World Wonder Ring Stardom- Mayu Iwatani vs Syuri- January 4th
Even if TJPW had the better overall product this month, Stardom had plenty of aces up its sleeve. The highlight of their month also happened to take place on the same day as Slamovich and Yamashita’s war, as Mayu Iwatani took on Syuri for the World Of Stardom Title. Given their numerous clashes in the past, I expected an extended epic, but that was far from the case, clocking in at just shy of 20 minutes. And while I could’ve used a tad longer, that doesn’t take away from the intensely brutal action. These two women kicked the stuffing out of each other with intensity and a distinct lack of regard for the health of their necks. It is gung-ho from the first minute to the last, and it is an exhilarating sprint that is definitely worth watching, alongside all the matches these women have had in the past.
NORTH Wrestling- Leon Slater vs Mike Bailey- January 5th
In a market dominated by RevPro and Progress, it is a surprise to report that by far the best thing to come out of the UK this month was from a promotion I had until this match never heard of. Leon Slater is an undeniable future star, and Mike Bailey is one of the world’s best babyface wrestlers, so magic was inevitable, and it more than delivered on it’s potential. Lightning quick, consistently inventive and very exciting to watch, this is everything you expect from an independent main event match and more. It can certainly be argued there is an overabundance of big moves that are not sold to their maximum, but in terms of athletic achievement this may be the finest work I saw all month, as I frankly have no idea how that much energy can emerge from a human being. Fast, frenetic and absolutely fabulous.
Dragongate – Masaaki Mochizuki vs Shingo Takagi- January 10th
In my humble opinion, Shingo Takagi is January’s wrestling MVP. After dispatching Tama Tonga at Wrestle Kingdom in one of my favourite matches of the year so far, Takagi took a trip back to his former home promotion Dragongate in a long anticipated rematch against Dragongate legend Masaaki Mochizuki. Their last encounter in 2015 was widely regarded as one of the best matches of that year, and while this does not reach those heights, it is still a very impressive showing. Considering Mochizuki is 54 years old, it is astonishing the level of athleticism he still possesses, pulling off springboard moves men half his age couldn’t hope to achieve. It is a great story of an ageing veteran trying to keep up with a man in his physical prime, and it is a compelling watch. It may not be 2015 level good, but it is still well worth a watch.
