Kevin's Top 100 Matches of 2021 - Match #1

[The Kevstaaa]

85. IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi [c] vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome

Kota Ibushi had a weird year. He started by reaching the top of the mountain but bringing in the IWGP World Title was met with a mixed response, he dropped the gold soon after, and then he got sick for a few months. Upon his return, he met his old rival and idol, Hiroshi Tanahashi. This was a big dome match for the United States Heavyweight Title and there’s no better dome wrestler than Tanahashi. There was high emotion immediately as Ibushi was in tears during introduction after returning from his illness. Tanahashi worked the leg, which he has been doing forever but always finds a way to make it interesting. That man is a master. Ibushi turned things around and started doing his signature stuff like the Golden Triangle Moonsault. The main thing down the stretch was that Tanahashi had the Kamigoye well scouted. He avoided it at every turn, frustrating his challenger. He constantly blocked the strike and even countered it into Sling Blade once, with Ibushi landing on his neck, as always. Tanahashi got a one count on that but followed up with High Fly Flow to win in a brisk 17:47. I’m all for New Japan main events ending in under 20 minutes! [****]

2020 Match #85: Stadium Stampede: The Elite and Matt Hardy vs. The Inner Circle – AEW Double or Nothing
2019 Match #85: IWGP Intercontinental Championship No DQ Match: Chris Jericho [c] vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13
2018 Match #85: NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto [c] vs. Juice Robinson – NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku 4/27/18
2017 Match #85: Open The Twin Gate Championship: CIMA and Dragon Kid (c) vs. Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi – Dragon Gate Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 7/23/17
2016 Match #85: Cedric Alexander vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Evolve 67 8/20/16
2015 Match #85: IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – NJPW Dominion 7/5/15

[The Kevstaaa]

84. New Japan Cup Second Round: Hirooki Goto vs. Shingo Takagi – NJPW New Japan Cup 3/13/21

When it comes to wrestling, sometimes it takes the simplest of things to please me. If I see Hirooki Goto and Shingo Takagi listed on a card, I’m going to want them to beat the stuffing out of each other and that’s enough to make me happy. During the New Japan Cup, they did just that and delivered in a major way. 21:51 might’ve been a bit long for something of this nature but they made it work. Right out of the gates, this felt like an important match that had stakes. Far too often do matches in New Japan feel like they’re just killing time in the early minutes so they can go long. However, here it felt like both were trying to win immediately and advance. That’s how things should feel more often. They stiffed one another and brought a level of violence that was otherwise unseen for most of the tournament. Although the outcome here was blatantly obvious, you believed that Goto might pull this out which is all you can really ask for. Ultimately, Shingo won with Last of the Dragon to advance in what was likely the last time I thought Goto was great in 2021. [****]

*This is the final appearance of Hirooki Goto.

2020 Match #84: AEW Tag Team Championship: Hangman Page and Kenny Omega [c] vs. SCU – AEW Dynamite 2/12/20
2019 Match #84: Satoshi Kojima vs. Shingo Takagi – NJPW Dominion
2018 Match #84: Raw Women’s Championship Elimination Chamber: Alexa Bliss [c] vs. Bayley vs. Mandy Rose vs. Mickie James vs. Sasha Banks vs. Sonya Deville – WWE Elimination Chamber 2/25/18
2017 Match #84: Evolve Championship: Timothy Thatcher [c] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Evolve 79 2/25/17
2016 Match #84: WWE Tag Team Championship: The New Day (c) vs. AJ Styles and Chris Jericho – WWE Raw 3/7/16
2015 Match #84: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 7/26/15

[The Kevstaaa]

83. Lance Archer vs. Rey Fénix – AEW Dynamite 2/24/21

Ahead of AEW Revolution, there was a poorly named/conceived “Face of the Revolution” Ladder Match for a shot at the TNT Title. Regardless of how goofy the setup was, the bout itself mostly worked but even better than the big match filled with spots was this qualifier. It was a clash of styles on paper as the powerful Lance Archer did battle with the athletic Rey Fénix. Both guys were on the verge of something big in AEW at the time but hadn’t quite made it there yet. This helped as both guys put on a great showing. The layout was pretty basic as Archer tossed Fénix around with the greatest of ease and Fénix responded by diving all over the place like an absolute madman. It might not sound super exciting on its own but these guys made it work wonderfully for 17:32. Both dudes doing variations of rope walk offense made for a really cool moment, as did Fénix finally powering up with a Spanish Fly. Fénix did everything he possibly could but Archer just rallied off some big moves in the final stages, capped by the Blackout, to advance to the PPV. They got the chance to main event and made the most of it, which is why they’re two of AEW’s MVPs. [****]

2020 Match #83: Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor – NXT TakeOver: In Your House
2019 Match #83: NXT Championship: Adam Cole [c] vs. Daniel Bryan – WWE Smackdown 11/1/19
2018 Match #83: NXT Women’s Championship: Shayna Baszler [c] vs. Kairi Sane – NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn
2017 Match #83: IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Special in USA 7/1/17
2016 Match #83: Ricochet vs. TJ Perkins – Evolve 58 – 4/1/16
2015 Match #83: Global League Finals: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Shelton X Benjamin – NOAH Global League Finals 11/8/15

[The Kevstaaa]

82. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado [c] vs. Robbie Eagles – NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam

Early on, I appreciated that the leg issues built up in the weeks prior mattered as Eagles went for a dive and his knee gave out but he still kept his confidence despite that. Eagles sold the hell out of his leg throughout and then applied his signature Ron Miller Special to turn the tables on Desperado. That leg work played into everything the two pulled off. Even basic kicks to those legs had more meaning because of the work done. The way Eagles countered the Stretch Muffler was one of my favorite spots of the year and was part of a series of great counters altogether. The end saw Desperado survive the Turbo Backpack but then Eagles hit the 450 splash on the leg and used the Ron Miller Special to give us a new champion at 19:56 mark. This division and New Japan in general needs more sub-20 minute matches. This was a great match built around fantastic leg work and selling. An unexpected title change but one I dig that also added to the emotional impact of the bout. [****]

2020 Match #82: Chris Jericho vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night Two
2019 Match #82: NXT North American Championship: Johnny Gargano [c] vs. Velveteen Dream – NXT 2/20/19
2018 Match #82: SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 7/21/18
2017 Match #82: AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor – WWE TLC 10/22/17
2016 Match #82: WWE Championship: Triple H (c) vs. Dean Ambrose – WWE Roadblock 3/12/16
2015 Match #82: Ricochet vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – PWG Battle of Los Angeles 8/29/15

[The Kevstaaa]

81. Arcade Anarchy: Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy vs. Kip Sabian and Miro – AEW Dynamite 3/31/21

The early days of Miro’s run with AEW felt kind of lame. The pairing with Kip Sabian was decent but a rivalry over arcade games didn’t exactly feel like the major push fans were hoping for. However, even with the goofy concept behind the feud and this match, they managed to deliver in a big way. The idea was basically a tornado tag match with weapons and arcade machines surrounding the ring. A lot of the spots were pretty silly but that was all part of the fun. This is one of those matches where you just have a great time and not worry about workrate or who went over or things like that. When Penelope Ford got involved, we got the welcome return of Kris Statlander as she officially became one of the Best Friends. Trent also made his return, driven in by his mom Sue in her van, adding to the fun ridiculousness of it all. After Miro was put through a table, Sabian took a running powerslam through the stage, leading to the pin in 14:30. This was certainly not for everyone but I enjoyed the hell out of it. [****]

*This is the final appearance of Chuck Taylor and Kip Sabian.

2020 Match #81: NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship: BUSHI, EVIL & Shingo Takagi [c] vs. Hirooki Goto, Robbie Eagles & Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW Road to the New Beginning 2/6/20
2019 Match #81: NXT Tag Team Championship: The Undisputed Era [c] vs. War Raiders – NXT TakeOver: Phoenix
2018 Match #81: Mae Young Classic Semi-Finals: Meiko Satomura vs. Toni Storm – WWE Mae Young Classic 10/24/18
2017 Match #81: Bobby Fish vs. Jay Lethal – ROH 15th Anniversary Show 3/10/17
2016 Match #81: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Will Ospreay – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 6/7/16
2015 Match #81: NXT Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks (c) vs. Charlotte – NXT 7/15/15

[The Kevstaaa]

80. IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi [c] vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW Castle Attack 2/28/21

This is pretty much the wildest pairing in all of wrestling. It has been said to death but when Tetsuya Naito takes on Kota Ibushi, you can bet that one of them is very likely to get injured and it’s terrifying. After a meeting in the Tokyo Dome, they had a rematch at Castle Attack where Ibushi only put up his IWGP Intercontinental Title and not the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. That made it feel like their past battles. The interesting bit here was that Naito was actively trying to win and save the IC Title from being combined with the Heavyweight belt, which is interesting since Naito previously loathed that championship. Both came in with damaged knees, so this got off to a slower start than some of their prior outings. After trading submissions, they really picked up in the back half of this 27:50 affair, going for the big moves that these two are so well known for. This had actual drama late because there was a real chance that Naito would save the title. Destino got a near fall (as always) and then his second one was countered, setting up an exchange that led to Kamigoye, giving Ibushi the win. That’s another strong entry into their long history. [****]

*This is the final match from Castle Attack.

2020 Match #80: Jungle Boy vs. MJF – AEW Double or Nothing
2019 Match #80: Drew Gulak vs. Matt Riddle – EVOLVE 131
2018 Match #80: WWE Championship Six Pack Challenge: AJ Styles [c] vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – WWE Fastlane 3/11/18
2017 Match #80: Kota Ibushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 7/23/17
2016 Match #80: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: KUSHIDA (c) vs. BUSHI – NJPW New Beginning in Niigata 2/14/16
2015 Match #80: Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii – World Tag League 11/21/15

[The Kevstaaa]

79. New Japan Cup Second Round: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White – NJPW New Japan Cup 3/15/21

I believe that the history of Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jay White is one of the more interesting out there. They had some disappointing matches to start before things picked up as they moved into matches higher on the card, peaking with some 2019 encounters. They reignited the rivalry in 2021 and had a bigger match at Wrestling Dontaku but the better bout is actually this one from the New Japan Cup. Jay came in with confidence given that he held a 3-2 advantage over Tanahashi coming into this. While Tanahashi wanted to wrestle, Jay was content to subvert that and go against the grain throughout this 19:54 match. I think that runtime worked in their favor because they kept things compact and made sure everything mattered. Jay would pull hair or terrorize some Young Lions, drawing the ire of Tanahashi. Once they actually went at it, both men went after the legs, which has become a staple of their work. They were throwing out so many dragon screws that even Gedo ate one. Jay survived the Cloverleaf and raked the eyes to take the upper hand, advancing after hitting Blade Runner. Not on the level of their best work but pretty damn good. [****]

2020 Match #79: The Butcher, The Blade, and The Lucha Bros vs. FTR and The Young Bucks – AEW Fyter Fest 7/8/20
2019 Match #79: Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel – NXT 3/6/19
2018 Match #79: NXT Women’s Championship: Shayna Baszler [c] vs. Toni Storm – NXT United Kingdom Tournament 6/26/18
2017 Match #79: CIMA, Dragon Kid, Eita, Naruki Doi & Takehiro Yamamura vs. Brother YASSHI, El Lindaman, Punch Tominga, Shingo Takagi & T-Hawk – Dragon Gate Glorious Gate 3/8/17
2016 Match #79: IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW Invasion Attack 4/10/16
2015 Match #79: Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI – World Tag League 11/21/15

[The Kevstaaa]

78. Dante Martin and The Sydal Brothers vs. Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks – AEW Dynamite 8/11/21

Have you ever watched a match unfold and realized that you were seeing a star being born? That’s the feeling that I got when watching this six-man tag. On paper, it seemed simple enough. The Elite were booked as a dominant trio and they were facing a relatively undercard and unimportant trio of Matt Sydal, Mike Sydal, and Dante Martin. It turned out to be so much more though. The Sydal Brothers played their parts well enough and the trio of Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks were their usual selves. But this was all about Dante Martin. The young kid got a chance on his own with partner on the shelf and he made the most of it. Fans everywhere were captivated by some of his offense in this match, doing high flying stuff that was still incredible to see despite happening in an era where that kind of stuff seems commonplace. Martin got left alone with Omega near the end and put on a show, taking the AEW World Champion to the limit. Of course, despite all of his counters and hope spots, he couldn’t survive the BTE Trigger. This was the ideal way to start a hot show, made Martin look like a star, and was kept at the perfect length, only going 12:18. [****]

*This is the last appearance of Dante Martin, Matt Sydal, and Mike Sydal.

2020 Match #78: Minoru Suzuki vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 9/19/20
2019 Match #78: Money in the Bank: Ali vs. Andrade vs. Baron Corbin vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Finn Balor vs. Randy Orton vs. Ricochet – WWE Money in the Bank
2018 Match #78: IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Jay White [c] vs. Juice Robinson – NJPW G1 Special in San Francisco 7/7/18
2017 Match #78: WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championships: The Usos [c] vs. The New Day – WWE Battleground 7/23/17
2016 Match #78: WWE Intercontinental Championship vs. Career Match: The Miz (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler – WWE No Mercy 10/9/16
2015 Match #78: Hell in a Cell: Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns – WWE Hell in a Cell 10/25/15

[The Kevstaaa]

77. Men's Royal Rumble – WWE Royal Rumble

A Royal Rumble match should always be entertaining because there are so many options and ideas that you can put in there. Of course, that can also make it difficult to book but WWE has done it well since 2018 with all of them ranging from good to great. 2021 was pretty great for a handful of reasons. Edge and Randy Orton started the match and continued their major rivalry, while New Day advanced their feud with Mustafa Ali. Damian Priest and Carlito (who was JACKED) were surprise entrants, while The Miz and Bad Bunny began their issues that would lead into WrestleMania. We also got an incredible Team Hell No reunion and hug. The match was giving me what I wanted, even with no crowd. To top it off, we got Christian making his return, which was surreal as I never expected him to wrestle again and I ended up getting him for the rest of the year. Seth Rollins returning was also pretty cool and previewed his feud with Edge. Speaking of Edge, he won by last eliminating Orton after 58:24 and as someone who has loved Edge for most of his career, that was a really cool moment to end a strong Rumble. [****]

*This is the last appearance of Randy Orton, Mustafa Ali, Jeff Hardy, Dolph Ziggler, Carlito, Xavier Woods, Elias, The Miz, Kane, Otis, Dominik Mysterio, Hurricane, Christian, AJ Styles, Rey Mysterio, and Braun Strowman.

2020 Match #77: The New Day vs. The Street Profits – WWE Survivor Series
2019 Match #77: El Phantasmo vs. Rocky Romero – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5/24/19
2018 Match #77: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi [c] vs. El Desperado – NJPW Kizuna Road 6/18/18
2017 Match #77: GHC Heavyweight Championship: Katsuhiko Nakajima [c] vs. Go Shiozaki – Pro Wrestling NOAH Great Voyage in Yokohama 3/12/17
2016 Match #77: IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Michael Elgin – NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku – 4/27/16
2015 Match #77: IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Karl Anderson – NJPW Power Struggle 11/7/15

[The Kevstaaa]

76. IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Championships: Kota Ibushi [c] vs. El Desperado – NJPW Anniversary Event

One of the coolest things about New Japan’s Anniversary Shows is when they feature a main event that pits the IWGP Heavyweight Champion against the Jr. Heavyweight Champion. It has given us cool matches like Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi in 2014. We were set to get Tetsuya Naito against Hiromu Takahashi in what would’ve been something incredible in 2020 but COVID stopped that. 2021 saw the return of the idea with El Desperado getting a shot at Ibushi’s Heavyweight and Intercontinental Titles. The winner of this would walk away as the first IWGP World Champion, which hurt things because you knew it wouldn’t be Desperado. Though it lacked drama, Desperado and Ibushi are both fantastic, so they put together something great. Since Ibushi isn’t the junior he was years ago, he was powerful enough to dare Desperado to hit him as hard as possible while he just ate every shot. He’s a machine at this point. Desperado fired back with even more and his confidence grew with each move. He’s still a junior but he’s still not the same guy he was in 2014. He hung tough but fell to Kamigoye after 20:36. [****]

*This is the last match from NJPW's Anniversary Event.

2020 Match #76: Shingo Takagi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 9/30/20
2019 Match #76: NXT North American Championship: Velveteen Dream [c] vs. Buddy Murphy – NXT 4/17/19
2018 Match #76: WWE United Kingdom Championship: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Zack Gibson – NXT United Kingdom Tournament 6/26/18
2017 Match #76: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 8/6/17
2016 Match #76: Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Yuji Nagata – NJPW G1 Climax 7/30/16
2015 Match #76: NEVER Openweight Championship: Togi Makabe (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10/12/15

[The Kevstaaa]

75. World Title Eliminator Tournament Finals: Bryan Danielson vs. Miro – AEW Full Gear

This was worked at a slower pace than a lot of big matches, which I liked. Danielson was looking to strike and move, cutting Miro down to size. Of course, he got caught and thrown around with ease at points. Miro dominated until Danielson sent him into the ring post and hit a running knee off the apron. He then started working the leg and doing grounded strikes like his driving knees to the head. Miro deadlifted Danielson out of a kneebar and it was incredibly impressive. Miro also pointed up to his God, which was a good bit of storytelling. Danielson escaped Game Over but Miro wouldn’t let up and went for it again. Danielson rolled back and countered into a pin for two that he rolled into submissions until Miro gouged his eyes. Miro challenged Danielson to kick him in the ribs and weathered the storm but then fell victim to a tornado DDT off the top and a triangle choke of sorts. Miro passed out in 20:00, continuing the storytelling around his neck. That was a slow burn but one that worked well and everything paid off. Danielson’s great run continues and Miro is awesome. [****]

*This is the final appearance of Miro.

2020 Match #75: AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley [c] vs. MJF – AEW All Out
2019 Match #75: Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13
2018 Match #75: Three and In Finale: Mark Haskins vs. Tyler Bate – PROGRESS Chapter 75: These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends 8/27/18
2017 Match #75: RPW British Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. [c] vs. Will Ospreay – RevPro Global Wars UK 11/10/17
2016 Match #75: Number One Contender’s Match: AJ Styles vs. Cesaro vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens – WWE Raw 4/4/16
2015 Match #75: Falls Count Anywhere: Cage vs. The Mack – Ultima Lucha 7/29/15

[The Kevstaaa]

74. Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly – NXT The Great American Bash

The first meeting between these two at TakeOver lasted 40 minutes and dragged on at points, while their final match (also at a TakeOver) was better but didn’t quite find its way onto this list. Thankfully, their bout in the middle gave me everything I wanted from them. At 24:04, it didn’t take too long but still felt worthy of the main event slot and of the bitter rivalry surrounding the Undisputed Era split. Here, they told a concise story that made total sense. Kyle O’Reilly got fired up after the commercial break, laying into Adam Cole with all sorts of strikes and kicks and not holding back at all. Cole still took control until he badmouthed Kyle’s wife, causing him to go off, only for Cole to use it to goad him in. Brilliant stuff. Kyle overcame a damaged knee and won out during a pretty epic closing stretch. He seemed like he’d take this, only for his knee to give out when he used it to stop Panama Sunrise. So, Cole hit it on his next attempt and added Last Shot, giving him his final big victory of his outstanding NXT tenure. [****]

*This is the final match from Great American Bash.

2020 Match #74: EVIL vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW The Beginning in Sapporo
2019 Match #74: Team Drew Gulak vs. Team Oney Lorcan – WWE 205 Live 8/20/19
2018 Match #74: Tornado Tag Team Match: Buddy Murphy and Tony Nese vs. The Lucha House Party – WWE 205 Live 8/21/18
2017 Match #74: Anthony Henry vs. Fred Yehi – Style Battle S1:E5 6/16/17
2016 Match #74: WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Gran Metalik vs. TJ Perkins – WWE Cruiserweight Classic 9/14/16
2015 Match #74: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Dean Ambrose – WWE Money in the Bank 6/14/15

[The Kevstaaa]

73. Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 31 9/26/21

When Kota Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr. share the ring, you’re almost guaranteed to get something special. I’ve never gone below ***½ for one of their matches and most clock in at **** or more. Sabre Jr. came into this as smug as ever since he had just destroyed Tetsuya Naito in the tournament opener, putting him on the shelf for the rest of the schedule, and making the IWGP World Champion submit. Meanwhile, Ibushi entered after a somewhat embarrassing loss to Yujiro Takahashi and a recent illness. Sabre Jr. dominated at times but his hubris got him into trouble as he engaged in a striking battle with Ibushi, which he had no shot at winning. Of course, whenever Sabre Jr. got in trouble, he’d catch a body part and trap it into a submission. This was something of a masterclass from him. He started hitting surprising offense like a powerbomb but Ibushi refused to give in. He nailed Boma Ye, yet Sabre Jr. kept countering Kamigoye, eventually turning it into a submission dubbed Clarky Cat, which got him the victory after 19:56, adding another impressive tournament match for him. [****]

2020 Match #73: Boneyard Match: AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker – WWE WrestleMania 36 Night One
2019 Match #73: WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship: Daniel Bryan and Rowan [c] vs. Heavy Machinery vs. The New Day – WWE Extreme Rules
2018 Match #73: RevPro British Heavyweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii [c] vs. Minoru Suzuki – NJPW Power Struggle 11/3/18
2017 Match #73: AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon – WWE WrestleMania 33 4/2/17
2016 Match #73: Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5/27/16
2015 Match #73: Roderick Strong vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – ROH Global Wars 5/16/15

[The Kevstaaa]

72. Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez vs. Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart – NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day

It’s no secret that NXT in 2021 was at least a notch or two below what fans had become accustomed to. Most TakeOver events stopped feeling special as well but they hit the nail on the head on at least one night. TakeOver: Vengeance Day was a spectacular night of wrestling and was likely my second favorite show of the year. It started with a bang too as Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez took on Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart in the finals of the inaugural Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. What made this match stand out to me was the switch on the traditional tag formula. Instead of having the heel team work over a babyface leading to the hot tag, the heels were the ones in trouble. Dakota played the heel in peril and it was Raquel who got to enter and clean house. That allowed this to feel unique, which is such a fresh rarity when you’ve been watching wrestling for a few decades. The finish was pretty frantic and honestly, there were a handful of flubs or relatively blown spots but they made up for it with high energy and an interesting format. Raquel hit the one-armed powerbomb for the win in 17:39, giving her team the tournament and eventually Tag Team Titles. [****]

*This is the last match from the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

2020 Match #72: G1 Climax Briefcase: Kota Ibushi [c] vs. Jay White – NJPW Power Struggle
2019 Match #72: Falls Count Anywhere Match: The Miz vs. Shane McMahon – WWE WrestleMania
2018 Match #72: Super Strong Style 16 Quarterfinals: Kassius Ohno vs. Tyler Bate – PROGRESS Chapter 68 5/6/18
2017 Match #72: Lucha Underground Championship Career vs. Career Match: Prince Puma [c] vs. Pentagon Dark – Lucha Underground Ultima Lucha Tres 10/18/17
2016 Match #72: WWE Cruiserweight Classic Qualifying Match: Drew Gulak vs. Tracy Williams – Evolve 61 5/7/16
2015 Match #72: No Holds Barred: Timothy Thatcher vs. Biff Busick – Evolve 48 8/16/15

[The Kevstaaa]

71. Adam Cole vs. Jungle Boy – AEW Dynamite 9/29/21

When Adam Cole debuted at All Out and immediately superkicked Jungle Boy, that became a match I was dying to see. Jungle Boy is legitimately one of my favorites in AEW and Adam Cole really grew on me during his NXT run. AEW didn’t waste much time on this match, booking it within Cole’s first month and it was only his second singles match. The two opened up Dynamite and for 13:38, delivered the goods. Cole was thrown off his game at the start when Jungle Boy overpowered him and he had to regroup. The two were both brash at different points of this back and forth affair. Unlike a lot of matches, it never felt like this was truly in one guy’s favor only for the other one to make a comeback. The whole thing seemed evenly matched, helping to cement just how far Jungle Boy has already come within just a few short years. They made sure this was entertaining as hell while still telling a simple and effective story. The Panama Sunrise got two and I still don’t like that move only resulting in near falls so much but the live crowd bit. Cole used a cheap low blow to set up the Last Shot and win, leaving me dying for a rematch. [****]

*This is the last appearance of both Adam Cole and Jungle Boy.

2020 Match #71: NXT Women's Championship: Rhea Ripley [c] vs. Bianca Belair – NXT TakeOver: Portland
2019 Match #71: Number One Contender's Match: AJ Styles vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Samoa Joe – WWE Smackdown 1/1/19
2018 Match #71: WWE United Kingdom Championship: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Kyle O’Reilly – NXT 6/13/18
2017 Match #71: IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Kenny Omega vs. Michael Elgin – NJPW G1 Special in USA 7/1/17
2016 Match #71: NXT Tag Team Championship: American Alpha (c) vs. The Revival – NXT TakeOver: The End 6/8/16
2015 Match #71: Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW New Japan Cup 3/15/15

[The Kevstaaa]

70. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado [c] vs. YOH – NJPW Dominion

Dominion was likely the best New Japan show of 2021 and matches like this were a major reason why. First off, I just loved El Desperado as Jr. Heavyweight Champion. He has been a highlight of the division for years and finally got his time to shine this year, which he made the most of. YOH was looking for his big breakout singles match and he opted to pull some tricks from CHAOS leader Kazuchika Okada’s playbook. For example, he went for the trademark Okada rope break spot only for Desperado to level him. He wasn’t playing those games. Desperado went the Tanahashi route, busting out dragon screws and working the leg to set up the Stretch Muffler. YOH would get going but land on his leg and his momentum was stopped. Since his explosiveness was gone, YOH responded with his own leg work for a calf killer. Ultimately, the intensity shifted late with a stiff strike exchange but by that point, YOH was too worn down. Desperado won out and retained with Pinche Loco in 23:40. This accomplished so much without trying too hard or going overly long. [****]

2020 Match #70: Taichi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 10/5/20
2019 Match #70: AEW World Championship: Chris Jericho [c] vs. Cody – AEW Full Gear
2018 Match #70: PROGRESS World Championship: Travis Banks [c] vs. Matt Riddle – PROGRESS Chapter 64: Thunderbastards Are Go 2/25/18
2017 Match #70: War Games: The Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong vs. SAnitY vs. The Undisputed Era – NXT TakeOver: War Games 11/18/17
2016 Match #70: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Katsuyori Shibata, Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Go Shiozaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Masa Kitamiya & Maybach Taniguchi – NJPW G1 Climax 8/14/16
2015 Match #70: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Roderick Strong – ROH Winter Warriors Tour 2/21/15

[The Kevstaaa]

69. NWA Women's Championship: Serena Deeb [c] vs. Riho – AEW Double or Nothing

People who skip matches on the Kickoff/Buy-In Shows often miss good things and this was among the best. Double or Nothing was likely AEW’s weakest PPV outing this year to the point where the best match of the evening was actually on the Buy-In. Serena Deeb put up her NWA Women’s Title against Riho, AEW’s first Women’s Champion. I didn’t like a lot of Deeb’s early work as champ because it was generic babyface stuff but this was where things changed. She slapped Riho early on in this, showing a more aggressive side that would continue on as she turned heel as the “Woman of 1,000 Holds.” She was brutal and arrogant throughout, which was perfect against Riho who is always a fiery underdog babyface. Her hope spots had the crowd invested in a potential title change. Deeb remained as vicious as ever, using things like dragon screws to set up her Serenity Lock finisher, retaining the championship. I’m so happy this was on the Buy-In because that allowed it to get 14:03, giving it time to develop and not be cut short for more Stadium Stampede or the Cody/Ogogo match. [****]

*This is the last appearance of both Riho and Serena Deeb.
*It is the final match from Double or Nothing.
*There are no more NWA Women's Title matches.

2020 Match #69: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 11/15/20
2019 Match #69: WWE Raw Women's Championship: Ronda Rousey [c] vs. Sasha Banks – WWE Royal Rumble
2018 Match #69: Dragon Lee vs. Hiromu Takahashi – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5/25/18
2017 Match #69: Number One Contender’s Match: Big R Shimizu vs. Masaaki Mochizuki – Dragon Gate Scandal Gate 9/5/17
2016 Match #69: Weapons of Mass Destruction Match: Killshot vs. Marty Martinez – Lucha Underground 9/14/16
2015 Match #69: Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins – WWE WrestleMania 3/29/15

[The Kevstaaa]

68. WWE Championship: Bobby Lashley [c] vs. Drew McIntyre – WWE WrestleMania Night One

It can often be difficult to get into a match where it feels like you know what the outcome will be. Coming into WrestleMania, many of us believed that Drew McIntyre would regain the WWE Championship. Although Bobby Lashley had only recently won the gold from The Miz, McIntyre was the top babyface of the pandemic era and putting the title back on him would’ve been a welcome treat for the first show in front of live fans in over a year. So, the fact that Lashley retained here made for a nice surprise and his reign ended up being pretty good overall. As for this match itself, it was 18:18 of two beefy dudes beating each other up and I am always down for that. They threw each other around, which was a testament to Lashley’s strength and Drew’s resilience. Lashley had the Claymore well scouted, so Drew had to opt for different things. That included going into the past with three Future Shock DDTs, a tope con hilo, and even a Brock Lesnar like armbar. I loved that because it made sense and helped make for some unexpected offense. With the help of a distraction from MVP, Lashley applied the Hurt Lock and Drew passed out. [****]

*This is the final WWE Title match.

2020 Match #68: Women's Royal Rumble – WWE Royal Rumble
2019 Match #68: WWE Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar [c] vs. Seth Rollins – WWE SummerSlam
2018 Match #68: PROGRESS World Championship: WALTER [c] vs. Tyler Bate – PROGRESS Chapter 76: Hello, Wembley! 9/30/18
2017 Match #68: RPW British Heavyweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata [c] vs. Matt Riddle – RevPro High Stakes 1/21/17
2016 Match #68: Chris Hero vs. Matt Riddle – Evolve 71 10/16/16
2015 Match #68: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: reDRagon (c) vs. The Time Splitters – NJPW Destruction in Kobe 9/27/15

[The Kevstaaa]

67. Street Fight: The Bunny and Penelope Ford vs. TayJay – AEW New Year’s Smash Rampage

The most recent addition to this list came on the final night of 2021. On a night where most of the talk around AEW was centered on Tony Khan’s poor (that’s being nice) tweet towards Big Swole, it sadly overshadowed the work done by four of the company’s female talents. This feud had been going on for too long but they made sure to end it right. This was a war where the women came dressed to fight and immediately got into it. The first shot Bunny took was the one that busted her open, showing how violent this was. There was some obvious issues that held this back like Ford nearly killing herself and Tay Conti on a moonsault and a Bunny/Jay table spot that looked awkward. The rest of it looked pretty fantastic. Tay Conti got busted open, Bunny bled buckets, Ford took huge risks, and Anna Jay, despite being only in what was probably like her 50th professional match, was bold enough to do spots with thumbtacks and barbed wire. In fact, barbed wire played into the finish as Anna Jay wrapped some around her forearm to choke out Bunny with the Queenslayer at the 11:19 mark. A fantastic brawl that was deserved to be the top story of the evening. [****]

*This is the last appearance of Anna Jay, The Bunny, Penelope Ford, and Tay Conti.
*It is the final Sreet Fight listed.

2020 Match #67: WWE Women's Tag Team Championship: Bayley and Sasha Banks [c] vs. The Kabuki Warriors – WWE Raw 7/13/20
2019 Match #67: NXT North American Championship: Roderick Strong [c] vs. Dominik Dijakovic vs. Keith Lee - WWE NXT 10/23/19
2018 Match #67: Falls Count Anywhere Match: Hideo Itami vs. Mustafa Ali – WWE 205 Live 10/24/18
2017 Match #67: New Japan Cup First Round: Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW New Japan Cup 3/12/17
2016 Match #67: AJ Styles vs. John Cena – WWE Money in the Bank 6/19/16
2015 Match #67: Pentagon Jr. vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – PWG Battle of Los Angeles 8/30/15

[The Kevstaaa]

66. Elimination Chamber: Cesaro vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso vs. Kevin Owens vs. King Corbin vs. Sami Zayn – WWE Elimination Chamber

Smackdown has clearly been the better show for a long time now and that was made clear again at Elimination Chamber. While the Raw version of this match was good, the Smackdown side blew it out of the water. Cesaro and Daniel Bryan kicked this off and you really couldn’t ask for two better guys to do that. They were great together before Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn entered, becoming the devious heels who picked them apart, adding to the success of this match’s layout. However, Corbin tapped soon after, so they didn’t last as a unit for too long. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn played into their history before Jey Uso entered the fray last and this all came together. There were some really good moments late that helped Owens vs. Zayn and furthered Jey’s angle with some of Roman Reigns’s rivals. Cesaro and Bryan put on a show before Jey snuck in to eliminate the former. Bryan then beat him with the Busaiku Knee after 34:10. Of course, Roman Reigns came out and had his match with Bryan immediately after, winning in about two minutes. [****]

*This is the last match from Elimination Chamber.
*It is the final Elimination Chamber match.
*There are no more appearances from Jey Uso and King Corbin.

2020 Match #68: New Japan Cup First Round: El Desperado vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW New Japan Cup 6/16/20
2019 Match #68: WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: The Revival [c] vs. Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. Bobby Roode and Chad Gable – WWE Fastlane
2018 Match #68: Super Strong Style 16 Quarterfinals: David Starr vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – PROGRESS Chapter 68: Super Strong Style 16 5/6/18
2017 Match #68: Donovan Dijak vs. Keith Lee – PWG Battle of Los Angeles 9/3/17
2016 Match #68: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA – NJPW Power Struggle 11/5/16
2015 Match #68: AJ Styles and the Young Bucks vs. Kazuchika Okada and Roppongi Vice – ROH Global Wars 5/16/15