Ashutosh Recommends: October

OCTOBER MATCH RECOMMENDATIONS

2021. What an insanely crazy year it has been for wrestling!! Debuts, returns, dream matches and so much more. It’s been such a joy for me and millions of other wrestling fans to be a part of this wonderful ride. And I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t need it after last year. And while the year has been a moment maker, there has been no shortage of phenomenal matches across the board. Let’s take a look at some of them from October.

KENOH VS KATSUHIKO NAKAJIMA (3/10)

It was the final match of the annual NOAH N1 Victory tournament for the right to challenge the GHC Heavyweight Champion Naomichi Marufuji and the Kongoh stablemates went to war as they lit up The Korakuen Hall and redefined physicality. Their mutual respect wouldn’t get in the way of making it one of the most brutal and one of the absolute best matches of year as you’d expect from two of the best strikers in professional wrestling. Kicks, elbows, slaps. That was the story of this wonderful match. They set out to prove who was better in a war of attrition. More than the title opportunity it was about pride. And that was the theme of this battle which they beautifully displayed and even brought into the finish of the match. A must watch for people who love brutality in their wrestling. 20 minutes of all Killer no filler that never wastes your time.

Cagematch Rating: 9.29

GRAPPL Rating: 4.49

My rating: *****

BRYAN DANIELSON VS EDDIE KINGSTON (29/10)

This was, without a shadow of a doubt one of my most anticipated matches of the year. A dream match if you will. Two of my most favourite wrestlers going at it and it was as amazing as I had expected it to be. It was stiff. It was intense. It was beautiful. Danielson continues to display his insane versatility with this amazing striking contest with The Mad King. What they went for was making this look like a real fight. And Eddie is as real as real can be. His mannerisms, his facial expressions and his selling are so good that it’s just impossible to not praise the man. He always makes it look like he has a chance. Danielson works from beneath here as Eddie brutalised him(especially his chest) so much that it turns red. Danielson sells really well and both men show fantastic desperation here. Matches like these are what add to the prestige of a title and the fact that both men were willing to go this far for just a shot at it is what makes it so great. One of the best matches of the year.

Cagematch Rating: 9.07

GRAPPL Rating: 4.32

My Rating: ****1/2

MAKI ITOH VS MIYU YAMASHITA (9/10)

Wrestling at the end of the day, is all about the emotions. What it makes you feel will always matter more than everything else. The main appeal of Maki Itoh and what she does is that she gets everyone watching invested in her story. She makes you feel. Her growth as a wrestler and a performer has been sensational. On the grandest stage of Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, she was out to face her best friend in the main event for the Princess of Princess Title. And man what a ride it was! Miyu the stone cold killer, one of the best wrestlers in the entire world dishes out a brutal beatdown on her best friend which makes Maki’s awesome comebacks even more effective. The best display of Fighting spirit that I have seen all year and it came from Maki. She keeps fighting in the face of imminent defeat, hanging on, making you believe that she can do it. A beautiful match and the career best performance of Maki.

Cagematch Rating: 9.01

My Rating: ****1/2

KATSUYORI SHIBATA VS ZACK SABRE JR (21/10)

“I’m Alive. That is All.” Those were the words that the wrestler left us with back in 2017 a few months after his injury in April of that year. Being given less than 20% chance of survival, people only wished for his return but the hopes diminished as the years passed by. Making the fans in attendance at the legendary Nippon Budokan break the no cheering rule, The wrestler surprised everyone with his appearance and before we even knew he was facing Zack Sabre Jr in a 5 minute exhibition grappling rules match. Fantastic grappling as expected from the two ring generals and they packed so much in those 300 seconds making it exciting. But what meant much more than that was seeing The Wrestler back in a ring. A great match enhanced by its significance.

Cagematch Rating: 8.73

GRAPPL Rating: 3.92

My rating: ❤️

Some Honourable mentions with my personal ratings that I would also recommend checking out:

1. Takuya Nomura vs Daisuke Sekimoto(BJW,18/10): ****1/2

2. Bryan Danielson vs Minoru Suzuki(AEW,15/10): ****1/2

3. Kazuchika Okada vs Jeff Cobb (NJPW,20/10): ****1/4

4. Alex Shelley vs Daniel Garcia (Beyond Wrestling,7/10): ****1/4

5. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH,10/10): ****1/4

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