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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 31, 2016 22:32:29 GMT -5
58. High Speed Championship: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs. Evie – Stardom vs. The World 2/21/16
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| One promotion that I was able to find a few shows for was Stardom. The all women’s puro company has a YouTube subscription service that I joined for a while. Coming into this, I hadn’t seen much of Mayu Iwatani, but heard great things. Evie is someone that I’d seen around various indies and especially SHIMMER. The positive things that I heard about this match is actually what drove me to sign up for Stardom World. The name of the title they competed for was appropriate because this went at a fast, breakneck pace for the entire 12:40. The opening sequence was too fast to do a write up on even if I wanted to. Evie unleashed a flurry of hard kicks. Seriously, you wouldn’t know it by looking at her, but the girl can be brutal. The pace somehow got even faster as the match progressed. Iwatani retaliated with some badass kicks of her own, showing that neither woman was holding anything back. The Korakuen Hall crowd gets to see a lot of great matches throughout the year and this was one of the best, regardless of gender. Evie fought valiantly but fell to a dragon suplex. It felt like a star making performance for her, while Iwatani continued to show why she is one of the best on the planet. ****¼
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*This is the last appearance of Evie.
*It is the last High Speed Title match.
*It's the last match from Stardom vs. The World.How old are they? That Asian girl looks 12 lol Haha Iwatani is 23. Evie is 28. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Dec 31, 2016 22:32:39 GMT -5
55. Money in the Bank: Alberto Del Rio vs. Cesaro vs. Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – WWE Money in the Bank 6/19/16
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| Not counting the 2015 edition, the Money in the Bank match has been a lock for a big year-end list like this. This year’s field was one of the best ever. Alberto Del Rio was the only guy that didn’t enter with momentum. Everyone else seemed to have a legitimate shot at winning. The spots came early and often as pretty much everyone brought their A game. Though there were a lot of spots, it never felt like they were moving from one spot to the next. The match had a very natural flow to it. The emphasis on some of the personal issues throughout the match added something unique to this. Dean Ambrose and Chris Jericho were fresh off a feud while Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens continued their eternal rivalry. Jericho wanted revenge for Dean getting 69 thumbtacks stuck in his body and Zayn and Owens just hate each other. Some of the best spots saw Cesaro’s fun uppercut barrage, a cannonball barrage from Owens and Del Rio locking Cesaro in a cross armbreaker between ladder rungs. Cesaro swinging Jericho into a ladder was also great. Near the end, Zayn pretty much killed Owens with a Michinoku driver onto an open ladder. All six men battled on top of ladders, leading to a cool visual. Sami was close to winning but Owens pulled him away and powerbombed him onto a ladder. Dean stopped Owens from winning and pulled down the briefcase at 21:37. He would successfully cash in to end the night. This was the third best Money in the Bank match to me behind the original and the Smackdown one in 2013. Maybe the 2014 one has a case. Either way, this ruled. ****¼
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*This is the last match from Money in the Bank.
*It is the last appearance for Albero Del Rio. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 1, 2017 0:46:18 GMT -5
54. Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi vs. Kohei Sato and Shuji Ishikawa – BJW Saikyo Tag League 10/31/16
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| I’ll admit, I don’t follow Big Japan all that much. In fact, this was the first show of theirs that I watched. One guy who I have seen and heard (a ton) about is Daisuke Sekimoto. He and Yuji Okabayashi combine to form the duo known as Strong BJ. This match opened the final show of the Saikyo Tag League tournament and was one of the best openers all year long. Sometimes, as a fan, I just want to see guys beat the crapout of each other. That’s what I got from these four. It started with Ishikawa and Okabayashi going full tilt at one another and once they tag, Sato and Sekimoto did the exact same thing. Sato nearly knocked Sekimoto out with a sick forearm. Sekimoto took most of the offense going forward and his hot tag to Okabayashi was awesome. There were powerslams, piledrivers, headbutts and everything I could want in a match like this. Yuji and Shuji traded popping up after offense and just wailing on each other. Great strong style stuff here. Strong BJ pulled out the win after a German suplex by Sekimoto at 13:46. This was exactly what it needed to be. Hard hitting and it didn’t go too long, leading to one of the best tag matches all year. You won’t find many matches manlier than this. ****¼
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*This is the last match featuring Daisuke Sekimoto, Yuji Okabayashi, Kohei Sato and Shuji Ishikawa.
*It is the final BJW match. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 1, 2017 1:48:24 GMT -5
53. PWG Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly – PWG Thirteen 7/29/16
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| Very often, Zack Sabre Jr.’s selling comes into question. That’s quite understandable. On this night though, he put up a strong effort in that aspect. Unfortunately for him, it was completely overshadowed by Kyle O’Reilly’s selling. Sabre attacked the taped-up shoulder of O’Reilly and he sold it like his arm was going to fall off. He writhed around in agony. He left it limp while striking. He was unable to lift Sabre for certain moves because of it. It was masterful. Sabre got more and more heelish throughout the match, something he’s shown in several companies this year, and it added to the atmosphere. Near the end of this 22:00 match, the crowd rose with deafening dueling “O’Reilly/Sabre” chants. They had so many great counters and reversals, including Kyle catching a European uppercut into a backslide. The strikes and kicks from both men were brutal. Kyle has bulked up over time, adding to his and Sabre’s intensity and viciousness made his look fantastic. Sabre eventually caught O’Reilly in a submission and at first, I was worried because it didn’t target Kyle’s bad shoulder. Kudos to Sabre for making sure to reach back and involve that shoulder in the hold to make O’Reilly submit. ****¼
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*This is the last match from Thirteen.
*It is the final PWG Title match. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 1, 2017 10:36:21 GMT -5
52. Matt Riddle vs. Will Ospreay – PROGRESS The Graps of Wrath 11/27/16
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| Two guys that stood out in 2016 were Matt Riddle and Will Ospreay. So when it was announced that they’d face off for the first time at PROGRESS Chapter 39, most people were rightfully excited. With no existing issues or rivalries, you might expect a standard match here. Riddle made sure it wasn’t by attacking Ospreay with a brutal knee during introductions. What followed was wall to wall action for 8:15. There’s something about Riddle that made me feel like he might win at any point, especially after watching him make Zack Sabre Jr. tap out in under ten minutes earlier in the year. Ospreay got his highlights in as well, flying all over the place when getting an opening. He didn’t shy away from a strike battle with Riddle either, holding his own but still being slightly overmatched there. Though this match is short (the second shortest on this list), there was so much going on that it would be hard to mention it all. A great series of counters made it seem like Ospreay might win, only to have his Oscutter caught into the Bromission. Ospreay tapped out, giving Riddle a victory in his debut in the UK. A spectacular sprint between two guys who are only going to become bigger stars in the next few years. That Matt Riddle guy is truly something special. There’s an aura about him that just screams megastar. ****¼
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*This is the last match from The Graps of Wrath.
*It is the last appearance of Matt Riddle. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 1, 2017 12:55:32 GMT -5
51. Six to Survive: Fenix vs. Ivelisse vs. Johnny Mundo vs. King Cuerno vs. Pentagon Jr. vs. Taya – Lucha Underground 6/15/16
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| In an effort to see who would earn a shot at the Lucha Underground Title at Ultima Lucha Dos, two teams of six competed a week earlier. The winning team would then meet here, in a six-person elimination match that took up the entire episode. There were some intriguing storylines from the star, like Taya and Johnny Mundo’s relationship, Taya and Ivelisse’s feud and the past between Fenix and King Cuerno. All six participants went at it, but the first elimination came within five minutes. Mil Muertes returned to the Temple and took out his rival, Cuerno, allowing Mundo to eliminate him. The interactions between Ivelisse and Taya were the low point of this match unfortunately. Taya got rid of her just shy of eight minutes in. She would go next following a Package Piledriver, leaving it up to three of LU’s top guys in Fenix, Pentagon and Mundo. These three were good together, but it wasn’t until after Mundo got eliminated that the match got taken to the next level. Real life brothers Pentagon Jr. and Fenix put on a spectacle of a show to close out the match. Their chemistry as opponents (and teammates) is top notch and it showed here. I won’t go into too much detail about their work here but it was very fast paced and pretty incredible. I would honestly put that final stretch between them up against any other ten or so minute stretch in wrestling this year. Pentagon got the win to earn the title shot following a Mexican Destroyer into a Package Piledriver, capping a 35:27 war. ****¼
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 1, 2017 15:11:50 GMT -5
50. CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship: Trevor Lee (c) vs. Cedric Alexander – CWF Worldwide 5/18/16
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| Trevor Lee won the CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title in an unbelievable 105-minute match. Since then, Lee demanded that his title defenses have no time limit. Cedric Alexander was still a few months shy of wowing audiences against Kota Ibushi in the Cruiserweight Classic. On this particular night, Alexander wrestled to open the show and won the Ultra J Championship. He had a chance to win two titles in one evening. Both guys just came in with great game plans. Cedric stalled to try and get under Lee’s skin, so Lee did it back to him, which worked in his favor. They both went after the arm early and some of the stuff done just looked sick. The commentary team added a lot here, explaining that for the first time since winning the title, Lee didn’t have firm control. Alexander comes across as a guy that could potentially dethrone the champion. They do a ref bump but it isn’t for interference. It’s so Cedric can bust out the illegal piledriver that nearly gets him the win. However, the match goes on for a lot longer and they tell a great story along the way. Lee isn’t used to having to desperately fight for any opening. He hadn’t since the night he won the title. Alexander was ready for everything until he got put in the STF for a second time and had to submit at 55:05. It’s a remarkable performance from both men, especially Cedric for wrestling earlier in the night. Trevor Lee had the quite the year down in CWF Mid-Atlantic. ****¼
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 1, 2017 16:48:46 GMT -5
49. WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Battleground 7/24/16
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| The highly anticipated first ever triple threat match between the members of the Shield. A lot of people were disappointed that this was placed on a B Pay-Per-View like Battleground, but with the draft going down, it might have been the last chance for it. All the commissioners and general managers sat at ringside, while each show’s rosters watched from the back. Seth and Roman represented Raw, while it was up to Dean to bring the title to Smackdown. Right from the start of this 18:02 match, Seth was the target for turning on them two years earlier. The match itself is awesome, but the true greatness lied in the storytelling. Seeing Dean and Seth team up to powerbomb Reigns through the announce table was really cool. Seth calling back to the infamous heel turn by striking Reigns in the back with a chair was one of my favorite moments all year long. Towards the finish, they built to great drama and I fully bought into Seth pulling out the win and then Roman doing the same. Dean snuck in and drilled Reigns with Dirty Deeds to keep the title and surprise many, including myself, who didn’t think the WWE would have him win the battle of the Shield members. There were high expectations and I feel these three lived up to them. ****¼
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 1, 2017 17:57:39 GMT -5
48. World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs. Mayu Iwatani – Stardom Gold 5/15/16
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| Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani are friends. Not just that, but they are partners and have teamed together for years. However, that didn’t stop these two from going nuts in this battle for the World of Stardom Title. From what I’ve seen, Iwatani is usually the happier smiley one, but she was all business here. They both struggled to gain an advantage in the first few minutes. Once it gets going though, everything moves at an incredibly quick pace. It isn’t just fast either, it gets violent. These two traded stiffer, harder kicks than most matches involving men who hate each other. I don’t think there’s a dull moment in the entire 21:54. There is a fair amount of reversing and dodging each other thanks to their history together but when they connect, it clearly hurts. Despite destroying each other, they show their respect for one another by allowing the other to get up and avoiding cheap shots. Shirai came close to losing several times, including on a few dragon suplexes, before winning with a moonsault. A great championship match that felt important and was the best Stardom outing I saw all year. ****¼
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*This is the last match for the World of Stardom Championship.
*It is the last appearance of both Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani.
*It is the final Stardom match on the list. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 1, 2017 19:06:41 GMT -5
47. NEVER Openweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly – NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10/10/16
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| After the Best of the Super Juniors, Kyle O’Reilly bulked up to become a heavyweight. At ROH’s Field of Honor event, O’Reilly defeated Katsuyori Shibata and got this shot about a month after Shibata beat his partner, Bobby Fish. There weren’t many matches in NJPW this year that excited me more than this one. Shibata and O’Reilly are two of my favorite wrestlers in the world. They started this by exchanging holds and trying to gain a grappling advantage on the other guy. All of it felt gritty and earned, like there was a true struggle going on. As the match progressed, they moved into strikes and bigger offense. Surprisingly, it was O’Reilly who connected on big strikes first. Shibata did his thing where he fired up and just wanted more kicks from Kyle. O’Reilly responded by no selling a boot shortly after and they just went to war for the rest of the 18:06. The final few minutes were classic NEVER Title match stuff. Brutal strikes, kickouts at one and dudes using FIGHTING SPIRIT to power up from suplexes. Kyle was on the verge of winning with the penalty kick but Shibata survived. From out of nowhere, Shibata leveled him with a sick slap. He used the sleeper and won when Kyle passed out. This was exactly what I wanted it to be. A war and the star making performance for Kyle in the heavyweight ranks. Kudos to Fish as Kyle’s corner man shouting “BITE THE HAND” whenever Shibata applied the sleeper. ****¼
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Post by 5th Horsewoman on Jan 1, 2017 19:17:22 GMT -5
49. WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Battleground 7/24/16
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| The highly anticipated first ever triple threat match between the members of the Shield. A lot of people were disappointed that this was placed on a B Pay-Per-View like Battleground, but with the draft going down, it might have been the last chance for it. All the commissioners and general managers sat at ringside, while each show’s rosters watched from the back. Seth and Roman represented Raw, while it was up to Dean to bring the title to Smackdown. Right from the start of this 18:02 match, Seth was the target for turning on them two years earlier. The match itself is awesome, but the true greatness lied in the storytelling. Seeing Dean and Seth team up to powerbomb Reigns through the announce table was really cool. Seth calling back to the infamous heel turn by striking Reigns in the back with a chair was one of my favorite moments all year long. Towards the finish, they built to great drama and I fully bought into Seth pulling out the win and then Roman doing the same. Dean snuck in and drilled Reigns with Dirty Deeds to keep the title and surprise many, including myself, who didn’t think the WWE would have him win the battle of the Shield members. There were high expectations and I feel these three lived up to them. ****¼
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It's hard to believe this didn't make WWE's top 25 matches. |
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Post by marino13 on Jan 1, 2017 20:02:26 GMT -5
49. WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Battleground 7/24/16
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| The highly anticipated first ever triple threat match between the members of the Shield. A lot of people were disappointed that this was placed on a B Pay-Per-View like Battleground, but with the draft going down, it might have been the last chance for it. All the commissioners and general managers sat at ringside, while each show’s rosters watched from the back. Seth and Roman represented Raw, while it was up to Dean to bring the title to Smackdown. Right from the start of this 18:02 match, Seth was the target for turning on them two years earlier. The match itself is awesome, but the true greatness lied in the storytelling. Seeing Dean and Seth team up to powerbomb Reigns through the announce table was really cool. Seth calling back to the infamous heel turn by striking Reigns in the back with a chair was one of my favorite moments all year long. Towards the finish, they built to great drama and I fully bought into Seth pulling out the win and then Roman doing the same. Dean snuck in and drilled Reigns with Dirty Deeds to keep the title and surprise many, including myself, who didn’t think the WWE would have him win the battle of the Shield members. There were high expectations and I feel these three lived up to them. ****¼
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It's hard to believe this didn't make WWE's top 25 matches. I was thinking the same thing. It was far better than New Day vs The Club IMO. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 1, 2017 20:38:57 GMT -5
46. Marty Scurll and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. SANADA and Tetsuya Naito – RPW Global Wars UK 11/11/16
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| Los Ingobernables de Japon were my favorite thing about NJPW in 2016. Hell, they were the coolest thing in wrestling period. Seeing them team up is always fun but against Marty Scurll and Zack Sabre Jr.? Yes, please. Sabre and Scurll are two of the biggest names on the British wrestling scene. Tetsuya Naito played mind games early, looking like he would compete but then tagging out. Not to be outdone, the “Villain” Marty Scurll did the same back to him. Sabre and Scurll, known as LRDS (of the new school), worked over SANADA with quick tags until Naito tripped up Sabre. Despite being known as the “Villain”, Scurll got the hot tag and showed babyface fire. It was a great change of pace. Everyone brought something to this match. The charisma of Naito, athleticism of SANADA, technical skills of Sabre and personality of Scurll. A great moment came when Naito taunted Scurll, so Scurll took his hand. Naito laughed this off until Scurll did his trademark finger snap, which hurt like hell. There were awesome false finishes like a brainbuster/PK combo from LDRS and a stereo submissions spot from them. It came down to Naito and Sabre. The latter didn’t want to lose for the second straight night (he dropped the top title a night earlier) but his best efforts weren’t enough to survive Destino at 18:43. A wild mix of styles and personalities, but it all came together harmoniously, giving us one of the best tag matches all year long. I probably have this higher than most but I loved it. ****¼
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*This is the last appearance for SANADA. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 1, 2017 21:43:38 GMT -5
45. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 7/18/16
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| Hiroyoshi Tenzan was disappointed when he wasn’t announced as part of the G1 Climax blocks. He is a former three-time winner and had competed in a record 19 straight G1's. His friend and partner Satoshi Kojima ended up giving up his spot in the tournament to Tenzan, who was looking for one final magical run. This was the first match of the entire G1 Climax this year and it got things going on the right foot. Tomohiro Ishii matched up well with Tenzan and they had some great interactions in multi-man tags during the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. Ishii didn’t seem to take the legend seriously at first, toying with him. That fired up Tenzan and things got heated to the point where the referee was tossed aside. They just dished out punishment on each other throughout the match, which lasted 14:08. There were several close calls as the match came to a close and while the things in the ring were indeed great, this got bumped to the next level by the stuff outside. The crowd was mental, badly wanting the Tenzan win, and Kojima nailed every facial expression as he supported his buddy. Tenzan won after using Koji’s lariat as a tribute to his friend and a moonsault. This felt way more important than a G1 opener. They badly mishandled the Tenzan’s last stand story as he would only win two matches the entire tournament. This was special though. ****¼
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*This is the last appearance for Hiroyoshi Tenzan. |
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Post by 5th Horsewoman on Jan 1, 2017 22:10:57 GMT -5
It's hard to believe this didn't make WWE's top 25 matches. I was thinking the same thing. It was far better than New Day vs The Club IMO. Yeah. I know most preferred Zayn/Owens but this was my favorite at Battleground. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 1, 2017 23:40:43 GMT -5
44. WWE World Heavyweight Championship Extreme Rules Match: Roman Reigns (c) vs. AJ Styles – WWE Extreme Rules 5/22/16
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| Similar to John Cena, a lot of Roman Reigns matches feature a hot, vocal crowd. Especially when he’s going against someone that is as popular as AJ Styles. After their first title match got overbooked and ended like a wet fart, they were given another PPV main event, with an Extreme Rules stipulation. Since Payback, their rivalry had escalated and they worked this match to fit that story. They fought through the crowd, by the kickoff panel and AJ took a ridiculous back body drop through an announce table. AJ bumped like a madman, taking that spot, a sick powerbomb in the ring and being thrown into the barricade, apron and another table. Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson and the Usos all got involved to help their respective buddies. Styles scored on the Styles Clash for a near fall that most fans really bought into. He hit a second on the chair and one of the Usos broke up the pin, making him the most hated guy in the building. My main gripe with this was that Reigns kind of superman shrugged a lot of the work done to him throughout the match to pick up the win at 22:12. This was better than I remembered. A great match and easily the best singles Reigns performance of the year. ****¼
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*this is the last Extreme Rules match on the list. |
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Dr. Mantis Toboggan MD
Main Eventer
I need a monster condom for my magnum sized dong.
Joined on: Nov 25, 2011 16:25:54 GMT -5
Posts: 4,713
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Post by Dr. Mantis Toboggan MD on Jan 2, 2017 0:15:04 GMT -5
4/10 too much dabbing on this list.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 2, 2017 0:54:15 GMT -5
43. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 7/30/16
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| Not only was this a match with my two favorite NJPW wrestlers, they are also two of my ten favorite anywhere. They had a great match in last year’s G1 Climax, which is where I became a fan of both guys. Katsuyori Shibata was having none of Tetsuya Naito’s bullshit. He charged and kicked him in the face instantly before viciously throwing him into the guardrails outside. Once Naito turned things around, he targeted the bad shoulder and knee of Shibata. Disrespectful Naito made the mistake of spitting at Shibata and got his ass kicked for it. There was a rather lengthy submission spot in the middle that slowed things down a bit too much. It made sense but went for too long. I did love how it played into Naito’s newfound knee bar. Once that was over though, this got great. Stiff shot after stiff shot led to Naito coughing up blood after the final bell. Naito got the knee bar on and Shibata’s injury made his struggle more dramatic. Shibata fought free and slapped on the sleeper hold. He hit the penalty kick but knew how tough Naito was so he went back to the sleeper instead of trying for the pin. Naito passed out at 19:24 to end one of the best G1 Climax matches this year. Two of the very best just doing what they do best. ****¼
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 2, 2017 10:39:53 GMT -5
42. ROH World Championship: Jay Lethal (c) vs. Lio Rush – ROH Supercard of Honor 4/1/16
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| It’s okay if you don’t know who Lio Rush is. A lot of people didn’t coming into this match. He won ROH’s Top Prospect Tournament and in ROH history, that is enough to earn a new star a shot at the ROH Television Championship. But, with Tomohiro Ishii holding that title in Japan, Rush was granted a shot at the ROH World Title in his first officially contracted match for the company. And a lot of the story of this match was Lio Rush but it is the single most impressive performance I saw from Jay Lethal during his title reign. He nailed every facial expression, reaction and bump to make sure Rush looked like a million bucks. Lethal didn’t take Rush seriously at all. He toyed with the youngster but Rush was confident. He stole Lethal’s signature taunt at one point and even slapped him at another. Rush showed no intimidation of Lethal, even though Jay had been champion for ten months to this point (not counting the 500+ day reign of the Television Title). The more confident the challenger got, the more vicious the champion was. Rush’s final few attempts at winning the title were perfectly done. He came close a ton and got to shine in the biggest match of his life. Of course, he fell just short after an awesome 19:36, but it was his performance that mattered. It reminded me of Tyler Black’s early attempts to win the ROH Title from Nigel McGuinness and we all know how great Black’s career turned out. I’m not saying Rush will ever reach Seth Rollins levels, but he has a bright future and this is proof. ****¼
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*This is the last match involving Jay Lethal and Lio Rush.
*It is the final ROH World Title match.
*It is the last Ring of Honor match on the list. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 2, 2017 12:00:45 GMT -5
41. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – WWE Payback 5/1/16
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| The rivalry between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn is among my favorite in wrestling. When they were a tag team on the indies, I was a massive fan. I still love both guys as singles competitors and they just fit as rivals. Sami is the perfect underdog babyface and Owens is a great brutal bully of a villain. Their fights have an animosity to them that a lot of big feuds lack these days. We totally buy into them hating each other. This only goes for 14:39 but it never stops. They fight in and around the ring, with both guys playing to their strengths. Sami is just so good at taking a beating, so everything Owens did just came off as even more vicious than normal. For example, a simple front suplex onto the top rope looked awesome because of how Sami sold it. Sami’s rally was full of fire and the fans completely wanted him to win despite Owens being very popular. They built to some great near falls on a Sami blue thunder bomb and a frog splash from Owens. Sami had two great counters for the Popup Powerbomb but Owens had a counter of his own for Sami’s tornado DDT. They just continued to build to bigger and better things. Owens stopped the Helluva Kick with a superkick and won with the Popup Powerbomb. These two are so good together that they would compete in an even better match together a few months later. ****¼
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*This is the last match from Payback. |
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