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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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
If you want to discuss this you can do it on Twitter:
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Trans Rights!
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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
The Greatest Wrestlers of 2004
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 and 2010 are on the blog.
2004
The year turned out better than I could have expected. With WCW dead and AJW dying, my hopes were low, but the emergence of the Indies and a variety of Joshi promotions made up for it. WWE focussed on some great workers, as did NJPW, while NOAH was running the Tokyo Dome! 2004 was a fun year, so let’s look at my rankings.
Process
I have a master list where I have done all these rankings, along with how many matches each wrestler had each year, so the first step is to add in any wrestlers to consider from 2004 that are not on this list, and then to sort by how many matches they had in 2004.
From there I focus on watching the footage, till I have a good idea of each wrestler and if they belong in the top 25 or not. I make sure everyone in the top 25 has at least 3 matches that I can recommend (7/10 or higher).
From there I start trying to rank from 1 to 25. I keep adjusting the rankings till I am comfortable with the results.
The following are the results of this process.
Onto The List
All of the below stats are from cagematch. Yes, they are not perfect.
They are some wrestlers with fewer recommended matches but are higher than others on the list. That is because I know them well enough, so I didn’t need to watch more. 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 and if they are bolded they are 8/10 or higher.
Honourable Mentions
- Aja Kong
- Akira Taue
- Alex Shelley
- The Bloody
- Christian
- Mercedes Martinez
- Takako Inoue
#25
Lacey
Matches: 26
Places Worked: IWA-MS, MIW, FLWA, NWA, MAW, ACW, ROH, WEW, CHIKARA, wXw, Neo Pro, MMWA, & SICW
Titles Held: NFW Women’s Title, MIW Women’s Title (twice), & NWA Midwest/IWA Mid-South Women’s Title
Tournaments: NWA Midwest/IWA Mid-South Women’s Title Tournament (winner) & 3rd Annual Women’s Elite 8
Lacey before SHIMMER was already awesome. She is one of the most natural wrestlers ever and adding with her smarts, she is a complete joy to watch. Her offence was already pretty damn crisp too to go along with her matwork and submission game.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Daizee Haze, IWA-MS Payback, Pain, and Agony, February 13
- vs Daizee Haze, “KO or Submission”, IWA-MS One More Time, June 11
- vs Mercedes Martinez, IWA-MS Ted Petty Invitational, September 17
#24
Yuji Nagata
Matches: 138
Places Worked: NJPW, AJPW, Toryumon X, & NOAH
Title Held: GHC Tag Team Titles with Hiroshi Tanahashi & AJPW World Tag Team Titles with Kendo Kashin
Tournaments: IWGP Heavyweight Title Tournament (semi-finals) & G1 Climax
I never expected Nagata to make my list, but he was really special in big matches getting blooded by brutes. He really is a charismatic babyface when he is an underdog.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Kensuke Sasaki, NJPW Wrestling World, January 4
- vs Mitsuya Nagai, NJPW Summer Struggle, July 4
- vs Genichiro Tenryu, NJPW G1 Climax, August 8
#23
Trish Stratus
Matches: 74
Place Worked: WWE
Title Held: WWE World Women’s Title
A fascinating year for Stratus, which makes her very hard to rank. It’s one of her best years overall, but so much of it was focused on the heel turn and outstanding character work. Her opponents and opportunities were very limited, but damn she was great when she got the chance. Her ability to carry everyone is elite.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Victoria, WWE Raw, June 21
- vs Victoria, WWE Unforgiven, September 12
- vs Lita, WWE Raw, December 6
#22
Último Guerrero
Matches: 103
Places Worked: CMLL, Toryumon Mexico, IWRG, MaxProad, LXW, & FIP
Title Held: CMLL World Tag Team Titles with Rey Bucanero (twice) & CMLL World Light Heavyweight Title
Tournament: CMLL Torneo Gran Alternativa with Neutron (finals)
Mostly known for his great team with Bucanero in 2004, he also delivered when given a big singles match. Guerrero is always charismatic and it’s hard not to get excited when he’s in the ring.
Recommended Matches:
- vs LA Park, CMLL Guadalajara Domingos, April 18
- with El Hijo de Perro Aguayo & Rey Bucanero vs LA Park, El Hijo del Santo, & Shocker, CMLL Super Viernes, September 3
- with Rey Bucanero vs Mistico & El Hijo del Santo, , CMLL Guadalajara Domingos, November 7
#21
Rey Mysterio
Previous Rankings: 1997 (6th) & 2010 (15th)
Matches: 146
Place Worked: WWE
Titles Held: WWE Cruiserweight Title (twice) & WWE Tag Team Titles with Rob Van Dam
A rather odd year for Mysterio, who was either regulated to the cruiserweight division or was in tag teams. Rey is Rey though and he will always deliver, especially in the unreal performance against Chavo in June.
Recommended Matches:
- with Rob Van Dam vs The Dudley Boyz, WWE Judgement Day, May 16
- vs Chavo Guerrero, WWE The Great American Bash, June 27
- vs Carlito, WWE Smackdown, October 14
#20
Kyoko Inoue
Previous Rankings: 1993 (3rd) & 1997 (7th)
Matches: 63
Places Worked: NEO, Gatokunyan, NOAH, Mexico, WWS, & AJW
Titles Held: WWWA Tag Team Titles with Takako Inoue & NEO Kitazawa Tag Team Titles with Etsuko Mita
Tournaments: NEO Stage (semi-finals), NEO Japan Cup, & NEO Mid Summer Tag Tournament with Emi Sakura
I keep waiting for Kyoko Inoue to fall off, as everyone tells me she does, but it hasn’t happened yet! She is less mobile at this stage of her career, but that gives her the added benefit of more force on her offence. All her big matches delivered, and the rest of them were fun.
Recommended Matches:
- with Takako Inoue vs Ayako Hamada & Nanae Takahashi, AJW, January 13
- vs Nanae Takahashi, NEO Dream Rush, March 14
- vs Mariko Yoshida vs Takako Inoue, NEO Summer Stampede, August 14
#19
Command Bolshoi
aka Bolshoi 666, Bolshoi Kid, & PIKO
Previous Ranking: 2010 (14th)
Matches: 58
Places Worked: JWP, 666, IWA Japan, AtoZ, NEO, & AAA
Tournaments: JWP Tag Team Title Tournament with Jaguar Yokota (semi-finals) & JWP Openweight Title Tournament
The greatest technical wrestler of all time, Command Bolshoi, comes in at #19 with another well-rounded year. It wasn’t a year filled with big stand-out opportunities, but Bolshoi was great.. Her doing awesome work against Jaguar Yokota was a dream for me.
Recommended Matches:
- with Kyoko Kimura vs Jaguar Yokota & Nozomi Takesako, IWA Japan Anniversary Show, August 31
- with Kaori Yoneyama, & Kayoko Haruyama vs Azumi Hyuga, Erika Watanabe, & Tsubasa Kuragaki, JWP Pure Slam, September 12
- with Megumi Yabushita vs AKINO & Mariko Yoshida, Jd’, September 23
- vs Erika Watanabe, JWP, November 14
#18
Bryan Danielson
aka American Dragon
Previous Rankings: 2010 (12th) & 2021 (18th)
Matches: 109
Places Worked: NJPW, ROH, PWG, NJPW Inoko Dojo, IWA Mid-South, MLW, NWA, & Toryumon Mexico
Title Held: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles with Curry Man
Tournaments: PWG Tango & Cash Invitational with Super Dragon (finals), NJPW Inoki Dojo Best of American Super Juniors (winner), NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XI (semi-finals), ROH Survival of the Fittest (winner), & IWA Mid-South Ted Petty Invitational (finals)
Another really solid year for Danielson. A lot of really good matches. Nothing by him really blew me away in 2004, but an okay year by Danielson will get him into the top 25 every time.
Recommended Matches:
- vs CM Punk, ROH Reborn: Stage One, April 23
- vs Homicide, ROH Reborn: Stage Two, April 24
- vs Chris Hero, IWA Mid-South An IWA Fairytale: The Hero vs The Dragon, August 21
- vs Alex Shelley, ROH Glory by Honor III, September 11
#17
Chris Hero
Previous Ranking: 2010 (1st)
Matches: 106
Places Worked: IWA Mid-South, CZW, ASW, CHIKARA, PWG, IWC, BJW, NWA, WZW, wXw, GPW, FutureShock, TTW, TNA, IZW, TLW, MLW, ICWA, BCW, IWA East Coast, CAPW, PXW, HWA, UWC, & BBW
Title Held: GPW International Title & CZW Iron Man Title
Tournaments: CZW Xtreme Strong Title Tournament (semi-finals), PWG Tango & Cash Invitational with CM Punk (semi-finals), Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup (finals), CHIKARA Young Lions Cup II (semi-finals), & IWA Mid-South Ted Petty Invitational
Chris Hero spent 2004 wrestling EVERYWHERE. Seriously look above. Hero had really put it together in 2004, mostly ditching the long epics, to work a more dramatic style. He was already a veteran this early in his career.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Samoa Joe, IWA Mid-South A Shot of Southern Comfort, May 29
- vs Bryan Danielson, IWA Mid-South An IWA Fairytale: The Hero vs The Dragon, August 21
- vs Alex Shelley, CZW High Stakes II, September 11
#16
Jamal
aka Ekmo
Matches: 82
Places Worked: AJPW, HCW, K-DOJO, & TNA
Tournaments: AJPW Champion Carnival, AJPW Autumn Festival Tag Tournament with Funkster (finals), & AJPW Real World Tag League with Taiyo Kea (winner)
Putting together these lists for singles years is making me realize how much I value a giant man who crushes people but sells really well. The future Umaga went to AJPW and was freaking awesome as a monster gaijin doing just that.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Keiji Muto, AJPW Champion Carnival, April 15
- vs Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW Crossover, June 12
- vs Satoshi Kojima, AJPW September Dream, September 25
#15
Yoshiko Tamura
Previous Ranking: 2010 (23rd)
Matches: 65
Places Worked: NEO, AtoZ, JWP, BJW, NOAH, & AJW
Titles Held: NWA Women’s Pacific & NEO Title & TWF World Women’s Title
Tournaments: NEO Stage, NEO Japan Cup (semi-finals), & NEO Mid Summer Tag Tournament 4 with Asami (semi-finals)
I think Yoshiko Tamura is an unique wrestler to watch. At some points you think she’s getting shooty, then will get all spotty instead. Whatever her style is, she’s great.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Momoe Nakanishi, NEO Dream Rush, March 14
- vs Yumi Ohka, Jd’, September 5
- vs The Bloody, NEO St. Battle Day, September 20 (#7 MOTY)
#14
Jushin “Thunder” Liger
Previous Rankings: 1990 (12th), 1993 (32nd), & 1997 (19th)
Matches: 129
Places Worked: NJPW, OPW, NOAH, ROH, KAGEKI, & AAA
Title Held: GHC Junior Heavyweight Title
Tournament: NJPW Best of the Super Junior XI (semi-finals)
Liger was involved in a feud with NOAH junior heavyweights all year and was able to work a lot as a heel. Mean old grumpy Liger beating up NOAH wrestlers was a fun way to spend a year.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Takashi Suguira, NJPW Wrestling World, January 4
- vs Mitsuo Momota, NJPW Fighting Spirit, February 15
- vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, NOAH Navigation with Breeze, May 21
#13
Ayako Hamada
Matches: 57
Places Worked: GAEA, AJW, Oz Academy, LLF, AAA, & HUSTLE
Title Held: IWRG Intercontinental Women’s TItle, AAAW Title, WWWA Tag Team Titles with Nanae Takahashi, & WWWA World Title
Tournaments: Oz Academy Iron Woman Tag Team Tournament with Aja Kong (finals), Oz Academy Iron Woman Tournament, GAEA One Night Tag Team Tournament with Carlos Amano (semi-finals), & GAEA High Spurt 600 Tournament
I have always been iffy on Hamada and the limited amounts that I have seen her and although this was a great year, the jury is still out on her. Sometimes he’s the best Sabu ever and sometimes she goes to overboard with access. Her output is there though.
Recommended Matches:
- with Nanae Takahashi vs Double Inoue, AJW, January 13
- with Nanae Takahashi vs AKINO & Momoe Nakanishi, M’s Style Under World: 1st Contact, April 20
- vs Meiko Satomura, GAEA Anniversary Show, April 30
- vs Amazing Kong, AJW New Wave, May 2 (#4 MOTY)
- vs Nane Takahashi, AJW Rising Generation Special in Kawasaki, December 12
#12
Samoa Joe
Matches: 71
Places Worked: ROH, IWA Mid-South, PWG, Inoko Dojo, JAPW, GSW, IWC, NWA, USA Pro, & AWS
Title Held: ROH World Title
Tournaments: PWG Tango & Cash Invitational with Puma, GSW World Heavyweight Title Tournament (semi-finals), ROH Survival of the Fittest (finals), IWA Mid-South Ted Petty Invitational (finals), & IWA Mid-South Revolution Strong Title Tournament (winner)
Samoa Joe was intriging in 2004. He was involved in a lot of great matches, but in those great matches I thought he was clearly the lesser of the two involved. He had some disappointing outings as well, so really a mixed bag, but you can’t deny some of his top output.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Chris Hero, IWA Mid-South A Shot of Southern Comfort, May 29
- vs CM Punk, ROH World Title Classic, June 12
- vs CM Punk, ROH Joe-Punk II, October 16 (#3 MOTY)
- vs CM Punk, ROH All Star Extravaganza II, December 4
#11
Nanae Takahashi
Previous Ranking: 2010 (20th)
Matches: 108
Places Worked: AJW, NEO, GAEA, AtoZ, NJPW, & JWP
Title Held: WWWA Tag Team Titles with Ayako Hamada & WWWA World Title
Tournaments: AJW Japan Grand Prix & AJW Tag League The Best with Hikaru
When Takahashi is on, she is really on. In 2004 she was on a lot. When she is hitting her high end stiff offence, I love her the most. The team with Ayako Hamada really gelled through out the year too, giving her some nice variety.
Recommended Matches:
- with Ayako Hamada vs Double Inoue, AJW, January 13
- vs Kyoko Inoue, NEO Dream Rush, March 14
- with Ayako Hamada vs AKINO & Momoe Nakanishi, M’s Style Under World: 1st Contact, April 20
- vs Ayako Hamada, AJW Rising Generation Special in Kawasaki, December 12
- with Momoe Nakanishi vs Aja Kong & Amazing Kong, AJW, December 26
#10
Meiko Satomura
Previous Ranking: 2010 (6th)
Matches: 30
Places Worked: GAEA & NEO
Title Held: AAAW Title
Meiko only worked about half of the year in 2004, but she was still Meiko when she worked.
Recommended Matches:
- with Chikayo Nagashima vs Ran YuYu & Toshie Uematsu, GAEA War Cry, February 17
- vs Mayumi Ozaki, GAEA War Cry, February 29
- vs Ayako Hamada, GAEA Anniversary Show, April 30
#9
LA Park
Previous Ranking: 2010 (5th)
Matches: 52
Places Worked: CMLL, TNA, ENESMA, & IWRG
Titles Held: CMLL World Tag Team Titles with Shocker, X-LAW Heavyweight Title (twice), & Mexican National Light Heavyweight Title
The dancing skeleton will always do well on these lists. It was fun to watch him work more regular style matches this year and less wild brawls. It did excel in those, so that is another feather in his cap.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Último Guerrero, CMLL Guadalajara Domingos, April 18
- with El Hijo del Santo & Shocker vs El Hijo de Perro Aguayo, Rey Bucanero, & Último Guerrero, CMLL Super Viernes, September 3
- vs El Dandy, ENESMA, October 15 (#9 MOTY)
#8
Kenta Kobashi
Previous Rankings: 1993 (11th) & 1997 (15th)
Matches: 107
Place Worked: NOAH
Title Held: GHC Heavyweight Title
Although Kobashi did dwell into access at points to much for me, see that ridiculous Tokyo Dome match with Akiyama, his best was almost unmatchable. Him being more broken down makes his selling more believable and his kick outs more dramatic.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Yoshiko Takayama, NOAH Encountering Navigation, April 25 (#5 MOTY)
- with KENTA vs Akira Taue & Takashi Sugiura, NOAH Navigation with Breeze, May 25
- vs Akira Taue, NOAH Navigation Over the Date Line, September 10 (#10 MOTY)
#7
Momoe Nakanishi
Matches: 80
Places Worked: AtoZ, AJW, NEO, JWP, M’s Style, & Jd’
Titles Held: AtoZ World Title & NWA Women’s Pacific & NEO Champion
Tournament: NEO Stage (winner)
Momoe is a joy to watch as she brings a level of selling that wasn’t present in the other big joshi wrestlers of the year. She was the big dramatic babyface that we needed. She is someone who gets better as the match goes along and really excels at comebacks and finishing stretches.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Kayo Noumi, AJW, February 3
- vs Yoshiko Tamura, NEO Dream Rush, March 14
- with AKINO vs Ayako Hamada & Nanae Takahashi, M’s Style Under World: 1st Contact, April 20
- with Nanae Takahashi vs Aja Kong & Amazing Kong, AJW, December 26
#6
El Hijo de Perro Aguayo
Matches: 58
Places Worked: CMLL, IWRG, & LLA
Title Held: WWA World Tag Team Titles with El Hijo del Santo
Tournaments: CMLL Leyenda de Plata (winner) & CMLL Torneo Gran Alternativa with Sangre Azteca
I have always been a fan of Perro Aguayo Jr. due to his amazing presence and he really translates that into the ring in 2004. The feud with El Hijo del Santo is a classic.
Recommended Matches:
- vs El Hijo del Santo, CMLL Super Viernes, August 13
- with Rey Bucanero & Último Guerrero vs El Hijo del Santo, LA Park, & Shocker, CMLL Super Viernes, September 3
- vs El Hijo del Santo, LLA, September 5 (#6 MOTY)
#5
Amazing Kong
Matches: 108
Places Worked: AJW, GAEA, Oz Academy, NEO, AtoZ, DDT, LLPW, & JWP
Title Held: LLPW Tag Team Titles with Eagle Sawai, WWWA World Title, & AAAW Tag Team Titles with Aja Kong
Tournaments: AJW Japan Grand Prix, Oz Academy Iron Women Tag Team Tournament with Chikayo Nagashima (winners), & Oz Academy Iron Women Tournament
Amazing Kong was everything youdreamt Amazing Kong would be in 2004. She was a destructive force killing fools in wild brawls using anything that was not tied down. A real eye-opening year for her.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Aja Kong, GAEA Anniversary Show, April 30
- vs Ayako Hamada, AJW New Ave, May 2 (#4 MOTY)
- vs Mima Shimoda, AtoZ Anniversary Show, July 19 (#8 MOTY)
- with Aja Kong vs Ayako Hamada & Mima Shimoda, AJW, December 26
#4
El Hijo del Santo
Previous Rankings: 1990 (21st), 1993 (15th), & 1997 (2nd)
Matches: 39
Places Worked: CMLL, LLA, & FMLL
Title Held: WWA World Welterweight Title
Tournament: CMLL Torneo Gran Alternativa with Mistico (winner)
Santo being able to work CMLL and Indies gave a nice variety of matches, from amazing brawls to showing off his great technical and flying work. The El Hijo de Perro Aguayo feud was unreal in every setting.
Recommended Matches:
- vs El Hijo de Perro Aguayo, CMLL Super Viernes, August 13
- with LA Park & Shocker vs El Hijo de Perro Aguayo, Rey Bucanero, & Último Guerrero, CMLL Super Viernes, September 3
- vs El Hijo de Perro Aguayo, LLA, September 5 (#6 MOTY)
- with Mistico vs Rey Bucanero & Último Guerrero, CMLL Guadalajara Domingos, November 7
#3
Genichiro Tenryu
Previous Ranking: 1993 (10th)
Matches: 70
Places Worked: NJPW & AJPW
Title Held: AJPW All Asia Tag Team Titles with Masanobu Fuchi & WMG Tag Team Titles with Riki Choshu
Tournaments: NJPW IWGP Heavyweight Title Tournament (finals), NJPW G1 Climax (semi-finals), & NJPW President Hoshino 10 Million Yen Offer Tag Tournament with Kensuke Sasaki (semi-finals)
Grumpy old Tenryu was at another level in 2004. I don’t know if someone spilled his tea or something, but he was extra vicious with his strikes and offence. He was even beating people to a bloody pulp. The amazing matches he pulled out of folks I don’t care about is impressive.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW New Year Giant Series, January 18
- vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan, NJPW Fighting Spirit, February 15
- vs Masanobu Fuchi, AJPW Excite Seris, February 22
- vs Minoru Suzuki, NJPW G1 Climax, August 7
- vs Yuji Nagata, NJPW G1 Climax, August 8
#2
CM Punk
Previous Rankings: 2010 (7th) & 2021 (25th)
Matches: 100
Places Worked: ROH, IWA Mid-South, IWC, FIP, TNA, PWG, WORLD-1, NWA, FWA, JAPW, Inoki Dojo, & wXw
Titles Held: ROH Tag Team Titles with Colt Cabana (twice) & IWA Mid-South Title
Tournaments: PWG Tango & Cash Invitational with Chris Hero (semi-finals), ROH Pure Wrestling Title Tournament (finals), IWC Super Indy Survivor Showdown Tournament (semi-finals), IWC Super Indy III (semi-finals), IWA Mid-South Tag Team Titles Tournament with Colt Cabana (sesmi-finals), ROH Pure Title Tournament (semi-finals), IWA Mid-South Ted Petty Invitational, FIP Heavyweight Title Tournament (finals), & FIP Florida Rumble
I may be a little biased with CM Punk, but this year was great for him. The variety going from wild brawl, to epic, to short TV matches is impressive. He was in a great tag team, but really excelled in singles contests. The Samoa Joe series is a performance that gives him so many points, it’s hard to deny him.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Bryan Danielson, ROH Reborn: Stage One, April 23
- with Colt Cabana vs The Briscoes, ROH Reborn: Stage Two, April 24
- vs Samoa Joe, ROH World Title Classic, June 12
- with Colt Cabana vs The Briscoes, “2/3 Falls”, ROH Death Before Dishonor 2, July 23
- vs Samoa Joe, ROH Joe-Punk II, October 16 (#3 MOTY)
- vs AJ Styles, IWA Mid-South 8th Anniversary, October 23
- vs Samoa Joe, ROH All Star Extravaganza II, December 4
#1
Eddie Guerrero
Previous Rankings: 1993 (36th) & 1997 (13th)
Matches: 121
Place Worked: WWE
Title Held: WWE Championship
Eddie Guerrero was always great, but in 2004 he found his groove as “Latino Heat” and took it to another level. He was saddled with a freshly turned/pushed JBL for months and not only made him look great, but delivered all-time classic matches. That’s ridiculous. Post losing the title he was de-pushed a bit, but still delivered good performances against the likes of Luther Reigns. An easy choice for wrestler of the year in 2004.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Brock Lesnar, WWE No Way Out, February 15 (#1 MOTY)
- vs Kurt Angle, WWE WrestleMania XX, March 14
- vs JBL, WWE Judgement Day, May 16 (#2 MOTY)
- vs JBL, “Cage Match”, WWE SmackDown, July 15
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I am now moving on to 2015 in my watching. This is fun, because it’s a year that my spreadsheet existed. There is a 2015 Match of the Year list on this blog, but it will be revised. Stay tuned.
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2004 Match of the Year List
We are fast approaching my greatest wrestlers of 2004 list, so let’s drop the match of the year list first!
This is list is based on stuff that was either on my database from the past, or I have watched over the last month. If a match is missing, either I liked other things more or I missed it.
Honourable Mentions
- Jushin Liger vs Mitsuo Momota, NJPW Fighting Spirit, February 15
- Momoe Nakanishi vs Yoshiko Tamura, NEO Dream Rush, March 14
- Chris Hero vs Samoa Joe, IWA-MS A Shot of Southern Comfort, May 29
- CM Punk vs Samoa Joe, ROH World Title Classic, June 12
- Chavo Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio, WWE The Great American Bash, June 27
- CM Punk vs Samoa Joe, ROH All Star Extravaganza II, December 4
#10
Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi
“GHC Heavyweight Championship”
NOAH Navigation Over The Date Line
September 10
Nippon Budokan
This match really harkens back to the glory days of AJPW and it’s so nice to see Akira Taue get a huge spotlight title match like this. One thing NOAH did better than AJPW was the spots from the apron to the floor and Taue had a doozy in this one.
#9
El Dandy vs LA Park
“Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship”
ENESMA
October 15
Salon 21
A late edition to the list, but it was so great I had to put it on. It’s LA Park doing a title match, so he’s less focused on the wild chaotic brawl and more on trying to win. What I am saying it’s not a typical Park match, but it’s still great! The seconds get involved in the end and in theory that would hurt the match, but somehow when Dandy and Park team up to get rid of them and then Park uses that to try a sneaky pin it gets even better! A real hidden gem.
#8
Amazing Kong vs Mima Shimoda
AtoZ 1st Anniversary
July 19
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium
This is an all out war brawl that goes all over the arena and features one of the most violent power bomb from the apron to the floor through the table spots in history. This is the Kong unleashed I’ve always wanted to see.
#7
The Bloody vs Yoshiko Tamura
“TWF World Women’s Championship”
NEO St. Battle Day
September 20
Kitazawa Town Hall
Great matwork? Check! Vicious submissions? Check! Nasty suplexes? Check! Blood? Check! This match has it all and is a must see.
#6
El Hijo del Perro Aguayo vs El Hijo del Santo
Wrestling In Monterrey
September 5
Arena Solidaridad
Gritty is the word that comes to mind watching this one. It’s a chaotic brawl but in a smaller venue so it feels like there is no controls in place. It feels unsafe and it’s amazing!
#5
Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama
“GHC Heavyweight Championship”
NOAH Encountering Navigation
April 25
Nippon Budokan
This match reaches levels of violence and stiffness that is almost unacceptable. What made this one stand out is that it doesn’t reach the level of excess you might except from a big NOAH title match. It’s just a brutal fight.
#4
Amazing Kong vs Ayako Hamada
“WWWA World Championship”
AJW New Wave
May 2
Korakuen Hall
This is truly one of the all-time great chaotic all over the arena brawls of all-time. Before I watched Aja Kong in AJW regularly, this is what I assumed she was like. A complete and unstoppable chaos machine. Hamada, in 2004, did an amazing job of helping to create even more chaos herself being almost Sabu like.
#3
CM Punk vs Samoa Joe
“ROH World Championship”
ROH Joe vs. Punk II
October 16
Frontier Fieldhouse
A famous match for getting the first 5* rating from Dave Meltzer for an American match since 1997. I normally don’t like hour long draws, but CM Punk does so much to make this compelling the entire time. Joe played his role perfectly too and they played off the first match extremely well.
#2
Eddie Guerrero vs John “Bradshaw” Layfield
“WWE Championship”
WWE Judgement Day
May 16
Staples Center
It’s the bloodbath match for Eddie. JBL had just turned and Eddie did this amazing job of cementing JBL has a threat, through bleeding buckets. A great underdog bloody performance by Eddie.
#1
Brock Lesnar vs Eddie Guerrero
“WWE Championship”
WWE No Way Out
February 15
Cow Palace
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.
Thank You
What did you think of this list? Hit me up on twitter and let me know.
You can also join the inclusive discord to join along with weekly weekend joshi and Greatest Wrestler Ever watch parties and always ongoing discussions.
Next time I will drop my greatest wrestlers of 2004 list.
The Greatest Wrestlers of 2010
In order to put together my top 100 list of the Greatest Wrestlers Ever, my goal is to put together a top 25 list for each year. Previously, on the “Maybe Not Taue” podcast, I have put together a list for 1985, 1990, 1997, and 2010. You can listen to those here.
Process
Step One is to go to my match ratings spreadsheet and enter in all the ratings each candidate had for that year and get an average.
Step two is to start watching matches. I make sure I watch at least 3 matches per person and if I feel I haven’t watched enough to judge the wrestler in that year, I watch more.
Finally, I order them by who I think was the greatest. This is based on the matches they had, how they worked, the versatile, how active they were, etc…
The following is the results of that process.
Honourable Mentions
- Christian
- Jushin Liger
- Kevin Steen
- Mascarita Dorada
- Mickie James
Onto The List
All of the below stats are from cagematch.
They are some wrestlers with less recommended matches, but are higher than others on the list. That is because I know them well enough, so I didn’t need to watch more. The recommended matches is not a definitive list, it’s a list of matches I have watched for this process, plus matches on my spreadsheet.
Matches lists are all 7/10 or higher and if they are bolded they are 8/10 or higher.
#25
Syuri
Matches: 16
Places Worked: SMASH, NEO, & Kaientai Dojo
I know 16 isn’t very many matches, but I did end up watching a lot of these and you can see glimpses of her greatness to come already. In context she was a professional kick boxer during this year, including taking on one fight. She translated that well to the ring, and was a great underneath fighter versus veterans all year. There may be a big bias showing in this pick, but it’s pick #25 so give me a break.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Kana (SMASH 4, June 25)
- with Kana vs Emi Sakura & Kaori Yoneyama (SMASH.10, November 22)
- vs Kaori Yoneyama (SMASH Happening Eve, December 24)
#24
Ayako Hamada
Matches: 37
Places Worked: TNA, SHIMMER, WAVE, & JAPW
Titles Held: TNA Knockouts Tag Team Titles with Awesome Kong & TNA Knockouts Tag Team Titles with Taylor Wilde
Hamada is an interesting worker to me, as she is clearly very technically great in the ring, but never a truly elite wrestler. That said, she keeps being impressive in every situation so she makes it onto the list.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Daizee Haze (SHIMMER Volume 31, April 11)
- vs Cheerleader Melissa (SHIMMER Volume 32, April 11)
- with Ayumi Kurihara, Chreerleader Melissa, & Serena Deeb vs Daizee Haze, Madison Eagles, Sara Del Rey, & Tomoka Nakagawa (“Elimination”, SHIMMER Volume 36, September 12)
- with AKINO vs Ayumi Kurihara & Tomoka Nakagawa (Ayumi’s Style 5th Anniversary, December 12)
#23
Yoshiko Tamura
Matches: 96
Places Worked: NEO, Ice Ribbon, JWP, BJW, Sendai Girls, & Oz Academy
Titles Held: NEO Tag Team Titles with Ayumi Kurihara & NWA Women’s Pacific & NEO Title
This is the last year Tamura was active in pro-wrestling, but what a year to go out on. From her vicious strikes to he reckless abandon on dives, she is always someone who will produce an exciting match.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Meiko Satomura (NEO 10th Anniversary, March 14)
- with Ayumi Kurihara vs Io Shirai & Kane (NEO Summer Stampede, August 1)
- vs Ayumi Kurihara (NEO Stage Door, December 31)
#22
Daizee Haze
Matches: 52
Places Worked: Chikara, ROH, SHIMMER, PWR, RCW, WWC, ACW, WSU, APW, NWA, 2CW, & F1RST
Tournament: ACW Queen of Queens
After years of seeing Haze as one of the best babyface workers around, she turned heel in 2010 to great success. Turning her small size and sympathy into aggression and meanness, it was quite the awesome transition.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Misaki Ohata (SHIMMER Volume 29, April 10)
- vs Ayako Hamada (SHIMMER Volume 31, April 11)
- vs Ayumi Kuraihara (SHIMMER Volume 32, April 11)
- vs Ayumi Kurihara (“No Count Out”, SHIMMER Volume 33, September 11)
- with Madison Eagles, Sara Del Rey, & Tomoka Nakagawa vs Ayako Hamada, Ayumi Kurihara, Chreerleader Melissa, & Serena Deeb vs (“Elimination” SHIMMER Volume 36, September 12)
- with Amazing Kong vs Sara Del Rey & Serena Deeb (ROH Final Battle, December 18)
#21
Portia Perez
Matches: 43
Places Worked: ACW, 2CW, SHIMMER, Femme Fatales, WSU, ROH, F1RST, AIW, PWO, C4, PWS, AWF, & JAPW
Title Helds: ACW American Joshi Title (twice) & SHIMMER Tag Team Titles with Nicole Matthews
Tournaments: NCW Femme Fatales Title Tournament (Finals) & ACW Queen of Queens (Winner)
If you miss real old school cheating Memphis style heels, you need to watch Portia Perez. She fakes injuries, hides weapons, runs away, and beats folks down. She is a legit heat monster, plus one of the best tag team workers of the modern era.
Recommended Matches:
- with Nicole Matthews vs Cheerleader Melissa & MsChif (SHIMMER Volume 29, April 10)
- vs Alisson Danger (“Last Woman Standing”, SHIMMER Volume 30, April 10)
- with Nicole Matthews vs Jessy McKay & Tenille (SHIMMER Volume 36, September 12)
#20
Nanae Takahashi
Matches: 115
Places Worked: Ice Ribbon, NEO, JWP, Sendai Girls, ZERO1, & Oz Academy
Titles Held: International Ribbon Tag Team Titles with Kazumi Shimouma, JWP Openweight Title, Triangle Ribbon Title, & International Ribbon Tag Team Titles with Emi Sakura
Tournament: JWP Openweight Challenge League (Winner)
At her best she is one of the best in the world, but she can be very inconsistent. When she’s on and laying bombs she is someone you want to watch!
Recommended Matches:
- vs Kayoko Haruyama (JWP Mania-X, April 18)
- vs Command Bolshoi (JWP Never Give Up!, June 13)
#19
Mercedes Martinez
Previous Rankings: 2021 (#17)
Matches: 40
Places Worked: WSU, SHIMMER, EVOLVE, NYWC, ACE, IndyGurlz, ICW, NHPW, Femme Fatales, NWA, NWS, WXW C4, MXW, & 2CW
Title Helds: WSU Tag Team Titles with Angel Orsini, WXW C4 Women’s Title, & WSU World Title
Tournaments: NWA Iron Girls 2 (Semi-Finals) & IndyGurlz Title Tournament (Winner)
Mercedes Martinez is one of my favourite wrestlers ever and as great as she is, 2010 was a bit of an off year. She worked less, had lesser opponents, which hurt her standing on these rankings.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Rain (WSU 3rd Anniversary, March 6)
- vs Hiroyo Matsumoto (SHIMMER Volume 32, April 11)
#18
Madison Eagles
Matches: 21
Places Worked: PWA, SHIMMER, NEO, & MCW
Titles Held: SHIMMER Title & PWWA Title
I was disappointed with her earlier work in SHIMMER, but once she got the title and was the focus of the company she really won me over. Heck she had a great title defense against Jessy McKay in 2010! She is a natural heel with a wide array of brutal looking offense and I look forward to seeing more of her reign in 2011.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Cheerleader Melissa (SHIMMER Volume 30, April 10)
- vs Cheerleader Melissa (SHIMMER Volume 33, September 11)
- vs Ayumi Kurihara (SHIMMER Volume 34, September 11)
- vs Jessy McKay (SHIMMER Volume 35, September 12)
- with Daizee Haze, Sara Del Rey, & Tomoka Nakagawa vs Ayako Hamada, Ayumi Kurihara, Cheerleader Melissa, & Serena Deeb (“Elimination”, SHIMMER Volume 36, September 12)
#17
Jun Akiyama
Matches: 73
Places Worked: NOAH & Kensuke Office
Tournament: NOAH Global League (Finals)
A lot of people I trust put Jun Akiyama as a greatest wrestler ever #1 candidate, so I made sure to put them on the watch pile. I do think he’s the best of that AJPW/NOAH main event style, even if that style isn’t my favourite.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Kensuke Sasaki (NOAH Spring Navigation, April 10)
- vs Takahashi Sugiura (NOAH Spring Navigation, May 2)
- with KENTA vs Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuji Nagata (NOAH 10th Anniversary, July 24)
#16
Claudio Castagnoli
Matches: 104
Places Worked: ROH, NOAH, Chikara, wXw, PWG, LWA, NWA, 2CW, EVOLVE, GSW, JCW, WrestleJam, LWA, & GSPW
Titles Helds: Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas Titles with Ares as Die Bruderschaft des Kreuzes, JCW Tag Team Titles with Chris Hero, ROH Tag Team Titles with Chris Hero, & PWG Title
Tournaments: NOAH Global Tag League with Chris Hero (Semi-Finals), wXw 16 Carat Gold Touranment (Quarter-Finals), Chikara King of Trios with Ares & Tarsas (Winner), ROH Tag Wars with Chris Hero (Winner), PWG The Battle of Los Angeles (Semi-Finals), LWA Tag Team Title Tournament with Chris Hero (Finals), & ROH Survival of The Fittest (Finals)
Claudio is the type of wrestler that will be around this range every year they are active enough, due to his immense talent. Although he spent most of his year in a great team with Chris Hero, he did have some solo work to round out the versatility.
Recommended Matches:
- with Chris Hero vs Jay & Mark Briscoe (ROH on HDNet, August 21)
- vs Roderick Strong (PWG The Battle of Los Angeles, September 5)
- with Sara Del Rey vs Manami Toyota & Mike Quackenbush (Chikara Through Savage Progress Cuts The Jungle Line, September 19)
#15
Rey Mysterio
Previous Rankings: 1997 (#6)
Matches: 142
Place Worked: WWE
Title Held: WWE World Heavyweight Title
Rey’s year was off to such a great start with the awesome Undertaker match at the Rumble, followed by the tremendous CM Punk feud. However, after wining the WWE World Title he moved into a feud with Kane and then didn’t do much of note the rest of the year.
Recommended Matches:
- vs The Undertaker (WWE Royal Rumble, January 31)
- vs CM Punk (WWE WrestleMania XXVI, March 28)
- vs CM Punk (WWE Extreme Rules, April 25)
- vs CM Punk (“Society Pledge vs Hair”, WWE Over The Limit, May 23)
#14
Command Bolshoi
Matches: 72
Places Worked: JWP, Ice Ribbon, New AJW, WAVE, Oz Academy, IWA Japan, SMASH, WWS, Sendai Girls, & OSAKA Joshi-Pro
Title Held: Ice Ribbon ICEx60 Title
Tournament: JWP Summer Tag Team Tournament with Kaori Yoneyama (Winner)
My love for Bolshoi has been quite documented in other places, but let’s just say she is one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all-time, not to mention her strikes, flying, and comedy as well. She had plenty of chances to show that this year, and that will put her high on any list.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Nanae Takahashi (JWP Never Give Up!, June 13)
- vs Emi Sakurai (JWP Pure Slam, July 18)
#13
Cheerleader Melissa
Matches: 22
Places Worked: SHIMMER, Femme Fatales, RCW, AAA, PWR, NWA, JAPW, GSW, & Chikara
Title Held: RCW Title
Tournaments: NCW Femme Fatales Title Tournament (Semi-Finals)
Melissa starts the trend of 3 wrestlers who could had made the top 10 if circumstances were different. Her real issue was the lack of matches. Although she was tremendous in SHIMMER as a battling babyface trying to get to the top, she was very limited in her work elsewhere.
Recommended Matches:
- with MsChif vs Nicole Matthews & Portia Perez (SHIMMER Volume 29, April 10)
- vs Madison Eagles (SHIMMER Volume 30, April 10)
- vs Ayako Hamada (SHIMMER Volume 32, April 11)
- vs Madison Eagles (SHIMMER Volume 33, September 11)
- vs Tomoka Nakagawa (SHIMMER Volume 34, September 11)
- vs Ayumi Kurihara (SHIMMER Volume 35, September 12)
- with Ayako Hamada, Ayumi Kurihara, & Serena Deeb vs Daizee Haze, Madison Eagles, Sara Del Rey, & Tomoka Nakagawa (“Elimination”, SHIMMER Volume 36, September 12)
#12
Daniel Bryan/Bryan Danielson
Previous Rankings: 2021 (#18)
Matches: 111
Places Worked: WWE, FCW, wXw, IWA Puerto Rico, DGUSA, NWA, Chikara, EVOLVE, HWA, IPW, CSW, RPW, PWG, ACE, 2CW, AIW, NYWC, & NEW
Titles Held: IWA Puerto Rico Title & WWE United States Title
Tournaments: wXw AMBITION 1 (Winner) & WWE King of the Ring
Bryan had a unique year, to say the least. He started out in FCW, WWE’s development territory, before joining the first version of NXT. Then there was a super hot angle where they debuted on Raw, which got him fired. This lead to a good run on the indies, not ROH, before rejoining the WWE in the fall. Although he was good with good performances, he never really got the opportunities to really push him up the list.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Jon Moxley (DGUSA Way of the Ronin, September 26)
- vs The Miz (WWE Bragging Rights, October 24)
#11
John Cena
Matches: 178
Place Worked: WWE
Titles Held: WWE Title (twice) & WWE Tag Team Titles with David Otunga
John Cena had an odd year. It started off real strong with the amazing feud with Batista, but it fell apart into a weird angle with the Nexus. Teaming with Otunga and feuding with Wade Barrett will drag you of the top 10.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Batista (WWE WrestleMania XXVI, March 28)
- vs Batista (“Last Man Standing”, WWE Extreme Rules, April 25)
- vs Sheamus (“Cage”, WWE Money in the Bank, July 18)
#10
Sara Del Rey
Matches: 72
Places Worked: ROH, Chikara, SHIMMER, JAPW, MLW, NCW, 2CW, NWA, IndyGurlz, ACW, RCW, TNA, IWL, Remix Pro, NCW, Femme Fatales, AWS, CWF Mid-Atl
Title Held: CWR Women’s Title
Tournaments: Chikara King of Trios with Amasis & Ophidian, NCW Femme Fatales Title Tournament, Iron Girls 2 (Winner), ACW Queen of Queens, & IndyGurlz Title Tournament (Semi-Finals)
The stalwart of American women indies, Sara Del Rey had another awesome year in 2010. Working as a tough and rumble heel in ROH, Chikara, and SHIMMER she got plenty of opportunities to showcase, including seeing her match up with Manami Toyota!
Recommended Matches:
- vs Ayumi Kurihara (SHIMMER Volume 31, April 11)
- with Daizee Haze, Madison Eagles, & Tomoka Nakagawa vs Ayako Hamada, Ayumi Kurihara, Cheerleader Melissa, & Serena Deeb (“Elimination”, SHIMMER Volume 36, September 12)
- with Claudio Castagnoli vs Manami Toyota & Mike Quackenbush (Chikara Through Savage Progress Cuts the Jungle Line, September 19)
- with Serena Deeb vs Amazing Kong & Daizee Haze (ROH Final Battle, December 18)
#9
El Generico
Matches: 71
Places Worked: ROH, PWG, C4, wXw, LWA, AWF, IPW: UK, JAWP, 2CW, APW, NWA, PWS, IWL, ABC, GBG, BCC, ACW, NSPW, DTU, AAA, & CWF Mid-Atl
Title Held: PWG World Tag Team Titles with Paul London
Tournaments: ROH World Television Title Tournament, PWG DDT4 with Paul London (Winner), BCC Title Tournament (Semi-Finals), ROH Tag Wars with Colt Cabana (Semi-Finals), PWG The Battle of Los Angeles, ROH Survival of The Fittest
El Generic was one of the best babyface wrestlers of the modern era, even if he’s a heel nowadays as Sami Zayn. The ability to sell with your whole body, because you are wearing a mask is a lost art. What is so impressive about Generico in 2010 is the amount of insane brawls he had, mostly centered around his feud with Kevin Steen (Owens).
Recommended Matches:
- vs Big Van Walter (wXw Back to The Roots IX, January 16)
- with Colt Cabana vs Kevin Steen & Steve Corino (ROH Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 2, April 24)
- vs Kevin Steen (“Unsanctioned Mask vs ROH Career Fight Without Honor”, ROH Final Battle, December 18)
#8
Ayumi Kurihara
Matches: 79
Places Worked: WAVE, NEO, Oz Academy, SHIMMER, CMLL, BJW, JWP, JAPW, M-Pro, Osaka Pro, IBUKI, IWRG, Toryumon Mexico, & AULL
Titles Held: NEO Tag Team Titles with Yoshiko Tamura, X-LAW Women’s Title, & NWA Women’s Pacific & NEO Title
Tournament: Catch the Wave (Finals)
That’s a lot of recommended matches, but that is because I had not even heard bout Kurihara until I started watching for 2010. She is an amazing babyface. Working great at getting sympathy and using exciting speed and moves. Big props for working all over the world too! The biggest shock of 2010 for me.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Tomoka Nakagawa (SHIMMER Volume 29, April 10)
- vs Sara Del Rey (SHIMMER Volume 31, April 11)
- vs Daizee Haze (SHIMMER Volume 32, April 11)
- with Yoshiko Tamura vs Io Shirai & Kana (NEO Summer Stampede, August 1)
- vs Daizee Haze (“No Countout”, SHIMMER Volume 33, September 11)
- vs Madison Eagles (SHIMMER Volume 34, September 11)
- vs Cheerleader Melissa (SHIMMER Volume 35, September 12)
- with Ayako Hamada, Cheerleader Melissa, & Serena Deeb vs Daizee Haze, Madison Eagles, Sara Del Rey, & Tomoka Nakagawa (“Elimination”, SHIMMER Volume 36, September 12)
- with Tomoka Nakagawa vs AKINO & Ayako Hamada (Ayumi’s Style 5th Anniversary, December 12)
- vs Yoshiko Tamura (NEO Stage Door, December 31)
#7
CM Punk
Previous Rankings: 2021 (#25)
Matches: 114
Place Worked: WWE
This was all out heel Straight Edge Society Punk for the first half of the year and that will jump him into the top 10. The Rey feud is great, but he did spend a huge chunk of the year feuding with Big Show in a nothing feud which lowered him. Still he put on a master class of getting heat in the modern era.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Rey Mysterio (WWE WrestleMania XXVI, March 28)
- vs Rey Mysterio (WWE Extreme Rules, April 25)
- vs Rey Mysterio (“Society Pledge vs Hair”, WWE Over The Limit, May 23)
#6
Meiko Satomura
Matches: 23
Places Worked: Sendai Girls, NEO, WAVE, Ice Ribbon, AAA, Oz Academy, SMASH, & IBUKI
If Meiko worked more matches in 2010, she probably would had been #1. She was unbelievable in everything she did. I guess training future stars and running Sendai Girls (maybe the farm too?) really took up her time.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Yoshiko Tamura (NEO 10th Anniversary)
- vs Kana (Kana Produce, April 29)
- vs Emi Sakura (Knights of Ice Ribbon, September 23)
#5
L.A. Park
Matches: 56
Places Worked: AAA, PDM, Promociones Gutierrez, Lucha Libre VIP, AULL, X-LAW, EAW, FULL, IWRG, IWL, & DGUSA
Title Held: X-LAW Heavyweight Title
Tournament: AAA Campeonato Premier with Psycho Clown
Maybe the greatest brawler ever? L.A. Park was as wild and out of control as ever in 2010, but the only real issue is he mostly worked pointless trios matches. When given a chance though, he really delivered. I just wish he had more of those chances.
Recommended Matches:
- with El Hijo del Perro Aguayo vs El Hijo del Santo & Super Parka (PDM, May 31)
- vs La Parka (“Naming Rights Match”, AAA TripleMania XVIII, June 6)
- vs El Mesias (AAA Guerra de Titanes, December 5)
#4
Kaori Yoneyama
Matches: 89
Places Worked: JWP, Ice Ribbon, NEO, SMASH, Sendai Girls, WAVE, DDT, & BJW
Titles Held: NEO High Speed Title, JWP Openweight Title, & TLW World Women’s Tag Team Titles with Hailey Hatred
Tournaments: JWP Openweight Challenge League (Semi-Finals) JWP Summer Tag Team Tournament with Command Bolshoi (Winner)
For a good long while, Yoneyama was sitting on top of my list. I could only find a few matches and they all ruled! By the end I was able to find a greater variety that knocked her down a few slots, but truly high end Yoneyama is great. She works with such speed and high end offense, but not in a pointless spectacle way.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Tanny Mouse (NEO Summer Stampede, August 1)
- vs Emi Sakura (“Hair vs Hair”, JWP Revolution, September 19)
- with Emi Sakura vs Kana & Syuri (SMASH.10, November 22)
- vs Syuri (SMASH Happening Eve, December 24)
#3
Kana
Matches: 77
Places Worked: WAVE, NEO, Osaka Pro, SMASH, Osaka Joshi-Pro, FTO, Sendai Girls, Dradition, Fukumen, VKF, Kaientai Dojo, & Mobius
Tournament: Catch The Wave
The current Asuka of WWE was the freelance star of joshi during this dead period. Not being tied to a single promotion helps and hinders, but she made the most of it. Kana was at the top of her game this year, with her amazing kicks, submissions, and charisma. I LOVED her feud and team with Syuri, to really help put her on the map.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Emi Sakura (NEO 10th Anniversary, March 14)
- vs Meiko Satomura (Kana Produce, April 29)
- vs Syuri (SMASH 4, June 25)
- with Io Shirai vs Ayumi Kurihara & Yoshiko Tamura (NEO Summer Stampede, August 1)
- with Syuri vs Emi Sakura & Kaori Yoneyama (SMASH.10, November 22)
#2
Emi Sakura
Matches: 164
Places Worked: Ice Ribbon, NEO, JWP, ZERO1, SMASH, DDT, & IBUKI
Titles Held: ICEx60 Title (twice) & International Ribbon Tag Team Titles with Nanae Takahashi
Tournament: JWP Openweight Challenge League (Semi-Finals)
Around this time I knew Emi Sakura had her amazing team with Yoneyama and I knew she was in the match of the year, but I didn’t realize she’d end up this high on the list. Being the owner of Ice Ribbon gave her some advantages, as she was able to be very active with amazing opportunities. She wasn’t just active in Ice Ribbon though, she did most of the big joshi promotions’ big shows putting on awesome matches all over the place. She was an exceptional babyface, but not a sympathy selling babyface, she had an aggressive edge that really added to all of her matches. Also, her finishing runs are some of the greatest ever.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Kana (NEO 10th Anniversary, March 14)
- vs Command Bolshoi (JWP Pure Slam, July 18)
- vs Kaori Yoneyama (“Hair vs Hair”, JWP Revolution, September 19)
- vs Meiko Satomura (Knights of Ice Ribon, September 23)
- with Kaori Yoneyama vs Kana & Syuri (SMASH.10, November 22)
#1
Chris Hero
Matches: 95
Places Worked: ROH, NOAH, PWG, wXw, LWA, 2CW, EVOLVE, GSW, IWA East Coast, NWA, NWA NJ, F1, ACW, CZW, MECW, JCW, PWR, SCW, & GSPW
Titles Held: JCW Tag Team Titles with Claudio Castagnoli & ROH World Tag Team Titles with Claudio Castagnoli
Tournaments: NOAH Global Tag League with Claudio Castagnoli (Semi-Finals), wXw 16 Carat Gold (Finals), ROH Tag Wars with Claudio Castagnoli (Winner), PWG The Battles of Los Angeles (Finals), LWA Tag Team Title Tournament with Claudio Castagnoli (Finals), ROH Survival of the Fittest (Semi-Finals)
Going into the watching process I didn’t realize Chris Hero was a #1 candidate for any year, so what a nice surprise. The variety of Hero’s 2010 is what really makes him stand out. He has technical battles, hoss battles, heel shenanigans, tag classics, epics, and just straight up awesome work. He also worked all over the world, as a heel and as a face, and as a singles and as a tag team. A complete year if there ever was one! In 2010, he may have cemented himself as the greatest tournament worker too.
Recommended Matches:
- vs Big Van Walter (wXw 16 Carat Gold, March 7)
- vs Ikuto Hidaka (EVOLVE 2, March 13)
- vs Tyler Black (ROH Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 2, April 24)
- vs Bobby Fish (EVOLVE 3, May 1)
- with Claudio Castagnoli vs Jay & Mark Briscoe (ROH on HDNet, August 21)
- vs Akira Tozawa (PWG The Battle of Los Angeles, September 5)
What did you think of this list? Hit me up on twitter and let me know.
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Top Ten Matches of the Year for 2010
I’m about ready to drop my top 25 wrestlers of the year 2010, so in prep for that here is my top 10 matches of that year.
2010 is a bit of an odd year for me in terms of viewing wrestling. I was still low post Benoit and it was before I started my spreadsheet which tracks matches. As I started with 2010, the amount of matches on that spreadsheet was very low. Therefore most of the matches on this list are very fresh. One more note is I didn’t watch every single match that took place in 2010, just focused on the wrestlers I thought could be great and the hyped matches that had any shot with me.
Honourable Mentions
Here are five more matches that could easily had made it to the bottom of my list, but just were kept off:
- Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker – “Streak vs Career”, WWE WrestleMania XXVI, March 28
- Colt Cabana & El Generico vs Kevin Steen & Steve Corino – “Chicago Street Fight”, ROH Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 2, April 24
- Kaori Yoneyama vs Tanny Mouse – NEO Summer Stampede, August 1
- Ayumi Kurihara vs Madison Eagles – SHIMMER Volume 34, September 11
- Claudio Castagnloi & Sara Del Rey vs Manami Toyota & Mike Quackenbush – Chikara Through Savage Progress Cuts The Jungle Law, September 19
Final Note
This list is based off of matches I have watched in the last few months and based off of my own personal biases. Take everything with all of the salt.
#10
Chris Hero vs Ikuto Hidaka
EVOLVE 2
March 13
This match is one I have always heard about, but never saw until recently. It was everything it was hyped to be, a great technical battle. I loved how Hero used his size to gain advantages, while Hidaka had to use his speed and smarts to get control. A very smart match.
#9
Emi Sakura & Kaori Yoneyama vs Kana & Syuri
SMASH.10
November 22
Emi Sakura and Kaori Yoneyama at this time were one of the best tag teams ever, they just worked so well together. Their opponents were a team of bad asses. Kana, who is now Asuka in the WWE, and Syuri, who is now the top dog in Stardom. They brought their MMA killer instincts and kicks against the nonstop barrage of speed and bombs by Sakura and Yoneyama. A great exciting tag match.
#8
L.A. Park vs La Parka
“Name Rights Match”
AAA TripleMania XVIII
June 6
This is AAA’s version of Dude Love vs Steve Austin from Over The Edge ’98. Each La Parka has an authority in the corner to fulfill the story I don’t quite get. What I do understand is a bloody L.A. Park war and this was amazing here. The interference and story aspects seem to help the match out, including when Park destroys them.
#7
Command Bolshoi vs Nanae Takahashi
“JWP Openweight Title Match”
JWP Never Give Up!
June 13
This match is awesome and a well built main event match. That kept getting better and better as it went along with some outstanding nearfalls. I bit on many of them. I love seeing Bolshoi work the main event style for a change. The desperation on her trying to get the title was so great! Bolshoi really tried to strike her way to victory.
#6
Kana vs Meiko Satomura
Kana Pro, April 29
This is similar to the Hero and Hidaka match, but instead of based on submissions it’s based on strikes. A traditionally built match, but the expert level they do it turns this into a classic. It does leave you wanting more, which is great because they have a whole series of matches after this one.
#5
L.A. Park vs El Mesias
AAA Guerra de Titanes
December 5
This is one of the most brutal stadium brawls I have ever seen. This is doesn’t have the story parts from the other Park match on the list, so it’s a lot more serious and deadly. At one point Mesias attempts one of the most brutal topes ever. It’s bloody and brilliant.
#4
Chris Hero vs Big Van Walter
“Tournament Finals”
wXw 16 Carat Gold
March 7
Two heavyweights going toe to toe to win the tournament with a ruckus German crowd, what is not to love? After so many brutal strikes this match built to a great finish.
#3
Emi Sakura vs Meiko Satomura
Ice Ribbon Knights of Ice Ribbon
September 23
There is almost nothing written about this match online, but luckily I came across it in a YouTube search. It does start off slow with some early comedy, but soon Satomura scientifically picks Sakura apart with only a few hope spots built in. Until, Sakura makes an amazing comeback and throws everything she has at Meiko, until an amazing finish. A real sleeper of a great match.
#2
Akira Tozawa vs Chris Hero
“Tournament Quarter-Finals”
PWG The Battle of Los Angeles
September 5
I’m generally not a huge fan of the Dragon Gate style, nor the finishing spamming many kick outs type matches, but… this is one of the best versions of that match I have ever seen! Tozawa brought so much speed and amazing spots, while Hero kept up with him and grounded the whole affair. Almost the best match of the year.
#1
Emi Sakura vs Kaori Yoneyama
“JWP Openweight Title – Hair vs Hair Match”
JWP Revolution
September 19
The only match from 2010 that is making my top 100 greatest matches ever list.
This is everything I want from a big hair match in Mexcio, but done in Japan instead. After years of this great tag team, we get them at each other’s throats trying to destroy each other to win the title and keep their hair. The intensity early one was unreal. The finishing stretch was everything Hero vs Tozawa was, but only more so with better counters and higher emotions and stakes. An all time classic!
There you have it, my top 10 matches of 2010 at this very minute. Always subject to change as I find more.
What did you think of this list? Hit me up on twitter and let me know.
#GWE26
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Tune in next time for my top 25 wrestlers of 2010.
For the Greatest Wrestler Ever project we are building a loving and accepting discord community with many chats and discussions at all times. Plus weekly watch parties, including weekly going through all of joshi chronologically every Sunday.
Join now
How can you help?
The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning) young people. Donate, volunteer, or use their services.
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.
EVOLVE 74 (December 10, 2016) Review
EVOLVE 74
December 10, 2016
La Boom
Woodside, Queens, New York, USA
Shown live on FloSlam
This show is the start of an action packed weekend with two EVOLVE shows and a BEYOND show all on FloSlam, plus other events like CZW Cage of Death.
The show starts with Lenny Leonard in the ring welcoming everybody to the show, there is something about starting a show with the announcers talking that just feels right.
Special Attraction Match:
Drew Gulak vs Jaka
I signed up for BEYOND on Demand a few months ago and Jaka was one of the few guys I really fell for, just feels like a really untapped talent. A bigger guy with a lot of noise and force into his work. He’s taking on Drew Gulak (from the WWE) with his amazing theme music.
If you like grapplefuck mixed with some incredibly stiff shots, this may be the match for you. They laid it all out here with snug submissions and killing each other with chops and kicks, where neither men could gain an advantage too long. The nearfalls were very dramatic especially the one off of Jaka’s spinning heel kick in the corner. After another intense strike exchange, Gulak choked out Jaka. A great showcase for Jaka, thanks to Gulak.
Rating: *** 3/4
Larry Dallas appears post match and asks Gulak if Catch Point is really dead. Gulak says it is and wants to be the champion here. This brings out Tracy Williams who tells Gulak that Catch Point is not dead. Dallas interrupts to let Williams know he’s in Gulak’s shadow. The tag titles shows Williams is not in anyone’s shadow. Gulak walks away and I can’t wait for their match tomorrow at EVOLVE 75. Larry Dallas is fine stirring up shit here and this was smart to build towards tomorrow.
Bonus Match:
DUSTIN vs. Chris Dickinson
I enjoy Dickinson for what he is, he’s a real beast in BEYOND. Chuck Taylor, now DUSTIN, was always good for a laugh in IWA-MS, however feels out of place in EVOLVE. One thing DUSTIN does bring is being a legit heel, which is difficult on the indies.
This match was here to make DUSTIN look like a legit challenge to Chris Hero tomorrow night. Dickinson kicked a lot of ass, and DUSTIN was slimy and got his offense that way. Finish came when Dickinson went for a top rope Death Valley Bomb, but DUSTIN slithered it into a counter and an Awful Waffle for the win.
Rating: **
David vs. Goliath:
Darby Allin vs Brian Cage
If you haven’t seen Allin, you need to see Allin.
This started off with a bang, as Cage was making his entrance he got nailed with a dive. The high flying from Allin is just out of this world stuff, including an incredible coffin drop. Although one of his dives was countered into a vertical suplex to start the Machine’s power offense which continued the David vs Goliath story they were going for.
There was an incredible hope spot by Allin, as he moved out of the way of the charging Cage and went to the top rope, only to be chucked into the guardrail. The crowd was really into the classic story as the power kept Cage in control, but his cockiness led to hope spots.
Cage then tells the crowd from one section to move out of the way which leads to him tossing Darby onto the stage in the second row. Darby Allin may be dead or insane, or both. As the referee got to the 19 count out, Darby dived to try to get into the ring, but he was too dead and got counted out. Just an incredible spot match with a great story and crowd.
Rating: ****
After the contest Ethan Page and The Gatekeepers come to the ring. Brian Cage shakes their hands. Page gives Cage a cheque, since he paid him off to destroy Allin after Allin got into Page’s business in the past. Page cuts a pretty good promo running down Cody Rhodes and calls him out here to start their match.
Special Challenge Match:
Cody vs Ethan Page w/ The Gatekeepers
This is actually the first time I watched a Cody match since he left the WWE. Let’s see how the newest member of The Bullet Club looks in EVOLVE.
A really weird contest, as early on it was comedy and stalling. Page was really great flipping off fans and Cody. Then we settle into an okay match. Referee bump and Brian Cage attacks Cody, but referee wasn’t up in time to count. Low blow by Cody, Cross Rhodes and he sneaks out a victory over Page.
Rating: ** 1/4
The Rivarly Comes to EVOLVE:
Matt Riddle vs Jeff Cobb
The story is they fought in other promotions and it’s awesome, so now this match will take place in EVOLVE!
What do you get when a former Olympic wrestler who is a power house takes on a former MMA fighter with unlimited charisma? Well, you get this awesome match!
This was a fight where both men just threw everything they could at each other. It didn’t go too long, but felt like a legit battle. Cobb counters a move by Riddle with the Tour of the Islands for a shocking win in his EVOLVE debut. This ruled and I hope this is the future of wrestling.
Rating: ****
At this point the power in my building went out! It came on and it’s time for the tag titles match. Seems I missed a fun Stokley Hathaway promo, so that sucks.
EVOLVE Tag Team Championship Match:
Catch Point (Tracy Williams & Fred Yehi) vs Ricochet & Peter Kaasa
Catch Point got dumped by Drew Gulak and then proceeded to win the titles at EVOLVE 73, now they are facing a huge challenge here in Ricochet & Kaasa. Kasaa’s mullet is really great here!
Yehi and Ricochet have amazing chemistry and all of these guys are awesome is the clip notes from this match. This wasn’t your southern style tag, as there was no long face in peril segments or anything, but what you did get was all action with spectacular spots. Catch Point and the Kasaa & Ricochet team are a good contrast. Grapplefuck vs high spotters lead to an awesome spot fest.If you are into that style, you will love this.
The finish comes when Kasaa goes for the Shooting Star Press, but Williams moves and locks on the Crossface for the submission.
Rating: *** 1/2
Special Attraction Match:
Chris Hero vs Dick Togo
One of the greatest wrestlers ever Dick Togo comes out of retirement and gets booked to face the greatest wrestler today, Chris Hero.
A few minutes into this great match that was building like an old school All Japan classic, the stream went dead, for everybody. We probably missed about 5 minutes there.
Dick Togo took the short piledriver here and wobbled around, then hit a dropkick before passing out. That’s a new take on the no sell of a piledriver spot that I absolutely love and why Togo is an all-timer.
Hero keeps control for awhile with some great forearms and nearfalls, until Togo does an amazing fired up comeback eating forearms and flipping Hero off. A Pedigree by Togo gets 1, which leads to him going for the kill. Kicks, second Pedigree and then the HUGE SENTON by Togo gets the win! Obviously I will have to rewatch this, but it felt like an epic.
Rating: **** 1/4 (tentatively)
After the match Hero praises Dick Togo for awhile and calls EVOLVE special. DUSTIN comes out with a chair and wants to fight now. Hero slaps him and walks away, they will wrestle tomorrow night at EVOLVE 75.
In conclusion:
Get this show somehow, even though it had some lower points, everything was average to great. The three big matches are must watches. EVOLVE continues to deliver and is not making me regret the year long subscription I purchased from FloSlam.
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