2018 Matches of the Year.

[OSJ]

@The Natural:

 

Great list, though I'd personally put your #7 at #3, it was that damn good. Buddy Murphy is great and Mustafa Ali is the best babyface in the world right now. Yes, I said it, better than Johnny Wrestling, better than NXT Sami was, he's got it all. He's Ricky Steamboat with emotions! (Steamer was great, but he always seemed so unruffled and stoic even when he was trying to sound pissed off.) 

[John from Cincinnati]

Last night's NXT main event might top my list when I finally put it together at year's end.

Spoiler

I'm a sucker for matches where one guy throws in the towel for another. 

 

[Eivion]

1. Tyler Bate & Trent Seven vs. Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong - 7/11

2. Cien Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano - 1/27

3. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa - 6/16

3. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa - 4/7

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

6. Tyler Bate & Trent Seven vs. Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong - 6/18

7. Women's Royal Rumble - 1/28

8. Aleister Black vs. Lars Sullivan - 6/16

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

 

 

[OSJ]

20 minutes ago, West Newbury Bad Boy said:

Last night's NXT main event might top my list when I finally put it together at year's end.

  Hide contents

I'm a sucker for matches where one guy throws in the towel for another. 

 

That was incredible, the only thing that would keep it from my top three was that I had  a pretty good idea how it was going to turn out. That shouldn't be a factor, but it is what it is. One thing I learned, Tyler Bate is a fuck of a lot stronger than he looks, he was fucking Backlund-like in that match.

[Rehabilitated Rick]

Bate has freakish strength. Yeah I loved the tag match too, wouldn't have looked out of place main eventing a Mid-South show. 

[Go2Sleep]

I feel like the title change match would've worked better as a ref stoppage. Since save rules haven't been enforced in 30 years, the finish just didn't have the impact it should have and Bate kind of looked like an idiot.

Now the 6-man a couple weeks ago with UE vs. MM/Ricochet... There's a match that jumped up my rankings.

[Greggulator]

We've been lax in these updates.

Absolutely tossing Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream from last night's NXT on this list. This was one of the best non-Takeover matches in NXT history. I'll listen to arguments that it's the best. Or I'll even make them. 

The set-up to this match really wasn't much. Johnny Gargano's the hero who is falling off the track due to his feud with his former best friend. Velveteen Dream is a spotlight hog who craves attention. Dream tried to embarrass Johnny last week. Match. 

But somehow, this match managed to weave together two long-term stories in an incredibly well-executed match. Even without the greater story, it's a hell of a match. But with everything else - it's just an epic.

Johnny's story is easy to see. He's losing his mind. He can't beat Tomasso, and it's all because he stopped being Johnny Wrestling and went into a dark place that is costing him his career and life. He wrestles Dream and two things happen. His hyper aggression causes him to hurt his knee (a great callback to his match against Ciampa) and lets Dream viciously attack. And there was also the really great one. As the match starts, Johnny sees a young fan with a Johnny Wrestling sign. He gets more vicious throughout the match -- including hooking The Escape on the floor. He wants to hit the in-ring ropes DDT (that Tomasso has used on him) but Dream blocks while showing true panic. Johnny then gets advantage and is about to do the same move to the floor. The ref warns him not to. Johnny's confused, realizes what he's about to do, and apologizes to the fan at ringside. Then he goes back. Dream calls him Johnny Failure. And Gargano loses his cool. He takes off the kneepad and goes for the running knee, only to have been suckered into the Dream Valley Driver. 

Dream's story isn't as clear to see, but it's there. He's growing in confidence. He held his own against Johnny Wrestling while wrestling. Hubris has been his downfall before. But what if it's no longer hubris? What if he is becoming just as good as he believes himself to be? He also has one fantastic advantage, especially against someone as mentally weak as Johnny Gargano. He knows how to get inside someone's head. He knows how to manipulate. He knows what buttons to push. He did and he earned the biggest win of his career as a result.

A+.

[Greggulator]

Ho-hum. That last NXT taping had two MOTYCs (and two "did I just see the best match in Full Sail history?" candidates).

The build for this is so simple but so epic. The WWE's TV production department really does not get enough credit at all. Ricochet and Dunne's beef was that they both hate the UE, tagged together, lost, and now they want each other's titles. The video package for it really made it seem like we were about to see something we've been dreaming of watching for years. Ricochet and Dunne are also both really underrated as characters. Dunne does a great job with his soft-spoken menace. Ricochet is very nice as the cocksure sparkplug. And the packaging of it really just brought it up to another few levels. And Mauro put the icing on the cake by saying "What a time to be alive" right when the match was starting.

This was such an awesome style clash. I don't think you can get more opposite than Dunne's lazer-focused body work focused on fingers versus Ricochet being on the short list of best aerialists of all-time. Ricochet tried to get at Dunne on the mat and held his own (true to his ultra-confident personality) but Dunne would get control, usually by doing some brutal finger/hand work. Ricochet of course won exchanges when he had distance and could fly until Dunne could find a way to ground him. 

Spot of the match was when both guys were on the top rope. Dunne was still focused on Ricochet's left hand while precariously balancing, only for Ricochet hitting a hurucanrana with both dudes on the top rope for a great near fall.

The ending of the match saw the Undisputed Era come in, jump both guys, and then run away once War Machine showed up. I am totally fine with this ending. UE are a bunch of douchebag heels, and ruining an all-time classic just to mess with their enemies fits the storyline. But, even better, it means we could get a rematch between Ricochet and Dunne down the line. 

I think I liked Gargano/Dream a tad better. The execution in this match was as great as pro wrestling gets. But Dream/Gargano had an actual finish was a deeper morality play. But, man, either way, what a TV taping that crowd got.

[The Natural]

Had to do a lot of updating.

Overall:

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. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair. WWE Evolution, 28th October.

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

6. Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa. WWE NXT TV, 18th July.

7. AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan. WWE Smackdown Live, 30th October.

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

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

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

TV:

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. Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa. WWE NXT TV, 18th July.

6. AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan. WWE Smackdown Live, 30th October.

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

8. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano. WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV, 18th August.

9. Pete Dunne vs. Ricochet. WWE NXT TV, 19th September.

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

[Brian Fowler]

I'm not sure anything is taking down Martinez/Satomura for me.

[Eivion]

1. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair - 10/28
2. Tyler Bate & Trent Seven vs. Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong - 7/11
3. Cien Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano - 1/27
4. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa - 6/16
5. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa - 4/7
6. Charlotte vs. Asuka - 4/8, Angle/Rousey vs. HHH/Steph
7. Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles - 10/30
8. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair - 10/9
9. Tyler Bate & Trent Seven vs. Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong - 6/18
10. Women's Royal Rumble - 1/28

 

[The Natural]

Last time for 2018...

Overall:

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

2. Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles. WWE TLC, 16th December. *****

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

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

5. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream. WWE NXT TakeOver: WarGames II, 17th November 2018.

6. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair. WWE Evolution, 28th October.

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

8. Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa. WWE NXT TV, 18th July.

9. AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan. WWE Smackdown Live, 13th November.

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

TV:

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. Velveteen Dream. WWE NXT TakeOver: WarGames II, 17th November 2018.

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

6. Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa. WWE NXT TV, 18th July.

7. AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan. WWE Smackdown Live, 13th November.

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

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

10. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair. WWE Smackdown Live, 11th December.

[Eivion]

I no longer have a proper order because of the NEW Daniel Bryan and Charlotte.

• Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair - 10/28 
• Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka - 12/16
• Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey - 11/18
• Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar - 11/18
• Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles - 12/16
• Tommaso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream - 11/17
• Tyler Bate & Trent Seven vs. Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong - 7/11
• Cien Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano - 1/27
• Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa - 6/16
• Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa - 4/7
• Charlotte vs. Asuka - 4/8, Angle/Rousey vs. HHH/Steph
• Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles - 10/30
• Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair - 10/9
• Tyler Bate & Trent Seven vs. Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong - 6/18
• Women's Royal Rumble - 1/28 

[The Natural]

WWE's Top 25 2018 Matches:

https://www.wwe.com/article/top-25-matches-of-2018

Some WTF?

[The Natural]

Tags as 2018 is nearly over: @Greggulator,  @Kyuubi, @West Newbury Bad Boy, @maciej, @Eivion, @Oyaji, @OSJ @Brian Fowler

[Jiji]

I don't watch enough wwe to make a list. Sorry, brother. I don't know if it's recency bias or not but I probably enjoyed Brock vs. Bryan the most out of anything I've seen this year from WWE/NXT. Real clever storytelling that felt like a real fight between two very different human beings with their motivations clearly shining through in everything they did. 

Gargano isn't for me. I can't stand him, his matches revolve around him hamming it up 90% time and he's doing an HBK tribute act, another person I don't like. Saying that, his match with Almas was still probably second best.

From what I saw it was a really poor year from wwe and nxt in terms of really high end matches. They have all the talent in the world but the combination of terrible booking and cookie cutter matches really limits what that talent can do. I wasn't high on the nxt ladder match, I still think Becky is overrated in the ring despite being a fascinating personality, and the finish to the tv match between KOR/Roddy vs. Bate/Seven made no fucking sense especially because they refuse to acknowledge their silly tag rule. 

[Eivion]

3 hours ago, The Natural said:

WWE's Top 25 2018 Matches:

https://www.wwe.com/article/top-25-matches-of-2018

Some WTF?

I thought there was a cut off date until I saw the TLC match on. The 3-way TLC is way too damn low, and Rousey/Charlotte not even making the list is just ridiculous.

[Beech27]

I know it’s gonna be highly listed all over the place, but #2 there, the Gargano/Ciampa streetfight in Chicago, is maybe the only match I’ve ever enjoyed less in-person than streaming later. It felt... whatever the opposite of “playing to every seat” is. Like I was on-set watching an impressive fight scene being shot, but not remotely present for a fight. (Even a fight of the choreographed thigh-slapping vintage, for which I have a really high tolerance.)

[The Natural]

No worries, @Oyaji. The criticism of Gargano hamming it up I felt the first time versus Black at the last TakeOver of the year.

[The Natural]

2 hours ago, Eivion said:

I thought there was a cut off date until I saw the TLC match on. The 3-way TLC is way too damn low, and Rousey/Charlotte not even making the list is just ridiculous.

Rousey/Charlotte, Ciampa/Dream from NXT TakeOver: War Games II and Bryan/Styles at TLC really should be there.

[Jiji]

I should say it's hyper contradictory to loathe Gargano on one hand and adore Omega on the other. However, people are highly critical of Omega's antics and often those same people praise Gargano. Different type of affectation but yeah...

[John from Cincinnati]

4 minutes ago, The Natural said:

No worries, @Oyaji. The criticism of Gargano hamming it up I felt the first time versus Black at the last TakeOver of the year.

I'll have more comprehensive thoughts on the year as a whole tomorrow, but the Gargano-Ciampa match from SummerSlam weekend genuinely felt to me like a waking nightmare at points. 

[Eivion]

11 minutes ago, The Natural said:

Rousey/Charlotte is wrongly snubbed, same goes for Ciampa/Dream from NXT TakeOver: War Games II.

I didn't even get into the men. How the fuck Dream/Ricochet got in over Dream/Ciampa I have no idea. For that matter I'm equally perplexed by the 3-way with Cole getting in over the singles match between Dunne & Ricochet. And then all of those damn Rollins matches. Anything with Rollins that wasn't a tag titles match had no business there.

10 minutes ago, Oyaji said:

I should say it's hyper contradictory to loathe Gargano on one hand and adore Omega on the other. However, people are highly critical of Omega's antics and often those same people praise Gargano. Different type of affectation but yeah...

I haven't dug Omega much in the few matches of his I caught that AXS didn't cut off for over time from other shows. Hopefully the Omega/Okada stuff is in full when I get to it. With Gargano I honestly don't care much for him. I loved the Almas match more for Almas. Enjoyed the Ciampa matches more for Ciampa. I liked Ciampa's matches with Black and Dream more. The only match I really dug Gargano in was that Black match at Takeover. Thought it was the best either guy looked this year. Otherwise he has never been a favorite for me.

[Brian Fowler]

My top two are Meiko/Martinez and Gargano/Ciampa Unsanctioned. Beyond that, it's a jumbled mess.

[John from Cincinnati]

25 HONOURABLE MENTIONS! HONOURABLE MENTIONS FOR EVERYBODY!!!!

• Johnny Gargano vs Andrade Almas (TakeOver: Philadelphia)
• Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman vs Kane (Royal Rumble)
• Sasha Banks vs Asuka (Raw, January 29)
• Roderick Strong vs Hideo Itami (205 Live, February 6)
• John Cena vs Seth Rollins section of Gauntlet Match (Raw, February 19)
• Aleister Black vs Andrade Almas (TakeOver: New Orleans)
• Charlotte Flair vs Asuka (WrestleMania)
• Triple H/Stephanie McMahon vs Ronda Rousey/Kurt Angle (WrestleMania)
• Seth Rollins vs Miz (Backlash)
• Finn Balor vs Sami Zayn vs Roman Reigns (Raw, May 7)
• Finn Balor vs Braun Strowman (Raw, May 21) 
• Undisputed Era vs Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch (TakeOver: Chicago)
• Gauntlet Match (SmackDown Live, June 19)
• Hideo Itami vs Cedric Alexander (205 Live, July 3)
• Finn Balor vs Drew McIntyre vs Roman Reigns (Raw, July 16)
• Tommaso Ciampa vs Aleister Black (NXT, July 25)
• Daniel Bryan vs Miz (SummerSlam) 
• Roman Reigns vs Finn Balor (Raw, August 20)
• Johnny Gargano vs Velveteen Dream (NXT, September 5)
• Jeff Hardy vs Randy Orton (Hell in a Cell)
• Drew McIntyre/Dolph Ziggler vs Dean Ambrose/Seth Rollins (Hell in a Cell)
• Mercedes Martinez vs Meiko Satomura (Mae Young Classic, October 3)
• AJ Styles vs Daniel Bryan (SmackDown LIve, October 30)
• AJ Styles vs Daniel Bryan (SmackDown Live, November 13)
• Charlotte Flair vs Asuka (SmackDown Live, December 11)

10. Hideo Itami vs Mustafa Ali, Falls Count Anywhere (205 Live, October 24)

I love 205 Live. I love Mustafa Ali. I love seeing those two loves converge in blow-off gimmick matches. Hideo deploys his usual hard-striking offense to beat some respect into Ali. Wasn't at all necessary. Ali: "I always respected you."

9. Tommaso Ciampa vs Velveteen Dream (NXT TakeOver: WarGames, November 17)

Ciampa badly needed to be separated from Gargano. Here, he gives Dream everything the young challenger needs to look like a star in his biggest match to date. In an era that's OD'd on finisher near falls, this has some of the best of the year.

8. North American Championship Ladder Match (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, April 7)

Perfectly executed version of a car-crash gimmick match that gets leaned on far too much. Great mix of characters, fliers, and heavyweights all playing their part.

7. AJ Styles vs Daniel Bryan (TLC, December 16)

Daniel Bryan appears to have found new life as a heel, here giving AJ Styles his best match of the year and providing the best example yet of the new style he's looking to grow into.

6. Men's Royal Rumble (Royal Rumble, January 28)

I love the Royal Rumble every year, so it gets automatic easy marking just for that. Like the North American Ladder Match, this is a great example of crowded melee being done right. 

5. Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch, Last Woman Standing (Evolution, October 28)

Last Person Standing matches are difficult. Lots of dead time. Lots of temptation to find something more interesting on my phone or in another tab. But Charlotte worked hard and took some nasty hits to make Becky look like the star the company wants her to be. 

4. Daniel Bryan vs Brock Lesnar (Survivor Series, November 18)

Daniel Bryan finally gets his dream match and makes the most of it in a contest that plays into your concern for Bryan's health and your opinion of Lesnar's routine. 

3. Mustafa Ali vs Buddy Murphy, No Disqualification (205 Live, July 3)

Another Ali gimmick match then thought to be the blow-off between these two. This match perfectly illustrates why these two were considered the cream of the cruiser crop this year.

2. Charlotte Flair vs Ronda Rousey (Survivor Series, November 18)

This WrestleMania-worthy dream match was gifted to us with five days of notice after Becky Lynch walked into Nia Jax's fist, sending "the man" to the sidelines where she’d tweet so much you'd think she's running for president. Charlotte and Rousey brought an intensity to the contest that blew everyone away and has fans dreaming on the eventual rematch. 

1. Moustache Mountain vs Undisputed Era (NXT, July 11)

I said it after the match aired and I'll say it again: I love any match that tells a story worthy of an effective towel throw. Most fun I've had watching a WWE match this year.