The Best Matches I’ve Watched This Month (April 2024)
With WrestleMania weekend, I won’t have too much new to say here, but here is my list. Note every match, even the honourable mentions, are 8/10 rated or higher. It’s been a great month of watching for me!
Honourable Mentions
- Aja Kong vs Kyoko Inoue, AJW, August 10, 1997
- Aja Kong vs Manami Toyota, AJW, August 20, 1997
- Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs Kumiko Maekawa & Tomoko Watanabe, AJW, August 20, 1997
- Meiko Satomura vs Shinobu Kandori, LLPW, February 12, 2007
- Chris Hero vs Eddie Kingston, CZW, April 7, 2007
- Bryan Danielson vs Nigel McGuinness, ROH, June 9, 2007
- Cheerleader Melissa vs Wesna, ChickFight, June 17, 2007
- Chris Hero vs Equinox, Chikara, November 7, 2007
- Daniel Makabe vs Timothy Thatcher, ACTION DEAN~!!!, April 4, 2024
- Masha Slamovich vs Syuri, GCW/JCW, April 4
- Lyra Valkyrie vs Roxanne Perez, NXT, April 6, 2024
- Mayu Iwatani vs Sareee, Stardom, April 27, 2024
#11
Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Mistico
“Best 2/3 Falls”
CMLL Super Viernes
July 27, 2007
Wagner comes out as the most bad ass rudo in the first fall, just beating down Mistico and then pinning him with a vicious power bomb and ripping off his mask! The second fall, Mistico returns with a new mask and jumps from the balcony onto Wagner, but soon Wagner has ripped his mask and blooded him until a great comeback to even it off. In the final fall, Mistico fights back and rips Wagner’s mask. The crowd is really hot for this, and they work a really dramatic ending with Mitsico so great as the underdog! The speed at which Mistico hits dives is impressive. The real flaw of the match is that after Wagner power bombs Mistico on the floor and the doctors make sure he’s not dead, someone attacks Wagner, laying him out for Mistico to jump back in and win. Regardless, a great match,
#10
John Cena (c) vs Randy Orton
“WWE Heavyweight Championship”
WWE SummerSlam
August 26, 2007
This match is shockingly great, as they go with a simpler structure and work in a more traditional format. Orton goes full work on the neck with headlocks and stomps, while Cena fights completely from underneath with great hope spots. The teases of the big moves were great, especially since this match wasn’t overloaded with those spots like most WWE main event matches of the time. Orton was so focused on the neck it was well paid off. The finish was a shocking surprise FU by Cena for the win; it was kind of a play on Orton’s RKO that was out of nowhere. A great match I had completely forgotten about.
#9
Roman Reigns (c) vs Cody Rhodes
“WWE Undisputed Universal Championship”
WWE WrestleMania XL: Sunday
April 7, 2024
Thoughts here, on my review of the full WrestleMania show.
#8
Chris Hero vs Eddie Kingston
“Last Man Standing”
IWA Mid South Petty Invitational: Night 2
September 29, 2007
You know this is going to be a fight when it starts with them already brawling, appearing through the curtains. It didn’t let up, and the first half of the match is brawling all over the arena. Chris Hero is the best, so logical and smart. Things like being disadvantaged and shoving the table into Kingston to get distance are perfect. Hero’s selling even makes Kingston’s Kawada chops look good. The stuff in the ring is even better, with Hero mostly in control and Kingston fighting from underneath. A lot of the work is on Kingston’s hand, which is great, but sadly, Kingston essentially abandons it later. A real stand-out spot was Hero hooking a Boston Crab and then putting a chair under him so he sat down, and the chair drove into the back of Kingston’s neck. He was so great in this. Kingston bled from under the eye, which added to the gritty feeling of the fight. The back-and-forth shoot head butts were disgusting. After using mostly chairs in the match, Hero got frustrated by Kingston just breaking the ten-count, so he grabbed the guardrail. This led to an amazing finishing sequence that ended with Hero taking a Saito Suplex on the guardrail. Absolute beast of a fight here!
#7
Rhea Ripley (c) vs Becky Lynch
“WWE Women’s World Championship”
WWE WrestleMania XL: Saturday
April 6, 2024
Thoughts here, on my review of the full WrestleMania show.
#6
Claudio Castagnoli vs El Generic
“Race to the Top Tournament Final”
ROH Race to the Top
July 28, 2007
Another amazing underdog performance from Generico, as he tries to play Cinderella in the tournament and upset the bigger, stronger favourite, Claudio. I love that it took its time to build the match up because, by the time we got to the nearfalls, in the end, they all felt very special. Generico had amazing selling and hope spots, and Claudio has a great power offense. A perfect marriage in styles.
#5
Ayako Hamada vs Meiko Satomura
“Battlefield WAR Tournament Final”
Sendai Girls Live Vol. 10
July 22, 2007
Apparently, 2007 was the year of the classic tournament finale matches. These two battled, mostly with some of the most brutal strikes ever. The kicks of both of them were unreal! The real contrast is that Satomura would go for submissions, especially working over Hamada’s shoulder, while Hamada would use flying to try to get the advantage. Everything they did was incredible and vicious, and the hot crowd lost their mind for the great finishing sequence!
#4
The Briscoes vs Kevin Steen & El Generico
“Boston Street Fight”
ROH Death Before Dishonor V
August 10, 2007
This was one of the damnest fights. They were in street clothes and fought all over the arena, beating each other into bloody messes. What I really love is how organic the weapons were, how things were set up, and how they were used because they just happened to be there. Having it as teams meant it was constantly a war flipping between the two pairs. It did get a little too many big moves near the end, keeping it from a GME potential, but it’s pretty damn close and a must-watch.
#3
Gunther (c) vs Sami Zayn
“WWE Intercontinental Championship”
WWE WrestleMania XL: Saturday
April 6, 2024
Thoughts here, on my review of the full WrestleMania show.
#2
Demus vs Mad Dog Connelly
“Dog Collar”
ACTION DEAN~!!!
April 4, 2024
Thoughts here, on my review for the full DEAN show!
#1
IYO SKY (c) vs Bayley
“WWE Women’s Championship”
WWE WrestleMania XL: Sunday
April 7, 2024
Thoughts here, on my review of the full WrestleMania show.
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WrestleMania XL Review
I haven’t been this excited about a WrestleMania since 2004. Vince is gone, and they have an SA policy. Kevin Dunne is gone, too. The production is great, and the storylines heading into this one have been amazing. LFG!
WrestleMania XL: Saturday
April 6, 2024
Philadelphia, PA
Lincoln Financial Field
The new button was pretty cool.
After a nice intro video, Michael Cole gives us a weather update and wonders how the cold will affect the wrestlers. That’s a nice touch.
Hey, it’s the proper USA anthem, not the song Vince always wanted. Truly, this is a new era!
Speaking of a new era, Trips is here to tell us it’s a new era.
I will note here the production of WWE has gotten so fucking good. It’s great throughout, and it’s shocking how good it is since it was so shit even 6 months ago.
1. Rhea Ripley (c) vs Becky Lynch
“WWE Women’s World Championship”
Becky gets a cool entrance with her reading from her book, while Rhea gets a band to play her theme song!
Becky has had strep throat all week, so she’s the clear underdog. So much already feels different.
Becky tries to work the arm, but Rhea is just too damn strong, and she takes complete control for most of the early part of the match. When she goes to the top, Becky armbars her down to continue her strategy. Every time Becky gets the advantage with the arm, the power of Rhea is too much. That continues when Becky moves, and Rhea hits the post with the arm. Becky looks to win with the flying leg drop, but that gets countered into Rhea’s “Prison Trap,” but Becky rolls her up for a nice near fall. Both hit their finishers for more awesome nearfalls! A superplex by Becky turns into the Dis-Arm-Her after working the arm all match, but Rhea is too strong; she stands up, taking Becky to the outside with a move, and turns into an electric chair on the floor. Rhea hit a frog splash for a massive two! Becky tries the Manhandle Slam, but Rhea counters with a Riptide into the buckle and then a Riptide for the win! Great opener!
Rating: 8.75/10
Pretty Deadly takes the time to insult every team in the upcoming ladder match.
2. The Judgement Day (Finn Bálor & Damian Priest) (c) vs #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs The Awesome Truth (The Miz & R-Truth) vs The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Wood) vs Austin Theory & Grayson Waller vs New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate)
“Six-Pack Ladder Match for the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship”
The gimmick here is both sets of titles are hanging, and they are really pushing that the Championships will be split up here.
I have to admit I laughed at R-Truth getting the hot tag and then going through Cena’s move set and getting a “pin” in the ladder match. #DIY doing DX moves less fun, but R-Truth tells them to go for one belt while he goes for the other. However, Waller graps the SmackDown Tag Team Titles to win those. For his trouble, he gets power bombed through a ladder to the floor.
The Raw Tag Team Titles are still in play, so we continue. We get all the usual ladder match stuff you would expect until it looks like R-Truth has won. JD McDonagh runs out and makes the save for Judgement Day. When it looks like they will retain, New Day makes the save, by the way, dressed as Apolo Creed and Rocky from the first Rocky film. We get more teases, and eventually, R-Truth pulls down the belts for his first win at WrestleMania.
Rating: Some Fun Stuff and Ladders
Michael Cole brings up the weather again, I think he is really cold tonight.
3. Rey Mysterio & Andrade vs Santos Escobar & “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio
Andrade off the top rope with Rey on his shoulders to the floor was a wild dive! We settle down, and Mysterio works face in peril. Andrade gets a hot tag, and he looks so great throughout this match, but he doesn’t get the win. Rey hits 6-1-9 and Andrade hits a moonsault from the top to the floor, but Escobar’s group cheats to go back into control. All of the seconds start doing dives and brawling, leaving Escobar and Rey alone. Two large dudes in Mysterio masks attack, and Rey and Andrade win. LWO hugs the large dudes, and it’s Jason Kelcie and another football from the Eagles.
Rating: Good Match
4. Jey Uso vs Jimmy Uso
The video hype package for this match is really great!
Lil’ Wayne raps Jey to the ring.
Because they are twins and longtime tag partners, it makes sense that this match was mostly mirroring and very even, but that doesn’t make it the most exciting match. Jey finally gets control, Jimmy begs for forgiveness, and everybody in the crowd knows he’s insecure. Sadly, Jey does not, and Jimmy takes advantage. However, a comeback by Jey and a big splash give him the win.
Rating: I’m Sure It Was Fine
5. Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Asuka, & Kairi Sane) vs Bianca Belair, Naomi, & Jade Cargill
For a six-person tag on the undercard, this match had a great build, and the video package highlighted that well. The entrances from both teams were amazing, and everyone looked amazing!
The glee Damage CTRL has while they work over Naomi was joyous to watch. After Bianca gets tagged in, she really unleashes some of the best offense. She goes to tag Jade in for the first time but gets cut off, which gives Damage CTRL the chance to work over Bianca now. A Ricky Morton rolling tag brings in Cargill, who KILLS Damage CTRL. We have some fun back and forth until Cargill pins Kai with her finisher.
Rating: 7/10
Sami Zayn is with his wife and kid, and his kid thinks he can do it, but he doesn’t want his kid to see it. He has doubts after losing to Roman Reigns in Montreal last year. Later, on his way to the ring, Chad Gable appears and says he’s not going out with him, and he believes in him. He does the Rocky 2, you owe me a favour gimmick. Further on his way to the ring, Kevin Owens appears, hugs him, and says he can do it! Damn, he better do it now!
6. Gunther (c) vs Sami Zayn
“WWE Intercontinental Championship”
This is an all-time classic. Sami fights really hard, but Gunther is the most dominant Intercontinental Champion ever. Sami gets in some nice hope spots, but every time, Gunther comes back on top. That is until Gunther hits two huge power bombs that don’t put Sami away. Some doubt comes on Gunther’s face. He is able to keep Sami down, and his confidence soars again, so he starts to taunt Sami’s wife at ringside. He hits a few top rope splashes without going for the pin. Sami tries to fire himself up as Gunther goes to the top again, and he does by hitting a Helluva Kick out of nowhere. He then climbs up and hits the Brainbustaaahhhhh! Yes, El Generico’s brainbuster onto the top turnbuckle. Two more Helluva Kicks and Sami ends Gunther’s 666-day reign as Champion in a beautiful moment!
Rating: 9.25/10
The two GMs, Nick Aldiss and Adam Pearce, are here to thank the viewers. They announced the attendance of 72,543 and told the fans to keep the noise for the main event.
7. “Main Event”
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns & The Rock) vs Cody Rhodes & Seth “Freakin'” Rollins
“If The Bloodline wins, then the Universal Championship Match on Sunday will be fought under ‘Bloodline Rules'”
A nice long recap video in case you missed anything in this great build. Watching that build and then seeing Cody Rhodes giving his weight belt to his father-in-law and hugging his mom is foreshadowing. The Rock came out with the People’s Championship given to him at the Hall of Fame show.
The Rock actually looks great, like a wrestler not a statue. Way better than his previous run.
The match is fascinating, though. There were about 10 minutes of boring before a fun all-over-arena Attitude brawl. The Rock, being on the TKO board, tells the referee to let it go. After, it turns into a southern tag with Rollins isolated as they work the knee. Roman bleeds, and Cody gets a hot tag, but the match continues. The Rock gives Cody’s mom the weightlift belt from the angle on Raw. There is brawling at ringside this time, and Cody Rock Bottoms Rock through a table while Roman spears Rollins through the barricade. At one point, Roman hit the spear on The Rock after Seth saved Cody. After all the madness, Cody has the win, but Rock uses the weightlifting belt to stop his pin on Roman. From there, The Rock pins him with the People’s elbow.
45 minutes?
With editing, this could have been a classic, but there was too much that was not classic.
Rating: 7/10
That means Sunday’s match between Cody and Roman will be “Bloodline Rules.” I like the carryover booking here. Which leads us to Sunday.
WrestleMania XL: Sunday
April 7, 2024
Philadelphia, PA
Lincoln Financial Field
This is a very sports intro. Michael Cole talks about matches and shows wrestlers entering the building earlier today. He also brings up the weather again. It’s less cold today!
The opening video was amazing! You have to be hyped from it!
A different American anthem plays; why do Americans have so many damn anthems?
Speaking of sucking, here comes Stephanie McMahon. I so wanted to be done with McMahon BS. She’s excited about the Paul Levesque era and just says how great he is and does the DX intro.
1. Seth “Freakin” Rollins (c) vs Drew McIntyre
“WWE World Heavyweight Championship”
Drew McIntyre has a whole bagpipe band playing Roddy Piper’s theme before they play his song. Punk is on commentary and is already pissed! Michael Cole gives another weather update, haha. Seth Rollins has a whole band of wild, colourful costumes to play him out. This rules! He’s dressed in a very fabulous outfit. The whole band marches him to the ring!
Drew hits the Claymore right away for a nearfall immediately, and then he goes to work on the knee as Seth tries to go outside to recoup. This is perfect playing off last night. Seth is broken but gets in a curb stomp, but his hurt leg from last night means he doesn’t hit all of it, and it’s an easy kick out for Drew. The whole story is that Seth is broken, and Drew is easily in control, but Seth keeps fighting, hurting his knee, and having to gut through it. Drew wastes time and stares at Punk and goes for the GTS, but it gets countered into a rollup for a good nearfall. Another Claymore gets two as well. He gets very frustrated and tries to power bomb Seth through the announce table, but that’s countered. Seth stomps Drew on the table but hurts his knee again. Back inside, a Claymore came out of nowhere for another kickout. Drew is fucking losing it. One more Claymore, and that’s it. I don’t normally like Seth, but this match was good, and the story was easy to enjoy throughout.
Rating: 7/10
Drew won his first World Title in front of a crowd. After a moment with his wife, Drew stares down Punk again. He gets in his face and waves the title, mocking him, and then Punk attacks. He takes his brace off and then hits Drew with it.
That’s when Damian Priest arrives with the Money in the Bank briefcase, and he cashes in.
2. Drew McIntyre (c) vs Damian Priest
“WWE World Heavyweight Championship”
He hits his finish and wins the title immediately. Drew really brought that on himself. Great moment there!
Rating: WTF!
3. Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) vs The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Akam, & Rezar)
“Philadelphia Street Fight”
Snoop Dogg is the guest commentator for this one. That rules. On the other hand, Bubba Ray Dudley is the guest referee. That sucks.
The weapon shots are vicious and stiff. Kross argues with Bubba, and then Lashley and The Profits go through Dudley spots. The table spots were nice, and they ended the match there pretty easily.
The real highlight was B-Fab and Scarlet getting involved and brawling with weapons. Later, B-Fab did a Russian legsweep through a table off the apron onto Scarlet! The other big highlight was Snoop Dogg having a great time.
Rating: It was a WWE Dudley-inspired street fight.
Logan Paul does pushups, and then a video package about last night’s main event plays.
Kayla Braxton asks Paul Heyman what “Bloodline Rules” means. No DQ. No Countdown. One fall. Whatever The Bloodline wants, really. He name-dropped Brandi Rhodes!
4. LA Knight vs AJ Styles
The video package reminds me of how over the former TNA dude is now. Since I don’t watch regularly, it surprises me every time.
We don’t wait; punches right away from both. From there, it’s pretty back-and-forth until Styles works the leg. Knight almost makes a comeback, but his attempt to slam AJ onto the bare floor fails as AJ counters, leading to a near countout. AJ’s springboard 450 is stopped by Knight’s knees. We get more punching, and then they counter each other’s finishers until Knight hits BFT for the win. The crowd loves it.
Rating: Solid
A video package plays going over the Hall of Fame ceremony, and they each get their moment in front of the crowd. Bull had her nunchucks, so it’s great.
We get many commercials, highlights of their charity events, and a nice little tribute to Bray Wyatt.
5. Logan Paul (c) vs Randy Orton vs Kevin Owens
“WWE United States Championship”
A video package for this match makes sense, but we have spent so much time doing video packages since the last match it’s wearing thin.
Logan Paul comes in on a truck promoting his drink and has a drink mascot with him. Sami appears as Kevin makes his way to the ring to return the favour from last night, saying it’s his turn now. After looking at the truck, he gets a golf cart to come out on. Randy Orton comes out without a vehicle, so Owens offers him a ride to the ring, and he gets on the back. It’s a fun moment.
Orton and Owens just take turns beating up Paul, to begin with. After taking him out, they realize only one of them can win, and they both try to double-cross each other. They decide it’s time to fight each other, which gives Paul an opening. We get a more typical triple-threat match, with each man hitting big moves. Paul is a really hateable heel, which adds a good dynamic. Brass Knuckles by him and get two only on Orton. Owens is taken out by the knucks, too. He goes for a final brass knuckles shot, and Orton hits an RKO instead. Orton then gets the knucks, hands them to the referee, and goes for his classic punk kick, but the Prime bottle saves him. The Prime Bottle is Paul’s buddy and so Orton kills him with an RKO on the table. Of course, that gives Owens and Paul time to recover. Owens Pop Up Power Bomb is turned into an RKO, and then Paul hits a frog splash on Owens for the win after disposing of Orton.
Rating: Almost Spreadsheetable
6. IYO SKY (c) vs Bayley
“WWE Women’s Championship”
This is another great video package. Bayley does an Egyptian goddess entrance being carried by cat men. She is living the dream, basically. She looks amazing. Shirai looks great, too, so let’s go!
This is very intense to start. On a tope by Bayley, she tweaks her leg, and then Shirai goes to work. You almost forget, since she was such an amazing heel, that Bayley is an all-time babyface! The selling of the leg by Bayley, whether on offense or being beaten on, was great! Shirai has such great offense. Moonsault by Io to a fully extended leg of Bayley, but that hurt Bayley, too. Amazing spot! Bayley does a tentative attempt at a flying elbow, but Shirai counters into a submission! She’s frantic and turns it into the STF in the middle, but Bayley pushes her off. Bayley-to-Belly gets a big nearfall. The selling of Bayley is so great! Shirai decks her and laughs, but Bayley decks her, which fires Bayley way up! Moonsault for a HUGE nearfall. Standing moonsault. Second rope Moonsault. But Bayley moves out of the proper one and goes for Rose Plant, but Io flips out of it. Bayley hits the elbow drop and the Rose Plant for the win. This fucking ruled!
Rating: 9.25/10
Snoop Dogg is out with the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders and mascot to announce 72,755 attendance.
One final weather update before the main event! Then, a long video package recaps everything.
7. Roman Reigns (c) vs Cody Rhodes
“WWE Undisputed Universal Championship Bloodline Rules”
Wish me luck with this recap.
Cody gets a Triple H entrance for the main event and Brandi Rhodes is there to take his mask for him and wish him luck. Good stuff! His family is at ringside. On the other hand, Roman has a whole orchestra to sing and play his song for him.
Cody takes out a table, but Roman puts it back. After some okay weapon shots and brawling, there is a brawl in the stands, and they get on one of the longest tables ever. Roman tries to suplex him off of it, but Cody reverses, and they head back toward the ring, where Roman takes complete control after a GIANT powerbomb. He has a long control segment until double lariats take both out. Cody makes a big comeback and hits the Disaster Kick, but that’s not enough. Roman counters the Cody Cutter with Cross Rhodes, but that gets two. He misses the Superman’s punch, and Cody punches and bionic elbows him away to a comeback. He sets up the table, but a low blow by Roman stops everything. Roman power bombs Cody through the table, and Superman punch gets a big nearfall. Cody counters the spear and hits a Cody Cutter for two. Roman tries Rock Bottom, counter, then Cody hits the spear. We are spamming each other’s finishers. Cross Rhodes hits, and a second attempt has Jimmy Uso break it up. Superman punch brings out Jey Uso, and he brawls with his twin. Jey spears him off the stage through a table. Roll up by Cody for two, spear by Roman for a massive kickout! They both tumble to the outside, and Cody spears Roman through the barricade. Back inside, Cody hits two Cross Rhodes, but Solo breaks up the third attempt. A two count after the Samoan spike. Solo tries to kill Cody and then holds him up as Roman spears him, and Solo spikes him at the same time. That’s another two. That brings out John Cena for the save. Attitude Adjustment by Cena as he puts Solo through a table. That brings out The Rock. It’s Cena vs The Rock now; everyone else is dead. Huge staredown and Cena gets to Rock Bottom. Rock brings out the Mama Rhodes belt, but the Shield music plays and Roman takes out Seth dressed in Shield gear before he does anything. Rock then destroys everyone with the weight lift belt, but the Undertaker’s music plays, and the music goes off. He’s behind The Rock and they have a staredown now. Choke Slam by Undertaker. Gong. Lights off. Undertaker is gone. Roman is up, and Cody is trying to get up. he grabs a chair and goes to kill Cody, but Seth is getting up, too. He nails Seth from behind, just like Seth did to him when The Shield broke up. He goes for a spear, but it’s countered. Cody hits Cross Rhodes and rolls that into three. He wins.
Rating: How do you rate that? 8/10 I guess?
Big props to Samantha Irvin, who is the best ring announcer ever, it seems. Her announcement of Cody winning was great. He gets the belt and cries, and out comes Brandi. After his moment, more come out and put him on their shoulders to celebrate. More and more folks, including his mom, enter.
A fitting end to WrestleMania XL.
“Damn it, I love professional wrestling!” Michael Cole
Cody gives us a little speech. Cody brings out Bruce Pritchard and Trips because it’s a new era.
Cody hugs everyone, even Michael Cole, who is crying. Cena ducking to stay off camera is funny, but the last image shows Cody alone in the ring with the belt, shaking Seth’s hand. Trips whispers something in his ear, and then the fireworks come. Cole is emotional, and Cody shakes everyone’s hand and hugs the cameramen and anyone he can find.
Finally a good WrestleMania and WWE may be good again.
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The Best Matches I’ve Watched This Month (November 2023)
It was a very light month in November, probably because I spent too much time watching The Traitors. I did get a top-25 match, though!
#25
Chikayo Nagashima & Sugar Sato vs Sonoko Kato & Toshie Uematsu
GAEA Break Out!
September 16, 1996
Intense, quick tags, lots of brawling, and a high-paced tag match. A lot of fun!
Rating: 7/10
#24
Gunther (c) vs The Miz
“WWE Intercontinental Championship”
WWE Survivor Series
November 25, 2023
The story of Miz trying to work the leg to take down the unstoppable Gunther was good and it was sold well by Gunther. The big near-fall off the Eddie Guerrero hijinks was really fun. The knee almost took Gunther out, but he was too good and put The Miz down!
Rating: 7/10
#23
Tito Santana (c) vs Paul Orndorff
“WWF Intercontinental Championship”
WWF at Kiel Auditorium
September 1, 1984
From my review of The Best of The WWF Volume II:
It feels like they wanted to show the St. Louis crowd a more NWA-style match, as WWF just took over the territory. The structure was not typical for a WWF match from the time, and it had lots of cool nearfalls, a non-WWF structure, and a lot of action. Tito is one of the best babyface workers ever, and seeing him work from underneath is great. His hope spots are tremendous. The comeback was intense by Tito, as usual. They fought back and forth down the stretch, leading to a time-limit draw.
Rating: 7/10
#22
Rhea Ripley (c) vs Zoey Stark
“WWE Women’s World Championship”
WWE Survivor Series
November 23, 2023
I kind of loved this. It was intense, hard-hitting, and dramatic. Zoey stepped up and used her power but was overcome as it wasn’t enough. Perfect title defense.
Rating: 7/10
#21
Hiromi Yagi vs Jaguar Yokota
JWP on September 8, 1996
Jaguar continues to look great, no matter what year it is. This has a lot of fun stuff, and I loved the sudden submission finish out of nowhere!
Rating: 7/10
#20
Strike Force, The British Bulldogs, The Killer Bees, The Rougeau Brothers, & The Young Stallions vs The Hart Foundation, Demolition, The Bolsheviks, The New Dream Team, & The Islanders
“Elimination Match”
WWF Survivor Series
November 26, 1987
A match filled with a lot of action, quick tags, and a logical format, and I loved the story of the underdog Stallions surviving with the Bees.
Rating: 7/10
#19
Angel de Oro, Niebla Roja, & Templario vs Atlantis Jr., Mascara Dorada 2.0, & Mistico
“Best 2/3 Falls”
CMLL Grand Prix De Amazonas
October 27, 2023
This had exactly what you wanted, with spectacular moves, a hot crowd, and a good story about the feud between Templario and Mistico. Dorada continues to impress!
Rating: 7/10
#18
Bayley vs Bianca Belair
WWE SmackDown
October 27, 2023
A tremendous match, with Bayley working over the back and Belair selling it well. The highlight was a great segment that started on the apron and continued outside, and the finish was really good as well.
Rating: 7/10
#17
La Catalina vs Zeuxis
“CMLL Universal De Amazones Title Tournament Final Match”
CMLL Blue Panther 45. Aniversario
October 20, 2023
They both fought hard to win this tournament, and it was an exciting match.
Rating: 7/10
#16
The Powers of Pain, The British Bulldogs, The Hart Foundation, The Rockers, & The Young Stallions vs Demolition, The Bolsheviks, The Brain Busters, Los Conquistadores, & The Fabulous Rougeaus
“Elimination Match”
WWF Survivor Series
November 24, 1988
It is similar to the previous year but with more action, more stories, and the really fun Conquistadores surviving against all odds. Plus, a double turn!
Rating: 7/10
#15
Chigusa Nagayo, Sakura Hirota, Sonoko Kato, & Toshie Uematsu vs Chikayo Nagashima, Mayumi Ozaki, Reiko Amano, & Sugar Sato
GAEA Endless Summer
August 18, 1996
Nagayo and Ozaki were awesome in this, controlling everything, but the rookies really came out to shine, and this was a blast!
Rating: 7/10
#14
Bryan Danielson vs Rush
AEW Dynamite
February 8, 2023
The first 2/3 of the match was great, with Rush just destroying an injured and bloody Danielson and being a cocky asshole about it. Danielson’s selling was great, and he was such a massive underdog. The comeback was good, too, but once we got to the longer finishing sequence, it fell apart a bit for me.
Rating: 7/10
#13
Chaparita ASARI vs Kyoko Inoue
“Japan Grand Prix”
AJW Japan Grand Prix
July 28, 1996
This was a blast. To start, they did the I’m taller than you exchange, with each standing on different things to get an advantage in a test of strength until it ended with ASARI hitting a top rope dropkick onto Inoue, who was standing on a steal chair. Immediately, ASARI sat in the chair while Inoue rolled to the floor and sat in a chair at ringside. A perfect start to the match. The rest was fun, too, with Inoue hitting one of the fastest giant swings ever and ASARI having tremendous spots throughout. It ended with Inoue’s death offense for the win.
Rating: 7/10
#12
Dynamite Kansai (c) vs Mayumi Ozaki
“JWP Openweight Championship”
JWP on August 10, 1996
This was dramatic and had a lot of great struggle between the two. The crowd brawling was awesome here, too.
Rating: 7.25/10
#11
The Usos (c) vs Drew McIntyre & Sheamus
“WWE Raw & SmackDown Tag Team Championship”
WWE SmackDown
January 6, 2023
This told a great story of McIntyre and Sheamus outmatching the Usos regarding power and being one-on-one, but the Usos are the superior team. Usos are also the masters of tag nearfalls, and the crowd was insane for them in this one. I love the classic cheating tag finish and Sami and Roman’s reactions while watching in the back while eating popcorn.
Rating: 7.25/10
#10
Rie Tamada & Yumi Fukawa (c) vs Chikayo Nagashima & Sugar Sato
“Japanese Tag Team Championship”
AJW The Rising Generation Queens Carnival
September 1, 1996
Oz Academy (Nagashima and Sato) do some wild Sabu shit, and it’s so much fun as they are the highlight of this really good tag match that comes down to a very exciting finishing sequence.
Rating: 7.5/10
#9
CM Punk vs Ricky Starks
“Owen Hart Foundation 2023 Men’s Tournament Final Match”
AEW Collision
July 15, 2023
Punk is a master of playing the crowd and Starks is very charismatic and has the crowd with him, and the crowd was amazing here in Calgary! Punk really went out of his way to make Starks a superstar in this, and the finish was a perfect payoff.
Rating: 7.5/10
#8
Aja Kong & Dynamite Kansai vs Devil Masami & Kyoko Inoue
JWP The Ryogoku Big Project
October 13, 1996
These two amazing teams have an amazing match, to nobody’s surprise. It started intense, with everyone hitting vicious lariats, but only kept it up all match. It built really well with a lot of great action and the main takeaway is this match looked like it hurt a lot.
Rating: 7.75/10
#7
Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair & Shotzi vs Asuka, Bayley, IYO SKY & Kairi Sane
“War Games”
WWE Survivor Series
November 25, 2023
I was a little apprehensive about the babyfaces winning the advantage as it goes against everything I know about War Games. When each person entering brought a new weapon, my skepticism was super high, but luckily, they salvaged things and turned it into a great match.
Bayley held everything together and worked her ass off. It was so nice to see KAIRI having so much fun upon returning to WWE too! Of course Io Shirai took some nutty bumps, including the jump off the top of the cage in a garbage can. The finish was very satisfying!
Rating: 7.75/10
#6
Gunther (c) vs Chad Gable
“WWE Intercontinental Championship”
WWE Raw
August 21, 2023
I had completely forgotten that Chad Gable existed, but it turns out he is the perfect Gunther opponent. Gunther, in the middle of the best IC Title run ever, faced an unrelenting technical wrestler who had the power to match up with him. He pushed and pushed Gunther and finally got the shock count-out win, setting up a rematch. It’s a perfect way to give Gunther his first loss in the WWE.
Rating: 8/10
#5
Orange Cassidy (c) vs Swerve Strickland
“AEW International Championship”
AEW Dynamite
June 7, 2023
Although Cassidy can do amazing moves, amazing comedy, and garner amazing amounts of sympathy, the real key to his amazingness is the little things. The ability to stay in character in almost any situation. Like sitting on the apron trying to avoid getting hit by slowly scooting out of the way. That said, this match hits on all of his levels of amazing, and Swerve is no slouch and a really good opponent for him as he can keep up on those levels and is a great counterpoint to him. It was an awesome match that got a lot of time and built from a great character-driven match into a match filled with amazing spots and such an awesome finishing sequence where each looked like the winner, and it had a perfect finish.
Rating: 8/10
#4
Bison Kimura vs Li Fua
Jd’ Star on July 30, 1996
I had no idea that Li Fua was Jaguar Yokota until days after I watched this, so that adds to the awesomeness here.
Li Fua is a deranged Chinese masked woman who spent most of the match cheating and stabbing Bison, making her bleed everywhere. It’s a violent brawl that goes all over the ringside area and involved many weapons. It even involved Fua doing a moonsault from the stage to the floor onto Bison. This match is insane.
Afterward, Fua cuts her own head and pours the blood into Bison in some kind of ritual. A must-watch match!
Rating: 8/10
#3
Pedro Morales (c) vs Don Muraco
“WWF Intercontinental Championship”
WWF on MSG Network
January 22, 1983
From my review of The Best of The WWF Volume II:
Muraco attacks before the bell, and Morales fights right back. The really cool being thrown into the corner and turning it into a sunset flip by Morales is awesome. The early goings are just Morales destroying Muraco and Muraco selling his ass off. He’s such a chicken shit that when Morales looks to jump off the top to the floor on him, Muraco hides under the ring. A massive low blow by Muraco brings things even, and that’s when Muraco can finally remove his shirt. Of course, Muraco uses it to choke Pedro, only for Pedro to low-blow him back!
Muraco ducked, and Morales hit the turnbuckle with his knee, which finally evens the tides and led to some good knee work by Muraco. After a pushoff of the figure-four, Morales has a comeback and does a backbreaker onto his hurt knee like an idiot. The Boston Crab he does is too close to the ropes, and his leg is too hurt to keep it on. Muraco still can’t control it, though. Morales keeps fighting, but the cross body by Muraco is caught, only for Morales’s leg to give up, and Muraco wins the belt.
It is a great, short, and intense brawl with amazing transitions that tell a wonderful story. I love these two against each other.
Rating: 8.25/10
#2
Aja Kong vs Kyoko Inoue
“Japan Grand Prix Final”
AJW Japan Grand Prix
August 30, 1996
Kong is out for death in this match, and Inoue is a perfect underdog with tremendous selling throughout. It’s intense from the start to the tremendous run of nearfalls down the stretch. Every lariat and every throw and hit just look like they hurt; it’s on another level. A great match that seems to be forgotten if you listen to Cagematch.
Rating: 9.25/10
#1
Gunther (c) vs Chad Gable
“WWE Intercontinental Championship”
WWE Raw
September 4, 2023
You know a match is special when the WWE uploads it to YouTube immediately.
This played off the previous match and built upon it. Gable knew he could win, and Gunther had doubts for almost the first time in his reign. Gable again fought from underneath, but here, his hope spots meant more. The comeback and the Gable’s attempts to win were electric. This had the best ankle lock submission nearfalls I have ever seen. When Gunther finally survived and got back on offense, there was no back-and-forth bullshit. He delivered a bunch of vicious offense and just pinned him clean. The camera immediately moved to Gable’s daughter crying in the first row. This might be my match of the year.
With this win, Gunther has become the longest-reigning IC Champion ever!
Rating: 9.25/10
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The 100 Greatest Matches Ever
This is my entry for the Greatest Matches Ever project. A bi-annual vote for the greatest matches ever, plus they do fun other votes in the off years. The ballot is due 2023-06-30. Check them out at GME Board.
What makes a great match?
One of the biggest traits I look for is memorable. Yes, I rate things as I watch them, but what makes something great is looking back at it later and still remembering spots, moments, or even the whole story. My memory is shit, so actually cementing itself in there is a great accomplishment.
Let’s see how I feel in June 2023.
I previously voted in 2021, so I will also note how I voted then for contrast.
Honourable Mentions (all rated 9.25/10)
- Jim Duggan vs Ted DiBiase – “Loser Leaves Town Coal Miner’s Glove On A Pole Steel Cage Tuxedo Street Fight” – Houston – March 22, 1985
- Angel Azteca vs El Dandy – EMLL – June 1, 1990
- Damiancito el Guerrero vs Cicloncito Ramirez – “2/3 Falls” – CMLL – January 7, 1997
- Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair – “Last Woman Standing” – WWE – October 28, 2018
- Giulia vs Tam Nakano – Stardom – April 23, 2023
9.25/10 Rated Matches
#100
The Great Muta vs Scott Norton
“G1 Climax”
NJPW G1 Climax 1997
August 2, 1997
Ryogoku Kokugikan
2021: 100th
#99
The Ultimate Warriors (Ultimate Warrior, Jim Neidhart, & The Rockers) vs The Heenan Family (Andre the Giant, Bobby Heenan, Arn Anderson, & Haku)
“Survivor Series Match”
WWF Survivor Series
November 23, 1989
Rosemont Horizon
2021: 99th
#98
Kana vs Meiko Satomura
Kana Pro Mania
February 25, 2014
Korakuen Hall
#97
Akira Hokuto vs Bull Nakano
“Steel Cage Match”
AJW on July 30, 1992
Prefectural Gymnasium
2021: 81st
#96
Andrade Almas (c) vs Johnny Gargano
“NXT Championship”
NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia
Wells Fargo Center
#95
Io Shirai (c) vs Mayu Iwatani
“World of Stardom Championship”
Stardom Galaxy Stars
June 21, 2017
Korakuen Hall
2021: 80th
From my 2017 MOTY post:
“I began watching STARDOM this year, and Mayu Iwatani quickly became my favourite. A unique and very loveable babyface, perhaps the best in the business. This match ended years of her chasing Io Shirai and finally toppling her to become the ace. An emotional contest that I cared more about than any other match this year.”
#94
Dynamite Kansai vs Mayumi Ozaki
“Street Fight”
JWP Jazz and Soul
March 17, 1995
Hakata Starlanes
From a Best Matches I’ve Watched This Week post:
“This match was a wild street fight that was bloody, violent, and out of control. The ring was destroyed, and they used a chain like it was a dog collar match just because they wanted to kill each other, not because of the stipulations. This escalated so well and never lit up. The finish was kind of a surprise, but I kind of dug it. An excellent match!”
#93
El Felino vs El Hijo del Snato
“Best 2/3 Falls”
October 18, 1998
Arena Coliseo Monterrey
2021: 49th
#92
Aja Kong & Kyoko Inoue vs Eagle Sawai & Leo Kitamura
LLPW on June 15, 1993
Ota Ward Gymnasium
From my 1993 MOTY post:
“Leo Kitamura is a wrestler I have never even heard of until I started watching all of Joshi, and here she is in the top 10 matches of the year. That’s how great the Aja Kong and partner vs Eagle Sawai and partner feud was in 1993. This is a match of contrasts as the brutes of Kong and Eagle try to destroy each other while the face-painted Kyoko Inoue and Kitamura do weird shit around them. An unbelievable and surprising match you must watch.”
#91
Stan Hansen vs Toshiaki Kawada
AJPW Excite Series
February 28, 1993
Nippon Budokan
2021: 74th
#90
Bull Nakano (c) vs Yumiko Hotta
“WWWA World Championship Steel Cage Match”
AJW on January 23, 1991
2021: 61st
#89
Sasha Banks (c) vs Charlotte Flair
“WWE Raw Women’s Championship Hell in a Cell”
WWE Hell in a Cell
October 30, 2016
TD Garden
2021: 52nd
From my 2016 MOTY post:
“The chemistry between Charlotte and Sasha is at an all-time level, and this feud has produced as many great matches as any feud in WWE history. If you want to hear more about this match, listen to this amazing episode of “Stacey & Elliot’s Bogus Journey,” where they talk about this match for 90 minutes.”
#88
Kyoko Inoue (c) vs Akira Hokuto
“All Pacific Championship”
AJW Dream Rush in Kawasaki
November 26, 1992
Kawasaki City Gymnasium
2021: 48th
#87
Kaori Yoneyama (c) vs Emi Sakura
“JWP Openweight Championship Hair vs Hair Match”
JWP Revolution
September 19, 2010
Shinjuku FACE
From my Joshi Match Recommendations post:
“Oh boy, let’s get right into it! Tag partners turned into enemies fighting for a title and to keep their hair. The intensity is off the page. It gets into counter-intensive and bomb fest but is done really well. It’s from the “dead” era of Joshi, so it’s not well known. That should be changed. Yes, Kaori Yoneyama is currently Fukigen Death in Stardom. The post-match hair cutting is an emotional airfare that Joshi catches really well.”
#86
Lacey vs Sara Del Rey
“SHIMMER Championship Tournament Finals”
SHIMMER Volume 12
June 2, 2007
Berwyn Eagles Club
2021: 86th
#85
Bayley (c) vs Sasha Banks
“NXT Women’s Championship Iron Man”
NXT TakeOver: Respect
October 7, 2015
Full Sail University
2021: 79th
From my 2015 MOTY post:
“This match has aged really well and is one of the best Iron Man matches ever, maybe the best.”
#84
Eddie Guerrero (c) vs John “Bradshaw” Layfield
“WWE Championship”
WWE Judgement Day
May 16, 2004
Staples Center
2021: 58th
From my 2004 MOTY post:
“It’s the bloodbath match for Eddie. JBL had just turned, and Eddie did this amazing job of cementing JBL as a threat through bleeding buckets. A great underdog bloody performance by Eddie.”
#83
Emi Sakura & Kaori Yoneyama vs Arisa Nakajima & Command Bolshoi
“JWP Tag Team & Daily Sports Tag Team Championship”
JWP Pure Slam
August 19, 2012
Korakuen Hall
#82
Becky Lynch (c) vs Bianca Belair
“WWE Raw Women’s Championship”
WWE WrestleMania 38: Saturday
April 2, 2022
AT&T Stadium
From my 2022 MOTY post:
“The main event of WrestleMania delivered big (Becks?) time! They called back to their SummerSlam match early and then continued with a brilliant heel performance by Lynch. The psychology was great, and this was an instant classic.”
#81
Devil Masami (c) vs Chigusa Nagayo
“All Pacific Championship”
AJW Summer Night Festival In Budokan
August 22, 1985
Nippon Budokan
2021: 78th
#80
Carlos Colon vs Stan Hansen
“Bullrope Match”
WWC on January 6, 1987
2021: 87th
#79
Rick Martel vs Terry Funk
“WWC Universal Championship Tournament Semi-Final”
WWC 13th Aniversario
September 20, 1986
Palacio de Recreación y Deportes
2021: 91st
#78
Larry Zbyszko vs Nick Bockwinkel
AWA on July 11, 1987
Las Vegas, NV
#77
Kaientai DX (Dick Togo, MEN’s Teioh, Shiryu, Shoichi Funaki, & TAKA Michinoku) vs Gran Hamada, Gran Naniwa, Masato Yakushiji, Super Delfin, & Tiger Mask
Michinoku Pro These Days
October 10, 1996
Ryogoku Kokugikan
2021: 73rd
#76
El Dandy vs El Satanico
“Hair vs Hair Best 2/3 Falls”
EMLL Juicio Final
December 14, 1990
Arena Mexico
2021: 76th
#75
Steve Austin (c) vs Dude Love
“WWF World Championship No DQ Falls Count Anywhere Match”
In Your House: Over The Edge
May 31, 1998
Wisconsin Center Arena
2021: 69th
#74
The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart, Brian Pillman, Davey Boy Smith, Jim Neidhart, & Owen Hart) vs Goldust, Ken Shamrock, Steve Austin, & The Legion of Doom
WWF In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede
July 6, 1997
Saddledome
2021: 72nd
#73
Eddie Guerrero (c) vs Rey Mysterio Jr.
“WCW World Cruiserweight Championship vs Mask Match”
WCW Halloween Havoc
October 26, 1997
MGM Grand Arena
2021: 64th
#72
Bull Nakano (c) vs Aja Kong
“WWWA Championship”
AJW Wrestlemarinepiad
April 25, 1992
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium
2021: 54th
#71
Akira Taue vs Mitsuharu Misawa
“Championship Carnival Final”
AJPW Champion Carnival
April 15, 1995
Nippon Budokan
2021: 67th
#70
Greg Valentine vs Roddy Piper
“Dog Collar”
NWA Starrcade
November 24, 1983
Greensboro Coliseum
2021: 53rd
From my 1983 MOTY post:
“The greatest dog collar match of all time. The Hammer focuses his offence on Piper’s ear, taking out his equilibrium making for a fun dynamic. Bloody and violent with a super hot crowd on the very first Starrcade.”
#69
Psychosis vs Rey Mysterio Jr.
WCW Bash At The Beach
July 7, 1996
Ocean Center
2021: 66th
#68
Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect
“King of the Ring Semi-Final Match”
WWF King of the Ring
June 13, 1993
Nutter Center
2021: 77th
#67
Atlantis Sr., Brazo de Oro, El Dandy, La Fiera, Mascara Magica, Negro Casas, Shocker, & Ultimo Dragon vs Black Warrior, Dr. Wagner Jr., El Hijo del Santo, Felino, Kevin Quinn, Satanico, Scorpio Jr., Silver King
“Torneo Cibernetico”
CMLL Super Viernes – 41. Aniversario de Arena Mexico
April 18, 1997
Arena Mexico
2021: 65th
#66
Dustin & Dusty Rhodes & The Nasty Boys vs Arn Anderson, Bunkhouse Buck, Terry Funk, & Col. Robert Parker
“War Games”
WCW Fall Brawl
September 18, 1994
Roanoke Civic Center
2021: 60th
From my 1994 MOTY post:
“I know there is no blood, but this is one of the most wild and unpredictable War Games ever. Dustin is a perfect babyface for the Studd Stable to go after, and the dynamic of the loose cannons of The Nasty Boys and Terry Funk mixed in make this one of the greatest War Games ever.”
#65
Arisa Hoshiki (c) vs Tam Nakano
“Wonder of Stardom Championship”
Stardom Shining Destiny 2019
June 16, 2019
Korakuen Hall
From my 2019 MOTY post:
“I am a sucker for great stories in wrestling, and the best story in wrestling in 2019 was Tam Nakano and Arisa Hoshiki. The storytelling in this match then lived up to the overall story, with each having great strategies and it all leading up to a brilliant conclusion. Everything was stiff and crisp and super emotional. A match of the year in most years, but this is a 2019 list…”
9.5/10 Rated Matches
#64
Cutie Suzuki & Mayumi Ozaki vs Kyoko Innoue & Takako Inoue
AJW All-Star Dream Slam
April 2, 1993
Yokohama Arena
2021: 55th
From my 1993 MOTY post:
“The two Dream Slam shows are just filled with classic matches, and this one may have the most exciting nearfalls and finishing sequence of them all. The heel Ozaki adds the dynamic, and I can’t not mention the amazing giant swing Kyoko does here!”
#63
Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy
“AJPW World Tag Team Championship & Real World Tag League Final”
AJPW Real World Tag League
December 16, 1988
Nippon Budokan
#62
Sasha Banks (c) vs Becky Lynch
“NXT Women’s Championship”
NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable
May 20, 2015
Full Sail University
2021: 46th
From my 2015 MOTY post:
“The match that took women’s wrestling in NXT from a really solid and good part of the undercard to the real highlight of the company for me. The two former partners pulled out a classic with some amazing storytelling. Sasha Banks went right for Becky’s arm and destroyed it (which is what Becky usually does). Becky was a great babyface trying to fight through, but The Boss was too much and retained the title here.“
#61
Jumbo Tsuruta vs Mitsuharu Miswa
“Triple Crown #1 Contendership”
AJPW Summer Action Series II
September 1, 1990
Nippon Budokan
2021: 51st
#60
Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs Jun Akiyama & Mitsuharu Misawa
“Real World Tag League Final”
AJPW Real World Tag League
December 6, 1996
Nippon Budokan
#59
The Revival (c) vs #DIY
“NXT Tag Team Championship Best 2/3 Falls”
NXT TakeOver: Toronto
November 19, 2016
Air Canada Centre
2021: 47th
From my 2016 MOTY post:
“This match has the advantage of me being there live, but this match has enough praise from others for me to feel confident going the full five stars on it. This is the best tag match in WWE history and perhaps in North American history. It played off their previous matches, it built suspense, had high-end moves, and insane crowd heat. I loved this match, and it was incredibly special. It was so special that my friends I was with rushed to the merchandise stand to purchase a #DIY shirt immediately following it.”
#58
Utami Hayashishita (c) vs Syuri
“World of Stardom Championship”
Stardom Tokyo Dream Cinderella Special Edition
June 12, 2021
Ota City General Gymnasium
2021: 31st
#57
The Bloody & Fang Suzuki (c) vs Sumie Sakai & Hiroyo Muto
“LSD 2001 Match: No Rules Falls Count Anywhere Weapons Death Match for the TWF World Women’s Tag Team Championship”
“Jd’ … and Justice for All!”
July 22, 2001
Korakeun Hall
From my 2001 MOTY post:
“This is one of the most insane matches I have ever seen. They used every weapon imaginable and every part of the arena imaginable to try to kill each other. Heck, they even hung someone. This match has to be seen to be believed, and it will be making my top 100 matches of all-time list the next time I make one.”
#56
Brock Lesnar vs John Cena
“Extreme Rules Match”
WWE Extreme Rules
April 29, 2012
Allstate Arena
2021: 45th
#55
Mercedes Martinez (c) vs Kylie Rae
“Phoenix of RISE Championship No Ropes Submission Match”
RISE 13: Legendary
March 29, 2019
Berwyn Eagles Club
2021: 40th
From my 2019 MOTY post:
“Watching this live, I thought it was great, and it has only improved with time. Kylie is the perfect underdog likable babyface, and there is nobody better in the veteran dominant role than Martinez. The ropes being removed added a level of danger to that match that I really loved. It starts off really great, with Mercedes attacking Kylie while she’s covered in ribbons and only gets better from there. The legwork by Martinez was tremendous, and Kylie sold it so well. The finishing run was so exciting! I must mention that Allysin Kay and Veda Scott were also tremendous on commentary. A real classic that doesn’t get enough love.”
#54
Kenta Kobashi vs Stan Hansen
AJPW Summer Action Series
July 29, 1993
Nippon Budokan
2021: 56th
From my 1993 MOTY post:
“Kenta Kobashi’s selling is a perfect contrast to the bruising Stan Hansen. This match has been talked about to death and has maybe the greatest finish in wrestling history.”
#53
Pat Patterson vs Sgt. Slaughter
“Alley Street Fight”
WWF on May 4, 1981
Madison Square Garden
2021: 43rd
#52
Chigusa Nagayo & Dynamite Kansai vs Devil Masami & Mayumi Ozaki
GAEA Memorial First Gong In Korakuen
April 15, 1995
Korakuen Hall
#51
Cheerleader Melissa vs MsChif
“Falls Count Anywhere”
SHIMMER Volume 4
February 12, 2006
Berwyn Eagles Club
2021: 50th
#50
Bull Nakano & Condor Saito vs Chigusa Nagayo & Lioness Asuka
“Tag League The Best Final”
AJW on October 11, 1987
2021: 37th
#49
Bret Hart (c) vs 1-2-3 Kid
“WWF World Heavyweight Championship”
WWF Monday Night Raw
taped July 1, 1994, aired July 11
Fernwood Resort & Country Club
2021: 36th
From my 1994 MOTY post:
“The most old-school travelling World Champion against local babyface the WWF has ever done. Bret took the underdog 1-2-3 Kid and made him feel like he’d win the World Championship on a random Monday Night Raw.”
#48
El Hijo del Santo vs LA Park-K
“Best 2/3 Falls”
Monterrey on December 23, 2001
From a Best Matches I’ve Watched This Week post:
“This match was the absolute perfect hate-filled, violent, gritty bloody brawls. You know it’s going to be something special when both wrestlers’ costumes are white. By the end, both were wearing pink.
I loved how this naturally felt like a fight. They threw each other into chairs, stomped really hard, punched, etc… This wasn’t about hitting spectacular moves; it was about trying to hurt the other while you are pissed off. That being said, there were plenty of dramatic nearfalls and a few spectacular big spots. Even the rudo and técnico disagreeing referees were done well here, especially in how that came to the finish. A true must-watch classic if you like blood and brawls.”
#47
Aja Kong & Akira Hokuto vs Eagle Sawai & Shinobu Kandori
AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2
April 11
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
2021: 22nd
From my 1993 MOTY blog:
“This was the most shocking discovery of the Joshi chronological watch we are doing on the discord. This match is NEVER talked about, it has no rating from Dave Meltzer, and the usual sights don’t have threads for it. That is bizarre because this rules so hard.
We have the continuation of the Hokuto and Kandori feud, but adding the beginning of the Eagle Sawai and Aja Kong feud, which is also awesome. Kong is at her best in huge tag matches, and this may be the best performance of her career up until this point. The other takeaway is that Eagle Sawai is a great wrestler, and this was a huge wake-up party for me. Hate, drama, and excitement. Watch this!”
#46
Diesel (c) vs Bret Hart
“WWF World Championship No Holds Barred Match”
WWF Survivor Series
November 19, 1995
USAir Arena
2021: 57th
#45
Combat Toyoda (c) vs Megumi Kudo
“FMW Independent Women’s & WWA Women’s Championship No Ropes Barbed Wire Current Blast Death Match”
FMW Fighting Creation: 7th Anniversary Show
May 5, 1996
Kawasaki Stadium
2021: 41st
9.75/10 Rated Matches
#44
Io Shirai (c) vs Mayu Iwatani
“World of Stardom Championship”
Stardom Year-End Climax
December 22, 2016
Korakuen Hall
2021: 29th
#43
Bull Nakano (c) vs Akira Hokuto
“WWWA World Champiosnhip”
AJW on January 4, 1991
Korakuen Hall
2021: 30th
#42
Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs Genichiro Tenryu
“Triple Crown Championship”
AJPW Super Power Series
June 5, 1989
Nippon Budokan
I hadn’t watched this match in many years, and with the focus on 1989 and the Greatest Match Ever, I figured I needed to. The nearfalls steal the show in this one, but consistent intensity and excitement make this a classic. Some really cool spots on the outside, too, that I loved.
#41
Sting’s Squadron (Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, Ricky Steamboat, & Sting) vs The Dangerous Alliance (Arn Anderson, Beautiful Bobby, Larry Zbyszko, Rick Rude, & Steve Austin)
“War Games”
WCW WrestleWar
May 17, 1992
Jacksonville Coliseum
2021: 21st
#40
John Cena (c) vs CM Punk
“WWE Championship”
WWE Money In The Bank
July 17, 2011
Allstate Arena
2021: 28th
#39
Bull Nakano vs Shinobu Kandori
“Chain Match”
LLPW/FMW/AJW on July 14, 1994
Tokyo Coliseum
From my 1994 MOTY post:
“A brutal encounter between two badasses hitting each other with chains. One of the best uses of a gimmick being used in a gimmick match ever.”
#38
Syuri (c) vs Giulia
“World of Stardom Championship”
December 29, 2022
Ryōgoku Kokugikan
From my 2022 MOTY post:
“I waited on putting out this list until this match had ended, and that was a wise decision as it is my match of the year. This is pro-wrestling, a very long-term storyline that paid off in a highly emotional moment on a grand stage!
I loved that this was a different kind of epic. At no point did they try to pad the time with pointless limp work that went nowhere. Nope, these two went to war from the opening bell to the end. So many huge moments and spots, including an Exploder suplex from the ramp to the audience!
They had a finishing sequence that was perfect. They were struggling for everything. One could say it had “botches” or was “sloppy”, but it felt like they were destroyed. Great match, on the same level as the Dream Queendom match between Utami and Syuri last December.”
#37
Bull Nakano (c) vs Aja Kong
“WWWA World Championship”
AJW Dream Rush In Kawasaki
November 26, 1992
Kawasaki City Gymnasium
2021: 26th
#36
The Can-Am Express (c) vs Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
“All Asia Tag Team Championship”
AJPW Super Power Series
May 25, 1992
Prefectural Sports Center
2021: 38th
#35
John Cena (c) vs Umaga
“WWE Championship Last Man Standing Match”
WWE Royal Rumble
January 28, 2007
AT&T Center
2021: 18th
#34
Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada (c) vs Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki
“WWWA Tag Team Championship Best 2/3 Falls”
AJW All-Star Dream Slam 2
April 11, 1993
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
2021: 24th
From my 1993 MOTY post:
“This is the most exciting high-action spot-oriented match in wrestling history. Add to that the badass Kansai and the utter heelness of Ozaki, and you are in for a giant treat. This match set up future generations of wrestling like the Omegas and the Okadas.”
#33
The Shield vs The Wyatt Family
WWE Elimination Chamber
February 23, 2014
Target Center
2021: 24th
From my 2014 MOTY post:
“The first trios match in WWE history that I feel made it to five stars. Some of the greatest booking the WWE has ever produced, having two dominant teams teasing but never touching until the match. The crowd was insane, and the Wyatts doing to The Shield what they have done to everybody else was a beautiful finish.”
#32
Bull Nakano vs Devil Masami
JWP on April 18, 1993
Korakuen Hall
2021: 23rd
From my Joshi Match Recommendations post:
“People often talk about 6-4-94 as the classic among classics, but here we have a match that cut from the same ilk that you could argue is even better. This match really stands out in 1990s Joshi, as it has a real build to escalation like the before mentioned 6-4-94 match, without the relentless pace of Joshi. These two legends add so many small great little touches that help make this match get better and better after multiple viewings.”
#31
Brock Lesnar (c) vs Eddie Guerrero
“WWE Championship”
WWE No Way Out
February 15, 2004
Cow Palace
2021: 39th
From my 2004 MOTY post:
“This match is one of the most classic underdog babyface performances of all time. This was Brock, at his best, a dynamic offensive cocky force. Eddie is in his “home” town, and the crowd is wildly supporting him, unlike almost any other match in wrestling history. A true all-time classic.”
#30
Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, Paul Ellering, & The Road Warriors vs The Four Horsemen
“War Games”
NWA The Great American Bash Tour
July 4, 1987
Omni Coliseum
#29
Utami Hayashishita (c) vs Syuri (c)
“World of Stardom & SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship No Time Limit Match”
Stardom Dream Queendom
December 29, 2021
Ryogoku Kokugikan
#28
Chigusa Nagayo vs Dump Matsumoto
“Hair vs Hair”
AJW on August 28, 1985
2021: 42nd
#27
Dr. Wagner Jr. vs L.A. Par-K
TXT
May 11, 2013
El Gimnasio Juan de la Barrera
2021: 33rd
From my 2013 MOTY post:
“On the original list, I made in 2013, this match was #2, but my love for it has grown over time. This match starts with LA Park lighting a Wagner shirt on fire draped over a chair, and while Wagner makes his entrance, Park is flipping him off. It gets better from there. Blood, chairs, beer bottles, this is everything a brawl could possibly be!”
#26
Sasha Banks (c) vs Bianca Belair
“WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship”
WWE WrestleMania 37
April 10, 2021
Raymond James Stadium
2021: 25th
#25
Atsushi Onita vs Terry Funk
“No Rope Barbed Wire Current Blast Super Large Time Bomb Death Match”
FMW Genten: 4th Anniversary Show
May 5, 1993
Kawasaki Stadium
2021: 34th
From my 1993 MOTY post:
“One of the most dramatic matches and one of, if not the best, deathmatch of all time. Even if you don’t like deathmatches, like myself, this match transcends that.”
#24
Akira Hokuto vs Shinobu Kandori
AJW St. Battle Final
December 6, 1993
Ryogoku Kokugikan
#23
Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura
“Real World Tag League Match”
AJPW Real World Tag League
November 29, 1989
Nakajima Sports Center
2021: 27th
#22
Atlantis vs Ultimo Guerrero
“Mask vs Mask Best 2/3 Falls”
CMLL 81. Aniversario
September 19, 2014
Arena Mexico
2021: 17th
From my 2014 MOTY post:
“There is little wrestling I love more than big emotional mask matches, and this one is a great version of that. A long-time-running feud that had audiences crying afterwards. There are few matches that have more drama for nearfalls than this.”
#21
Bull Nakano (c) vs Aja Kong
“WWWA World Championship Steel Cage Match”
AJW Wrestlemarinepiad
November 14, 1990
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium
2021: 20th
#20
Dump Matsumoto vs Yukari Ohmori
AJW on March 20, 1986
2021: 35th
From my Joshi Match Recommendations post:
“This is the most visceral match in wrestling history. A truly unstoppable mythical monster versus a never gives up fighter. It’s violent. It’s scary. At one point, Dump slams a pair of scissors into Omori’s arm and just walks away. Don’t watch this late at night, but watch it and show everyone you know! Then watch it again.”
#19
Jaguar Yokota (c) vs La Galáctica
“UWA World Women’s Championship”
AJW on February 27, 1985
2021: 19th
9.99/10 Rated Matches
#18
Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada
“AJPW World Tag Team Championship”
AJPW Super Power Series
June 9, 1995
Nippon Budokan
2021: 16th
#17
Aja Kong, Kyoko Inoue, Sakie Hasegawa, & Takako Inoue vs Cuty Suzuki, Dynamite Kansai, Hikari Fukuoka, & Mayumi Ozaki
“60 Minute Iron Woman First Attack”
JWP Thunder Queen Battle In Yokohama
July 31, 1993
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium
From my 1993 MOTY blog:
“The Joshi inter-promotional wars of the 1990s are the greatest thing in wrestling history, and this is one of the highlights. A 60-minute Iron Woman match with Team AJW vs Team JWP. There are a lot of great stories and highlights in these 60 minutes. I normally would never recommend a match this long, but with the rules as they are and the team aspect, it never drags. An all-time classic.”
10/10 Rated Matches
#16
Tully Blanchard (c) vs Magnum TA
NWA United States Championship I Quit Steel Cage Match”
NWA Starrcade
November 28, 1985
Greensboro Coliseum
2021: 7th
#15
Randy Savage vs Ultimate Warrior
“Career Ending Match”
WWF WrestleMania VII
March 24, 1991
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
2021: 15th
#14
Bret Hart vs Owen Hart
WWF WrestleMania X
March 20, 1994
Madison Square Garden
2021: 10th
From my 1994 MOTY post:
“Every time I go to rewatch this match, I expect to lower it from the high place I have it in my head, then I finish it, and it remains. The story of the young brother trying to update the older brother on his best night always gets me. The care they took in this match to get Owen over as a heel and over from a nothing undercard worker to a main eventer is one of the best performances in history. Greatest opener ever too!”
#13
MS-1 vs Sangre Chicana
“Cabellera vs Cabellera 2/3 Falls”
EMLL 50. Aniversario – C
September 23, 1983
Arena Mexico
2021: 9th
From my 1983 MOTY post:
“The greatest lucha bloody brawl in history at one of the biggest shows in lucha libre history. These two fought for their life in this all-time classic and a must-see 10/10 classic.”
#12
Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada (c) vs Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki
“WWWA Tag Team Championship Best 2/3 Falls”
AJW Dream Rush in Kawasaki
November 26, 1992
Kawasaki City Gymnasium
2021: 14th
#11
Iron Sheik vs Sgt. Slaughter
“Boot Camp Match”
WWF on June 16, 1984
Madison Square Garden
2021: 13th
#10
Aja Kong vs Manami Toyota
“VTOP Woman Tournament First Round Match”
AJW Doumu Super Woman Great War ~ Big Egg Wrestling Universe
November 20
Tokyo Dome
From my 1994 MOTY post:
“The pace that these two put up on such a big stage is unbelievable. An unreal match you need to see to believe! What I love about this is, outside of the big moves and the pace, everything makes sense, and nothing feels out of place.”
#9
Bret Hart vs Steve Austin
“Submission Match”
WWF WrestleMania 13
March 23, 1997
Rosemont Horizon
2021: 12th
#8
Kairi Hojo (c) vs Meiko Satomura
“World of Stardom Championship”
Stardom Galaxy Stars
June 14, 2015
Korakuen Hall
2021: 11th
From my 2015 MOTY post:
“The first of two 10/10 matches on the list, Hojo vs Meiko, is one of my favourite feuds of all time. This is the middle match of the trilogy, with the undeserving Hojo defending the Stardom Title against the superior invading Satomura.
Hojo has one of the greatest babyface sell jobs in wrestling history in this match, as she clings on desperately, trying to survive the legendary Satomura. Meiko is confident, knowing Hojo is beneath her, but gets more and more vicious and frustrated as the match continues. The selling and hope spots by Hojo are unreal.”
#7
Sasha Banks (c) vs Bayley
“NXT Women’s Championship”
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn
August 22, 2015
Barclays Center
2021: 4th
From my 2015 MOTY post:
“This match is just special, and very few matches have that feel to it. The crowd was amazing from the entrances to the finish. The story they tell is perfect. I loved all the hand work by Sasha and Bayley’s selling of it. They way that comes back towards the end was tremendous as well. This also had some insane moves as well, including the Super Reverse Hurrancanara.“
#6
Andre the Giant vs Stan Hansen
NJPW Bloody Fight Series
September 23, 1981
Denen Coliseum
2021: 5th
#5
Aja Kong & Bull Nakano vs Akira Hokuto & Shinobu Kandori
AJW Wrestling Queendom
March 27, 1994
Yokohama Arena
From my 1994 MOTY post:
“A few years back, we started watching Joshi every Sunday, and I feel one of the goals was to get to this match in context. It was sitting on YouTube as a recommended match for years that kept tempting me, but I held off until I got there in order. It was worth the wait. The two rivals slowly begrudgingly gained respect over the course of the match against two all-time legends in a violent, unrelenting tag war that would be the number one match in almost any other year.”
#4
Atlantis vs Villano III
“Mask vs Mask”
CMLL Homenaje A Dos Leyendas 2000 – Juicio Final
March 17, 2000
Arena Mexico
2021: 2nd
#3
Akira Hokuto vs Meiko Satomura
GAEA Limit Break
April 29, 2001
City Gymnasium
2021: 8th
From my 2001 MOTY post:
“This is a top ten all-time match for me and one I keep watching over and over again since I was introduced to it a few years back.
The legendary badass Dangerous Queen tries to put down the new badass Satomura, and it feels like a Rocky film right up to the Rocky II finish. The crowd is amazing. The strikes are beyound vicious, and the drama is HIGH! Seeing Hokuto’s second jump into the ring because they felt Hokuto was going to submit is a scene etched into my wrestling mind.
A must-watch all-time classic, watch the link above!”
#2
Bret Hart vs Steve Austin
WWF Survivor Series
November 17, 1996
Madison Square Garden
2021: 3rd
The last hurrah for the wrestling Bret Hart grew up loving and performing at MSG. The legend returns to take on the new young badass, and both come out of it looking even better than going into it. It really feels like a throwback match and something you will never see again on this stage
#1
Akira Hokuto vs Shinbou Kandori
AJW All-Star Dream Slam
April 2, 1993
Yokohama Arena
2021: 1st
The greatest match ever.
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The Best Matches I’ve Watched This Week: WrestleMania Edition (2023-04-07)
It’s WrestleMania weekend, but I didn’t watch as much as in the past. I am not into the Indies as much as I was in 2019. Plus this week is ending early, as I am travelling this weekend.
#9
Brock Lesnar vs Omos
WWE WrestleMania 39 – Sunday
April 2, 2023
Brock sold extremely well and Omos looked great throwing Brock around the ring. I probably would had liked this a lot more if Brock didn’t seemingly overcome Omos so easily in the end.
Rating: 7/10
#8
Ai Houzan vs Unagi Sayaka
Marvelous
March 26, 2023
Houzan came to fight, but Unagi was having none of her. Ungai’s stomp kicks seemed even more vicious in this one. I guess her size came into play. I thought underdog Unagi was the best, but maybe pissed-off overdog Unagi is better?
Rating: 7/10
#7
Emi Sakura vs Hikaru Shida
Gatoh Move Gtmv #3 ~ Cute Cheat Day
September 10, 2019
A really fun match where Shida was the badass heel here beating down Sakura for most of the match and mocking her. Emi gets some good hope spots until it gets a very exciting finishing stretch.
Rating: 7/10
#6
Athena vs Yuka Sakazaki
“ROH Women’s World Championship”
ROH Supercard of Honor
March 31, 2023
I’ve always been a fan of Athena and it’s very nice to see her getting a bigger push. Too bad the crowd sucked, because this was a fun match. Athena was a steamroller and Sakazaki did a good job of trying to overcome that, but ultimately falling short.
Rating: 7/10
#5
Becky Lynch, Lita, & Trish Stratus vs Bayley, Dakota Kai, & IYO SKY
WWE WrestleMania 39 – Saturday
April 1, 2023
This match is filled with some of my favourite wrestlers ever, so it’s just nice to see. It starts slow with an okay face in peril segment with Lita, but once Trish comes in for the hot tag this match rules! It kind of breaks down and is filled with a lot of excitement and some great dives, including Io Shira’s moonsault! It all comes down tho the two main current stars as it should be for a definitive finish!
Rating: 7/10
#4
Charlotte Flair vs Rhea Ripley
“WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship”
WWE WrestleMania 39 – Saturday
April 1, 2023
A match that built from a slow start to upping itself all along the way until it had a great finish. It was so very physical and intense, even drawing blood. Charlotte not being able to put Rhea away was a tremendous moment, as was Rhea ending it!
Rating: 8.5/10
#3
The Usos vs Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
“WWE Raw & SmackDown Tag Team Championship”
WWE WrestleMania 39 – Saturday
April 1, 2023
Although this match should had been the perfect end to Roman Reigns’ title reign, at least it was the perfect end to the reign of the Usos.
One of the best face in peril segments ever in WWE history on Uso, let to a great hot tag for Owens. We got a bueatufl teams stare down, and then the very satisfying Sami Zayn victory. A rare perfect ending for the WWE.
Rating: 8.75/10
#2
Bianca Belair vs Asuka
“WWE Raw Women’s Championship”
WWE WrestleMania 39 – Sunday
April 2, 2023
Belair’s etrance was one of, if not the best, in WWE history. She may be the best big match wrestler in the WWE and her WrestleMania career is kind of unreal and she added to that here.
Belair has some of the greatest power moves ever, it’s really unreal. Asuka was so awesome in her evil way, always trying to count everything with a submission, but the power was hard to contend with. The whole apron segment was amazing, but nothing tops the finish. Bianca just powering out of the armbar into the KOD was a great WrestleMania moment!
Rating: 8.75/10
“Match of the Week”
Gunther vs Drew McIntyre vs Sheamus
“WWE Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat”
WWE WrestleMania 39 – Sunday
April 2, 2023
This was a straight forward stiff war. By the end, everyone had red chests and Sheamus’ was bleeding. Usually the “drama” of the Triple Threat matches bug me, but here taking a breather after all those beatings made sense. Gunther continues to look like the most unbeatable badass in the WWE.
Rating: 8.75/10
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The Best Matches I’ve Watched This Week (2023-03-31)
Now that 2001 is out of the way I was able to spend this week getting caught up on current wrestling and spending some time focussing on my next year of doing top 25s, 2019.
#12
Wasteland War Party vs 121000000
“Princess Tag Team Championship”
TJPW Grand Princess
March 18, 2023
An entertaining tag match with an amazing cast of characters! Max always tugs at my enby heart, but Maki Itoh was the star here. The War Party was dominant early and it told a great story of the TJPW super team overcoming the pure power of the War Party.
Rating: 7/10
#11
Aja Kong vs Yuki Arai
TJPW Grand Princess
March 18, 2023
This was a blast and hits my favourite type of match, young underdog vs dominant veteran. Arai used axe kicks to try to counteract Kong’s power and it worked, mostly. It was dramatic and another great Kong performance!
Rating: 7/10
#10
KARMA & Starlight Kid vs. MIRAI & Tomoka Inaba
“New Blood Tag Team Title Tournament Finals”
Stardom New Blood Premium
March 25, 2023
This was an excellent tag match that built up the drama and excitement as it reached its climax. SLK was on fire and seemed to be the focus of the match and she brought a lot of the High Speed elements into this match. Exactly what you want from the finals of a tournament.
Rating: 7.25/10
#9
Giulia vs Himeka
“Himeka Retirement Road”
Stardom
March 16, 2023
An emotional stop on the Himeka retirement tour as she faces her stablemate Giulia. It was a strike-heavy match and both were putting in maximum effort for a smaller show. An emotional post-match put this over the top for me.
Rating: 7.5/10
#8
Aja Kong & Kyoko Inoue vs Blizzard Yuki & Manami Toyota
Bridge of Dreams ~ Dome Spring Full Bloom
April 2, 1995
AJW represents at the Tokyo Dome with an excellent showcase match. Each had awesome moments and Kong looked especially brutal with her slams. Toyota and Kong work hard to make up for their disappointing title change a few weeks before this match.
Rating: 7.75/10
#7
Miu Watanabe vs Rika Tatsumi
“TJPW International Princess Championship”
TJPW Grand Princess
March 18, 2023
This match had a lot of elements I loved, but some I rather disliked. Watanabe has some of my favourite offences and I love the way she sells, I think she did a great job carrying this one. Tatsumi I had issues with it, I am not sure if it was the character or the too much comedy of the style, but it was rather distracting. The story of working on Watanabe’s legs to prevent her big offence later made sense. How can you not enjoy a match with a Spinning Dragon Sleeper?
Rating: 7.75/10
#6
Asuka vs Becky Lynch
“WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship”
WWE Royal Rumble
January 29, 2019
I am not sure how I missed putting this match in 2019, but it’s pretty darn good. The crowd is really hot as two top stars are very even trying to put the other away. They had tremendous transitions and both were really going for the submissions. The vicious bump off the apron elevates this, along with the great finishing sequence.
Rating: 8/10
#5
Miyu Amasaki vs Nanae Takahashi
“Passion Injection Match”
Stardom Miyu Amasaki Triumphal Return
March 19, 2023
The one-year anniversary of Miyu Amasaki’s debut and she is facing the legendary Takahashi in her hometown in the gorgeous KBS Hall and it’s a great match. Takahashi beats the passion into Amasaki it looks like it could be a legendary feud brewing. Amasaki has great leg submissions and focuses on offence, she’s rather smooth for someone so young in her career and Takahashi is great as the veteran bully. Great hope spots and a great match.
Post-match, Takahashi says the referee is on the take but she overcame. They set up future matches and I am very excited about that.
Rating: 8/10
#4
Chihiro Hashimto vs Mio Momono
Marvelous
March 15, 2023
A classic power vs speed match-up that started slowly, but built up to get more and more exciting until a great finishing sequence. Momono is such a cool wrestler watching her try to evade as much of Hashimoto’s power offence as possible.
Rating: 8.25/10
#3
Bayley & Sasha Banks vs Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair
WWE Raw
September 9, 2019
The Four Horsewomen collide live in MSG in a tremendous tag team match! They felt like they were on a mission to upstage everyone and the crowd was really hot for it. My favourite moment was when Charlotte had the Figure-8 on Sasha and Bayley broke that up by rolling Becky Lynch up into it! Classic tag wrestling here!
Rating: 8.25/10
#2
KAIRI & Nanae Takahashi vs Tam Nakano & Waka Tsukiyama
Stardom New Blood Premium
March 25, 2023
After years of never getting a win in Stardom, Waka Tsukiyama has one last chance to win or she will be kicked out of Comsic Angels and she’s facing two legends. It’s a perfect story and it had a perfect ending.
Waka had her serious face on, and was overpowered, but fought and fought before she rolled up the legend in the end. The KAIRI and Tam parts ruled as well. It was very dramatic with the story throughout. The post-match was perfect too.
This is pro-wrestling!
Rating: 8.25/10
“Fan Favourite”
The Giant vs Lex Luger
WCW Starrcade
December 29, 1996
This one comes from Elliott on the discord and, weirdly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Starrcade 1996.
You could tell this was going to be a great one from the very hot crowd and with the amazing lock-up start to the match. It played the classic formula of seeing if the powerful man is strong enough to overcome the giant man. The Giant did a great job being the giant man early on and the hope spots by Luger were awesome. We get to a referee bump and Luger has it, but then nWo shenanigans. Thankfully it all ends with much better Sting shenanigans and an excellent finish.
Rating: 7.25/10
“Match of the Week”
Chigusa Nagayo & Dynamite Kansai vs Devil Masami & Mayumi Ozaki
GAEA Memorial First Gong In Korakuen
April 15, 1995
This is the main event of the very first GAEA show and it’s the perfect way to establish a promotion!
I find it really interesting that Kansai and Nagayo are dressed normally, but Masami is dressed as Super Heel Masami and Ozaki is dressed for a street fight. Ozaki knew what was up because this was one of the most violent wild bloody brawls I have ever seen.
It was so out of control the ring crew started taking apart the ring mid-match and the wrenches they used became a weapon for Ozaki. The sight of a half-destroyed ring with brawling everywhere is a great sight!
The match keeps escalating and many times you think it is over, but it instead, just gets more violent! All of this leads up to an all-time great finish, where Nagayo goes for the Running Three on Ozaki, but Masami on the outside just stabs Nagayo with a sword, allowing Ozaki to counter into a rollup.
This is an all-time classic that will be on my greatest match-ever list!
Rating: 9.5/10
Thoughts
What did you think of these matches? What matches do you want to recommend me to watch? Preferably hit me up with those 2019 suggestions. You can do that with the info below!
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The Greatest Wrestlers of 2015
In route to putting together my top 100 list of the Greatest Wrestlers Ever, I am going through each year and putting together a list for that particular year. Previously, on the podcast “Maybe Not Taue”, I put together a list for 1985, 1990, and 1997. You can listen to those here. 1993, 2004, & 2010 are on the blog.
2015
Personally, an important year for my fandom, as it was the year I embraced women’s wrestling. This year started me down a path to where I am now in what I get out of wrestling. Watching the footage now, it is a great year too. NXT gave WWE a new edge and the Indies were running high. Lucha Libre was at a great level too. Joshi was starting to come out of death but was filled with great workers. 2015 turned out to be a great year.
Process
I have a master list of everyone I have considered for each of these top 25 lists and how many matches they worked on each year. I see who worked in 2015 and start watching the footage. I take suggestions and look at other lists to see who needs to be explored.
After watching a ton of footage I start to make a list and cut anyone who either I can’t find 3 matches of their worth recommending or I don’t care to find that many. From there it’s a matter of finding an order that I feel comfortable with based on the quality of output, versatility, and whatever qualities make a great wrestler.
The List
All of the below stats are from cagematch. Yes, they are not perfect.
The recommended matches are not a definitive list, it’s a list of matches I have watched for this process, plus matches on my spreadsheet from before.
The matches listed are all 7/10 or higher; if they are bolded, they are 8/10 or higher.
Honourable Mentions
- Amazing Kong
- Jimmy Rave
- Kamaitachi
- Kaori Yoneyama
- Kofi Kingston
- Nikki Bella
#25
Mia Yim
aka Jade
Matches: 50
Places Worked: SHIMMER, TNA, SHINE, AIW, WWN, WSU, Stardom, CZW, HOH, SWE, AAW, EWO, & FIP
Title Held: SHINE Championship
Tournaments: SHIMMER ChickFight Tournament (semi-finals) & SHINE Tag Team Title Tournament with Leva Bates (finals)
Although Mia Yim was great in the Indies and particularly in SHIMMER, it was her TNA work that got her onto the list. The Doll House was not given opportunities to have great matches, but Yim was amazing in the chances she got.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Athena, SHIMMER Volume 71, March 28
- vs Athena, SHIMMER Volume 72, April 11
- vs Eddie Kingston, AIW Battle of the Sexes 2, August 14
#24
Kagetsu
Matches: 81
Places Worked: Oz Academy, FMW, BJW, JWP, WAVE, Osaka Joshi-Pro, REINA, Stardom, KAGEKI, FREEDOMS, Gatoh Move, Diana, Sportiva, & Kirakira Taiyo Project
Titles Held: Oz Academy Tag Team Championship with Kaho Kobayashi (twice)
Kagetsu brought another element to the matches he was involved in. It’s like the intensity was automatically upped the moment he entered the ring.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Tsubasa Kuragaki, Oz Academy The Wizard of Oz, January 11
- with Kaho Kobayashi vs Kana & Konami, Oz Academy/WAVE ZABUN Joint Event, May 10
- with Leon vs Command Bolshoi & Sawako Shinomo, JWP, October 20
#23
Athena
aka Adrienne Reese
Matches: 52
Places Worked: WWE, AIW, MPX, IPW, WSU, ACW, SHIMMER, SHINE, WWN, ROW, AAW, IHWE, Remix Pro, & VIP
Titles Held: AIW Women’s Championship (twice) & ACW American Joshi Championship
Tournaments: SHIMMER ChickFight Tournament, WSU Spirit Title Tournament (semi-finals), & AIW JT Lightning Invitational Tournament
Athena worked so well in 2015, she got herself a WWE contract by the end of it. She had a subtle heel situation going on in SHIMMER which really played to her advantage.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Mia Yim, SHIMMER Volume 71, March 28
- vs Mia Him, SHIMMER Volume 72, April 11
- vs Hania the Howling Huntress, Uncensored, WSU Excellence, September 12
#22
Dragon Lee
Matches: 114
Places Worked: CMLL, LLE, Promociones Tragedias, Lucha Memes, Chilanga Mask, Promociones El Cholo de Tijuana, & Cara Lucha
Title Held: CMLL World Lightweight Championship
Tournaments: CMLL Torneo De Parejas Increibles with Kamaitachi, CMLL Reyes del Aire, CMLL Leyenda de Plata (finals), & Campeon Universal Del CMLL 2015 Tournament
The Kamaitachi feud was a come-out party for Dragon Lee, but there is more to his great year than that. A tremendous flyer and técnico!
Recommended Matches:
- vs Kamaitachi, CMLL Super Viernes, January 9
- vs Virus, CMLL Titanes del Ring, April 5
- vs Kamaitachi, CMLL Lunes Arena Puebla, July 13
- vs Kamaitachi, CMLL Domingos Arena Mexico, August 30 (#9 MOTY)
- vs Kamaitachi, CMLL Super Viernes, December 4
#21
John Cena
Previous Ranking: 2010 (#11)
Matches: 136
Places Worked: WWE
Titles Held: WWE United States Championship (twice)
After a pretty good feud with Rusev and winning the WWE US Title, John Cena reinvented himself into PWG Cena by doing open challenges for the United States Championship. Week in and week out Cena was trying to put on good matches no matter the opponent. Not the best year of Cena’s career, especially if you aren’t fond of his PWG offence, but he still upped his game when he needed to.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Brock Lesnar vs Seth Rollins, WWE Royal Rumble, January 25
- vs Rusev, WWE WrestleManix XXXI, March 29
- vs Sami Zayn, WWE Raw, May 4
- vs Kevin Owens, WWE Elimination Chamber, May 31
#20
Penatgon, Jr.
Matches: 76
Places Worked: AAA, Lucha Underground, The Crash, Producciones Sanchez, GoMask!, Invasion RCH, AAW, 3 Bat Productions, UWE, MaxProad, Producciones AGZA, Lucha Future, Promociones Kdna, Promociones Juniors, Fusion Ichiban, & Cara Lucha
Titles Held: The Crash Cruiserweight Championship, AAA World Tag Team Championship with Joe Lider, & AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship with Sexy Star
Tournaments: Lucha Underground Trios Title Tournament with Sexy Star & Super Fly & PWG The Battle of Los Angeles
Pentagon, Jr. was a revelation in Lucha Underground with his presence and intense style. The miracle match he pulled out of Vampiro is enough to get anyone onto a list like this.
Recommended Matches:
- with Perro Aguayo, Jr. vs Myzteziz & Rey Mysterio, Jr., AAA Rey de Reyes, March 18
- vs Vampiro, “Cero Miedo”, Lucha Underground Ultimo Lucha, taped April 19 and aired August 5
- vs Chris Hero, AAW Windy City Classic XI, November 28
#19
Arisa Nakajima
Matches: 97
Places Worked: JWP, Ice Ribbon, Oz Academy, REINA, BJW, SEAdLINNNING, Dotonbori Pro, Diana, Sendai Girls, FREEDOMS, Osaka Joshi-Pro, Marvelous, & Kirakira Taiyo Project
Titles Held: REINA World Tag Team Championship with Kana, JWP Openweight Championship, JWP Daily Sports Tag Team Championship with Tsukasa Fujimoto, JWP Tag Team Championship with Tsukasa Fujimoto, & International Ribbon Tag Team Championship with Tsukasa Fujitomo
Arisa Nakajima is a force in the ring with an extra level of viciousness. The Best Friends with Tsukasa Fujimoto is an all-time great time.
Recommended Matches:
- with Kana vs Hikaru Shida & Syuri, KanaPro Promania, February 25
- vs Risa Sera, Ice Ribbon New Ice Ribbon #675 ~ Ice In Wonderland, August 30
- with Tsukasa Fujitomo vs Kayoko Haruyama & Tsubasa Kuragaki, JWP Recapture in Shinjuku, October 25
#18
LA Park
Previous Rankings: 2004 (#9) & 2010 (#5)
Matches: 57
Places Worked: FULL, Lucha Libre Boom, UWE, MDA, Promociones Kdna, Producciones Sanchez, AULL, IWRG, CMLL, FMLL, Promociones Contreras, LLE, LEGEND, MaxProad, Lucha Libre Profesional NET, El Club Producciones, Todo X El Todo, Cara Lucha, Evolucion, XWW, FSW, & Vamper Revolution
Title Held: XWW Universal Championship
The evil dancing skeleton had another tremendous year, although it was lacking in some great showcase matches. He worked a lot of places in 2015, bringing his chaotic madness with him wherever he went.
Recommended Matches:
- with Volador, Jr. vs Dr. Wagner, Jr. & La Sombra, LLE All Elite Liga Elite, February 8
- with El Hiijo de LA Park vs Mr. Niebla & Rush, Lucha Libre Boom, June 27
- with Atlantis & Volador Jr. vs Dr. Wagner, Jr., Rush, & La Sombra, CMLL Super Viernes, August 28
#17
El Mesias
aka
Mil Muertes & Ricky Banderas
Matches: 43
Places Worked: AAA, Lucha Underground, WWL, The Crash, Promociones Kdna, Promociones Juniors, & Producciones Sanchez
Title Held: Lucha Underground Championship
Tournaments: AAA Rey de Reyes (finals) & AAA Victoria Lucha Libre World Cup with Angelico & Drew Galloway
El Mesias was always a cool badass monster brawler, but his stock rose to another level under the Mil Muertes gimmick in Lucha Underground. His aura was something else and his performances were perfect in that role.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Fenix, “Grave Consequences”, Lucha Underground, taped January 25 and aired March 18 (#5 MOTY)
- Aero Star vs Psycho Clown vs El Texano, Jr., AAA Rey de Reyes, March 18
- vs Drago, Lucha Underground, taped March 22 aired June 24
#16
Becky Lynch
Matches: 131
Places Worked: WWE
The first of the Horsewomen to appear on the list, Becky Lynch was limited by having few opportunities, but did deliver when given the chance.
Recommended Matches:
- Bayley vs Charlotte vs Sasha Banks, NXT TakeOver: Rival, February 11
- vs Sasha Banks, NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, May 20 (#3 MOTY)
- vs Sasha Banks, WWE TLC, December 13
#15
Big E
Matches: 183
Place Worked: WWE
Titles Held: WWE Tag Team Championship with Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods & WWE Raw Tag Team Championship with Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods
Tournament: WWE Royal Rumble
The New Day was fantastic throughout the year and Big E was a huge part of that. He had an amazing knack for knowing when to interject a huge spot and that helped make all of the tag matches memorable.
Recommended Matches:
- with Kofi Kingston vs Cesaro & Tyson Kidd, WWE Extreme Rules, April 26
- with Kofi Kingston vs Cesaro & Tyson Kidd, “2/3 Falls”, WWE Payback, May 17 (#6 MOTY)
- with Kofi Kingston vs Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso vs Kalisto & Sin Cara, “Ladder”, WWE TLC, December 13
#14
Atlantis
Matches: 173
Places Worked: CMLL, NJPW, LLE, FULL, MDA, Toryumon Mexico, Lucha Memes,
Promociones Kdna, LyC, ERLL, PWR, LLA, Producciones Sanchez, MaxProad, Cara Lucha, Lucha Libre Boom, Promociones HUMO, & FMLL
Titles Held: Mexican National Trios Championship with Delta & Guerrero Maya Jr., Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship, Azteca Championship, & WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship
Tournaments: NJPW Fantastica Mania Tag Tournament with Mascara Dorada (winner), CMLL Torneo De Parejas Increibles with Ultimo Guerrero (semi-finals), NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Title Tournament (semi-finals), & Campeon Universal Del CMLL Tournament (winner)
The legendary Atlantis finally makes a list, because ultimately there was the right amount of showcase matches and footage. Any year he has a big Anniversario Mask match he’s had a good year.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Ultimo Guerrero, NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania, January 18
- with LA Park, & Volador, Jr. vs Dr. Wagner Jr., Rush, & La Sombra, CMLL Super Viernes, August 28
- vs La Sombra, “Mascara vs Mascara”, CMLL Anniversario, September 18 (#8 MOTY)
#13
Cesaro
Previous Ranking: 2010 (#16)
Matches: 187
Places Worked: WWE
Title Held: WWE Tag Team Championship with Tyson Kidd
Tournaments: WWE Royal Rumble & WWE World Heavyweight Title Tournament
Cesaro spent the majority of hte year teaming with Tyson Kidd and they were a tremendous team. After Kidd’s retirement, Cesaro continued being his awesome self.
Recommended Matches:
- with Tyson Kidd vs Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso, WWE Fast Lane, February 22
- with Tyson Kidd vs Big E & Kofi Kingston, WWE Extreme Rules, April 26
- with Tyson Kidd vs Big E & Kofi Kingston, “2/3 Falls”, WWE Payback, May 17 (#6 MOTY)
- vs Kevin Owens, WWE SummerSlam, August 23
#12
Mayu Iwatani
Previous Rankings: 2021 (#10)
Matches: 68
Places Worked: Stardom, Sendai Girls, & Toryumon Mexico
Titles Held: Artist of Stardom with Io Shirai & Takuma Iroha & Goddesses of Stardom with Io Shirai
Tournaments: Stardom Cinderella Champions Fiesta (winner), Stardom 5Star Grand Prix (semi-finals), & Goddesses of Stardom Tag League with Io Shirai (winner)
The first of the Stardom workers to make the list. By 2015, Mayu is already the loveable wrestler we all know.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Kairi Hojo, Stardom Gold May, May 14
- vs Io Shirai, Stardom 5Star Grand Prix, August 23
- with Hiromi Mimura, Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo, Kris Wolf, & Momo Watanabe vs Cassandra Miyagi, Chihiro Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, Meiko Satomura, Mika Iwata, & Sendai Sachiko, “Gauntlet”, Sendai Girls vs Stardom, November 12
#11
Chris Hero
Previous Rankings: 2004 (#17) & 2010 (#1)
Matches: 119
Places Worked: NOAH, SMASH, PWG, WWN, Beyond, IWA Mid-South, AAW, HOH, ESW, SWE, 2CW, IWF, AIW, WrestleJam, QPW, APW, Freelance, PWL, PWP, PWC, Discovery, JCW, FIP, ICW, RPW, JAPW, Vintage, FWE, SSW, & RPW
Tournaments: IWF World Title Tournament (finals), NOAH Global Tag League with Colt Cabana (semi-finals), PWG The Battle of Los Angeles (finals), NOAH Global League, & IWA Mid-South Ted Petty Invitational (finals)
The king of the indies, Hero had another great year working all over the world.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Chris Hero, EVOLVE 40, March 27
- vs Samoa Joe, SMASH Kicks ALS, June 6
- vs Pentagon, Jr., AAW Windy City Classic XI, November 28
- vs Donovan Dijack, Beyond Tournament for Tomorrow, November 29
#10
Kana
aka
Asuka
Previous Ranking: 20210 (#3)
Matches: 96
Places Worked: WAVE, WWE, REINA, JWP, Osaka Joshi-Pro, Oz Academy, Ice Ribbon, NOAH, & DDT
Titles Held: REINA World Tag Team Championship with Arisa Nakajima & REINA World Women’s Championship
Tournament: Catch the WAVE (semi-finals)
The last year of Kana on the joshi scene and she made the most of it working all over the place facing everyone. She followed that up by going to NXT and instantly feeling like the most special wrestler there.
Recommended Matches:
- with Arisa Nakajima vs Hikaru Shida & Syuri, Kana Pro Promania, February 25
- with Konami vs Command Bolshoi & Meiko Satomura, JWP MANIA-X, April 5
- vs Hikaru Shida, Oz Academy/WAVE ZABUN Joint Event, May 10
- with Konami vs Kagestu & Kaho Kobayashi, Oz Academy/WAVE ZABUN Joint Event, May 10
- vs Emma, NXT TakeOver: London, December 16
#9
Command Bolshoi
Previous Rankings: 2004 (#19) & 2010 (#14)
Matches: 81
Places Worked: JWP, Oz Academy, Diana, REINA, Marvelous, Dotonbori Pro, Sendai Girls, Gatoh Move, FMW, & BJW
Title Held: JWP Openweight Championship
Tournaments: JWP Tag Leauge The Best with Kyoko Kimura
I’ve written much about Bolshoi over the last year, even here on this blog. She was her regular great technician, great comedian, and great flyer self in 2015.
Recommended Matches:
- with Meiko Satomura vs Kana & Konami, JWP MANIA-X, April 5
- with Sawako Shimono vs Kagetsu & Leon, JWP, October 20
- vs Leon, JWP, October 25
#8
Rush
Matches: 103
Places Worked: CMLL, LLE, Cara Lucha, Producciones Sanchez, Lucha Libre Boom, FULL, MDA, PROLLM, LLA, Promociones Tragedias, Evoucion, Lucha Libre VIP, & Promociones Kdna
Tournaments: CMLL Torneo De Parejas Increibles with Shocker
A rudo Rush is always a site to see. No matter the opponent he brought a brawling style to CMLL that they vastly need sometimes.
Recommended Matches:
- with Mr. Niebla vs El Hiijo de LA Park & LA Park, Lucha Libre Boom, June 27
- with Dr. Wagner, Jr. & La Sombra vs Atlantis, LA Park, & Volador, Jr., CMLL Super Viernes, August 28
- vs La Sombra, CMLL Super Viernes, November 13
#7
Io Shirai
Matches: 72
Places Worked: Stardom, Sendai Girls, DDT, Toryumon Mexico, & Ice Ribbon
Titles Held: Stardom High Speed Championship, Artist of Stardom with Mayu Iwatani & Takuma Iroha, Wonder of Stardom, & Goddesses of Stardom with Mayu Iwatani
Tournaments: World of Stardom Title Tournament (finals), Stardom Cinderella Champions Fiesta (semi-finals), Stardom 5Star Grand Prix (semi-finals), & Goddesses of Stardom Tag League with Mayu Iwatani (winner)
The ace of Stardom, Io Shirai delivered in that role. Although her moves are quite modern, the way she works as a babyface or subtle heel depending on the opponents feels very old school.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Kairi Hojo, Stardom The Highest, March 29
- vs Mayu Iwatani, Stardom 5Star Grand Prix, August 23
- vs Kaori Yoneyama, Stardom 5Star Grand Prix, September 4
- with Hiromi Mimura, Kairi Hojo, Kris Wolf, Mayu Iwatani, & Momo Watanabe vs Cassandra Miyagi, Chihiro Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, Meiko Satomura, Mika Iwata, & Sendai Sachiko, “Gauntlet”, Sendai Girls vs Stardom, November 12
- vs Meiko Satomura, Stardom Year-End Climax, December 23
#6
Bayley
Matches: 119
Places Worked: WWE
Title Held: NXT Women’s Championship
The feud with Sasha Banks is an all-time elite feud where Bayley showed she was an amazing babyface. In 2015 WWE it is hard to be a great babyface, but Bayley delivered.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Becky Lynch vs Charlotte vs Sasha Banks, NXT TakeOver: Rival, February 11
- vs Charlotte, NXT TV, taped July 16 aired August 5
- vs Sasha Banks, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, August 22 (#1 MOTY)
- vs Sasha Banks, Iron Man, NXT TakeOver: Respect, October 7 (#4 MOTY)
#5
La Sombra
Matches: 119
Places Worked: CMLL, NJPW, LLE, Cara Lucha, AULL, Lucha Libre Boom, FULL, MDA, LLA, Promociones Tragedias, Evolucion, & Producciones Sanchez
Title Held: NWA World Historic Middleweight Championship
Tournaments: NJPW Fantastica Mania Tag Tournament with Tetsuya Naito, CMLL Torneo de Parejas Increibles with Negro Casas, NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Title Tournament (finals), CMLL Reyes del Aire (winner)
The top luchador of 2015, La Sombra (the future Andrade) was pushed into a top role with CMLL and delivered. Him losing his mask to Atlantis at the Anniversario was a huge moment. He also had great highlights in Japan. His charisma is unreal, his ability to be a jerk is amazing, and he just knows exactly what to do in a lucha match.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Mascara Dorada, NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania, January 19
- with Dr. Wagner, Jr. vs LA Park & Volador Jr., LLE All Elite Liga Elite, February 8
- with Dr. Wagner, Jr. & Rush vs Atlantis, LA Park, & Volador, Jr., CMLL Super Viernes, August 28
- vs Atlantis, Mascara vs Mascara, CMLL Anniversario, September 18 (#8 MOTY)
- vs Rush, CMLL Super Viernes, November 13
#4
Roman Reigns
Previous Ranking: 2021 (#7)
Matches: 213
Place Worked: WWE
Title Held: WWE World Heavyweight Championship (twice)
Tournaments: WWE Royal Rumble (winner) & WWE World Heavyweight Title Tournament (winner)
The breakout year for Roman Reigns, but a fascinating one. It felt like they wanted to make Reigns the ace of the company, but kept fucking it up all year. He really proved he could hang with anyone, but he had not found his true role quite yet.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Bryan Danielson, WWE Fast Lane, February 11
- vs Brock Lesnar, WWE WrestleMania XXXI, March 29 (#10 MOTY)
- vs Dean Ambrose, WWE Survivor Series, November 22
- vs Sheamus, “TLC”, WWE TLC, December 13
#3
Meiko Satomura
Previous Rankings: 2004 (#10) & 2010 (#6)
Matches: 46
Places Worked: Sendai Girls, Stardom, Marvelous, WAVE, Oz Academy, Tenryu Project, SEAdLINNNG, DDT, Diana, & JWP
Titles Held: World of Stardom & Sendai Girls World Championship
Meiko Satomura working with Stardom gave her a whole new crew to have amazing matches with. Picking up the role of the legend invading gave her year a lot of depth! As always she is a beast in the ring who feels like an unstoppable force.
Recommended Matches:
- with Takako Inoue vs KAORU & Kyoko Kimura, Marvelous, February 8
- with Command Bolshoi vs Kana & Konami, JWP MANIA-X, April 5
- vs Kairi Hojo, Stardom Galaxy Stars, June 14 (#2 MOTY)
- vs Kairi Hojo, Stardom X Stardom, July 26
- with Cassandra Miyagi, Chihiro Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, Mika Iwata, & Sendai Sachiko vs Hiromi Mimura, Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo, Kris Wolf, Mayu Iwatani, & Momo Watanabe, “Gauntlet”, Sendai Girls vs Stardom, November 12
- vs Io Shirai, Stardom Year-End Climax, December 23
#2
Kairi Hojo
Matches: 60
Places Worked: Stardom, Sendai Girls, & ZERO1
Titles Held: Goddesses of Stardom with Nane Takahashi, World of Stardom, & Artist of Stardom with Chelsea & Koguma
Tournaments: World of Stardom Title Tournament (winner), Stardom Cinderella Champions Fiesta (semi-finals), Stardom 5Star Grand Prix (winner), & Goddesses of Stardom Tag Leauge Haruka Kato (semi-finals)
Kairi Hojo is an incredible babyface she was unreal in that role in 2015. The undeserving champion who lost the belt to an outsider is a great story to ride out for the year. Her selling, her vicious strikes, her hope spots, and her charisma set her above almost every single wrestler in 2015.
Recommended Matches:
- with Nanae Takahashi vs Hudson Envy & Kyoko Kimura, Stardom Queen’s Shout, February 22
- vs Io Shirai, Stardom The Highest, March 29
- vs Mayu Iwatani, Stardom Gold May, May 14
- vs Meiko Satomura, Stardom Galaxy Stars, June 14 (#2 MOTY)
- vs Takuma Iroha, Stardom Galaxy Stars, July 4
- vs Meiko Satomura, Stardom X Stardom, July 26
- with Hiromi Mimura, Io Shirai, Kris Wolf, Mayu Iwatani, & Momo Watanabe vs Cassandra Miyagi, Chihiro Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, Meiko Satomura, Mika Iwata, & Sendai Sachiko, “Gauntlet”, Sendai Girls vs Stardom, November 12
#1
Sasha Banks
Previous Ranking: 2021 (#12)
Matches: 151
Places Worked: WWE
Title Held: NXT Women’s Championship
2015 was the year of the women’s wrestling revolution and Sasha Banks was its catalyst. Personally, she changed the way I view pro wrestling. The delivery and big stage presence she had in big matches in 2015 are unmatched in WWE history. She was a star putting on all-time great matches at every opportunity. An all-time great year up there with some of the greatest in history.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Bayley vs Becky Lynch vs Charlotte, NXT TakeOver: Rival, February 11
- vs Charlotte, NXT, March 28
- vs Becky Lynch, NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, May 20 (#3 MOTY)
- vs Bayley, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, August 22 (#1 MOTY)
- vs Bayley, Iron Man, NXT TakeOver: Respect, October 7 (#4 MOTY)
- vs Becky Lynch, WWE TLC, December 13
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Trans Rights!
It’s a horrible time to be trans right now, so please donate to the lovely folks here, who save lives:
Before I go, let’s look at my running top 10 for Greatest Wrestler Ever. This is based on my formula, which includes a weighted average for each of the years I ranked, among other things. Obviously, it favours those who were great in the particular years I ranked and after every list it changes massively.
- Akira Hokuto, 166.44 pts
- Bret Hart, 162.51 pts
- Bull Nakano, 152.30 pts
- El Hijo del Santo, 146.80 pts
- Aja Kong, 132.82 pts
- Meiko Satomura, 130.13 pts
- Manami Toyota, 129.22 pts
- Chris Hero, 126.95 pts
- Kyoko Inoue, 119.97 pts
- Sasha Banks, 116.67 pts
2015 Match of the Year (Updated)
Back at the end of 2015, I put together this list. As part of my Greatest Wrestler Ever project I am putting together new match of the year lists, let’s see how much has changed seven years later.
Matches that dropped off the list:
- AJ Styles vs Jimmy Rave, PSW, May 8 (Prev. #7)
- Bullet Club vs ROH All-Stars, ROH Global Wars, May 15 (Prev. an Honourable Mention)
- Anthony Henry vs Jimmy Rave Scenic City Invitational, August 7 (Prev. #10)
- Timothy Thatcher vs Zack Sabre Jr., EVOLVE 47, August 15 (Prev. an Honourable Mention)
- Low Ki vs Rey Mysterio Jr., JAPW 19th Anniversary Show, November 14 (Prev. an Honourable Mention)
Honourable Mentions:
- Kairi Hojo vs Meiko Satomura, Stardom X Stardom, July 26 (Prev. unmentioned)
- Pentagon Jr. vs Vampiro, “Cero Miedo”, Lucha Underground Ultimo Lucha, taped April 19 and aired August 5 (Prev. #8)
- Io Shirai vs Mayu Iwatani, Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix, August 23 (Prev. unmentioned)
#10
Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns
“WWE World Heavyweight Championship”
WWE WrestleMania XXXI
March 29
Levi’s Stadium
(Previously #4)
One of the greatest main events in WrestleMania history. This was a brutal slug fest that was stiff as fuck. Brock took Roman and beat him senseless to such a degree that it got the crowd onto Roman’s side. The comeback was tremendous and Brock blades. If they had a real finish and not a Seth Rollins run in, this might had been the match of the year.
Update: The Rollins run in sours this match for me more and more over time. Add the numerous Brock-Roman rematches to compete with this and it drops down to #10.
#9
Dragon Lee vs Kamaitachi
“CMLL World Lightweight Championship
CMLL Domingos Arena Mexico
August 30
Arena Mexico
(Previously #9)
2015 was filled with a lot of great high speed high spot matches and this was the best of the bunch for me. Kamaitachi brought this huge array of vicious dropkicks, including one where he ran the entire ramp to gain speed. There was some great pay off spots from earlier in the contest as well as great drama. However, what really made this stand out was the hate between the two. They had other great matches as well, but this one stood out to me.
Update: An unbelievable feud that was real eye-opening at the time and holds up.
#8
Atlantis vs La Sombra
“Mascara vs Mascara”
CMLL 82 Aniversario
September 18
Arena Mexico
(Previously #6)
The Atlantis mask match at the CMLL Anniversary Show has become the match I most anticipate each year. Although this is not on the level of the Atlantis vs Ultimo Guerrero match from the year before, it’s still filled with great drama. Atlantis’ mask has become the new Undertaker’s streak in wrestling.
Update: I will always be a sucker for big mask matches and this one holds up really well.
#7
Kota Ibushi vs Shinsuke Nakamura
“IWGP Intercontinental Championship”
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9
January 4
Tokyo Dome
(Previously #2)
Nakamura and Ibushi went to war in this match with stomps, elbows, knees. A lot of these viciously to the back of the head. After this war we are treated to an amazing finishing stretch with Ibushi throwing out every trick he had to put down Nakamura, but you can’t put down Nakamura! A match so good it made my top 100 matches list.
Update: In the last half decade I have really fallen off in my enjoyment of this era of NJPW’s style, but with that said this match is still amazing.
#6
Cesaro & Tyson Kidd vs The New Day
“WWE Tag Team Championship 2/3 Falls”
WWE Payback
May 17
Royal Farms Arena
(Previously Unrated)
I have no idea how I missed this match back in 2015, but this is one of the best WWE tag team matches since the 1980s. Big E and Cesaro may had been born to face off against each other, as their chemistry is amazing. Outside these two great power wrestlers doing amazing spots, you have Kofi and Tyson adding the high spots. My jaw dropped many times in this one!
#5
Fenix vs Mil Muertes
“Grave Consequences”
Lucha Underground
taped January 25 and aired March 18
Lucha Underground Arena
(Previously Unrated)
This match is insane and easily the greatest “Casket Match” of all-time. Fenix is doing all the nutty moves and Muertes is the perfect base. Something about Mesias in the Muertes gimmick that just takes him to another level. It’s really an unbelievable match that really lives up to it’s name.
#4
Bayley vs Sasha Banks
“NXT Women’s Chamionship Iron Man”
NXT TakeOver: Respect
October 7
Full Sail University
(Previously #5)
Finally after being the highlight of each NXT special, Sasha Banks got to main event and boy did she deliver. Amazing heel work by her with great story telling using the “Iron Man” rules to her advantage. The heel work on Bayley’s super fan was one of the top moments of the year.
Update: This match has aged really well and is one of the best Iron Man matches ever, maybe the best.
#3
Becky Lynch vs Sasha Banks
“NXT Women’s Championship”
NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable
May 20
Full Sail University
(Previsouly #3)
The match that took women’s wrestling in NXT from a really solid and good part of the undercard to the real highlight of the company for me. The two former partners pulled out a classic with some amazing story telling. Sasha Banks went right for Becky’s arm and destroyed it (which is what Becky usually does). Becky was a great babyface trying to fight through, but The Boss was too much and retained the title here.
Update: I will always feel nostalgia about this match as it was the catalyst to my shift in what I enjoy and what I watch in pro-wrestling.
#2
Kairi Hojo vs Meiko Satomura
“World of Stardom Championship”
Stardom Galaxy Stars
June 14
Korakuen Hall
(Previously Unrated)
The first of two 10/10 matches on the list, Hojo vs Meiko is one of my favourite feuds of all-time. This is the middle match of the trilogy with the undeserving Hojo defending the Stardom Title against the superior invading Satomura.
Hojo has one has one of the greatest babyface sell jobs in wrestling history in this match, as she clings on desperately trying to survive the legendary Satomura. Meiko is confident, knowing Hojo is beneath her, but gets more and more vicious and frustrated as the match continues. The selling and hope spots by Hojo are unreal.
I only have 17 matches rated 10/10 all-time and this is one of them, but still not good enough to be #1.
#1
Bayley vs Sasha Banks
“NXT Women’s Championship”
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn
August 22
Barclays Center
(Previously #1)
If you listened to the Pro-Wrestling Super Show’s Top 100 Matches podcast you would know I had this match in the upper half of my list, so there is no surprise it is the top match of the year for me for 2015.
This match is just special and very few matches have that feel to it. The crowd was amazing from the entrances to the finish. The story they tell is perfect. I loved all the hand work by Sasha and Bayley’s selling of it. They way that comes back towards the end was tremendous as well. This also had some insane moves as well, including the Super Reverse Hurrancanara. This match was really an instant classic and clearly the best match of 2015.
Update: As time moves I love this match more and more. It went from the upper half of my greatest match ever list to #4.
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Coming soon my top 25 wrestlers of 2015.
2015 Matches of the Year
For the second year in a row Voices of Wrestling has asked me to contribute to their annual Match of the Year article. Picking ten matches is very difficult, so here are a few that just missed the cut.
Honourable Mentions:
Bullet Club vs ROH All-Stars (ROH Global Wars, 5/15)
Timothy Thatcher vs Zack Sabre Jr. (EVOLVE 47, 8/15)
Low Ki vs Rey Mysterio Jr. (JAPW 19th Anniversary Show, 11/14)
Now onto the list, as submitted to Voices of Wrestling.
10) Jimmy Rave vs Anthony Henry
(Scenic City Invitational, 8/7)
The Scenic City Invitational was a real eye opener on southern indie wrestling for myself. Two amazing nights of a tournament filled with great matches and booking. Add amazing commentary and it being available on Vimeo for a very affordable price, I recommend everybody picks it up.
The highlight of the tournament was the main event of night one. You have the veteran of Jimmy Rave versus the youngster in Anthony Henry which is a favourite troupe of mine. These two delivered big time, even if Jimmy Rave was legit knocked out in the match. This was my first time seeing Henry and he impressed with this 1990’s Sean Waltman vibe. He really is a wrestler to watch going forward.
9) Dragon Lee vs Kamaitachi
(CMLL, 8/30)
2015 was filled with a lot of great high speed high spot matches and this was the best of the bunch for me. Kamaitachi brought this huge array of vicious dropkicks, including one where he ran the entire ramp to gain speed. There was some great pay off spots from earlier in the contest as well as great drama. However, what really made this stand out was the hate between the two. They had other great matches as well, but this one stood out to me.
8) Pentagon Jr. vs Vampiro
(“Zero Fear”, Lucha Underground Ultima Lucha, 4/20)
Vampiro has never been very good and the thought of him stepping into a ring after years of retirement scared me. However what we got was the most insane and vicious match of the year. Pentagon Jr. was on a mission in this one to prove to his master that he was evil enough and to accomplish that he used light tubes, thumb tacks, tables and fire. I know this match was cut in half to air on television, but what we got was some of the most griping wrestling of the year. The post match angle doesn’t even bother me.
7) AJ Styles vs Jimmy Rave
(PSW, 5/8)
Two legends in the Southern indie area colliding for the first time in years. This was just a great mix of traditional wrestling with new school flare. About thirty minutes of two of the best wrestlers in 2015 putting on a clinic. Check it out on vimeo.
6) Atlantis vs Sombra
(“Mask vs Mask”, CMLL, 9/18)
The Atlantis mask match at the CMLL Anniversary Show has become the match I most anticipate each year. Although this is not on the level of the Atlantis vs Ultimo Guerrero match from the year before, it’s still filled with great drama. Atlantis’ mask has become the new Undertaker’s streak in wrestling.
5) Sasha Banks vs Bayley
(“Iron Man”, NXT Take Over: Respect, 10/7)
Finally after being the highlight of each NXT special, Sasha Banks got to main event and boy did she deliver. Amazing heel work by her with great story telling using the “Iron Man” rules to her advantage. The heel work on Bayley’s super fan was one of the top moments of the year.
4) Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns
(WWE WrestleMania XXXI, 3/29)
One of the greatest main events in WrestleMania history. This was a brutal slug fest that was stiff as fuck. Brock took Roman and beat him senseless to such a degree that it got the crowd onto Roman’s side. The comeback was tremendous and Brock blades. If they had a real finish and not a Seth Rollins run in, this might had been the match of the year.
3) Sasha Banks vs Becky Lynch
(NXT Take Over: Unstoppable, 5/20)
The match that took women’s wrestling in NXT from a really solid and good part of the undercard to the real highlight of the company for me. The two former partners pulled out a classic with some amazing story telling. Sasha Banks went right for Becky’s arm and destroyed it (which is what Becky usually does). Becky was a great babyface trying to fight through, but The Boss was too much and retained the title here.
2) Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kota Ibushi
(NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9, 1/4)
Nakamura and Ibushi went to war in this match with stomps, elbows, knees. A lot of these viciously to the back of the head. After this war we are treated to an amazing finishing stretch with Ibushi throwing out every trick he had to put down Nakamura, but you can’t put down Nakamura! A match so good it made my top 100 matches list.
1) Sasha Banks vs Bayley
(NXT Take Over: Brooklyn, 8/22)
If you listened to the Pro-Wrestling Super Show’s Top 100 Matches podcast you would know I had this match in the upper half of my list, so there is no surprise it is the top match of the year for me for 2015.
This match is just special and very few matches have that feel to it. The crowd was amazing from the entrances to the finish. The story they tell is perfect. I loved all the hand work by Sasha and Bayley’s selling of it. They way that comes back towards the end was tremendous as well. This also had some insane moves as well, including the Super Reverse Hurrancanara. This match was really an instant classic and clearly the best match of 2015.
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