Watch This Wrestling 52 (12/31—1/6)
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end"
A year ago, I resolved to do a post a week compiling the best wrestling of the week, both inside and outside of the WWE.
That original post, which covered stuff from January 6th through the 12th, was called "Don't Miss This," because I didn't think to put Wrestling in the title. I think since then I've grown to own my fandom more and more, and today, I publish the last weekly version of this thing (at least for a while).
Why the change? This year, my creative resolution is to produce with a greater variety. Also, this means I won't have to write when a week doesn't merit it. Since that original post, I've also written six posts (of varying lengths) for CagesideSeats, and even made a video about the 2017 PWG Battle of Los Angeles. With this change, I hope to continue to have more time to do more things.
As always, if I'm missing anything that can be accessed without too much trouble, @ me on twitter: henrytcasey .
Beyond Wrestling: Heavy Lies The Crown, 12/31
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12, 1/4
Progress Chapter 60: Unboxing 2, Unbox Harder VOD: 1/5
NJPW New Year's Dash, 1/5
Non-WWE Match of The Week:
Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12, 1/4
And what a high-note to end this on. Pretty much everyone who enjoys wrestling kind of owes it to themselves to see this one. Not only is it a side of Jericho we haven't seen in ages, but to see how Kenny Omega is an incredibly strong worker and sells better than Dog Ziggler ever will.
Doom Patrol (Chris Dickinson & Jaka) vs. EYFBO (Mike Draztik & Angel Ortiz), Beyond Wrestling: Heavy Lies The Crown, 12/31
Keith Lee vs Josh Briggs, Beyond Wrestling: Heavy Lies The Crown, 12/31
Joey Janela vs David Starr, Beyond Wrestling: Heavy Lies The Crown, 12/31
Will Ospreay vs KUSHIDA vs Hiromu Takahashi vs Marty Scurll (champion), IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title match, NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12, 1/4
Hirooki Goto vs Minoru Suzuki (champion), Hair vs. Hair NEVER Openweight Title Match, NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12, 1/4
Cody vs Kota Ibushi, NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12, 1/4
Tetsuya Naito vs Kazuchika Okada (champion), IWGP Heavyweight Title match, NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12, 1/4
Travis Banks' Title Defense, Progress Chapter 60: Unboxing 2, Unbox Harder 1/5
Opening Match, Progress Chapter 60: Unboxing 2, Unbox Harder 1/5
Non-WWE Segment of The Week
Travis Banks' next challenger, revealed.
Progress Chapter 60: Unboxing 2, Unbox Harder 1/4
I wanted to originally award this to Jericho attacking Naito at New Year's Dash, but that would be a bald-faced lie. Instead, I'm giving my final Non-WWE Segment of The Week to the aftermath of Travis Banks' title defense. There, he declared that he's ready to take on everyone and anyone. And then, this song hit. If for some reason, you haven't seen it, I won't say whose music that was, or force you to click on it.
What I will say, though, is that everything felt real and natural. Nothing felt forced, everyone stayed true to their character. And I loved it.
What Happened Between WALTER And Stokely Hathaway, EVOLVE Mini-Doc, 1/2
Jericho attacks Naito, NJPW New Year's Dash, 1/5
The Usos vs. Gable & Benjamin - SmackDown Tag Team Title Match
Sure, you could be a grouch and say how can refs act like this once, shouldn't they always? Well, the product is always in service of the story, and to give Gable and Benjamin something to gripe about was a fantastic idea.
Because the truth is, the ref did make the wrong call at first, and it was right to be reversed. Also, just a damn good match.
Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe - Intercontinental Championship Match, Monday Night Raw, 1/1
Xavier Woods vs. Aiden English - U.S. Title Tournament First Round, SmackDown LIVE, 1/2
AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn, SmackDown LIVE, 1/2
Cedric Alexander and Golddust vs Ariya Daivari and Drew Gulak, 205 Live, 1/2
The New Day ring in the new year with a surprise for Xavier Woods
Xavier Woods, Pastry Detective, is a show I'd pay to watch. Especially if Rusev and English are the Moriarties to his Holmes.
Kurt Angle reveals the rules for the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble Match, Monday Night Raw, 1/1
Riott Squad Promo featuring Becky Lynch's Return, SmackDown LIVE, 1/2
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