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2018 Matches of the Year.


The Natural

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Royal Rumble matches get bonus marks from me. The men's was the best in a very long time. The women's knocked it out of the park at their first attempt. 

Also the RAW Gauntlet Match for how different it was, trying something new.

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12 hours ago, Eivion said:

My current top 5

1-2. Cien Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano - 1/27, Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa - 4/7

3. Cien Andrade Almas vs. Aleister Black - 4/7

4. Women's Royal Rumble - 1/28

I'm stopping there because stuff gets a bit interchangeable for me as they are probably even but how much I like them over the other changes depending on my mood (like half of the CW Title tournament, Asuka vs. everyone). Even that Rumble match just barley eeks out right now.

I feel this so much in regards to everything that has happened so far this year. 205 guarantees that there will be at least 4 star match every week and it is really a pick of the litter of good matches. Honestly, I really do not need to watch Smackdown or Raw as long as I have 205 and NXT.

I just do not like Royal Rumbles in general and this year is no different. I prefer Aztec Warfare because it feels chaotic and shit.

@Brian Fowler, if I did a top 30, it would be littered with Rodrick Strng matches. You have Strong/Dunne, Strong/Kallisto, Strong/Itami, Strong/Bate, Stong and Dunne/ Lorcan and that other dude that I can't remember. Dude is a monster.

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Now we get jerk Roddy, so he can finally be a great character. IMO, he's one of the best pure heels in wrestling, best seen in his last year or so of PWG as champ. The crowd despised him and he was great egging them on.

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Roddy is a guy I've had trouble getting into save the occasional moments of dickishness during the 205Live matches. I hate how the turn happened, but something definitely felt natural when it did. I suspect I'm going to enjoy Strong's work a lot more than I have before.

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The only definite representation from WrestleMania XXXIV I'd have is Kurt Angle/Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H/Stephanie McMahon. Touch and go to include Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka. No other WrestleMania XXXIV matches.

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3 minutes ago, The Natural said:

The only definite representation from WrestleMania XXXIV I'd have is Kurt Angle/Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H/Stephanie McMahon. Touch and go to include Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka. No other WrestleMania XXXIV matches.

But Roman kicked out of five F5s! And the crowd went wild! A year of booking to build up Roman as The Guy was totally vindicated.

...

What? There were beach balls in the crowd? And, what? Who won!? ... Oh.

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4 minutes ago, Oyaji said:

But Roman kicked out of five F5s! And the crowd went wild! A year of booking to build up Roman as The Guy was totally vindicated.

...

What? There were beach balls in the crowd? And, what? Who won!? ... Oh.

Well put. Bad main event, the total opposite of the WrestleMania XXXI main event match three years earlier.

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1-2. Cien Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano - 1/27, Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa - 4/7

3. Cien Andrade Almas vs. Aleister Black - 4/7

4-5 Charlotte vs. Asuka - 4/8, Angle/Rousey vs. HHH/Steph

6. Women's Royal Rumble - 1/28

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Off topic, but the comparisons between WM 31 and 34 just show how embarrassingly little the main roster has progressed in that time frame. Brock/Roman main, HHH/Steph working with Rousey, injured Taker working a short match, Cena slumming it in the midcard, Rusev fighting for the US title, Usos, New Day, and Cesaro all fighting for tag titles...

On topic, Gargano/Ciampa now leads the way for top match. Dunne/Strong moving down is a bit sad, but you can't argue with the storyline, heat, and finish of Gargano/Ciampa. I don't know if I would go so far as to call it "old school," unless we're all old enough that mid 2000s indy blood feuds like Jacobs/Whitmer now fall under that umbrella, but that's what it reminded me of (and that's a good thing).

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With how the WrestleMania XXXIV card looked, I thought a number of matches would make my top ten. I was wrong, just the one. I didn't expect Kurt Angle/Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H/Stephanie McMahon to be MOTN either. Here be my list:

1. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. WWE NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, 27th January. *****

2. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa.  WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April.

3. Men's Royal Rumble Match. WWE Royal Rumble, 28th January.

4. Women's Royal Rumble Match. WWE Royal Rumble, 28th January.

5. Kurt Angle/Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H/Stephanie McMahon. WWE WrestleMania XXXIV, 8th April.

6. Adam Cole vs. Ricochet vs. EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan. WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April.

7. Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Elias. WWE RAW, 19th February.

8. Asuka vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 29th January.

9. AJ Styles vs. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin. WWE Fastlane, 11th March.

10. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev. WWE Fastlane, 11th March.

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Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka misses out because...

On 4/9/2018 at 5:11 AM, The Natural said:

HATED

Asuka's streak ending.

Asuka cutting a promo putting Charlotte over more.

We've speculated about how Asuka's streak would end and how it would be a big deal. When it does happen,  WWE cuts to the referee telling John Cena, Undertaker had arrived. Do that in a latter match.

Jinder Mahal the new WWE United States Champion and pinning Rusev to win.

Great match but these things annoyed me too much.

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On 09/04/2018 at 8:01 AM, The Natural said:

The only definite representation from WrestleMania XXXIV I'd have is Kurt Angle/Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H/Stephanie McMahon. Touch and go to include Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka. No other WrestleMania XXXIV matches.

The mixed tag was pure pantomime entertainment booked perfectly and executed flawlessly. One of the most WWE matches ever and not in a bad way.

And it’s a shame Lesnar vs Reigns was so poorly done, because the callbacks to other Lesnar matches (Cena/Orton) are really cool in theory. I’m so glad guys like Dain and Sullivan actually have their working boots on.

 

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Wrestlemania did not change a fucking thing for me and while I had high hopes for asuka and charlottte, Cedric and Mustafa, it was not in the cards. This really should not have followed Takeover at all. Not that it would helped because a shit show will always be a shit show. I nearly swore off WWE Vince preferred television until Smackdown convinced me that some shit is worth watching. 

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2018 WWE MOTY:

1. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. WWE NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, 27th January. *****

2. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa.  WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

3. Men's Royal Rumble Match. WWE Royal Rumble, 28th January.

4. Women's Royal Rumble Match. WWE Royal Rumble, 28th January.

5. Kurt Angle/Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H/Stephanie McMahon. WWE WrestleMania XXXIV, 8th April.

6. Adam Cole vs. Ricochet vs. EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan. WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April.

7. Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles. WWE Smackdown Live, 10th April.

8. Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Elias. WWE RAW, 19th February.

9. Asuka vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 29th January.

10. AJ Styles vs. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin. WWE Fastlane, 11th March.

2018 WWE TV MOTY:

1. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, 27th January. *****

2. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa.  WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

3. Adam Cole vs. Ricochet vs. EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan. WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April.

4. Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles. WWE Smackdown Live, 10th April.

5. Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Elias. WWE RAW, 19th February.

6. Asuka vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 29th January.

7. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor. WWE RAW, 2nd April.

8. Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Bate. WWE NXT TV, 31st January.

9. John Cena vs. Finn Balor. WWE RAW, 29th January.

10. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 12th February.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Updated version...

2018 WWE MOTY

1. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. WWE NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, 27th January. *****

2. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa.  WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

3. Adam Cole vs. Ricochet vs. EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan. WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

4. Men's Royal Rumble Match. WWE Royal Rumble, 28th January.

5. Women's Royal Rumble Match. WWE Royal Rumble, 28th January.

6. Kurt Angle/Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H/Stephanie McMahon. WWE WrestleMania XXXIV, 8th April.

7. Seth Rollins vs. The Miz. WWE Backlash, 6th May.

8. Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Elias. WWE RAW, 19th February.

9. Asuka vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 29th January.

10. Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles. WWE Smackdown Live, 10th April.

2018 WWE TV MOTY

1. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, 27th January. *****

2. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa.  WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

3. Adam Cole vs. Ricochet vs. EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan. WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

4. Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Elias. WWE RAW, 19th February.

5. Asuka vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 29th January.

6. Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles. WWE Smackdown Live, 10th April.

7. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor. WWE RAW, 2nd April.

8. Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Bate. WWE NXT TV, 31st January.

9. John Cena vs. Finn Balor. WWE RAW, 29th January.

10. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 12th February.

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1-2. Cien Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano - 1/27, Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa - 4/7

3. Cien Andrade Almas vs. Aleister Black - 4/7

4-5 Charlotte vs. Asuka - 4/8, Angle/Rousey vs. HHH/Steph

6. Women's Royal Rumble - 1/28

7. Miz vs. Seth Rollins -5/6

8. Miz vs. Jeff Hardy 5/8

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  • 1 month later...

Update before I'll hopefully be adding matches from NXT TakeOver: Chicago II and Money in the Bank 2018 this weekend .

2018 WWE MOTY

1. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. WWE NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, 27th January. *****

2. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa.  WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

3. Adam Cole vs. Ricochet vs. EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan. WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

4. Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly. WWE NXT TV, 13th June.

5. Men's Royal Rumble Match. WWE Royal Rumble, 28th January.

6. Women's Royal Rumble Match. WWE Royal Rumble, 28th January.

7. Kurt Angle/Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H/Stephanie McMahon. WWE WrestleMania XXXIV, 8th April.

8. Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Elias. WWE RAW, 19th February.

9. Asuka vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 29th January.

10. Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles. WWE Smackdown Live, 10th April.

2018 WWE TV MOTY

1. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, 27th January. *****

2. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa.  WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

3. Adam Cole vs. Ricochet vs. EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan. WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

4. Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly. WWE NXT TV, 13th June.

5. Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Elias. WWE RAW, 19th February.

6. Asuka vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 29th January.

7. Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles. WWE Smackdown Live, 10th April.

8. Natalya vs. Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Ember Moon. WWE RAW, 11th June.

9. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor. WWE RAW, 2nd April.

10. Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Bate. WWE NXT TV, 31st January.

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Update following NXT TakeOver: Chicago II.

2018 WWE MOTY

1. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. WWE NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, 27th January. *****

2. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa.  WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

3. Adam Cole vs. Ricochet vs. EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan. WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

4. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago II, 16th June 2018.

5. Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly. WWE NXT TV, 13th June.

6. Men's Royal Rumble Match. WWE Royal Rumble, 28th January.

7. Women's Royal Rumble Match. WWE Royal Rumble, 28th January.

8. Kurt Angle/Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H/Stephanie McMahon. WWE WrestleMania XXXIV, 8th April.

9. Roderick Strong/Kyle O’Reilly vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago II, 16th June 2018.

10. Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Elias. WWE RAW, 19th February.

2018 WWE TV MOTY

1. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, 27th January. *****

2. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa.  WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

3. Adam Cole vs. Ricochet vs. EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan. WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

4. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago II, 16th June 2018.

5. Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly. WWE NXT TV, 13th June.

6. Roderick Strong/Kyle O’Reilly vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago II, 16th June 2018.

7. Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Elias. WWE RAW, 19th February.

8. Asuka vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 29th January.

9. Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles. WWE Smackdown Live, 10th April.

10. Natalya vs. Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Ember Moon. WWE RAW, 11th June.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I get the sense that a lot of people who are active in this thread and regularly update their rankings (hey, @The Natural, how you doin'?) aren't watching a lot of 205 Live. I'd just like to give everyone a heads up that Buddy Murphy and Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander are putting out great work on the regular. At the very least, I urge you all to check out Murphy vs Ali from last night's 205 Live. You won't regret it. 

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Buddy Murphy is incredible. Pure and simple. Why did he ever debut as a tag team duo because dude is heads and tails better than what he was given in NXT. 

My top five is;

Gargano vs Ciampa Unsanctioned match

Cedric vs Buddy

Cedric vs Strong

Buddy vs Ali no DQ

Almas vs Gargano 

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17 hours ago, West Newbury Bad Boy said:

I get the sense that a lot of people who are active in this thread and regularly update their rankings (hey, @The Natural, how you doin'?) aren't watching a lot of 205 Live. I'd just like to give everyone a heads up that Buddy Murphy and Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander are putting out great work on the regular. At the very least, I urge you all to check out Murphy vs Ali from last night's 205 Live. You won't regret it. 

Hello, @West Newbury Bad Boy! I've seen little of 205 Live. I certainly second you recommending Ali vs. Murphy from this week. That would definitely make my updated lists.

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On 7/5/2018 at 5:47 PM, The Natural said:

Hello, @West Newbury Bad Boy! I've seen little of 205 Live. I certainly second you recommending Ali vs. Murphy from this week. That would definitely make my updated lists.

2018 WWE MOTY

1. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. WWE NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, 27th January. *****

2. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa.  WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

3. Adam Cole vs. Ricochet vs. EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan. WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

4. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago II, 16th June 2018.

5. Men's Royal Rumble Match. WWE Royal Rumble, 28th January.

6. Women's Royal Rumble Match. WWE Royal Rumble, 28th January.

7. Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy. WWE 205 Live, 3rd July.

8. Kurt Angle/Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H/Stephanie McMahon. WWE WrestleMania XXXIV, 8th April.

9. Roderick Strong/Kyle O’Reilly vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago II, 16th June 2018.

10. Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Elias. WWE RAW, 19th February.

2018 WWE TV MOTY

1. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, 27th January. *****

2. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa.  WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

3. Adam Cole vs. Ricochet vs. EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan. WWE NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, 7th April. *****

4. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago II, 16th June 2018.

5. Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy. WWE 205 Live, 3rd July.

6. Roderick Strong/Kyle O’Reilly vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch. WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago II, 16th June 2018.

7. Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Elias. WWE RAW, 19th February.

8. Asuka vs. Sasha Banks. WWE RAW, 29th January.

9. Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles. WWE Smackdown Live, 10th April.

10. Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly. WWE NXT TV, 13th June.

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