Smackdown will be moving from its current network of SCFY to the USA Network as of 2016. USA is the current home of raw so wwe will have 5 hours of programming running on USA each week in prime time. Word is Smackdown will remain in the 8pm-10pm time slot but no official word has been given by the USA network as of writing. AJ Lee finally decided to step away from wwe and the wrestling business this month. She has reportable retired for real after working for the company for the last 5 years (no screen). Rumours have it that Lee has issues with wwe over the way wwe have acted towards her husband CM Punk, which obviously was going to cause tension between both sides. Aj who was one of wwe most respected women wrestlers had a great run with the group making good money during her hottest period in 2012 but as of late she seemed to be phoning it in with her performances (watch her work from this year she barley seemed to care at times) It also quiet a sad state of affairs when she was working her dream job but like so many others wrestling politics have grinded AJ down and she's decided she will have more fun away from wrestling and obviously the lawsuits between punk and wwe may have strained the relationship between the two. All I have to add is I wish her the best of luck and hope she hasn't given it all up for a MMA career as wrestling really can't afford to lose another star to MMA in my opinion. WWE Wrestlemania 31 was a critical success after months of bad build the show of shows actually delivered in ring but apart from head scratching decisions on who went over on the showcase of the Immortels wwe actually produced its first decent mania in years (only thing that delivered last year was the payoff to daniel Bryan/authority storyline). The only thing the show lacked was a great wrestling match but it did deliver on over the top entrance and surprises. In what was a puzzling piece of booking seth Rollins did the job to Orton (this would make sense come the end of the show). Bray Wyatt lost his second straight mania outing this time to the returning undertaker, again this made no sense to me as Bray really needed the win more than taker. RUSEV went down to Cena but that was kind of expected right and sting ended up on the losing end to triple h in a logic killing match. On the bright side the ladder match delivered but it was kind of expected with all shortcuts they were able to take to get there shit over in this match and d.bryan at least got his moment in the sun by winning the IC Title and the main event really delivered with both Brock Lesnar and Roman Regins killing one another to get there shit over, both men stiffed the hell out of one another and this match wouldn't have looked out of place on a new Japan card. Roman was booked strong and kept strong throughout this match as well as brock and the finish couldn't have been anymore shocking with seth Rollins cashing in and leaving wrestlemania the new wwe Champion, my only complaint was that it was a bit of a convoluded way to get the belt off brock and onto rollins but it did keep both roman and brock looking strong coming out of this match. UFC Womens Bantamweight Champion Rounda Rousey appeared along with the Rock in a crowd pleasing segment which set up either a mixed tag or two singles matches with The Authority. NXT run a house show over the WrestleMania weekend which drew an impressive crowd of over 5,000 fans. Here are the results from the show which has been gaining critical praise, Hideo Itami beat Tyler Breeze, Jason Jordan hammered Bull Dempsey, Bayley and Alexa Bliss bested Becky Lynch and Dana Brooke. Triple H Made an apperance, he name dropped Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels who were in attendence and also name dropped Jr Jim Ross who was sat ringside for this show, hunter added in a tweet later that night that he heard the nxt universe loud and clear. Saloman Crowe rolled over Kalisto, Baron Corbain downed Rhino, Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake dropped The Vaudevillians (Simon Gotch and Aiden English) and Enzo&Big Cass in a 3 team match to retain the NXT Tag Team Titles. Sasha Banks pinned Charlotte to retain the NXT Women's Titls, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn who were injured cut promos and finally Finn Balor defeated Adrain Neville in the main event. Also that weekend wwe did the annual hall of fame ceremony, among the highlights of the show were the Bushwackers induction it seems time has not made these two any less crazy and both Luke and Butch delivered a fine speech which had myself and many others rolling about in the aisle and it was needed after sitting through the incredibly emotional Connor The Crusher warrior award speech which was highlighted by Dana Warrior dissing Hulk Hogan. Also Larry Zbyszko seemed genuinely choked up by his induction and his speech was another highlight as he seemed to ignore wwe writers written speech and just tried to wing it and old pro larry may have got off topic now and again but he brought it home perfectly. So that was my highlights and lowlights of WrestleMaina this year as for next year there was talk Brock Lesnar Vs The Rock would headline but now it seems if the rock will either team with Rounda Rousey to face stephanie McMahon and trips in a mixed tag or face Triple H in a singles match at next years granddaddy of em all. Finn Balor worked wwe european tour this month fuelling fire to the rumour he will debut on the main roster shortly. Vince McMahon made some strange comments regarding sting during a investors call, he said he taken sting from obsecurity and made him into a main eventer. I know vince has a strange take on wrestling history but these comments only make him look as insecure as hulk hogan is or maybe it was some good old fashioned spin for the investors, whatever it was its made vince look really stupid. The Lucha Dragons Kalisto and Sin Cara have finally made there way to the main roster along (expect Sin 'Huncio' Cara who has been on the Main roster for years) with (Adrain) Neville, so far the both acts have adjusted to the main roster very nicely indeed. Unlike the ascension and adam rose who did not adjust to the main roster very well at all but that was mostly to do with bad booking. I was going to end this segment with good news about Daniel Bryan winning the intercontinental title and how this is best for business (if booked correctly) but unfortunately Bryan was recently pulled for the European tour due to numbness in his arm. Insiders fear bryan has seriously reinjured his neck which he injured last year and may not be able to change his in ring style (like many suggested months ago) and may have to retire from in ring activity whatever has happened I do fear for Bryan's future.
TNA
Drew Galloway has debuted with TNA he has been placed into a feud with the Beat Down Crew (MVP, Low-Ki, Homicide and Kenny King). He has aligned with former wwe wrestler Camacho (Haku's son and Toma Tonga brother, who is now known as Myka) and Eli Drake (who is relatively unknown by myself) and are going under the name the Rising. TNA Impact may have been improving as of late but it's more bad news this month for Dixie's league when Manik (TJ Perkins) took to Facebook to address some rumours that have been hovering around the world of wrestling as of late and that was at TNA isn't paying talent for its dates in February or March. Manik was not happy and who can blame him at this point and many months ago I pointed out how TNA would have problems running without live events or PPV and it seems 3 months into its relaunch the company is going the way of ECW and countless others. It's a shame but Dixie you only have yourself to blame dear and you obviously haven't learned from pro wrestling history which is littered with stories very similar to that of TNA story. Just before I finished this section Tazz left TNA due to financial issues with the company. I'm ending this section with a review of TNA Impact London 2nd tv tapping from March 20th. In a good opener Taryn Terrell beat Gail Kim and Awesome Kong to retain the TNA Knockouts Title, say what you want about Terrell but obviously Dixie is strongly behind even though kim and Kong are the more supieror wrestlers to Taryn. Magnus and Bram ended in a non contest after the two brawled to the back. They got back to the ring Magnus maned up with the aide of a steel chair and nailed Bram a few times with the chair. Mickie James then appeared and attacked bram helping her husband who then powerbombed Bram off the stage. I haven't at all enjoyed this feud as it screams of something TNA would have done in 2009 and has made very little sense at all. Austin Aries came out to the ring and cut a promo challenging the BDC to a give him back his feast or fired breifcase (don't even get me started on the logic to feast or fired). Then Joe (This was tapped before Joe left the company) and Low-Ki came out and accpted the match for the briefcase which contains a TNA Title Shot. After more nonsensical talking it lead to a Joe Vs Aries match while the crowd chanted briefcase wanker at Ki. Joe v Aries was turning into a good match (but then you would expect that from these two) but then it ended in another DQ as Ki interfered. Then ki and Joe had the 2 on 1 advantage over Aries but Ki accidently hit Joe with the breifcase and then Aries ended up taking him out (at least the heels not babyfaces where booked to look stupid here). Rockstar Spud then came out and cashed in his feast or fired briefcase shot against TNA x division champion low-Ki and then pinned him after nailing him with a shirauni to pick up the win and his first title in TNA. All a little to rushed for my liking and over booked but then that is what TNA does I guess, by this point I have stopped caring. Talking about over booking as we went into are next match as James Storm downed Matt Hardy in a hardcore match, the Revolution interfered and introduced some tacks. Leader storm ended up taking the fall into them but then more revolution interference lead to storm recovering and nailing hardy with a cow bell and a superkick to pick up the win. Post match Revolution were attacking the Hardys when out run ICW and british boot camp contestant Grado who saved the day but he didn't,
not really as the Wovles came out to level things up and the heels were sent packing. It was nice to see Grado in this match but that was about it, by now I was yet again thinking why am I watching this shit. In the main event Kurt Angle defeated Lashley in a good match to win the TNA World Heavyweight Title. This was the best match of this show and tapping so far (as the previous weeks episode was tapped before this show was tapped and that had one good match on it). The action picked up throughout and I was really into the near falls towards the end. The finish saw lashley kick out of a second angle slam then apply a cross bar breaker but angle countered it into an ankle lock and eventually lashley was forced to tap out and we had a new TNA champion. The main event helped this show for me but over 2 hours I was blown up on all the over booked finishes and was losing interest towards the end but then angle v lashley saved the day. I would give this show a 4 out of 10 largely due to one good match which was of course the main event which I can not put over enough but did it make me want to watch TNA next week, well no it didn't and I haven't watched it since. So if TNA want to get me back as a fan they will need to do one thing stop over booking everything to the point I loss concentration please then I'll gladly come back and watch your show.
ROH
The Briscoe (Mark&Jay) gave ROH some good news this month by signing a new two year deal with ROH after being in negations with wwe. The move probably wouldn't have suited the Briscoes who have a life away from ROH and in wwe you have no life away from the ring because wwe performers are full timers not to say the Briscoes are part timers it's just a fact that ROH schedule isn't as heavy as a wwe schedule. Samoa Joe short stint in ROH is already over he put over Jay Briscoe at ROH Supercard of Honor 9 in a good main event. To build him for this match, ROH staged the conquest tour in the Midwest of America where Joe went over ACH and Michael Elgin plus others but you have to wonder why ROH Booked its full time talents to go down to someone who was going to depart after a match with Jay Briscoe but if Joe does return to ROH and not go to wwe then obviously there is feuds waiting there for Joe to work. Jimmy Jacobs has departed ROH to sign with wwe to work as a creative consultant for NXT, Jacobs put over former decade stablemate BJ Whitmer in his final ROH apperance at ROH Supercard of Honor 9. in what should be considered a match which featured all there greatest hits, I'll expand on this later. Josh Alexander has departed ROH so much for the monster Mafia coming to ROH then. The Knights of the rising dawn have been relieved as Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarain and Chris Sabin. After months of roh implying it may be the kingdom (Adam Cole, Michael Bennett, Matt Taven and Maria Kanellis) ROH swerved us all with the unveiling of daniels, Kazarian and Sabin as TKOTRD. Also daniels and Kazarain won the ROH tag team titles from reDRagon before the big reveal, ending Kyle O'Riely&Bobby Fish near one year regain. ROH have announced the New Japan talents who will be apart of the ROH global wars and war of the world cards at the end of May. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamaru plus plenty more have been confirmed for this three show tour in May which will hit Philadelphia and Toronto. To end this section is some quick thoughts on ROH Supercard of Honor 9 show held over the Wrestlemania weekend but due to NXT running a show that night attendence hit an all time low with only 800 or so people showing up for this show. Things got worst when people began to leave during the last few matches due to the NXT house show starting because most fans had tickets for both. Up first Mark Briscoe bested ACH, I felt ACH should have won this one as mark is currently not involved in any major storylines going forward and come to think of it neither is ACH and that is my problem with ROH at the moment with so many leaving for NXT wouldn't it make sense to get the next generation ready and ACH time is now in my opinion. Michael Elgin hammered Frankie Kazarain far to easily, Matt Sydal toppled Tomasso Ciampra (in his final roh apperance as he departed the company shortly after this match), Carpice Coleman, Andrew Everett, Cedric Alexander and Moose/with Veda Scott and Stokley Heathaway in a six man mayhem match. BJ Whitmer beat Jimmy Jacobs in a very good match, which ended up being Jacobs last ROH apperance as well as he's jumped ship to NXT, they did all there big spots from there previous ROH encounters which made this match fill special and even Lacey run in during this as well but no tyler black unfortunately, in fact what did ever happen to that Tyler Black fella. Roderick Strong dropped Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels in another good outing but the finish was never in dealt was it. reDRagon (Bobby Fish&Kyle O'Reily)/with Flithy Tom Lawler downed The Kingdom (Matt Taven&Michael Bennnett)/with Maria Kanellis to retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles in another quality contest. Jey Lethal/with Truth Martini defeated Jushin 'Thunder' Liger to retain the ROH World Television Title, the finish saw martini throw in lethal's title belt but liger grabbed it from lethal and went to use the belt on lethal. The referee saw this and injected himself to grab the title from liger while doing so lethal nailed liger with a Superkick and lethal injection to pick up the win over the legend. Finally Jay Briscoe pinned Samoa Joe to retain the ROH World Title in a cracking main event. Both champion and challenger were booked as equals throughout and had a counter for a reversal on each other throughout but the finish saw Jay counter a muscle buster for a second time then give Joe a jay driller (a move Joe had countered earlier on) for the 1,2 and 3. Enjoyable show even if it was a little pricey ROH and the main events ended up on free tv but overall I fill I got my money's worth. I would rate this show as a 7.5 out of 10 and my match of the night had to go to Joe and Jay who had a very compelling story to tell throughout there match.
Japan
New Japan have announced 19 shows spanning throughout the late July mid August for this years G-1 tournament. That's 19 dates over 3 and a half weeks, that's quiet a tall schedule for the wrestlers but word is pro wrestling Noah, ROH and CMLL will be sending representatives for this years tournament which should help new Japan's regulars who will be going full force throughout this tournament and injuries are likely for this tough tour this summer. Kazuchika Okada is next in line to face AJ Styles for the IWGP Heavyweight title, this match has yet to be booked but at the next new Japan show Dontaku the two will be on opposite sides of the ring as Bullet Club members Styles and Yujiro Takahashi face Choas stablemates Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI HASHI on May 3rd in Fukunora Japan. The talent for This years pro wrestling Noah global tag team league has been announced to take place over the next month. Some of the Teams included are Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer&Davey Boy Smith Jnr), Yankee Danga (Masato Tanaka&Takashi Suigara), Chris Hero&Colt Carbana, TMDK (Shane Haste&Mikey Nicholls) plus many more of the regular noah crew. Blood and guts Japanese gonzo group FMW is returning for the first time since it went out of business in 2002,
FMW legends Atsushi Onita, Masato Tanaka and Hayabusa will be involved in some capacity to appease long term fans of FMW. Onita will be leading his own faction against Nosawa faction and will likely feature in matches as well, FMW revival events will be held on April 21st, 22nd, 23rd and on the 27th. New Japan Cup 1st Round Results,
05/03/15: Toru Yano upset Hiroshi Tanahashi in less an 2 minutes, Kota Ibushi toppled Doc Gallows. Tetsuya Naito rolled over Karl Anderson, Bad Luck Fale bested Kazuchika Okada in what was considered yet another upset. Togi Makabe dropped Toamoki Homna in a good match, Yujiro Takahashi put away YOSHI HASHI. Hiroki Goto downed Yugi Nagata and veteran Nagata continues to slide down the card, Shibata pinned Satoshi Kojima in final match of the opening round. 2nd Round, 08/03/15: Kota Ibushi defeated Taro Yano, Tetsuya Naito beat Bad Luck Fale. Yet again Naito was booed by the crowd, Togi Makabe hammered Yujiro Takahashi and Hiroki Goto bested Shibata. Semi Final, 15/03/15: Kota Ibushi beat Tetsuya Naito in what turned out to be my personal favourite match of the entire tournament. In second semi final match, Hiroki Goto defeated Togi Makabe in a good match and the final was staged later that same show and Kota Ibushi pinned Hiroki Goto in a good final. To end this Section is the New Japan Invasion Attack review which was held on April 5th in the Tokyo Japan. To open the show was a Ten Man Tag as Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA, Captain New Japan, Yohei Komatsu and Yugi Nagata toppled Jushin 'Thunder' Liger, Manabu Nakanishi, Rysuke Taguchi, Sho Tanaka and Tiger Mask. Average ten man tag to open the show nothing special really happened, there was a good exchange between KUSHIDA and tiger mask but that was about it. The finish saw Shelley drill Sho Tanaka with a tusion fusion to pick up the win. It was simple booking with Shelley picking up the win meaning he would next be next in line for a IWGP Junior Heavyweight title shot and it would set him up nicely for his angle he would have later on, on the show with kenny omega. Up next was a Six Man Tag as Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Toamaki Homna bested The Bullet Club (Cody Hall, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi). Another average match which again didn't feature anything special, all six men Were over (too a degree) with the crowd and they did there big spots but nothing really stood out in this match in my opinion. The finish saw Homna counter a second razor edge attempt by Cody Hall and Koijma and Tenzan nailed hall with a dudley death drop (3D). Homna went up top and dropped a flying headbutt to hall to pick up the win for his team. The card kicked into high gear as Roppongi (RPG) Vice (Trent Berretta&Rocky Romero) rolled over The Young Bucks (Matt&Nick Jackson) to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title. You either love a young bucks match or hate it and in my case I really do like a young bucks match. This show finally kicked into high gear after two lacklustre matches to open the show. Both teams worked well together and they had a very dramatic encounter indeed, hopefully we get to see more of these two teams doing what they do best and that is fast paced, spot heavy action. RPG vice survived the indie taker double team combo by the bucks after Berretta saved Romero from getting pinned for the 3 count. Then the bucks gave Romero the more bang for buck double team combo but unbeknownst to the bucks Berretta blind tagged himself in and RPG vice gave the bucks the stun gun combo to pick up the win and we have new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Up Next Kenny Omega beat Mascara Dorado to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title. A very good match were both men incorporated a lot of Lucha spots and sequences into there match which also had a splash of classic puro near falls, the finish saw dorado counter omega reverse electric chair but he couldn't follow up as omega gave dorado a running knee smash then his reverse Electric chair driver to pick up the win and retain his title. Afterwards omega cut a promo saying how he had cleaned up new Japan and taken out the garbage in japanese and Mexican wrestlers and was now turning his attentions to the U.S. And more specifically the motor city. He was directly calling out Alex Shelley who was at ringside for this one, the two then had a stare down to simply set up a match between the two for next month. Take note wwe sometimes you don't need a convoluded storyline to set up a match as new Japan showed here. Sometimes it's just easier to do what promoters have been doing for years and that is people will pay to see two wrestlers who are precieved as winners face off with one another. Up next was The Kingdom (Michael Bennett&Matt Taven)/with Maria Kanellis who dropped The Bullet Club (Doc Gallows&Karl 'The Machine Gun' Anderson) to win the IWGP Tag Team Titles. It caught me a little off Guard that the kingdom team won this match as gallows N Gun had only just recaptured the gold last month but I also said this about gallows and gun regaining the belts last month. Early on the bullet club got the upper hand on Taven and Bennett then turned there attention to maria Kanellis on the outside. They got her into the ring but her husband Michael Bennett just saved her skin. The kingdom took over control of the match with there hardy inspired offensive when Bennett gave anderson a twist of fate and Taven nailed anderson with a swantime Bomb for the nearfall. Then the bullet club came back with some double team combos to the kingdom and it looked all but over for the ROH regulars but maria got up on the apron and shook her money maker in the direction of anderson. This obviously distracted the machine gun (as it would with any man) who walked towards her, gallows came over to her as well and grabbed her by her hair. Back in the ring Bennett recovered and nailed anderson with a spear to pick up the win and titles for him and taven (take that IWC). Another Six Man Tag was next as Hiroki Goto, Tetsuya Naito and Togi Makabe downed Choas (Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Iishi and YOSHI-Hashi. This was an all action six man tag which helped set up two feuds at least coming out of it. Nakamaru, Ishii, Makabe and Goto all had enjoyable exchanges with one another, shame it can't be said about Naito and HASHI who seem to be going nowhere after this one. The finish saw nakamaru nail Goto with a Bombay running knee smash but on the second attempt Goto countered and after some back and fourth he drilled the IWGP intercontinental champion with samoa joes old ROH finish the Island driver (Joe used the move between 2002-03 period in ROH until he found the muscle buster or stole it for Shinya Hashimoto) to pick up the win. Unlike in wwe when someone pins the intercontinental champion it means something because Shinsuke hasn't been beaten every week on tv so when Goto pinned him he didn't just get a title shot as his win actually meant something because he beat someone who was winning streak since last years G-1 tournament. Next was the team of Choas (Kazushi Sakaruba and Taro Yano) who hammered Hiroshi Tanahashi&Shiabata in a Average match which broke the card up nicely, the finish saw Shibata tap out to Sakaruba's MMA arm bar. I kind of fill sorry for Shibata as I felt he shouldn't have been taping out to veteran Sakaruba, but I guess it sets up a match between the two former MMA fighters. The semi main event was next as Kazuchika Okada defeated Bad Luck Fale. As with most Fale matches it needs a far superior worker to make it at least passable. As Okada worked a miracle here and got an ok match out of new Japan's verison of the great Khali with Okada bumping like a boss to make Fale offensive at least look believable. Also I guess it did its job in rehabbing okada following his high profile loss to Tanahashi earlier in the year at Wrestle Kingdom. Again it was simple booking with this one win setting up a Okada v styles rematch but you wouldn't find that out to later, so in summary this all made a lot of sense. The finish saw Okada pick up the massive Fale and nail him with a tombstone Piledriver then a rainmaker for the win. Up next was the main event as AJ Styles pinned Kota Ibushi to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Title. The two lock up twice which is broken by both men, then another lock up and AJ arm drags kota Ibushi to the outside then kota Ibushi does this to aj. Ibushi jumps onto the second rope and then moonsualts out onto AJ who is still on the floor but AJ moves. Ibushi then goes for a jumping spin kick but AJ moves and gives Ibushi a German suplex onto the mats on the outside. AJ then focuses in on Ibushi back working him over in the process with a back breaker and a inverted surfboard. Ibushi makes a brief comeback with a drop sault (dropkick/moonsault) but AJ comes back and again is focusing right back on Ibushi back. Ibushi then cuts AJ off by pushing him off the top rope as AJ goes for the springboard forearm smash. Ibushi goes up top and comes off with a moonsault to AJ for a 2 count. Ibushi hurts his knee and AJ focuses on that sore limb now but ibushi comes back with a double foot stomp to AJ, a spring board drop kick and another moonsault but Ibushi is too banged up and can't capitalise by pinning AJ. Both men get back up and Ibushi drills AJ with a German suplex for another two count. AJ battles back and drills ibushi with a suplex into the corner turnbuckle pad. AJ then nails Ibushi with a inverted ddt which folds Ibushi up like a accordion and covers Ibushi for a near fall as the challenger just kicks out. Both men exchange a number of kick, punches and forearm smashes as well as trading a pela kick with one another. AJ nails Ibushi with the flying forearm smash then a cradle Bomb for another near fall. AJ then gives Ibushi the Bloody Sunday ddt for another nearfall, AJ applies the calf killer but Ibushi battles out of it by eventually reaching the ropes. Larito by AJ to Ibushi but again it only gets a two count. AJ goes for a styles clash off the second rope but Ibushi blocks it and goes for a Frankensteiner but AJ blocks that and Ibushi falls to the apron but then he pops back up with a spring board and hooks AJ into the Frankensteiner. Ibushi covers AJ for the nearest of near falls. Ibushi botches a sit down power Bomb attempt but is able to nail AJ with it seconds later for another near fall. Ibushi climbs up top as he senses victory as he is there former tag team partner (best friend) and DDT cohort Kenny Omega who is now in the bullet club pops up on the ring apron and the two exchange a look. This is enough of a delay Ibushi as AJ has time to recover, then Ibushi comes off with the pheonix splash but AJ catches him and drills Ibushi with a styles clash to pick up the win and retain the IWGP heavyweight title. Afterwards there is a clear look of resentment and displeasure on AJ and omegas face, possibly for one another. To end the show the bullet club celebrate but it seems as if the cleaner kenny omega is not in a celebrating mood. Then Kazuchika Okada shows up and he gives AJ a rainmaker to set up a match between those two, hopefully for next months show.This was what I expected an incredible match which bulit and bulit throughout until the satisfying conclusion which saw AJ and Ibushi pull off one of the most spectacular finishing sequences in new Japan this year. It's getting rave reviews for a reason because it really was that good and it's hint of a split between omega and styles to end the show really had me marking out at the thought of a AJ v omega match at next years wrestle Kingdom. Another cracking new Japan show which may have had some duds on it but it delivered with all the big matches and the booking of the show couldn't have been any better, it was a simply exucution by NJPW who actually set up a lot of meaningful feuds going forward. The wins by omega, Shelley, Goto, RPG vice and Okada all made sense and set up some mouth watering matches for next months shows and beyond. Also the omega and styles stare at one another may not have meant a whole lot to some people but this was great booking as its the first chapter (hopefully) in a long line of chapters between the two. Overall I would give this show a 7.5 out of 10 and my match of the night can only go to one match and that was Ibushi vs styles, which is getting a lot of praise and for good reason as it really was that good.
Elsewhere
Talk N Shop the movie has dropped and is well worth $1.99 price tag on Vimeo, the best worst podcast have made a very funny movie indeed and very fan should go and check it out as I will not be posting spoilers here. Chikara hit the UK this month they hit wovlehampton for a double header, then it was off to Cardiff Wales and it was all capped off with the afternoon delight card in Highbury England at the garage which I was in attendence for, so here is the results from every match held over that long Easter weekend. Chikara UK Tour Night.1 For British Eyes Only (Wovlehampton) Results, Ultra Mantis Black beat Mr Azerbaijan. Oleg The Usurper dropped Juan Fransisco de Coronado, Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster and Blaster McMassive) and JAKA downed Worker Ant, Fire Ant and Amasis in a Trios Match. The Batiri (Obariyon&Kodama) rolled over Chuck Taylor and Swamp Monster, Solider Ant pinned Silver Ant and Finally Hallowicked, Frightmare and Blind Rage defeated Icarus, Dasher Hatfield and Mr Touchdown in a Trios Match. Chikara Night.2 Let Them Eat Cake (Wovlehampton) Results, The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield&Mr Touchdown) toppled Los Ice Cream. Amasis bested Prakash Sabar, Drew Gulak, Chuck Taylor, Swamp Monster and Orange Cassidy beat Ultra Mantis Black, The Batiri (Obariyon&Kodama) and Oleg The Usurper in an 8 Man Tag. Silver Ant pinned JAKA, Juan Fransisco de Coronado downed Icarus in a non title match, upset of the tour. Finally Fire Ant, Worker Ant and NRG (Race Jason&Hype Rockwell) defeated Devistation Corporation (Max Smashmaster&Blaster McMassive),
Frightmare and Hollowicked in an 8 Man Tag. Chikara UK Tour Night.3 Pier Pressure (Cardiff), Chuck Taylor&Drew Gulak beat JAKA&Oleg The Usurper, Los Ice Creams and United Nations (Prakash Sabar&Juan Fransisco de Coronado) in a 4 team elimination match. Mark Andrews bested Silver Ant, Blind Rage&Frightmare toppled Amasis&Fire Ant. Icarus and The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield&Mr Touchdown) dropped The Batiri (Obariyon&Kodama) and Ultra Mantis Black in a Trios Match, Solider Ant downed Worker Ant and finally Devastation Corporation (Blaster McMassive&Max Smashmaster) defeated NRG (Hype Rockwell&Race Jaxon) to retain the Campeonatos De Parejas in a Best 2 out of 3 Falls match, winning two straight falls in a row over NRG. Chikara UK Tour Night.4 Afternoon Delight (London), Amasis, Fire Ant and Worker Ant beat The United Nations (Mr Azerbaijan, Prakash Sabar and Juan Fransisco de Coronado) in a trios match. Blind Rage dropped Ultra Mantis Black, Dasher Hatfield, Hype Rockwell and Kodama downed Mr Touchdown, Race Jaxon and Obariyon in a Trios Match. Oleg The Usurper bested Silver Ant, The Wrecking Crew Devastation Corporation (Blaster McMassive&Max Smashmaster) and JAKA pinned The Gentlemen's Club (Chuck Taylor, Swamp Monster&Drew Gulak) in a Trios Match and finally Hallowicked defeated Icarus to win the Chikara Grand Championship. Shinsuke Nakamaru will wrestle for revolution pro wrestling in bethernal green, london, in an IWC dream match shinsuke will wrestle ricochet and I have my tickets for the June 14th show. Pwg outta nowhere results 27/02/15, Biff Busick made SpeedBall Mike Bailey tap out to a rear naked choke, Cedric Alexander beat Tomasso Ciampra with a suplex/back breaker combination move. Best Friends (Chuck Taylor&Trent Berretta) toppled The Beaver Boys (Tim Silver&Alex Reynolds), ACH rolled over AR Fox with a dead lift German suplex. Chris Hero dropped Drew Gulak with a Piledriver in a very stiff match indeed and this was my match of the night. Ricochet downed Matt Sydal with a reverse variation of the Bloody Sunday, The Young Bucks (Matt&Nick Jackson) defeated The Monster Mafia (Josh Alexander&Ethan Page) with a Meltzer driver and Dave was sat at ringside giving the bucks an approving nod like a don boss. Finally Roderick Strong pinned Trevor Lee to retain the PWG Heavyweight Title in a very good main event, afterwards Strong made a challenge to Zack Sabre Jnr for the next show. PWG Don't Sweat The Technique Results, Brian Cage dropped Biff Busick with a discuss lariat, Trevor Lee bested Speedball Mike Bailey with a small package. The Worlds Cutest Tag Team (Joey Ryan&Candice La Rae) beat The Beaver Boys (Tim Silver&Alex Reynolds) to retain the PWG Tag Team Titles, Chris Hero downed Tommy End with a tombstone piledriver. ACH rolled over Tomasso Ciampra with a 450 splash, Love Gun (Matt Sydal&Chris Sabin) toppled The Monster Mafia (Josh Alexander&Ethan Page) with a neckbreaker shooting star combination move. Ricochet defeated Andrew Everett and finally Roderick Strong defeated Zack Sabre Jnr with the strong hold to retain the PWG Heavyweight Title, I haven't seen this show yet but have pre ordered it so I won't be doing any rating for it. To end this section is a quick review of evolve 40 held during the WrestleMania weekend on March 27th in San Jose. Drew Galloway downed Uhaa Nation in a good opener to retain the Evolve Champioship, This was uhaa last independent apperance before he joined wwe. Timothy Thatcher beat Tommy End in a very good match, both men put on a clinic here and end put in another strong showing by Netherlands native. Both men were very stiff with one another and went back and fourth throughout the match, it ended when thatcher made end tap out to a fujiwara arm bar. Drew Gulak toppled TJ Perkins in another good match which had the misfortune of following thatcher and end and unfortunately didn't stand a chance in hell in doing it and that's me not saying the match wasn't good because it was it just had a tough time following end v thatcher. AR Fox dropped Ethan Page in foxs last (for now at least) evolve match as he quit the company shortly after this. These two went for big spot, high flying match rather than striking and chain wrestling and was a nice change from all these serious wrestling matches. After months of build Chris Hero downed Biff Busick in a very good contest were both men worked stiff with one another, Hero nailed Busick with a tombstone Piledriver to pick up the win after 20 plus minutes of solid action. Johnny Gangero and Rich Swann defeated the premier athlete Brand (Caleb Konley&Brian Cage) in a match which clearly ended early after Swann hurt his knee. Finally Ricochet pinned PJ Black in a very good main event indeed, both men are the king of high risk and high flying and delivered on the big stage. Another quality evolve card this brand my not be for everyone but it's currently making me into a fan of its monthly shows. I normally rate these shows 8 out of 10 and yet again I'm going to do the same here and my match of the night must go to either Black V Ricochet because both men put on a spot heavy high flying showcase or Busick v Hero as I've been compelled throughout there feud which has been bulit over the last few evolve shows.
MATCH OF THE MONTH
AJ STYLES VS KOTA IBUSHI (NJPW)- This match was spectacular and it made new Japan's invasion Attack go from a good show to a great show. Both men are at the peak of there powers (in ring wise) at the moment and delivered after all the hype. As you can read from above I really praised this match and Would recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it yet.
WRESTLER OF THE MONTH
BROCK LESNAR- Brock takes the award this month (see wwe don't just win worst of every month) for the way he made Roman Regins look stronger in 20 plus minutes at WrestleMania than wwe had done in the six months building roman for his eventual one on one match with brock and for being the most entertaining part of wwe tv in the run up and aftermath of this years mania season.
WORST MATCH OF THE MONTH
MIZ V MIZDOW (RAW)- Why wwe felt the need to rush this long running feud into a nothing positon on raw with no build not once but twice just makes my blood boil. Wouldn't it have made more sense to put there first match on the extreme rules ppv (network special) and oh I don't know try to make some money off this feud after building it up for months is beyond me.
WORST WRESTLER OF THE MONTH
KANE (WWE)- Kane wins this months award because every time I see this guy in action these days I groan knowing that this guys best days are behind him and his match will more an likely be dire. Once apon a time the Kane chracther was fresh and a true monster in the world of wrestling but today corporate kane is just an old timer who wwe relies far to heavily on and he's taking a spot away from someone who needs it more than him.
