2019 Ongoing MOTY List: Ohno vs. Ligero

63. Kassius Ohno vs. Ligero NXT UK 4/6 (Aired 4/24/19)

ER: This started out like a mean Ohno squash and then built into something that felt like a big upset was imminent, with several neat twists. And honestly, had this been an Ohno squash, I would have loved it. Because a big portion of this was Ohno trying to kick Ligero's horns right off his head. Ohno was really pasting Ligero with kicks, big running front kicks, and when Ligero was on the mat Ohno would run in and boot him again in the side of the head, for good measure. Ohno felt one step ahead for much of this, every duck and dodge pulled by Ligero, there was a boot waiting for him the second he turned around. My favorite was Ohno grabbing Ligero's right arm and bending it back, and as soon as it approached the breaking point Ohno rained down on him with a kick to the ear. At one point Ligero actually got a boot up in time for a charging Ohno...who merely stopped in time to catch the boot and then violently twist his ankle. Not looking great for Ligero. But he did finally catch a charging Ohno, and went on a little tear himself, including throwing some nice kick variations and now, finally, staying one step ahead of Ohno. There were some nice reversals, nice dodges (cool sequence where Ohno misses a kick and a follow up senton), and I love seeing Ohno take code reds and big roll ups and make them look like near escapes. We got a cool reversal where Ohno caught Ligero and immediately turned into what I thought was going to be the sudden match finishing tombstone, but Ligero rolled through that as well. The finish was what really put this over the top for me, as Ligero springs off the bottom rope with a cutter, but Ohno catches him, traps him in a cravat, unties Ligero's mask a bit....and then turns it to the side!! Ligero is looking at the inside of his mask, and before he can hardly react he gets absolutely waylaid by an elbow to the back of the head. Awesome.

PAS: Ligero is one of those semi-racist fake white guy luchadores who cropped up in the early 2000s. WWE decided that El Generico wasn't going to fly in the big leagues, but NXT UK is clearly so under the radar that Ligero gets to just skate in. He isn't much in this, breaking out his competently executed Sliced Breads and Code Reds and such, but Ohno is a fucking monster. There is a spot where he reverses a dive by Ligero and kind of shucks him head first into the stairs. For the rest of the match he is trying to send Ligero into a dark quiet room for half a week. Just super nasty knees to the side of Ligero's head and kicks to the temple and stomps to the back of his head. Man you can really get away with shocking violence on these C-Shows no one watches. Ohno did a great job selling all of Ligero's so-so comebacks, and the finish really felt like a Finlay, Regal or Eddie bit of trickery which is about the best compliment I can give a finish.


2019 MOTY MASTER LIST