The Silver Report: February 2018

With past Silver Reports, these introductions can get a little long-winded when summarizing a week or month of wrestling into a paragraph or two.

From the New Japan debut of Rey Mysterio to the launch of ROH's HonorClub streaming service to end of Johnny Gargano's NXT career, February was packed with huge developments in the world of pro wrestling. While I can't get to everything, I got three big stories to talk about in this month's edition of the Silver Report.

Tournament Breathes New Life into 205 Live

From its inception, it was an uphill battle for 205 Live. No matter the talent of its roster or the amount of quality matches it laid witness to, it was the home of a division that was poorly booked from the moment it debuted on Raw. Eventually, all that talent and quality match-ups gave way to redundant feuds of the cartoonish variety and silly theatrics.

Well that all ended this past January, when former Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore was fired due to sexual allegations he kept from WWE upper management. As January became February, 205 Live got its very first general manager in Drake Maverick (the former Rockstar Spud of Impact Wrestling fame), a new show runner in Triple H, and a tournament to crown a new Cruiserweight Champion.

For the first time since the Cruiserweight Classic, WWE's Cruiserweight division is must-watch television and it's all thanks to this tournament. From crazy spot fests to technical showcases to hard-hitting affairs, every match has been a delight to watch. Even the matches on the lower end of the spectrum are better than your average Raw/Smackdown match.

With new faces running the show and serious, more wrestling-oriented direction, 205 Live has finally found its footing after a year and a half on air. Now, fingers crossed that Triple H and company can keep this show on the right course. If so, 205 Live may be able to compete with NXT as WWE's best weekly program.

Monday Night Rollins, Sunday Night Strowman

One week. Two superstars. Two unbelievable performances.

It all started on the February 19th edition of Raw. WWE announced a Gauntlet Match featuring all seven men in the Elimination Chamber, but nobody expected the nearly two hour match we got.

Although Braun Strowman stood tall at the very end, it was Seth Rollins' iron man performance that left a huge impression. Lasting a total of one hour and five minutes, Rollins dispatched both Roman Reigns and John Cena in two hard fought matches (a feat comparable to Chris Jericho beating the Rock and Steve Austin in the same night back in 2001) before falling to a fresh Elias. Despite the loss, Rollins came out more over as a babyface than he has ever been.

The next incredible performance came from the very winner of that Gauntlet Match, Braun Strowman. While Strowman was the second last competitor to enter the Men's Elimination Chamber, he left the biggest impact. Adding to his long list of amazing feats, Strowman would go onto eliminate five men before losing the bout to Reigns. Which came after kicking out of a quadruple powerbomb, Attitude Adjustment, Curb Stomp, Coup d'Grace, and Frog Splash off the top of a pod! For lack of a better term, it was bonkers. Even with the formulaic Super Roman ending, Strowman looked like the true face of the company at the end of this match.

Bullet Club isn't Fine

After all the turmoil that January brought to the Bullet Club, things only got worse in February as Kenny and Cody's feud ravaged the faction.

The month started with the announcement of Kenny Omega vs. Cody for the leadership of the Bullet Club for ROH's Supercard of Honor show on WrestleMania weekend. From there, Cody planted seeds of dissension among the Young Bucks and Marty Scurll (the three members that were conflicted by Cody's power plays). By the end of the month, the conniving Rhodes convinced Scurll to break off and form the Villain Club. Plus, he slowly worked the Young Bucks into moving up to the heavyweight tag division and in the process, turning on Omega.

On the other side of this conflict, Omega made strides in renewing his relationship with Kota Ibushi. The two were featured in a mini-documentary on New Japan World, which gave fans an inside look at their first practice back as a team and built excitement for their first matches back as the Golden Lovers.

All this turmoil came to a head at NJPW and ROH's joint Honor Rising shows at the end of the month. The Golden Lovers faced the likes of Cody and Marty Scurll in the main event of both nights (first in a six-man tag with Chase Owens and in a regular tag match the next). Despite ending the weekend with a 1-1 record, the Golden Lovers showed the world that they haven't lost a step with their unbelievable tag team offence and high energy. Plus, the fans in Korakuen Hall showed their appreciation tenfold as their cheers were deafening.

Although the Golden Lovers were successful, they didn't leave Honor Rising unscathed. Cody continued his mind games with Omega by planting a kiss on Ibushi in the middle of their tag match. Plus, the Young Bucks cutoff the Lovers' celebration to officially announce their aspirations in New Japan's heavyweight tag division and challenged to the Golden Lovers to a match, which New Japan later booked for March's Strong Style Evolved show in Long Beach.

In summation, February was an insane month for this ongoing Bullet Club saga and March should be even crazier as tensions build to Strong Style Evolved and Supercard of Honor respectively. So if you want to follow the best storyline of 2018 so far, best to keep up with the latest and greatest episode of Being the Elite.

Must-See Matches of February 

2/6/2018
205 Live
Roderick Strong vs. Hideo Itami

2/7/2018
NXT
Sanity vs. Undisputed Era - Six Man Tornado Tag Team Match

2/10/2018
New Beginning in Osaka
Will Ospreay vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Kazuchika Okada vs. Sanada

2/19/2018
Raw
Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs. John Cena vs. Elias vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Braun Strowman - Gauntlet Match

2/21/2018 
NXT
Andrade "Cien" Almas vs. Johnny Gargano - Title vs. Career

2/24/2018
Honor Rising Night 2
Hangman Page & The Young Bucks vs. Jay White, Chuckie T & Yoshi-Hashi
Golden Lovers vs. "The American Nightmare" Cody & Marty Scurll

2/25/2018
Elimination Chamber
Women's Elimination Chamber
Men's Elimination Chamber

2/27/2018
Smackdown
AJ Styles vs. John Cena

205 Live
Roderick Strong vs. Kalisto

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

Best Matches of 2017

It's been a very long time since I've written on here. Just under three years, in fact. A lot has changed in my life in the last three years, but the one constant I still have in my life — for better or worse — is professional wrestling.

2017 was one hell of a year for wrestling. Fans saw the return of an Olympic hero, the rise of the Monster Among Men, the dominance of the Rainmaker, and sheer brilliance of the Elite. It was a year of highs and lows, but those highs were among the finest wrestling has seen this decade.

In all honesty, the match quality on display throughout 2017 was nothing short of breathtaking. With so many phenomenal matches, there is no way to highlight every single match that blew away fans in 2017. So here is my list of the 12 best wrestling matches of 2017 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 ROH's Ringside Membership.

Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada 

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11

Four days into 2017 and wrestling fans witnessed the greatest match of all-time according to wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer — breaking his iconic five-star rating system. Although some might scoff at such high praise, Omega and Okada earned it with a 40-minute wrestling classic.

Starting with traditional mat-based techniques to feel each other out and slowly ramping up to the final leaping Tombstone and Rainmaker combination, it's hard for fans and casual observers not to be amazed by the titanic clash between arguably the two best wrestlers in the world today. Omega and Okada didn't just introduce jaded wrestling fans, myself included, to the glory of New Japan, it single-handedly changed the pro wrestling world as we know it. And for the better.

Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews 

WWE UK Championship Tournament Night 2

While the UK Tournament Finals between Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate gets more attention due to Bate's excellent performance as the injured underdog, this semifinal bout pitting Dunne and Andrews just edges it out in my opinion.

Dunne's gruesome joint manipulation and ground game paired perfectly with Andrews' high-flying offence and uncanny ability to reverse any move. This great clash of styles makes for a fast-and-furious 10-minute affair that easily showcased what WWE's UK Championship division can offer.

Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii 

NJPW New Japan Cup Night 2

Although this list is very Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada-heavy, you cannot understate how great of a 2017 Tomohiro Ishii had. In terms of match quality, he put on incredible matches with the likes of Zack Sabre Jr., Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, and Keith Lee. But out of all of Ishii's matches, his surprise win over Kenny Omega in the first round of the New Japan Cup is his finest.

The match was everything you want from a New Japan main event — stiff strikes, crisp wrestling, and high stakes. Don't miss out on watching this diamond in the rough.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Katsuyori Shibata 

NJPW Sakura Genesis 2017

Despite this being Okada's best match with a wrestler not named Kenny Omega, it was sadly overshadowed by the tragic end of Katsuyori Shibata's wrestling career — due to a blood clot caused by a sickeningly stiff headbutt performed during the match.

After years spent redeeming himself in the eyes of the New Japan fans and wrestlers, Shibata finally earned a chance to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Not letting this prime opportunity to dethrone New Japan's heavyweight ace Okada pass him by, Shibata brought it to Okada with stiff momentum-shifting strikes. Although Shibata's dominance eventually fell to Okada's Rainmaker finisher, Shibata won over the hearts of the wrestling faithful.

Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & The Addiction 

ROH War of the Worlds: Toronto 

Yes, I am a little biased since I saw this match live, but I can't understate how amazing it was. This six-man tag easily ranks among the best matches I've seen live and that includes the likes of Roderick Strong vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, #DIY vs. The Revival, and the 2016 Men's Traditional Survivor Series match.

From bell-to-bell, no one in Toronto's Ted Reeve Arena was sitting or silent. All six men put their all in one insane six-man tag that saw multiple Superkicks (poor Kazarian), Meltzer Drivers, High-Fly Flows, and V-Triggers. I highly recommend going out of your way to find this match — it epitomizes why pro wrestling is so much fun.

Pete Dunne vs. Tyler Bate 

NXT TakeOver: Chicago

Although the UK Championship division didn't takeoff in 2017 like WWE had hoped for, it consistently put on the best matches of any division in the company. One match that stood above the rest, especially in the WWE, was the second match between Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate.

A rematch of their showdown in the UK Championship Tournament finals, Bate and Dunne held nothing back. From debuting new moves to finisher kickouts, the two hit each other with everything and the kitchen sink.

If you need further proof of how great this match was, just watch the Chicago crowd. Despite starting out silent, the excellent action worked up the crowd into an absolute frenzy. They even got an American crowd to chant for another country!

Kushida vs. Will Ospreay 

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 24 Finals 

Coming off of a humiliating two-minute defeat to Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi, Kushida needed to win the 2017 Best of Super Juniors tournament in order to earn a chance to redeem himself. Unfortunately for the disgraced ace, Will Ospreay, one of the greatest high-flyers in the world today and the 2016 tournament winner, was in his way.

What resulted from this epic showdown was a match that in any other year would easily be Match of the Year. Sadly, it happened in 2017, but that shouldn't discount its greatness. Kushida and Ospreay put on a 30-minute classic that perfectly mixed high-flying risks with impressive submissions, innovative chain wrestling, and intense strikes.

Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada 

NJPW Dominion 2017

Going into Dominion, the anticipation for Omega vs. Okada II was through the roof. Everybody wanted to see how these two would top their six-star classic from Wrestle Kingdom — and they did just that.

Battling to a 60-minute time limit draw, Omega and Okada left everything in the ring that June evening. They perfectly built on their previous match with better wrestling, stiffer strikes, more drama, and unbelievable ring psychology. Although there was no definitive winner to the match, everybody watching knew that Omega and Okada put on the single best match of 2017 and possibly of all-time.

Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada 

NJPW G1 Climax 27 Night 18

For what this third encounter between Omega and Okada lacked in length, it certainly made up for in intensity. With only a 30-minute time limit to work with, Omega and Okada came out of the gates hitting each other with their most devastating offence and they didn't let up. The match was so fast-paced and crisp that it's hard to pull yourself away for even a second.

Although Omega didn't win the IWGP Heavyweight Title by dispatching Okada this time, he brought the greatest wrestling match trilogy since Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair to a grand conclusion.

Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito 

NJPW G1 Climax 27 Finals

New Japan's annual G1 Climax tournament always delivers some of the best matches of the year and 27th iteration was no slouch. Although I do prefer Omega vs. Okada III, the finals between Kenny Omega and Tetsuya Naito was just as great.

Fighting for 35 minutes, Omega and Naito showed why they were the top stars under Okada by putting on one of the most high drama matches of 2017. Don't tell me you watched the piledriver off the announce table to the concrete floor or Omega DDTing Naito's head into the top of the ring post, and didn't lose your mind.

AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor 

WWE TLC 2017

As horrible as it sounds, thank you meningitis. If it wasn't for your viral infection rocking the Raw locker room, we would have never gotten the first and currently only encounter between the two former leaders of the Bullet Club. And what a match it was.

Getting just under 20 minutes, Finn Balor and AJ Styles showed up the entire WWE roster with a match so crisp and so smooth that it looked effortless. While it may not of had the emotional hooks or story-telling beats of the other matches on this list, it was joy to watch wrestling THAT good in a WWE ring.

Undisputed Era vs. Sanity vs. Authors of Pain & Roderick Strong 

NXT TakeOver: WarGames

Despite the WWE's changes to make the former WCW stipulation their own, the first WarGames in 17 years was one hell of an entertaining match.

The nine men which made up the three teams in the match gave it their all. Quite literally too considering the smashed tables, dented chairs, bruised bodies, and busted open heads left as result of all the carnage. While it wasn't the prettiest match on this list, the sheer craziness and spectacle of this car crash had me in tears from pure enjoyment.