Top Matches I Watched in January 2024

Top Matches I Watched in January 2024

By Alex Kalil

We are back! 2024 has begun and we are off to a good start with a really nice series of shows of NJPW, AEW, NOAH, Impact and even AJPW and Dragon Gate. Plus we got a few last minute matches from 2023 that I missed. Enjoy!

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Masa Kitamiya at Pro Wrestling NOAH The New Year 2024: A hard hitting Hoss match! Both men start right off throwing big strikes at each other, hoping to make the other break first. Kitamiya, being the younger wrestler, tries to change up tactics and goes after Ishii's knee with his Prison Lock submission but Ishii is too big and powerful to be kept grounded. Lots of big bombs, Lariats and no selling from both men. Kitamiya throws everything he has to keep Ishii down, even a headbutt that busts himself open but nothing seems to work. Ishii rocks Kitamiya with a jumping headbutt before a pair of Lariats and a Brainbuster ends it. Nice little story of the younger wrestler being unable to match the power of the veteran as well as just being two meaty men slapping meat. ****

GHC Heavyweight Championship Match: Kenoh (c) vs. Manabu Soya at Pro Wrestling NOAH The New Year 2024: A really good match up between these two former teammates. A nice slow feeling out process with Soya looking to have the edge with his size and power. Kenoh responds by starting to unleash his kicks on the big man. Very back and forth battle all match with both seemingly pushing the other to give it their all. Soya is able to pull off some impressive displays of agility with a dropkick, dive to the outside and a top rope clothesline. Soya gets closer and closer near-falls on the champion before a head kick from Kenoh rocks him. Kenoh shows his former teammate no mercy and just bombards him with kicks, stomps and knees. Kenoh finally locks in the Kenoh Special and Soya has to tap out. A really good match between these two with Soya really showing what he can do. The match dragged a little in the middle for me, as well as Kenoh missing a few key blows in the finish hurt the overall match but still a great effort. ****

Triple Crown Championship Match: Katsuhiko Nakajima (c) vs. Charlie Dempsey at AJPW New Year Giant Series 2024 Night 2: A very good veteran vs. young wrestler match. A slow start to the match with Nakajima firing off a few leg kicks almost as a warning. Dempsey is able to surprise Nakajima and wrestle him to the mat with his impressive size, power and wrestling abilities. Nakajima tries for another kick but Dempsey catches him with a vicious looking Dragon Screw. Nakajima is fighting on one leg now as Dempsey is able to work him over for a bit. Nice story to the match with Dempsey being able to control a good portion of the match, but even with one good leg, Nakajima only needs one good strike to put himself back in control time and time again. Some good near-falls for both with Dempsey even using the same backslide that beat Nakajima in the build-up. Nakajima finally nails a brutal kick and a PK before a Northern Lights Bomb en-ds things. A really good effort from Dempsey, who made Nakajima pay for taking him lightly and almost pulled off an upset before Nakajima put him down quickly and efficiently. **** 

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Darby Allin at AEW Dynamite 1/3/24: This was an awesome big man vs. little man match. At the bell, Darby tries to wrestle Takeshita and is quickly manhandled by the larger man. Takeshita does an amazing job of just tossing Darby around with ease. Darby tries to pick up the pace and goes for a dive but is caught with a knee! My God! A rolling German Suplex on the ramp to follow! Takeshita is all over Darby, who keeps trying to fight back. Darby is able to counter Takeshita off the top with a crazy Stunner. Darby has an opening and starts to go all out; throwing himself at Takeshita and going for his biggest and best shots including a Coffin Drop to the outside. Darby goes for the finishing blow with a Coffin Drop but Takeshita gets his knees up. Takeshita starts bombing on Darby with German Suplexes. Darby tries for a desperation pin but Takeshita kicks out of both and just hammers Darby with a Lariat. Takeshita hits an insane Top Rope German Suplex! Good Lord! Darby still wants more! Takeshita ends things with a brutal knee strike for the 3. What a match! Darby as always goes down fighting while Takeshita looks like a monster. ****1/4 

NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Tama Tonga at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18: A hard hitting and physical match. Right from the start, the two men go right at it with big shots and lots of power moves. Shingo is able to put Tama on defense for a while with his surprising speed and agility; pulling off a big dive over the top at one point. Tama does a nice job fighting from underneath and going after the neck of Shingo. Awesome counter to Made In Japan with Tama hitting a Gun Stun out of nowhere. A Bloody Sunday only gets a 1 count on Shingo, who fires up and hits his own Gun Stun on Tama. Made In Japan only gets 2 so Shingo goes for The Last of the Dragon but Tama counters with a Styles Clash! Another Gun Stun and a DSD gets Tama the big win. A good match that built to a fun finishing stretch. Really liked Tama pulling out moves from Bullet Club's past, only for his own move to get him the win. ****

3 Way Match for the IWGP Global Championship: Will Ospreay vs. Jon Moxley vs. David Finlay at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18: A really fun and exciting 3 way match. Ospreay and Moxley agree to work together in the opening 5 minutes of the match to take out Finlay before the two start going at it. Some really great exchanges with Moxley looking like a monster that Osrepay, the valiant babyface, has to try to slay. Finlay is able to make his way back into the match and plays the role of the sneaky heel looking to steal the win from underneath the two others involved. Some really good sequences and exchanges with all 3 men and some nice near-falls. Things pick up with Moxley tossing chairs into the ring, nailing both opponents as he does. War Dogs try to get involved to take out Moxley and Ospreay, only to get put through a pair of tables by the two instead. More big shots from all 3 men with Ospreay finally able to take out Moxley with a pair of Hidden Blades and a Stormbreaker but Finlay is there to drop Ospreay with Into Oblivion. Ospreay still kicks out! Finlay delivers another Into Oblivion to Ospreay's face to end things and get the win. A very fun 3 way match that did a great job of keeping everyone involved. All three men played their roles in the match perfectly with Finlay being able to survive the onslaught and steal the win. ****1/4

Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18: A brilliant match and worthy rematch to their first encounter. A nice start with Okada mocking Danielson and challenging him to fight him. Danielson wrestles Okada to the mat but Okada's size and power puts him back in the driver seat before a kick to Danielson's bad eye sends him to the outside. Okada is trying to toy with Danielson, and Danielson is not having it. Danielson fires back with a knee to Okada and goes after the arm by slamming it in the guardrail. Danielson is now in control and he is vicious in his attacks on the arm. Okada tries his usual trademark offense but the damaged arm slows him down and Danielson is able to take back control at every turn. A Tombstone on the apron buys Okada time and he goes after the bad eye again; ripping off the eyepatch and hitting vicious kicks to Danielson's face. A missed elbow drop by Okada gives Danielson an opening for a kick that Okada blocks with the bad arm, only to hurt it more and allows Danielson to fire another kick off that lands on Okada's head. Brilliant spot! Hammer and Anvil Elbows but Okada seems to just fire up from the strikes! Danielson with a Busaiku Knee only gets a 2 but he locks Okada in the LeBell Lock. Danielson ties up Okada just like he did in their first match! Okada is able to make it to the ropes this time though! Okada is finally able to hit the Rainmaker but his arm is too hurt to follow up right away with the pin. Okada tries for a second one but this time Danielson blocks it and hits a Busaiku Knee. We get an amazing back and forth sequence of counters and exchanges with both men trying for their finishing blow. Okada is finally able to catch Danielson on an attempt for the Busaiku Knee and hits a final Rainmaker to get the win. Danielson wanted to take away Okada's best weapon, his right arm, and see what Okada does. Danielson did just that and Okada responded by gritting his teeth, fighting through all the pain and landing the killing blow needed to avenge his loss to Danielson last year. What a match! ****1/2

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: SANADA (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18: A good battle between these forever rivals. A slow start with both looking to test the waters. The pace quickens as both men start to go after the neck to set up for their finishers. We get a good back and forth all match with SANADA rallying on his Mutoh style offense while Naito looks to elbow his neck and drop him on his head with his offense. Some really good near-falls for both as SANADA is able to hit a Moonsault for 2 and starts to get frustrated. A pair of Destinos only gets Naito a 2 count and SANADA is able to respond with a Deadfall. SANADA starts to get more desperate and hits his own Destino and a bridging pin for still only 2. A Shining Wizard and SANADA tries for Deadfall again but Naito counters into one of his own! One final Destino gives Naito the win. SANADA fails to surpass the man he has been chasing for so many years. A nice story element I felt was SANADA never sticking with a gameplan. He went to the knee, the neck, for Mutoh style offense and even Naito's offense but never had a clear plan to beat Naito, who had one goal all match: work the neck, hit Destino. Naito didn't even try for Stardust Press like he has at past Tokyo Dome shows. SANADA tried his best but this was Naito's moment. ****

IWGP Women's Championship Match: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs. Syuri at Stardom Ittenyeon Stardom Gate 2024: A really great back and forth match. Kick-off and Mayu is able to use her quickness to out-wrestle Syuri in the early going before Syuri starts firing off big strikes and using her power to toss Mayu around. Mayu does a nice job trying to quicken the pace and goes for a big dive but misses and Syuri takes back over. Mayu doesn't stay down for long and starts firing right back with her own strikes. Syrui tries to switch to hitting big power moves but Mayu responds back with her own as well. Syuri is able to lock in a brutal looking Kimura before transitioning into an arm trap sleeper but Mayu is still able to get the ropes. Syuri is running out of ways to fight Mayu, who keeps coming back for more. A sickening headbutt by Mayu before she goes for the killing blow with a pair of Dragon Suplexes but Syuri's feet are in the ropes. That was the only thing that saved Syuri. Mayu goes for a Moonsault but a near lifeless Syuri grabs her feet to stop her. Syuri is able to find the will power and hits Syuri World but only 2! Mayu fights back enough to hit an insane Springboard Reverse Rana and gets the win. An excellent back and forth match with young Mayu refusing to back down the older, and in many ways, better Syuri and somehow finding a way to overcome her. Very good match. ****1/4

FTR vs. Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews at AEW Collision 1/6/24: A really good tag team match for TV. We get some nice opening exchanges with FTR getting the best of House of Black early on with their tag team offense. House of Black is able to isolate and work over Cash for some nice heat before Dax gets the hot tag and runs wild. Things pick up with FTR hitting Power and Glory for a cover, only for Matthews to hit a Meteora on Cash into the pin to break it up. Great spot! Cash tries to take back control with a big dive but House of Black catches him and slams him on the announcer's table. Black wants to send a message to Dax's family and grabs a chair to brutalize Dax but they take too long. Dax punches the chair into Black's face before a Shatter Machine on Matthews but only 2! FTR takes out Black with a Spiked Piledriver on the apron! Brody King tries to run-in but is stopped by Daniel Garcia! Dax gets back in the ring but is hit by a Stomp from Matthews for a near-fall. Matthews follows up with a powerbomb but Dax is able to roll through and score the pin. A nice basic TV tag match that built to a really hot finish. House of Black was too focused on sending a message than winning the match and it cost them here. ****

Adam Page vs. Claudio Castagnoli at AEW Dynamite 1/10/24-Homecoming: A really great slugfest between these two. Things kick off hot with both men throwing big shots at each other. A nice story develops early with Claudio taking cheap shots, a thumb to the eye and pulling hair, to cut off Page and take over. Awesome spot with Page trying to fight back and charging Claudio, only to be press slammed onto the ramp! Page is finally able to rally and starts to fire back as we get a really nice back and forth, counter for counter fight between these two. Claudio goes for a Bret's rope Ricola Bomb, but Page counters it with a hurricanrana. Buckshot Lariat by Page stuns Claudio before a second one puts him down for 3. Really fun match with these two going all out and putting together a nice little story leading to a hot finish. ****

Tornado Tag Team Match: Darby Allin and Sting vs. Konosuke Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs at AEW Dynamite 1/10/24-Homecoming: A wild and chaotic tag match. All 4 men start off brawling and fight their way into the crowd. Darby goes for a Coffin Drop on the floor, only for Takeshita to catch him and hit a Chaos Theory on the floor! From there, the heels manhandle and toss around the babyfaces for some nice heat. Takeshita misses a knee and hits the guardrail allowing Darby to hit a crazy stage dive on him! Hobbs looks to slam Sting off the stage, only for Sting to slip out and hit a Scorpion Death Drop off the stage through two tables! Good Lord! Sting gets the pin and the win for his team. This was a super fun TV main event with Darby and Sting having to risk life and limb and throw themselves at the bigger and stronger heels to get the win. Good stuff. ****

Shingo Takagi vs. Masaaki Mochizuki at Dragon Gate Open the New Year Gate 2024 Night 4: A hard hitting and physical match from these two. Some nice mat wrestling early on from both before they start throwing stiff strikes: Mochizuki with kicks and Shingo with elbows and Lariats. Mochizuki is able to dodge a Lariat and Shingo hits the ringpost to create an opening for Mochizuki to work the Pumping Bomber arm of Shingo for a bit. But Shingo doesn't let the hurt arm slow him down and just as easily throws shots with the left arm. Match becomes a back and forth bomb fest with a ton of heavy strikes and big near-falls from both men. Shingo hits a Superplex and Mochizuki just stands up! He is all but out on his feet but still wants to fight! A Sliding Lariat is countered by Mochizuki into a desperation crucifix pin but only gets 2. Shingo starts just hammering Mochizuki into submission until finally a folding Powerbomb gets Shingo the win. Mochizuki was able to roll back the clock here but couldn't withstand the power of Shingo forever and went down fighting. ****

GHC Heavyweight Championship Match: Kenoh (c) vs. Go Shiozaki at Pro Wrestling NOAH Star Navigation 2024: A great battle between NOAH's past and present. Match starts with both men feeling each other out. Shiozaki lands a Lariat early only for Kenoh to fire back with a German Suplex on the floor and a brutal Bret's rope PFS to the floor! Right in the opening minutes, Shiozaki is now wounded with a damaged mid-section that Kenoh goes after relentlessly. Shiozaki starts to fire back with chops and Lariats, which only leads to Kenoh responding back with his brutal kicks. Shiozaki is able to block a kick with a Lariat and goes after the hurt leg with some nice submissions. Match becomes more back and forth with both men feeling the effects of the other's blows but refusing to give in. Kenoh goes for a top rope PFS but misses, hurting his leg even more. Shiozaki lands a vicious Lariat and Go Flasher but only gets 2. The veteran goes for broke and tries for a moonsault but Kenoh cuts him off at the top with some nasty headbutts and an Avalanche Dragon Suplex! Top rope PFS to finish it but Shiozaki still kicks out! More kicks and knees from Kenoh, who finally ends things with an Enrin to get the win. Shiozaki tried to prove that he could still be the top guy in NOAH but Kenoh was ready for everything he threw at him. With this win, Kenoh is now NOAH. ****1/4

House of Black vs. FTR and Daniel Garcia at AEW Collision 1/13/24: A really great trios match. Things kick off with the babyfaces able to out-wrestle and show off a little bit to frustrate House of Black. Brody King gets in the ring and suddenly the momentum changes with FTR trying to double team him but Dax gets isolated and worked over. Some nice heat by House of Black before Garcia gets the hot tag and runs wild. We get a ton of great back and forth action with Garcia fitting nicely with FTR for some tag team offense that gets a few nice near-falls. Matthews and Dax have a nice exchange playing off the finish to their last match before Brody draws Dax's attention. Black takes the opening and hits Black Mass on Dax allowing Matthews to hit the Curb Stomp and get the win. Great stuff all match with House of Black being the more seasoned trio but Garcia was able to work well with FTR all the same. ****

Street Fight for the AEW World Tag Team Championship: Ricky Starks and Big Bill (c) vs. Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara at AEW Battle of the Belts IX: A wild fight all over the building. The match starts in the parking lot as everyone brawls around the production trucks. Sammy runs down Starks and Bill with a golf cart in a fun spot. Match spills out onto the streets with Jericho and Sammy suplexing Bill into the windshield of a car. More brawling and fighting all over the backstage with some fun and creative spots to utilize the setting. Match finally makes it to ringside with the babyfaces in control. Jericho tries to put Bill through a table but Konosuke Takeshita hits him from behind. Big Bill powerbombs Jericho through the table! Sammy is still going at it with Starks and hits an insane Swanton off the lighting rig but Powerhouse Hobbs pulls Starks out the way! Sammy crashes and burns! Starks gets the cover to retain. Very fun use of the stipulation by literally starting a Street Fight on the street. Two big crazy spots right at the end with the babyfaces getting screwed and the heels retaining. Good stuff. ****

Three Way Match for the TNA X-Division Championship: Chris Sabin (c) vs. KUSHIDA vs. El Hijo del Vikingo at TNA Hard to Kill 2024: A super fun three way match. Everyone stays involved in the match pretty much the whole time and we get a lot of good action from everyone. KUSHIDA looks for the Hoverboard Lock all match while Vikingo looks to use his high flying abilities and Sabin uses his experience to try and keep the championship. Lots of big spots and near-falls for all three men. Sabin takes out Vikingo with a nasty Canadian Destroyer on the ramp! Sabin goes one on one with KUSHIDA and gets him up for the Cradle Shock. Nice moment of KUSHIDA trying to lock in the Hoverboard Lock while up for it but Sabin is able to fight it off and nails Cradle Shock to retain. Super fun sprint of a match with everyone getting a chance to shine. ****

No Disqualification Match: Shingo Takagi vs. Jon Moxley at NJPW Battle in the Valley 2024: An all out war between these two men. Both come out swinging for the fences before the weapons come into play. Kendo sticks, chains and trash cans! Shingo tries to fight Moxley, only for Moxley to utilize the weapons to bust Shingo open and stab him with a broken Kendo stick! Shingo is able to block a dive by Moxley by hitting him with a trash can lid to bust open Moxley and now we have a fight! Lots of weapons and brutal shots as these two give everything to kill each other. Moxley chokes Shingo with a chain before elbow dropping him through a table! Moxley tries for another table spot but Shingo with the green mist! Death Valley Driver off the top through a table! Shingo hammers Moxley before a Made In Japan on a chair but still only 2! My God! Moxley responds with a Cutter out of nowhere! Curb Stomp and Death Rider but only 2 again! Moxley tries to choke out Shingo, who fights his way out. Sleeper Suplex by Moxley and a running knee to the head. Death Rider on the chair finally puts down Shingo. What a war as these two went all out here and made full use of the No DQ rules. Shingo looked like a beast but Moxley walked away the winner. ****1/4

Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay at NJPW Battle in the Valley 2024: A great finale for these two's rivalry. Ospreay starts off hot and wants to beat Okada one last time on his way out. Okada is able to catch Ospreay on a dive and slow him down with a pair of DDTs on the outside. Okada goes to work on the neck while Ospreay fights from underneath.  Things pick up with both going for bigger and bigger blows and while Ospreay keeps going for pins, Okada knows he needs to do more to put away Ospreay and keeps his cool. Ospreay pulls out a Styles Clash, trying to beat Okada with moves from his past, for a near-fall. Okada cuts off a V-Trigger with a dropkick and hits a Stormbreaker of his own! Rainmaker by Okada but Ospreay kicks out! Okada is shocked! Some more great back and forth action with Okada trying to hit the Rainmaker again. Ospreay nails a Stormbreaker for a huge near-fall! Both men are drained but keep fighting as Okada tries for a Rainmaker again but Ospreay keeps blocking it. Okada with three thunderous Lariats puts Ospreay down to his knees. A Landslide by Okada before a final Rainmaker ends it. Another great match from these two with Ospreay still unable to put away his rival fully but still putting up a hell of a fight. ****1/4

AEW World Championship Match: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Hook at AEW Dynamite 1/17/23: An amazing match between the veteran monster champion and the young up and coming wrestler. Bell rings and Hook immediately tries to take the fight to Joe with some fast and heavy shots. Joe gets caught off guard at first but very quickly Joe shuts down Hook's momentum with just a few big blows. Joe wants to send a message to the upstart Hook and slams him into the announcer's table followed by a powerbomb onto the apron. Even with all that, Hook won't stay down. Joe has enough of this and hits a Muscle Buster to end things but Hook kicks out at 1! Holy Shit! Hook fires up on Joe and starts rocking him with some shots. Exploder by Hook! The crowd is going crazy! Hook tries for Redrum but Joe blocks it and locks in the choke. Hook tries to fight out of it but he passes out. Joe retains but Hook made him work for it. An incredible match in under 10 minutes. Joe establishes that he is a dominant champion but Hook showed fire and heart and proved he can stand toe to toe with the champ. ****1/4

Sareee vs. Chihiro Hashimoto at Sareee-ISM Chapter III: A hard hitting and physical fight between these two women. Match starts out with some nice mat wrestling from both. Hashimoto is able to use her size and power to ground Sareee and work her over. Sareee tries to rally several times but Hashimoto is quick to shut down any momentum by her. Sareee finally gets an opening and starts going full force at Hashimoto with double stomps to the mid-section and some nice high risk offense. Sareee takes the fight to the floor, only for Hashimoto to toss her into the chairs and take back over. Match returns to the ring as Hashimoto goes for a powerbomb, only for Sareee to headbutt her repeatedly! Both women start going all out with big bombs and offense with a great back and forth. Hashimoto uses a sleeper to try and shut down Sareee's momentium again and follows with a powerbomb that still only gets 2! Sareee nails a desperation Crucifix Bomb to rock Hashimoto. A trio of Uranages, ending with a hammerlock Uranage and Saree survives the onslaught to get the win. Hell of a babyface effort by Saree against the power of Hashimoto. ****1/4

World Historic Welterweight Championship Match: Rocky Romero (c) vs. Mascara Dorada at CMLL Super Viernes 12/15/23: A fun Lucha style match. Dorada starts off hot and fast with his quick offense but goes high risk too early and Rocky dodges it and takes over. Nice story and flow to the match with Rocky keeping Dorada grounded, who only gets little flurries of offense before Rocky cuts him off time and time again. Rocky goes for bigger and bigger offense to put Dorada away but Dorada won't not stay down. Dorada finally gets an opening and lays out Rocky with a powerbomb facebuster before finally hitting the Shooting Star Press to get the win. Classic babyface vs. heel match with the babyface overcoming the odds to win. ****

Will Ospreay vs. Josh Alexander at TNA Impact 1/18/24: A phenomenal back and forth wrestling match. Alexander starts off hot looking to take the fight to Ospreay, who is able to use his speed and quickness to frustrate Alexander. Ospreay is able to take over and goes to work on Alexander, cutting him off every time Alexander starts to rally and get some momentum. Alexander starts trying to work the back of Ospreay, as he did in their last match, only for Ospreay to respond with a Tiger Driver through a table off the apron! Alexander looks to be done but somehow fires up to fight back! We get an amazing back and forth of incredible action with Ospreay maintaining control most of the time but Alexander doing everything to stay in the match. The big bombs start coming out as Ospreay hits an Oscutter, Hidden Blade and Tiger Driver 93 but Alexander will not stay down! Alexander blocks a Hidden Blade with a big clothesline and starts hammering Ospreay. Styles Clash by Alexander followed up by a C4 Spike and Alexander gets the win! Amazing match with Ospreay looking a step ahead all match but Alexander refused to give up or stay down and fought back all match to finally get that big win he needed so badly. ****1/2

Will Ospreay vs. Gabe Kidd at RevPro Uprising 2023: This was a brutal and physically violent match. Both men come out the gate swinging for the fences and wanting to fight, not wrestle. Ospreay is able to use his quickness to control early and busts open Kidd but it doesn't take long for Kidd to fire back with his wild and vicious style and busts open Ospreay in return. Match becomes a back and forth fight as Kidd utilizes his suplexes and looks to hurt Ospreay while Ospreay looks for quick strikes and a killing blow. Some great near-falls for both men with Kidd getting a lot of chances to shine and show how tough he is. Ospreay finally goes all out with a Styles Clash and a Storm Driver 93 but Kidd still won't stay down. A Hidden Blade to the face and Kidd kicks out at 1! Another Hidden Blade to the back of the head and Ospreay starts unloading shots to the back of Kidd's head and the referee calls it. Great heated battle that showed off this intense feud between the two and showed the potential of Kidd while showing Ospreay is still better right now. ****1/4

Six Man Tag Team Elimination Steel Cage Match: FTR and Daniel Garcia vs. House of Black at AEW Collision 1/27/24: A very fun and exciting feud ending match. House of Black jumps Mark Briscoe on the ramp before he can take Garcia's spot in the match. Wild brawl around ringside with House of Black in control. Garcia makes his way to the ring to even the odds and here we go! Cash with an insane dive off the cage into the ring! Heated back and forth action with House of Black being the more effective trio but FTR and Garcia still fight back. Dax makes it out of the cage before Brody spears the door open to take out both men in a cool spot. Matthews and Cash both look to get out but Matthews slams Cash into the cage and he drops through a table. Matthews tries to make it back in to help Black but Garcia tosses Black into the cage causing Matthews to go through a table as well! Garcia tries to make it out but Julia Hart sprays him with the black mist! Garcia is blinded as Black calmly makes his way out. But wait! Garcia tells Black to finish him! Black goes for Black Mass but Garcia ducks and hits a piledriver! Garcia goes to climb out as Black crawls to the door. Mark Briscoe slams the door in Black's face as Garcia is able to escape and gets the win for his team. A wild match that did a great job of being just chaotic enough while still telling a good story. Needed some blood though. ****

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste and Kosei Fujita at NJPW Road to the New Beginning 2024 Night 3: A fun back and forth trios match. Fujita starts off with Okada and goes nose to nose with the Ace. Okada is quick to put Fujita in his place and the champions isolate and work over the young wrestler. Fujita is able to create an opening and makes the hot tag which leads to a more back and forth battle between the two teams. Lots of nice tag team offense and near-falls before it again comes down to Okada and Fujita. Okada looks to finish off Fujita, who somehow is able to keep fighting back and even get a few big near-falls on Okada. Eventually, Okada is able to run through his trademark offense and ends things with a Rainmaker, but Fujita made him work for that win. Good showing by TMDK especially Fujita, who gets a nice rub in defeat. ****

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Finn Balor and Damian Priest (c) vs. #DIY at WWE Raw 1/29/24: A fun back and forth tag team match. DIY starts off fast and looks to keep a fast pace to the match. Priest uses his power to shut down their momentum and allows Judgement Day to work over Ciampa for some heat. Some good action with Gargano getting the hot tag and running wild but again, Priest uses his power to put Judgement Day back in control. DIY does a nice job of still fighting back and even getting some nice near-falls and a neat dual submission spot. Priest is able to take out Gargano by launching him over the announcer's table allowing him and Balor to hit a Razor's Edge/Coup de Grâce combo on Ciampa to get the win. Great teamwork by both teams and I really liked Priest being the difference maker all match due to his size and power. Crowd really got behind DIY with some of the near-falls before they went down fighting. ****