2020's Best and Worst Pro-Wrestling Matches of the Year (plus Recommended)

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Hammer House: Stinger Splash Zone > 2020's Best and Worst Pro-Wrestling Matches of the Year (plus Recommended)

«‹›143 »

jesus WEP: Oct 17, 2004

GEORGE W BUSHI posted:

Yes. Says a lot when Okada is the fifth least interesting person in a 2v2 tag.

yeah okada owns

# ? Feb 1, 2020 12:47

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 3, 2024 14:20

Rarity: Oct 21, 2010; ~*4 LIFE*~

MOTYC: Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL, NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo, 01/02

BEEEEEEEEEEEFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

# ? Feb 1, 2020 12:53

jesus WEP: Oct 17, 2004

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL, NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo, 01/02

BEEEEEEEEEEEFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

ayup

# ? Feb 1, 2020 12:54

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL, NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo, 01/02

BEEEEEEEEEEEFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

I was a tiny bit let down by it honestly so only going to go HM for this one

# ? Feb 1, 2020 12:59

ThePariah: Feb 10, 2014

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL, NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo, 01/02

BEEEEEEEEEEEFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Nth

# ? Feb 1, 2020 13:03

Amp: Sep 10, 2010

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL, NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo, 01/02

BEEEEEEEEEEEFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Love that beef. Nth.

# ? Feb 1, 2020 13:04

Rarity: Oct 21, 2010; ~*4 LIFE*~

MOTYC: Shingo Takagi vs. Hirooki Goto, NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo, 01/02

:stonk:

# ? Feb 1, 2020 13:23

ThePariah: Feb 10, 2014

MOTYC: Hirooki Goto vs Shingo Takagi, NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo, 01/02

# ? Feb 1, 2020 13:23

Amp: Sep 10, 2010

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Shingo Takagi vs. Hirooki Goto, NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo, 01/02

absolutely yes

# ? Feb 1, 2020 13:24

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Shingo Takagi vs. Hirooki Goto, NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo, 01/02

Agreed, 3rd'd

# ? Feb 1, 2020 13:24

Rarity: Oct 21, 2010; ~*4 LIFE*~

e: This isn't the NJPW thread

# ? Feb 1, 2020 13:27

GEORGE W BUSHI: Jul 1, 2012

MOTYC goto/Shingo

# ? Feb 1, 2020 13:34

Boco_T: Mar 12, 2003; la calaca tilica y flaca

HM: Psycho Clown, Pentagon Jr., Rey Fenix vs. Rush, Bestia del Ring, LA Park - AAA 1/25
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/541905769?t=2h34m36s

Extremely raw match, though it drags a little in the middle section. AAA looks like it will continue to be very good in 2020.

# ? Feb 1, 2020 15:49

Burn Down Canberra: Oct 27, 2005; GAME PLANS? We don't need no stinking game plans.

All from the nb in sapporo night 1 1/2

HM: Okada/Moxley v Suzuki/Taichi
HM: Evil v ishii
Motyc : goto v shingo

# ? Feb 1, 2020 15:51

Punch McLightning: Sep 19, 2005; you know what that means; Grimey Drawer

HM: Toa Henare, Yota Tsuji, & Yuya Uemura vs. Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors, & Karl Fredericks, NJPW New Year's Dash!! Jan 6

I just rewatched this after only having it on in the background the first time I caught it. Big Uncle Dave gave this four stars, which is maybe a touch high but maybe isn�t? These six are all great already and are only going to get better. They�re all great athletically and show great basics. The match was hard hitting and fast paced. I liked this a lot more than I thought it would. Uemura was, I think, the least impressive of the six but he threw a drop kick that rivaled Okada�s. Good poo poo.

# ? Feb 1, 2020 17:13

YourHumbleMessiah: Oct 11, 2005

Burn Down Canberra posted:

All from the nb in sapporo night 1 1/2

HM: Okada/Moxley v Suzuki/Taichi
HM: Evil v ishii
Motyc : goto v shingo

nth these

# ? Feb 1, 2020 17:57

Sticky Nate: Jan 9, 2012

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Shingo Takagi vs. Hirooki Goto, NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo, 01/02

Yes

# ? Feb 1, 2020 18:07

NienNunb: Feb 15, 2012

Burn Down Canberra posted:

All from the nb in sapporo night 1 1/2

HM: Okada/Moxley v Suzuki/Taichi
MOTYC: Evil v ishii
Motyc : goto v shingo

Nth

# ? Feb 1, 2020 21:45

Thanlis: Mar 17, 2011

NienNunb posted:

Nth

Nth

# ? Feb 2, 2020 00:21

MassRafTer: May 26, 2001; BAEST MODE!!!

I'll nth
HM: Ishii vs EVIL
MOTYC: Goto vs Shingo

I think my top five for the year is now

1. Naito vs Okada
2. Ibushi vs Okada
3. Utami Hayashishita vs. Arisa Hoshiki
4. Goto vs Shingo
5. Will "The Thrill" Ospreay vs Hiromu "The Good" Takahashi

# ? Feb 2, 2020 01:49

Akileese: Feb 6, 2005

ThePariah posted:

MOTYC: Hirooki Goto vs Shingo Takagi, NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo, 01/02

Rarity posted:

HM: Kazuchika Okada/Jon Moxley vs. Minoru Suzuki/Taichi w/ Miho Abe, NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo, 01/02

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL, NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo, 01/02

nth

# ? Feb 2, 2020 04:46

Lumbermouth: Mar 6, 2008; GREG IS BIG NOW

HM: Alex Hammerstone (c) vs T-Hawk, MLW Openweight Championship, MLW Fightland (2/1/20)

Just two thick dudes walloping the crap out of each other. Definitely the best match of the tapings.

# ? Feb 2, 2020 06:44

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

HM: Okada/Moxley vs. Suzuki/Taichi
HM: EVIL vs. Ishii
MOTY: Hirooki Goto (C) vs. Shingo Takagi for the Never Openweight Championship

All from The New Beginning in Sapporo on February 1st.

Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 09:40 on Feb 2, 2020

# ? Feb 2, 2020 07:54

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

HM: Moxley, Taguchi and RPG3k vs. Suzuki, Douki, Kanemaru and El Desperado - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Incredibly fun and full of action with a great pre-match and post-match sequence involving Moxley and Suzuki.

MOTYC: ZSJ (C) vs. Will Ospreay for the RevPro British Undisputed Heavyweight Championship - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Slow start, really surprising heavy grappling focus to begin from Ospreay and then things really picked up and the transitions and the counters and the incredibly smart and well-timed things both wrestlers did to make BOTH of them look fantastic was just an absolute joy to watch. Incredible match.

# ? Feb 2, 2020 09:40

karmicknight: Aug 21, 2011

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Moxley, Taguchi and RPG3k vs. Suzuki, Douki, Kanemaru and El Desperado - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Incredibly fun and full of action with a great pre-match and post-match sequence involving Moxley and Suzuki.

MOTYC: ZSJ (C) vs. Will Ospreay for the RevPro British Undisputed Heavyweight Championship - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Slow start, really surprising heavy grappling focus to begin from Ospreay and then things really picked up and the transitions and the counters and the incredibly smart and well-timed things both wrestlers did to make BOTH of them look fantastic was just an absolute joy to watch. Incredible match.

nth. really glad I watched both of these matches.

# ? Feb 2, 2020 09:41

a cyborg mug: Mar 8, 2010

Jerusalem posted:

MOTYC: ZSJ (C) vs. Will Ospreay for the RevPro British Undisputed Heavyweight Championship - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Slow start, really surprising heavy grappling focus to begin from Ospreay and then things really picked up and the transitions and the counters and the incredibly smart and well-timed things both wrestlers did to make BOTH of them look fantastic was just an absolute joy to watch. Incredible match.

Yeah, if this happened at WK it would've been in the top 3 of the best matches

# ? Feb 2, 2020 09:46

Lamuella: Jun 26, 2003; It's like goldy or bronzy, but made of iron.

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Moxley, Taguchi and RPG3k vs. Suzuki, Douki, Kanemaru and El Desperado - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Incredibly fun and full of action with a great pre-match and post-match sequence involving Moxley and Suzuki.

MOTYC: ZSJ (C) vs. Will Ospreay for the RevPro British Undisputed Heavyweight Championship - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Slow start, really surprising heavy grappling focus to begin from Ospreay and then things really picked up and the transitions and the counters and the incredibly smart and well-timed things both wrestlers did to make BOTH of them look fantastic was just an absolute joy to watch. Incredible match.

Nthing the gently caress out of these

# ? Feb 2, 2020 09:47

Thanlis: Mar 17, 2011

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Moxley, Taguchi and RPG3k vs. Suzuki, Douki, Kanemaru and El Desperado - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Incredibly fun and full of action with a great pre-match and post-match sequence involving Moxley and Suzuki.

MOTYC: ZSJ (C) vs. Will Ospreay for the RevPro British Undisputed Heavyweight Championship - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Slow start, really surprising heavy grappling focus to begin from Ospreay and then things really picked up and the transitions and the counters and the incredibly smart and well-timed things both wrestlers did to make BOTH of them look fantastic was just an absolute joy to watch. Incredible match.

Nth. I would not have believed that Ospreay could take his athletic big move approach to the mat without generating an unpleasant style clash, but wow those guys made it work.

# ? Feb 2, 2020 09:51

ThePariah: Feb 10, 2014

Jerusalem posted:

MOTYC: ZSJ (C) vs. Will Ospreay for the RevPro British Undisputed Heavyweight Championship - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Slow start, really surprising heavy grappling focus to begin from Ospreay and then things really picked up and the transitions and the counters and the incredibly smart and well-timed things both wrestlers did to make BOTH of them look fantastic was just an absolute joy to watch. Incredible match.

Nth.

# ? Feb 2, 2020 09:54

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

HM: Kazuchika Okada vs. Taichi - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Okada you know exactly what you're going to get (perfection), but Taichi clearly grasped this was potentially the biggest and most important match of his career to date and he loving stepped it up exactly as he needed to.

# ? Feb 2, 2020 10:26

Trying: Sep 26, 2019

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Moxley, Taguchi and RPG3k vs. Suzuki, Douki, Kanemaru and El Desperado - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Incredibly fun and full of action with a great pre-match and post-match sequence involving Moxley and Suzuki.

MOTYC: ZSJ (C) vs. Will Ospreay for the RevPro British Undisputed Heavyweight Championship - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Slow start, really surprising heavy grappling focus to begin from Ospreay and then things really picked up and the transitions and the counters and the incredibly smart and well-timed things both wrestlers did to make BOTH of them look fantastic was just an absolute joy to watch. Incredible match.

ye to both

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Kazuchika Okada vs. Taichi - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Okada you know exactly what you're going to get (perfection), but Taichi clearly grasped this was potentially the biggest and most important match of his career to date and he loving stepped it up exactly as he needed to.

# ? Feb 2, 2020 10:26

GEORGE W BUSHI: Jul 1, 2012

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Kazuchika Okada vs. Taichi - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Okada you know exactly what you're going to get (perfection), but Taichi clearly grasped this was potentially the biggest and most important match of his career to date and he loving stepped it up exactly as he needed to.

2nd. Taichi got a great match out of him.

# ? Feb 2, 2020 10:27

ThePariah: Feb 10, 2014

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Kazuchika Okada vs. Taichi - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Okada you know exactly what you're going to get (perfection), but Taichi clearly grasped this was potentially the biggest and most important match of his career to date and he loving stepped it up exactly as he needed to.

Nth.

# ? Feb 2, 2020 10:28

Thanlis: Mar 17, 2011

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Kazuchika Okada vs. Taichi - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Okada you know exactly what you're going to get (perfection), but Taichi clearly grasped this was potentially the biggest and most important match of his career to date and he loving stepped it up exactly as he needed to.

Taichi sold the anger and bitterness so well. Nth.

# ? Feb 2, 2020 10:29

BTF: Oct 15, 2019; I love Matt Taven

Who cares about New Japan when you can watch some rasslin goodness live~

HM: Jami Aalto vs Stark Adder(c) for the Frank Andersson Nordic Championship - FCF Wrestling Show Live! 2.1

A great technical encounter turned into a quick war of kicks. Loved it even though it ended pretty quickly due to a nasty cut on top of Aalto's head.

HM: Shemeikka vs Valentine - FCF Wrestling Show Live! 2.1

A great "main event" style matchup, where both men shined. Valentine controls the crowd like no other in Finland and Shemeikka was great as the babyface. Didn't reinvent the wheel, but was a great way to cap off the night. Shemeikka proved that he can pull of this kind of a match (probably his longest singes match without any gimmicks) and excel in it. Valentine hasn't lost a step and it's great to have him back.

# ? Feb 2, 2020 18:10

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Okada/Moxley vs. Suzuki/Taichi
HM: EVIL vs. Ishii
MOTY: Hirooki Goto (C) vs. Shingo Takagi for the Never Openweight Championship

All from The New Beginning in Sapporo on February 1st.

Agreed

# ? Feb 2, 2020 18:14

Chris James 2: Aug 9, 2012

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Okada/Moxley vs. Suzuki/Taichi

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Kazuchika Okada vs. Taichi - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Okada you know exactly what you're going to get (perfection), but Taichi clearly grasped this was potentially the biggest and most important match of his career to date and he loving stepped it up exactly as he needed to.

Nth. Year of Taichi

# ? Feb 2, 2020 18:15

Rarity: Oct 21, 2010; ~*4 LIFE*~

MOTYC: Zack Sabre Jr vs. Will Ospreay, NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo, 02/02
HM: Kauzchika Okada vs. Taichi, NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo, 02/02

# ? Feb 2, 2020 18:20

a cyborg mug: Mar 8, 2010

BTF posted:

Who cares about New Japan when you can watch some rasslin goodness live~

HM: Jami Aalto vs Stark Adder(c) for the Frank Andersson Nordic Championship - FCF Wrestling Show Live! 2.1

A great technical encounter turned into a quick war of kicks. Loved it even though it ended pretty quickly due to a nasty cut on top of Aalto's head.

HM: Shemeikka vs Valentine - FCF Wrestling Show Live! 2.1

A great "main event" style matchup, where both men shined. Valentine controls the crowd like no other in Finland and Shemeikka was great as the babyface. Didn't reinvent the wheel, but was a great way to cap off the night. Shemeikka proved that he can pull of this kind of a match (probably his longest singes match without any gimmicks) and excel in it. Valentine hasn't lost a step and it's great to have him back.

I don't really agree with either of these. Thought Aalto and Adder had the MOTN, but it's not like it was the best match from either guy.

Valentine vs Shemeikka was nowhere near as good as it should have been, probably because it was apparently only there to set up the angle. Felt to me like the match was going nowhere. Expected much more from them. The visual of Karhula, dressed in all black, suddenly appearing from the shadows to attack Shemeikka while he had the sharpshooter on was a good one, though.

I dunno, to me this was a weak-ish show from FCF. Almost no one felt like they were on their A game, except for Kert Kukk and, rather mysteriously, Petrov, who is normally never on any kind of game. Still an entertaining show and a good time was had in the second row

a cyborg mug fucked around with this message at 18:26 on Feb 2, 2020

# ? Feb 2, 2020 18:21

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 3, 2024 14:20

Akileese: Feb 6, 2005

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Moxley, Taguchi and RPG3k vs. Suzuki, Douki, Kanemaru and El Desperado - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Incredibly fun and full of action with a great pre-match and post-match sequence involving Moxley and Suzuki.

MOTYC: ZSJ (C) vs. Will Ospreay for the RevPro British Undisputed Heavyweight Championship - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Slow start, really surprising heavy grappling focus to begin from Ospreay and then things really picked up and the transitions and the counters and the incredibly smart and well-timed things both wrestlers did to make BOTH of them look fantastic was just an absolute joy to watch. Incredible match.

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Kazuchika Okada vs. Taichi - NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2/2

Okada you know exactly what you're going to get (perfection), but Taichi clearly grasped this was potentially the biggest and most important match of his career to date and he loving stepped it up exactly as he needed to.

nth

# ? Feb 2, 2020 18:58

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Hammer House: Stinger Splash Zone > 2020's Best and Worst Pro-Wrestling Matches of the Year (plus Recommended)

«‹›143 »