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

All from wk 4/1

HM Archer v Mox
Motyc: Hiromu v Ospreay
Motyc: white v Naito
Motyc: Okada v Ibushi

Honestly three 5 star matches in a row and the main event is right up there as Okadas best match.

# ¿ Jan 4, 2020 13:17

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 22:14

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

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.

Nth

Unbelievable match

# ¿ Jan 5, 2020 11:48

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

forkboy84 posted:

MOTYC
4/1
NOAH New Sunrise
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
GHC Heavyweight Title
Kaito Kiyomiya vs Go Shiozaki

I strongly recommend you get this watched.

Nth great match. All the top title matches I've seen from that weekend are around the 5 star mark. Really a fantastic weekend of big matches.

That said does anyone else feel the top of the card in Japanese wrestling is slowly getting a bit too homogenised. The top wrestlers even have very similar looks and presentations. Every big match I've seen so far this year could main event a njpw show no problem in pacing and structure imo

# ¿ Jan 19, 2020 04:44

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

forkboy84 posted:

HM
19/1
NJPW Fantasticamania Night 7
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
CMLL Heavyweight Title
Satoshi Kojima vs Ultimo Guerrero (c)

Just fun times.

Nth why not

It was just a solid show from top to bottom.

# ¿ Jan 19, 2020 15:09

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

forkboy84 posted:

HM
20/1
NJPW Fantasticamania Night 8
NWA World Historic Middleweight Title
Caristico vs Barbaro Cavernario

Nth

# ¿ Jan 21, 2020 05:37

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

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Women's Royal Rumble - 1/26

I was gonna nominate it for MOTY until some latter match and especially the ending tarnished it. But this was really, really well booked for the most part and gave a good showcase to a lot of wrestlers. Shame about the ending, but it doesn't undercut how good the rest was.

Nth

Excellent match right up to Alexas elimination, solid to good match until 29 came out and pretty crappy from that point on.

# ¿ Jan 27, 2020 02:38

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

ShadowedFlames posted:

HM: Becky Lynch v Asuka, WWE Royal Rumble, 26 January.

Just shy of MOTYC for me but I enjoyed it.

Nth

# ¿ Jan 27, 2020 03:59

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

sportsgenius86 posted:

To each their own but I can�t even fathom an argument for that being good.

Brocks the second best wrestler in the company behind Daniel Bryan and id rather watch him wrecking fools than Ellias and Rowen plodding around the ring. I dont know if it was even an HM but i thought it was good

# ¿ Jan 27, 2020 05:29

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

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

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Roppongi 3K (C) vs. The Mega-Coaches for the IWGP Jr Tag Team Titles - New Japan Road 2/20

This was a really good match and the teamwork on display and the story of Rocky and his beautiful Japanese sons being on opposite sides of the match was really well put together.

Nth

Motyc: Shingo (c) v Ishii for the iwgp never openweight championship- new Japan road 20/2

# ¿ Feb 20, 2020 13:09

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

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.

Nth just smiled like an idiot the entire match

# ¿ Feb 22, 2020 12:39

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

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Tomohiro Ishii vs. El Desperado - New Japan Cup Night 1 6/16

Just so loving good, and all the false finishes had me biting on each one no matter who was doing the pinning.

Nth

Just short of a motyc. Reckon with a crowd it would have got there

# ¿ Jun 16, 2020 12:55

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

All from the new Japan cup 23/6

Motyc: SHO vs. Shingo
HM: ZSJ v Kota Ibushi
HM: Tanahashi v Taichi

Liked sanada v taguchi too but just fell short of an hm for me personally. Great show

# ¿ Jun 22, 2020 21:54

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

All from nj cup 23/6

HM: Yoshi hashi v Tenzan
HM: goto v yujiro
HM lij v chaos
HM evil v kojima

Very solid night of wrestling for a card that didn't pack many superstars. YH v Tenzan was very close to a motyc nomination and was match of the night.

Really fun show

# ¿ Jun 24, 2020 03:34

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

All from the nj cup 24/6

HM : Makabe v Ishii
Hm: Hiromu v Yano
Hm: Okada v Nagata

drat close to going motyc for Okada v Nagata it was a beauty of a HW match. Excellent night of matches

# ¿ Jun 25, 2020 07:49

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

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiromu Takahashi, NJPW New Japan Cup, 03/07

Nth just an excellent match

# ¿ Jul 3, 2020 16:42

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

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Kazuchika Okada/Toru Yano/SHO vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Hirooki Goto/YOSHI-HASHI, NJPW Summer Struggle, 09/08

My head says HM, my heart says MOTYC

Nth it was lovely

# ¿ Aug 9, 2020 12:53

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

I thought the match was alright and it had by far the most crowd engagement. Maybe I liked it on an ironic level or something but I enjoyed it more than SHO v sanada which was heatless

I actually think Yujiro is doing a good job as a heel in the feud based on crowd responses

# ¿ Aug 27, 2020 05:28

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

Rarity posted:

HM: Kazuchika Okada/SHO/Toru Yano vs. Hirooki Goto/Tomohiro Ishii/YOSHI-HASHI, NJPW New Japan Road, 11/09

Nth very good match

# ¿ Sep 11, 2020 12:09

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

MassRafTer posted:

MOTYC: Jeff Cobb vs Taichi

Before the tournament there were a fair number of people hoping Cobb would be able to throw people around in this tournament and guess what, he did! But Taichi threw him around too and got that great superkick at the end.

MOTYC: Okada vs Ibushi

Loved Ibushi basically having the better of Okada at every turn and even cutting him off when he decided it was time for rainmakers.

HM
Suzuki vs Ishii
White vs Shingo

I agree for the reasons stated so nth. I'm a sucker for two main event talent being big deals in the ring so I start very high on matches like Okada v Ibushi anyway and love the tense starts. Some folks may differ there

Jay v Shingo dang close to motyc territory but the ending was a little messy

# ¿ Sep 20, 2020 00:48

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

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, NJPW G1 Climax Night 2, 20/09

Tana is only half the wrestler he was 10 years ago which still makes him one of the top wrestlers in New Japan today

Nth

One of my favourite matches all year.

# ¿ Sep 20, 2020 08:22

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

G1 climax 30.09

HM : Cobb v Ibushi
HM : Okada v taichi
Motyc : Ospreay v white

# ¿ Sep 30, 2020 12:21

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

HM : Ishii v Shingo

Don't know if i was just tired but I only really got into that for the finish. It was an excellent finish though

# ¿ Sep 30, 2020 12:45

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

All from g1 climax 1/10

Hm: tsuji v kidd
Hm: Yoshi hashi v Tanahashi (dang close to a motyc. Would have been in tacos won lol)
HM: evil v Kenta
HM : sanada v Naito

# ¿ Oct 1, 2020 12:51

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

If we can upgrade votes then I just rewatched Okada v Taichi from night 7 and now think its a MOTYC

# ¿ Oct 2, 2020 10:14

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

HM : switchblade v Cobb
HM: Okada v minoru
Motyc: Ishii v taichi
HM: Ospreay v Ibushi

All from the g1 climax 5/10

# ¿ Oct 5, 2020 13:21

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

Jerusalem posted:

MOTYC: Kazuchika Okada vs. Shingo Takagi - NJPW G1 Climax 30 Night 13 - 10/10

Started slow and built and built and built and built and holy gently caress I think I about lost my mind during the back third of the match. Okada's best match of the tournament so far.

It ruled so nth

# ¿ Oct 10, 2020 11:24

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

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii, NJPW G1 Climax Night 15, 13/10

God drat

Nth

# ¿ Oct 13, 2020 13:34

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

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, and YOSHI-HASHI (C) vs. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., and DOUKI) for the NEVER Openweight Trios Championship - NJPW Road to POWER STRUGGLE 10/23

This match was a ton of fun and the nearfalls and the lengthy YOSHI-HASHI/DOUKI war while their teammates did everything to help their teammates succeed was just great.

Nth

# ¿ Oct 23, 2020 13:00

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

Cerebral Bore posted:

MOTYC: Dangerous Tekkers vs Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI NJPW Road to Power Struggle 02.11

Certified MOTYC machine keeps racking 'em up.

I'm gonna go HM. Excellent match but it felt a bit long imo. Some of the stuff between :yoshihashi:

and taichi was absolutely in the motyc range.

# ¿ Nov 3, 2020 00:55

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

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Jay White vs. Kota Ibushi, NJPW Power Struggle, 07/11

One of the most insane finishes in my time watching New Japan. gently caress YOU SWITCHBLADE

Nth

They have excellent chemistry

# ¿ Nov 7, 2020 11:40

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

Jerusalem posted:

I'd say HM for Naito vs. Evil at Power Struggle 11/7. It went a little long but the crowd was super into everything and there were some really neat teases of things building presumably to Wrestle Kingdom.

I'll give it an HM and I agree too long but very fun and silly

# ¿ Nov 7, 2020 12:18

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

BOSJ/WTL 15/11
HM - Robbie eagles v DOUKI

I had to duck out after that match so I'll hopefully catch the rest of the show tomorrow. Looks like a solid show

# ¿ Nov 15, 2020 13:47

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

Rarity posted:

HM: Hiroshi Tanahashi/Toa Henare vs. Dangerous Tekkers, NJPW World Tag League, 16/11

Obviously there's three amazing wrestlers here but Henare's the star of the match with a fantastic performance that shows just how much he got hosed over by COVID this year. Dude's gonna be big in 2021

nth

# ¿ Nov 16, 2020 13:13

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

Cerebral Bore posted:

MOTYC: Hiromu Takahashi vs El Desperado NJPW BOSJ 18.11

This was just a fantastic match from top to bottom.

Nth great match

# ¿ Nov 18, 2020 12:39

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

Cerebral Bore posted:

MOTYC: Robbie Eagles vs SHO NJPW BOSJ 20.11

A brutal war of psychology, between two styles and two guys who are fantastic at their respective ones.

The post match cemented my opinion on it as a MOTYC. Nth

# ¿ Nov 20, 2020 12:08

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

Not sure how many people will go with this based on the talk in the thread but

BOSH 20/11

HM : El Desperado v Yuja Uemura
HM: Hiromu Takahashi v BUSHI

# ¿ Nov 20, 2020 12:41

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

Going against consensus

Motyc: hiromu Tanahashi v DOUKI bosj 23/11

It's as good as any match in this tournament imo.

# ¿ Nov 23, 2020 11:27

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

Rarity posted:

HM: El Desperado vs. Master Wato, NJPW Best of Super Juniors, 23/11

Not even Wato can drag down Despy

Nth watos best match

# ¿ Nov 23, 2020 12:05

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 22:14

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

Cerebral Bore posted:

HM: Taiji Ishimori vs Robbie Eagles NJPW BOSJ 25.11

Started a bit slow, but picked up a lot and ended up as a great back and forth match.

nth

# ¿ Nov 25, 2020 12:12

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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