Red's Wrestling Blog

Fights: 1.Nong-O vs Pinca *** Thoughts: It's been a little while since I've tuned in to ONE's weekly series, so let's try to break that recent trend. This week's episode kicked off with the great video packages building up the fighters and matches that ONE does better than any other mma fed. Our first fight (and only fight of the night) was from 2018, and saw Nong-O's ONE debut, starting with the 2nd round. The third is where the action really picked up, though and both came off looking well. Good fight and a good introduction to Nong-O for those unfamiliar with the star. The installment was bookmarked with more solid package work. Seriously, ONE makes you care about their talent in a way that UFC never could. I actually think this is a perfect first introduction to ONE for newcomers and I couldn't have picked a better episode to get back to watching. Note that they had a show today (their first in Vietnam) and they also have shows on October 1

This week's episode takes a look at the big show they've been building to. I've been very excited about this one and I look forward to getting to see the full matches from the event soon. The content here is from Love in Yokohama (9/1), for those keeping track. The opening three outings looked pretty skippable and were ended with flash pins. Shuji is asked to replace Renee Dupree (flight issue) in the Keiji Mutoh showcase later in the show. Alejandro and Masayuki issued a challenge to the tag champs for Korakuen. The hardcore one on one with Kuma and Koji looked very good and Koji winning hopefully gets him close to a title shot. Up next, the Cruiserweight Champion, Andy Wu, put the belt on the line against Hijo del Pantera. This looked awesome, and I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. A styles clash earns Pantera his first singles title and only non-IWRG title in his career. I will make sure to check that one out as soon as I can. Hopefully he gets a lo

Match from BASARA 104 Banquet 1.Hardcore: G-Raver vs Kodaka *** Thoughts: This didn't hit anywhere near the levels I expected, but was ultimately a good, little hardcore contest. Both are capable of far better, though.

Matches from NOAH N-1 Victory Tour 08/25 1.IPW UK Junior Title: Harada(c) vs Ridgeway  ***1/2 2.Taniguchi vs Hijo del Wagner Jr  *** 3.Sugiura vs Hammerstone  ***1/4 Thoughts: NOAH was cool enough to release three matches from this show, so let's take a look. Note that they uploaded the full 08/29 show to their YouTube channel. I'll watch some of that one ASAP, for the record. The IPW UK Junior Heavyweight Championship match was borderline great, with Harada retaining after a very physical battle. Ridgeway fits in well in NOAH and I'd like to see him get more one on one encounters in the future. The latest of the Wagner kid matches was good but nothing must-see. In general, it was a short, simple encounter. The main event was fairly good, but never fully became what I expected and ultimately let me down. Really, only the title match was truly recommendable so check that one out and only worry about the other two if you're invested enough.

Blood and guts... They ran down the results of All Out and how that sets up matches for the debut episode of AEW on TNT. The secondary clips from the big show were great once again. Cody takes on Sammy Guevara on the first episode, by the way. They didn't confirm Jericho's partners for the installment, so I'll presume they're holding off for a live reveal moment but logic says it's Santana and Ortiz. I have spoken with a buddy of mine recently though and think Johnny TNT (that should be the last name this time around in my opinion) could be a surprise partner instead but the 3rd...I have no idea. PAC? Sydal? Who fucking knows....I love not knowing, though. Take 9 minutes and check this out.

As expected, CMLL has decided to go with a cage match apuesta for the main event of this year's big show. While this basically ensures that the match will be in the average territory it is still arguably a step up from what they had been teasing before hand (UG vs Ciber in singles action). The participants are: -Ultimo Guerrero -Volador Jr -Gilbert el Boricua (El Mesias/Mil Muertes) -Barbaro Cavernario -Negro Casas -Big Daddy -Ciber the Main Man (Cibernetico) Big Daddy won't be the one to loose his hair. Instead, I think Gilbert will be the fall guy here. Another option would be the final two being Negro and Volador with the later cheating to escape. Remember that the match isn't specifically about winning as much as it is not loosing. Note that while there was no real chance of Taven dropping the belt to Volador in his upcoming defense, him being involved spoils the outcome regardless seeing as Rush is set to challenge for the belt on a ROH show the same da

Making up for the last minute cancellation at All Out, AEW has announced the first match for their next big show, Full Gear.

Autograph signing, sweat new kicks, Hunter Horse Helmsley, and some All Out backstage stuff in general. The Knox segments remain some of my favorite things going on in BTE. Jericho being a dick and then Hangman being moody in the locker room closed things. In related news... Jericho lost the belt, went viral, and launched a worldwide investigation... I hear that it has now been found but that this may turn into a storyline for the company. I actually kind of hope it does as it sounds entertaining. As expected, AEW did have a replacement belt as backup, either way. I haven't seen any real info in regards to who stole it and the police department apparently deleted mention of it being located so, perhaps AEW asked them to do so. Either way, I have a feeling I know who did this...

Week of 08/25-08/31 The novelty of the 24/7 belt wore off fast for me, with only a minor amount of time that I even bothered watching the YouTube clips. I get it but it's just not what I care to spend time watching. Just a heads up for anyone wondering why I stopped... 1.Aramis, La Parkita, Vanilla vs Keyra, Low Rider, Mini Psycho Clown ***1/2 AAA Worldwide Pure, spotfest fun here with a touch of story work with Keyra and Vanilla trying to murder each other added in. Aramis was awesome as always, too. Very good stuff. 2.Jinetes del Aire vs Chik Tormenta, Eterno, Parka Negra ***1/2 AAA Worldwide Another very enjoyable spotfest from AAA on this episode. Jinetes are one of the best trios in the world (though it's worth noting that Golden Magic is replacing Laredo in the group now) and when they were actually booked together it was awesome. Their opponents are all underrated and really everyone got a chance to show off a little. Vikingo was the star, as usual. 3.Ciberne

Matches: 1.Dante vs Keys  **1/2 2.Dixon vs Haitian Sensation  ** 3.Johnson vs Gunn  ** 4.Makita vs Draper  **1/2 Thoughts: The Top Prospect Tournament is an interesting thing. There has been six previous tournaments and, of those, all but two of the winners are now with WWE. This includes Mike Kanellis, Hanson, Dijak, and Lio Rush. Of the other two, one is still being used inconsistently (Josh Woods) and the other is ROH World Champ (Taven). The lineup this time around doesn't look nearly as promising, if I'm being honest. Is this what happens when AEW, MLW, etc are taking up the best indie names?  I don't know, but I can think of several stateside that aren't signed anywhere that could have worked here. On the plus side I actually know very little about the guys involved so maybe I'm wrong and will find someone new that I like...? The first round doesn't bold well for that. Really, everything here was okay but none of the matches nor the perform

Matches: 0a.Women's Casino Battle Royale **3/4 0b.Private Party vs Gueros del Cielo ***1/4 1.SCU vs Jurassic Express ***1/2 2.Omega vs PAC ***3/4 3.Cracker Barrel Clash: Janela vs Havoc vs Darby ***1/2 4.Dark Order vs Best Friends *** 5.Riho vs Shida ***1/2 6.Cody vs Spears **** 7.AAA Tag Titles, Escalera de la Muerte: Lucha Bros(c) vs Young Bucks ****1/2 8.AEW World Title: Jericho vs Hangman ***1/2 Thoughts: The pre-show was fun stuff and the best one from AEW since their Double or Nothing gig. The women's version of their royal rumble match was decent but a bit rocky around the edges at times. It's worth noting that I do take issue with the choice of winner. Now, it's not for the same reason some of the assholes on Twitter but because I just don't think Nyla was the right choice here. She came off a bit green at times still and I just think Baker was the better option. On the other hand, it pissed off a lot of transphobic losers so that's a goo