Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Matches of the Month - April 2026

Intro

PAC vs. Will Ospreay - AEW Dynamite - 04/01/2026

Should it really come as a surprise that these two had an exceptional match? PAC jumped Ospreay before the bell to try and get the upper hand, with Ospreay spending the first bit of the fight fighting from beneath, his bad neck being the new story surrounding all Ospreay matches. PAC was able to wear him down and dictate the pace, but wasn't afraid to pick things up a bit to match or exceed Ospreay when necessary. A fantastic TV match, great work from both men. 

 

Knockout Brothers vs. TMDK - NJPW Sakura Genesis 2026 - 04/04/2026

Making a legitimate case for the best tag team going, the Knockout Brothers had an exceptional tag bout that continued to build to a deeper, bigger, and stronger crescendo in the final moments of the match. They hit hard, they took harder hits, and pushed further beyond what should be possible as the match pushed all four men to further extremes. TMDK was no slouch of a team either, with Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. working flawlessly together. Oiwa hit with sledgehammers for limbs, and ZSj was technical, tight, and brilliant whenever he got on offence. A fantastic, brilliant bout from all four involved. The best match on the card. 

 

Yota Tsuji vs. Callum Newman - NJPW Sakura Genesis 2026 - 04/04/2026

Featured in Weekly Watchlist 095 - Make Way to the Throne 

 

The Young Bucks vs. Don Callis Family - AEW Dynasty 2026 - 04/12/2026

Featured in Weekly Watchlist 096 - WWF vs. SWS

 

Thekla vs. Jamie Hayter - AEW Dynasty 2026 - 04/12/2026

Featured in Weekly Watchlist 096 - WWF vs. SWS 

 

Jon Moxley vs. Will Ospreay - AEW Dynasty 2026 - 04/12/2026

Featured in Weekly Watchlist 096 - WWF vs. SWS 

 

MJF vs. Kenny Omega - AEW Dynasty 2026 - 04/12/2026

Featured in Weekly Watchlist 096 - WWF vs. SWS 

 

Charity King vs. Gabby Forza - New Texas Pro Sin City Stampede - 04/16/2026

A hard hitting hoss fight, Forza and King seemed to set out and have the most exciting match on the Sin City Stampede card. Hard hitting and exciting from top to bottom, both ladies seemed to have a chip on their shoulder and the attitude to force everyone else to try and match their energy. I was familiar with Forza but had never seen King before, and was more than pleased with what I saw from both. My expectations for this show were rather low, so maybe this match was totally standard, but I thoroughly enjoyed everything from both of these ladies. Fantastic work. 

 

Bandido vs. Galeno Del Mal - WrestleCon Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow 2026 - 04/16/2026

It should come as no surprise that Bandido had an exciting match during the WrestleMania week indie shows, but for it to happen against someone I've never heard of, that's what surprised me. Galeno Del Mal is a huge masked luchador that moves like a cat and hits like a truck. Yet another example of "styles make matches," despite spending a good portion of the early match on the outside, their work inside the ropes was excellent and tight, with Galeno not feeling an inch out of place for squaring up against someone the calibre of Bandido. Far and away the best match on the card, Galeno is on my radar now as someone worth watching and keeping a closer eye on thanks to this match. Great stuff. 

 

Brody King vs. Zilla Fatu - HOG Culture Clash 2026 - 04/16/2026

Yet another hard hitting hoss fight, King and Zilla went hell for leather in this match and beat the snot out of each other. This match ripped. I saw some negative reviews of this match, but I though tthis match delivered on everything that was advertised. It wasn't some technical masterpiece, it wasn't a blisteringly quick affair, it was rough, tough, and hard hitting in all the right ways. Both men looked and fought like killers and it was fun from the word go. Always love matches like this and this one absolutely delivered. 

 

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Fuminori Abe - NJPW Death Vegas Invitational - 04/16/2026

Abe got the pop of the show in this match, which shocked me when he came out, but maybe the crowd knew he'd put on a banger against ZSJ. Who's to say, really, but they were right! This match was everything you've come to expect from a great ZSJ match, tight, technical, and set at a measured pace, Abe and ZSJ worked over each other very deliberately and intelligently. I always love matches like these that spend a lot of time on the canvas, and this one delivered. Maybe not for everyone, but certainly for me. Great stuff from both men. 

 

Blue Panther vs. Ultimo Guerrero - CMLL At Palms Slam Fest - 04/16/2026

Straight up; this match fucked. Two men with a combined age of 119 should not be going this hard in any match at this point in their careers, but my god did they go hard in this match. An easy contender for Match of the Month as well as Match of the Year, I nearly gave this a damn standing ovation when I watched it in the dining room of a Popeyes. Insane work from both men. Watch this match now, dammit!

 

Timothy Thatcher vs. Charlie Dempsey - GCW Josh Barnett's Bloodsport XV - 04/17/2026

It should not come as no surprise that Thatcher excelled in a Bloodsport style match, but seeing the son of William Regal in this type of environment was refreshing and fun (I've seen none of his NXT work). Both men worked exceptionally well together, keeping the match tight and technical and true to what Bloodsport set out to be initially. I'll always love seeing Thatcher do what he does best, and Dempsey being as good as he was was a real treat as well. The WWE injection to Bloodsport is largely questionable at the best of times, but giving us this match made this deal worthwhile, I suppose. 

 

Nattie Neidhart vs. Shayna Baszler - GCW Josh Barnett's Bloodsport XV - 04/17/2026

And this match too! Let's not forget. The shoot fighter gimmich Nattie is leaning into right now is a whole lot of fun, with this being the first I've seen of her since I stopped watching WWE last year. Even then, she wasn't featured a whole lot to begin with, so it's been a number of years since I've seen anything of hers at all. Baszler is as dangerous and as mean as they come, and I knew she'd more than excel in this Bloodsport environment, and this match blew my expectations out of the water. Both women felt like they had chips on their shoulders the size of mountains, with Nattie hitting hard and Baszler not holding anything back. This was the kind of action I tuned into Bloodsport for and I had a whole load of fun with this match.  

 

Darby Allin vs. Tommaso Ciampa - AEW Dynamite - 04/22/2026

A rare occasion where I watched a match live, that alone made the experience of watching this match 5x better. Watching it back the next day with my wife, a fan of both of these men, proved that this match holds up to scrutiny. An easy Match of the Month and Year contender, Darby and Ciampa had something to prove here. Darby wanted to prove that he was more than a fluke champion, and Ciampa had years of toiling in WWE to dig out from underneath, with his crimson mask more than proving that he's not fucking around when it comes to big time matches in AEW. Despite the outcome not being what I was looking for, both men established that they belong in the main event scene and will be locking up again before too long. An exceptional match from both men. Kudos all around.  

 

Syuri vs. Chihiro Hashimoto - Sendai Girls - 04/12/2026 

Featured in Weekly Watchlist 098 - Big Hash Tackles God's Eye 

 

 

Matches of the Month - Outside 04/2026 

Arisu Endo & Miyu Yamashita vs. Spark Rush - TJPW Grand Princess '26 - 03/29/2026

MIRAI vs. Suzume - TJPW Grand Princess '26 - 03/29/2026 

 

Until next month, friends!

Take it easy. 

 


 

 

 

cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com 

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