Weekly Watchlist 043 - April 6 2025

Welcome back, sport of kings fans!

 The blog keeps chugging along as we get down to the last 10 weeks before the Wrestling Vault turns a year old! Crazy to think, eh? Almost 365 days of writing about wrestling. If anyone could do it, it was me. 

I branched out a bit more this week and played around in the dirt a bit to find some matches worth talking about, and I think I found two pretty decent ones, y'know? Go on, click and scroll through, see if anything catches your eye. I'm sure something will. ;)

 

CMLL

Weekly Roundup

Here's what I watched for the week;

 

AEW Dynasty 2025 

Coming off the heels of an insane AEW Revolution from last month, AEW Dynasty was a great show but just couldn't compare to how insane Revolution was. Which isn't to say this show is bad! Not at all! The under card was great, the main event (once again) suffered, but the overall show quality just couldn't match up to Revolution. I stand by what I say when I think that will be the show to beat this year, across the board. Here's my quick thoughts on Dynasty before we get into the real matches. 

Ospreay and Kevin Knight opened the show in a match that stole the show for me. I've made it no secret that Ospreay is one of my favourite wrestlers in the world right now, and Knight has impressed in every match I've seen him in, one of which I covered a few months ago! I knew this was going to be fast paced and full of flippy crazy shit, and it was. Ospreay was in top form and he brought Knight up to his level effortlessly, with Knight already being an exceptional talent. I feel like Ospreay is going to go pretty far, if not all the way in the Owen Hart Tournament. 

Hurt Syndicate and Learning Tree was a fine match, can't say much more than that. Lashley and Benjamin are in top form with this pairing and are over as shit. I mean did you hear the "WE HURT PEOPLE" chant?! Love it. Keith is a great wrestler saddled with being the Bad Apple beneath the Jericho tree, with Big Bill showing some great character but not doing anything crazy between the ropes to get me excited, sorry to say. The MJF wrinkle was nice but didn't make or break this match. Meh. 

Mone and Hart was a lot of fun, once the pair worked out some kinks and got their missteps out of the way. I'm a big Julia Hart fan and I think her transformation over the past few years from cheerleader to the Angel of Death for the House of Black has been so fun to watch. She has room to improve, of course, but for her age she's really great. Mone put in a good shift and made you believe that Hart had her number for a while but she managed to pull a pin out of nowhere and retain. Be interesting to see how far she gets in the Owen and when she finally loses one of her titles. Time will tell, but Julia came pretty close.

Death Riders and Rated FTR was what you'd expect, except without any outside interference because neither team has anyone to interfere! How nice! Claudio was a monster in this match and the seeds continued to be sowed between FTR and Cope as the match moved along. Ultimately, Death Riders got the win and the losers embraced after the match, only for Dax to turn on Cope! It looked like Cash wasn't about to go along with it, but it takes two to Shatter Machine, and Cope was on the receiving end of one tonight. Heel FTR is back, let's see how they slot into the tag division now. Always game for more FTR.

Toni and Megan Bayne was a really hard hitting affair from these two. Bayne is a fucking monster and Toni played the Rocky Balboa role perfectly here, getting eaten alive but managing to stay alive and fight back with everything she had. There were a lot of moments in this match where I was certain Bayne was going to win, and there's a part of me that wished she did, but Storm came out on top and retains. Both women looked exceptional and I can't see how this loss will hurt Bayne at all going forward, she's a made woman. 

Briscoe and Fletcher mix it up for their fourth singles match against one another since last June, proving that they really can't have a bad match against each other. They bring chairs into this match super, super early and the damage is kinda forgotten about pretty quickly but Briscoe takes heaps of punishment regardless. It's hard fought, dangerously close on a few occasions, and both men need to work extra hard to put the other away. I wouldn't be surprised or even upset if Fletcher goes all the way in this tournament, let this be the thing that really kick starts his ascent to the top.  

Jericho and Bandido in a Title vs. Mask match was up next... I don't think I've talked a lot about Chris Jericho on the blog, so I'll keep this brief. I'm sick of him. Plain and simple. He was a big value add to AEW at the start, but he's been a leech for the past few years. This match was a perfect example of that. Why did we need to do a false finish here? So Jericho could say he beat Bandido but the match was restarted because his mother and sister got involved? Why did he take so long to go for the cover? Can Jericho just, like, not put someone over clear? Sure, the Jerichoholics will come out of the woodwork and give me 50 examples where he has, but that's not this match. It could have been a lot better if he just ate the loss clean instead of the feeling of "oh, Jericho just took his mask, not happy about that" that didn't go away even after Bandido won. Not good. 

Garcia and Cole square off in a no time limit, no outside interference clash for the TNT title that certainly didn't have a time limit! 30 minutes! Way too much for this one, honestly. I'm a big fan of Garcia and was all aboard the Adam Cole train in NXT but his AEW run, to no real fault of his own, has been so stop/start that it's hard to invest. And honestly? He doesn't look healthy to me. Sure, he just came back off a bad leg injury, maybe he can't hit the gym like he used to, but man, he does not look like the suave, cool Cole that ran NXT a few years ago. The action was fine and if you've seen an Adam Cole match, you've got a pretty good idea what this will look like. 

Full disclosure; I didn't watch this match live. By the time Adam and Danny went 30 minutes, I was well past my day-before-work bedtime so I had to call it a night before this three way. The moment I woke up Monday, however, I was back on Triller and picked right back up. Maybe that's why I didn't think this match was an all-timer three way like people are saying, because man, the praise fot this match is nuts. It was great! Please don't get me wrong, but "the best three way in wrestling" or whatever else people are saying? Maybe my morning eyes didn't let me see it that way. I love all 3 guys and think this was exceptional, but it didn't light my ass on fire like it did everyone else. I'll give it another try and maybe my opinion will change. 

Main event time! Mox and Swerve! Man, it's getting harder and harder to defend this Mox title reign. I'm a huge Mox fan, I've made that no secret, and I think the start of this hostile takeover of AEW was incredible, but we're in a real holding pattern right now and need to get out of it badly. I wasn't really hoping Swerve would be the guy, I think a few others could/should step up and take the title from Mox, but I'd have been totally fine if he did get the win. Instead, we get your typical Death Riders interference, outside carnage, but there's a twist! Hangman helped Swerve! Fucking hell! The beating heart of AEW just keeps delivering! I thought that would be it, but after a blackout, the Young Bucks help Mox win?! Didn't the Death Riders run The Elite out of AEW months ago? Why the Bucks? Sure, questions are a good way to end a show, but not a feeling of "well that could have ended a lot better." Not a great main event, once again. Real shame.

 

 

Bron Breakker vs. Tyler Bate - NXT Worlds Collide 2022 - 09/04/2022

Now this is what it's like when worlds collide. WWE

I was kinda digging around to find stuff to watch this week, nothing was jumping off the page at me until I saw a clip from RAW this week. Bron Breakker fucking speared Carlito out of his damn pants. This kid is a complete freak of nature, my lord. So, while scrolling through my spreadsheet, I kept an eye out for a Bron Breakker match when I came across this title unification match from 2022. "Sure, this will be fun!" I thought to myself. Good thought, self!

There's a lot riding on this match, with NXT UK getting absorbed by OG NXT after the UK brand fizzled out and was all but forgotten by almost everyone the world over. It was going to happen eventually, so the results for this show all felt pretty given. The hype package talks about how important each title is, naming previous title holders with some of them getting face-to-face with the current title holder telling them "hey pal, don't fail." Someone had to take the loss here, so a few ex-champions probably went to bed real disappointed that night. 

Breakker is out first with a pretty standard entrance, nothing to write home about. Bate, however, gets a whole presentation of all the ex-UK champions showing just how great the UK brand once was. It's a real sendoff for NXT UK and I liked it, I can't see how this title unification caught anyone by surprise. 

One other thing before we get to the action proper, NXT 2.0 feels so fucking weird to me, man. I bled black and gold for years and stuck with NXT when the rebrand happened out of a sense of loyalty. Once Ciampa left in 2022, I was gone too, he was the only thing keeping me around. Even up to that point, NXT 2.0 was a real, real struggle some weeks, but I powered through. But going back and re watching stuff a few years later, it's still a shock to the system. Why is everything so damn bright?!

 It's a pretty fundimental start to this match, with Bate excelling at technical wrestling and keeping someone on the mat, but Breakker excels on the mat as well, not afraid to go hold for hold and use his unreal strength and explosiveness to his advantage. Both go for their big moves early but neither can keep hold for very long, with a stalemate being reached after both men hit the canvas off a shoulder tackle and kip up to look eye-to-eye once again. 

Snatching the left arm of Breakker, Bate starts to tie the bigger man in knots and hold him on the canvas, making his attempts to break free or twist his way out difficult at every turn. Breakker is able to shoot Bate into the corner but he ducks under the charging bull, employing some Johnny Saint-esque tricks to try and catch Breakker off guard. I'm not really a fan of this exchange and thankfully it doesn't last too long, because the "here's my leg! Sike! Leapfrog!" and "go ahead! Grab my leg! Ha, gotcha!" stuff doesn't really tickle me in any way, sorry to say. 

This doesn't work for me, brother. WWE

Bate gets control of the arm again, trying to weaken Breakker so he can't get Bate up for his Gorilla Press Powerslam. Breakker tries to roll through and get himself out, but Bate keeps the hold locked on tight. Well, until Breakker shoots Bate into the ropes and drags him down with a lightning quick headscissors takedown, immediately reversing the momentum of the match. From there, bReakker gets Bate up for a vertical suplex and does two laps of the ring before dropping him on the canvas, landing a standing moonsault into a cover. This exchange is the perfect example of how different their styles really are. 

Not wanting to give up his advantage, Breakker grabs Bate in a front facelock on the mat and gator rolls him back and forth, keeping him down and forcing him to try and get out or suffer worse. He's able to fight his way to his feet but breakker shoots him into the ropes again, only for Bate to take Breakker over with a nice headscissors, followed by a dropkick to send him crashing to the floor. Wasting no time at all, Bate rebounds and takes flight, crashing down on Breakker on the floor. The barricades during the 2.0 era were closer together at the choke point where the ramp turns into ringside, so it makes dives like this one a bit more risky if someone starts going the wrong way. Was a good landing for Bate, that being said. 

With Breakker back in the ring, Bate tries for a standing moonsault of his own but Breakker rolls out of the way just in time, exploding to his feet and running for the ropes. Rebounding off them with insane speed, he snatches Bate out of the air and spikes him into the canvas.

Brought crashing back down to earth. WWE

With Bate against the ropes again, Breakker moves in but catches a back elbow to the head for his troubles. Backing himself up to the opposite side of the ring, he touches his forehead to assess the damage, a wicked smile crossing his face as he laughs off the pain, charging for Bate and sending both men through the ropes and out to the floor. They don't spend a long time on the floor, with Bate rolling back in on his own as Breakker gets in behind and ascends to the middle rope, trying for something big but Bate gets to his feet to early and starts to slug it out with Breakker on the ropes. 

He's not up there with him for very long as Breakker gains the advantage, leaping off the ropes only to get caught by Bate mid air and taken over with a big belly to belly suplex! They don't call him the big strong boi for nothing, ladies and gents. Back on his feet, Bate is fired up and eating the energy of the NXT crowd up, landing a standing shooting star press but only gets a two off the cover. The explosive comeback caught Breakker completely off guard, and bate tries to keep things in his favour, countering a vertical suplex from Breakker into a tight inside cradle for a pin but still, only a two. 

Now, things are shifting gears, the energy is picking up as Bate takes off against the ropes and Breakker tries to catch him with another head scissors but pays for it, as Bate reverses mid air and drill Breakker with a sit out powerbomb! Bate pushes Breakker to the corner and sits him on the top rope, wanting to use this position to his advantage this time. Breakker has Bate's number again, however, shoving him off the ropes as he ascends to the top strand, crouching on the top and beckoning for the dogs to bark with him, flying off the top with a crushing bulldog.

Sliding in for the pin, Breakker positions his arm under the neck of Bate as the referee starts the count, ripping him off the canvas before three lands and transitioning seamlessly into a vertical suplex powerbomb! Commentary tries to make it seem like Breakker "sensed the kickout" so he reversed it that way, but he clearly just pulled Bate off the mat. Check your eyes, guys. 

Just had to do it to 'em. WWE

With both men on their knees, they trade forearms back and forth as the fight up to their feet, with Bate trying his "Bop and Bang" punch combination, as commentary calls it, but Breakker isn't fooled by the distraction fist, catching the striking hand as soon as it flies out and flipping Bate around into an armbar.Bate struggles with the hold locked in, struggling to his hands and kneesuntil he's able to get under Breakker with a firemans carry as he rises to his feet. Taking Breakker for a couple spins, he plants him with a big driver but it was only good enough for two.

Springing to his feet before Breakker can beat him to it, he rebounds off the ropes, taking the one side along his shoulders, almost going for a spear against the ropes as he rebounds and turns on landing, crushing Breakker with a huge lariat but still, only two! Bate tries for the Tyler Driver '97 but Breakker stands and drops Bate on the canvas, trying to pin him in a bridge but Bate gets his shoulders up both times, rising to his feet before the third pinfall count and finally reversing it into the Tyler Driver '97! He stacks Breakker up for the pin but it's still not enough!

With Breakker barely able to move, Bate climbs to the top rope but gets caught by the throat as Breakker makes it to his feet, ripping bate off the top rope into a Gorilla Press, spiking him into the ring with a powerslam as Breakker goes for a pin. It's all but won until Bate gets his bottom foot on the rope, saving himself but only momentarily. With the straps down, Breakker lines up Bate in the corner for a spear, rushing out to deliver the killing blow but Bate gets a knee up that collides with Breakker's face!

He bop's and bang's Breakker as he's out on his feet, trying for the Tyler Driver but Breakker flips him out and goozle's Bate for another gorilla press slam, but Bate pops himself onto the shoulders of Breakker and rolls through for a pin attempt, but still, only two! Shooting to his feet, Bate takes off against the ropes for a big lariat but he's fallen right into Breakker's trap, cutting Bate in half with a spear as he lands back in the ring, covering him for the final, decisive, three. 

Straight up deleted. WWE

This was a fun, fast paced match that felt like some good 'ol NXT action. Breakker has always been a favourite of mine since his very first match and he wows me every time I get to see him. bate was a fantastic partner for Breakker here able to match him in many ways and work really well against his style of offence. I wouldn't have been upset if these guys ran it back sometime and got an extra 5 or so minutes to really get into a groove. Could really make some more magic.

 

Dragon Rojo Jr. vs. Templario - Mask vs. Mask Match - CMLL 90. Aniversario - 09/16/2023

Not a great way to start a match, Templario. CMLL

 Well, I've been pretty good recently about branching out of my usual watching patterns to see what else is out there. For the first time ever, I watched a CMLL show from start to finish! I can't say that this is my first foreign language show I've watched in full, that title goes to New Japan, but this is my first lucha-libre show I've given a couple hours of my time. I had a few CMLL shows saved and wasn't sure which one to watch, but I eventually landed on 90 and just let it go. Didn't skip any poorly rated matches, didn't make sure I'd like any of the matches before hand, went in totally blind and I really enjoyed what I saw!

The back half of the show was pretty interesting, honestly. The final two matches had some big stipulations involved, with the semi-main event being a hair vs. hair match. What was really unique about that one, was the men involved in that match, Volador Jr. and Angel de Oro, were teaming together in the previous match! I was a bit sleepy during the tag match so it took me a second to figure out why these guys weren't tagging each other but were tagging each other with punches and kicks. You don't see the "tag team partners to opponents" trope done back to back like that too often and I really liked it here. 

The main event arguably had much bigger implications, with the mask being a sacred piece of any wrestler's identity. To put your mask on the line is not something that is done lightly, you are giving up your entire identity. The famous story of El Santo is told all the time, the most legendary luchador in all of Mexico. He was a folk hero. He removed his mask only once his entire career, suddenly and without warning on the Mexican television program "Contrapunto," he died a week later.

Tamplario comes down to the ring first, and I know he's going for the classic Knights Templar look, but all I could see was Azrael from Batman. Maybe it's because I was playing Arkham Knight a month or two ago. As he comes down the steps and onto the ramp where some of the ring girls? I'm not sure what to call them, the women that dance and hang out on the ramp during entrances. As Templario makes his way to them, Dragon Rojo Jr. jumps him from behind and beats him down on the ramp. Hilariously, the ring announcer just keeps announcing Templario like nothing is happening, going through the whole speech he has to get through while he's getting his shit stomped in. Hilarious. 

Dragon tosses Templario inside the ring as a graphic flashes on screen saying "A1 caída" implying that this match would be found under two out of three falls rules but, spoilers, there's only one fall in this sub 15 minute match. Not sure if something got changed at the eleventh hour and the graphic team wasn't clued in or the graphic team just messed up, but it's worth pointing out. 

Dragon waits for Templario to get to his feet and beckons him to run at him, letting him rebound off the ropes so he can get him up with a back body drop, standing above him and shouting down as Templario rolls around on the canvas, trying to recover from the early assault. It seems pretty clear the Dragon is playing the part of the rudo here, with Tamplario the tecnico, but you can see some fans with Dragon Rojo Jr. masks in the crowd, so the lines maybe aren't as clearly defined as they tend to be in lucha libre matches. 

Dragon takes him to ringside and hurls him into the barricade, climbing to the apron to soak in the boos and jeers of the crowd, only to toss Templario back in the ring to continue the assault. He goes for a splash in the corner on Tamplario but he moves out of the way and lets Dragon crash into the turnbuckle. He pops a few quick punches to keep him stunned, leaving him stand near the ropes as he takes off to the opposite side of the ring, springboarding off the top rope and connecting with a dropkick to the chest of Dragon. 

He's not down for very long however, taking Templario off his feet with a lariat followed by a running boot, once again taunting the crowd and the prone Templario. Going for the ultimate insult early, Dragon seats Templario on the top rope and climbs up behind him, trying to rip the mask wide open from the eye hole, reminiscent of Eddie and Rey in the Havoc '97 classic. Pulling Templario into the tree of woe momentarily, he stomps his chest until he falls to a seated position, landing a big running dropkick to the chest (kinda looked closer to the groin from how Templario sold it).

With Templario still sitting in the corner, Dragon rushes in but gets caught with a drop toe hold and eats the bottom turnbuckle. With Dragon prone, Templario gets him from behind and picks him up with a wheelbarrow suplex, trying to shift things into his favour. He tries for another springboard dropkick when both men are on their feet but Dragon snipes him on the descent with a dropkick of his own, snatching both legs and sitting on his chest for the firsty pinfall of the match but Templario gets out at two. 

The speed picks up as soon as Templario gets to his feet, with some proper lucha libre action on display, with a double down taking both men to the canvas. Dragon is to his feet first and takes control, shoving Templario into the ropes and catching him with a spinebuster on the rebound, following up with a double stomp through the chest after hitting the ropes himself. Folding him in half, Dragon goes for another pin attempt but Templario gets out before three again. Dragon is trying to make sure that he doesn't let any of the damage he did to his midsection at the start of this match go to waste, doing everything he can to target that part of Templario's body at every chance he gets. 

Templario backs himself into the corner to catch his breath, with Dragon already on his feet and making his way towards him. he snatches him by the wrist and pulls him out, sending him to the opposite corner as Templario goes up and over Dragon, who anticipated the escape and ducked underneath, watching as Templario charges for the ropes and trying to cut him off with a lariat, only to get caught with a headscissors on the rebound! Dragon slides to the outside as Templario hits a fuckin spinaroonie to get back to his feet! 

Hitting the ropes, he charges at Dragon on the outside and lands a handspring moonsault to the outside! That's something I saw in excess on this show, and I'm not sure if it was to it's detriment or not, there was an awful lot of dives/flips/whatnot to opponents on the floor. Some matches had them back to back. Kinda crazy how much that is a part of their offence and a lot of these guys can have careers like, 10 or even 15 years longer than wrestlers in the states. It's nuts. 

Templario takes flight! CMLL

Coming back from the replay, we find Templario on the ramp, which buts right up to the ring. He lies in wait and then charges, flying over a camera man and landing on a standing Dragon with a swanton bomb! Templario is the first to get back in the ring, with Dragon following close behind and taking advantage of an unaware Templario to leap up onto his shoulders from behind, rolling forwawrds and into a pin attempt, and it's the closest one so far.  

Stumbling to his feet, Templario tries to take Dragon over with a magistral cradle but Dragon is too quick, flipping around and holding Templario down for another pin, but still not enough. It's pretty clear Dragon is just desperate to put Templario away, but he's too resilient too early for it to work. Going for broke, Dragon takes Templario around with a bodyslam and climbs to the top rope, going for a double stoimp but landing on the canvas and rolling out of it as Templario rolls out of the way, rising to his feet and charging after Dragon as he turns around. 

Snatching Dragon in a double leg, he ties his legs together and looks to try some sort of submission, but Dragon snatches Templario by the head and rolls him for a tight inside cradle but Templario squirms his way free. He backs himself into a corner as Dragon catches his breath on the canvas before rising to his feet, charging in but eating the boot of Templatio as he gets too close. Dragon runs back in and Templario gets on top, trying to roll through for a sunset flip pin but Dragon pushes back and sits out, holding the middle rope (blatant cheating, brother!) for another close pinfall. 

Thats the best way to describe the end of this match, pinfall after pinfall attempt from Dragon, with Templario able to escape them all. With Dragon distracted by the referee, Templario gets Dragon on his shoulders in a firemans carry position and plants him with a cutter, ducking through the ropes and onto the ramp. Making his way up towards the steps, he lines up Dragon and sprints down the ramp, landing another handspring moonsault over the ropes but again, only two. 

With both men on their feet  they trade chops in the corner back and forth, trading places to make sure the man against the turnbuckles is always receiving the punishment. A snapmare to Dragon seats him in the centre of the ring, with Templario giving him a taste of his own medicine by ripping at the eye hold of Dragon's mask. He opens it pretty damn wide, with a good portion of Dragon's face visible. He's able to adjust it to cover most of his face, and just in time too. 

Standing near the ropes, he catches a headscissors attempt from Templario and turns with him in a powerbomb position, using the top rope to bounce him up and then back down for a big powerbomb. Moving like a man possessed, he hits the ropes for a double stomp to the chest of Templario, then dives between the ropes and climbs to the top, going for another double stomp but Templario moves out of the way enough that the stomp only catches him on the shoulder. Dragon goes for a pin but Templario survives. 

Seating Templario on the top rope again, Dragon climbs and stands on the middle rope next to him. He gestures to the crowd and it proves to be his undoing, with Templario grabbing him gutwrench style and turning him around for a powerbomb off the top. He stands on the middle rope and pulls Dragon up high, ready to drill him through the ring but Dragon reverses it into a headscissors at the last second! He tries for a pin but it's still not enough!

A decisive way to end a match. CMLL

 

Back in the corner again, same as before, Templario gets Dragon up and is able to land a top rope powerbomb, pulling him up off the canvas and into a double underhook piledriver and pins him for the three count. Templario's mask is safe.  

It was an emotional unmasking after the bell, with the crowd giving their love to Dragon even if they were booing him a few minutes prior. The loss of a mask in Mexico is a big deal and Dragon clearly wasn't a vilified, hated rudo. His family joins him in the ring and they untie his mask amid tears from the fallen wrestler. When he finally unmasks, there's pyro and confetti that rain form the ceiling, a celebration despite the loss. It's a really nice celebration to close the show. 

Overall, I enjoyed this match! After reviewing it I kinda liked it less than I did after first watching it, but I still really liked it! A lot of people ranked the hair vs. hair match before this match higher but there was a lot less going on in that match than this one, so I don't really understand what they're seeing that I don't. Maybe some lucha libre disconnect. I think I'll need to watch some more CMLL to really get a feel for their big matches and the style they prefer but overall, a great match. 

 

Outro

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