So last week we had too many good matches to fit into just a list of 5 – and this week is similar! This is what happens with big tournaments and shows going on all at once!

Now, even though we had a ton of choices, the hype helped this one match run away with the vote, AEW Dynamite: Parking Lot Fight: Santana & Ortiz vs Best Friends, nearly lapped the list.

I didn’t have time to really get to the normal TV programs, so this will probably be a much different list than most.

Quick Top 5:

1. N-1 Victory Day 3: B Block: Takashi Sugiura vs Naomichi Marufuji
   Rating: **** 3/4
2. G1 Climax 30 Day 5: Kota Ibushi vs Tomohiro Ishii
   Rating: **** ½
3. Stardom 5Star GP Blue Stars Final Day: Utami Hayashishita vs Syuri
   Rating: **** 1/2
4. G1 Climax 30 Day 4: Tetsuya Naito vs Zack Sabre Jr
   Rating: **** 1/2
5. G1 Climax 30 Day 5: Shingo Takagi vs Will Ospreay
   Rating: **** ½
6. Dragon Gate Dangerous Gate: Open the Twin Gate: Kota Minoru & Jason Lee (c) vs Dragon Kid & Susumu Yokosuka
   Rating: **** 1/4
7. G1 Climax 30 Day 3: Jay White vs Kota Ibushi
   Rating: **** ¼
8. Champion Carnival Day 4: Yuma Aoyagi vs Kento Miyahara
   Rating: **** 1/4
9. N-1 Victory Day 4: A Block: Go Shiozaki vs Masaaki Mochizuki
   Rating: **** 1/4
10. Champion Carnival Day 4: AJPW Junior Heavyweight Championship: Koji Iwamoto (c) vs Ikuto Hidaka
    Rating: **** ¼

Honorable Mentions:

1. N-1 Victory Day 4: B Block: Shuhei Taniguchi vs Katsuhiko Nakajima
   Rating: ****
2. Dragon Gate Dangerous Gate: Kzy vs Naruki Doi
   Rating: ****
3. N-1 Victory Day 4: B Block: Naomichi Marufuji vs Kenoh
   Rating: ****
4. G1 Climax 30 Day 3: Will Ospreay vs Tomohiro Ishii
   Rating: *** ¾
5. N-1 Victory Day 4: A Block: Manabu Soya vs Kaito Kiyomiya
   Rating: *** 3/4
6. WWE Clash of Champions: Intercontinental Ladder Match: Sami Zayn vs AJ Styles vs Jeff Hardy (c)
   Rating: *** 3/4
7. G1 Climax 30 Day 4: YOSHI-HASHI vs EVIL
   Rating: *** 3/4
8. N-1 Victory Day 3: A Block: Kazushi Sakuraba vs Go Shiozaki
   Rating: *** 3/4
9. N-1 Victory Day 4: B Block: Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Takashi Sugiura
   Rating: *** 3/4
10. G1 Climax 30 Day 3: Taichi vs Minoru Suzuki
    Rating: *** ¾
11. Dragon Gate Dangerous Gate: DOA Cage Match: Eita vs YAMATO vs Big R Shimizu vs KAI vs Masato Yoshino vs BxB Hulk
    Rating: *** 1/2
12. NJPW Strong Ep. 8: Blake Christian vs Adrian Quest
    Rating: *** 1/2
13. Stardom 5Star GP Grande Finals: Himeka vs Utami Hayashishita
    Rating: *** 1/2
14. N-1 Victory Day 3: B Block: Kenoh vs Shuhei Taniguchi
    Rating: *** 1/2
15. G1 Climax 30 Day 5: Jay White vs Kazuchika Okada
    Rating: *** ½
16. Stardom 5Star GP Blue Stars Final Day: Maika vs Syuri
    Rating: *** 1/2
17. WWE Clash of Champions: Universal Championship: Jey Uso vs Roman Reigns(c)
    Rating: *** 1/2
18. Champion Carnival Day 4: Shuji Ishikawa vs Shotaro Ashino
    Rating: *** 1/2
19. N-1 Victory Day 3: A Block: Kaito Kiyomiya vs Masa Kitamiya
    Rating: *** 1/2
20. UWN Prime Time Live Ep. 2: NWA Women’s World Championship: Thunder Rosa(c) vs Priscilla Kelly
    Rating: *** 1/2
21. Stardom 5Star GP Red Stars Final Day: Tam Nakano vs Mayu Iwatani
    Rating: *** 1/2
22. IMPACT!: Winner Gets an Immediate X Division Title Shot: Chris Bey vs TJP vs Trey Miguel
    Rating: *** 1/4
23. Stardom 5Star GP Red Stars Final Day: Konami vs Himeka
    Rating: *** 1/4
24. Champion Carnival Day 4: Kuma Arashi vs Jake Lee
    Rating: *** 1/4
25. G1 Climax 30 Day 4: SANADA vs Hirooki Goto
    Rating: *** 1/4
26. IMPACT!: Tenille Dashwood w/Kaleb Konley vs Jordynne Grace
    Rating: *** 1/4
27. WWE Clash of Champions: WWE Championship Ambulance Match: Randy Orton vs Drew McIntyre (c)
    Rating: *** 1/4
28. NJPW Strong Ep. 8: Barrett Brown vs Danny Limelight
    Rating: *** 1/4
29. G1 Climax 30 Day 4: Juice Robinson vs KENTA
    Rating: *** 1/4
30. G1 Climax 30 Day 3: Shingo vs Jeff Cobb
    Rating: *** ¼
31. N-1 Victory Day 4: A Block: Masa Kitamiya vs Kazushi Sakuraba
    Rating: ***
32. G1 Climax 30 Day 5: Jeff Cobb vs Minoru Suzuki
    Rating: ***
33. WWE Clash of Champions: Raw Tag Team Titles: Angel Garza & Andrade vs The Street Profits (c)
    Rating: ***
34. Stardom 5Star GP Blue Stars Final Day: Maika vs AZM
    Rating: ***
35. IMPACT!: Kimber Lee w/Deonna Purrazzo vs Susie w/Kylie Rae
    Rating: ***
36. UWN Prime Time Live Ep. 2: Karl Fredericks vs Slice Boogie
    Rating: ***
37. N-1 Victory Day 4: A Block: Kazushi Sakuraba vs Kaito Kiyomiya
    Rating: ***
38. Champion Carnival: SUWAMA vs Zeus
    Rating: ***
39. NJPW Strong Ep. 8: Clark Connors vs Jordan Clearwater
    Rating: ***
40. G1 Climax 30 Day 3: Kazuchika Okada vs Yujiro Takahashi
    Rating ***
41. IMPACT!: RVD w/Katie Forbes vs Sami Callihan
    Rating: ***

 6t. Champion Carnival Day 4: AJPW Junior Heavyweight Championship: Koji Iwamoto (c) vs Ikuto Hidaka

Snippet from Mathew’s Review:

Koji gets Ikuto up for a Brainbuster and as he attempts a second one, he bounces him off the ropes to do a Swinging Neckbreaker. Koji attempts a German Suplex as Ikuto flipped over him and caught Koji’s leg, kicking it in and hits a Dropkick on it right after to hurt his knee again. Ikuto applies the Kneebar and wrenches it up to get more pain in until he had to break the hold but he’s still on the attack, hitting him with beautiful kicks to make the champ hang between the ropes. Ikuto takes advantage of this as he goes onto the apron, hitting a DDT right on it and the champ goes down. Koji got back in the ring eventually and runs after him as Ikuto hits him with a kick to the face as Koji kicked out. Ikuto attempts a Brainbuster as Koji pushed him out of the ring, holding onto the ropes to lunge himself back in as Koji would do the same as Koji caught him with a knee to the face. Koji ran the ropes but Ikuto catches him with a Backdrop, making Koji roll up right away and does another takedown, the crowd is loving it! Koji hits a German Suplex Hold as Ikuto kicked out at two. Koji would throw him into the ropes and attempts the Koko no Geijutsu but Ikuto held his ground and pushed him off for a moment and as Koji ran towards him, Ikuto backflips into him as if it was a Sliced Bread! Koji catches him with a Lariat before hitting the Dragon Suplex to try and take him down, and he finally hits the Koko no Geijutsu, retaining the championship! What a match!

Winner: Iwamoto via Koko no Geijutsu

6t. N-1 Victory Day 4: A Block: Go Shiozaki vs Masaaki Mochizuki

From My Results:

After Go fights off the submission we get more strikes, Chops from Go, Kicks from Mochi; Mochi gets the advantage after a Buzzsaw Kick, Brazilian Kick and a Snapping High Kick drive Go to the corner ropes. Mochi runs to perform his Triangle Kick finish, but a huge desperation Lariat takes Mochi out of his shoes. They both crawl to the center, slowly get up to strike, Go gets a small advantage hitting a few chops, Limit Breaker, the Karate Chop takedown and a Go Flasher, but only a 2 count!

The strikes continue until we see a trade of finishers, Triangle Kick lands which rocks Go, but he falls back into the ropes and charges forward with a Gowan Lariat. As both recover a little, Go looks for another Gowan Lariat, Mochi ducks, follows him to the ropes, Dragon Suplex Hold for the pinfall!

Winner: Mochizuki via Dragon Suplex Hold

6t. Champion Carnival Day 4: Yuma Aoyagi vs Kento Miyahara

Snippet from Mathew’s Review:

Kento waits for Yuma to get back into the ring and hits the first Blackout into the corner and attempts a German Suplex as Yuma fought off and attempts one of his own, making Kento turn as they both do but Yuma would eventually hit the move onto Kento. The two would get up and hit each other with stiff forearms and it seemed like nobody was going to stop anytime soon until Yuma hits Kento with a Superkick before hitting three German Suplexes in a row but Kento kicked out at two! Yuma jumped to the second rope and it looked like he was gonna go for another Crossbody as Kento caught up to him before he could jump and hits a German Suplex with Yuma on the second rope! Kento attempts the Shutdown German Suplex Hold as Yuma broke free but Kento tries to hit a Blackout instead, only for Yuma to catch his knee and hit a stiff forearm before hitting a spinning kick to get Kento down. Yuma applies the End Game again in the center of the ring and this could be it but as Yuma tried to position himself better, Kento got his foot on the rope! Yuma goes for the Rockstar Buster as Kento pushed himself off and hits the Blackout and as he attempts to hit another one, Yuma had him to the ropes and pins him with the European Clutch as Kento kicked out at two! Another Blackout from Kento in which Yuma responds with a Superkick and goes for a spin kick but Kento ducks and hits another Blackout. Kento goes for the finish as he finally hits the Shutdown German Suplex Hold, staying in the game while eliminating Yuma in the process.

Winner: Kento via Shutdown Suplex

6t. G1 Climax 30 Day 3: Jay White vs Kota Ibushi

Snippet from Mitchell’s Coverage:

Red Shoes counts, White kicks the bad leg! SNAP SLEEPER SUPLEX! But Ibushi is back up!? V-TRIGGER!! Kenny!! Ibushi brings White up, lifts, LAST RIDE!! Cover, TWO!?! White barely survives and Gedo is relieved! Ibushi won’t stop to be frustrated, he vows to end this! Ibushi grabs the arms, sits White up but White reaches for Red Shoes! Red Shoes tries to shake White off but White refuses. White does let go and throws forearms, but Ibushi just takes them with a smirk on his face. Ibushi DECKS White with one! Fans applaud again as Ibushi sits White up for the BUZZSAW! But Ibushi won’t stop there, he sits White back up with both wrists, but Gedo has the towel? Is Gedo really going to save White like this?

No, it’s so White can get away with a LOW BLOW UPPERCUT! Gedo walks away and White drags Ibushi from the ropes. Fans rally for Ibushi but White gives Ibushi the fisherman BACK SUPLEX! Bridging cover, TWO!! Ibushi escapes and White is furious! White drags Ibushi up by the wrists, reels him in, but Ibushi powers out and V-TRIGGERS!! Gedo is on the apron, Ibushi ROUNDHOUSES him down! Ibushi has White’s wrists, for KAM- NO! BLADERUNNER!!! Cover, White wins!!!

Winner: White via Blade Runner

6t. Dragon Gate Dangerous Gate: Open the Twin Gate: Kota Minoru & Jason Lee (c) vs Dragon Kid & Susumu Yokosuka

The Dragon Gate generation defends against the Toryumon generation! This promises to be fast paced and frenetic since neither group is the big bad heel group of Dragon Gate (that’s R.E.D.), so this will be more of two babyface or tweener teams going hard.

As is the usual set up with Japanese tag matches, we see each of the men have early time to shine before the match kicks into the next gear. When it kicks, it begins with a nice dive from Dragon Kid, and we’re off to the races. There are great counter moves, a nice leg sweep during the rope run for a Tiger Feint, and Asai Moonsault to the outside.

We get another gear shift as both teams start hitting a ton of tandem moves, saves, a flashy Kick/Strike combination, more pinfall breaks and tandem attacks. Jason Lee catches Dragon Kid with a kick, knocking him down, leaving him vulnerable to the Hong Kong Tornado (Yang Time).

Now since I don’t follow Dragon Gate extremely closely, I’m not sure if there was a tangible story…but damn was it fun to watch.

Winner: Lee via Hong Kong Tornado

2t. G1 Climax 30 Day 5: Shingo Takagi vs Will Ospreay

Snippet from Mathew’s Review:

Shingo caught Ospreay midair and would toss him into the ropes before attempting the Pump Bomber, which Ospreay flipped over him and catches him with a Powerbomb as Shingo kicked out. Ospreay would call for the Oscutter and hits it as Shingo kicked out at two! Ospreay goes for the Strombreaker but Shingo fought out of it and when Ospreay attempted a kick, Shingo caught him and hits the MADE IN JAPAN and kickout by Will! Shingo hits the Pumping Bomber this time and Ospreay backflipped with it but still kicked out. Shingo went for the Last of the Dragon but Will fought off him and hits the Hook Kick before delivering a Reverserana. The two exchange blows to each other and Will gets him to down to taught him but Shingo delivers a couple of forearms before meeting another kick. Will tries to run the ropes but Shingo catches him with a Lariat before attempting another Pumping bomber but Ospreay catches him with the Spanish Fly for a kickout when Shingo attempted to roll him up, and Ospreay kicked out as well. Ospreay called for the Oscutter from the top rope but Shingo pushed his legs out to stop him and as he attempted a German. Ospreay held on and made Shingo go to the outside to hit a Pumping Bomber before climbing up to have him on his shoulders for a Death Valley Driver. Shingo hits the Pumping Bomber and then the Last of the Dragon, giving Shingo his first victory and revenge over Will. Their first encounter was better but this was still a great match, can’t wait for the third encounter!

Winner: Takagi via Last of the Dragon

2t. G1 Climax 30 Day 4: Tetsuya Naito vs Zack Sabre Jr

From My Results:

Not really a fiery comeback spot, but Naito finally has space to breathe and work out a plan. Naito gets Zack into a spot to try the Destino, ZSJ stops him with an elbow, Tornado DDT from Naito stalls Zack and then Naito sinks in Puma Blanca. ZSJ struggles a little to find an exit before just rolling to the ropes. Zack counters Gloria with an Overhead Kick, Naito Enzuigiris him for good measure, goes for the Flying Forearm, but ZSJ dodges and locks in the Octopus Hold. Rides it down as a Grounded Octopus and starts going to work on Naito’s limbs. Naito does manage to find the ropes, but he’s not moving much after the rope break.

A bunch of nice quick counters set in, leading to Naito hitting the Running Destino, but when he goes for the arm wringer version, ZSJ counters with the Zack Driver. Zack with a Front Neck Lock, which he transitions to the Prawn Hold that beat EVIL, Naito kicks out, European Leg Clutch, Naito barely kicks, and we’re left at a bit of a stalemate. ZSJ tries a Zack Driver again, but Naito now counters with Destino, for 2. Arm Wringer Destino, and Naito scrapes by.

Winner: Naito via Destino

2t. Stardom 5Star GP Blue Stars Final Day: Utami Hayashishita vs Syuri

Snippet from Mathew’s Coverage:

The two finally got up on their feet and would punch each other back and forth until Syuri attempts a kick, making Utami punch her leg down and hits a Lariat as the two go down again. Utami was able to lift Syuri for the German Suplex hold as Syuri kicked out at two. Utami would pick her up to apply the Torture Rack but Syuri rolled off to apply a modified Fujiwara Armbar and turned it into an Armlock as she has it locked in but Utami finally got to the ropes, fighting off the pain. Syuri was able to hit the Buzzsaw Kick and it looks like it’s over but Utami kicked out at two! Syuri wasted no time and would run the ropes to hit the Running Knee Strike and pins Utami again as she kicked out again! Utami slowly got to her hands and knees as Syuri kicked her face in to knock her down but Utami grabbed the ropes before getting the three count. Syuri calls for the finish and runs the ropes but Utami pulled her in to hit a German Suplex as the two do down and we have a couple of minutes left! Utami got Syuri up and finally hits the Torture Rack Bomb and this could be it but Syuri grabbed the ropes before the three count as well! The two are punching each other until Syuri got up to hit another Buzzsaw kick, she’s done but Utami kicked out again! Utami flipped Syuri over and applies the Rear Naked Choke, looking to get the submission victory as she’s forced to let go when Syuri turned it into a pin. Utami quickly picked her up for the Torture Rack and the bell rang once she hits the Torture Rack Bomb, making it a no-contest with one point each, making Utami the winner of the Blue Stars Block with ten points! What an incredible match, best for my block!

Winner: Time Limit Draw

2t. G1 Climax 30 Day 5: Kota Ibushi vs Tomohiro Ishii

Snippet from Mitchell’s Coverage:

Ishii suplexes Ibushi but Ibushi slips out. Ishii swats the roundhouse away but Ibushi PELES! Ishii wobbles, but he blocks Ibushi’s clothesline to spin Ibushi around. Ishii reels Ibushi in but Ibushi suplexes first! To STEAL the BRAIN BUSTER! Fans are thunderous again as both men are down again! The ref checks on both men, they’re okay to continue and slowly rise. Ibushi is up first, teeth grit as the fans rally behind him. Ishii rises, Ibushi runs but Ishii LARIATS! Ishii drags Ibushi back up, but Ibushi trades palm strikes again! ROUNDHOUSE!

Ibushi brings knee pads down, has the wrists and sits Ishii up, but Ishii breaks free. Ibushi still thrusts, but Ishii blocks. Ibushi forearms, hops up but Ishii pushes him off to waistlock. Ishii GERMANS, but Ibushi lands on his feet! BOMAYE!! Cover, TWO!?! Ishii survives Ibushi’s tribute to the King of Strong Style, but Ibushi keeps his focus. Ibushi grabs the wrists, sits Ishii up, but Ishii lariats! There wasn’t much to it, Ibushi KNEES Ishii again, but Ishii HEADBUTTS back! Ibushi LARIATS! Ibushi runs, V-TRIGGER!! KENYY!! KAMI-GOYE!!! Cover, Ibushi wins!!

Winner: Ibushi via Kamigoye

1. N-1 Victory Day 3: B Block: Takashi Sugiura vs Naomichi Marufuji

From My Results:

Both men start realizing the match is going long, so they might be approaching Time. We see Marufuji go for a few Hook Kicks, but Sugiura eats em, then just tosses Marufuji. Two Running Knee Lifts, and an Olympic Slam, but Marufuji kicks out. Sugiura takes him to the ropes for an Avalanche Olympic Slam, but gets an Avalanche Shiranui instead! A slow cover means no pinfall, so Marufuji hits the Cobra Clutch KO-OH and then True Tiger King…BUT SUGIURA KICKS OUT!  Marufuji looks to be aiming for the Fisherman Flowsion, but Sugiura catches him with the Front Neck Lock.

The Front Neck Lock, wrestles him down, and Marufuji is in the hold for at least 30 seconds…but the Time Limit bell rings!

Winner: Time Limit Draw

Thoughts:

There’s even more matches on this article than the last! And yes, I know what some of you may be saying ” 6-10 wasn’t a tie for fifth, why didn’t you stop at 5″. Well that’s easy, because there were too many matches that deserved a bit of recognition. When there were still some 4 snowflake matches that missed a Top 10, that’s a damn good week.

So yes, there we have it. Plus I’m aware this is a harder list for most people since this Top 10 is all Japanese matches. My choice will go to my number 1, Takashi Sugiura vs Naomichi Marufuji, because that was a great match to go into their storied history.

Hopefully you’re watching at least the G1 since NJPW is becoming a little less random Japanese company, and more general knowledge.