wrestlingwiththoughts

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

YAMATO (c) vs. Kzy, Dragongate Truth Gate 2025 Night 11, March 1, 2025

After surviving Strong Machine J's challenge for the Open the Dream Gate title, YAMATO teamed with his allies to face Shun Skywalker's Z-Brats before turning his attention to face Strong Machine J's faction, Natural Vibes. In that stretch, Kzy, Natural Viber and fellow member of Dragon Gate's 2006 class, became a thorn in YAMATO's side. That led to this title match between YAMATO and Kzy.

Against ISHIN, YAMATO had to face frequent interference by ISHIN's faction, Z-Brats, relied on his mates in PARADOX for their aid to counter Z-Brats' interference, and showed an appetite for violence by picking ISHIN up from a pin to inflict more punishment on him. Against Strong Machine J, YAMATO showed his perseverance after the surviving the beating he took from Shun Skywalker in their non-title singles match.

You know it's serious when the former m.c.KZ, who was memorably high energy during this year's WrestleMania Week, is sitting cross-legged in the corner after his entrance. One of the underrated parts of Dragongate is the challenger's key, which wrestlers earn and have to turn in when they challenge for the Dream Gate title. On the flip side, you can see the evidence of a champion's successes by the number of keys dangling from the belt plate.

Multiple members of YAMATO's faction, PARADOX, are in YAMATO's corner while Kzy's corner is noticeably empty of fellow Natural Vibez members. At the start, YAMATO seems to have no answers for Kzy's holds, and Kzy's elbow strike crumples YAMATO.

Outmatched in power and finesse on the mat at the start, YAMATO knocks Kzy off the apron and follows him out of the ring to throw him into some chairs. YAMATO takes it one step further by trying to choke Kzy with the top of the chair. Back inside the ring with the advantage, YAMATO chops away at Kzy, but Kzy does not yield. Kzy isn't able to move YAMATO much with his chops, and YAMATO taunts Kzy with some elbow strikes of his own. When Kzy does strike back, YAMATO's facial reaction is hilarious.

After recovering, YAMATO is able to survive a spurt of Kzy's offense and dodge a frog splash. YAMATO then is able to bait Kzy into throwing an elbow strike, which had worked well for Kzy so far in the match, and capture him for a suplex. Kzy is able to surprise YAMATO with a headlock while on YAMATO's shoulders, and from that point YAMATO stops playing with his food. It's too bad for YAMATO that Kzy still feels confident because he's taken so much offense from YAMATO already and doesn't feel that much worse for wear. He's still fresh enough to hit this Destroyer.

Kzy is able to build a combo from that piledriver to a spinning uppercut to a splash to the back of a crouching YAMATO, and a superplex. YAMATO is unfazed by this combo, and the two men stand back up to trade elbow strikes. Kzy gets the better of it and measures YAMATO for a frog splash, but YAMATO perseveres.

YAMATO is able to hit his signature sitout piledriver, the Gallaria, but Kzy isn't ready to quit yet. He wriggles out of YAMATO's attempt at a second Gallaria and hits one of his own on YAMATO. To reinforce the impression that YAMATO and Kzy are even, they even replicate the Don Frye vs Yoshihiro Takayama locked punches. From there, YAMATO tries to lariat Kzy into oblivion, and though Kzy rises from each of those blows, he is slower to his feet each time. Kzy has enough left to kick out of a last Gallaria, but YAMATO finishes Kzy off with the Ragnarok to put an end to Kzy's struggle.

The match felt like a serious contest, even if it never felt like YAMATO's championship reign was in serious jeopardy. Kzy was a plucky underdog who took no guff from YAMATO and returned YAMATO's offensive volleys as best as he could. In the end, Kzy just couldn't get past YAMATO's own determination and grit. Credit goes to YAMATO: this match felt different from the defense against Strong Machine J, which also felt different from the defense against ISHIN. It's a good match and an easy recommendation.

The match and the show can be seen on the Dragongate Network.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

Hechicero vs. El Barbaro Cavernario, NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2025 Night 8, February 28, 2025

We last saw El Barbaro Cavernario and Hechicero team up unsuccessfully in CMLL. While that match and this match have no narrative connection, one could create in head canon that Barbaro was unhappy about the partnership and sought out Hechicero for revenge. With that narrative created for ourselves, we can dive into this featured singles match from the end of NJPW and CMLL's annual joint tour, Fantastica Mania, in Japan.

Unfortunately for Hechicero and us, Korakeun Hall does not allow open flames, even controlled ones, so Hechicero is denied his goblet of fire for his entrance. Also unfortunately for Hechicero, the fans in attendance at Korakuen Hall, and us, someone in the audience has an airhorn.

Part of Fantastica Mania's appeal is to see how Japanese fans react to lucha libre, but an understated part is to see if luchadores would wrestle differently in front of the Japanese audience. While Barbaro and Hechicero aren't the high flyers that Mascara Dorada or Neon is, they can be flashy within the context of lucha libre. Here, Barbaro and Hechicero play it closer to puroresu's rhythms, evoking the lucharesu style of Dragongate (and, because I was a fan of American independent wrestling in the 2000s, Chikara). The strikes seem just a little harder and a little louder than we've seen from them in other matches.

Hechicero is no less impressive in this setting, which is not surprising given what we've seen in his matches against non-luchadores like Bryan Danielson, Zack Sabre Jr., Lio Rush, and Claudio Castagnoli. Barbaro isn't going to explore the depths of llave with Hechicero, so he mostly serves as a base for Hechicero's spinning into submission holds and other trickery. When Barbaro acts, it is spectacular, like this springboard splash to Hechicero.

At least the use of the air horn to celebrate how cool that looked was appropriate.

Hechicero wisely uses the NJPW trainees working around the ring as a human shield from further diving offense from Barbaro and scuttles away to celebrate, but he can't hide from Barbaro's ferocity.

Hechicero recovers and counters with...whatever this is to raise the stakes.

Barbaro rips the breaks off of the match completely and lets it fly with with this splash to Hechicero from the top turnbuckle. The picture doesn't actually show how far away Hechicero was from the corner that Barbaro used.

Barbaro is the first to his feet, and he pays Hechicero back for an earlier assault with a ring corner cushion with the an attack with the timekeeper's chair. Hechicero and Barbaro ascend the ringside steps, and Hechicero teaches Barbaro a lesson about the structural integrity of Japanese tables at wrestling shows by suplexing him on to (but importantly not through) the timekeeper's table. The table did not escape unscathed.

A slap exchange in the middle of the ring after all of that explosive action outside the ring seems almost quaint, but Hechicero and Barbaro wrap it up quickly when Hechicero locks Barbaro into an arm submission. The more Barbaro tries to fight it, the deeper Hechicero is able to hook into Barbaro's arm, and it's over when Hechicero is able to trap Barbaro's head between his legs and wrench back on Barbaro's arm.

That was a lot of excitement crammed into less than 16 minutes, and the match's reputation as one of the year's best is well deserved. On its own merit, it's outstanding. It probably gets underrated if not forgotten in the long term because it is just an exhibition and doesn't have any ties into any melodramatic stories featuring Barbaro and Hechicero, but sometimes you just want to see some wild action and athleticism. I strongly recommend this match.

The match and the show can be seen on New Japan World.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

Alex Windsor vs. Jamie Hayter, Pro-Wrestling: EVE 131: Multiverse Rumble, February 7, 2025

Discussions of WWE's invasion and destruction of the revived British wrestling scene in the mid-2010s are often centered around the company's reaction to Jim Ross and Jim Cornette providing commentary for What Culture Pro Wrestling's 2016 iPPV, Refuse to Lose, the company's attempt to prevent World of Sport's revival with ITV in 2016, and the dismantling of PROGRESS Wrestling. One of the neglected corners of that discussion was the WWE's invasion's impact on Pro-Wrestling: EVE, an independent women's wrestling company founded in 2010 that markets itself with punk rock iconography and feminist ideology. (Ignore co-founder Emily Read's controversy in 2020 when EVE announced a show that only women could attend and Read added that trans women should consider not coming because they might make sexual assault victims feel uncomfortable. I suppose Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminism has feminism in its name, so it could still be considered feminism by someone somewhere for some reason. Read then announced that she would step down from the company, but Wikipedia still lists her as a co-owner and Danny and Emily Read's LinkedIn profile lists them both as "Producers of EVE" from May 2010 to present.)

Anyway, my attention drifted away from EVE specifically after Emily Read's controversy and British wrestling generally after WWE had dismantled the scene and plopped NXT: UK in its place, the global COVID pandemic, and Speaking Out. So, I was surprised to see this match between British women's wrestling mainstay Alex Windsor and former highlight of British women's wrestling and current AEW wrestler Jamie Hayter rated so highly on Cagematch's list of the matches of 2025. Also, the fact that this match happened on the same calendar day as the CMLL trios match between El Barbaro Cavernario, Hechicero, and Soberano Jr. vs. Mistico, Atlantis Jr., and Titan just tickled me.

Given that Windsor and Hayter were in the same scene at around the same time, it's surprising that this is a first-time singles match. Even accounting for Windsor's time away from 2017 to 2021 due to injuries, it is surprising that their paths had never crossed. For Hayter, this was her 12th match since her return from injury.

I appreciate that EVE has the match time countdown from the start of the match.

The match starts by establishing that Windsor and Hayter are on equal footing, though Hayter's shoulder block knockdown has a little more flair to it.

Hayter also displays more personality and is generally faster and smoother in her motions. It speaks to why Hayter is a featured performer on an international wrestling company. That contrast is an interesting facet of the match: Hayter is the local girl who rose to prominence while Windsor is the local girl who stayed (by choice or circumstance, specifically injuries in her case). That aspect of the match is made manifest when Hayter throws Windsor to the outside, into some ringside chairs, and proceeds to use Windsor as a step between two chairs in the crowd.

That sets the dynamic into place as commentary turns on Hayter ("the sass of Jamie Hayter") and Hayter runs away from Windsor around the ring to the entrance aisle. Hayter grabs a chair from the crowd and suffers a kick to the face as a result. Hayter reinforces this dynamic by choking Windsor and posing on the turnbuckle, flipping the bird at a fan before charging at Windsor, and sitting sideways on Windsor's chest for a pinning attempt.

The choice to lean into Hayter big-timing Windsor is interesting; they could have easily chosen to make this Hayter's triumphant return home, since this is her first match in England since 2022. They could have positioned Windsor as the resentful wrestler who is jealous of Hayter's success. Instead, they played up Hayter's "sassy" history and downplayed Windsor's own history as a heel. Hayter even targets Windsor's knee to try to make Windsor more sympathetic, but it's notable that the dueling chants start with a chant for Hayter, not Windsor.

Windsor leans into her role as well when she grabs at the air for the fans' support after taking Hayter after a long period where she was in Hayter's control.

The commentator makes hay with the size difference between EVE's ring and AEW's ring, citing it as an advantage for Windsor because it's more immediately familiar and because Windsor can catch Hayter off guard.

After 19 minutes, Windsor and Hayter reinforce that they are still fairly even when they lariat each other simultaneously and crumple in each other's arms.

The strike exchange that follows fortifies that idea until Hayter is able to use a short runway to clobber Windsor with a lariat. From there, the match goes into its climax as Windsor rocks Hayter with a powerbomb, which Hayter answers with a powerbomb (called a spinebuster by the commentator). Windsor and Hayter fight for positioning in the corner, and Windsor wins to hit Hayter with a fisherman's suplex from the second turnbuckle. Windsor tries to finish Hayter off with a sharpshooter submission, but Hayter is able to grab Windsor's hair to break the hold and hit her with a surprise piledriver. Windsor powers up and kicks out at the one count, but she cannot also survive Hayter's uranage backbreaker and short lariat.

The start of the match where Windsor and Hayter established how they're equals was not the most engaging start they could have presented, but it was necessary to set that tone for the rest of the match to work. Overall, I think the match succeeded in showing that they are equals and that Hayter had to use underhanded tactics (in this case, grabbing Windsor's hair) to get enough of an opening to win the match. Hayter looked in full control, and she played a colorful foil to Windsor.

This is an easy recommendation. The match can be seen on EVE's YouTube page.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

Timothy Thatcher vs. Travis Williams, DUSK Pro Catch as Thatch Can, February 28, 2025

Sinner and Saint have certainly caught my attention since WrestleMania Weekend 2024, so I took notice when I saw recommendations for a singles match by Travis Williams against the divisive Timothy Thatcher.

I experienced Thatcher's reign as the Evolve Champion, and I still contend that he works best against a striker so that his grappling can stand in contrast. My favorite Thatcher match is probably still his match against Tommy End at Evolve 40, and I think the matches against fellow grapplers like Zack Sabre Jr. and Daniel Makabe work because they can both switch to relying on striking to create the contrast with Thatcher. Sabre has chops and his Penalty Kick, while Makabe had his Big Unit punch. I don't immediately associate Williams with a strike like either of those, so I'm curious how Williams can keep a match against Thatcher lively.

Near the start of the match, a fan urges Williams to "Grab his stupid pants," referring to Thatcher's blue candy cane striped pants. They seem to be a recent development for Thatcher, and they do detract from his mystique.

We get some clean grapplefuck to start with Thatcher targeting Williams's shoulder. Williams tries multiple probes at Thatcher's defenses, from a single leg takedown attempt and a trip, but Thatcher mostly controls Williams. To my surprise, Thatcher is the first to throw a strike, kicking at Williams's spine while he had Williams on the mat. From there, Thatcher gets a burst of offense, including a suplex, the first higher impact move of the match. Williams is able to snake out of the hold on the mat, and he disrespects Thatcher by scuffing the back of Thatcher's head while he had control of Thatcher's back. Right after, Williams is able to grab Thatcher's leg from a clinch and flip him for a pin. Though Thatcher is able to kick out at one, he walks out of the ring to collect himself.

Back inside the ring, Williams stomps on Thatcher's fingers, and Thatcher retaliates by lunging at Williams's legs and twisting his ankle. When Williams wisely opts to put some distance between them, Thatcher pursues and returns the pain with a European uppercut, slamming Williams chin first into the ring apron, and bashing Williams with forearm shots to the back and to the chest once Thatcher is able to move Williams with a hammerlock on his arm.

We get the niftiest bit of grapplefuck in the match (accentuated by the two ringside cameras DUSK Pro uses) when Williams attempts to defend against Thatcher's hammerlock on his arm by grasping his hands together, which Thatcher counters by trying to force his fist in between Williams's back and elbow to break the hands apart. The momentum from that turn Williams around, he's able to use one arm to grab at Thatcher's leg, which causes Thatcher to lose his concentration. Williams takes that opening and forces Thatcher to the mat for an armbar.

I like also liked that Williams releases the armbar when Thatcher reaches the ropes, grabs Thatcher, brings him closer to the middle of the ring, and tries to apply the hold again immediately. It doesn't work, so Williams grinds his fist against Thatcher's temple. Thatcher tries to break out from the headlock, but Williams has already trapped one of his arms. Thatcher exposes his other arm, which allows Williams to seize it and bend that hand's fingers.

Finding no progress working on Thatcher's neck or hand, Williams, tries to lock Thatcher's legs. Unfortunately for Williams, that allows Thatcher to use his strength advantage to club Williams's back. That angers Williams, who digresses from stretching Thatcher's leg in favor of chopping Thatcher. It goes poorly for him when Thatcher again reminds him who he has the power and striking advantage.

Thatcher once again has Williams against the ropes, but Williams is able to dump Thatcher over the top before Thatcher can take advantage. Williams prepares for a dive, but Thatcher walks to another side of the ring. Even without Judas Icarus's help, Williams is able to turn on a dive and dive onto Thatcher. Unfortunately for Williams, Thatcher is ready and catches Williams into an armbar from midair. (It's really unfortunate that DUSK Pro's video has a hitch from when Williams makes contact with Thatcher to when Williams is on the ground in Thatcher's armbar. I rewound the video multiple times to make sure, and I was disappointed by the jump in time every time.)

The referee admonishes them to get back into the ring, so Thatcher rolls Williams in first. Williams is able to recover because he wasn't in the armbar on the floor for long, so he goes back to attacking Thatcher's fingers. While Thatcher is staggered, Williams chases him with a jumping knee strike from the ring apron.

By the end of the match, the focus on weakening Thatcher's fingers pays off for Williams, since Thatcher cannot hook his hands together for an overhead suplex. Williams slips out of Thatcher's grasp, kicks his hand, and pays tribute to fellow PNW wrestler Daniel Makabe with a Big Unit-style wind-up elbow strike.

One brainbuster later, and the TNA contracted Williams scores a surprising (at least to me) upset over WWE ID trainer Timothy Thatcher.

I felt let down by Thatcher's matches during WrestleMania Week (against Trevor Lee at West Coast Pro Vegas Vacation and Pete Dunne at Bloodsport XIII), and I didn't hear any praise for his match against Shinya Aoki at DDT Goes Las Vegas. I also remember how divisive his long main event matches as Evolve Champion were in the 2010s. While I thought he had a very good match against Daniel Makabe at DEAN~!!! in 2024 and a passable match against Josh Woods at Bloodsport XI, it seemed like Thatcher's matches tended to fall on the bad end of grapplefuck: lifeless, timid, and cooperative rather than adversarial. Thatcher was much better here because he was the aggressor and because he was angry.

I had pegged Williams as the unspectacular glue in Sinner and Saint, and he surprised me here. I don't quite see the personality that he would need to make it as a singles wrestler, but the crowd was sympathetic to him throughout the match. It probably helped that he was positioned to play the PNW's hero against the visiting Thatcher. I think he's better suited for a team setting as he is in Sinner and Saint, but he's solid as a singles wrestler.

I think the match is a worthwhile recommendation; it really helps that it's less than 11 minutes long. The match can be seen in full on DUSK Pro's YouTube page.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

El Barbaro Cavernario, Hechicero, and Soberano Jr. vs. Atlantis Jr., Mistico, and Titan, CMLL Viernes Espectacular, February 7, 2025

I've mentioned before that it can be hard to just dip into well regarded CMLL matches because the approach just doesn't provide enough context for the experience to have some meat to it. So, I started to watch this match with a slight sense of trepidation that I wouldn't be able to find much more than a reaction of "Oh, how neat" from watching this match, which currently stands as 223rd highest ranked match of the year according to Cagematch.

Luckily, our faithful companion and CMLL sponsor Roshfrans is there to greet us after CMLL's Kiss Cam segment. While there wasn't a proposal this time, we did get to see the range of kisses, from mother to baby and between passionate lovers (or at least a pair of drunken tourists).

There is a noticeable cheer when the gong strikes in Mistico's entrance theme. It's also charming to see how Soberano Jr. stroked Barbaro's hair during introductions. And it's exciting to see the match get out to a fast start when Soberano Jr. trips Mistico when he climbed the turnbuckles to greet the crowd.

From there, the action is fast-paced, and given the cheering when Soberano Jr. and Hechicero posed, it seems like Hechicero is also for the children. And honestly, why wouldn't he be when he can provide gifts like this to all of us (except for Titan, who takes the hit from Soberano Jr.'s leg drop)?

The production team mostly misses the first fall, presumably when Atlantis Jr. submitted to Hechicero's submission. Luckily, CMLL was able to show us a copyright warning about Kemonito, so we're well informed about that. Even CMLL's replay after the first fall didn't clearly show how the rudo team won the first fall.

The tecnicos start the second fall in shambles as the unified rudo team is able to pick off each tecnico, including Mistico, apart one by one. Hechicero targets Mistico's leg, in particular. Luckily, Atlantis Jr. is able to fend off the rudo trio enough to launch a running Mistico into the ring to take out Cavernario. Mistico follows Cavernario out of the ring with a dive from the top turnbuckle to the floor. Titan flies back in with a double stomp, and Titan is able to even the score while Mistico and Atlantis Jr. each hold a rudo back.

After the second fall, Soberano Jr. begs for mercy, but the tecnicos have none, and even Kemonito gets into the action by diving onto Soberano Jr. Mistico saves Kemonito from Hechicero, and Kemonito retaliates with a running dropkick to Hechicero.

The third fall is red meat for tecnico fans. Now that the match is back on even footing, the rudos can only get ahead by illegal interference. Mistico dominates the rudos until Soberano Jr. trips him, but Mistico is able to launch himself back into the ring to take Cavernario down with a headscissors. From there, Atlantis Jr. and Titan are able to take out Soberano and Hechicero with topes, and Mistico forces Cavernario to submit with La Mistica, as all matches featuring Mistico should.

Is there a ton of substance to the match? Not really; it's a main event for a fairly run of the mill CMLL Friday night show at Arena Mexico. What story there was to the match was good, as we could see that the rudos could only get ahead when they had an unfair advantage or when they cheated. When Mistico, Atlantis Jr., and Titan are able to cooperate, they were unstoppable. However, I was left smiling throughout the match and that means it was at least worth my time.

The match and the show can be seen on CMLL's YouTube page if you are a subscriber. Highlights can be found here.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

YAMATO (c) vs. Strong Machine J, Dragongate The Gate of Bayside 2025, January 25, 2025

When we last saw YAMATO, he had just suffered a defeat at the hands of Shun Skywalker, a rare singles loss during his current reign as Dragongate's Open the Dream Gate champion. Strong Machine J, YAMATO's opponent in this match, was as shocked as the audience by YAMATO's loss, so the match served two purposes: to lay the groundwork for a match between YAMATO and Skywalker whenever Dragongate lets its breath about Skywalker's future out (and given Skywalker's stipulation in his challenge to YAMATO for a match at Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival, that time is coming soon) and to sow the seeds of doubt about YAMATO's ability to fend off attempts from another member of the Reiwa Six to dethrone him.

Strong Machine J made his debut in Dragongate (and in professional wrestling) in 2019 as a member of the Strong Machine Gundan alongside Strong Machine F and Strong Machine G. He wouldn't truly find himself until he joined Natural Vibes and show that there was more to him than a stiff persona as an implacable machine and a legacy from his father, "Super Strong Machine" Junji Hirata. As a young wrestler, he's focused mostly on the Open the Twin Gate and Open the Triangle Gate titles so that he can acclimate to the art of professional wrestling.

That said, Strong Machine J had challenged for the Open the Dream Gate title once before. In 2023, Skywalker defeated Strong Machine J to defend his Open the Dream Gate title run, which adds an extra bit of intrigue into this match. Skywalker just beat YAMATO in a singles match, and YAMATO seemed almost overmatched by Skywalker. Skywalker's also beaten Strong Machine J. Can YAMATO beat Strong Machine J (SMJ) ten days after Skywalker outclassed him in SMJ's home town to keep his reign going?

SMJ and YAMATO open with grappling, and there's enough of a sense of struggle there that it doesn't feel perfunctory or cooperative. YAMATO wins a shoulder block battle, somewhat to my surprise, and SMJ wins a knuckle lock battle, which is expected since he is a Strong Machine. From there SMJ had control of YAMATO and challenged YAMATO to stand up to him, which seems foolish when you're the young challenger seeking to defeat a veteran who's gone through some wars.

Indeed, YAMATO finds a reserve of energy and threatens to suplex SMJ in front of his friends and family. Luckily, SMJ is able to hit YAMATO with a snap powerslam.

Later, SMJ is still pushing YAMATO around seemingly at will and hits a running dropkick that seems to defy gravity.

Though YAMATO's unable to mount much offense in the match, he is able to survive SMJ's lariats, running sitout powerbomb, and a diving headbutt. The momentum finally turns when YAMATO's able to take SMJ down for a pair of quick pin attempts.

From there, YAMATO is able to press on offense with some kicks to SMJ's head. After the theatrics from YAMATO about hitting SMJ with a suplex, it's a little anticlimactic when YAMATO finally lifts SMJ up for what looks like a suplex but is really a brainbuster.

From there, an exhausted YAMATO hoists SMJ up for two signature moves: the Gallaria and the Ragnarok to put SMJ down for a three count. YAMATO can now add another of the Reiwa Six to his collection of victories.

The match had to serve two purposes: to tell the story of how YAMATO perseveres despite his fatigue and damage from the Skywalker match and to show that SMJ is not far from YAMATO's level. The match succeeds on both fronts, but the story of YAMATO's fatigue made the first three quarters of the match feel slow and the last quarter to have sped into its climax. SMJ's disrespectful taunting eventually costs him, but he didn't feel out of place as a challenger in this match. It's a good match, and it feels different because it's not a back-and-forth epic match. However, I don't think it would make my ballot for the end of the year.

The match and the show can be seen on the Dragongate Network.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

Jeff Cobb vs. Daisuke Sekimoto, BJW, January 24, 2025

In the 2010s, Daisuke Sekimoto was one of my favorite wrestlers in the world. A walking block of stone, Sekimoto seemed invincible. And it helped that he was so damned photogenic:

And it really helped that he was an incredible wrestler at the time. I think that I first came across Sekimoto's work in 2008, when wrestled Brodie Lee in Chikara's Global Gauntlet. On the whole, I didn't get many chances to see him in person: he came back to the United States for the 2018 WrestleMania Weekend in New Orleans, and the closest I ever came to seeing him live and in person was when he wrestled the now disgraced Chris Dickinson at Beyond Americanrana 2019 in Connecticut. He also wrestled in PWG's Battle of Los Angeles in 2019, but I never made it out to any PWG show, much less that one.

So, my only familiarity with Sekimoto is from watching him on video. In the 2010s, I watched a lot of Sekimoto thanks to the ready availability of his work in AJPW with Yuji Okabayashi in the Strong BJ tag team, his rivalry with Okayabashi in BJW, his participation in AJPW's Champion Carnival in 2016, and the legendary chop fest at Kenta Kobashi's Fortune Dream 3. His appearance in a match was a seal of quality; if Sekimoto were involved, I know the match is going to be at least good. My attention was diverted elsewhere since that one-way video love affair with Sekimoto, but he continued to chug along, wrestling mostly in BJW and occasionally in AJPW, ZERO-1, wXw, and anywhere else that might have a need for a slab of meat to toss some wrestlers around and be generally solid.

Therefore, it felt like seeing that an old lover was doing well when Sekimoto's match against Jeff Cobb, who also endeared himself to me when he was the monstrous Matanza in Lucha Underground, floated to my attention as one of the best matches of 2025 so far. Of course I added the match to my list without a second thought.

It was nice to be greeted by the guitar riffs in Sekimoto's theme music again, and though he walks a little more stiffly to the ring and his face is a little more haggard than the youthful visage from a decade ago, Sekimoto is still a walking Dragonslayer. Cobb is no string bean junior heavyweight either, and the match starts the only way that it can: with these two bowling balls launching from their respective corner and colliding at the center of the ring.

Naturally, this continues into chop battles, more ramming contests, and other contests of dominance. The men seem equal in size and power, so Cobb cheats (as he is the visiting wrestler) by sucker punching Sekimoto, knocking him down, gesturing to a fan that he should ready his camera, and then riding him like a surfboard. Cobb plays the villain here well.

Sekimoto isn't deterred for long, and he launches himself with a tope suicida that will pushes Cobb into the front row. Cobb batters him outside the ring fairly listlessly, and Sekimoto regains the initiative with some bashing forearms. Sekimoto teases the crowd with a suplex, but Cobb is too big for the Strong BJer for now. Cobb seems one step ahead of Sekimoto, blocking Sekimoto's suplex attempts and dodging his flying dropkick attempts.

At last, Sekimoto is able to lift Cobb for a vertical suplex, which shifts the momentum to him for the moment. However, he can't put Cobb down with his running splash, his machine gun chops in the corner, or his running shoulder breaker. Nor can Cobb weaken Sekimoto enough for a successful pin with his throw, falling lariat, or backflip. We then get a fun exchange of beefy suplexes and lariats, and we're pretty much back to square one just with a little more damage incurred along the way.

The sound of a child's squealing laughter while Cobb and Sekimoto exchange forearm and elbow strikes summarizes my feeling about the match. Cobb throws a thrust kick out to change it up, but that just knocks Sekimoto into the ropes, which lets him charge back into the fray with a lariat. Sekimoto's diving splash gets him close to victory, but Cobb is a big boy himself, and a headbutt exchange just seems to fire Cobb up. Sekimoto runs into a powerbomb from Cobb, and Cobb drags Sekimoto into his finisher, the Tour of the Islands, to put Sekimoto down for victory.

Outside of the match, it makes sense that Cobb, the wrestler from the bigger company, would beat Sekimoto even though Sekimoto is defending his home turf. Within the match, it makes sense that Cobb, who was one step ahead of Sekimoto through most of the match, would emerge as the victor because he was, once again, one step ahead of him. When Sekimoto falls back on his familiar running lariat, Cobb was able to catch him, lift him, powerbomb him, and then lift him again to take him on the Tour of the Islands.

Since this match, Cobb has left NJPW to sign with WWE and Sekimoto has seemed to survive a serious injury scare, so it's unlikely that we'll ever see them have a rematch. As a result, this match, the second ever singles match between them, will likely be a rare gem in wrestling history. We don't get meaty men slapping meat in matches like this much in today's wrestling landscape, so it felt like a throwback when it probably shouldn't. There's probably slugging action like this in BJW's Strong BJ division that goes largely unnoticed, even if those matches might not reach the quality bar that Sekimoto and Cobb reached in this match. As something that feels unique, I would consider using my vanity pick slot in a match of the year ballot for this match.

The match and the show can be see on BJW Core, Big Japan Wrestling's streaming service.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

Sareee vs. Meiko Satomura, Sareee-ISM Chapter VI, January 23, 2025

In the early days of this venture into writing about professional wrestling, Meiko Satomura was a focal figure. We watched her team face Team ROH in Chikara King of Trios 2012 and Satomura face in singes matches Nanae Takahashi and Mayu Iwatani in Stardom and Syuri, Aja Kong, Io Shirai, and Chihiro Hashimoto in Sendai Girls. Satomura signed with WWE in 2021 and wrestled her 31st and final match with the company in July 2024. After that, she wrestled everywhere: in her former home promotion, Sendai Girls, as well as Marvelous, OZ Academy, WAVE, Stardom, TJPW, PROGRESS, 2AW, DDT, wXw, Marigold, GLEAT, and one-off shows produced by wrestlers or former wrestlers like the TAKAYAMANIA EMPIRE 3 show, Kenta Kobashi's Fortune Dream 10, the Kenoh 3rd Anniversary Thanksgiving Festival, and the Unagi Sayaka Produce One Match Event The Lord Is Crazy ~ My Name Is. Of course, Satomura had to also wrestle Sareee in a match between a living legend vs. the current head of the pack during this run before her retirement, and they met at Sareee-ISM Chapter VI.

Sareee and Satomura had faced each other in three previous singles matches, but this is the first time they've wrestled since their respective runs in WWE ended. Sareee's run, as we know, ended fairly ignominiously. Satomura had slightly more success, but her tenure still felt largely like it was a waste of her time and talent. She made her debut in the 2018 Mae Young Classic and lost to Toni Storm in a semi-final match. She then disappeared until 2021, when she reappeared to spend the next year in NXT UK. NXT UK was then shut down, and Satomura was reabsorbed into NXT, where she primarily wrestled Roxanne Perez. WWE then used her to draw some attention to their 2024 tour of Japan, where she wrestled Bayley in a passable singles match in her final match with WWE. Only two of Satomura's thirty-one matches with WWE exceeded fifteen minutes; most of them lasted less than ten. She held the NXT UK Women's title until it was unified with the NXT Women's title. None of the Satomura's matches during this period appeared in Voices of Wrestling's Match of the Year polls; given the breadth of the polling for that award, this is truly damning.

Sareee started 2025 by losing both the SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea title and the Marigold World Championship, so the singles match against Satomura was poised to be a major test of Sareee's mojo. Always with a chip on her shoulder, Sareee starts by skipping the pretense of respectful grappling and challenging Satomura with a elbow to the chest. Satomura punishes Sareee's impudence by targeting her left arm, which she would need for her backdrop driver and for her new capture back suplex. Forced to wrestle defensively, Sareee blocks Satomura's head kick, but Satomura just twists Sareee around to the ground. Sareee gains some much needed separation from Satomura after forcing a break on an armbreaker and goes on the offensive herself, primarily targeting Satomura's leg to take away the Scorpion Rising.

Satomura retreats outside the ring after Sareee hits her running dropkick, but Sareee presses the initiative and suplexes Satomura and hits a double stomp from a wall in Shinjuku FACE.

While I do not speak Japanese, I can guess that Sareee was unkind in her comments to Satomura while each caught their breaths after that flurry of violence.

From there, the story is obvious: Sareee, as the younger lioness, controls the match while Satomura, the veteran under challenge, has to survive until she can outwit or outmaneuver Sareee. We get a taste of it when Satomura counters a Sareee charge to the corner.

Sareee escapes Satomura's submission hold, rolls Satomura into a double stomp, and batters Satomura's face with a running dropkick.

Sareee then crashes into Satomura with a double stomp from the second rope.

In response, Satomura summons enough energy to kick Sareee's leg and hit her with a Pele kick. We arrive at the desperate hour, and neither Satomura nor Sareee can do much more than stand and trade blows. Satomura's land a little heavier, but they only seem to fire Sareee up.

Atop the top turnbuckle, Sareee manages to claim the high ground from Satomura and flings her to the mat with a superplex. She follows Satomura with another dropkick, but Satomura kicks out of the pin at two. Sareee's confidence gets the better of her when she grabs Satomura for a backdrop driver, which exposes her head to Satomura, whom promptly drops her with a DDT. Satomura combos that with her cartwheel kick. We get a furious exchange of offense at this point, with Satomura and Sareee throwing submission attempts, kicks, Scorpion Rising attempts, dropkicks, and backdrop drivers to try to finish the other off. Wobbling after surviving another backdrop driver, Satomura can only feebly hit Sareee with her elbow and barely survives a rear naked choke. Sareee's frustration gets the better of her, however, when she gives Satomura enough time to catch her breath and hoist her for a Death Valley Driver. Staggering after kicking out of a pin attempt, Sareee is open for Satomura to hit the Scorpion Rising and win the match.

Of the three matches in 2025 featuring Sareee that I've seen, I'd rank this at the top above her matches against Utami Hayashishita and VENY. Sareee's trademark intensity and quarrelsomeness are on full display, and Satomura played the veteran fending off the younger, livelier challenger well. Satomura looked her age at the end, and the run to set up the Scorpion Rising was slow compared to the version in my memory from 2016. Nonetheless, this was a lot of fun and an easy recommendation.

The match can be viewed on Sareee’s YouTube channel.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

Sinner and Saint vs. Moonlight Express, DDT x TJPW x DEFY Triangler DTD, November 10, 2024

I was left in an unusual position where I was left unsatisfied by a Sareee match, so I went looking for a palate cleanser. And since Sinner and Saint caught my attention for the second year in a row at this year's WrestleMania Week, it made sense to see them outside of that context-less context...by choosing a joint show where the premise allows DDT, TJPW, and DEFY to present dream matches. Hm.

In any case, let's see what Sinner and Saint is doing when they're not pretending to be Eric Young's goons in the Northern Armory in TNA. They key to Sinner and Saint's appeal is their coordination as a team on both offense and defense. They seem to be in constant movement, like they're controlled a hyperactive Marvel vs. Capcom player spamming assist calls. However, there is a method to their motion, and their teamwork more than makes up for their lack of size.

On the other end, MAO and Speedball Mike Bailey combine their athleticism in Moonlight Express, which held DDT's KO-D Tag Team Championship for 242 days in 2018 and 2019. They're a pair of strong individual performers who make a strong team together.

The match is fast, and it straddles the line between goofy, meaningless exhibition and gritty competition. When MAO and Bailey are in control, the match tips toward DDT's trademark goofiness, which is on brand for them. When Icarus and Williams are in control, the match swings back toward seriousness, which makes for an interesting dynamic.

The difference between the two teams also extends to how their members' work together. MAO and Bailey are coordinated, and they'll mirror each other's actions often. Here, they might dive on to members of the opposing team at the same time. There, they might each hit a slam on their opponent. Or, they might both give the middle finger and then hit a roundhouse head kick on Icarus at the same time. Icarus and Williams, on the other hand, use each other as offensive weapons. Icarus might throw Williams out of the ring to hit a dive on to their opponent.

The match is a sprint and a crowd-pleasing fireworks show that swings between silly rolling chair duels with folding chairs and blink and you'll miss it tandem measures. I think I want more of the seriousness that Sinner and Saint bring to the table than the light spirit that Moonlight Express bring.

The match and the show can be seen on TrillerTV.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

Sareee (c) vs. VENY, SEAdLINNNG Shin-Kiba Series 2025 Vol. 1, January 17, 2025

One of the early highlights of the Sareee series was Sareee's victory over Arisa Nakajima to win the SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea championship. Sareee held that title through the rest of 2023 and 2024 and defended it against Ayame Sasamura, Misa Kagura, Unagi Sayaka, and Nagisa Nozaki. Two weeks after losing the Marigold World Championship to Utami Hayashishita, Sareee put her SEAdLINNNG title and her 511 day reign on the line against VENY, whom we last saw teaming with Chihiro Hashimoto against Sareee and Mayu Iwatani.

In that tag match, I had noted that VENY played the crafty and mischievous villain, but she is no-nonsense here, eschewing the pre-match pageantry to focus on the task of unseating Sareee. The opening grappling sets the tone for the match as Sareee drags VENY to the mat in a headlock like she's busting a bronco.

VENY cheats by grabbing Sareee's hair, but it doesn't get her far as Sareee is able to reclaim control of the match. That's when VENY's cronies interfere on her behalf, tripping Sareee as she's running the ropes and dragging her out of the ring, and I get taken out of the match almost completely. When I named the various heel factions that interfered in matches that seem to be a common refrain in Japanese wrestling companies in 2025, I didn't think that I'd need to include SEAdLINNNG in that list.

VENY proceeds to batter Sareee with a piece of plywood and a hammer as the referee stands by in all of his impotence. When VENY doesn't cheat, she fails, as she crashes on a moonsault from the top rope to the floor. Sareee gets her revenge using the plywood, and we see some of Sareee's familiar movements when she's back in control: the missile dropkick, the hard kick to back, the Mutoh Lock, the rolling takedown into the double stomp, the dropkick to the seated opponent at the bottom rope, and the heavy strikes. For her part, VENY gets to show off a neat trip into a submission attempt.

Later, she uses her height advantage to extend her reach on her thrust kick.

We move into the period where VENY and Sareee throw their most powerful offense at their opponent. Sareee starts by hitting VENY with the running double stomp, the arm capture suplex, a German suplex, and a bunch of backdrop drivers. VENY answers with some fisherman brainbusters and the Tiger suplex to beat Sareee.

The match was...fine. I can't reconstruct the narrative that VENY and Sareee were trying to construct. There's an inconsistency caused by VENY's focus at the start of the match, the interference on her behalf, surviving all of Sareee's strongest offense, and then beating her that left me surprisingly unsatisfied by the match. Sareee, as usual, was terrific in her role. They both worked hard, but the match they built together just didn't come together for me.

The match and the show can be watched on SEAdLINNNG’s streaming service.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

YAMATO vs. Shun Skywalker, Dragongate Open The New Year Gate 2025 Night 4: Dragongate 2025 New Year Premium 1 On 1, January 15, 2025

Thus far in our effort to catch up to the best matches of 2025, we've checked out Sareee vs. Utami Hayashishita in Marigold and Hechicero vs. Blue Panther in CMLL from January 2025. We've established that YAMATO and Shun Skywalker had a great showing (along with the rest of the Dragongate contingent) at this year's WrestleMania Week shows. So, it seems appropriate that we zip back in time to January 2025 to see YAMATO and Skywalker in a rare non-title singles match in this journey.

Including this match, YAMATO and Skywalker have only had six singles matches together, and they hadn't faced off since 2021, when YAMATO beat Skywalker for the Open the Dream Gate title at Kobe World Pro-Wrestling Festival, one of the most important shows of Dragongate's year. That's not to say that YAMATO and Skywalker have been isolated from each other; their respective factions, whether it's been YAMATO's HIGH-END and PARADOX or Skywalker's MASQUERADE and Z-Brats, have clashed in various configurations. Furthermore, YAMATO and Skywalker represent different generations of Dragongate; Skywalker is one of the Reiwa Six, while YAMATO is one of the first set of graduates of the Dragon Gate dojo, back when the company's name was two words instead of one. And YAMATO and Skywalker have even teamed together because they were part of the same contingent at WrestleMania Week 2024.

At the time of this match, YAMATO was a dominant champion and in his definitive reign as the company's standard bearer. After winning the Open the Dream Gate title from Ben-K (another of the Reiwa Six), YAMATO had defended it against Madoka Kikuta (the one who declared that this was now the era of the Reiwa Six), ISHIN (of the Reiwa generation even if he's not of the Six), Kenoh (in a guest appearance), and Dragon Dia in a title for title match for Dia's Open the Brave Gate title. A double champion after beating Dia, YAMATO had made it clear that he was not willing to hand the reigns over to the Reiwa Six and that they would have to take them from him.

Skywalker, meanwhile, has focused more on screwing with his enemies, from Natural Vibez to Dia to Luis Mante, since his second Open the Dream Gate reign ended in 2023. He won the Open the Triangle Gate Championship with KAI and ISHIN in 2024, but that reign only lasted 67 days. He's also focused on mentoring, in his own way, Homare, the promising rookie who shocked Dragongate wrestlers and fans when he declared that he wanted to join Skywalker's Z-Brats. As a casual Dragongate fan, it feels sometimes like the company is keeping Skywalker in a holding pattern until they're ready for Skywalker to become the Dream Gate champion again, possibly as a hero instead of a villain this time.

So, the fact that Dragongate announced that YAMATO and Skywalker would face each other on a show where Dragongate broke format slightly and scheduled only singles matches seemed significant, even if there haven't been many obvious consequences since the match. Since this match, YAMATO had five singles matches. He defended the Dream Gate title against Strong Machine J (another of the Reiwa Six, which makes him the third victim of YAMATO's success in this reign), Kzy, and Jason Lee (a member of Skywalker's Z-Brats). He fought Rich Swann during WrestleMania Week. And he defended the Brave Gate title against Daiki Yanigiucchi. Conversely, Skywalker's only had singles matches against Axe Wang and Keirin Man since this match. Skywalker's most notable accomplishment since this match was surviving another steel cage match at Dead or Alive with his mask still on his head. The feeling that Dragongate is holding its breath until Skywalker ascends again continues.

As for this match, let's start by acknowledging Shun Skywalker's mask, one of the most unnerving things I've seen since Shane Storm's mask.

As always, I appreciate Dragongate's English commentary team of Ho Ho Lun and Jae, who lay out the history between YAMATO and Skywalker.

Though Skywalker's Z-Brats is just one of many heel factions in puroresu companies in 2025 that interfere in matches and generally make matches seem over-egged, (see also Bullet Club, which has infested NJPW since 2013, Team 2000 in Pro Wrestling NOAH, H.A.T.E. in Stardom, and even Damnation T.A. in DDT), there's something about Z-Brats that keeps it from feeling stale. All of those factions, by dint of their villainy, are positioned prominently in their companies. They all have matching gear, and they all interfere to advance the leader's interests. (Even in this match, a Z-Brat distracts the referee so that Skywalker can crack YAMATO's back with a Korakuen Hall chair.) It might be down to the simple fact that Skywalker has been absent from the Open the Dream Gate scene; the Z-Brats' interference hasn't been directed to ensure his success as a champion and instead been aimed at more personal stories of Skywalker's vendettas.

Skywalker also challenges my distaste for mid-match theatrics. Perhaps the language barrier makes it more bearable when Skywalker starts monologuing and cackling at YAMATO. Or, it could be in the execution; when Skywalker is talking, he's also using his body to keep YAMATO down, so it's not as if the action of the match has paused so that Skywalker can taunt.

To the earlier point about the feeling that Dragongate seems to be holding its breath until Skywalker challenges for the Dream Gate title again, there's a sequence in the middle of the match after Skywalker seems to freeze until he starts cackling again. He then disrespectfully slaps YAMATO around, challenging him to respond with a blow that can unsettle Skywalker. YAMATO is game, but Skywalker brushes off YAMATO's elbow strikes. It's only when Skywalker foolishly gives YAMATO space and a moment to breathe that YAMATO is able to knock Skywalker down with a missile dropkick. With Skywalker on the retreat, YAMATO presses with a flip dive over the top rope to Skywalker.

Nonetheless, Skywalker gets the better of most offensive exchanges with YAMATO, who plays the valiant veteran and standard bearer well. The fact that Skywalker undeniably beats YAMATO in this match (the assault with the chair earlier in the match notwithstanding) would seem to reinforce the idea that some day, possibly in the near future, Skywalker and YAMATO will clash again with the greatest prize in Dragongate at stake and that Skywalker might even be the favorite in that match. And the loss serves a second purpose, since YAMATO's next opponent for the Dream Gate title, the aforementioned Strong Machine J, was sitting ringside. His surprise at YAMATO's loss tells the story.

While it didn't reach the next level that the best matches of the year would achieve, this was a good time. The match and the show can be seen on the Dragongate Network.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

The Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal...and Influential Sabu

When you have a career that spans 40 years and the transformation of your industry, your CV can look pretty eclectic. I wanted to celebrate Sabu's career by picking some of the gems far from the beaten path.

People who are familiar with Sabu would probably cite his tag match with Rob Van Dam against Chris Candido & Taz, Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki, John Kronus & Perry Saturn, or maybe even Doug Furnas & Dan Kroffat. Maybe they would cite his three way dances in ECW with Shane Douglas and Terry Funk or New Jack and The Sandman. Or they might point to his feud with Taz in ECW. Perhaps they might cite his deathmatches in Japan with or without The Sheik, especially if they’re against Cactus Jack. Or they might even cite his matches in TNA against Abyss and Samoa Joe.

Phil Schneider had the same idea and dug up some of Sabu's highlight matches outside of ECW, directing readers to check out Sabu's match against Lightning Kid from NWA Grandslam (April 17, 1993), which I had intended to include in my own list. That only presented a challenge to dig just a little deeper to find the matches that might surprise you, the ones that might make you go "Huh," or the ones that just have a good story attached to them.

So, thank you, Terry Brunks, aka Sabu.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title / UWA World Welterweight Title: Sabu (c) [IWGP] vs. Koji Kanemoto (c) [UWA], NJPW Fighting Spirit Legend Night 16: Super Power Group Declaration VI, June 14, 1995

What in the world? Sabu, famous in Japan for his deathmatches, was the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion in New Japan Pro Wrestling? Sabu made his debut in NJPW in December 1994, and he had continued to wrestle there while appearing in ECW. However, Sabu committed to a NJPW show that was on the same day as ECW Three Way Dance, and Paul Heyman fired Sabu from ECW because Sabu could not fly back from Japan to Philadelphia in time for the show. Sabu made the best of a bad situation by traveling the world. He'd primarily wrestle in NJPW for the rest of 1995, though he would also have a short stint in WCW (see below) that year as well.

After Heyman fired Sabu from ECW in April 1995, Sabu defeated Koji Kanemoto (aka Tiger Mask III) for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title in May 1995 at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 1995. (NJPW actually made their match at Dontaku 1995 free to view for a limited time to commemorate Sabu’s life.) He defended the title once against Black Tiger before he would meet Kanemoto again in this title for title match where the UWA World Welterweight title was also on the line. So, how did a classic junior heavyweight wrestler like Kanemoto (before injuries forced him to adapt a worked shoot style) match fare against the chaotic Sabu?

Kanemoto starts with a classic lock-up, but it doesn't take long before Sabu hits a flipping legdrop from the apron to the prone Kanemoto in the ring. (It look less than five minutes into the match for this to happen.) In response, Kanemoto tries to ground Sabu, but Sabu pays it no mind and hits Kanemoto with an Arabian Press. Kanemoto tries to lock Sabu down with an armbar, and then Sabu trips Kanemoto and proceeds to grapplefuck Kanemoto.

Sabu gives up trying to impress viewers with his mat wrestling not long after and focuses instead on pretending that his butt hurts after the flipping legdrop from earlier in the match. Kanemoto helps by kicking Sabu's butt. Kanemoto grounds Sabu, and the sight of Sabu spending so much time on the mat in a match and focusing on telling fans how much a body part hurts (even if it's his butt) are strange sights.

The crowd is clearly into Sabu. They chant his name after Kanemoto spits at Sabu and murmur with concern after Sabu lands awkwardly on his neck from Kanemoto's avalanche electric chair.

The mystique of Sabu comes into play later in the match. We know that he's tried to impress on the audience that his butt and/or back is hurt. So, is it possible that this messy fall from an attempted headscissors was intentional to continue the story of his injury? After all, Sabu has said that he would intentionally mess up a move on occasion. And the fall does play into the match, since Sabu doesn't have much snap on his Frankensteiner later. On the other hand, Sabu is able to pull off another Arabian Press and a slam without too much difficulty.

Kanemoto misses a moonsault of his own, which gives Sabu the space to fly with a suicide dive to the outside. Sabu gives the crowd a taste of the extreme when he sets up Kanemoto on an inclined table and learns a bitter lesson about tables at Japanese wrestling shows.

The crowd chants for Sabu after taking that fall, which proves that some things are just universally appreciated.

Kanemoto tries to finish Sabu off with a couple of dives of his own, but Sabu gives the crowd a great two count kickout. Kanemoto kicks out at two after a spurt of offense from Sabu, and the crowd is delighted when Sabu flops his legs to the ropes to break up the former Tiger Mask II's pin after a tiger suplex. Sabu crashes after a failed headscissors, and Kanemoto's top rope dropkick to Sabu's back and a moonsault finish Sabu off.

I'm not sure what I had expected from a Sabu vs. Koji Kanemoto match. I can say that this was a delight because Sabu's trademark recklessness mixed well with Kanemoto’s character. Kanemoto, as the no-nonsense jerk in plain black tights and black boots, made a great foil to the out of control Sabu. It's why the early segment where Sabu tried to ground Kanemoto is so comically out of place. It should be noted that Sabu has a really good looking right punch. Nonetheless, this was surprisingly good and well worth a watch if only to see something that you wouldn't expect from Sabu.

You can find the match pretty easily if you search for "Koji Kanemoto vs. Sabu."

Mr. JL vs. Sabu, WCW Monday Nitro #6, October 9, 1995

After Heyman fired Sabu from ECW, Sabu somehow was able to find his way to World Championship Wrestling as Monday Nitro started. Positioned as a cruiserweight, Sabu faced the likes of Alex Wright, Mr. JL aka Jerry Lynn, and Disco Inferno in his brief stint in WCW. Sabu faced Mr. JL twice: once at Monday Nitro and once at Halloween Havoc 1995. Somehow, the Nitro match was longer than the PPV match.

Sabu would go on to face Lynn in ECW and other companies in longer matches. The curiosity here is whetted by the prospect of containing Sabu to a match less than five minutes long.

We get right to business with Sabu hitting his flipping leg drop and a springboard kick and then the odd sight of Sabu grabbing Mr. JL in a headlock on the mat. It's just a collection of high spots: Mr. JL hits a fun jumping kick to Sabu's back, a suicide dive, a German suplex, and a middle turnbuckle DDT and Sabu answers with a spinning wheel kick, a flip dive over the top rope, and a leaping leg lariat, the Arabian press, and a big lariat. Sabu fails an elevated headscissors here as well, which tempts Mr. JL to try a dive from the top rope. Sabu outsmarts him and plants him with a powerbomb and gets the win with the Arabian Clutch.

Obviously, this is a much slighter match than the match against Kanemoto. As a result, it's a much less successful one because there isn't time for it to be much more than a collection of athletic feats. What stood out here is that Sabu actually outsmarts (or at least outmaneuver) Mr. JL, which is not what you'd expect from Sabu.

You can also find this match fairly easily if you search for "Mr. JL vs. Sabu Nitro."

Gary Albright & Sabu vs. Kenta Kobashi & Patriot, AJPW Real World Tag League 1996, Night 11, November 26, 1996

By 1996, Sabu was back in ECW, but he was still traveling to Japan regularly to wrestle in tours in Big Japan Pro-Wrestling, Tokyo Pro Wrestling, and All Japan Pro Wrestling. In this case, Gary Albright and Sabu teamed up for the 1996 Real World Tag League, and they faced Kenta Kobashi and Patriot twice during the tournament. This combination feels like a Mad Libs match, but including it also means that I can squeeze in a Kenta Kobashi match from 1996 into this Sabu retrospective, so everything is coming up Milhouse here.

The matches opens with Albright and Kobashi, but Sabu plays the wild man here by tagging himself in and leaping at Kobashi's feet.

Sabu is the smallest man in the match by far, so he takes the majority of the punishment from Kobashi and the Patriot. When Sabu gets in trouble after a few loud Kobashi chops, he pushes Kobashi into his corner so Albright can tag in. Albright fires up the crowd with a belly to belly suplex, which allows Sabu to return to the match and...twist into a leglock on Kobashi?! Again, we see Sabu's bursts of surprisingly competent matwork in his non-deathmatch matches in Japan. Sabu also reminds us of his explosive agility with his flip over the Patriot and dropkick.

Because Sabu is the smallest man in the match, he isn't able to prevent Kobashi from saving the Patriot and tagging back into the match after Albright planted the Patriot with a suplex. However, Sabu and Albright can coordinate with each other just fine.

Sabu was often the victim of the Patriot's and Kobashi's offense in this match. He isn't asked to writhe about in pain, but he is the recipient of their kicks, lariats, and slams while Albright waits to return to the match and throw guys around. Some might criticize the way Sabu doesn't seem too fazed by the supposed beating that the Patriot and Kobashi put on him, but I don't think we need every wrestler in every match to try to win an acting award for how they portray the damage their bodies have received.

Since Sabu was on the defensive for most of the match, they also made sure they gave him opportunities to showcase his spectactular offense. Sabu successfully landed an elevated headscissors on Kobashi. He and Albright teamed up again for an attempted triple jump dive on to Kobashi, though it failed miserably. And Sabu was able to break up a Kobashi pin on Albright with a leg drop off of the top rope.

Recently, there's been a strain of criticism about how modern wrestlers don't engage the viewers when they're in the ring. The focus is on chaining moves together in the most exciting sequence they can create, but the art of inviting the crowd to engage at a level beyond exhilaration seems to be lost. There's a small moment in this match where the Patriot pumps his arm in celebration after kicking Sabu down and knocking Albright off the apron that epitomizes this criticism.

Sabu got to showcase his athleticism one more time at the end of the match when his leaping offense was instrumental in knocking the Patriot out of the ring and Kobashi into Albright's disgustingly meaty suplexes that won their team the match. For a completely randomly selected tag match, this was a lot of fun. I suppose that you wouldn't expect any less of a match that featured Kobashi and Albright at the peak of their powers in AJPW, but I was surprised by how well they incorporated the smaller Sabu in this match.

You can also find this match fairly easily if you search for "Sabu & Gary Albright vs. Kenta Kobashi & The Patriot."

Devon Storm vs. Sabu, WWA The Eruption , April 12, 2002

Devon Storm, aka Crowbar, paid tribute to Sabu by highlighting a couple of their matches. I had considered including their match in NWA New Jersey from October 29, 1995 in this series since Storm named it as the match that allowed him to break through.

However, Storm also claimed that he and Sabu would boast that viewers would rank his cage match with Sabu from World Wrestling All-Stars' April 12, 2002 show, The Eruption if only they would just watch the match. I suppose we'll just have to put that claim to the test here.

(I have no idea what's going on with the aspect ratio of that video, but it's also probably the only taped version of that match. So, this also stands as a tribute to Sabu's status as the tape trading community's icon.)

By 2002, ECW had closed, and Sabu became a wandering veteran wrestler, appearing in TNA, MLW, and yet smaller promotions. He would wrestle most of his matches that year for WWA.

There's no feeling out period between the two; by this point in the WWA tour, they had already wrestled three other times, including in a disqualification match in February 2002. Sabu is noticeably slower than he was in the 1996 tag match, which is no surprise given the physical toll that his physically demand style imposed on him. Nonetheless, Sabu pulls off a good springboard DDT on Storm and some clean springboard leg drops. On his part, Storm shows off his power with a German suplex early and powerbombing Sabu into the cage walls later in the match. He shows off his agility too with a crisp dropkick to Sabu's back, bouncing Sabu off of the cage, and a splash from the top rope.

In his diminished physical state, Sabu has to draw from his deathmatch bag of tricks to keep the crowd going. He bleeds from the forehead early in the match and from the back not long after. To juice the crowd even further, he produces a spike and stabs Storm's head multiple times. Storm responds to this escalation by asking for a chair, bashing Sabu with it, and then using it as a damage multiplier in his Northern Lights suplex.

And then Sabu misses a moonsault from the top of the cage. The lead-up is the first time that I could hear the crowd really react in this match, and it's a spectacular crash and burn.

From there, Storm and Sabu try to one-up that missed moonsault with a Death Valley Driver on the chair, a flip over the top rope to the floor through the open cage door, and a suplex onto a metal ringside barricade that Storm had placed between the ring and apron and the corner barricade by the ring entrance. They actually manage to surpass Sabu's missed moonsault when Storm jumps from the top of the cage on to Sabu, who is lying on top of two tables stacked on each other. And Sabu caps off the stunt show that is this match with a fireball and a moonsault and a legdrop from the top of the cage onto Storm, who is lying on a table in the ring.

Can I endorse Storm and Sabu's claim that his cage match is an underseen and underappreciated classic? Not really, but I can sign on to a declaration that this was a hell of a stunt show. It's an odd cage match in that the cage is meant to serve as a weapon, not a deterrent against outside interference, but Storm and Sabu make tremendous use of the cage as a tool for violence. Sabu showed his commitment to creating spectacle in this match as much as he did in the other matches. You can see Sabu's legacy in the escalation in spectacle that continues to this day in professional wrestling.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

Hechicero vs. Blue Panther, CMLL Viernes Espectacular, January 10, 2025

In theory, parachuting in to check out a cool lucha libre match should be a great experience. In theory, I shouldn't have to worry about long term storylines and interpersonal (and probably political) dynamics, and I can just appreciate the action. In practice, however, dropping in to just watch two dudes do some cool stuff is less rewarding that it sounds because once the coolness factor cools off (which usually takes about 10-15 minutes in my experience), the desperate need for narrative takes hold.

The contrast in music between Hechicero and Blue Panther is a lot.

And yes, one must appreciate that the red mini, Kemalito, is seconding Hechicero while the...bluish green mini, Kemonito, is seconding Blue Panther. This is a battle of Red vs. Blue down to the minis.

The last Blue Panther singles match in my memory is his match against Bryan Lloyd Danielson on April 5, 2024, which means Hechicero has quite the bar to meet with Panther.

The first fall flies by after Hechicero traps Panther in an armbar. The second fall starts a little creakily when Hechicero and Panther trade blows, and the end comes out of nowhere when Panther traps Hechicero in an abdominal stretch on the mat. That brings us to the meat of the match, the third fall, and that's when the match earns its kudos. You will believe that a Panther can fly, even if he's 64 years old. You will chuckle at the way Panther crawls across the ring to pin Hechicero after Hechicero misses a moonsault. You will marvel at the sheer size of the referee in this match. You will ask yourself what "Roshfrans" is. (It's an automotive lubricant and care supplies company.) Hechicero wins the third fall in a traditionally dastardly fashion, and it all makes for an entertaining experience. It doesn't quite reach the level of Panther's match against Bryan Lloyd Danielson from 2024, but it's enjoyable.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

Sareee (c) vs. Utami Hayashishita, Marigold First Dream, January 3, 2025

We're past WrestleMania Week and its associated hangover, and we're approaching mid-year. It's time to start catching up on the best of 2025 (according to Cagematch votes and from combing various in-progress best of 2025 lists) and with an old friend. (It’s also worth noting that I’ve seen some high level matches from those lists, such as Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hirooki Goto, and I chose not to write about them to save my energy for matches that have received less ink.)

When we last saw Sareee, she had defended the Marigold World Championship for the second time against Nanae Takahashi. Hayashishita, meanwhile, won a mask vs. mask trios match, the 2024 Dream Star Grand Prix, and generally remained prominent in Marigold's plans for 2025. So, when we reached this title match at Marigold's first show of 2025, it seemed to be fait accompli that Sareee would lose the title to Hayashishita so that Marigold can move ahead with its groomed champion. The best that Sareee could do is to make the loss compelling and to give Hayashishita a chance to impress.

I know that we are meant to be impressed by Hayashishita as stoicism and regal manners; I think I just prefer Sareee's more grounded, more human passions and the way she just seems annoyed with her opponents. It's the way she would clap before she would dive with a double stomp on her opponents both to get the crowd to cheer her and to mock her opponent, especially if it's a chosen one like Hayashishita. It's the way she would throw Hayashishita into a section of chairs. And that anger breaks Hayashishita out of her shell in turn, making her a more compelling figure to watch.

We see what we would expect from Sareee: double foot stomps, headbutts on the top turnbuckle, hard slaps to the face, hard forearm strikes to Hayashishita's chest, running dropkicks under the middle rope to a sitting Hayashishita, and flying dropkicks from the top turnbuckle. As usual, Sareee puts them together in the right sequence to create escalation and tension. She also breaks out new moves, like this suplex:

There's a running double stomp sequence where Hayashishita looks like she dodged, but Sareee might have caught enough of her to make Hayashishita staying prone for Sareee's next move, a double stomp from the top turnbuckle, make sense.

This would be a minor nitpick if it were a smaller match, but it stands out in what will be Hayashishita's coronation.

At about 20 minutes into the match, I realized what had been bugging me through the whole match: Hayashishita seems like she's been running the ropes at half speed. She's tall, so her stride in the ring will be different than Sareee's, but there also isn't the same speed or power as Sareee's running. Even her kickouts seem sluggish. Witness the difference in how Sareee shoves Hayashishita's head away as her shoulder jumps from the mat compared to Hayashishita's kickout.

Sareee undoubtedly led Hayashishita through the match; she initiates the action and lets Hayashishita show her pain or try to counter Sareee's offense. When Hayashishita seizes the momentum, her movements seem plodding, and I feel like she spends as much time hitting offense on Sareee as emoting and pounding on the mat when Sareee kicks out of her pin attempts.

I will admit that I started watching the match with admiration for Sareee's work, but I had also wanted to be impressed by Hayashishita. Instead, I came away unimpressed by the lack of speed or urgency in her motions. I didn't get a sense for why the match's momentum shifted to Hayashishita other than it had been twenty minutes and it was time for the match to end with a burst of offense from Hayashishita. There's a difference between stoic and regal and stagnant and flat, and Hayashishita on this night fell on the wrong side of the divide. The comparison against Sareee's high energy exacerbated the comparative impression.

This probably won't crack my top 10 list for 2025, but it's not a bad match.

The match and show can be seen on Wrestle Universe.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

WrestleMania Week 2025: One More Final - Where Are You?

Now that I've mostly recovered from the post-WrestleMania Week 2025 hangover (I watched possibly too much wrestling in the span of 4 days last week), I wanted to put a capstone on this topic before moving on. Specifically, I couldn't help but wonder why Yoshihiko (the inanimate doll that DDT uses) had more appearances during WrestleMania Week 2025 than, say, Tommy Billington.

This question started because I had circled Tommy Billington's match against Sean Legacy at Pandemonium Pro Wrestling: The House Always Wins. Due to technical issues, I wasn't able to watch it, and I tried to find another Tommy Billington match since I had wanted to see how much he had progressed since his match against Konosuke Takeshita for ROH in January. To my surprise, Billington's match against Sean Legacy, scheduled for the pre-show, was his only match during WrestleMania Week.

I know that scheduling falls into a complicated matrix of wrestler availability, wrestler interest, pay for the match, the logistics of going from one booking to another (especially if the wrestler is scheduled to wrestler in another country after), interest from the promoter, interpromotional political considerations, wrestler health and fatigue, and other factors that I have probably missed. Yet, it makes no sense to me that Tommy Billington, who has wrestled on AEW TV programming only wrestled 1) once 2) on Pandemonium Pro's pre-show and 3) had fewer in-ring minutes over the course of two weeks than an inanimate object.

That pushed me down a rabbit hole of tracking wrestlers' appearances during WrestleMania Week based on information in Cagematch. I do not claim that this definitively captures the number of shows in which each wrestler appeared or the wrestlers who appeared at a WrestleMania Week show. I have undoubtedly missed a show or a wrestler. However, this still feels accurate enough in a back of the envelope calculation way that I can draw certain inferences on the wrestlers who seem, to be, to have been criminally underused at WrestleMania Week 2025.

1. Tommy Billington

Off the top of my head, I think I can imagine up to 10 matches that could have realistically happened at WrestleMania Week that involved Billington.

Billington vs. Kzy

Billington vs. Jonathan Gresham

Billington vs. Galeno del Mal

Billingon vs. Cappuccino Jones

Billington vs. Judas Icarus

Billington vs. Arez

Billington vs. Leon Slater

Billington vs. AJ Francis

Billington vs. Nicole Matthews

Billington vs. Michael Oku

Instead, we had just the match against Sean Legacy, and I couldn't have even seen that because Pandemonium Pro's stream was overwhelmed during that match.

2. Adam Priest 3. LaBron Kozone

As two of the highlights of Deadlock Pro Wrestling, one would have expected that we would have seen more of Priest and Kozone. Instead, Kozone had only his match against Leon Slater at DPW Title Fight in Vegas, while Priest only wrestled Minoru Suzuki at Prestige Wrestling Nothing to Lose and in three Ultimate Conflict match at the DPW show. One could argue that Priest and Kozone were featured wrestlers on DPW's show, so they could have turned down offers to appear on other shows to preserve themselves for the DPW show. Nonetheless, I wish they had been more active during WrestleMania Week.

4. Hyan

I only saw the 2025 Queen of the Indies winner in her match against Kingsley at Pandemonium Pro's show, though she also wrestled on Dragongate x Pro Wrestling Revolution: The Gate of Revolution. I was impressed with how solid she was overall. She isn't spectacular, but she is a better (or at the very least, a less annoying) wrestler than some of the other wrestlers who were signed to wrestle at more shows than Hyan. Could she have wrestled on the DDT or the TJPW/DDT/GCW show instead of the inanimate object?

5. Kingsley

Speaking of Hyan's match on Pandemonium Pro’s show, Kingsley, Hyan's opponent, only wrestled once during WrestleMania Week. It's a long trip to make from Australia to Las Vegas for just one match. There's potential in Kingsley's personality and character, and I wish we had seen more opportunities to see it contrasted against other wrestlers. For example, Kingsley and Nicole Matthews could have had some fun interactions.

6. Rey Horus 7. Ninja Mack 8. Luke Jacobs

Jacobs, as the PROGRESS World Champion, had a main event match against Michael Oku, so I could imagine, similarly as Kozone and Priest, that he wanted to save himself for that match. Horus, as a veteran, could have found some of the other shows not worth his time and effort. And Mack could be saving his body for another tour of Japan; however, given that he participated in a scramble cage match at the Clusterfuck show, I doubt it.

9. Titus Alexander

The problem with potential is that it can prop doors open for only so long. At 24 years old, Alexander still has plenty of time to realize his potential, but he also feels like old news because he made his debut seven years ago. In that time, he has had good matches, but it doesn't feel like he's had a stand-out break-out match. This year, he worked at three shows: DPW's, Marvelous's, and West Coast Pro's. While they were fairly prominent matches, they also weren't the most important or most memorable matches from the week. Again, do I wish that he had teamed with MAO instead of the inanimate object at the TJPW/DDT/GCW joint show? Absolutely.

10. Danny Orion 11. Carter Blaq

I wish that these two standouts from New Texas Pro Wrestling's show had wrestled in more shows this year. Orion was in the six-man match at West Coast Pro's show, and I think he or Blaq would have been a better option than some other wrestlers on, for example, Dragongate USA: The Reborn, or 4th Rope/GCW Heels Haves Eyes: For the Culture 2025.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

The First Annual WrestleMania Week 2025 Awards

The folks at Voices of Wrestling were kind enough of to accept my article on the best of WrestleMania Week 2025 for their site. Please check it out there!

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

Nobuyuki Kurashima & Yuki Ishikawa vs. Takahiro Tababa & Masao Ando, IMPACT/EXIT/Ginza Pro Tatsuaki Nakano 40th Anniversary U-REMAIN, March 23, 2025

After watching two twenty-something years old joshi try their best at thrilling us with a UWF rules match, the only natural follow-up is to watch a pair of men in their 50s (Nobuyuki Kurashima of Dradition and BattlArts and Yuki Ishikawa of NJPW and BattlARTS, 52 and 58, respectively) take on a fairly unsuccessful MMA fighter (Masao Ando, age 47) and the owner of IMPACT Fighting Federation, Takahiro Tababa (age 31). That might sound like I'm downright caustic about this match, but it was closer to the Platonic ideal of grapplefuck than the Aya Sakura vs. Kiyoka Kotatsu UWF rules match that I watched. We have a battle between grapplers (Kurashima and Ishikawa) and strikers (self-proclaimed "Muay Thai Machine No. 6" Tababa, who presumably ate the other Muay Thai Machines, and Ando), who primarily annoyed Kurashima and Ishikawa with their kicks to the leg. I enjoyed seeing Tababa get his comeuppance for throwing nasty kicks at Kurashima's and Ishikawa's legs when he got trapped in a submission hold. And the fact that this was only available (as far as I can tell) as a video filmed from ringside and uploaded to Twitter gives this a much grimier, more niche feeling.

The match can be seen on X formerly known as Twitter.