Welcome to this week's edition of the weekly roundup. It was a very fun week with matches covered from West Coast Pro, NJPW, PWA, Diana and CMLL which I think is a lot of nice variety. I also take a look at two of the best world title matches of 1977 with Bruno Sammartino vs Billy Graham and Harley Race vs Terry Funk.
West Coast Pro The Things That Should Not Be - 6 Year Anniversary Show
Hyan, Toxin and Prometeo vs Bodhi Young Prodigy, Leon Slater and Princesa Azul

This was an intergender trios match between two teams that are collectively relatively inexperienced but also very ambitious. The result is a very fun tag match with a lot of cool innovative stuff but also some sloppiness. I think these are all names worth familiarising yourself with even if this match itself wasn't that great. These are all names that should all become more well known in the next couple of years. Leon Slater got the win with his patented swanton 450.
Match rating: 3.25
Calvin Tankman vs Shigehiro Irie

Calvin Tankman's DPW World's Title is on the line against Irie in what is a true heavyweight clash. A lot of big men hitting each other with big shots. Tankman got the win with his spinning back elbow followed by a Tankman driver
Match rating: 3.5
Sandra Moone vs Johnnie Robbie

This was Robbie’s return match after a year on the shelf due to injury. Robbie really emerged as a future star in 2023 so the injury was a bummer but she did not look like she lost a step which is great. Before her injury, Robbie was kind of a happy go lucky kind of character but she has returned as a more bitter heel character. Sandra Mooney is also one of the better women on the US indies right now and I think this was probably the best match of the night up to this point. Moone gets the win but something tells me this won't be the last time we see this match.
Match rating: 3.5
Los Suavecitos vs Starboy Charlie and Titus Alexander

Ricky Gee and Danny Rose of Los Suavecitos were the defending champions here. Adrian Quest, the third member of Los Suavecitos was also present at ringside and was not shy about getting physical as this was a street fight. Alexander and Starboy were rivals in WCP not too long ago but are friends again and challenging for the tag team titles in a heated rivalry. Titus and Starboy are two homegrown names synonymous with the promotion and the crowd was really behind them here. Los Suavecitos were great at getting heat also, at an earlier show they attacked Starboy’s mother with a baseball bat!
This started hot and spilled out into the crowd. Titus and Starboy hit a double moonsault of the bar. Los Suavecitos regained control thanks to Adrian Quest. There was some really great brawling here but also some great athletic high flying sequences. The sides were evened when 80s Joshi legend Chigusa Nagayo did a run-in to take out Adrian Quest. That is not a typo, I promise. Starboy Charlie with blood streaming down his face hit a shooting star press off the top rope to get revenge and become one half of the new West Coast Pro tag team champions. This was a fantastic tag team match and the crowd were unbelievably into it. I don't recall seeing an American indie crowd be this hot for another match at all in recent memory. It was really quite impressive and a testament to everyone involved. After the match Nagayo even anointed Titus and Starboy as “The Crush Boys”. A play on the legendary tag team of which Nagayo was one half of “The Crush Gals” of course. I'd safely call this as must watch a match as you'll find between unsigned talent in the US in 2024.
Match rating: 4.25
Kevin Blackwood vs Jake Something

Kevin Blackwood retains his West Coast Pro World Title in a very good match. I haven't much interesting to say about this one, if you're familiar with these men you should have a pretty good idea of what this match looked like. The finish was quite cool though. Something attempted a chokeslam from the middle rope while Blackwood was perched on the top but Blackwood countered with a double foot stomp to get the win.
Match rating: 3.75
Takumi Iroha vs Zara Zakher

Zara Zakher defeats Takumi Iroha to win the West Coast Pro Women's Title in the main event. I liked this more as a moment than a match, to be honest. Zakher is definitely a talent to keep an eye on though and this was surely the biggest win of her young career.
Match rating: 3
NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2024
Tetsuya Naito vs Zack Sabre Jr

After 7 years Zack Sabre Jr has finally reached the summit of NJPW and claimed the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. I think Zack is the best wrestler on the NJPW roster currently, certainly the most reliable. Naito is obviously incredibly popular but he simply doesn't have the physical capabilities anymore to have a lengthy reign filled with great matches. I do have to say that this was not a disappointment, I'd say it's the best Naito match since at least WrestleKingdom.
This was largely mat-based in the beginning which is obviously Zack’s strong suit and I also think it favoured Naito due to his physical limitations. As the match approached it's conclusion it got more fast paced and delivered a pretty electrifying closing stretch as NJPW main events often do. Zack finally got the win with a cross legged version of the Zack driver.
Match rating: 4.25
PWA Black Label Colosseum 2024 - Day 1
Jessica Troy vs Charli Evans

The PWA Colosseum tournament is an annual two night event that seems to continually produce the best Australian wrestling each year. This was a first round match in the tournament and the main event of the first show. This also serves as a title match with Jessica Troy's PWA Heavyweight Title being on the line.
The loose story here was the technique of Troy vs the violence of Charli Evans (Chevs). It was a twenty minutes plus main event style match between two of the best unsigned wrestlers in the world. I wouldn't describe Troy as the most charismatic wrestler in the world but she seems to have this innate ability to pull emotion into her matches which is really impressive. It was Troy's technique that won out as she retained her title and advanced to the next round of the tournament with a technical pin. This was really good, something I'd definitely put in the conversation for indie match of the year.
Match rating: 4.25
PWA Black Label Colosseum 2024 - Day 2
Jessica Troy vs Tommy Knight

This was the finals of the PWA Colosseum tournament with Troy’s title once again also on the line. Tommy Knight is a real heavyweight wrestler so the size difference was hugely significant in this one. This was perfect as Troy is at her best when she has to work from underneath to overcome her opponent. There was a really cool moment where Troy jumped off the balcony against the wishes of her mother who was seated up there. Jessica Troy made PWA history when she submitted Knight with the armbar to retain her title and win the tournament, holding the title and sword aloft in each hand.
Match rating: 4
Diana 13/10/2024
Haruka Umesaki vs Momo Watanabe

This was the main event of a rare Korakuen Hall show for Diana. Haruka Umesaki who I would say is generally considered the best young wrestler from Diana takes on Stardom’s Momo Watanabe. Umesaki worked as the underdog against her more experienced opponent and put up a good fight. Watanabe used some heel trickery to stay on top with the help of one of her HATE stablemates. Watanabe got the win with her peach sunrise suplex hold in a very good match.
Match rating: 3.75
CMLL Sabados de Coliseo 12/10/2024
Guerrero Maya Jr vs Xelhua

This match was for Maya’s Mexican National Middleweight Title. Xelhua is just 20 years old with 1 year of experience but I already think any discussion of the best technical wrestlers in the world is incomplete with him being mentioned. I also think Guerrero Maya Jr. is one of the more underrated wrestlers on the roster. This was a fantastic technical match with Xelhua busting out a bunch of unique llave holds. However, despite Xelhua’s innovation, it was Maya who got the win with his own submission hold. The post match indicated this was not the last singles meeting between these two and I am very much looking forward to the next one.
Match rating: 4.25
Classic Matches
As always the classic matches are sourced from the Wrestling Playlist project. This is a daily newsletter that takes a chronological look at wrestling footage dating back to the turn of the 20th century. You can subscribe to at https://wrestlingplaylists.substack.com/ This week's matches are from issue #138 of the newsletter.
WWF on MSG Network 27/06/1977
Bruno Sammartino vs Billy Graham

This was 2 months after Graham defeated Sammartino for the title in Baltimore. This was Bruno Sammartino trying to reclaim his title in Madison Square Garden. The crowd were obviously right behind him. This had a really hot start with Bruno immediately charging at Graham and brawling with him. Bruno was really in control until he Graham managed to lock in a full nelson to slow him down. Bruno eventually reversed with a full nelson of his own but Graham was able to counter with a standing surfboard. If you know me then you know I love a good lengthy standing surfboard in a match. Bruno was eventually able to overturn the surfboard to a big ovation from the crowd and started laying in right hands to Graham. This became a wild brawl with both men tossing the referee aside as he tried to break up the action multiple times. This eventually caused the ref to call a double disqualification. You might think of that as a disappointing finish to a hot match but that was not the case in New York in 1977. Bruno stood tall as Graham exited the ring. There are people that will tell you that Sammartino is boring to watch but I would definitely disagree with that although I will admit he is something of an acquired taste if you look at his work with modern eyes. Regardless, I think this is one of his best matches. He always thrived in intense brawls such as this and Graham was a perfect opponent for him
Match rating: 4.25
Houston Wrestling 01/07/1977
Harley Race vs Terry Funk

Harley Race’s NWA World Title is on the line against Terry Funk. This is a great match and an incredibly valuable piece of footage. The reason this is so valuable is because it is definitely the best look we get at Race as NWA champion in the 1970s. It is also a match that gives us a great look at a side of Terry Funk we don't get to see much of. We have very little footage of Terry Funk wrestling in the US in the 1970s including pretty much his entire NWA World Title run. This match is a great look at seeing Terry wrestle a fantastic mat based clinic with the man who beat him for the NWA World Title.
This is my second time watching this match. I'll be honest, the first time around I didn't really get the appeal of this. It is very slow paced and while the crowd are definitely into it's not a raucous crowd. This time around I was really able to appreciate the intense grappling on display, especially from Funk. This was mean and gritty, very different from the French Catch last week but no less impressive. Harley Race won the first fall with an octopus hold setting the table for Funk to launch a comeback. Funk fights off the pain to his back caused by the octopus hold and wins the second fall with a brutal looking piledriver.
The third fall here is almost magical, Terry Funk at his best. Funk has Race in the spinning toehold. Race is in big trouble but this move leaves Funk's head exposed and Race starts barraging his head with right hands. Before long Funk is a bleeding mess and clearly exhausted. The match is almost 40 minutes deep but despite the exhaustion and the bleeding Funk appears to be in control and is about to start wrenching on the spinning toehold but the bleeding is getting worse. Funk's energy is clearly depleted the blood loss is clearly affecting him. He is unable to apply the move properly and almost collapses out of it. The referee intervenes and Race retains via referee stoppage.
Funk had Race beat but his body simply gave up on him so Race is able to survive this match, not win survive. I think it's interesting with this week's issue that we have two excellent world title matches from 1977 and both feature finishes that would probably be dunked on today. They both work perfectly in these contexts though. A part of me feels like through the bullsh*t produced by Bischoff, Russo, Vince etc we have become too obsessed with clean pinfall/submission finishes in modern American wrestling. I think you can use finishes like this and they can work but they are rarely, if ever executed this well today.
Match rating: 4.5
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