Opinion

Andrew’s Top 5 Matches: Week Ending 5/17/20

Top 5 matches of the week! Did your favorite make the list?

Published

5 years ago

May 18, 2020

Well we’ve had some interesting news, and more of an…let’s call it array this week. Last week was a really solid week, but this week has one elite match; that just blew away a lot of matches this year.

Thanks to the memes and general hotness of the insane Street Fight, the AEW Dynamite tag match between Le Sex Gods and Omega & Matt Hardy, won the vote by a decent margin.

I wonder if this week will cater more to the more visible, or the insane quality of the All Japan main event.

Quick Top 5:

AJPW Broadcast #3 2020: World Junior Heavyweight Championship: Susumu Yokosuka (c) vs Hikaru Sato
Rating: *****
WWE SmackDown: Drew Gulak vs Daniel Bryan
Rating: *** 3/4
IMPACT!: TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Moose (c) vs Suicide
Ratings: *** 1/2
Dragon Gate King of Gate: Block A: YAMATO vs Ryo Saito
Ratung: *** 1/2
NXT: Cameron Grimes vs Finn Balor
Rating: *** 1/2

Honorable Mentions:

IMPACT!: #1 Contender Tournament Round 1: Rohit Raju vs Trey
Rating: *** 1/4
AEW Dynamite: Santana & Ortiz vs Kenny Omega & Matt Hardy
Rating: *** 1/4
AJPW Broadcast #3 2020: JIN (Jake Lee & Koji Iwamoto) vs Enfantes Terrible (Shotaro Ashino & Yusuke Kodama)
Rating: *** 1/4
NWA Powerrr: No DQ: Jax Dane vs Tim Storm
Rating: ***
Dragon Gate King of Gate: Block B: BxB Hulk vs Keisuke Okuda
Rating: ***
AJPW Broadcast #3 2020: Kento Miyahara & Yoshi Tatsu vs SUWAMA & Yusuke Okada
Rating: ***
WWE Raw: Andrade vs Drew McIntyre
Rating: ***
WWE Main Event: Ruby Riott vs Bianca Belair
Rating: ***
IMPACT!: Kylie Rae vs Tasha Steelz
Rating: ***
NXT: Matt Riddle vs Tim Thatcher
Rating: ***

5. NXT: Cameron Grimes vs Finn Balor

From Mitchell’s Coverage:

NXT returns and Grimes grinds Balor into the mat with the chinlock. Grimes cranks back in a half camel clutch and shouts, “This is what you wanted, Balor!” Balor fights his way up and the two go around. Grimes wrangles Balor back down and grinds his forearm into Balor’s face. Balor fights up to forearm free but Grimes whips and hits a kitchen sink knee! Cover, TWO! Grimes keeps on Balor with another armlock and a wrench. Balor forearms free again, and keeps on Grimes with those forearms. Grimes turns things around to whip Balor hard into buckles! Grimes glares at Balor and stands on Balor’s head. He steps away at the ref’s count but stalks up behind Balor for forearm shots. Grimes pushes Balor into buckles then rams his shoulder in. He whips corner to corner again, but Balor BOOTS back! Balor runs into a LARIAT! Cover, TWO! Grimes keeps his cool but he also keeps talking trash. He CLUBS Balor down and is feeling confident now. But Balor trips him to DOUBLE STOMP him down!

Balor KICKS and stomps away at the ropes but the ref backs him off. Grimes bails out and drags Balor out to join him, but Balor bumps him off the apron. Balor stomps on Grimes’ head over and over, then stops at the count of 4. Balor lines up the shot to PENALTY KICK Grimes down! But wait! Is that Damian Priest? Is he the snake Balor talked of? Balor decks Damian and SLINGBLADES Grimes! Balor puts Grimes in the ring at the count of 6 and leaves Priest behind. But then Priest uses his night stick to CLUB Balor on the back! CAVE-IN!! Cover, Grimes wins!!

Winner: Grimes via Cave-In

4. Dragon Gate King of Gate: Block A: YAMATO vs Ryo Saito

This is a unique pairing, with two individuals that can go either way. YAMATO is a great talent, but Ryo went from being a fallen Ace, to a comedy guy, and now he’s been rebuilding himself the last few years. Do we get serious wrestling, or derpy owari stuff?

Well damn, this was a pretty good match. Ryo managed to catch YAMATO on many different occasions. YAMATO looked to actually be pushed more than most probably expected, and we nearly got an early big upset. Saito sets up for his Straight Jacket Piledriver, but YAMATO manages to slip out of it and hit Galleria!

YAMATO moves forward in Dragon Gate’s big tournament, but now we’ve got to wonder if he’s vulnerable after Ryo Saito almost beat him.

Winner: YAMATO via Galleria

3. IMPACT!: TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Moose (c) vs Suicide

From My Results:

Moose dominated a good portion of this match, but Suicide put it together nicely. We saw the Spiderman in the ropes, low bridge to send Moose to the outside and then we got some momentum for the video game gimmick. After the referee gets murdered by Moose splashing him in the corner, Suicide gets two visible pinfalls but nothing official. He hits a Rolling Shotei sending Moose on his backside, then Moose goes for a step up Corkscrew Splash, but Suicide jumps up and catches him with a Flatliner.

Suicide gets at least a 6 count, but has to go wake up the referee. Then Moose tries his Spear, but Suicide jumps and pulls of a Sunset Flip, but the injured ref counts slow and Moose kicks out. So Moose gets the opportunity to kick Suicide in the nuts, hit No Jackhammer Needed, and retains (?) the TNA title.

Winner: Moose via No Jackhammer Needed

2. WWE SmackDown: Drew Gulak vs Daniel Bryan

From Mitchell’s Coverage:

Bryan endures as Gulak drags him up that way, and spins out. Gulak back suplexes again but Bryan lands on his feet. Gulak bucks the roll off but not the SNAP GERMAN! Bryan stumbles to a corner while Gulak sits up. Bryan takes aim and runs corner to corner, but Gulak avoids the knee to sunset flip! Cover, TWO! Bryan goes for the leg, Gulak steps through to POWERBOMB! And jackknife cover, TWO! Bryan sits on the cover, TWO! Gulak runs and grabs Bryan in the dragon sleeper, GuLOCK! Bryan fades, pops back and pops out to get the arm! Gulak resists the Yes Lock to Oklahoma Roll! ONE, Bryan has the leg, but Gulak pops out of the dragon screw! Bryan tries again, and goes the other way! Bryan clamps on with a HEEL HOOK! Gulak reaches, but Bryan turns him from ropes. They both roll, Gulak taps! Bryan wins!

Winner: Bryan via Heel Hook

1. AJPW Broadcast #3 2020: World Junior Heavyweight Championship: Susumu Yokosuka (c) vs Hikaru Sato

From My Results:

The pacing in the match was frenetic and that really lead to an edge of your seat feeling. Hikaru had a few minutes where he was slapping on every submission in creation. Like Zack Sabre Jr levels of body manipulation. Yokosuka being the champion proved resilient and counters an attempts headlock with a Backdrop Driver, which gives him a target moving forward. Yokosuka focuses a lot of his offense at the head/neck region, which proves to help him out a bit.

This was just hard hitting and great action once the feeling out period stopped. Hikaru had many chances to end it, but Yokosuka just wouldn’t tap. So a few well-placed Lariats, Yokosuka Driver and a few variations of the Jumbo no Kachi gave Yokosuka a very surprising come from behind victory. A tremendous match, with a great story, hard hits, great mat work…just a treat to watch.

Winner: Yokosuka via Jumbo no Kachi

Thoughts:

This is going to be an easy decision for me. The All Japan main event was tremendous. Given that we’ve had sporadic wrestling, much less even less really good wrestling; this was the first match in a while that was just blow away fantastic.

Bryan versus Gulak was really good, especially for WWE television; but it’s not close to the cherry on top of the AJPW show. Try to find the match, subscribe to AJPW.tv – just find that match.

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

Extra, extra read all about it… Chairshot Staff picks are in!!!

Published

2 weeks ago

June 6, 2025

PC Tunney

Sing it with me… money money money money moneeeeeeeeeyeeeeee… everybody’s got a price! MONEY IN THE BANK is here!!! How money will our staff picks be?!?

AJ – Roxanne Perez
Andrew – Stephanie Vaquer – *Bubba Sparxxx Impression* I don’t tell stories, I let them tell theyself.
Dave – Guilia – A stacked field but I just like her here.
DJ – Naomi
DPP – Roxanne Perez
Jason – Alexa Bliss
Patrick – Roxanne Perez
Rey – Naomi – If Naomi loses, we riot!
Rob – Naomi
Greg – Alexa Bliss – Bliss has had huge reactions since returning and is moving a ton of merch. While I can see them wanting to build Roxanne Perez, Giulia, or Stephanie Vaquer, I think Alexa Bliss.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – I’ll make my case short and sweet… Mami in the Bank! You can’t leave that money on the table.

Chairshot Pick – Tie – Naomi 3 & Roxanne Perez 3 (Alexa Bliss 2, Giulia 1, Rhea Ripley 1, Stephanie Vaquer 1)

AJ – LA Knight
Andrew – El Grande Americano – Feels correct given his push and the fact he’s over.
Dave – Seth Rollins – Got to push that new faction.
DJ – LA Knight
DPP – El Grande Americano
Jason – LA Knight
Patrick – Solo Sikoa
Rey – LA Knight – Looks like another push, and he does have history with Cena.
Rob – Solo Sikoa
Greg – Seth Rollins – This company is extremely high in the El Grande Americano gimmick, but this match comes down to Seth Rollins or LA Knight. Given the Rollins storyline, it’s his briefcase to win.

Tunney’s Take: El Grande Americano – Picture this: Chad Gable wins the AAA Mega Championship and El Grande Americano wins MITB! WHAT A SATURDAY in LA!!!

Chairshot Pick – LA Knight 4 (El Grande Americano 3, Seth Rollins 2, Solo Sikoa 2)

AJ – Becky Lynch – Sadly
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I still don’t care about Lyra.
Dave – Lyra Valkyria – Starting to warm up to her and Becky has a lot to do with that.
DJ – Lyra Valkyria
DPP – Becky Lynch
Jason – Becky Lynch
Patrick – Lyra Valkyria
Rey – Becky Lynch – Put some fire on the Irish Beef.
Rob – Becky Lynch
Greg – Becky Lynch – I don’t think you do a rematch here just to have Becky lose again. Unless Bayley shows up to help Lyra.

Tunney’s Take: Becky Lynch – A big part of me feels that winning this title checks off a major box for Becks in her HOF career.

Chairshot Pick – Becky Lynch 8-3

AJ – Cena & Paul
Andrew – Rhodes & Uso – Easy way for Cena to lose without eating the pinfall.
Dave – Rhodes & Uso – Get the QB back on the winning track.
DJ – Rhodes & Uso
DPP – Rhodes & Uso
Jason – Cena & Paul
Patrick – Cena & Paul
Rey – Rhodes & Uso – Heels usually lose these kinds of matches. Logan takes the pin.
Rob – Cena & Paul
Greg – Rhodes & Uso – I hope Jey isn’t an afterthought here like Cody was last fall when he was paired up with Roman. I think Cody pins Cena to set up Cody-Cena 2 at SummerSlam.

Tunney’s Take: Cena & Paul – I don’t think Cena is involved in another loss until he loses the WWE Championship. I also think Logan Paul is NOT done trying to capture Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship. …Travis Scott in the house?

Chairshot Pick – 6-5 Rhodes & Uso

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We all enjoy Pro Wrestling so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

1 month ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1