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Monday, July 23, 2018

The Silver Report: June 2018

All throughout the month of June, there was one statement I heard repeated by the media and friends alike. It was that we are in the middle of new golden age for professional wrestling. And it's a statement that I have to agree with wholeheartedly.

Other than the poor state of WWE's main roster product (although SmackDown has drastically improved recently despite some stumbles), there is so much great wrestling being churned out on a weekly, maybe even daily, basis. You just have to be willing to step out of the casual wrestling bubble that is WWE. Or if you aren't willing to take the plunge yet, take a little deeper dive into the WWE Network and give NXT, 205 Live, and the yearly tournaments a try. They can serve as the gateway to New Japan, Stardom, Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, RevPro, and the hundreds of other promotions out there.

Although I can't watch everything, I hope what I highlight in these reports from the major storyline developments to the must-see matches helps you broaden your view of professional wrestling and entice you to try give these promotions not named WWE a chance. You never know, you might love what you find.

Omega Wins the Big One!

How long have we all waited for Kenny Omega to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship? Was it from the moment he won the G1? Or was it from the match that broke Dave Meltzer's five-star scale? Or was it from the 60-minute draw in Osaka a year ago?

No matter how long it took, the payoff to Omega's nearly two year journey to the top of New Japan was absolutely incredible. I know I couldn't hold back my tears when Red Shoes' arm came down to record the final fall. While it was part pride for a fellow countryman, the tears came from a deep emotional connection that Omega established with the New Japan faithful, myself included, through incredible matches, unbelievable selling, and next level storytelling.

While the result may have been the biggest takeaway, the 2 out of 3 Falls match that led to it was nothing short of spectacular. Running for a grand total of one hour and four minutes, Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada put on a match that lived up to their incredibly high standard and in some cases, surpassed what came before.

If you're not watching New Japan already, there is no better time than the present to give the best wrestling promotion today a chance.

Did Gargano Go Too Far?

A week after New Japan wowed wrestling fans with Dominion, NXT told them to hold their beer with the wonderful TakeOver: Chicago II. Undisputed Era's Strong and O'Reilly beat Burch and Lorcan in one of the finest tag team matches this year. Velveteen Dream continued his streak of strong performances in a losing effort against Ricochet. Even, Aleister Black got a great heavyweight brawl out of Lars Sullivan.

But all of those great moments couldn't compare to WWE's crown jewel of storytelling — Johnny Gargano vs. Tomasso Ciampa.

Although many fans dismissed the Street Fight beforehand for being a similar stipulation to their Unsanctioned match in New Orleans, this match was completely different. Instead of being a visceral wrestling match with little weapon use, this match was the closest thing to an old-school hardcore match we'll ever see in the WWE nowadays. From chairs to kendo sticks to steel stairs to the ring boarding, Gargano and Ciampa used every weapon at their disposal to maim one another. You felt the personal escalation of this feud with every punch and weapon shot.

The match built to a callback to the very beginning of this feud, which poetically began at the very first TakeOver: Chicago. Ciampa took Gargano over to the entrance way to reenact the assault from a year earlier. Unfortunately as Ciampa was setting up Gargano for an Air Raid Crash through a table, he spat on Gargano's wedding ring before throwing it away. Ciampa's final act of defiance caused Gargano to snap as he put Ciampa through the table with the Air Raid Crash instead. But that wasn't enough for the crazed Johnny Wrestling as he pulled Ciampa away from being stretchered out of the building for more punishment. In the ring, Gargano handcuffed Ciampa's arms behind his back before laying in with thrust kicks to the face and a vicious Garga-No-Escape submission. Since Ciampa was defenseless, security ran into pull Gargano away, but in the commotion, Ciampa would catch Gargano middle-rope DDT on the exposed ring boarding for the win.

While some may not have enjoyed this match compared to the TakeOver: New Orleans main event, I loved this from bell-to-bell. It was another phenomenal entry in this feud, which has catapulted both wrestlers in new directions. Ciampa looks poised to solidify himself as the number one heel on NXT by challenging Aleister Black for the NXT Title, while Gargano's obsession with Ciampa could have this beloved babyface deal with some inner demons before finally ousting his outer ones.

Must-See Matches of June

6/3/2018
Best of the Super Jr. 25 Night 13
Flip Gordon vs. Will Ospreay
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kushida

6/4/2018
Best of the Super Jr. 25 Finals
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori

6/9/2018
Dominion
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Will Ospreay
Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega - 2 out of 3 Falls Match

6/13/2018
NXT
Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O'Reilly

6/16/2018
NXT TakeOver: Chicago II
Undisputed Era vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch
Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream
Johnny Gargano vs. Tomasso Ciampa - Chicago Street Fight

6/19/2018
Smackdown
Big E vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Samoa Joe vs. The Miz vs. Rusev - Gauntlet Match

6/25/2018
United Kingdom Championship Tournament
British Strong Style vs. Undisputed Era

6/26/2018
NXT UK Championship
Pete Dunne vs. Zack Gibson

6/27/2018
NXT
Mustache Mountain & Ricochet vs. Undisputed Era 

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