With some controversial finishes, but not a ton of outside of America events…what exactly made up the Top 5 this week?

Now I like to start off with last week’s winner, but last week’s winner was also the last match of the September MOTY Pool. So let’s see what matches made the cut for September.

September Pool:

• AJPW Triple Crown Championship: Kento Miyahara vs Naoya Nomura
• NJPW Destruction in Beppu: RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Zack Sabre Jr
• NJPW Destruction in Kobe: IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Jay White vs Tetsuya Naito (c)
• Stardom: 5 Star Grand Prix Red Stars: Final Day: Momo Watanabe vs Mayu Iwatani

This isn’t too often that we have an all Japanese pool, much less a pool with two Japanese promotions not named New Japan. All that being said, I’m very torn between AJPW and Stardom’s matches. Ultimately, I think I’ll go with, AJPW Triple Crown Championship: Kento Miyahara vs Naoya Nomura, because the match did a lot to make Naoya a legitimate contender.

Let’s get to this week.

5. NXT: NXT Tag Team Championship: Street Profits vs Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish)

Snippet from Mitchell’s Coverage:
Kyle runs in but catches a boot. Kyle puts it on the ropes to fire off on Dawkins. The ref backs Kyle off, but Fish Dragon Screws the leg! Dawkins still back drops Kyle out onto Fish! Dawkins crawls on one leg but Kyle climbs up top. Kyle leaps to drop a knee on the bad leg! HEEL HOOK! Dawkins flails, endures, reaches, but Fish helps Kyle drag Dawkins away! Ford runs in and brawls with Fish, but Fish hops on for a guillotine! Dual submissions from reDRagon! But Ford falls onto Kyle with Fish!! All four men are down and Full Sail is thunderous for “NXT! NXT!” The teams regroup, Dawkins and Kyle get up. They brawl back and forth, forearms for kicks. Kyle gets the leg, but Dawkins enziguris! Fish tags in and he hurries up, but Dawkins hot tags Ford! Fish FLOPS, Ford doesn’t!! Cover, TWO!?

But the Profits coordinate! Electric Chair for Fish, but Kyle kicks Dawkins. Ford watches from above as reDRagon runs away. But Dawkins comes around to go after them! They all brawl in the corner, Ford FLIES!! Ford makes it over the corner to wipe everyone out! Full Sail loses their minds as Ford puts Fish in. But here comes Roderick Strong! Strong gets SPEARED by Ford! But Fish trips Ford up, tags Kyle, TOTAL ANNIHILATION!! Cover, the Undisputed Era win!!

Winner: Undisputed Era via Total Annihilation

Rating: *** 3/4

4. AEW Dynamite: Cody Rhodes vs Sammy Guevara

Snippet from Mitchell’s Coverage:
Fans rally up and Cody gets to his feet. Sammy goes at Cody in the corner, shoulder tackle and big enziguri! Cody staggers but BOOTS Sammy down! Brandi laughs at silly Sammy, then Cody runs to build speed. Sammy uses Brandy as a shield as Cody DIVES! Cody wipes out his wife! Fans boo Sammy’s cheap tactics but Cody worries about getting his wife to her feet. Brandi says she’s fine so Cody goes at Sammy. Sammy rams Cody into the post! Fans tell Sammy what they think of him but Sammy just climbs up top. Sammy adjusts and MOONSAULTS, but lands on his feet as Cody moves! Sammy moonsaults again, but Cody still evades, but the Shooting Star hits! Cover, TWO! Cody made Sammy do a lot of work for that one, and Sammy grows frustrated. Sammy drags Cody up, torture rack but Cody slips out. Cody drop toeholds Sammy onto ropes, and Brandi SMASHES Sammy with a heel! Beautiful Disaster Kick! Cover, TWO!! Sammy survives the Rhodes’ teamwork as a couple!

The 10 minute mark passes and Cody drags Sammy up. Sammy is dead weight but Cody still gets him up top and backwards. Cody climbs up and has Sammy in a dragon sleeper, INVERTED SUPERPLEX! Cover, TWO!? Sammy survives and frustrates Cody, but DC is loving this opening match! Cody fires up with the fans as he drags Sammy up. Cody has Sammy in the inverted chicken wings and lifts him up, but Sammy slips out to shove Cody at a corner. Cody elbows back, then climbs up top, but Sammy jumps up! And has Cody in a SUPER SPANISH FLY!! Cover, TWO!! Cody survives and Sammy is shocked! This is what the opener means to Cody! Sammy climbs up, takes aim, SHOOTING STAR onto knees! Cradle cover, Cody wins!!

Winner: Cody via Cradle 

Rating: *** 3/4

3. Pro Wrestling Zero 1: Zero 1 Heavyweight Championship: Daisuke Sekimoto (c) vs Yuji Hino

So for those that know, this match took place in September, but it was just made available on Puroresu Dream on the 3rd. Usually the site is a good indicator of when the show was on Japanese television, so I like to base qualifications on when the show is available to the masses as opposed to live date.

With the formalities out of the way, this is two big thicc boys in a fight over the Zero 1 Heavyweight Title. Yuji is the master of the Fucking Bomb (no lie, that’s it’s name) and Sekimoto is just an elite wrestler and does well in any promotion he graces. So this is gonna be a lot of strong strikes, and tons and tons of beef. Someone call Vinnie Mac.

There’s a short bit of feeling one another out, before they do what any 500 IQ gentleman would do. They rotate corners and run into one another with Shoulder Tackles until someone falls down. After that exchange, we get an infamous Hino chop exchange where he puts his hands behind his back and dares Daisuke to get in some free shots.

This is just a hell of a slobber knocker. On the outside Hino keeps Daisuke down and slaps him as he’s trying to get distance, and then back inside the ring there’s multitudes of lariats and suplexes. Hino attempts the Fucking Bomb once, but Daisuke blocks it and manages to pull off one of his own, as the crowd pops loudly. Also it shouldn’t be lost that both men utilize Frog Splashes from the top rope, and they pulled out most of the moves in their respective arsenals.

After beating the hell out of one another, Daisuke drops Hino and looks to head to the top turnbuckle to end things. Hino manages to crawl to the corner and grab his foot, stopping the move attempt and cinching in a German Suplex. Hino keeps pulling to execute the German, but Daisuke is holding onto the ropes for dear life. Eventually, Daisuke’s grip slips, Hino hits an impactful German Suplex Hold, and wins the Zero 1 championship!

If you like heavyweight slugfests, this is your kind of match.

Winner: Hino via German Suplex Hold

Rating: ****

Honorable Mentions:

NXT: Io Shirai vs Mia Yim
Winner: Io via Moonsault
Rating: *** 1/2
WWE SmackDown Live: Career vs Career Ladder Match: Kevin Owens vs Shane McMahon
Winner: Owens
Rating: *** 1/2
WWE Hell in a Cell: Tornado Tag Match: Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan vs Eric Rowan & Luke Harper
Winner: Reigns & Bryan via Superman Busaiku Spear
Rating: *** 1/2
IMPACT!: Daga vs Chris Bey
Winner: Daga via Double Underhook Gut Buster
Rating: *** 1/4
NXT: NXT Women’s Championship: Shayna Baszler (c) vs Candice LeRae
Winner: Baszler via Kirifuda Clutch
Rating: *** 1/4
AEW Dynamite: PAC vs Hangman Page
Winner: PAC via Brutalizer
Rating: *** 1/4
WWE Hell in a Cell: King Corbin vs Chad Gable
Winner: Gable via Roll-Up
Rating: *** 1/4
WWE Hell in a Cell: Women’s Tag Team Championship: BlissCross (c) vs Kabuki Warriors
Winner: Asuka via Green Mist + Head Kick
Rating: ***
IMPACT!: Michael Elgin vs TJP w/Fallah Bahh
Winner: Elgin via Elgin Bomb
Rating: ***
NXT: Johnny Gargano vs Shane Thorne
Winner: Gargano via Superkick
Rating: ***

2. WWE Hell in a Cell: Hell in a Cell Raw Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs Sasha Banks

Snippet from Mitchell’s Coverage:
Becky leaps for a BIG leg drop, cover, TWO!! And Becky is almost in tears. But then she talks to herself, working out what to try next. Fans chant “Table! Table!” and Becky agrees. Becky gets that table up on its feet, but Sasha hits a Backstabber! Sasha drags Becky over to the corner and throws forearms. “I’m the Boss around here!” Sasha hoists Becky up and then makes sure the table is in the right spot. Sasha climbs up to join Becky, but Becky fights back! Becky slips down, Sasha holds on and fights back, and then adjusts. Sasha METEORAS Becky through the table!! Cover, TWO!?! No one can believe Becky lived! The referee clears the wreckage and Sasha returns to the ladder and hanging chair. Sasha doesn’t go for either of those, she has a new kendo stick! And she uses it in a Bank Statement crossface!!

Becky endures, turns purple, but wriggles her way under the bottom rope. There’s no ropebreak, but Becky keeps moving to get out of the ring entirely. They now tug o’ war for the stick, and Becky wins, to SMACK away on Sasha! Becky drags Sasha back around to whip, but Sasha reverses to send Becky into the hanging chair! Sasha’s method appears through the madness as she now puts Becky back in. Sasha brings chair after chair after chair with her! Fans are anticipating what plan the #Blueprint has, because it involves even more chairs! Some chairs even hit Becky as they’re tossed in. Sasha gives Becky a CON-CHAIR-TO! Repeatedly! Sasha gloats and soaks up all the noise. But she’s far from done. She climbs up, gloats more, but Becky throws chairs back at Sasha! Then climbs up top, SUPER BECKSPLODER, ONTO THE CHAIR PILE!! DISARM-HER!! Sasha pulls hair, grabs at chairs, but taps out! Becky wins!!

Winner: Becky via Disarm-Her

Rating: **** 1/4

1. NXT: NXT Championship: Adam Cole (c) vs Matt Riddle

Snippet from Mitchell’s Coverage:
Cole goes out to the apron, smirking at Riddle. Cole leaps, into another Bro Trigger! Riddle puts Cole in, climbs up top, FLOATING BRO gets knees! Cole hurries to get up to the corner, leaps, PANAMA SUNRISE!! Cover, TWO!?! Riddle lives and Cole can’t believe it! Full Sail loses their minds as both men are stirring on the mat. Cole backs away to a corner as fans duel hard as ever. Cole aims, Riddle sits up, and Cole brings the knee pad down. Cole runs, but Riddle drops. But Cole just smirks, because he goes back to the corner. He hops up, leaps, but Riddle stops his sunrise! And spins it around, to the Bro to Sleep! Powerbomb, FINAL FLASH!! Riddle hurries, climbs, FLOATING BRO HITS! Cover, TWO!?! Now Cole shocks everyone! Fans argue over the decision, but somehow Cole survives, so they just figure, “Fight Forever!”

Riddle gets up and climbs again. Cole revives, stands up, and trips Riddle up in time! Cole climbs up to join Riddle but Riddle fights back. Riddle and Cole fight for control, and Riddle forearms Cole, and CHOPS him down! Riddle hops down, slingshots, into a SUPERKICK! And then a SUPERKICK to the back! Cole hops up again, leaps, PANAMA SUNRISE AGAIN!! riddle flounders, Cole hits- No, hi misses! BROMISSION!! Cole is caught! Full Sail is freaking out! Cole slips up and around to a cover, TWO! Riddle gets Cole with the Fujiwara! Cole’s bad arm is feeling even worse! But Cole crawls , so Riddle drags him away, only for Cole to crucifix roll-up! TWO and back to the Fujiwara! Riddle has the good arm, but that doesn’t change that it hurts. Cole slips out and CLOBBERS Riddle with the cast! LAST SHOT 2.0! Cole wins!!

Winner: Cole via Last Shot

Rating: **** 1/4

Thoughts:

So a plethora of questionable finishes aside, we did get some pretty high quality matches this week. The Women’s Hell in a Cell and NXT are easily the two that stick out the most to me, which is also a good reason why they’re 1 and 2. When it comes to my personal vote though, NXT Championship: Adam Cole (c) vs Matt Riddle, was just a better wrestling match. Both men showed up nicely, and to think it was the lead off match on a weekly TV episode and not on a PPV is just crazy.

Women’s Hell in a Cell shouldn’t be scoffed at, but Cole versus Riddle was just a damn good match to watch.