General Wrassling III: I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU!!

[Kalmado]

So Big Dave gave Takahashi vs. Ishimori a 5.5 and would've gave it a 6 but too many risky dangerous spots. The match is that damn good.

[Delirium]

So Big Dave gave Takahashi vs. Ishimori a 5.5 and would've gave it a 6 but too many risky dangerous spots. The match is that damn good.

Just another in a long list of matches that are fucking amazing this year. Earlier in the same day as the BoSJ final, I finally got to watch Io Shirai vs Momo Watanabe. Even knowing the result, I thought it was awesome.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/k6IGAVz49QL0DIqWIDB


Off the top of my head
WWE - Rollins/Balor, (I'm drawing a blank because a lot of WWE is forgettable, but I'm sure there were good Raw matches. I don't think there have been any great PPV matches this year)
NXT - Ladder Match, Gargano/Ciampa, Gargano/Almas
NJPW - Hiromu/Ishimori, Ospreay/KUSHIDA, Okada/Tanahashi, Okada/ZSJ, ZSJ/Ibushi, ZSJ/Naito, Ospreay/Okada, Ospreay/Hiromu, Okada/Sanada, R3K/Young Bucks, Suzuki/Tanahashi, Ibushi/Cody, Suzuki/Goto, Ospreay/Hiromu/Scurll/KUSHIDA, Omega/Jericho, Okada/Naito (I'm probably forgetting a ton)
ROH-Dalton Castle/Jay Lethal, SCU/Hung Bucks, SCU/Young Bucks and Flip Gordon, Ibushi/Hangman Page, Cody/Omega

There are also a lot of indie promotions that had some amazing matches too and a relatively small amount of people have probably seen them. Just impossible to follow all the quality wrestling today.

[Melena]

Miz/Rollins supposedly had a solid match at GRR, and the Angle/Rousey vs HHH/Steph match was way better then it had any right being.

[Vil]

WWE is just puzzling at times. The only "division" that's been good all around this whole year has been the IC one. Compared to any other one, that's either been #1 or #1a on the mic. Compared to any other one, it's been the best bell-to-bell.

US title - Total trash
Universal - Trash
WWE - Letdown, and Last Man Standing matches suck. Here's hoping that it's a double knockout, setting up an "I Quit" match for Summerslam, so Chioda can get on the mic and say "AJ/Shin, do you want to quit?" every 20 seconds.
Raw Women's - Confusing (this goes back to tiny Miss Bliss constantly winning clean, among other things). But hey, now it's the Rousey show.
SD Women's - Great, until SD after Mania. I've said I'm still not confident that Carmella will even lose the thing here.
Raw Tag - Looking further back, it was great post-Mania last year and through to the end of the year. Since Ambrose got hurt, it's been in a slow decline. Now? A total joke.
SD Tag - Failure to meet potential. I know you have to cycle teams in and out from time to time. That's why I was hoping for a Benjamin/Gable title win even if it would just be for a month or two. They got rid of like 3 jobber teams and in return got The Bar (and Good Brothers). This division should be killing it, and maybe it will be in the fall. I've got to assume that after beating GB at MITB, the next match will be them losing the titles to The Bar probably in a 4-team match at Summerslam.

[Melena]

I've always felt the US/IC titles should be treated like the old Television championships where it has be defended every week. It's honestly the perfect way to start grooming people for the championship spot.

Smackdown women's championship really got painted into a corner with Carmella winning MITB. There was no way the first women's MITB was going to lose, and of course the person taking the loss was the person breaking the streak. I do expect Carmella to retain through shenanigans, but I don't think Asuka will eat the loss. Though I am hoping she does win. I think there's potential in Carmella, but not yet.

SD Tag: I don't hate the Bludgeon Bros. I just wish Harper was getting a legit singles push. Guy is great in the ring and could easily be Smackdowns resident giant opposite Braun.

RAW Tag: See above but change Harper to Bray. Hopefully a good long tag reign can result in some better booking and rebuild him after years of creative fuck ups.

Raw Womens: Rhonda and Nia both are not ready to be champion. Please let the womens MITB go first, let a Raw woman win and cash in on whoever wins this match and save us.

[Vil]

I'd be ok with a middle ground, kind of. Not necessarily the level of the open challenge thing in the past, since the only thing that was surprising was who it might be. Those were pretty much always good-excellent tv matches, but during the time when they did that, they weren't going to pull the trigger unless there was some shocking return or something and even then, they would still do that on PPV. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I need some shocking title change just so I know that anything can happen, but they have this new PPV system now.

MITB card, I just looked. 5 title matches, 2 briefcase matches, 3 non-title singles matches. While I don't care about some of the matches, that overall mix is fine by me. Make it so a title isn't on PPV once in a 3-month period or something. Put it on TV or something, I don't know. You're getting billion dollar tv contracts, they have to start going to some sort of hybrid system where tv matters, right? How about no title ever has a two month gap without being on PPV, but doesn't have to be at more than 3 in a row. Right, when Roman gets the title, no way he's going to be left off the card. If he were the champ and Jinder were #1 contender, then have that tag match that took place last week on PPV instead. Things like that. There is space on those 4+ hour cards every month to do things like that if people must be on the show.

I also hadn't even thought about the possibility of one of the ladies trying to do a move like Seth Rollins with the MITB case. If anything, I would have thought it would be SD, but now I'm going to half expect a cash-in in any match after those happen.

[Anoat]

Xavier Woods vs Kenny Omega is happening in a special exhibition match at E3

Spoiler: show

In Street Fighter V

[Xno Kappa]

Xavier Woods vs Kenny Omega is happening in a special exhibition match at E3

Spoiler: show

In Street Fighter V

I figured what it was before I even clicked on the spoiler lol.

[Snprphnx]

Raw Womens: Rhonda and Nia both are not ready to be champion. Please let the womens MITB go first, let a Raw woman win and cash in on whoever wins this match and save us.

If anything, I see the Womans MITB winner cashing in at the end of the Raw Champ match, and either getting pinned by Nia, or pinning/tapping out Nia, so they can keep the belt off Ronda for a while, without making her look weak.

[Vil]

Dominion starts in about an hour. Anybody going to be on live for it? I'll probably hop on the discord and chat there if so.

The card is kind of wild to me. Besides it being stacked, I can see reasons for most of the big matches going either way. Maybe that makes me crazy, but the bottom line is that even though they don't hot potato the titles, especially not the top one, the last two times someone lost the title in the fall were in 2014 (Tana beat Styles) and 2010 (Kojima beat Makabe). Before that, I think you have to go back to 2007 or something. They've not had someone actually lose the briefcase since it happened, but if you've got Suzuki, Naito, Omega/Okada, Ibushi, Goto, or ZSJ as either G1 winners or challengers for the case/title in the fall? I probably shouldn't have listed those last three, but I listed them as prime options for "win the G1, but lose the case" types.

[Delirium]

In the least surprising, but most anticipated news of the year....

Spoiler: show

AND NEW!!! Kagetsu beat Toni Storm for the World of Stardom title

[Vil]

Question about that.

Spoiler: show

What's the difference in the titles in Stardom? I know that's the top title, and I think the one that Io dropped recently is kind of like their "IC title", but assuming that's even correct, what about the other singles ones? Are there equivalents either in NJPW, WWE, or elsewhere?

Also, broadcast for Dominion just started though this may just be pre-show stuff. The new President is giving a speech, and I imagine they'll do a rundown of the card, and might just cut for a few minutes, but we'll see.

[Delirium]

Question about that.

Spoiler: show

What's the difference in the titles in Stardom? I know that's the top title, and I think the one that Io dropped recently is kind of like their "IC title", but assuming that's even correct, what about the other singles ones? Are there equivalents either in NJPW, WWE, or elsewhere?

Wonder of Stardom is closest to a main title
World of Stardom is closest to an IC title(more NJPW than WWE)
Goddess of Stardom is a tag title
Artist of Stardom is a trios belt
High Speed is closest to a crusierweight/Jr title
SWA is nothing that I can think of. Basically the rules is challengers for this title cannot be from the same country as the title holder.
Future of Stardom is unique too. It is a title for people under 20 or less than 2 years experience.

There is a lot more information here.

[Kalmado]

I am absolutely spent after Dominion. The quality put on by all matches could've been any Wrestle Kingdom or WrestleMania. Don Callis is a fucking treasure as well.

Spoiler: show

I've never cried from a movie or sporting event but damn it, I almost did at the end. Just fucking brilliant.

[Delirium]

Me after today's results

[Tomiko]

Finally watch Dominion after avoiding the internet until I could. Incredible event.

Spoiler: show

I kept hoping Kenny was going to win, but I was worried that Kota would turn and throw in the towel causing him to lose for a while there because of how often they would mention it. Glad it didn't happen.

Jericho vs Naito was great and I love the setup for EVIL vs Jericho. Maybe in SF?

Glad Hiromu got Belt-san back.

Those were easily my 3 favorite matches. Bucks vs LIJ was good as well and I enjoyed the way ZSJ beat Yano.

[Vil]

That was a long show (about 4.5 hours from first to last bell), but damn it was so good and didn't feel like it was going on forever. Will this be my favorite show since maybe WK11? Probably, but too fresh to make that call right now. The weaker matches had purpose and were either fun and/or brief, while the important matches all delivered in their own ways.

Spoiler: show

You know, people have said over time that NJPW booking is so predictable, but at least they make up for it with the match quality and drama in spite of it. Yeah, I think I got like 2 matches right and a "title change in one of the last two matches". Even if I would have changed predictions during the show, based on things that happened, I would have probably got even more wrong, lmao.

I have to say I think I'm nearing my fill on these super long matches, but this one kind of worked and felt meaningful. Distinctively breaking up the falls not only gave them their past history to call back on, but also the prior falls. I rewatched it after I woke up this afternoon, and even knowing the result, it still was insane. I wasn't going to expect Omega to tap out/pass out, so the thought is that whomever gets a "cheap" fall is going to win.

A few notes:
-During the 2nd fall, when Okada tried to finish it like he finished the first fall, I burst into laughter at the potential RAGE that would cause.
-Again, the idea of Okada being pinned twice in one night seemed insane. I truly bought that countout tease there because it would have left the third fall open for either guy's finisher.
-Trying and missing the Phoenix Splash felt like it would have been the risk that cost him the match.
-Styles Clash? Didn't even cross my mind until he hooked the second arm. I thought he was just doing a Ganso bomb.
-Any time Okada gets a new opponent, I feel like there's a question of how that person can uniquely counter the Rainmaker. Rainmaker countered into OWA? Damn. But of course it's near the ropes, so he can still lose the match, but still have Okada not kick out of the move.
-Omega and Okada may have barely survived the match, but you know what was in good shape at the end? That janky-ass table.
-If you didn't see the backstage interview, Golden Elite confirmed. Whether that's just a subgroup or they're splitting off, we'll see. Bucks didn't carry the 6-man titles with them at the end.

It's like the biggest stable since the nwo, but Knife Pervert is the top (only) champion in CHAOS. Either he should act like that makes him the leader (he'll probably lose the title to Juice) or leave the stable and surround himself with a group of winners.

[Kalmado]

That was a long show (about 4.5 hours from first to last bell), but damn it was so good and didn't feel like it was going on forever. Will this be my favorite show since maybe WK11? Probably, but too fresh to make that call right now. The weaker matches had purpose and were either fun and/or brief, while the important matches all delivered in their own ways.

Spoiler: show

You know, people have said over time that NJPW booking is so predictable, but at least they make up for it with the match quality and drama in spite of it. Yeah, I think I got like 2 matches right and a "title change in one of the last two matches". Even if I would have changed predictions during the show, based on things that happened, I would have probably got even more wrong, lmao.

I have to say I think I'm nearing my fill on these super long matches, but this one kind of worked and felt meaningful. Distinctively breaking up the falls not only gave them their past history to call back on, but also the prior falls. I rewatched it after I woke up this afternoon, and even knowing the result, it still was insane. I wasn't going to expect Omega to tap out/pass out, so the thought is that whomever gets a "cheap" fall is going to win.

A few notes:
-During the 2nd fall, when Okada tried to finish it like he finished the first fall, I burst into laughter at the potential RAGE that would cause.
-Again, the idea of Okada being pinned twice in one night seemed insane. I truly bought that countout tease there because it would have left the third fall open for either guy's finisher.
-Trying and missing the Phoenix Splash felt like it would have been the risk that cost him the match.
-Styles Clash? Didn't even cross my mind until he hooked the second arm. I thought he was just doing a Ganso bomb.
-Any time Okada gets a new opponent, I feel like there's a question of how that person can uniquely counter the Rainmaker. Rainmaker countered into OWA? Damn. But of course it's near the ropes, so he can still lose the match, but still have Okada not kick out of the move.
-Omega and Okada may have barely survived the match, but you know what was in good shape at the end? That janky-ass table.
-If you didn't see the backstage interview, Golden Elite confirmed. Whether that's just a subgroup or they're splitting off, we'll see. Bucks didn't carry the 6-man titles with them at the end.

It's like the biggest stable since the nwo, but Knife Pervert is the top (only) champion in CHAOS. Either he should act like that makes him the leader (he'll probably lose the title to Juice) or leave the stable and surround himself with a group of winners.

Spoiler: show

I was super surprised by Jericho winning. I do not expect him to carry it long, but I'm curious if he will return to WWE and if they'll acknowledge it.

I was a bit surprised about Omega because I thought they would've made him look incredible but have Okada win again. I haven't decided what my favorite between the two is yet, but I was never bored during this super long bout.

I'm glad Belto-San is back with Hiromu. I'll openly say I'm a Hiromu mark and I don't like Osprey. Match was great and hopefully Will takes time off to heal, collect himself, and decide if this is a career or just a thing.

Bucks winning surprised me. I didn't think their first match for gold in the heavyweight division would result in a win. Thought Matt oversold a little, but was a great match.

Never thought Elgin would win. Not a "wow I'm so surprised!" but was a decently fun match.

[Delirium]

Cody being Cody

I'm not a huge fan of him in the ring, though he has gotten better since being on the indies, but the dude knows how to work a gimmick.

[Kalmado]

I don't want to spoil Dominion so...

Spoiler: show

While at first I thought there may be a 3 way split between Bullet Club, tonight was clear that there is the Golden Elite and Bullet Club. Now to see if the rest of the BC gets behind Cody. Or, maybe they just boot Cody and Page since both are kind of whatever within the faction. I'm excited to see what happens.