August was another great month for matches. It had the end of the G1 Climax, an NXT TakeOver, the madness of SummerSlam and a bunch of other stuff. As usual if shows aren't broadcast live then their availability is based on VOD or DVD release date.
Honourable Mentions
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW G1 Climax 27 Night 11 ****1/4
Kenny Omega vs EVIL - NJPW G1 Climax 27 Night 12 ****
Zack Sabre Jr vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW G1 Climax 27 Night 13 ****
Tomohiro Ishii vs Zack Sabre Jr - NJPW G1 Climax 27 Night 17 ****
Rob Lynch vs James Davis - PROGRESS Chapter 53: Fate Loves The Fearless ****
Travis Banks vs Keith Lee - PROGRESS Chapter 53: Fate Loves The Fearless ****
Walter vs Fred Yehi (PROGRESS Atlas Title) - Evolve 90 ****
Chris Dickinson & Jaka vs South Pacific Power Trip - Evolve 91 ****
Matt Riddle vs Keith Lee vs Walter vs Tracy Williams (WWN Title) - Evolve 91 ****1/4
Zack Sabre Jr vs Chris Brookes (British Heavyweight Title) - RPW Summer Sizzler ****
Authors of Pain vs SAnitY (NXT Tag Titles) - NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III ****
Sheamus & Cesaro vs Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose - WWE SummerSlam ****
Harashima & Naomichi Marufuji vs Kazusada Higuchi & Shigehiro Irie (KO-D Tag Titles) - DDT Ryogoku Peter Pan ****
Will Ospreay vs Mike Bailey - WCPW Pro Wrestling World Cup Quarterfinals ****1/4
Zack Sabre Jr vs Chuck Taylor (PWG Title) - PWG Pushin' Forward Back ****1/4
15. Kenny Omega vs Juice Robinson - NJPW G1 Climax 27 Night 14
I don't think anybody benefited more from the G1 than Juice Robinson. He went from just another midcarder to possibly the best pure babyface that New Japan has. He didn't even win much but this match was an exception and his happiness at getting the hard fought upset victory was great. Really fun match. ****1/4
14. Asuka vs Ember Moon (NXT Women's Title) - NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III
This was probably the best title match of Asuka's entire reign. The wrestling was good throughout and the crowd pop when Asuka kicked out of the Eclipse was great. It was one of the best near falls I have seen in a while. It was an excellent way for Asuka to see out her NXT career. ****1/4
13. Johnny Gargano vs Andrade 'Cien' Almas - NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III
The showstealer on the Brooklyn III card and the match that has done the most to show how good Almas really is. If he is handled correctly he could be the next Latin star. He is only 27 too. This was a fantastic match. ****1/2
12. New Day vs The Usos (WWE Smackdown Tag Titles) - WWE SummerSlam
These two teams had a great match on the otherwise atrocious Battleground card and they were rewarded by being put on the SummerSlam Kickoff show. They smashed it again. The chemistry between these two teams is fantastic and it results in great matches nearly every time they meet. Hopefully they get a long showcase match to blow off the feud. ****1/2
11. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 27 Night 15
You know this is a good month when this match is 11th. These two have been having great matches against each other for a while, and while this wasn't their best match it was still an excellent back and forth match with two of the world's best wrestlers trying to outdo each other. ****1/2
10. Kazuchika Okada vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW G1 Climax 27 Night 16
A lot of Suzuki's matches are full of interference and they don't get the chance to shine but this was different. They went the full 30 minutes here and it helped tell the story of Okada being more and more worn down with each grueling match. It wasn't the first, or best, match to tell this story but that is irrelevant.This is a war, plain and simple. ****1/2
9. Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) vs Kai & Naoya Nomura (AJPW Tag Titles) - AJPW 45th Anniversary
I don't watch much All Japan, due to there only being so much wrestling that it's possible to fit in, but this show was getting great reviews so I gave it a gander. It's a really good show, well the second half was. Strong BJ is a team that I should go out of my way to watch more often because, to put it bluntly, they are fucking tremendous. Honestly, they are one of the best teams on the planet. Every time I watch them they deliver and they did again here. This match was a brutal throwback and it was fantastic. ****1/2
8. Kazuchika Okada vs EVIL - NJPW G1 Climax 27 Night 14
This was Okada's first singles loss in a year. A year! That is one of the great things about the G1, surprising losses can occur at any time. This makes a top level star in one night. EVIL had a great tournament on the whole but it was this match against Okada that was it's pinnacle. Okada once again proves why he is the best wrestler in the world. ****1/2
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW G1 Climax 27 Night 17
The decider of Block A of the G1. This was the third match between these two this year and while it wasn't the best of the three it was still an excellent match that is well worth watching. The added importance of this being winner takes all helped this hit the right notes. ****1/2
6. Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman vs Samoa Joe vs Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Title) - WWE SummerSlam
This was just carnage and it was glorious. This was the night that Braun Strowman became a true star, this was his show. He threw around chairs and tables like they were nothing. A lot of credit has to go to Samoa Joe too as he was the glue that held this match together. Beautiful destruction all round. ****1/2
5. Konosuke Takeshita vs Tetsuya Endo (KO-D Title) - DDT Ryogoku Peter Pan
DDT is another company that falls into the too much wrestling, not enough time bracket. This match was top notch though. It fits solidly into the big match, Japanese main event formula but that is in no way a bad thing. They pull out everything from stiff strikes to shooting star presses, with plenty of great near falls that build to the finish expertly. As DDT ws the company that brought us Kota Ibushi it would be great to see these two follow a similar career path. ****1/2
4. Yuji Nagata vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 27 Night 11
Nagata had a better G1 than anyone could have expected from a 49 year old. He put on great matches show after show in his final G1 appearance and this was the best of the lot. Ishii was the perfect foil for him here too with the two of them beating each other into oblivion. I'm going to miss Blue Justice in the G1, the mad old bastard. On a separate note, the sendoff Nagata gets on after his last match is one of the best things in wrestling this year. ****1/2
3. Kento Miyahara vs Shuji Ishikawa (AJPW Triple Crown) - AJPW 45th Anniversary
The second All Japan match on this list is an absolute belter. It's good to see All Japan starting to rebuild as their '90s run, with Kobashi, Misawa, Akiyama & Taue, is one of the best in professional wrestling history. This hearkened back to the matches from that time, while adding a modern twist to make this something very special. The story here was Miyahara trying to win back his title and having to go through absolute hell to get there. The strikes were brutal and Ishikawa straight up fucking murdered Miyahara with a Fire Thunder Driver on the apron. Watch this match for that insanity alone. This was superb, both from a wrestling and storytelling perspective. ****3/4
2. Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega - NJPW G1 Climax 27 Night 18
Here we are. The third match in this peerless rivalry. How can you possibly follow two of the best matches in wrestling history? Well, you have another one. This was different to the previous matches as they were playing with a 30 minute time limit. That meant that they just went for it from minute one, throwing everything they had at each other until one of them couldn't get up any more. The story was Omega working over the neck of Okada as it had taken a beating not only during this tournament but throughout the year. For the first time in this feud Okada was the one that was having to fight back from overwhelming odds and it added an extra layer to the story. This was another future classic that deserves to be watched by all wrestling fans. It will be a long time until we see a trilogy as good as this again. *****
1. Kenny Omega vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW G1 Climax 27 Finals
There is absolutely nothing to choose between this and the Omega vs Okada match, so much so that I tossed a coin to see which got the number 1 spot. This is as perfect a way to end the tournament as you could possibly hope for, with both men on the top of their game. They wrestle in the ring, out of the ring, on the apron, anywhere they can. They pull absolutely everything in their arsenals, from Destino to the Stardust Press and One Winged Angel to the Dr Wily Bomb, and the crowd absolutely eats all of it up. They are loud throughout and it adds to the atmosphere no end. Even the referee, Red Shoes, was losing his shit. The match builds to a crescendo expertly and when it ended I was just left in awe at what I had just seen. This is the epitome of big match wrestling. *****
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