Photo Credit: @DaxFTR on Twitter As some of you may have picked up on by now, I love tag-team wrestling. Something about a well-wrestled tag bout fills my heart with joy, and I have no idea what it is. So, as you can imagine, I’ve enjoyed the past few weeks of amazing tag wrestling very much. FTR vs Young Bucks 2. Motor City Machine Guns vs Bullet Club. The Briscoes vs FTR. RK-Bro vs Alpha Academy vs Street Profits- and these are just the biggest tag matches in the “bigger” promotions! There have been so many incredible tag matches across…
Author: Ben Wagner
Photo Credit: New Japan Pro Wrestling Well, Tournament Zack has done it again. Zack Sabre Junior pinned Tetsuya Naito for the three count and took home the New Japan Cup. In this writer’s humble opinion, it was the right choice for ZSJ to take the trophy this time around. There are three main reasons as to why. New Matchup Firstly, we haven’t seen the Rainmaker and the Submission Master wrestle one-on-one for just over three years. We last saw Okada and Naito wrestle…last tour. It’s a fresh match-up, and one that is desperately needed since Okada has been steamrollering his…
Modern cruiserweight wrestling is some of the most exciting wrestling out there. Combining thrilling acrobatics with high-speed grappling, when performed well, nothing can top two cruiserweights going all-out. In my opinion, one of the most promising high-flyers in the world is Michael Oku. This might just seem like I’m just jumping on the Ospreay-Oku bandwagon, but I’ve been following the OJMO for a while now. In this article, I’ll break down why I think Michael Oku is one to watch for the future of cruiserweight wrestling. Future of Flight I’ve seen some discourse that says “Ospreay carried Oku,” or “Oku…
Photo Credit: Impact Wrestling and Cultaholic It’s time we faced the facts. Bullet Club is not fine. For those who are unaware, Jay White has reasserted his control over the Bullet Club by throwing out Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa, with the rest of the Club, including House of Torture, falling in line behind the Switchblade. Dissension is brewing between Ishimori and El Phantasmo, with both the Bone Soldier and the Headbanga having designs on the Junior Heavyweight title. Meanwhile, White has opened himself up to a war on too many fronts. He has Violent By Design breathing down…
Photo Credit: Sportsrush and New Japan Pro Wrestling I’ve tried to focus on producing positive content over the last few weeks, but when I read and watched Eric Novak’s interview with New Japan’s Will Ospreay, something struck a chord. His comments on the British school system reminded me a lot of my schooldays, and I believe it’s worth commenting on here. Put simply, the British education system still does not accommodate anyone with mental health conditions, learning disabilities or other neurodiversities. A number of the Wrestling Republic team, including myself, fall under the same neurodiverse umbrella as Will Ospreay. Neurodiversity…
photo credit: IMPACT Wrestling If you’ve ever enjoyed modern fast-paced tag-team wrestling, especially American tag-team wrestling, then you’ve enjoyed something inspired by the Motor City Machine Guns. The team of Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley have been mainstays of 21st century tag team wrestling, but criminally underrated. In this article, I’ll explain what made MCMG so good as a team and drop some match recommendations. I’ll say something controversial right now as well. I believe that the Guns in their prime were better than the Young Bucks are right now. Shelley and Sabin were some of the innovators of the…
Chad Gable is in my opinion one of the most underrated wrestlers in the world today. I know that’s a common opinion, that’s why this article isn’t about that. Instead, I wanted to highlight his versatility, focusing on his current work with Otis. More than just Kurt Angle 2.0 So, let’s get another common comparison out of the way. Chad Gable reminds me of Kurt Angle. It’s not just the Olympian background, love for suplexes and use of the Ankle Lock. It’s the ability to nail a comedy segment, then spend the next 10 minutes putting on a wrestling clinic.…
Well, 2021 has come and gone, and what a year it was for wrestling! There have been some incredible moments and memories for us all, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to write up my top 10. The Fall of CONTRA MLW shot up my viewing list in 2021, inspired in part by the excellent series of articles about the promotion on this site. The gradual collapse of the dominant CONTRA UNIT faction, topped off by the epic war between Alexander Hammerstone and Jacob Fatu provided a perfect old-school “babyface-overcomes-the-odds,” story. Check out the War Chamber match and the…
Photo Credit: WWE All good things must come to an end, including the NXT UK Tag Team Championship reign of Pretty Deadly. Lewis Howley and Sam Stoker had their run ended by Moustache Mountain on last week’s episode of NXT UK. So, that’s that, the babyfaces triumphant, the heels despondent. However, I believe that this is just the beginning for Pretty Deadly, hopefully leading them to pick up more recognition. As well as this, the long-term storytelling for Moustache Mountain has been sublime. So, here’s why Moustache Mountain vs Pretty Deadly is my tag match of the year. The Build…
Photo Credit- WWE With NXT’s Johnny Gargano currently in contract talks, speculation is rife as to where the decorated performer will end up next. Although it is a distinct possibility that he re-signs with NXT or even moves up to the main roster, some have argued that AEW would be the best home for Johnny Wrestling. However, I disagree with this view. Hold on, let me explain myself! Before I’m torn to shreds in the comments, I also don’t think he should stay in WWE. Despite only being 34, Johnny is clearly not what the new-look WWE are looking for.…