Hideki Suzuki & Takuya Nomura vs. Kohei Sato & Kazuki Hashimoto (BJW, 12/30/17)

This is nearly seven minutes of Takuya Nomura showing off what Hideki Suzuki has taught him about being a real tough man. Suzuki has a fun leglock sequence with Sato and throws a couple of suplexes but this was mostly Nomura pissing off Sato. He immediately comes into this match kicking and smacks Sato hard across the face. Of course, Sato dishes everything back twice as hard but Nomura doesn't back down. He's able to work the mat a little with Hashimoto and looks good doing it, but he'll still throw the slaps when he can. He and Kazuki proceed to stiff each other with kicks until Nomura stops it with a nasty headbutt. Suzuki lets him finish it out against Sato and he gets him in the armbar, continuing the work the arm until Sato finally piledrives him for the win. Short and violent.

Daisuke Sasaki vs. Shiori Asahi (K-DOJO, 10/15/17)

Simple but smart junior heavyweight wrestling is the best junior heavyweight wrestling, in my opinion, and Daisuke Sasaki is one of the unheralded wizards of the style. This isn't a match that is going to blow many away and that's okay, that's not what they were setting out to do. But it had a little bit of everything, including a great counter-based approach, a couple of high risk spots, and a little comedy with the ropes shenanigans, Asahi's cobra strike, and the ref bumps. Shiori Asahi has a lot of the right tools, especially in his counterwork, but he tends to try to do too much in his matches. He was more grounded here (sometimes not by choice) but he's got a lot of neat touches to his style, like his simple counter to a side headlock. Sasaki goes after the neck early on to set-up for his crossface hold, and like Asahi, he's wrestling more of a grounded approach, though he does pull out his great diving elbow drop to the outside. I thought the octopus hold merry-go-round was fun, and I loved Asahi's answer to the backslide struggle by slipping through the legs into a swanky pin attempt. He's able to slip out of the crossface holds a few times but when Sasaki finally catches him, he uses the crossover version and Asahi quickly taps. An easy, breezy watch well worth your time.

Fuminori Abe vs. TORU (GUTS World, 6/20/17)

GUTS World, where have you been all my year? With the demise of NicoPro's paid-subscription YT channel, the wacky world of GUTS and HEAT-UP return to the wellspring of puro for my viewing pleasures. Now Fuminori Abe is a young guy I like a lot when he pops up in AJPW and BJW. He's technically Sportiva-affiliated but GUTS World seems to be his wrestling home-away-from-home. Back in June, he faced another impressive young guy I'm less familiar with in TORU (not to be confused with TARU). This was quite the little exhibition match-up between these two, and an easy watch/recommendation. Abe is a very emotive performer, in his movements and expressions, which can become rather annoying (see Kenny Omega/Will Ospreay) but Abe works in that Munenori Sawa/Keiji Mutoh vein, which is good by me.

The match itself tells a simple story of basic limbwork and movez but the execution of it all is what makes it worthwhile. For starters, Abe tries to do this big running attack on TORU outside of the ring and TORU overhead suplexes him onto the floor to set-up his subsequent backwork. He delivers a gnarly looking backbreaker, sold well by Abe, before landing a double stomp and locking in a Scorpion Deathlock. Abe chooses to focus on the arm, keeping it locked up through TORU's escape attempts and breaking it down with good stiff kicks. When he tries for his wind-up punch, TORU clocks him with a big elbow but Abe is able to rally back with some more big kicks, knocking him flat with a high kick and following up with a PK. Abe's selling off the German suplex is terrific, which leads to TORU hitting a Shining Wizard and a dragon suplex hold for a nearall. After catching Abe with a brutal flip-over knee strike to the back of the head, he's able to put him away with a brainbuster. Fun stuff.

Hideki Suzuki vs. Hideyoshi Kamitani (BJW, 11/1/17)

This marks Hideyoshi Kamitani’s second shot this year against Suzuki. During the first match, Kamitani easily wrestled his best singles performance since his MOTY against Yuji Okabayashi last year. But we’ve all seen how Suzuki treats those he’s defeated before (for reference, see the Kawakami title match). This was perhaps Suzuki’s most heel performance to date, although “heel” may not be the right term, as he’s colder and more calculated here, making Kamitani look like a young lion. The opening sets the stage perfectly, as Suzuki coolly side-steps Kamitani’s hot-headed rush. Kamitani looks nervous and hesitant in there, his takedown attempts almost timid, seemingly knowing that Suzuki is such a matwork master that there’s about a 0.00002% chance of outwrestling him.  He comes off like a child at times, an example being Suzuki’s drop down and Kamitani delayed reaction, which elicits giggles from the Korakuen crowd. Then, as if feeling sorry for him, Suzuki lays down…only to further taunt Kamitani on the mat. Kamitani awkwardly climbs on with headlocks or choke attempts but Suzuki’s able to counter each, attacking the arm with a vicious European uppercut.

When Kamitani taps into that raw manchild power, scoop slamming Suzuki and throwing his baby fat around with elbow drops, the fans finally give him something in return. But Suzuki continues to bite. As champ, he wrestles like he doesn’t have time for anyone, the way he kicks Kamitani over for a pin attempt. He cuts off Kamitani’s momentum with a big top rope front suplex and when Kamitani decides to sling elbows and headbutts, Suzuki slings the strikes back even harder. Kamitani staggers him with some big boy slaps and catches him with a low enziguri but when he tries for the lariat, Suzuki goes from octopus hold > full nelson > German suplex > dragon suplex hold, which sees Kamitani immediately try to escape since Suzuki can use it as a submission. The problem with Kamitani is that his offense doesn’t look all that impressive, aside from some of his clobbering blows and his backdrop finish. At one point, he hits a lariat and then goes into a shitty crab hold…why?

Suzuki’s able to elbow out of the backdrop attempt, spiking Kamitani with a scoop slam tombstone, then cracking him with his deadshot elbow. He uses a running knee he probably learned from Shuji Ishikawa and then goes into a front necklock. Poor Kamitani tries to muscle out but Suzuki clenches down, forcing him to pass out before he’s castoff in disgust. The look on Hideki’s face as Daichi Hashimoto checks on Kamitani is the look of a man who gives zero fucks. The final image of Suzuki chilling up on his throne in the corner while Hashimoto’s desperately trying to get at him was awesome. I’ve said it before but Big Japan has done such a terrific job of establishing Suzuki as the ultimate final boss, and while I wouldn’t necessarily call the match itself great, I thought Suzuki’s performance re-iterated that.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW, 11/5/17)

I both love and hate that Hiroshi Tanahashi still primps his new haircut like the lion's mane that once so beautifully adorned his head. I can't remember if this match was better than their G1 Climax bout...at the very least, they were quite similar in structure. A lot of "your good, I'm better, no, wait, I'm the best"-ing around to open before Tanahashi settles into to working Ibushi's leg in classic Tanahashi fashion. You know, lots of legwhips. One area that was a marked improvement from the G1 match-up was Ibushi's selling. When he tries to get fresh with his standing moonsault, his leg gives out on the landing when Tanahashi rolls out of the way. Tanahashi, working that veteran ace style, does a good job of cutting off Ibushi's momentum by targeting the injured leg but Ibushi gets his comeback in the form of a somersault kick that stuns Tanahashi, allowing a run of offense that includes a lawn dart in the corner and a swan-dive German suplex. Unsurprisingly, the highlight of the match for me was that pissy slap, palm thrust, boot exchange, with Ibushi seizing Red Shoes' wrist and continuing to snap off kicks at Tanahashi in the corner like a shithead. Alas, Tanahashi survives the Last Ride powerbomb and alludes the final knee strike, planting Ibushi with a slingblade and a dragon suplex hold before putting him away with back-to-front High Fly Flows. A simple story with good selling, a few fiery exchanges, and enough big spots to satisfy without becoming too self-indulgent. Good stuff. 

Daisuke Sekimoto & Kohei Sato vs. Daichi Hashimoto & Hideyoshi Kamitani (BJW, 10/15/17)

This was a hell of an opener, and what I'd consider to be one of Daichi Hashimoto's best performances to date in Big Japan. You had the young team showing a ton of fire at the outset, prematurely attacking Sekimoto and Sato before the bell, and putting Sekimoto on the rocks early on before the hardened vets take over on offense. Daisuke is so good at playing the heel-ish taunting bully and of course, Sato's just plain nasty in there against Daichi, elbowing the snot out of him. Daichi's full of fighting spirit and won't back down, despite getting his clock continually cleaned by Sato -- just terrific selling on Daichi's part as he takes a beating. Kamitani does a good job of throwing his weight around in there and gets a taste of Sato's punishment, taking some brutal kicks to the chest and a big headbutt. But he's able to clobber Sato down with a lariat, tagging in Hashimoto to conclude his story. Loved the visual of Sato and Sekimoto standing over Daichi like schoolyard thugs as he futilely tries to fight off both. That heart and determination pays off for him in the end, and after blasting Sekimoto with a Shining Wizard, Daichi's able to put him away with a big brainbuster DDT. Yet another example of tag team wrestling done right in BJW.

Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii (NJPW, 10/9/17)

I like these two guys -- no, no, I love these two guys. I'm still not tired of Naito's tranquilo persona, in and out of the ring, and Ishii is one of the last tough men left in New Japan. Unsurprisingly, these two have good matches together, sometimes great matches, and this was no exception. However, it's getting harder for me to distinguish the matches as they follow a similar blueprint. Naito coolly works the leg, Ishii sells and bumps well, Naito goes back to the leg to escape shitty situations, and Ishii fights through to pain to punish Naito. This time, however, Ishii says "okay, lemme work that leg" and cuts off Naito with a big dropkick to the knee. He doesn't put in a whole lot of work but Naito's selling is terrific throughout. When he catches Naito, Ishii pummels him relentlessly in the corner, chopping at his throat, not giving him any reprieve before suplexing him. Loved Ishii's big saito suplex.

Naito attacks the injured leg to get out of a top rope predicament and pisses off Ishii, which leads to Ishii German suplexing him into a corner and hitting a Last Ride-style powerbomb. Naito retaliates with a koppou kick and a German suplex hold but his knee gives out, so he hits a frankensteiner and a release dragon suplex to make up for it. He busts out a leg submission with the rear calf hold, which hiccups the momentum, but drills him with one of the best looking pumphandle drivers he's delivered. Naito hits the first Destino of the night off a brainbuster counter but when he tries to finish him off, Ishii hangs on and turns it into the brainbuster for an awesome nearfall. The transition into the second Tranquilo was sloppy but Naito follows up with a proper one for the pinfall. Good stuff, with some neat new moments, but I still think my favorite over the past year was their 2016 New Japan Cup match, which hits that sub-twenty sweet spot.

HARASHIMA vs. KUDO (DDT, 9/24/17)

This ruled, reminding me a lot of HARASHIMA’s 2010 match against Hikaru Sato. There was a blatant and endearing familiarity between these two that pervaded the match from the initial lock-up to the grinning snug exchanges. HARASHIMA was being quite nasty here, especially with his stompy legwork, which is never fancy, but always looks excruciating, whether it's uppercutting into a leg crank or just wrenching the ankle into precarious angles. When KUDO resists the suplex lift, HARASHIMA slapping that bad leg in order to hit the Falcon Arrow -- very cool touch. I guess if I had one minor quibble, it's that KUDO's selling could've been a little more profound but his in-the-moment stuff is pretty great and at times, he would just throw himself at HARASHIMA.

The legwork didn't do enough to deter KUDO from using his stiff kick-and-knee-based offense, and they soon unload on each other with a ton of kicks and dueling high kicks. HARASHIMA's able to pull off the reverse frankesteiner to set-up the corner Somato but when he tries to drive the nail home, KUDO counters with the knee press. Loved KUDO's duck>slap>smile strategy against HARASHIMA and HARASHIMA's lunging headbutt to answer. The escalation into the finishing stretch was terrific, with both guys bumping like crazy. HARASHIMA smiles big after he spikes KUDO with the over-the-shoulder piledriver and KUDO follows that up with a rope hung double knee drop onto the apron (and a slingshot one to the floor for good measure). By the end of it, they're smacking each other silly, HARASHIMA especially, but after a couple of spin kicks and a buzzsaw to the side of the head, KUDO puts HARASHIMA away with the diving double knees. Hell of a performance from both guys (who are both in their 40s, mind you), and they managed to do a lot with the time allowed, creating an "epic" in under 20:00 -- KUDOS!

Shuji Ishikawa vs. Kento Miyahara (AJPW, 8/27/17)

This was a really good match that had the potential to be fantastic had Kento Miyahara deviated from his go-to formulaic approach. I mean, you had all the Kento "ace" tropes here: the hard in-the-moment selling but convenient bouts of amnesia to shoe in his signature moves and then the final minute comeback barrage of endless knees. But it was a brutally fought match and for the most part, the conveyed struggle, fatigue and desperation on Miyahara's part was awesome, coupled with the relentless monstrosity of black trunks Shuji Ishikawa trying to destroy any chance Miyahara has of beating him. I mean, the Big Dog's yard is a truly frightening place to be cornered in. The way he just throws Miyahara throat-first onto the guardrail and proceeds to tenderize the neck like a veal cutlet, with his nasty push-up facebusters on the mat and easily the most memorable spot of the night -- the gnarly Fire Thunder Driver on the apron that was sold like absolute death by Kento.

I thought Miyahara's selling was better than his usual fare but you still have dumb spots like the no sold superplex and even dumber spots like the no sold dragon suplex. Loved the strike exchange toward the end, with an exhausted Miyahara trying to slug away with Ishikawa and Ishikawa annihilating him with that headbutt, followed by a ruthless beatdown via elbows. Wada tries to step in but Ishikawa throws him off, which allows Kento to connect with a lunging desperation headbutt. Why Ishikawa didn't go for the Giant Slam is baffling to me but instead, he tries for another pull-in knee strike and Miyahara counters with a big high knee strike...then a second...then a third...and then the arm-trap German and...it's over.

I liked the build to the arm-trap German, with Shuji either using an elbow to escape or just bursting out, but the finish felt very lackluster, especially considering all the punishment Ishikawa had put Miyahara through, including three Fire Thunder Drivers, a bunch of running knees, and a Splash Mountain Bomb. This would have been the perfect opportunity for Ishikawa to kick out of the German and force Miyahara to introduce a new finisher to his repertoire on the biggest stage of the year. But I guess if the formula ain't broke, there's no point in going back to the drawing board. This is about even with Ishikawa's title win, possibly a bit higher due to Ishikawa's savage performance, and with that, Ishikawa's Triple Crown run ends and he's free to show up in Big Japan and attempt...and I mean, attempt...to dethrone current king of technical violence, Hideki Suzuki.

BJW/Masahito Kakihara Produce "KAKI RIDE" (8/14/17)

Big Japan helped produced this special event as a way to support Masahito Kakihara, who has been suffering from malignant lymphoma since 2014. The event saw the return of Kakihara to the ring, in a sparring session with grapple legend, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, but everything else was fought under "UWF Rules", meaning points deducted for rope breaks, knockdowns, and in the case of Minoru Suzuki, penalties. On a whole, this was a really fun show and something I'd love to see BJW produce more often. Nothing super high end but I did have a few notes on the show. 

- In his sparring session, Kakihara tapped to Fujiwara a total of ten times. There wasn't much to this, some neat little tricks by Fujiwara, but the best moment came when Fujiwara smoked and ashed an imaginary cigar while had Kakihara in a headlock. Oh yeah.

- Minoru Tanaka managed to wrestle his best match of the year in just under 3:00 against Masakatsu Funaki. Funaki immediately whaps him in the forehead with a kick, and then they scramble around the mat with a real sense of urgency, trying to sink something in. Minoru's able to escape an armbar attempt but gets caught in a triangle and taps out.

- Tatsuo Nakano, still rocking that badass mullet, fought Daisuke Nakamura in a match that definitely over delivered. You've got Nakamura flying fancy round the mat and Nakano being Nakano just knees him in the face, dumps him with an armtrap release German, and submits him with the single leg crab. 

- Hideki Suzuki once again took former student Takuya Nomura to school on the mat, being real nasty with his forearms to the face and knees to the throat. I love the way he manipulates Nomura's arm with the wristlock in order to assert dominance. It seems Nomura's learned a thing or two from their match earlier in the year, where Suzuki basically smothered him into giving up, as he's able to avoid getting suplexed by sitting down and maintains arm control long enough to force Suzuki to the ropes. He's able to let loose a little flurry of strikes but Suzuki's too good, and the finish was swanky as fuck, as Suzuki counters out of the waistlock with a front necklock and then goes into the double arm suplex hold for the submission. 

- Rocky Kawamura (sans boxing gloves) always find a way of pissing off Minoru Suzuki. Suzuki was pretty great here. After landing a few slaps, he tries for the Gotch-style piledriver because you might as well and when Kawamura avoids it, Suzuki grabs the leg and cranks away, forcing Rocky to the ropes. When Rocky uses a jujigatame on Suzuki and doesn't let go after Minoru makes the ropes, the "oh no you didn't" look on Suzuki's face is fantastic. He tries to choke out Rocky, then starts kicking, stomping, and headbutting away, receiving a couple of yellow cards from the ref. Rocky fires off a few jabs but Suzuki's able to snatch an arm and wrench in the wakigatame for the submission. 

- Naomichi Marufuji doesn't have a whole lot of experience wrestling under "UWF Rules" and when he keeps revisiting the ropes on the ground, it becomes obvious that the only way he's going to beat Takaku Fuke is via strikes. He is able to secure a keylock but that's about as close as he gets to submitting Fuke. In the end, Fuke starts laying in the slaps and knees in the corner and out of nowhere, Marufuji connects with the Koo for the KO victory. Cool shorts, Maru. 

Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Hideki Suzuki & Keisuke Okuda (ZERO1, 7/30/17)

Sometimes you don't need a bloated 30+ minute "epic" and the old standby story of a promotion nobody getting put in his place by the promotion's surly dad is plenty. This ticked a lot of my personal preference boxes when it comes to a pro-wrestling match: grumpy old dude (check), disappointed tag partner (check), a well-sold beatdown (check), Hideki Suzuki (check). Ohtani looked his best here and right out of the gate, he's got zero time for Okuda, laying it in with nasty slaps and knees, shoving Okuda's kicks out of the way in order to dish out more punishment. Takaiwa played the gruff uncle to Ohtani's dad role, being a little more reserved with the bomb-throwing but still kicking ass. And Suzuki, despite not getting much in-ring time, ruled here as reprimands his own partner with shitty little kicks and motivational smacks. I thought Okuda took the beating well -- that facewash to the outside looked especially rough -- and when he got the revenge tag, he brought the fire to Ohtani with some terrific machine gun-style elbows in the corner. He goes on to mock Ohtani by walking through the chops but that doesn't impress the old man, who in turn, dumps Okuda on his head not once...but twice with a release dragon suplex to put him away. Good stuff.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW, 8/12/17)

Like the Tanahashi/Naito match from the night before, these two put together the best match of their series by working a simple but effective formula. It was still a nutty Fire Pro Omega match but they managed to work in the spots without being too self-indulgent and it followed the thread of Okada's injured neck and Omega just blasting it with his high-impact offense. Omega as the movez aggressor works so much more than him cartoonishly selling a limb, whereas Okada, who has historically been spotty in his selling, has improved a lot since the Shibata match and his performance here really sold this match for me. The real turning point was the reverse frankensteiner on the floor, which Okada sold beautifully and it injected some drama into the final half with Omega cranking up the aggression on Okada's neck. One of the best parts of the match was Omega repeatedly kneeing Okada in the head with a distraught Gedo on the outside, covering his head. The crowd was buying the nearfalls and of course, both guys were bumping like crazy. I mean, that uranage/side suplex counter to the Rainmaker was awesomely brutal.

Obviously, they were going to ramp it up for the finishing stretch and when Omega hit the double arm piledriver for a nearfall, I thought this was going to either draw or venture into an endless waltz of counters and nearfalls...but it had me guessing and the hot atmosphere of Sumo Hall made it feel important. Omega still isn't my favorite dude in pro-wrestling but he thankfully kept the histrionics to a minimum and by telling a true and tried story rather than trying to impress the pants off of everyone, he wrestled his best match of the year. This was a top notch performance from Okada and yet another shining feather in his cap as he continues to have possibly the best year of his career thus far. Like him or not, you have to at least put Okada's name in serious contention for "Wrestler of the Year"...you know, behind Hideki Suzuki, of course.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW, 8/11/17)

The final contest in their trilogy of matches, and quite possibly, the best of the bunch. Maybe. I don't know. Tanahashi and Naito have such good chemistry together, and it really worked here, with the Sumo Hall pro-Naito and Tanahashi turning the crowd early with a couple of bad boy slaps to Naito's face in the ropes. Kiss that ace guitar bye-bye. Then he attacks Naito during his tranquilo pose and it's on, with nasty open hands exchanged in the corner and Naito taking the first seat behind the wheel with an awesome basement dropkick counter to Tanahashi's rounding body press. It's dueling limbwork, which I can totally get behind given it's done well and thankfully, these two make it work. Tanahashi's torn bicep has been the story of his G1 run and Naito being Naito exploits that injury.

On the other side, Tanahashi is looking to submit Naito with the cloverleaf hold he used to win the IC title back at Dominion, using his variety of dragon screws. There were some neat counters, like the legwhip off the slingshot dropkick and then the frakensteiner roll through into the legwhip. After he delivers a big top rope dragon screw, Tanahashi locks in the cloverleaf hold and essentially sits on Naito's head, bending exerting a ton of pressure in the most memorable part of the match. Naito's able to escape to the relief of Sumo Hall and after going back the arm, he hits a few swinging DDTs to set-up the Destino but Tanahashi counters with three consecutive whiplashes! But when he tries for the slingblade, Naito hits the Destino counter into the Destino to finish off the old ace. A simple story told exceptionally without the need to drift into the usual NJPW main event overkill territory. Great stuff.

Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW, 8/8/17)

Without a doubt, this was Minoru Suzuki's best match since returning to New Japan and it blew away their title match from earlier in the year. Was it perfect? Subjectively, no, but it's hard to pull off a flawless 30-minute draw without a little meandering here and there, and they did a damn good job of keeping things moving. What I loved about this match is that it played up Okada's weakness when it comes to his striking ability, with his elbows obviously puny compared to Suzuki's. In fact, Suzuki puts his hands behind his back to allow Okada to fire shots at him and still, Suzuki shuts him down. They got the Suzuki-gun shenanigans out of the way early, which allowed Suzuki to really tap into that "baddest motherfucker around" mentality as he starts in on Okada's injured neck, ripping the protective tape off and ragdolling him into the guardrail. I thought Okada's selling was really some of his best to date, always reminding us that he's fighting through the pain. But the bread-and-butter of this match is Suzuki wrecking the golden boy, between his strikes and him cranking away at the neck. I liked the transitions through the facelock, with Suzuki trapping the arm and going into a crossface and then just using a lot of headscissor variations to bend and twist the neck. Awesome stuff.

The crowd was way into Suzuki being a badass and the Gotch-style piledriver teases were well done, with the crowd eating them up. When Okada delivers the German to set up the first Rainmaker attempt, Suzuki counters with the sleeper, taking him over with that fantastic Saka Otoshi before cinching in the grounded sleeper. When that doesn't work, Suzuki starts paintbrushing him with slaps, jabs, and palm thrusts. Fucking great. Okada's able to hit a weak Rainmaker, holding onto the wrist, but when he tries for another, Suzuki slaps his hand away and then just bitch slaps him hard in the face, repeatedly. Okada does manage a few nasty shots of his own but again, it's nothing compared to Suzuki and Okada really sells the exhaustion and Suzuki's ruthlessness perfectly. There's an amazing moment toward the end when they smile at each other...Okada almost proud he withstood Suzuki's onslaught and Suzuki like "I can do this all day, kid." Then Suzuki smacks the hell out of him, trying once more for the sleeper and while Okada's able to avoid it and deliver another Rainmaker, he's a few drips past empty and can't follow up as the time limit expires. Probably my favorite match of the tournament thus far and a true testament of Okada's versatility on top. There wasn't a reliance on panty-soaking spots or over-the-top antics...I mean, the biggest move was probably Suzuki's Saka Otoshi. It was a terrific contrast of classic vs. modern, similar to what Suzuki did with Tanahashi a few years ago, but with a new ace at the helm.

Kazunari Murakami & Kohei Sato vs. Akira Joh & Keisuke Okuda (NEW, 7/7/17)

Akira Joh and Keisuke Okuda walked into the lion's den against boss Kazunari Murakami and his underling thug Kohei Sato. Try as they might, and they tried relatively hard...despite some of their strikes looking like cheeky kisses compared to the opposition...this was more or less an extended squash with Murakami throwing punches, headbutts, and a couple of judo throws in his strictly business attire. At one point, Sato shushed the crowd so that they could collectively hear the thunk of his headbutt. Whenever Joh or Okuda would sizzle a bit, they'd run into a big punch from Murakami. When Murakami finally strips off the jacket and dress shirt, he gets German suplexed on his head. But by this point in the match, Joh is wasted and crawls helpless into an STO from Murakami, who delivers a second STO to put the boys away for good. This was...something...but I'm always down for a good ole-fashioned beatdown and Murakami kicking ass in a trashy 1980's nightclub suit jacket is kind of amazing.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Satoshi Kojima (NJPW, 7/27/17)

I've said it before but smug shiteating ace, Kazuchika Okada, is the best Okada. He brings much more personality to his match when he's turning the heel knobs up a bit and against the lovable Satoshi Kojima, you want to boo Okada along with the fans. The way he mock claps for Kojima, only to turn around and attack him. Or how he goads Tenzan and grins like a total dick when Tenzan's forced out of the ring. The shitty boots to Kojima's back as he plays to the crowd. There's a lot to love about his performance here and of course, it all builds to Kojima getting some payback. Kojima channels his partner with the Mongolian Chops. When he's machine gunning him in the corner, the look on Okada's face is priceless. Kojima's able to hit a top rope Koji Cutter and a brainbuster but it's that final stretch that solidified this as one of the more memorable matches in the tournament thus far. Kojima strips the elbow pad and goes for the lariat, but Okada ducks it, delivering the German suplex to set-up the Rainmaker but Kojimda counters with a lariat to the back of the head and when Okada tries for it again, Kojima blasts him with the lariat for a nearfall. He's able to duck another Rainmaker attempt, connecting with a rolling elbow, but the ace is able to tombstone Kojima to deliver the Rainmaker nail in the coffin. Great stuff. 

Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Takuya Wada vs. Koji Iwamoto & Tadashi Matsumoto (Hard Hit, 7/16/17)

These Hard Hit shows are often more misses than hits but every so often, you get a little gem of a match. I'm not familiar with Takuya Wada or Tadashi Matsumoto but these guys were the highlights of this match. Of course, Fujiwara still showed that he's the wiliest old man around, grabbing limbs and cranking guillotines when and where he can, ultimately picking up the token submission with the haragatame. Iwamoto looked pretty good here in this setting, utilizing some neat takedowns, including his judo throw, but he was sent to the ropes a number of times. When Matsumoto and Wada were in there grappling, it was awesome. Matsumoto rolling around on the mat, trapping body parts while Wada showed his strength with some throws. Just lots of cool takedowns and reversals. Wada was able to get a leglock and then transitioned it into a swank double leglock and later in the match, Matsumoto used a monkey flip on Wada to snag an armbar. This match ain't for everyone -- there's no striking, no big moves -- but it's always a treat to see Fujiwara on the mat and the other three guys brought the energy he may lack at 68-years of age.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Keisuke Ishii (DDT, 7/23/17)

This was easily my second favorite KO-D Openweight title defense behind the HARASHIMA match from Judgement. Since having an underrated run with the AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title, Keisuke Ishii has really become one of my favorite junior heavyweights in Japan and he brought his A+ game to Takeshita with some incredibly focused and aggressive neckwork, and excellent counterwork, seemingly having an answer to a lot of Takeshita's attempts. For an ace, Takeshita's selling is some of the best around and while I could nitpick the non-selling on the German suplex bridge, he still did a lot more to show the effects of Ishii's neckwork than most. Like most Takeshita defenses, he displays his dominance early on, clocking Ishii with an elbow and a big chair-assisted running boot on the outside. He shows off that core strength, delivering a suplex with Ishii fighting to escape, and I love his single leg crab with the kicks to the head and then just bending Ishii in half. 

Ishii's able to come back and hit his neckbreaker on the guardrail, which sets up his go-to limb-based strategy, and Takeshita proceeds to endure quite the beating, taking a German suplex on the apron, a motherfuckin' Ishii Driller, and a tiger suplex hold for a two count. Ishii tries to murder him with a top rope tiger suplex but Takeshita is able to lariat him off. When the champ attempts the Blue Thunder Bomb, he sells the neck and Ishii elbows him...Takeshita tries again and this time, Ishii counters with a DDT, following up with a sliding kick and a cradle double arm DDT for another two count. Takeshita's neck is just...fucked. Takeshita can't get anything off without a counter from Ishii but when Ishii goes for the Final Cut, Takeshita is finally able to plant him with a lifting reverse DDT. Takeshita's able to deliver that picture-perfect German suplex hold (insert neck selling) and after that, Ishii loses his momentum and all hopes at downing Takeshita, as he eats lariat, a running knee, and the Surprise Rose to go down. Perhaps Takeshita's final comeback felt a little rushed but overall, this was a blast with Takeshita continuing to show his versatility as current ace of DDT. 

Post-match, biggest boy Naomi Yoshimura cashes in his "Right to Challenge" armband after a surprise lariat and while he's unsuccessful in his attempt, he does powerbomb Takeshita through a table from the apron! 

Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (7/23/17)

Yuji Nagata has been busting his ass for his final G1 Climax appearance and this was easily his best match and performance of the tournament (and a personal favorite of mine). These two have great chemistry together. You had Tanahashi heeling it up with his limbwork, tossing the proverbial ace guitar out of the ring to focus on attacking the veteran's leg. Nagata was as spirited as ever, with the crowd firmly behind him. Tanahashi starts in on the leg, kicking the knee when he can and embracing the boos. Nagata fights through the pain to land some stiff kicks and slaps, his facials always so terrific. Tanahashi tries going after the leg again with the cloverleaf hold but Nagata fights him off, going after the arm and building to a big top rope Exploder. He tries to finish Tanahashi off with the backdrop but Tanahashi counters with a crossbody and once more cuts off Nagata at the knee. That final slap exchange is awesome, with Nagata getting busted open and his exhausted swings and misses before collapsing face-first on the mat. Tanahashi's able to put Nagata away with the High Fly but Nagata wasn't going down without a fight. Loved this match. 

Hideki Suzuki vs. Ryuichi Kawakami (BJW, 7/17/17)

Sometimes a champ's gotta choke a fool to really cement his legacy as a badass. Big Japan has already done such a fantastic job of establishing Suzuki as the outsider, a volatile force of nature swallowing up the Strong Division and spitting out broken challengers. Suzuki already beat Kawakami at his game back in February so here, like in all of his title defenses, Suzuki forced Kawakami to play his game. But Kawakami wasn't really having it and what ensured was perhaps the most "shoot-style" of any match I've seen this year, full of violence and disdain. This was awesome in a lot of ways but, above all, it felt personal. The most personal of any of Suzuki's title matches. As defending champion, he was put into a lot of uncomfortable situations but he was equal parts the aggressor, sometimes sacrificing his honor to grind an elbow in Kawakami's forehead or throw the first slap. And this was easily Kawakami's best performance since returning from injury last year, having fully embraced the inner shithead with his grinning attitude. 

From the opening exchange, you get a sense of what's going on here. They test the waters, looking for the right opening, and when Suzuki gets it, he takes down Kawakami, slaps him and grinds the elbow in his face to establish dominance. Kawakami answers back with slaps, spits at Suzuki, and nonchalantly works a top wristlock. When Suzuki regains control with a full nelson, Kawakami walks into the ropes to break the hold but Suzuki stays right on him, right in his face, until Kawakami slaps him again, smiling. There are plenty of cheap shots thrown from both opponents, the added jabs and smacks, but Kawakami was the big jerk here. At one point, Suzuki has to elbow him off of him while they're on the ropes but Kawakami still sneaks in an elbow of his own to further piss off Suzuki. Or he's straight-up punching Suzuki in the corner. The striking in general is about as stiff as it comes, with Kawakami's nose getting busted open at some point. 

Suzuki's the clear mat technician but Kawakami brings a real gruntiness to his matwork and there's a real sense of struggle for control. I thought the pacing and the placement of the big moves was organic -- if you have an opening, why not hit a dragon suplex hold? Suzuki even busts out a fucking hurricanrana -- not the prettiest one ever but totally unexpected. He tries for the double arm suplex but Kawakami starts squirming so Suzuki hooks his leg and starts cranking on him with a hold. Kawami wails on Suzuki with a bunch of hard elbows but the second he tries for the Hurricane Driver, Suzuki knees him in the head and quickly shuts him down. When Kawakami survives the double arm suplex, Suzuki smiles, almost as if to say "you really should've stayed down", and then promptly destroys him with elbows and puts him to sleep like a bad, bad dude, throwing Kawakami out of his ring as he's handed his crown. Unstoppable. 

The post-match interaction with Daichi Hashimoto was terrific as well, setting up a future title match between the two. I'm hoping Suzuki's able to pull a big time performance out of Hashimoto similar to what Okabayashi did for Kamitani last year. I love this match. It felt like a fight from beginning to end. I get why people may not like this style of match, or Suzuki's style in general, but this felt unlike any other BJW World Strong title defense and I'm happy Big Japan is letting Suzuki do his thing. 2017 is definitely his year.