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!
You can discuss this on Twitter!
Discord
We also have a lovely discord community to discuss the greatest wrestler ever project and anything else under the sun. It’s an open and welcoming group and I am very proud of it. Everyone is welcome:
Join:
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Top Ten 2016 Matches of the Year
It’s that time of the year where we talk about the matches of the year! 2016 was a great year with streaming services emerging, amazing tag wrestling, women’s cage matches, and great mask lucha matches!
Honourable Mentions:
Chris Hero & Tommy End vs Sami Callihan & Zack Sabre Jr. (EVOLVE 53, 1/22)
Zack Sabre Jr. vs Chris Hero (WWN, 4/2)
Rey Hechicero vs Negro Casas (Monterrey, 4/24)
Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles (“Extreme Rules”, WWE Extreme Rules, 5/22)
LA Park vs Rush (Liga Elite, 7/14)
Now onto the list:
10) Allie vs Rosemary
(“Cage”, SMASH Canusa Classic, 10/22)
*available on Smash on Demand
The blow off of an 18 month feud and the conclusion of a one night USA vs Canada series. This is everything you want in a feud ending match, as these two beat the crap out of each other. It’s a match that pays off it’s history with a lot of call backs and nuances that can only exist at the end of an epic feud.
9) Sasha Banks vs Charlotte vs Becky Lynch
(WWE WrestleMania XXXII, 4/3)
*available on the WWE Network
After a year of horrible booking in the women’s revolution, the three top women in the WWE stepped onto the big stage at WrestleMania and stole the show. It needs to be seen again, as it was hurt the night of after such a long weekend and show.
8) Chris Hero vs Gunner Miller vs Jimmy Rave vs Anthony Henry
(Scenic City Invitational, 8/6)
*available here
The finals from an amazing tournament saw some of the best psychology in a single match this year. All four men shined and it even played off the finals from the previous year’s touranament. The whole tournament might be the best show’s of the year and are available for a cheap price.
7) Black Terry vs Wotan
(Chilanga Mask, 8/21)
This is a throwback to the Steven Regal vs Fit Finlay feud in the mid 90’s in WCW. These two beat the crap out each other in a realistic and violent fashion. The full match is available by contacting Black Terry Jr.
6) #DIY vs The Revival
(NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, 8/20)
*available on the WWE Network
These two produced the best tag team feud in WWE history. Is there anything in wrestling better than a proper heel and babyface southern tag match? This is about the best version of that style that you can have.
5) Delta vs Galactar
(“Mask vs Mask”, MDA, 11/26)
What more can you ask from in a mask vs mask match, then insane drama, broom attacks, blood, and it ending with a wedding proposal?
4) Shinsuke Nakamura vs Sami Zayn
(NXT TakeOver: Dallas, 4/1)
*available on the WWE Network
WrestleMania weekend was magically with WWN Live putting out great show after great show, however this NXT show was the highlight of the weekend for me. Nakamura’s debut in the WWE was a special moment and this match has a special aura about it.
3) Sasha Banks vs Charlotte
(“Hell in a Cell”, WWE Hell in a Cell, 10/30)
*available on the WWE Network
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 this match for 90 minutes.
2) #DIY vs The Revival
(“2/3 Falls”, NXT TakeOver: Toronto, 11/19)
*available on the WWE Network
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 love 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.
1) Trauma I vs Canis Lupus
(“Mask vs Mask”, IWRG, 9/4)
This is on par with the Atlantis vs Ultimo Guerrero match from a few year’s ago, but it’s different. While they both had the drama, this one brought the blood and hatred. A real throwback to the classic mask matches of the 80s and 90s. A five star classic that will stand the test of time.
There you have it, my top matches of 2016. Was there any matches I missed or you hated the placement of? I will take those comments and any others on my twitter.
Sasha Banks vs Charlotte (WWE NXT @ San Jose, 3/28/2015)
This week’s “Fan Favourites” match is requested by Hasan Mulia on twitter. As always, on Thursday I will review any match that you folks want. Bring it on, whether it’s on twitter or Pro Wrestling Only.
There has been an outburst of fan cam footage available on YouTube over the last few years, but this was actually recorded by Hasan himself.
Sasha Banks vs Charlotte
(WWE NXT @ San Jose, 3/28/2015)
This was outstanding. Let us start with the opening shine segment of Charlotte. What was great about this was when Charlotte was chopping the shit out of Sasha, Sasha would keep trying everything she could to gain the advantage. The problem was Charlotte was a freight train of emotional power and could not be stopped. Sasha, of course, does finally gain control with her awesome double knees to the chest in the corner spot.
The second segment was Sasha all in control. Sasha had some great work with her submissions and just gets so much heat. The crowd forgot to be 50/50 at one point and was fully behind Charlotte. One thing I loved here was that every time Sasha got super arrogant by doing a Charlotte move, it lead to a great hope spot.
The final segment gets started as Charlotte powers her way out of a submission hold by getting to her feet and hitting a power bomb. A double knock out tease leads to Charlotte winning a slug fest, because she is the face. They trade a lot of great nearfalls, that are all believable and wasn’t a killing finishers way. The finish gets set up a little clunky, but ends in a dramatic fashion.
A really great suggestion of a match and really shows how talented these two are, even in a situation where it wasn’t a big special match.
Rating: ****
Thanks to Hasan for this “Fan Favourite” request. Remember to check out next Thursday for another “Fan Favourite”. If you want a match of your choosing reviewed here, either comment below, post on Pro Wrestling Only or hit me up on twitter.
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