Due to a late start on Collision for me, I unfortunately missed the pre-show – although the only match there I was really hoping to see was the women's four way. I still don't quite understand why that got shoved onto the pre-show instead of the main card with how much build it required across different companies, but that's a question for another day I guess.

I'm sure I'll go back and watch at least that at some point, but I have no real desire to catch up on an ROH Tag Title match. If I hear good things about it, I'll give it a whirl.

Last night's Wrestle Kingdom (or, I guess, technically this morning's Wrestle Kingdom for me) was a big mixed bag. Most of the matches were at least good, but the show overall was marred by three things: the terrible DOUKI injury, the awful Naito match, and a main event that truly did not need to be 43 minutes long.

I may have to go back to watch ZSJ/Shota again on a brain operating on more than 2 and a half hours of sleep but if I do I think I'll still walk away feeling the same. I think the story they told could have been done in less time than they used, and that time could have been better spent on giving Mayu/AZM and Takeshita/Shingo more time.

The card for Wrestle Dynasty is a little more interesting on the surface because it involves a bunch of people I'm more regularly familiar with, like Brody King, Jack Perry, Takeshita again (and Ishii, who I will love 'til death), and, of course, the returning Kenny Omega.

This isn't to say I'm disinterested in the New Japan wrestlers, just that I'm not a regular NJPW viewer these days so my excitement is generally surface-level without being bought into the various stories being told.

I do think Wrestle Dynasty has a strong chance at being a better overall show than Wrestle Kingdom was, so let's hope everyone stays safe and injury free. I'm looking at you, Gabe Kidd.

The Undercard

The opening CMLL x NJPW gauntlet was a fun little cluster. El Desperado entering last and realizing how badly he was fucked as all seven other wrestlers in the ring set their sights on him was a wonderful little moment. So much communicated through a mask and facepaint!

Everyone stomped Despy dead before Taiji Ishimori snuck in with a ref bump and a stolen pin on a weakened El Desperado. Not having seen Ishimori wrestle in several years I'll just assume he's still incredible in the ring and be happy for him that he got the nod here. Although, even when I was watching New Japan it felt like he was in the revolving door of Junior Heavyweight Champions/Challengers and it's a little bit of a bummer to see them still stuck in that mode.

I love Brody King to death so I selfishly want him to win every match everywhere, but I'll concede that David Finlay earned his victory by way of surviving several minutes of attempted murder at the hands of Brody. Finlay coming through at the end with a powerbomb on Brody was impressive as hell. I've only seen Finlay a handful of times in the past couple of years but he's far, far improved from where I remember him being when I first began trailing off of NJPW.

I don't exactly get what they're doing with Shota Umino. He started acting like a shitty little heel in the main event last night and it worked. The crowd wanted to boo him! Tonight, though, commentary talked him up like he was the babyface hero to Claudio Castagnoli (and, by proxy, Jon Moxley). The problem is, he was just getting major boos last night and the crowd still wants to boo him.

Nevermind the fact that he rides in on the goofiest looking motor trike wearing bell bottoms with tassels and fur. Who is this guy supposed to be? Are we supposed to hate him? Is this a slow burn to a heel turn but nobody really knows how to treat him in the interim, commentary included? It all feels so disjointed.

A Mina Shirakawa I wish we saw in AEW

Mina Shirakawa vs Mercedes Moné had an excellent match lasting about 15 minutes with Mercedes coming out on top to capture the RevPro Undisputed British Women's Championship. Mercedes is now a champion three times over adding that belt to the NJPW Strong Women's Title and AEW TBS Title.

This match got about 7 more minutes than Mayu/AZM got at Wrestle Kingdom and it showed. They were allowed to tell much more of a story in the time given, leading to some nearfalls at the end that looked like Mina could have upset Mercedes.

This is a Mina we don't really get to see in AEW. All of her matches in AEW have been under 15 minutes long with the majority of them falling under the 10 minute mark. While she's been present in feuds and storylines with Mariah May and Thunder Rosa, she hasn't been given a chance to shine like this in an AEW ring.

I'll admit that while I have enjoyed what I've seen of Mina in AEW, I've been a little lukewarm on her and I think the match here at Wrestle Dynasty has shown me why. She has lacked the time and opportunity in AEW to go as hard as she can.

I'm not sure what the future holds for Mina in AEW, but I sincerely hope that if she does continue to be a fixture in the company that she's given more time to show what she can do in the ring.

Newsflash: Takeshita and Ishii rule ass

It should come as no surprise that at this point in the show, Konosuke Takeshita vs Tomohiro Ishii was the match of the night. Takeshita had the match of the night at Wrestle Kingdom against Shingo Takagi as well, in my opinion, and at Wrestle Dynasty he continued his reigns as AEW International Champion and NEVER Openweight Champion.

However long Takeshita holds the NEVER Openweight Title is a true blessing to New Japan. The guy just operates on a completely different level than anyone else and his matches build to such a crescendo that it's sometimes hard to believe. You bite on every nearfall whether he's the one pinning or the one being pinned. The drama he creates is unmatched.

Suffice it to say, that drama was in full effect here and this was the loudest the crowd was the entire night thus far. I wish they were this loud for Mina/Moné because that match also deserved it. Nonetheless, Takeshita and Ishii ushered in the top of the card in beautiful fashion.

The Return of Kenneth Omega

Kenny Omega has been out of action for a long, long time. Bad guts and all that. A lot of weirdos online complained that he was returning in New Japan instead of AEW, but I don't really care about that. It's not as if he's not going to also wrestle in AEW; why not do something fun and exciting for one of your partners first?

I'll admit that I don't know much about Gabe Kidd. He exists in an era of New Japan that I have not been actively watching. I largely know him as the other guy who was in the match with the terribly thought out spot that destroyed Eddie Kingston's legs.

They could have gone in a lot of different directions for Kenny's return match after battling such a major health issue. They could have had a classic wrestling match, testing Kenny's endurance. They could have had a shorter match with someone lower on the card and worked a shorter match. They could have even had a tag match so Kenny could fade into the background if needed.

Instead, they decided to have a match where Kenny and Gabe tried to murder each other. They bled a whole bunch, hit each other with unprotected chairshots to the head (always a bad idea), and mercilessly beat the piss out of each other for thirty minutes. Plus, Kidd dropped Omega with the namesake of this very website. It was wonderful!

If there were any questions as to whether or not Kenny would be able to go at the same level, those questions went right out the window. Omega and Kidd went hard for the entirety of the bout, not backing down or dialing the knob back from the 10 it was turned up to from the get go.

Kidd, who is brash and loud and a mad lad, was the babyface defending the legacy of New Japan against the returning Omega who made the claim that he is Japanese wrestling. This sent Chris Charlton into hysterics on commentary, calling Tony Khan a "money mark" and lobbing other complaints about AEW. It was grating and irritating, like heel Michael Cole, and was enough to make me switch to the Japanese commentary.

I'm so glad I did! I enjoy English commentary to fill me in on the stuff I don't know but when I'm already clued in on the goings-on, Japanese commentary is a delight. I don't know any Japanese whatsoever, but their hype levels are unrivaled and infectious.

It's the fifth day of the year and this may be the match of the year. It's going to be hard to top this one, which was an absolute war with a hot crowd and a great finish.

Kenny Omega is back and it's like he never left.

Wrapping Up

In the IWGP Tag Team Title three-way match, The Young Bucks walked away with the belts over Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb and Hiromu Takahashi & the shambling corpse of Tetsuya Naito. This was a fun match, far better than it probably had any right to be considering the involvement of Naito.

With The Bucks taking the belts, I'm really intrigued as to where we're going with NJPW and AEW in general. We're far too many months away from Forbidden Door for Takeshita and The Bucks winning belts to be a build toward that PPV. The Bucks at least have been written off of AEW TV, so will they just be appearing in New Japan more frequently?

Zack Sabre, Jr vs Ricochet for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title was a fun match with a foregone conclusion coming after the hottest match of the weekend. It was very good (maybe even great), but suffered for its position coming right after Omega/Kidd. ZSJ won by twisting Ricochet into knots for a submission to the surprise of nobody.

ZSJ now has Hirooki Goto to look forward to down the road, as Goto won a title shot in the Ranbo that kicked off Wrestle Kingdom's pre-show yesterday. This will definitely be Goto's time! Definitely!

All in all, a great weekend of wrestling. I think I'd rate Wrestle Dynasty higher than Wrestle Kingdom, though a lot of that falls directly on the shoulders of Omega and Kidd. Takeshita/Ishii was also great, of course. I'm curious to see where this ever-changing and evolving relationship with AEW goes now that Takeshita and The Young Bucks are champions in New Japan.