The Kevstaaa
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 15, 2019 8:49:00 GMT -5
5. Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT TakeOver: War Games 11/17/18
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| There are times when Johnny Gargano can overact. With that small criticism out of the way, I feel that he nailed every little aspect of this match. The issues with Tommaso Ciampa drove him to a dark place. It made him attack Aleister Black and put him on the shelf. Many expected him to come in and get his ass kicked for his actions. Instead, we witnessed something of an evil genius in this one. He got in Aleister’s head by stealing his cross legged sitting pose. From there, he continued to stick and move, always finding himself one step ahead of the former NXT Champion. Gargano was willing to go the extra mile and do whatever it took to win this match. He tried everything during the 18:09 runtime. When he got in true trouble, he begged off and apologized. He left himself open for the Black Mass, only to dodge and go for a cheap rollup right into the Gargano Escape. It was a last ditch effort to be a sneaky little shit. Aleister survived that and hit the Black Mass. A beaten Johnny fell onto Aleister’s chest, only being held up by him. Aleister absolved Gargano of his sins and drilled him with another Black Mass to win. The storytelling in this was off the charts. Probably the best anywhere this year. [****¾] |
*This is the final appearance for Aleister Black. *It is the last match from TakeOver: War Games.
2017 Match #5: Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 7/17/17 2016 Match #5: AJ Styles vs. John Cena – WWE SummerSlam 8/21/16 2015 Match #5: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW G1 Climax 7/29/15
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The Kevstaaa
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 15, 2019 10:02:07 GMT -5
4. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 6/4/18
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| When it was announced that Bone Soldier was returning to NJPW, people groaned. Dubbed “Boner” by Bullet Club teammate Kenny Omega, he was a source of bad matches when he was around. So, when it was revealed that the new Bone Soldier was actually Pro Wrestling NOAH standout Taiji Ishimori, it was a nice surprise. He won the A Block of the Best of the Super Juniors, setting up a clash with the best junior heavyweight on the planet, Hiromu Takahashi. This first time ever matchup shattered expectations. When Hiromu waged war with El Desperado in Korakuen Hall in the tournament, they fought into the crowd for a wild match. This had a similar feel, with some early brawling out there. Once Hiromu took a rana down a flight of stairs, it set the tone that this was going to be something to behold. It was the Hiromu Takahashi special. Two guys just throwing their bodies at each other in absurd fashion and leaving the viewer breathless. One thing that helped this stand out from other long NJPW main events (this one went 34:09) was how organically it built. It never felt like time was just being filled. People seem to think I don’t like long matches, but I actually really like them. If they make sense. This one had highs and lows that were perfectly built. There was a ton of drama and emotion throughout. To win, Hiromu countered the Bloody Cross and used a combo of his triangle choke and the Time Bomb to win. Hiromu is just the best, isn’t he? [****¾] |
*This is the final appearance for Hiromu Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori. *It is the last match from NJPW.
2017 Match #4: Hell of War: Dante Fox vs. Killshot – Lucha Underground Ultima Lucha Tres 9/27/17 2016 Match #4: Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – NXT TakeOver: Dallas 4/1/16 2015 Match #4: WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Royal Rumble 1/25/15
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The Kevstaaa
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 15, 2019 11:41:35 GMT -5
3. WWE Smackdown Women's Championship TLC Match: Becky Lynch [c] vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte – WWE TLC 12/16/18
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| There was absolutely a big fight feel here, giving this a unique atmosphere. The women were not only put into their first TLC match, but given a PPV main event and delivered big time. At no point did this slow down or feel boring. They went all out for the entire duration. All three women took MAJOR bumps. Charlotte nearly had her ribs crushed by a Becky senton off a ladder through a table. I thought she was legitimately hurt, but she was up shortly after and wrecking everything. She hit a somersault through a table on Becky and speared Asuka through the guardrail. On that note, I loved the barricade spot in this one as it felt more realistic than the one we usually get. The “C” in this TLC seemed to stand for canes, as the women used kendo sticks often. It made sense since that was part of their build more than chairs. The match was brutal, laid out brilliantly, kept escalating, and had a MOLTEN crowd throughout. After a handful of teases for each winner, Becky and Charlotte battled atop a ladder. Out came Ronda Rousey to tip their ladder over and send them crashing to the floor. I love that Ronda didn’t do anything else. Short and simple. Asuka climbed and won the title at 22:31. A top five TLC and top five women’s match I can recall. From a booking standpoint, it was phenomenal as well, with Asuka getting the big win, while her opponents stayed strong and keep their feud with Ronda going. [****¾] |
*This is the final appearance for Asuka, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte. *It is the last match from TLC. *There are no more TLC or WWE Smackdown Women's Title matches.
2017 Match #3: IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Katsuyori Shibata – NJPW Sakura Genesis 4/9/17 2016 Match #3: CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship No Holds Barred Match: Roy Wilkins (c) vs. Trevor Lee – CWF Worldwide 3/9/16 2015 Match #3: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – NJPW G1 Climax 8/16/15
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Facetious
King Koopa
ADAM COLE BAYBAY
Posts: 11,655
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Post by Facetious on Jan 15, 2019 12:30:54 GMT -5
Gargano is the true MVP of 2018. To think I hated him years ago thanks to Gabeski.
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The Kevstaaa
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 15, 2019 12:56:00 GMT -5
2. Chicago Street Fight: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa – NXT TakeOver: Chicago 6/16/18
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| I could literally just write, “Take what worked about their New Orleans match and amplify it” and that would be fitting. But, I’m here to write, so I’ll go into more detail. They hit each other harder this time around. They added more story elements from their history. The drama and emotion were kicked up a notch. It’s insane to work a stipulation so similar to the previous match, yet deliver something so different. While they still used weapons that fit their storyline, this fight revved things up and brought others into play like the steel steps, trash cans, and the exposed ring. But this truly took off because of the callbacks. This being in Chicago, where Ciampa first turned on Johnny, they redid that moment by the stage. Then, you had Ciampa removing Johnny’s wedding ring to spit at it, only for Johnny to hit him with the Air Raid Crash off the stage, similar to what Ciampa did a year earlier. Incredible. Just when it seemed like the medics and officials would take Ciampa out on a stretcher, Gargano snapped and brought him to the ring for more of a beating. It was violent. He was a man possessed. It ultimately cost him, as he took a surprise DDT from Ciampa onto the exposed part of the ring at 35:27. They somehow bested their last match with one filled with emotion and drama. These guys are special. [*****] |
*It is the final Street Fight. *There are no more matches from TakeOver: Chicago.
2017 Match #2: Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 8/13/17 2016 Match #2: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – WWE Battleground 7/24/16 2015 Match #2: IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9
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Post by MrElijah on Jan 15, 2019 13:37:44 GMT -5
3. WWE Smackdown Women's Championship TLC Match: Becky Lynch [c] vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte – WWE TLC 12/16/18
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| There was absolutely a big fight feel here, giving this a unique atmosphere. The women were not only put into their first TLC match, but given a PPV main event and delivered big time. At no point did this slow down or feel boring. They went all out for the entire duration. All three women took MAJOR bumps. Charlotte nearly had her ribs crushed by a Becky senton off a ladder through a table. I thought she was legitimately hurt, but she was up shortly after and wrecking everything. She hit a somersault through a table on Becky and speared Asuka through the guardrail. On that note, I loved the barricade spot in this one as it felt more realistic than the one we usually get. The “C” in this TLC seemed to stand for canes, as the women used kendo sticks often. It made sense since that was part of their build more than chairs. The match was brutal, laid out brilliantly, kept escalating, and had a MOLTEN crowd throughout. After a handful of teases for each winner, Becky and Charlotte battled atop a ladder. Out came Ronda Rousey to tip their ladder over and send them crashing to the floor. I love that Ronda didn’t do anything else. Short and simple. Asuka climbed and won the title at 22:31. A top five TLC and top five women’s match I can recall. From a booking standpoint, it was phenomenal as well, with Asuka getting the big win, while her opponents stayed strong and keep their feud with Ronda going. [****¾] |
*This is the final appearance for Asuka, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte. *It is the last match from TLC. *There are no more TLC or WWE Smackdown Women's Title matches.
2017 Match #3: IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Katsuyori Shibata – NJPW Sakura Genesis 4/9/17 2016 Match #3: CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship No Holds Barred Match: Roy Wilkins (c) vs. Trevor Lee – CWF Worldwide 3/9/16 2015 Match #3: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – NJPW G1 Climax 8/16/15
They beat the utter shit out of each other with Singapore Canes. I love how friends in Wrestling are the usually the most stiffest with each other.
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The Kevstaaa
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 15, 2019 13:39:28 GMT -5
1. NXT Championship: Andrade Almas [c] vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia 1/27/18
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| A mere 27 days into 2018, the match of the year award was locked up. Andrade Almas and Johnny Gargano put together something truly special. I took extra long writing this piece because it’s honestly hard to put into words what this match means to me. Almas had gone from bust to champion, while Gargano was in the midst of a redemption story following the heartbreaking split of #DIY in 2017. Everything the brand did over the previous few months built to this. Almas threw his entire arsenal at Gargano, wanting to prove that he belonged atop NXT. Johnny survived it all in an effort to prove he was truly past the Tommaso Ciampa situation that helped cost him against Almas the previous August. Zelina Vega was her usual incredible self. Her interference spots were expertly timed, not overdone, and provided perfect emotion. When Candice LeRae hopped the guardrail to finally stop her, you could feel the momentum shift. And yet, Johnny still couldn’t get it done. Almas got more brutal with his manager out of the picture. The running double knees into the ring post was one of the hardest spots of the year. Gargano looked like a battered and beaten man by the end of it all. To punctuate it all, Almas hit a hanging hammerlock DDT and retained in 32:32. Honestly, that’s everything I want in pro wrestling. It was long, yet everything mattered and felt like it belonged in the match. It was emotional, dramatic, fluid, told a story. I could go on and on. I’m not overselling it when I say that this is one of the three greatest matches I have ever seen. [*****] |
2017 Match #1: WWE United Kingdom Championship: Tyler Bate [c] vs. Pete Dunne - NXT TakeOver: Chicago 5/20/17 2016 Match #1: NXT Tag Team Championship Two Out of Three Falls Match: The Revival [c] vs. #DIY - NXT TakeOver: Toronto 11/19/16 2015 Match #1: NXT Women's Championsship: Sasha Banks [c] vs. Bayley - NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 8/22/15
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TGM
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 6,073
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Post by TGM on Jan 15, 2019 14:02:31 GMT -5
Nice choice for #1, I watched this again a few nights ago and I actually gasped at that double knee spot. Amazing match.
Great list as well, I've really enjoyed reading them the past few years, it gives me good suggestions for things I would have missed otherwise.
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4real
Wade Wilson
Posts: 27,652
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Post by 4real on Jan 15, 2019 15:18:48 GMT -5
4 years in a row NXT gets number 1. Great list again man always enjoy reading these.
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Allie Kitsune
Crow T. Robot
Always Feelin' Foxy.
Celestial Princess in Exile.
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Post by Allie Kitsune on Jan 15, 2019 16:34:22 GMT -5
1. NXT Championship: Andrade Almas [c] vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia 1/27/18
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| A mere 27 days into 2018, the match of the year award was locked up. Andrade Almas and Johnny Gargano put together something truly special. I took extra long writing this piece because it’s honestly hard to put into words what this match means to me. Almas had gone from bust to champion, while Gargano was in the midst of a redemption story following the heartbreaking split of #DIY in 2017. Everything the brand did over the previous few months built to this. Almas threw his entire arsenal at Gargano, wanting to prove that he belonged atop NXT. Johnny survived it all in an effort to prove he was truly past the Tommaso Ciampa situation that helped cost him against Almas the previous August. Zelina Vega was her usual incredible self. Her interference spots were expertly timed, not overdone, and provided perfect emotion. When Candice LeRae hopped the guardrail to finally stop her, you could feel the momentum shift. And yet, Johnny still couldn’t get it done. Almas got more brutal with his manager out of the picture. The running double knees into the ring post was one of the hardest spots of the year. Gargano looked like a battered and beaten man by the end of it all. To punctuate it all, Almas hit a hanging hammerlock DDT and retained in 32:32. Honestly, that’s everything I want in pro wrestling. It was long, yet everything mattered and felt like it belonged in the match. It was emotional, dramatic, fluid, told a story. I could go on and on. I’m not overselling it when I say that this is one of the three greatest matches I have ever seen. [*****] |
2017 Match #1: WWE United Kingdom Championship: Tyler Bate [c] vs. Pete Dunne - NXT TakeOver: Chicago 5/20/17 2016 Match #1: NXT Tag Team Championship Two Out of Three Falls Match: The Revival [c] vs. #DIY - NXT TakeOver: Toronto 11/19/16 2015 Match #1: NXT Women's Championsship: Sasha Banks [c] vs. Bayley - NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 8/22/15
What I'm taking from this is that Gargano vs. Hiromu would probably be the greatest match of all the times.
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Post by flowercity on Jan 15, 2019 21:37:39 GMT -5
And my number 2 is your number 1! We’re just splitting hairs Excellent list. You clearly watch everything and your dedication shows! Hopefully 2019 can deliver like 2018 did.
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Post by Some Baritone guy IS REDEEMED! on Jan 15, 2019 22:36:16 GMT -5
1. NXT Championship: Andrade Almas [c] vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia 1/27/18
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| A mere 27 days into 2018, the match of the year award was locked up. Andrade Almas and Johnny Gargano put together something truly special. I took extra long writing this piece because it’s honestly hard to put into words what this match means to me. Almas had gone from bust to champion, while Gargano was in the midst of a redemption story following the heartbreaking split of #DIY in 2017. Everything the brand did over the previous few months built to this. Almas threw his entire arsenal at Gargano, wanting to prove that he belonged atop NXT. Johnny survived it all in an effort to prove he was truly past the Tommaso Ciampa situation that helped cost him against Almas the previous August. Zelina Vega was her usual incredible self. Her interference spots were expertly timed, not overdone, and provided perfect emotion. When Candice LeRae hopped the guardrail to finally stop her, you could feel the momentum shift. And yet, Johnny still couldn’t get it done. Almas got more brutal with his manager out of the picture. The running double knees into the ring post was one of the hardest spots of the year. Gargano looked like a battered and beaten man by the end of it all. To punctuate it all, Almas hit a hanging hammerlock DDT and retained in 32:32. Honestly, that’s everything I want in pro wrestling. It was long, yet everything mattered and felt like it belonged in the match. It was emotional, dramatic, fluid, told a story. I could go on and on. I’m not overselling it when I say that this is one of the three greatest matches I have ever seen. [*****] |
2017 Match #1: WWE United Kingdom Championship: Tyler Bate [c] vs. Pete Dunne - NXT TakeOver: Chicago 5/20/17 2016 Match #1: NXT Tag Team Championship Two Out of Three Falls Match: The Revival [c] vs. #DIY - NXT TakeOver: Toronto 11/19/16 2015 Match #1: NXT Women's Championsship: Sasha Banks [c] vs. Bayley - NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 8/22/15
Honestly this was one of the greatest matches of all time. It had literally everything you could ask for and I always believed either guy could win.
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Post by cabbageboy on Jan 15, 2019 23:30:03 GMT -5
Am I the only one who just doesn't see as much in all of these Gargano matches? I think I can't separate the booking from the performance, since the large story is the dude is a total putz that can't win a big match to save his life (aside from the WM Takeover). The one where he and Tomasso tore the ring apart was especially idiotic, since it slowed to a crawl in the last 8 minutes it seemed like and Gargano losing the way he did made him the biggest jobber who ever jobbed. The #1 pick here was also too overbooked for my taste with Candace and Zelina brawling all over the place, and a weird, anticlimactic finish that didn't even try to protect Gargano in the booking. I think one problem I've had with all of the Gargano/Ciampa matches is that they're entirely too long for what they are. Wild street fights should be about 15 minutes long, not 35.
To me the best match of the year has to be a clean finish without stupid booking or overbooking. Some NJPW stuff would be out of the running due to a lack of basic rules being enforced (too much crowd brawling without a ref count, no enforcement of proper tagging, etc.). That knocks Hiromu/Ishimori out of the running since those guys fought in the stands too long. The Rousey run in finish also eliminates the women's TLC from consideration in my book.
Who are we kidding here? The 2018 MOTY is Okada/Omega. It's going to sweep any major awards.
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TGM
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 6,073
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Post by TGM on Jan 16, 2019 4:39:12 GMT -5
Some NJPW stuff would be out of the running due to a lack of basic rules being enforced (too much crowd brawling without a ref count, no enforcement of proper tagging, etc.). Personally, referees letting certain things slide adds to matches. If the ref wants to allow things like count outs and brawling go to determine a clear winner then that's up to him. If rules have to be 100% enforced then why bother having a referee? Just have the cameras pick up on the cheating and announce over the house mic that X has been disqualified for Y etc.
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Post by ronnie2hotty on Jan 16, 2019 6:01:23 GMT -5
Thank you Kevin for making this list!!!!! It's my favorite thread of the year! What makes it great for me is that I have a somewhat limited amount of free time to watch wrestling. So this list helps me navigate promotions like Progress and New Japan to know the best matches. I'll usually cross reference this list with the GRAPPL app and find out the best matches that I need to watch.
I have compiled a bunch of stats again for this year's Top 100 matches. I normalized the start rating system into a point system (ex.: **** = 4 points, ****1/4 = 4.25 points, etc.). So lets hope that all my excel formulas and macros are set up correctly!
For large multi-man matches (ex.: Royal Rumble), I just listed the last six guys. I never really know how to handle these things. While the completist in me thinks I should list everyone in the match, the practical side of me thinks it's a little irrelevant and useless to list everyone. I made a judgement call to just list the last six guys since it was the true climax of the match, and if anything would be remembered from the match, it would be that.
According to my list, there were 100 different wrestlers listed with 49 of them appearing on the list more than once. Again, if I would have listed every participant in the Royal Rumble, this number would be much higher. This is down from 146 last year. But, as Kevin mentioned in the initial post, he only watched four different promotions last year.
First, lets rank some promotions since it will be the shortest:
Promotion - # of matches listed - Star rating totals NJPW - 31 - 134.75 WWE - 27 - 113.75 NXT - 26 - 112 PROGRESS - 13 - 56.25
Top 10 Shows: Matches listed / Promotion / Show / Date / Star Rating total 4 - NXT - NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn - 8/18/2018 - 17 3 - NXT - NXT TakeOver: New Orleans - 4/7/2018 - 14 3 - NXT - NXT TakeOver: Chicago - 6/16/2018 - 13.5 3 - NXT - NXT UK Tournament - 6/26/2018 - 12.25 2 - NXT - NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia- 1/27/2018 - 9.25 2 - NJPW - Dominion - 6/19/2018 - 9.25 2 - NXT - NXT TakeOver: Wargames - 11/17/2018 - 9.25 2 - WWE - TLC - 12/16/2018 - 9.25 2 - NJPW - G1 Climax - 8/4/2018 - 8.75 2 - WWE - Hell in a Cell - 9/16/2018 - 8.5 2 - WWE - Survivor Series - 11/18/2018 - 8.5
For wrestlers, I'll just list the 49 who had more than one match listed: Rank - Wrestler - Point total 1 Zach Sabre Jr. - 48 2 Kota Ibushi - 39.5 3 Tyler Bate - 38.5 4 Roderick Strong - 37.75 5 Johnny Gargano - 32.25 6 Hiromu Takahashi - 30.5 7 Kyle O'Reilly - 29.75 8 Kenny Omega - 26.75 9 Adam Cole - 26.5 Hiroshi Tanahashi Ricochet 12 Walter - 26 13 Pete Dunne - 25.5 14 Tommasso Ciampa - 22.75 15 Trent Seven - 21.25 16 Finn Balor - 20.75 17 Aleister Black - 17.75 The Velveteen Dream 19 Charlotte - 17.5 20 Buddy Murphy - 17.25 Daniel Bryan The Miz 23 Seth Rollins - 17 Tetsuya Naito 25 Andrade Almas - 13.75 26 Kazuchika Okada - 13.5 27 Becky Lynch - 13.25 Tomohiro Ishii 29 Minoru Suzuki - 13 Will Ospreay 31 Cedric Alexander - 12.75 Juice Robinson 33 AJ Styles - 12.5 Roman Reigns 35 Sanada - 12 Shayna Baszler 37 Asuka - 8.75 El Desperado Mustafa Ali Randy Orton 41 John Cena - 8.5 Ronda Rousey 43 David Starr - 8.25 Dolph Ziggler Hideo Itami 46 Alexa Bliss - 8 Ember Moon Sasha Banks Toni Storm
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The Kevstaaa
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 16, 2019 9:23:22 GMT -5
Thank you Kevin for making this list!!!!! It's my favorite thread of the year! What makes it great for me is that I have a somewhat limited amount of free time to watch wrestling. So this list helps me navigate promotions like Progress and New Japan to know the best matches. I'll usually cross reference this list with the GRAPPL app and find out the best matches that I need to watch.
I have compiled a bunch of stats again for this year's Top 100 matches. I normalized the start rating system into a point system (ex.: **** = 4 points, ****1/4 = 4.25 points, etc.). So lets hope that all my excel formulas and macros are set up correctly!
For large multi-man matches (ex.: Royal Rumble), I just listed the last six guys. I never really know how to handle these things. While the completist in me thinks I should list everyone in the match, the practical side of me thinks it's a little irrelevant and useless to list everyone. I made a judgement call to just list the last six guys since it was the true climax of the match, and if anything would be remembered from the match, it would be that.
According to my list, there were 100 different wrestlers listed with 49 of them appearing on the list more than once. Again, if I would have listed every participant in the Royal Rumble, this number would be much higher. This is down from 146 last year. But, as Kevin mentioned in the initial post, he only watched four different promotions last year.
First, lets rank some promotions since it will be the shortest:
Promotion - # of matches listed - Star rating totals NJPW - 31 - 134.75 WWE - 27 - 113.75 NXT - 26 - 112 PROGRESS - 13 - 56.25
Top 10 Shows: Matches listed / Promotion / Show / Date / Star Rating total 4 - NXT - NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn - 8/18/2018 - 17 3 - NXT - NXT TakeOver: New Orleans - 4/7/2018 - 14 3 - NXT - NXT TakeOver: Chicago - 6/16/2018 - 13.5 3 - NXT - NXT UK Tournament - 6/26/2018 - 12.25 2 - NXT - NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia- 1/27/2018 - 9.25 2 - NJPW - Dominion - 6/19/2018 - 9.25 2 - NXT - NXT TakeOver: Wargames - 11/17/2018 - 9.25 2 - WWE - TLC - 12/16/2018 - 9.25 2 - NJPW - G1 Climax - 8/4/2018 - 8.75 2 - WWE - Hell in a Cell - 9/16/2018 - 8.5 2 - WWE - Survivor Series - 11/18/2018 - 8.5
For wrestlers, I'll just list the 49 who had more than one match listed: Rank - Wrestler - Point total 1 Zach Sabre Jr. - 48 2 Kota Ibushi - 39.5 3 Tyler Bate - 38.5 4 Roderick Strong - 37.75 5 Johnny Gargano - 32.25 6 Hiromu Takahashi - 30.5 7 Kyle O'Reilly - 29.75 8 Kenny Omega - 26.75 9 Adam Cole - 26.5 Hiroshi Tanahashi Ricochet 12 Walter - 26 13 Pete Dunne - 25.5 14 Tommasso Ciampa - 22.75 15 Trent Seven - 21.25 16 Finn Balor - 20.75 17 Aleister Black - 17.75 The Velveteen Dream 19 Charlotte - 17.5 20 Buddy Murphy - 17.25 Daniel Bryan The Miz 23 Seth Rollins - 17 Tetsuya Naito 25 Andrade Almas - 13.75 26 Kazuchika Okada - 13.5 27 Becky Lynch - 13.25 Tomohiro Ishii 29 Minoru Suzuki - 13 Will Ospreay 31 Cedric Alexander - 12.75 Juice Robinson 33 AJ Styles - 12.5 Roman Reigns 35 Sanada - 12 Shayna Baszler 37 Asuka - 8.75 El Desperado Mustafa Ali Randy Orton 41 John Cena - 8.5 Ronda Rousey 43 David Starr - 8.25 Dolph Ziggler Hideo Itami 46 Alexa Bliss - 8 Ember Moon Sasha Banks Toni Storm
Outstanding as always. Thank you for the hard work.
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Allie Kitsune
Crow T. Robot
Always Feelin' Foxy.
Celestial Princess in Exile.
Posts: 46,076
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Post by Allie Kitsune on Jan 16, 2019 10:06:21 GMT -5
Am I the only one who just doesn't see as much in all of these Gargano matches? I think I can't separate the booking from the performance, since the large story is the dude is a total putz that can't win a big match to save his life (aside from the WM Takeover). The one where he and Tomasso tore the ring apart was especially idiotic, since it slowed to a crawl in the last 8 minutes it seemed like and Gargano losing the way he did made him the biggest jobber who ever jobbed. The #1 pick here was also too overbooked for my taste with Candace and Zelina brawling all over the place, and a weird, anticlimactic finish that didn't even try to protect Gargano in the booking. I think one problem I've had with all of the Gargano/Ciampa matches is that they're entirely too long for what they are. Wild street fights should be about 15 minutes long, not 35. To me the best match of the year has to be a clean finish without stupid booking or overbooking. Some NJPW stuff would be out of the running due to a lack of basic rules being enforced (too much crowd brawling without a ref count, no enforcement of proper tagging, etc.). That knocks Hiromu/Ishimori out of the running since those guys fought in the stands too long. The Rousey run in finish also eliminates the women's TLC from consideration in my book. Who are we kidding here? The 2018 MOTY is Okada/Omega. It's going to sweep any major awards. He's listing them in order of his favorites. Not trying to predict how the "experts" are going to rank them.
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Post by Some Baritone guy IS REDEEMED! on Jan 16, 2019 12:24:45 GMT -5
Am I the only one who just doesn't see as much in all of these Gargano matches? I think I can't separate the booking from the performance, since the large story is the dude is a total putz that can't win a big match to save his life (aside from the WM Takeover). The one where he and Tomasso tore the ring apart was especially idiotic, since it slowed to a crawl in the last 8 minutes it seemed like and Gargano losing the way he did made him the biggest jobber who ever jobbed. The #1 pick here was also too overbooked for my taste with Candace and Zelina brawling all over the place, and a weird, anticlimactic finish that didn't even try to protect Gargano in the booking. I think one problem I've had with all of the Gargano/Ciampa matches is that they're entirely too long for what they are. Wild street fights should be about 15 minutes long, not 35. To me the best match of the year has to be a clean finish without stupid booking or overbooking. Some NJPW stuff would be out of the running due to a lack of basic rules being enforced (too much crowd brawling without a ref count, no enforcement of proper tagging, etc.). That knocks Hiromu/Ishimori out of the running since those guys fought in the stands too long. The Rousey run in finish also eliminates the women's TLC from consideration in my book. Who are we kidding here? The 2018 MOTY is Okada/Omega. It's going to sweep any major awards. The larger story of Johnny Gargano's run this past year has not been that he's a putz that can't win when it matters, and if that's what you got out of it you clearly haven't been paying attention. Gargano Vs. Almas the first time last year showed that after a year of questioning if he really belonged in the title conversation, that he really did. Johnny had Almas in trouble several times, and even at one point clearly had him beat, but Zelina Vega kept bailing him out until Candace got rid of her. This demonstrated that the champion, the top guy in the company, had to not only hit him with everything he had but also cheat his ass off to win. The second round illustrated that Johnny needed to deal with his baggage with Tomasso before he could really move on. His matches with Tomasso took that story a different way. In the unsanctioned match Johnny initially wanted to just destroy Tomasso which explains why it went so long, because they didn't just want a quick win, they wanted to end each other (You know,because they hate each other and it's not just a competitive match) before realizing what was at stake if he lost, and what this was doing to him mentally, where Johnny just finally beat Ciampa. The second match between them followed Johnny's realization that Tomasso wasn't going to let him walk away that easily and eventually went too far, with not wanting to just beat Tomasso, but destroy him (because again it's not just about some shiny belt.) Tomasso manages to get lucky and catch Johnny with one lucky desperation move after a small army had to hold Johnny back from ending him. It was a match Johnny clearly had won, but made a stupid mistake out of his emotional state and it cost him, not a lack of skill or talent. The last man standing match demonstrated how much his priorities have shifted since the beginning, where his hatred of Tomasso outweighs even his desire to be champion, and again his temper cost him a match he clearly had won. I mean if Pro Wrestling were a legit sport I'd get why there's all this criteria for what a match had to be in order to be MOTY, but since Pro Wrestling is entertainment, then if it draws people in and gets them invested it's a valid MOTY candidate. Yes the Okada Vs. Omega match will probably win MOTY from most major outlets, (In my opinion it's #3) but that doesn't make this list invalid. Personally I'd rather see an "overbooked" chaotic match that tells a great story with great characters than a match that's mostly constructed just to get the maximum amount of stars.
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The Kevstaaa
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 17,856
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 16, 2019 13:00:48 GMT -5
Am I the only one who just doesn't see as much in all of these Gargano matches? I think I can't separate the booking from the performance, since the large story is the dude is a total putz that can't win a big match to save his life (aside from the WM Takeover). The one where he and Tomasso tore the ring apart was especially idiotic, since it slowed to a crawl in the last 8 minutes it seemed like and Gargano losing the way he did made him the biggest jobber who ever jobbed. The #1 pick here was also too overbooked for my taste with Candace and Zelina brawling all over the place, and a weird, anticlimactic finish that didn't even try to protect Gargano in the booking. I think one problem I've had with all of the Gargano/Ciampa matches is that they're entirely too long for what they are. Wild street fights should be about 15 minutes long, not 35. To me the best match of the year has to be a clean finish without stupid booking or overbooking. Some NJPW stuff would be out of the running due to a lack of basic rules being enforced (too much crowd brawling without a ref count, no enforcement of proper tagging, etc.). That knocks Hiromu/Ishimori out of the running since those guys fought in the stands too long. The Rousey run in finish also eliminates the women's TLC from consideration in my book. Who are we kidding here? The 2018 MOTY is Okada/Omega. It's going to sweep any major awards. The larger story of Johnny Gargano's run this past year has not been that he's a putz that can't win when it matters, and if that's what you got out of it you clearly haven't been paying attention. Gargano Vs. Almas the first time last year showed that after a year of questioning if he really belonged in the title conversation, that he really did. Johnny had Almas in trouble several times, and even at one point clearly had him beat, but Zelina Vega kept bailing him out until Candace got rid of her. This demonstrated that the champion, the top guy in the company, had to not only hit him with everything he had but also cheat his ass off to win. The second round illustrated that Johnny needed to deal with his baggage with Tomasso before he could really move on. His matches with Tomasso took that story a different way. In the unsanctioned match Johnny initially wanted to just destroy Tomasso which explains why it went so long, because they didn't just want a quick win, they wanted to end each other (You know,because they hate each other and it's not just a competitive match) before realizing what was at stake if he lost, and what this was doing to him mentally, where Johnny just finally beat Ciampa. The second match between them followed Johnny's realization that Tomasso wasn't going to let him walk away that easily and eventually went too far, with not wanting to just beat Tomasso, but destroy him (because again it's not just about some shiny belt.) Tomasso manages to get lucky and catch Johnny with one lucky desperation move after a small army had to hold Johnny back from ending him. It was a match Johnny clearly had won, but made a stupid mistake out of his emotional state and it cost him, not a lack of skill or talent. The last man standing match demonstrated how much his priorities have shifted since the beginning, where his hatred of Tomasso outweighs even his desire to be champion, and again his temper cost him a match he clearly had won. I mean if Pro Wrestling were a legit sport I'd get why there's all this criteria for what a match had to be in order to be MOTY, but since Pro Wrestling is entertainment, then if it draws people in and gets them invested it's a valid MOTY candidate. Yes the Okada Vs. Omega match will probably win MOTY from most major outlets, (In my opinion it's #3) but that doesn't make this list invalid. Personally I'd rather see an "overbooked" chaotic match that tells a great story with great characters than a match that's mostly constructed just to get the maximum amount of stars. This x1000
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Post by cabbageboy on Jan 16, 2019 13:05:20 GMT -5
I thought about this a bit more last night. If you give me a great match that is totally clean I'll probably prefer it to something that had some shenanigans. It's why I would prefer Bret/Bulldog from SS 92 to Savage/Steamboat from WM 3. Yeah, I know the George Steele stuff played into the previous Macho storyline but it is still ever so slightly overbooked. The one match I'd probably give a pass to on this is Warrior/Savage from WM 7 (which had a decent amount of Sherri interference), but that is probably the greatest storytelling match I've ever seen. And it gets extra points for the post match angle.
As far as Gargano goes, I suppose it's just this NXT style of booking someone that I just don't especially care for. The whole "Let's job someone, job him more, job again, maybe give him one big win, then job some more" style of booking just doesn't work for me. They did this with Zayn when he was there and over time he came off like a loser. They also did that with Bayley, but she at least won the title before becoming a total goof. In both cases they just started jobbing again right after that. In Gargano's case he even did a heel turn, which in theory is done to spark someone on a series of wins, and then he just jobbed to Black anyway, haha. Again, he was booked like a loser and fans eventually responded in kind with "Johnny Loser" chants. He'll probably job to Ricochet at the next Takeover, but hey, it'll be a MOTYC. Gargano is like the 1980s Cleveland Browns, putting in great performances only to be foiled by Elway in the end after doing something stupid.
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