Top Matches I Watched in May 2023

Top Matches I Watched in May 2023

By Alex Kalil

WOW! May continues the trend of 2023 being an amazing year for pro wrestling! Over 30 matches from this month alone! NJPW is fully back with a great PPV and a really good Best of the Super Junior. WWE continues their trend of great PPVS. AEW had great matches all match topped off by Anarchy in the Arena being a Must-See-Match. NOAH, Dragon Gate and Impact also make the list this month. We will be looking back at 2023 in 10 years and being jealous of all the great wrestling this year.

JD McDonagh vs. Dragon Lee at NXT 5/2/23: An all out-fight between these two. Lots of great back and forth action all match as both men throw their bests at each other all match and leave nothing on the table. Some nice heel work by JD going after the mask of Dragon Lee at one point and trying for a sneaky count-out win. Dragon Lee is able to fight back from JD's offense and hit a big Canadian Destroyer only for JD to roll to the floor. Dragon Lee follows and rolls him in but a brief distraction by Noam Dar buys JD enough time to recover and nail Dragon Lee with a headbutt. JD hits the Devil Inside and gets the win in a very fun match. ****

NJPW World Television Championship Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Jeff Cobb at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2023: A really good storytelling match of Sabre being unprepared to battle Cobb. Right at the bell, it is clear that Sabre can't work his normal style against the power and size of Cobb and tries to find any holes in his armor. Cobb meanwhile tosses Sabre around with ease and controls the pace of the match. Some of Cobb's flashier moves gives Sabre an opening to work on his knees but Cobb is quick to cut him off. As time runs out, Sabre tries for any hold or pin he can pull off to keep Cobb but the challenger is just too powerful while Cobb can't seem to hold on to Sabre long enough to get the pin. Time runs out and the match is a draw with Sabre retaining but both men know that Cobb had this match under his control. Good setup for a rematch. ****

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship Match: Strong Style (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2023: A really great trios match that highlighted all six men involved. Tanahashi and Suzuki start off and revisit their past feud before Strong Style is able to work over Tanahashi for a bit only for Okada to come in and be the difference maker. Okada and Narita go at it and Okada is quick to put the young wrestler in his place. Tanahashi is eventually isolated by the champions only for Ishii to get the hot tag and trade bombs with Desperado. Narita and Okada go at it again and this time Narita is able to hold his own for a few before Okada's team is able to triple team the young wrestler. Okada ends it with a Rainmaker and we have new champions. Great stuff! ****

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: SANADA (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2023: A fun match between the former friends turned rivals. Hiromu is able to start off quick and use his speed to catch SANADA off guard. A crazy dropkick on the floor by Hiromu hurts his neck and gives SANADA a target. The champion starts to go after the neck and work him over to set up for Skull End and Deadfall. Hiromu does a nice job of fighting back and staying alive by surprising SANADA with some big bombs. Some nice back and forth all match from these two with Hiromu gaining more and more ground and being unwilling to back down but he doesn't have the strength needed to put away the champion. SANADA is able to lock in Skull End to wear down Hiromu and survives a last burst of energy by the smaller man before Deadfall ends it. ****

San Juan Street Fight: Bad Bunny vs. Damien Priest at WWE Backlash 2023: This was a wild and super fun brawl. Priest easily controls Bunny with his size and power early so Bunny needed to keep using weapons to get any advantage. Priest is able to still dominate over Bunny and even takes the fight to the floor and puts Bunny through a table for a huge spot. Back ringside, Priest misses a kick and hits the ring post hurting his leg and giving Bunny an opening. Bunny is all over the leg attacking it with strikes and more weapons. Judgement Day runs in to help Priest but are run off by Rey Mysterio, Carlito, Savio Vega and the LWO for huge pops! Bunny is able to keep after the leg of Priest before a Canadian Destroyer ends it. ****

Open the Dream Gate Championship Match: Shun Skywalker (c) vs. Madoka Kikuta at Dragon Gate Dead or Alive 2023: A good storytelling match. Kikuta comes in banged up against the champion, who had previously injured him. Kikuta starts off hot looking to overwhelm Skywalker with his power but Skywalker is quick to go after the hurt shoulder. Nice heel work by Skywalker as he punishes Kikuta's shoulder and looks to neutralize his power and strength but Kikuta won't give up. He keeps firing back and trying to fight through the pain. A hip attack by Kikuta is caught by Skywalker into a beautiful SSW but Kikuta kicks out at 1! Skywalker looks to unleash his normal offense to put down the challenger but Kikuta won't give in and blocks a second SSW with headbutts. A snap piledriver by Kikuta gives him control and he starts to bomb Skywalker with Rolling Lariats before a third finally puts down the champion for the win. A big moment for Kikuta and redemption against the man that injured him. ****

Double Jeopardy Match: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Rey Fenix at AEW Dynamite 5/10/23: A perfect high flyer vs. powerhouse match. Fenix looks to use his quickness and high flying abilities on Claudio, who looks to grab hold of Fenix and just toss him around. Some great back and forth action before Claudio catches Fenix on a dive for a Press Slam into the guardrail. From there, Claudio looks to just use pure brute strength to punish Fenix, who does a nice job fighting to stay alive and getting some nice hope spots in. Fenix is able to counter some of Claudio's bigger power moves but can't keep the bigger man down. Fenix tries to use his own impressive strength for a Fenix Driver but Claudio is able to fight out of it and elbow Fenix into oblivion before a Ricola Bombs ends it. Fenix was able to stick and move all match but the second he tried to match power with Claudio, it was over. Great stuff. ****

AEW International Championship Match: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Daniel Garcia at AEW Dynamite 5/10/23: A great pro wrestling match! Cassidy comes in banged up from his past defenses and starts out working a more mat based style to try and catch Garcia off guard. Garcia is able to quickly start targeting pieces of Cassiy's offense one by one. First the hand to take away the Orange Punch, the back to take away his power and then the knee to slow the man down. Cassidy has to continually fight for any kind of opening or chance of winning by just throwing one big shot after another in the hopes of staying alive. Cassidy goes for the Orange Punch at last but his knee gives out. Garcia locks in the Dragon Tamer but Cassidy fights out of it. Garcia transitions into a Triangle and then a LeBell Lock while stomping the right hand in a gorgeous display of wrestling! Cassidy is able to roll through for a cradle for a near-fall. Cassidy holds on and rolls into another cradle and hooks it deep to get the pin! Cassidy was able to just barely out-wrestle Garcia to survive and get the win. ****

Steel Cage Match: Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley at AEW Dynamite 5/10/23: A violent and bloody match. The two men start off brawling on the floor before the match even starts. Once in the ring, these two up the violence by using a barbed wire wrapped chair that busts open Moxley and cuts up both men's backs. Moxley tears the ring apart to fishhook Omega with the turnbuckle and choke him with the ring ropes. Moxley introduces broken glass to the match but ends up getting dropped back first into the glass! Omega fires up and starts to nail Snap Dragon Suplexes on Moxley and then V-Triggers him through the cage! Omega gets caught between the apron and cage and hurts his knee which gives Moxley time to recover and take back over. Moxley goes to use the screwdriver on Omega but Don Callis stops him! V-Trigger and Ripcord Knee by Omega. One-Winged Angel on Moxley! Callis stabs Omega with the screwdriver! WHAT THE HELL?! Moxley gets the pin and the win. What a fight! And what a betrayal! ****1/4

ROH Women's World Championship Match: Athena (c) vs. Skye Blue at ROH on HonorClub 5/11/23: A really fun and perfectly booked heel vs. face match. Athena rocks Skye right at the bell before the two settle into some nice back and forth action with Skye matching Athena's agility. Athena gets annoyed by this and just starts beating the hell out of the young wrestler. Skye does a great job of staying alive and getting some nice hope spots in by trying to roll-up Athena and get the upset win but Athena isn't having it. Athena starts to toy with Skye and mocks her by using her own move only for Skye to respond with an O-Face from Bret's rope! Athena rolls to the floor and is able to catch Skye on the top and hit a powerbomb onto the steel steps. Back in the ring, Athena with her lungblower but only gets a 1! Skye tries for another roll-up but Athena counters into a crossface. Skye fights to the ropes but Athena rolls her back to the center and she has to tap. Great showing from both women! ****

GHC Heavyweight Championship Match: Jake Lee (c) vs. Naomichi Marufuji at Pro Wrestling NOAH Majestic 2023: A good wrestling match with a well told story. Lee comes in as the dominant champion with a clear size and power advantage. Meanwhile, Marufuji has to use his experience and speed to try and pick apart the larger champion. Marufuji is able to use his lightning quick strikes and wrestling skills to put Lee on the ropes and get some nice near-falls but he doesn't have the power to keep the big man down. Lee is finally able to counter Marufuji's strikes with a big knee of his own. This gives Lee a big enough opening to drop Marufuji with a Backdrop Suplex, another knee and a big boot to put down the relisiate challenger. ****

Best of the Super Junior 30 Block A Match: Hiromu Takahashi vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 30 Night 1: A really good back and forth match. The two men are almost evenly matched with Bailey having the advantage with his speed and strikes while Hiromu has the power advantage. Hiromu is able to control early on by taking more risk and throwing his body at Bailey with reckless abandon. Bailey is able to keep firing back with his powerful kicks. Lots of good near-falls for both men before Hiromu tries to bomb on Bailey with strikes but Bailey is able to block them and land a series of his own strikes before Ultimo Weapon gets him the win. ****

Fight Without Honor: The Kingdom vs. Action Andretti and Darius Martin at ROH on HonorClub 5/18/23: A very fun and violent match. Kingdom tries to jump Andretti at the ramp but Darius comes up from behind for the babyfaces to get the hot start. The babyfaces introduce chairs, trash cans, ladders and all manner of weapons to take the fight to The Kingdom. Maria helps provide a distraction to give The Kingdom an opening to take over and use their size advantage to toss around the smaller babyfaces. We get some good back and forth going as Andretti and Darius fight back with their high flying and quick offense while Kingdom tries to isolate and punish them. Bennett takes out Maria by accident which allows Andretti and Darius to take out Taven. Andretti and Darius use the Briscoe Doomsday Device to finish Bennett and get the win. Great heated match that helped get the young babyfaces to that next level. ****

Best of the Super Junior 30 Block B Match: Robbie Eagles vs. Francesco Akira at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 30 Night 3: A very fun back and forth match up. Eagles starts off fast and quick for the early advantage but Akira is able to go for a more mat based wrestling style and slow the man down. Eagles is able to fight back by going to the knee and looking for the Ron Miller Special. Some excellent back and forth wrestling from both men even as Akira is starting to slow due to his hurt knee. Eagles goes for the 450 on the knee but Akira rolls out of the way and hits Fireball to get the win. A good match that built to an exciting finish. ****

Best of the Super Junior 30 Block A Match: TJP vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 30 Night 3: A super fun back and forth match between a high flyer and wrestler. TJP looks to mat-wrestle and pick apart Bailey's limbs while Bailey uses his quick strikes and high flying offense to keep TJP on his toes. Some great back and forth exchanges with both men adding little twists to counter each other as they had their opponent well scouted. TJP tries to go high risk for a killing blow but misses; allowing Bailey to nail his Tornado Kick right as he gets to his feet. Beautiful! A Flamingo Driver gets Bailey the win. ****

Best of the Super Junior 30 Block A Match: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Lio Rush at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 30 Night 3: A good battle between the power of Hiromu and the speed of Lio. At the bell, Lio uses his quickness to avoid Hiromu; only to get fancy and get dropped back first on a chair! From there, Hiromu is all over Lio with targeted attacks to his back. Lio fights to stay alive with his unique style of offense and is able to rock Hiromu a couple of times. Lio is able to keep on Hiromu before finally knocking Hiromu from the top and nailing Final Hour and getting the upset win. ****

Best of the Super Junior 30 Block B Match: El Desperado vs. YOH at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 30 Night 5: A good heated match between these two. YOH starts off with his odd and mocking style to agitate Desperado before going after the knee. YOH works Desperado very well all the while mocking and teasing the masked man. Desperado responds by going after the knee of YOH as well to even the match up. Both men start looking for their signature submissions with no luck so they start looking for the bigger offensive moves. Desperado looks to end things only for YOH to give him a playful kiss on the head and then blast him with a knee. A Direct Driver gives YOH the win after his bizarre antics left Desperado open for it. Good stuff. ****

Best of the Super Junior 30 Block A Match: Taiji Ishimori vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 30 Night 7: A very good back and forth match. Ishimori has a game plan all match: duck and avoid Bailey's quick strikes and go after the shoulder. Bailey tries to stick to his usual match style but Ishimori has him scouted and nicely counters or runs away when Bailey gets any momentum. Ishimori is able to run Bailey shoulder first into the post and goes through his playbook of working it over. Bailey nicely fights back and throws some curveballs at Ishimori but Ishimori is able to avoid Ultimo Weapon. Ishimori looks for the Bone Lock but Bailey does all he can to fight out of it before Ishimori runs him into the exposed turnbuckle. Bloody Cross gets a near-fall but Ishimori gets the Bone Lock back on and Bailey has to tap. Ishimori stuck to his plan all match and it paid off in the end. ****

Best of the Super Junior 30 Block A Match: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 30 Night 8: A great 10 minute match. Taguchi, the crafty veteran, goes after the ankle of the faster Bailey and goes for the Ankle Lock all match. Meanwhile, Bailey keeps trying to fight back with his kicks and tries to keep Taguchi at bay. We get an incredible spot where on the floor Bailey rolls through on an Ankle Lock and Taguchi fakes running into the ring post and dodges Bailey's kicks, causing him to kick the ring post. Brillant! Back in the ring, Taguchi keeps to his game plan while Bailey is able to rock him with some kicks to set up for Ultimo Weapon but Taguchi moves out of the way. Taguchi tries for a roll-up but Bailey is able to out wrestle the veteran just long enough to get the pinfall win. Some great stuff in such a short time. ****

Best of the Super Junior 30 Block A Match: TJP vs. Lio Rush at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 30 Night 8: A super fun, fast paced match. Both men come in banged up and with hurt shoulders. After the early quick exchanges, TJP goes to the shoulder of Lio to create an opening and work him over. Lio does a great job fighting from underneath while selling his shoulder. Nice storytelling as well with both men having each other well scouted this deep into the tournament. TJP is able to catch Lio a few times in submissions but Lio is able to fight to the ropes. TJP goes for a running knee to end things but Lio is faster and able to dodge it and hit Rush Hour before ending things with Final Hour. Lio just barely was able to survive to get the win over the seemingly better wrestler, TJP. ****

Best of the Super Junior 30 Block B Match: El Desperado vs. Francesco Akira at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 30 Night 8: A fantastic story-telling match. Both men start off even before Akira gets the early advantage and starts to mock Desperado and tells him to "show him something". Desperado responds with some brutal strikes and goes to work on Akira's knee. From there, the story of the match is Desperado brutalizing Akira's knee and Akira doing everything he can to fight back and stay in the match. TJP comes ringside to try and support his teammate but there is little hope. Despite being on one leg, Akira still manages to get some nice shots and near-falls in before Desperado locks in Numero Dos. But Akira refuses to tap! TJP tries to throw in the towel but Akira won't let him! Superkick and a roll-up gets Akira a big near-fall. But it doesn't take long for Desperado to get Numero Dos locked back in and this time Akira has to tap out. What a star-making match for Akira, who showed true fighting spirit even against unbeatable odds. ****1/4

World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Final Match: AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins at WWE Night of Champions 2023: A really good back and forth match from these two. Rollins comes in with Styles well scouted and is able to stay ahead of him early on but Styles takes control by working the neck of Rollins. Some good back and forth action with Rollins taking a more high risk style all match to even the match up. Rollins goes for a dive but lands awkwardly on his knee and Styles goes right after the knee with the Calf Crusher. We get a really hot finishing stretch with both men pulling out all the stops. Rollins goes for the Curb Stomp but his knee gives out. Styles looks to end things with a Phenomenal Forearm only to get met with a superkick! Rollins powers through and hits the Curb Stomp to get the win. A slow start that built to a really fun finish. ****

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (c) vs. Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa at WWE Night of Champions 2023: A really great old school tag team match. Babyfaces start off hot with Sami getting the shine. Roman and Solo are able to isolate and work over Sami for the heat. Great job milking the hot tag to Owens before he finally gets the tag to a huge pop and runs wild. Roman cuts Owens off with a Spear before Sami gets a second hot tag. Some great back and forth from Roman and Sami before the referee is speared by Roman. The Usos run out to take out Owens and look for a double superkick on Sami but he ducks and they hit Solo! Roman berates the Usos and Jimmy superkicks Roman! The Usos leave and Solo is hit with a Stunner/Helluva Kick combo for the champions to retain. An incredibly hot crowd for a really good match with a fantastic storytelling finish. ****1/4

No Disqualification Match for the Impact World Championship: Steve Maclin (c) vs. PCO at Impact Wrestling Under Siege 2023: A brutal and violent match. Both men go right at it and it doesn't take long for weapons to be introduced and Maclin to get busted open bad! Blood is pouring out and all over the ring. Chairs, steel trays, trash cans and even staples are used to punish PCO but he won't stay down. PCO fires up and starts throwing his body at Maclin but Maclin is able to drop him back first off the top to the apron! PCO tries to fight back and use some cinder blocks to end things but Maclin fights back to hit a KAI onto the cinder blocks for the win. A typical weapons match elevated by the amount of blood Maclin gave and the crazy bumps PCO took. ****

Best of the Super Junior 30 Block A Match: "Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Lio Rush at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 30 Night 9: A really great back and forth battle between these two. Lio looks to use his speed and unique offense to catch Bailey off guard while Bailey looks to just hammer Lio with his kicks and brutal knees. Bailey is able to control most of the match and forces Lio to fight from underneath. Lio makes a great comeback and we get some incredible back and forth action. Bailey goes for Ultimo Weapon but Lio rolls out of the way, leaving Bailey open for a Rush Hour. Lio goes for Final Hour but Bailey rolls out of the way. As Lio stands, Bailey goes for the Tornado Kick as Lio backs away until he runs into the corner and is nailed with the kick. So slick! Bailey gets Lio up for the Flamingo Driver, and though Lio tries to fight out of it, Bailey hits it and gets the win. Very fun match! ****1/4

Best of the Super Junior 30 Block B Match: El Desperado vs. Robbie Eagles at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 30 Night 10: A fantastic battle between two men with the same game plan: go after the knee for their respective finishers. Desperado is first to go after the knee when he needs to slow down the faster man. Eagles responds back by going to the knee as well and the match becomes a battle of who can stay standing the longest. Both men are able to get in their signature submissions but can't keep their opponent from the ropes. Eagles is able to counter Numero Dos into a crazy Canadian Destroyer! Eagles looks for the 450 but Desperado avoids it and Eagles tries to regain the advantage, Desperado goes to the other knee. Now, Eagles has two bad wheels and looks for a quick roll-up to steal the win but Desperado isn't staying down. Eagles tries to counter Numero Dos again into a Destroyer but Desperado is able to block it this time for a nasty Reverse Piledriver. Eagles is done. A few shots by Eagles before Desperado locks in Numero Dos one last time for the submission win. ****1/4

AEW Tag Team Championship Match with Special Referee: Mark Briscoe: FTR (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal at AEW Double or Nothing 2023: This was a fun overbooked Southern style tag match. FTR runs wild early and Mark is able to keep the heels from cheating. Jarrett and Lethal eventually are able to isolate Cash and go after his knee to set up for the Figure Four. Some great selling by Cash, who tries to fight back on one leg before getting the hot tag to Dax. Some great tag team action back and forth before FTR hits a Doomsday Powerbomb on Lethal but Sonjay pulls Dax off the pin. As Mark ejects Sonjay, Jarrett goes to hit Dax with the guitar but hits Mark! Big Rig on Lethal but no ref. Aubrey runs out but Karen Jarrett hits her with a guitar! Jarrett with the title belt and hits Dax followed up with The Stroke. Only 2! Jarrett argues with Mark and gets a slap as a receipt. FTR hits The Big Rig and that's all! Super fun match with a hot finish. ****

Fatal Four Way Match for the AEW World Championship: MJF (c) vs. Darby Allen vs. Sammy Guevara vs. "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry at AEW Double or Nothing 2023: A fantastic 4 way match! All four men stayed involved in the match and had their own small stories to tell. MJF tries to avoid the other three and pick his spots time and time again. The early parts of this match was very "everyone does the same moves in an effort to show how equal and similar they were". MJF tries to get Sammy to lay down and take the pin and Sammy says ok, only to try for a small package. We get some great dual submission spots as well as everyone trading roll-ups and quick pin attempts. Some amazing back and forth action from everyone. MJF goes to use the Dynamite Diamond Ring but Darby knocks him out with the skateboard. Coffin Drop and a Headlock Takeover by Darby but Jack breaks up the pin! MJF tries to use the title belt but Jack takes it from him but refuses to use it on Darby. Sammy in with a GTH on Jack but Darby takes out Sammy. Darby goes for the Coffin Drop but MJF throws the belt on top of Jack! Darby lands right on it! MJF with a Headlock Takeover and pins Darby with it again! What a match. So many layers to this match and set ups for the future. Amazing stuff! ****1/2

Anarchy in the Arena Match: Blackpool Combat Club vs. The Elite at AEW Double or Nothing 2023: Utter chaos all match! Everyone starts out fighting in the crowd and ringside. The Bucks superkick the singer of the band playing the BCC to the ring. Moxley and Omega drop each other into barbed wire! Several guys on both teams are already busted open. Claudio takes out Matt backstage which leaves The Elite a man down. Nick gets targeted by the BCC and punished before he is locked in a double submission until Matt returns to make the save. Exploding Superkick to Moxley! Holy shit! BCC removes Matt's shoe and drops him feet first into tacks! Tons of brutal spots as the BCC brutalize The Elite but The Elite keep fighting. Great spot of Omega and Page firing each other up and fighting back while outnumbered. Comes down to Yuta alone with Omega and Page. Callis gives Yuta a screwdriver and he sticks Page. Callis stops a One-Winged Angel on Yuta and Takeshita runs in with a knee to Omega! Yuta spikes Omega with the screwdriver and pins him with the Sealbelt to get the win for the BCC. An absolute war with tons of violence, blood, crazy action and some amazing storytelling moments. Beautiful, violent pro wrestling! ****3/4

Triple Threat Match for the NXT North American Championship: Wes Lee (c) vs. Tyler Bate vs. Joe Gacy at NXT Battleground 2023: A very fun 3 way match. They do a really good job of keeping everyone involved in the match and each man having their own strength that they played to: Wes Lee using his speed and agility, Bate with his power and Gacy with his size. A lot of great back and forth action from all three and some nice near-falls for everyone. Wes Lee takes out Bate with a big dive but runs into Gacy's slam. Gacy goes for his handspring clothesline only to get caught by a Cardiac Kick for Wes Lee to retain. ****

Last Man Standing Match: Ilja Dragunov vs. Dijak at NXT Battleground 2023: A brutal and violent fight! Both men start out teeing off on each other and it doesn't take long for the fight to spill to the floor. Dijak introduces the ring steps and slams Ilja on them only for Ilja to recover and dive through a table to knock down Dijak! Awesome spot! Ilja uses the steps on Dijak in the ring and hits an insane coast to coast dropkick driving the steps into Dijak. Both men start throwing stiff chops before Dijak nails Feast Your Eyes but Ilja falls back into the ropes and doesn't go down. Dijak tortures the man with kendo stick shots before going for a chair. Ilja is able to catch Dijak with Torpedo Moscow! A diving forearm to Dijak but he is still moving. Ilja jumps off the steps and hits a forearm to the back of Dijak's head into the chair! Dijak stays down! What a war! Really put over how powerful Dijak is and how resilient Ilja is. ****1/2

NXT Women's Championship Tournament Final Match: Lyra Valkyria vs. Tiffany Stratton at NXT Battleground 2023: A really good straight up wrestling match. From the bell, Valkyria is shown to be the better and stronger wrestler. After a leapfrog gone wrong, Valkyria lands awkwardly on her hurt knee and reinjures it. Stratton is all over the knee and goes to work on Valkyria with some nice knee work. Valkyria keeps trying to fight back and we get some good back and forth. Valkyria goes for her roundhouse kick but the knee gives out. Stratton takes advantage and goes for the Prettiest Moonsault Ever but misses! Valkyria nails the roundhouse kick for a big near-fall. Valkyria goes high risk and looks for a sunset powerbomb only for Stratton to counter into a rana and sets her up again and this time hits the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the win. A really well done and smooth match. Both women looked great here. ****

NXT Championship Match: Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Bron Breakker at NXT Battleground 2023: A good follow-up to their first match. Hayes comes out swinging and goes after the knee of Bron to try and slow down the bigger man and neutralize some of his power. Bron is able to easily toss Hayes around whenever he is able to get ahold of him and that becomes the layout of the match. Some really good back and forth from both men with Bron controlling most of the match but Hayes getting in some nice hope spots by going to the knee and picking up the pace of the match. Excellent spot with Hayes going for a springboard and Bron destroying him with a Spear for a big near-fall. Bron goes for his Press Slam but Hayes fights out and hits a series of superkicks to rock the big man. Springboard DDT gets Bron down and allows Hayes to hit Nothing But Net and pick up the win. Loved seeing Bron as a full fledged heel and Hayes made a good fiery babyface. ****

Best of the Super Junior 30 Semi-Final Match: "Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Master Wato at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 30 Night 11: A really great match that put over Wato huge. A nice even feeling out process in the opening minutes before Wato seems to take over. Doesn't take long for Bailey's strikes to be the difference maker as he hammers away at Wato's body, especially the left arm. Wato is able to fire back for a few until his left arm causes a slight hesitation on a springboard and Bailey catches him in an armbar. Bailey now has a target and goes right after the left arm with more strikes and submissions as Wato does a really great job of fighting back and getting his own big near-falls and submissions on Bailey. However, Bailey suckers Wato to the apron and nails a flipping knee drop. Back in the ring, Bailey hits Ultimo Weapon but only gets 2! Bailey tries for the Flamingo Driver but Wato fights out and is able to hit a Tombstone for a near-fall. Bailey goes back to the strikes to light up Wato and goes for the Tornado Kick only for Wato to nail him with a roundhouse. Wato with the Tsutenkaku German and he gets the win! Huge upset! Wato fought through all the punishment to get the win. ****1/4

Best of the Super Junior 30 Final Match: Titan vs. Master Wato at NJPW Best of the Super Junior 30 Night 12: A fantastic match between these two. Both men start off even before Wato is able to use his size advantage. Titan is able to go to the knee to set up for the submission and to slow down Wato. We get some nice back and forth as Wato tries to wrestle and use his combination offense while Titan looks to use his speed and high flying offense. Match picks up nicely as we get some good near-falls for both men. Titan nails a brutal double stomp to the back of Wato and fights to lock on the Indian Deathlock into Llave Inmortal. Somehow, Wato makes it to the ropes for a huge reaction! Wato is able to battle back by wrestling Titan and nails his Tsutenkaku German for another big near-fall! Titan is able to counter Wato into La Mistica into a pin for 2. The crowd is going crazy now! Another double stomp by Titan still isn't enough! Wato is able to block Llave Inmortal and hits a roundhouse kick. Tsutenkaku German right into Recietemente II and Wato gets the win! What a match from these two with Wato finally winning the big one! ****1/2

Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin vs. The Gates of Agony at AEW Dynamite 5/31/23: A very fun tag match with an easy to follow story. Gates of Agony are the bigger brawling brutes that easily throw around and manhandle the smaller babyfaces. The heels isolate Darby who tries his best to fight back. Eventually Darby is able to use his quickness and gets the hot tag to Cassidy. We get some really good back and forth action with Darby and Cassidy throwing their bodies and biggest shots they can to try and put away the big men. Cassidy is able to counter a suplex into a Stundog Millionaire and holds Kaun in place for Darby to hit a Code Red. Coffin Drop follows and Darby gets the win for his team. Great TV match. ****