Andrew brings us the Top 5 Matches of the week! Did you see all of these? Do you agree?

No big PPVs, so that means a quiter week? All Japan still has the Champion Carnival, so let’s see how much of that dominates the Top 5 matches of the week.

The match that won last week was the rematch that out performed the WrestleMania match, 205 Live: Tony Nese vs Buddy Murphy.

So now let’s see if Buddy Murphy can make it two weeks in a row?

5. WWE Raw: Andrade w/Zelina Vega vs Finn Balor

Snippet from Mitchell’s Coverage:

Both men are slow to standing but Finn is up first. Vega coaches Almas up but Finn Slingblades him down! Finn grits his teeth to aim at Almas. Almas stands in one corner, and comes back with a handspring PELE! Cover, TWO!! Vega is furious while both men are down. Almas sits up first and drags Finn to a drop zone. Almas climbs up while fans rally. MOONSAULT! But Finn moves, and gets up knees for the second! Finn shotgun dropkicks Almas down! He aims at Almas but Almas trips him up! Almas climbs up from the other side and puts Finn in the Tree of Woe. Almas leaps but Finn gets clear. Finn gets up to kick Almas away! Finn climbs again and fans fire up, COUP DE GRACE misses! Boot feint to elbow! Hammerlock, cradle counter! TWO, but Finn clotheslines Almas out!

Finn gets that knee working but Vega is in his way again. He just FLIES over her! Direct hit on Almas! He puts Almas in but Vega gets away with a headscissor! Almas puts Finn in then drags him up, hammerlock, LA SOMBRA DDT! Cover, Almas wins!!

Winner: Andrade via Hammerlock DDT

Rating: *** 3/4

4. Kento Miyahara vs Yuma Aoyagi

From My Champion Carnival Analysis:

Aoyagi is the last remaining member of Nextream, but Miyahara being the champion…everyone’s going to want to step it up. Aoyagi took his sweet time stepping it up though. Kento manhandled him and Yuma looked outclassed for a while. Yuma caught Miyahara in End Game, and that was the closest he was to really winning the match. Yuma managed to pull off his triple German Suplexes, but nothing really looked to point in Yuma’s favor. He showed some fighting spirit, but Kento just outclassed him. Good match, but only one real hold your breath moment to suspend disbelief.

Winner: Miyahara via Shutdown Suplex Hold

Rating: ****

3. NXT: North American Title: Velveteen Dream (c) vs Buddy Murphy

Snippet from Mitchell’s Coverage:
 Dream and Murphy realize the other is also in, so they head for each other. Murphy swats at Dream then throws forearms. Dream hits back with body shots but Murphy throws another right. Murphy drags Dream up but Dream fires off! Murphy kicks low, DDT! Cover, TWO!! Dream survives and fans are loving this! Murphy drags Dream to a drop zone and climbs up again. Dream gets up fast but Murphy shoves him away! Dream gets up again but gets a SUPER Gourd Buster! Murphy adjusts and leaps, sunset flip, but DREAM VALLEY DRIVER! High stack, TWO!! Murphy lives and fans hope they “Fight Forever!”

Dream goes for a corner but Murphy anchors his feet. Dream stomps Murphy out then makes it to the corner. Murphy intercepts but Dream shoves him down. Murphy comes back, tucks Dream in, SUPERKICK to POWERBOMB! Cover, TWO!! Dream survives and Full Sail is thunderous! Dream crawls for a corner but Murphy pursues. Murphy kicks Dream down then joins him on the apron. Murphy boots Dream again, then a LEAPING knee trigger! Dream goes down and Murphy drags his dead weight back up. Champion’s Advantage means this has to end in the ring, but the count is at 8! Murphy refreshes the count at 9! He puts Dream back in, but gets a guillotine Famouser! And then another Dream Valley! Dream keeps going, climbs up top, and hits PURPLE RAIN MAKER!! Cover, Dream wins!!

Winner: Dream via Purple Rainmaker Elbow

Rating: ****

Honorable Mentions:

ROH: Bandido vs PJ Black
Winner: Bandido via 21plex
Rating: *** 1/2
SmackDown Live: Finn Balor vs Ali
Winner: Balor via Coup de Grace
Rating: *** 1/2
AJPW Champion Carnival: Yuma Aoyagi vs Atsushi Aoki
Winner: Aoki via Rolling Cradle
Rating: *** 1/2
Shield’s Final Chapter: The Shield vs Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley & Baron Corbin
Winner: Shield via Shield Bomb
Rating: *** 1/2
AJPW Champion Carnival: Zeus vs Atsushi Aoki
Winner: Zeus via Jackhammer
Rating: *** 1/4
NJPW Sengoku Lord IWGP US Title: Juice Robinson (c) vs Bad Luck Fale
Winner: Robinson via Pulp Friction
Rating: *** 1/4
CHAOS vs LIJ
Winner: Natio via Destino
Rating: *** 1/4
AJPW Champion Carnival: Atsushi Aoki vs Ryoji Sai
Winner: Aoki via Rolling Cradle
Rating: *** 1/4
NJPW Sengoku Lord: Chase Owens vs Mikey Nicholls
Winner; Nicholls via Mikey Bomb
Rating: ***
Impact: IMPACT Tag Team Titles: Eddie Edwards & Eli Drake vs Lucha Bros (c)
Winner: Lucha Bros via Spike Fear Factor
Rating: ***
SmackDown Live: Shinsuke Nakamura, Rusev & Cesaro vs Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston & Kevin Owens
Winner: Owens via Stunner
Rating: ***
NXT: NXT Women’s Championship: Shayna Baszler (c) vs Kairi Sane
Winner: Baszler via DQ
Rating: ***
WWE Raw: Lashley, Baron Corbin & Drew McIntyre vs Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & AJ Styles
Winner: Styles via Phenomenal Forearm
Rating: ***
AJPW Champion Carnival: Yuji Okabayashi vs Gianni Valletta
Winner: Valletta via Chainwrapped Double Axehandle
Rating: ***

2. Defiant Wrestling Lights Out: PAC vs El Phantasmo

Given that El Phantasmo had some debut videos for New Japan, I was curious since I’m not overly familiar with him. This match was quite interesting. PAC took Phantasmo lightly for a lot of it, and since Phantasmo is known for his high flying, PAC had to keep him in his place.

I can best equate Phantasmo’s style to that of Fenix. Lots of bouncing between middle and top ropes and some rope walking. To get to the match, it told a nice story. Phantasmo was proving he could keep up, but once he called PAC a bitch, then we got a nastier PAC. PAC nearly got disqualified holding Phantasmo against the ropes and snapping him in half with the Rings of Saturn. Phantasmo’s best shot was a nice transition of moves with a Cobra Clutch TKO, into a Swanton Bomb, into a Best Moonsault Ever…but PAC kicked out.

This was just surprisingly more entertaining than I expected. PAC did pull off the win, but it definitely built to a great match.

Winner: PAC via R.E.D. Arrow

Rating: **** 1/4

1. NJPW Sengoku Lord: IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Zack Sabre Jr vs Kota Ibushi (c)

The beauty in this match was that most people end up wrestling a Sabre style match, but Ibushi pushed him out of his comfort zone. Sabre may have been more technical this match, but Ibushi forced him to strike more than we usually see, and that turned out to be Sabre’s downfall.

Sabre had a few close moments, but the ropes ended up being Ibushi’s best friend. When Ibushi was forced to tap into the “darker” side of himself, Sabre was selling the palm strikes like gun shots. Ibushi even distracted Red Shoes to get in a few more kicks in the corner. All in all, we saw most of the sides of the Golden Star in this match. His resolve, his love for Nakamura and Tanahashi and the attitude he picked up from his admiration of Nakamura.

For the first time they’ve wrestled outside of tournaments, this was amazing. Previously 2-2, now Ibushi holds the tie breaker and the belt. Naito comes out after to offer himself as the next opponent, Ibushi accepts.

Winner: Ibushi via Kamigoye

Rating: *****

Thoughts:

As much as I was impressed with PAC and Phantasmo, the Ibushi versus Sabre Jr match was beautiful. We all know that these two guys put together great matches, and this was no different.

Remember to vote along with everyone! Make your opinion heard and let us know which match was your favorite! Always Use Your Head!