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)

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SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Rarity posted:

HM: Liger Retirement Match, NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14, 04/01

Had zero expectations for this and they crushed it

Yeah Greed

Also HM: Finjuice vs GOD : Wrestle Kingdom 14

# ¿ Jan 4, 2020 10:30

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# ¿ May 22, 2024 02:15

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

karmicknight posted:

MOTYC: IWGP United States Heavyweight Title Match: Jon Moxley vs. Lance Archer, 1/04 Wrestle Kingdom 14

YUP

# ¿ Jan 4, 2020 10:53

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

STONE COLD 64 posted:

MOTYC: Will Ospreay (c) vs Hiromu Takahashi - January 4, 2020 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 at The Tokyo Dome

YES THIS

# ¿ Jan 4, 2020 11:30

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

HM: Naito vs Jay White Wrestle Kingdom 14

Sloppy in places but the ending was great and the heat was amazing and Naito didn't choke

# ¿ Jan 4, 2020 12:19

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

MOTYC: OKada vs Ibushi Wrestle Kingdom 14

Yeah that was amazing. Finish was just off the chart

# ¿ Jan 4, 2020 13:11

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

2 Nights for Wrestle Kingdom was the right call as all the big matches got the time needed

And we get more tomorrow

# ¿ Jan 4, 2020 13:16

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

HM: ELP/Ishimori vs Roppongi 3k

Fun match with lots of heeling but the heels getting their just desserts in the end!

# ¿ Jan 5, 2020 07:56

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

sportsgenius86 posted:

HM: Zack Sabre Jr vs. SANADA, NJPW WrestleKingdom 14 Night 2, 1/5

Yeah agreed very fun match

# ¿ Jan 5, 2020 08:19

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

HM: Jon Moxley vs Juice Robinson Wrestlekingdom 14 Night 2

# ¿ Jan 5, 2020 08:37

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

HM: KENTA vs Goto, Wrestle Kingdom 14 night 2

Started a bit slow but the final 5 minutes of strikes just made this match

# ¿ Jan 5, 2020 09:08

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Kota Ibushi vs. Switchblade Jay White - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night 2

A complete clusterfuck and a mess of a match but extremely entertaining and terrifying.

Yeah agreed

# ¿ Jan 5, 2020 09:48

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Yeah I agree with MOTYC for that as well

# ¿ Jan 5, 2020 10:24

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Jerusalem posted:

MOTYC: Kazuchika Okada (C) vs. Tetsuya Naito (C) for the IWGP Heavyweight AND Intercontinental Championships - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night 2

A match/main event/story years in the making, executed to perfection. New Japan is the best wrestling promotion on the planet.

Yes agreed. That may have been better than Okada/Ibushi.

Okada is the best wrestler on the planet

# ¿ Jan 5, 2020 11:11

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

jesus WEP posted:

MOTYC: EVIL and Shingo vs Ishii and Goto, NJPW New Year�s Dash, 6th January
So Much Beef

Yeah agreed

# ¿ Jan 7, 2020 07:22

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

forkboy84 posted:

OK friends, Wrestle Kingdom is done. There is no wrestling until Friday so take this chance to watch one of the matches of the year so far, Kento Miyahara vs Jake Lee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XUM1bqZjfo

If you need an intro, okay. Kento Miyahara is the Triple Crown Champion. He won it in October 2018 & this is his 8th defence. He's the ace of All Japan, he's charismatic and an amazing wrestler and he can be a cocky prick sometimes but the fans love him. He's also just 30 years old & in his 4th reign with that belt. Jake Lee is the same age & initially debuted for AJPW in 2011, but he got hurt & ended up going into MMA after just 10 matches. He returned in 2015 so he's not as experienced as you'd expect. As time has gone on a lot of hope was placed on the shoulders of Lee as the future, and he can be an extremely good wrestler but a major thing holding him back is his fire, or rather his lack of it. But in 2019 they faced in the Champion Carnival finals, 1 night after Lee had to win a block match with Joe Doering & then a block decider with Naoya Nomura. Kento won but it was a breakout moment for Lee, just getting to the finals and then going 27+ minutes with the Best of the Best. After that they rematched in the finals of the Royal Road (AJPW's New Japan Cup equivalent) in early autumn, this time Lee got the win but it was flat. Lee just went back to lacking the necessary fire to be convincing. But he won so he got a title shot in October, this was almost as good as the Carnival, Lee held up his end and it felt like a fight.

So why is Lee facing Kento again? Well the real reason is despite undercards getting more fun, the Junior Division looking healthier than a while, the top of the card is thin. But the kayfabe reason is that on the final night of the Real World Tag League Lee & Nomura beat Miyahara & Yuma Aoyagi with Lee pinning Miyahara. It was a great match & one of the best tag matches I've seen outside of NOAH or Dragon Gate in 2019. Of course they then lost the finals to Violent Giants which is a big loving "WHY?" but that's not so important. Lee pinned the champ and gets rewarded with a title shot at the 2nd AJPW show of the year.

Yeah I'll go MOTYC for that as well

Kento needs to do a PWG or the G1 or some AEW to become a big international star this year.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2020 07:44

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Jerusalem posted:

WMOTY: Riho (C) vs. Kris Statlander for the AEW Women's Championship - AEW Dynamite 1/8

A terrible clusterfuck of bad booking. Neither Riho nor Kris are to blame for this dreadful poo poo, they deserved so much better.

Yeah I agree that was the first AEW title match that really didn't click for me

# ¿ Jan 9, 2020 02:39

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Punch McLightning posted:

MOTYC: Ortiz & Santana vs. Kenny Omega & Hangman Page vs. Chuck Taylor & Trent vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson, AEW Dynamite 1/15

Yeah that was the kinda of spot fest I love

# ¿ Jan 16, 2020 02:22

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

I'll MOTYC Pac vs Darby and HM Moxley vs Guevara

# ¿ Jan 16, 2020 05:07

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

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Rarity posted:

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

Yeah nth

# ¿ Feb 3, 2020 07:56

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Jerusalem posted:

HM for me. Great loving match though.

Yeah I'll go HM for it too

# ¿ Feb 6, 2020 03:18

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

MOTYC: Ryu Lee vs Hiromu Takahashi
MOTYC: Jon Moxley vs Minoru Suzuki
HM: Naito vs KENTA

All from New Beginning in Osaka. Fun show from top to bottom too

# ¿ Feb 10, 2020 07:23

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

MOTYC: Hangman Adam Page/Kenny Omega vs SCU AEW dynamite

# ¿ Feb 13, 2020 02:19

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Jerusalem posted:

MOTYC: Riho (C) vs. Nyla Rose for the AEW Women's Championship - AEW Dynamite 2/12

Absolutely incredible match, even with the stream going down for several minutes in the middle I was still absolutely floored by how good this was.

Yeah agreed

# ¿ Feb 13, 2020 03:07

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Between Dynamite and New Beginning this week felt like a G1 for great wrestling

# ¿ Feb 13, 2020 05:28

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

sportsgenius86 posted:

HM: Tag Team Battle Royal, AEW Dynamite 2/19

Yeah agreed that was a super fun battle royale

# ¿ Feb 20, 2020 03:08

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Jerusalem posted:

AEW Dynamite 2/19

HM: Tag Team Battle Royal
HM: Kriss Statlander vs. Shanna
HM: Jon Moxley vs. Jeff Cobb
HM: Cody vs. WARDLOW in a Steel Cage Match
MOTY: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (C) vs. The Lucha Bros for the AEW Tag Team Titles

What a loving show.

Yeah I'll agree with those

# ¿ Feb 20, 2020 05:33

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Ziggy Tzardust posted:

MOTYC: Zack Sabre Jr Vs Will Ospreay. RevPro High Stakes 14/02

Everything their recent NJPW match was and more. They teased things from the first match, they clearly love working together and the crowd was absolutely nuclear. These two are barely in their primes yet and they're making a case for them being the two best British wrestlers of all time

This just went up on New Japan World and it's yes, agreed on that MOTYC. Match was amazing

# ¿ Feb 20, 2020 07:45

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

HM For Mega Coaches and Roppongi 3k and MOTYC for Shingo vs Ishii

I think Shingo/Ishii may be the best match I've seen this week god drat

# ¿ Feb 21, 2020 06:26

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Jerusalem posted:

HM: The Nakanishi Retirement Match: Manabu Nakanishi, TenCozy, and Yugi Nagata vs. Kazuchika Okada, Golden Aces and Hirooki Goto - New Japan Road 2/22

Nobody does retirement matches better than New Japan. Nobody.

Agreed that was a great retirement match and post match ceremony

# ¿ Feb 23, 2020 04:17

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

GEORGE W BUSHI posted:

MOTYC: Toru Sugiura (c) vs Yuko Miyamoto for the King of FREEDOMS Championship in a Tower of Terror Fluorescent Lighttube Deathmatch - FREEDOMS Go Beyond the Limit (2/10)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1LF3DhKxh4

One for my deathmatch ghouls out there and further proof that the best deathmatch wrestlers are the ones who are very good professional wrestlers who choose to do deathmatches anyway.

Yeah Agreed that was fun and amazing

# ¿ Feb 23, 2020 04:38

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Chris James 2 posted:

MOTYC: PAC vs Kenny Omega, half-hour ironman match, AEW Dynamite 2/26

I was going to go HM due to the extension as I don't like that stip being added on like that but Kenny channeling Kota to win brought it back up to MOTY for me

# ¿ Feb 27, 2020 02:38

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

I kinda of want a Super cut of Dave saying WWE couldn't screw Riccochet up while this title match plays and Will, ZSJ, Kota, and KETNA all laugh at him

# ¿ Feb 28, 2020 02:53

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Jerusalem posted:

MOTYC: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (C) vs. The Young Bucks for the AEW Tag Team Titles - AEW Revolution 2/29

Kenny Omega reminding everybody he's one of the greatest wrestlers on the planet... and he was only one of FOUR incredible wrestlers in this match! What an incredible, incredible match. That Young Bucks stealing the Double V-Trigger spot and Kenny's kickout at one spot was sensational.

Yes agreed. Liked all the call outs to the elite including Hangman busting out the cross face chicken wing

# ¿ Mar 1, 2020 03:28

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Jerusalem posted:

MOTYC: PAC vs. Orange Cassidy - AEW Revolution 2/29

This isn't irony, this was a genuinely great match even outside of just how much fun it was. I was smiling ear to ear from start to finish.

Was gonna go HM but the rolling spot where both Pac and Orange corpses made it a MOTYC for me

# ¿ Mar 1, 2020 04:48

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

HM - Moxley vs Jericho AEW Revolution

A bit slow in places but the finish made up for it. All in on Moxley 2 belts

# ¿ Mar 1, 2020 05:26

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Punch McLightning posted:

HM: Darby vs Jericho and Guevara

Best handicap match I've seen in awhile so nth

# ¿ Mar 5, 2020 04:05

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

Dango Bango posted:

HM: Kris Statlander vs. Riho vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Penelope Ford - AEW Dynamite 3/18

They busted their asses for this one. Still think it's worth an HM despite the botch.

Yeah that was fun

# ¿ Mar 19, 2020 01:58

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

HM; Kenny Omega vs Sammy Guevara : Triple AAA Mega Championship - AEW Dynamite March 25th

Could of been MOTYC if in front of a live crowd but the finishing stretch got me into a show I wasn't all that into with some amazing counters. Do this match in an arena in a few months please

# ¿ Mar 26, 2020 02:42

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# ¿ May 22, 2024 02:15

SatoshiMiwa: May 6, 2007

GEORGE W BUSHI posted:

MOTYC - Go Shiozaki (c) vs Kazuyuki Fujita for the GHC Heavyweight Championship - NOAH 20th Anniversary - NOAH The Chronicle (3/29)

Absolutely insane and surreal match that you owe it to yourself to watch unspoiled. From the THIRTY MINUTE staredown that opened to the match to the five minute headlock, to Fujita chugging loving hand sanitizer to the tour of Korakuen Hall to Fujita repeatedly kicking Go right in the head to Go repeatedly clotheslining him into defeat with two minutes left on the clock

It was a very special match and I'm not sure we'll see anything like it again.

Yeah agreed. Probably the best of the empty arena matches I've seen this month

# ¿ Mar 30, 2020 04:11

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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