@TravMoody
WrestleMania Weekend. Essentially the Super Bowl for smarks, this super-sized weekend offers fans the ultimate celebration in all that is professional wrestling. From the Swamp Monster Lumberjack Match hardcore hilarity of Game Changer Wrestling (G-C-Dub! G-C-Dub!) to World Wrestling Entertainment’s WrestleMania 35 Hours to get out of the Metlife Parking Lot event, there was indeed something.. for everyone.
I reviewed nearly 20 wrestling events from Mania Weekend, chiefly because I need an intervention (is a wrestling addiction worse than a drug one? Eh, probably). You can read my reviews for NJPW/ROH G1 Supercard here, NXT TakeOver: New York here and a slew of other shows archived here.
Best WrestleMania Weekend Matches:
1. NXT Championship – 2 out of 3 Falls: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa – 5/5 (NXT TakeOver: New York)
2.IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi v Tetsuya Naito – 4.75/5 (NJPW/ROH G1 Supercard)
3. IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada v Jay White – 4.5-4.75/5 (NJPW/ROH G1 Supercard)
4. Minoru Suzuki vs. Josh Barnett – 4.5/5 (GCW: Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport)
5. Bandido vs. Will Ospreay – 4.5/5 (WrestleCon Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow)
6. NXT Tag Team Championship: The War Raiders v Aleister Black & Ricochet – 4.5/5 (NXT TakeOver: New York)
7. WWE UK Championship: WALTER v Pete Dunne – 4.5/5 (NXT TakeOver: New York)
8. WWE Championship: Kofi Kingston v Daniel Bryan – 4.25-4.5/5 (WWE WrestleMania 35)
9. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Dragon Lee v Bandido v Taiji Ishimori – 4.25/5 (NJPW/ROH G1 Supercard)
10. NXT North American Championship: Velveteen Dream v Matt Riddle – 4.25/5 (NXT TakeOver: New York)
11. Will Ospreay & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. – 4-4.25/5 (RevPro: Live in NY)
12. IWGP NEVER Championship vs. ROH TV Championship (Winner Takes All): Jeff Cobb vs. Will Ospreay – 4/5 (NJPW/ROH G1 Supercard)
13. Anything Goes: Jimmy Lloyd vs. Masashi Takeda – 4/5 (GCW: Joey Janela’s Spring Break 3, Part One)
14. RevPro British Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. v Hiroshi Tanahashi – 3.75-4/5 (NJPW/ROH G1 Supercard)
15. David Starr vs. Lucky Kid – 3.75-4/5 (wXw: Amerika Ist Wunderbar)
16. Wonder of STARDOM Championship: Momo Watanabe vs. Utami Hayashishita – 3.75+/5 (STARDOM: American Dream 2019)
Don’t flinch, or @stardom_momo will make you pay! #StardomNYC #スターダム
➡️ https://t.co/EZWYa0Pot1 pic.twitter.com/Mar9Hs2Mx6
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_wrestling) April 5, 2019
17. Dragon Lee vs. Cavernario – 3.75/5 (WrestleCon Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow)
18. Spring Break Scramble: Jake Atlas vs. A-Kid vs. Australian Suicide vs. Slim J vs. Shane Mercer vs. Jungle Boy – 3.75/5 (GCW: Joey Janela’s Spring Break 3, Part One)
19. WWN Championship: JD Drake vs. Kazusada Higuchi – 3.75/5 (WWN Supershow: Mercury Rising 2019)
20. The Rascalz vs. Robbie Eagles, Australian Suicide & Adam Brooks – 3.75/5 (WrestleCon: U.S. vs. The World)
21. Jonathan Gresham vs. Masashi Takeda – 3.75/5 (GCW: Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport)
22. NXT Women’s Championship Fatal 4-Way: Shayna Baszler v Bianca Belair v Kairi Sane v Io Shirai – 3.75/5 (NXT TakeOver: New York)
23. Jonathan Gresham vs. Shinjiro Otani – 3.75/5 (GCW: Orange Cassidy is Doing Something or Whatever Who Knows???)
24. Masato Tanaka vs. LA Park – 3.5-3.75/5 (GCW: Joey Janela’s Spring Break 3, Part Two)
25. Killer Kross vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. – 3.5-3.75/5 (GCW: Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport)
26. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shane Strickland – 3.5-3.75/5 (WrestleCon Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow)
27. Fallah Bahh vs Ace Romero vs Madman Fulton vs Larry D vs Fatu vs Dan Maff v Jessicka Havok – 3.5-3.75/5 (Wrestling Revolver: Pancakes & Piledrivers III)
Best Gaga Matches:
1. Su Yung vs. Tracy Smothers (WrestleCon: Joey Ryan’s Penis Party)
2. Tony Deppen vs. No Legs (GCW: Joey Janela’s Spring Break 3, Part One)
No-legged 6-1-9!!! #JJSB3 https://t.co/SsXbtW0IzQ pic.twitter.com/zWPNOXPU1u
— LARIATOOOO!! (@MrLARIATO) April 6, 2019
3. Best 7 Out of 13 Falls: Logan Easton LaRoux vs. Chris Brookes (GCW: Orange Cassidy is Doing Something or Whatever Who Knows???)
4. Invisible Man vs. Invisible Stan (GCW: Joey Janela’s Spring Break 3, Part One)
5. The Greatest Clusterfuck (GCW: Joey Janela’s Spring Break 3, Part Two)
6. Ethan Page vs. Starman/Virgil (GCW: Joey Janela’s Spring Break 3, Part One)
7. Nova Dodgeball 10-Person Pick ’em Tag Team Match (GCW: Orange Cassidy is Doing Something or Whatever Who Knows???)
8. Joey Ryan & Val Venis & SeXxXy Eddy vs. Session Moth Martina & Scarlett Bordeaux & Priscilla Kelly (GCW: Joey Ryan’s Penis Party)
9. DDT Iron Man Heavy Metal Championship – Delayed Entry Gauntlet (WrestleCon: Joey Ryan’s Penis Party)
10. Scramble for a $16 Gift Certificate for Friendly’s: Sonny DeFarge vs. Tony Deppen vs. Jigsaw vs. Jake Atlas vs. Dan Champion vs. Lucky 13 vs. Air Wolf (GCW: Orange Cassidy is Doing Something or Whatever Who Knows???)
Best WrestleMania Weekend Shows:
1. NXT TakeOver: New York – 4.5/5
2. GCW: Joey Janela’s Spring Break 3, Part One – 3.75/5
3. NJPW/ROH G1 Supercard – 3.5/5 (NJPW = 4.25, ROH = 2.5)
4. GCW: Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport – 3.5/5
5. GCW: Joey Janela’s Spring Break 3, Part Two – 3.25/5
6. WrestleCon: Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow – 3-3.25/5
7. RevPro: Live in NY – 3/5
8. STARDOM: American Dream 2019 in the Big Apple – 3/5
9. EVOLVE 125 – 3/5
10. WWE WrestleMania 35 – 2.75/5
11. SHIMMER 113 – 2.75/5
12. wXw: Amerika Ist Wunderbar – 2.75/5
13. WWN Supershow: Mercury Rising 2019 – 2.75/5
14. MLW Battle Riot II – 2.75/5
15. WrestleCon: U.S. vs. The World – 2.5-2.75/5
16. Wrestling Revolver: Pancakes & Piledrivers III – 2.5/5
17. IMPACT Wrestling: United We Stand – 2.5/5
*GCW: Orange Cassidy is Doing Something or Whatever Who Knows??? – 10/5
*WrestleCon: Joey Ryan’s Penis Party – 10/5
* = Too insane for a rating!