GHC National Title Match: Kenoh (c) vs. Kaito Kiyomiya
Super match for Kenoh. No wasting energy with indulgent kick exchanges. He brought a very focused and poised effort to beat Kaito Kiyomiya (who had won their previous two matches) and retrain the National Title. Great use of the holds early on, locking them on tightly to wear Kiyomiya down before moving on with brutal kicks. Kiyomiya wasn’t really impressive, not having the most exciting (or convincing) of comebacks at the end but there were a few nearfalls to hang on to. Kenoh took some really nasty bumps in the process, the one where he landed on top of the head in particular. So there isn’t much to complain about. ***1/2
GHC Heavyweight Title Match: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
This could be split up into three sections of the match. Intense opening starts with Nakajima going through his stalling routine while setting up his attack on Go’s always injured arm. Long battle between Go’s stinging chops and Nakajima’s incredible hard kicks. Finishing stretch with Nakajima returning to the arm. Interesting match concept, and on paper, it’s a recipe for success but this wasn’t up-to any sort of standards that I’d expect. Watching the match, it failed to captivate me on any real level. Nakajima has his kicks and used them wisely to further injure Go but outside of that, the work was lacking in intensity and quite frankly quality. This wasn’t helped by the monotonous pacing that made everything weak and empty. This, quite frankly, bored me. The big strike exchange was indeed quality and I thoroughly enjoyed it because it, unlike the rest of the match, had real heart and intensity to it. Go’s arm was giving him real trouble and he gutted through it. You felt that in his actions. Nakajima more than sold Go's chops, almost making it equal to his hard kicks. It was the only part of the match that I felt invested in. There was no investment or enjoyment before or after it. I love these two but this was a poor match. Very little to bite into. **1/4
GHC Heavyweight Title Match: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. Takashi Sugiura - NOAH The BEST ~ Final Chronicle 2020 ~ 06/12/2020
It’s amazing what an influx of money (from Cyber Agent) can do for your production values. The video package for this match was excellent. It made the match feel important. But the match itself..well nope! These GHC Heavyweight Title Matches just aren’t doing it for me. They can never shake the bloated, dead-air feeling that most of them usually have. One of the brightsides of Keiji Mutoh being the next challenger is that he’s not going to go past the 30+ minute mark. This went 50+. And while these two are both individually great wrestlers, who have had some quality matches. But this was a chore to watch. It definitely didn’t make me want to watch more wrestling after it. This had a stronger opening than the Nakajima match, which killed my enthusiasm on arrival, with Sugiura attacking Go’s arm with more malice and effort but the rest of the match was aggressively dull. Maybe if they cut the match shorter and tighter, the match wouldn’t have been so bloated. Admittedly I enjoyed Go’s chopping and how it always seems to cut Sugiura’s chest to pieces and Sugiura’s variety of suplexes were a treat but it just seemed endless and repetitive by the end. It wasn’t helped by them selling in such a long-winded way, stunting the momentum of the match as well. Sell. God please, sell. But there is selling and there is lying on the floor to pad the time. **1/4
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher - WWE NXT TakeOver: WarGames IV - 06/12/2020
I knew that I could rely on Thatcher for a down to earth, simple yet awesome match. Most of the match was Thatcher trying to grind Ciampa into submission with his snug holds while Cimapa does his best to ramp up the tempo and gain some momentum. It was a great and exciting contrast between the two. Ciampa put a lot of effort into his hope spots and added some submissions into his reptile himself. Thatcher’s bloody ear came as a result of one of them, and it was gross. Loved the finish as well - Thatcher scrambling out of the pinning position and getting tangled into the ropes which left him open to a DDT and thus ending the match. ***1/2
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