2021'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 > 2021's Best and Worst Pro-Wrestling Matches of the Year (plus Recommended)

«‹›191 »

Tarnop: Nov 25, 2013; Pull me out

Rarity posted:

HM: The Acclaimed vs. Alex Reynolds/Alan Angels, AEW Dark Elevation, 07/06

I lolled at the Eddie spot

2nd, this was very fun and it makes me happy that all these good boys are over

# ? Jun 8, 2021 06:31

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# ? Jun 5, 2024 16:31

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

Rarity posted:

HM: The Acclaimed vs. Alex Reynolds/Alan Angels, AEW Dark Elevation, 07/06

I lolled at the Eddie spot

Nth, enjoyed this.

# ? Jun 8, 2021 07:27

Sooper Gila: Apr 23, 2014; Love
Peace
and Harmony

Dominion, June 7th 2021

Sadly something came up and only was able to see the first and last few minutes of Cobb vs Ibushi.

HM:
Naito, SANADA & BUSHI) vs Dangerous Tekkers & DOUKI
Desperado vs Yoh

I really enjoyed the tag, especially the ending. Naito and Sanada vs Tekkers is going to be awesome.

MOTYC:
Shingo Vs Okada

Great match and the finish blew my mind. Okada put him over STRONG. This was like when Foley got the belt 23 years or so for the first time, someone who deserved it and by rights should have it but didn't think would ever get it. Difference was that we all knew Foley won a week before the broadcast but in this match right up until that three count I thought for sure Okada was going to kick out and eventually mount a comeback.

# ? Jun 8, 2021 08:32

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

Sooper Gila posted:

I really enjoyed the tag, especially the ending

It wasn't enough for an HM but the ending to that tag match was rad as hell

# ? Jun 8, 2021 08:43

Cerebral Bore: Apr 21, 2010; Fun Shoe

Rarity posted:

HM: The Acclaimed vs. Alex Reynolds/Alan Angels, AEW Dark Elevation, 07/06

I lolled at the Eddie spot

Rarity posted:

It wasn't enough for an HM but the ending to that tag match was rad as hell

Look, if an actually good match involving BUSHI doesn't rate a HM, then what does really?

# ? Jun 8, 2021 09:31

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

Not involving BUSHI would be a good start :thunkher:

# ? Jun 8, 2021 09:49

Cerebral Bore: Apr 21, 2010; Fun Shoe

Think of it as a handicap.

# ? Jun 8, 2021 09:56

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

It's going to take me 3 more sittings to watch this show but for how I have my first vote from thus show

HM
6th June
Cyberfight Festival
DDT (Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine) vs Sugiuragun (Kazushi Sakuraba & Takashi Sugiura)

This is relentlessly stupid and I giggled throughout

# ? Jun 9, 2021 00:04

Pylons: Mar 16, 2009

AEW Dark 6/8:

HM: Dante Martin vs. Matt Sydal

This is a borderline MOTYC. Just some really fantastic stuff.

Timestamp

# ? Jun 9, 2021 01:48

Alaois: Feb 7, 2012

Pylons posted:

AEW Dark 6/8:

HM: Dante Martin vs. Matt Sydal

This is a borderline MOTYC. Just some really fantastic stuff.

Timestamp

nth

# ? Jun 9, 2021 01:49

Penguin Patrol: Mar 3, 2005; by Fluffdaddy

Cerebral Bore posted:

MOTYC: Kota Ibushi vs Jeff Cobb NJPW Dominion 07.06

Match started with a Murder, then transitioned into a second Murder only to end with a good big helping of Murder.

Cerebral Bore posted:

MOTYC: Kazuchika Okada vs Shingo Takagi NJPW Dominion 07.06

A war, pure and simple and beautiful. This is pro loving wrestling.

Pylons posted:

AEW Dark 6/8:

HM: Dante Martin vs. Matt Sydal

This is a borderline MOTYC. Just some really fantastic stuff.

Timestamp

nth on these

# ? Jun 9, 2021 01:51

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

HM: Matt Sydal vs. Dante Martin, AEW Dark, 08/06

Dante Martin is loving ridiculous

HM: Jurassic Express vs. SCU, Dr. Baker's Outlaw Mudshow, ??/??

:3:

# ? Jun 9, 2021 05:59

graph: Nov 22, 2006; aaag peanuts

Pylons posted:

AEW Dark 6/8:

HM: Dante Martin vs. Matt Sydal

this was fantastic nth

Pylons posted:

This is a borderline MOTYC. Just some really fantastic stuff.

if this was a match that had a stip that mattered in the story picture it absolutely would have been imo

graph fucked around with this message at 06:57 on Jun 9, 2021

# ? Jun 9, 2021 06:54

Cerebral Bore: Apr 21, 2010; Fun Shoe

Pylons posted:

AEW Dark 6/8:

HM: Dante Martin vs. Matt Sydal

This is a borderline MOTYC. Just some really fantastic stuff.

Timestamp

Yeah, this could easily have been a PPV match.

# ? Jun 9, 2021 07:08

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

Pylons posted:

AEW Dark 6/8:

HM: Dante Martin vs. Matt Sydal

This is a borderline MOTYC. Just some really fantastic stuff.

Timestamp

Nth. Very very strong outing from a veteran who is constantly developing his skillset and a rookie who is on the cusp of greatness.

# ? Jun 9, 2021 10:05

The Berzerker: Feb 24, 2006; treat me like a dog

Pylons posted:

AEW Dark 6/8:

HM: Dante Martin vs. Matt Sydal

This is a borderline MOTYC. Just some really fantastic stuff.

Timestamp

nth this match ruled

# ? Jun 9, 2021 22:00

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

HM
6th June
Cyberfight Festival
Chris Brookes & 37KAMIINA (MAO & Shunma Katsumata) vs Damnation (Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao & Tetsuya Endo)

HM
6th June
Cyberfight Festival
DDT (Akito, Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura, Sanshiro Takagi, Yukio Naya & Yukio Sakaguchi) vs Kongo (Haoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh, Manabu Soya, Nioh & Tadasuke)

Kongo vs DDT was exquisite, just a wonderful mix of brutal kicks and vintage DDT nonsense. Kenoh is such a delightful straight man for all that because he is such a petulant prick.

MOTYC
6th June
Cyberfight Festival
37KAMIINA (Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno) vs Kaito Kiyomiya & Yoshiki Inamura

I hate the result but Match good

# ? Jun 10, 2021 01:01

Tarnop: Nov 25, 2013; Pull me out

Pylons posted:

AEW Dark 6/8:

HM: Dante Martin vs. Matt Sydal

This is a borderline MOTYC. Just some really fantastic stuff.

Timestamp

Nth

# ? Jun 10, 2021 03:48

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

AJPW Dynamite June 9th
HM
CIMA (c) vs Koji Iwamoto - AJPW Jr Heavyweight Championship
NEXTREAM (Kento Miyahara & Yuma Aoyagi)(c) vs Twin Towers (Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa) - AJPW Tag Championship
- motherfucker at least go for the pin if you hit the top rope Falcon Arrow, pretend like you're trying to win the match

# ? Jun 10, 2021 10:32

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

SG Bamboo posted:

AJPW Dynamite June 9th
HM
CIMA (c) vs Koji Iwamoto - AJPW Jr Heavyweight Championship
NEXTREAM (Kento Miyahara & Yuma Aoyagi)(c) vs Twin Towers (Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa) - AJPW Tag Championship
- motherfucker at least go for the pin if you hit the top rope Falcon Arrow, pretend like you're trying to win the match

Dang it, my wish that CIMA would wrestle on Dynamite on Wednesdays in 2021 got misplaced.

# ? Jun 10, 2021 10:41

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

DDT King of DDT Night 1
MOTYC
Konosuke Takeshita vs Akito
- Akito is fuckin smooth as silk, that man grapples as easy as breathing. Takeshita is incredible as well, these two worked really well together, Akito worked the legs and Takeshita got to show off his power with some rad as hell German suplexes. Loved this, it was exactly what I was hoping a match between these two would be.

HM
Yuji Hino vs Yukio Sakaguchi
- Do you like hard kicks and hard chops and hard lariats and hard knees? Then this match is for you
Jun Akiyama vs Shunma Katsumata
- David vs Goliath's older tougher brother. This is a side of Shunma we don't see super often, where he's just completely outmatched by his opponent. There was an awkward moment when Shunma tried to hit a spike Frankesteiner and Akiyama went completely the wrong way but luckily neither guy got hurt and they just moved past it quickly. Real fun match especially when the legos came out :twisted:

Kazusada Higuchi vs Naomi Yoshimura
- I thought the chops in Hino/Sakaguchi were meaty, but Higuchi clearly wasn't going to be outdone by his tag partner. Yoshimura more than held up his end of the match, my highlight being when he deadlifted Higuchi while being caught in the clawhold
Tetsuya Endo vs Chris Brookes
- Got a little kick out crazy right near the end, but the vast majority of the match was very well worked. Chris' devotion to attacking Endo's arm during the middle section led to a cool payoff as well. Good way to finish off teh show

Great show, only the Ueno/Sasaki match was a dud and I'm thinking that'll lead somewhere down the track, everything else was good to great

# ? Jun 10, 2021 13:05

fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

SG Bamboo posted:

DDT King of DDT Night 1
MOTYC
Konosuke Takeshita vs Akito
- Akito is fuckin smooth as silk, that man grapples as easy as breathing. Takeshita is incredible as well, these two worked really well together, Akito worked the legs and Takeshita got to show off his power with some rad as hell German suplexes. Loved this, it was exactly what I was hoping a match between these two would be.

HM
Yuji Hino vs Yukio Sakaguchi
- Do you like hard kicks and hard chops and hard lariats and hard knees? Then this match is for you
Jun Akiyama vs Shunma Katsumata
- David vs Goliath's older tougher brother. This is a side of Shunma we don't see super often, where he's just completely outmatched by his opponent. There was an awkward moment when Shunma tried to hit a spike Frankesteiner and Akiyama went completely the wrong way but luckily neither guy got hurt and they just moved past it quickly. Real fun match especially when the legos came out
Kazusada Higuchi vs Naomi Yoshimura
- I thought the chops in Hino/Sakaguchi were meaty, but Higuchi clearly wasn't going to be outdone by his tag partner. Yoshimura more than held up his end of the match, my highlight being when he deadlifted Higuchi while being caught in the clawhold
Tetsuya Endo vs Chris Brookes
- Got a little kick out crazy right near the end, but the vast majority of the match was very well worked. Chris' devotion to attacking Endo's arm during the middle section led to a cool payoff as well. Good way to finish off teh show

Great show, only the Ueno/Sasaki match was a dud and I'm thinking that'll lead somewhere down the track, everything else was good to great

Nth

Serious DDT is pretty good and not incredibly serious!

# ? Jun 10, 2021 13:20

Akileese: Feb 6, 2005

SG Bamboo posted:

DDT King of DDT Night 1
MOTYC
Konosuke Takeshita vs Akito
- Akito is fuckin smooth as silk, that man grapples as easy as breathing. Takeshita is incredible as well, these two worked really well together, Akito worked the legs and Takeshita got to show off his power with some rad as hell German suplexes. Loved this, it was exactly what I was hoping a match between these two would be.

HM
Yuji Hino vs Yukio Sakaguchi
- Do you like hard kicks and hard chops and hard lariats and hard knees? Then this match is for you
Jun Akiyama vs Shunma Katsumata
- David vs Goliath's older tougher brother. This is a side of Shunma we don't see super often, where he's just completely outmatched by his opponent. There was an awkward moment when Shunma tried to hit a spike Frankesteiner and Akiyama went completely the wrong way but luckily neither guy got hurt and they just moved past it quickly. Real fun match especially when the legos came out
Kazusada Higuchi vs Naomi Yoshimura
- I thought the chops in Hino/Sakaguchi were meaty, but Higuchi clearly wasn't going to be outdone by his tag partner. Yoshimura more than held up his end of the match, my highlight being when he deadlifted Higuchi while being caught in the clawhold
Tetsuya Endo vs Chris Brookes
- Got a little kick out crazy right near the end, but the vast majority of the match was very well worked. Chris' devotion to attacking Endo's arm during the middle section led to a cool payoff as well. Good way to finish off teh show

Great show, only the Ueno/Sasaki match was a dud and I'm thinking that'll lead somewhere down the track, everything else was good to great

NTH

# ? Jun 10, 2021 19:27

DarkstarIV: Apr 6, 2010; OFFICIAL RACIST

MOTYC: Kay Lee Ray (c) vs Meiko Satomura for the NXT UK Women's Championship, NXT UK 6/10/21

Absolutely excellent match. Worth watching.

# ? Jun 10, 2021 20:57

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

HM
6th June
Cyberfight Festival
Princess Of Princess Title
Miyu Yamashita vs Yuka Sakazaki

Wow, this was a disappointment. Really thought they'd deliver more than this, bit of a shame. Still very good mind but didn't really connect with me

MOTYC
6th June
Cyberfight Festival
KO-D Openweight Title
Jun Akiyama vs HARASHIMA

Basically as good as I hoped

MOTYC
6th June
Cyberfight Festival
GHC Heavyweight Title
Keiji Mutoh vs Naomichi Marufuji

# ? Jun 10, 2021 23:49

Oh Snapple!: Dec 27, 2005

SG Bamboo posted:

DDT King of DDT Night 1
MOTYC
Konosuke Takeshita vs Akito
- Akito is fuckin smooth as silk, that man grapples as easy as breathing. Takeshita is incredible as well, these two worked really well together, Akito worked the legs and Takeshita got to show off his power with some rad as hell German suplexes. Loved this, it was exactly what I was hoping a match between these two would be.

HM
Yuji Hino vs Yukio Sakaguchi
- Do you like hard kicks and hard chops and hard lariats and hard knees? Then this match is for you
Jun Akiyama vs Shunma Katsumata
- David vs Goliath's older tougher brother. This is a side of Shunma we don't see super often, where he's just completely outmatched by his opponent. There was an awkward moment when Shunma tried to hit a spike Frankesteiner and Akiyama went completely the wrong way but luckily neither guy got hurt and they just moved past it quickly. Real fun match especially when the legos came out
Kazusada Higuchi vs Naomi Yoshimura
- I thought the chops in Hino/Sakaguchi were meaty, but Higuchi clearly wasn't going to be outdone by his tag partner. Yoshimura more than held up his end of the match, my highlight being when he deadlifted Higuchi while being caught in the clawhold
Tetsuya Endo vs Chris Brookes
- Got a little kick out crazy right near the end, but the vast majority of the match was very well worked. Chris' devotion to attacking Endo's arm during the middle section led to a cool payoff as well. Good way to finish off teh show

Great show, only the Ueno/Sasaki match was a dud and I'm thinking that'll lead somewhere down the track, everything else was good to great

Adding another general nth, a good fun show overall

# ? Jun 11, 2021 00:14

YourHumbleMessiah: Oct 11, 2005

DarkstarIV posted:

MOTYC: Kay Lee Ray (c) vs Meiko Satomura for the NXT UK Women's Championship, NXT UK 6/10/21

Absolutely excellent match. Worth watching.

2nd, excellent match!!!!

# ? Jun 11, 2021 02:11

Penguin Patrol: Mar 3, 2005; by Fluffdaddy

SG Bamboo posted:

DDT King of DDT Night 1
MOTYC
Konosuke Takeshita vs Akito
- Akito is fuckin smooth as silk, that man grapples as easy as breathing. Takeshita is incredible as well, these two worked really well together, Akito worked the legs and Takeshita got to show off his power with some rad as hell German suplexes. Loved this, it was exactly what I was hoping a match between these two would be.

HM
Yuji Hino vs Yukio Sakaguchi
- Do you like hard kicks and hard chops and hard lariats and hard knees? Then this match is for you
Jun Akiyama vs Shunma Katsumata
- David vs Goliath's older tougher brother. This is a side of Shunma we don't see super often, where he's just completely outmatched by his opponent. There was an awkward moment when Shunma tried to hit a spike Frankesteiner and Akiyama went completely the wrong way but luckily neither guy got hurt and they just moved past it quickly. Real fun match especially when the legos came out
Kazusada Higuchi vs Naomi Yoshimura
- I thought the chops in Hino/Sakaguchi were meaty, but Higuchi clearly wasn't going to be outdone by his tag partner. Yoshimura more than held up his end of the match, my highlight being when he deadlifted Higuchi while being caught in the clawhold
Tetsuya Endo vs Chris Brookes
- Got a little kick out crazy right near the end, but the vast majority of the match was very well worked. Chris' devotion to attacking Endo's arm during the middle section led to a cool payoff as well. Good way to finish off teh show

Great show, only the Ueno/Sasaki match was a dud and I'm thinking that'll lead somewhere down the track, everything else was good to great

nth, but Yuji Hino vs Yukio Sakaguchi was a MOTYC for me. my favorite match of the show, even if it was a little on the short side.

# ? Jun 11, 2021 05:00

Lily Catts: Oct 17, 2012; Show me the way to you
(Heavy Metal)

SG Bamboo posted:

DDT King of DDT Night 1
MOTYC
Konosuke Takeshita vs Akito
- Akito is fuckin smooth as silk, that man grapples as easy as breathing. Takeshita is incredible as well, these two worked really well together, Akito worked the legs and Takeshita got to show off his power with some rad as hell German suplexes. Loved this, it was exactly what I was hoping a match between these two would be.

HM
Yuji Hino vs Yukio Sakaguchi
- Do you like hard kicks and hard chops and hard lariats and hard knees? Then this match is for you
Jun Akiyama vs Shunma Katsumata
- David vs Goliath's older tougher brother. This is a side of Shunma we don't see super often, where he's just completely outmatched by his opponent. There was an awkward moment when Shunma tried to hit a spike Frankesteiner and Akiyama went completely the wrong way but luckily neither guy got hurt and they just moved past it quickly. Real fun match especially when the legos came out
Kazusada Higuchi vs Naomi Yoshimura
- I thought the chops in Hino/Sakaguchi were meaty, but Higuchi clearly wasn't going to be outdone by his tag partner. Yoshimura more than held up his end of the match, my highlight being when he deadlifted Higuchi while being caught in the clawhold

Nth these

Didn't really get into Endo vs Brookes much, felt like it took too long to get into high gear, and then it dragged on.

I thought Ueno vs Sasaki was good, but it was a bit too short for me to give a HM nom. I did like the Mad Paulie spots though.

# ? Jun 11, 2021 05:41

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

SG Bamboo posted:

DDT King of DDT Night 1
MOTYC
Konosuke Takeshita vs Akito
- Akito is fuckin smooth as silk, that man grapples as easy as breathing. Takeshita is incredible as well, these two worked really well together, Akito worked the legs and Takeshita got to show off his power with some rad as hell German suplexes. Loved this, it was exactly what I was hoping a match between these two would be.

HM
Yuji Hino vs Yukio Sakaguchi
- Do you like hard kicks and hard chops and hard lariats and hard knees? Then this match is for you

Nth to these, still working me way though the others but so far this has been a hell of a card.

# ? Jun 11, 2021 21:51

Cerebral Bore: Apr 21, 2010; Fun Shoe

HM: Christian Cage vs Angelico AEW Dynamite 11.06

Just a rock-solid match on every level.

# ? Jun 12, 2021 03:13

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

Cerebral Bore posted:

HM: Christian Cage vs Angelico AEW Dynamite 11.06

Just a rock-solid match on every level.

Very good match, loved to see Christian bringing diving headbutts back for the boys. (I am seconding)

MassRafTer fucked around with this message at 03:24 on Jun 12, 2021

# ? Jun 12, 2021 03:20

Senerio: Oct 19, 2009; Roëmænce is ælive!

MOTYC: Mei Suruga vs Minoru Fujita Chocopro 125 June 11 2021 for the Super Asia Championship

Champ of the Month and also Match of the Night.

# ? Jun 12, 2021 03:22

coconono: Aug 11, 2004; KISS ME KRIS

MOTY, NPU Fear The Gay Agenda, 6/11
Effy vs Parrow, Last Daddy Standing

# ? Jun 12, 2021 03:23

fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

Senerio posted:

MOTYC: Mei Suruga vs Minoru Fujita Chocopro 125 June 11 2021 for the Super Asia Championship

Champ of the Month and also Match of the Night.

2nd

# ? Jun 12, 2021 03:25

Chris James 2: Aug 9, 2012

SG Bamboo posted:

DDT King of DDT Night 1
MOTYC
Konosuke Takeshita vs Akito
- Akito is fuckin smooth as silk, that man grapples as easy as breathing. Takeshita is incredible as well, these two worked really well together, Akito worked the legs and Takeshita got to show off his power with some rad as hell German suplexes. Loved this, it was exactly what I was hoping a match between these two would be.

nth

# ? Jun 12, 2021 03:27

Insertnamehere31: Jan 23, 2012; This could be the most one-sided fight since 1973 when Ali faced an eighty-foot tall mechanical Joe Frazier. My memory isn't what it used to be, but I think the entire Earth was destroyed.

Senerio posted:

MOTYC: Mei Suruga vs Minoru Fujita Chocopro 125 June 11 2021 for the Super Asia Championship

Champ of the Month and also Match of the Night.

Absolute war, nth.

# ? Jun 12, 2021 03:32

Cerebral Bore: Apr 21, 2010; Fun Shoe

MOTYC: Young Bucks & Brandon Cutler vs Penta el Zero M, PAC & Eddie Kingston AEW Dynamite 11.06

Absolutely top-notch stuff. The Bucks are wonderful assholes.

# ? Jun 12, 2021 03:41

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

HM: Young Bucks & Brandon Cutler vs Penta el Zero M, PAC & Eddie Kingston AEW Dynamite June 11

# ? Jun 12, 2021 03:43

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# ? Jun 5, 2024 16:31

CopywrightMMXI: Jun 1, 2011; One time a guy stole some downhill skis out of my jeep and I was so mad I punched a mailbox. I'm against crime, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Punch McLightning posted:

HM: Young Bucks & Brandon Cutler vs Penta el Zero M, PAC & Eddie Kingston AEW Dynamite June 11

Nth, even borderline MOTY quality.

# ? Jun 12, 2021 03:44

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Hammer House: Stinger Splash Zone > 2021's Best and Worst Pro-Wrestling Matches of the Year (plus Recommended)

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