Definitely a quieter week compared to Mania week. While there were some interesting things that happened, what really stuck out? Find out!

Speaking of Mania week, this is a first, so I’m gonna go with it. Just like nothing is for certain in pro wrestling, sometimes votes don’t break clean. So I’m allowing the first tie in the 4 years we’ve done these votes. Last week; Walter vs Tommaso Ciampa & Bianca Belair vs Sasha Banks, tied at the top of the voting.

Now that we’ve done something different and that will make the April pool interesting…but let’s get to this week!

Quick Top 5:

• Champion Carnival: Zeus vs Yuma Aoyagi
  Rating: *** ½
• NXT: Cruiserweight Championship: Kushida vs Santos Escobar
  Rating: *** ½
• IMPACT!: Josh Alexander vs TJP
  Rating: *** ¼
• MLW: MLW Openweight Championship: Alexander Hammerstone (c) vs Mil Muertes
  Rating: *** ¼
• AEW Dynamite: AEW Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs Fenix & Pac
  Rating: *** ¼

Honorable Mentions:

• Champion Carnival: Shinjiro Otani vs Jake Lee
  Rating: ***
• WWE SmackDown: Jey Uso vs Cesaro
  Rating: ***
• NXT UK: Amir Jordan vs Kenny Williams
  Rating: ***
• NXT: Tag Team Titles: Killian Dain & Drake Maverick vs MSK (c)
  Rating: ***
• AEW Dynamite: Dax Hardwood vs Chris Jericho
  Rating: ***
• NXT: The Way vs Dexter Lumis, Bronson Reed, Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon
  Rating: ***
• Champion Carnival: Shotaro Ashino vs Kohei Sato
  Rating: ***

3t. AEW Dynamite: AEW Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs Fenix & Pac

From Mitchell’s Coverage:

Fans hope these four “Fight Forever!” but there is a time limit. And now there’s a ring count. Fenix gets Matt up and into the ring at 5 of 10, then Pac follows. Pac and Matt stand, Pac RAMS Matt into the corner! Pac hoists Matt up top, tags Fenix, and Pac goes up to get Matt in a SUPERPLEX! Fenix goes right up for a FROG SPLASH!! Cover, TWO!?! Fenix doesn’t stop, he puts Matt back in the drop zone and Pac tags back in. BLACK ARROW! Pac covers, but Nick returns to barrel through Fenix and BREAK it! Fenix storms right at Nick and throws him, but Nick spins around to CLOBBER Fenix! Nick drags Matt to their corner, tags in, and Nick runs at Pac, but gets a BOOT!

Pac and Nick stagger, Nick runs in but Pac dodges, but Nick holds ropes to deny the German Suplex! LOW BLOW where the ref couldn’t see!! Fenix tags in, springboards, into a SUPERKICK!! Nick DEMASKS Fenix!! Insult, meet injury! DOUBLE SUPERKICKS!!! Cover, the Bucks win!!

Winner: Bucks via Double Superkicks

3t. MLW: MLW Openweight Championship: Alexander Hammerstone (c) vs Mil Muertes

Salina de la Renta has expanded Promociones Dorado to be working with Azteca Underground. So Mil Muertes is trying to be used as the ringer to finally bust up Hammer’s nearly 2 year reign as Openweight Champion. Mil put a bit of a beating on Hammerstone previously and walked off with the title. So the champion is hot, and the fight has potential.

The match started off quickly where Hammerstone leads with a Pump Kick and goes after Mil to get the anger over, but Mil eventually puts the brakes on Hammer a little and takes things to the outside. Mil really starts to dominate some of the outside game before coming back in.

After returning to the ring, it turns into a counter punch match. Hammerstone hits a Pumphandle Fall Away Slam, but Mil isn’t to be overshadowed and lifts Hammerstone up with relative ease later on. As the counter punch aspect continues, Mil heads to the ropes possibly looking for the Reaper’s Trident, but Hammerstone catches him, hits Nightmare Pendulum out of nowhere and retains by the skin of his teeth.

Solid power match, with some fun elements and showing the wear and tear on Hammerstone might finally be catching up with him.

Winner: Hammerstone via Nightmare Pendulum

3t. IMPACT!: Josh Alexander vs TJP

From AJ’s Review:

Both men showing more of the technical side of them instead of the X Division we are used to seeing throughout the years but the two are using a good amount of speed against each other, picking up in the later part of the match up. They go to different styles rapidly from technical, to agility, strength and striking too around the end.

Every time TJP goes for an Armbreaker or his signature Octopus, Josh scouts it and gets into an Ankle Lock. TJP also has the move caught and transitions into an STS. TJP goes for a Mamba Splash but it keeps getting countered into the Ankle Lock again. TJP yet again reverses it into an Arm Bar and Josh Alexander realizes that he has to win with something else and breaks the Armbreaker with a Powerbomb and hits a Double Underhook Piledriver to finish off TJP this matchup.

Winner: Alexander via Divine Intervention

1t. NXT: Cruiserweight Championship: Kushida vs Santos Escobar

From Mitchell’s Coverage:
Escobar gets Kushida up, fireman’s carries, but Kushida elbows free! Kushida shoves and atomic drops! Kushida whips, hip tosses, cartwheels and dropkicks! FAST BALL! PENALTY KICK to the arm! Kushida underhooks, but Escobar fights to wrench free. The bad arm lets go, Kushida runs in to SHOTEI! Another shout out to Liger! Kushida puts Escobar up top, climbs up, but Escobar CHOPS! Kushida hops down to GAMANGIRI the arm! Kushida climbs back up, hammerlocks for a SUPERPLEX!! Then ANOTHER! Bridging cover, ROPEBREAK!!! Kushida can’t believe how close that was but fans are thunderous for “NXT! NXT!”

Kushida aims, runs and leaps, to get the arm! Escobar fights the Hoverboard, the go around, Escobar wrenches out to ENZIGURI! Kushida PELES!! Both men are down, Kushida crawls over to Escobar as fans rally up. They both sit up, Kushida fires a forearm but Escobar gives it back. They brawl to their feet, Kushida and Escobar KICK and KICK and KICK! Escobar reverse the whip, Kushida handsprings, into a BACKSTABBER!! Escobar drags Kushida up, reels him into the fireman’s carry, but Kushida sunset flips!! TWO!! Escobar has a sunset, TWO! Kushida sits on the prawn hold, and WINS!!!

Winner: Kushida via Cradle

1t. Champion Carnival: Zeus vs Yuma Aoyagi

From Mathew’s Review:

Yuma got back into it when hitting a Crossbody onto Zeus but would kick out at one. Yuma tossed Zeus into the ropes but Zeus would hit a Flying Clothesline instead as the two are down but Zeus is getting up first, lifting him up for a Bearhug and tossed him over. Zeus calls for the Chokeslam but Yuma fights him off, delivering an below to the face and as he ran the ropes, he ducked under Zeus to hit a German Suplex. Yuma climbed to the top rope but Zeus chops him before coming up to hit a Superplex as the two men go down. Zeus hits the Chokeslam this time and climbs to the top rope to hit a Frog Splash but Yuma kicked out at two! Zeus quickly went for the Facelock and looks like he could tap but Yuma had his foot on the rope. Zeus called for the Jackhammer but Yuma reversed it into a German Suplex but Zeus quickly got up to attempt a Lariat, however, Yuma ducked again to hit another German. Yuma has the End Game locked in but Zeus was close enough to grab the rope, and break the hold. Zeus went for a Lariat but Yuma ducked as they ran the ropes, making Zeus hit the Lariat this time as Yuma was turned inside out. Zeus went for one more Lariat as Yuma reversed it into a Crucifix Pin and gets the surprising victory over Zeus! Big win for Yuma and Zeus is no longer undefeated.

Winner: Yuma via Crucifix Pin

Thoughts:

Welp, kinda glad we had a tie last week. Not exactly the most jaw dropping stuff, but solid for a normal week. Kushida’s shock was fun, Yuma’s shock helps him if AJPW doesn’t do their usual weird storytelling, Alexander builds momentum for Rebellion, and Hammerstone vs Muertes was pretty solid. That leaves the Bucks match, which apparently became a sticking point as people are trying to prove a non-existent point. Being overt and making it so easy to follow that 1^st graders understand and then overreacting like an imbecile is not effective psychology for an adult.

So anyone that wants to say “Look the Young Bucks can tell stories”. Normally the Young Bucks need weeks of promo, BTE, and obvious bread crumbs; which isn’t clever. So no, they really do lack the ability to be convincing and enthralling without making everything they do blatantly obvious and over the top. It was fine for a spectacle, but as a match, everything lacked.

That given, I’m gonna give my vote to Kushida vs Santos Escobar. It was fun, well done and left a lot to build off of.