For the first time since the debut of this weekly column, New Japan Pro Wrestling has secured the top match of the week. The IWGP Title match from the October 14th King of Pro Wrestling show was head and shoulders above everything else I saw this week, securing that honor for Zack Sabre Jr. and Tetsuya Naito.
It was not a classic IWGP title match by any stretch but it was excellent nonetheless. Naito proved he still had a little something left in the tank and Sabre Jr., in winning his first IWGP title, was determined to make it a great match. After nearly 25 minutes, he secured the win and the belt with not one of his trademark submissions, but with three consecutive Zack Drivers, leading to a pinfall win. He was then challenged in the ring by Sanada, who faced him this past Sunday in England in ZSJ's first title defense, as well as by Shingo Takagi and Shota Umino. He will next defend against Takagi, who recently beat him in the G1 on the NJPW Power Struggle show on November 4th.
That was the only major show of the week but there were several excellent television matches among the several shows I watched. It was a lighter-than-usual week for me with only 60 matches watched, which included the following shows in the week ending October 20th; NJPW Power Struggle, WWE RAW, OVW Rise (aired Oct 9, recorded Oct 3), WWE NXT, NXT Lvl Up (aired Oct 11), AEW Dynamite, ROH on Honor Club, TNA Impact, WWE Smackdown, AEW Rampage, WWE Main Event (aired Oct 11, recorded Oct 7) and AEW Collision.
My top 10 matches follow with my personal star rating and also include the Cagematch score as well as Dave Meltzer's star rating (if available):
1. 4.75* Zack Sabre Jr wins the IWGP Heavyweight title over Tetsuya Naito at King of Pro Wrestling October 14th. 8.26/10 on Cagematch; 4.25* from Dave Meltzer
2. 4.25* Mike Bailey retains his TNA X Division title over Leon Slater on TNA Impact October 17th. 8.07/10 on Cagematch
3. 4.25* Ricochet over AR Fox on AEW Collision October 19th. 7.44/10 on Cagematch
4. 4.25* David Finlay retains his IWGP Global title over Hirooki Goto at King of Pro Wrestling. 7.61/10 on Cagematch. 4.25* from Dave Meltzer
5. 4.25* Ethan Page wins a #1 contender's Triple Threat match over Je'Von Hayes and Wes Lee on WWE NXT October 15th. 7.63/10 on Cagematch. 4* from Dave Meltzer
6. 4* Kyle Fletcher over Atlantis on AEW Collision. 7.11/10 on Cagematch.
7. 4* Shingo Takagi retains the Never Openweight title over Ryohei Oiwa at King of Pro Wrestling. 7.59/10 on Cagematch; 4.25* from Dave Meltzer
8. 3.75* Shelton Benjamin defeats Lio Rush on AEW Dynamite October 16th. 7.37/10 on Cagematch
9. 3.75* Ren Narita wins the IWGP Television title over former champ Jeff Cobb and Yota Tsuji at King of Pro Wrestling. 5.95/10 on Cagematch. 4* from Dave Meltzer
10. 3.75* Christian Cage beats Jay White on AEW Dynamite. 5.71/10 on Cagematch.
