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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 3, 2018 9:56:42 GMT -5
83. IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Special in USA 7/1/17
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| AJ Styles is my pick for the best wrestler in the world, but these guys are #2 and #3. Their chemistry together is killer. I’ve never given them less than ****, which is rare. They came into this with totally different mindsets. Ishii always leaves everything out there and gives his all, while Naito said if he won the US Title, he’d throw it in the trash. Naito was his disrespectful self, slapping Ishii around, stopping to taunt and laughing while getting hit. Though Naito didn’t care about the title, you could tell he still wanted to win, maybe even just to throw it in NJPW’s face. There were several moments where we got a glimpse at how well they know each other. Ishii countering Naito’s signature rebound attack with a headbutt was a highlight. There was a spot I hated, though. Naito failed on his tornado DDT twice and instead of changing it up, Ishii had to stand there while Naito went for it a third time. As it neared the 15:51 finish, they had some great exchanges. Ishii’s neck was worked on throughout, and he sold it expertly, as always. Ishii had Destino well scouted, before winning with the Brainbuster to advance. I liked this more on a second viewing. On NJPW’s first show in the States, it was the first match to stand out and fit the NJPW style. [****¼]
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 3, 2018 10:59:46 GMT -5
82. AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor – WWE TLC 10/22/17
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| Throughout the summer and fall, Finn Balor was mired in a completely garbage feud with Bray Wyatt. With the “Demon vs. Sister Abigail” billed for TLC, we were probably in for the worst of it. Then, viral meningitis happened and Bray couldn’t compete. To replace him, Raw borrowed AJ Styles to set up a battle of the first two Bullet Club leaders. They worked this first-time ever match like an NJPW main event. It was deliberately slow in the early stages, before building to the bigger spots. The atmosphere was tremendous. The crowd was into every little thing these guys did. Often, Finn doesn’t do enough to make the “Demon” different from his regular self. Here, he added small mannerisms and showed a more aggressive side at times, which was appreciated. For example, to break the Calf Crusher, he brutally smashed AJ’s head into the mat. We got to see them both do Pele kicks, which was cool, though I wish they both did Bloody Sundays. In the end, AJ missed the springboard 450, setting up Finn to use a flurry of offense to win. He capped it with the best Coup de Grace I can remember at 18:16. It was mostly two guys getting their signature stuff in, but that’s fine. They did this on short notice and delivered a high-quality match in front of a raucous crowd. I love that they didn’t go into a finisher kickout fest either. As good as this was, it felt like they had better in them, maybe with a story and AJ not being jetlagged. [****¼]
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*This is the final match from TLC.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 3, 2018 13:15:29 GMT -5
81. Bobby Fish vs. Jay Lethal – ROH 15th Anniversary Show 3/10/17
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| What do you do when you have two top of the card guys without much to do at a PPV? You book them in a “top contender’s match,” which is what this was. These two met in a very good TV Title match in 2015, but this had World Title implications. Lethal wanted to get back to the top, while Fish wanted to reach there at least once. This opened with mat exchanges, but quickly got aggressive when Fish kicked the crap out of Lethal, sending him outside. Lethal then sent Fish outside to hammer home how evenly matched they were. When Fish sidestepped a tope suicida, Lethal crashed chest first, and that chest became Fish’s target. Lethal fought back and only tried another tope suicida when Fish was by the aisle and not a guardrail. Simple, yet smart. The intensity picked up down the stretch. The strikes got harder and Fish dropped Lethal on his head at one point. Fish had the Lethal Injection well scouted before countering it into the Fish Hook. The fans went nuts for that spot. Jay survived and finally hit the Lethal Injection to win in 15:07. Awesome stuff. They worked a smart, layered match where everything felt like it mattered. They had each other scouted, upped the intensity late, had great selling and a clean finish. [****¼]
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*This is the final match from the 15th Anniversary Show. *It is the final appearance of Jay Lethal. *It is the final and only ROH match..
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 3, 2018 14:47:54 GMT -5
80. Kota Ibushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 7/23/17
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| The second Kota Ibushi was announced for the G1 Climax, this was one of the first matches that came to my head in excitement. I’d seen them wrestle just once before and it was incredible (****¾ back in 2014). Not putting this match in Sumo Hall, Osaka or Korakuen was a travesty, as it deserved one of those great crowds. Ibushi’s style is a fantastic blend of aerial skills and stiff strikes. That striking ability is right up Ishii’s alley, and within the opening minutes, they were already killing each other. Though Ibushi hits hard, Ishii brushed off his kicks like nothing. It wasn’t that they didn’t hurt, it just seemed like Ishii refused to show him that they did. If that makes sense. Eventually, it was Ibushi’s turn to no sell, which just led to a higher level of violence. They traded slaps, headbutts and suplexes, with neither holding anything back. A string of absolutely brutal slaps led to an Ibushi lariat and his stiff knee strike. The Last Ride was all that was left to hit, which got him the victory in 17:14. When I see these two, I just want them to go to war for about 15 minutes, which is just what I got here. Not quite on the level of their 2014 outing, though still in the upper echelon of G1 matches. [****¼]
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Post by punksnotdead on Jan 3, 2018 17:03:37 GMT -5
You seriously thought Lethal vs Fish was the best ROH match of the year? Bucks vs Hardys, Bucks vs Best Friends vs War Machine, Lethal vs Scurll, Flip vs Ospreay, Kushida vs Scurll, Ospreay vs Jay White was awesome. Fish vs Lethal wasn't even better than the street fight tag match or Rush vs Scurll on that exact same card. I think you would be extremely hard pressed to find an ROH fan who even had Lethal vs Fish in their top 5 matches of the year.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 3, 2018 19:44:33 GMT -5
You seriously thought Lethal vs Fish was the best ROH match of the year? Bucks vs Hardys, Bucks vs Best Friends vs War Machine, Lethal vs Scurll, Flip vs Ospreay, Kushida vs Scurll, Ospreay vs Jay White was awesome. Fish vs Lethal wasn't even better than the street fight tag match or Rush vs Scurll on that exact same card. I think you would be extremely hard pressed to find an ROH fan who even had Lethal vs Fish in their top 5 matches of the year. I watched almost every big ROH show this year and came away extremely unimpressed. Bucks/Hardys was a lackluster retread of the match a year ago The Best Friends stuff was fun but nothing I'd consider great Lethal/Scurll and KUSHIDA/Scurll nearly made the list Flip/Ospreay was really nothing special. Rush/Scurll and the Street Fight from the 15th Anniversary were near misses for the list as well. ROH got my vote for the worst promotion (I didn't watch TNA) of 2017. If you loved it though, more power to you.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 3, 2018 19:44:43 GMT -5
79. CIMA, Dragon Kid, Eita, Naruki Doi & Takehiro Yamamura vs. Brother YASSHI, El Lindaman, Punch Tominga, Shingo Takagi & T-Hawk – Dragon Gate Glorious Gate 3/8/17
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| When Dragon Gate decides to put on a great multi-man tag, they do it up big time. To close out this Korakuen Hall show, these teams competed in a ridiculously paced main event. It didn’t slow for the entire 27:44. Since Dragon Gate does these tags so often, something usually must stick out for one to rise above the rest. In this match, it was Takehiro Yamamura. He was the company’s breakout star in 2017 and this match was a big reason why. He killed it with every interaction against the VerserK guys. The interactions with T-Hawk set the stage for a great match the following month. The fans completely bought into Yamamura and got behind him 100%. The finish came when Shingo accidentally hit Tominga with a Pumping Buster, which allowed Yamamura to score the huge win with the Skytwister Press. Just a fantastic run of exchanges between everyone and it gets a bit of an extra bump for the big Yamamura moment. [****¼]
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*This is the final appearance of CIMA
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2018 20:01:12 GMT -5
You seriously thought Lethal vs Fish was the best ROH match of the year? Bucks vs Hardys, Bucks vs Best Friends vs War Machine, Lethal vs Scurll, Flip vs Ospreay, Kushida vs Scurll, Ospreay vs Jay White was awesome. Fish vs Lethal wasn't even better than the street fight tag match or Rush vs Scurll on that exact same card. I think you would be extremely hard pressed to find an ROH fan who even had Lethal vs Fish in their top 5 matches of the year. It’s all pretty subjective. Personally I didn’t watch a single ROH match that I’d put on my list from last year.
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Post by punksnotdead on Jan 3, 2018 20:43:58 GMT -5
You seriously thought Lethal vs Fish was the best ROH match of the year? Bucks vs Hardys, Bucks vs Best Friends vs War Machine, Lethal vs Scurll, Flip vs Ospreay, Kushida vs Scurll, Ospreay vs Jay White was awesome. Fish vs Lethal wasn't even better than the street fight tag match or Rush vs Scurll on that exact same card. I think you would be extremely hard pressed to find an ROH fan who even had Lethal vs Fish in their top 5 matches of the year. I watched almost every big ROH show this year and came away extremely unimpressed. Bucks/Hardys was a lackluster retread of the match a year ago The Best Friends stuff was fun but nothing I'd consider great Lethal/Scurll and KUSHIDA/Scurll nearly made the list Flip/Ospreay was really nothing special. Rush/Scurll and the Street Fight from the 15th Anniversary were near misses for the list as well. ROH got my vote for the worst promotion (I didn't watch TNA) of 2017. If you loved it though, more power to you. I mean I’m not disagreeing with that opinion on ROHs overall performances this year. They’ve definitely traded in-ring quality for more gimmick driven stuff over the last year, and they don’t have any depth at the top of the card, but I just think they had better matches to offer than Lethal/Fish, particular around the tag and tv title(s). To each their own. I just disagree. “Love” is probably too strong of a word to use this far down on the list, though. I’ll reserve that word for when I split hairs over the Omega/Okada matches with you haha. I know it’s coming.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 3, 2018 21:14:58 GMT -5
I watched almost every big ROH show this year and came away extremely unimpressed. Bucks/Hardys was a lackluster retread of the match a year ago The Best Friends stuff was fun but nothing I'd consider great Lethal/Scurll and KUSHIDA/Scurll nearly made the list Flip/Ospreay was really nothing special. Rush/Scurll and the Street Fight from the 15th Anniversary were near misses for the list as well. ROH got my vote for the worst promotion (I didn't watch TNA) of 2017. If you loved it though, more power to you. I mean I’m not disagreeing with that opinion on ROHs overall performances this year. They’ve definitely traded in-ring quality for more gimmick driven stuff over the last year, and they don’t have any depth at the top of the card, but I just think they had better matches to offer than Lethal/Fish, particular around the tag and tv title(s). To each their own. I just disagree. “Love” is probably too strong of a word to use this far down on the list, though. I’ll reserve that word for when I split hairs over the Omega/Okada matches with you haha. I know it’s coming. Haha, understandable. Fair warning, two of their matches are on the list. One isn't.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 3, 2018 21:15:10 GMT -5
78. WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championships: The Usos [c] vs. The New Day – WWE Battleground 7/23/17
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| Even in a year without the best tag team in the world (The Revival), the WWE still managed to produce several tremendous tag matches in 2017. The rivalry between the New Day and the Usos was the high point. Though their first match was at Money in the Bank, this was where it really got going. Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston represented New Day, allowing for more speed, which they showcased right from the start. After getting a hot tag, Kofi performed a dive onto the Usos, only to get caught and planted with a brutal powerbomb on the outside. Left alone, Woods fought valiantly. He survived everything the Usos threw at him. It led to one of the best spots in any company this year, as Woods did tried his rope walk elbow, only to get drilled with a sick midair superkick. It was the best superkick since Shawn Michaels and Shelton Benjamin, bar none. Somehow, that wasn’t the finish and neither was an Uso splash. That made it clear that new champions would be crowned, which happened after Trouble in Paradise and a Woods elbow at 13:46. The pace was wild and it made for one of the best tag matches all year. It turns out they were just warming up. [****¼]
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*This is the final match from Battleground.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 3, 2018 22:21:58 GMT -5
77. GHC Heavyweight Championship: Katsuhiko Nakajima [c] vs. Go Shiozaki – Pro Wrestling NOAH Great Voyage in Yokohama 3/12/17
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| Pro Wrestling NOAH had its fair share of struggles in recent years. From Jado’s booking to the overrun of Suzuki-Gun shenanigans, it was rough. Putting the title on Katsuhiko Nakajima didn’t do wonders for business, but it led to plenty of quality matches. Go Shiozaki was supposed to be the guy for NOAH a while back, but that didn’t pan out. This was hard hitting from the start. They went outside, where Go destroyed the champion with a barrage of chops. Each time Nakajima fought back, Go had an answer. It eventually became a battle of Go’s chops against Nakajima’s kicks. They just traded tons of big blows as the match progressed. Go seemingly knocked Nakajima out with a lariat that left him out on his feet. When it looked like all hope was lost, Nakajima fired up and delivered one of the stiffest kicks you’ll ever see. He added the Vertical Spike to retain in 27:01. I loved that this was basically the anti-Jado main event. It was clean and decisive, rather than full of nonsense overbooking. [****¼]
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*This is the final match from Great Voyage in Yokohama. *It is the final appearance of both Katsuhiko Nakajima and Go Shiozaki. *It is the final NOAH match.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 4, 2018 1:05:32 GMT -5
76. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 8/6/17
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| With the G1 Climax winding down, a win for Tomohiro Ishii here would’ve kept him alive, while a Hiroshi Tanahashi set the stage for it to come down to himself and Tetsuya Naito. In the G1 23, Ishii beat Tanahashi in a classic, while Tanahashi bested him in their next two G1 meetings. Ishii was the aggressor early. He was winning the battle of strikes, so Tanahashi took it to his knee and looked for the Texas Cloverleaf. In a great twist, Ishii hit a dragon screw and busted out a Sharpshooter. I love that move. Unfortunately, I never bought it as a potential finish. I only believe Tanahashi would tap to a more established move, or something to his injured arm. Anyway, things picked up late as the guys racked up the near falls. They survived the signature offense of the other, before Tanahashi won with two High Fly Flows in 23:30. These guys are always awesome together. They brought intensity and drama, especially down the stretch. Ishii was the G1 MVP. [****¼]
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 4, 2018 17:35:53 GMT -5
75. RPW British Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. [c] vs. Will Ospreay – RevPro Global Wars UK 11/10/17
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| Up until about halfway through 2016, I was all in on Will Ospreay. One of the reasons was a WrestleMania weekend stealing match with Zack Sabre Jr. at Evolve 58. I’ve soured on him greatly since then, but another match against Sabre was just what the doctor ordered. The exchanges through this 24:59 match were insanely fast paced. The story consistently saw Sabre one step ahead of Ospreay. Will would do a high flying spot and Sabre would trap him in some kind of submission. Being a Suzuki-Gun member, Sabre was all about trying to take the easy way out, nearly winning via countout. When that didn’t happen, Ospreay went back to the skies. He continually found counters that Sabre found counters for. They knew each other so well and it led to a ridiculously fluid match. Ospreay turned Sabre’s European Clutch into his own pin that the fans totally bit on as the finish. The Oscutter couldn’t do it either and neither did the imploding 450 splash. A series of counters led Sabre to put Ospreay in a sick looking submission to retain. This was their second best match together and a great way to cap the RevPro/NJPW joint shows. [****¼]
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Post by marino13 on Jan 4, 2018 18:01:44 GMT -5
I think the Usos & New Day have delivered each and every match they've been in. Both teams have been amazing.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 4, 2018 19:14:54 GMT -5
74. Anthony Henry vs. Fred Yehi – Style Battle S1:E5 6/16/17
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| While WWN was partnered with FloSlam for most of the year, I followed Style Battle. For those unfamiliar, each episode features a one night tournament and the winners of each eventually meet in a final tournament to determine the season winner. On episode one, Fred Yehi was the favorite to win, but ran into a brick wall named Anthony Henry. They wrestled to a thirty minute draw (***¾) and since then, neither man had claimed a Style Battle win. On episode four, Henry vowed to never compete in Style Battle again if he lost on episode five. It came down to these two in the finals and it felt like a big deal. They both came out throwing bombs, which was the opposite of their draw. They wrestled a smart match and focused on the body parts that were weakened earlier in the tournament. There was a sense that Yehi was superior, but Henry had too much heart and determination to stay down. He survived everything Yehi threw at him, including the Koji Clutch, before nailing the Kudoh Driver to win in 19:06. Not many will bring this match up as something to remember, but it’s worth checking out. [****¼]
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*This is the last appearance of both Fred Yehi and Anthony Henry. *It is the final Style Battle match.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 4, 2018 20:06:45 GMT -5
73. AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon – WWE WrestleMania 33 4/2/17
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| The debate over who the best wrestler in the world is starts and ends with AJ Styles. This match might be Exhibit A. It’s one thing to have great matches when working with your most talented peers. It’s one thing to have a great gimmick match with Shane McMahon. Yet here, on the biggest stage possible, AJ and Shane had a straight up wrestling match. And for 20:28, it was awesome. They didn’t rely on smoke and mirrors or tons of shenanigans. AJ was overconfident because the ring is his domain. Shane showed off some grappling skills of his own, but never to where it made AJ look bad, just like AJ took him too lightly and it cost him. That’s an important distinction. I must admit, I popped when Shane did some submission transitions and even caught a springboard 450 splash into a triangle choke. We did get a ref bump, so it wasn’t completely devoid of stunts. However, it only set up a coast to coast spot, so it wasn’t overdone. Shane eventually missed an impressive Shooting Star Press, which set up the Phenomenal Forearm to give AJ his first Mania victory. AJ had a fantastic match with a non-wrestler and didn’t rely on the expected tropes. There’s a reason he’s the GOAT. [****¼]
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*This is the final match from WrestleMania.
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Post by Sizzle on Jan 4, 2018 20:34:53 GMT -5
I'm so glad WWE went with AJ vs. Shane at Mania. It was the perfect stage for a match like that and it was an awesome match.
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Post by Triple S: POOR on Jan 4, 2018 20:47:35 GMT -5
I think I’m the only one that didn’t care for Styles/Shane at all. AJ dropping the title to John, just to drop it to Bray and put Orton over just added to it.
AJ should’ve walked into WrestleMania as champion. A mediocre match with Shane in the opener was a horrible consolation prize.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2018 20:52:52 GMT -5
I think the Usos & New Day have delivered each and every match they've been in. Both teams have been amazing. My favorite trilogy of 2017
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