The Silver Report: April 2019

WrestleMania 35 has come and gone. To be quite honest, I enjoyed this year's show for a good four out of seven hours. The wrestling was solid and despite some silliness, I was thoroughly entertained. Especially when Shane McMahon bounced off the top of that golf cart.

After the show hit its peak with Kofi Kingston winning the WWE Title (more on that in a bit), it just lost all momentum. Other than the main event, which exceeded my low expectations, it was such a drag to watch the last few hours.

While I can dissect this show even further or debate how WWE should shorten WrestleMania until the cows come home, we got a report to dive into.

The Underdog Story

Considering how big WrestleMania Weekend has become over this past decade, it always plays host to an insane amount of feel-good moments. Be it show-stealing matches, awe-inspiring spots, unbelievable surprises, or star-making performances, there is a lot to enjoy about the biggest weekend in wrestling.

Despite all our harping on them, the company that made this weekend a destination in the first place can still create some of the most emotional moments in the business. This year, WWE put on two matches that had many in tears — yours truly included.

The first match came to us on the Friday of WrestleMania Weekend at NXT TakeOver: New York. Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano clashed in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the vacant NXT Championship.

Looking at this match with a critical eye, Cole and Gargano had a very standard WWE multi-fall match, where the first two falls are little more than window dressing for the final fall. What made this match special — and completely overshadowed this big negative — was the crowd and their relationship with Gargano.

At the beginning of the match, the New York crowd completely turned on Gargano because they all decided that Cole deserved to win. Despite the initial boos, Gargano persevered and slowly won the crowd over with every kick out, rope break, and finisher reversal. By the end of the match, the entire Barclays Center was behind the man they vehemently booed earlier. The crowd's slow but organic turn amplified the emotion of the final fall to the point I had to fight back the tears as Gargano locked in the Gargano Escape for the victory.

Despite the obvious flaw of the first two falls doing nothing to build the final fall, you can't help but smile ear-to-ear when watching the final 15 minutes and seeing Gargano finally hoist the NXT Championship. Plus, Ciampa's surprise embrace at the top of the match made it all the sweeter.

The second match was on the big show itself, WrestleMania 35. Halfway through the nearly eight-hour show, Kofi Kingston faced off with Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship.

After 11 years with the company, Kingston finally got his shot at the top prize. Considering the emotional underdog story, nobody was going to accept anything but Kingston walking away with the gold.

As such, everybody in the sea of 82,000+ people in the crowd and the millions watching around the world sat on the edge of their seats for every move, every swing of momentum, and every near fall. Although Kingston and Bryan didn't have the smoothest of matches, the heightened tension made you look past the blemishes and get even more invested in the bout. This tense 23-minute match culminated with Kingston hitting the Trouble in Paradise to a thunderous pop from the crowd.

The cherry on top was the post-match celebration. As the crowd erupted in joy, Big E and Xavier Woods rushed Kingston for a loving embrace. You could even see the tears flowing as Woods lifted Kingston onto his shoulder. To make the moment more magical, Kingston brought his two sons into the ring to celebrate with the New Day.

These were easily two of the best matches WWE put on this past WrestleMania Weekend. From action to drama to emotion, they had everything you need for great pro wrestling. Most importantly, both had excellent stories that the audience could get behind. That's why people couldn't fight back the tears when watching these underdogs win the big one for their respective brands.

Source: Bleacher Report

A Tale of Two Promotions

After All In's sellout proved there's an audience large enough for promotions other than WWE to run 10,000+ seat venues, ROH and New Japan took a big leap by announcing their intention to run a show from Madison Square Garden. Despite some interference by WWE, tickets went on sale for the ROH and New Japan's G1 Supercard in early August 2018 and sold out in record time. With that, WWE's 58-year stranglehold over MSG ended, allowing any wrestling promotion to run "The World's Most Famous Arena."

Although the G1 Supercard made history months before it even began, ROH and New Japan still had the monumental task of putting on a show worthy of its historic moniker. Could they deliver? The answer to that is a little more complicated than you would think.

On the New Japan side of the show, they absolutely delivered. From the strength versus speed matchup of Ospreay and Cobb to the nine-minute joyous spot fest that was the Junior Heavyweight Championship 3-Way to the high drama of Ibushi and Naito, every match that had Gedo's guiding hand was wonderful. Even though I'm disappointed that Jay White's IWGP title reign couldn't make it through one title defense, the quality of the match, the resulting pop from Okada's win, and my confidence in New Japan's booking have me optimistic.

Unfortunately, the ROH portion of the G1 Supercard dropped the ball hard. While there wasn't anything egregiously bad, all of the segments and matches produced entirely by ROH were incredibly underwhelming, especially when compared to New Japan's output.

On top of it all being underwhelming, it all felt uncharacteristic of ROH. The company has always been known for its high-quality wrestling, but you wouldn't know it from this show. More effort was placed on poorly emulating ECW's hardcore matches and WWE-like angles rather than what made ROH in the first place — superb professional wrestling.

Looking at the show as a whole, G1 Supercard was a success. Much like All In did before it, it proved that wrestling fans are willing to support good wrestling on a grand stage. So, hopefully, this isn't the last time we'll see New Japan and ROH (as long as they get their act together) on such a big stage.

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Must-See Matches of April

4/5/2019
NXT TakeOver: New York
Aleister Black & Ricochet vs. War Raiders
Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano - 2 out of 3 Falls Match

4/6/2019
G1 Supercard
Jeff Cobb vs. Will Ospreay
Taiji Ishimori vs. Dragon Lee vs. Bandido
Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito

4/7/2019
WrestleMania 35
Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey

4/17/2019
NXT
Buddy Murphy vs. Velveteen Dream

4/20/2019
Sengoku Lord
Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

4/24/2019
NXT 
Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong

4/26/2019
Road to Wrestling Dontaku Night 9
Roppongi 3K vs. Bushi & Shingo Takagi

Best Matches of 2018

Source: WWE

It's that time of year again. Time to look back at the past year and determine which matches were the best of the best.

Personally, I'm finding it harder and harder to whittle down the list since there is so much high-quality wrestling readily available. I only regularly follow WWE and New Japan, which is just a small piece of this enormous pie that is professional wrestling. There are great matches happening everywhere — and some aren't even televised!

What I'm trying to say is don't take this or any other "Best of 2018" as the be-all end-all. It's all subjective since we all like and dislike different things. Use these lists to get a feel for matches you may have missed or gain a new appreciation for the matches you already love.

So without further ado, here are my favourite matches from 2018 in chronological order. If you are looking to check any of these bouts for yourself, I highly recommend subscribing to the WWE Network, NJPW World, and/or the Global Wrestling Network.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito 

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12

While Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho gets all the attention from fans and critics, it's the main of Wrestle Kingdom 12 that does it for yours truly.

Going into this match, both men wanted a chance to redeem their underwhelming IWGP Heavyweight Championship match from four years prior. Suffice to say, they did just that and more. In fact, Okada and Naito put on one of the slickest matches of the year as they kept the fast and dramatic pace you see in the closing minutes of most New Japan matches going for nearly 30 minutes.

Despite falling short of fulfilling his destiny of winning the Heavyweight Title in the Tokyo Dome, Naito proved to the critics and the world that he can deliver when the lights are the brightest.

Andrade "Cien" Almas vs. Johnny Gargano 

NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia

With how many phenomenal NXT TakeOver matches that happened in 2018, it can be easy to forget that arguably the best year in NXT history all started with this bout.

As the first match by WWE to receive five stars from Dave Meltzer in over six years, Almas vs. Gargano was nothing short of special. Looking at this match technically, it's a master class in wrestling. Both men weaved together moves and counters in a way that was much more than a combat sport — it was pure artistry.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

NXT TakeOver: New Orleans

Nothing last year could touch the feud between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. From their beloved partnership as #DIY to Ciampa's heartbreaking betrayal, the NXT faithful watched this feud bubble in the background for two years before it was brought front and center for NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.

Unlike Gargano's wrestling clinic with Almas, this Unsanctioned match was all about storytelling. The match slowly built over the course of its 40-minute runtime by making some ingenious callbacks to their match at the Cruiserweight Classic, Gargano's sacrifice in the ladder match against the Authors of Pain, and Ciampa's attacks with the crutch. After an emotionally draining 40 minutes, this slow burn hit its climax as Gargano used Ciampa's own knee brace — from the knee injury that led to Ciampa's betrayal — for the submission victory.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Night 2

To newer fans of New Japan brought in by the likes of Okada, Omega, Naito, and Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi felt like a relic of a bygone era. Although the Ace was key in leading New Japan to its current success, many — myself included — believed his position at the top of the company had been passed to the new crop of main event talent.

Well, we were all wrong as Tanahashi used 2018 to prove to his critics that he is still one of the best wrestlers on the planet. And this meeting with Okada at Wrestling Dontaku was the match that made everyone take notice.

Despite falling short of stopping Okada's record-breaking title reign, Tanahashi put on an unbelievable performance that saw the Ace hit Okada with everything from his signature Slingblade and High Fly Flow to Okada's own Tombstone Piledriver and Rainmaker lariat.

Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori 

NJPW Best of the Super Jr. 25 Finals

Rather than being a spectacle of high flying and fast-paced action that the Junior Heavyweights are known for, the finals between Hiromu Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori blended the disparate styles showcased throughout the Best of the Super Jr. tourney into one epic match-up.

The match was mostly a technical affair where both men worked over different body parts. Fast-paced action segments and huge spots were used as brief flourishes, heavy hitting strong style strike exchanges emphasized the physical toll of the match, and quick move-countermove sequences conveyed their intense desperation to win.

All-in-all, this is the absolute best of New Japan's Junior division putting on a 34-minute wrestling clinic. Enough said.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega 

NJPW Dominion 2018

Talk about an emotional rollercoaster. The fourth meeting between Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada — their third for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship — was easily the tensest match of 2018.

This match was so tense that every move felt monumental. The swings in momentum made your heart skip a beat, especially if you were cheering for Omega. Each fall in this two out of three fall affair built to an incredible crescendo as Omega hit the One-Winged Angel for the final three count to the soundtrack of Don Callis repeatedly screaming "Hook the leg!"

As the culmination of Kenny Omega's two-year journey to the top of New Japan, this match is as perfect as you can get in this sport. I know that I couldn't hold back the tears when the final fall was recorded — and a match that can move one to tears is indeed special.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

NXT TakeOver: Chicago II

Did you think this feud was over with the Unsanctioned match at TakeOver: New Orleans? Well, think again.

The deep-seated hatred between Gargano and Ciampa boiled over into a Street Fight reminiscent of the old-school hardcore matches from the late 90s and early 2000s. As such, both men tried to maim each other with anything they could get their hands on — even ripping up the ring to reveal the wooden boarding underneath! Every strike, grapple, and weapon shot escalated the tension of the match until it was all released through the incredible and highly emotional climax.

While I've gone into detail on it before, the final five to 10 minutes of this Street Fight skyrocketed it to legendary status. Seeing Ciampa pull Gargano down to his level by making Johnny Wrestling snap felt like watching the fall of a once great superhero. It unleashed demons within Gargano that have gone onto mold him into something darker and arguably better.

Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed Era 

NXT 7/11/2018

Considering the consistently excellent quality of NXT TakeOvers, people have forgotten how good matches on NXT TV can be.

During 2018, NXT TV played host to a whole bunch of matches that could've easily stolen the show at a TakeOver. Although I don't have enough room to highlight them all here — that's what the Silver Report's Must-See Matches section is for — there's one match that deserves to be showcased on this list. That match is Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed Era from the July 11 edition of NXT.

Looking at this match on a base level, it's a textbook tag team match. The heels (Undisputed Era) isolate a member of the face team (Moustache Mountain) and work over a body part until the faces get the hot tag. What makes this match special is how it slightly subverts this formula to elicit a passionate response from those watching.

Most of the Undisputed Era's offense is spent dissecting Trent Seven's leg in order to set up the impassioned finish. After Tyler Bate accidentally falls into Seven for a tag, the injured Seven puts up a valiant fight only to be caught into a devastating heel hook from Kyle O'Reilly. Blocked from breaking up the submission by the referee, Bate struggles with the decision of whether to throw in the towel or not. As Seven screams worsen, Bate caves, thus ending Moustache Mountains' NXT Tag Title reign but saving his partner and mentor for further injury.

Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan

Impact Slammiversary XVI

2018 was a major year for Impact Wrestling. After years of rampant mismanagement, laughable storylines, and horrendous wrestling, nobody thought the former Total Nonstop Action would ever turn things around. To the surprise of everyone, Impact, with the help of Don Callis and Scott D'Amore, did just that and Slammiversary XVI was the event that solidified their new place in the industry.

The one match on the card that — quite literally — hammered home Impact's bold new lease on life was Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan, Mask vs. Hair. While both men showcased some great technical wrestling throughout, it was the sheer brutality and gruesome violence that etched this match into the minds of wrestling fans.

I will admit I may be a little bit biased since I saw this match live. But in all honesty, being there live to hear the ting of metal as both men hammered each other with railroad spikes and experience the crowd lose it when Callihan kicked out of a Penta Driver through two chairs was the best birthday present this wrestling fanatic could ever ask for.

Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano

NXT TakeOver: WarGames II

Johnny Gargano's slow descent into villainy was easily the best storyline of 2018. What made this storyline even better was that Gargano still believed he was the hero — that he was only doing what was absolutely necessary to get rid of evil incarnate, Tomasso Ciampa. Unfortunately, one of Gargano's "heroic" actions made an enemy of Aleister Black.

Much like Gargano's other matches on this list, the ensuing bout was nothing short of phenomenal. In a match that stole the show at TakeOver: WarGames II, Black and Gargano held nothing back. Black brought the stiff strikes and cracking kicks while Gargano brought the smooth chain wrestling and high-flying offense.

Although the wrestling was top notch, the story of Gargano trying to play both sides of the face/heel coin as Black cut through the shenanigans in order to get his revenge made this match feel incredibly significant to development both wrestlers. Plus, Black absolving Gargano of his sins before hitting the final Black Mass for the win was the cherry on top of this delicious match.

The Silver Report: October 2018

Good God Almighty, October was one wild month. A whole lot happened in the wacky world of professional wrestling. Some absolutely amazing, some very sombre, and some downright distasteful. Considering how much went on and how some stories bleed over into November — mainly everything involving Crown Jewel — I'll focus on two of the biggest developments from October.

Before you glance down and see there isn't a section on WWE Evolution, I wanted to write up a section, but noticed that there wasn't a lot of enough content for an entire section. I'd be covering the same points that I discussed when WWE announced the show. So, I though it would be best to give my opinion in the introduction.

With that said, I know my opinion on this show lies in the minority, but I found Evolution to be just fine. While it wasn't anywhere close to the dumpster fire that my friends and I thought it'd be considering the non-existent build, the show was plagued by WWE's generic match planning, their inconsistent rules (see the Last Woman Standing match), and an over-reliance on nostalgia acts and models. I give props to the women wrestling and all those managing everything behind-the-scenes for giving their all to make this show feel special. Unfortunately, everything rings hollow about Evolution when the women's division just goes back to its little representation and poor booking on the shows following it.

Roman Relinquishes the Universal Championship Due to Leukemia

Nobody could've predicted the topic of Roman Reigns' announcement to kick off Monday Night Raw on October 22.

The show started off rather normal as Reigns walked down to the ring to a chorus of boos from the live audience. The only thing off was his clothes as Reigns was dressed in a casual black top and jeans, instead of his regular black vest and pants. While the change in clothes might be easy to overlook, the kayfabe-breaking promo that followed was not.

Speaking as Joe Anoa'i, Reigns first apologized to the fans for not being the fighting champion that he promised before revealing he has been living with leukemia for 11 years and it has come back. As such, Reigns had to relinquish the Universal Championship. The boos suddenly stopped as the crowd just sat in utter disbelief, but that silence slowly turned to cheers and chants of "Thank you, Roman" as Reigns' promo continued.

While it might seem odd to those outside watching from the outside to comprehend this shift — to them, wrestling fans have booed face Roman Reigns consistently for the better part of three years to suddenly cheer him — nobody is heartless. The boos were originally out of protest of WWE pushing the Roman Reigns character to the detriment of the entire product; nobody in their right mind would wish the man behind the character to suffer. Plus, leukemia is a serious disease. Reigns may never wrestle again or he might — god forbid — lose his life to the disease.

In closing, I want to say get well soon Roman. We will all be hoping, praying, and cheering for you to conquer leukemia and return to the ring one day.

Source: India Today

The Fall of Gargano

Leading up to NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4, Aleister Black tore his groin at a NXT house show. To write Black out of his scheduled NXT Championship match against Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, Black was found knocked out in the parking lot of Full Sail by William Regal. While this incident immediately to a stellar Last Man Standing match between Gargano and Ciampa at Brooklyn 4, it would eventually lead to something much more pivotal.

The episodes of NXT following Brooklyn 4 had numerous segments dedicated to Regal trying to determine Black's attacker before the Dutch Destroyer made his return to Full Sail. Despite finding a lead in Nikki Cross, Regal's efforts were in vain as Black got the information from Cross when he interrupted the main event of the October 17th edition of NXT. The following week, Black would again interrupt the final segment of NXT while on a rampage to find his assailant. Black's rampage ended by screaming at Regal, "Where is he?!" only to turn around to a superkick from Gargano and the reply of "I'm right here."

In one moment, this month and a half long mystery solidified itself as one of the best angles in NXT history and easily the best payoff to a mystery in WWE history. Although it was easy to predict that Gargano would turn out to be the assailant since he had the most to gain, sometimes going with the predictable is the best choice. Plus, this Johnny Gargano heel turn has been building subtly for months now, so to finally see it come to fruition was incredibly satisfying.

Although many may decry turning a natural babyface Johnny Gargano heel on the basis that it betrays his character, don't forget that even the greatest heroes can be corrupted by the darkness. The key to the fall of a hero is what they eventually learn from it. So don't worry, Gargano's redemption will come. For the time being, let's just enjoy this dark and twisted ride.

Source: Figure Four Online

Must-See Matches of October

10/8/2018

King of Pro Wrestling

Kushida vs. Marty Scurll

Cody vs. Kenny Omega vs. Kota Ibushi

Raw
Shield vs. Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler

10/10/2018

NXT

Adam Cole vs. Pete Dunne vs. Ricochet

10/24/2018

Mae Young Classic

Toni Storm vs. Meiko Satomura 

10/28/2018

Evolution

Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm

10/30/2018

Smackdown

AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan

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 

The Silver Report: April 2018

You can't talk about April without talking about the biggest weekend of the year for pro wrestling, WrestleMania Weekend. Thousands of wrestling fans descended upon New Orleans for a weekend full of wrestling, not only from WWE, but promotions across the world. There was so much wrestling going on that no normal person could watch everything available. Personally, I only got a chance to watch the main WWE shows and some of the ROH and RevPro matches highlighted on NJPW World.

But with so much variety, there was something for every type of wrestling fan.

Forever Fighting

With an insane ladder match for the new North American Championship, Roderick Strong turning on Pete Dunne to finally join the Undisputed Era, and Aleistar Black claiming the NXT Title in a great bout, NXT TakeOver: New Orleans was well on its way to becoming the best show of WrestleMania Weekend. Then the main event took the show to a whole new level.

The third five star match for WWE in 2018 (the second being the aforementioned ladder match) and the second for Johnny Gargano, this unsanctioned fight between Gargano and Ciampa was nothing short of perfection. Building off of the last two years of their WWE careers, Gargano and Ciampa clashed in an emotionally draining main event that referenced everything from their match at the Cruiserweight Classic to Gargano's sacrifice in their ladder match with the Authors of Pain to Ciampa's recent crutch attacks. Unlike the last five star TakeOver main event which was a fast-paced wrestling clinic, this match built slowly to its intensely emotional climax as Gargano locked in a crossface with Ciampa's knee brace for the win.

When all was said and done, Gargano and Ciampa delivered a match that lived up to immense hype and proved yet again why NXT is so special. In all honesty, we would never have gotten a feud this visceral and thoroughly planned out on the main roster with its short-term booking and ever-changing politics. Although this match felt like the blow off for this feud, Ciampa attacked and subsequently injured Gargano before his NXT Championship match against Black, meaning this personal war is far from over.

The End of the Elite?

Unfortunately, the Bullet Club Civil War couldn't compete with the emotionally draining NXT main event, which happened 30 minutes before. Although Cody and Kenny put on a very good bout that weaved in plenty of stories from Being the Elite, it just didn't live up to the hype in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, the story during and following the match was top-tier. Sadly, the in-ring action just didn't have the same emotional weight and fluidity as past bouts in this feud.

Despite my feelings on the match, Cody vs. Kenny served its purpose of moving the Bullet Club Civil War storyline forward. The most significant story beat happened at the end of the match when the Young Bucks went to superkick Cody only to accidentally hit Kenny. Immediately following the Bucks' interference, Cody would hit the Cross Rhodes for the win. Emotionally distraught by the Bucks being the ones to cost him the match, Kenny later told the Jacksons that there was no more Elite and that they're no longer friends.

This devastating break-up and Cody standing victorious with no Elite to stand with him to celebrate were the two somber moments that ended the landmark 100th episode of Being the Elite. As for when this story should continue, the Bullet Club Civil War was the focus of the first night of Wrestling Dontaku. Plus, April ended with the tease of Being the Elite coming back, but does this signify the reformation of the group or are things too far broken to fix?

Time for the Roman Reigns Experiment to Die

If you've followed WWE for the past few years, you know the story surrounding Roman Reigns. He's been pushed as the new face of the WWE since 2015, only to be rejected by the audience again and again. While Reigns has improved drastically since first being chosen by management, he's still seen as tainted goods by the audience despite WWE's best efforts to change said reaction. Long story short, it's been a trying few years following WWE's main event scene, which has been exasperated by everything that happened this past month.

Leading up to WrestleMania 34, WWE spent a full year building up Brock Lesnar as an unbeatable champion and the F5 as a one-hit KO in order for Roman Reigns to be the only person to kick out of the F5 and take the Universal Title from the self-proclaimed Beast. Well, one of those feats came true as Reigns kicked out of five F5s in the main event of WrestleMania 34. Surprisingly, Reigns fell to the sixth F5 in one of the most baffling decisions in wrestling history. In a mere three seconds, WWE wasted a year of build just to swerve their fans. How's that good storytelling? Plus, how does WWE expect us to get behind a top babyface that can never win the big one?

As bad as Roman's WrestleMania loss was, that wasn't the end of this lunacy. Three weeks later, Reigns got one more chance at Brock Lesnar and the Universal Championship in a Steel Cage match at the Greatest Royal Rumble. Although leaps and bounds better than their WrestleMania encounter, the match ended in one of the dumbest finishes in a long time. In the final moments of the match, Reigns speared Lesnar through the steel cage with Lesnar landed on the cage panel while Reigns rolled onto the floor. Instead of naming Roman (the rightful winner of the match) the new Universal Champion since his feet touched the floor, the ref called Lesnar the winner.

This controversial ending may have worked as the first or second match in a series, but not as the third and hopefully last match between these two. Just like the WrestleMania match, this finish did no favours for Roman. Although it has given WWE a new "uncrowned" champion angle to take Roman's character in, it didn't endear him to the audience as Roman's pleas come off as unjustified whining and complaining.

It may have taken three years, but WWE might have finally booked Roman Reigns into oblivion.

Must-See Matches of April

4/1/2018
Sakura Genesis
Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll
Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

4/2/2018
Raw
Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

4/6/2018
RPW Live @ WrestleCon 
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

4/7/2018
NXT Takeover: New Orleans
Adam Cole vs. EC3 vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream - Ladder Match
Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa - Unsanctioned Match

Supercard of Honor XII
Adam Page vs. Kota Ibushi

4/8/2018
WrestleMania 34
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair

4/23/2018
Road to Wrestling Dontaku
Hiromu Takahashi & Bushi vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru

4/24/2018
205 Live
Mustafa Ali vs. TJP vs. Drew Gulak vs. Tony Nese vs. Kalisto - Gauntlet Match

4/27/2018
Greatest Royal Rumble
50-Man Royal Rumble Match

4/30/2018
Raw
Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

The Silver Report: January 2018

I started the Silver Report a good seven years ago as my weekly round-up and analysis on "all" (mostly WWE and TNA at the time) wrestling news. Over the years, it took on different forms and lengths, but it was always a nice outlet for my thoughts on professional wrestling.

Now as my taste in wrestling has matured and my knowledge of the industry has grown tenfold, I re-debut the Silver Report. Not just as an outlet for my thoughts and opinions, but to hopefully introduce newcomers to wacky world of pro wrestling while enriching the tastes of current fans.

One of the ways I hope to achieve that goal is through the brand new Must-See Matches section at the end of every Silver Report going forward. Must-See Matches will be my curated list of the best matches for the current month of discussion. So if you don't have the time to keep up with everything going on, these are the matches that will give you the most enjoyment for your time.

Naito! You Just Made the List!

January 4th and 5th had tons of great moments for New Japan from Minoru Suzuki shaving his head to Jay White declining an offer to join the Bullet Club, but nothing was bigger than the closing moments of New Year's Dash.

After Tetsuya Naito and his stablemates in Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) dispatched Kazuchika Okada and Chaos in tag team action, Chris Jericho rushed the ring and attacked Naito. Although the attack was brief as Jericho was quickly pulled out of the ring, it was such a surprise to see Jericho since everybody thought his deal with New Japan was for just one match with Kenny Omega.

Starting this feud with Naito opens up the possibilities for Jericho to feud with more excellent New Japan talent like Ishii, Ibushi, Tanahashi, and even Okada! It's unbelievable to see the 47 year old Jericho on top of the wrestling world in 2018, but it is well deserved.

Almas and Gargano Steal Royal Rumble Weekend

It is rare to see any match in January eclipse the excellently crafted bouts of NJPW's WrestleKingdom supershow, but WWE did just that with the main event of NXT TakeOver: Philadephia. As the first WWE match in over six years to receive five stars from Dave Meltzer, Andrade "Cien" Almas vs. Johnny Gargano for the NXT Championship was nothing short of an instant classic.

Leading up to the match, it felt like such an unlikely main event. Almas had been dwelling in the obscurity of NXT's mid-card for most of his tenure, while Gargano seemed to be in a holding pattern as his feud with former partner Tommaso Ciampa was on hold until Ciampa had healed from injury.

Despite all the baggage these two had coming in, it all melted away when the match started. Almas and Gargano just work so well together as they chain their moves together like no one else in the business. The fast pace and smooth wrestling made the 32-minute long match fly by. When all was said and done, both Almas and Gargano solidified their positions as major players in the WWE for years to come.

Golden Lovers Reunite

Ever since "The American Nightmare" Cody joined Bullet Club at the end of 2016, tensions between him and leader Kenny Omega have been building. Those tensions would come to a head at the end of NJPW's second New Beginning in Sapporo event.

After Omega lost the IWGP U.S. Championship to Jay White in the main event, Cody made his move by hitting a Cross Rhodes on Bullet Club's leader. But before Cody could hit the finishing chair shot on Omega, Kota Ibushi made the save. After dispersing Cody and his fellow Bullet Club usurpers, Ibushi and Omega embraced each other in a surprising reunion of former tag partners.

While many suspected a Bullet Club implosion sometime in 2018, nobody thought it would be this soon. Plus, nobody thought we'd see Omega and Ibushi reunite as the Golden Lovers. Most of the rumour and scuttlebutt surrounding these two centered around them feuding instead of reuniting.

Although the story may end up with them fighting in the end, Omega's current ousting from the Bullet Club and his reunion with Ibushi opens up plenty of intriguing possibilities. Could we see the Golden Lovers vs. the Young Bucks in the not-so-distant future?

Tale of Two Rumbles

The 2018 Royal Rumble was an interesting show. It had arguably one of the best Royal Rumbles of all-time in the men's bout, one of the most disappointing in the first-ever women's bout, and a lot of disappointing finishes and average matches in between. While it was a better than average show, the position of the two Royal Rumble matches and their drastic difference in quality made for an uneven four plus hours.

First up, the men's bout was a high-octane affair with excellent storytelling, fun eliminations (especially Slater's elimination of Sheamus), nice surprise entrants, and an intense final 15 minutes. Its hour plus run time flew by because of how entertaining the match was. And to put the cherry on top, the right wrestler won in Shinsuke Nakamura.

On the flip side, the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble was another misfire in WWE's so-called "Women's Evolution." Although the right woman went over in Asuka, the match was full of sloppy wrestling, focused far too much on the nostalgic entrants, and criminally held its biggest surprise for the post-match theatrics.

Speaking of those post-match theatrics, what an awfully lame way to debut Ronda Rousey. Yes, it was done to protect both her and Asuka, but what was the point of her eclipsing Asuka's moment at the very end of the show? It undermined the preceding match while simultaneously teasing viewers of what we should've had.

In all honesty, I would take Asuka vs. Ronda Rousey as the final two in the Women's Royal Rumble over Rousey cartoonisly pointing at the WrestleMania sign any day.

Must-See Matches of January 

1/4/2018
WrestleKingdom 12
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kushida vs. Marty Scurll vs. Will Ospreay - Four Way Match
Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho - No DQ Match
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito

1/23/2018
205 Live
Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali

1/24/2018
NXT
Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream

1/27/2018
NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia
Aleistar Black vs. Adam Cole - Extreme Rules
Andrade "Cien" Almas vs. Johnny Gargano

1/28/2018
New Beginning in Sapporo Night 2
Roppongi 3K vs. The Young Bucks

Royal Rumble
Men's 30-Man Royal Rumble

1/29/2018
Raw
Asuka vs. Sasha Banks

1/31/2018
NXT 
Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Bate - No.1 Contender's Match for the UK Championship