Top 20 Matches of WrestleMania 35 Week (Part II)
New Japan Pro Wrestling has now extended its WrestleMania equivalent Wrestle Kingdom to two days at the Tokyo Dome. This helps prevent them from keeping some of their big names out of the main card as they had done this year.
WrestleMania is just a bit too long and could do with either cutting back time (which seems unlikely to happen) or taking place over two days.
That's an exciting prospect for those forced to miss the main card or thrust into pointless matches. It's a debatable point of course but can allow WrestleMania and WWE to fill the void, especially if Independent companies don't make it to the celebration next year.
As these next ten matches will attest to, the Independent scene is thriving like it never has. Meanwhile, NXT and especially WWE when pushed to it can bring out perfection within the art form of professional wrestling. If that is true, then two days would be a bonus and help WrestleMania peak just at the right time like it did this year thanks to a magnetic WWE championship bout.
That match and more is what you'll find in this second part celebrating the carnival that is WrestleMania week.
Honorable Mentions
WrestleMania week is when a lot of superstars bring their A Game, some miss that chance hence the two-day debate. Those that do get the chance are in such a competitive field it becomes difficult to shine, so here are a few more honorable mentions deserving of a spotlight;
Sami Callihan vs. Jimmy Havoc, Impact United We Stand (Monster's Ball): From literal salt in the wounds to lemon in cuts, paper cuts, and lego pieces. Callihan and Havoc threw the kitchen sink (metaphorically) and more out of the window in this smashing sequel adding the real Impact in Impact Wrestling.
Brock Lesnar (c)/w Paul Heyman vs. Seth Rollins, WrestleMania 35 (for the WWE Universal Championship): Taking the cue to shock audiences as the opening match, Lesnar and Rollins rattled the MetLife stadium with their short sprint carrying all the goodness of the best of Lesnar's past efforts.
It had the bursting effect of his contests with Goldberg, the hard-hitting blasts of the WrestleMania 31 main event against Roman Reigns and the sneakiness of the Beast's battles with little men. All packaged with the perfect ending to burn it down!
Logan Easton LaRoux vs. Chris Brookes, GCW Orange Cassidy is Doing Something or Whatever, Who Knows (Best 7 out of 13 Falls): Comedy wrestling at its absolute finest, as the two men come out of the gates with low blows to each pick up a loss before going down into a sequence of roll-ups and blind referee shenanigans. Humor provides much-needed respite on a week of wrestling.
#10 Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. Dragon Lee vs. Bandido, NJPW/ROH G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden (for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship)
The trio of Junior Heavyweights come out charging in a match that leaves one short of breath, due to time constraints.
There's no stopping them as each one takes a stand at a critical point, to showcase their abilities. Ishimori holds strong as the glue for most of the match, taking the hard shots including a super RANA and Canadian destroyer combo.
It's an effective way to get him out, so the match can come to a fitting conclusion. There isn't much space for the story and it isn't needed. Though many will once again discredit the fast pace and lack of selling, it is a spectacle to watch.
That is what makes it a unique addition to a very traditional New Japan and ROH card, with the Junior Heavyweights adding their typical flair.
Luckily that latter portion carried by the death-defying might of Bandido shine when he can cut off anyone else taking the victory. Despite a grand moonsault stunt, this is what eventually harms Bandido, allowing Lee to walk away with the win.
Questions remain as to the validity of the title change so close to the Battle of Super Juniors. Dontaku awaits Lee and Ishimori, but maybe so does a ticking time bomb for the Juniors division if you catch the drift.
Result: Dragon Lee smartly dumps Taiji Ishimori out to pin Bandido and win to become the NEW IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion!