back and forth from the two of them. Naomi gets back involved and we get some nice big spots and near-falls with IYO hitting an Over the Moonsault and Rhea hitting a Riptide. Match spills to the outside with IYO hitting a Sunset Bomb on Rhea into Naomi for a great spot. IYO tries to follow up with another Moonsault but Rhea cuts her off and hits an Avalanche Riptide! Cover by Rhea but Naomi comes up behind Rhea and rolls her up with a handful of tights to steal the win. Lots of great action throughout. A few issues with Naomi working over both top women early on and stealing the win again but it still worked here. ****

TLC Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship: Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy (c) vs. Andrade and Rey Fenix vs. #DIY vs. Fraxiom vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. The Street Profits at WWE Summerslam 2025 Night 2: A wild car crash match! Everyone goes right at it from the jump and we get some nice little moments early on like everyone ganging up on the Wyatts, #DIY and the Machine Guns revitalizing their feud by going at it, and Andrande trying to lift Fenix to reach the belts. The weapons come into play quickly and we get a ton of wild spots involving ladders and tables including a Spanish Fly by Axiom from the top to the outside into a pair of tables! Fun little spot with Candice LaRae, B-Fab and Nikki Cross all fighting in the ring to help their teams out, ending with Candice getting knocked off a ladder through another ladder on the outside for an insane spot! Erick Rowan runs out to try and stop the Street Profits but is speared through a table for his troubles. Ciampa climbs up but is left hanging from the belts when the ladder is moved from underneath him. Frazer goes to spear him off but Ciampa lifts himself up to avoid it! That was incredible! #DIY goes for the belts but Uncle Howdy pushes the ladder over and they fall through a stack of tables! Andrande takes out Howdy but the Wyatts recover and take him and Fenix out to get the titles and retain. A fun highlight reel match. Lots of great and unique spots all match. The finish was rather flat and felt like a bit of a letdown. Still a very fun watch. ****

Street Fight for the WWE Undisputed Championship: John Cena (c) vs. Cody Rhodes at WWE Summerslam 2025 Night 2: A big bombfest of a match from these two. Bell rings and they go right at it and we are off. Some nice brawling around ringside as they use the ring steps to batter each other before we get into the main portion of the match: both men throwing nothing but bombs all match. Lots of AAs and Cody Cutters as these two seem to know that nothing but a big shot is gonna get the win. Cody breaks out a piledriver for a nice spot but Cena plays possum and suckers him into a STF for a nice near-fall. Cena rolls back the clock with a Code Red and an AA through the announce table. Both men are still throwing bombs at each other as they fight into the crowd and end up on the stage with Cena hitting an AA on the ramp. Cena has to carry Cody back to the ring though and the delay allows Cody to cover and hit a Cross Rhodes to even the match back up. Cena locks in for another STF but Cody is able to drag himself into the ropes and force Cena to let go. Cody hits THREE Cross Rhodes! Cover but Cena kicks out! Cody is shocked and tries to use the belt but Cena ducks it. A pair of AAs and an Avalanche AA! Cover but Cody kicks out this time! Cena goes for a second Avalanche AA through a table but Cody counters with a Cody Cutter through the table! Cena struggles to his feet as Cody hits one final Cross Rhodes to reclaim the title. This match felt like an epic battle between two faces of different generations. While the match was very much a "finisher, kickout, finisher, kickout" style of match, it worked for what they were going for here. Cena finally looks like the Cena of old on his way out the door and puts over Cody huge. ****1/4

AEW World Tag Team Championship Eliminator Tournament Semi-Final Match: The Young Bucks vs. Brodido at AEW Dynamite 8/6: A super fun fast paced tag team match. Brodido is able to control early on, mainly due to Brody's imposing size, and they are able to run wild on the Bucks. The Bucks try to use their tag team expertise to take over but Brody fights back and shuts them down. The Bucks finally are able to isolate Bandido to get the heat and take over. A missed Young Bucks Trigger allows Bandido to make the tag to Brody and things pick up from here. The match becomes a wild battle of double team offense and some great near-falls! Brodido misses the catapult 450, which allows the Bucks to nail Bandido with a TK Driver! Brody makes the save in time though! The Bucks take the fight to the floor but Bandido is able to press-slam Nick into Matt off the barricade to cut them off. X-Knee and 21-Plex by Bandido! Cover! Nick breaks it up! Brodido stays on the Bucks as Bandido hits a Moonsault Slam on Matt. Catapult 450 connects this time and Brodido gets the huge upset! Great TV match. Really loved the slow start that allowed the match to build. Brodido had some miscommunications while the Bucks ran like a well oiled machine, but Brodido was able to fight through it all with toughness and grit to get the win. ****

MJF vs. Mark Briscoe at AEW Dynamite 8/6: A really good match with some simple but well done storytelling. Mark goes right after MJF at the bell and looks for the Jay Driller, only for MJF to stop him by biting him. Story of the match plays out very simply with Mark looking to punish MJF while MJF does everything and anything to avoid Mark or take over: rolling to the floor, poke to the eyes, grabbing the ropes during a hold. Nothing is off limits for MJF to try and use to cut off Mark and stop his momentum. Love Mark going for the Froggy Bow all match only for MJF to constantly avoid it or even cut off Mark on the top rope. MJF looks for a top rope Tombstone Piledriver, but Mark is able to fight him off to finally hit the Froggy Bow, which only gets a 2 count. Mark ups the ante by looking for a Froggy Bow through a table on the outside but MJF moves and Mark crashes through the table! MJF rolls in and looks for the count-out, which Mark just barely beats, only MJF to nail a Heatseeker as he makes his way in the ring. Cover and Mark gets his foot on the rope but the referee doesn't see it! 3 count! MJF pushes the foot off as he celebrates the win. A really fun old school style match. Mark wanted to hurt MJF and looked for his big move all match while MJF cheated the whole time. Mark finally has MJF on the ropes only for his quest for punishment to cost him in the end. Great stuff! ****

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. at NJPW Tanahashi Jam: A great back and forth battle between a hammer and a chisel. Match starts and right away Goto looks more confident and sure of himself going up against Sabre and takes the fight to him with his powerful and hard hitting style of offense. Sabre responds back with his own style of wrestling: pick a limb and take apart his opponent. The limb that Sabre chooses is Goto's right arm, which he goes after with amazing precision. Lots of submissions that Sabre is able to lock in deep and try to trap Goto, who does an amazing job fighting back time and time again even with one good arm. We get some fantastic back and forth sequences including Goto hitting a reverse GTR only for Sabre to immediately fire back with a Zack Driver. Sabre is able to lock Goto deep into a double arm submission, only for Goto to just barely get his foot on the rope to the roar of the crowd but the damage is done: Goto's arm is all but gone. Referee tries to talk Goto into stopping the match but Goto isn't having it and keeps trying to fight back to defend his championship. Goto finally hits the GTR but the damage to the arm is too much to get a pin right away. Goto tries to out-wrestle Sabre with a couple of quick roll-up attempts but that plays right into Sabre's hand. A pair of Zack Drivers by Sabre and still Goto won't stay down. Sabre goes back to the arm with more armbars as he ties up Goto and stops him from reaching the ropes. The referee has to finally step in and stop the match to save Goto from himself and Sabre is the new champion! What a fantastic match! Both men had their strategies and used them to perfection all match while telling a great story of Goto refusing to give up on his long time dream of being champion. The match slowed down a bit down the stretch to sell the idea that Goto might not be able to continue with the hurt arm but everything else was great. ****1/4

G1 Climax 2025 Block A Match: Yuya Uemura vs. Oleg Boltin at NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 1: A really fun and exciting match between a wrestler and powerhouse. Things kick off with some nice mat wrestling from both men with Yuya having the slight edge. Boltin responds by using his size and power to manhandle Yuya and just run through him, but Yuya thinks quickly and goes right after the arm of Boltin to take away some of his power. Super fun back and forth action as both men try and wear the other down and see whose strategy pays off first. Boltin starts looking for Kamikaze as a finishing blow but Yuya counters with a nice roll-up for a near-fall. When Boltin tries for Kamikaze again, Yuya blocks and nails the Deadbolt Suplex for the win! Great stuff from these two. Both men had very simple but effective wrestling styles and they made every counter and big sequence look like a struggle for control. Yuya is able to out-wrestle the big man to get the win. Good stuff! ****

G1 Climax 2025 Block B Match: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Gabe Kidd at NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 1: This was an all out bombfest from these two! Both men come out the gate swinging and we get right into it! Lots of strikes, slaps, elbows, lariats and big bombs. Really loved the way both men worked this match with a frantic pace and just trying to throw anything and everything they can to keep the other down. Lots of nice near-falls like Gabe drilling Takeshita with a piledriver and catching Takeshita with a brutal knee as he drops from a strike exchange. So great! Takeshita is able to recover and fire back on Gabe. We get a really nice count-out tease with Gabe just beating the count but rolls right into Takeshita's offense. A stiff elbow to the back of the head and a neck snap by Takeshita before locking in a Chickenwing and Gabe is out! Referee calls it! Just non-stop action all match! These two men brought it and looked to just beat the hell out of each other. Just an awesome match! ****

G1 Climax 2025 Block B Match: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ren Narita at NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 1: A really good technical wrestling match. Bell rings and both men start off trying to out-wrestle the other. Sabre naturally gets the early advantage and looks to go after Narita's arms. Narita is able to use his House of Torture ways to get Sabre on the outside and use the ropes and guardrail to trap Sabre and attack his legs. Some great selling by Sabre while Narita picks at him bit by bit. Sabre stays alive though and starts fighting back with his strikes and even a Zack Driver for a near-fall. Narita gets frustrated at Sabre's comeback so he starts trying to cheat with a low blow, only for Sabre to block and start tying Narita up in holds. Narita bites his way out of a submission and blocks the referee's view as he kicks Sabre low. Double Cross and Hell’s Guillotine gets Narita the huge upset win! Really enjoyed this! Narita tried to wrestle Sabre and beat him at his own game and only when that failed, and Sabre started to comeback, did Narita resort to cheating to get the win. Wish more Narita matches were like this. ****

AEW TNT Championship Match: Kyle Fletcher (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii at AEW Collision 8/9: A very fun hard hitting match. Bell rings and both men go right into a big forearm exchange before we get a really nice back and forth counter for counter sequence. Things settle a bit and we get the story of the match: Fletcher is faster but Ishii is just a brick wall that Fletcher needs to hammer into defeat. Lots of great back and forth from both men with Fletcher showing some great aggression as he keeps taking the fight to Ishii, even as he absorbs everything Fletcher is throwing at him. Really nice finishing stretch with Ishii showing some nice power offense but Fletcher is able to withstand it all and nail his own big shots before ending things with a Brainbuster. Just a really fun TV match and a nice win for Fletcher to start off his title reign. ****

G1 Climax 2025 Block B Match: El Phantasmo vs. Konosuke Takeshita at NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 2: A really fast paced and exciting match! ELP starts off the match looking for a quick win, playing off his reign as TV Champion. A series of flash pin attempts before ELP is able to hit the CRII very early! Takeshita rolls to the outside to avoid the Thunder Kiss '86, only for ELP to stay on him with a big dive. ELP goes for another dive into the crowd this time, but Takeashita is there with a brutal elbow as ELP comes flying at him! A Brainbuster on the floor and Takeshita is firmly in control now. Takeshita works over ELP for a bit before ELP is able to start mounting a nice comeback and we get a more back and forth flow to the match. Thunder Kiss '86 attempted again but Takeshita gets his knees up and rolls ELP right into a Raging Fire! Cover but ELP kicks out! We get an insane counter for counter finishing stretch as Takeshita looks to hammer ELP into defeat but ELP keeps finding a way to fight back! ELP counters a Wheelbarrow German into a poison rana before hitting a Destroyer and a CRII! Kickout! Another CRII and ELP hits the CRIII to get the win! This was a fantastic match! Loved ELP trying to move fast to get the win before getting cut off by Takeshita and having to survive his onslaught long enough to hit his own big bombs and get the win. ****1/4 

Four Way Match for the #1 Contendership for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Daniel Garcia vs. Nigel McGuinness vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Hechicero at AEW Collision 8/16: A great display of technical wrestling from all 4 men. The match starts and right away all 4 men start looking for some holds and submissions and try to out-wrestle their opponents. Really enjoyed the match keeping all 4 men involved and the small storytelling of Nigel and Garcia not wanting to go after each other due to their past. Lots of great counters and sequences from all 4 men to show off their skills. Nice spot with Nigel and Garcia locking in stereo submissions, only for Nigel to catch Garcia with an elbow to make him break the hold. Some more back and forth until yet again, we find Nigel with the London Dungeon on Moriarty and Garcia with the Dragon Tamer on Hechicero. A fun spot with Moriarty and Hechicero grab arms to stop the other from tapping before Nigel cranks back on the hold and Moriarty has to tap out. A really fun TV match and one that allowed all 4 of these guys to shine. ****

G1 Climax 2025 Block A Match: Taichi vs. David Finlay at NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 3: A very good, hard hitting match. Bell rings and Finlay immediately tries to toy with Taichi at the start until Taichi catches him early on with some strikes. Taichi runs wild for a few and punishes Finlay until he is run into the ring post, which allows Finlay to take over and work on Taichi's back and midsection. Some nice heat by Finlay, who again toys and mocks Taichi, only for him to start coming back with some hard strikes and big bombs. We get a more back and forth style of match but with Finlay seemingly on the ropes more and more. Finlay is able to pull off a sneaky roll-up for a near-fall but transitions right into Into Oblivion! Kickout! Finlay fights to try and keep Taichi down and hits a Buckle Bomb to cut him off. Finlay goes for Overkill but Taichi blocks it with a roll-up. Kickout! Gedo Clutch by Taichi! Another kickout! Taichi rocks Finlay with a Superkick and nails Black Mephisto to get the win! Really good stuff. Finlay came in cocky and arrogant but was quickly put in his place by the veteran Taichi. Really liked Finlay playing the desperate bully heel who has to fight for every opening he gets and trying to protect himself from Taichi's hard hitting style. Taichi is able to stop Finlay's momentum and get the win through for a nice upset. ****

G1 Climax 2025 Block A Match: Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura at NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 3: An awesome back and forth match from these rivals! Right from the start of the match we get a clear story that is told all match: Tsuji is bigger and more powerful so Yuya needs to try and out-wrestle him and use his speed. Great stuff early on with Tsuji manhandling Yuya, only for Yuya to respond back by arm dragging Tsuji to the mat and working over his left arm. Some awesome back and forth wrestling from these two with Tsuji just muscling Yuya around but Yuya sticking to the arm like glue to keep up the attack. Tsuji is finally able to hit a top rope Spanish Fly to cut off Yuya's momentum. Tsuji starts laying in some absolutely brutal chops but Yuya isn't staying down and starts firing back with his own strikes. Yuya misses a top rope crossbody and Tsuji charges with a Gene Blaster but Yuta arm drags him to block it! Yuya locks in the Deadbolt Suplex and Tsuji fights to block it even though his arm is too damaged to escape out of it so he has to headbutt out! Yuya comes right back with his own headbutt to rock Tsuji! Gene Blaster again but Yuya blocks with an elbow! Tsuji is still able to block the Deadbolt Suplex but not a German Suplex and Dragon Suplex for nice near-falls. High Fly Flow by Yuya! Kickout! Yuya goes back to the top for another but Tsuji hits Gene Blaster as Yuya comes off the top! A second Gene Blaster attempted but Yuya counters with a rana! Kickout! Tsuji full on spears Yuya out of his boots with a second and final Gene Blaster to get the win! Holy Shit! What a finishing stretch! A solid and well laid out beginning to the match with Yuya able to out-wrestle Tsuji and work over his arm until Tsuji started to come at Yuya full force. Incredible counters and near-falls for both men until Tsuji is able to yet again put Yuya down. ****1/4

G1 Climax 2025 Block B Match: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shota Umino at NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 4: A really great rematch to these two's Tokyo Dome main event. Both men start off fast and aggressively with Shota going after Sabre's leg in the early going to seemingly slow him down. Sabre does a nice job selling the leg while still trying to utilize it for his offense including some stiff kicks. Lovely spot with Shota working over the leg and going right into an STF but on the mat is where Sabre is at his best as he works his way out and goes after the arms and neck of Shota with some nice offense. At one point, Sabre hits a Zack Driver which takes some of the fight out of Shota but only for a short time as Shota keeps firing back. Sabre ties Shota up in a double arm bar and even traps the leg to stop him from reaching the ropes but Shota gets there with the other foot. Shota tells Sabre to bring it as the two trade blows before Shota rocks Sabre with a German Suplex. Shota looks for the Second Chapter but Sabre counters with a Zack Driver for a 2 count! Sabre tries for some pinning combinations but Shota kicks out and levels Sabre with a massive Lariat! Second Chapter and Shota gets the win! Really good stuff here. Shota seemed to learn from the Tokyo Dome and came in with a more focused and hard hitting style to combat Sabre's amazing wrestling skills. Even when Shota was on defense, he never seemed too far in danger and it looked like Sabre had no way to keep him down. Great stuff. ****1/4

Torneo La Leyenda De Plata 2025 Final Match: Mascara Dorada vs. Neon at CMLL Viernes Espectacular 7/25: A very fun back and forth Lucha showcase. Match starts off hot as these two just go at it from the jump. A ton of quick offense and gorgeous counter for counter sequences. Neon seems to get the advantage early and looks to be a step faster than Dorada as he works him over; topped off with a wild dive off the stage. Neon goes for a dive to the outside but crashes into the barricade when Dorada avoids it, which allows Dorada to take over with some big offense of his own. A ton of wild near-falls and big spots before Neon is able to headbutt Dorada off the top rope to the floor. Double Jump Moonsault from the ramp to the floor by Neon! Insane! Inverted Senton from the top and Neon picks up the win! All action all match by two of the best Luchadors in the world doing what they do best. ****

AEW World Tag Team Championship Eliminator Tournament Final Match: FTR vs. Brodido at AEW Dynamite 8/20: A really good old school tag team match. We get a decent start to the match with Brodido having a slight power and speed advantage while FTR has the clear tag experience to keep the match even. Brody gets in and puts FTR immediately on the backfoot until Stokely Hathaway nails Brody with a pipe hidden in his sling behind the referee's back to bust open the big man. FTR gets some heat on Brody until he is able to fight for an opening and make the tag to Bandido. Bandido runs wild only for a few moments before FTR catches him on a dive and slams him face first into the apron. FTR is back in control with another heat segment, which Bandido sells nicely for while still working for a comeback. Bandido finally gets the hot tag to Brody, who comes in to clear house and get Brodido back in the match. We get an awesome back and forth finishing stretch as time starts to run out. A ton of great counters and big near-falls as both teams frantically work to put their opponents away. In the end, time does run out with neither team able to get the pin and we have a draw. While the time limit draw for a tournament final is very questionable, this was a great tag match! Brodidio is able to come together nicely to take on one of the best teams in the world and hold their own. A ton of amazing spots down the stretch as both teams were so desperate to get the win. ****                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Tomohiro Ishii at AEW Collision 8/23: A hard hitting and physical match. Right from the bell these two go at it with stiff forearms back and forth. We get a nice little story of Ishii being a brick wall while Takeshita comes in physically drained from the G1. Lots of back and forth action complete with big bombs, near-falls and no selling before Takeshita is finally able to hammer Ishii enough to hit the Raging Fire and get the win. Just a super fun TV match. ****

AEW Unified Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Swerve Strickland at AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 2025: A really well done back and forth match. We get a nice feeling out process early on as neither man wants to make a mistake early. Swerve tries to avoid being tossed out the ring with a flip but lands badly on his hurt knee and Okada goes right to work on it. A nice twist on the standard Okada heat segment as Okada goes to the knee mainly to open Swerve up and go after his neck. Swerve does a great job fighting from underneath and trying to not let his knee slow him down, but Okada is on him every step of the way. Great spot with Swerve starting a comeback only to miss a Swerve Stomp on the floor to hurt his knee again and Okada capitalizes with a Tombstone on the floor! Okada starts looking for the Rainmaker to end things but Swerve is still alive and counters with an awesome House Call! Excellent finishing stretch as Swerve fires up and starts putting Okada on the defensive,  even hitting a Swerve Stomp but his hurt knee prevents him from covering right away and Okada kicks out. Okada wastes no time going back to the knee of Swerve to stop his momentum, even trapping him in the top rope by the leg to attack his knee. Swerve tries to stay in the match but a missed House Call leaves him open for Okada to finally hit the Rainmaker and pick up the win. Really good stuff! Loved that Okada had a target almost from the opening bell and Swerve sold it perfectly. Lots of great counters and back and forth before the injury was too much for Swerve to overcome. ****

AEW Women's World Championship Match: Toni Storm (c) vs. Athena at AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 2025: A good match of the wounded champion defending her title. Toni comes in with a hurt neck but starts off hot trying to take the fight to Athena and end things quickly. Toni gets distracted by Billie Starkz on the outside but takes her out fast with a Storm Zero. This leaves Toni open for Athena to cut her off with a dropkick into the barricade and Athena goes right to work on Toni's hurt neck. Story of the match from there is Athena working over the neck of Toni while Toni fights from underneath. Some nice subtle storytelling with Toni going for the TCM Chickenwing to end the match over and over and not wanting to trade bombs with Athena with her hurt neck. Athena keeps on Toni all match and gets a nice near-fall with a Koji Clutch but Toni makes it to the ropes and gets a near-fall of her own with a Storm Zero. Billie recovers and distracts Toni again, which allows Athena to hit the O-Face to drop Toni's throat on the ropes. Billie tries to use a chair but Mina Shirakawa runs in to chase off Billie. Athena goes for the O-Face again but Toni catches her in the TCM Chickenwing! Athena tries to fight out but Toni has her trapped and she has to tap out! A good match that told a nice story. Really liked Toni coming in hurt so Athena was so confident in her ability to win that she didn't take Toni too seriously until it was too late. Would have loved a longer finishing stretch but still a good match. ****

AEW World Championship Match: Adam Page (c) vs. MJF at AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 2025: An awesome back and forth story driven match! The title can change hands on a DQ or count-out so right from the bell, MJF is trying to frustrate and agitate Page into making a mistake. Hangman isn't having it and works over MJF early for a bit of revenge before rolling back into the ring and right into a piledriver by MJF to cut him off. MJF goes to work on the arm to set up for the Salt of the Earth while Page tries to fight from underneath. Awesome spot with Page giving himself an opening and going for the Buckshot Lariat but MJF counters into the Salt of the Earth. Great stuff! MJF gets frustrated at Page staying in the match and gets a table set up by ringside, only for Page to nail a Dead Eye off the apron through it! Page gets MJF in the ring for a cover but MJF gets a foot on the rope. MJF goes to the outside to escape and avoids a charging Hangman to send him into a chair and bust him open. Page still tries to fight back until MJF counters a moonsault and nails a Tombstone on the broken table! Ouch! MJF looks for the count-out but Page makes it back in at 9! MJF goes to throw Page into an exposed turnbuckle but Page reverses and MJF hits the turnbuckle and gets busted open! We get an awesome back and forth of these two bleeding men going at it with strikes and quick pin attempts until Page hits another Dead Eye for 2! MJF hands Page the Dynamite Diamond ring for him to use but Page ain't falling for it. MJF shoves Page into the referee which allows him to kick Page low. Heatseeker! Referee recovers and counts. Page gets his foot on the rope but the referee doesn't see it and counts 3! Mark Briscoe runs out to try and stop this but security pulls him back, however the referee still sees the foot on the rope and restarts the match!  MJF tries every trick he can to keep Page down now. Low blow and MJF cracks Page with the contract. Kickout! MJF tries to use the Diamond ring but the referee stops him! Page hits MJF with the contract behind the referee's back! Dead Eye by Page and he finally hits the Buckshot Lariat to get the win! This was just an awesome match! The slow build as MJF tried to toy with Page and get him to lose his temper only for MJF to have to cheat when he finds himself overwhelmed by a pissed off Hangman. MJF almost cheats his way to a win but in the end, Page beats MJF at his own game. ****1/2

Lights Out Steel Cage Match: Will Ospreay, Darby Allin, Hiroshi Tanahashi and The Golden Lovers vs. Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Gabe Kidd and The Young Bucks at AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 2025: An epic war between these two teams! The heels charge into the cage and here we go! Everyone goes right at it and we get so many storylines, angles and old feuds all coming together here in this match. Darby and Moxley get handcuffed together as they go at it. The Bucks try to up the violence early with a bag of stuff but it turns out to be gummy bears for a good bit of fun. Weapons do enter the match as the heels go to work on the babyface team and bust open Ospreay and Darby. Really love the story of Ospreay coming in hurt so the heels naturally go after his neck. Moxley stabs Darby in the ear with a fork before Claudio tosses him into the cage! Tanahashi makes a big babyface comeback for his team before Claudio takes him out with a Neutralizer. Bucks hit Tanahashi with a BTE Trigger for the cover but Ospreay makes the save as the babyfaces rally. Tanahashi tries to use a ladder to climb the cage, only for Omega and Ibushi to talk him down in another fun spot. But Ospreay does climb the cage to hit an insane moonsault! Omega and Gabe go at it to rekindle their feud until Omega and Ospreay take him out with a V-Trigger/Hidden Blade combo! We get a wild sequence of everyone hitting big offense on each other ending with Omega nailing Moxley with the One-Winged Angel for a cover but it is broken up. Moxley climbs the cage to escape with Yuta's help but Darby chases after him. Darby knocks Yuta off the cage and through the announce table and goes after Moxley! Darby sets Moxley on a stack of tables and climbs the cage for a Coffin Drop, but Gabe is there to stop him. Gabe locks Darby in a sleeper, but Darby goes for the eyes and takes him and Gabe off the cage through the tables! Good Lord! In the ring, Nick is the sacrificial lamb as The Golden Lovers hit a Golden Trigger on him, followed by a One-Winged Angel/Hidden Blade by Omega and Ospreay. Finally, Tanahashi climbs to the top and hits a High Fly Flow to get the win! What a match! Bloody and violent while still doing some amazing storytelling. I really loved that Moxley escaped the cage to avoid paying for his crimes but came back after the match to take out Ospreay. Brilliant match! ****3/4

Falls Count Anywhere Match: Darby Allin vs. Claudio Castagnoli at AEW Dynamite 8/27: A super fun and chaotic match! Darby jumps Claudio backstage as he makes his way to the ring and we start off hot! Simple but effective story to the match with Claudio just throwing Darby around with his impressive strength while Darby scratches and claws his way back every time to fight back on Claudio. Some great spots with both men using the environment and ringside to their advantage like Darby climbing a support beam to hit a Coffin Drop on Claudio and Claudio tossing Darby from the ring onto the announce table! Good Lord! Darby keeps fighting back through all the punishment even as Claudio breaks out tables and chairs to try and keep Darby down. Darby is able to dodge a charging Claudio, who runs into an exposed turnbuckle to rattle the big man. Darby takes the opening to hit a Code Red and a pair of Coffin Drop to get the win! Great stuff! A perfect story told all match with Darby being the underdog against the bigger and stronger Claudio and taking a beating while fighting for any opening he could to get the win before he finally does just that. Damn good TV match. ****

Fight Without Honor: QT Marshall vs. Paul Walter Hauser at ROH Death Before Dishonor 2025: A fun hardcore/weapons match with a decent story to it. Things start off with some nice wrestling by Paul to prove that he is a wrestler early on. Doesn't take long for the weapons to come out as both men try to punish the other. QT catapults Paul into a ladder to bust him open before attacking him with a barbed wire bat! QT tries to use a barbed wire wrapped chair as well but Paul ducks it and knocks the chair into QT's face. Aaron Solo runs out to help QT take back control until Hook evens the odds and drags Solo to the back. We get some wild spots as Paul fights back: a Finlay Roll off the apron through a table, a Golden Globe shot to the head before QT gets slammed onto glass and Paul is powerbombed into thumbtacks! QT is able to hit a Bret's rope Cutter through a table covered in glass to finally end things. I liked the action getting more and more violent as things went on and that QT had to give respect to Paul for putting up a hell of a fight in the end. ****

ROH World Championship Match: Bandido (c) vs. Hechicero at ROH Death Before Dishonor 2025: An absolutely incredible back and forth match from these two! We get a nice slow start with both men feeling each other out. We see Bandido try to wrestle with Hechicero but Hechicero is clearly more skilled on the mat and is able to work over Bandido. Some great limb work by Hechicero, who also goes after Bandido's mask, as Bandido works from underneath and uses his impressive power and speed to counter Hechicero from time to time. Bandido is finally able to mount a real comeback and starts landing some big offense on Hechicero like a Frog Splash for some nice near-falls. Hechicero is able to block a Sunset Bomb off the apron into an Airplane Spin to the floor! Good God! The two men start slugging it out, ending with an X-Knee by Bandido. 21-Plex attempted but Hechicero is able to block and tries to tie up Bandido into some submissions but the champion is able to keep fighting out. Bandido is able to get Hechicero into the corner to nail a Moonsault Slam and set up Hechicero for the 21-Plex again. Great touch with Hechicero holding the ropes to block so Bandido traps the arms to finally nail the 21-Plex and get the win! What a match! Both men had their own styles and strategies coming into the match and utilized them well the whole time. Lots of back and forth action and excellently paced match. Don't think it needed to go over 30 minutes but it was still an incredible match. ****1/2

ROH Women's World Championship Match: Athena (c) vs. Mina Shirakawa at ROH Death Before Dishonor 2025: A well done back and forth match between two women coming in banged up. Match starts with both women on even playing ground. Mina tries to be aggressive early on by going after Athena's hurt neck, only to hurt her own previously injured hand on a missed chop to the ring post. Athena uses the opening to work over Mina's hand and arm and takes over. Some nice heat by Athena while Mina has to fight back. Mina switches tactics and starts chipping away at Athena's leg and knee before locking in a Figure Four for a nice close win but now Athena is hurt too. Match becomes a very back and forth match as both women keep going back to the hurt limbs to take over and cut off the other. Lots of nice near-falls including Athena nailing a Tombstone and Mina hitting a Glamorous Driver but both only get 2. Mina goes for another Glamorous Driver, which Athena is able to counter and hits a big powerbomb. Athena goes to the top and hits the O-Face and gets the win. Just a very well done match from these two. Loved the limb work and selling by both. The crowd really got into Mina and thought she could get the win before Athena shut her down and retained. ****

John Cena vs. Logan Paul at WWE Clash in Paris: An awesome back and forth bomb-fest of a match. We start off with some basic wrestling early on and we can see that Logan may be faster but Cena has the power advantage. Logan looks to move fast and wear down Cena with some quick strikes and big offense but Cena is able to take everything Logan dishes out and give it right back. Match quickly becomes a war of attrition as both men start going for their best shots early and even start pulling off some different offense like Logan using a Zig Zag and Cena firing back with an End of Days. Logan even tries to use Cena's own offense against him, only for Cena to hit him with an AA. Logan is able to nail a big right hand to cut Cena off and hits a pair of Frog Splash but only gets a 2. Logan tries for an AA of his own but Cena blocks with a Styles Clash! Nice finishing stretch with Cena trying for a Super AA, which Logan fights off and goes for a right hand again but Cena is able to duck to hit a final AA to get the win. The action all match was great with both men breaking out all their big offense and even some new stuff. Logan was so focused on proving he was better than Cena, even imitating his offense, that Cena was able to avoid Logan's big right hand to put him away. ****1/4