It’s the most wonderful time of the year…

Yes, it’s Voices of Wrestling Secret Santa time again, everyone. The brainchild of JR Goldberg (@wrestlingbubble), VOW Secret Santa sees all participating website contributors give their fellow contributors, the greatest gift of all: wrestling matches!

VOW Secret Santa Archives: voicesofwrestling.com/category/vow-latest/columns/vow-secret-santa/

Ricochet vs. KUSHIDA
June 8, 2014
NJPW

Reviewed by Griffin Peltier (@Hollywd12)

Gifted by Rich Kraetsch (@voiceswrestling) 

This is a treat!

My Secret Santa knows me well to gift me a junior heavyweight wrestling match. Right off the bat, I would like to extend my condolences to the careers of Ricochet and KUSHIDA, buried alive in a warehouse in Orlando. Maybe someday we’ll get a Christmas miracle and both of these guys will be free to wrestle in companies that would appreciate them and use them correctly. Let’s hope Vince McMahon gives Nick Khan a Microsoft 365 subscription for Christmas.

The match was everything you want it to be from guys like Ricochet and KUSHIDA in a role like this. The work was crisp and the athleticism was excellent, proving to be a battle of determination and grit to earn the right to be BOSJ tournament winner. One of the best details of the match is KUSHIDA constantly working the arm and Ricochet selling it for most of the match. It’s realism that sucks you in and I thought Ricochet was legitimately hurt and fought through the pain. KUSHIDA, to his own credit, also sold well and showed enormous heart by surviving the 630 and the Benadryller before ultimately being put away.

This was a fun watch but now I’m sad that we may never see these two in this role again. Overall, this feels like it deserves 4.25 Christmas Cookies. Thanks Secret Santa, who may or may not be New Japan Stat Guru Chris Samsa.Â