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 »

Cerebral Bore: Apr 21, 2010; Fun Shoe

And all they had to do is have two old men murder each other.

# ? Jun 17, 2020 12:43

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# ? Jun 3, 2024 13:34

Spuckuk: Aug 11, 2009; Being a bastard works

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata, NJPW New Japan Cup, 17/06

To quote that tweet, two grandpas fighting over the last Werther's original

nth, absolutely owned

# ? Jun 17, 2020 14:04

jesus WEP: Oct 17, 2004

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata, NJPW New Japan Cup, 17/06

To quote that tweet, two grandpas fighting over the last Werther's original

nth

# ? Jun 17, 2020 14:38

YourHumbleMessiah: Oct 11, 2005

Jerusalem posted:

MOTYC: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki - NJPW New Japan Cup Night 2 6/17

Two old men beat the utter poo poo out of each other and it absolutely loving ruled from start to finish. God I wish this had been in front of a crowd but even in an empty arena it was just so loving great.

I mean I think everything about this was incredible with an amazing ending stretch. Nth

# ? Jun 17, 2020 14:49

Akileese: Feb 6, 2005

Rarity posted:

HM: Tomohiro Ishii vs. El Desperado, NJPW New Japan Cup, 16/06

I can't go to MOTYC cause it took a while to get going but the ending absolutely ripped

Jerusalem posted:

MOTYC: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki - NJPW New Japan Cup Night 2 6/17

Two old men beat the utter poo poo out of each other and it absolutely loving ruled from start to finish. God I wish this had been in front of a crowd but even in an empty arena it was just so loving great.

nth

# ? Jun 17, 2020 15:50

SalTheBard: Jan 26, 2005; I forgot to post my food for USPOL Thanksgiving but that's okay too!; Fallen Rib

Jerusalem posted:

MOTYC: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki - NJPW New Japan Cup Night 2 6/17

Two old men beat the utter poo poo out of each other and it absolutely loving ruled from start to finish. God I wish this had been in front of a crowd but even in an empty arena it was just so loving great.

What a loving match. Consider this the nth.

# ? Jun 17, 2020 17:20

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

Gaz-L posted:

Add me to the chorus for Ishii/Despy as HM. I actually bit on the Guitarra de Angel. Partly because I had it in the back of my head that maybe Desperado would play spoiler to Hiromu and set up a Jr title match for Dominion.

nth this

# ? Jun 17, 2020 18:10

Thanlis: Mar 17, 2011

Jerusalem posted:

MOTYC: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki - NJPW New Japan Cup Night 2 6/17

Two old men beat the utter poo poo out of each other and it absolutely loving ruled from start to finish. God I wish this had been in front of a crowd but even in an empty arena it was just so loving great.

Doesn�t need it but nth for indomitable spirit.

# ? Jun 17, 2020 22:45

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

The ending put Nagata/Suzuki up to a MOTYC for me too.

# ? Jun 17, 2020 23:16

TriffTshngo: Mar 28, 2010; Don't get it twisted who your enemies are.

Jerusalem posted:

MOTYC: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki - NJPW New Japan Cup Night 2 6/17

Two old men beat the utter poo poo out of each other and it absolutely loving ruled from start to finish. God I wish this had been in front of a crowd but even in an empty arena it was just so loving great.

Another completely unnecessary Nth but.... holy loving poo poo.

# ? Jun 17, 2020 23:38

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

HM: Cowboy Bebop vs. The Old and the Restless, Dynamite tonight

# ? Jun 18, 2020 01:24

Aesculus: Mar 22, 2013

Jerusalem posted:

MOTYC: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki - NJPW New Japan Cup Night 2 6/17

Two old men beat the utter poo poo out of each other and it absolutely loving ruled from start to finish. God I wish this had been in front of a crowd but even in an empty arena it was just so loving great.

YWAH

# ? Jun 18, 2020 01:52

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

I'll give a HM to Sabian & Havoc vs. the Young Bucks. Both of my HMs are on the weaker side, but I also think they're worth watching.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 02:49

NienNunb: Feb 15, 2012

Punch McLightning posted:

HM: Cowboy Bebop vs. The Old and the Restless, Dynamite tonight

Nth

# ? Jun 18, 2020 02:49

Aye Doc: Jul 19, 2007

HM: Best Friends vs. Le Sex Gods, AEW Dynamite 6/17/20

this was a good match that was elevated by the super hot angle after

# ? Jun 18, 2020 03:01

karmicknight: Aug 21, 2011

Aye Doc posted:

HM: Best Friends vs. Le Sex Gods, AEW Dynamite 6/17/20

this was a good match that was elevated by the super hot angle after

nth.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 03:02

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

Aye Doc posted:

HM: Best Friends vs. Le Sex Gods, AEW Dynamite 6/17/20

this was a good match that was elevated by the super hot angle after

another borderline HM for me, I'm nthing, not going to blame anyone for not following suit on these. a very solid show with little blow away stuff.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 03:02

Ivypls: Aug 24, 2019

Punch McLightning posted:

I'll give a HM to Sabian & Havoc vs. the Young Bucks. Both of my HMs are on the weaker side, but I also think they're worth watching.

Aye Doc posted:

HM: Best Friends vs. Le Sex Gods, AEW Dynamite 6/17/20

this was a good match that was elevated by the super hot angle after

nth to both

# ? Jun 18, 2020 03:04

Diplomat: Dec 14, 2009

Punch McLightning posted:

HM: Cowboy Bebop vs. The Old and the Restless, Dynamite tonight

Aye Doc posted:

HM: Best Friends vs. Le Sex Gods, AEW Dynamite 6/17/20

this was a good match that was elevated by the super hot angle after

Nth'n these

# ? Jun 18, 2020 03:09

I Before E: Jul 2, 2012

Aye Doc posted:

HM: Best Friends vs. Le Sex Gods, AEW Dynamite 6/17/20

this was a good match that was elevated by the super hot angle after

Second

# ? Jun 18, 2020 03:22

NienNunb: Feb 15, 2012

Aye Doc posted:

HM: Best Friends vs. Le Sex Gods, AEW Dynamite 6/17/20

this was a good match that was elevated by the super hot angle after

Nth

# ? Jun 18, 2020 03:30

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Another MOTYC for Nagata/Suzuki

# ? Jun 18, 2020 05:05

Quantum of Phallus: Dec 27, 2010

Can anyone do a quick "What to watch" for NJPW Cup nights 1/2? I was sick this week so I'm way behind on wrestling

# ? Jun 18, 2020 08:34

GEORGE W BUSHI: Jul 1, 2012

Quantum of Phallus posted:

Can anyone do a quick "What to watch" for NJPW Cup nights 1/2? I was sick this week so I'm way behind on wrestling

These are the cup matches ordered from best to worst imo. Number one is the only thing that's unmissable and the top two are the only ones you should go out of your way to watch but everything else bar number eight is worth watching. I tuned out of the tag matches

1. Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata
2. Tomohiro Ishii vs. El Desperado
3. Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Yuya Uemura
4. Kazuchika Okada vs. Gedo
5. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma
6. Togi Makabe vs. Yota Tsuji
7. Taiji Ishimori vs. Gabriel Kidd
8. Toru Yano vs. Jado

# ? Jun 18, 2020 08:47

Quantum of Phallus: Dec 27, 2010

GEORGE W BUSHI posted:

These are the cup matches ordered from best to worst imo. Number one is the only thing that's unmissable and the top two are the only ones you should go out of your way to watch but everything else bar number eight is worth watching. I tuned out of the tag matches

1. Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata
2. Tomohiro Ishii vs. El Desperado
3. Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Yuya Uemura
4. Kazuchika Okada vs. Gedo
5. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma
6. Togi Makabe vs. Yota Tsuji
7. Taiji Ishimori vs. Gabriel Kidd
8. Toru Yano vs. Jado

Nice one, thanks

# ? Jun 18, 2020 09:02

jesus WEP: Oct 17, 2004

Watch the first 2 minutes of Yano vs Jado and then skip to the last 30 seconds and it�s a fine comedy match

# ? Jun 18, 2020 09:10

TriffTshngo: Mar 28, 2010; Don't get it twisted who your enemies are.

The tag match from night 1 is also worth watching, partially because it contains a few extra minutes of Suzuki and Nagata forearm-ing the poo poo out of each other, and that's always a value add.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 09:39

SG Bamboo: Aug 21, 2013; Smile. Win. Yay!

A good rule of thumb is don't skip Suzuki-gun multimans

# ? Jun 18, 2020 10:18

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

Punch McLightning posted:

HM: Cowboy Bebop vs. The Old and the Restless, Dynamite tonight

Aye Doc posted:

HM: Best Friends vs. Le Sex Gods, AEW Dynamite 6/17/20

this was a good match that was elevated by the super hot angle after

Nth to both of these. Neither quite hit MOTCY but both were solid and enjoyable.

Also going to add:

HM: Cody Rhodes vs Ricky Starks, AEW Dynamite 6/17/20

This was everything I wanted out of a 20 minute TV title match. Great showing from Starks, who has unlimited upside.

Lamuella fucked around with this message at 11:08 on Jun 18, 2020

# ? Jun 18, 2020 11:05

Crapple!: Nov 1, 2019

HM: MJF vs Billy Gunn. Dynamite 17/6. Look I'm probably the only person who will nominate this but it's just the kind of thing that I really like, ok?

Punch McLightning posted:

HM: Cowboy Bebop vs. The Old and the Restless, Dynamite tonight

Aye Doc posted:

HM: Best Friends vs. Le Sex Gods, AEW Dynamite 6/17/20

this was a good match that was elevated by the super hot angle after

nth to both of these too

# ? Jun 18, 2020 11:23

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

HM: Superbad Squad vs. The Young Bucks, AEW Dynamite 17/06
HM: Le Sex Gods vs. Best Friends, AEW Dynamite, 17/06

# ? Jun 18, 2020 13:44

Cerebral Bore: Apr 21, 2010; Fun Shoe

HM: Kenny & Hangman vs Natural Nightmares
HM: Superbad Squad vs. Young Bucks
HM: Le Sex Gods vs. Best Friends

All from AEW Dynamite 17.6. Turns out that AEW has a really loving good tag division.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 13:47

Gaz-L: Jan 28, 2009

jesus WEP posted:

Watch the first 2 minutes of Yano vs Jado and then skip to the last 30 seconds and it�s a fine comedy match

It's the one case where the cut-down nature of the cards hurt it badly. On a traditional 8-9 match card they would probably have let it go 3 or 4 mins, but because this is only 5 and we want to try hit 2 hours, nope, gotta go 10.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 14:15

Skjorte: Jul 5, 2010

MOTYC: Suzuki vs. Nagata
MOTYC: Ishii vs. El Desperado

Ishii/Desperado might be slightly boosted in my view by me not realizing it was the main event and therefore being convinced that each fall was going to end the match. Not sure if I've ever bit on that many consecutive false finishes before. But yeah, loved both these matches.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 20:45

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

GEORGE W BUSHI posted:

MOTYC: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. Akitoshi Saito for the GHC Heavyweight Championship - NOAH GO FORWARD (6/14)

The second defence of Go Shiozaki's reign and another fantastic match. It didn't have the weirdness of Go/Fujita but was a fantastic empty arena match nonetheless. This marked the eleventh anniversary of the death of Mitsuharu Misawa with the two surviving participants in his final match paying tribute to their deceased partners. Saito pointing to the sky before hitting Go with the move that he literally ended Misawa's life with was a pretty ballsy move that I'm still left mouth agape at.

2nding this. Some real emotion in this, some vicious stiffness, Shiozaki's machine gun chops for example, Saito more than held up his end and this well exceeded expectations.

Also say that even without understanding a lick of Japanese Saito's post-match promo thanking Go for helping him finally move on from 2009 is extremely powerful

forkboy84 fucked around with this message at 00:42 on Jun 20, 2020

# ? Jun 20, 2020 00:35

GEORGE W BUSHI: Jul 1, 2012

MOTYC: #DAMNHEARTS (Tetsuya Endo, T-Hawk & El Lindaman) (c) vs Eruption (Yukio Sakaguchi, Kazusada Higuchi & Saki Akai) for the KO-D 6 Man Championship - DDT TV Show #7 (6/20)

I don't know if it was the excitement of getting to see live wrestling again or the emotion from Saki breaking down in tears after winning or if it was just that good but this was one of the best matches I've seen this year. The six man belts are the best belts for great matches. T-Hawk and Lindaman are such amazing shitheads in this and all three of Eruption played their roles so well.

GEORGE W BUSHI fucked around with this message at 14:02 on Jun 20, 2020

# ? Jun 20, 2020 13:43

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

Just a quick check, I assume this was 6/20 and for DDT?

# ? Jun 20, 2020 13:52

GEORGE W BUSHI: Jul 1, 2012

Jerusalem posted:

Just a quick check, I assume this was 6/20 and for DDT?

That's right sorry. Edited in.

# ? Jun 20, 2020 14:02

Akileese: Feb 6, 2005

GEORGE W BUSHI posted:

MOTYC: #DAMNHEARTS (Tetsuya Endo, T-Hawk & El Lindaman) (c) vs Eruption (Yukio Sakaguchi, Kazusada Higuchi & Saki Akai) for the KO-D 6 Man Championship - DDT TV Show #7 (6/20)

I don't know if it was the excitement of getting to see live wrestling again or the emotion from Saki breaking down in tears after winning or if it was just that good but this was one of the best matches I've seen this year. The six man belts are the best belts for great matches. T-Hawk and Lindaman are such amazing shitheads in this and all three of Eruption played their roles so well.

nth

# ? Jun 20, 2020 14:53

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# ? Jun 3, 2024 13:34

Akileese: Feb 6, 2005

HM: Blake Christian vs Myron Reed, GCW: The Wrld on GCW, Part 2, 6/20/20

I have to imagine it would have been even better if they didn't have to have that match in the sweltering sun.

# ? Jun 21, 2020 17:10

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)

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