WhiteTail Wrestling

Welcome to the 2nd ever WhiteTail Wrestling Reviews weekly newsletter. This was a week where I watched some more excellent wrestling although outside of an excellent go home edition of Dynamite the highlight shows for me this week were from the first week of the month.

AEW

AEW was once again my promotion of the week. AEW Dark Elevation from the 8th of November took on the usual Dark formula of squash matches with an occasional match going slightly longer.

In the opener Powerhouse Hobbs squashed Danny Adams in emphatic fashion. This went for a minute and a half and could have lasted less than a minute as Hobbs decided to toy with his completely outclassed opponent. **1/4

The Butcher and the Blade defeated Chuck Taylor and Wheeler Yuta. This was decent enough and got a bit of time perhaps even too much time. The Hardy Family Office has been feuding with Best Friends for some time and after this match and subsequent events it looks like this feud will continue. **1/4

Riho defeated Tootie Lynn in a bad match which went just over 2 and a half minutes but felt a lot longer. Riho is a good wrestler and if this had of been a squash this would have been just fine, however Tootie Lynn was given too much here striking Riho a number of times with every single piece of offense looking terrible. If this was a tryout match for Tootie Lynn I doubt we’ll see her signed to AEW anytime soon. *1/2

Matt Hardy the arrogant heel and head of the Hardy Family Office defeated Dean Alexander in a match which went a lot longer than expected as Alexander put up an admirable fight but ultimately fell short. **1/4

Ruby Soho teamed up with Ryo Mizunami to defeat Emi Sakura and Nyla Rose. This was an ok match that was given a little bit of time but lacked anything really memorable. **1/4

In the main event we had a super fun little match with a Dark Order team defeating 2Point0 and the Acclaimed in an 8 person match. I really liked the ending as the Dark Order hit a lot of offense and the crowd were into this a lot more than they usually are for a match on Dark: Elevation. This match was actually good enough that it could have featured on Dynamite or Rampage. **3/4

AEW Dynamite episode 110 took place on the 10th of November 2021 and was a brilliant go home show for Full Gear. When I got back into watching wrestling in 2019 I didn’t expect any promotion to beat NJPW and become my favorite promotion. AEW in the last 6 months has probably done that. This show was a good example of why, it had some enjoyable well worked wrestling but also some great segments which sensibly built on storylines and built towards a pay off that made sense with a big PPV show just a few days away.

The opening match featured Bryan Danielson who seems determined to reclaim his own Observer award take on NJPW’s Rocky Romero. Romero is a brilliant worker who can have a great match with anyone and is just as good a singles worker as in tags. This was a very well worked wrestling match with both men showing off their technical expertise with numerous submission attempts as both men found it difficult to gain an advantage over the other. Of course Bryan Danielson is the best technical wrestler in the world and has demonstrated his ability to use as many holds as his main competition Zach Sabre Jr and in this match he used a variant of the tequila sunrise to gain the victory. ***1/4

Tony Schiavone was in the ring ready to interview The Inner Circle before their big streetfight against America’s Top Team at Full Gear however this never occurred as America’s Top Team ambushed the Inner Circle on the entrance ramp. After taking out the rest of the team Chris Jericho was brought into the ring and continually beaten even going through a table from an admit ably poor looking powerbomb from manager Dan Lambert. ATT cut a promo claiming that Lambert was going to pin Jericho at Full Gear but tonight Jericho was going to tap out. Lambert locks in the Walls of Jericho and ATT grab Jericho’s hand to make him tap. Lambert was brilliant here as a hated heel manager a role that he seems perfect for, he even demonstrates his vast knowledge of pro wrestling shouting out that the walls of Jericho was actually a Boston crab and that Rocky Johnson used it in Championship Wrestling in Florida back in 1975. Great work here continuing to build up the match for Full Gear. It is of course expected that Inner Circle will win at Full Gear however the build makes it look like the match could go the other way which obviously is the desired outcome.

Tay Conti is getting ready for her big AEW Women’s title match against Britt Baker at Full Gear so tonight she teamed up with her friend and tag team partner Anna Jay as well as Thunder Rosa to take on Baker who was joined by her bodyguard Jamie Hayter and stooge Rebel. This match had far too much Rebel who is not a very good wrestler and is much better as a manager. Despite that it had some good moments and the right result as Conti and her team were victorious. **1/4

Jungle Boy took on and defeated Anthony Bowens from the acclaimed as we once again had the opportunity to hear the rap work of Max Caster. The biggest victim of Caster’s rhymes was Anna Jay the girlfriend of Jungle Boy who as she is a member of Dark Order it was inferred that Jungle Boy was allowing her to hang around with a fair number of guys. The actual match was a little slow early but was good by the end. Bowens may not be the rapper that Caster is but he is a solid wrestler and he worked well with the future superstar Jungle Boy although he couldn’t pick up the upset victory as Jungle Boy locked in the snare trap for the submission. After the match Bobby Fish attacked Jungle Boy which may not have made sense at first but did so when Adam Cole introduced his former Undisputed Era partner to the Young Bucks. It was clear now that FIsh was doing the dirty work for Cole who is taking on Jungle Boy at Full Gear in a six man joining with the Bucks. Whether we can see Fish work with Cole and the Elite long term we will have to see. **3/4

Wardlow quickly squashed Wheeler Yuta with the Hardy Family Office attacking Yuta and his best friends after the match as their feud continues. **1/4

CM Punk and Eddie Kingston continue their blood feud having to be separated from one another in the parking lot.

Dante Martin and Lio Rush teamed together to defeat Lee Moriarty and Matt Sydal in a match that up to this point was the match of the night. Rush was truly phenomenal here pulling out some amazing offense as he showcased some of the fastest and most athletic wrestling you’ll see in this world. In addition to putting on a great display individually Rush ably assisted his tag team partner the super talented young wrestler Martin who got the win here using a springboard style moonsault. ***1/2

PAC defeated Dax Harwood in Dynamite’s main event match. This was excellent with some brilliant technical wrestling early followed by some massive moments later in the match including two devastating brainbusters by PAC including one from the top rope which looked like it could have ended very badly due to the way the move landed. PAC gets the submission victory with the brutalizer but as soon as the match ended he is ambushed by Cash Wheeler as well as Andrade and Malakai Black. However Cody Rhodes and the Lucha Bros come to the ring to make the save. PAC will team up with Cody to take on Andrade and Black at Full Gear with the Lucha Bros taking on FTR in the tag title match. ***1/2

Dynamite concludes with the contract signing for the Full Gear main event between champion Kenny Omega and Hangman Adam Page. The Elite and The Dark Order are barred from ringside to prevent interference and this seemed to have worked as the contract is signed and both men shake hands however Don Callis the manager of Kenny Omega has disguised himself as a cameraman and wallops Page with camera busting the Hangman open the show finishes with Omega signing the contract with the blood of his opponent. This was excellent and did a great job continuing the build to Full Gear which has been exceptional and looks like being one of the best PPV shows of the year or even of all time.

The final AEW show before Full Gear was Rampage on the 12th of November. With an hour long run time this was an entertaining enough show although it was lacking anything special.

Jungle Boy defeated Bobby Fish in a very good opener. Fish did very well here with a competitive performance gaining some near falls but ultimately falling short with the snare trap from Jungle Boy leading to a submission. After the match Adam Cole comes to the ring to attack Jungle Boy but Christian and Luchasaurus make the save Cole escapes but Fish ends up being taken out by Christian and his killswitch. ***

Jade Cargill won a squash against Santana Garrett but the most important part of this was the continuation of the feud between Cargill and Red Velvet. Mark Sterling has a cake prepared for the one year anniversary of Cargill’s career but he ends up with the cake in his face when Velvet attacks. Cargill and Velvet brawl to end the segment. **1/4

Dante Martin defeated Ariya Daivari in the battle of the home town Minneapolis wrestlers. This was a good match with Daivari on his AEW debut getting a lot of offense and almost getting the shock victory after a frog splash which results in a near fall. Martin comes back brilliantly at the end with some exciting fast paced moves which culminates in his springboard moonsault finisher for the three count. ***

Matt Hardy beat Orange Cassidy in a crazy lumberjack match main event. There was action all over the place involving the wrestlers in the match and the lumberjacks both in and outside the ring. We also got some exciting and crazy dives and moves. The match ends with a distracted referee and the Blade nailing Cassidy with brass knucks allowing Hardy to make the cover. After the match the Hardy Family Office ambush the Best Friends as this feud continues. **3/4

Overall a great week for AEW with a great edition of Dynamite and a solid Rampage with better to come as Full Gear was just around the corner. AEW is the hottest promotion in the world right now and I can’t wait to see how things develop over the coming months.

Stardom

The best women’s wrestling promotion in the world continued their run of excellent PPV events this year with an excellent show on the third in Kawasaki Super Wars. The event was not available on Stardom World last week but I watched it this week with the show winning my award for the best show of the week with some high quality joshi action.

The pre-show match featured the two worst wrestlers in Stardom as Mai Sakurai defeated her Cosmic Angels teammate Waka Tsukiyama. This went just over six minutes and was far too long. They tried but the wrestling was flat out bad with both women needing a lot of work before they can move up the card. Overall just a nothing pre-show match. *1/2

Ruaka defended her future title against Lady C in a match that was no better than ok. Although this was an improvement over the pre-show match it was lacking in quality with both women still developing as wrestlers. **

The Oedo Tai team of Saki Kashima and Fukigen Death defeated the team of sisters Hanan and Rina who are members of different factions. For much of this match Rina joined with her opponents in beating up Hanan as Rina was more loyal to her fellow Oedo Tai members than she was to her sister. This was a pretty bad match with the nature of the match being practically a three on one and the comedy not really working here. The last minute or so was ok as Rina began to help Hanan a little although this couldn’t prevent their defeat. *3/4

Mina Shirakawa pulled off a surprising victory in a three way match against Saya Kamitani and Maika pinning the upcoming star Saya Kamitani in what must be an attempt to build Shirakawa up to the level where she can be a realistic challenge for a title. The action here was a big improvement over the previous matches with some enjoyable action and good performances from all three women. ***

The DDM team of Himeka and Natsupoi took on the Stars team of Mayu Iwatani & Koguma in an excellent time limit draw. This had some excellent action throughout with the highlight being a great battle at the end of the match between Himeka and Iwatani. Himeka did very well here with some great power moves using her great strength and power and gained some great near falls. Himeka looked to have the match won after a big running powerbomb but as the referees hand went down for the three the bell rang signifying that the time limit had been reached Koguma dives in at the end also just in case the bell had not rung. ***3/4

Starlight Kid retained her high speed title after a very good match against Momo Watanabe ended in a double count out. This had some exciting action with Watanabe beating up Kid for a lot of this match as Kid has been goading Watanabe for a number of weeks. Watanabe has little interest in the high speed title only wanting to beat up Kid. This plays into the finish as the two women battle on the outside. Oedo Tai attempt to assist Kid but Watanabe fights them off and tries to unmask Kid this continues with the two battling until the bell rings for the count out. This was a really fun match and with the way it was worked could build to an even more exciting encounter in the near future. ***1/4

Syuri retained both her SWA title and her future world title contract against AZM in an excellent encounter. AZM had pulled off a shock victory against Syuri in the 5 Star Grand Prix using her Azumisushi pinning move which can defeat anyone and almost gave her another win here with Syuri just kicking out. Syuri used her hard hitting offense and submission holds to give her the advantage gaining the submission after a hold that looks similar to a stretch muffler but looks more devastating. After the match Syuri said she wanted to take on Konami after the last match they had planned was cancelled due to Konami being injured. There is no guarantee that Konami will be back in time however and Himeka came to the ring setting up a potential match between the two DDM members. ***3/4

Tam Nakano defeated her fellow Cosmic Angel Unagi Sayaka to retain her Wonder of Stardom title in an excellent match. This felt a little slow in parts and probably went a little long at over 20 minutes. Sayaka despite her lack of experience did well here taking it up to Nakano with some hard hitting moves but ultimately falling short with Nakano continuing her excellent run with the white belt. After the match Mina Shirakawa comes to the ring to challenge Nakano who will once again have to defend her belt against a fellow member of Cosmic Angels. ***3/4

Utami Hayashishita defended her World of Stardom title in a great main event against Hazuki. This had some great action with both women mixing up their styles to cater to their opponent while still maintaining their personal strengths. Hazuki who has only just returned to wrestling after over 18 months in retirement did brilliantly here and came close to pulling off a major upset with some excellent near falls with the most prominent example of this being after a cradle which came oh so close to being three. Hayashishita who has had a brilliant run with the red belt and has become a massive star maintained her strength and the clear impression that she is a dominant champion despite the great challenge of Hazuki and after 25 minutes landed her powerbomb finish to end the match and retain her title. Maika will be the next challenger at the end of the month. ****1/4

Dragon Gate

Dragon Gate had their Gate of Destiny show on the 3rd of November. This was an enjoyable show but hardly got me more excited to watch more Dragon Gate with both the Stardom show and NJPW Power Struggle being far superior.

The opening match was an eight man encounter designed to get the crowd into the show. This match achieved its goal with some exciting fast paced action with some good work in the ring by both teams. ***

Jason Lee won a comedy geek battle royal. This was bad comedy at the start but as more geeks were eliminated the action got better and by the end I had some fun with this. Lee wins himself a years worth of toiletry products courtesy of the shows sponsor. **1/4

Masaaki Mochizuki teamed with Takumi Hayakawa and Yasushi Kanda to defeat Ultimo Dragon who was joined by two young talents Ishin Iihashi and Riki Iihashi. This was an enjoyable match with the two Iihashi’s putting in an excellent performance against their more experienced opponents but ultimately falling short. ***

A Masquerade team took on a R.E.D team in an eight man match. This was a really good match until Dia Inferno attacked Dragon Dia to lead to a disqualification in a terrible finish. R.E.D have some really good wrestlers but there are too much heat spots and they remind me far too much of Bullet Club which is not a good thing. **1/2

R.E.D (Eita, H.Y.O and Kaito Ishida) retained their Triangle Gate title in a fun match against HIGH-END (Ben-K, Dragon Kid and Kagetora). This had some really good action and although their was some interference from R.E.D it didn’t impact the match too much. R.E.D escape the match with their belts but they were given a big fright. ***

Natural Vibes (KING Shimizu and Susumu Yokosuka) defended their Twin Gate titles against a team from NOAH Hao & Kenou. This was an exciting match with an excellent finish as both teams tried for the victory but ultimately it was Natural Vibes that retained after a top rope splash from Shimizu. ***1/4

YAMATO retained the Dream Gate title in an excellent main event against BxB Hulk which was spoiled by an underwhelming finish. This had the potential to be great as we had some breathtaking sequences of action featuring move after move and counter after counter but the end came out of nowhere with Hulk seemingly injured when trapped in a submission hold and having to tap out. This was at the time when the match was seriously building towards its climax. If this was a genuine injury it can be excused and written off as a bad luck. If it was the planned ending it was a terrible finish that brought down a match and a show that could have been a lot better. ***3/4

WWE

I have only watched SmackDown this week in terms of the WWE product. WWE despite being by far the most known promotion in the world has a very cold product which is over exposed on television with two main shows a week in addition to NXT and a number of other programs on the WWE Network. The booking is often illogical being completely dependent on the whims of a 76 year old man who doesn’t even refer to his product as pro wrestling preferring the term sports entertainment.

SmackDown starts with four members of the SmackDown women’s Survivor Series team namely Natalya, Shayna Baszler, Shotzi and Aliyah. Sonya Deville then introduces the captain of the team Sasha Banks. When Banks arrives in the ring there are some minor disagreements but the brawling really begins when Naomi who has been in a feud with Deville and left off the team comes to the ring.

After a commercial break a six person match kicks off with a face team made up of Banks, Naomi and Aliyah taking on the heels Natalya, Baszler and Shotzi. This had some good moments but went far too long with much of the action being the heels getting heat. Aliyah gets a first main roster victory sneaking a pinfall on Natalya after some help from Naomi. *3/4

Backstage Kayla Braxton is trying to interview Roman Reigns but Reigns is not interested and has Paul Heyman speak for him. A match is set up for the main event continuing the feud between Reigns and the King of the Ring Xavier Woods. If Reigns wins Woods will have to bend the knee to Reigns and acknowledge him as the tribal chief. If Reigns loses he will have to bend the knee to Woods and if he does not he will have to relinquish his title and leave SmackDown forever. This makes things more interesting for the main event and was a good segment.

The new upcoming tag team of Los Lotharios made up of Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza defeated Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs. This was an ok match that looked to be getting better when Los Lotharios hit a double team move on Nakamura to end the match. Disappointing to see Nakamura who is still the Intercontinental champion get defeated here. I can’t see a reason why Boogs wasn’t pinned if the intent was to try and get Los Lotharios over. **

The next segment sees SmackDown Women’s champion Charlotte Flair in the ring insulting her Survivor Series opponent RAW Women’s champion Becky Lynch. Flair talks about all the nicknames that Lynch has had over the years and how everything that Lynch has been able to achieve is because of Flair. Flair gives herself a nickname that of the star maker. This is apparently because she faced Shotzi in a match and because they had a match it enhanced Shotzi. Toni Storm who hasn’t been seen for months comes to the ring and asks for a title match with Flair who quickly declines and the segment ends. Some of this was good but some of Flair’s lines were just cringe and the end of the segment was bizarre and did nothing for Storm who has been booked to look like a nobody on the main roster.

Jeff Hardy faced off against Sami Zayn in a match with a stipulation that the loser would be off the Survivor Series team. Hardy wins in a fun match delivering a swanton bomb after a twist of fate on Zayn. Zayn is off the Survivor Series team. **3/4

Roman Reigns took on King Woods in the main event. There was some really good action here with both wrestlers performing well. Woods looks like he is going to defeat the tribal chief and force him to take a knee but the Usos interfere and attack Woods for the DQ. Reigns has lost the match and must take the knee but he doesn’t do it too acknowledge the King but to take his crown which is placed on his head by the Usos. ***

Wrestlers of the Week

10. Dax Harwood – 5 Points

Harwood one half of AAA Tag Champions FTR made the top ten for this week after an excellent match with PAC on Dynamite. He performed excellently despite falling to defeat. Has a good chance of picking up more points as FTR take on the Lucha Bros for the AEW Tag Titles at Full Gear.

9. PAC – 5 Points

Finished ahead of his Dynamite opponent thanks to picking up the win. PAC is an excellent wrestler who always does a good job when called upon using a great variety of moves from high flying to strikes and submissions. Teaming up with Cody Rhodes at Full Gear taking on Andrade and Malakai Black.

8. AZM – 6 Points

AZM took on Syuri who she defeated during the 5 Star Grand Prix but fell short on this occasion. Performed well in an excellent match and is set for some good performances teaming up with Momo Watanabe in the tag league.

7. Unagi Sayaka – 6 Points

The eel took on her fellow Cosmic Angel Tam Nakano for the white belt and almost pulled off an upset. She has improved significantly over the last year and is set to continue to rise up the ranks of Stardom in the future.

6. BxB Hulk – 6 Points

Hulk performed will in the Dragon Gate main event but was defeated in an injury spot which may or may not have not been legitimate. If this had ended better would have been further up the list.

5. Syuri – 6 Points

Syuri has had a great year becoming one of the best women’s wrestlers in the world and is strong chance of becoming a world champion by the end of the year. Syuri defeated AZM to keep that dream alive and things continue to look up for the former UFC fighter.

4. Tam Nakano – 6 Points

Nakano has had a great year and retained her Wonder of Stardom title in an excellent match with Unagi Sayaka. She is a great story teller in the ring and it will be interesting to see how long she has the white belt for. Mina Shirakawa is likely to be her next opponent which should also be an excellent match.

3. YAMATO – 6 Points

The Open the Dream Gate champion is the bronze medalist for the week after an excellent victory against BxB Hulk. Could have topped the list if the ending was better.

2. Hazuki – 8 Points

The returned Hazuki did brilliantly against the dominant World of Stardom Utami Hayashishita in a great main event. Hazuki had some memorable near falls and is in a good position in Stardom’s tag league where she is teaming up with Koguma.

1. Utami Hayashishita – 8 Points

The World of Stardom champion defended her title in a great main event to top the charts this week. Has had a great run with the red belt becoming a dominant champion and having the best women’s wrestling match since the glory days of AJW when she took on Syuri in June. With the big rematch coming our way next month we can expect to see her towards the top of this list in the future.

Promotion of the Week

4. WWE – 2 Points

WWE picked up just the two points from SmackDown which was a solid enough show but is far below AEW in terms of an entertaining TV product. WWE has Survivor Series coming up soon which should have some good matches but has been completely lacking in any proper build. RAW has been getting bad reviews as well and given its overly long run time and the lack of spare time in my life I am lacking any real motivation to watch it on a weekly basis.

3. Dragon Gate – 4 Points

Dragon Gate had a very good show which allowed the promotion to pick up some points this week but I missed the show on the 5th and given the terrible way that Dragon Gate takes down their shows each week I am unlikely to watch any of their content until the next big show.

2. Stardom – 6 Points

Stardom came so close to winning this award this week falling just short of AEW. The Kawasaki PPV was excellent and with a number of shows now up on Stardom World they have a good chance of picking up some points over the coming weeks. The best women’s promotion in the world continues to widen the margin over its competitors.

1. AEW – 7 Points

Tony Khan’s T Shirt company wins this award for the second week running as the build continued for Full Gear which was one of the best PPV shows ever and will be covered in next week’s issue.

Show of the Week – Stardom Kawasaki Super Wars – 3rd November 2021

Matches of the Week

7. Dante Martin and Leo Rush vs Lee Moriarty and Matt Sydal – AEW Dynamite #110 – 10th November 2021 – ***1/2

6. Dax Harwood vs PAC – AEW Dynamite #110 – 10th November 2021 – ***1/2

5. Unagi Sayaka vs Tam Nakano – Stardom Kawasaki Super Wars – 3rd November 2021 – ***3/4

4. Mayu Iwatani and Koguma vs Himeka and Natsupoi – Stardom Kawasaki Super Wars – 3rd November 2021 – ***3/4

3. AZM vs Syuri – Stardom Kawasaki Super Wars – 3rd November 2021 – ***3/4

2. BxB Hulk vs YAMATO – Dragon Gate The Gate Of Destiny 2021 – 3rd November 2021 – ***3/4

1. Hazuki vs Utami Hayashishita – Stardom Kawasaki Super Ward – 3rd November 2021 – ****1/4