|
Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 19, 2023 15:21:52 GMT -5
5. IWGP Tag Team Championship: FTR [c] vs. Aussie Open – NJPW Royal Quest II
|
| There was a lot of hype coming into this. Aussie Open is one of the fastest rising teas in the world while FTR is the best tag team on the planet. Putting them together when both are having the best year of their respective careers was a recipe for success. These duos put on a 31:59 epic. Almost immediately, Mark Davis chopped Dax Harwood so hard that he cut his chest open and Dax responded by beating Davis’ chest red. That set the tone for something magical. After a feeling out process where each team strutted their stuff, this picked up with big offense like a dive outside and even an homage to the World’s Greatest Tag Team. There were so many brilliant spots throughout this and they did one of my favorite things in wrestling, which is to give us great near falls late without overdoing finisher kickouts and things like that. I appreciated them lifting an old Revival spot as Fletcher blocked Davis from tapping out and slapped him to the point where he fired up. It showed how important the match was. It finally ended with the Big Rig, capping one of the best FTR matches in history. [****¾] |
*This is the final appearance of Aussie Open. *It is the last match from Royal Quest II. *There are no more IWGP Tag Team Title matches.
2021 Match #5: Bryan Danielson vs. Minoru Suzuki – AEW Rampage Buy-In 10/15/21 2020 Match #5: AEW Tag Team Championship: Hangman Page and Kenny Omega [c] vs. The Young Bucks – AEW Revolution 2019 Match #5: IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kenny Omega [c] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13 2018 Match #5: Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT TakeOver: War Games 11/17/18 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
|
|
|
Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 19, 2023 17:48:12 GMT -5
4. ROH World Tag Team Championship Double Dog Collar Match: FTR [c] vs. The Briscoes – ROH Final Battle
|
| Capping a great trilogy is no easy task as many movie series have found out. The same goes for wrestling trilogies though we get fantastic cappers more often than not whether it’s Seth Rollins vs. Edge from 2021, Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega from 2017, or Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne also from 2017. FTR and the Briscoes fittingly wrapped up their rivalry at Final Battle, upping the ante from two traditional tag bouts to a Double Dog Collar match. This was pure violence and the teams bled buckets, giving this an old school feel that was right up FTR’s alley. For 22:20, this was explosive and featured some wild moments. Things like a dog collar Gory Special choke, a referee getting busted open, and a spike piledriver onto a pile of chairs all made for something that any wrestling fan should see. Dax tapped when trapped in a submission with the chain as the Briscoes finally bested FTR in a classic, which also triggered a losing streak for the former champions. [****¾] |
*This is the final match from Final Battle. *It is the last Dog Collar match.
2021 Match #4: WWE Smackdown Women's Championship: Sasha Banks [c] vs. Bianca Belair – WWE WrestleMania Night One 2020 Match #4: WWE Smackdown Women's Championship Hell In A Cell Match: Bayley [c] vs. Sasha Banks – WWE Hell in a Cell 2019 Match #4: Shingo Takagi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 8/8/19 2018 Match #4: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 6/4/18 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
|
|
lionheart21
Patti Mayonnaise
Once did a thing...
Posts: 30,567
|
Post by lionheart21 on Jan 19, 2023 17:55:06 GMT -5
I do like that my favorite match of of 2022 is most likely gonna be in your top 3
|
|
|
Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 19, 2023 19:54:49 GMT -5
3. AEW Trios Championship Tournament Finals: The Dark Order & Hangman Page vs. The Elite – AEW All Out
|
| Almost immediately the intertwining storylines came into play as Matt Jackson got beat up on his damaged lower back and Page stopped Dark Order from furthering their assault. Matt tagged out rather than fight Hangman, giving us Page/Omega though that was short-lived as Silver blind tagged in. That set up a portion of the match where the teams started trading stuff. The Elite work seamlessly together while Dark Order and Hangman had good stuff going. Silver had a great little moment where he took out his opponents, Nakazawa, and Landon. Dark Order came close with a big series of moves on Omega though nobody believed they’d pin him. If Kenny ate the fall, it would be to Hangman. It was all really good stuff here and we finally got the actual Hangman/Kenny interaction. Their back and forth was nuts and just what you’d want from these two. As Hangman set for the Buckshot Lariat, Matt stopped him outside in the same position he was in when he let him do it at Full Gear. Hangman went for it anyway, Kenny ducked, and Nick hit him with his own Buckshot Lariat in a fantastic spot. Silver countering the One Winged Angel into a rollup was one of the best near falls in recent memory. Hangman tried the Buckshot but Kenny ducked and it hit Silver. Kenny quickly covered and the Elite won in 19:49. An incredible match where the action was as good as you’d expect but what put it over the top was the layered storytelling. The callbacks and emotion were everything. Hangman nis now back at square one emotionally and he’s going to be crushed by this. [****¾] |
*This is the final appearance of Hangman Page, The Dark Order, and The Elite. *It is the last match from AEW and All Out.
2021 Match #3: Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega – AEW Dynamite Grand Slam 2020 Match #3: NXT United Kingdom Championship: WALTER [c] vs. Ilja Dragunov – NXT UK 10/29/20 2019 Match #3: WWE Championship: Daniel Bryan [c] vs. Kofi Kingston – WWE WrestleMania 2018 Match #3: WWE Smackdown Women's Championship TLC Match: Becky Lynch [c] vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte – WWE TLC 12/16/18 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
|
|
|
Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 19, 2023 22:41:13 GMT -5
2. ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Briscoes [c] vs. FTR – ROH Supercard of Honor
|
| The ROH/AEW stuff has been hit or miss but there was still excitement when Supercard of Honor came around. The majority of that excitement came from The Briscoes going up against FTR. One of the best and most consistent tag teams from the past two decades against the guys who have been the best team in the world since about 2016. The crowd was rabid before the bell, proving how highly anticipated this match was. These are hard hitting teams so even though there weren’t any hardcore stipulations here, blood was shed. They built up to the big near falls extremely well while never feeling like they were overdoing them. In a lot of ways, this felt like the ideal FTR match as it was kind of the definition of “no flips, just fists.” It was two teams kicking ass for 27:30 and felt different from a lot of major tags in other companies, even AEW. The finish came with Big Rig, capping my pick for the second best match in each team’s career (FTR vs. DIY in Toronto is my top tag match ever, while I gave five stars to Briscoes/MCMG in 2007. [****¾] |
*It is the final appearance of FTR and the Briscoes. *This is the last match from Supercard of Honor and ROH. *There are no more ROH Tag Team Title matches.
2021 Match #2: IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Championships: Kota Ibushi [c] vs. Jay White – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night Two 2020 Match #2: NXT Championship: Finn Bálor [c] vs. Kyle O'Reilly – NXT TakeOver 31 2019 Match #2: NXT North American Championship: Ricochet [c] vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT TakeOver: Phoenix 2018 Match #2: Chicago Street Fight: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa – NXT TakeOver: Chicago 6/16/18 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
|
|
|
Post by 1 Free Moon-Down with Burger on Jan 19, 2023 22:48:08 GMT -5
Whoa those ROH tag belts. I completely forgot about that look
|
|
|
Post by Some Baritone guy IS REDEEMED! on Jan 20, 2023 8:56:39 GMT -5
Obviously #1 is Flair and Andrade Vs. Lethal and Jarrett. I mean what could possibly top that?!
|
|
|
Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 20, 2023 10:59:43 GMT -5
1. WWE Intercontinental Championship: Gunther [c] vs. Sheamus – WWE Clash at the Castle
|
| Giovanni Vinci was back with his old buddies and they were dubbed Imperium. GUNTHER HAD THE TRENCHCOAT TOO. I LOST MY SHIT. They did the thing again where the goons brawled as Gunther and Sheamus just stood there face to face. We were like 20 seconds into this and Sheamus’s chest was already red. This felt like a struggle from the start with them jockeying for position and battling for control, including Gunther avoiding the 10 Beats multiple times. Gunther took the upper hand first, lighting up Sheamus with chops and forearms. It was brutal. Sheamus got his ass kicked until he finally caught a chop and started returning the favor. He finally got the 10 Beats to work over the announce table, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. He added more on the apron and over the guardrail because we all love a good marathon. They did exactly what we all wanted, which was beat the shit out of each other. It wasn’t until White Noise nearly 15 minutes in that we got a near fall, which is something I really like. They got a standing ovation midway through. The close call on the Celtic Cross was pretty tremendous. Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick but his damaged back gave out and Gunther capitalized with a powerbomb. Both men got up hype and Gunther laid Sheamus out with a lariat to retain in 19:35. Incredible. That was everything I wanted and more, with Sheamus delivering another great match and Gunther continuing to prove that he’s the best on the planet right now. Gunther/WALTER has topped this list three times in the past four years. [****¾] |
2021 Match #1: NXT United Kingdom Championship: WALTER [c] vs. Ilja Dragunov – NXT TakeOver 36 2020 Match #1: Best of the Super Juniors Finals: El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals 2019 Match #1: WWE United Kingdom Championship: WALTER [c] vs. Tyler Bate – NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff 2018 Match #1: NXT Championship: Andrade Almas [c] vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia 1/27/18 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
|
|
coleslaw
Don Corleone
Steve Sniffs
Posts: 2,028
|
Post by coleslaw on Jan 20, 2023 11:05:44 GMT -5
Just curious, what kept you from giving Sheamus/Gunther the full *****?
|
|
lionheart21
Patti Mayonnaise
Once did a thing...
Posts: 30,567
|
Post by lionheart21 on Jan 20, 2023 11:30:31 GMT -5
No shocker for #1, that was my top match as well. Just everything about it worked.
The pre match build, the match itself, and culminating with Sheamus getting a standing ovation from his own people.
|
|
|
Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 20, 2023 11:56:45 GMT -5
Just curious, what kept you from giving Sheamus/Gunther the full *****? I don't know if I can point to anything specific. The full five is just really rare for me. I've only given out like 30 or so in history.
|
|
4real
Wade Wilson
Posts: 27,844
|
Post by 4real on Jan 20, 2023 12:05:59 GMT -5
1. WWE Intercontinental Championship: Gunther [c] vs. Sheamus – WWE Clash at the Castle
|
| Giovanni Vinci was back with his old buddies and they were dubbed Imperium. GUNTHER HAD THE TRENCHCOAT TOO. I LOST MY SHIT. They did the thing again where the goons brawled as Gunther and Sheamus just stood there face to face. We were like 20 seconds into this and Sheamus’s chest was already red. This felt like a struggle from the start with them jockeying for position and battling for control, including Gunther avoiding the 10 Beats multiple times. Gunther took the upper hand first, lighting up Sheamus with chops and forearms. It was brutal. Sheamus got his ass kicked until he finally caught a chop and started returning the favor. He finally got the 10 Beats to work over the announce table, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. He added more on the apron and over the guardrail because we all love a good marathon. They did exactly what we all wanted, which was beat the shit out of each other. It wasn’t until White Noise nearly 15 minutes in that we got a near fall, which is something I really like. They got a standing ovation midway through. The close call on the Celtic Cross was pretty tremendous. Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick but his damaged back gave out and Gunther capitalized with a powerbomb. Both men got up hype and Gunther laid Sheamus out with a lariat to retain in 19:35. Incredible. That was everything I wanted and more, with Sheamus delivering another great match and Gunther continuing to prove that he’s the best on the planet right now. Gunther/WALTER has topped this list three times in the past four years. [****¾] |
2021 Match #1: NXT United Kingdom Championship: WALTER [c] vs. Ilja Dragunov – NXT TakeOver 36 2020 Match #1: Best of the Super Juniors Finals: El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals 2019 Match #1: WWE United Kingdom Championship: WALTER [c] vs. Tyler Bate – NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff 2018 Match #1: NXT Championship: Andrade Almas [c] vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia 1/27/18 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
I was there live and it was amazing. Wish I could relive that again. The ovation Sheamus got after the match from the crowd was so heartwarming for a guy who got a lot of shit from fans over the year but we always respected his talent. He’s had a great couple of years and this topped it off. Great to see it was your Number 1. Funny but on the night I actually thought Reigns v McIntyre was better probably because I was so invested in Drew beating Roman and getting that moment that in the end didn’t happen. There was definitely a lot of hype for Sheamus v Gunther before the match happened and it more than delivered. Also quick shout out to Gunther who has been the strongest IC champ in years. His matches on Smackdown with Ricochet & Rey Mysterio recently have been complete bangers. I’m hopefully looking forward to a Sheamus v Gunther rematch at Mania possibly with McIntyre thrown into the mix?
|
|
|
Post by 1 Free Moon-Down with Burger on Jan 20, 2023 12:39:07 GMT -5
Obviously #1 is Flair and Andrade Vs. Lethal and Jarrett. I mean what could possibly top that?! The Kingston/Jericho shark cage barbed wire bonanza!
|
|
|
Post by ronnie2hotty on Jan 20, 2023 12:49:30 GMT -5
Now that the final match has been posted, here’s a stats rundown of the entire list.
A few notes first: - I assigned an identical point value as the star rating, for example 4 stars became 4 points, 4 ¾ stars became 4.75 points, etc.) - I counted the 33 honorable mentions in all these stats (because, if you got ‘em, why not use ‘em right?) - For Forbidden Door, I counted that as AEW since it was an AEW production - For Ring of Honor stuff, if a match took place on an AEW show (Dynamite or Rampage), I counted it as AEW. If it took place on a ROH show (one of their ppv’s), I counted it as Ring of Honor - NXT and NXT UK were considered separate entities. For the World’s Collide show, it was counted as NXT since it was NXT produced. - For WWE, Raw and Smackdown were not separated into separate brands. It was all considered WWE.
Total Promotion Ratings 1. 214 points - AEW, 51 matches listed 2. 159.25 points - NJPW, 38 matches listed 3. 125 points - WWE, 30 matches listed 4. 28.5 points - NXT, 7 matches listed 5. 18 points - ROH, 4 matches listed 6. 8 points - NXT UK, 2 matches listed 7. 4.25 points - Stardom, 1 match listed
Total Show Ratings (only shows with 2+ matches listed) 1. 17.75 points - AEW All Out, 9/4 2. 17.5 points – WWE Clash at the Castle, 9/3 3. 13 points – AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, 6/26 4. 12.5 points – NJPW G1 Climax Night 12, 9/7 4. 12.5 points – AEW Dynamite, 9/7 4. 12.5 points – AEW Full Gear, 11/19 7. 12.25 points – AEW Double or Nothing, 5/29 8. 9 points – AEW Revolution, 3/6 9. 8.5 points – NJPW New Japan Cup, 3/21 9. 8.5 points – WWE WrestleMania 38 Night One, 4/2 9. 8.5 points – WWE WrestleMania Backlash, 5/8 9. 8.5 points – ROH Death Before Dishonor, 7/23 9. 8.5 points – WWE Crown Jewel, 11/5 14. 8.25 points – WWE Royal Rumble, 1/29 14. 8.25 points – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Night 9, 5/26 14. 8.25 points – NXT Worlds Collide, 9/4 14. 8.25 points – WWE Survivor Series, 11/26 18. 8 points – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom Night 1, 1/4 18. 8 points – NXT Halloween Havoc, 10/22 18. 8 points – WWE Smackdown, 11/11
Total Wrestler Ratings (Top 50) 1. 48.25 points – Dax Harwood 2. 47.25 points – Bryan Danielson 3. 38 points – Will Ospreay 4. 36.5 points – Rey Fenix 5. 35.75 points – Cash Wheeler 6. 33.75 points – Jon Moxley 7. 30 points – Matt Jackson 7. 30 points – Nick Jackson 9. 29.25 points – Daniel Garcia 9. 29.25 points – El Desperado 11. 28.75 points – Kazuchika Okada 12. 28.5 points – Penta Ciero Miedo 13. 25.5 points – Roman Reigns 13. 25.5 points – Shingo Takagi 15. 24.75 points – Bianca Belair 16. 24.5 points – PAC 16. 24.5 points – Wheeler Yuta 18. 21.75 points - Hiromu Takahashi 18. 21.75 points - CM Punk 18. 21.75 points – Hiroshi Tanahashi 18. 21.75 points - Seth Rollins 18. 21.75 points - Sheamus 18. 21.75 points - Tomohiro Ishii 24. 21 points – Zack Zabre Jr. 25. 20.75 points – Jey Uso 25. 20.75 points – Jimmy Uso 27. 20.5 points – Carmello Hayes 27. 20.5 points – Drew McIntyre 29. 17.75 points – Hangman Adam Page 29. 17.75 points – Gunther 31. 17.25 points – Kenny Omega 32. 16.75 points – Eddie Kingston 33. 16.5 points – Becky Lynch 33. 16.5 points – Claudio Castagnoli 33. 16.5 points – Tetsuya Naito 36. 16.25 points – Chris Jericho 36. 16.25 points – Sammy Guevara 38. 14 points – Mark Briscoe 38. 14 points – Jay Briscoe 40. 13 points – Kyle Fletcher 40. 13 points – Mark Davis 42. 12.75 points – Cody Rhodes 42. 12.75 points – Swerve Strickland 44. 12.5 points – Asuka 44. 12.5 points – Ricochet 44. 12.5 points – Taiji Ishimori 47. 12.25 points – Bayley 47. 12.25 points – Kevin Owens 48. 12.25 points – Matt Riddle 50. 12 points - YOH
|
|
coleslaw
Don Corleone
Steve Sniffs
Posts: 2,028
|
Post by coleslaw on Jan 20, 2023 12:51:03 GMT -5
Just curious, what kept you from giving Sheamus/Gunther the full *****? I don't know if I can point to anything specific. The full five is just really rare for me. I've only given out like 30 or so in history. Oh alright, right on. I just always wonder what keeps people from just saying "f*** it" and throwing in that last 1/4* lol
|
|