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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 14, 2019 20:58:06 GMT -5
7. PROGRESS Atlas Championship: WALTER [c] vs. Timothy Thatcher – PROGRESS Chapter 62: Fear No More, Come To Dust 1/28/18
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| These guys are tag team partners as part of Ringkampf. Most fans assumed this would be friendly competition for a championship. But, as soon as Timothy Thatcher refused a handshake at the opening bell, you could feel the energy change in the room. Right there, we all understood that these guys were just going to lay into each other. Within minutes, Thatcher’s chest was bloodied. Thatcher found his opening when he ducked a chop outside and WALTER hit the ring post. That changed everything because it negated WALTER’s best weapon. What would he do now? He’d have to use his brain. Thatcher was in control, but WALTER would do something small like shift his weight on a belly to belly to land on Tim, or stop him in his tracks with a brutal lariat. And something like that lariat was a believable near fall because of who WALTER is. His left handed chops were still tough, but nowhere near the right handed quality. He sold Thatcher’s armbar like his title reign was over, but managed to escape. In the end, Thatcher got his hands up to block a chop, so WALTER just CHOPPED HIM IN THE FACE INSTEAD! That was one of the wildest things I saw all year. Shortly after, WALTER ended this with a powerbomb after 21:39. I love that this didn’t rely on near fall shock value as there were barely any until the end. They knew it would take a lot to beat their partner. Violent, dramatic, and the best match in PROGRESS history. [****¾] |
*This is the final appearance of WALTER and Timothy Thatcher. *It is the last PROGRESS Atlas Title match. *There are no more matches from PROGRESS.
2017 Match #7: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega – NJPW G1 Climax 8/12/17 2016 Match #7: Lucha Underground Championship: Mil Muertes (c) vs. Fenix – Lucha Underground 3/16/16 2015 Match #7: Grave Consequences: Fenix vs. Mil Muertes – Lucha Underground 3/18/15
This is why I love this list, gives me a chance to see stuff outside NXT and WWE that I normally wouldn't know to see otherwise. Just watched this for the first time and it was absolutely brutal. Always glad to hear this! I love help people find stuff.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 14, 2019 21:38:43 GMT -5
6. Unsanctioned Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa – NXT TakeOver: New Orleans 4/7/18
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| With about a year of build, there may not have been a more anticipated match in 2018. Watching as Tommaso Ciampa came out with no music and have a chorus of boos rained down on him was the perfect start for this. He was our hated villain and Johnny Gargano was our hero. Despite this going 37:00, there was no wasted motion. It also never felt like they were going this long for the sake of it or to pump up star ratings. They hit each other with stiff strikes, brought weapons into play, and threw their best offense at one another. Even the weapons used, like the crutch, had backstory to it. The spot where Gargano took a suplex off the announce table remains hard to watch. I appreciated the old school use of things like the exposed concrete. Ciampa was a masterful villain in this. It was a sign of things to come in 2018. The little elements like clapping on offense or bringing back the #DIY taunt before hitting the knee. He gets it. Gargano used Ciampa’s knee brace for some brutal offense, but stopped just short of ending his friend. He looked at a sad Ciampa and couldn’t bring himself to do it. This was his best friend. They sat next to each other like all their other matches, but Johnny had learned. He avoided the sneak attack and rolled into the Gargano Escape, which then transitioned to an STF with the knee brace for leverage to win. If I had to nitpick, they did go a bit overboard once or twice (the avalanche Project Ciampa near fall for example), but I liked this even more the second time. The wrestling was top notch, but the story elements from throughout their history made it special. [****¾] |
*This is the final Unsanctioned Match. *It is the last match from TakeOver: New Orleans
2017 Match #6: WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship Hell in a Cell: The New Day [c] vs. The Usos – WWE Hell in a Cell 10/8/17 2016 Match #6: NEVER Openweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10 1/4/16 2015 Match #6: GHC Heavyweight Championship: Minoru Suzuki (c) vs. Takashi Sugiura – NOAH Great Voyage in Osaka 9/19/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 15, 2019 8:49:18 GMT -5
5. Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT TakeOver: War Games 11/17/18
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| There are times when Johnny Gargano can overact. With that small criticism out of the way, I feel that he nailed every little aspect of this match. The issues with Tommaso Ciampa drove him to a dark place. It made him attack Aleister Black and put him on the shelf. Many expected him to come in and get his ass kicked for his actions. Instead, we witnessed something of an evil genius in this one. He got in Aleister’s head by stealing his cross legged sitting pose. From there, he continued to stick and move, always finding himself one step ahead of the former NXT Champion. Gargano was willing to go the extra mile and do whatever it took to win this match. He tried everything during the 18:09 runtime. When he got in true trouble, he begged off and apologized. He left himself open for the Black Mass, only to dodge and go for a cheap rollup right into the Gargano Escape. It was a last ditch effort to be a sneaky little crap. Aleister survived that and hit the Black Mass. A beaten Johnny fell onto Aleister’s chest, only being held up by him. Aleister absolved Gargano of his sins and drilled him with another Black Mass to win. The storytelling in this was off the charts. Probably the best anywhere this year. [****¾] |
*This is the final appearance for Aleister Black. *It is the last match from TakeOver: War Games.
2017 Match #5: Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 7/17/17 2016 Match #5: AJ Styles vs. John Cena – WWE SummerSlam 8/21/16 2015 Match #5: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW G1 Climax 7/29/15
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Post by theicwguy on Jan 15, 2019 8:54:10 GMT -5
Man this is seriously the best non-Mattel thread I've ever read on this forum. Can't wait for number 1. I don't even know who it's gonna be. But yeah make this thread of the year. The time effort and memory it must take blows my mind lol.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 15, 2019 10:03:52 GMT -5
4. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 6/4/18
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| When it was announced that Bone Soldier was returning to NJPW, people groaned. Dubbed “Boner” by Bullet Club teammate Kenny Omega, he was a source of bad matches when he was around. So, when it was revealed that the new Bone Soldier was actually Pro Wrestling NOAH standout Taiji Ishimori, it was a nice surprise. He won the A Block of the Best of the Super Juniors, setting up a clash with the best junior heavyweight on the planet, Hiromu Takahashi. This first time ever matchup shattered expectations. When Hiromu waged war with El Desperado in Korakuen Hall in the tournament, they fought into the crowd for a wild match. This had a similar feel, with some early brawling out there. Once Hiromu took a rana down a flight of stairs, it set the tone that this was going to be something to behold. It was the Hiromu Takahashi special. Two guys just throwing their bodies at each other in absurd fashion and leaving the viewer breathless. One thing that helped this stand out from other long NJPW main events (this one went 34:09) was how organically it built. It never felt like time was just being filled. People seem to think I don’t like long matches, but I actually really like them. If they make sense. This one had highs and lows that were perfectly built. There was a ton of drama and emotion throughout. To win, Hiromu countered the Bloody Cross and used a combo of his triangle choke and the Time Bomb to win. Hiromu is just the best, isn’t he? [****¾] |
*This is the final appearance for Hiromu Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori. *It is the last match from NJPW.
2017 Match #4: Hell of War: Dante Fox vs. Killshot – Lucha Underground Ultima Lucha Tres 9/27/17 2016 Match #4: Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – NXT TakeOver: Dallas 4/1/16 2015 Match #4: WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Royal Rumble 1/25/15
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 15, 2019 11:41:57 GMT -5
3. WWE Smackdown Women's Championship TLC Match: Becky Lynch [c] vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte – WWE TLC 12/16/18
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| There was absolutely a big fight feel here, giving this a unique atmosphere. The women were not only put into their first TLC match, but given a PPV main event and delivered big time. At no point did this slow down or feel boring. They went all out for the entire duration. All three women took MAJOR bumps. Charlotte nearly had her ribs crushed by a Becky senton off a ladder through a table. I thought she was legitimately hurt, but she was up shortly after and wrecking everything. She hit a somersault through a table on Becky and speared Asuka through the guardrail. On that note, I loved the barricade spot in this one as it felt more realistic than the one we usually get. The “C” in this TLC seemed to stand for canes, as the women used kendo sticks often. It made sense since that was part of their build more than chairs. The match was brutal, laid out brilliantly, kept escalating, and had a MOLTEN crowd throughout. After a handful of teases for each winner, Becky and Charlotte battled atop a ladder. Out came Ronda Rousey to tip their ladder over and send them crashing to the floor. I love that Ronda didn’t do anything else. Short and simple. Asuka climbed and won the title at 22:31. A top five TLC and top five women’s match I can recall. From a booking standpoint, it was phenomenal as well, with Asuka getting the big win, while her opponents stayed strong and keep their feud with Ronda going. [****¾] |
*This is the final appearance for Asuka, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte. *It is the last match from TLC. *There are no more TLC or WWE Smackdown Women's Title matches.
2017 Match #3: IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Katsuyori Shibata – NJPW Sakura Genesis 4/9/17 2016 Match #3: CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship No Holds Barred Match: Roy Wilkins (c) vs. Trevor Lee – CWF Worldwide 3/9/16 2015 Match #3: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – NJPW G1 Climax 8/16/15
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hammer
Main Eventer
Joined on: Jun 12, 2009 2:30:31 GMT -5
Posts: 2,619
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Post by hammer on Jan 15, 2019 12:39:09 GMT -5
"To win, Hiromu countered the Bloody Cross and used a combo of his triangle choke and the Time Bomb to win. Hiromu is just the best, isn’t he? "
til the unfortunate injury, i wouldve made the case he was having the hottest in-ring year at that moment, even over walter and gargano. thats how great he was in the first half of 18.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 15, 2019 12:56:23 GMT -5
2. Chicago Street Fight: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa – NXT TakeOver: Chicago 6/16/18
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| I could literally just write, “Take what worked about their New Orleans match and amplify it” and that would be fitting. But, I’m here to write, so I’ll go into more detail. They hit each other harder this time around. They added more story elements from their history. The drama and emotion were kicked up a notch. It’s insane to work a stipulation so similar to the previous match, yet deliver something so different. While they still used weapons that fit their storyline, this fight revved things up and brought others into play like the steel steps, trash cans, and the exposed ring. But this truly took off because of the callbacks. This being in Chicago, where Ciampa first turned on Johnny, they redid that moment by the stage. Then, you had Ciampa removing Johnny’s wedding ring to spit at it, only for Johnny to hit him with the Air Raid Crash off the stage, similar to what Ciampa did a year earlier. Incredible. Just when it seemed like the medics and officials would take Ciampa out on a stretcher, Gargano snapped and brought him to the ring for more of a beating. It was violent. He was a man possessed. It ultimately cost him, as he took a surprise DDT from Ciampa onto the exposed part of the ring at 35:27. They somehow bested their last match with one filled with emotion and drama. These guys are special. [*****] |
*It is the final Street Fight. *There are no more matches from TakeOver: Chicago.
2017 Match #2: Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 8/13/17 2016 Match #2: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – WWE Battleground 7/24/16 2015 Match #2: IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 15, 2019 13:39:43 GMT -5
1. NXT Championship: Andrade Almas [c] vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia 1/27/18
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| A mere 27 days into 2018, the match of the year award was locked up. Andrade Almas and Johnny Gargano put together something truly special. I took extra long writing this piece because it’s honestly hard to put into words what this match means to me. Almas had gone from bust to champion, while Gargano was in the midst of a redemption story following the heartbreaking split of #DIY in 2017. Everything the brand did over the previous few months built to this. Almas threw his entire arsenal at Gargano, wanting to prove that he belonged atop NXT. Johnny survived it all in an effort to prove he was truly past the Tommaso Ciampa situation that helped cost him against Almas the previous August. Zelina Vega was her usual incredible self. Her interference spots were expertly timed, not overdone, and provided perfect emotion. When Candice LeRae hopped the guardrail to finally stop her, you could feel the momentum shift. And yet, Johnny still couldn’t get it done. Almas got more brutal with his manager out of the picture. The running double knees into the ring post was one of the hardest spots of the year. Gargano looked like a battered and beaten man by the end of it all. To punctuate it all, Almas hit a hanging hammerlock DDT and retained in 32:32. Honestly, that’s everything I want in pro wrestling. It was long, yet everything mattered and felt like it belonged in the match. It was emotional, dramatic, fluid, told a story. I could go on and on. I’m not overselling it when I say that this is one of the three greatest matches I have ever seen. [*****] |
2017 Match #1: WWE United Kingdom Championship: Tyler Bate [c] vs. Pete Dunne - NXT TakeOver: Chicago 5/20/17 2016 Match #1: NXT Tag Team Championship Two Out of Three Falls Match: The Revival [c] vs. #DIY - NXT TakeOver: Toronto 11/19/16 2015 Match #1: NXT Women's Championsship: Sasha Banks [c] vs. Bayley - NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 8/22/15
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Post by theicwguy on Jan 15, 2019 14:22:45 GMT -5
Really like your top 3 man. Now I'm gonna start from 100 and do the whole countdown again. Lol.
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Post by FLUX '97 on Jan 15, 2019 14:23:19 GMT -5
You have to be fully drinking the New Japan/ROH kool-aid if you don't think Johnny Gargano is the best wrestler on the planet in 2018.
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Post by Triple S on Jan 15, 2019 14:31:36 GMT -5
Got to witness the Match of the Year live.
I can honestly say, it’s the best match I’ve ever seen live. Not just in 2018.
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Post by RybackV1 on Jan 15, 2019 15:41:05 GMT -5
Amazing list bro. I knew that #1 was coming haha. That match held up all ing year. Top 5 in general was great. NXT is the greatest wrestling on the planet, and that woman's TLC was incredible
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Post by Tim of thee on Jan 15, 2019 18:11:50 GMT -5
Actually agree with number 1. Soooo in good.
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Post by marino13 on Jan 15, 2019 18:51:19 GMT -5
Another great list for another great year of wrestling. Very in-depth detail as always.
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Post by LK3 on Jan 16, 2019 0:43:13 GMT -5
Got to witness the Match of the Year live. I can honestly say, it’s the best match I’ve ever seen live. Not just in 2018. I was there too. I can't say it's the best match I've seen live though, I was at WM25 for Taker vs. HBK. #2 for sure though.
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Post by LK3 on Jan 16, 2019 0:45:58 GMT -5
Pretty surprised at the top 5. Never would've guessed Aleister/Gargano that high. Even more so the women's TLC match. Great match, but I wouldn't have considered it at all for best main roster match of the year. Personally, Gargano/Ciampa in New Orleans is my top match from NXT, but not a crime in the least to put Chicago over it. Bottom line... NXT ing killed it in 2018.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 16, 2019 9:25:06 GMT -5
A bunch of stats someone compiled for me. I have compiled a bunch of stats again for this year's Top 100 matches. I normalized the start rating system into a point system (ex.: **** = 4 points, ****1/4 = 4.25 points, etc.). So lets hope that all my excel formulas and macros are set up correctly! For large multi-man matches (ex.: Royal Rumble), I just listed the last six guys. I never really know how to handle these things. While the completist in me thinks I should list everyone in the match, the practical side of me thinks it's a little irrelevant and useless to list everyone. I made a judgement call to just list the last six guys since it was the true climax of the match, and if anything would be remembered from the match, it would be that. According to my list, there were 100 different wrestlers listed with 49 of them appearing on the list more than once. Again, if I would have listed every participant in the Royal Rumble, this number would be much higher. This is down from 146 last year. But, as Kevin mentioned in the initial post, he only watched four different promotions last year. First, lets rank some promotions since it will be the shortest: Promotion - # of matches listed - Star rating totalsNJPW - 31 - 134.75 WWE - 27 - 113.75 NXT - 26 - 112 PROGRESS - 13 - 56.25 Top 10 Shows: Matches listed / Promotion / Show / Date / Star Rating total4 - NXT - NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn - 8/18/2018 - 17 3 - NXT - NXT TakeOver: New Orleans - 4/7/2018 - 14 3 - NXT - NXT TakeOver: Chicago - 6/16/2018 - 13.5 3 - NXT - NXT UK Tournament - 6/26/2018 - 12.25 2 - NXT - NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia- 1/27/2018 - 9.25 2 - NJPW - Dominion - 6/19/2018 - 9.25 2 - NXT - NXT TakeOver: Wargames - 11/17/2018 - 9.25 2 - WWE - TLC - 12/16/2018 - 9.25 2 - NJPW - G1 Climax - 8/4/2018 - 8.75 2 - WWE - Hell in a Cell - 9/16/2018 - 8.5 2 - WWE - Survivor Series - 11/18/2018 - 8.5 For wrestlers, I'll just list the 49 who had more than one match listed: Rank - Wrestler - Point total[/p] 1 Zach Sabre Jr. - 48 2 Kota Ibushi - 39.5 3 Tyler Bate - 38.5 4 Roderick Strong - 37.75 5 Johnny Gargano - 32.25 6 Hiromu Takahashi - 30.5 7 Kyle O'Reilly - 29.75 8 Kenny Omega - 26.75 9 Adam Cole - 26.5 Hiroshi Tanahashi Ricochet 12 Walter - 26 13 Pete Dunne - 25.5 14 Tommasso Ciampa - 22.75 15 Trent Seven - 21.25 16 Finn Balor - 20.75 17 Aleister Black - 17.75 The Velveteen Dream 19 Charlotte - 17.5 20 Buddy Murphy - 17.25 Daniel Bryan The Miz 23 Seth Rollins - 17 Tetsuya Naito 25 Andrade Almas - 13.75 26 Kazuchika Okada - 13.5 27 Becky Lynch - 13.25 Tomohiro Ishii 29 Minoru Suzuki - 13 Will Ospreay 31 Cedric Alexander - 12.75 Juice Robinson 33 AJ Styles - 12.5 Roman Reigns 35 Sanada - 12 Shayna Baszler 37 Asuka - 8.75 El Desperado Mustafa Ali Randy Orton 41 John Cena - 8.5 Ronda Rousey 43 David Starr - 8.25 Dolph Ziggler Hideo Itami 46 Alexa Bliss - 8 Ember Moon Sasha Banks Toni Storm
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Jan 17, 2019 18:55:47 GMT -5
I am not saying you are right or wrong with your number 1 pick, because I did like that match too, but I am actually shocked Ciampa vs. Gargano (especially their first two Takeover matches they had) aren't at the number 1 spot!
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Post by Triple S on Jan 17, 2019 19:20:19 GMT -5
I am not saying you are right or wrong with your number 1 pick, because I did like that match too, but I am actually shocked Ciampa vs. Gargano (especially their first two Takeover matches they had) aren't at the number 1 spot! Almas/Gargano was just an overall better match than anything Ciampa/Gargano did. The build to those matches were ace, though.
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