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Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 25, 2021 13:49:46 GMT -5
345. WWE Women's Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks – WWE WrestleMania 32
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| For the first time since Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James a decade prior, a women’s match felt like it actually belonged on the biggest show of the year. This wasn’t just the company throwing women on the card for the sake of it, it was actually one of the more hyped and promoted matches of the show. Charlotte entered as Divas Champion, but earlier in the night it was revealed that the Women’s Title would be returning to replace it, so nobody started with the gold. Add in Charlotte wearing a robe made from her dad’s last WWE match and Sasha Banks coming out with Snoop Dogg and you’ve got the ingredients for something special. Once the bell rang, these women went all out for the entire 16:01 duration. It’s as if they knew the success of the future of the division hinged on their performances. There were some sloppy moments that kept this match from reaching the heights of their NXT stuff, though I give them credit for doing their best to cover them up. WrestleMania jitters and all. Sasha paid tribute to Eddie Guerrero more than once, giving this some emotional impact. Even Ric Flair got in on the action, taking a bump for Becky. Charlotte would go on to win with help from her dad in the worst booking decision of that year, on the worst booked show of that year. This was Sasha or Becky’s night. Still, it is the best women’s match in WrestleMania history.
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344. Ladder Match: John Morrison vs. Sheamus – WWE TLC 2010
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| Remember the days of King Sheamus? Yeah, not many people do. This was also that odd time where people believed John Morrison was a legitimate WWE Title threat. On this night, the two added another chapter to their surprisingly fantastic rivalry, with a shot at the WWE Title on the line. A year prior, Sheamus won his first WWE Title in shocking fashion at this same event. This reminded me a lot of the Dolph Ziggler/Luke Harper ladder match at TLC four years later. It was a bruising big man against an athletic smaller guy. Morrison was much more creative with the ladder, pulling out some sweet offense that really fit into his role of being the parkour guy. The finish was cool as Sheamus took a huge spill through a ladder. When Morrison got close to winning, Sheamus somehow got up, showing how tough he is. It took one final kick from Morrison to keep him down long enough to retrieve the contract after 19:07. A star-making performance for Morrison that he followed up with a quality performance in a title match loss.
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343. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 26 7/18/16
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| Hiroyoshi Tenzan was disappointed when he wasn’t announced as part of the G1 Climax blocks in 2016. He is a former three-time winner and had competed in a record 19 straight G1's. His friend and partner Satoshi Kojima ended up giving up his spot in the tournament to Tenzan, who was looking for one final magical run. This was the first match of the entire G1 Climax that year and it got things going on the right foot. Tomohiro Ishii matched up well with Tenzan and they had some great interactions in multi-man tags during the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. Ishii didn’t seem to take the legend seriously at first, toying with him. That fired up Tenzan and things got heated to the point where the referee was tossed aside. They just dished out punishment on each other throughout the match, which lasted 14:08. There were several close calls as the match came to an end and while the things in the ring were indeed great, this got bumped to the next level by the stuff outside. The crowd was mental, badly wanting the Tenzan win, and Kojima nailed every facial expression as he supported his buddy. Tenzan won after using Koji’s lariat as a tribute to his friend and a moonsault. This felt way more important than a G1 opener. They badly mishandled the Tenzan’s last stand story as he would only win two matches the entire tournament. This was special though.
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342. Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs. The Shield – WWE Battleground 2013
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| Some folks were surprised at how well Cody Rhodes played the role of a top babyface in AEW. That didn’t shock me at all because he had all the makings of one in WWE and this feud showed it. He was phenomenal during it. The storyline was fantastic here, as jobs were lost at the hands of The Authority. However, Goldust and Cody had one more shot, with their dad’s job on the line as well, against the Tag Team Champions, The Shield. The match itself was fantastic, as these four had spectacular chemistry together. It also lasted just the right amount of time, going 13:54 and working as an ideal first outing between them. Dusty Rhodes being at ringside and taking out Dean Ambrose was an awesome moment. Cody put down Seth Rollins with Cross Rhodes to win, giving fans one of the most emotional moments of the entire decade. There are plenty of better matches on the list but this is right near the top of my personal favorites.
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341. Hell in a Cell: Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon – WWE Hell in a Cell 2017
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| Kevin Owens attacking Vince McMahon was one of the best segments all year. It led to Shane McMahon taking on Owens inside Hell in a Cell. Shane jumped Owens during his entrance, which made me think they’d go the Seth/Dean or Taker/Foley route and climb to the top early. Instead, the match moved inside. Owens was a phenomenal heel, beating up Shane in front of his kids and taunting them. Though the segment in the ring took a long time, there were some cool moments. Shane’s SSP, Owens hitting the frog splash he used on Vince and Shane countering a Popup Powerbomb into a triangle choke were all great. And that was before Owens went through a table and Shane did the Coast to Coast dropkick. The fight went back outside, where Owens teased leaping off the cell, but he couldn’t bring himself to do what Shane is famous for. Shane followed him to the roof, where things got incredibly tense. Each move done there seemed like it would cause the roof to cave in. Owens took a table bump from about halfway up the cell. Shane probably could’ve won there, but wanted to inflict more damage. He climbed back up and went for the big elbow off the cell, only for Owens to be pulled to safety by SAMI ZAYN! Sami shoved EMTs and placed Owens on Shane for the finish at 38:43. It was long, but the drama and tension worked so well. Both men played their roles perfectly and the fight atop the cell made for some true nail-biting moments. This felt like something that belonged in this environment and the surprise Sami turn was a great ending.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 26, 2021 7:58:48 GMT -5
340. Dragon Lee vs. Hiromu Takahashi – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5/25/18
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| During NJPW’s annual tournaments, they throw a few shows on in “single-camera” format. These are like house shows, with basically only a hard camera and no commentary. It’s often hard to get into matches like this, but not when they involve Dragon Lee and Hiromu Takahashi. There’s a reason this is the best rivalry in wrestling. In an awesome moment, Lee came out wearing Hiromu’s mask from his Kamaitachi days. If you’ve seen them wrestle before, you know what this was about. Two guys throwing everything at one another at a crazy pace. Their knowledge of one another led to a wild number of counters and their history meant they came prepared with brutal strikes. Hiromu kicked out of Desnucadora, becoming the only guy in NJPW to do so. Still, Lee hit a diving double stomp and the Dragon Driver to obtain the win in 20:48. They’ve wrestled a ton of times, yet it never feels like they’re just playing the hits. They always manage to keep things fresh and this was no different. Two of the best in the world having an excellent match as part of their phenomenal series.
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339. WWE United Kingdom Championship: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Zack Gibson – NXT United Kingdom Tournament 6/26/18
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| A night prior, Zack Gibson won the United Kingdom Tournament to earn this title shot. Pete Dunne entered as the dominant champion, having reigned with the title for over a year. These guys had such a fantastic dynamic. Dunne is wildly popular, while Gibson is the most hated wrestler in the United Kingdom. Hell, he might be most hated in the entire world. The fans were so into this, there was an “IF YOU HATE GIBSON, SHOES OFF” chant that led to many fans taking off their shoes. Gibson won the tournament by being aggressive, so he kept that up here. Dunne brought that same energy and it led to some great, intense exchanges from both. They survived the big shots from the other (Bitter End and Helter Skelter), but when Dunne got put in the Shankly Gates, the fans believed that was it. That’s how well the move was put over during the tournament. While Dunne survived, Gibson made a crucial mistake of not taking immediate advantage. Dunne snapped his fingers and hit the Bitter End to retain in 17:45. Two men who played their roles perfectly and did so in front of a hot crowd. It’s simple, yet effective.
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338. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 27 8/6/17
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| With the G1 Climax winding down, a win for Tomohiro Ishii here would’ve kept him alive, while one for Hiroshi Tanahashi set the stage for it to come down to himself and Tetsuya Naito. In the G1 23, Ishii beat Tanahashi in a classic, while Tanahashi bested him in their next two G1 meetings. Ishii was the aggressor early. He was winning the battle of strikes, so Tanahashi took it to his knee and looked for the Texas Cloverleaf. In a great twist, Ishii hit a dragon screw and busted out a Sharpshooter. I love that move. Unfortunately, I never bought it as a potential finish. I only believe Tanahashi would tap to a more established move, or something to his injured arm. Anyway, things picked up late as the guys racked up the near falls. They survived the signature offense of the other before Tanahashi won with two High Fly Flows in 23:30. These guys are always awesome together. They brought intensity and drama, especially down the stretch. Ishii was the G1 MVP in 2017.
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337. Adam Cole vs. AJ Styles – ROH War of the Worlds 5/12/15
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| On the shelf for five months, Adam Cole made his return here and did so in a huge match. Cole faced the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion and instantly showed that ring rust wasn’t going to be a problem. Outside of a Bloody Sunday on the apron, which was sick, there weren’t many points of this match that made you jump out of seat and say “wow.” However, it was smartly worked. Cole picked up a few near falls that made you actually believe he would beat the IWGP Champion, even though you knew in your heart that it wouldn’t happen. Cole’s shoulder injury came into play, sold more by commentary pointing out that he returned about four months earlier than expected. Cole was unable to lift Styles at a few points, including on a Styles Clash attempt. He was able to hit it with help from the ropes, but outside of a few superkicks, he couldn’t hit any of his own finishers. Styles went into a bit of a piledriver barrage, nailing two or three painful looking ones before using the Styles Clash to pick up the win at 17:34. Cole had a solid 2015 but I expect him to be on this list a lot more next year, hopefully including a rematch between these two.
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336. IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito [c] vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW G1 Supercard
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| I spent most of the G1 Supercard waiting for the show to get great. The dumpster fire that is Ring of Honor kept dragging the show down while New Japan was dealing out solid stuff. It picked up with Sabre/Tanahashi but peaked with this encounter. Tetsuya Naito and Kota Ibushi can make magic together in the ring. Their match in the G1 Climax 27 is one of my all-time favorites. They can also scare the hell out of anyone watching them. Within minutes, they were dumping each other on their heads for the Madison Square Garden faithful. Everything looked fantastic, terrifying, and enthralling. It’s a strange mix that only these two seem to manage to pull off. The pace down the stretch was absolutely ridiculous. Their chemistry always wows me. Destino wasn’t enough to win because that’s just who Naito is at this point. Ibushi went nuts in the final moments, hitting all sorts of knee strikes and offense. He ultimately used Kamigoye at the 20:53 mark to finally win the Intercontinental Title. Not their best work but that just shows how great these two are when they’re together.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 26, 2021 20:07:24 GMT -5
335. New Japan Cup Semifinals: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA – NJPW New Japan Cup 2019
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| SANADA is such an interesting case because he’s always teetering on greatness but never quite reaching it. If there’s one man who has brought out the best in him throughout his career, it is Hiroshi Tanahashi. And why not? He’s the Ace for a reason. Nobody makes SANADA look like a star the way Tanahashi has. Their two matches in 2016 both got ****¼ from me. SANADA had the crowd behind him as this was near his hometown but Tanahashi is wise enough to understand how to combat that disadvantage. The story of both men learning under Keiji Mutoh came into play once again. It always adds a nice bit of depth whenever they square off. They had each other well scouted which set up great exchanges. I loved Tanahashi getting a near fall when he got his knees up on a moonsault. It was simple yet worked because he knew SANADA plays that card often and because Tanahashi won an earlier tourney match with a flash pin. In fact, SANADA countered the pin that won that previous outing into the Skull End for the best moment of the match. That turned out to be the finish, as Tanahashi gave up after 24:11. Once again, this combination delivered a great match.
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334. IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Zack Sabre Jr.- NJPW Sakura Genesis 2018
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| One thing that has remained true in NJPW is that Kazuchika Okada (and Kenny Omega for that matter) is at his best when taken out of his comfort zone. Think the G1 match with Omega or the Shibata title defense. Zack Sabre Jr. was here to do just that. Sabre dominated the New Japan Cup and won by submission in every match. He was out to bring submission wrestling back to the forefront. A staple of Okada defenses is that he was obsessed with beating guys at their own game. He tried hard, but was no match for Zack on the mat. When he realized that was going nowhere, he tried going to his reliable arsenal. Didn’t matter. I loved how Zack simply caught his signature dropkick into a submission. He had stuff ready for Okada’s elbow and even for the Rainmaker pose. A guy like Okada does the same thing in every match, so a smart wrestler would logically have him scouted. Okada had to dig deep and be the resilient babyface. He was more aggressive than usual in his comeback and it worked. Still, Sabre had some close calls on his pinning combinations and even on the Shinsuke Nakamura armbar, which called back to the only time Okada tapped in his career. Okada went into Rainmaker mode late and retained with three of them after 34:58. One of Okada’s best defenses thanks to going away from the usual formula. They told a stellar story and made me believe Sabre might steal it.
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333. IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura [c] vs. Naomichi Marufuji – NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2013
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| On almost any NJPW show that I put on, Shinsuke Nakamura will be the reigning Intercontinental Champion. Now, Naomichi Marufuji is someone who I saw live multiple times in Ring of Honor back in 2007, 2008, and 2009. These two go back and forth early on, with neither gaining the upper hand and just trying to test each other out. Marufuji gets the first big spot with a sick piledriver on the apron. I don’t think I’ve seen that before. Marufuji goes after the neck following this and works it consistently, with Nakamura doing a good job of selling it. It also sets up for Marufuji’s finish, Shiranui. Nakamura wisely has done his homework and has this very well scouted, blocking it numerous times. They go into a fantastic finishing stretch, where Nakamura nails two Boma Ye’s to retain after a tremendous 16:18. An often overlooked gem.
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332. Aleister Black vs. Buddy Murphy – WWE TLC 2019
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| I talk often about how matches don’t need to be long to be great. This is a shining example. Aleister Black and Buddy Murphy at TLC was a simple setup. These are two of the best wrestlers on the planet who were underutilized in 2019. But they were given the opportunity to shine on the final pay-per-view of the year and they made the best of it. They were given 13:40 and put on an incredible show. Murphy showed no intimidation and sat across from Black at the bell. That set the tone for a fantastic back and forth contest. Black was busted open within minutes. I loved how they managed to work around their usual spots when the other guy countered them. Like when Black blocked a sunset flip bomb so Murphy just unleashed a fury of superkicks instead. The near falls late were tremendous, particularly the one after Murphy’s Brainbuster. The finish was also one of my favorites of 2019. They went into an incredible exchange of kicks and strikes, with Black hitting Black Mass from out of nowhere. An outstanding gem that should catapult both guys into the next level of superstardom.
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331. WWE World Championship: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Money in the Bank 2016
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| Like Styles/Cena on the same night, this had a big fight feel to it. It started a bit slow. I originally didn't love that but liked it more on a second watch. Once they got past that and started playing to their strengths, this picked up. Rollins showed no ring rust and having him back was very welcome. At the time, Reigns was at his best when being led by a superior, more experienced performer, which he had here. For some reason though, I found his 2015 matches (Bryan, Lesnar, etc.) better than his 2016. This didn’t suffer from the issues that plagued some of Reigns' early 2016 bouts. It kicked into high gear late in a way that I didn't appreciate the first time around. The best part was Rollins countering the Spear with a mid-air Pedigree. Though Reigns kicked out of that, he fell to another Pedigree, taking his first clean loss ever in 25:59. Fantastic.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 27, 2021 10:59:42 GMT -5
330. WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Gran Metalik vs. TJ Perkins – WWE Cruiserweight Classic
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| When the Cruiserweight Classic participants were announced, I doubt anyone predicted this final. Most people expected the men they beat in the semi-finals, Kota Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr., to be here. Instead, we got Gran Metalik and TJ Perkins. Both guys delivered great matches throughout the tournament and deserved to be here. Before the match, Triple H came out and introduced the Cruiserweight Title for the winner, upping the stakes of these finals. I appreciated that TJ was a different guy on this final event. There was no dabbing or anything like that. You could tell this was a serious match with important stakes. He wisely tried to ground Metalik but the Mexican star still got free for some of his signature stuff. He made sure to show that he could hang on the mat too, stretching Perkins a few times. The rest of this 17:48 match saw them trade some great moments. A highlight saw Metalik snap off a great rana off the apron and another came when Perkins caught a running shooting star press into the knee bar. TJ kept trying the knee bar, getting closer and close to winning. Metalik hit the Metalik Driver but the knee was too beat up to cover in time. He went for an avalanche version but TJ somehow countered into the knee bar to win the CWC. An excellent capper to a fun tournament. They wrestled an exciting, smart, back and forth match in front of a hot crowd. Too bad TJ is a tool.
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329. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yuji Nagata – NJPW G1 Climax 27 8/1/17
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| One of the best things about the G1 Climax in 2017 was Yuji Nagata’s string of performances. In his final tournament run, he put on some of his best work in years. These two came out trading blows as you’d expect. Unlike their past matches, Nagata showed his age, getting worn out early. However, once Ishii started in with disrespectful slaps, everybody’s favorite dad fired up and dished out as much as he was taking. Nagata came into the match with no points and was giving everything he had to not finish the tournament without a win in his final run. It was now Ishii’s turn to sell Nagata’s strikes like death. Their exchanges down the stretch were remarkable. When Nagata scored with the brainbuster, everyone believed he had finally done it, but Ishii got the shoulder up at the very last second. That was it for Nagata, though, as he fell moments later to a brainbuster of Ishii’s own. This was a tremendous 13:59. On its own, this match ruled, but when you add in Nagata’s G1 story and his desperation to get his first win, you’ve got an absolute winner. I enjoyed this much more on my second viewing.
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328. Kazuchika Okada vs. Roderick Strong – ROH Field of Honor 2015
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| The IWGP Heavyweight Champion visited Ring of Honor to face Mr. ROH. The kind of match that you expect when two companies work together. There were no titles on the line or any pre-existing feuds, it was just two of the best competitors on the planet facing off to see who is better. Things started out slowly, with both guys getting a feel for each other. Roderick Strong channeled his PWG heel persona, getting vicious with a back suplex on the guardrail. Strong did his homework and had the Rainmaker scouted excellently, countering it multiple times. That forced Kazuchika Okada to dig deep and bring out not one, but two Tombstones. Everything that these two men did, as usual, was just so crisp and well-executed. When Okada finally hit the Rainmaker, after four or five tries, it felt extremely earned, like he was just in a grueling match. The match went 17:23 and really got going once they passed the feeling out process.
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327. Falls Count Anywhere Match: Hideo Itami vs. Mustafa Ali – WWE 205 Live 10/24/18
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| There weren’t many wrestlers more consistently good in 2018 than Mustafa Ali. I’m talking across all promotions. You might not have expected it, but his finest moments came in specialty matches. Meanwhile, since turning heel, Hideo Itami had also been better thanks to a more aggressive style. I loved that this match made good use of the stipulation. Far too often, we get Falls Count Anywhere matches that are just your typical Hardcore match. This one saw most of the action take place outside of the squared circle. The fight went into the crowd, onto the ramp, and they barely spent time in the ring. That’s a good thing. Both wrestlers found ways to incorporate creative spots, like Ali running up the steel steps for a tornado DDT. Special shoutout to Itami for being the only guy to sell moving the steel steps like they really weigh hundreds of pounds. They saved their best for last in this 15:22 war. Ali delivered one of the best 450 splashes you’ll ever see, putting Itami through a table outside. It got him the win and added another feather to his cap for having one of the best 2018s of anyone in wrestling.
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326. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 26 7/30/16
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| Not only was this a match with my two favorite NJPW wrestlers, but they are also two of my ten favorites anywhere. They had a great match in the 2015 G1 Climax, which is where I became a fan of both guys. Katsuyori Shibata was having none of Tetsuya Naito’s bullshit. He charged and kicked him in the face instantly before viciously throwing him into the guardrails outside. Once Naito turned things around, he targeted the bad shoulder and knee of Shibata. Disrespectful Naito made the mistake of spitting at Shibata and got his ass kicked for it. There was a rather lengthy submission spot in the middle that slowed things down a bit too much. It made sense but went for too long. I did love how it played into Naito’s newfound knee bar. Once that was over though, this got great. Stiff shot after stiff shot led to Naito coughing up blood after the final bell. Naito got the knee bar on and Shibata’s injury made his struggle more dramatic. Shibata fought free and slapped on the sleeper hold. He hit the penalty kick but knew how tough Naito was so he went back to the sleeper instead of trying for the pin. Naito passed out at 19:24 to end one of the best G1 Climax matches in 2016. Two of the very best just doing what they do best.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 28, 2021 10:03:39 GMT -5
325. Weapons of Mass Destruction Match: Killshot vs. Marty Martinez – Lucha Underground 9/14/16
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| During the first two seasons of Lucha Underground, Killshot and Marty Martinez were two guys that had been underutilized. Killshot showed loads of potential in small doses, while Martinez absolutely nailed his insane creeper character. Given a main event opportunity in season three, they more than delivered. Marty stole Killshot’s dog tags (important to him due to his time at war) and their feud led to this. A “Weapons of Mass Destruction” match is basically a military-themed weapons match. Like any good brawl, this felt personal. Killshot attacked during Marty’s entrance and busted him open with a gun. They used their environment well, with most of the weapons coming into play and Marty taking ring announcer Melissa Santos (who he always creeps on) hostage. There was a death valley driver on a ladder, a superplex onto a crate, and a powerbomb from the ring through two tables outside. Nothing was off-limits. Marty’s sister, Mariposa, tried to interfere but got put through a table for her efforts. When Killshot’s double stomp failed to win things, he knew he had to up the ante. Killshot snatched his dog tags back from Marty as they fought atop a ladder. Standing atop it with Marty standing on a rung below, Killshot jumped off with a double stomp that sent Marty through a table to win an insane match at 22:21. Star making performances for two guys that deserved the chance.
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324. The Golden Lovers vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Will Ospreay – NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome 12/15/18
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| For the most part, I sit out the final month of the year for NJPW. Most of their post-G1 Climax stuff is kind of just there and December means the World Tag League, which is uninteresting. However, the Road to Tokyo Dome show on 12/15/19 sounded interesting. Mainly due to this main event. Working as a preview for Wrestle Kingdom 13, it pitted Hiroshi Tanahashi and Will Ospreay against IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega and NEVER Openweight Champion Kota Ibushi. As expected, this was filled with great exchanges from four quality wrestlers. It felt like it was meant as a showcase for Ospreay, as he was given many of the hope spots and big moments. Fans were treated to plenty of awesome tandem offense, great near falls, and some of the best pacing in a tag match in recent years. Ospreay landed on his feet on a super rana was indeed a memorable moment. Not for the athletic move itself, which has been done over and over, but because of the camerawork. People overlook how much that can add to a match. Ospreay fell to the Golden Trigger after 28:46, wrapping up one hell of a tag team match to set up one of the biggest nights of the year.
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323. Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 8/3/14
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| I couldn’t find the picture from the G1 24, so you get one from the G1 23. I didn’t expect much from this. While the G1 24 was the best tournament in history, Davey Boy Smith Jr. isn’t someone I associate with great matches. He delivered in a huge way to start what was one of the best G1 nights in history. Out of the gate, Tomohiro Ishii came out firing, setting the tone for what would be a hard hitting fight. Each shot from both guys was pretty damn stiff. Ishii is well known for this but I give Davey Boy Smith Jr. a ton of credit for holding his own. Both guys busted out cool suplex variations. The hot crowd added a ton to this. Smith nailed an absolutely beautiful German suplex for a close near fall before doing the same with a tiger suplex. The finish came as Ishii busted out a damn rana to counter a bomb. He followed with a lariat for a near fall that the fans bought into. A Brainbuster put away Smith in a blistering 10:24 that is wildly underrated.
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322. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Katsuyori Shibata, Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Go Shiozaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Masa Kitamiya & Maybach Taniguchi – NJPW G1 Climax 26 Finals
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| I certainly couldn’t find a picture of this one. NOAH vs. NJPW. It also always warms my heart to see Katsuyori Shibata teaming with the New Japan Dads. The crowd was invested for the entire match, which went only 10:54, but was packed with action. They came unglued when Hiroyoshi Tenzan got tagged in, even though this was right after Gedo royally blew Tenzan’s last G1 storyline. On the flipside, Go Shiozaki got booed mercilessly and seemed to love it. His interactions with Shibata were awesome. The intensity level of this match was off the charts and that is never more clear than when Shibata and Nakajima go at it. Shibata delivers a headbutt that sounds absolutely disgusting and he immediately gets busted open the hard way because of it. Nakajima hit Nakanishi with a brainbuster to win but it didn’t stop there. Shibata went savage after the bell and attacked the NOAH guys, leading to an intense pull-apart brawl that had the fans going nuts. Four-star match but closer to five stars if we’re talking about angle work. A seemingly unimportant midcard tag turned into a big turning point for a NOAH/NJPW feud that was also fueled by NOAH guys beating key NJPW guys during the G1 Climax. Too bad nothing really came of the feud.
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321. WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Cedric Alexander [c] vs. Buddy Murphy – WWE 205 Live 5/29/18
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| Long before they stole the show in Australia, Cedric Alexander and Buddy Murphy had a Cruiserweight Title match on 205 Live. In contrast to the Super Show Down outing in Buddy’s hometown, this was in Cedric’s home of Charlotte, North Carolina. In the early stages of this 20:08 affair, Murphy was interested in showing that he could match Alexander in terms of ring skill and athleticism. When Cedric began taking control, he got pissed. The “Juggernaut” came out. Buddy dropped him on the announce table and threw him into the guardrail. Of course, after Murphy beat on the champion for a while, he used his aerial ability and the heart he’s known for to rally. This guy was unbeaten for most of the year for a reason. Things escalated and the action only got better as they neared the conclusion. From trading big shots to desperation offense by the champion, this ruled. Alexander’s title reign was in more jeopardy than ever before. Maybe due to the energy from his hometown fans, Alexander withstood a lot and retained with the Lumbar Check. I love the story of Buddy being a killer against Alexander’s fiery babyface who just won’t quit.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 28, 2021 20:37:17 GMT -5
320. Worlds Collide Tournament Finals: Tyler Bate vs. Velveteen Dream - WWE Worlds Collide 2/2/19
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| The concept of WWE’s Worlds Collide Tournament is a great one. Take wrestlers from their loaded rosters and put them in matches they wouldn’t usually compete in. The finals came down to Tyler Bate and Velveteen Dream. It’s something we had seen once before but Dream had grown exponentially as a competitor since then. He entered this match with his ribs taped like DDP. It was an interesting change of pace since Tyler Bate was the guy who had the injury going into the UK Championship Finals in 2017. Dream sold the hell out of those ribs throughout this 16:09 encounter. Even when he’d hit offense, he’d have to stop and regroup. Having him as the guy fighting from behind against the smaller Bate was an interesting and unexpected take that I loved. This felt important and you got the sense that both guys were feeling the effects of the tournament. That’s always key in the finals of any setting like this. Dream nearly passed out from a vicious Boston Crab but survived and weathered the storm of Bate offense. He won soon after with the Purple Rainmaker and used the title shot he earned to become North American Champion.
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319. Best Friends vs. The Leaders of the New School - PWG Nice Boys Don’t Play Rock n’ Roll 3/18/17
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| Best Friends are Chuck Taylor and Trent Baretta, while LDRS are Zack Sabre Jr. and Marty Scurll. This started as a brawl, with LDRS in control. Even after the Best Friends took over for a bit, it was LDRS using chairs to regain the upper hand. Trent played the face in peril, which was the best way to go. Not enough people talked about it, but Trent was a great babyface everywhere in 2017. From PWG to NJPW to Evolve and everywhere he stopped in between. LDRS were on a near Revival level of tag work in this one. Their tandem offense and the way they cut the ring off were so well done. It truly felt earned when Chuck finally got the hot tag. His run gave us “serious” Chuck. LDRS utilized stereo submissions on two separate occasions, with Chuck breaking up the second by powerbombing Sabre onto his own partner. As the match neared its conclusion, Chuck battled Marty to the back. Left alone with Trent, Sabre got overconfident. Trent took advantage with a cradle piledriver to pin the PWG Champion in 23:21! The pop for the outcome was crazy. Old school tag formula infused with current day offense. Heat segments can sometimes be boring, but this one was excellent, as was the entire match.
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318. PROGRESS Title: Travis Banks [c] vs. Matt Riddle - PROGRESS Chapter 58: Live Your Best Life 11/26/17
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| Back at Chapter 52, Matt Riddle defeated Travis Banks. At Chapter 55, Banks dethroned Pete Dunne for the PROGRESS Championship, setting up this rematch. It opened Chapter 58 and delivered the goods. They started with mat-based grappling but quickly moved on to just chopping the shit out of each other. Banks didn’t just want to beat Riddle, he wanted to show that he could hang in his world. That Chapter 52 loss stung. The physicality continued, as Banks was suplexed into a row of chairs outside. Riddle racked up near falls with his best offensive shots, but Banks just wouldn’t stay down. They both got in good counters, with Banks turning the ankle lock into the Lion’s Clutch, and Riddle turned the Slice of Heaven into a rear naked choke. Banks nearly won with an avalanche Kiwi Krusher, only for Riddle to kick out at one. He added another and the Lion’s Clutch to retain at 17:20. The finishing stretch felt like overkill. Other than that, the match was the right blend of grappling and brutality that it needed to be.
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317. Dragon Lee vs. Hiromu Takahashi – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5/17/17
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| It’s one of the best rivalries in all of wrestling. Hiromu Takahashi and Dragon Lee waged war after war during Hiromu’s excursion in CMLL. Their previous two meetings in Japan both got ****½ from me. Hiromu entered this match on a major hot streak. He had dethroned KUSHIDA of the Jr. Heavyweight Title, beaten Dragon Lee a month later, beat Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi, before squashing KUSHIDA in their rematch. There was a big fight feel and they opened by just chopping the shit out of each other. Hiromu went after Lee’s mask, which helped him win last time. Lee learned from those previous outings, having counters ready for almost everything. At one point, he avoided Hiromu’s apron sunset flip and retaliated with one of his own. It was awesome. Hiromu went after the mask again and it nearly cost him when he got rolled up. He came close on a Destroyer and it led to some great near falls from both men. Lee managed to hand Hiromu his first loss of the year with the Phoenix Plex at 18:56. It wasn’t quite as good as their earlier battles thanks to a few sloppy moments, but also played off them very well. They hit their signature stuff and gave us the next chapter in their story.
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316. WWE UK Championship: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Jack Gallagher – PROGRESS Chapter 60: Unboxing Live! 2 – Unbox Harder
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| The pop for Gallagher was huge and it got even louder when it was announced this was a title match. Gallagher won the CWC qualifier they had in 2016, while their NYC match didn’t happen due to injury. Gallagher refused a handshake and slapped Dunne, setting the tone. This was a physical match, with vicious strikes and a brawl through the crowd and to the stage. When they got back to the ring, the trading of big offensive moves continued. Sitout powerbomb, tiger suplex, belly to belly, etc. Gallagher delivered his corner dropkicks, only to have one caught into a powerbomb. There was a great counter that led to Gallagher using the Captain’s Hook, which he borrowed from his partner The Brian Kendrick. Excellent stuff. Dunne bit his fingers to escape, survived a corner dropkick and hit the Bitter End. Gallagher kicked out, so Dunne seemed to go for another Bitter End, but turned it into a Tombstone to retain in an awesome 15:55.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 29, 2021 9:40:46 GMT -5
315. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay [c] vs. Hiromu Takahashi – NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2/10/18
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| If you want to understand the wackiness level of this rivalry, just know that the video package featured a ton of cats and a clip where these guys hand-fed one another. Yeah, it got weird. More often than not, Will Ospreay puts together nice looking moves, but lacks in a lot of the other things that make a match work. The way he screamed when Hiromu hit a belly to belly into the guardrail was comically bad. Thankfully, other than a handful of small issues like that, this was fantastic. These are two wrestlers who like to throw everything at each other and don’t seem to care about their well beings. The pace was quick and they went to war. It was a case of both men knowing how much punishment the other could take and being willing to take it to that level. Even if there wasn’t a ton of animosity in the feud, they grasped what needed to be done. We were treated to huge spots and creative counters, keeping the viewers on our toes. Like a lot of Ospreay matches, he survived a TON thrown at him. It bordered on overkill at points. Will used a big forearm and, after having it countered more than once, finally hit the Oscutter to retain in 20:05.
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314. Guerilla Warfare: Candice LeRae, Chris Hero, Joey Ryan and Mike Bailey vs. Mt. Rushmore 2.0 – PWG All-Star Weekend XI Night Two
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| This got off to a very chaotic start. Roderick Strong cut a promo before he and Adam Cole took out the referee and ring announcer. The faces hit the ring and everybody just brawled. Things stayed chaotic with tons of dives and action throughout. Poor Joey Ryan had thumbtacks poured into his trunks and then got superkicked in the dick. Ouch. Some things worked better than others. A quadruple attack (three superkicks and a Strong knee) from Mt. Rushmore was good but the double Indytaker outside fell flat. Excalibur got targeted but didn’t give a f*** and dove off the stage where he does commentary. Once he got taken out, Cole and Strong posed when the lights went out. The crowd erupted as they came on and Kyle O’Reilly was in the ring. Kyle had a longstanding feud with former partner Cole and it was Strong that took the PWG Title from him a year earlier. He was involved in the match the rest of the way. Strong nearly killed Candice with a sick kick and an insane chair spot. Kyle and Roddy basically got taken out when they went through a table together. Finally, Matt Jackson got what was coming to him as Rick Knox and Joey Ryan combined on a doomsday device on him (Knox did the clothesline), Excalibur got him as well and then Hero laid him out with a thumbtack filled elbow pad to pick up the win. A great, chaotic main event that was pretty much exactly what it needed to be. Sometimes, the good guys do have to win and it should feel as big as it did here.
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313. Kota Ibushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 27 7/23/17
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| The second Kota Ibushi was announced for the G1 Climax, this was one of the first matches that came to my head in excitement. I’d seen them wrestle just once before and it was incredible. Not putting this match in Sumo Hall, Osaka or Korakuen was a travesty, as it deserved one of those great crowds. Ibushi’s style is a fantastic blend of aerial skills and stiff strikes. That striking ability is right up Ishii’s alley, and within the opening minutes, they were already killing each other. Though Ibushi hits hard, Ishii brushed off his kicks like nothing. It wasn’t that they didn’t hurt, it just seemed like Ishii refused to show him that they did. If that makes sense. Eventually, it was Ibushi’s turn to no sell, which just led to a higher level of violence. They traded slaps, headbutts, and suplexes, with neither holding anything back. A string of absolutely brutal slaps led to an Ibushi lariat and his stiff knee strike. The Last Ride was all that was left to hit, which got him the victory in 17:14. When I see these two, I just want them to go to war for about 15 minutes, which is just what I got here. Not quite on the level of their 2014 outing, though still in the upper echelon of G1 27 matches.
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312. WWE United Kingdom Championship: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Kyle O'Reilly – NXT 6/13/18
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| Not just two of my favorite wrestlers in the world, but two guys who were having outstanding 2018s. Think about how great Pete Dunne is and how Kyle O’Reilly delivers each time out. Kyle’s kind of a goof, so people sometimes forget how skilled this man is. He hung tough and matched Dunne on the mat in the early stages of this one. As engaging as the mat work was, it was nothing compared to the hard hitting exchanges we got down the stretch. Since this went just 10:45, they were able to go all out and give us wall to wall action. There was seriously not a moment of downtime in this. More than once, we saw Dunne fire up after getting hit and come back with a shot of his own that was just as vicious. Kyle came close but wasted time talking smack. Dunne saw an opening and snapped Kyle’s fingers before hitting the Bitter End to retain. I feel like people overlooked this match but they shouldn’t because it was stellar. I love these guys. This was straight-up fantastic wrestling with no fluff. Two great wrestlers putting on a show.
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311. Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 28 8/4/18
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| These two had an incredible match in last year’s G1 that ranked in my top ten. What makes them work is that, not only are they two of the very best wrestlers in the world, but they’re willing to do serious damage to one another. I swear they both nearly broke their necks in their 2017 meeting. Here, Tetsuya Naito was sure to bring back his heel tactics. We hadn’t seen them in a while, but he used them against Juice Robinson and here against Kota Ibushi. There was some early knee work in this that failed because they kind of just went away from it. However, when Naito targeted the neck, this picked up and didn’t die out until the bell rang after 25:09. Focusing on the neck is perfect against a guy with a history of problems there, while also setting up Destino. They eventually just threw bomb after bomb at one another. Of course, Ibushi survived Destino since nearly everyone does now. Talk about a finisher meaning nothing. There was an insane number of unsafe looking spots throughout. Ibushi busted out Boma Ye for a near fall before finishing things off with the Kamigoye.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 29, 2021 23:03:31 GMT -5
310. Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8
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| The history between Katsuyori Shibata and Hirooki Goto goes back pretty far. They’re friends from way before their days in New Japan. Coming into Wrestle Kingdom 8, there was an opportunity for them to go to war on the biggest stage in the Tokyo Dome. Of course, with these two, they weren’t just going to have a typical match. They beat the stuffing out of each other for a wild 18:33. In fact, on a card that featured Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito, and Kota Ibushi vs. Prince Devitt, it was these two who stole the show. Goto won this back and forth encounter with Shouten Kai and everyone thought it meant something huge for him. Alas, he just got into the title picture to take more big losses. I preferred this to the Goto/Shibata battle at Wrestle Kingdom 11 that most people loved.
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309. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 24 8/1/14
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| CHAOS buddies! By this point in the greatest G1 Climax ever, Tomohiro Ishii had surprised with six points, while Shinsuke Nakamura had eight. A win here would move Nakamura into sole possession of first place. They went into a fun exchange early on. When Nakamura gave a clean break, he offered a handshake but ate a slap instead. Both men missed their finishers early and had a bit of a staredown. Nakamura took control and kind of toyed with Ishii, which is obviously a mistake. When Ishii fired back at him, he hit him so hard that Nakamura was coughing like he had the flu. Nakamura went for the Boma Ye a while after but Ishii was ready and stopped it with a dropkick. The near falls that Ishii picked up were all heavily bought into by the fans, including one on a huge lariat. He had one lariat countered into an armbar, which was cool. The finish came when they went into a string of vicious strikes before Nakamura hit Boma Ye, only for Ishii to kick out at 1. That got a huge pop. Nakamura hit another one that ended things after a great 15:14.
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308. The Revival vs. The Undisputed Era – NXT 11/20/19
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| Survivor Series didn’t turn out to be a stellar show on its own. However, it did provide us with some great moments (like Shayna Baszler’s staredown with Becky Lynch) and dope matches. This was easily the best of them all. The Revival and the Undisputed Era have strong cases to be made as the best tag teams in all of wrestling. It was the kind of dream match that we didn’t expect to get, especially when New Day won the Smackdown Tag Team Titles from the Revival and replaced them in the Survivor Series match. Thankfully, this episode of NXT saw the Revival return to where they started. The match was just 24:49 of pure tag team excellence. It was like watching a masterclass as two teams showed us how you do tandem wrestling. It was beautiful. The Revival played the de facto babyfaces and didn’t miss a beat. Everything was seamless and smooth, making for one of the best straight-up tag matches all year long. The final few minutes feature incredible drama, a hot crowd, and some fantastic close calls. Scott Dawson fell to the high/low combo from the Undisputed Era to end something special.
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307. Number One Contender's Match: WALTER vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – PROGRESS Chapter 67: Bourbon Is Also A Biscuit
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| I love WrestleMania weekend. It’s basically wrestling Christmas. There’s so much great stuff happening over the course of a handful of days. This match may have been the best of the entire weekend in 2018. We all appreciate a well-told long term story, but there are times when you can just throw two great wrestlers in the ring and let them do their thing. With a shot at the PROGRESS World Title on the line, they had that added intrigue as well. It opened with traditional grappling until Sabre chose to slap WALTER. That’s something you just don’t want to do. WALTER responded by destroying him with a barrage of brutal chops. Sabre kept coming for them, causing WALTER to question his sanity. Sabre caught one and kicked the arm into the guardrail. It became his target and you could see him smile a bit as the chops began to have less sting behind them. However, WALTER could still chop with his other hand and Sabre was in trouble again. He remained a defiant jerk until he grew desperate. He attempted several pinning combinations but then had one countered into a rear naked choke. Sabre tapped immediately, losing in 12:51. I think a more dramatic ending would’ve helped this, but it was still some top-notch wrestling from two of the best in the world.
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306. WWE Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Semifinals: Cedric Alexander vs. Roderick Strong – WWE 205 Live 3/13/18
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| If you weren’t watching 205 Live in 2018, you missed out on a TON of great wrestling. This tournament was a huge step in the right direction for the brand. Cedric Alexander came into the tourney as a favorite, while Roderick Strong was the Cinderella story as he was an NXT guy who wasn’t a regular part of the roster. Both men worked as babyfaces, meaning this was built as a match between two guys who had respect for one another, but progressed into one between two desperate men. Strong is the more polished technician, while Alexander has the athletic upper hand. It made sense for Roddy to ground Cedric and wear down his back with a barrage of backbreakers. The biggest saw Cedric viciously dropped onto the top turnbuckle. That helped add to the sense of urgency this match had. Strong was willing to do something brutal and take a countout win because all that mattered was the Cruiserweight Title and a spot on WrestleMania. Both men only survived the finisher of the other because they got a foot on the ropes. As they went into more aggressive strikes, Cedric managed to cradle him into a surprise pin to advance to Mania after a fantastic 14:54. Two great wrestlers having an urgent match where you could feel how much it mattered.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 30, 2021 9:52:57 GMT -5
305. IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Jay White [c] vs. Juice Robinson - NJPW G1 Special in San Francisco 7/7/18
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| A little less than a month before this match, Jay White broke Juice Robinson’s left hand. That’s Juice’s dominant hand. On the shows leading up to this, Jay attacked that hand every chance he got. That meant Juice entered at a disadvantage, couldn’t use his cast as a weapon, and was in a match that he “couldn’t” win. See, Juice had already lost two NEVER Title matches, an Intercontinental Title match, and a match for this title. He couldn’t win the big one. Though Juice came out aggressive, the champion quickly found himself in control. Jay continued to nail the character stuff, mocking Juice and being aggressive throughout. There was the infamous moment where Jay knocked Jim Ross over by throwing Juice into him. That caused Josh Barnett to get up from commentary and threaten Jay. Whether it was real or staged, it added something to the match and the crowd was hot for the rest of it. With the intensity revved up, Jay hit a low blow, so Juice responded by using the illegal left hand to a huge pop. Though Pulp Friction didn’t end it, he countered Blade Runner into a rollup to finally win the big one in 23:22. A great match filled with emotion and intensity, capped by a feel good moment.
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304. Antonio Cesaro vs. William Regal – NXT 12/25/13
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| Honestly, this one came from out of nowhere. Sure, everyone knew that William Regal was an all-time great who could have fantastic matches. However, nobody expected him to deliver one in 2013. He stepped into the ring with Antonio Cesaro on this Christmas episode of NXT. It started a bit slow as Regal worked his stuff to get a rhythm ahead of this 15:30 encounter. Once Cesaro got going, this hit another level. He was vicious and Regal took a beating but he kept on coming back for more. In fact, you got the sense that Regal was emptying the tank himself as he gave Cesaro everything he had and more. The sense of desperation from Regal was outstanding. Cesaro stomping on his head was sickening. He seemed to not want to finish off Regal but then went through with it, winning via Neutralizer and paying his respects to a legend in his final match.
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303. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW 42nd Anniversary Event
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| Most fans today will tell you about Kazuchika Okada and Kota Ibushi meeting in the G1 Climax 29 and 30, or at Wrestle Kingdom 14. All good matches indeed but this one came first and was actually the best. At NJPW’s Anniversary Event, it has become tradition for the IWGP Heavyweight Champion to meet the Jr. Heavyweight title holder. Here, that meant Okada against Ibushi. This was before Okada formula became a thing, so it was fresh and not easy to predict, even if the outcome was obvious. Okada isn’t a traditional heavyweight so he could hang with Ibushi’s quickness. Even as a junior, Ibushi’s strikes were too much for Okada at times. That’s how good he is. Of course, Okada put him down after 18:41 but it was an early indication that Ibushi had a very bright future ahead of him in New Japan, which has become evident with two straight G1 Climax wins in 2019 and 2020.
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302. Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 28 7/15/18
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| Rubber match, baby! They met in the previous two G1s in important matches. Here, they headlined the first B Block show with Kenny as IWGP Heavyweight Champion. They started this out by playing up their character work. Little things like Naito stealing Kenny’s gun taunt and both men being cocky. We saw them play up their history with callbacks to the other G1 matches. They had each other well scouted. I particularly liked Omega dropping to one knee for Naito’s corner sweep spot. Naito remained one step ahead of Kenny throughout and it felt like Kenny was getting outwrestled. He switched gears and brought out a wild dropkick spot that turned the tides. Combine that with Naito being a bit too tranquilo and the playing field was leveled. Once they built to the final minutes, this kicked up into the next level. So many breathtaking counters. Both men were looking for the death blow, yet the other was always ready for it. In the end, Kenny turned Destino into a STEINER SCREWDRIVER OF SORTS! A V-Trigger and One Winged Angel later and Omega wrapped it up in 23:19. Awesome match. They played so well off their past, it had a big fight feel with a crazy hot crowd that made for a unique atmosphere, and it had some dramatic final moments.
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301. Two Out of Three Falls Match: Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe – NXT 3/9/16
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| A little over a month prior, Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe both made Baron Corbin submit in a number one contender’s match. Unsure about the true top contender, William Regal put Joe against Zayn two weeks before this and it still ended in a draw. This was their final battle to determine who would face Finn Balor at TakeOver: Dallas. With so much at stake, Joe and Zayn did what they do best and wrestled for an entire episode of NXT. Including commercials, it lasted 42:44. There was a relatively slow start, with neither guy wanting to make a mistake. Zayn held a slight advantage until Joe went to striking. Zayn sold Joe’s offense like he was on the verge of death. Despite that, it took Joe over twenty minutes to win the first fall because Sami just wouldn’t quit. I loved the touch of commentary saying there were more matches to come even though this was the entire show. About ten minutes after the first fall, Sami tied it by making Joe tap to the Koji Clutch. In the final fall they displayed their exhaustion. There was a great contrast of Sami not wanting a countout win, but Joe being more than willing to take it. Finally, after taking one hell of a beating, Sami fell to the Coquina Clutch. He didn’t even tap out though. The referee was forced to stop the match. Sami played the perfect resilient underdog (a role he is better than everyone at) to Joe’s monster. Sometimes long matches are pointless but everything here made sense and resulted in a great marathon battle.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 30, 2021 15:24:13 GMT -5
300. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada – NJPW G1 Climax 26 8/12/16
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| Tons of people were quick to give out the ***** rating for the Wrestle Kingdom 10 match between these two but I found it to EASILY be their worst match ever. It felt like Kazuchika Okada led that match which led to a lot of nothing early on and a hot finish. This rematch on the final A Block show of the G1 Climax saw a return to form with a match that felt like Hiroshi Tanahashi (the superior worker) was back to leading the way. They’ve met a ton since 2012 with every match (except WK10) getting at least **** from me to this point. A win by either guy in this match would put them in the finals of the tournament. They did a great job of playing into the fact that even though Okada finally beat Tanahashi at WK, he is frustrated to keep playing second fiddle to the bigger star at times. Both guys came close to winning early by using their vast knowledge of one another. After the hot start, they moved into standard Okada/Tana stuff with Tana working the leg, Okada getting bursts of hope and the classic Tana High Fly Flow to the outside. Tana nearly won by countout but didn’t want it that way. He went to bring Okada in but Okada met him with a tombstone and Tana nearly got counted out. Both men came extremely close to winning down the stretch and again played into how well they know each other with counter after country. The finishing stretch was top notch and called back to the standout moment from WK10 of Okada keeping hold of Tana’s wrist while battling. Tanahashi would hit High Fly Flow but time expired at 30:00 while pinning Okada. Neither man would win A Block, as the draw gave Hirooki Goto the win. My major gripes with this were the time limit draw felt obvious after a while and Tanahashi, knowing time was expiring, went for his finisher twice in the end, wasting time. Everything else was a return to form for these two.
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299. Hell in a Cell: Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton – WWE Hell in a Cell 2018
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| Who the hell decided this was going to be so good? Randy Orton has been lifeless for years and Jeff Hardy was basically just a fun nostalgia act since his return. So, when they were put in a Hell in a Cell (a strangely bright red one at that), my hopes weren’t high. But these two went out and had one hell of a match. Orton was sadistic and violent in ways that we haven’t seen from him before. Watching him put a screwdriver through Hardy’s gauges and twist it was one of the more horrifying things I’ve ever seen in a WWE ring. It was as if vicious Orton was the perfect person to put against a Jeff Hardy who is willing to take a beating. Tables, ladders, and chairs (OH MY) were used throughout this. Orton also took punishment as he left the match with some painful looking gashes on his back and leg. Jeff made a mistake he’s made throughout his career that resulted in the finish. He tried to do too much. As he swung from the top of the cell to splash Orton through a table, he missed and Jeff crashed and burned. The referee wanted to stop the match, but Orton forced him to count the three after 24:52. To anyone who says you can’t have a violent match in a PG world, simply watch this barbaric match.
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298. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA – NJPW Power Struggle 2016
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| On a good, but mostly uninteresting Power Struggle card, Hiroshi Tanahashi and SANADA managed to best their great G1 Climax performance. In their first outing, SANADA went after Tanahashi’s injured shoulder. He had no target like that this time. Tanahashi was one step ahead of his younger foe, frustrating him. SANADA chose to combat Tanahashi’s veteran skill with his athleticism, diving outside and snapping off a rana on the ramp. SANADA would apply his patented dragon sleeper but Tanahashi survived. Both men would go on to miss top rope moves, with SANADA missing two moonsaults. On the second, he landed on his feet and tweaked it thanks to some dragon screws by Tanahashi earlier. The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion wore him down more with a cloverleaf to help cut off the athleticism edge. Still, SANADA knew that he beat Tanahashi with a dragon sleeper a few months prior and kept going to it. Tanahashi managed to counter it a whopping five times in a row before a flurry of offense led to him winning with two High Fly Flows at 21:33.
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297. Best of the Super Juniors Finals: Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2019
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| Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard about this match. As soon as it ended, folks were taking to their keyboards and running to their rooftops to shout about how this was the match of the year. I disagreed, people got upset, and it became a whole thing. Kind of like when I gave Omega/Naito in the G1 26 less than five stars and people called for my head. Anyway, Shingo Takagi entered as something special. An undefeated, unstoppable monster. In his way was Will Ospreay, Gedo’s golden gaijin (this was his third finals in four years). Early, they played up how Ospreay was nearly Shingo’s equal in power. He could hold his own there when almost no other junior could. That forced Shingo to pivot and try uncharacteristic things like a dive to the outside. He was shaken. It gradually moved from that into the big NJPW finish with all of the slick counters and big offensive bombs. The match reached its peak…but then it kept going. It fell into the NJPW trap of going long for the sake of it. Will won in 33:36. This was great but for it to have been a MOTY contender, I think it needed to be trimmed closer to 25 minutes. Either way, this is certainly worthy of making the list.
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296. Super Strong Style 16 Quarterfinals: Kassius Ohno vs. Tyler Bate – PROGRESS Chapter 68 5/6/18
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| Kassius Ohno was not asked to do a lot in NXT. Due to that, it seems like many people forgot that he can still have great matches. Watching him in this tournament, you got the feeling he was in PROGRESS to prove a point. He came out like a man on a mission. Tyler Bate, being the BIG STRONG BOI, was able to somewhat match up with his larger opponent. He got too cocky and Ohno made him pay. As always, Ohno was at his best when he got to portray the bully. Any Bate momentum was stopped by Ohno’s power advantage. He was ruthless and it made for great drama. Bate refused to stay down, though. He fired up by swinging wildly and hitting an impressive deadlift German suplex. With help from the turnbuckle, Bate managed to hoist Ohno onto his shoulders for a jaw-dropping airplane spin. You honestly have to see it. It’s breathtaking. Bate added the Tyler Driver ’97 to win in 15:00. Unfortunately, Bate got hurt during the match and couldn’t finish the tournament. Still, they gave us one of the better David vs. Goliath matches you’ll find anywhere. Ohno reminded everyone that he can go and Bate showed us why he’s among the best in the world.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on May 1, 2021 7:08:34 GMT -5
295. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi [c] vs. El Desperado – NJPW Kizuna Road 6/18/18
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| During the Best of the Super Juniors Tournament, these two had one of the best matches all year long. You’ll see it later on this list. El Desperado won that one, while Hiromu Takahashi won the tournament and the Jr. Heavyweight Title. It set up this rematch, which just so happened to go down in the same building, Korakuen Hall. After Dominion (when Hiromu won the title), these two had a strange interaction. It played into the opening moments here, as Hiromu brought out a guitar case with flowers for Desperado. The mind games between them were reaching new levels. This was a brawl in the same vein as their BOTSJ outing. I appreciated that because it’s not typical for this division. Variety is good. Both men are known for being sneaky and wild, making this style ideal. They played off their last match for some cool moments, callbacks, and counters. Sometimes, matches get hurt by run-ins, but when Yoshinobu Kanemaru tried to do so and got thwarted by BUSHI, it worked. It furthered the feud between factions and made sense for their characters. Another thing I loved was Desperado getting his mask removed and not trying to hide his face, because the title meant that much to him. In the end, Hiromu retained with the Time Bomb in 28:16. Though it went a bit long, they delivered a worthy sequel.
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294. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW G1 Climax 25 7/20/15
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| A buddy of mine made an interesting comparison heading into this match. As part of a preview to this G1 show, he was asked to compare these guys to two WWE Superstars. He used John Cena and Cesaro. I’ve heard the Hiroshi Tanahashi/Cena comparisons a million times but the Kota Ibushi/Cesaro one surprisingly made a bunch of sense. They’re both freak athletes that are deceptively strong. Before the G1 Climax, Tanahashi was in a feud with Toru Yano, leading many to think he was near the end of his run. It turns out that he was just resting up for a great G1 Climax run and it all started here on night one. Tanahashi went after the leg with dragon screws and submissions, trying to ground the incredible aerial ability of Ibushi. Unfortunately, Ibushi’s selling of the leg left a little to be desired, which was my only major gripe. He did do some of his incredible offense, including the deadlift German. This main evented the first night of the tournament and it felt like a big fight. The crowd was red hot and these two went at it, full throttle, for the entire 20:53. Tanahashi won with the High Fly Flow, earning his first two points en route to winning the whole tournament.
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293. Kenny Omega vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 28 8/1/18
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| Far too often, Kenny Omega does things in his matches that take me out of them. The machine part of the “Best Bout Machine” nickname works because he can feel mechanical at times and more like a guy who does moves rather than an actual person. However, like the previous IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, Omega is at his best when he’s taken out of his comfort zone. Instead of being his usual self, he had to play Zack Sabre Jr.’s game and it was glorious. Sabre was the perfect guy to force him to reel it in. Sabre cut off everything Kenny had, especially in terms of speed and power. He had him scouted and outclassed him as a wrestler. When Omega had to make his comeback, it didn’t feel like he was throwing big moves for the sake of earning extra stars. It was sympathetic and realistic. We need more of that from him. Sabre countering the One Winged Angel into the European Clutch was incredible, while the way he caught the V-Trigger into a submission ruled. The desperate champion used a rollup to steal the match in 15:16. Omega got dominated and yet, it was arguably his finest performance of 2019. He’s a real boy, ladies and gentlemen. Sabre was his fantastic self. Together, they made magic.
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292. RevPro British Heavyweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii [c] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13
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| I love when these two wrestle. Their styles are so different but they manage to complement each other incredibly well. I loved how Zack Sabre Jr. came out aggressively. It was a way to match Tomohiro Ishii, yet it also showed how Ishii’s wins over him in the past took him off of his game. Sabre did come in with the goal of destroying Ishii’s arm. It was his sole focus. That’s a good move because it negates a lot of Ishii’s power strikes. He would bait Ishii to try strikes so he could catch the arm and work it. Still, Ishii had all sorts of counters ready. It made for a gripping match filled with twists and turns, regardless of the straightforward setup of it all. In the end, Sabre Jr. caught Ishii in his ridiculously named double armbar stretch, called “Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than the Last; The Inexorable March of Progress Will Lead Us All to Happiness.” Yes, that’s the name. Ishii tapped out, making Sabre the champion after 11:30. Just good old fashioned wrestling. Technically proficient and filled with late drama.
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291. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals 2019
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| Jay White and Hiroshi Tanahashi have been intertwined since White returned from excursion at the end of 2017. He challenged Tanahashi for the Intercontinental Title at Wrestle Kingdom and came up short. Soon after, White became more ruthless and has since gone on to have one of the most successful funs in NJPW. That includes dethroning Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Title in February 2019 in a match that nearly made this list. By the time Tanahashi returned, White had dropped the title but the feud was still there. There was an intensity to this one that I loved. One thing that makes White matches good is his character work. He talked so much trash and was such an asshole for the entire 19:16 runtime. White jumped him before the bell and held control because of it. He removed Tanahashi’s protective brace on his injured elbow and I live for that kind of stuff. It’s awesome and Tanahashi sold the hell out of the injury. He couldn’t complete moves, which added to the drama when he was trapped in a Fujiwara Armbar. I thought White won it after interference from Gedo and a low blow but Tanahashi wouldn’t be denied. He hit a low blow of his own and went for the Texas Cloverleaf, only for White to counter into an inside cradle and steal it. I loved how this was different from your standard NJPW fare. Brilliantly worked.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on May 2, 2021 7:00:03 GMT -5
290. New Japan Cup Semifinals: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW New Japan Cup 3/23/19
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| There aren’t many rare matches left in New Japan. Everyone has seemingly faced each other tons of times in various tournaments and title matches. That’s especially true when it comes to Kazuchika Okada. That’s what happens when you’re at the top of a company for so long. Interestingly enough, Tomohiro Ishii hasn’t faced him a lot. Their previous meeting, during the 2016 G1 Climax, was excellent and saw Ishii score an upset. Kazuchika “defend my title against everyone” Okada never gave his CHAOS buddy a proper title shot after that loss. Some friend he is. Their next meeting was here, with a spot in the finals of the New Japan Cup on the line. We got asshole Okada here and that’s easily the best version of the Rainmaker. He didn’t give a clean break and he disrespectfully kicked at Ishii’s head. It pissed off Ishii and led to him showing Okada up by no selling his strikes. I loved the way they played off of the G1 match. For example, Ishii popped up during the Rainmaker pose in that one, so Okada was ready for it here and leveled him. Ishii using the armbar was great. It was a nod to Shinsuke Nakamura and is the only move Okada has ever tapped out to. This suffered from getting a little too formulaic late but they strayed from it enough for most of the 21:20. Ishii brought out the best in Okada, who ultimately won, and we all benefitted.
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289. NXT Championship: Aleister Black [c] vs. Tommaso Ciampa – NXT 7/25/18
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| NXT television had several high profile bangers on Wednesday nights in 2018. None had higher stakes than this one. Since Aleister Black’s debut in 2017, he was on a collision course with the NXT Title. He got there a year later but was never truly on top. That’s because his title win and defenses played second fiddle to the Tommaso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano rivalry. When Ciampa got a shot at Black and attacked him in the weeks leading up to the match, it set up an emotional title fight. There was an intensity that was clear right from the opening bell. Ciampa brings that kind of fire out of babyfaces. It was worked at a deliberate pace, with the best stuff being saved for the final stretch of this 22:18 encounter. We got treated to some seriously tense near falls, including one after Ciampa used his crutch as a weapon. We did get a ref bump, a usually tired trope, but it worked in this case. That meant the Black Mass couldn’t end this and it opened the door for the arrival of Gargano. He tried to stop Ciampa from using the title as a weapon, only to accidentally hit Black. That set up the title change after Project Ciampa, sparking a wild bunch of reactions from fans. A great, intense match that hit all the storytelling beats it needed to.
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288. Best of the Super Juniors Finals: KUSHIDA vs. Will Ospreay – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 6/3/17
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| To get the obvious issue out of the way first, I thought this went too long at 27:59. NJPW seemed to be on a “length = greatness” kick with a lot of main events. You could shave off 6-8 minutes and have a better match in my mind. With that out of the way, we can talk about the positives. Their chemistry is great and it made for some stellar sequences and exchanges. I loved Ospreay not going the typical good guy route, as he was willing to take a countout victory. It helped hammer home his desperation to finally beat KUSHIDA, who he was 0-2 against in NJPW. The highlight was the closing stretch, as things got especially physical. KUSHIDA had to dig deep and find something to keep his perfect record against Ospreay going. Meanwhile, nothing Will did could keep his rival down. KUSHIDA finally hit Back to the Future, held on like Okada, and nailed a second to win the tournament. Their second best match together and much better than their match later in the year.
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287. IWGP Tag Team Championship: EVIL and SANADA [c] vs. The Young Bucks – NJPW Dominion 2018
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| The Bucks recently moved to the heavyweight division to prove they’re the best. Not sure what exactly they did to earn a shot except lose to the Golden Lovers. Still, this looked like one of the more interesting bouts. The Bucks worked better as a unit, having been a team forever, but the sheer size and strength of the champions was too much at points. Matt is STILL selling a back injury from Wrestle Kingdom, while Nick had his foot worked on and commentary sold it like it was broken. I wasn’t a fan of this match having a tower of doom spot, when we literally just got one in the previous match. Anyway, Nick’s foot came into play a lot. It stopped them from hitting an Indytaker and led to the champions hitting one of their own. The Bucks weathered the storm and survived a lot, before finally hitting More Bang For Your Buck and capturing the titles in 15:03. This was great. The Bucks finally began to look like a great tag team to me in 2018. They stepped away from their one-dimensional comfort zone and delivered some bangers. I do think Nick did a bit too much with the bad foot, but that’s not a major gripe. Other than the Golden Lovers match, I believe this was my favorite Bucks outing ever.
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286. NXT Tag Team Championship Ladder Match: Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan vs. The Forgotten Sons vs. The Street Profits vs. The Undisputed Era – NXT TakeOver XXV
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| When the Viking Raiders were moved to Raw, they were still the NXT Tag Team Champions. So, the decision was made for them to give up the titles. In need of new champions, four of the top tandems in NXT were put into this ladder match. They proceeded to come incredibly close to stealing the show on this particular evening. I love the Undisputed Era, really like Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch, and think the Street Profits are so much fun. The Forgotten Sons were there, as well. For 21:30, these guys put their bodies on the line and gave us a hell of an entertaining affair. There were so many great moments in this and the pace never slowed. Even though I dissed the Forgotten Sons, they were welcome because the crowd hated them. Whenever they got close to winning, the fans were engaged as they desperately wanted them to fail. Plus, it allowed Jaxson Ryker to get involved and he added another wrinkle to this when everyone teamed up to take him out. In the end, the Profits came out as the champions. It wasn’t just a great moment because the popular duo deserved it. There was the added bonus that this was Angelo Dawkins’ first TakeOver appearance despite being signed to NXT for several years. The win and celebration were special.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on May 2, 2021 14:14:40 GMT -5
285. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki – NJPW G1 Climax 7/14/18
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| I’ve watched every G1 Climax since 2013. 2018 marked the first time that an entire block nearly got shut out of my year end list. That’s right, the A Block had only one match crack the four star barrier and it should come as no surprise that it was these two to do it. In February, Minoru Suzuki took the Intercontinental Title from Hiroshi Tanahashi and destroyed his knee in the process. Playing off that, Suzuki came in looking to hurt Tanahashi again. He ripped, wrenched, and twisted his leg in ways it was never meant to bend. Suzuki is the master and that hasn’t changed now that he’s 50 years old. It reached a point where commentary believed the referee would stop the match. Tanahashi was getting dominated. Anything Tanahashi did was out of sheer desperation. When he missed a move, it felt like a big deal because we believed there was no way he could come back. Finally, he busted out an inverted dragon screw. It looked brutal and Minoru screamed in agony like we have never heard before. Tanahashi used that to set up High Fly Flow and pull out the miracle win in 13:59. They packed a ton of story into this one as Tanahashi got obliterated by the vicious Suzuki, yet found a way to pull it out.
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284. The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family – Raw 3/3/14
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| At Elimination Chamber, these two trios put on one of the best matches of that year. On this loaded Raw in Chicago, they had their rematch and it was just a bit over a week after the original. The story here was that Dean Ambrose was being a hot head and making mistakes, causing friction within the team. Ambrose ended up getting isolated and playing the babyface in peril. The moment where Seth Rollins backed away from the hot tag on Ambrose is a forgotten thing. Roman Reigns had to save Ambrose instead. In fact, Rollins actually walked out for good. Reigns and Ambrose did their best but Bray Wyatt put down the Lunatic Fringe with Sister Abigail at the 13:53 mark. Great storytelling for the factions and a ton of action in a short timeframe. I honestly can’t ask for much more when it comes to this kind of thing.
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283. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – NJPW G1 Climax 7/21/14
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| These are two of my favorite people to watch in NJPW. They sized each other up and each dodged big kicks. Things picked up when Shibata didn't give a clean break, slapping Nakamura who came back with a big running knee. Shibata applied the sleeper on the apron, bringing Nakamura over the top and to the outside. That honestly looked like it hurts a lot. Shibata worked his figure four for a bit, wearing down Nakamura. It’s wise considering Nakamura’s Boma Ye finisher. Once that was over, they just traded forearm blasts in the center of the ring. Nakamura applied a sleeper of his own but Shibata got out and hit a big knee to the gut. Shibata then just went into a series of stiff ass kicks. That FIGHTING SPIRIT kicked in as Nakamura pops up after a German and nails a lung blower. He suplexed Shibata over, calling for the Boma Ye. Shibata stopped that with a kick of his own and both men were down. Time for the Shibata sleeper but Nakamura ducked the Penalty Kick that usually follows. He came off the second rope with a knee and then nails a variation of the Boma Ye for two! He tried but again, Shibata stops it with a dropkick. Shibata then busted out the f***ing Go to Sleep and picked up the victory with the Penalty Kick in 15:27, giving the best tournament ever a great first main event.
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282. NXT Tag Team Championship: The Undisputed Era [c] vs. Moustache Mountain – NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV
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| The final leg in a trilogy of stellar tag team matches between these duos. Moustache Mountain took the first in their home country, while Undisputed regained the title in a classic at Full Sail. They saved the tiebreaker for NXT’s biggest show of the year. Their chemistry ranks among the best in terms of tag team wrestling in recent memory. Nearly every sequence put together is one that grabs you and the characters keep you enthralled. The champions cut off the ring, isolating Trent Seven. You’d expect the smaller team member to get isolated, but Seven had his knee worked on extensively in the previous match. Plus, STRONG BOI Tyler Bate is a great hot tag and he got to showcase his power on multiple occasions. He’s a freak of nature, especially for his age. That combination of strength and athleticism shouldn’t be possible. When Bate’s leg became a problem, Seven nearly threw in the towel, which was a beautiful callback to their last encounter. Down the stretch, we got a lot of false finishes to keep us totally engaged. The fans bit into so many of them. Undisputed retained with Total Elimination in 18:07. The second best match in their series.
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281. NXT Championship vs. Career Match: Andrade Almas [c] vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT 2/21/18
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| Following an incredible, all-time great match at TakeOver: Philadelphia, Andrade Almas and Johnny Gargano raised the stakes for their rematch. Gargano put his career on the line, providing us with another highly emotional battle. They were actually coming in three for three in great matches. This made four. Early on, Candice LeRae took Zelina Vega to the back, ensuring this was one on one for the time. Of course, their exchanges were crisp as they've built some phenomenal chemistry over the course of their rivalry. Everything felt so natural in this match. Often, when you do a career match, the result seems obvious. Here, it wasn’t. It seemed like Johnny could win or lose at any point. That’s hard to do. The drama just built and built until the referee got knocked out. Johnny slapped on the Gargano Escape and had the match won. Tommaso Ciampa showed up and broke his crutch over Johnny’s head. Almas hit the Hammerlock DDT and retained after 15:14. Nowhere near the insane level of their TakeOver match, but a fitting final chapter for them. A dramatic match featuring great action and plenty of emotion. The silent crowd as Almas celebrated told the story it needed to.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on May 3, 2021 9:24:41 GMT -5
280. Matt Riddle vs. Will Ospreay - PROGRESS The Graps of Wrath 11/27/16
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| Two guys that stood out in 2016 were Matt Riddle and Will Ospreay. So when it was announced that they’d face off for the first time at PROGRESS Chapter 39, most people were rightfully excited. With no existing issues or rivalries, you might expect a standard match here. Riddle made sure it wasn’t by attacking Ospreay with a brutal knee during introductions. What followed was wall to wall action for 8:15. Ospreay got his highlights in as well, flying all over the place when getting an opening. He didn’t shy away from a strike battle with Riddle either, holding his own but still being slightly overmatched there. Though this match is short (the second shortest on this list), there was so much going on that it would be hard to mention it all. A great series of counters made it seem like Ospreay might win, only to have his Oscutter caught into the Bromission. Ospreay tapped out, giving Riddle a victory in his debut in the UK. A spectacular sprint between two guys who are now undesirable.
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279. ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Kings of Wrestling [c] vs. The Motor City Machine Guns - ROH Supercard of Honor V
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| Man, it is not easy finding pictures of ROH shows from this time period. Honestly, this is one of those cases where I don't even have to write a lot. All you have to do is look at the teams involved to understand just how great this was. Two of the best duos from the era going at it in a match that felt like the main event of the show. It wasn't but it should've been. They threw everything in their arsenals at each other. It was on its way to arguably being a perfect tag team match but it does have a weak finish. Shenanigans led to the Briscoes arriving and causing a DQ after 21:14. Spectacular pro wrestling only somewhat marred by a cheap ending.
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278. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Yuji Nagata – NJPW G1 Climax 26 7/30/16
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| Yuji Nagata is obviously a veteran in the business and is an ageless wonder. Katsuhiko Nakajima had future star written all over him and he was arguably the MVP in his first-ever G1 Climax run. The NOAH star was a babyface but was actually at his best when playing up the cocky young heel role. He did that here, kicking Nagata during his entrance to get a jump on the legend. Nagata entered this match at 3-0 and a win here would not only give him his first loss, but it would vault Nakajima to the top of the standings, so there was a little extra on the line. Nagata brought the hard strikes throughout this 12:32 match, but Nakajima was more than willing to dish it right back out. The brash Nakajima even tried using Nagata’s own backdrop driver on him, but he only got a near fall with it. When Nagata got his armbar locked in, the crowd responded perfectly. The final exchange of chops and strikes from these two was among the best all year long. Nagata was so pissed that he even shoved the referee away during his assault. When it was all said and done, Nakajima used a penalty kick and Brainbuster to earn one of the biggest wins of his career.
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277. Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: #DIY vs. The Undisputed Era – NXT 3/6/19
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| It’s one of the ultimate NXT dream matches. Two of the best tag teams in NXT history getting the one chance to square off. Tommaso Ciampa entered as NXT Champion and had Johnny Gargano back at his side after he lost the North American Title. The idea was that Ciampa was the key to Johnny’s success. The reaction from the crowd when they stopped on their way to the ring and the old #DIY theme hit was special. With two teams of this caliber, the expectations could not have been higher. Yet they lived up to them and then some. This was a classic filled with incredible tag team wrestling. They blended in the smooth wrestling with the high spots and the dramatic close calls. It was beautiful. And it all went down in just 14:04. They put together something outstanding without ever overdoing it. This peaked at the right moment and ended with #DIY hitting their old Meeting in the Middle finisher. Despite not having teamed in over a year, Gargano and Ciampa didn’t miss a beat. And we all benefitted from it.
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276. Cueto Cup Finals: Pentagon Dark vs. Prince Puma – Lucha Underground 8/23/17
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| The giant Cueto Cup Tournament came down to arguably the two biggest stars in Lucha Underground. Prince Puma was the first champion and the ultimate hero. Pentagon Dark epitomized the anti-hero, as his violent tactics made him a fan favorite. However, Puma had a transformation in season three and was crossing to the dark side. They met in season two, with some questionable finishes. This took what worked in those matches and built on it to make a great tournament closer. You won’t find many better sub-ten minute matches. It clocked in at 9:34 and was action from bell to bell. There was a sense of urgency in everything they did, adding to the importance of the Cueto Cup. Puma had been to the top before, but Pentagon just kept coming up short. After a barrage of wild offense, Puma connected on a super rana. He looked over to Vampiro, who gave a thumbs down signal. Puma finished Pentagon with the 630 and earned another Ultima Lucha main event. Pentagon failed again, watching his old mentor celebrate with his replacement protégé. Excellent action and a great piece of a larger story.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on May 3, 2021 19:28:48 GMT -5
275. NXT Tag Team Championship: American Alpha [c] vs. The Revival – NXT TakeOver: The End
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| After winning the NXT Tag Team Titles at the previous TakeOver during WrestleMania weekend, American Alpha had their first televised defense in the Revival’s contracted rematch. The Revival just have this amazing chemistry with anybody put in front of them, but their work with American Alpha was some of their best. The pace of this was furious from bell to bell. American Alpha ran circles around the challengers at some points, so the Revival did what they do best and cut the ring in half. They played into their first match with similar spots but made sure to put a twist on them so it would be different. Chad Gable was a great face in peril, garnering sympathy and getting in great hope spots. Jason Jordan’s hot tag run was great as always. Since it was the first big defense for American Alpha, myself and a lot of others felt they would retain. As the match neared the conclusion at 15:51, the Revival got closer and closer. They went for a powerbomb/clothesline off the top spot but Gable caught Dawson with a massive belly to belly. The Revival cut off Grand Amplitude and hit the Shatter Machine to regain the titles in a surprising decision.
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274. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 27 7/17/17
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| Two names were announced for the G1 Climax 27 that added intrigue. One was the returning Kota Ibushi and the other was Zack Sabre Jr., in his first G1. His G1 debut itself was even bigger, facing Intercontinental Champion and ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi. The daunting task didn’t matter to the brash Brit. For 17:18, he picked Tanahashi apart. Since Tanahashi came in with his arm taped, Sabre made it his target and attacked it mercilessly. The stuff he did looked like it came with relative ease, which was a brilliant way to establish him with unfamiliar fans. This was the guy who could come in and treat the seven-time IWGP Champion like a chump. Tanahashi got something going early, but stopped to taunt and Sabre caught him in another submission. He was just in the driver’s seat from the get go. Tanahashi’s comeback saw him work the leg, as expected. He hit High Fly Flow, but Sabre got his knees up on the second. He trapped Tanahashi in another submission, ripped off his arm tape and made the ace tap out in his G1 debut. It was the perfect way to book Sabre on his first show. There was excellent limb work and top notch selling. The rematch for the IC Title wasn’t as good, but we’ll always have this.
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273. Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream – NXT TakeOver: Chicago II
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| For this match, Velveteen Dream came out dressed like Hulk Hogan but with Prince Puma style pants. Yes, Prince Puma. Ricochet’s Lucha Underground character. Because The Velveteen Dream is amazing. I will admit that redoing the Rock/Hogan WrestleMania X8 faceoff was a bit heavy handed. The match also felt like it may have gone a bit long, clocking in at 22:10. With that out of the way, we can focus on the good, because there was a ton of that. NXT offers the best storytelling in wrestling and it’s honestly not even close. This match was built around the idea of “Anything you can do, the Dream can do better.” Dream isn’t known for his aerial ability, but with a point to prove, he added several to his arsenal here. He busted out some of Ricochet’s signature offense to show he could do it. It caught Ricochet off guard and he had to go the extra mile in his high flying stuff to truly remind everyone that he’s the king in that area. Trying to one up each other is what ultimately cost Dream the match. They each tried to hit a top rope move from a further distance. With Ricochet across the ring, Dream tried the Purple Rainmaker and missed. That put him in perfect position for Ricochet to nail the 630 splash and win.
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272. AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor – WWE TLC 2017
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| Throughout the summer and fall, Finn Balor was mired in a completely garbage feud with Bray Wyatt. With the “Demon vs. Sister Abigail” billed for TLC, we were probably in for the worst of it. Then, viral meningitis happened and Bray couldn’t compete. To replace him, Raw borrowed AJ Styles to set up a battle of the first two Bullet Club leaders. They worked this first-time ever match like an NJPW main event. It was deliberately slow in the early stages, before building to the bigger spots. The atmosphere was tremendous. The crowd was into every little thing these guys did. Often, Finn doesn’t do enough to make the “Demon” different from his regular self. Here, he added small mannerisms and showed a more aggressive side at times, which was appreciated. For example, to break the Calf Crusher, he brutally smashed AJ’s head into the mat. We got to see them both do Pele kicks, which was cool, though I wish they both did Bloody Sundays. In the end, AJ missed the springboard 450, setting up Finn to use a flurry of offense to win. He capped it with the best Coup de Grace I can remember at 18:16. It was mostly two guys getting their signature stuff in, but that’s fine. They did this on short notice and delivered a high-quality match in front of a raucous crowd. I love that they didn’t go into a finisher kickout fest either. As good as this was, it felt like they had better in them, maybe with a story and AJ not being jetlagged.
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271. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – WWE Payback 2016
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| The rivalry between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn is among my favorite in wrestling. When they were a tag team on the indies, I was a massive fan. I still love both guys as singles competitors and they just fit as rivals. Sami is the perfect underdog babyface and Owens is a great brutal bully of a villain. Their fights have an animosity to them that a lot of big feuds lack these days. We totally buy into them hating each other. This only goes for 14:39 but it never stops. They fight in and around the ring, with both guys playing to their strengths. Sami is just so good at taking a beating, so everything Owens did just came off as even more vicious than normal. For example, a simple front suplex onto the top rope looked awesome because of how Sami sold it. Sami’s rally was full of fire and the fans completely wanted him to win despite Owens being very popular. They built to some great near falls on a Sami blue thunder bomb and a frog splash from Owens. Sami had two great counters for the Popup Powerbomb but Owens had a counter of his own for Sami’s tornado DDT. They just continued to build to bigger and better things. Owens stopped the Helluva Kick with a superkick and won with the Popup Powerbomb. These two are so good together that they would compete in an even better match together a few months later.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on May 4, 2021 13:54:01 GMT -5
270. New Japan Cup Semi-Finals: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW New Japan Cup 3/17/17
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| It’s the only pairing in wrestling that I’ve given ***** (G1 Climax 23), ****¾ (WK10), ****½ (New Beginning 2016) and ****¼ (KOPW 2013), without going any lower. Their last encounter saw a trip to the New Japan Cup Finals on the line. Usually, they go right at each other, but it was more subdued early on. They knew each other well enough to not make the first mistake. But by subdued start, I meant the hard hits took about three minutes to kick in, so it wasn’t like this was slow in any way. In between the strikes, Shibata threw in some submission attempts, just like he did in their New Beginning match last year. The strikes were as vicious as ever, with some close ups really accentuating how violent this was. At one point, they just sat down and slapped each other. Knowing it would take more than usual to beat Ishii, Shibata hit the PK and went back to the sleeper. Ishii fought his hardest, but eventually passed out after 22:34. When these two get together, you can expect a war and they always deliver.
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269. Kazuchika Okada vs. Satoshi Kojima – NJPW G1 Climax 27 7/27/17
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| Coming into the tournament, Okada noted how he felt legends like Yuji Nagata and Satoshi Kojima shouldn’t be in the G1 Climax, because they’re old and had no chance of winning. What a jerk! He played into it perfectly here, feeding into the boos and going so far as to attack Kojima’s partner at ringside, Hiroyoshi Tenzan. His cockiness opened the door for Kojima to light him up with Mongolian chops. Kojima came close to winning after a Koji Cutter and Brainbuster, but it takes more than that to keep Okada down. He avoided two Rainmakers, blocking the second with a lariat of his own for one of the coolest moments of the entire tournament. That was his last stand, as Okada got hot and won with a successful Rainmaker in 15:26. I loved this because it didn’t follow typical Okada formula. It showed that he doesn’t need to work overly long 25+ minute outings to be great. Kojima was awesome, Okada was at his smug best and it was my third favorite Okada match of 2017.
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268. WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Cedric Alexander [c] vs. Buddy Murphy – WWE Super Showdown 2018
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| When I think about the two best and most consistent junior heavyweights/cruiserweights in the world my mind doesn’t go to KUSHIDA, Will Ospreay, Marty Scurll, or even Cedric Alexander. The top two in 2018 were Hiromu Takahashi and Buddy Murphy. Yes, that same Buddy Murphy who was most known for a short NXT Tag Title run and being in a relationship Alexa Bliss. When he got his chance to shine on 205 Live, he made the most of it, having fantastic matches on a weekly basis. He lost in a great title match against Alexander in Cedric’s hometown earlier in the year. He earned another shot with the tables turned, now in his hometown of Melbourne. That instantly took the previously unbeaten in 2018 Alexander off his game. He wasn’t used to not being the favorite. For 10:33, these two just threw everything at one another. They emptied their arsenals to give us a phenomenal sprint. Alexander’s avalanche Michinoku Driver was one of the best spots of the year. When Murphy kicked out of the Lumbar Check, the fans erupted and Alexander was at a loss. Murphy cut off his springboard attempt and hit Murphy’s Law. The Juggernaut won the title in a tremendous match in front of his hometown. What a moment.
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267. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba – Dominion 2015
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| These are two of the baddest dudes I’ve ever seen in a wrestling ring. As expected when it comes to these two, they didn’t do much wrestling. This was absolutely a fight. It was hard hitting and stiff for the entire 11:48 runtime. Throughout this match, there were multiple little things that helped it stand out. In order to break a submission where his arms weren’t free, Katsuyori Shibata resorted to biting the second rope for a rope break. Kazushi Sakuraba threw off his ankle brace before kicking Shibata at another point. The men had a history together, as a tag team and as mentor and mentee from what I’ve looked up. From what I gather, Shibata was never able to beat Sakuraba in their MMA fights, so this was a chance to kind of surpass his mentor in the pro wrestling world. This was exactly the kind of match that it needed to be and Shibata got the victory, gaining momentum before a great showing in the G1 Climax. Just a great fight, especially if that style speaks to you.
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266. WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The Usos [c] vs. The New Day – WWE Battleground 2017
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| WWE managed to produce several tremendous tag matches in 2017. The rivalry between The New Day and The Usos was the high point. Though their first match was at Money in the Bank, this was where it really got going. Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston represented New Day, allowing for more speed, which they showcased right from the start. After getting a hot tag, Kofi performed a dive onto the Usos, only to get caught and planted with a brutal powerbomb on the outside. Left alone, Woods fought valiantly. He survived everything the Usos threw at him. It led to one of the best spots in any company this year, as Woods did tried his rope walk elbow, only to get drilled with a sick midair superkick. It was the best superkick since Shawn Michaels and Shelton Benjamin, bar none. Somehow, that wasn’t the finish and neither was an Uso splash. That made it clear that new champions would be crowned, which happened after Trouble in Paradise and a Woods elbow at 13:46. The pace was wild and it made for one of the best tag matches all year. It turns out they were just warming up.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on May 5, 2021 9:46:47 GMT -5
265. NXT Women’s Championship Last Woman Standing Match: Asuka [c] vs. Nikki Cross – NXT 6/28/17
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| I know everyone raved about the Asuka/Ember Moon matches, and rightfully so, but this was the best WWE women’s match at the time since the Sasha/Bayley series in 2015. A Last Woman Standing Match was the perfect idea for the dominant champion and the one woman crazy enough to possibly do enough to dethrone her. They got violent from the start. Nikki was slammed onto a pile of chairs and got hit with a bunch of kicks while in a trash can. Asuka took a brutal back suplex onto that same pile of chairs and a powerbomb onto another pile outside. Nikki threw every wacky idea her wild mind could come up with, but Asuka wouldn’t stay down for the ten count. When the finish finally came, it felt earned. A ladder was set up by the announce table. Both women fought atop, with Asuka winning out and nailing a superplex through the table. They were both down, but it was Asuka who got up just the count of ten, retaining her title in an insane 18:46. I feel like this is getting forgotten when it comes to the great women’s matches but it shouldn’t.
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264. NXT Championship: Adrian Neville [c] vs. Sami Zayn – NXT 11/13/14
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| Everyone remembers the incredible match these two had at TakeOver: R-Evolution in December of 2014. Sami Zayn put his career on the line and finally overcame Adrian Neville. Due to that being so good, people have forgotten the gem they had a month prior. Zayn and Neville delivered arguably the best match in NXT TV history. Realizing his title was in jeopardy, Neville feigned an injury. Ever the good guy at the time, Zayn let up and Neville used that to his advantage to retain the title. The story told was masterful and set up their final encounter expertly.
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263. Lucha Underground Championship Career vs. Career Match: Prince Puma [c] vs. Pentagon Dark – Lucha Underground Ultima Lucha Tres
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| Ultima Lucha Tres was scheduled to end with Prince Puma vs. Johnny Mundo, which was also the main event of the first ever Lucha Underground show. Puma’s career was on the line and he overcame the odds to win his second Lucha Underground Championship. His celebration was cut short by Dario Cueto. He announced that Pentagon Dark was cashing in his Gift of the Gods Title for a shot at Puma. Dario threw in the added twist of both their careers were on the line. Like their Cueto Cup Finals meeting, this was kept short. It went just 8:26, but was packed with non-stop action. Pentagon broke Puma’s arm early on, but a desperate Puma popped it back into place and taped it up to keep going. They had some incredible exchanges before Puma hit the Benadryller. He went for the 630, but Vampiro pulled Pentagon out of the way. Pentagon then won with the Package Piledriver, finally capturing the title that eluded him for so long. The match was a blast but the story was even better. Vampiro and Pentagon had a long history and Vampiro spent this season manipulating Puma, all to turn on him and side with Pentagon in the end.
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262. IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito [c] vs. Juice Robinson – NJPW Wrestling Toyonokuni 2017
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| In 2015, Juice Robinson left a cozy little spot in NXT as CJ Parker to bet on himself in NJPW. He spent a little over a year working in multi-man tags on the undercard. He showed fire, but didn’t seem like he was in line for anything big. 2017 was a banner year that changed all that. He had a singles match in the Tokyo Dome, shots at the NEVER, Intercontinental and US Titles, main evented two shows and pinned guys like Kenny Omega, Hirooki Goto and Tetsuya Naito. By virtue of that last win, he got a shot at Naito’s IC Title on this night, and with it, his first main event. The battle went outside early on, where Naito just destroyed Juice’s knee. The knee became the story of the match. Naito relentlessly went after it, while Juice sold the hell out of it. He slipped on the selling once or twice, but mostly excelled at it. Juice’s struggle in the knee bar was great. The fans totally sympathized with him. He came close to victory a few times, but fell to Destino at 26:42. A simple, but effective story that hammered home how great of a plucky underdog Juice is. He didn’t win, though it accomplished the goal of solidifying Juice as a star.
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261. WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins [c] vs. Bar – WWE No Mercy 2017
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| At SummerSlam, these teams nearly stole the show in an awesome match that saw Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose capture the titles. On that night, they managed to surprise Sheamus and Cesaro, but the element of surprise was gone this time around. The challengers had a plan, bullying their opponents. Cesaro swinging Dean into the ring steps was a great spot, even with Dean’s delayed selling. Ambrose got isolated, until hitting a slingshot that saw Cesaro land face first on the ring post. It was so brutal that it pushed his front teeth 4mm up into his gums. But Cesaro’s a tough bastard and didn’t miss a beat. Both Dean and Seth took heat segments, leading to one of the best near falls in years. They teased doing the finish from SummerSlam again, but Cesaro and Sheamus had it scouted. Sheamus hit White Noise on Dean, before Cesaro super powerbombed Seth onto Dean. Once the champs survived that, they retained with a ripcord knee into Dirty Deeds at 15:55. This was even better than their SummerSlam outing. The Bar were positioned as the better team, but Dean was resilient and Seth got to bust out his high octane offense to combat them. The hot crowd, callbacks to past matches and Cesaro’s injury all added a lot to this.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on May 5, 2021 20:21:54 GMT -5
260. AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9
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| Since my knowledge of New Japan Pro Wrestling wasn’t very high coming into Wrestle Kingdom 9, I wanted to see this match more than any because it involved AJ Styles. Seeing it for the first time, I thought it was great. Later in the year, I went back and saw their G1 Climax 24 match, which was better, before going back and re-watching this. The second time around, I appreciated and enjoyed this more. While their first match was centered on Naito’s eye injury and a vicious AJ, this was focused on the Styles Clash. AJ had broken Yoshi Tatsu’s neck with the move and there was an aura around it as something dangerous. Naito had it well scouted, countering or blocking it at every single turn. When I saw this with Jim Ross and Matt Striker on commentary, it helped as they really built the Styles Clash as something to fear. In the end, the one Styles Clash that Naito couldn’t counter was one from the second rope, finishing him at 14:25. Once the match ended, officials ran in to check on Naito, further selling the Clash.
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259. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2013
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| Just like their previous matches, this starts with both men charging at each other because they are badass dudes. They just beat the hell out of each other and at one point, literally ask the other guy to hit them harder. It’s a pretty crazy thing to see. It’s great to see that both guys are billed as equals throughout. Every time Shibata does something, Ishii can do it back and vice versa. They call back to their previous G1 match with some big time near falls of one counts, despite big moves. Ishii hits a lariat at one point that would have ended a normal match but Shibata actually stays on his feet. He fights through and wins with the Penalty Kick.
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258. Number One Contender's Match: Adam Cole vs. Aleister Black vs. Matt Riddle vs. Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream – WWE NXT 3/20/19
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| Just when we thought we were getting another Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa match for the NXT Title, Ciampa had to vacate the gold due to injury. Gargano still kept his shot at TakeOver: New York, but he needed an opponent. Enter this match booked by Triple H. it featured the five top male stars in NXT not named Gargano or Ciampa. The hot new commodity in Matt Riddle, North American Champion Velveteen Dream, top heel Adam Cole, and a tag team killing it on the main roster in Aleister Black and Ricochet. For 14:43, these five men put on a show with non-stop action. People moved in and out of things seamlessly despite there being so many moving parts. I loved the little moments like Black and Ricochet working together only to have to fight each other immediately afterward or past rivalries (Dream/Ricochet, Black/Cole, Dream/Black, etc.) being reborn. The final few minutes were breathtaking to the point where you might find yourself out cold the way all five men were. I saw countless moments where you thought it was over. When Ricochet had it won, Cole laid him out with Last Shot and pinned him to earn the title shot and start his rivalry with Gargano. An outstanding battle of five talented guys.
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257. WWE United States Championship: Samoa Joe [c] vs. Andrade vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio – WWE Fastlane 2019
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| Considering he had about 25 reigns as the 24/7 Champion, you might have forgotten that R-Truth also held the United States Title in 2019. He lost it to Samoa Joe shortly before Fastlane. WWE decided to combine their issues with the ones involving Andrade and Rey Mysterio to give us a surprising US Title match. I love when those kind of matches end up being great and that’s just what this did. This only went 10:51 but was filled with about 25 minutes’ worth of action. So much happened, yet it all felt smart, crisp, and exciting. You would think they had weeks to come up with some of the spots they pulled off. Andrade and Rey were given shine for their feud, Joe was the bruiser we know him to be, and R-Truth hit us with the comedy he’s known for. They even made sure to include Carmella and Zelina Vega in the action. Joe would force Mysterio to pass out in the Coquina Clutch to retain, bringing one of the most fun matches of the year to a close. It fantastic minutes featuring four guys who are highly enjoyable to watch and two great female characters doing their thing at ringside. It all came together for something special.
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256. WWE Championship: CM Punk [c] vs. John Cena – WWE Night of Champions 2012
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| The rivalry between John Cena and CM Punk was one of the best of the 2010s, even if it only spanned about a year and a half. By this point in 2012, it was over a year since their epic at Money in the Bankand Punk was closing in on the anniversary of his WWE Title reign. Cena proved to be a major roadblock for him. Now a heel, Punk was more willing to do whatever it took to retain his title. That being said, he played this mostly straight, not resorting to too much and wanting to prove that he was simply better than Cena. They went for an epic fight feel with a slow burn and plenty of finisher kick outs down the stretch. A German suplex off the middle rope where both men had their shoulders pinned down led to a screwy finish and a draw after 26:54. It’s not a great ending, which holds it back from ranking higher, but it’s still a great match.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on May 6, 2021 10:12:26 GMT -5
255. New Japan Cup First Round: Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW New Japan Cup 3/12/17
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| Fresh off his first Wrestle Kingdom main event, Kenny Omega looked to rebound and win the New Japan Cup. A tournament win would earn him another shot at Kazuchika Okada the following month. In his way stood Tomohiro Ishii in a first time ever meeting. Omega looked to take it right to Ishii. That was a mistake, as he got rocked with strikes. A reverse rana outside put the momentum in Omega’s favor and from there, he targeted the shoulder. Things got really crazy when Ishii busted out a goddamn super rana. I didn’t even know what I was watching at that point. They just went into a barrage of great back and forth for the remainder of the match. I got a kick out of seeing Ishii pull out his own V-Trigger. There was a great spot where Ishii fought off the One Winged Angel, so Omega turned it into a massive German suplex. Ishii had the best counter for the One Winged Angel when he turned it into a stunner. He finally used a Brainbuster to win in 29:46 They continued the story of nobody kicking out of Omega’s finish, Ishii sold everything like a champ and the exchanges were wild. It didn’t need to go half an hour, though.
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254. NXT Championship: Adam Cole [c] vs. Matt Riddle – NXT 10/2/19
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| With the debut of AEW Dynamite on October 2nd, WWE had to combat it with a huge episode of NXT. And they delivered. The episode turned out to be an all-timer and it started with a hell of a bang. Adam Cole defended his NXT Championship against Matt Riddle. This isn’t a matchup we had seen before unless you randomly watched a PWG show from 2017. But with how smoothly this all went, you’d think they had wrestled tons of times before. Nearly every exchange was crisp and came off great. They wowed the audience for 13:49, packing more action into that timeframe than a lot of people could in triple that amount. It felt like something we’d get on a TakeOver. This was two guys unloading their entire arsenals on one another in an attempt to be champion. And sometimes that’s all you want in a match. That made the title feel important. The closing five minutes were about as good as you’ll see anywhere. With a molten hot crowd and this level of action, you couldn’t have asked for a better way to start the show. Cole retained with the Last Shot, adding another feather in the cap of his great run as NXT Champion.
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253. AJ Styles vs. Katsuyori Shibata – NJPW G1 Climax 25 7/20/15
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| Coming into 2015, I had never seen Katsuyori Shibata, but had heard great things. After seeing him have a fantastic match at Dominion, I started to like him. Seeing him matched up against my personal favorite, AJ Styles, to kick off the G1 Climax, had me pretty stoked. When I first saw this, I thought it was good, but not great. Upon further review, I grew to love it. Shibata came in with a legit hand injury and I expected AJ to target it. I assume it was too hurt to really work, so they wisely found a way around it. Shibata kicked the crap out of AJ, forcing AJ to go after the leg, which also help establish his Calf Killer submission. Shibata took it to AJ with some stiff shots throughout, doing what he does best. In the most infamous moment of the match, AJ was close to breaking Shibata’s sleeper. With only one good hand, Shibata chose to bite down on his good hand to keep the hold. He would miss the PK and fall victim to the Styles Clash after 13:36. I can’t believe I left this off of my top ten G1 Climax 25 matches earlier this year. Brilliantly worked match.
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252. Flash Morgan Webster, Jimmy Havoc and Mark Haskins vs. Pete Dunne, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate – PROGRESS Chapter 44: Old Man Yells at Cloud 2/26/17
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| If any member of the Webster/Havoc/Haskins team scored the pin, they’d get a PROGRESS Title shot, but if any of them got pinned, they couldn’t have a shot for six months. High stakes. The British Strong Style trio hit pre-match low blows and went for Pedigrees, but they were countered to officially start the match. The dynamic of the face team all wanting the pin for themselves came into play early, but they put it aside to hit a bunch of dives. British Strong Style worked better as a team since they are an established unit. We got a cool moment where Dunne and Haskins trapped their opponents in double submissions while slapping each other. There was so much action packed into this 15:06 that it would take too much to write it all. The teams started doing moves in stereo, including the face team stealing Bate’s signature “bop and bang” spot and hitting a trio of Canadian Destroyers, while BSS got in some Pedigrees. When it looked like Dunne was about to beat Webster, Havoc entered the picture and pinned the PROGRESS Champion with an Acid Rainmaker to earn the title shot. There was zero down time here. It was wall-to-wall action and the awesome kind of main event you want your show to close with. Lots of great individual character moments mixed in with wild action.
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251. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III
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| I admit I’m probably giving a biased opinion here because Almas and Gargano were my two favorite wrestlers in NXT. Even without that, I also think they're the best guys there. This had most of the elements I look for in a great match. It was the perfect choice to open TakeOver: Brooklyn. Gargano is the best babyface the company has left and the crowd ate up everything he did. Almas was in the midst of an angle where his new manager, Zelina Vega, was making sure he focused to turn his win/loss record around. There were elements of Almas reverting back to his old form with tranquilo taunts, and it would cost him. When he finally got serious, he was right on Gargano’s level. Some people didn’t like the finish, but I thought it was perfect. Just when Gargano had things in hand, Vega threw a #DIY shirt at him. That distraction allowed Almas to win at the 13:13 mark. It worked so well because it helped establish Vega’s presence as a valuable valet, protected Gargano, got Almas a much-needed win and added to the #DIY split angle. Gargano had been ignoring it since returning, but here it was, thrown in his face to cost him his first big singles match since the split. Spectacular work by the two best guys in NXT.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on May 7, 2021 9:16:36 GMT -5
250. NXT North American Championship: Velveteen Dream [c] vs. Matt Riddle – NXT TakeOver: New York
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| Velveteen Dream truly is a special wrestler. It doesn’t matter who he wrestles because he’s probably going to put on a show. Whether it’s a technician, showman, brawler, high flyer, or in this case, someone with an MMA background, Dream makes it work. He did it again here. This is not a slight on Matt Riddle and I don’t want people to think I’m saying he had no part in this. He’s very good. I just wanted to praise Dream. Anyway, this match had the disadvantage of following the best tag match of 2019 and still managed to nearly surpass it. Riddle dominated this at points. His style of combining submissions and strikes was too much for the champion. Dream did his best to hang tough but he was straight up outmatched. However, he played the role of the resilient champion. He refused to stay down and took everything Riddle threw at him while sprinkling in his own greatness. When Dream got going near the end, he had the Purple Rainmaker caught into the Bromission and it was spectacular. He fought it but got put in it again, only to roll over into a pin and luckily retain after 17:21. Riddle did his thing but made one mistake and Dream capitalized.
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249. Trios Championship: Ivelisse & Son of Havoc [c] vs. The Crew & Joey Ryan vs. Fenix, Jack Evans & PJ Black vs. Dragon Azteca Jr., Prince Puma and Rey Mysterio Jr. – Lucha Underground 4/27/16
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| Shortly after Dario Cueto returned to the Temple, he set up a new Trios Tournament. The three teams that advanced to the finals would meet the champions on this night. One of the champions, Angelico, got injured which caused his partners to compete shorthanded. There were so many interesting dynamics in this one. From Angelico and Ivelisse as the underdog champions, to the Crew teaming with sleazy undercover cop Joey Ryan, to Fenix’s team not getting along and finally to the dream team of Azteca, Puma and Rey. So many moving parts and it all came together perfectly. One member of each team was legal at a time, giving it a different feel from a lot of big tag matches like this. It would be impossible to write up play-by-play on this. We did get to see Ivelisse hit a German suplex on sleazy Joey, which was cool. A miscommunication between the Crew and Joey allowed Ivelisse to eliminate them first. Evans, who called himself the “baddest bitch in the building” to mock Ivelisse, eliminated her and guaranteed there would be new champions. The final two teams going at it ruled. Azteca showed off how good he is and went toe to toe with Fenix. Evans got too cocky and it led to the downfall for them. Mysterio got the tag and ran wild, hitting the 619 to kick off a barrage of moves that won his team the titles at 23:15. Not only was this a fantastic match, but it actually started a bigger angle that set up a match between Mysterio and Puma at Ultima Lucha Dos.
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248. War Games: AOP & Roderick Strong vs. SAnitY vs. The Undisputed Era - NXT TakeOver: War Games 2017
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| When this originally happened, I wasn’t in love with it. I thought it was a bit much and had some overkill moments. That being said, it has grown on me after multiple viewings. WWE debuted their take on War Games and went a unique route. Instead of two teams of four, they went with three teams of three. Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O’Reilly bested the Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong, as well as the members of SAnitY. This was a huge brawl fitting of the gimmick and featured some major spots and tons of excitement. It took 36:32 and the entire time was filled with action. Plus, the whole thing was paced out incredibly well, making for one of the best War Games match involving men since WWE brought it around.
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247. WWE Championship: Dean Ambrose [c] vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Battleground 2016
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| The highly anticipated first ever triple threat match between the members of the Shield. A lot of people were disappointed that this was placed on a B Pay-Per-View like Battleground, but with the draft going down, it might have been the last chance for it. All the commissioners and general managers sat at ringside, while each show’s rosters watched from the back. Seth and Roman represented Raw, while it was up to Dean to bring the title to Smackdown. Right from the start of this 18:02 match, Seth was the target for turning on them two years earlier. The match itself is awesome, but the true greatness lied in the storytelling. Seeing Dean and Seth team up to powerbomb Reigns through the announce table was really cool. Seth calling back to the infamous heel turn by striking Reigns in the back with a chair was one of my favorite moments all year long. Towards the finish, they built to great drama and I fully bought into Seth pulling out the win and then Roman doing the same. Dean snuck in and drilled Reigns with Dirty Deeds to keep the title and surprise many, including myself, who didn’t think the WWE would have him win the battle of the Shield members. There were high expectations and I feel these three lived up to them.
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246. IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Juice Robinson [c] vs. Jon Moxley – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 26 Finals
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| It was easily one of the most highly anticipated matches of 2019. After leaving WWE, Jon Moxley stunned many by being revealed as the man targeting Juice Robinson in New Japan. This was a surprise because many were unsure about how Moxley would adapt to the NJPW style, which isn’t exactly up his alley. If you wanted an idea for how this match went, look no further than right before the bell. Juice Robinson revealed that he had cut his signature locks, which the crowd gasped at. Moxley immediately flipped him the double bird as a response. As soon as the bell rang, they just went right at each other and the action never slowed. What made this work was that they didn’t try to force a square peg into a round hold. Moxley wasn’t forced to work an NJPW style match. Instead, they let him do his thing and Juice was a great partner for the ride. They brawled through the crowd, this had big bumps, and brought things like tables into play. I liked the little notes like Juice trying to win with the Boston Crab, which he learned in the Dojo and not while in WWE. It added layers to this encounter. Moxley won with the Death Rider after a tremendous 24:14.
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