2023'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 > 2023's Best and Worst Pro-Wrestling Matches of the Year (plus Recommended)

«‹›121 »

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

HM: Hazuki & Koguma vs. Ami Sourei & MIRAI, Stardom Fukuoka Goddess Legend, 5/3
HM: Natsupoi vs. Mina Shirakawa, same show

# ? Nov 7, 2023 21:19

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 3, 2024 13:16

apophenium: Apr 14, 2009; Cry 'Mayhem!' and let slip the dogs of Wardlow.

AJPW Giant Series Hokkaido Edition Evening Show - 11/05

HM:
Yuma Anzai & Ryuki Honda v. Kento Miyahara & T-HAWK

A fun continuation of the feud between Honda and Kento. Kento is really good at this and I love him. Anzai got absolutely obliterated by a knee from T-HAWK. Very fun.

MOTYC:
Yuma Aoyagi (c) v. Katsuhiko Nakajima for the All Japan Triple Crown Title

Super hot match in front of like 700 people in a hotel in Sapporo. Stellar from start to finish with oodles of strong strikes and kicks. Nakajima has such a riveting ring presence that elevates his matches. Aoyagi has a lot of raw talent and he's only just now turned 28. Find it somewhere and watch it, I guarantee you'll like it.

# ? Nov 8, 2023 03:46

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

HM
6th October
Dragongate The Gate of Victory Night 3
Elimination Tag Match
Open The Triangle Gate Title
Dragon Kid, Punch Tominaga & YAMATO vs D'courage (Dragon Dia, Madoka Kikuta & Yuki Yoshioka) vs GOLD CLASS (Ben-K, Kota Minoura & Naruki Doi)

# ? Nov 8, 2023 17:01

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

HM: Mina Shirakawa vs. Tam Nakano, Stardom Flashing Champions 5/27
HM: Giulia, Mai Sakurai & Thekla vs. KAIRI, Natsupoi & Saori Anou, same show

# ? Nov 8, 2023 22:53

closet statist: Mar 9, 2010

SG Bamboo posted:

NJPW STRONG Independence Day July 5th
MOTYC
El Desperado vs Jon Moxley
- https://vk.com/video-4499945_456251155?t=2h55m29s
- Deathmatch Despy is always a good time, especially when he starts the match already beat to poo poo from his match the previous day

nthed this when it happened, but anyone who hasnt seen it NEEDS to watch it.

# ? Nov 9, 2023 02:25

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

HM: Daniel Garcia vs. MJF, Dynamite 11/8

Disappointing but still hit my 3.5 star minimum.

# ? Nov 9, 2023 03:00

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

HM
24th September
New Japan Destruction In Kobe
IWGP Tag Team Titles
Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)(c) vs TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)

HM
24th September
New Japan Destruction In Kobe
Jeff Cobb vs Tetsuya Naito

MOTYC
24th September
New Japan Destruction In Kobe
IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Title
Will Ospreay(c) vs Yota Tsuji

HM
2nd July
Big Japan Childish Anarchy Killing
Kota Sekifuda vs Takuya Nomura

# ? Nov 9, 2023 03:03

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

HM: Penta vs. Swerve, Dynamite 11/8

# ? Nov 9, 2023 03:24

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

HM: Samoa joe vs. Keith Lee, Dynamite 11/8

# ? Nov 9, 2023 03:33

closet statist: Mar 9, 2010

MOTYC: Penta vs. Swerve, Dynamite 11/8
HM: Samoa joe vs. Keith Lee, Dynamite 11/8

# ? Nov 9, 2023 03:36

Maxwell Lord: Dec 12, 2008; I am drowning.
There is no sign of land.
You are coming down with me, hand in unlovable hand.

And I hope you die.

I hope we both die.; Grimey Drawer

HM: Julia Hart v Red Velvet, AEW Dynamite 11/8/23

# ? Nov 9, 2023 03:37

A Fancy Hat: Nov 18, 2016; Always remember that the former President was dumber than the dumbest person you've ever met by a wide margin

AEW Dynamite 11/8/23

HM: MJF vs Daniel Garcia
MOTYC: Penta vs Swerve Strickland
HM: Samoa Joe vs Keith Lee
HM: Red Velvet vs Julia Hart
MOTYC: Mark Briscoe vs Jay White

This felt like a PPV in spots, such a variety of good wrestling.

# ? Nov 9, 2023 04:09

graph: Nov 22, 2006; aaag peanuts

HM: MJF v. Daniel Garcia - AEW World Championship - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Penta v. Swerve Strickland - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Samoa Joe v. Keith Lee - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Red Velvet v. Julia Hart - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Mark Briscoe v. Jay White - AEW Dynamite 11/8

some of these tickled motyc and need run back at papes because they loving rocked. fantastic dynamite

# ? Nov 9, 2023 04:12

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

graph posted:

HM: Mark Briscoe v. Jay White - AEW Dynamite 11/8

nth

# ? Nov 9, 2023 04:15

The Taxman: Jan 2, 2007; greetings sweeties, let me give you a back massage. for i am a whiz!

A Fancy Hat posted:

AEW Dynamite 11/8/23

HM: MJF vs Daniel Garcia
MOTYC: Penta vs Swerve Strickland
HM: Samoa Joe vs Keith Lee
HM: Red Velvet vs Julia Hart
MOTYC: Mark Briscoe vs Jay White

This felt like a PPV in spots, such a variety of good wrestling.

Nth these

# ? Nov 9, 2023 04:27

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

graph posted:

HM: MJF v. Daniel Garcia - AEW World Championship - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Penta v. Swerve Strickland - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Samoa Joe v. Keith Lee - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Red Velvet v. Julia Hart - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Mark Briscoe v. Jay White - AEW Dynamite 11/8

some of these tickled motyc and need run back at papes because they loving rocked. fantastic dynamite

Agreed

# ? Nov 9, 2023 04:35

Kvantum: Feb 5, 2006; Skee-entist

graph posted:

HM: MJF v. Daniel Garcia - AEW World Championship - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Penta v. Swerve Strickland - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Samoa Joe v. Keith Lee - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Red Velvet v. Julia Hart - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Mark Briscoe v. Jay White - AEW Dynamite 11/8

some of these tickled motyc and need run back at papes because they loving rocked. fantastic dynamite

Nth.

# ? Nov 9, 2023 04:42

Dango Bango: Jul 26, 2007

A Fancy Hat posted:

AEW Dynamite 11/8/23

HM: MJF (c) vs Daniel Garcia
MOTYC: Penta vs Swerve Strickland
HM: Samoa Joe (c) vs Keith Lee
HM: Red Velvet vs Julia Hart
HM: Mark Briscoe vs Jay White

Thanks for the format. You just forgot one thing :v:

Nth-ing these!

# ? Nov 9, 2023 05:29

Captain Foo: May 11, 2004; we vibin'
we slidin'
we breathin'
we dyin'

graph posted:

HM: MJF v. Daniel Garcia - AEW World Championship - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Penta v. Swerve Strickland - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Samoa Joe v. Keith Lee - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Red Velvet v. Julia Hart - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Mark Briscoe v. Jay White - AEW Dynamite 11/8

some of these tickled motyc and need run back at papes because they loving rocked. fantastic dynamite

Nth!

# ? Nov 9, 2023 05:41

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

HM: Daiki Inaba & Masa Kitamiya vs. Satoshi Kojima & Takashi Sugiura, NOAH Great Voyage in Osaka 2/12
HM: Jack Morris vs. Kaito Kiyomiya, same show

# ? Nov 9, 2023 06:23

Pylons: Mar 16, 2009

A Fancy Hat posted:

AEW Dynamite 11/8/23

HM: MJF vs Daniel Garcia
MOTYC: Penta vs Swerve Strickland
HM: Samoa Joe vs Keith Lee
HM: Red Velvet vs Julia Hart
MOTYC: Mark Briscoe vs Jay White

This felt like a PPV in spots, such a variety of good wrestling.

I'll go with this. Mark Briscoe is special.

# ? Nov 9, 2023 06:34

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

HM: El Barbaro Cavernario vs. Volador Jr., CMLL Super Viernes 9/8

# ? Nov 9, 2023 06:40

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

HM
1st October
Stardom In Korakuen
AZM vs Mayu Iwatani

HM
27th August
2AW GRAND SLAM In Oriental Bay Hotel
2AW Openweight Title
Kohei Sato(c) vs Taishi Takizawa

I finally finished the last thing I had on my watchlist from August, & only have 12 matches across 4 shows to knock the September shows off the list.

# ? Nov 9, 2023 17:49

Eat This Glob: Jan 14, 2008; God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. Who will wipe this blood off us? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we need to invent?

graph posted:

HM: MJF v. Daniel Garcia - AEW World Championship - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Penta v. Swerve Strickland - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Samoa Joe v. Keith Lee - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Red Velvet v. Julia Hart - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Mark Briscoe v. Jay White - AEW Dynamite 11/8

some of these tickled motyc and need run back at papes because they loving rocked. fantastic dynamite

nth

# ? Nov 9, 2023 18:07

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

HM: Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn, Raw 10/23

# ? Nov 10, 2023 01:02

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

HM
20th September
Baka Gaijin + Friends Vol.8 The Director's Cut
HARASHIMA vs Mecha Mummy

Extremely fun comedy performance from HARASHIMA

HM
24th September
Tokyo Joshi Pro City Circuit Yokohama Performance
NEO Biishiki-gun (Mei Saint-Michel & Sakisama) vs Up Up Girls (Miu Watanabe & Shino Suzuki)

HM
30th September
DDT Saki Akai 10th Anniversary & Final Countdown In Kyoto
Eruption (Hideki Okatani, Saki Akai & Yukio Sakaguchi) vs HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga

# ? Nov 10, 2023 01:54

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

HM: Creeds vs. Chad Gable & Otis, Raw 10/30

# ? Nov 10, 2023 02:00

Edward Mass: Sep 14, 2011; 𝅘𝅥𝅮 I wanna go home with the armadillo
Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene
Friendliest people and the prettiest women you've ever seen𝅘𝅥𝅮

HM: Alex Shelly (c) vs. Jonathan Gresham for the Impact World Championship, Impact on AXS 11/9

# ? Nov 10, 2023 04:03

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

Giving a 7th to:

HM: Penta El Zero M vs. Swerve Strickland - AEW Dynamite 11/8

Neither needs it, but also expressing my love for:

HM: Samoa Joe (C) vs. Keith Lee for the ROH TV Title - AEW Dynamite 11/8
HM: Mark Briscoe vs. Switchblade Jay White - AEW Dynamite 11/8

What a great Dynamite. Not as great as remembering to put HM in front of my nominations, but drat close!

Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 09:32 on Nov 10, 2023

# ? Nov 10, 2023 06:32

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

Jerusalem posted:

Giving a 7th to:

Penta El Zero M vs. Swerve Strickland - AEW Dynamite 11/8

Neither needs it, but also expressing my love for:

Samoa Joe (C) vs. Keith Lee for the ROH TV Title - AEW Dynamite 11/8
Mark Briscoe vs. Switchblade Jay White - AEW Dynamite 11/8

What a great Dynamite.

ARE THESE HMS OR MOTYCS??????

WE GOT 'EM, FOLKS.

# ? Nov 10, 2023 06:43

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

finally, sweet vengeance

# ? Nov 10, 2023 06:49

Glass Punkbull 141: Jan 9, 2008; This is the face of a winner. This is what winning looks like.

Make him watch an Impact Josh Alexander match as penance.

# ? Nov 10, 2023 07:18

Edward Mass: Sep 14, 2011; 𝅘𝅥𝅮 I wanna go home with the armadillo
Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene
Friendliest people and the prettiest women you've ever seen𝅘𝅥𝅮

Yes...penance... :ninja:

# ? Nov 10, 2023 07:25

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

HM: Hazuki, Koguma & Mayu Iwatani vs. Giulia, Mai Sakurai & Thekla, Stardom Sunshine 6/25
HM: Natsupoi vs. Saori Anou, Stardom MidSummer Champions 7/2

# ? Nov 10, 2023 07:30

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

MassRafTer posted:

ARE THESE HMS OR MOTYCS??????

WE GOT 'EM, FOLKS.

What have I become, now that I've betrayed..... :negative:

# ? Nov 10, 2023 09:31

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

SG Bamboo posted:

BJW Big B Style ~ Oh When the Crazies go Marching In ~ July 3rd
HM
Astronauts (Takuya Nomura and Fuminori Abe) vs Daichi Hashimoto and Takuho Kato
- https://vk.com/video-4499945_456251794?t=34m48s

Had the hard hitting Big Japan action I crave but definitely felt like the stepping stone to a bigger match down the track

2nd this, I already miss Takuho Kato & he hasn't even retired yet in my BJW viewing

# ? Nov 10, 2023 11:36

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

apophenium posted:

AJPW Giant Series Hokkaido Edition Evening Show - 11/05
MOTYC:
Yuma Aoyagi (c) v. Katsuhiko Nakajima for the All Japan Triple Crown Title

Super hot match in front of like 700 people in a hotel in Sapporo. Stellar from start to finish with oodles of strong strikes and kicks. Nakajima has such a riveting ring presence that elevates his matches. Aoyagi has a lot of raw talent and he's only just now turned 28. Find it somewhere and watch it, I guarantee you'll like it.

Quoting this with a link to watch the match, it's currently at 4 votes and is certainly worth the watch now it's online. It's very much an indie nowadays but All Japan has more than a handful of promising talent at the moment

Also Jru I see Nakajima vs Kento Miyahara from NOAH is on both the MOTYC list and the almost MOTYC list. If it's really only got 6 votes someone else should watch it pronto, it was fantastic

SG Bamboo fucked around with this message at 15:09 on Nov 10, 2023

# ? Nov 10, 2023 13:15

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

FIGHTING TV Samurai Presents Fan Thanksgiving 2023 ~ Let's Connect Pro Wrestling To The Future NOW And Future ~ November 5th
HM
Daisuke Sekimoto, HARASHIMA, Kazunari Murakami, Masato Tanaka and Yuko Miyamoto vs MAO, MUSASHI, Shoki Kitamura, Takuya Nomura and Yuya Aoki
- https://vk.com/video-4499945_456251884?t=3h09m58s
- A match for the true freaks, everyone got do do their signature spots and Nomura got to have a standoff with Murakami which was rad as hell

# ? Nov 10, 2023 15:09

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

HM: Nanae Takahashi vs. Starlight Kid, Stardom Midsummer Champions 7/2
MOTYC: MIRAI vs. Tam Nakano, same show

HM: Hanan, Hazuki & Mayu Iwatani vs. Natsupoi, Tam Nakano & Yuna Mizumori, Stardom Aomon 2 Days in Hachinohe 7/20

# ? Nov 10, 2023 16:52

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 3, 2024 13:16

apophenium: Apr 14, 2009; Cry 'Mayhem!' and let slip the dogs of Wardlow.

SG Bamboo posted:

Quoting this with a link to watch the match, it's currently at 4 votes and is certainly worth the watch now it's online. It's very much an indie nowadays but All Japan has more than a handful of promising talent at the moment

Also Jru I see Nakajima vs Kento Miyahara from NOAH is on both the MOTYC list and the almost MOTYC list. If it's really only got 6 votes someone else should watch it pronto, it was fantastic

Wrestling journalist and vaunted taste-maker Dave Meltzer gave this match *****1/4 stars so everyone really ought to go give it a watch

# ? Nov 10, 2023 18:30

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Hammer House: Stinger Splash Zone > 2023's Best and Worst Pro-Wrestling Matches of the Year (plus Recommended)

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