2024'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 > 2024's Best and Worst Pro-Wrestling Matches of the Year (plus Recommended)

«‹›2 »

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

First nom of the year!

Stardom New Year January 3

HM: triangle derby final Maika, Ami Sohrei, and Syuri vs. Giulia, Thekla, and Mai Sakurai

# ¿ Jan 4, 2024 02:11

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 21:45

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Zack Sabre Jr.(c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the New Japan Television Title - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 1/4
Best match that Tanahashi has had in ages, and not just because human socialist octopus Zack Sabre Jr. is incredible (which he is) - the 15 minute time limit really works to both their advantage in terms of pacing.

HM: Shingo Takagi (C) vs. Tama Tonga for the Never Openweight Title - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 1/4
I knew the match would be good but also felt like I'd already seen all they had to offer in a match against each other. But the setting made all the difference, crowd was hot and both guys were giving it their all. Right on the edge of MOTYC for me.

MOTYC: Hiromu Takahashi (C) vs. El Desperado for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 1/4
It's two of the best Junior Heavyweight wrestlers in the world fighting for the title at Wrestle Kingdom, and it absolutely lives up to the hype.

HM: Will Ospreay (C) vs. Jon Moxley vs. David Finlay for the IWGP Global Championship - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 1/4
This was kind of incredible in the sense that they did absolutely everything they could to ruin this match on multiple occasions and somehow it kept being fantastic regardless until the end result was the least interesting person in the match and in his own faction winning the title.

MOTYC: Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 1/4
Two of the best to ever do it, doing it at the highest level. An absolutely incredible experience.

HM: SANADA (C) vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 1/4
It suffered from having to follow Danielson/Okada, and I know that some people were feeling less than enthusiastic about this as a main event, but I dig both guys and I like the storyline of former stablemates who had a mostly amicable parting but now are competing for the top spot in the company. Match built really well and had a fantastic finish, helped by a very, very, very hot crowd.

Nth.

# ¿ Jan 4, 2024 21:13

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

SG Bamboo posted:

NJPW New Year's Dash January 5th
HM
TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr, Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls) vs Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii
- Got to love a mystery card

Also the UE vs War Dogs match was loving wild, check that one out

Nth, and HM to the UE vs. War Dogs 10-man as well. The bell-to-bell wouldn't make the cut but the post-match absolutely put it at that level for me.

# ¿ Jan 5, 2024 15:52

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Crapple! posted:

MOTYC from 4/1/2024

Stardom: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs Syuri for the IWGP women's title. Maybe match of the day. Brutal as gently caress, built to an insane crescendo

Stardom: Suzu Suzuki and Giulia vs Maika and Megan Bayne. Insanely great tag. Megan Bayne is getting so much out of her time in Stardom.

Second. I loved WK and the NOAH matches I watched but Mayu vs. Syuri is my MOTY so far.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2024 15:19

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

SG Bamboo posted:

NJPW Battle in the Valley January 13th
MOTYC
Shingo Takagi vs Jon Moxley - No DQ
Kazuchika Okada vs WIll Ospreay

HM
Giulia (c) vs Trish Adora
Eddie Kingston (c) vs Gabe Kidd - NJPW STRONG Openweight Title

Eddie/Gabe would have hit MOTYC if the ending weren't poo poo, such fire between the two

Nth. I didn't think the ending was that bad and it made sense, but it's not what you want in a PPV title match.

# ¿ Jan 14, 2024 21:53

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Stardom January 20rh

HM: Syuri, MIRAI, & Ami Sourei vs. Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki, & Hanan

# ¿ Jan 23, 2024 15:51

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

forkboy84 posted:

HM
23rd January
NJPW Road To New Beginning Night 2
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title
El Desperado(c) vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Watch this here

MOTYC
24th January
NJPW Road To New Beginning Night 3
NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Team Titles
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii) & Hiroshi Tanahashi(c) vs TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)
Watch this here

A very emotional farewell to Okada from Korakuen. I still think CHAOS should have dropped the belts but having watched it I understand more why they went for the feeling good ending. and they really did Fujita a lot of good in defeat, this was his match.

HM
20th January
Stardom Award Night 1
Stardom High Speed Title
Mei Seira(c) vs Fukigen Death
Watch this here

Probably over-rated this but this is a pretty amusing match & sometimes what you want is a light, short, funny little match.

Nths!

# ¿ Jan 26, 2024 17:39

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Crapple! posted:

Stardom Supreme Fight 2/4

MOTYC: Mei Seira (c) vs Hazuki
MOTYC: Saori Anou (c) vs Starlight Kid
MOTYC: Maika (c) vs Saya Kamitani
HM: AZM, Utami Hayashishita, Nanae Takahashi and Mayu Iwatani vs Giulia, Suzu Suzuki, MIRAI and Syuri

Nth. Great show!

# ¿ Feb 4, 2024 20:51

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

SG Bamboo posted:

NJPW Road to the New Beginning February 4th
MOTYC
HENARE vs Gabe Kidd
- If Gedo doesn't have big plans cooking for Gabe then I don't know what the gently caress, what a war

HM
David Finlay vs Callum Newman
- A hell of a squash

Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira and TJP) (c) vs War Dogs (Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors) - IWGP Jr Tag Titles
- A very good wrestling match in front of a hot crowd that was let down by being a small part of a much larger puzzle

Nth.

# ¿ Feb 5, 2024 00:28

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

SG Bamboo posted:

NJPW Road to the New Beginning February 5th
HM
Just 5 Guys (Taichi, DOUKI, TAKA Michinoku, Sanada and Yuya Uemura) vs LIJ (Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito and Shingo Takagi) - Faction Warfare Gauntlet

Yeah this was a really fun variation on the usual multi man tags and the last segment was great. Excellent build for the 23rd!

(That's a second.)

Chinston Wurchill fucked around with this message at 13:52 on Feb 6, 2024

# ¿ Feb 6, 2024 06:03

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

SG Bamboo posted:

NJPW The New Beginning February 11th
MOTYC
Zack Sabre Jr vs Bryan Danielson
- It's crazy, you watch Danielson and he's a master grappler but put him against ZSJ and you realise that Zack is on a complete other level, just ungody smooth transitions from the long mover

United Empire (Jeff Cobb, Francesco Akira, TJP, HENARE and Will Ospreay) vs War Dogs (Gabe Kidd, Drilla Moloney, David Finlay, Alex Coughlin and Clark Connors) - Steel Cage
- An fuckin insane spectacle, if you only tuned in for Zack and Bryan watch this poo poo as well. Drags quite a bit in the last ten minutes but the stuff before that was fantastic

HM
Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
- Far from their best match but no less emotional, it really hit me after the bell that a rivalry that has been going my entire time watching New Japan is over

Nth. Agree that the main event dipped at the end but it was still a wild brawl and I loved the parts when I wasn't concerned about people breaking their legs.

# ¿ Feb 11, 2024 18:23

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Stardom Valentine's Day Feb 14

HM: Mina Shirakawa & Maika & HANAKO & Xena & Waka Tsukiyama vs. Mayu Iwatani & Hazuki & Saya Iida & Hanan & Yuzuki (elimination match)

I love elimination matches and this was a good one!

# ¿ Feb 17, 2024 17:48

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Stardom February 17

HM: Hanan & Saya Iida vs. Mai Sakurai & Chanyota

This was action-packed and hard-hitting and the crowd was super hot. Over-delivered like crazy!

# ¿ Feb 18, 2024 16:28

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

SG Bamboo posted:

NJPW/CMLL Fantasticamania February 18th
MOTYC
Templario vs Soberano Jr
- Match so good it had me checking out how much a Templario mask would set me back, fantastic stuff

HM
Brillante Jr vs Tit�n
Volador Jr vs Rocky Romero

Best night of the tour

Nth.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2024 04:36

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Dark Panther vs. OKUMURA - NJPW/CMLL Fantasticamania 2/19
HM: Atlantis Jr. vs. Hechicero - NJPW/CMLL Fantasticamania 2/19
HM: Mistico vs. �ltimo Guerrero - NJPW/CMLL Fantasticamania 2/19
HM: M�scara Dorada vs. Stuka Jr. - NJPW/CMLL Fantasticamania 2/19

drat good final night, my match of the night was probably Atlantis Jr. vs. Hechicero but every match was a blast, including the fun multimans.

Nth.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2024 20:48

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Mayu Iwatani (C) vs. Mina Shirakawa for the IWGP Women's Title - NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo 2/23
Match of the night. The crowd basically had no idea who either of them were and by the end of the match they were fully into everything, and the ending was really, really good.

Nth. If they'd had a bit more time it could have been a MotYC.

I was pulling for Mina though. :smith:

# ¿ Feb 23, 2024 15:17

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

SG Bamboo posted:

NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo February 24th
MOTYC
Hiromu Takahashi vs DOUKI
- Sicko poo poo with crowd favourite Douki going up against the most popular junior in the world

Shingo Takagi vs Taichi
- Shingo and Taichi do the Shingo and Taichi match, but this time in front of Taichi's hometown crowd. It ruled

HM
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano, Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii) vs United Empire (Jeff Cobb, Great O-Khan, Callum Newman and Francesco Akira) and Matt Riddle
- Literally every part of the match that didn't involve Riddle I greatly enjoyed, not the match I would have chosen for Okada's last but very happy with the match we got

Tetsuya Naito (c) vs SANADA - IWGP World Heabyweight Title
- Some great parts and the crowd were well behind Naito, something just felt really off about the last five minutes or so with a couple of incredibly deflating botches

Solid show, only down parts were the HoT match and being personally disappointed by the Hair vs Hair match

Nth.

# ¿ Feb 25, 2024 04:08

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Ziggy Tzardust posted:

MOTYC Revolution Pro High Stakes (18/02): Michael Oku (c) vs Will Ospreay for the Undisputed British Heavyweight Title

If you remember how much people gushed about their match two years ago, this match surpassed it in every way. Oku is a lot more mature as a performer. Amira is legit a top 5 manager/valet. Ospreay is one of the best wrestlers of the 21st century. RevPro's technical production still isn't the best but they really made this feel like a Big Fight with how both wrestlers were presented. Combine that with a white-hot crowd that refused to calm down for even a second. I thought it might be "seeing it live" bias so I watched the VOD and it was just as good.

Holy poo poo yes.

Really good show overall, I'll also give HM nods to:

Mustafa Ali vs. Robbie X
ZSJ vs. Connor Mills

And especially:

JJ Gale vs. Luke Jacobs

# ¿ Feb 26, 2024 20:31

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Shingo Takagi vs. Yuya Uemura - New Japan Cup 3/8
As expected, the match of the tournament so far. Shingo is criminally underrated (even if the entire world was singing his praises) and Yuya Uemura is exceptionally good.

Nth.

# ¿ Mar 9, 2024 05:36

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Burn Down Canberra posted:

Stardom Cinderella tournament night 1 9/3/2024

HM : Hanan v Hanako

Motyc : Saori anou/natsupoi v sareee/chiriro hashimoto

I have some motyc from today's show but I'll give it a few days because it spoils the winners of night 1. Needless to say stardom cooking

Nth.

Plus HM for Rina (c) vs. Miran for the Future of Stardom title

I might be overrating that one but a 17 year old and a 15 year old put on a match I enjoyed more than the last AEW women's title match and that deserves some recognition.

SG Bamboo posted:

NJPW New Japan Cup March 10th
MOTYC
Yota Tsuji vs Jeff Cobb
- BEEEEEEEF, really brough the mood back after the bullshit in the previous match

Nth.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2024 19:16

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Jerusalem posted:

HM: SANADA vs. YOSHI-HASHI - New Japan Cup 3/11
Letting out an anguished scream at the horror of existence in support of my boy, YOSHI-HASHI

Burn Down Canberra posted:

Stardom Cinderella round 2 10/3/24

Motyc: Suzu Suzuki v starlight kid .

Motyc : Hanan v Mirai - legitimately this is the best Cinderella match I've ever seen. Absolute war between those two

Nths.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2024 12:20

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

SG Bamboo posted:

NJPW New Japan Cup March 13th
HM
Shingo Takagi vs Gabe Kidd
- Very much enjoyed this but didn't hit the heights I was hoping from these guys

Second. I bet they'd have gone harder for the match they were supposed to have in RevPro recently. Hopefully there's a rematch in the future and they can pull out all the stops.

# ¿ Mar 14, 2024 03:10

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Yota Tsuji vs. El Phantasmo - New Japan Cup 3/15

drat good match, (entire show spoilers) it's the main event of the show so you can stop watching when it's done. Tsuji rules and El P always surprises me with just how good he is as a singles wrestler.

Second. And wish I'd read the spoiler before watching. :smith:

# ¿ Mar 16, 2024 01:35

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Jerusalem posted:

HM: SANADA vs. Hirooki Goto - New Japan Cup 3/18

After the endless House of Torture bullshit that has infected this tournament, these two reminded everybody that New Japan can just do a really, really, really good loving match without any dumb crap getting in the way.

Nth, very good!

# ¿ Mar 18, 2024 14:58

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Burn Down Canberra posted:

Motyc for me but nth

Nth.

# ¿ Mar 20, 2024 17:45

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Stardom Cinderella Finals March 20

MOTY: Maika vs. Utami Hayashishida
HM: Hanan vs. Ami Sourei

# ¿ Mar 22, 2024 14:22

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Burn Down Canberra posted:

Stardom Kyoto 24/3/24

HM: wing gori v hanako/waka

Big second.

# ¿ Mar 24, 2024 22:43

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

SG Bamboo posted:

NJPW Sakura Genesis April 6th
MOTYC
War Dogs (Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney) (c) vs Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira and TJP) vs Intergalactic JetSetters (Kevin Knight and KUSHIDA) - IWGP Jr Tag Titles
- Ridiculous match, unrelenting energy and bodies flying every which way like New Japan used to open every ppv with

HM
New Japan (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg) vs 2AW (Shoki Chicharito, Ayato Yoshida and Takuro Niki)
- Great showcase of the indy guys and also Boltin being a fuckin beast

Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Yota Tsuji - IWGP World Heavyweight Title
- A very very good match that I pretty much never doubted would end the way it did

Very good show, not wall to wall bangers but it was good vibes basically the whole time. Even the two HoT matches were immediately followed by the coolest poo poo ever to perk me right back up

Nth.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2024 12:37

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Punch McLightning posted:

Stardom American Dream in the Keystone Space 4/4

HM: Mariah May, Mina Shirakawa & Xia Brookside vs. Mayu Iwatani, Momo Kohgo & Tam Nakano
MOTYC: Megan Bayne vs. Maika

Nth.

# ¿ Apr 9, 2024 16:14

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Jerusalem posted:

Woah, really? That's crazy. So she's... still in Stardom but also appearing on WU shows?

I think her last appearance was today. Not sure why her contract wasn't up at the end of last month.

# ¿ Apr 13, 2024 01:02

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Stephanie Vaquer (C) vs. AZM for the NJPW Strong Openweight Women's Title - NJPW Windy City Riot 4/12
Really great showcase for both ladies, with a great aftermath that has me excited for what comes next.

MOTYC: Shota Umino vs. Scapegoat Jack Perry - NJPW Windy City Riot 4/12
The match was VERY well worked but this was elevated by the absolutely electric atmosphere in the Chicago crowd, and Perry (and Shota!) playing into that so effectively to make this more than the sum of its parts.

HM: Mustafa Ali vs. Hiromu Takahashi - NJPW Windy City Riot 4/12
This was a ton of fun (you HAVE to see Daryl Jr's new look) with things taking a step up in intensity for the last few minutes.

HM: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Nic Nemeth - NJPW Windy City Riot 4/12
The match was good and Nemeth did well, but Ishii is legitimately one of the best wrestlers in the world. Just incredible.

HM: Tetsuya Naito (C) vs. Jon Moxley for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title - NJPW Windy City Riot 4/12
I really, really, really liked this match. Others might not. I did!

Second. Glad I shelled out!

Chinston Wurchill fucked around with this message at 04:46 on Apr 13, 2024

# ¿ Apr 13, 2024 04:43

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Burn Down Canberra posted:

Stardom 12/4/24

Motyc : giulia/syuri v hanan/mayu iwatani

Second, plus HM for Utami Hayashishida & Saya Kamitani vs. Maika & Saya Iida

# ¿ Apr 15, 2024 14:07

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Stardom April 19

HM: Tam Nakano & Natsupoi vs. Hanan & Saya Iida

Great tag team main event!

# ¿ Apr 20, 2024 14:24

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

The Taxman posted:

Nth this one, though I think it was on April 13th based on every source I could find

Really the best two tag teams in the company going at it. wing☆gori rule

Yeah I think you're right. The delays in things showing up on World throw me off sometimes.

# ¿ Apr 22, 2024 00:35

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

NJPW Road to Dontaku April 23

HM: Hiromu Takahashi vs. David Finlay

Clark Connors vs. Shingo was close too, probably would have gotten there with a few more minutes.

# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 04:57

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

SG Bamboo posted:

NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku April 22nd
HM
Just 5 Guys (Taichi, SANADA, DOUKI, TAKA Michinoku and Yuya Uemura) vs United Empire (Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, TJP, Jeff Cobb and Great O-Khan) - Gauntlet Match

Second.

# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 23:57

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Burn Down Canberra posted:

Stardom ASGQ 27/4/24

MOTYC: Mayu Iwatani v Sareee. This one is an easy nomination. They literally beat the poo poo out of each other. Pretty much the perfect way of doing a "dream match" where it did suffer from a lack of build but the wrestlers are just so insanely awesome that they could drag all the heat into the match.

MOTYC: Saori Anou v Hanan. This had every right to struggle. Saori at times leaves me very cold when she is on top and she can pace matches in a way that drags. Hanan is a 19 year old in her biggest ever match. They had to follow Iwatani v Sareee but they smashed it out the park. It was actually my motn. I think my investment in Hanan through the Cinderella and up to this match probably plays a role in my fondness for this match but they delivered big time.

HM: Maika v Momo Watanabe: This was a really good match but it was let down by the second fall I thought making it fall just a bit short of the other big title matches. I was also really invested in Momo through the first half of the year. Maika continues being a strong champion.

HM: Crazy Star v FWC v 02 line v SLK/Ruaka : A crazy high speed tag team match. Its probably the easiest recommendation because its just bonkers.

HM: Meltear v Aja Kong/Kaoru Ito: I am probably judging this match on some sort of crazy sliding scale in my mind but this was an otherworldly good performance by meltear. Tam Nakano has returned in good form

Nth. I think Mayu vs. Sareee is my current match of the year, holy poo poo.

# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 04:36

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku April 29

HM: BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors

# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 15:13

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Zack Sabre Jr. (C) vs. Jeff Cobb for the IWGP World Television Title - NJPW Dontaku Night 1 5/3
Zack tries to match power with Cobb, which is a bad idea. Cobb tries to match technique with Zack, which is a bad idea. But goddamn if it wasn't a loving joy watching these two make the attempt, as also of course they proved why they're the masters of their own particular specialty.

Second!

# ¿ May 3, 2024 14:02

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 21:45

Chinston Wurchill: Jun 27, 2010; It's not that kind of test.

Jerusalem posted:

MOTYC: Shingo Takagi (C) vs. Gabe Kidd for the NEVER Openweight Title - NJPW Dontaku Night 2 5/4
This was great, they just beat the poo poo out of each other and it played perfectly to Gabe's unhinged character.

The less said about the rest of the show the better

Nth.

# ¿ May 4, 2024 17:47

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Hammer House: Stinger Splash Zone > 2024's Best and Worst Pro-Wrestling Matches of the Year (plus Recommended)

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