Top Matches I Watched in March 2026

Top Matches I Watched in March 2026

By Alex Kalil

Here we go! March gave us some of the best wrestling all year already. Great matches on AEW TV, New Japan giving us a great New Japan Cup. Plus AEW Revolution being maybe the best show of the year already and giving us a new MOTY contender.

AEW World Championship Match: MJF (c) vs. Kevin Knight at AEW Dynamite 3/4: A super fun and exciting old school title defense for TV. Very standard opening exchanges with MJF being the cocky veteran who gets surprised by Knight's quickness and skills. Knight tries for the UFO Splash early but that just leaves him open for MJF to cut him off and go to work on his midsection for some heat. Great storytelling from here with MJF being the bigger and better wrestler but still taking shortcuts to cut off the high energy Knight, who is able to keep fighting back on MJF with some quick and impactful shots of his own. Insane spot with MJF rolling to the outside to escape Knight, only for Knight to leap over the top rope with a clothesline to the floor! Holy Shit! Knight starts rolling and again tries for a UFO Splash, only for MJF to cut him off on the top rope. Knight takes out MJF's legs however, and traps him in the Tree of Woe! Coast to Coast Dropkick by Knight! Back to the top and Knight goes for the UFO Splash, but at the same time MJF kicks the referee, throat first, into the ropes. UFO Splash hits but the referee takes too long to recover and MJF kicks out at 2! What a spot! Knight goes to the well once too often with another UFO Splash but this time, MJF gets his knees up into the damaged midsection of Knight. Heatseeker by MJF, who gets the win. Just an awesome match with a well told and simple story to it. MJF was the confident champion but Knight was able to catch him off guard multiple times with his speed and abilities. Knight's downfall though was only relying on the UFO Splash to get the win, which allowed MJF to counter it and get the win himself. Perfect booking to an awesome match. ****

AEW World Trios Championship Match: Jet Set Rodeo (c) vs. ProtoShida and Mark Davis at AEW Dynamite 3/4: A pretty wild, exciting and action-filled match. Champions jump the heels right away and we are off. Jet Set Rodeo is able to take control early on utilizing their speed and quick tags to work over the Don Callis Family. Fletcher is able to drop the already banged up Knight ribs first on the barricade to cut him off and makes him the target of the heels for some nice heat. Awesome selling by Knight, who finds ways to fight back and keep hope alive for his team before making the hot tag to Bailey. Pace picks up as Bailey runs wild before the match breaks down into everyone going at it. Dead Eye to Davis and Bailey reveres a Lawn Dart into a Poison Rana on Fletcher before a Moonsault to the outside takes out Okada. Page looks for the Buckshot Lariat on Davis but MJF pulls him from the apron and lays him out! Knight misses a dropkick from the top on Davis and runs into Okada, who hits him with a Rainmaker. Piledriver by Davis and we have new champions! Super fun match that felt like it kept moving the whole time. Some really good action and near-falls down the stretch. I liked that MJF's run-in and Knight's injured ribs played a factor into the finish and new champions. ****

New Japan Cup 2026 First Round Match: El Phantasmo vs. Oleg Boltin at NJPW New Japan Cup 2026 Night 2: A very fun David vs. Goliath style match. ELP starts off fast, looking to catch Oleg off guard with his quick offense. Doesn't take long for Oleg to stop ELP's momentum and start throwing him around with his incredible strength though. ELP blocks an early Kamikaze and switches tactics by going after Oleg's knee to chop the big man down. Some really great knee work by ELP, which Oleg sells perfectly for. Even as Oleg starts making a comeback, he keeps selling the knee which eventually gives out and allows ELP to take back over. ELP tries to utilize the Half Crab to target the knee and get the submission but ELP isn't proficient in technical wrestling so Oleg is able to fight off the submission. This forces ELP to go back to his strategy of big shots on the big man with a pair of Sudden Deaths. ELP struggles to hit the CRII so instead hits a piledriver but Oleg is able to will himself up and nails ELP with a short range Kamikaze for a near-fall. ELP isn't done yet as fights back and levels Oleg with a huge Lariat and lifts him up and nails the CRII, but only gets a 2 count! ELP goes for broke and climbs the top rope for a Thunderkiss '86 but Oleg is able to cut him off. ELP tries to fight back and escape the big man but Oleg is able to power ELP up on his shoulders and hits a Bret's rope Kamikaze to get the win! Really good stuff all match. ELP tried to work more technically and take away Oleg's base to get the win but he just didn't have the tools to submit the big man, which led to him going back to his classic strategy of big, quick offense. However, Oleg was more than willing to trade bombs and was able to absorb the punishment to dish out his own big offense and get the win. ****

AEW TNT Championship Match: Kyle Fletcher (c) vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey at AEW Dynamite 3/11: An incredible back and forth match between the powerful Fletcher and the faster Bailey. We get right into the action from the bell with Bailey looking for his kicks while Fletcher looks to toss Bailey around. Bailey goes to the arm early on and becomes his target for most of the match as a way to weaken some of Fletcher's offense. Match follows a very basic but effective story to the action: Bailey utilizing his kicks and quick offense to counter Fletcher's more powerful offense while also going after Fletcher's arm to try and chip away at him. Some amazing back and forth counters and sequences all match that nicely keep the story of the match present in every exchange. The bigger bombs start coming out as both men seem unable to keep the other down. A beautiful Avalanche Poison Rana by Bailey followed by a Tornado Kick for a huge near-fall. Bailey looks for another kick but Fletcher catches him with a big Michinoku Driver for a 2 count of his own. Bailey cuts off Fletcher with more kicks but misses Ultimo Weapon. Bailey is able to roll-up Fletcher with the same pinning combination that put him away last time but Fletcher is able to kick-out this time. Bailey goes for the Flamingo Driver but Kazuchika Okada runs out to distract the referee. Fletcher gouges Bailey's eyes to break up the move as Mark Davis hands Fletcher one of the Trios titles. Fletcher nails Bailey and hits a Brainbuster to finally put him away. Just an incredible match. These two have perfect chemistry together and were able to suck you into every back and forth and near-fall of the match. Finish was a little underwhelming but nicely serves as a reason for a rubber match. ****1/2

CMLL World Women's Championship Match: Mercedes Mone (c) vs. Persephone at CMLL La Noche de la Amazonas: An excellent and exciting match between the wrestling champion and the powerhouse challenger. Bell sounds and Mone starts off toying and mocking Persephone to sucker her in and try to ground her. Some nice mat wrestling by Mone, who goes to work early on Persephone's arms to take away her impressive power. Amazing selling by Persephone, who smartly adapts by using her legs to kick away Mone and create space to recover. An early Razor's Edge attempt by Persephone but her arms give out on her and Mone is able to lock in the Statement Maker. Persephone fights her way to the ropes, only for Mone to push off and roll Persephone back into the middle of the ring but Persephone is able to counter back and lifts Mone for a big powerbomb. Persephone isn't able to cover right away but this does buy her time to recover and we get a nice back and forth from the two women. Mone keeps pushing the pace with her quick offense to try and end things quickly but a big Spear by Persephone cuts her off. Persephone presses the advantage with some quick high flying offense of her own but misses a Moonsault to the outside, which gives Mone an opening for a Meteora on the floor. Mone gets Persephone in the ring but only gets a 2. Persephone starts a comeback but Mone knocks her off the top rope and hits another Meteora from the top for another 2 count. Mone goes for the finishing blow with a Mone Maker but Persephone counters out and fights to finally lift Mone up and nail a Razor's Edge! Only a 2 count! Persephone follows up with a Springboard Frog Splash to finally get the win over Mone. A damn good match with great action, storytelling and selling the whole time. Would have loved for the Razor's Edge to be the finish as Persephone had been looking for it all match but it still worked as one last big near-fall at the end of the match. ****1/4

Andrade El Idolo vs. Mascara Dorada at AEW Collision 3/14: A super fun match of speed vs. power. Dorada looks to push the pace from the start and we get some really great back and forth Lucha spots. Andrade is able to cut off Dorada a few times by outsmarting him and tripping him up when going for big spots or avoiding a high risk offense. Match becomes a very standard back and forth match with Andrade using his size and power to match Dorada's speed and impressive high flying offense. Lots of big spots and near-falls like a 450 by Dorada and a Spanish Fly by Andrade. Andrade nails the double knees in the corner and looks for the DM but Dorada fights his way out and hits a huge Destroyer! Dorada goes to the top for the finishing blow but Andrade rolls to the apron to avoid it. Dorada grabs Andrade but Andrade nails him with a headbutt. Hammerlock DDT from the top into the turnbuckle! DM by Andrade finishes the job and gets him the win. Just a fun back and forth TV match. Lots of amazing action from both men with a great finish. ****

New Japan Cup 2026 Second Round Match: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ryohei Oiwa at NJPW New Japan Cup 2026 Night 8: An incredible battle of mentor vs. student. We get right into it with lots of mat wrestling and great back and forth counters from both men. As things keep moving, we can see that Oiwa has the power advantage over Sabre and is able to more easily outpower him multiple times. Sabre finally has enough of Oiwa and starts to target his dominant left arm to take away his power. Great arm work by Sabre as he picks it apart every chance he gets while Oiwa sells it perfectly as he tries to fight through the pain. The tide turns yet again when Oiwa goes after Sabre's right knee to slow down the faster man and get him back on the mat. Great wrestling and selling from both men as we get some awesome hold for hold wrestling back and forth. Oiwa starts to gain more and more on Sabre as he is able to start muscling him up for some nice power offense and even rocking Sabre with some stiff strikes. Sabre tries to get the match back to a wrestling match only for Oiwa to nail The Grip! But Oiwa's arm is too hurt to immediately cover! Oiwa follows up with a right arm Lariat and goes for The Grip one last time but runs right into a Zack Driver out of nowhere! Sabre covers and gets the win! What a match! Very evenly matched the whole time with both men finding body parts to work over and stay on them almost the whole time. Oiwa made a critical error by going back to The Grip when looking for the win as his left arm was already worked over and Sabre knew how to counter it and was able to do so and get the win. ****1/4

AEW World Tag Team Championship Match: FTR (c) vs. The Young Bucks at AEW Revolution 2026: An absolutely incredible tag team match! We start off hot as these two teams get right into it. Bucks hit Superkicks on FTR early and look to push the pace as the faster team. FTR catches Nick on a dive however, and slams him face first into the announce table. Matt tries to fight off FTR by himself, only to get a Spiked Piledriver on the apron for his troubles! FTR isolates and works over a now bloody Nick for some heat. Nick fights for the hot tag, even running Dax into the ring post to bust him open, but Cash takes Matt off the apron before he can be tagged in for a great spot. Nick fights off a Power and Glory and hits a Dropkick/Senton to both members of FTR and makes the tag! Matt runs wild as the match picks up and we get some awesome back and forth from these two teams. Bucks give FTR a Superkick Party before Stokely gets involved and distracts the Bucks. This gives FTR an opening for a Shatter Machine on Nick. Only 2! Spiked Piledriver and the referee counts 3 but Nick had his foot on the rope! The match keeps going! Superkicks by FTR and they hit the FTR Trigger. Cover and Nick kicks out at 1! Holy Shit! Another Shatter Machine attempted but Matt breaks it up! Shatter Machine by the Bucks on Cash! BTE Trigger to Dax! Cover! Cash makes the save! Cash misses a dive on the outside and crashes and burns. Nick takes out Stokely with a dive! Matt has Dax up. TK Driver! 1... 2... Kickout! Holy Shit! Bucks roll back the clock and look for More Bang For Your Buck but Cash crotches Nick on the top rope. Spiked Piledriver to Matt and a Bret's rope Shatter Machine to Nick! Cover and FTR retains in an incredible match! Just an awesome battle of two of the best tag teams ever! Great heated action with plenty of blood and near-falls. ****3/4

No Time Limit Match for the AEW Continental Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita at AEW Revolution 2026: An intense and physical match-up from these two men. We get a rather standard opening few minutes that showcases Moxley being the brawler of the match; wanting to throw stiff strikes, take the match to the floor and such while Takeshita looks to use his power to ground Moxley and land big bombs on him. Takeshita lands awkwardly on his knee at one point and Moxley immediately goes after it with targeted offense like a Dragon Screw, Boston Crab and even a Figure Four. Takeshita nicely sells the leg while trying to fight back on the one good one, even countering a Death Rider attempt into a Bastard Driver/German Suplex combo. Moxley comes firing right back and looks for a Sleeper, only for Takeshita to spin him into a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near-fall. Match spills to the apron and Moxley is able to Stomp Takeshita into the apron to bust him open. Takeshita is almost counted out as he makes it back in at 9, only to get caught with a Piledriver from Moxley for only 2. Moxley starts beating down Takeshita, who takes the hits and starts firing up! Both men start landing their big bombs and getting closer and closer near-falls. Both men collapse in opposite corners before charging at each other yet again. Exploders from Takeshita and Back Drop Suplexes from Moxley back and forth. Big Lariat by Moxley and Takeshita kicks out at 1! Moxley looks for the Death Rider but Takeshita fights it off and hits Raging Fire! Moxley kicks out! Takeshita lowers the knee pad and goes for the Powerdrive Knee but his knee gives out on him! Death Rider by Moxley! Only 2! Moxley gets Takeshita in the corner and lifts him to hit an Avalanche Death Rider! Takeshita kicks out again! Holy Shit! Moxley fights to get a choke on Takeshita, who flips him off! Moxley traps the arm and locks Takeshita in the choke! Takeshita is out and the referee calls it! What a war! A slow start that builds and builds into an awesome back and forth match. Loved Takeshita fighting through with one leg, a black eye and bleeding to take Moxley to the limit before his knee gave out on him. Takeshita goes out on his shield as Moxley had to choke him out to keep him down. ****1/2

Swerve Strickland vs. Brody King at AEW Revolution 2026: A uniquely violent and hard hitting match. Brody comes out the gate being a beast and outpowers Swerve easily. A House Call out of nowhere cuts off Brody's momentum and lets Swerve take over. Match spills to the outside where Swerve removes the protective cover on the turnbuckle and lawndarts Brody, shoulder first, into it. Swerve takes too long lifting up the mats on the floor and Brody takes over with a Back Suplex onto the barricade! Match plays out very similarly from there with Swerve being very methodical with his offense and taking apart the ring and ringside to find ways to inflict more damage on the more powerful Brody, who is able to more easily just manhandle Swerve. Some really good back and forth action all match before Brody gets the Hangman Choke on Swerve and drops him to the floor. Brody tries to take a page from Swerve's playbook and looks for a Gonzo Bomb on the exposed concrete but Swerve is able to slip out and lifts Brody for a Cop Killa on the floor! Jesus! Swerve looks for a count-out but Brody is able to slide back in at 9! Swerve comes right off the top with a Swerve Stomp before Brody can even get to his feet. Cover and Brody kicks out at 1! House Call by Swerve and Brody is still standing! A second House Call takes Brody to a knee before a third and final House Call finally puts the big man down and gives Swerve the win. This was awesome. I loved how different this felt from other matches with both men finding unique ways to inflict punishment while still being a regular match. Brody looks like an absolute monster in defeat while Swerve proves he could beat the monster on this night. ****1/4

AEW World Trios Championship Match: ProtoShida and Mark Davis (c) vs. Mistico and JetSpeed at AEW Revolution 2026: A super fun and action-filled match. We get some nice early exchanges before the babyfaces try to pick up the pace, only for the heels to cut them off and isolate Knight. Some nice heat by the heels before Knight makes the tag and the pace picks up. Lots of great back and forth action from everyone involved including Okada going at it with Mistico! Babyfaces take over with some big apron spots and Bailey hits a Shooting Star Press on Fletcher for a nice near-fall. Heels try to use a chair and one of the belts but it is thwarted and Bailey hits Fletcher with Ultimo Weapon but Davis makes the save. Davis runs wild and starts laying out everyone with big bombs and piledrivers! Some more back and forth action until Fletcher goes for the Turnbuckle Brainbuster on Knight but is stopped by Mistico. La Mistica on Fletcher has him trapped! Davis runs in to make the save but eats a Superkick by Bailey. Knight off the top with a UFO Splash over Mistico and Fletcher onto Davis! 3 count and we have new champions! Super fun match with a ton of wild action and spots. Very little on storytelling but I did enjoy Knight getting the win for this team after being the "weak link" in the match when his team lost the titles. ****

Andrade El Idolo vs. Bandido at AEW Revolution 2026: A super fun, fast paced and exciting match of power vs. speed. Some quick exchanges to start off the match before Bandido tries to toy with Andrade by ripping his pants off like Andrade does. But Bandido gets tied up and Andrade kicks him in the face. Great coverage for a botch right there. Match becomes a back and forth battle with Andrade using more of his power and strikes to counter Bandido's speed and agility. Awesome sequences and counters from both men all match that showed off how great they both are. Andrade is able to sweep Bandido's leg from under him when going for a big German off the second ropes and takes over and starts laying in some big offense. Double Knees in the corner and Andrade looks for the Hammerlock DDT but Bandido cradles him for a nice near-fall. Now it is Bandido's turn to run wild with a Moonsault Slam off the top and an X-Knee! Bandido goes for the 21-Plex but Andrade is there with a brutal back elbow! DM by Andrade is countered into a stiff looking rolling heel kick by Bandido! Andrade is out and Bandido hits the 21-Plex by lifting Andrade while he is flat on the mat! Holy Shit! X-Knee again and Bandido goes for the 21-Plex! Andrade lands on his feet and hits Bandido with another back elbow! DM by Andrade from Bret's rope finally puts Bandido away. What a match! A perfect showing of speed, power and agility by both men while still working some nice storytelling in. Bandido looked to have the match won but Andrade was able to counter at the right time to finish him off. ****

Texas Death Match for the AEW World Championship: MJF (c) vs. Adam Page at AEW Revolution 2026: An incredibly violent and brutal war between these two rivals. We start off hot with both men going at it with strikes before MJF tries to run off. Page brawls with MJF in the crowd for a bit before getting back to ringside. MJF tries to wrestle a standard match with Page but Hangman wants violence and breaks out the weapons to clock MJF with a trash can lid. A staple gun, broken glass and barbed wire all come out as well and MJF is pouring blood already! Page takes too long with a table and MJF trips him into a chair and attacks Page with a piece of glass to bust him open! MJF starts to get violent now as he slams Page into the glass and attacks with a chair. Brutal callback to Page's feud with Swerve as MJF stabs Page's mouth with a fucking syringe! Jesus! MJF looks to drill Page with a chair but Page blocks it and uses the chair himself before getting out a barbed wire wrapped chair! Some brutal spots with the chair for both men including a Dead Eye from Page. MJF avoids a Moonsault to the outside and chucks a chair at Page's head! Tombstone on the apron is reversed and Page Dead Eyes MJF off the apron through a table! MJF makes it up at 9 so Page goes for a second one but this time MJF reverses him and hits a Tombstone off the apron through another table! Good Lord! Both men make it to their feet and grab light tubes! MJF tries to flee again but Page stops him and breaks both light tubes over MJF's back and head! Back in the ring, Page stabs MJF with skewers and nails a Buckshot Lariat! MJF still manages to get to his feet though. Page attaches himself and MJF with a dog collar as a callback to MJF's match from 4 years ago. Page takes too long putting barbed wire on a table and MJF recovers to pull him off Bret's rope to the floor and through the barbed wire and table! Hangman still makes it to his feet as MJF drags him to the stage. The two trade blows before Page grabs MJF and sends both crashing off the stage into the electrical equipment that explodes! Jesus Christ! Both men still make it up at 9 as Page dog walks MJF back to the ring. Buckshot Lariat by Page but MJF kicks him low! MJF grabs the belt and clocks Page with it. But Page yet again makes it up at 9! Low blow by Page and he nails MJF with the belt! Page looks for one last Buckshot but MJF hits him with the Diamond Ring! Page falls off the apron and MJF chokes him with the dog collar! Page collapses and the referee counts to 10! MJF has retained and Page can no longer challenge for the World Title! Holy Fuck! What a war this was! Violent, brutal and bloody! These two did everything they could to each other to keep the other down. All the callbacks to past feuds were so well done and the finish was brilliant with MJF using the Diamond Ring that he originally won from Page, to hit Page and choke out him with the dog collar that was used in the Punk match, in the same way that Page beat Moxley. A fucking plus booking! *****

New Japan Cup 2026 Quarter Final Match: Shingo Takagi vs. Yuya Uemura at NJPW New Japan Cup 2026 Night 9: An excellent battle of technical wrestling vs. power. We start off with some nice mat wrestling with Yuya having the clear edge in that department. Shingo starts to utilize his power to dish out some big strikes and offense to take over but Yuya is quick to start going after the left arm to take things back to a wrestling match. Shingo does a nice job selling the arm as Yuya works it over but the tide turns when Shingo is able to counter a headlock into a brutal looking Backdrop Suplex. Shingo starts bombing on Yuya as looks to finish him off but when Shingo goes for a Pumping Bomber, Yuya is able to block it and goes to work on the right arm now. Some really good back and forth action as Yuya continues to work on both arms of Shingo while Shingo tries to fight through the pain to hammer Yuya into the ground. Yuya looks for the Deadbolt Suplex but Shingo fights to free his right arm and levels Yuya with a Pumping Bomber. Burning Dragon gets Shingo a nice near-fall but when he goes for Last of the Dragon, Yuya is able to fight out and locks Shingo in a Triangle Choke. Shingo is able to power Yuya up for a powerbomb but Yuya smoothly slides out and nails the Deadbolt Suplex! Yuya goes to the top, only for Shingo to cut him off and looks for a big top rope offense but Yuya fights him off to hit a sunset flip powerbomb. High Fly Flow by Yuya only gets a 2 count but Yuya transitions right into a Kimura! Yuya once again looks for the Deadbolt Suplex as Shingo tries to Lariat is way free. Yuya catches the arm and headbutts Shingo to rattle him and finally hits the Deadbolt Suplex for the win! Excellent match with Yuya smartly looking to go after Shingo's arms to set up for his submission work and finisher while also going after Shingo's power. Great job by Shingo selling the damage done to his arms while still fighting to survive and trying to hammer Yuya into defeat and even having Yuya's Deadbolt well scouted. However, Yuya was able to stick to his game plan and get a win for the first time over Shingo. ****1/4

New Japan Cup 2026 Quarter Final Match: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shota Umino at NJPW New Japan Cup 2026 Night 10: Another really good power vs. technical wrestling match from these rivals. We start off fast with some quick roll-up attempts by  both men with Shota almost stealing a win on Sabre. Match slows for a bit with each man feeling each other out before Sabre starts his trademark strategy of trying to pick apart his opponent, starting with Shota's head and neck. Shota is able to fight back with a trio of DDTs: one in the ring, apron and then on the floor to take over. Shota looks to rock Sabre with strikes and hit big bombs to get the win and works over Sabre for a bit before Sabre goes after Shota's right arm. Some nice submissions by Sabre while Shota sells the damage well but still tries to fight back. A very back and forth flow from there as Shota looks to hit big bombs while Sabre keeps going to arm and trying to submit Shota. Some nice spots like Shota hitting a Zack Driver to cut off Sabre, only for Sabre to come back with a Zack Driver on his own for a near-fall. Lots of back and forth strikes and exchanges before Sabre looks for another Zack Driver but Shota counters with a DDT. Big Lariat by Shota and he finishes Sabre with Second Chapter for the win. A really good match with both guys having great gameplans to get the win here. Shota wasn't pulled into working a Sabre style match and instead stayed focused on hitting big offense to get the win. ****

#1 Contendership Match for the AEW World Championship: Swerve Strickland vs. Kenny Omega at AEW Dynamite 3/25: A really good back and forth match between these two. Prince Nana grabs at Omega's leg during the opening lock-up and Swerve immediately takes over on Omega and works him over. Omega is able to fight back by using his speed and quick offense and that becomes the story of the match: Swerve looking to pick apart Omega and be violent and ruthless while Omega looks to push the pace and land big shots. Some really good back and forth action with Omega looking to have the edge in a straight up match as he nails a pair of Snap Dragon Suplexes. Omega looks for a Snap Dragon on the apron but Swerve low blows him to cut him off and piledrives him on the barricade! Swerve looks for a count-out, only for Omega to make it back in the ring and start a comeback but it is cut off by a House Call. Swerve Stomp by Swerve but only gets a 2 count. Swerve gets frustrated and looks for a V-Trigger but Omega stops him with one of his own. Omega looks for the One-Winged Angel but Swerve goes to the eyes and slips out to hit a Cop Killa! Only 2 again! Swerve is livid! Swerve looks for another Swerve Stomp but Omega moves out the way. A pair of V-Triggers by Omega rocks Swerve before a  One-Winged Angel finishes it. Really good TV match. I enjoyed the very even back and forth flow of the match as well as Omega needing to almost spam V-Triggers to keep Swerve on the ropes and get the win. ****

No Count-Outs Match: Darby Allin vs. Rush at AEW Dynamite 3/25: A fast paced and vicious match. Rush jumps Darby from the start and brawls around ringside with him. Rush tosses Darby around into the guardrail and into the steps for an insane bump up and over and into the guardrail! Darby gets busted open by Rush but still fights back before going for a dive, only for Rush to move out the way as Darby crashes and burns! Good Lord! Match finally gets in the ring as Rush continues to stomp and work over Darby. Rush gets cocky and starts to toy and mock Darby, who jumps Rush and starts hammering him with fists! Rush rolls out the ring to recover but Darby crashes into him with a big dive! Darby is swinging away and hitting Rush with everything he has as Rush takes every shot and fires back as well. Code Red by Darby gets a near-fall, only for Rush to belly to belly Darby into the corner. Rush looks for the Bull's Horns, but Darby moves out the way. A roll-up by Darby and he steals the win! I loved this! Rush looks like a beast as he beats the holy hell out of Darby all match. Darby came back time and time again and kept fighting back and was eventually able to out-wrestle the brawling Rush to get the win out of nowhere. ****

New Japan Cup 2026 Semi-Final Match: Yuya Uemura vs. Oleg Boltin at NJPW New Japan Cup 2026 Night 11: A really great technical wrestling match as well as a solid power vs. speed match. Some quick back and forth mat wrestling in the early goings with both men showing their skills. Oleg starts using his power to manhandle Yuya more easily and Yuya responds by going after the left arm of Oleg with a Kimura. Nice strategy by Yuya who sticks and moves against the bigger man and goes back to the arm every chance he gets while Oleg sells nicely but still is able to pull off some big power offense. A Boltin Bomb by Oleg, only for Yuya to immediately lock in a Kimura on the kick-out. Yuya tries to transition into a Deadbolt Suplex but Oleg fights out and lifts Yuya for a Kamikaze for a near-fall. Back and forth exchanges of strikes and offense with Oleg still looking in control. Yuya tries for some quick roll-ups before using Oleg's own momentum against him to hit a Dragon Suplex for a near-fall. Deadbolt Suplex attempted again but Oleg just tosses Yuya across the ring! A big powerbomb out the corner and The Verdict by Oleg only get a 2 count for him. Oleg looks for a Kamikaze but Yuya grabs the ropes to block it and Oleg takes him up top. Oleg looks for a Bret's rope Kamikaze but Yuya counters with a Hurricanrana! Yuya, yet again, looks for the Deadbolt Suplex but Oleg Lariats him to block it. Yuya comes back with a headbutt and catches Oleg's arm when he tries to Lariat him again. Deadbolt Suplex by Yuya as he just muscles Oleg up and over for it! High Crossbody by Yuya to a standing Oleg, who gets back up! A second High Crossbody gets Oleg down and Yuya gets the 3! Great match. A perfect match that told the story of the smaller but faster man being able to use strategy to out-work the bigger man and get the win. Very good stuff! ****

New Japan Cup 2026 Semi-Final Match: Shota Umino vs. Callum Newman at NJPW New Japan Cup 2026 Night 11: A really good battle of the classic babyface vs. the arrogant young heel. Newman tries to stall early but it doesn't take long for Shota to get him in the ring and starts going at it. Newman is able to out-speed Shota to take over and continues to toy with Shota to frustrate him, but he keeps coming back with some powerful strikes to stay alive in the match. Newman targets Shota's injured right arm to try and take away some of his power but Shota isn't slowing down as he takes over with a Tornado DDT and a DDT on the apron. Newman continues to mock Shota and gets dropkicked over the guardrail, a knee in the face and a DDT on the floor for his troubles. Shota looks to end things but Newman is able to hit the gas and pick up the pace to land some quick shots before powerbombing Shota out the ring through a pair of tables! Holy Shit! Shota manages to beat the count but Newman locks in a Kimura to go back to the arm. Shota fights his way to the ropes to break the hold but Newman looks like he is ready to end things. Newman goes for Kiss the Crown but Shota fires back with some shots. Shota looks for a Lariat but Newman hits Kiss the Crown! 2 count! Newman goes for Prince's Curse but Shota counters with a DDT! Poison Rana by Shota and a thunderous Lariat for a near-fall! Shota looks for Second Chapter but Newman slips behind and pushes him into the referee. Low blow by Newman! Kiss the Crown! 1...2... Kickout! Newman goes for Prince's Curse but Shota cradles him! Kickout and Newman rolls right into Prince's Curse to get the win! A very slow start to a long match but things picked up in a big way the last 10-15 minutes. Some amazing back and forth and exciting near-falls for both men. Newman is able to cheat to get the win over Shota, who goes down fighting. ****

New Japan Cup 2026 Final Match: Yuya Uemura vs. Callum Newman at NJPW New Japan Cup 2026 Night 12: An excellent final match to the tournament. Both men come in banged up, hurting and taped up so they start off slow with some mat wrestling and trading holds. Newman fires off a kick to Yuya's knee, which he sells perfectly and shows just how beat up he is. Small moment but I just loved it. Yuya goes for his classic strategy for the match: armdrag Newman and work the left arm. Newman does a great job selling while trying to find ways to fight back on Yuya. Opening comes when Yuya misses a crossbody and hurts his already damaged right arm and Newman is all over it as he stomps and works on the right arm while still hitting some big shots. Awesome job by Yuya fighting back though and keeps going back to the left arm of Newman after every kick-out. Lots of back and forth counter for counter wrestling from both men and some close near-falls. Zane Jay tries to interfere for Newman but is quickly taken out by Yuya. Newman is however, able to block a Deadbolt Suplex and shoves PYuya into the referee to nail a low blow. Prince's Curse by Newman but only gets a 2. Newman hits Kiss the Crown and Prince's Curse again but Yuya still kicks out! Newman takes too long following up and Yuya starts to fight back with a German Suplex and a Dragon Suplex. Yuya finally is able to hit the Deadbolt Suplex and follows up with a High Fly Flow to a standing Newman. Yuya looks for one final High Fly Flow but Newman catches him with a Superkick in mid-air! Newman lifts up a fighting Yuya and hits MAKE WAY to get the win! An incredible match from two talented young wrestlers. Yuya masterfully worked his style of match the whole time and had Newman on the ropes multiple times but Newman was able to take shortcuts at the right moments to stay alive. In the end, Newman was able to counter at the right time to get the win on his own. ****1/2