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2017 Matches of the Year


Greggulator

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1. Pete Dunne vs. Tyler Bate, NXT Takeover Chicago, 5/20

2. John Cena vs. AJ Styles, Royal Rumble XXX, 1/29

3. DIY vs. Authors of Pain vs. The Revival, NXT Takeover Orlando, 4/1

4. Bobby Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, NXT Takeover Orlando, 4/1

5. Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks, WrestleMania 33, 4/2

6. DIY vs. The Revival, NXT, 1/11

7. Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews, UK Tournament, 1/15

8. AJ Styles vs. John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt vs. The Miz vs. Baron Corbin, Elimination Chamber, 2/11

9. The Miz vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor, RAW, 5/1

10. Bobby Roode vs. Hideo Itami, NXT Takeover Chicago, 5/20

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  • 3 weeks later...

2017 WWE MOTY

1. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago, 20th May 2017. *****

2. AJ Styles vs. John Cena. WWE Royal Rumble, 29th January. *****

3. Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns. WWE Royal Rumble, 29th January.

4. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode. WWE NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, 15th January.

5. Bobby Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. WWE NXT TakeOver: Orlando, 1st April.

6. Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar. WWE WrestleMania XXXIII, 2nd April.

7. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins. WWE RAW, 29th May.

8. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns. WWE Payback, 30th April.

9. Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson vs. Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy vs. Cesaro/Sheamus vs. Enzo/Big Cass. WWE WrestleMania XXXIII, 2nd April.

10. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder. WWE NXT TV, 11th January.

2017 WWE TV MOTY

1. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago, 20th May 2017. *****

2. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode. WWE NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, 15th January.

3. Bobby Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. WWE NXT TakeOver: Orlando, 1st April.

4. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins. WWE RAW, 29th May.

5. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder. WWE NXT TV, 11th January.

6. Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns. WWE RAW, 6th February.

7. Bobby Roode vs. Hideo Itami. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago, 20th May 2017.

8. Samoa Joe vs. Cesaro. WWE RAW, 27th February.

9. Akam/Rezar vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa. WWE NXT TakeOver: Orlando, 1st April.

10. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte. WWE RAW, 20th February.

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  • 4 weeks later...

BOBBY ROODE VS. RODERICK STRONG

I absolutely hated Roderick Strong when he debuted. NXT really hit a trough for a little bit. My biggest problem with NXT is that there were too many cases of OMG A ROH/JAPAN/TNA GUY HAS ARRIVED! There was nothing organic about these characters arrival leading to a crowd response. That's just the laziest form of storytelling. You can't assume everyone watching knows who these people are. (I don't.) Roddy Strong was the number one example of this. Whereas the live crowd marked for him, all I saw was a guy who did a lot of backbreakers without any personality at all and stiff line readings during promos. 

They gave him an incredibly simple hook that gave him depth and a purpose for fighting. (And they did it brilliantly -- Roddy isn't a good live promo, so give him a lengthy taped segment you can control.) He became a family man trying to move on from his troubled past and give his wife and kid a better life. Boom. Perfect.

And that contrasts so well against Bobby Roode and his Flair cosplay. Roode saw Roddy's upcoming rise and tried to use his troubled background and family to his advantage, like a true villain. If the really great GLOW TV series has taught us anything, it's that KISS works best. Keep It Simple Stupid. Give me a character to root for. Give me a character to hate. And they did -- The Family Man against The Insufferable Rich Jerk. 

This match was worked perfectly for this match. Strong has the upper hand and works on Roode's back. Roode uses his cheapshot nonsense that pays off wonderfully with Roddy's leg getting trapped in the steps (not sure I've seen that before) and now has a limb to attack the rest of the match. Roddy has his hope spots and a great comeback. He can't quite beat Roode because his knee's banged up/Roode knows how to position himself to JUST escape trouble. But Roode can't keep the FAMILY MAN FIGHTING FOR EVERYTHING down. 

After Roddy kicks out, there's a huge pop. And the chant of "Let's Go Roddy!" It's not "This Is Awesome!" It's fans rooting for the hero. And it's wonderful.

The end is such an awesome heartbreaking ending. Roddy thinks he's won it and is celebrating with his family. That gives Roode enough time for another cheapshot and the chance to hit the Glorious DDT right in front of his wife and mother as he gloats. And then he hits a second one to retain. GLORIOUS.

This is just great and perfect wrestling storytelling. They gave a performer a hook. They pushed him using that hook. It contrasted against the villain. They had a match that reflected their archetypes -- Strong's intestinal fortitude vs. Roode's cold intelligence. The fanciest move in the match was a backbreaker. And it still brought the house down.

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For a point of comparison - WWE.com put up its list of Top 10 matches of they year so far (accept with the usual caveats a story on WWE.com would have)

http://www.wwe.com/article/top-10-matches-of-2017-so-far

10) Neville/Swann - Raw (3/6)

9) Women's MITB Match (the Smackdown One)

8) Cruiserweight 5-way #1 Contenders Match - 205Live (2/7)

7) Rollins/Reigns - RAW (5/29)

6) Show/Strawman - RAW (2/20)

5) Shane/AJ - WrestleMania 

4) Balor/Rollins/Miz #1 Contender - RAW 5/1

3) AJ/Cena - Royal Rumble

2) AOP vs. DIY vs. Revival - NXT Takeover Orlando

1) Dunne/Bate UK Champ - NXT Takeover Chicago

 

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So, I'll update my list post-Summerslam. In the meantime, there's a Drew McIntyre-Oney Lorcan match from April that I watched recently that's a legit Top 5 for me thus far this year. I highly recommend everyone check it out, if you haven't. 

RE: the WWE.com list @RIPPA posted: I H-A-T-E the Shane-AJ match from Mania. 

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Oney Lorcan is legit one of the best wrestlers in WWE this year. Like at the halfway point this year, Joe and Asuka are the only two I'd mention along side him.

I wouldn't be surprised if McIntyre overtakes the top spot by year's end, though. He's been no slouch thus far, and he's only going to get more high profile matches as the year rolls along.

So yeah, no surprise their match this year is as good of a 5-minute match as you'll ever see.

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On 2017-07-07 at 0:23 PM, RIPPA said:

For a point of comparison - WWE.com put up its list of Top 10 matches of they year so far (accept with the usual caveats a story on WWE.com would have)

http://www.wwe.com/article/top-10-matches-of-2017-so-far

10) Neville/Swann - Raw (3/6)

9) Women's MITB Match (the Smackdown One)

8) Cruiserweight 5-way #1 Contenders Match - 205Live (2/7)

7) Rollins/Reigns - RAW (5/29)

6) Show/Strawman - RAW (2/20)

5) Shane/AJ - WrestleMania 

4) Balor/Rollins/Miz #1 Contender - RAW 5/1

3) AJ/Cena - Royal Rumble

2) AOP vs. DIY vs. Revival - NXT Takeover Orlando

1) Dunne/Bate UK Champ - NXT Takeover Chicago

 

I find it interesting that their Top 10 only includes 2 actual PPV matches, and only one from WrestleMania. Telling?

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I haven't done any 90s projects or kept track of much aside from the last few years, but this seems like a really great in-ring year so far. And maybe it isn't as far as, like, classics, but as far as the amount of ****ish (or whatever) matches, there's just so much I really like. I imagine my opinion on the total quality of the WWE would be way, way lower if I was the type of person who watched Raw & Smackdown in their entirety (especially live), but as someone fine with settling for the gist of things and just watching interesting looking matches (and most PPVs/NXT things), the volume of good matches seems super high. I'm sure by the end of the year I could make a top 100 WWE Matches list and be pretty pleased with some of the stuff at the bottom. Anyways:

1. Pete Dunne vs. Tyler Bate, 5/20, Takeover: Chicago, UK Title
2. #DIY vs. The Authors of Pain vs. The Revival, 4/1, Takeover: Orlando, NXT Tag Titles
3. The Authors of Pain vs. #DIY, 1/28, Takeover: San Antonio, NXT Tag Titles
4. Asuka vs. Nikki Cross vs. Ruby Riot, 6/14, NXT TV, NXT Women’s Title
5. Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews, 1/15, UK Championship Tournament Day 2
6. The Revival vs. #DIY, 1/11, NXT TV, NXT Tag Titles
7. Bailey vs. Charlotte Flair    2/13, Raw, Women’s Title
8. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman, 4/30, Payback
9. Bobby Roode vs. Roderick Strong, 7/6, NXT TV, NXT Title
10. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman, 3/5, Fastlane
11. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne, 1/15, UK Championship Tournament, Day 2
12. Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho, 4/2, Wrestlemania, US Title
13. Tyler Bate vs. Mark Andrews, 5/19, UK Championship Special, UK Title
14. Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman, 1/2, Raw, Last Man Standing
15. Big Show vs. Braun Strowman, 4/17, Raw
16. Asuka vs. Ember Moon, 4/1, Takeover: Orlando, NXT Women’s Title
17. Oney Lorcan vs. Andrade Cien Almas, 3/22, NXT TV
18. Nikki Cross vs. Asuka, 6/28, NXT TV, NXT Women’s Title, Last Woman Standing
19. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman, 7/9, Great Balls of Fire, Ambulance Match
20. Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens, 4/30, Payback, US Title
21. Austin Aries vs. Neville, 4/30, Payback, Cruiserweight Title
22. Big Show vs. Braun Strowman, 2/20, Raw
23. Bailey vs. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax, 4/2, Wrestlemania, Raw Women’s Title
24. Finn Balor vs. Roman Reigns, 5/15, Raw
25. Alexa Bliss vs. Bailey, 4/30, Payback, Raw Women’s Title

I know for sure I'm way higher on that second Ruby/Asuka/Nikki 3-way than anyone else, but I thought the post-match brawl was even more fun than their actual Last Woman Standing Match. Also, will prolly rewatch that Cena/AJ at some point before the end of the year to make sure I'm not crazy.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Time for an update:

2017 WWE MOTY:

1. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago, 20th May 2017. *****

2.  AJ Styles vs. John Cena. WWE Royal Rumble, 29th January. *****

3. Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns. WWE Royal Rumble, 29th January.

4. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode. WWE NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, 15th January.

5. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 24th July.

6. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. John Cena. WWE Smackdown Live, 1st August.

7. Bobby Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. WWE NXT TakeOver: Orlando, 1st April.

8. Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe. WWE Great Balls of Fire, 9th July.

9. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns. WWE RAW, 7th August.

10. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Nia Jax vs. Mickie James vs. Emma vs. Dana Brooke. WWE RAW, 26th June.

2017 WWE TV MOTY:

1. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago, 20th May 2017. *****

2. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode. WWE NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, 15th January.

3. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 24th July.

4. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. John Cena. WWE Smackdown Live, 1st August.

5. Bobby Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. WWE NXT TakeOver: Orlando, 1st April.

6. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns. WWE RAW, 7th August.

7. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Nia Jax vs. Mickie James vs. Emma vs. Dana Brooke. WWE RAW, 26th June.

8. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins. WWE RAW, 29th May.

9. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder. WWE NXT TV, 11th January.

10. Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns. WWE RAW, 17th July.

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17 hours ago, Brian Fowler said:

Bobby Roode/Drew MacIntyre just might be my new number one. Auska/Ember Moon is probably top five. 

I honestly think Roode has four of my top six this year.

I need to rewatch that; obviously you just like Roode matches a lot more than I do in general but while I liked it ok I think (in person) it was like my 4th favorite match of the night.

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10. Bobby Roode vs Hideo Itami, Takeover

9. DIY vs. The Revival vs. Authors of Pain, Takeover

8. John Cena vs AJ Styles, Royal Rumble

7. DIY vs Authors of Pain ladder match, Takeover

6. Bobby Roode vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Takeover San Antonio

5. Ember Moon vs Auska, Takeover Brooklyn

4. Bobby Roode vs Roderick Strong, NXT tv

3. Pete Dunn vs Tyler Bate, Takeover

2. Bobby Roode vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Takeover Orlando

1. Bobby Roode vs Drew MacIntyre, Takeover

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This is what I'm thinking right now post NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III and SummerSlam...

2017 WWE MOTY

1. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago, 20th May 2017. *****

2. AJ Styles vs. John Cena. WWE Royal Rumble, 29th January. *****

3. Asuka vs. Ember Moon. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, 19th August 2017.

4. Big E/Xavier Woods vs. Jimmy Uso/Jay Uso. WWE SummerSlam, 20th August 2017.

5. Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns. WWE Royal Rumble, 29th January.

6. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman. WWE SummerSlam, 20th August 2017.

7. Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks. WWE SummerSlam, 20th August 2017.

8. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode. WWE NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, 15th January.

9. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. John Cena. WWE Smackdown Live, 1st August.

10. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 24th July.

2017 WWE TV MOTY

1. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago, 20th May 2017. *****

2. Asuka vs. Ember Moon. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, 19th August 2017.

3. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode. WWE NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, 15th January.

4. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. John Cena. WWE Smackdown Live, 1st August.

5. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 24th July.

6. Bobby Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. WWE NXT TakeOver: Orlando, 1st April.

7. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns. WWE RAW, 7th August.

8. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Nia Jax vs. Mickie James vs. Emma vs. Dana Brooke. WWE RAW, 26th June.

9. Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss. WWE RAW, 28th August.

10. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder. WWE NXT TV, 11th January.

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I'll feel silly about it, but I am definitely gonna post a top 100 at the end of the year. 2/3 thru:

1. Pete Dunne vs. Tyler Bate, 5/20, Takeover: Chicago, UK Title
2. #DIY vs. The Authors of Pain vs. The Revival, 4/1, Takeover: Orlando, NXT Tag Titles
3. Asuka vs. Ember Moon, 8/19, Takeover: Brooklyn, NXT Women’s Title
4. The Authors of Pain vs. #DIY, 1/28, Takeover: San Antonio, NXT Tag Titles
5. Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas, 8/19, Takeover: Brooklyn 
6. Asuka vs. Nikki Cross vs. Ruby Riot, 6/14, NXT TV, NXT Women’s Title + post match brawl
7. Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews, 1/15, UK Championship Tournament Day 2
8. The Revival vs. #DIY, 1/11, NXT TV, NXT Tag Titles
9. Bailey vs. Charlotte Flair    2/13, Raw, Women’s Title
10. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman, 4/30, Payback
11. Bobby Roode vs. Roderick Strong, 7/6, NXT TV, NXT Title
12. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman, 3/5, Fastlane
13. Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman, 8/20, Summerslam, Universal Title
14. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne, 1/15, UK Championship Tournament, Day 2
15. Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho, 4/2, Wrestlemania, US Title
16. Tyler Bate vs. Mark Andrews, 5/19, UK Championship Special, UK Title
17. Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman, 1/2, Raw, Last Man Standing
18. Big Show vs. Braun Strowman, 4/17, Raw
19. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe (featuring Braun Strowman), 7/17, Raw
20. Asuka vs. Ember Moon, 4/1, Takeover: Orlando, NXT Women’s Title
21. Oney Lorcan vs. Andrade Cien Almas, 3/22, NXT TV
22. Nikki Cross vs. Asuka, 6/28, NXT TV, NXT Women’s Title, Last Woman Standing
23. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman, 7/9, Great Balls of Fire, Ambulance Match
24. Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks, 8/14, Raw
25. Bailey vs. Sasha Banks, 7/23, Raw

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  • 3 months later...

PPV Matches:

Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate

DIY vs Author's of Pain

The Revival vs DIY

Velveteen Dream vs Aleister Black

AJ Styles vs Finn Balor

Aj Styles vs Brock Lesnar

Drew Mac vs Andrade Almas Cien for NXT Title

Summerslam the Usos vs the New Day

AJ Styles vs John Cena

TV Matches

2nd Cruiserweight Fatal Fourway between Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, Tony Neese, Drew Gulak

Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann vs Brian Kendrick and Drew Gallagher in a Tornado Tag match

Pete Dunne vs Johnny Gargano for the UK Title

Johnny Gargano vs Cien Almas

Rodrick Strong vs Bobby Roode

Roman Reigns vs Samoa Joe

I can't remember dates, but yeah, this is all I got for the end of the year.

MVPS

Cedric Alexander. 

Fuck you guys,  Cedric has been awesome this year and truly an  great performer. He had a great feud ender with Noam Darr, a few good matches with Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher, and is generally the best if not one of the best performers on 205 Live. Dude is really good at this wrestling thing and honestly so much better than what he is given.

AJ Styles

This man does not need build-up to sell a match or draw people. AJ Styles just needs to be AJ fucking Styles and you are automatically invested.

Johnny Gargano

Okay, I admit when Johnny first came to NXT, I dismissed him as a vanilla midget and typical indy guy. I didn't get the hype if there was ever any hype,. Dude just seemed bland in every way possible. Then his matches with DIY came in and I was blown away. This guy is honestly an amazing Tag performer. Then DIY broke up and he set out on his own. Initially, I thought he would fall down in quality, but nope. Dude is an awesome single's competitor as well and reminds me of Shawn Michaels. 

Pete Dunne

I never thought I would see another Finlay, but I love Pete Dunne. He is different and brutal and worth it. Dude just exudes character.

Samoa Joe

Dude is an awesome badass charcter and is a highlight everytime he comes on my screen.

Braun Strwoman

I know I don't have any matches of his in my list, but Strowman is what happens when WWE tries to make someone a monster and it works.

 

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Overall:

1. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago, 20th May 2017. *****

2. AJ Styles vs. John Cena. WWE Royal Rumble, 29th January. *****

3. Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles. WWE Survivor Series, 19th November 2017.

4. Asuka vs. Ember Moon. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, 19th August 2017.

5. Big E/Xavier Woods vs. Jimmy Uso/Jay Uso. WWE SummerSlam, 20th August 2017.

6. Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro/Sheamus. WWE No Mercy, 24th September 2017.

7. Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns. WWE Royal Rumble, 29th January.

8. Big E/Xavier Woods vs. Jimmy Uso/Jay Uso. WWE Hell in a Cell, 8th October 2017.

9. Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar. WWE WrestleMania XXXII, 2nd April 2017.

10. Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks. WWE SummerSlam, 20th August 2017.

TV only:

1. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago, 20th May 2017. *****

2. Asuka vs. Ember Moon. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, 19th August 2017.

3. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode. WWE NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, 15th January.

4. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. John Cena. WWE Smackdown Live, 1st August.

5. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 24th July.

6. Bobby Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. WWE NXT TakeOver: Orlando, 1st April.

7. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns. WWE RAW, 7th August.

8. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Nia Jax vs. Mickie James vs. Emma vs. Dana Brooke. WWE RAW, 26th June.

9. Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss. WWE RAW, 28th August.

10. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder. WWE NXT TV, 11th January.

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Eric Young and Tye Dillinger had a Cage Match that aired on NXT 4/19 that is really really good and should be up for consideration as one of the better matches under the WWE umbrella this year. It was the blowoff to Young and Dillingers feud, their may not have been blood but it was super intense and was a great send off for Dilligner who went on to the SmackDown Roster. Young and his Sanity stable stood tall at the end. 

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