Top Matches I Watched in July 2024
By Alex Kalil
What a busy month! Japanese wrestling had some great stuff with Marigold and NOAH plus the G1 has begun for New Japan! NXT delivered big with Heatwave and AEW crushed with the Owen, one of the best TV matches ever with Ospreay vs. MJF AND Blood and Guts! Good times for wrestling fans!
Owen Hart Foundation 2024 Men's Tournament Semi-Final Match: Bryan Danielson vs. PAC at AEW Dynamite 7/3/24: A really good back and forth match from these two. Some good opening exchanges from the two with PAC being the faster wrestler. PAC goes to work on the banged up neck of Danielson and forces him to fight from underneath. Danielson tries to use his strikes to fight back and create an opening for the LeBell Lock. We get some good near-falls from both men before PAC hits a big top rope Brainbuster for only 2. PAC goes for Black Arrow but Danielson rolls out the way. Busaiku Knee! Danielson barely covers PAC, who rolls him into the Brutalizer! Danielson rolls into a pin! Kickout! Danielson gets the LeBell Lock in but PAC rolls into a pin as well! Another kickout! Danielson with a crucifix pin and he gets him! Really good match with Danielson coming in, once again, beat up and hurt and PAC went right after the injuries. Loved the finish with all the quick counters and pin attempts before Danielson was able to hold onto a pin just long enough for the 3 count. ****
NXT North American Championship Match: Oba Femi (c) vs. Wes Lee at NXT Heatwave 2024: A perfectly booked David vs. Goliath match. Wes looks to use his speed on the bigger Oba to stick and move with strikes. Oba is able to grab ahold of Wes and just toss him around the ring with ease. Some impressive displays of power from Oba, who works Wes' previously injured back and midsection. Wes is able to fire up and make a nice comeback and even rocks Oba with some offense. Wes goes for the Cardiac Kick a second time but Oba blocks it and tosses him aside. A big sitdown powerbomb is enough for the 3 count and the win. Really good stuff that went on maybe a hair too long and at times got a little sloppy. Loved Oba just being so big and powerful that while Wes was able to land a lot of shots, he was never able to take his foot off the gas and had to stay on Oba, only for Oba to still put him away. ****
NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Axiom and Nathan Frazer (c) vs. Andre Chase and Duke Hudson at NXT Heatwave 2024: A really good bell to bell tag match. The champions are able to get on Chase in the early portions of the match before Hudson gets the tag to turn the tide for his team. We get a nice back and forth all match with both teams getting control at times and some good near-falls. Axiom and Frazer hit a Spanish Fly/Phoenix Splash combo on Hudson for the cover but Chase breaks it up with a stomp on Frazer right into a Canadian Destroyer on Axiom! What a spot! Frazer accidentally superkicks Axiom and Chase rolls him up for another big near-fall! Chase tries to follow up with a top rope move but Frazer cuts him off with a superplex right into Chasing the Dragon! Frazer takes out Hudson with a dive as Axiom hits the Golden Ratio to retain. Really exciting finishing stretch to this match. Both teams looked really good and the crowd was super into everything. ****
Fatal Four Way Match for the NXT Championship: Trick Williams (c) vs. Shawn Spears vs. Ethan Page vs. Je'Von Evans at NXT Heatwave 2024: A wild and rather chaotic 4 way match. I enjoyed everyone playing a role in the match and staying involved with Spears and Ethan playing the oppuntisic heels looking to steal the win, Evans the fiery babyface looking to prove himself while Trick looks to keep everyone from winning his championship. Lots of great spots with all 4 men getting a chance to shine and staying involved in the match with some close near-falls. Finish comes when Trick hits the Trick Knee on Evans. Another Trick Knee to Ethan, who falls onto Evans. Spears pulls Trick from the ring as the referee counts 3. Ethan is the new champion! Super slick and well laid out finish with Trick, in a way, costing himself the match and Ethan getting the fluke win. Really glad they kept all 4 men active in the match with the veterans helping make the younger wrestlers look good. ****
Owen Hart Foundation 2024 Men's Tournament Final Match with Special Guest Enforcer Jeff Jarrett: Bryan Danielson vs. Adam Page at AEW Dynamite 7/10/24: An excellent match from these old rivals. Match starts off with a feeling out process but Hangman is here to win and starts hammering Danielson with big shots. Danielson sees he is in for a fight and tries to use his strikes and wrestling skills to fight back on the more powerful and vicious Page. Great story to the match with Page being the aggressor all match and working over Danielson, even busting him open, all while Danielson keeps fighting back to stay in the match. As the match goes on, both men dig deep into their bag of offense with Page using a Tombstone Piledriver to go after Danielson's bad neck and Danielson hitting a big springboard dive from his ROH days. Page hits Danielson with a piledriver on the floor but still Danielson won't stay down. Page starts getting more and more aggressive, only for Danielson to hit a desperate Busaiku Knee to buy himself time to recover. Danielson tries for a second knee but hits the referee! Page takes the opening to use his belt to whip Danielson and even starts to choke him with it. Jarrett rushes in to stop Page and serve as the referee. Page with a Deadeye only gets 2. Buckshot Lariat to the back of Danielson's head, again going for the neck. Page goes for another Buckshot but Danielson counters it! Page is able to fight into a Crossface on Danielson! Page pulls back on the hold and Danielson is fading! Danielson rolls back on the hold! Cover! Danielson gets the 3 and wins The Owen! Page came in with the perfect gameplan: he worked the hurt neck of Danielson and was vicious and violent in his offense all match. Danielson played the perfect babyface as he fought through everything Page threw at him and did everything he could, including putting his body on the line, to fight for the win. I liked the finish with Page being so focused on choking out Danielson that he left himself open for a quick roll-up by the better wrestler. Amazing pro wrestling! ****1/2
Best Two Out of Three Falls Match: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hechicero at CMLL Sabados De Coliseo: A great display of technical wrestling from two masters. Story all match is these two wrestling back and forth with glorious counters and submissions. Hechicero is able to get the best of Sabre early on before Sabre ups the aggression and ties up Hechicero in an Octopus Stretch for the first fall. Second fall begins and Sabre keeps on Hechicero's arms for a nice bit of heat. Hechicero is able to fight back and lands a big knee in the corner. Hechicero ties up Sabre in a beautiful submission and forces him to tap and ties up the match. Third fall is more of the same as both men work for submissions back and forth. Nice touch with Sabre trying to utilize his strikes more to find an opening on Hechicero. The two trade quick pin attempts before Hechicero is able to counter Sabre and pin him while hooking the rope with his foot to get the win. Some great bell to bell action with the story being told in the back and forth. Loved Hechicero taking the shortcut to get the third and final fall to win. ****
AEW International Championship Match: Will Ospreay (c) vs. MJF at AEW Dynamite 7/17/24: An incredible near hour long match! Things start off and right away we get a clear story: Ospreay is the faster and more dangerous wrestler and MJF needs to work smarter to take apart Ospreay's body. Ospreay is able to control the pace early until MJF fakes a knee injury to score a piledriver to put Ospreay on defense. MJF goes after the knee, looking to slow down the high flying Ospreay. Some nice limb work and heat by MJF while Ospreay sells it all super well. Ospreay fights back all the same but switches from using his speed to using his strikes and big offensive bombs. MJF switches tactics as well and starts to go after Ospreay's shoulder to set up the submission win while going after the strength of Ospreay. The bigger and bigger bombs start coming from both men. Panama Sunrise by MJF. Ospreay hits the Oscutter off the barricade! MJF tries for a Cross Rhodes but Ospreay counters with one of his own! MJF tries to out-smart Ospreay with some nice creative counters, only to get destroyed with a Hidden Blade dive to the back of MJF's head! Amazing looking spot! Ospreay with a Bret's rope Styles Clash but MJF is too close to the ropes. MJF catches Ospreay in the ropes for a Heatseeker! Elbow Drop from the top to the outside through a table! My God! 10 minutes to go and both men are spent but still fight and counter everything the other throws at them! MJF tries for a Bret's rope Tombstone but Ospreay counters out into a cutter. Hidden Blade! Only 2! MJF ducks a second but Ospreay nails a headbutt! Ospreay goes for the Tiger Driver but he won't hit it! MJF shoves Ospreay into the referee and hits Ospreay with the Diamond ring! MJF covers. 3 count with 1 second to spare! MJF is the new champion! An incredible action-filled match! Perfect wrestling from both men with MJF needing to be the smarter wrestler to counter the amazing in-ring talent that Ospreay is. In the end, Ospreay's own hesitation is what cost him as well as MJF willing to use any tactic to get the win. *****
GHC Heavyweight Championship Match: Kaito Kiyomiya (c) vs. YOICHI at Pro Wrestling NOAH Destination 2024: A really great match between the champion and an up and coming wrestler. A good story all match with Kaito being faster and more experienced while YOICHI is bigger and more powerful. YOICHI goes to work on Kaito's midsection and ribs for a bit before Kaito goes after YOICHI's legs to take away some of the big man's power. A nice touch with Kaito almost working heel at this point and toying with YOICHI a bit. Nice comeback by YOICHI, who keeps firing up and hitting Kaito with some big bombs to stay in the match. Lots of back and forth exchanges from both men with YOICHI pulling out all the stops including a top rope splash for a big near-fall. YOUCHI goes for Muso but Kaito counters with a Shining Wizard! Another Shining Wizard but YOICHI isn't going down! Top rope Shining Wizard followed by one to the back of YOICHI's head and one final Shining Wizard ends things! A great match with a star making performance by YOICHI as the crowd got super behind him and his near-falls before the champion was able to get the win and retain. ****1/4
IYO SKY vs. Utami Hayashishita at Marigold Summer Destiny 2024: A really great battle between the veteran IYO and the new top wrestler, Utami. Some good exchanges early on with Utami looking to use her power to manhandle IYO, only for IYO to counter this by using her speed and experience. IYO is able to take control and we get some nice heat as Utami does everything she can to fight back and stay in this. Finally, Utami is able to mount a comeback and starts bombing IYO with big offense. Even as IYO fights back, Utami just grits her teeth and keeps moving forward and pushes her advantage, but nothing seems to keep IYO down. A frustrated Utami tries for a Lariat but IYO pulls her into a vicious knee to the face! Tombstone Piledriver by IYO and she finally hits the Over the Moonsault and gets the win. A big stiff fight from these two all match. Utami was able to take IYO's best and still come back swinging but IYO was still more experienced and was able to counter Utami late in the match to get the win. ****1/4
G1 Climax 2024 Block B Match: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yota Tsuji at NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 1: An awesome hard hitting fight from these two! We get some nice early big man spots before Takeshita is able to take over with his impressive speed and agility. Tsuji responds back with his own quick offense and incredible agility for his size. We got a fight here! Both men throw everything they have at each other and we get a really great back and forth all match. Some nice counters and exchanges, even the clunky moments of Tsuji's offense work to show the big risks he is willing to take to put away such a dangerous and experienced opponent. Tsuji counters a Blue Thunder Bomb into a headscissor and hits Takeshita with Marlowe Crash. Only 2! Tsuji charges for Gene Blaster but Takeshita catches him with a knee! Blue Thunder Bomb and Raging Fire by Takeshita gets him the win. A lovely hard hitting and physical fight between these two with the more experienced wrestler getting the win. ****1/4
G1 Climax 2024 Block A Match: Shingo Takagi vs. Shota Umino at NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 2: A really good back and forth match. Shota comes into the G1 with a hurt hip and needs to work fast so he comes right out the gate and takes the fight to Shingo. It doesn't take Shingo long to respond with his own hard hitting offense, but in a nice bit of psychology, Shingo goes after Shota's hips with suplexes dropping him on his back and side as well as sentons landing right on his hip. Simple but effective stuff. Shota does a wonderful job trying to fight back time and time again to stay in the match. Every time Shota fires up though, Shingo goes right back to the hip to put him back on defense. The bigger bombs start coming as both men get some nice near-falls looking for the killing blow. A sudden and out of nowhere Death Rider gets Shota the win. A good showing from both with Shingo playing the bully to the fiery young babyface Shota. The sudden finish is a little shocking but plays into the idea that Shota was able to stay in the match long enough to catch Shingo unexpectedly ****
G1 Climax 2024 Block A Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr. at NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 2: A good technical wrestling match from these two. Naito tries for quick roll-ups and wrestling Sabre to the mat early on to frustrate him, but Sabre is quick to get his composer back and goes to work on the neck of Naito. Sabre goes to work on Naito, who does a good job of finding unique ways to counter Sabre like a neckbreaker off the apron to the floor, that all but takes away Sabre's left arm, and countering a Zack Driver into Destino that does little more than buy Naito time to recover. Naito tries for a second Destino but Sabre counters into a Zack Driver right back. Both men are exhausted and start swinging away with whatever they have left. Sabre with a European Clutch for a big near-fall. Naito tries to bait Sabre into another strike battle but Sabre blocks Naito's strikes and gets a pinning combination for the win. Really nice match with Sabre looking in control most of the match even against the champion and not playing into Naito's games. ****
G1 Climax 2024 Block B Match: David Finlay vs. Yota Tsuji at NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 2: A really nice and simple wrestling match. Tsuji is the bigger and more powerful babyface and easily manhandles Finlay at the start. Finlay plays the crafty heel as he looks for shortcuts and cheap ways to get heat and the win like trying for a count-out win. Some nice back and forth action with both men working over the midsection and Finlay showing some impressive power to hit a couple powerbombs on Tsuji, who won't stay down. Crowd rallies behind Tsuji, who fights back again and again on Finlay. Tsuji cuts off Finlay with a big headbutt before a Gene Blaster. Tsuji goes to the top and hits Marlowe Crash to get the win. Simple but effective wrestling match with a clear babyface and heel. Crowd was super into Tsuji and his comeback to get the win. ****
Blood and Guts Match: The Elite vs. Swerve Strickland, Mark Briscoe, Darby Allin and The Acclaimed at AEW Dynamite 7/24/24: Blood and Guts 2024: This was a bloody, violent and brutal war! Perry and Darby start off and Perry jumps Darby before he makes it in the ring and we get a nice short brawl around ringside and in the crowd. Once in the cage, Perry works over Darby with some weapons before Darby makes a short comeback as Nick enters. Nick and Perry go to work on Darby before Mark Briscoe enters with a house of fire! Mark runs wild on everyone before Matt enters to once again put The Elite back in control. Bowens enters and Team AEW is able to turn the tide with Mark cutting off Nick's springboard attempt with a big cutter! Darby lands on Matt with a skateboard covered in tacks and Bowens carves up Perry with scissors! My God! Okada enters and wacks the babyfaces with a street sign to cut off their momentum. With the numbers advantage yet again, The Elite take back over and bloody Team AEW. Caster enters but, with so much damage done to the others, he is soon overwhelmed. Bowens is sandwiched between barbed wire boards while Caster gets tacks in his mouth and a double superkick! Page is supposed to enter next but he is nowhere to be found. Team AEW uses the opening to fight back as Swerve enters last. Here comes the Hangman! Page attacks Swerve and handcuffs him to the cage to keep him out. The Bucks yell at Page and threaten to fire him if he doesn't enter and Page does so reluctantly. The Elite take over as Blood and Guts officially begins. Jarrett, Billy Gunn and Nana all help Swerve get out of the cuffs and into the cage. Here we go! Swerve runs wild and takes out everyone before getting face to face with Page! Swerve and Page go at it! Page looks to maul Swerve with a barbed wire board but Darby makes the save. The Elite attack Swerve with staple guns! Jesus! Swerve just laughs it off and gets ahold of one of the staple guns and attacks The Elite! Good Lord! Page comes in with a Buckshot Lariat but Swerve dodges and Page hits Okada! The match spills outside the cage as Swerve and Page knock each other off the stage through some tables. Nick climbs the cage for a big spot and Bowens follows him up only for Nick kicks him off the side through 4 tables! Mark hits Jay Drillers on everyone in the ring! Froggy Bow on Matt through a table! Darby with a Coffin Drop from the roof of the cage onto Perry through another table! This match is insane! Mark handcuffs Perry to the cage and tells him to quit. When Perry refuses, Mark attacks with a kendo stick and a chairshot to the head! Darby pours gas on Perry and threatens to light him on fire! Matt begs Darby to stop and Darby demands a title match against Perry and that they quit. The Elite surrender! Team AEW gets the win and Darby gets a TNT title match at All In! WHAT A FUCKING MATCH! Wild and chaotic with some awesome story progression for Swerve vs. Page, Darby vs. Perry and even Page vs. The Elite. Just an incredible match! ****3/4
G1 Climax 2024 Block B Match: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Jeff Cobb at NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 3: A hard hitting Hoss match between these two. As soon as the bell rings, both men charge like two bulls and go right at it. The whole match is stiff forearms, boots, headbutts and big bombs. Some nice story elements like Takeshita using his quickness early to counter the size of Cobb, only for Cobb to answer with his own agility for a nice bit of back and forth. Lots of big spots which both men sold nicely but also never took their foot off the gas. Good finish with Cobb picking Takeshita up to end things only for Takeshita to rock Cobb with a brutal looking elbow to the face! Cobb is out and Takeshita hits Raging Fire to put the final nail in the coffin. A really great all out match in just over 10 minutes. Perfect for the G1 and these two wrestlers. ****
G1 Climax 2024 Block A Match: Gabe Kidd vs. Shota Umino at NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 3: A very heated and physical fight between a classic babyface and heel. The story of the match plays out with Shota looking to straight up out-wrestle Gabe while Gabe wants to fight Shota. Gabe lights up Shota with chops and stiff strikes while Shota looks to grab a hold and stick to his plan. As the match goes on, Shota is able to fight back and get some momentum a few times, only for Gabe to shut it down with a stiff shot to the face. Shota finally breaks and starts hitting back just as hard at Gabe and we get some brutal looking exchanges from the two. Gabe is able to fight out of Death Rider and sticks Shota with a piledriver before locking in the Boston Crab to mock Shota for his Young Lion days. Shota refuses to tap out so Gabe settles for a powerbomb to get the pin. A really great start to what could be an amazing feud from these two down the road. Shota was the traditional pure babyface Ace while Gabe was willing to scratch, claw and fight for the win. Shota tried to beat Gabe at his own game late in the match but failed this time to get the win. ****
G1 Climax 2024 Block B Match: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yuya Uemura at NJPW G1 Climax 34 Night 4: A great storytelling wrestling match. Things kick off with Takeshita easily controlling the pace of the match with his size and power. Yuya is able to respond back by going after Takeshita's arm with some nice mat wrestling and damages the limb. Takeshita is now working with one arm but is quick to turn things around with one good elbow shot to Yuya's face. We get a really interesting story beat here with Yuya firing off blow after blow on Takeshita to stay on him while Takeshita just needs one good shot to put himself back in control. Yuya is able to duck an elbow on the outside and Takeshita hits the turnbuckle. Now both of Takeshita's arms are damaged! Yuya is able to block Takeshita's strikes in the rings and locks his arms for the Deadbolt Suplex and Takeshita panics and frantically fights to escape it. Takeshita is on borrowed time and Yuya knows it. Takeshita works at a fast and furious pace, using his legs and even headbutts for strikes and trying to bomb Yuya into defeat before his arms fail him. Yuya is able to weather the storm and locks Takeshita's arms for a second time. Takeshtia tries to headbutt his way out but Yuya holds tight and nails the Deadbolt Suplex to get the win. An awesome wrestling match with excellent storytelling. Both men played their roles to perfection with Yuya coming off like a true star in his performance here. ****1/4
Adam Page vs. Darby Allin at AEW Dynamite 7/31/24: A really great story driven match. Story of the match is told in the opening few minutes with Darby using his quickness to get Page to the floor and tries for a Coffin Drop, only for Page to catch him and hit a German Suplex on the floor. Page looks to use a chair but is stopped by the referee, allowing Darby to go even bigger high risk and hit a Coffin Drop off the stage. Darby is willing to throw himself at Page to win while Page is focused on hurting Darby. The rest of the match plays out like this with Page using his size and power advantage to literally throw Darby around the ring all while Darby takes big risks for any hope of victory. Some brutal spots like Page powerbombing Darby on the apron over and over again as well as a fallaway slam onto the steel steps! Darby stays in the match though and hits a big dive on Page and even uses his belt to whip him just to try and keep in this fight. Darby goes for a Buckshot Lariat of his own and Page cuts him off with a Lariat. A pair of Deadeyes and Darby is dead! But Page isn't done. He wants the Buckshot but Darby is too hurt to stand up at this point. Page picks up Darby to inflict more punishment but Darby catches Page in a roll-up and gets the win! Very good match with the babyface and heel dynamic in full effect here perfectly. Page's need to punish Darby more cost him in the end as Darby's will to survive paid off. ****
Comments