Opinion

Andrew’s Top 5 Matches: Week Ending 5/2/2021

So the article was a few days delayed because covering Wrestling Dontaku and other real life happenings cut into my free time on getting thoughts on virtual paper. But better late than never, right?!

Published

4 years ago

May 5, 2021

Andrew Balaz

So the article was a few days delayed because covering Wrestling Dontaku and other real life happenings cut into my free time on getting thoughts on virtual paper. But better late than never, right?!

Let’s assess who won last week, shall we? Impact Wrestling Rebellion: X Division Championship: Ace Austin (c) vs TJP vs Josh Alexander; won the week and it’s always nice to see Impact get some love. This week however, we got a lot of great matches…some of which came out of left field a little. But there’s at least one legitimate MOTY contender in this Top 5.

Check it out!

Quick Results:

NOAH the Glory: GHC National Championship: Takashi Sugiura vs Kazuyuki Fujita (c)
Rating: **** ¾
WWE SmackDown: Universal Championship: Daniel Bryan vs Roman Reigns (c)
Rating: **** ¼
NOAH the Glory: GHC Jr Tag Team Titles: Stinger (HAYATA & Yoshinari Ogawa) (c) vs NOSAWA Rongai & Ikuto Hidaka
Rating: **** ¼
AJPW Champion Carnival: Kento Miyahara vs Yuma Aoyagi
Rating: **** ¼
NXT UK: Aoife Valkyrie vs. Meiko Satomura
Rating: ****

Honorable Mentions:

NOAH the Glory: GHC Heavyweight Championship: Keiji Mutoh (c) vs Masa Kitamiya
Rating: *** ¾
Champion Carnival: Shuji Ishikawa vs Kento Miyahara
Rating: *** ¾
NXT: Kushida & MSK vs Legado del Fantasma
Rating: *** ½
Champion Carnival: Shotaro Ashino vs Zeus
Rating: *** ½
Impact Wrestling: X Division Title: Josh Alexander (c) vs Ace Austin
Rating: *** ½
Champion Carnival: Yuma Aoyagi vs Koji Doi
Rating: *** ½
Champion Carnival: Shotaro Ashino vs Suwama
Rating: *** ¼
NOAH the Glory: Kaito Kiyomiya, Yoshiki Inamura & Kinya Okada vs M’s Alliance (Noamichi Marufuji, Masaaki Mochizuki & Masato Tanaka)
Rating: *** ¼
WWE SmackDown: Intercontinental Championship: Big E vs Apollo Crews (c)
Rating: *** ¼
NOAH the Glory: Yasutaka Yano, Daisuke Harada & Atsushi Kotoge vs Full Throttle (YO-HEY, Seiki Yoshioka & Hajime Ohara)
Rating: *** ¼
AEW Dynamite: Hangman Page vs Brian Cage
Rating: ***
Champion Carnival: Jake Lee vs Shuji Ishikawa
Rating: ***
Impact Wrestling: Qualifying Match: Brian Myers vs Matt Cardona
Rating: ***
NXT: Bronson Reed vs Austin Theory
Rating: ***
NOAH the Glory: Kongoh (Katsuhiko Nakajima & Nioh) vs Akitoshi Saito & Junta Miyawaki
Rating: ***
WWE Raw: RK Bro vs Shelton & Cedric
Rating: ***
NOAH the Glory: Kotaro Suzuki vs Yuya Susumu
Rating: ***
Impact Wrestling: Qualifying Match: Sami Callihan vs Eddie Edwards
Rating: ***
Champion Carnival: Shinjiro Otani vs Suwama
Rating: ***
Champion Carnival: Jake Lee vs Kohei Sato
Rating: ***

5. NXT UK: Aoife Valkyrie vs. Meiko Satomura

From Mitchell’s Coverage:

Aoife drags Meiko back up, fires up and runs from the corner, but the enziguri misses! Meiko waistlocks for the DANGEROUS SAIDO!! Both women are down and a standing count begins! The count reaches 5 of 10 before Meiko gets to her feet. Meiko KICKS Aoife again, then aims from a corner. Aoife ROCKS Meiko before Scorpio Rising! HEEL KICK!! Aoife hurries to get Meiko in the drop zone then climb up top! MOONSAULT!! Cover, TWO!!! Meiko survives again and Aoife can’t believe it! Aoife fires herself back up and goes back up top. Meiko slowly rises, Aoife takes aim, PEREPETEIA FLOPS!!! Meiko hits a DDT!! And then HANDSPRING AX KICK!

Aoife shakes her head, she’s not done yet! Meiko CLUBS Aoife back down, then HANDSPRING AX KICKS again! Aoife again sits up and glares at Meiko! Meiko KICKS Aoife in the chest! And then, SCORPIO RISING!!! Cover, Meiko wins!!

Winner: Meiko via Scorpio Rising

2t. AJPW Champion Carnival: Kento Miyahara vs Yuma Aoyagi

From Mathew’s Review:

The two are now back into the ring as Yuma tries to apply the End Game onto Kento, giving Yuma a hard time to not lock it in fully as he grabbed the ropes. Yuma climbed to the top rope as it looked like he was going for an Elbow Drop but Kento quickly gets up to fight him on the top, leading to Kento to hit a Superplex as they both go down! Kento hits Yuma with a Blackout on the back of the head but didn’t fully get a chance to hit a German Suplex, so he hits another Blackout instead. Kento calls for the Shutdown German Suplex Hold but Yuma headbutts him with the back of his head, hitting a German Suplex but Kento got up to hit a German Suplex as well and the two are down! The two get up and start beating each other with stiff forearms until Yuma got Kento down on the mat, still hitting the forearms but Kento fights back with forearms as well! Yuma finally won that exchange and picks him up for the Rockstar Butser but Kento found life in himself, reversing it into a Brainbuster! Kento went for a Blackout but Yuma catches his leg, hitting him with a spin kick. Yuma went for the Rockstar Buster again but Kento fought off and hits the Blackout! Yuma isn’t moving as the referee starts to count but Kento forced him up, going for the Shutdown German Suplex Hold as Yuma reversed it into the End Game! Yuma has it locked in fully this time as Kento is fading, so Yuma lets go to pin him as Kento barely kicked out! Kento ducked the spin kick to hit the Blackout and as he went for another, Yuma reversed it into the European Clutch as Kento kicked out at two again! Kento hits the Blackout and tries to get the Shutdown German Suplex Hold, Yuma struggling as hard as he could but fails to do so as Kento hits the move to get the win. Yuma’s chances of win are now gone as Kento is tied with three others. One day, Yuma will beat Kento and it will be a great moment but today is not that day.

Winner: Kento via Shutdown Suplex Hold

2t. NOAH the Glory: GHC Jr Tag Team Titles: Stinger (HAYATA & Yoshinari Ogawa) (c) vs NOSAWA Rongai & Ikuto Hidaka

From My Results:

HAYATA was on the receiving end of all that, eventually making a comeback on Hidaka, and Ogawa takes the hot tag and shows more fire than we usually see out of the veteran Rat Boy. Relentless Hip Tosses, Powerslams, and power, causes Ogawa to fall over in exhaustion after taking on both challengers for a little comedy.

HAYATA comes back in and keeps the pressure up, but NOSAWA and Hidaka prove themselves to be resilient. Numerous pinfall breakups, La Magistral from NOSAWA as a callback to how he beat Ogawa in a singles match, Shining Wizard as a mock/homage to Muto from NOSAWA, but all for near falls. Just crazy action that everything felt very high risk with great break ups.

Hidaka laced HAYATA in a Grapevine Ankle Lock to give NOSAWA full access to the victory, but as he goes for La Magistral again, Ogawa turns the tables and gets a Head and Leg capture to barely retain! Great match!

Winner: Ogawa via Head and Leg Cradle

2t. WWE SmackDown: Universal Championship: Daniel Bryan vs Roman Reigns (c)

From Mitchell’s Coverage:

Heyman is panicking again as Bryan shifts around, to the YES LOCK!! Roman endures again, the hands blind him for only a moment, and Roman sees ropes! Roman claws his way over, reaches out, but Bryan gets that arm to shift Roman around! YES LOCK AGAIN!! Roman is stuck in the center of the ring!! Roman fights to get free from underneath! Roman starts to ground ‘n’ pound Bryan with big forearms and elbows! Roman high stacks to get the dead lift for a POWERBOMB! Roman glares, and throws even more forearms down on Bryan now! He lets off to get Bryan back up, for another POWERBOMB!!

Roman backs off for just a moment, but gets Bryan back up, into the facelock! Bryan fights off the Guillotine?! Bryan still has power, but Roman shifts to a GUILLOTINE with the left!! Bryan is stuck in the body scissors now! Bryan flails, reaches, but he’s fading! Roman squeezes tighter, Bryan is OUT!! Roman wins!!

Winner: Roman via Guillotine

1. NOAH the Glory: GHC National Championship: Takashi Sugiura vs Kazuyuki Fujita (c)

From My Results:

Fujita manages to knock Sugiura down long enough to pull him outside and run him into the guardrails as he comes back in to apply a Single Leg Boston Crab. Sugiura gets to the ropes, fires up and drives Fujita into the corner to start peppering in Elbows. Fujita absorbs them, meets Sugiura in the corner with a Lariat which has him slump down, so Fujita goes to town with strikes. German Suplexes from Fujita, Fujita goes for a Soccer Ball Kick, but Sugiura picks the ankle and locks in an Ankle Lock for a hot minute. Fujita is stuck for a while, but gets to the ropes, but the damage is visible. Sugiura found a way to take a little of the power base away and Fujita is too stubborn to stop his offense.

The strike exchanges became insane. Fujita lands 2 Soccer Ball Kicks, goes for a third but gets caught in an Olympic Slam. Then we get an open hand slap exchange of glory. Fujita showed a lot in the gas tank and put a lot of great effort into this match, for anyone that questions his motivations at times, this was an amazing Strong Style bout.

Sugiura managed to barely edge out Fujita after three more Olympic Slams. Fujita gets stretchered out to get over the violence and physicality.

Winner: Sugiura via Olympic Slam

Thoughts:

The Meiko match was unexpected, Roman and Daniel tend to put on quality matches, but this was above what usually gets delivered on TV and NOAH is just hard to beat the last few years. Let’s not completely overlook AJPW since as much as I’m not sold on Yuma, he’s done well to make use of the push he’s being given.

My choice is pretty obvious this week. As much as I love the Samoan Sex Machine, NOAH’s Killing Machine getting the National title back in a grueling strong style, bright red violent sex of a match. So Kazuyuki Fujita vs Takashi Sugiura, is where my vote goes for this final April pool installment.

That means the Will Ospreay vs Shingo Takagi match will be in the first week qualifying for May! That’s a little hint, since we all know that match was HAWT.

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Up Next

Bodeen’s Top 5 Moments: WWE NXT (5/4/21)

Don't Miss

Bodeen’s Top 5 Moments: Monday Night RAW (5/3/21)

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!

About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY – Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY – 4 Corners Podcast (sports)

WEDNESDAY – The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY – POD is WAR (Los Tres Friends)

FRIDAY – DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY – The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY – Keeping the news ridiculous… The Oddity / The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE’s PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS…IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O’Dowd’s 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network
Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts… Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Listen on your favorite platform!

iTunes | iHeart Radio | Google Play | Spotify
Listen, like, subscribe, and share!

About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

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