A new year, and a new list.

WWE did Day 1 so they get a lotta votes before New Japan holds the board for a while after Wrestle Kingdom.

Miyu Yamashita vs. Mizuki - Tokyo Joshi Pro Ittenyon '22

(95%)

Hikari Noa vs. Maki Itoh - Tokyo Josho Pro Ittenyon '22

(90%)

I'll do my shit by Fire Pro standards because not everyone needs to crib from Tuna Meltz

Smackdown Tag Team Championship - Tag Team Match
The Usos(c) vs. New Day (WWE Day 1 - January 1st)

AEW Heavyweight Championship - Singles Match
Adam Page(c) vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW Dynamite - January 5th)

TNT Championship - Ladder Match
Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara (AEW Dynamite - January 26th)

Universal Championship - Singles Match
Roman Reigns(c) vs. Seth Rollins (Royal Rumble - January 29th)

Singles Match
CM Punk vs. MJF (AEW Dynamite - February 2nd)

Singles Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Daniel Garcia (AEW Dynamite - February 23rd)

Singles Match
Alex Shelley vs. Jay White (Impact Wrestling Sacrifice - March 5th)

Singles Match
Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston (AEW Revolution - March 6th)

AEW Tag Team Championships - Three-Way Tag Team Match
Jurassic Express(c) vs. ReDRagon vs. The Young Bucks (AEW Revolution - March 6th)

Dog Collar Match
CM Punk vs. MJF (AEW Revolution - March 6th)

AEW Heavyweight Championship - Singles Match
Adam Page(c) vs. Adam Cole (AEW Revolution - March 6th)

AEW Women's Championship - Steel Cage Match
Britt Baker(c) vs. Thunder Rosa (AEW Dynamite - March 16th)

ROH Tag Team Championships - Tag Team Match
Briscoe Brothers(c) vs. FTR (Supercard of Honor XV - April 1st)

Raw Women’s Championship - Singles Match
Becky Lynch(c) vs. Bianca Belair (WrestleMania 38 Night 1 - April 2nd)

Singles Match
Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins (WrestleMania 38 Night 1 - April 2nd)

No Holds Barred Match
Kevin Owens vs. Steve Austin (WrestleMania 38 Night 1 - April 2nd)

NXT North American Championship - Five-Way Ladder Match
Carmelo Hayes(c) vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Grayson Waller vs. Santos Escobar vs. Solo Sikoa (NXT Stand & Deliver - April 2nd)

NXT Tag Team Championships - Triple Threat Tag Team Match
Imperium(c) vs. Creed Brothers vs. MSK (NXT Stand & Deliver - April 2nd)

Blood and Guts II - Twelve Man Tag Team Match
Jericho Appreciation Society vs. The BCC/Kingston/Santana/Ortiz (AEW Dynamite - June 29th)

Raw Women’s Championship - Singles Match
Bianca Belair(c) vs. Becky Lynch (WWE SummerSlam - July 30th)

Four-Way Match
Bandido vs. Black Taurus vs. Laredo Kid vs. Rey Fenix (Ric Flair's Last Match - July 31st)

*****

****3/4

Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Will Ospreay - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 2

****1/2

Shingo Takagi (c) vs Kazuchika Okada - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1

****1/4

Adam "Hangman" Page (c) vs Brian Danielson - AEW World Heavyweight Championship - Dynamite #118

My best effort at keeping track of this throughout the year was to do a Top 25 list. I think I'm going to go back to that and give it a proper go. As matches are knocked off my top 25 I'll leave them at the bottom in an "honourable mentions" category. I can already tell you that 5-8 on my list will be moved to that category pretty quickly and are just there for obvious mark-y reasons.  Not that they were bad matches just they won't last as the year goes on.

...

1. "Hangman" Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson - AEW World Championship - AEW Dynamite Jan 5th
2. Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 2
3. Shingo Takagi vs. Kazuchika Okada - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
4. Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb - Wrestle Kingdom Day 2
5. El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
6. Edge vs. The Miz - WWE Day 1
7. CM Punk vs. Wardlow w/MJF - AEW Dynamite Jan 12th
8. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Ren Narita - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
9. Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express w/Christian Cage - AEW Tag Team Championship - AEW Dynamite Jan 5th
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

Honourable Mentions

*****

****3/4

Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Will Ospreay - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 2
Roman Reigns (c) vs Seth Rollins - WWE Universal Championship - Royal Rumble

****1/2

Shingo Takagi (c) vs Kazuchika Okada - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
Sammy Guevara (c) vs Cody Rhodes (c) - AEW TNT Championship - Dynamite #122 Beach Break

****1/4

Adam "Hangman" Page (c) vs Brian Danielson - AEW World Heavyweight Championship - Dynamite #118

1. "Hangman" Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson - AEW World Championship - AEW Dynamite Jan 5th
2. Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 2
3. Shingo Takagi vs. Kazuchika Okada - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
4. Sammy Guevara vs. Cody Rhodes - TNT Championship Ladder Match - AEW Dynamite Jan 26th
5. Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb - Wrestle Kingdom Day 2
6. CM Punk vs. MJF - AEW Dynamite Feb 2nd
7. El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
8. Edge vs. The Miz - WWE Day 1
9. CM Punk vs. Wardlow w/MJF - AEW Dynamite Jan 12th
10. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Ren Narita - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
11. Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express w/Christian Cage - AEW Tag Team Championship - AEW Dynamite Jan 5th
12. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins - Universal Championship - WWE Royal Rumble
13. Jon Moxley vs. Anthony Bowens w/Max Caster - AEW Rampage Jan 28th
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

Honourable Mentions

I edited in Reigns vs Rollins to my previous post at ****3/4 because I'm not making a new post for a single match.

Also tempted to switch to RT's list instead of the star system.

Feb 2, 2022 19:11:20 GMT Emperor said:

I edited in Reigns vs Rollins to my previous post at ****3/4 because I'm not making a new post for a single match.

Also tempted to switch to RT's list instead of the star system.

I meant to add that match too and forgot. Good shout.

I'm not against everyone having their own "thing" to rank the matches.

RT doing basic list... #1 is #1, it's back to basics.

Emperor with the theatrics of snowflakes. Nobody has the perfect score is his eyes. This automatic doesn't fly with the good doctor from down under.

KITN is doing a % deal, making you nostalgic for taking pop quizzes.

I give out five stars. A few in 2020 and a few in 2019. It's not easy to get there. I'm not going to shit all over the rating system and turn it into a joke like Meltzer did.

The division between star ratings is not well-defined though which is why I'm considering switching to the list.

I'm going to have to re-watch MJF vs. Punk, however, I'm adding it to my list.

Feb 3, 2022 3:44:45 GMT Lony said:

I'm going to have to re-watch MJF vs. Punk, however, I'm adding it to my list.

I am too. Not reposting it I’ll just edit my list from yesterday.

Has anyone had the opportunity to check out the Will Ospreay vs. Michael Oku match from RevPro? Meltzer was absolutely raving about it on Observer and called Ospreay the most versatile performer in Pro Wrestling history. Supposedly a very old school territory style match with Ospreay in the role of Flair and it took a lot of ideas from famous Bret Hart matches like the Bob Backlund match and Steve Austin WM XIII match.

Feb 4, 2022 11:08:29 GMT Big Pete said:

Has anyone had the opportunity to check out the Will Ospreay vs. Michael Oku match from RevPro? Meltzer was absolutely raving about it on Observer and called Ospreay the most versatile performer in Pro Wrestling history. Supposedly a very old school territory style match with Ospreay in the role of Flair and it took a lot of ideas from famous Bret Hart matches like the Bob Backlund match and Steve Austin WM XIII match.

It's on my list. I'm on the road the next two weeks so I'm going to try and find it while sitting in my hotel with nothing to do. Saw a couple clips and it looks like Meltzer ain't lying.

T-1. "Hangman" Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson - AEW World Championship - AEW Dynamite Jan 5th
T-1. Will Ospreay vs. Michael Oku - RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship - RevPro High Stakes
3. Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 2
4. Shingo Takagi vs. Kazuchika Okada - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
5. Sammy Guevara vs. Cody Rhodes - TNT Championship Ladder Match - AEW Dynamite Jan 26th
6. Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb - Wrestle Kingdom Day 2
7. CM Punk vs. MJF - AEW Dynamite Feb 2nd
8. El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
9. Edge vs. The Miz - WWE Day 1
10. CM Punk vs. Wardlow w/MJF - AEW Dynamite Jan 12th
11. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Ren Narita - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
12. Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express w/Christian Cage - AEW Tag Team Championship - AEW Dynamite Jan 5th
13. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins - Universal Championship - WWE Royal Rumble
14. Creed Brothers w/Malcolm Bivens vs. MSK - Dusty Classic Finals - NXT Feb 15th
15. Jon Moxley vs. Anthony Bowens w/Max Caster - AEW Rampage Jan 28th
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

Honourable Mentions

I finally watched it and holy fuck. I'm tying it for 1st place until I rewatch Page/Danielson and decide on the true #1.

What a match. If you haven't watched it, go watch it. Not just an amazing match, but some of the best heel work I've ever seen. Ospreay is a legend.

1. Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Will Ospreay - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 2
2. Roman Reigns (c) vs Seth Rollins - WWE Universal Championship - Royal Rumble
3. Shingo Takagi (c) vs Kazuchika Okada - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
4. Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Tetsuya Naito - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - New Years Golden Series
5. Sammy Guevara (c) vs Cody Rhodes (c) - AEW TNT Championship - Dynamite #122 Beach Break
6. Adam "Hangman" Page (c) vs Brian Danielson - AEW World Heavyweight Championship - Dynamite #118
7. Brian Danielson vs Daniel Garcia - AEW Dynamite #125

1. Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Will Ospreay - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 2
2. Roman Reigns (c) vs Seth Rollins - WWE Universal Championship - Royal Rumble
3. Shingo Takagi (c) vs Kazuchika Okada - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
4. Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Tetsuya Naito - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - New Years Golden Series
5. Will Ospreay (c) vs Michael Oku - Revolution Pro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship - High Stakes
5. Sammy Guevara (c) vs Cody Rhodes (c) - AEW TNT Championship - Dynamite #122 Beach Break
6. Adam "Hangman" Page (c) vs Brian Danielson - AEW World Heavyweight Championship - Dynamite #118
7. Brian Danielson vs Daniel Garcia - AEW Dynamite #125

Ospreay vs Oku had a lot of great moments, especially the finish, which was an incredibly ballsy and effective thing to do, but as a complete package it can't stand up to the best matches of the year.

The main reason is that Oku isn't on Ospreay's level. He's very good, but Ospreay was putting on top tier heel work and Oku's face work was relatively tame. He didn't have the babyface fire required to compete with Ospreay's dickhead actions. There was one brief moment, after Ospreay attacked his girlfriend, that he showed real fire, but that was for a few seconds at most. Then Ospreay cut him off and went back on offense.

Which highlights another problem of the match: Ospreay was too dominant. Logically it makes sense since Ospreay is the bigger guy, but Oku never really got a chance to shine, a chance to be really on top for a sustained period, he was almost always surviving and fighting from underneath. Whenever he got a big babyface moment, Ospreay cut him off immediately. Too many times in my opinion. The scales of the match weighed too heavily in the favour of the heel.

There was one moment near the very end where he applied a nastier version of his Half Crab finish, I actually thought Ospreay may tap. That was great. There were a couple of other cool moments. The Tombstone and Rainmaker tease. The Styles Clash. But it was too much the Ospreay show to be a truly great match.

It sounds like I'm shitting all over the match, but I don't mean to. It was a great match, with an amazing conclusion. #5 on my list is no slouch and it could easily stay there, I'm just trying to convey why it's not up there with my favourite matches of the year.

1. "Hangman" Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson - AEW World Championship - AEW Dynamite Jan 5th
2. Will Ospreay vs. Michael Oku - RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship - RevPro High Stakes
3. Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 2
4. Shingo Takagi vs. Kazuchika Okada - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
5. Sammy Guevara vs. Cody Rhodes - TNT Championship Ladder Match - AEW Dynamite Jan 26th
6. Bryan Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels - AEW Dynamite March 2nd
7. Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb - Wrestle Kingdom Day 2
8. CM Punk vs. MJF - AEW Dynamite Feb 2nd
9. El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
10. Edge vs. The Miz - WWE Day 1
11. CM Punk vs. Wardlow w/MJF - AEW Dynamite Jan 12th
12. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Ren Narita - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
13. Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express w/Christian Cage - AEW Tag Team Championship - AEW Dynamite Jan 5th
14. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins - Universal Championship - WWE Royal Rumble
15. Creed Brothers w/Malcolm Bivens vs. MSK - Dusty Classic Finals - NXT Feb 15th
16. Jon Moxley vs. Anthony Bowens w/Max Caster - AEW Rampage Jan 28th
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

Honourable Mentions



.....

I've been waiting 20 years for that match.

The Alex Shelly/Jay White match from Impact Wrestling's Sacrifice PPV was pretty good, might be worth checking out for anyone whose a fan of either guy.

Mar 6, 2022 20:11:42 GMT Lony said:

The Alex Shelly/Jay White match from Impact Wrestling's Sacrifice PPV was pretty good, might be worth checking out for anyone whose a fan of either guy.

Watched it last night before bed. It was great. It's making my list as soon as I update it when Revolution is over.

Jericho/Kingston, the three-way tag team match, Punk/MJF and Page/Cole were all great matches on a pretty solid Revolution PPV. Having said that, I'm not sure if adding four matches from one show is overkill or not.

1. Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Will Ospreay - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 2
2. Roman Reigns (c) vs Seth Rollins - WWE Universal Championship - Royal Rumble
3. Shingo Takagi (c) vs Kazuchika Okada - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1

4. Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Tetsuya Naito - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - New Years Golden Series

5. Chris Jericho vs Eddie Kingston - Revolution

6. Jungle Express (c) vs reDRagon vs The Young Bucks - AEW World Tag Team Championship - Revolution

7. Will Ospreay (c) vs Michael Oku - Revolution Pro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship - High Stakes

8. Sammy Guevara (c) vs Cody Rhodes (c) - AEW TNT Championship - Dynamite #122 Beach Break

9. CM Punk vs MJF - Dog Collar Match - Revolution

10. Adam "Hangman" Page (c) vs Brian Danielson - AEW World Heavyweight Championship - Dynamite #118

11. Brian Danielson vs Jon Moxley - Revolution
12. Brian Danielson vs Daniel Garcia - AEW Dynamite #125

Note: I haven't watched many New Japan Cup matches yet but if I'm being honest, from what I've read...this tournament has been sorely disappointing....hopefully the semis/finals change that...

1. "Hangman" Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson - AEW World Championship - AEW Dynamite Jan 5th
2. Will Ospreay vs. Michael Oku - RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship - RevPro High Stakes
3. Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 2
4. Shingo Takagi vs. Kazuchika Okada - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
5. Sammy Guevara vs. Cody Rhodes - TNT Championship Ladder Match - AEW Dynamite Jan 26th
6. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. vs. Thunder Rosa - AEW Dynamite Mar 16th
7. CM Punk vs. MJF - AEW Revolution 2022
8. Bryan Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels - AEW Dynamite March 2nd
9. Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb - Wrestle Kingdom Day 2
10. CM Punk vs. MJF - AEW Dynamite Feb 2nd
11. Alex Shelley vs. Jay White - IMPACT Sacrifice 2022
12. Adam Cole & ReDragon vs. Adam Page & Jurassic Express - AEW Dynamite Mar 16th
13. El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
14. Edge vs. The Miz - WWE Day 1
15. CM Punk vs. Wardlow w/MJF - AEW Dynamite Jan 12th
16. Jurassic Express vs. ReDragon vs. The Young Bucks - AEW Revolution 2022
17. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins - Universal Championship - WWE Royal Rumble
18. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Ren Narita - Wrestle Kingdom Day 1
19. Creed Brothers w/Malcolm Bivens vs. MSK - Dusty Classic Finals - NXT Feb 15th
20. Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson - AEW Revolution 2022
21. Jon Moxley vs. Anthony Bowens w/Max Caster - AEW Rampage Jan 28th
22. Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Jericho - AEW Revolution 2022
23. Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express w/Christian Cage - AEW Tag Team Championship - AEW Dynamite Jan 5th
24. Darby Allin, Sting & Sammy Guevara vs. The AHFO (Andrade El Idolo, Matt Hardy & Isiah Kassidy) - AEW Revolution 2022
25.

Honourable Mentions

Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. vs. Thunder Rosa - AEW Dynamite Mar 16th is my match to beat. Was my MotY last year too.

Yep, adding Baker/Rosa to my list as well, great match from both women.

I’ve heard Jonathan Gresham vs Cara Noir for the Progress World Championship last night was a banger. Gonna have to check it out when I get time.

Been reading that Jon Moxley vs Biff Busick from Bloodsport 8 tonight is an awesome match. Going to check it out when I get a chance.

Should be some awesome matches coming out of indy shows this weekend. I posted another show that is happening tonight in the General Talk thread (Biff and Mox are both pulling double duty tonight. Biff is on that show and Mox is fighting AJ Gray at GCW later on).

Got a feeling we’ll see a couple bangers at Supercard of Honor tomorrow. And Hobbs vs Lee and Young Bucks vs Top Flight might be worth checking out Rampage for.