With April in the rear view, its time to go over some of my favourite matches from the month that was! I stayed pretty modern this month but feel like going back to the grainy footage for the month of May. Let's see what the tail end of spring does to this friendly neighbourhood reviewer.
Stephanie Vaquer & Zeuxis vs. Las Chicas Indomables - CMLL 90. Aniversario - 09/19/2023
After Vaquer blew my mind in her one and only AEW match against Mercedes Mone last year, I've been trying to watch more of her to really appreciate her. Let's not forget, when she signed with WWE, she was a double champion in CMLL, holding both the CMLL World Women's Championship as well as the CMLL World Women's Tag Team Championship with her partner Zeuxis, her partner for this title defence. This match was high action right from the start, with huge dives and great tag team cohesion. All four ladies showed up to show out in the opening match. This was the first CMLL show I watched front to back and this was such a treat to start out with.
Dragon Rojo Jr. vs. Templario - Mask vs. Mask Match - CMLL 90. Aniversario - 09/19/2023
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Will Ospreay vs. Kevin Knight - AEW Dynasty 2025 - 04/06/2025
To anyone who has seen Kevin knight wrestle, it should come as no surprise that his style meshes almost perfectly with someone like Will Ospreay. Both men can move their bodies in the air in ways that, honestly, shouldn't be possible. But week after week, match after match, they defy physics and leave jaws on the floor. The opening match for Dynasty 2025 set the bar high right out of the gate, with Ospreay helping the AEW newcomer get his stuff in and show people that he's someone worth watching. Countering some of Ospreay's best offence isn't the easiest thing in the world to do, but Knight makes it look effortless. Hope these two run it back in the next year or two, loved it.
Toni Storm vs. Megan Bayne - AEW Dynasty 2025 - 04/06/2025
Despite coming off like a complete killer after her match with Mariah May, I was pretty convinced Bayne had Toni's number here. I mean seriously, Bayne is bigger, stronger, and really gives it to Toni in this match. Penelope Ford at ringside helps until she's taken away pretty early by Luther, which gives Bayne and Toni the time and room to really lay it into each other. Bayne ate some of Storm's best moves and just kept getting up, with Toni looking like she was beat on a few occasions after being effortlessly thrown around by the Megasus. Toni is able to hold onto her gold after countering Bayne's finish into a tight pin. As credible a threat as ever, Toni may not be so lucky the next time she crosses paths with Bayne.
Mark Briscoe vs. Kyle Fletcher - AEW Dynasty 2025 - 04/06/2025
Y'know, some wrestlers are just perfect opponents. They shone during their tussles in the CC, had a great bout on Collision, and here at Dynasty, it's much the same. Fletcher's brutal, heinous offence matches Briscoe's endearing, never-say-die attitude perfectly. They truly bring out the absolute best in each other and I can't help but feel like part of Fletcher's success as a singles wrestler in the back half of 2024 and start of 2025 is because of Briscoe (hard to forget his matches with Ospreay too). Fletcher hits harder and harder with more vicious and deadly offence as the match goes on, and Briscoe can take your absolute best and somehow, someway, survive just long enough to get back on top. There's a curious use of a chair at the very start of this match that, honestly, doesn't factor into anything else that happens from then on, but it's pretty easy to ignore with how brutal the rest of the bout is. Fletcher's top rope brainbuster is still as deadly as ever as he advances in the Owen Hart tournament with this victory.
Finn Balor vs. Karrion Kross - NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver 2021 - Night 2 - 04/18/2021
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Robbie Eagles vs. Jackson Drake - DPW Carolina Classic 2024 - 09/15/2024
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Mike Bailey vs. LaBron Kozone vs. Jake Something vs. Luke Jacobs - DPW Carolina Classic 2024 - 09/15/2024
The finals to the 2024 Carolina Classic was exceptional. Pitting tag team champions and two guys that have previously come close to winning the CC against each other helped to build the drama to a fever pitch when they were the final two. Kozone is the besting heart of DPW in a lot of ways, always received well and having fantastic matches against opponents that, more often than not, were trained by him at the Fire Star Pro Wrestling academy. Luke Jacobs was great in his DPW debut and has a face you just need to punch. The final stretch between Something and Bailey was as intense as ever, with two guts that have stood side by side for months on end coming to blows to decide which man goes for the biggest prize DPW has to offer. Kicking out of some of their biggest moves had me on the edge of my seat the whole time, even if I knew the outcome going into this match.
Athena vs. Mercedes Mone - AEW Dynamite - Spring BreakThru - Day 1 - 04/16/2025
The opening match to this PPV quality episode of Dynamite, Athena and Mone gave everything they had in this sprint of a match. It's easy to forget how good Athena is with her on the almost deserted island of Ring of Honor week after week, defending her Women's Championship after holding it almost 900 days at this point. On the flipside, Mone has been travelling the world collecting women's championships like they're going out of style. It was tooth and nail for a while, seeming like Athena was about to hand Mone her first loss in AEW but alas, the CEO survives, countering Athena's best piece of offence into a tight pin for the win. A few minutes more, and this match could have easily had a very different result.
Josh Alexander vs. Adam Page - AEW Dynamite - Spring BreakThru - Day 1 - 04/16/2025
After his loss to Santana at TNA earlier this year, the rumour mill was buzzing about where Josh Alexander would land. Hangman was on the flip side of the wildcard slot this year, this time waiting in suspense for a mystery opponent to show up. Two of the heaviest hands in wrestling squared off in a fantastic, stiff, no BS match that established Alexander right out of the gate as a threat. Sure, Hangman gave it as good as he got it, but not many wrestlers on the roster give Hangers this much of a challenge. The babyface transformation of Hangman is still firmly underway, with a huge dive from the elevated ramp way to ringside on Alexander. Much like the ending to the Mone match, Hangman eeks out a win against Alexander after counter his ankle lock into a tight pin. Aligning himself with Don Callis after this loss has helped Alexander maintain the level of threat a wrestler like him should be at, while allowing Hangman to get one step closer to winning back the AEW World Championship.
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Will Ospreay - AEW Dynamite - Spring BreakThru - Day 1 - 04/16/2025
Alright, let's be honest here, what more can I say about a match between these two that I haven't said already? Two of the best wrestlers on the planet, wrestling in a company where they can fully cut loose, on a show that has this energy in the air where it feels like anything is possible. I well and truly believe that these two are incapable of having a bad match against each other. Honestly. A hundred times out of a hundred, they'll knock it out of the park. They know each other so well and match up perfectly that they'll always find a counter to their opponents best shot and will always find a way to hit them just a bit harder. Even if it means borrowing your opponents move to really rub salt in the wound when you do win, like they tried here. Trust me on this, guys, this match rips.
IYO SKY vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair - WWE WrestleMania 41 - Sunday - 04/20/2025
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Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest - Sin City Street Fight - WWE WrestleMania 41 - Sunday - 04/20/2025
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Bron Breakker vs. Finn Balor vs. Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio - WWE WrestleMania 41 - Sunday - 04/20/2025
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Mike Bailey vs. LaBron Kozone - DPW Super Battle - 10/13/2024
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Calvin Tankman vs. Jake Something - DPW Super Battle - 10/13/2024
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Adam Cole vs. Claudio Castagnoli - AEW Collision - Spring BreakThru - Day 2 - 04/17/2025
I gave this match some love on my Patreon while catching up with AEW at the end of April, but I'll still give it some love on the blog here. It's been a while since I've really enjoyed an Adam Cole match, honestly. Since losing his NXT Championship, the aura has faded and I feel like he's a shadow of his Black and Gold self right now. Either phoning it in or just going through the motions with the stuff that's gotten him victories in the past. Maybe it's the fact that he's got some gold around his waist as the new TNT champion, maybe it's the fact that he's wrestling one of his best friends, maybe it's something in the water, but Claudio and Cole brought out the best in each other here. The incredible power of Claudio was on fully display and the resilience and skill of Cole able to shine in the small windows he was able to create. He manages to survive with a crucifix pin counter that sends Claudio into an announce table flipping rampage. Really great stuff.
Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey vs. The Young Bucks - AEW Dynamite - 04/23/2025
What do you get when you put two world class wrestlers with incredible speed and agility together as a team, pair them against one of the best tag teams of the last 20 years, and tell them "you've got 15 minutes, go nuts"? Magic, that's what. I've talked glowingly about Bailey and Knight on here before and I really think they've struck gold pairing them up in AEW, if that's how they decide to keep presenting them. "Jet Speed" could be a fantastic tag team. The Bucks, however, have been pretty "meh" lately, if we can be honest. They haven't really had the greatest matches the past year or so and just feel like another great team. But this match, my lord, the Bucks decided that tonight was the night they'd remind everyone who they are. With tag team cohesion and creativity on full display here, Jet Speed was really put to the test here, even giving it back to the Bucks in equal measure. They fall to Mathew and Nicholas in the end, but look excellent even in defeat.
Well, there we have it! Let's see what May has to offer us, eh?
Until next month, take it easy friends.
Cliff Morgan
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