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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 9, 2022 22:55:20 GMT -5
65. Casino Ladder Match: Andrade El Idolo vs. Hangman Page vs. Jon Moxley vs. Lance Archer vs. Matt Hardy vs. Orange Cassidy vs. PAC – AEW Dynamite Anniversary 10/6/21
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| When this match was announced, it obviously stood out as something that would be really good. The addition of Matt Hardy was a bit confusing as he sticks out somewhat but when you see the match unfold, you can really understand why everyone was chosen. Andrade got to continue his feud with PAC, who reignited his old rivalry with Orange Cassidy. Meanwhile, Cassidy battled Matt Hardy, who he has had major issues with. Lance Archer arrived and literally threw a random backstage worker at Andrade. Then, he restarted his feud with Jon Moxley. The biggest moment obviously came with the “joker” as Hangman Page made his surprise return. The match was filled with the big spots you want from this stipulation like Page’s Deadeye off a ladder and Andrade hitting a sunset flip off a ladder. Moxley kept cutting off Page to boos, which made me want a heel Moxley against a babyface Page at some point down the line. Hangman won out, pulling down the chip and earning a World Title shot after 17:08. [****] |
*It marks the final appearance of Matt Hardy and Orange Cassidy. *There are no more matches from Dynamite Anniversary.
2020 Match #65: Gauntlet Eliminator: Bronson Reed vs. Cameron Grimes vs. KUSHIDA vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Timothy Thatcher – NXT 9/23/20 2019 Match #65: Gauntlet Match: AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton vs. Samoa Joe – WWE Smackdown 2/12/19 2018 Match #65: WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Cedric Alexander [c] vs. Buddy Murphy – WWE Super Showdown 10/6/18 2017 Match #65: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 7/17/17 2016 Match #65: Eita vs. Jimmy Susumu – Dragon Gate King of Gate 6/2/16 2015 Match #65: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Kenny Omega (c) vs. KUSHIDA – NJPW Dominion 7/5/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 10, 2022 10:33:15 GMT -5
64. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Robbie Eagles [c] vs. Hiromu Takahashi – NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome
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| There aren’t many people or ideas in the New Japan Jr. Heavyweight division that get me excited. It’s a pretty rough and stale. However, the combination of Robbie Eagles and Hiromu Takahashi is different. They’re both fantastic wrestlers and they didn’t have a long history together, so this was both exciting and fresh. For 24:07, these two put on one of the best junior heavyweight matches I can recall in this company. They came out of the gates by hitting each other hard and they had loads of counters for almost everything. Eagles put the target on Hiromu’s leg, looking to set up his Ron Miller Special finisher. He worked that leg over a ton and hit his awesome 450 splash onto it. Hiromu fought back with his explosiveness but couldn’t do it all due to his bad leg. In the end, Hiromu did tap out to the Ron Miller Special and it was a fresh reminder that companies that aren’t WWE don’t make it a huge deal that you tap out. It’s not embarrassing. It’s a case of someone being better than you that night. Eagles was here and it worked to retain his gold. [****] |
*This is the last appearance of Robbie Eagles.
2020 Match #64: AEW Women's Championship: Hikaru Shida [c] vs. Thunder Rosa – AEW All Out 2019 Match #64: WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The Usos [c] vs. Aleister Black and Ricochet vs. The Bar vs. Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura – WWE WrestleMania 2018 Match #64: Hell in a Cell: Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton – WWE Hell in a Cell 9/16/18 2017 Match #64: JML vs. The South Pacific Power Trip – PROGRESS: Orlando 3/31/17 2016 Match #64: New Japan Cup Quarterfinals: Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW New Japan Cup 3/4/16 2015 Match #64: Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly – ROH Final Battle 12/18/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 10, 2022 14:31:27 GMT -5
63. War Games: Cora Jade, Io Shirai, Kay Lee Ray & Raquel Gonzalez vs. Dakota Kai and Toxic Attraction – NXT TakeOver: War Games
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| I feel like the women have had the better War Games match each of the past two years. This started with KLR against Dakota Kai, which was great since their ladder match this year ruled The faces had the advantage, which is odd since this match is typically meant to be a bunch of hot tags. Cora Jade used this as her star making night, going to the top of the cage and hitting a SCARY looking somersault sent through the table. Medica came to check on her but Io said she got this and popped Cora’s shoulder into place. The whole thing was wild. We got some cool moments involving Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez for their feud again, while the likes of Kay Lee Ray and Io Shirai did a lot of great underrated things. Cora ended up alone and hurt against all four opponents but fought through it like a good babyface. The finish was the issue holding this back though as after a barrage of moves, Jayne was down from a Chingona Bomb and Cora Jade pinned her at the 31:20 mark. The worst of the three women’s War Games matches but still great. It would’ve been bumped up a bit with a better ending. [****] |
*This is the final appearance of Cora Jade, Io Shirai, Jace Jayne, and Gigi Dolan.
2020 Match #63: WWE Raw Women's Championship: Asuka [c] vs. Sasha Banks – WWE Extreme Rules 2019 Match #63: Two Out Of Three Falls Match: Andrade vs. Rey Mysterio – WWE Smackdown 1/22/19 2018 Match #63: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay [c] vs. Hiromu Takahashi – NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2/10/18 2017 Match #63: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW G1 Climax 8/1/17 2016 Match #63: WWE Intercontinental Championship Last Man Standing Match: Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Kevin Owens – WWE Royal Rumble 1/24/16 2015 Match #63: WWE Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns – WWE Payback 5/17/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 10, 2022 16:58:06 GMT -5
62. Lights Out Match: Jon Moxley and Lance Archer vs. Kenny Omega and KENTA – AEW Dynamite 2/10/21
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| One of the unsung MVPs of wrestling in recent years has been Lance Archer. He went from a guy I didn’t like watching to one of my favorites. His attitude of just kicking ass is welcome, especially during squashes. Long before he and Jon Moxley had their memorable match over the IWGP United States Title, they teamed up to take on Kenny Omega and KENTA. That was a wild thing to think about considering KENTA’s status as an NJPW star coming to AEW, which hadn’t happened a lot to this point. The four men were allowed to have a wild tag match with no rules that helped preview KENTA/Moxley and continue the Moxley/Omega issues. This didn’t slow down for the entire 19:53 runtime and was one of AEW’s best Dynamite main events ever. Archer hit rope walk moonsaults, the Good Brothers got involved, and there were uses of barbed wire baseball bats. After Moxley was taken out, Archer was beaten up by all of the heels, leading to Omega getting help to hit one of his more impressive One Winged Angels on him to win. A brawl that was totally nuts. [****] |
2020 Match #62: Jay White vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW G1 Climax 9/23/20 2019 Match #62: NXT North American Championship: Velveteen Dream [c] vs. Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong – NXT TakeOver: Toronto 2018 Match #62: Chris Ridgeway vs. Jordan Devlin – PROGRESS Chapter 78: 24 Hour PROGRESS People 11/11/18 2017 Match #62: Ben-K, Big R Shimizu and Kotoka vs. Eita, Kaito Ishida and Takehiro Yamamura – Dragon Gate Scandal Gate 8/8/17 2016 Match #62: Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay – Evolve 59 4/2/16 2015 Match #62: ROH World Television Championship: Jay Lethal (c) vs. Roderick Strong – ROH Glory by Honor XIV 10/23/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 10, 2022 19:53:40 GMT -5
61. CM Punk vs. Darby Allin – AEW All Out
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| When I watched this live, I didn’t rate it high enough to be considered for this list. However, I was watching it with friends and I didn’t pay a ton of attention to it. Upon rewatches, I’ve grown to really like what happened here. You could see CM Punk clearly leading the way, which made sense given his veteran status over the much younger Darby Allin. That’s why the Bret Hart influence was even more obvious. There are spots directly lifted from the Hart/1-2-3 Kid 1994 classic and for good reason. Punk is the top guy while Allin is on the rise trying to live up to him. It didn’t seem like Punk missed much of a step after nearly a decade away from the ring. They made sure that he could get in his key stuff while also giving Allin a ton to make sure he came across as a viable threat and a legitimate star. The Go to Sleep spot where Allin fell outside was masterfully done and the counter that set up the finishing GTS was even better. The whole thing went 16:08, which was just about the ideal time for something like that. [****] |
2020 Match #61: NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi [c] vs. Minoru Suzuki – NJPW Summer Struggle in Jingu 2019 Match #61: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Dragon Lee [c] vs. Taiji Ishimori – NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2018 Match #61: The Golden Lovers vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Will Ospreay – NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome 12/15/18 2017 Match #61: AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar – WWE Survivor Series 11/19/17 2016 Match #61: Michael Elgin vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 7/24/16 2015 Match #61: RPW Championship: AJ Styles (c) vs. Marty Scurll vs. Will Ospreay – RPW Uprising 10/2/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 11, 2022 0:03:13 GMT -5
60. Women’s Royal Rumble Match – WWE Royal Rumble
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| There’s no question that this year’s Royal Rumble event was a weird one. Having no live crowd just took away from a lot of what makes the match so much fun. Thankfully, both of the titular matches manages to deliver in spades. The women have now had four Rumbles and all of them were what I would consider legitimately great. This one started with Bayley and Naomi before Bianca Belair joined the fray to put on a record setting performance. In between the great action, there was comedic stuff from Billie Kay asking everyone to be her partner, which even included a short IIconics reunion. There were things I wasn’t expecting, including Alexa Bliss getting eliminated in about a minute and there were whiffs like the camera missing Bayley’s elimination. I loved the use of Bianca’s hair to save her and Naomi from elimination too. The finish was where things really became special. Belair and Rhea Ripley got rid of Charlotte Flair, allowing things to come down to the division’s two future stars. Their back and forth was pretty epic, with Belair winning out. She was in for all but 90 seconds of the 58:50 runtime and used this momentum to make history at WrestleMania. [****] |
*This is the final appearance of Bayley, Naomi, Billie Kay, Shotzi Blackheart, Shayna Baszler, Toni Storm, Jillian Hall, Ruby Riott, Victoria, Peyton Royce, Santana Garrett, Liv Morgan, Dana Brooke, Torrie Wilson, Lacey Evans, Mickie James, Nikki Cross, Alicia Fox, Mandy Rose, Carmella, Tamina, Lana, Alexa Bliss, Ember Moon, Nia Jax, and Natalya.
2020 Match #60: NXT Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair [c] vs. Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley – NXT TakeOver: In Your House 2019 Match #60: Jeff Cobb vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 7/13/19 2018 Match #60: Johnny Gargano vs. The Velveteen Dream – NXT 9/5/18 2017 Match #60: New Japan Cup Semi-Finals: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW New Japan Cup 3/17/17 2016 Match #60: Number One Contender’s Two Out of Three Falls Match: Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe – NXT 3/9/16 2015 Match #60: IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. AJ Styles – NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10/12/15
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Post by ronnie2hotty on Jan 11, 2022 5:49:56 GMT -5
72. Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez vs. Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart – NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day
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| 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
I'm glad to see some of the NXT Women's tag division getting some attention. There was a span of about 4-5 months early last year where that division was consistently the best division in wrestling. Hot match after hot match after hot match. Then, Shotzi got drafted to Smackdown to do nothing, her team with Ember got disbanded, and 2.0 happened.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 11, 2022 13:24:30 GMT -5
59. War Games Advantage Ladder Match: Dakota Kai vs. Kay Lee Ray – WWE NXT 11/30/21
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| The new version of NXT hasn’t been one designed to put out great matches but they’ve delivered a handful of times. The build for War Games this year was mixed at beast, yet this ladder match was excellent. We live in a time where ladder matches are hard to nail because they’re done to death but often, even lesser ones are still pretty great. What made this one work was that these ladies were all about the violence. Before the bell even rang, Dakota Kai and Kay Lee Ray were beating each other’s asses. They kept that up throughout the 14:08 runtime, with KLR hitting a vicious tope suicida and a front suplex onto a ladder in the opening minutes. Even the moves without weapons or high spots, like Dakota’s running kicks, felt like they had something extra behind them, making it more violent. They fought through a commercial break and saved some big stuff for the back half, including a diving double stomp off a ladder by Kai. The finish saw Kai get hung upside down on the ladder and eat a superkick before KLR brought down the briefcase. A great match with a surprise ending since heels usually get the War Games advantage. [****] |
*This is the final match from NXT 2.0's weekly TV show.
2020 Match #59: NXT Women's Championship Number One Contender's Elimination Match: Candice LeRae vs. Dakota Kai vs. Mia Yim vs. Tegan Nox – NXT Great American Bash 7/1/20 2019 Match #59: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 7/18/19 2018 Match #59: Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 8/11/18 2017 Match #59: WWN Championship: Matt Riddle [c] vs. Keith Lee vs. Tracy Williams vs. WALTER – Evolve 91 8/12/17 2016 Match #59: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada – NJPW G1 Climax 8/12/16 2015 Match #59: NEVER Openweight Championship: Togi Makabe (c) vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW Destruction in Okayama 9/23/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 11, 2022 20:39:43 GMT -5
58. IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Texas Death Match: Jon Moxley [c] vs. Lance Archer – AEW Fyter Fest Night Two
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| AEW kicked open that forbidden door and a lot of it involved the partnership with NJPW, which mostly centered around Jon Moxley being the IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion. The title was given the biggest spotlight when it headlined Fyter Fest as Moxley defended against Lance Archer in a Texas Death Match. They actually had this gimmick match back at Wrestle Kingdom 14 and it was really good but just shy of great. Here, they managed to best that with an absolutely wild match that lived up to what I knew they were capable of. They brawled through the crowd early with Moxley hitting Paradigm Shift and Archer throwing random dudes at him. There was bloodshed and even Moxley biting at that bloodied skull. He’s pretty much a madman. They also added in the stuff you don’t expect from a mainstream main event like barbed wire boards and a fork. The stipulation also worked well because when Archer hit a chokeslam off the apron and through tables and boards, Moxley stayed down for the 10 count. So, after 16:34 Moxley wasn’t pinned so he was protected in the loss. Meanwhile, Archer got the big win that he has deserved for a while. [****] |
*This is the final appearance of Lance Archer. *It is the last match from Fyter Fest. *There are no more matches for the IWGP US Title or anymore Texas Death matches.
2020 Match #58: WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre [c] vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Money in the Bank 2019 Match #58: Drew Gulak vs. Isaiah Scott – WWE 205 Live 7/23/19 2018 Match #58: NXT Championship Last Man Standing Match: Tommaso Ciampa [c] vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 8/18/18 2017 Match #58: IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito [c] vs. Juice Robinson – NJPW Wrestling Toyonokuni 4/29/17 2016 Match #58: High Speed Championship: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs. Evie – Stardom vs. The World 2/21/16 2015 Match #58: John Cena vs. Kevin Owens – WWE Money in the Bank 6/14/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 11, 2022 22:53:32 GMT -5
57. CM Punk, Darby Allin and Sting vs. FTR and MJF – AEW Holiday Bash
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| It’s Sting in Greensboro, so of course it ruled. He and Punk rocking paint to honor each other was cool. A lot of this match was about teasing the future Punk/MJF encounter but always having MJF bail. Sting got a massive ovation whenever he did anything. Darby took the heat until Sting got the hot tag and the fans ATE UP everything he did. He played the hits and that’s exactly what he should be doing. He took the next heat through a second break after MJF interrupted the Scorpion Death Lock. The new hot tag went to Punk who lit up FTR. MJF was shown to be hiding during this time. He snuck back in and Sting cut him off before dumping him over the top onto FTR and he landed AWFULLY on his head. FTR immediately checked on him and he seemed to be okay. Sting also did a damn cross body off the top to the outside. Inside, MJF was left with the three faces so Dax sacrificed himself for his buddy. He ate the GTS into the Scorpion Death Drop into the Coffin Drop, losing after 25:53. That was a blast. Such a fun trios tag and MJF managed to avoid taking the beating he deserved, preserving that for down the line. [****] |
*This is the final appearance of Sting and FTR. *It is the last match from Holiday Bash.
2020 Match #57: New Japan Cup First Round: Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata – NJPW New Japan Cup 6/17/20 2019 Match #57: Shingo Takagi vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 8/4/19 2018 Match #57: WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Cedric Alexander [c] vs. Buddy Murphy – WWE 205 Live 5/29/18 2017 Match #57: Dragon Lee vs. Hiromu Takahashi – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5/17/17 2016 Match #57: Number One Contender’s Match: Marty Scurll vs. Will Ospreay – RPW High Stakes 1/16/16 2015 Match #57: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 7/24/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 12, 2022 10:04:36 GMT -5
56. New Japan Cup Quarterfinals: KENTA vs. Shingo Takagi – NJPW New Japan Cup 3/16/21
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| I came into this so goddamned hype. These are two guys who I really enjoy who have similar styles and will beat the hell out of each other. It’s wild to me that I first saw these dudes killing it in ROH in 2006. There’s something enjoyable about two tough dudes just beating the shit out of each other. They did just that, trading plenty of forearms, lariats, and straight up slaps. I loved that although KENTA remains as cocky as ever, he met his match in Shingo, who would just send him back with a vicious strike. Shingo could shut KENTA up at the drop of a dime. KENTA held serve at points but often just pissed off Shingo. It worked because sometimes KENTA just needs to get his ass kicked. Whenever they used actual offense, it was worth it because they’d throw out a big bomb. One thing I really appreciated was that this closing stretch wasn’t what is typical in NJPW. There weren’t tons of counters or anything like that. This became more intense as time went on, which made the finish mean more to me. Shingo won with Last of the Dragon after a hard fought 23:47 that ruled. [****] |
*This is the final New Japan Cup match.
2020 Match #56: NXT Women's Championship: Io Shirai [c] vs. Tegan Nox – NXT 7/15/20 2019 Match #56: New Japan Cup Semifinals: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA – NJPW New Japan Cup 3/23/19 2018 Match #56: Number One Contender’s Match: WALTER vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – PROGRESS Chapter 67: Bourbon Is Also A Biscuit 4/7/18 2017 Match #56: Hell in a Cell: Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon – WWE Hell in a Cell 10/8/17 2016 Match #56: Prince Puma vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. – Ultima Lucha Dos 7/20/16 2015 Match #56: Trios Championship: Angelico, Ivelisse and Son of Havoc vs. The Crew – Lucha Underground 4/22/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 12, 2022 14:48:31 GMT -5
55. Jeff Cobb vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW Dominion
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| There’s something about a match on a PPV that doesn’t have a title on the line or any gimmicks behind it that I just appreciate. New Japan does it from time to time and Dominion had a doozy in Jeff Cobb vs. Kota Ibushi. Basically, it was an athletic freak of nature against one of the strongest dudes on the roster. I was a little wary since their G1 match in 2020 disappointed me but they more than made up for it. In fact, this actually felt like a G1 Climax outing since it only went 14:54 and was just two dudes beating each other up for that runtime. Cobb threw him around like he weighed nothing even though Ibushi is basically built like a god. Ibushi is so wild to watch because of how he can change gears. His deadlift German failed against the bigger opponent, so he pivoted to a top rope rana for similar effect. Cobb responded with an F5 that looked better than almost every single one Brock Lesnar ever hit. He spun the shit out of Ibushi. Though things looked dire for him, Ibushi managed to counter Tour of the Islands and win with Kamigoye, pretty much earning a title shot in the process. [****] |
*This is the final **** match.
2020 Match #55: Kota Ibushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 9/27/20 2019 Match #55: Bandido vs. Will Ospreay – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5/23/19 2018 Match #55: NXT Tag Team Championship: The Undisputed Era [c] vs. Moustache Mountain – NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 8/18/18 2017 Match #55: Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10/9/17 2016 Match #55: Money in the Bank: Alberto Del Rio vs. Cesaro vs. Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – WWE Money in the Bank 6/19/16 2015 Match #55: Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens vs. Rusev – WWE Raw 7/13/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 12, 2022 18:54:00 GMT -5
54. NXT Women's Championship: Raquel Gonzalez [c] vs. Dakota Kai – NXT TakeOver 36
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| I wasn’t big on a lot of Raquel Gonzalez’s NXT Women’s Title reign but this match was different. I came in with a major interest because I love Dakota Kai and because the rivalry had been built up well. Their history allowed for something that felt personal and the match followed through with that concept. Dakota slapped her to start and then bailed but whenever they actually interacted, this was physical and felt like two people who had real animosity. There wasn’t any goofy wrestling exchanges for the sake of it. There were elements of a real fight in here, which is important. The crowd was behind Dakota for most of this 12:25 and it added to the atmosphere. Raquel had a bad shoulder, which might explain the dangerous looking bump Dakota had to take on an alley-oop bomb into the corner. No matter what Dakota threw at Raquel, the champion managed to survive and come back with something big. Dakota had the Chingona Bomb well scouted, countering or avoiding it several times. However, when they fought up top, she couldn’t do that and fell victim to an avalanche Chingona Bomb, allowing Raquel to retain. [****¼] |
*This is the final appearance of Dakota Kai. *It is the last NXT Women's Title match.
2020 Match #54: Parking Lot Fight: Best Friends vs. Santana and Ortiz – AEW Dynamite 9/16/20 2019 Match #54: Jon Moxley vs. Shingo Takagi – NJPW G1 Climax 7/24/19 2018 Match #54: Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 8/4/18 2017 Match #54: Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm – Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 8/20/17 2016 Match #54: Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi vs. Kohei Sato and Shuji Ishikawa – BJW Saikyo Tag League 10/31/16 2015 Match #54: NXT Championship Ladder Match: Finn Balor (c) vs. Kevin Owens – NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 8/22/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 12, 2022 21:17:17 GMT -5
53. WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Cesaro – WWE WrestleMania Backlash
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| Roman Reigns was on a different level from almost everyone else in wrestling throughout 2021 and matches like this were why. On paper, you knew that it would be really good but you also understood that Cesaro wasn’t going to win. Even though he beat Seth Rollins at WrestleMania, he wans’t going to beat Reigns, yet they hooked me throughout. Cesaro came out hot and forced Reigns to regroup outside before he got overwhelmed. Even when he turned the tide a bit, Cesaro remained on a roll. Once Reigns got going, he made sure to include his signature trash talking. To play off of Daniel Bryan and Cesaro saying he didn’t like wrestling, he talked about how much he loved it. Top-tier stuff here. He also addressed Bryan a few times during some of his offense. As they neared the end of this 27:32 encounter, they didn’t do any of the finisher kickouts or near falls that so many matches rely on. Instead, they opted for a closing stretch with some big moves and slick submission counters that were must-see. Finally, Reigns was able to win with the Guillotine Hold, continuing his impressive run as the top guy in all of wrestling. [****¼] |
*This is the last appearance of Cesaro. *It's the final match from WrestleMania Backlash.
2020 Match #53: Jay White vs. Taichi – NJPW G1 Climax 10/7/20 2019 Match #53: IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi [c] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW Sengoku Lord 2018 Match #53: NXT Championship: Aleister Black [c] vs. Tommaso Ciampa – NXT 7/25/18 2017 Match #53: WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins [c] vs. Cesaro and Sheamus – WWE No Mercy 9/24/17 2016 Match #53: PWG Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly – PWG Thirteen 7/29/16 2015 Match #53: IWGP Heavyweight Championship: AJ Styles (c) vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW Invasion Attack 4/5/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 13, 2022 0:17:46 GMT -5
52. NXT UK Women's Championship: Kay Lee Ray [c] vs. Meiko Satomura – NXT UK 3/4/21
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| The NXT UK Women’s Title reign of Kay Lee Ray was pretty fantastic. Obviously, a major reason why it was stretched out so long was due to the pandemic but whenever she got to defend the gold, she proved time and time again why she was so good. Meiko Satomura felt like the biggest threat to her gold. Considered the “final boss,” Satomura was a big signing with experience who might be able to take down the brand’s top female star. When they clashed in this main event, they impressed everyone for 16:40. The strategy from the champion was to use her quickness advantage to stay one step ahead but Satomura could level her with a stiff shot that would totally rock her. KLR delivered her signature Gory Bomb down the stretch but couldn’t cover in time so that didn’t result in the finish. She made a mistake by missing a swanton bomb and then we got a great series of counters where the Gory Bomb was turned into Code Red for a tremendous near fall. Ultimately, KLR managed to roll Satomura into the Gory Bomb, retaining and seemingly putting a damper on Satomura’s title hopes, at least for the time being. [****¼] |
2020 Match #52: EVIL and Shingo Takagi vs. Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW New Year Dash 2019 Match #52: Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: #DIY vs. The Undisputed Era – NXT 3/6/19 2018 Match #52: NXT North American and WWE United Kingdom Championships: Ricochet [c] vs. Pete Dunne [c] – NXT 9/19/18 2017 Match #52: Best Friends vs. Leaders of the New School – PWG Nice Boys Don’t Play Rock n’ Roll 3/18/17 2016 Match #52: Matt Riddle vs. Will Ospreay – PROGRESS The Graps of Wrath 11/27/16 2015 Match #52: WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match: New Day (c) vs. Lucha Dragons vs. The Usos – WWE TLC 12/13/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 13, 2022 10:23:01 GMT -5
51. Big E vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Roman Reigns – WWE Raw 9/20/21
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| Having Roman Reigns on Raw made for some of the better matches of the year for the red brand. After the Bloodline battled New Day in a very good opening contest, WWE Champion Big E was in action against Universal Champion Roman Reigns in the main event, competing for a second time. With them was Bobby Lashley, another top star who is a big dude that hits hard. You honestly couldn’t ask for all that much more. I liked how early on in this 20:10 match, Roman Reigns kind of just sat back and let the other two guys go at it. He isn’t someone to fight unless he needs to and given the Big E/Lashley feud, this made sense. He got involved at the perfect time and took control heading into a commercial break. The match was a case of tough guys throwing their biggest offense at each other because they understand just how much it’ll take to beat the others. Of course, it’s a Roman Reigns match so you know he came out on top, hitting Lashley with a Spear after Big E was leveled with a steel chair. A rare great match for Raw in 2021. [****¼] |
*This is the last of Bobby Lashley.
2020 Match #51: NXT Women's Championship: Rhea Ripley [c] vs. Charlotte Flair – WWE WrestleMania 36 Night Two 2019 Match #51: IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Minoru Suzuki – NJPW Royal Quest 2018 Match #51: Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey – WWE Survivor Series 11/18/18 2017 Match #51: PROGRESS World Championship: Travis Banks [c] vs. Matt Riddle – PROGRESS Chapter 58: Live Your Best Life 11/26/17 2016 Match #51: Six to Survive: Fenix vs. Ivelisse vs. Johnny Mundo vs. King Cuerno vs. Pentagon Jr. vs. Taya – Lucha Underground 6/15/16 2015 Match #51: Kazuchika Okada vs. Roderick Strong – ROH Field of Honor 8/22/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 13, 2022 13:27:13 GMT -5
50. Best of the Super Juniors Finals: Hiromu Takahashi vs. YOH – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors x World Tag League Finals
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| Typically, the finals of the Best of the Super Juniors delivers. Each one dating back to 2014 has received at least four stars from me, with last year’s finals actually topping the 2020 list. This year wasn’t quite as good as the 2020 finals but still a banger. YOH came in on a roll, winning seven straight matches after starting 0-4. That included an embarrassing 3-minute loss to Hiromu Takahashi, the reigning BOSJ champion. YOH made sure that he wasn’t going down quickly, matching Hiromu with strikes, slaps, and big offense throughout this. The stuff involving these two was great but the match had two glaring issues holding it back. One was the usual NJPW problem, which is that it went too long. 38:30 was just too much of this since it peaked before that. The other mistake was having SHO come out to attack them and try to get this thrown out as a no content. I get that it’s heat for him but it ruined the flow of the match. Other than that, this saw two of the best guys in the division putting on a show. YOH hit Hiromu with everything he had and survived a ton but Time Bomb II put him down, giving Hiromu another tournament win. [****¼] |
*This is the final appearance of YOH.
2020 Match #50: IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Jon Moxley [c] vs. Minoru Suzuki – NJPW New Beginning in Osaka 2019 Match #50: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW G1 Climax 8/3/19 2018 Match #50: British Strong Style vs. The Undisputed Era – WWE United Kingdom Tournament 6/25/18 2017 Match #50: IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Kenny Omega – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 1/4/17 2016 Match #50: CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship: Trevor Lee (c) vs. Cedric Alexander – CWF Worldwide 5/18/16 2015 Match #50: NEVER Openweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Tomoaki Honma – NJPW Power Struggle 11/7/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 13, 2022 17:19:24 GMT -5
49. WWE United States Championship: Damian Priest [c] vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus – WWE Raw 8/30/21
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| It seems like every year, there is a random and unexpected triple threat match on Raw that becomes one of the best matches of the year. This year, it was this bout for the United States Title that pitted Damian Priest against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. People don’t talk about it enough but Priest had an impressive run as champion with some standout matches. This was the best as it saw him take on two fellow big men who hit hard. I’ve mentioned in the past that sometimes, wrestling is really simple. If you have three tough dudes in one match, just let them beat the hell out of each other and that’s exactly what happened here. This wasn’t fancy or featured tons of high spots. Just bruisers being bruising. I liked the way the Sheamus/McIntyre feud from earlier in the year was utilized without overshadowing Priest’s involvement. That’s a tough balancing act but this match nailed it. There were great close calls down the stretch, including one where the Claymore was interrupted by a huge running knee. Priest countered a backbreaker into The Reckoning to retain his gold at the 21:30 mark. An underrated gem by many. [****¼] |
*This is the final appearance of Damian Priest and Sheamus. *It is the last match from Monday Night Raw. *There are no more WWE United States TItle matches.
2020 Match #49: Io Shirai vs. Sasha Banks – NXT The Great American Bash 7/1/20 2019 Match #49: NEVER Openweight Championship: KENTA [c] vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW Power Struggle 2018 Match #49: IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW Sakura Genesis 4/1/18 2017 Match #49: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yuji Nagata – NJPW G1 Climax 8/1/17 2016 Match #49: WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Battleground 7/24/16 2015 Match #49: Open the Twin Gate Championship: Verserk (c) vs. Monster Express – Dragon Gate The Gate of Destiny 11/1/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 13, 2022 22:16:51 GMT -5
48. Money in the Bank Qualifying Last Man Standing Match: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – WWE Smackdown 7/2/21
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| It’s not often than qualifying matches are great. That could be the case for Royal Rumbles, Survivor Series, Elimination Chambers, Money in the Bank, or almost anything else. They’re typically entertaining and get to the bigger match. However, an exception was this episode of Smackdown, which saw Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn reignite their rivalry in a Last Man Standing match. Given 23:31, Owens and Zayn had one of their great matches as the two really do not miss together. They spent the early portion setting things up, giving it a bit of a slower start than you might want but once it got going, it did not let up. Instead of holding things back and saving energy for MITB, these two went out and put on a brutal match. You believed they wanted to hurt each other and inflict as much damage on the other. Owens went through tables while Zayn took multiple powerbombs. There was a tremendous tease of a finish when Zayn hit three straight Helluva Kicks and Owens was out of it, only for him to roll outside to his feet and survive. It was smart and didn’t make it seem like he just popped up from big offense. After the three powerbombs that Zayn took (two through tables and one onto the apron in a fantastic callback to Owens’s NXT debut), he stayed down for the count and Owens advanced to another vicious match. [****¼] |
*This is the last appearance of Sami Zayn.
2020 Match #48: Jay White vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 10/16/20 2019 Match #48: Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 7/30/19 2018 Match #48: NXT Tag Team Championship: The Undisputed Era [c] vs. Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan – NXT TakeOver: Chicago 6/16/18 2017 Match #48: Cueto Cup Finals: Pentagon Dark vs. Prince Puma – Lucha Underground 8/23/17 2016 Match #48: World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs. Mayu Iwatani – Stardom Gold 5/15/16 2015 Match #48: Kazuchika Okada vs. Yuji Nagata – NJPW G1 Climax 8/12/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 14, 2022 9:34:18 GMT -5
47. Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: Grizzled Young Veterans vs. MSK – NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day
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| For the most part, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic has produced some quality matches since its inception. 2021 was no different on both the men’s and women’s sides. I gushed about how great TakeOver: Vengeance Day was and a big reason was that it had different styles all throughout. For the frantic match filled with wild high spots, you had this finals of the tournament pitting MSK against Grizzled Young Veterans. GYV work in the same vein as FTR in that they aren’t the fancy team that will do the big spots but they work incredibly well with those duos. That was the case here as they worked the technical more grounded style while still throwing in things like hard hitting offense and a few aerial spots. Meanwhile, they allowed MSK to showcase their skills, getting in almost countless high spots to make the crowd adore them. The final few minutes of this 18:25 encounter was absolutely breathtaking and helped cement that GYV are one of WWE’s most underrated teams ever and that MSK had potential to be a huge high flying tandem. Nash Carter did most of the selling while Wes Lee hit the ridiculous stuff to pop the crowd. MSK won with a Blockbuster/Hart Attack combo. [****¼] |
*This is the final match from the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. *It is the last appearance of both MSK and Grizzled Young Veterans.
2020 Match #47: Hiromu Takahashi vs. SHO – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 12/2/20 2019 Match #47: WWE Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar [c] vs. Finn Balor – WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Match #47: WWE Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Semi-Finals: Cedric Alexander vs. Roderick Strong – WWE 205 Live 3/13/18 2017 Match #47: Best of the Super Juniors Finals: KUSHIDA vs. Will Ospreay – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 6/3/17 2016 Match #47: NEVER Openweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly – NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10/10/16 2015 Match #47: IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – NJPW Destruction in Kobe 9/27/15
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