2018 Ongoing MOTY List: Gallagher vs. Gulak

4. Jack Gallagher vs. Drew Gulak WWE NXT 5/10

PAS: Holy hell what an awesome bit of grappling. Pretty crazy that something so stylistically odd awesome ended up on a WWE produced show. Gulak has been training as he looks way more muscular then the last time I saw him (I clearly need to go on a Gulak run). The first six minutes of this are all matwork and it is some all time great stuff, cool mix of traditional pro style, World of Sport stuff and point jujitsu. There is this truly epic leg lock battle with Gallagher adjusting a step over toe hold in multiple cool ways, and Gulak looking to roll and attack from the bottom. The attacks here were way more Volk Han then Johnny Saint, and while I actually really like Zach Sabre Jr., the technique here was on a whole different level. I loved how both guys would use front chokes and can openers to counter the leg locks They get up off the mat and have a great rope running section with both guys attacking from odd angles, and then a great striking section which was super stiff, and ended in a Gallagher KO headbutt which looked like a Fujiwara KO. I loved every second of this, the skill level of this match is unlikely to be matched by anyone, anywhere in the world.

ER: Truly in the running for best under 10 minute match in history, and once you started parsing that time down I'm not sure how many better under 7 minute matches there are. This was some next level stuff and without seeing Phil's thoughts ahead of time, as I was watching it I was also thinking how wild this was to just be happening in WWE. The match is 6.5 minutes and we don't get a strike thrown until around minute 5, and before that we get the best headlocks and leglocks and some of the coolest worked shoot wrestling I've seen. I loved all of this and won't go through a play by play, but there was no wasted movements from these two. Gulak worked headlocks early and that also helped him later, early on he locked on one and circled around Gallagher, like he was running a Three Stooges spot and trying to screw Gallagher into the mat. Gallagher looked like a little pale Terminator on the mat, calmly knowing where to reach and what to work for the entire time, with Gulak looking slightly behind while trying to not get his ankle snapped. None of Gallagher's sub attempts looked gimmicky, all was airtight and looked wholly uncooperative, stepping down on Gulak's right ankle while twisting his left, mindful of how Gulak was swinging his momentum on the mat to see where he could make his counter step. The leglock position brought too many cool little things, with Gulak using the toe of his boot to annoy Gallagher's face and allow slight room for shifts, and that great extended series of Gallagher maneuvering Gulak's leg over his own, working in the other one, grabbing an arm, all done so snug. That Indian Deathlock figure 4 was a thing of vicious beauty, and Drew grabbing a desperation headlock and immediately trying to twist Gallagher's head off to get him to break legitimately looked like Gulak's only chance at escape. The strikes section is perfectly timed and just the right amount, with Gallagher kicking at Drew's leg, Gulak responding with huge elbows and chops and a thrust headbutt to the chest, all of which seemed designed in equal parts to hurt and to create distance. The finish couldn't have ruled any harder, with Gulak going for a death blow with a tornado elbow and Gallagher putting him on dream street with THAT headbutt. This was really special. I'd probably go 70 stars on this one, since I can watch it 10 times in the time it would take someone to watch a 7 star match.


2018 MOTY MASTER LIST