Top Matches I Watched in June 2022
What a month for wrestling! Best of the Super Junior Finals! NJPW Dominion! AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door! AND Blood and Guts (my personal favorite). Even with all the injuries, wrestling is alive and well!
Jon Moxley vs. Daniel Garcia at AEW Dynamite 6/1/2022: A really nice heated fight. Both men dish out hard strikes at each other before Garcia is able to bust Moxley open and go after his knee. Moxley is able to fight back from underneath as the two trade big shots and submissions. Moxley is able to counter Garcia one time too many and nails a Paradigm Shift and chokes him out to get the win. Very fun TV match. ****
The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Brothers AEW Rampage 6/3/22: This was an all action, highlight reel match. Lots of awesome back and forth action and exchanges from both teams. A ton of big near-falls for both teams before the Bucks rip the mask off Penta to take him out of the match. The Bucks hit a BTE Trigger on Fenix to end it. A joy to watch with a super hot crowd. ****1/2
Triple Threat Match for the WWE RAW Women's Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Asuka at WWE Hell in a Cell 2022: A fun 3 way match. Becky plays the heel looking to pick her moment to steal the win, Asuka uses her submission and strikes all match and Bianca uses her power. Lots of good action and exchanges all match. Becky looks to finally have the opening to win only for Bianca to toss her out of the ring to beat her at her own game and pin Asuka to win. Cute finish to a good match. ****
Hell in a Cell Match: Seth Rollins vs. Cody Rhodes at WWE Hell in a Cell 2022: A pretty great match with a unique story. Cody comes in with a torn pec and right away Rollins goes after it.Cody tries to wrestle around his arm but it keeps costing him openings. Rollins starts to punish Cody but Cody keeps fighting back. Kendo sticks, tables, bull ropes and a sledgehammer all come into play. Cody is able to fight through the pain to hit multiple Cross Rhodes before a sledgehammer shot ends it. A star making match for Cody! ****1/4
Best of the Super Junior 29 Block B Match: El Phantasmo vs. Robbie Eagles at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 29 Night 9: A great battle from these two rivals! Eagles started off hot but ELP is able to cut him off and work him over. ELP wants to show off and embarrass Eagles but ends up hurting his knee. Eagles goes right after the knee and looks for the Ron Miller Special while ELP tries to fight him off with one leg. Some great back and forth action with the two men even stealing each other's offense to try and put the other away. ELP tries to hit the One Winged Angel to end it but Eagles counters. Hits a 450 on ELP's legs and locks in the Ron Miller Special! ELP taps! Fantastic match! ****1/2
Best of the Super Juniors 29 Final Match: El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi at NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 29 Night 13: A very good battle between these two rivals. Both men start off hot before Desperado goes after the knees of Hiromu to slow him down and look for a submission. Desperado works over Hiromu nicely as Hiromu tries to fight back but can't seem to get his feet under him. Hiromu has to rely on using D to try and submit Desperado but Desperado is able to escape. Desperado starts rolling and looks to have it won but Hiromu is able to dig deep and hit two Stunners and both Time Bombs to end it. ****1/4
Dax Harwood vs. Will Ospreay at AEW Dynamite 6/16/2022: A great hard hitting match. Ospreay is able to work around Dax with his speed and agility before Dax lights him up with stiff strikes and looks to ground him. Ospreay is able to level the playing field by picking at Dax's legs and using strikes of his own. Fantastic back and forth action from both men as they look to land the killing blow. Ospreay is able to finally hit an Oscutter to rattle Dax before finishing him with the Hidden Blade. ****1/4
Ladder Match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship: Jurassic Express (c) vs. The Young Bucks at AEW Dynamite 6/16/2022: A very fun car crash ladder match. Bucks look to take out Luchasaurus to isolate Jungle Boy while the babyfaces look to fight and show that they belong on top. Lots of great spots with the ladders and tables as both teams work an insane pace and style. Lots of creative usage of the gimmick. Luchasaurus goes through 4 tables to get taken out as Jungle Boy fights to get the win. But the Bucks are able to nail a BTE Trigger while he is climbing to take him out and win the championships. Great match to end their title run. ****1/4
Five Way Match for the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship and AAA Latin America Championship: Laredo Kid (c) vs. Taurus (c) vs. Rey Fenix vs. Bandido vs. El Hijo del Vikingo at AAA TripleMania XXX: Tijuana: A crazy and wild, all action spot-fest. Nice story mixed in with Taurus being the powerhouse all match and tossing the other opponents around and forcing people to work together to take him out. Everyone got a chance to shine, especially Vikingo. Fenix is able to take advantage of an opening and land a series of big high risk moves on Taurus to finish him off and win both titles. Very fun match. ****
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Riddle at WWE Smackdown 6/17/22: A really good TV match. Riddle starts off hot and takes the fight to Roman, who keeps shutting him down and slowing the pace down. Nice back and forth action as Riddle keeps fighting back and staying alive. Riddle uses some of Randy Orton's offense to get some great near-falls before going for a Springboard Knee and gets destroyed by a Spear to end it. ****
Will Ospreay vs. Nick Wayne at GCW I Never Liked You: A fantastic match up! Ospreay is the cocky heel and easily works over the much younger Wayne. As the match goes on, Wayne gets more and more in as Ospreay gets frustrated at the stubborn young babyface. Some amazing back and forth as Wayne is able to pull off a few big moments and looks to maybe have this won. But Ospreay finally has enough and nails a Hidden Blade and a Stormbreaker to end it. Ospreay wins the match but Wayne showed what he can do in the ring. ****1/4
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Match: SANADA vs. Will Ospreay at NJPW Dominion 2022: A good back and forth wrestling match. Ospreay is quicker and uses his speed to control most of the match. SANADA tries to make it a straight up wrestling match to keep it in his wheelhouse. As SANADA starts to get some momentum, Ospreay goes after the previously injured orbital bone with hard strikes. A good back and forth finishing stretch as both men get some good near-falls before Ospreay lands the Hidden Blade to knock SANADA out and a Stormbreaker to finish it. ****
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Jay White at NJPW Dominion 2022: A fantastic wrestling match from these two. White plays mind games with Okada right at the bell to sucker him into being reckless. Okada gets some nice offence in early before White is able to cut him off and goes to work on his ribs and mid-section to slow him down and wear him down. Some great heat from White as Okada tries to rally time and time again but keeps getting cut off by White, who knows his style well. Okada is finally able to start unloading hard shots on White and uses the Money Clip to try and end it but a low blow puts White back in control. They battle back and forth in a fantastic finishing stretch as Okada looks to nail White with the Rainmaker but White is able to counter Okada and hits Blade Runner for the clean win. What a match! ****1/4
Andrade El Idolo vs. Rey Fenix at AEW Rampage 6/24/22: A good back and forth TV match. Fenix is the faster wrestler and able to control early on with his quick offense. Andrade, the better wrestler is able to ground Fenix to work him over before the match breaks down into some great exchanges. Fenix hurts his knee going high risk and Andrade takes advantage and tries to cheat to win but Fenix fights him off. But a run-in and low blow by Rush, gives Andrade the opening to hit El Idolo and get the win. ****
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Match: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Orange Cassidy at AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 2022: A great back and forth match. Cassidy plays mind games with Ospreay early on and shows off his agility. Ospreay cuts off Cassidy and starts to work him over and beat him down. Cassidy stays alive with a few hope spots but keeps getting cut off. Cassidy is finally able to get some real momentum and scores a series of close near-falls before a Hidden Blade cuts him off again. Stormbreaker gets the win for Ospreay. ****1/4
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Zack Sabre Jr. at AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 2022: A great powerhouse vs. wrestler match. Claudio nails Sabre right at the bell and tosses him around. Sabre is able to start wrestling Claudio and working over his arms to take away his power. Nice back and forth battle as Claudio keeps going back to uppercuts to take over while Sabre tries to look for a submission. Sabre's arm work starts to pay off as Claudio seems to be losing his strength. Claudio is able to power through and hit Swiss Death on Sabre and aa Ricola Bomb for the win. ****
Four Way Match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Jay White (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Adam Cole vs. Adam Page at AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 2022: A fun multiman match up. Cole and White work together to control the match and work over Okada and Page. Some good heel work by both until Cole attacks White and the match breaks down into a 4 way. Everyone gets a nice chance to shine and get some good near-falls in. White is able to take out Okada and steal the pin on Cole to get the win. Fun match with a flat finish. ****
Interim AEW World Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jon Moxley at AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 2022: A good match between a wrestler and brawler. Moxley takes the fight to Tanahashi right away and looks to brawl with him. Tanahashi goes after the knee of Moxley to slow him down and ground him. Match becomes a back and forth battle before Tanahashi stomps on Moxley's head and busts him up. Tanahashi starts rolling and hits a High Fly Flow for a huge near-fall, but Moxley rolls him into a choke. Tanahashi fights out of it but Moxley is able to lay into Tanahashi and get the choke back in. Tanahashi tries to fight out and escape but Moxley hits a Paradigm Shift to end it and get the win. ****
Blood and Guts Match: Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz at AEW Dynamite 6/29/22: Blood and Guts 2022: This was a war! Claudio enters first as the heavy while Sammy starts off for the JAS to use his speed and we get a nice opening few minutes. Match switches back and forth from the JAS being in control when they have the numbers advantage and the babyfaces being in control when the match is even. Moxley enters and we get some chaos! Forks, broken glass, thumbtacks, barbed wire and lots of blood! Santana hurts his knee and is taken out leaving the babyfaces down a man. Kingston enters last and goes right after Jericho and the Blood and Guts match is on! They rip up the ring! Parker escapes the cage but is left hanging from the cage covered in blood! Tay takes out the referee and helps Jericho escape and he climbs the cage, but Kingston follows! Sammy goes to help but is tossed OFF THE CAGE! OH MY GOD! Jericho gets the Walls of Jericho on Kingston but Claudio makes the save! Big Swing on Jericho on top of the cage! Menard rushes up to help but gets caught in a Sharpshooter by Claudio. Kingston gets Jericho in the Stretch Plum! Kingston is going to make Jericho tap but Menard taps first! Kingston and his team won the match but Claudio denied him his revenge on Jericho! Fantastic booking to an insane, bloody and violent match! ****3/4
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