World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

Watched Wrestle Kingdom 9 last night. Doubt whether any other wrestling organization, aside from New Japan itself, will put on another show this year that will top this show, it was freakin' awesome!! Also really enjoyed hearing Jim Ross and Matt Striker on commentary although Ross didn't know the names of a lot of the new moves on the go these days. Still can't fault him too much, felt he did a great job helping get across the stories in the last 2 matches. WWE, this is the best way to tell stories, with matches in the ring, not with boring talking that makes fans want to change the channel.

WARNING: SPOILERS if you want to watch the show without knowing the results.

Just a run-down of the 10 matches from the PPV.

1. 4-way tag team match for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team titles. (Champions reDRagon Bobby Fish & Kyle O' Reilly vs. Forever Hooligans Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero vs. Time Splitters Alex Shelley & Kushida vs. The Young Bucks Matt & Nick Jackson): This was a wild out of control spotfest. It definitely delivered some great moments and was a fast exciting match to start the show off with. Really entertaining although personally I prefer a more traditional style tag match while here tags weren't important. Still a fun exciting match to start the show with. In the end, the champs retained in rather impressive fashion. ***1/2 out of ***** stars

2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, & Tomoaki Honma vs. The Bullet Club Jeff Jarrett, Bad Luck Fale, & Yujiro Takahashi (w/ Karen Jarrett, Mao, & Scott D'Amore). The whole point of this match was to continue the feud between New Japan and the Bullet Club for Bullet Club's disrespect of New Japan traditions. It was OK for what it was. There was some decent double team moves mostly from legends Kojima & Tenzan and Honma impressed too. The ending was a tad predictable though with a miscued guitar shot costing the Bullet Club. **1/2 out of ***** stars.

3. Toru Yano, Naomichi Marufuji, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls (the last 3 from NOAH) vs. Suzukigun Takashi Iizuka, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Shelton X Benjamin, & Lance Archer. This match was a continuation of the feud between Iizuka and Yano whom the wild Iizuka turned on. There was some exciting spots in this and it was neat to see some guys I haven't seen in a while getting a bit of chance to shine here with Archer, Benjamin & Smith. The biggest surprise though was the way the NOAH guys dominated here. Short-lived but exciting. *** out of ***** stars.

4. Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazushi Sakuraba. This was a showdown between two legends in MMA as well as wrestling. The match could only be won by submission or knockout. This had some really entertaining moments and was a very hard hitting bout. Enjoyable but one does wonder what might have happened had this one happened earlier in time. Was very impressed with the desire to win and toughness of both competitors. I've been a fan of Suzuki for quite a while too so that helps. A solid ***1/2 out of ***** stars for this one.

5. NEVER Openweight Championship match: Champion Tomohiro Ishii vs. Togi Makabe. This was a really hard-hitting showdown that really showed off the strong style of Japanese pro wrestling. Both men showed heart, toughness, and desire in a bout that seemingly could have went either way. In the end perhaps Ishii's shoulder injury cost him as Makabe took this one in impressive fashion. **** out of ***** stars.

6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Championship match: Champion Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kenny Omega (w/ fellow Bullet Club members the Young Bucks): This one had some decent spots and some excitement (there were a few botches here and there too to be honest). Both competitors had moments where they showed their stuff but in the end Omega proved why he's an impressive young and upcoming talent in New Japan pulling out the win and bringing the Jr. Heavyweight title to the Bullet Club. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

7. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match: Champions The Bullet Club Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson (w/ Tama Tonga & Amber O'Neal) vs. Meiyu Tag Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata. This was a wild and often out of control showdown. In new Japan, tagging in and out doesn't seem to be of as much importance as in the U.S. so there's lot of double-teaming which does lead to a more exciting fast pace in tag bouts and some exciting double team moves. This one had some great back and forth action and the two teams each got in some signature moves and exciting power moves. In the end, Goto & Shibata pulled out the win but it did feel like something of an upset. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

8. A.J. Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito. This was a very, very entertaining match with two seemingly closely matched opponents. Both wrestlers impressed here but in the end, Styles used his smarts and ring awareness to pull this one out and re-establish himself as a potential top contender to the IWGP Heavweight title. ****1/2 out of ***** stars match this one.

9. IWGP Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship match: Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi. This might have just been the most entertaining match of the entire night. Nakamura fought to get his respect from young upstart Ibushi who proved here he belonged on this stage and could hang with the best of them. Ibushi also hit some "Holy s**t, did he just do that?!" moves. A fantastic match that told a great story from start to finish. Match of the year candidate here. In the end, the veteran Nakamura pulled it out but it was a close bout. ***** out of ***** stars.

10. IWGP Heavyweight Championship match: Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (w/ Gedo): This match arguably though was even better than the last, arguably. Like the last, this told a fantastic story, this time about whether Okada is yet ready to become the "ace" fighter atop New Japan pro wrestling and knock Tanahashi off his perch. There was a lot of feeling out early on and Okada took the early advantage but Tanahashi showed his toughness and heart and withstood the onslaught eventually overcoming his challenger in a wrestling classic that was a very, very close bout. Another match of the year candidate. ***** out of ***** stars.