Top Matches I Watched in May 2022
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: El Desperado (c) vs. Taiji Ishimori at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2022: A well done wrestling match. Ishimori goes right after Desperado's hurt shoulder and picks apart the champion. Desperado fights back and goes to the knee of Ishimori to even the match up. Both men work over the other's limbs while at the same time selling their hurt body parts. Great back and forth action before Ishimori is able to lock in the Bone Lock deep and forces Desperado to tap out. Great stuff! ****
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2022: What a war! Tanahashi starts off flashy and Ishii is quick to start dishing out hard strikes. Tanahashi is out-matched by Ishii's power and goes for the legs to take him off his feet. Great back and forth action as both men try to beat the other in their own game: Ishii trying to out-wrestle Tanahashi and Tanahashi throwing bombs at Ishii. Lots of great near-falls before Tanahashi is able to rock Ishii and nails a pair of High Fly Flows to end things. Awesome match! ****1/2
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2022: Another great match from these two rivals. Match starts off slow and steady before Naito turns up the intensity and takes the fight to Okada and targets his neck. Okada fights back and tries to keep the match in his wheelhouse and his style. Great back and forth action as both go for their best shots and keep countering their opponent, Naito even breaking out the Stardust Press as a Hail Mary but fails. The two go back to throwing shots at each other and Naito goes for the killing blow but Okada counters with an Inoki Enzuigiri and a Misawa Emerald Flowson before ending the match with a Rainmaker! Naito wrestled an all but perfect match but Okada is still the better man. ****1/4
GHC Heavyweight Championship Match: Go Shiozaki vs. Kaito Kiyomiya at Pro Wrestling NOAH Majestic 2022: A great battle between mentor/veteran and student/young star. Kiyomiya starts off hot and looks to take the fight to the stronger Shiozaki and tries to wrestle him. Shiozaki plays the role of the hammer and just batters Kiyomiya with hard strikes and power moves and looks to overwhelm the younger man. Kiyomiya keeps fighting back and tries to prove his toughness and is able to take a beating while giving it back just as hard. In the end, Shiozaki is too much and one final Lariat puts down Kiyomiya. ****1/4
Seth Rollins vs. Cody Rhodes at WWE Wrestlemania Backlash 2022: A good back and forth match. Rollins is able to out-wrestle Cody early on and has all his best offense scounted. Cody gets heated and starts trying to fight Rollins which allows Rollins to sucker him in and takes over. Cody keeps fighting from underneath and the match eventually develops into a back and forth match as both start throwing their best shots at the other. Lots of back and forth counters before Rollins tries to cheat to win on a roll-up but Cody counters into one of his own and steals a win. ****
Drew McIntyre and RK-Bro vs. The Bloodline at WWE Wrestlemania Backlash 2022: A great 6 man tag. A nice basic start with each of the babyfaces gets a chance to shine before Riddle is cut off by The Usos. Nice heat segment before Drew gets the hot tag and runs wild, but Roman cuts him off! Drew gets worked over before we get another hot tag to Orton. The match breaks down into a great back and forth as everyone runs wild and we get a ton of great action! It comes down to Riddle and Jey in the ring as Riddle hits an RKO off the top! But Roman made the blind tag! Spear ends it! What a wild ride of a match! ****
Open the Dream Gate Championship: KAI (c) vs Susumu Yokosuka at Dragon Gate Dead or Alive 2022: A good heated match. Susumu comes out swinging with the Jumbo Lariat to take out KAI quickly. Susumu misses a Lariat and hits the ring post, which gives KAI an opening to work over his arm. Susumu has to keep fighting back with his best weapon compromised. He goes after KAI's legs to try and weaken him and at the same time keeps trying to throw Lariats to try and take him down. KAI keeps up the attacks and mocks Susumu, even destroying the necklace of his retired teammate, K-Ness. Susumu is pissed and throws bombs at KAI to put him away but KAI is able to outlast Susumu's attack and lands a series of big moves before ending it with Metetor Impact KAI to end it. Susumu has to leave Natural Vibes and is Susumu Yokosuka no more. ****
Impact X-Division Championship Match: Ace Austin (c) vs. Trey Miguel at Impact Wrestling Under Siege 2022: This was a very good match. Miguel had the advantage in terms of speed and agility but Austin was able to use his mind to scout Miguel and keep countering him. A great back and forth match with both men playing their roles perfectly. Miguel is able to keep the momentum on his side and looks to end it but misses a Meteora and hurts his knee. Austin is quick to take advantage and nails The Fold to finish it. ****
Impact World Championship Match: Josh Alexander (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii at Impact Wrestling Under Siege 2022: A hard hitting Hoss fight. Both men come out swinging and throwing hard strikes. Ishii is clearly the more powerful man and Josh has to try to use his wrestling from time to time to try and get Ishii down and work him over. Lots of back and forth action as both men try their best to land that one big shot to keep the other down. In the end, Josh is able to rock Ishii long enough to hit a C4 and get the win. ****
Loser Leaves NXT UK Match for the NXT United Kingdom Championship: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Jordan Devlin at NXT 5/12/22: A very good back and forth match. Ilja starts off hot and is able to toss around Devlin early on before Devlin is able to hit a huge Brainbuster onto the turnbuckle! Ilja's neck becomes Devlin's target as he works over the champion. Ilja keeps fighting back and trying to battle through the pain in his neck. Devlin is able to hit the Devlin Driver and gets the 3?! But Ilja had his foot on the ropes! The match is restarted! These two throw everything they have at each other as they try to end it but Ilja is able to weather the storm and finish Devlin with a Torpedo Moscow to retain! Very good stuff! ****
Eddie Kingston vs. Tomohiro Ishii at NJPW Capital Collision: A hard hitting fight between these two. Kingston comes in trying to prove he is as tough as Ishii and fights his style of match. Ishii is able to withstand Kingston's attacks and dish out even harder blows. Kingston switches up his plan and tries to go after the arm of Ishii to take away his strength. When this fails as well, Kingston goes out on his shield and tries to throw bombs at Ishii to put him down. Awesome back and forth before Ishii is finally able to finish off Kingston. ****
Four Way Match for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Jon Moxley vs. Juice Robinson vs. Will Ospreay at NJPW Capital Collision: A crazy action filled match with everyone playing their roles perfectly: Tanahashi the valent fighting champion, Moxley the brawler, Ospreay the opportunist and Juice the wild man looking to cheat and use weapons at every opportunity. Lots of great action, storyline moments and near-falls from everyone. Crowd was very into this match. Tanahashi and Moxley take each other out, which allows Juice to hit a low blow on Ospreay and take him out to win the championship. ****1/4
Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament First Round Match: Rey Fenix vs. Kyle O'Reilly at AEW Dynamite 5/18/22: A great battle of styles. Fenix comes in hot and looks to use his speed while Kyle goes right after the previously injured left arm of Fenix. Great back and forth action with some great selling. Loved seeing Fenix having to be more creative with his offense to counter the better wrestler, Kyle. Fenix gets rolling but is caught in an armbar by Kyle! He tries to block it but Kyle gets it fully locked in and Fenix has to tap. Great stuff! ****
Swerve Strickland vs. Ricky Starks vs. Jungle Boy at AEW Dynamite 5/25/2022: A fast paced, action filled 3 way match. Lots of great counters and sequences with all three men. Match does a great job keeping everyone in the ring and involved in the action. Loved Starks trying to pick his spot to steal the win, Swerve using his agility to duck out of his opponent's offense and Jungle Boy trying to prove himself. Great and simple story-telling. Swerve is able to break up the Snare Trap to take out Jungle Boy before hitting the Swerve Stomp on Starks for the win. ****
Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament Semi-Final Match: Samoa Joe vs. Kyle O'Reilly at AEW Dynamite 5/25/2022: A good match between two technical wrestlers. Joe looks to use his power early to manhandle Kyle and toss him around. Kyle starts to pick at Joe's body parts to open him up and go after his hurt left arm. Joe sells nicely as Kyle works him over, all the while Joe keeps fighting back. Joe's power comes back into play as he smashes Kyle with hard, stiff strikes. Joe is able to counter Kyle on a roll-up and gets the choke in. Kyle tries to fight it off by going after the left arm but Joe is able to keep the choke on with his one good arm and Kyle passes out. Excellent pro wrestling! ****
Best of the Super Junior 29 Block B Match: El Desperado vs. Wheeler Yuta at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 29 Night 6: A good back and forth battle. Yuta is able to out wrestle Desperado early on and looks to target the arm. Desperado is quick to change up the pace by bending the rules, taking cheap shots and going after Yuta's knee. Nice selling by Yuta as he is worked over but continues to fight back. The match switches back and forth as both men target the hurt body part of their opponent. Yuta looks to maybe have Desperado out-wrestled and put away but Desperado is able to counter a pinning attempt into Pinche Loco to end it. ****
Death Triangle vs. The House of Black at AEW Double or Nothing 2022: A great, action-filled trios match. Lots of great back and forth exchanges as Death Triangle uses their speed and agility and House of Black uses their power and strikes. Lucha Brothers take out Brody and Matthews leaving PAC to get his revenge on Black. But as PAC goes for the killing blow, Julia Hart sprays mist into PAC's face allowing Black to hit Black Mass and get the win. ****
Anarchy in the Arena Match: The Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston, Ortiz and Santana at AEW Double or Nothing 2022: An all out war! Everyone battles throughout the entire arena and feels like a legit fight! Chairs, ladders, tables, barbed wire and lots of blood and violence! Danielson tries to tap out Jericho when Kingston tries to burn Jericho with fire! Danielson and Kingston go at it and Jericho and Hager are able to take them out. Danielson tries to fight both off but Hager takes out his leg. Jericho locks in a half crab as Hager chokes him with the ring rope and Danielson passes out. Awesome match! ****1/2
Three Way Match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship: Jurassic Express (c) vs. Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland vs. Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs at AEW Double or Nothing 2022: A fun battle between these three teams. Lots of back and forth action, exchanges, near-falls and teamwork from everyone involved. Each team got a chance to shine and get some big near-falls before Jungle Boy and Swerve go at it and Luchasaur is able to grab Swerve and hit their double team finisher to get the win. ****
AEW World Championship Match: Adam Page (c) vs. CM Punk at AEW Double or Nothing 2022: A real physical and heated battle. Both Page and Punk go at it with heated lock-ups and stiff strikes to the other. Page is able to get the edge in terms of power and strikes while Punk is able to out-wrestle the champion. Great back and forth action before Page goes for a moonsault and hurts his knee. Both men go for killing blows but Page's knee prevents him from capitalizing while Punk's body seems to be failing him. The referee is taken out and Page goes to use the championship belt but he can't do it. He goes for the Buckshot but Punk counters and hits the GTS to get the win! Page said he would do anything to stop Punk but in the end, he couldn't. New champion! ****1/4
Best of the Super Junior 29 Block B Match: El Desperado vs. El Lindaman at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 29 Night 7: This was a very fun back and forth match. Lindaman starts off hot and takes the fight to Desperado with quick strikes and some high flying before settling down and going after Desperado's arm and using his power to wear him down. Desperado goes after the knee of Lindaman to slow him down, take away his strength and set up for Numero Dos. Nice back and forth action all match as Lindaman keeps having to dig deep to withstand the superior wrestling of Desperado. Lindaman is able to survive Numero Dos and counter Pinche Loco before hitting a Tiger Suplex out of nowhere for the win! Huge upset! ****
Commentaires