PPV Showdown: NJPW WrestleKingdom 9 vs. WrestleKingdom 10

Welcome to another edition of PPV Showdown, where I'll take two editions of a given wrestling show and compare the shit outta them to determine which one is better.  

Today I'm looking at the two best WrestleKingdom shows from New Japan, both of which rank very highly among the greatest PPVs I've ever seen.  From top to bottom each of these shows delivered a spectacular cross-section of the NJPW product and yielded multiple MOTY candidates.  WWE (or anyone else) will be hard-pressed to come up with anything nearly this good anytime soon.

But there's a question that's been bugging me for a while now: which was better, WrestleKingdom 9 or 10?  Both editions were universally praised, and trying to pick one over the other is like trying to choose your favorite child.  Structurally the two shows were pretty similar and thus should be easy to compare.  Yet they were both so outstanding, how does one choose?  Well let's take this one step at a time and go down the card.  Hopefully when this is over we'll be able to determine once and for all which show was superior....




4-Way Jr. Tag Match

Both WKs opened with a 4-way match for the Jr. Tag Titles (as did WK8) to energize the crowd.  In both cases this match featured insane tandem offense and nearly non-stop action.  2015's match pitted Jr. Tag Champs reDRagon against The Young Bucks, Forever Hooligans, and Time Splitters.  There wasn't a wasted moment here and all four teams went basically balls-to-the-wall for 13 minutes before reDRagon retained.

By comparison WK10's version also saw reDRagon defending the straps, this time against The Young Bucks, Roppongi Vice, and hot new team Matt Sydal & Ricochet.  It was a similarly contested lightning paced battle, but this time The Young Bucks captured the belts after nearly 17 minutes.

So these matches were both roughly ***1/2 star spotfest-type affairs, but I'll give a slight edge to the WK10 version since it had a bit more time to breathe, plus Ricochet's mindboggling offense was a difference maker.

Point: WrestleKingdom 10

PPV Showdown: WrestleMania 30 vs. WrestleMania 31

Hello, and welcome to a new variation on my Showdown series!  In the past I've pitted two similar films head-to-head (Superman Returns vs. Man of Steel; Hulk vs. Hulk; Manhunter vs. Red Dragon) and examined in detail which film I thought was superior.  Today though I'll be pairing up the last two editions of WWE's annual flagship WrestleMania!

WrestleMania 30 took place on April 6, 2014 and was primarily built around the against-all-odds Championship quest of Daniel Bryan, who unexpectedly captured the hearts and imagination of WWE fans across the globe as the little guy being screwed by WWE's corporate machine.  WWE's holding Bryan down both onscreen and to a certain extent behind the scenes led to a massive fan backlash, and the company restructured their intended 'Mania card to make Bryan the centerpiece.  Thus Bryan would face COO Triple H, with the winner being added to the Randy Orton-Batista WWE Title match.  Elsewhere on the card, John Cena faced the mysterious Bray Wyatt, The Undertaker defended his undefeated streak against Brock Lesnar, and 20 men competed in the first Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.  The card was met with very positive feedback, particularly due to the two Daniel Bryan matches, but fans were also appalled by the shocking Undertaker loss at the hands of Lesnar.

WrestleMania 31 followed nearly a year later, on March 29, 2015, and the big story this time was the ascent of Roman Reigns, whom Vince McMahon had picked to be the next big star in the company.  Sadly the fans didn't share Vince's enthusiasm for the young Samoan, offering Reigns a cold-at-best reaction at just about every turn.  Reigns had won the Royal Rumble to a barrage of irate crowd boos, earning him the right to challenge WWE Champ Brock Lesnar at 'Mania.  The card also featured The Undertaker facing Bray Wyatt, John Cena challenging US Champ Rusev, a seven-man Intercontinental Title Ladder Match, and the WWE debut match for Sting, against Triple H.  Despite an infamously poor buildup, this show was an immense crowd-pleaser and received glowing praise from most reviewers, many of whom considered it one of the best WrestleManias of all time.

But which show was superior?  Let's take a look, shall we?

Pre-Show Tag Team Title Match

WM30's in-ring festivities kicked off with a Fatal Four-Way Tag Match as The Usos defended the straps against The Real Americans, Los Matadores, and RybAxel.  The bout was a fast-paced, enjoyable elimination match showcasing The Usos' considerable talent and also brought about the long-overdue split between Cesaro and Jack Swagger.  Cesaro was hugely over, and this was one of two big moments for him on this card.

WM31 featured a similar pre-show tag match but without the elimination rules.  This time it was Champions Cesaro & Tyson Kidd vs. The Usos vs. The New Day vs. Los Matadores in a blazing ten-minute melee.  Cesaro & Kidd were just coming into their own as a killer tandem and this helped build their momentum.

Despite the latter bout involving superior talent, the WM30 opener had more time to breathe and the elimination rules made it a bit more fun.

Point: WrestleMania 30