Favourite Matches of 2016

This year has been such a good year for wrestling. WWE split into two brands tobring us more PPV's, the Cruiserweight Classic provided some of the best weekly wrestling programming I've ever seen, the UK indies have been on fire providing their best talent to the US with Ospreay, Sabre and Scurll all having massive years. So I've decided to do a best matches list of 2016 but most importantly, this is not what I think are the best matches of the year. These are my personal favourite matches of the year, matches that felt special to me for one reason or another.

There are some special mentions: Sasha Banks and Charlotte had an endless series of matches, I only watched the PPV matches and all were good (despite cringing at Sasha landing on her neck over-and-over again). The two highlights of the feud were the Hell in a Cell and the finale, the Iron Man match. The two got a lot of stick for competing too much against each other but since I only watched the PPV's I've enjoyed all their matches and although they have been pushed too hard into the limelight, I think they have stepped up everytime. A big step raising the bar for the women.

Despite watching more Lucha Underground, no matches make the list. They put on a great weekly television show. I've watched every episode of Season 3 and it's such a good show to follow. Their booking isn't always the best especially the reluctance to build the show around their best performer, Pentagon Jr. Despite being a great show, no match in particular stood out enough to make the list. The match that came closest was Rey Mysterio vs. Prince Puma. I thought Rey was done, just cashing in one last paycheck but he dialled back the years in an excellent performance and Puma continues to show why he is arguably the best highflyer today.

Below is my list for my favourite matches of the year. There are 15 matches in no particular order since I couldn't really rank them without watching them all again. Then the final match listed is my match of the year:

2/3 Falls: Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe - NXT

It was great to see two indy titans clash on a WWE programme. You just knew something was up when the two made their entrances at the start of the show. What followed was a full hour of me questioning whether they would go the full hour. They did and they did it in style. No downtime just pure straight up wrestling. Just fantastic.

The Revival vs. American Alpha - NXT Takeover Dallas

I'll admit, I was wrong about the Revival. I didn't get into them at first but now, their possibly the best team on the planet. There's no better workers than them, they stick to what they do best and it's highly effective. I saw these two teams in a MOTN battle live in Cardiff at the end of 2015 and I was a mega fan of American Alpha at this point, so to see them win the belts was something special.

KUSHIDA vs. Will Ospreay - NJPW Invasion Attack

What can I say about Will Ospreay? I'll probably write more about him in my reviews of 2016 but what a year he has had. This was his New Japan debut if I remember rightly and his attire was a tribute to the late Kris Travis. I remember  thinking how cool it was to see Ospreay in Japan but what I remember strongly in this match is KUSHIDA working the arm so well that Ospreay could not perform the handspring off the ropes so he did a no arm handspring. I think this is the match that really made me think Ospreay was something special.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10

Look at this now, it's crazy. One is the NXT Champ, the other the WWE Champ. But earlier this year they were battling in New Japan. But honestly, I dunno if this should make the list. I remember enjoying it when it happened but there's been so many good matches since January it's hard to remember whether this was better or not. Either way, historically it deserves to go down and it capped off both men's fantastic time in the land of the Rising Sun.

Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi - NJPW Fantasticamania

I usually wouldn't have watched this show but my interest in New Japan was high at the time due to Wrestle Kingdom and this match was recommended. I'm glad I watched it because it was different to most matches I watched all year. These two are big rivals who had faced off many times before so they had excellent chemistry. Everything was slick and fast paced. With Kamaitachi re-appearing in NJPW and Lee in ROH I'm looking forward to seeing more of both men in 2017.

Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr - EVOLVE 58
This is just a straight up battle between two of the best on the indies. Evolve has been on fire this year and booked this match between the highflyer and the technician. It's hard to comment on this too much rather than just watch because there was some excellent sequences between these two. What I will comment on is that it seems 2016 has been a year for UK wrestlers, these two (along with Scurll) led the charge and got the chance to show why their two of the best in Evolve.

Marty Scurll vs. Will Ospreay - RPW High Stakes
This was possibly the first Ospreay match I ever watched and while I had seen Scurll before, I hadn't seen him performing like this. I watched this match very early on in the year and was blown away. These two got a Generico/Steen-style feud and every time they step in the ring it's magic, although they've probably had better matches, this one stands out for me as I was blown away by the athleticism, story and moves from both men. I'm scared to go back and watch this as it may not live up to my memory but when I watched it, I thought nothing could top it this year. I remained that way until my eventual match of the year happened.

Roy Wilkins vs. Trevor Lee - CWF Worldwide
I've already written a full piece on this masterpiece. Less a wrestling match and more an epic fight scene the length of a film. I think Trevor Lee is one of the most underrated wrestlers around but then again, he's young so he's got plenty of time to rise up the card. But in this match he puts on a show that only a veteran should put on. Wilkins should also deservedly be praised but Lee is the star of this match, he plays both the in-control face and the underdog perfectly without you wondering how he can play both.

Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet - NJPW Best of Super Juniors
One of the most talked about match of 2016. They had other matches in Evolve and PWG but I chose this match because of THAT sequence. These are the two best high flyers in the world and just did stuff that we couldn't even dream of. Not only are they awesome at highflying but they execute it perfectly making it look easy. The sequence these two put together got some heat from some (and oddly led to Ospreay facing Vader) but I thought it was fantastic. I wouldn't want it every match but what do you expect when the "Ariel Assassin" takes on the "Future of Flight"?

Kota Ibushi vs. Cedric Alexander - CWC
I honestly could have made this list entirely from CWC matches. Easily the highlight of the wrestling year and the best weekly wrestling shows I've seen. I decided to only put one match on the list which is harsh because TJ Perkins was my choice the beginning. I never even expected him to get passed Gargano so the semi and the finals were special but the best match was in the second round. I'd seen very little of Cedric leading into the tournament but he became one of the highlights despite going home relatively early. The story of the match was just perfect and the emotion was off the charts. Who would have thought WWE could have pulled something like this off?

AJ Styles vs. John Cena - WWE Summerslam
Talk about dream matches. Over ten years these two have been the faces of the two top American promotions, TNA and WWE. Who would have thought we'd see this match? Especially for AJ to jump to WWE at his age. But all credit to him who has been one of the best wrestlers every year constantly for a long long time. AJ has performed everywhere he has been, he killed it in NJPW after winning the championship straight away but he had to prove himself again in WWE. It didn't click at first but then he turned heel and he's been THE best in the world. Despite his critics, Cena always performs and was pushed all the way here. Add in that AJ pinned Cena, that makes a huge result and Cena leaving the armband in the ring made this felt special.

The Revival vs. DIY - NXT Takeover Brooklyn
I debated putting this match in because I enjoyed Revival/American Alpha so much but to its credit this is probably a better match. I can't remember ever seeing a average Gargano and Ciampa match they always seem to put on great matches but this was even better. The teams have faced off a few times but this one goes on the list due to the emotion of DIY falling short. DIY were so close to winning then the chop-block turned it all on its head. Gargano struggling to hang on was a great ending and more top quality storytelling that you wouldn't expect from WWE.

Pentagon Jr and Fenix vs. Chris Hero and Tommy End - PWG Bola Stage 2
I haven't seen much of PWG this year but I am so glad I watched Bola during my week off. It was like the best unsigned talent all in three nights of action. I watch the previews they post and usually get one OMG moment but when I watched the Bola previews there was multiple OMG moments, the Pentagon assisted Fenix dive was something I had to rewind over and over. But outside of that one spot, this is just an excellent match. Pentagon is one of my favourites and my eyes opened more to Fenix after this. Hero is contender for 2016 indies MVP and End has risen to become a must watch performer. Just a match that needs to be watched.

Ricochet, Matt Sydal and Will Ospreay vs. Adam Cole and the Young Bucks - PWG Bola Stage 2
Another polarising match. Some said it was just a silly spot fest, others gave it the full five stars. As long as you go with the comedy it's a really fun watch and has some amazing spots. It's fast paced action from the beginning to the end plus Chuck Taylor mocking Adam Cole's weight is the best bit of commentary all year. Nothing else to say, just a good laugh.

Jay Lethal vs. Lio Rush - ROH Supercard of Honor Night 1
Like PWG, I haven't seen a lot of ROH this year. I caught up with Final Battle which was a hell of a show but none of the matches were special enough to make the list. I then chose to watch this as it was The Kevstaa's top rated ROH match and was not disappointed. Rush is a special young talent and it was great to see ROH put so much trust in him, hopefully they don't mess up with him. He played a brilliant plucky rookie and Lethal was in the midst of one of the best title reigns of the year. There had been a lot of underdog matches in 2016 but I couldn't think of much to top this. 

2016 Match of the Year

Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - NXT Takeover Dallas
My match of the year is from NXT Takeover Dallas, it stole the WrestleMania weekend and the entire year. It was Nakamura's debut and he went out there and smashed it. Nakamura did not disappoint and made the best first impression you could ever hope to make. The entrance alone makes it a high contender for match of the year. But what makes this special is the type of match they have. It's hard hitting and something completely against the WWE style.  Add in that WWE trusts that the fans will pick up on Nakamura's unique style despite some never seeing him before. Not just that but Zayn then copies him. It shouldn't work because we shouldn't be familiar with Nakamura but it just does. Despite all the praise for Nakamura, I should not discount Zayn who deserves equal praise. He had a tough task of getting a new person over in his first match, he could have easily dialled it in with a ladder match booked for the following night but he doesn't. He goes all out and finishes his time in NXT on a high. I don't like rating matches by stars or giving them ranking but this match stood out so much it deserves to be listed separately. For me, it's a five star match. It's just perfect, I wouldn't change a thing and is one of the best matches I've ever seen.  

Seth Rollins: Started from the Bottom...

...Now we're here.

 

 

I felt for one of my first pieces I had to write about Seth Rollins. Not just because he is one of the best in the business at the moment but because of what he represents to me. The best way to describe this, is to compare it to a good song. We all have songs in our lives that represents moments in our lives. That could be your school days, a particularly wild night out or your first dance at your wedding. And Seth Rollins is one of those moments for me. Because Seth Rollins was the wrestler who got me hooked on Indy wrestling.

 

The year was 2008. I had been a WWE fan since childhood and started watching TNA’s monthly PPV’s for the past few years. I knew about Indy wrestling but wasn’t clued in on who’s who. We used to have a channel in the UK called “The Wrestling Channel”, which showed some old ROH matches. Sadly, whenever I turned over, the old World of Sport matches were on

 

But it was Rollins that got me hooked. It was ROH’s Take No Prisoners PPV. I found it randomly searching online and decided to give it a watch. I am so glad I did. Without that event, maybe I would never have been so into Indy wrestling. Maybe I wouldn’t be writing this blog today.

 

 

 

Let’s contextualise, Seth wasn’t called Seth back then, he was called Tyler Black. He had “invaded” ROH as part of a group called “The Age of the Fall”. The storyline was red hot and Black was always going to be the breakout star and this was his moment. The opener pitted four guys (including Claudio Castagnoli, now WWE’s Cesaro) against each other with the winner challenging for the World title in the main event.

 

I must add the rest of the show was fantastic. There’s Kevin Steen (WWE’s Kevin Owens) in action, the Briscoe Brothers in a Tag Team War against the rest of the Age of the Fall and a semi-main event between Bryan Danielson (WWE’s Daniel Bryan) and TNA’s Austin Aries. Also, I remember liking Davey Richards in his tag match. He alongside Black would be my two favourites on the Indy scene until they both left.

 

Black wins the opener and goes onto main event the show where his opponent was the reigning ROH World Champion, Nigel McGuiness. What follows is one of my favourite matches of all time. I knew that McGuiness would walk out champion but the display that Black put on made me question (a few times) that Black would win the belt. No other match has ever done that. No other match has made me question the result that I knew as a fact. It was something truly special.

 

In fact, while researching for this post. I found out some comments Seth made on the match. In a feature on WWE.com, Black picked this match as 'the match that changed his life'. Here's what he had to say about it:

 

"The match that changed my life was me versus Nigel McGuinness, my first shot at the Ring of Honor World Title. It was in Philadelphia, Pa., at the National Guard Armory. Nigel was a world-traveled, top-of-the-line, first-class professional wrestler. I was 21 years old and really had no idea what I was doing. I had just broken into Ring of Honor. I hadn’t quite been established yet. At that point, I had been there for maybe six months, and Nigel took this guy who had just gotten started, but had a bit of a following, and made him a star in one match.

 

It was a huge educational process for me, just learning the beauty and the art form of what we do. It doesn’t necessarily have to be hero versus villain, but it was about a young, hungry up-and-comer against a veteran who’s the standard of a company. Feeling the momentum of that match, from the beginning until the very end, was something I’ll never forget.

 

When I came out of it, I had such a greater understanding of what professional wrestling could really do to an audience. To be a part of that is something that is fairly indescribable. You can’t compare it to just seeing it.” — SETH ROLLINS

 

Despite being heel, he pulls off the underdog performance of a lifetime and gets the crowd on his side. But after a spirited fight, he falls short to the champion. But in doing so makes a name for himself. I understand that to others indy fans this might not be special and that’s why I have never watched the event back, in fear that it doesn’t live up to my expectations and damage one of my favourite wrestling memories.

 

Tyler soon broke away from the Age of the Fall and turned face. He finally captured the ROH World Championship in 2010. Then signed with the WWE, transforming himself into Seth Rollins. It’s been a journey. From the breakout Indy star to challenging for the grandest prize in pro wrestling at the Royal Rumble. As well as holding the Money in the Bank briefcase, it’s only a matter of time before he wins his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

 

To have achieved all this and still be under 30 years old, it is clear Seth has a bright future ahead of him. It is plain to see why he has been called the Future of the WWE but to me he will always be the guy who opened my eyes to the world of Indy wrestling. Now if you excuse me, I've got a certain match to re-watch.

 

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