Opinion

Andrew’s Top 5 Matches: Week Ending 5.31.20

Easier week to digest. Let’s see what made the Top 5!

Published

5 years ago

June 1, 2020

Andrew Balaz

Come off a week that had a tie for fifth, we have a much calmer and straight forward week of matches.

Last week however, AEW Double or Nothing: MJF vs Jungle Boy, garnered the most support. This week will be the final vote for the May Pool, so it should be interesting what has to face off.

Now on to this week!

Quick Top 5:

IMPACT!: Deaner Compound Cinematic: Impact Tag Team Championship: Cody & Wheels Deaner vs The North (c)
Rating: ****
Dragon Gate King of Gate: Naruki Doi vs KAI
Rating: ****
IMPACT!: Michael Elgin vs Trey
Rating: *** 3/4
NXT: Pit Fight: Matt Riddle vs Tim Thatcher
Rating: *** 1/2
Dragon Gate King of Gate: YAMATO vs Kzy
Rating: *** 1/2

Honorable Mentions:

Just Tap Out: TAKA Michinoku vs Ryuya Takekura
Rating: *** 1/4
WWE Raw: US Championship: Andrade (c) vs Apollo Crews
Rating: ***
Dragon Gate King of Gate: Ben-K vs Eita
Rating: ***
Just Tap Out: Maika vs Andras Miyagi
Rating: ***
NXT: Kushida vs Drake Maverick vs Jake Atlas
Rating: ***
WWE SmackDown: Alexa Bliss vs Sasha Banks
Rating: ***
Dragon Gate King of Gate: Yosuke Santa Maria vs Diamante
Rating: ***
AEW Dynamite: TNT Championship #1 Contender Battle Royale
Rating: ***

5. Dragon Gate King of Gate: YAMATO vs Kzy

From Mathew’s Coverage:
Santa Maria would attack Diamante once the bell has rung but Diamante would shove him off and would start his assault. Diamante showed a little bit of improvement during this match but still a little rough around the edges at the same time. Diamante had control for a good majority of the match over Santa Maria, even throwing him around outside of the ring during his heat. Santa Maria was able to make a comeback after having him in the corner and charges at Diamante with a couple of forearms.

Diamante eventually was able to toss Santa Maria up to the top rope and climbs up as the two fought on there. Santa Maria would jump on the ropes to hit a Hurricanrana with Diamante off the second rope. Santa Maria attempted the Crucifix pin but Diamante would spin him off to hit the Backbreaker and Gutbuster combo. Diamante would then hit the Vuelta Finale to get the victory and will now face YAMATO. I was not expecting Diamante to win but was still a solid match with a good showing by both of these men.

Winner: YAMATO via Gallaria

4. NXT: Pit Fight: Matt Riddle vs Tim Thatcher

From Mitchell’s Coverage:
Riddle gets to his feet, and drops a Broton, but only onto wood! Thatcher avoids that and has a furious glare on his face. Thatcher drags Riddle up for a snap suplex to the wood! Riddle writhes but Thatcher looms over him. Thatcher kicks Riddle and then underhooks. He aims for the pit! Riddle resists and reverses, to FINAL FLASH! Thatcher falls into the pit! Riddle aims from the edge, and goes for the SUPER FLOATING BRO!! Direct hit but both men are feeling the pain! “This is Awesome!” but far from over as both men stagger about. Thatcher is against the steel and Riddle runs in to KICK away! And kick and kick and kick! Thatcher grabs at Riddle but Riddle CHOPS! Riddle runs back in but Thatcher sends him into steel! And then gets the SLEEPER! But Riddle again tries to use the steel, only for Thatcher to bounce him off it!

Thatcher hops on, wanting the Rear Naked Choke, but Riddle RAMS him into the steel! And again! And then a backpack BROTON! But Thatcher springs up to wrap Riddle up again! Riddle endures but fades out! Riddle is OUT, Thatcher wins!!

Winner: Thatcher via Sleeper

3. IMPACT!: Michael Elgin vs Trey

From My Results:
Trey started off trying to take it to Elgin. A few strikes, a few attempts power moves from the corner with his legs, but Elgin slowly starts dominating. Elgin pulled off a sick Butterfly Backbreaker, to go along with a ton of lariats and brutal power moves. Right before the break Trey finally starts putting some offense together; including mostly Super Kicks and Knee Strikes which end in both of them being down as we fade to black. When things come back, the two men are in the Strong Style Fighting Spirit spot of Forearms back and forth.

We actually get a lot of close back and forth, which gets punctuated nicely when Trey drives Elgin off the middle turnbuckle with a Meteora. Trey gets the near fall, sets up for his real Diving Meteora, but Elgin counters it into a Liger Bomb. Elgin fires looking to finish the match, but Sami Callihan’s ICU intro and lights hit, which as we all know, distracts people in the ring. Trey takes advantage of the old cliche and gets the upset with a Jacknife Cradle.

Winner: Trey via Jacknife Cradle

2. Dragon Gate King of Gate: Naruki Doi vs KAI

From Mathew’s Coverage:
We get some solid chain wrestling to kick things off with this match and ends with Naruki hitting a quick and beautiful armdrag. Naruki is very quick and crisp with his moves and he’s almost forty but being in Dragon Gate shows us how fast and smooth they can be despite age. KAI was able to find a small opening when he hits a Dragon Screw when Doi was between the ropes and works the champion’s leg right after. KAI eventually applies the Figure Four and has it locked it as Doi tries his best to fight him off and does when he gets to the ropes. This might be one of KAI’s best performances in Dragon Gate in quite some time and when he does try, he can produce great matches like this.

Doi would hit the Doi 555 and attempts to hit the Bakatare Sliding Kick but KAI would catch him with a Superkick and hits another one to take him down and pins him for a two count. The two brawl for a moment but Naruki would quickly hit the Bakatare Sliding Kick this time but KAI quickly rolled up and charges in to hit the Lariat and the two go down! The two get up and KAI attempted a German Suplex but Naruki rolled him for a pin as KAI kicked out and hits another Lariat onto Naruki. KAI would attempt at one more Lariat but Naruki caught his arm and rolled him for the V9 Clutch and pinned him to get the victory in a great match!

Winner: Naruki via V9 Clutch

1.IMPACT!: Deaner Compound Cinematic: Impact Tag Team Championship: Cody & Wheels Deaner vs The North (c)

From My Results:
So the Deaner’s are Impact’s more inbred version of the Dudleys. Or, well, more straight forward inbred family? Either way, this was like a combination of Boneyard, Broken Universe, Hills Have Eyes, Dukes of Hazard and Letterkenny. This also added something a little different than other cinematics, since the rest of the Deaner family acted as a bit of an audience.

This worked for me much better than a bunch of the cinematic matches. Still consider the Boneyard Match the best, but this was a close second. You have to watch this.

Winner: The North via Low Blow ref Assist

Thoughts:

Not a heavily in depth week this week. A few things popped up, but nothing too far out of the realm of normalcy. Since I really enjoyed the Deaner Compound match, I’m going to have to go with that. It was fun, and established WHY it was goofy.

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

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

Published

21 hours 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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Classic POD is WAR

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

4 weeks 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