2019 Ongoing MOTY List: WALTER vs. OHNO

Kassius Ohno vs. WALTER NXT UK 1/27 (Aired 2/27/19)

ER: Big man match that goes under 10 minutes, so they get to the point quick and don't abuse nearfalls. Instead they just hit each other, working in rhythm but doing things to break each other's rhythm. We got plenty of big chops, WALTER built to big kicks, Ohno tried to slow him down with a cravat, and occasionally he'd hit a nerve and WALTER would plow him over. Ohno takes a big bump to the floor, and he keeps trying to come back firing, with WALTER absorbing a bit while laying in wait. We get a fun sequence where WALTER grabs for a sleeper but Ohno blocks it by grabbing WALTER's arm; he eventually gets it, Ohno runs to the ropes, but WALTER perseveres and drops Ohno with a German suplex. WALTER-as-weapon is always fun, and it was fortuitous that Nigel was comparing WALTER to young Andre, and not long afterward WALTER ran and flattened Ohno with a bombs away. Ohno's missed moonsault is an impressive spot, made more impressive when a WALTER dropkick sends him the rest of the way across the ring right after, and I am a huge fan of these under 10 minute Ohno matches that end with no overkill. They have a bigger war in them, but I was into these warning shots.

PAS: This was a pretty great TV match. Two guys who really hit hard and one guy in Ohno who really knows how to work a hard hitting match in an interesting way. WALTER is a guy who can be a fun dance partner for someone willing to lead. He isn't going to vary his match much, but Ohno is such a creative thinker that a 10 minute TV scrap between the two is going to be great. Lots of little cool moments, like Ohno hitting a diving elbow to the side of WALTER's head, Ohno breaking the sleeper by manipulating the thumb, WALTER hitting a big flying dropkick which flips Ohno backwards. Really fun stuff which ends right when it should. There is so much WWE to watch, that weirdly matches like this are way more under the radar then something from IWTV or even an indy lucha match. Very WCWish, although most things on Worldwide didn't get this much time to develop.


2019 MOTY MASTER LIST