2020's Best and Worst Pro-Wrestling Matches of the Year (plus Recommended)

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Hammer House: Stinger Splash Zone > 2020's Best and Worst Pro-Wrestling Matches of the Year (plus Recommended)

«‹›143 »

Lamuella: Jun 26, 2003; It's like goldy or bronzy, but made of iron.

Rarity posted:

MOTYC: Casino Ladder Match, AEW Double or Nothing, 23/05

Jerusalem posted:

HM: Jungle Boy Jack Perry vs. MJF - AEW Double or Nothing 2020 5/23

These two are so young and SO talented it's insane. They exhibit control and poise and timing so far beyond their years, what a match.

jesus WEP posted:

HM: Jon Moxley vs Brodie Lee, AEW DoN 2020

Jerusalem posted:

MOTYC: The Stadium Stampede Match - AEW Double or Nothing 5/23

What a ridiculous, stupid, over-the-top, nonsensical, beautiful, glorious, delightful match. It's almost worth nominating for the Matt Hardy Pool of Reincarnation stuff alone

Nth to all these.

Jesus CHRIST, what a SHOW. The worst matches on the show or preshow were still okay, and the best were absolutely amazing.

# ? May 24, 2020 11:05

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 29, 2024 09:20

Amp: Sep 10, 2010

jesus WEP posted:

MOTYC: The Stadium Stampede, AEW DoN, May 23rd 2020

I'm not spoiling poo poo about this match in case someone reading this hasn't seen it. It's utterly incredible. Please do yourself a favour and watch it

Entirely meaningless Nth

# ? May 24, 2020 11:44

Taffy Torpedo: Feb 2, 2008; ...Can we have the radio?

These ones:

AEW Double or Nothing

HM: Casino Ladder Match
HM: MJF vs. Jungle Boy
MOTYC: Shida vs. Nyla Rose
HM: Moxley vs. Brodie Lee
MOTYC: Stadium Stampede Match

# ? May 24, 2020 11:47

IceAgeComing: Jan 29, 2013; pretty fucking embarrassing to watch

This will probably get lost in the Double or Nothing match recommendations but I don't really care: I just want to post something about this

HM: Sakura Hirota vs Mikoto Shindo, WAVE NAMI 1 2020 Big Wave, Pro Wrestling WAVE, 1st January

This video is clipped but its enough for me to rank it an HM: I'd never go higher than that on a clipped match anyway. Knowledge of Sakura Hirota as a wrestler and her main signature spots is a big factor is understanding why this match is as good as it is I think; and in a time when, well, things are still a little raw its this sort of match that you really need to watch. The main explanation of it is that its a two-count fall match (WAVE sometimes do a gimmick where one of the wrestlers will pick from a set of envelopes that the referee has to pick a random stip: that was the stipulation selected here) between a long time veteran who does a lot of bullshit that the crowd loves and which other wrestlers go along with because they know this and that it doesn't usually work for her a new rookie who is only interested in winning the match and not going along with the bullshit and that's what makes this work. A perfect example of how when you get comedy spots over you can get as much, if not more, enjoyment and reaction from subverting them rather than just going them as planned.

# ? May 24, 2020 13:55

super macho dude: Aug 9, 2014

Cerebral Bore posted:

MOTYC: Casino Ladder Match
MOTYC: MJF vs. Jungle Boy
MOTYC: Shida vs. Nyla Rose
MOTYC: Moxley vs. Brodie Lee
MOTYC: Stadium Stampede Match

All from AEW DoN 2020. loving fantastic show top to bottom.

Nth to all this poo poo

# ? May 24, 2020 16:31

MathMathCalculation: Jan 1, 2006

IceAgeComing posted:

This will probably get lost in the Double or Nothing match recommendations but I don't really care: I just want to post something about this

HM: Sakura Hirota vs Mikoto Shindo, WAVE NAMI 1 2020 Big Wave, Pro Wrestling WAVE, 1st January

This video is clipped but its enough for me to rank it an HM: I'd never go higher than that on a clipped match anyway. Knowledge of Sakura Hirota as a wrestler and her main signature spots is a big factor is understanding why this match is as good as it is I think; and in a time when, well, things are still a little raw its this sort of match that you really need to watch. The main explanation of it is that its a two-count fall match (WAVE sometimes do a gimmick where one of the wrestlers will pick from a set of envelopes that the referee has to pick a random stip: that was the stipulation selected here) between a long time veteran who does a lot of bullshit that the crowd loves and which other wrestlers go along with because they know this and that it doesn't usually work for her a new rookie who is only interested in winning the match and not going along with the bullshit and that's what makes this work. A perfect example of how when you get comedy spots over you can get as much, if not more, enjoyment and reaction from subverting them rather than just going them as planned.

I'll 2nd it.

Thanks for this! I've never heard of either of these wrestlers or this promotion before, but the clip is definitely fun.

# ? May 24, 2020 21:10

Quantum of Phallus: Dec 27, 2010

Punch McLightning posted:

MOTYC: Shida vs. Rose

Yes

# ? May 24, 2020 22:29

Purple Monkey: May 5, 2014; Hello

Double or Nothing

HM: Casino Ladder Match
HM: MJF vs Jungle Boy
HM: Cody vs Lance Archer
HM: Shida vs Nyla Rose
MOTYC: Jon Moxley vs Brodie Lee
Match of the century: Stadium Stampede

# ? May 25, 2020 09:43

Quantum of Phallus: Dec 27, 2010

AEW DON 2020
MOTYC: Jungle Boy v MJF
MOTYC: Hikaru Shida v Nyla Rose
MOTYC: Stadium Stampede

# ? May 25, 2020 11:25

SHVPS4DETH: Mar 19, 2009; seen so much i'm going blind and i'm brain-dead virtually; Ramrod XTreme

HM: TNT Title #1 Contenders' Battle Royale, AEW Dynamite 27 May 2020

solid outing with lots of fun spots and callbacks and a banger of a finish

# ? May 28, 2020 02:42

KungFu Grip: Jun 18, 2008

HM: Matt Riddle vs Timothy Thatcher Fight Pit Match NXT 5/27

# ? May 28, 2020 19:56

Punch McLightning: Sep 19, 2005; you know what that means; Grimey Drawer

Going back a little bit to Wrestle Talk's No Fans Monday on March 16.

HM: Connor Mills vs. Kyle Fletcher
MOTYC: Bea Priestley vs. Will Ospreay

# ? May 29, 2020 22:00

xbilkis: Apr 11, 2005; god qb
me
jay hova

KungFu Grip posted:

HM: Matt Riddle vs Timothy Thatcher Fight Pit Match NXT 5/27

Nth

# ? May 30, 2020 09:28

Punch McLightning: Sep 19, 2005; you know what that means; Grimey Drawer

MOTYC: James Drake & Zack Gibson vs. Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne, Jan 29, NXT
HM: Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox, steel cage, March 4, NXT

# ? May 30, 2020 20:58

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

HM
9th May
Pro Wrestling NOAH Sugiura vs Nakajima
GHC National Title
Takashi Sugiura vs Katsuhiko Nakajima

I've watched more NOAH than I have any other promotion throughout this lockdown. Some of it has been great. Most of it has been forgettable, but this show in general was a pleasure to watch most of the way through. This match was the standout, exactly as you'd expect from a match with two of the best wrestlers of the 2010s. Yes, it went too long for a match with no crowd and this is a repeated criticism I've had of NOAH the past 2+ months. It didn't need to go nearly half an hour. But. It's still loving good. Not on the level of their October 2018 GHC HW title match but just a rung below it and honestly, if there was a crowd to play off this is probably a worthy MOTYC.

You should watch this

https://twitter.com/RealHero12089/status/1259569199480999941?s=20

# ? May 31, 2020 01:55

Punch McLightning: Sep 19, 2005; you know what that means; Grimey Drawer

forkboy84 posted:

HM
1/1
Zero1 Sushizanmai Presents Happy New Year
Zero1 World Heavyweight Title
Yuji Hino (c) vs Yuji Okabayashi

Two big fellas who run into each other and chop each other and do suplexes and it's very enjoyable. One for Beef fans.

Small warning if you've not seen Hino before, his very prominent outie belly button is distracting.

I would like to nth this. Please watch these big meaty men slapping meat.

Match is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rzrZw1_sTE

# ? May 31, 2020 18:01

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

HM
9th May
DDT �DDT TV SHOW! #2�
KO-D Openweight Title
Masato Tanaka vs Yukio Sakaguchi

You've got a 47 year old veteran of FMW and ECW and a 46 year old ex MMA dude who also happens to be the son of a New Japan legend. There's grappling and vicious strikes and big suplexes, all in a tight sub-15 minute package

# ? Jun 1, 2020 13:49

Dimebags Brain: Feb 18, 2013

I watched this a couple days ago, which thanks to 2020 now feels like forever ago, but still...

Dragon Gate, King of Gate Block Finals, 5/30

HM: Kaito Ishida vs Naruki Doi

Notable match for being the Brave Gate champ vs the Dream Gate champ, this match continued Ishida�s run of really consistent and good matches for this tournament. Ending was a bit predictable once you saw it coming, but still, good match.

MOTYC: Eita vs Dragon Dia

In a normal year I probably wouldn�t give this a MOTYC with the lack of crowd and all that but still this was probably the best match of the tournament and really enjoyable and compelling. Eita managed to generate some actual heat even without the crowd, and he and Dia have some great chemistry. Would love to see this match again once crowds are back.

# ? Jun 1, 2020 16:51

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

HM
16th May
AJPW
Enfants Terribles (Shotaro Ashino & Yusuke Kodama) vs JIN (Jake Lee & Koji Iwamoto)

The Wrestle-1 lads continue to look very good

HM
16th May
AJPW
AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Title
Susumu Yokosuka vs Hikaru Sato

Susumu continues his run as the most underappreciated wrestler of 2020 with another excellent performance.

Not quite HM level but YoshiKen vs Suwama and Okada is also worth a watch.

forkboy84 fucked around with this message at 10:13 on Jun 3, 2020

# ? Jun 2, 2020 13:17

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

forkboy84 posted:

HM
16th May
AJPW
Enfants Terribles (Shotaro Ashino & Yusuke Kodama)

I'm not exactly sure what this match is? Is it Ashino vs. Kodama? Or Ashino & Kodama against somebody else?

# ? Jun 3, 2020 04:45

Lamuella: Jun 26, 2003; It's like goldy or bronzy, but made of iron.

Jerusalem posted:

I'm not exactly sure what this match is? Is it Ashino vs. Kodama? Or Ashino & Kodama against somebody else?

Looks like this one:

"Enfants Terribles (Shotaro Ashino & Yusuke Kodama) defeat JIN (Jake Lee & Koji Iwamoto) (10:25)"

From "AJPW All Japan Pro Wrestling Broadcast 2020 #3"

https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=267838

# ? Jun 3, 2020 06:26

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Thanks!

# ? Jun 3, 2020 06:37

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

Posting is hard, okay? But yes, it was Enfants Terribles vs JIN. Watch it.

# ? Jun 3, 2020 10:13

GEORGE W BUSHI: Jul 1, 2012

It's been a year since we lost Atsushi Aoki so I want to draw everyone's attention to this great Bryan Danielson vs Aoki match

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIIQ1JSEekE

# ? Jun 3, 2020 15:48

Nostradingus: Jul 13, 2009

HM: Kenny Omega and Hangman Adam Page vs. Kip Sabian and Jimmy Havoc, AEW Dynamite June 3, 2020

Really enjoyed the match for reasons I can't elucidate. Not MOTY quality but worth watching if you haven't yet.

# ? Jun 4, 2020 01:48

Punch McLightning: Sep 19, 2005; you know what that means; Grimey Drawer

Nostradingus posted:

HM: Kenny Omega and Hangman Adam Page vs. Kip Sabian and Jimmy Havoc, AEW Dynamite June 3, 2020

Really enjoyed the match for reasons I can't elucidate. Not MOTY quality but worth watching if you haven't yet.

nth

# ? Jun 4, 2020 01:54

SHVPS4DETH: Mar 19, 2009; seen so much i'm going blind and i'm brain-dead virtually; Ramrod XTreme

Nostradingus posted:

HM: Kenny Omega and Hangman Adam Page vs. Kip Sabian and Jimmy Havoc, AEW Dynamite June 3, 2020

Really enjoyed the match for reasons I can't elucidate. Not MOTY quality but worth watching if you haven't yet.

2nd for me it�s that page/omega still have the same tag energy they had at revolution

# ? Jun 4, 2020 01:55

karmicknight: Aug 21, 2011

Nostradingus posted:

HM: Kenny Omega and Hangman Adam Page vs. Kip Sabian and Jimmy Havoc, AEW Dynamite June 3, 2020

Really enjoyed the match for reasons I can't elucidate. Not MOTY quality but worth watching if you haven't yet.

nth.

# ? Jun 4, 2020 01:55

Punch McLightning: Sep 19, 2005; you know what that means; Grimey Drawer

HM: Colt Cabana vs. Chris Jericho, Dynamite 6/3

# ? Jun 4, 2020 02:04

Punch McLightning: Sep 19, 2005; you know what that means; Grimey Drawer

HM: Cody vs. Jungle Boy

# ? Jun 4, 2020 03:02

Crapple!: Nov 1, 2019

HM: Omega and Page vs Havoc and Sabian, Dynamite June 3

HM: Cody vs Jungle Boy, Dynamite June 3

# ? Jun 4, 2020 03:02

Ivypls: Aug 24, 2019

Crapple! posted:

HM: Omega and Page vs Havoc and Sabian, Dynamite June 3

HM: Cody vs Jungle Boy, Dynamite June 3

nth for both

# ? Jun 4, 2020 03:03

Akileese: Feb 6, 2005

Crapple! posted:

HM: Omega and Page vs Havoc and Sabian, Dynamite June 3

HM: Cody vs Jungle Boy, Dynamite June 3

nth

# ? Jun 4, 2020 03:17

Cerebral Bore: Apr 21, 2010; Fun Shoe

Crapple! posted:

HM: Omega and Page vs Havoc and Sabian, Dynamite June 3

HM: Cody vs Jungle Boy, Dynamite June 3

Agreed, these were some good poo poo.

# ? Jun 4, 2020 09:25

Rarity: Oct 21, 2010; ~*4 LIFE*~

HM: Kip Sabian/Jimmy Havoc vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page, AEW Dynamite, 03/06
HM: Jungle Boy vs. Cody, AEW Dynamite, 03/06

# ? Jun 4, 2020 09:39

Quantum of Phallus: Dec 27, 2010

Nostradingus posted:

HM: Kenny Omega and Hangman Adam Page vs. Kip Sabian and Jimmy Havoc, AEW Dynamite June 3, 2020

Really enjoyed the match for reasons I can't elucidate. Not MOTY quality but worth watching if you haven't yet.

nth

# ? Jun 4, 2020 10:24

Lamuella: Jun 26, 2003; It's like goldy or bronzy, but made of iron.

Punch McLightning posted:

HM: Colt Cabana vs. Chris Jericho, Dynamite 6/3

Crapple! posted:

HM: Omega and Page vs Havoc and Sabian, Dynamite June 3

HM: Cody vs Jungle Boy, Dynamite June 3

Nth for all of these. Seeing Colt work serious and turn it up against Jericho was great. Seeing Kenny and Hangman elevate their opponents was great. Seeing Jungle Boy become a legit singles contender was great. This show was great.

# ? Jun 4, 2020 11:23

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Time to update for May!

MOTY:

There have been 50 MOTYCs so far, of those 6 happened in May and all 6 of those were from AEW shows... and 5 of them were from AEW's Double or Nothing show!
AEW has taken a clear lead over New Japan as the promotion with the most MOTYCs for the year, as New Japan has remained shut down through all of May thanks to COVID-19.
No other promotion other than AEW gained a successful MOTYC nomination in May, meaning WWE/NXT, GCW, All Japan, Being The Elite, FREEDOMS, NOAH, RevPro, and STARDOM all kept the same totals as they had at the end of April.
No matches registered enough votes to be listed as ALMOST making MOTY Status during May.
Only one match received more than 1 MOTY vote but less than 4 this month: Dustin Rhodes vs. Shawn Spears at AEW's Double or Nothing on 5/23. 1 match received a single MOTY vote: Eita vs. Dragon Dia for Dragon Gate's King of Gate Block Finals on 5/30.

WMOTY:

There have been 18 WMOTYCs so far this year. 4 in January, 3 in February, 1 in March, 6 in April and 4 in May.
3 of the 4 WMOTYCs from May were from WWE's Money in the Bank show. 1 was from AEW Dark: Dr. Luther vs. Jimmy Havoc on 5/12.
No other matches received even a single WMOTYC vote for the entire month.

Honorable Mentions:

28 matches received at least 1 honorable mention vote during May.
Of those, only 3 received the 7 votes (or 4 MOTY votes) necessary to make the HM list. All were from AEW.
The breakdown of HM votes was:
Dragon Gate: 7 | AAA: 5 | AEW: 4 | AJPW: 4 | DDT: 2 | Gatoh Move: 1 | Impact: 1 | NOAH: 1 | NXT: 2 | WWE: 1

NOMINATIONS FOR MAY STILL NEEDING VOTES:

MOTYs with more than 1 vote (in bold are close to the threshold):
05/23 | Dustin Rhodes vs. Shawn Spears - AEW Double or Nothing 2020 (2 votes)

WMOTYs with more than 1 vote (in bold are close to the threshold):

Honorable Mentions with more than 1 vote (in bold are close to the threshold):
05/02 | Hijo del Vikingo vs. Penta el 0M - AAA Lucha Fighter (3 votes)
05/13 | The Best Friends vs. Jurassic Express - AEW Dynamite (2 votes)
05/13 | Kris Statlander vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Britt Baker vs. Penelope Ford - AEW Dynamite (2 votes)
05/16 | BxB Hulk vs. Keisuke Okuda - Dragon Gate's King of Gate Night 2
05/23 | ASUKA vs. Mei Suruga - Gatoh Move ChocoPro (5 votes)
05/23 | Cody vs. Lance Archer for the TNT Championship - AEW Double or Nothing 2020 (5 votes)
05/27 | Matt Riddle vs. Timothy Thatcher - NXT (2 votes)

Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 12:42 on Jun 4, 2020

# ? Jun 4, 2020 11:56

Rarity: Oct 21, 2010; ~*4 LIFE*~

Whoever gave Dustin/Spears MOTY votes deserves at least a sixer for trolling :colbert:

# ? Jun 4, 2020 11:59

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 29, 2024 09:20

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

If somebody votes, I count it no matter what I might think personally about the match. That's the horror of democracy for you!

# ? Jun 4, 2020 12:01

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Hammer House: Stinger Splash Zone > 2020's Best and Worst Pro-Wrestling Matches of the Year (plus Recommended)

«‹›143 »