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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 26, 2016 19:34:34 GMT -5
101. Aztec Warfare III – Lucha Underground 11/16/16
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| Lucha Underground does one match shows better than anyone. From the All Night Long match in season one to the Six to Survive match in season two, they just nail them. Hands down though, their bread and butter is Aztec Warfare. For those unaware, this is basically a twenty-man Royal Rumble, but eliminations only occur via pinfall or submission and anything goes. This was the third Aztec Warfare and saw the Lucha Underground Champion enter at #1 for the second straight time. Matanza Cueto dominated at times again. Dating back to Aztec Warfare II, Matanza had eleven straight eliminations. Each Aztec Warfare has had a fairly different roster with only Mil Muertes, Johnny Mundo and Drago competing in all three. Without commercials, this went for 36:53 and almost always had something of interest going on. Matanza took a flurry of offense before getting pinned for the first time in his career, guaranteeing a new champion. In the end, it came down to former Lucha Underground Champion Mil Muertes and Sexy Star. Sexy fought from behind in an thrilling final stretch. She managed to shove Mil off the top and through a table, following with a double stomp to capture the title. I’m not the biggest Sexy Star fan but this win had been built up for a while and the fans treated it like a huge deal. I prefer the first two Aztec Warfare matches but that doesn’t mean this wasn’t a complete blast. ****
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*This is the last appearance on the list of Jeremiah Crane, Mariposa, Dr. Wagner Jr., Sexy Star, Ricky Mandel, Mascarita Sagrada, Famous B and Kobra Moon.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 26, 2016 21:14:04 GMT -5
100. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Marty Scurll – PWG All-Star Weekend 12 Night One 3/4/16
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| At All-Star Weekend 11, Kyle O’Reilly returned to PWG to a thunderous ovation. This was one of, if not the absolute most intriguing matchup on either night of All-Star Weekend. Not only was it Kyle’s first match back with the company, but Marty Scurll is one of the most interesting personalities in wrestling, and I had never seen them face off before. In the early stages, Kyle looked to have fun, even busting out SLEAZY KYLE. Normally, I much prefer serious O’Reilly, but I understood it here since PWG is a place that doesn’t take itself too seriously and Kyle was happy to be back in front of the Reseda crowd. As Scurll started doing his thing, O’Reilly had to get serious and, though known for his armbar, went after the leg furiously. They progressed into strikes and lariats, which sounded so stiff that it garnered a standing ovation. The final stretch was the best. Marty did his finger snap, which always makes me cringe in a good way, and they did a cool spot where Kyle had the Nigel blocked, so he had to try again but on the bottom rope instead of the middle rope. Kyle was able to put the leg work to good use by winning with the ankle lock at 18:49. There wasn’t any ongoing storyline or anything on the line here. Just two great performers having a great wrestling match. ****
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*This is the last match from All-Star Weekend.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 27, 2016 10:31:40 GMT -5
99. 10 on 10 Elimination Match: Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown – WWE Survivor Series 11/20/16
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| Some of the most fun on the early Survivor Series Pay-Per-Views came in the giant tag matches involving all of the tag teams. This match was a nice throwback to those and though the quality of the tag division isn’t what it was in the late 80’s, this was still awesome. Breezango got to do a comedy bit before getting eliminated in the first minute or so. That wasn’t really surprising but then a real shocker came when the Raw Tag Team Champions of over 400 days, New Day, got eliminated instantly after. That left a wide open field for the remainder of the 18:55 match. As the match dwindled down, things got better. American Alpha had an especially great stretch that saw Chad Gable hit a Chaos Theory German suplex on Cesaro and a dive outside. Despite not lasting until the end, AA shined. It eventually came down to the Usos vs. Cesaro and Sheamus. They had a great little finishing stretch that honestly could have gotten a bit more time. Cesaro and Sheamus earned the win for Team Raw when Cesaro used a sharpshooter and Sheamus prevented it from being broken up with a Brogue Kick. A rare show of teamwork from the unlikely partners to cap off a great match. Chaotic at times but that finishing stretch was killer. ****
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*This is the last match featuring Primo, Epico, Zack Ryder, Mojo Rawley, Sheamus, Tyler Breeze, Fandango, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, The Usos, Enzo Amore, Colin Cassady, Heath Slater and Rhyno.
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Post by marino13 on Dec 27, 2016 10:59:10 GMT -5
I know the first thought usually is, that you watch a lot of wrestling. But I'd also like to point you are one of the most well organized people I've ever seen. You have all your facts straight. You know how often someone is on the list. And each match has a nice summary. Great effort all around.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 27, 2016 11:49:40 GMT -5
98. No Holds Barred Match: Hangman Page vs. Jay Briscoe – ROH Death Before Dishonor XIV 8/19/16
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| Last year, these two surprised me and cracked my list with a pretty great brawl. This year, they managed to top that performance. Hangman Page had recently joined the Bullet Club and was looking to do what he couldn’t do before. He wanted to beat Jay Briscoe. This is a Jay Briscoe who had only been pinned twice (I believe) in the past 1,000 or so days, which is insane. From the opening bell until this ended at the 17:39 mark, they worked this like two guys who hate one another. They only used chairs, tables and Page’s noose, but made it all work in creative and violent ways. You honestly won’t find many more violent spectacles around. Everything they did was brutal and had an intensity to it that you don’t see often enough. One sick spot saw Page get tied to a chair in the corner by his noose and Jay just ran into him time after time. Another came when Page hit the Rite of Passage off the apron and through a table. Another Rite of Passage inside gave Page the biggest win of his career in his best match ever. Violent brawls aren’t everyone’s cup of tea but if you like them, you’ll love this. ****
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*This is the last match for both Jay Briscoe and Hangman Page. *It is the last match from Death Before Dishonor XIV.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 27, 2016 13:09:31 GMT -5
97. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: KUSHIDA (c) vs. ACH – ROH Conquest Tour 3/12/16
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| It’s been the case for a while now, but ROH’s non-PPV shows are consistently better than their PPVs. This event, on March 12th from Philadelphia, fit that bill. The best match on the show was a battle for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship between champion and ace of the juniors, KUSHIDA, and challenger ACH. ACH had never worked for NJPW, so the thought of him winning was kind of out of the question, but a few weeks earlier, Tomohiro Ishii won the ROH Television Title despite never working ROH, so the possibility was there. They had some fun as KUSHIDA did the “you can’t see me” taunt and nailed a Stunner, compete with the double bird. KUSHIDA is the superior mat technician, so ACH used his incredible athleticism, including an awesome somersault off the guardrail, to combat that. KUSHIDA got serious and went after the left arm, which ACH sold very well, especially down the stretch. The fans chanted “better than Roadblock” (WWE Roadblock took place on the same night) as things reached their peak down the stretch. ACH went for his 450 splash, the Midnight Star, but missed and landed on the bad arm. KUSHIDA kicked it and applied his Hoverboard Lock to make ACH tap out at 18:47. It was the best ACH performance I’ve ever seen and another feather in the cap of KUSHIDA, who has been having fantastic matches with almost everyone he faces. ****
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*This is the last match from the Conquest Tour. *It is the last appearance by ACH.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 27, 2016 14:54:52 GMT -5
96. WWE Cruiserweight Classic Qualifying Match: Fred Yehi vs. TJ Perkins – Evolve 61 5/7/16
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| Evolve easily had the best set of Cruiserweight Classic qualifiers. Fred Yehi and TJ Perkins were both members of the Catch Point faction, but had no problems squaring off for a shot at the WWE CWC. There was a respect shown between the two all throughout this. Perkins didn’t bring his manager out and the guys mostly gave out clean breaks when there was a chance. I really liked the contrasting styles here. While both men do a lot of mat work, Perkins does it with some flair and arrogance, while Yehi is angrier and his offense is very unique. Seriously, his angry stomps are always a highlight. For all of the 13:49 runtime, they played this so evenly. Neither man could gain a clear upper hand. At one point, TJ missed a frog splash and Yehi locked in a Koji Clutch. A bell rang, confusing the fans, but it was just a mistake and TJ reached the ropes to break it. The action built to a great ending where TJ got the win with a 450 splash. There were a few moments that didn’t feel as crisp as they should have, but this was still a great match. Though TJ won (and would go on to win the entire tournament), I think this was a bit of a star making performance for Yehi. Watch him in 2017. ****
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*This is the last match featuring Fred Yehi.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 27, 2016 17:03:31 GMT -5
95. Cedric Alexander vs. Michael Elgin – AAW Cero Miedo 9/1/16
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| Ever since his run in the 2015 G1 Climax, Michael Elgin has been on the best run of his career. Once he left ROH, Cedric Alexander embarked on his own best run. In the midst of those two stretches, they met on this night in Berwyn, Illinois. They’ve wrestled in the past and have a history, so it was fitting that Elgin faced Alexander in Cedric’s last AAW match before heading to the WWE. There wasn’t an underlying story to this. Just two guys trying to see who the better man is and sometimes that’s all you need. They had some fun at the start when both guys did pushups and tried to see who was in better shape. Alexander showed off his abs, so Elgin responded by telling the crowd to check out his “dumper”. Yes, that got a “dumper” chant started. Once they got going, the action was nuts. Elgin used his power advantage for impressive moves like the best stalling suplex since the British Bulldog, while Alexander utilized his superb athleticism for things like a springboard tornado DDT. The finishing stretch of this 15:53 battle is awesome. Cedric survived lariats and hit a Brainbuster into his patented Lumbar Check for two. Elgin countered a super rana into a super bomb, followed by a buckle bomb and his spinning Elgin Bomb, yet Cedric still kicked out. Elgin finally kept him down with a burning hammer. After the match, Elgin put over Cedric on the mic as an underutilized guy and said the cream was now rising to the crop. ****
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*This is the last match from AAW.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 27, 2016 18:12:11 GMT -5
94. Lucha Underground Championship: Matanza Cueto (c) vs. Cage – Lucha Underground 6/1/16
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| THE UNOFFICIAL HOSSWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP! Matanza reigned as a dominant Lucha Underground Champion but Cage brought something that nobody but Mil Muertes was able to against him. He was just as big and possibly even stronger. Since they were about even there, Cage decided to use his freakish athleticism to cause problems for the champion. The action throughout this 13:29 main event was non-stop. They made sure to keep it going and be hard hitting the whole way. They traded getting up instantly after German suplexes until Matanza hit a swinging variation to keep Cage down for a bit. Cage impressed with a dead lift superplex on the large champion. One of the best things about this was Dario Cueto at ringside. He nailed every reaction perfectly. He remains the best non-wrestler in all of wrestling. To close it out, Cage went for a barrage of strikes only to get caught in the Wrath of the Gods slam. Cage is not always booked like a top Lucha Underground star, yet this match was handled in a way where the viewers bought him as a guy who might actually be able to dethrone Matanza. ****
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 27, 2016 23:06:16 GMT -5
93. IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada – NJPW Dominion 6/19/16
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| Tetsuya Naito winning the IWGP Heavyweight Title at Invasion Attack was my favorite NJPW moment of the year. It showed that the company was willing to try something new. Since 2011, only Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada and AJ Styles held the top title. Naito, with his excellent heel character, was a breath of fresh air. Naturally, that couldn’t last. Okada got his rematch at Dominion and wanted a one on one affair. No Gedo in his corner and no LIDJ in Naito’s. Okada is always cocky and he was here as well, but there was an underlying sense of desperation or urgency. He seemed to be taking his role as the “ace” seriously. Their fight spilled outside, where Naito hit an awesome running dropkick on the ramp. Once back inside, the match went to the next level and featured plenty of close calls and near falls. They were ready to counter the big moves of the other one at each turn. I believe Naito became only the second man to kick out of Okada’s signature Rainmaker, joining Tanahashi. Okada countered Destino twice, including once into a tombstone before adding three more Rainmakers to win back the title at 29:03. I 1000% disagree with the title switch here as Gedo just went back to status quo. We should have gotten a rubber match at WK11, but it was not meant to be. This was typical Okada main event stuff with a relatively slow start and a really hot finish. ****
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 28, 2016 0:04:56 GMT -5
92. Gift of the Gods Championship: Fenix (c) vs. King Cuerno – Lucha Underground 1/27/16
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| Lucha Underground season two was a pretty fantastic string of wrestling television. Fittingly, it began with a bang. At Ultima Lucha, the season one finale, Fenix became the first ever Gift of the Gods Champion. The title gives the winner a shot at the Lucha Underground Championship. Mil Muertes, Fenix’s arch rival, was the champion and his manager, Catrina, was running the Temple. She forced Fenix to defend his title right off the bat. With Muertes watching from his throne atop the Temple like a final boss, these two put one hell of a performance. At 7:47, it is the shortest match on the list this year. Due to that, this thing pretty much moves at a frantic pace for the entire duration. Fenix and Cuerno busted out moves I’ve never seen before. Fenix hit an innovative diving double stomp and followed it with a springboard 450 splash. When Fenix was able to kick out of Cuerno’s Thrill of the Hunt, Cuerno had to dig deep into his bag of tricks. He hit a spinning tombstone variation that got him the win and gave us a surprising title change to kick off season two. Their rivalry continued for a Last Lucha Standing and ladder match. Both were damn good but neither reached this level. ****
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*This is the last Gift of the Gods Championship match.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 28, 2016 10:10:17 GMT -5
91. Johnny Gargano vs. TJ Perkins – WWE Cruiserweight Classic 8/24/16
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| When the Cruiserweight Classic participants were announced, a lot of people felt like the guys signed to WWE contracts, like Rich Swann and Johnny Gargano, would go very far. This was the second round and after beating his tag team partner Tommaso Ciampa, Gargano found himself up against Evolve standout TJ Perkins. Not many people gave Perkins a chance to get past this round. The match started with both guys showing that they’re evenly matched. Though this was taped weeks in advance, commentary discussed Gargano injuring his knee at TakeOver: Brooklyn. They brilliantly worked it into the match and Gargano banged it on the ring bell table on a dive outside. It was done in a way that made sense to those of us watching after seeing TakeOver, while also being something the live fans could buy into. Just brilliant work from both guys throughout the entire 12:19. Gargano sold the hell out of the leg, falling when attempting the lawn dart, though he got it on the second attempt in brutal fashion. Perkins would kick out and go back to attacking the knee. He countered Gargano and finally got the knee bar locked in, which made Gargano tap. The crowd was surprised and Perkins moved on to the quarterfinals on his road to winning the entire thing. ****
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 28, 2016 11:07:40 GMT -5
90. Naomichi Marufuji vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 7/28/16
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| Tomohiro Ishii basically made a career out of excellent G1 Climax matches. This was just another in a long line of those performances. Naomichi Marufuji represented Pro Wrestling NOAH in the G1 and proved to be one of the most consistent guys in the whole tournament. This was one of the stiffest and most brutal matches you’ll see all year long. Ishii is known for going to war but even he couldn’t take some of the chops that Marufuji dished out in this one. In 12:16, I cringed at so many chops. Ishii then started to like them and puffed his chest out for more! Marufuji had Ishii well scouted though, countering his stalling superplex and also getting a knee up when Ishii went for a headbutt, which is a counter I don’t remember ever seeing before. It all boiled down to Ishii’s headbutts against Marufuji’s superkicks and knee strikes. Ishii would win out and get the victory with a brainbuster. This is one of those matches that won’t be remembered by a ton of people but still proved to be an awesome encounter. A manly match from two manly men. ****
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 28, 2016 12:15:33 GMT -5
89. Chris Hero vs. Tracy Williams – Evolve 72 11/12/16
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| “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams is my pick for the most underrated wrestler on the independent scene. Chris Hero makes a strong case for not just the best wrestler on the indies, but is one of the best on the planet. After Hero beat Tracy’s Catch Point teammate Matt Riddle a few shows earlier, Tracy challenged him. This flew under the radar because it was on the same weekend of Hero and Riddle’s rematch. However, Tracy went out and a match that was on par with the Hero/Riddle series. For 12:33, they worked with the intensity that this match needed. Hero and Williams hit each other hard starting with Williams nailing a German suplex before the bell even rang. Both guys had big bursts of offense throughout. Hero just unloaded elbow after elbow followed by a senton at one point. He even hit the arm trap piledriver that has put away many people but Tracy got his shoulder up. Williams had to dig deep and fire up with a massive lariat but Hero kicked out at ONE! Tracy wasn’t deterred and nailed a second lariat that he turned into a crossface to make Hero tap. So not only did Williams upset Hero but he made him submit. That was huge for Williams and Hero lost nothing in the process. Awesome match. ****
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*This is the last match from Evolve 72.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 28, 2016 13:53:24 GMT -5
88. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA – NJPW G1 Climax 7/18/16
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| Outside of his matches at Wrestle Kingdom and the New Beginning in Niigata, Hiroshi Tanahashi took it easy up to this point in the year. He battled injuries and wrestled a lot of multi-man tags. This was the G1 Climax though. This is where Tanahashi steps his game up every year. His first opponent was SANADA, a 28-year-old rising star from the Los Ingobernables de Japon stable. It isn’t a new story but it almost always works. The great babyface veteran against the up and coming heel youngster. Early on, Tanahashi was one step ahead of SANADA at every turn. Once they went outside though, SANADA targeted the recently injured arm of Tanahashi, which was smart. As always, Tanahashi sold this very well and did his own work to SANADA’s leg. I liked the layers of this match, including the story that both men were students of Keiji Muto. SANADA’s finisher, the dragon sleeper, is Tanahashi’s old finisher. SANADA would apply the dragon sleeper but Tanahashi, knowing it well, was able to survive. He fired up and went into his offense, but couldn’t put SANADA away. SANADA then countered High Fly Flow with an RKO OUTTA NOWHERE! Two moonsaults and another dragon sleeper made Tanahashi tap out at 19:28. Easily the biggest win and best singles match of SANADA’s career to that point. He tapped out the company’s ace to start the tournament and showed everyone why he is a future star. ****
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 28, 2016 16:06:45 GMT -5
87. SMASH Championship: Johnny Gargano (c) vs. Mark Haskins – PROGRESS 5000 to 1 6/26/16
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| SMASH Wrestling is a Canada based promotion. Their champions in the past have included names like Matt Cross and Alex Shelley. Entering this PROGRESS event, their champion was Johnny Gargano and he had an open challenge scheduled. Gargano got a great pop from the crowd upon his arrival but it was nothing compared to the ovation for Mark Haskins answering the challenge. The fans treated this like a mega match, which added to their interactions. It helped that it was Haskins’ return from injury. This started with great counter wrestling and two guys just looking to see who the better man was. As the match went on though, Gargano began to show more heel tendencies, even spitting in Haskins’ face, which Haskins answered back. It isn’t a side we see often from Gargano, but it worked well. Though Gargano is popular, the love for Haskins was massive here. They willed him to never say die and Gargano couldn’t believe his resiliency. Their battle of strikes transitioned into one of submissions, which saw an armbar from Haskins and the Gargano Escape by the champion. At the 18:53 mark, Haskins got the armbar to fully work, making Gargano submit. It was a huge win for Haskins, made even better by the fact that it was his biggest in PROGRESS from what I can tell. ****
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*This is the last match from 5000 to 1. *It is the last appearance of Mark Haskins. *It is the final SMASH Title match on the list.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 28, 2016 18:46:08 GMT -5
86. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: KUSHIDA (c) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger – NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 5/3/16
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| A record eleven time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Jushin Thunder Liger looked to turn back the clock and reach the top of the mountain again at the age of 51. The pre-match video package showed an eight year old KUSHIDA doing a Liger Bomb to his pillow, which was an awesome touch. KUSHIDA is the current ace of the division, but still had to prove himself one more time against the GOAT. The tag matches leading up to this were great too and saw an aggressive Liger work the knee, while KUSHIDA went after the arm. They wisely continued that here. Liger drove KUSHIDA’s knee into the ring post and then hit a goddamn Brainbuster on the concrete. KUSHIDA limped in to break the count. Once inside, these two continued to go to war in front of a red hot crowd that was more into this than any other juniors match I remember in 2016. Liger nailed a second Brainbuster near the of this 14:37 encounter, which the fans completely bought into. KUSHIDA managed to slap on the Hoverboard Lock and couldn’t force Liger to tap until he locked the knuckles for added leverage. A fantastic effort from both guys as KUSHIDA once again proved why there is nobody in his league in the juniors division, while Liger showed that he’s the best wrestler on the planet over 50. Following the match, they bowed to each other in a show of respect. ****
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*This is the last appearance for Jushin Thunder Liger.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 28, 2016 19:54:00 GMT -5
85. Cedric Alexander vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Evolve 67 8/20/16
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| Before and during the Cruiserweight Classic, Evolve ran a lot of CWC Spotlight matches. This was one of them. At this point, Cedric Alexander already had his star making performance against Kota Ibushi and was out of the tournament, while Zack Sabre Jr. remained very much alive. However, Sabre didn’t have a great tournament. In fact, Sabre seemed to be losing popularity, even getting booed in his home promotion of Rev Pro. In the feeling out process, Cedric did his best to stay with Sabre on the mat, while Sabre had to find a way to combat Cedric’s quickness. Alexander got the first sustained upper hand, but Sabre soon turned it around and proceeded to twist and bend Cedric in uncomfortable ways. Sabre talked trash and exuded a ton of arrogance while doing this, drawing boos from the Brooklyn crowd. Sabre ran with that, going more heel as the match went on. Alexander’s fiery comeback was great and his counter of a European uppercut into a backslide was great. He also showed off the best Michinoku Driver in the business. Despite his best efforts, Alexander had to give up to a sick octopus stretch variation at 15:43. Sabre was in top form as a dick heel and Alexander added another great performance to a really strong 2016. ****
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*This is the last match from Evolve 67.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 28, 2016 22:11:28 GMT -5
84. WWE Tag Team Championship: The New Day (c) vs. AJ Styles and Chris Jericho – WWE Raw 3/7/16
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| Whenever the WWE goes to Chicago, you can usually expect something memorable. This particular episode of Raw wasn’t, but this match certainly was. The Chris Jericho/AJ Styles rivalry was a strange one. They feuded in matches that were good but not great before teaming up. That led to a short program with New Day and this Tag Team Title match. The poorly named Y2AJ came out of the gate on fire and took out their opponents with stereo splashes to the outside. New Day worked the heat on Jericho in their highly entertaining way. AJ’s hot tag was great. Kofi sold the springboard moonsault reverse DDT better than anyone else in the WWE and the crowd ate it up. There were some tremendous false finishes including one where AJ took the Big Ending and one where Big E saved Kofi from AJ’s springboard 450 splash. Jericho caught Trouble in Paradise into the Walls of Jericho for yet another close call. Even when Big E tagged in, they didn’t go the obvious route of just having him break up the Walls. Jericho caught him but Big E blocked the Walls. In an awesome finish, Big E then countered the Codebreaker into the Big Ending to retain at 11:48. After the match, Jericho attacked Styles to break up their short-lived team and set up a final encounter at WrestleMania. Easily the best main roster tag team match in 2016. ****
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*This is the last WWE Tag Team Title match on the list. *It is the last appearance for The New Day.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 28, 2016 23:11:18 GMT -5
83. Ricochet vs. TJ Perkins – Evolve 58 – 4/1/16
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| I never thought about these two together as a match I’d want to see but once it was announced for Evolve 58, it played a huge role in me ordering that event. This wasn’t the best match involving either guy this year, but it is one of my favorites. Something about this match just worked for me. Both men carry themselves with an aura of swagger and brought it on this night. Ricochet flies so gracefully that it comes off as way easy, while Perkins is the same way when it comes to his mat game. Despite those being their strengths, Ricochet holds his own on the mat at times here, while Perkins takes to the skies and it all comes off so smoothly. Ricochet had fun early by paying homage to the Rock and Steve Austin. Perkins took small offense and turned things a bit more serious. He attacked the leg of the high flyer, a strategy that almost always works well. Ricochet mostly did a good job selling it and it came into play for the finish. Ricochet landed on his feet on a 450 attempt that TJ avoided. His leg buckled, TJ hit a missile dropkick to it and then applied a knee bar to make Ricochet tap out at 14:32. WrestleMania weekend was full of excellent matches and I feel like this gets overlooked because of that, but it’s great. ****
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