Red's Wrestling Blog

Matches from IWRG 05/05 1.Dragon Bane, Hijo Canis Lupus, Chico Che vs Metaleon, Fly Warrior, Ovett *** 2.Caristico, Imposible, Aramis vs Los Traumas, Emperador Azteca ***1/2 Thoughts: I continue to catch up on IWRG stuff, nearing being up to date. These two caught my eye, so let's take a look. The first pull was a good trios contest with some fun moments but the big men admittedly took away from the quality and only added a slight novelty to the match itself. A simple tag would have been far better. The main event was very good, with Caristico working harder here than he does in most of his CMLL appearances, and everyone else holding their own, too. Go ahead and check that one out. Skip about 45 minutes in on the video above to start with the listed matches. I have two or three more IWRG shows I'm going to pick around on in the coming days, and then I have vacation as well as a move across the country.

WEEK OF 06/09-06/15 1.Defiant Championship: Rampage(c) vs PAC *** DEFIANT LOADED #27 So, this was good but suffered from the same thing that most of PAC's matches have been suffering from lately (a shit finish). Very attitude era booking. 2.Lumberjack: Psycho Clown vs Rey Escorpion **3/4 AAA Worldwide: Conquista Total en Mochis Speaking of, here's a lumberjack match from the Mexican version of the attitude era. Really, this was a decent use of the stipulation with most of the trope boxes being checked off. Though, are lumberjacks supposed to feel up the lumberjills? This was a pretty decent, chaotic match that also served as a backdoor pilot to next week's Jinetes vs PdN contest so that's worth something. 3.CWFH Heritage Title: Brown(c) vs Rogelio **1/2 Championship Wrestling #10 I figured I'd check in on CWFH, especially since they have this new series. This was very old school stuff not only in pace but also in the circus act finish. Decent match but

Matches from NOAH Global Junior Tag League Night Seven: Misawa Memorial Show 1.Marufuji vs Go **** 2.GHC Heavyweight Title: Kaito(c) vs Sugiura ****1/2 Thoughts: Misawa, the best wrestler that ever lived, is given tribute here. The first pull was truly fantastic, and I loved the story work involved. The finish was a bit abrupt, but they had murdered each other for 20 minutes, so a stiff lariat finish works even if it does seem a bit off in 2019. This was the first time Go had beaten Marufuji in singles action. The main event was a MOTYC. The underdog story continues, with Kaito once more showing that he is deserving of holding the GHC Heavyweight Championship. I'm wondering if he can hold it for a year... He has turned away Marufuji, Masa, Kenou, and now Sugiura since winning it from Takashi back in December. Check both of these out!

PWG has announced a huge card for their upcoming show, SIXTEEN, scheduled for July 26th. Take a look: -Flip Gordon vs Trey Miguel -Dark Order vs Best Friends -MJF vs Darby Allin -Taurus, Laredo Kid, Puma King vs Bandido, Rey Horus, Flamita -Jungle Boy vs Janela -Brody King vs Starr -PWG Tag Titles: Rascalz(c) vs LAX If you haven't been paying attention to SoCal's finest lately, maybe it's time to fix that.

Match from IWRG 04/28 1.IWRG IC Tag Titles: Aramis, Imposible(c) vs Dragon Bane, Hijo Canis Lupus ***3/4 Thoughts: I said they'd be a fun duo as champs once they got better opponents, and I was correct. This was a thrill ride spotfest, holding a backbreaking pace throughout. Without a doubt, this was a great contest and an easy recommendation. Long live the champs! Jump ahead to about 2 hours, 10 minutes if you want to watch this one using the video above.

Match from IWRG Torneo FILL 80 1.Copa Higher Power Cibernetico: Gym FILL vs Gym Argentino ***1/2 Thoughts: I saw more ass than expected and I always hate when the wait-for-dive moments are far too long, of which there were many, but this was still a very fun cibernetico. The animosity on display between both schools added nicely and felt more genuine than some of the more recent Copa Higher Power matches, too. In many ways, this was a superior version of #79, and a very good contest in general despite retaining some of the usual flaws. If you love this type of match consider adding this to your watch list. Jump two hours ahead in the above video if you decide to check it out. Participants: Ángel Del Amor, Canibal Jr., Dragón Fly, Einar El Vikingo, Guerrero Olímpico, Historico, Maradó, Ragnar El Vikingo b Auzter, Black Dragón, Chicanito, Death Metal, Dinamic Black, Puma de Oro, Shadow Boy, Toto

This week's ep looked at night two and three of the current Outbreak tour, working largely as road shows on the way to the Grand Prix semi-finals and finals. I still have the ace, Ashino, winning and going on to reclaim the top prize. Other stories worth mentioning include the 6/9 main event building up the next night's tag title match, which saw Kondo and Seigo take the belts from Alejandro and Kono. The former contest actually included a post-match attack creating a target for limb work during the title match.  It wasn't enough, obviously. The new champs are a fun pair, and we saw a tease of Pantera and Soya teaming soon so I'd love to see that pan out. It's worth bringing up that the Pegaso love affair seems to have cooled off (at least for now) as he took the fall two nights in a row. The last plot I'd bring up is Strong Heart's Yoshioka got a win in a three-way that featured Cruiserweight Champ, Andy Wu, and then again in a random

1.Mohamed vs Thani **1/2 Thoughts: Most of this is stuff you've already seen if you watch the weekly show and the sole fight of the episode was decent but largely skippable. As a result, you can go ahead and skip this week's episode. Overall Rating: 50/100%

1.ONE Atomweight Muay Thai Title: Stamp vs Todd *** 2.Huang vs Thani NR Thoughts: We start in the fourth round on muay thai action of championship action to crown the inaugural champ. Stamp has impressed me everytime I've seen her in action and she earned this one. Good, hard fought fight. Some well done video segment work follows, taking up most of the remaining run-time this week. They do better than anyone else in MMA with these if you ask me. To close things, we get a decent, short mma fight starting in the second round. Nothing must-see on this one, but really the episodes are always entertaining if nothing else and they take less than half and hour to get through. Check it out if you want, or don't. Your call. Overall Rating: 60/100%

Match from IWRG 03/31 1.Aramis, Imposible, Metaleon vs Eterno, Golden Magic, Dragon Bane ***1/2 Thoughts: If you can't tell, I'm trying to catch up on recent IWRG stuff I've missed lately. I have about five more matches to watch and review over the next little period. It's also worth mentioning that the during the next two weeks I will be going on vacation and then moving to North Dakota. As a result, the blog might become a bit more inactive than usual. Just a heads up. Ok, back to the match at hand... The feeling out period here wasn't as smooth as you'd expect given the names involved, and there were a few miscalculations mixed throughout. That said, this was still a very good trios match and a spectacle showcasing not only some of IWRG's top names but also working well as an example of why you should be giving the company some of your time each month.

Progressive math-rock band, CHON, are back with a self-titled release that really does work well as a definition of what they're all about. This strongly reminds me of an instrumental version of TTNG or even older Tera Melos, and the melody work on display here is fairly high quality. Mario and Erick's guitar work can make you drift off but look deeper to the bass and drum section and you'll find tight work that gels perfectly while standing apart enough to grab hold of you. There is truly an intricacy here disguised as simplicity that is quite beautiful. On the other hand, an issue of familiarity does become a problem for the overall release with little to help distinguish the album as anything more than a single, long track. This is really minor, though, as it makes listening to the short LP a full experience similar to staring at a painting for extended periods. As a result, the songs here work well individually but arguably should be taken in as a whole to get t

Match from Arena Xalapa 02/02 1.Apuesta: Rey Infierno vs Triple X Jr **3/4 Thoughts: One of my favorite things is finding awesome, obscure lucha matches. Thanks to the lucha blog sending me this list , which was put together by this dude, I found this and decided to give it a click. They went all around the arena and by the end of the first fall, Infierno was bleeding everywhere with a mask torn up enough that you could clearly see his full face. They were both bleeding by the third. The drama was decent and the action was ok, but it honestly never hit the levels I was hoping. I like violent apuestas, like the classic Trauma I versus Canis Lupus war, but this was far from the same quality. They finished with a avalanche destroyer onto chairs and some of the chair shots were stiff, for what it's worth. Yea, it was a bloody walk-and-brawl but nothing like what I was hoping for. Skip this one.

This Sunday, live on Twitch , AAA gives us one of their biggest special events of the year in the form of Verano de Escandalo (Summer of Scandal). The show starts at 8 pm EST. Why should you care? Well, how about a Double or Nothing rematch? Here's the full card: -AAA Reina de Reinas Title: Lady Shani(c) vs CHik Tormenta vs Keyra -Faby vs Hijo del Tirantes -Mamba & Maximo vs Australian Suicide, Sammy Guevara -Laredo Kid, Taya vs Daga, Tessa -Aerostar, Pagano, Puma King vs Monster Clown, Killer Kross, Chessman -Myzteziz Jr, Hijo del Vikingo, La Parka vs Texano, Escorpion, Hiedra -AAA World Tag Titles: Young Bucks(c) vs Lucha Bros -Psycho Clown, Rey Wagner vs Blue Demon Jr, Taurus Now, note that if that's not enough AAA for you they also have another TV taping event streaming live on Twitch tomorrow night at 9. If you tend to wait for these to air on their weekly show, the latest episode will air Sunday evening on YouTube around 4 which should feature a worth

Match from IWRG Torneo FILL 79 1.Copa Higher Power Cibernetico: Gym FILL vs Gym Golpeador Pachuca *** Thoughts: These matches are always a bit rough around the edges but, in spite of their imperfections, sometimes we get something very entertaining. It likely helps that I'm a sucker for ciberneticos. We got several one on one moments, a multitude of dives, a full breakdown brawl between the two schools, and then rapid fire eliminations near the end. Basically, this was a good enough success but I could have done without the bs finish. While I can't rate it quite high enough to call it must-see, it's still something worth considering if you're in the mood for a touch of something different. Participants: Barrio Latino, Gemelo Diablo, Holocausto, Kid Jaguar, Piloto Infernal, Poético, Sky Ángel, Tarasco II Jr. vs Ángel Estrella Jr., Auzter, Black Dragón, Cheff Benito, Chicanito, Mexica, Neza Kid, Puma de Oro

Who smells another quick sell out? AEW has announced Omega will get a chance at retribution against Moxley on August 31st at All Out. Try to get your tickets fast, because god knows they'll likely move even faster.

Matches from Kyushu Pro Miyaki-Cho Ba Genki Ni Suru Bai 1.Hitamaru vs Bodyguard ***1/4 2.Hino, Nozaki vs Mentai Kid, Sakurajima *** Thoughts: Following up on our first Branch Out Project post , I wanted to see how Kyushu responded after Yuji Hino won their top prize. The other match here just happened to catch my eye and saw Hitamaru and Bodyguard put on a rare, tech versus powerhouse match to decent success. The main event was mainly a pilot to build toward Yuji defending against Mentai Kid, which could be a decent match. While nothing here was must-see, I enjoyed it all well enough. If you are wanting to follow up on the Branch Out Project promotion of the month, or just want something different, you can check both of these out on their YT Channel .

Andavald's debut release is best described as a beautiful nightmare and happens to feature one of the best vocal performances of the year. This Iceland-based black metal unit have done what so many wish they could yet few ever do by absolutely killing it with their first ever release. Undir skyggðarhaldi is truly great and a hauntingly magnificent black metal album that proves the genre still has a lot of life. This is on their bandcamp as a pay what you want option, so go give it a spin. Rating: ***3/4

I love the Janela promo that kicked this one off. Anyone not hyped to see this match needs to check this out. Brandi announces the women's match for the show, this time promising it will remain a triple threat. We'll see Nyla Rose get another chance to impress after falling into the background at DoN against Riho and Yuka Sakazaki. This one has a lot of potential, especially if depending on the layout they go with. I see Nyla winning, getting the pin on Yuka. Riho will be the MVP on the contest. We see a decent video of Spears, the former Tye Dillinger, to promote that he has now signed with AEW. Great move, and as Cody said he's a great hand that will add a lot of character to the shows going forward. I hope AEW has a midcard belt sooner than later. The Darby video that closed the episode was amazing, giving a tragic insight into who Darby is and why he works the way he does. This was 10 minutes of must-see content, especially if you're an AEW fan.

Matches: 1.Masa, Yuya vs Shoki, Towa **3/4 2.Meiko vs Nanae ***1/2 3.Higuchi, Okabayashi vs Go, Inamura **** 4.Kojima, Otani vs Sekimoto, Kamitani ***1/4 5.Shuji, Jake Lee, Sato vs Zeus, Taishi, Hino ***3/4 Thoughts: I love these little events, so I'm glad that Kenta keeps producing them. I honestly wouldn't mind if it eventually became a full-time promotion, but that seems unlikely. The first match felt a lot like a glorified, more elaborate young boys match but for an opener it worked well enough. Not unlike something you'd see open just about any puro fed. The sole joshi match on the card was a pretty good, time limit draw encounter between two of the absolute best in the genre. A nice combination of strikes and technical work, coupled with selective use of big spots really worked well to make this a showcase match of sorts. In the three spot, Okabayashi continued to pump out enjoyable content alongside a quality ensemble. Fantastic tag match. I'm a su

Do you love 70's blues heavy, hippy rock? Well, meet Swedish band, Lykantropi. They list the Mamas & the Papas as major influences, and it shows strongly here on Spiritousa. Nice vocal melody work and a strong display on guitar are the highlights, with a very good rhythm section backing everything up in a manner that shines, too. The production just happens to be some of the best I've heard all year, ensuring every note lands perfectly. Yes, the level of musical competence here on display makes this a very enjoyable listen, especially if you're seeking a new "chill album". Spiritousa is a pretty good CD to just relax to, so go give it a listen next time you're in that zone. Rating: ***1/2

In the coming weeks, I will be posting polls in PWD for members to vote on. The results will be posted here, in the blog, along with my own personal award picks. Keep an eye out.

Match from Pro Wrestling NOAH Global Junior League Night Five 1.Kaito, Yone vs Sugiura, KAZMA ***1/4 Thoughts: This tag match was building toward the Kaito/Sugiura title defense, so that rivalry was the main theme here. Their partners helped with the load a tad and set up a protected finish leading into the the championship contest, but make no mistake what the real attraction was here. Truly, this was just a fun tag match with a decent post-match attack section. I look forward to seeing the Misawa memorial night stuff and if you do too, check this out as a primer. A clipped version can be seen by clicking the link above.

BOSJ dominated this month, largely due to how amazing the tournament turned out. Don't forget to check out all of my recommendations . 11.Ishii vs EVIL ****1/4 10.PAC vs Dragon Kid ****1/4 9.Kento vs Shuji ****1/4 8.Ospreay vs Bandido ****1/4 7.SHINGO vs Dragon Lee ****1/4 6.Cavernario vs Mistico ****1/4 5.The Young Bucks vs The Lucha Bros ****1/4 4.Dragon Lee vs Ishimori ****1/2 3.SHINGO vs SHO ****1/2 2.Dragon Lee vs SHO ****1/2 1.Cody vs Dustin *****

Jungle Boy's a Cinnamon Toast Crunch and bananas kind of guy. Luchasaurus loves meat. Ultimo Dragon and Jericho plays in the background as Page requests a match with MJF, but apparently gets Jungle Boy instead for Fyter Fest. He later calls to fix it and gets Havoc now, instead. One more fix turns this into a four way with all of them. Interesting choice, but a good way to get all of them on the show. The fact that we see a Ric Flair poster next to a Cody poster during the MJF segment tells me we might see him appear at some point. Very little on this show is done on accident. The SSB get a video referencing the "who are you" chants. I actually loved how they did this. Apparently they're now going to be called The Dark Order. Librarian comedy continues. The Bucks promote an August HOG appearance, which they claim might be their final indie matches and then a nice teaser for All Out. They address the issues with getting tickets in the past and Cody gives a

New Japan is bringing back the Super J-Cup, a tournament showcasing the best global juniors in the world. Perhaps the biggest news is that this will be taking place in the states. Here's the announced dates: Night 1- Temple Theater in Tacoma, Washington on August 22nd Night 2- SFSU Studen Life Center in San Francisco, California on the 24th Night 3- Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California on the 25th Tickets go on sale June 24th at 12pm PST with participants TBA.

Hello ladies, gents, and non-binaries. I have decided to try out a little project in hopes of starting something fun. I would like to give Classic Japanese Pro Wrestling member, Chris Dalgleish, credit for sparking this and reminding me of when I would see people doing this a few years ago. Basically, once a month, I will post a little bit about a very random, little promotion. Think of this as the same principle of, say, a book club. Anyone who's interested will check out some material from the promotion, and we'll all try to discuss what we liked, disliked, etc. Now, I'll be posting here but I know most of the conversations will likely take place on social media sites (mainly Facebook) on the shared posts, so make sure to join PWD  as well as Classic Japanese Pro Wrestling groups, and to LIKE the RWB Facebook page. I don't know how often I'll do this, but I'm thinking at least once or twice a month. Now that the summary is out of the way, let's take

Matches: 1.Moxley vs Shota **1/2 2.SHINGO vs Kojima *** 3.Liger, YOSHI-HASHI vs Suzuki-gun *** 4.Bullet Club vs Taguchi Japan **1/2 5.NEVER Openweight Title: Taichi(c) vs Ishii ***1/2 6.IWGP Tag Titles: GOD(c) vs LIJ **1/4 7.IWGP Jr HW Title: Dragon Lee(c) vs Ospreay ****1/4 8.IWGP IC Title: Kota(c) vs Naito ****1/2 9.IWGP HW Title: Okada(c) vs Jericho ***1/2 Thoughts: Dominion is the second biggest New Japan show of the year so the expectations are even higher than normal for this one. The problem is that they weren't fully met with this one. The opener was a pretty decent little match, and I appreciated Shota's energy before Mox put him away. It was what it was, and honestly it makes sense that the new IWGP US Champ takes out the young lion in short fashion, so no big deal that it wasn't more. Mox wants in the G1 which is something we all want to see. He has everything to lose by entering, but if enters the fire and excels he'll become an even hotter