Top Matches I Watched in July 2025

Top Matches I Watched in July 2025

By Alex Kalil

Okay... so July maybe the best month of wrestling in all of 2025! Caught up on some NJPW including the best Death Match all year and maybe ever. Stardom had a killer PPV, CMLL had some great stuff and so did GCW and TNA. WWE had their women only PPV. But the main story was AEW All In being THE best show of the year. My God, was this show amazing. Enjoy!

Best of the Super Junior 32 Block A Match: KUSHIDA vs. Kosei Fujita at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 32 Night 5: A very fun and interesting match with a more shoot style to it. Both men come into the match without shoes on and spend the majority of the match on the mat. Lots of great mat wrestling and submission exchanges from both guys. As the match goes on, you can feel the frustration building in both men as they start laying in some more strikes and get more aggressive with their offense. Fujita tries for a Hoverboard Lock of his own but KUSHIDA is the master of the hold and is able to counter into one of his own. KUSHIDA locks in the Hoverboard Lock deep but Fujita refuses to tap out and even starts to fight out. KUSHIDA acts quickly and is able to nail the Back to the Future for the pin and the win. Really fun match and a very different style than you usually see. Really loved the focus on the mat wrestling and that the one pin attempt was the finish of the match ****

The Young Bucks and Konosuke Takeshita vs. Bandido, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong at AEW Dynamite 7/2: A super fun and high energy trios match. We get a nice clear story early on with the babyfaces able to work fast to control the match at times before the Bucks and Takeshita use their numbers to take over and isolate. The match nicely builds as we get a ton of great tag team offense and big spots with everyone getting a chance to shine. Some great near-falls like Bandido hitting a top rope Fallaway Slam on Takeshita and the Bucks and Takeshita hitting an assisted Spiked Tombstone on Bandido before a pair of Superkicks into a German Suplex. Crowd is loving this action! O'Reilly tries to choke out Takeshita with a Guillotine but leaves himself open for some Superkicks and a big Takeshita elbow. EVP Trigger/Powerdrive Knee on O'Reilly before a Raging Fire ends it. Just an awesome PWG style trios match with 6 great wrestlers going all out with big action and exchanges. ****

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi at AEW Dynamite 7/2: A great match from these old rivals. Match starts and we get some nice storytelling early: Okada tries to stall and take his time while Ibushi wants to come out swinging. The way both men work the match reflects this as well with Okada working over Ibushi's neck and trying to ground him while Ibushi wants to fire off big strikes and bombs. We get some really nice back and forth exchanges as both men run through some of their trademark offense. Okada is able to take over and mockingly kicks at Ibushi in the corner, only for Ibushi to fire back with his own shots to rock Okada and make him cover up. Okada feels the match slipping from him and starts looking for the Rainmaker but Ibushi nicely is able to keep avoiding it and counters with a Lariat of his own and a big roundhouse kick to the head! Avalanche Tiger Driver from Ibushi but Okada just barely kicks out! My God! Ibushi looks for Kamigoye but Okada grabs the rope to block it. Referee tries to seperate the two and Okada uncorks a Rainmaker! What a spot! A second Rainmaker is blocked but Okada nails a dropkick to cut off Ibushi and hits the Rainmaker clean for the cover and the win. Really great match! Loved seeing Okada trying to work his more relaxed style before Ibushi dragged him into the deep end and forced Okada to step up his offense to put him away. ****

Best of the Super Junior 32 Final Match: Kosei Fujita vs. YOH at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 32 Night 13: A fantastic back and forth match! We get a nice slow start with both men going for some mat wrestling early on. We get some nice storytelling with YOH utilizing moves from former CHAOS members as a way to bring a wild card element to his offense to counter Fujita's superior wrestling skills. YOH is able to find a way to work over Fujita's neck and arms which leads to a great near-fall where Fujita tries for the Kami Special, only to not be able to lock it in fully due to the damage done. With his best submission no longer an option, Fujita starts firing off more strikes and big bombs at YOH, who responds back just as fiercely. Tons of great back and forth action with both men pulling out offense from their mentors like Fujita using the Zack Driver and YOH using Goto's Shoto for big near-falls. Fujita is able to finally string together enough big bombs on YOH to finally hit the Thrill Ride and get the win in an awesome match. Just a great match from these two with YOH being enough of a wild card to look like he could beat the younger Fujita. Crowd was super into both men and all the action and near-falls. Really enjoyed Fujita realizing early that his arms were too damaged for his submission to be truly effective and instead had to utilize his strikes and power to get the win. ****1/2

IWGP Women's Championship Match: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs. Syuri at Stardom All-Star Grand Queendom 2025: A great hard hitting battle from these two. We get a nice start with Mayu using his speed to try and counter the impressive striking and submission skills of Syuri. The match has a great flow to it with both women taking control of the match from time to time and slowly building to the bigger and bigger bombs. Syuri starts looking for submissions as time goes on and does a great job of switching up the holds to keep Mayu trapped and making you think she will have to tap but Mayu makes it to the ropes. Mayu starts going for broke and hitting Syuri with everything she has including Dragon Suplexes and a Moonsault. Mayu tries for her Springboard Reverse Rana but fails to hit it but can hit another Moonsault for a nice near-fall. Mayu finally hits the Two-Step Dragon Suplex but somehow Syuri kicks out. Mayu hit her best shot and Syuri is still not going down! Syuri nails a German Suplex for only a 1 count before she starts hammering Mayu. Knockout kicks by Syuri but Mayu still won't stay down. Finally, Syuri hits Syu-Sekai to take the last of the fight out of Mayu and get the win. Just an awesome back and forth match from these two as they did anything and everything to put the other down. ****1/4

Career vs. Career Match for the World of Stardom Championship: Saya Kamitani (c) vs. Tam Nakano at Stardom All-Star Grand Queendom 2025: An emotional and dramatic match from these two rivals! We get a real nice feeling out process early on with neither seeming to want to take a risk early. Tam proves this feeling right by going to the top early and Saya knocks her off the top to the apron in a sickening spot. Saya goes right to work on Tam, even using a chain to choke her and dropping her face first onto a chair. Tam sells for a good bit before firing up to make a big comeback. Saya cuts off Tam with an awesome rana off the apron to the floor to put herself back in control. Both women start pulling out the big bombs looking for the win. A great spot with Sayu setting up for the Phoenix Splash but she hesitates and is unwilling to hit it, which allows Tam to cut her off. Every strike, slap, headbutt and big piece of offense feels personal from these two and you can feel the emotion as neither wants to lose but seem troubled about ending the other's career. Tam hits Sayu with everything she has, including Saya's Star Crusher and even a Twilight Dream but somehow Sayu still kicks out. Sayu nails a Star Crusher of her own and a brutal knee to Tam's face but Tam still kicks out as well. A tearful Sayu hits Tam with Twilight Dream to end the match and Tam's career. Amazing stuff with each woman giving it their all. Tam goes out on her shield after giving it everything she could while Sayu remains the top star of Stardom. ****1/4

FTR vs. The Outrunners at AEW Collision 7/5: An awesome old school tag team match! We get a very standard start to the match with FTR using their tag team abilities to control the ring and try to isolate one of the babyfaces. Outrunners are able to fight back and get a bit of a comeback until Cash drops Floyd knee first on the steel steps and Dax busts open Truth. Suddenly the energy of the match changes as FTR works over Truth and keeps him from tagging in Floyd, even pulling Floyd from the apron at times to attack the knee more. Crowd really rallies behind Truth and cheers him on as he tries to fight back and make the tag but FTR just won't give him an inch. Dax misses a Diving Headbutt and Truth is finally able to make the hot tag to Floyd. A great bit of selling by Floyd as he fights back on basically one leg while Truth tries to recover on the apron to help his partner. FTR try to collect themselves and fight back only for the Outrunners to hit Cash with Shatter Machine! Cover! Dax makes the save at 2! Amazing near-fall! The match breaks down as everyone goes at it. Dax suplexes Truth to the floor and is able to sneak up on Floyd for FTR to hit Shatter Machine and get the win while Stokely is holding Truth's foot on the outside. The finish was a little flat but the match overall was incredible! Perfect heel tactics by FTR while Outrunners had an all time babyface performance and comeback to almost get the win. ****1/4

NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Oleg Boltin at NJPW Dominion 2025: A hard hitting and physical match. Boltin comes out the gate looking to out-power Takeshita, which forces Takeshita to start hammering Boltin with big strikes early on. A Jumbo Knee and some elbows by Takeshita put him in control as he starts targeting Boltin's back to soften him up, but Boltin isn't going down easy. A Verdict to the outside and a Boltin Shake on the ramp puts Boltin back in the match. We get a really nice flow as both men dish out big bombs and strikes. Takeshita is a bit more tactical in his offense using his strikes and moves to go after the back of Boltin, even breaking out a Boston Crab while Boltin just powers through everything Takeshita throws at him. Boltin is able to cut off Takeshita on the top to hit an Avalanche Verdict before a pair of Kamikazes gives Boltin the win! Just a fun hard hitting battle between these two. ****

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Shingo Takagi at NJPW Dominion 2025: A good fight between two hard hitting bulls. Right from the bell, these two get right into the action with lots of big strikes and bombs. Some nice subtle storytelling with Shingo working with a more heel edge and trying to overwhelm Goto with offense early. Goto has to weather the storm of Shingo's offense and dish his own right back. Lots of great near-falls as both men throw their best shots at each other. Made in Japan, Burning Dragon, GTR, and Shoto all get nice near-falls. Goto digs deep and breaks out an Ushigoroshi and a pair of GTRs to finally put down Shingo and get the win. Not much of a story to the match outside of these two just hitting each other as hard as they could until one of them stayed down but sometimes that is just what you need. ****

I Quit Match: Sam Stackhouse vs. KJ Orso at GCW Boss of All Bosses: A brutal and violent match from these former friends. A good start with Stackhouse using his size and power until Orso uses a chain to bust him open. Stackhouse responds back with a cowbell to Orso's head to bust him open and things start to pick up. Chairs, doors and even thumbtacks come into play as these two do everything and hit every big move they can to hurt the other. Nice storytelling moment with Orso begging off Stackhouse and even saying sorry only to throw thumbtacks in Stackhouse's face to stop him from using a chair. Orso is able to tape one of Stackhouse's arms to the ropes and hits a Character Assassination before trying to make Stackhouse submit. Amazingly Stackhouse is able to fight back with one arm until Orso takes a chair to him and tapes the other arm. Stackhouse is trapped and Orso just starts punishing the man to make him quit. A gusset plate to the chest and head of Stackhouse, who is pouring blood! Orso looks for a chairshot to the head but Stackhouse's wife rushes in to stop it. Orson threatens Stackhouse's wife with the chair and finally Stackhouse quits in a fantastic I Quit match! Loved this match! The violence felt needed here as these two former friends all but killed each other with neither willing to quit. Only when Orso went over the line and threatened his wife did Stackhouse quit but even that didn't save her after the match. Very excited to see what these two do next. ****

Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay vs. The Young Bucks at AEW All In 2025: An amazing action and story filled tag team match. From the opening bell we get a clear story: the Bucks are the better tag team while Ospreay and Swerve struggle early on to find their rhythm as a team. We get some nice flurries of offense from Ospreay and Swerve but it doesn't take the Bucks long each time to cut them off and take back control. Bucks isolate and work over Ospreay for a bit before Swerve gets the hot tag and things pick up. We get some crazy back and forth action including the Bucks hitting dual Destroyers only for Ospreay and Swerve to come back with a Hidden Blade and House Call! A pair of Styles Clashs from the babyface before they hit a Stormbreaker/Swerve Stomp combo for a big near-fall. The Bucks feel the match slipping away and get desperate. A roll-up attempt with Matt's feet on the ropes before a low blow to Ospreay and a TK Driver to Swerve on the floor put the Bucks right back in control. Nick hits Ospreay with a Hidden Blade before More Bang For Your Buck. Kickout! Ospreay tries to block an EVP Trigger but the Bucks are able to hit it. Swerve makes the save! Swerve and Ospreay start to fight back but Ospreay misses Nick with a Hidden Blade and hits Swerve! EVP Trigger to Ospreay again! Another kickout! Holy Shit! TK Driver to Ospreay but he STILL kicks out! The Bucks hang Ospreay on the ropes and start peppering him with Superkicks until Swerve steps in between them. Swerve takes the shots for Ospreay! Bucks go for the EVP Trigger but Swerve catches the knees! Hidden Blade by Ospreay to Nick! Tombstone/Double Stomp combo by Ospreay and Swerve to Matt! Kickout! Hidden Blade to Matt but Nick makes the save! Jesus, this match! Swerve takes out Nick with a Swerve Stomp to the outside. Hidden Blade/House Call combo on Matt! Cover and Ospreay and Swerve get the win! What a fucking match! From the slower start to show off how good the Bucks are as a team to Ospreay and Swerve working together more and more as the match goes on. Ospreay accidently hitting Swerve for the big near-fall was incredible as was Swerve taking the bullets for Ospreay afterwards. One of the best tag team matches all year! ***** 

AEW Women's World Championship Match: Toni Storm (c) vs. Mercedes Mone at AEW All In 2025: An excellent back and forth battle between these two women. We get a nice slow start to the match as both women feel each other out. As the match gets going we see a clear story unfold with Mone having the better wrestling abilities while Toni is more equipped to bomb Mone with big offense. Some nice back and forth early with Toni almost toying with Mone to frustrate her. Mone goes to work on the back and arm of Toni to try and soften her up while also trying to neutralize some of Toni's power offense. Mone gets cute with her offense and hits a Three Amigos before trying for a Frog Splash, which Toni gets her knees up for. Toni hammers Mone with a trio of German Suplexes before a hip attack in the corner and a Storm Zero but only gets 2. Toni tries for a Chickenwing but Mone bites her arm to escape and lock in  the Statement Maker before transiting into a Mone Maker for a near-fall. Both women start firing off everything they can think of including Toni countering a Statement Maker into one of her own. Mone fights out but Toni responds with THREE STORM ZEROS! Mone kickouts! Holy shit! Toni tries for a hip attack but Mone counters with a roll-up with the ropes! Only 2! Mone locks in the Statement Maker again and nicely transitions into an STF variation to try and trap Toni but she still fights out of it. Backstabber by Mone but Toni fires right back with a hip attack. Both women fight to the top rope and Toni rocks Mone with a headbutt. Bret's rope Storm Zero and Toni retains! What a match! Loved both women having their style of match to work and played off the other very well. Some amazing near-falls before Toni gets the decisive win. ****1/2

Winner Takes All Match for the AEW Unified Championship: AEW International Champion Kenny Omega vs. AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada at AEW All In 2025: An incredible match from these legendary rivals. Things start slow with both toying with the other early before Okada lands a kick to Omega's gut and a thumb to the eye. Omega fights back and uses his trademark fast paced offense to even things up. Okada is willing to do anything to win while Omega wants to show he can still be the best. Okada has a target on Omega's midsection and smartly keeps going back to it every time Omega starts to gain some ground and mount a comeback. Okada hits a DDT on the announce table and back in the ring to start softening up Omega's neck for the Rainmaker. Omega is able to get in some shots like a rana, big dive to the outside and even a Snap Dragon but Okada keeps cutting Omega off with his targeted attacks. Elbow Drops off the top by Okada, who starts looking for the Rainmaker but Omega blocks it. Omega is able to finally mount a real comeback as he lays in V-Triggers before hitting an Avalanche Dragon Suplex! My God! Omega looks for the One-Winged Angel but Okada blocks it with a Tombstone! Omega ducks a Rainmaker and tries for One-Winged Angel again but can't hit it, however he does hit Croyt’s Wrath! Omega can't bridge on the pin due to his midsection and Okada kicks out. Don Callis tries to get involved and the distraction allows Okada to go for the Rainmaker again but Omega dodges it. V-Trigger! One-Winged Angel by Omega! Cover! Callis pulls the referee from the ring! Omega gets another referee in and goes for another One-Winged Angel but Okada slips out and nails the Rainmaker! Cover! Only 2! Both men are drained as they struggle to their feet to exchange blows. Okada goes for the Rainmaker but Omega counters with a small package for a huge near-fall. That's Omega's last gasp of fight through as a Cobra Flowson and one last Rainmaker ends it with Okada getting the win. Another classic from these two. Not as great as their other matches but I loved the more targeted offense Okada used here to punish Omega, while Omega fought through all the pain and punishment to try and prove he could still beat Okada. Some incredible near-falls from both men before Okada was able to tie up their series. ****1/2

Texas Death Match for the AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Adam Page at AEW All In 2025: A bloody and violent display of wrestling brilliance! Match starts and both men come out swinging. Moxley tries to stab Page with a fork early only for Page to trap Moxley in a triangle choke and stab him with his own fork. Moxley is POURING blood right away! Here we go! Moxley takes back over by going after Page with barbed wire to bust him open as well and starts to punish the Hangman. A barbed wire wrapped chair and broken glass comes into play as Moxley seems to enjoy punishing Page and forcing him to get back to his feet every time. Page is able to fight back by powerbombing Moxley into a pair of open chairs for a brutal spot. Wheeler Yuta tries to get involved but is quickly smacked down by the Hangman. Page looks for the Buckshot Lariat but Marina Shafir jumps on his back and tries to choke him out. Page lifts her up and hits a Death Valley Driver off the apron through a table! Dead Eye by Page into the glass on Moxley! Claudio Castagnoli rushes out to start hammering on Page as Moxley tries to recover. Will Ospreay comes to Page's rescue but Gabe Kidd is there to stop him! Piledriver on the floor before Claudio stomps a chair wrapped around Ospreay's neck! Ospreay is done! Moxley comes back with a suplex off the apron through barbed wire tables. Both men are bloody and battered but keep trying to fight! Moxley with a bulldog choke and looks to choke out Page but he still gets to his feet! Death Rider into an open chair! Page STILL won't stay down! Moxley calls for the Death Riders to hand him a plastic bag to choke the life out of Page! A video plays on the screen... It's Darby Allin! Someone in a mask rushes the ring and hits Yuta with a Busaiku Knee! It's Bryan Danielson!!! He dives to take out the Death Riders! Darby literally descends from the roof of the building! Moxley looks like he has seen a ghost! Page comes in with a Buckshot Lariat! Darby Coffin Drops to the outside into the Death Riders as he and Danielson fight them to the back! Another Buckshot and Moxley rolls to the apron. Dead Eye off the apron through a table! Marina helps Moxley to his feet at 9 to break the count. The Young Bucks are in the ring behind Page! Superkicks and an EVP Trigger! Moxley and Marina bring a bed of nails into the ring! Curb Stomp and a Death Rider into the nails! Jesus! Page still gets to his feet! Moxley tells Marina to get the briefcase but as she does, Prince Nana handcuffs her to the barricade! Swerve Strickland knocks out the Bucks with a chain! Swerve hands Page the chain! Page tries to choke out Moxley but Moxley is able to fight it off. Buckshot Lariat by Page and Moxley lands on the bed of nails! Page chokes Moxley with the chain and hangs him over the rope! Moxley is panicking as the life is choked out of him!  Moxley taps!!! Adam Page is the AEW World Champion! HOLY FUCK! This match was a perfect storm of violence, blood, callbacks, run-ins and a perfect finish to an 8 month storyline! Perfect Pro Wrestling Violence! *****

ROH World Television Championship Match: Nick Wayne (c) vs. Titan at ROH Supercard of Honor 2025: A really exciting and fun back and forth match. Titan comes out the gate fast and takes the fight to Wayne right away. Wayne is able to trap Titan's leg in the ropes and hit a Dragon Screw early as we get the story to the match: Titan looking to use his quick, high flying style while Wayne looks to ground him. Some great back and forth action all match and some great selling by Titan, who sells the pain he is in but keeps fighting through it to pull off some impressive offense. Love Wayne going back to the leg time and time again to cut off Titan when he starts to build too much momentum. Titan is able to string together some nice offense before nailing a Double Stomp from the top. Cover but Mother Wayne puts Wayne's foot on the ropes to stop the count. Referee sees it and kicks her from ringside as Titan locks Wayne in Llave Inmortal. Wayne is able to fight his way to the ropes to break up the hold though. The two battle on the top with Wayne trying for the mask, only to get knocked off and fake a leg injury. Kip Sabian rushes out to crotch Titan on the top and Wayne nails Wayne's World! Buzzsaw Kick and a cover but only 2! Titan with one last roll-up attempt but Wayne kicks out and nails the Prodigy Plex to retain. Really fun match with both men having great strategies for the match, which gave us some fun back and forth and great near-falls before the numbers game allowed Wayne to get the win. ****

ROH World Championship Match: Bandido (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita at ROH Supercard of Honor 2025: An incredible bell to bell action-filled match! We get a good opening few minutes of mat wrestling with both working for the advantage before both men settle into their strategy of the match. Bandido looks to use his speed, agility and impressive strength while Takeshita looks to just hammer Bandido into the ground. Some great early back and forth and near-falls as neither man is able to keep control for very long. Things start to build as both men start hitting bigger offenses like a Code Red by Bandido and a Blue Thunder Bomb by Takeshita. Bandido tries for the 21-Plex but Takeshita blocks it and nails an elbow before starting to rip at Bandido's mask. Don Callis comes to ringside and distracts the referee, which allows Takeshita to block a Bandido dive with a chair to the face to bust open the champion. Takeshita keeps up the aggression with a Brainbuster on the ramp for a close count-out. Bandido struggles to fight back as Takeshita tries to choke the fight out of him for another close win. Bandido finally rallies and starts firing back on the bigger man. More back and forth action until Bandido goes for the 21-Plex but Takeshita lands on his feet! Chaos Theory by Takeshita but Bandido lands on his feet! X-Knee by Bandido and he finally hits the 21-Plex! Kick-out! My God! Moonsault Slam for another 2 count! Bandido goes for a Shooting Star Press but Takeshita gets his knees up. Roll-up by Takeshita but only gets 2! Bandido pulls down his knee pad to hit another X-Knee. 21-Plex attempted again but Takeshita blocks and hits a Bastard Driver right into a Wheelbarrow German! Powerdrive Knee by Takeshita! Cover! Bandido kicks out at 1! Holy Shit! Takeshita looks to end with a Raging Fire but Bandido is able to roll him up! Cover and 3!!! Bandido gets the win! My God! What a match! The slow build these two pulled off before we got one of the wildest finishing stretches of the year. Bandido is able to keep fighting after Takeshita throws everything he has at Bandido and finally is able to counter Takeshita's best shot into a quick roll-up to pull off an upset win. Just an amazing match! ****3/4

Triple Threat Match for the WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria at WWE Evolution 2025: A very fun fast paced match. Everyone gets a role to play in the match with Becky being the opportunistic heel champion, Bayley the babyface veteran trying to get her hands on Becky while Lyra is the young babyface trying to prove she belongs in the ring with these two. A lot of standard "2 in, 1 out" style in the early goings but some nice storytelling mixed in like Bayley trying to take out Lyra so she can get at Becky. As the match goes on, everyone starts pulling off bigger and bigger offenses and we get some great near-falls. Everyone works at a more frantic pace as they try to get the win on one opponent while the other is down. Bayley finally hits Lyra with a Rose Plant but Becky rushes in and gets Bayley in a backslide to steal the win. Would have loved it if they had skipped the "2 in, 1 out" in the early portion but the finishing stretch with everyone hitting finishers only for the pin to get broken up was really good. Finish keeps the feud going nicely as Becky has to steal the win to retain. ****

Triple Threat Match for the Women's World Championship: IYO SKY (c) vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Naomi at WWE Evolution 2025: A fantastic and exciting back and forth battle. Match starts as IYO defending against Rhea and we get a nice opening few minutes that establishes the set up for the match: IYO is fast and more agile while Rhea has the power advantage. We get some excellent back and forth wrestling early that highlights this as well as the idea that IYO might have Rhea's number and Rhea is frustrated by this early on. The match starts to build as both women go for bigger and bigger moves and we start getting some really nice near-falls. Both women start looking for their killing blow when IYO misses with a dropkick and takes out the referee.  Rhea uses the opening to hit IYO with the Riptide for the phantom 3 count. Even more frustrated now, Rhea brawls with IYO into the crowd leading to IYO hitting a huge crossbody from the stands. IYO gets Rhea back in the ring to finally hit the Over the Moonsault as the referee recovers but only 2! IYO looks for another but Rhea goes to the top to cut her off only to get caught in a Spanish Fly off the top! Naomi rushes out as both women are recovering. She is cashing in her Money in the Bank contract! This is now a Triple Threat match! Naomi tosses Rhea out and hits a split legged Moonsault on IYO! Cover and 3! Naomi steals the win and the championship! The IYO vs. Rhea match was going along great with some awesome action and the crowd was super into everything. Naomi's cash-in is a little disappointing because we don't see a finish to the match but it still really worked here and made for a hell of a moment. ****1/2

G1 Climax 35 Block B Play-In Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Drilla Moloney at NJPW New Japan Soul 2025 Night 5: A really fun back and forth battle between the veteran heavyweight and new up and coming heavyweight. Drilla comes out the gate and takes the fight to Ishii, who grits his teeth and powers through everything. Really love the story of the match with Ishii not giving Drilla an inch and making him work for every near-fall he gets. Drilla pulls out all the stops utilizing Clark Connors' Gore and his version of Made in Japan called Made in Birmingham to chip away at the armor of Ishii. Meanwhile, Ishii dishes out just as many big bombs and strikes even as he looks out on his feet. Awesome spot with Ishii looking all but beaten until he starts throwing wild headbutts in the hopes of knocking Drilla out. Drilla is able to weather the onslaught and finally nail a pair of Drilla Killas to put Ishii away. Big win for Drilla as Ishii acts like the gatekeeper to the heavyweight division. Lots of big bombs and near-falls before Drilla hits his finisher not once but twice to put down the old guard. ****

Death Match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (c) vs. Jun Kasai at NJPW Death Pain Invitational: An incredibly bloody and violence war between these two. We get a few opening wrestling exchanges before Kasai says "Fuck that" and brings out the weapons! Light tubes, barbed wire, chairs and panes of glass all come into play as these two beat the holy hell out of each other. Some nice storytelling mixed in as Desperado is more equipped to drop big bombs, but in this match Kasai is able to be a wild man and inflicts serious punishment on himself and Desperado with his crazy ass spots. So many insane spots like Desperado tossing Kasai off a ladder into barbed wire on the floor and Kasai hitting a goddamn splash from the top of a ladder onto a light tube covered Desperado! Kasai starts dropping Desperado on his head with some sick arm-trapped piledrivers but Desperado keeps kicking out. Desperado is able to rally and bombard Kasai with 3 Pinche Locos to finally put down and defeat his Death Match rival. This was just awesome and violent! Both men went all out here to deliver one of the best Death Matches I have ever seen! The violence, the spots, the visual of both men wearing white gear while covered in blood. It was all so great! ****1/4

Bandido and Hologram vs. Mistico and Mascara Dorada at CMLL Fantastica Mania Mexico 2025: A very fun back and forth tag match. Lots of action right from the bell with everyone getting in and having a chance to shine. Some nice storytelling with Bandido and Hologram not being familiar with tagging together so it takes a while for them to get on the same page while Mistico and Dorada are an experienced team and take control early on. Lots of back and forth action before Dorada goes for a Shooting Star Press, only for Hologram to catch him with an uppercut coming down. Portal Bomb by Hologram and his team gets the first fall! Mistico comes in like a man on fire and runs wild on Bandido and Hologram! Lots of quick action and big spots as Mistico is able to get his team back in the match single handedly! Mistico goes for La Mística but Bandido counters into a crucifix pin and gets the 3! Huge upset win for Bandido and Hologram! Really good match that told a simple story before we got the shocking finish of Bandido pinning Mistico clean to nicely set up a singles match down the road. Simple but effective wrestling. ****

Mistico vs. Bandido at CMLL Viernes Espectacular 6/27: A really enjoyable and action-filled match. We get the standard quick exchanges early on from both men before we settle into the story of the match. Bandido has the power advantage and uses it to hit some big offense on Mistico while Mistico uses his experience and technical skills to try and out-wrestle Bandido. One really nice spot to highlight this is Bandido hitting a big stalling suplex only for Mistico to come back with a series of quick pin attempts to put Bandido back on defense. Lots of really nice back and forth action before Mistico goes for La Mistica but Bandido blocks it and nails an X-Knee for a near-fall. 21-Plex by Bandido but only gets 2 again. Bandido tries for the Moonsault Slam but Mistico is able to fight it off and hit a top rope hurricanrana! La Mistica is successful this time and Bandido taps out! A really good back and forth match. Bandido thought he had Mistico's number after beating him in the tag match but Mistico was able to surprise him with his abilities and get the win. ****

TNA X-Division Championship Match: Moose (c) vs. Leon Slater at TNA Slammiversary 2025: A really exciting and fun David vs. Goliath match. Right from the bell, Slater tries to stick and move and chip away at Moose's legs and limbs only for Moose to just start using his power to toss Slater around with ease. Lots of big bombs early by Moose as Slater has to fight from underneath with his speed and agility to stay in this. Really like Slater finding ways to counter Moose's power offense while also throwing himself at the big man to try and wear him down but Moose isn't slowing down. Moose starts looking for the Spear, which Slater is nicely able to counter with a Leg Lariat and then a close roll-up. Third time's the charm though and Moose nails the Spear but Slater kicks out! Moose tries for another but Slater dodges it. Slater picks up Moose to hit Utopia! Holy Shit! Spear by Slater! Swanton 450!!! Cover! Moose kicks out! Wow! Slater tries to stay on him but Moose cuts off a springboard with a Spear! Slater rolls to the floor as Moose looks to follow up. Spear is blocked by Slater into a Code Red on the floor! Slater rolls Moose in and goes to the top again. Moose rolls away to avoid him but Slater hits a massive Swanton Bomb across the ring! Swanton 450 and Slater gets the win! WOW! This match was a ton of fun! Perfect big man vs. little man booking with some huge near-falls that the crowd all bought.  Slater is able to beat the monstrous Moose to become the youngest X-Division champion ever. Big moment for him. ****

AEW World Championship Match: Adam Page (c) vs. Jon Moxley at AEW Dynamite 7/30: A great rematch between these two! Bell rings and Page comes right out and takes the fight to Moxley. Love seeing the confidence and aggression that Hangman shows now that he is champion and puts Moxley on defense right away. Both men are firing off big shots and keeping the match somewhat even with Page having the slight edge. That changes with Moxley hitting a nasty piledriver on the steel steps to cut off Page and take over. Now Moxley is able to shine as he targets Page's head and neck and forces Page to fight from underneath. Moxley looks to cut off Page's momentum again with a piledriver on the announce table but Page lifts Moxley and drops him with a Dead Eye on the table! Page tries to follow up with some Danielson stomps but Moxley counters into a Bulldog Choke. Page tries to fight to the ropes but Moxley keeps rolling to block him. At last, Page is able to escape and locks in a LeBell Lock! Moxley is just able to get his foot on the rope to break the hold and rolls to the apron to recover. Page looks for a Dead Eye on the apron but Moxley counters this time with a piledriver on the apron! Gotch Style Piledriver in the ring! Cover! Page kicks out! Page looks out on his feet until Moxley toys with him and Hangman comes back with some fired up shots! We get a nice sequence of both men countering the other's finisher ending with Page hitting another Dead Eye but clipping the referee as he does. Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta try to come through the crowd to interfere but security stops them. Marina Shafir sneaks in and gives Moxley the belt and he nails Page! Cover! Only 2! Referee gets rid of the Death Riders as Darby Allin hits an insane dive off the balcony onto them! Moxley is distracted and leaves himself open for a Buckshot Lariat! Moxley tries to block a Dead Eye with a choke but Page hits it! One last Buckshot Lariat and Page retains! What a match! I love that this was more of a straight wrestling match compared to their All In match. Moxley kept going to the head and neck of Page to wear him down but this is a different Hangman, who was able to weather the storm and yet again beat Moxley on his own. ****1/4

Chicago Street Fight for the AEW TNT Championship: Dustin Rhodes (c) vs. Kyle Fletcher at AEW Collision 7/31: A fun, bloody and violent match! Match starts off hot with both men brawling to the floor right away. Dustin breaks out a kendo stick early to punish Fletcher, only for Fletcher to DDT Dustin onto the steel steps to bust him open. Fletcher goes to follow up with a dive but Dustin moves out the way and Fletcher crashes through a table! Dustin with a cowbell shot to Fletcher to bust him open! We got double juice already! Match becomes a battle of big bombs and some great weapon spots like a Tombstone onto a pair of open chairs and a Destroyer off the top through a table! Dustin gets a glove covered in thumbtacks for a Von Erich Claw on Fletcher! This is awesome! Fletcher kicks Dustin low to break the hold and gets a bag of tacks. Fletcher gets powerslammed into them though and Dustin sets him up for Shattered Dreams. But wait! Tacks in Fletcher's trucks before Dustin boots him in the groin! Jesus! Don Callis hands Fletcher a screwdriver, which he uses to attack Dustin to cut him off. Callis holds Dustin down and Fletcher stabs his knee repeatedly with the screwdriver! My God! Brianbuster by Fletcher attempted but Dustin blocks with one last small package for a close near-fall. Fletcher finally does hit the Brainbuster onto the tacks to get the win and the championship. Just a wild brawl from start to finish. Lots of great weapon spots and just a brutal match. Fletcher looks like a psycho as he brutalizes Dustin to put him down and win the title. ****