We’re experimenting with a new format this week since I had a lot written out over the last week, and it’d be such a massive drop if I just kept compiling everything to post at the end of the month. The current plan is to keep share the writings I do about matches from the previous week. At times, actual broadcasts won’t match up neatly to the release of the column (let’s call it that), and I hope that freeing up that boundary makes it easier for me to release this as feels natural instead of being bound to feeling like I need to catch up to every single thing. I foresee that there’ll be weeks in the coming months I won’t be able to keep up due to personal plans, but I’ll try to stick with it for as long as possible.
Again, let’s consider a period of experimentation. No promises, just keep with it while we can.
Enjoy.
Note on dates: Review dates refer to my local timezone in the Philippines, match dates are based on the timezone each match occurred in. I decided to include the date I reviewed the matches in just so everyone has a decent timeline of how I came to each match regardless of broadcast date.
Mistico, Mascara Dorada, & Esfinge vs. Soberano Jr, Gran Guerrero, & Angel de Oro (CMLL Martes de Arena Mexico 7/2/24)
Reviewed: July 9, 2024
It’s not always the most innovative thing in the world, but the stars of CMLL have quite simply mastered the in-house formula and style. It’s something that really comes through in a match like this that even just turning up the gears a little bit on the template they work basically night in and night out can produce greatness. Structurally, nothing groundbreaking is happening here, but its bolstered by how much the workers are putting into their individual performances. Notably, this is another strong outing for rudo Soberano Jr, whose combination of vicious control and smug character work continues to sharpen on every single outing. Meanwhile, Mistico and Dorada deliver in spades with the signature flashy fireworks and heroics. Hell even lesser stars like Angel de Oro and Esfinge get a little more room to shine with some beefy collisions and stiffer striking than usual. Just an effortlessly enjoyable trios, which are almost a dime a dozen in CMLL at this point. Don’t let their frequency detract from their individual quality though, it’s great every time.
Rating: ****
Bryan Danielson vs. PAC (AEW Dynamite: Beach Break 7/3/24)
Reviewed: July 9, 2024
I’ll be the first to hold my hands up that this doesn’t quite pack the emotional punch of Hanger/Jarrett. In fact, I’m happy to concede that anyone that prefers the latter has good reason to do so between the effectiveness of the booking and the efficiency it was executed with. That said, I think that as a whole it’s the Danielson/PAC opener from this night that really gets closer to accomplishing its vision.
Danielson appears to doubling down on the reality of his age and piling injuries for this tournament run. While incorporating injuries has been a key part of his ringwork for years now, there seems to be an added vulnerability displayed in his two tournament matches up to this point. It’s not just that his neck is all banged up, it’s also that he’s not nearly as quick or as agile as PAC when they’re completing their exchanges early on. And when PAC’s able to take control and begin working over Danielson’s body, the latter’s selling comes through in such a wonderful way. It’s exactly the kind of sympathetic work that’s made Danielson one of the all-timers, and combined with something as grotesque as an avalanche brainbuster, it makes for some genuinely compelling ringwork too. He remains vulnerable til the end, barely escaping PAC’s Brutalizer, and relying on his savvy to get a timely pinfall instead of decisively putting PAC down.
It may not be obvious on the surface, but it feels like we’ve entered another totally new version of Danielson in this tournament–distinct from the bully challenger of 2021, distinct even from the morally gray one-eyed killer of the Continental Classic. This is a Danielson that’s beat up and getting by with his mind more than his body, and that’s going to make for a fresh dynamic against Hangman Page that I can’t wait to see.
Rating: ****
Daniel Makabe vs. Nicole Matthews (Lions Gate Dojo 7/6/24)
Reviewed: July 16, 2024
Setting aside that this happens without a much deserved crowd, this might be the ideal presentation of a Daniel Makabe/Nicole Matthews match. The camera gets in real close, giving us a real close up view of all the action in the ring. All the better to catch all the delightful intricacies these two bring to their work. There’s a lot of that hand fighting that Dan favors, and we get such a great view of how that plays out here. Always struggling for the right leverage, the right position on the mat, to crank back on a hold or to get free.
Much of this is just pure riffing down on the mat, and it’s delightful. These two play it so straight and clean, that it really does feel earned when tempers start to flair towards the back half and bigger strikes start raining down. And even then, I love that they don’t overplay that hand. It’s a quick burst of violence then right back to the matter at hand, asserting dominance on the mat. This also features one of Dan’s nastier transitions into a finish on this retirement tour as well. Headbutting Nicole’s knee to move into the Makabe Lock Pi is gruesome stuff and it’s violent enough to suitably earn him the win on the way out.
Rating: ****
Demus vs. Lunatik Xtreme (ZONA 23 11. Aniversario 7/7/24)
Reviewed: July 15, 2024
I don’t have the energy to try to ascertain for certain, but I get the impression the copy we have of this is edited down. The feed keeps cutting to these generic crowd shots before returning to action that doesn’t quite feel connected to what we just saw. But also, that’s just how some of these matches go anyway, so one can never quite tell.
That said, what we do have here rules for the most part. The highlight is the brawling on the floor. It’s filled with these meaty punches, headbutts, and all the typical ZONA 23 junkyard favor. Beer bottles get shattered, skewers to the noggin, light tubes, and bumps on old cars. It all rocks, but at its best, this match has a real sense of combustibility to it. I think of one of Lunatik’s early comebacks in this regard, just bashing away at Demus repeatedly with beer bottles and light tubes. Later on too, I get a real kick out of the production crew having to grab sound equipment away from Lunatik lest he bash Demus’ head in with it.
The stuff in the ring is a little less thrilling. Mostly just pretty standard bumps and power moves, but they’re never bad enough to detract from the chaos as a whole. After the match too, there’s a real sweet moment of Demus showing such respect to Xtreme that he offers a lock of his own hair despite winning the match. Who says romance is dead in 2024?
Rating: ****
Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page (AEW Dynamite 7/10/24)
Reviewed: July 11, 2024
Perhaps the best quality to this outing in the Hangman/Bryan rivalry is how fresh the dynamic feels. Their AEW World Title matches felt very much like the killer veteran in Bryan putting this young up and comer through the ringer, really making him earn the top spot. And that might still have been the dynamic as late as December of last year, but here in the middle of 2024, it’s totally reversed.
This time, Hangman’s on his psycho run trying to get to Swerve, while Danielson’s still playing off the injuries sustained against Will Ospreay. Luckily, they remain true to the dynamics established throughout the tournament. Hangman gets an early advantage by busting Dragon open on the ringpost, and to his credit, goes right for working over the cut as well. I love Hangman’s focus in this regard, staying true to punching at the visible wound in a way that also feels like a reversal of their first two title matches.
Dragon for his part is one of the most well-practiced babyfaces of all time and his selling’s a delight here. Always putting over the damage from the blood loss, the way that his neck and back are hindering his progress, and in general adding a lot of depth to the action here as whole. Can’t help but also think on how desperate it feels for him to bring back the classic springboard attack off the top rope to the floor too. The way he hits it here, one believes he could still launch ten rows deep into the crowd if he chose to after all this time.
Even the Jarrett dynamics work here. As expected, he plays the conscience of the tournament by ensuring that everything goes square towards the end. As is consistent with the tournament so far too, Danielson wins by sheer canny technique instead of overwhelming his competition as he might have in the past.
It’s not quit the classic it used to be. AEW crowds have a way dampening these things–something I’d argue is as indicative of decline as their ratings and attendance figures–but what’s true remains true throughout. Danielson’s my hero, and it feels good to see him win. One last time, ready to believe in the Dragon.
Rating: ****¼
Mad Dog Connelly vs. Tank (Scenic City Invitational 2024 N1 7/12/24)
Reviewed: July 13, 2024
Leave it up to Mad Dog to have Tank’s best match of the decade. Tank’s always been fun, but I think it’s fair to say that his toolbox is more limited than ever in 2024. He just doesn’t have the same mobility that he used to, a natural part of the aging process for any wrestler. That’s what makes Mad Dog the perfect wrestler to pair up against him. Mad Dog more than happily brings the frenetic energy to this to contrast Tank’s stoic solidity.
Mad Dog achieves this primarily by just beating the shit out of Tank. A big ole chain shot to start, then those clubbing punches and forearms, and those wild headbutts whether standing and trading or just flinging himself head first at Tank. It’s a delight to see Mad Dog make the effort to try to take Tank down, and even suffer for it. Bless him for taking that suplex on the concrete, and then believably going down when Tank just grabs in the right moment and bears all that weight down on him. A real thrill ride of a brawl.
Rating: ****
Daniel Makabe vs. Kevin Ku (Scenic City Invitational 2024 N1 7/12/24)
Reviewed: July 13, 2024
Incredibly rude of Makabe to have arguably one of the best years of his entire career before calling it a day. For the uninitiated, this is Daniel Makabe’s last ever match in pro wrestling barring the “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson himself making a match between the two happen. It is, as far as Makabe’s concerned, his last chance to express the distinct creativity that characterized his time as a professional wrestler.
That exacting attention to detail has often led to Makabe being termed something of a “nerdbait” wrestler. The kind of wrestler that loves to sell a limb in occasionally trite ways like lifting a leg up during a bridge to sell damage to that limb. While I understand where this criticism comes from, certainly since one can always feel how “thought through” Makabe’s matches are, I’ve never considered too much of a problem. Or at the very least, I’ve found the pros far outweigh the cons. In this match especially, the nerdbait feels so, so good, and so, so right. His arm gets worked over regularly and he sells it well, and there are direct appeals to the niche online communities that have both formed him and rallied around him , most notably outright namedropping the recently passed Dean Rasmussen before nailing a Death Valley Driver.
Luckily, Daniel Makabe is also one of the smartest wrestlers on the planet. And details are great, but why tickle the brain when you can instead touch on a raw nerve?
Halfway through the bout, Makabe opens himself up after nailing a tope on Ku on the outside. The angle on the live broadcast makes it unclear what happened, but I like to imagine that it’s a Atlantis/Villano III situation where Makabe just dove in head first and paid the price for it. Dan’s bladed in the past, but not too recently, and certainly not this fucking well. While watching on stream, I invoked Jay Briscoe’s name and I hold to it. The blood flows yes, but it also coagulates, it clumps. It’s gross and filthy and covers Makabe’s body, down to his thighs.
It rocks.
There’s something special about how the match transforms after that. Makabe’s mind never vanishes from the picture, but rather his heart comes to the fore. The blood is pouring from him, Ku is bullying him with these strikes, and at times all Makabe can do is ball up his fists in defiance of his own body’s continuing collapse. A final stand to hold back the accumulating aches and pains, to make time stop for just long enough before packing it in. And for three seconds, he does it.
Even the best heroes can’t turn back time, but for just a little while, they can make it stand still.
We’ll miss you, Dan.
Rating: ****½
Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin (Prestige Combat Clash PDX 7/12/24)
Reviewed: July 15, 2024
Much like Shelley’s match against Thatcher earlier in the year, a wonderful feeling riff session with a little added depth to it. It isn’t just that these two are exchanging some of the most well-done, cleanly executed chain wrestling you’re bound to see anywhere in the world. It’s the intent behind it all too, working to display that the two stand on mostly even footing due to their familiarity with each other. Even adding to that story, there are small touches that foreshadow how it all ends. For example, when Sabin grabs a crossface early in the match, he notably maximizes the five count despite wrestling a clean match before that. It’s a small thing, but it allows him to press a small advantage on Shelley right after. There’s never any real settling into a full on control segment, but it’s a moment like that that really adds substance to the fact that Sabin gets the win at the end here. Equal footing, familiarity, all those things can be overcome with just a little bit of aggression at just the right time.
Rating: ****
Roderick Strong vs. Timothy Thatcher (Prestige Combat Clash PDX 7/12/24)
Reviewed: July 15, 2024
This has a little more grit and grime to it than the Shelley/Sabin match. Everything in this match feels so earned. Constant struggle going for holds, working out of them, and even just getting into the right position to attack. The positioning and ring awareness in this bout feels so far ahead anything else I’ve seen in wrestling recently. These two are so talented at using the space to full effect. Sometimes that means Thatcher slamming Roddy’s fingers into the apron, other times it means a struggle in the corner that leads to Thatcher grabbing a hammerlock through the ropes. Perhaps my favorite little touch is Thatcher kicking out by the ropes, slipping out to the floor, then grabbing a Fujiwara on the apron all in one motion. Roddy’s arm selling in this good, and also helped by the visual of his elbow pad coming down to act as a constant reminder of the damage. The arm work also slows him down at key points to, such as keeping him from hooking Thatcher legs on pins or even keeping him from getting into pinfalls in time. With something so evenly and viciously contested, it rocks to do that they keep things so simple for the finish. Bang, big knee to the jaw, a quick stunning strike to get the win for Roddy. Tenryu and Fujiwara would be proud.
Rating: ****
