A programming tidbit to start, to all reading this edition of the Yearly Pro Wrestling 100 —
This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you that this is the only yearly list that matters, that this is the most accurate, or that you aren’t going to find anyone who does this as good as me. None of that is true. I am not the first person to come up with a wrestling related yearly list, and I won’t be the last to put one together. The format of this whole thing is something I’m proud of though, and for as many people that knock this sort list out of the park, I feel confident in saying no one has packed this concept better together than me. Feel free to think what you want to think about that, lists like this are stupid little things anyway. For specifics, this covers:
The five best promotions, ten best shows, five best tag teams, twenty five best wrestlers, five worst matches, and the top fifty matches. There’s your nice round number of 100.
Generally, projects of this magnitude are some combination of daunting and satisfying, helping me fill my inner need to rank all the things I consume, and maybe growing my abilities as a writer along the way. I am no astute wrestling critic by any stretch of the imagination, however, my efforts on this thing can hopefully serve to broaden someone’s horizons, or in some cases, bring them back to earth. I will not lie to you, and for whatever year you’re reading this in, I will present things as they were. With that, for obvious reasons, some of the wrestlers on this list are, or might become, bad people. Rankings and placement are by no means endorsement of character, and are strictly reflective of their abilities to produce good wrestling over the course of 365 days. That, and it needs to be said I do not own any of the photos used throughout. Credit is linked under every image, so support the photographers when necessary.
Lastly, and because I’d be doing a disservice to myself, I must mention that this took a ton of time. I do this for free, blah, blah, blah, so really, if you enjoyed this or appreciate my effort and want to support me in any way I’d appreciate it. You can follow me on Twitter or BlueSky, check out my other work at BrewerFanatic, or right here on the site. If you’re feeling too generous for your own good, I do have a Ko-Fi you can donate to as well. If you’re truly inclined to give me money, give me a match recommendation or something while you’re at it.
Methodology
To begin with another elementary point, I must make it clear I did not watch everything. Anyone who tells you they do is a liar, and if you’re someone who “tries to watch everything” you’re either (a) wasting your time or (b) lying to yourself. As of this year I’m a full-time college student who’s working part-time, so it also needs to be said that this is nowhere as expansive as this could be if I had more time.
The more interesting part of putting this whole thing together is simply choosing what to watch. Now, I’m not sure how true this is for everyone, but in about 16 months time — from early 2023 to middle 2024 — and around 1400 matches, I was able to whittle down my tastes in wrestling to the point where if I know who’s wrestling, where it takes place, and how long it runs, I can probably tell you with 99 percent accuracy whether I’ll like it or not. With that knowledge, to find things I’d like, I would scroll through the front page of cagematch.net a handful of times per week, and write down matches I thought looked interesting, regardless of what people rated them. To supplement that some of the voices and opinions from creators also do match recommendations throughout the year, and if they posted a match in their threads that I missed from my digging through cagematch, I also wrote them down. Lastly, and regrettably so, I made sure not to miss the popular hits. That means I got to everything in the top 100 on cagematch, as well as all the nominees on the GME Project forums. No promises on doing those two particular things in years future, as lots of those matches are easily skippable, but I do still see some merit in making sure the majority is heard. Overall, I watched and rated 1,045 matches from 63 different promotions, and 645 different wrestlers. Not going to guess on how many things I watched and didn’t rate, but just know I saw more wrestling than those numbers suggest.
Lastly, if you must know what the star ratings mean and you won’t take nothing as an answer, this is how it makes the most sense in my mind:
- 5 (*****) – “Perfect” Match — Greatest Match Ever Contender
- 4.75 (****3/4) – Incredible Match — Match of The Decade Contenders
- 4.5 (****1/2) – Fantastic Match, something that is genuinely great for more than one reason
- 4.25 (****1/4) – Notably Great Match, has something that sets it apart from a great match
- 4 (****) – Great Match
- 3.75 (***3/4) – Very Good Match — Recommendations for Matches Start Here
- 3.5 (***1/2) – Functionally Good Match — Borderline Recommendations
- Meh (**1/2 – ***1/4) – Matches that range from average to above average
- Bad (*1/4 -**1/2) – Matches that are bad to below average
- Awful ( * or under) – Offensively bad matches
- ❤️ (Beyond rational rating) – Matches I realize that my attachment makes them objectively difficult to rate, the “star ratings are stupid” category.
This is the supplementary formula, which is incredibly flawed, that I use to help decide the Wrestler of the Year rankings:
(17*# of 5 Star matches) + (13*# of 4.75 Star matches) + (10*# of 4.5 Star matches) + (7.5*# of 4.25 Star matches) + (5*# of 4 Star matches) + (2.5*# of 3.75 Star matches) + (1.5*# of 3.5 Star matches) + (4*The # of ❤️ matches ) – (3.5*# of Awful matches)
Here’s the statistical breakdown of every match I watched last year by promotion:
And here’s the breakdown of the ratings for those matches:
Foreword
At this point, the tone and message of this section is never going to come off exactly how I want it to sound. 2024 is a bad year for wrestling. Obviously that fact hangs over this kind of thing, especially when 95% of items listed are positive, but we’re going on nearly a decade since the last year you could call wrestling great anyway. 2024 isn’t bottom of the barrel levels like you’d find in 2020, or the shocking drop that happened in 2019. It isn’t void of great moments or great things in general, but those things are so few and far between that it becomes frustratingly difficult to want to mention more than fifty or sixty things.
Now, there’s certainly part of that where it makes the prospect of this a kind of exciting challenge, and I do totally understand that sentiment. If there was any notability to the years 2020-2022, it comes from the novelty of trying to find wrestling that stood out during a global pandemic. At least you could say stuff from a few years ago was different. This year, things are back to operating like normal. Crowds have no restrictions anywhere, and the independent wrestling scene has fired back up to what it can be. The excuses for any promotion, big or small, have fully ran dry, and yet maddeningly dull people like Cody Rhodes found themselves on top of the wrestling world, women’s world championships were being used as supplementary items in downright offensive storylines, and lifeless husks of nothing more than muscle and athleticism dominated cards top-to-bottom. All the while, the biggest scandal in wrestling since the Speaking Out Movement pinned down arguably the most important figure in industry history, implicated numerous others, and people only seemed to care for about two weeks, all while any kind of repercussions have yet to come to fruition. So called wrestling fans have now morphed, more than ever, to only cheer for a single promotion, react how they’re told to react, and for some reason these fans — in one of the most variant political, social, and economic climates in our time — can’t think for themselves. The level of imprudency is off the charts, and no matter how tight I try to keep my circle, there’s always someone so incredibly dense that leaks through. That’s the frustration with 2024. It’s not the worst year ever, but it might just be the worst year ever that so many have pretended is good.
Anyway, here’s your Yearly Pro Wrestling 100.
For more on pro wrestling criticism – Read this excerpt from Matt D
Show of the Year:
10.) CMLL Homenaje a Dos Leyendas 2024 (3.29.2024)
The crowd of the year.
Or take your pick from other Arena México shows. But seeing Bryan Danielson start a Yes! chant, and watching the crowd interact with four of their biggest stars is something you can’t beat. The environment itself is so magical that just having the show on for its whole runtime left a mark on me despite how little most of the matches ended up hitting on my personal tastes. For once it doesn’t matter that the rest of a card is fairly middling outside its main event. There’s a decent Bárbaro Cavernario bout and the culmination of the Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. team up on here that you could find mileage on if you wanted, the sort of things that can survive on charm and the crowd if needed. That’s cool and all. But listen to the people of Mexico’s mecca of pro wrestling, and they’ll tell you loud and clear. This is the 10th best show on the year.
There’s a lot more words coming as we move on, so I’ll just leave it at that for now.
9.) Masato Yoshino Produce Unity The First (2.15.2024)
Quietly, the best GLEAT show of the year.
As easy as it would be for me to make a quip about lightning returning to the jungle, I’ll resist it. There isn’t ten essential shows on the year, probably more around five or six, and as fun as Yoshino’s produce show was, there’s nothing on here that’ll knock your socks off. It’s pretty much just a GLEAT show that uses the top half of their roster, has sensible guest appearances, and most importantly, isn’t actually booked by GLEAT. There’s five matches, all of watch are watchable at worst, and none of which I’d call great. The most mileage you’ll get out of this is likely from the women’s tag, especially if you can stand Nanae Takahashi more than I can. The main event, while probably the worst match on the card, does stand as what is likely the only decent Minoru Suzuki match of the year. And if you know me, I’m always game for a STRONGHEARTS tag, and there is something to be said about the miracle that is Takehiro Yamamura stepping into a ring, and watching him take steps towards renewing a rivalry with T-Hawk is an exciting prospect as well.
Overall, just some good, inoffensive wrestling under the banner of the Dragon Gate legend with a quaint little audience in Shinjuku FACE. It’s a quick show, a non-complex one, and as appropriate as that is, it just so happens to be the 9th best show of the year too.
Long live the Speed Star.
8.) ACTION DEAN~!!! (4.04.2024)
I don’t know exactly what to think of Dean~!!! Between the praise this got from some of the best critics, to the tribute this paid, and the names and matches of the card, there’s a lot to unpack.
I’ll start with the namesake of the show. I have not been around the block very long, I’m only 21 years ripe, and when it comes to watching wrestling, I’ve only been diving under the surface for a few years now. So as much I like to consider myself well-researched, I will not pretend I knew who Dean Rasmussen was before this show, and I was only vaguely aware of who Segunda Caida and what the DVDVR forums are. Now, in the eight months since this show aired on WrestleMania weekend I have become more familiar with the names, faces, and history of those two things Dean was associated with, but I did not go into the show with any more context than the acclaim I saw it getting. I encourage you to do the research for yourself before you go in, and understand the importance that Dean has on the very thing I’m doing here: discussing and posting about wrestling online.
In that sense, match quality aside, the show is a loving tribute to everything I’ve learned Mr. Dean was. You cannot take that away from this show, nor should you even try.
The card itself, is the other half of the story. A diverse exhibition of matches, none of which are the same. I’ve read that’s by design, everything a nod to what Dean might’ve liked from his wrestling. The fact is, for me, the majority of them, including all from the first half, are skippable. There’s only one truly bad thing (Krule/Warhorse) on here for what it’s worth, and there are three matches that I would consider necessity. The first is a fantastic exhibition between Slim J and Adam Priest, the second is one of the most violent matches of the whole year between Mad Dog Connelly and Demus, and the third is the main event, a fitting send off to a hardcore fan favorite rivalry between Daniel Makabe and Timothy Thatcher. Again, I recommend you see those three matches, all of which are probably within or near the 100 best of the year.
The picture I’ve ended up painting here is that this thing is bloated, heavily. There’s too many people on the card, too many matches, and this whole thing is top heavy. Some really love the Dog Collar match and main event so much that they’ll have this as their show of the year, which is fine. I am not those people, and even if I was, I don’t think I’d position at in the top spot, even with the weak year. But between three great matches, a diverse set of styles showcased, and the tribute to someone who seemingly deserved it, Dean~!!! is the best show of WrestleMania weekend, and your eighth best show of the year.
7.) ROH Death Before Dishonor 2024 (7.26.2024)
One of the weirdest shows of the year.
This also where I can do the thing where I tell you that in a good year, I wouldn’t consider this at all. I’m gonna keep pounding that fact in over and over again, despite how monotonous it sounds, because it’s inescapable. No wrestling show should be able to get away with the fact that four of its last five matches being somewhere between middling and bad, but Tonyverse ROH finds a way to do it.
To avoid fully breaking down the nine match, nearly five hour card in which 40% is both skippable and bad, let me tell you about the reason it gets here. The first four matches range from either good to great, with two miracles in Hirsch/Diamante and good Bennett & Taven tag back to back, with a real fun Kommander/Mortos and the best Yuta/Moriarty match sandwiched between them. You can look at the next four things on paper, be reasonable and pass over them, and then there’s the main event. Not functionally great enough to hold the show up on sheer quality alone, but something that’s so incredibly correct that it ends the show on one of the highest notes all year. I’ll be talking more about said Strong/Briscoe match later, so I won’t detail it here, but that shot of Mark standing tall with the ROH belt covered in blood is one of the best shots of the year, and the exact type of high point that stuck in my mind.
And hey, this year, I suppose going 5/9 isn’t too bad.
6.) Sendai Girls Pro-Wrestling at Korakuen Hall (11.17.2024)
This is not a particularly exciting show outside of one thing, but it does have that heart and spirit that made 2024 Senjo so good, with Meiko being back bringing out the best version of everyone.
You kick it off the two inconspicuous matches, one a rookie tag, and the other a more comedy centric three-way. Neither are very good, but both are around eight minutes in length, so it’s hard to say they’re offensive. The real show begins with a six woman tag, which packs a whole lot into 11 minutes, and allows the best workers within it to do the heavy lifting. The first and only hurdle is next, where Chihiro Hashimoto is tasked with getting something out of Sadie Gibbs. If you’re familiar with her exploits prior to her return to wrestling this year, this eight minutes probably looks like the greatest miracle you’ve ever seen, as not only is it passable, but good. That whole thing sets the tone for the real highlight of the show, the Sareee/Aja Kong vs. Manami/Meiko Satomura tag match. It’s a match that accomplishes a whole lot, and one I’ll be taking abit more about later. The show is burdened a bir by the world title match that follows, but DASH Chisako’s title win does feel like correct way to cap off the best Senjo show of the year.
5.) DPW 3rd Anniversary (12.08.2024)
A sneaky last second contender that falls a little short.
From top to bottom, this show is typical DPW levels of good. Mad Dog Connelly and Kevin Blackwood have a real good undercard clash that continues to establish Mad Dog even in a loss, and the first Trevor Lee/Andrew Everett match since 2018 is fun well. The high points of the show come from the VIF/SpeedSomething tag and the the Kozone/Priest main event, both of which are aided by previous months booking and overall correctness of their title switches instead of execution. There’s a forgettable opener and women’s match in there too, but I think what stands out most about the show is where this leaves DPW heading into a new year. Ku and Garrini have the tag gold, Kozone finishes his ascension to the National title, and Jake Something as the Worlds Champ. Everything is paid off that was set up throughout the year, but there’s enough brewing and general intrigue that gets you excited for what the Black and Orange brand will do next.
If not a great show, a testament to how great 2024 was for DPW.
4.) AEW Collision (2.03.2024)
Fire your best shot(s) first.
That’s not a new concept, AEW has done this with big TV matches in the past, and done so with roaring success. Both of the Hangman/Danielson matches go on first, as do the Omega/Dragon and Omega/Pac matches, and I’m sure there are other examples I’m forgetting about too. It’s the sort of thing that gets people to tune in, and probably boosts ratings or whatever, and they do it just rarely enough that whenever they decide to have a big PPV-worthy match go on first, it feels at least some kind of special.
The problem, of course, is that everything after usually just kind of happens. I defy any of you to remember off the top of your head what followed the four examples I listed. You can’t because they aren’t worth remembering, so instead of recalling the show, you only think back to the match. That idea disqualifies those shows from making a list like this, despite how much I like the idea in general.
On this episode of Collision they do it twice in one show, probably by accident, and it ends up working better than ever before.
Bryan Keith and Eddie Kingston kick off the show with a wonderful 15-minute slice of TV wrestling that is as poignant as it is violent, and then Bryan Danielson and the debuting Hechicero hook the crowd into a real and genuine dream match. Both matches are among the best matches of the year, are two of the four best bouts AEW put on, and are the two best TV matches of 2024. The only thing that happens in between either of these is a touching little moment where Tony Schiavone steps into the ring to tell Keith he’s All Elite, after which he and Kingston embrace.
And instead of being disappointed by the fact that everything that follows both matches is a bunch of boring and dull nonsense, I kind of appreciate the fact that this gets to good out of the way first. I never wanted to see two squash matches, a Serena Deeb match, or a Patriarchy match north of 20 minutes. Wrestling wasted so much of my time this year despite how choosy I was, so when you tune in live and can see everything you want to in the first hour before flipping it off, it somehow feels like a win.
The perfect kind of total accident.
3.) NJPW Super Hero Taiji Ishimori Gets Ridiculous (11.12.2024)
Image via New Japan Pro Wrestling
I don’t necessarily disagree if your sentiment is that the second best show of the year should have at least one great match on it. Think that way if you must.
Or, hear me out, you could stop being such a nerd.
This show was never about numbers or how many stars I put by its matches in a spreadsheet. You saw the title. Taiji Ishimori did indeed get ridiculous, and god damn, what a time it was. On paper, this show is just plain fun too. Ishimori opens the night by wrestling a young lion named Daiki Nagai, shifts to team with Dragon Gate veteran Kagetora against the Brahman Brothers, (and Ryuske Taguchi) wrestles to a draw with Kosei Fujita, teams with fellow rule-breakers SHO and Shun Skywalker against a trio of meatheads in Shuji Ishikawa, Jeff Cobb, and Daisuke Sekimoto, enters a battle royale with a equally diverse collection of names, all before wrapping up the night with a match against Dragon Dia. It’s as wacky as it sounds on paper, and it’s perfectly built for a venue like Shinjuku FACE. I admit there’s some novelty to seeing some of the New Japan guys mix it up with other guys from other smaller Japanese promotions, but if that was the sole reason, I’d have things like the UJPW shows on here too. It’s just down to the simple fact that this was a blast to watch. No promises you’ll get the same out of it that I did, but this coming from someone who should probably be more open to fun, you probably should.
Not the best or greatest show of the year, but easily the most watchable.
2.) DPW Limit Break (5.19.2024)
I don’t know what the high point of DPW was. The 3rd anniversary feels like the perfect culmination of their year, so it that’s your choice, I have no problem with it. But there’s something to be said about Limit Break for the simple fact that it’s the show that suckered me in. It manages to be diverse, a little indie-riffic, booking dependent, and all around fun at the same time.
Like the number eight selection, there are three things to care about, and like that show, it starts with a Adam Priest match. This one is a better better than the Slim J match though, a real mean and gross bomb oriented match against the best version of Kevin Blackwood, which is secretly one of the best matches from the American independents on the year. The next is no secret, a dream match-esque meeting between Fuminori Abe and Roderick Strong that doesn’t need more elaboration. The heart and soul ends it all, with Kevin Ku defending the brand of DPW against champion Calvin Tankman, a match which feels like one of the high points on the year for both men and the company itself. Those three things stand out so well that it doesn’t matter there’s a borderline offensive MxM tag match or a sloppy women’s tag. What matters is what delivered, and no one did that more frequently than DPW.
1.) Netflix Produce Gokuaku Joo Release Commemorative Event ~ Very Evil Pro Wrestling (9.12.2024)
Netflix is worth well over 300 billion dollars. I’m not exactly sure what a wrestling show with that kind of backing would like on a consistent basis, but for one night, the corporate overlords at Netflix put their back into making this one match show genuinely great. Let’s get that fact of the way first. Yes, it’s only a one match show. Said match is obviously great, but I’ll hold off on talking about the match in much detail for now. It’ll make an appearance further down this page. But if you’re talking purely about a event’s hit rate, they do comfortably go 1/1 here, so as small of a sample size as that is, you can’t say anyone else batted .1000 on a single show this year, so there is that.
Again, I will continue to praise the success that was the match itself later, but it’s commemorative part of the event that lands this event so high on the list. The star of the show is Yuriyan Retriever, the actress who portrayed Dump Matsumoto in Queen of Villains, and to give her all the credit in the world, she’s fully committed. From her entrance with the heel team, to her impassioned commentary during the match, all the way to her tearful speech afterwards, she makes this event feel like the type of tribute show Dump deserved. Speaking of Dump, she’s right there in the front row. All of her cameos feel great, whether it’s her involvement in the match, or simply when the camera cuts to her in the audience. That aside, you’d be hard pressed not to mention the way in which this is presented.
Pun intended — The production quality is Marvelous.
Korakuen Hall has never looked so alive through the camera lense. Past just the HD quality, there’s these incredible overhead shots and some nice artistic details that help accentuate the time period they invoke. The crowd too, is willing to bring the energy and joy, as they’re seated within this particular cathedral of pro wrestling to do little more than celebrate Dump Matsumoto’s legacy.
Mind you, I don’t speak a lick of Japanese. But there’s a real human quality to this whole show where you don’t need to understand the language to get bought in. You can feel it the whole way through.
The most joyous, well produced, and overall delightful event of the year, all given away for free.
Promotion of the Year:
5.) All Elite Wrestling
If you’re a absence of negatives kind of person, this is completely wrong. AEW has all sorts of negatives. Blights on their product, ideas that are bad from the start, and poor execution of things that could be good. There isn’t one wrestler to blame, there isn’t one thing that sinks their case all the way down to number five. It’s so many things, much too many to list, but on the other hand, AEW still finds a way to pump out good wrestling in between all the bad.
In fact, they do it more than anyone else.
For some reason, that’s hard for people to admit, but AEW runs more shows and has more great workers than anyone else. That’s just a fact
On the flip side, promotions that operate on the level that AEW does are incredibly frustrating. People that directly obsess over this particular product are the type of people that that slow traffic down to gawk at accidents on the side of the road. AEW’s levels of quality vary heavily, and that’s been the case for at least two years now, and analysing it any further than that is a waste of time. For every great Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson performance, there’s a Kyle Fletcher and Chris Jericho shitshow to even it out. Focus on the highs, there’s nothing like the alternative in North America. Focus on the negatives, there’s nothing like the alternative in North America. Funny how that works.
Like rewarding a spoiled child, one that constantly lives in its own shadow of what it should be.
4.) Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Let’s ruffle some feathers, shall we?
This is me being predictive, but there will be others who talk more lovingly about CMLL as 2024’s promotion of the year. I implore you to seek those out as they release, as I can comfortably acknowledge the whole production in CMLL isn’t exactly my speed. That boils down to two things in my mind. The first, and most major, is the six-man tag matches. They are formulaic, not necessarily in a bad way, but in a way I don’t love. They get painfully predictable, and as you start to watch more of them, the highs of them become lower and lower, and the rely more and more on a individual performance or particular interaction to stand out. The guys on the roster, take Titán and Esfinge for example, who are “suited for tags” then stand out in the worst way, as they those interactions or performances in the matches down. Now, when I hear people make that quip about certain wrestlers, I just assume they’re afraid to say they suck. I get it, CMLL is the new hot thing to like in some circles, and people are afraid to be critical. The second thing comes down to one wrestler in particular. Místico. He’s not dragging things down like the two I mentioned by name earlier, but I do not care for his work in the present in the slightest, he’s lazy, a little to showy, and his offense does not float into the upper echelon of the CMLL roster. He’s a bonafide ace figure, not like some fake like a Cody Rhodes or one of three new musketeers in New Japan, he’s a legitimate ace, I won’t deny that, but he’s quite bad in that role, sorry. Worst of all, he’s invested in so much so that it hurts everyone else. Everything and everyone seems to be about or for Místico, and it drags the spotlight away from more talented and deserving wrestlers. If you like Místico — and I can certainly see why people do and I don’t think you’re wrong if you sail in that ship — I’d imagine you’d like CMLL a whole lot more.
Though, I won’t deny the truth,
CMLL has quite a good year despite my problems. The key is the best audience and feeling in all of wrestling. When people talk about things feeling special or magical in wrestling it can feel a bit silly or fake, but in Mexico that unquantifiable thing felt oddly malleable at times. Constant energy from the fans, the high moments of matches and moments hitting so well, and the connection of the workers feeling genuine. That isn’t to say it always hasn’t been that way, but with North American audiences in particular drifting towards being the worst version of themselves ever, that level of wholescale environment and production matters so much more. And hey, there’s plenty of great matches from CMLL this year too. Quite a few from visitors, but inserting them in that environment is as foolproof as generating that “magic” as it gets.
3.) Individually Produced Shows
Images via Fortune Dream, NJPW, Kakuto Tanteidan, Netflix Japan, Indie Junior Festival, and Sareeeism
I debated picking something so vague as this could easily become a trend, but bumping up AEW to 4 and bringing in another promotion in particular felt so bad, so…
The wrestlers themselves put on great show pretty damn often.
Yes, top-to-bottom, there’s problems. Booking a full shows is hard, and these shows aren’t booked by bookers. But the high points and brevity of these shows are a strength unlike anything else this year. Sareee-ISM hit the mark real damn high with two of her three main events. Hikaru Sato Indie Junior festivals all have a collection of short, fun introductions to many workers you’ve never heard of, and again, has a obvious high from one of the shows to speak of. On the other side, the excitement and fun captured by the Queen of Villains event, Despe Invitacional, Taiji Ishimori Produce show, and the second edition of KTDan all had that extra element of love towards what they were trying to accomplish, making them stand out from your typical monthly PPV, tour date, or weekly TV show.
I get it, it’s a oddly convenient, selective type of pick. But cut me some slack, what the hell else was I going to choose?
2.) DEADLOCK Pro Wrestling
Everything you’ve heard about DPW is true. They are the best company on the American independents, bar none. Hell, they’re the best thing in North America. But they’re only number two on the yearly list.
First, the problems that lost them the crown. Well, the problem.
The women’s matches.
Before you commandeer a pitchfork, it has nothing to do with the fact that the women wrestling in DPW are women. Get that gender and ability correlation thought out of your head, it’s complete BS, good wrestlers are good wrestlers regardless of what they identify as. My point is that women’s matches in DPW has everything to do with that they’re just bad. DPW didn’t put on a single notable women’s match, (Nicole Mathews tried and got close) and some of the storytelling and running matchups felt incredibly lazy compared to what they did for the men. I’ve genuinely forgotten as I’m was writing this if Miyuki Takase even defended the title this year. I get it, the American Independents are as barren as ever, and the fact remains there isn’t as many women in wrestling, but there was always a match or two on every DPW card this year that was a waste of time, and I can’t overlook that.
That other 80% was brilliant though.
Two long running title programs with Priest/Kozone and the Tankman reign made their main event scene can’t miss as anywhere else, and on the undercard, guys like Kevin Blackwood, Mad Dog Connelly, and Andrew Everett delivered quality. Steady hands like Violence is Forever were there too, and while they lost Bryan Keith and the Workhorsemen to either injury or AEW, they made good on their appearances too. Speaking of appearances, one-time arrivals like FTR, Fuminori Abe, Roderick Strong hit so damn well, while debutants like Trevor Lee and Adam Priest were treated with care. So rare is it that so much goes right and has direction, and in that category, DPW was best in class this year.
1.) Sendai Girls Pro Wrestling
A last second victory.
There are problems. A thin roster, middling main event scene, and over reliance on wrestlers other than their own. But no one respected my time more this year than Sendai Girls. I’ve spoken a bit about being picky about what I watch, and pretty much everything I chose to watch from Senjo delivers on what it looked like on paper. No other promotion did that. Everyone else I walked away from shows disappointed, and walked away from shows having not liked anything on them.
Here, it was much of the same great things repeated. The two tag teams on the year worked here all year, so did the three best women’s wrestlers, and they’ve housed the start of the best (true) retirement tour to end the year. There’s the Mika Iwata and Saori Anou title reigns, but Meiko Satomura coming home and politicking her way to the title is a hilarious and deserved correction of that debacle. I’m not over the moon about picking a company so steadfast in their beliefs, right or wrong, or a company that often can’t invest in their full roster, but hey, 2024 was what it was. The best balance of frequent highs and infrequent lows was in Sendai.
It is what it is, eh?
Tag Team of the Year:
5.) Sinner & Saint (Judas Icarus & Travis Williams)
From what I watched the correct answer is probably something else, say the Astronauts, but it feels a lot better to pick a team that took a step forward rather than one that took ten steps back.
Then again, with the TNA signing, this might be the only chance for Icarus and Williams to make the list.
The best young tag team on the indies for the first six months of the year, Sinner & Saint spent that time honing their heel act in Prestige wrestling aside Alan Angels as The Noise, getting a real great 2/3 falls tag match out of C4 in the process. There’s a fun defence against Jorel Nelson and Royce Issacs too, and after their TNA signing, they unfortunately get paired up with Josh Alexander. They do go to Canada to win the SMASH wrestling tag titles, wrestling against Motor City Machine Guns before they leave for WWE, and pairing up with the Super Smash Bros, but neither of those matches got off the ground fully. Their appearance in DPW is impressive as well, as they give the team of Mike Bailey and Jake Something they needed to get something good, while the fun spotfest at Action Dean~!!! is somewhat notable as well. There’s bad habits lurking under the water for these two, but when things go right, the combination of speed, tag work, and striking makes Judas Icarus and Travis Williams the most watchable indie style tag workers on the planet.
Crossing my fingers, but not holding my breath that they find a way to go up from here.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. C4 (Prestige 3.24)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- West Coast Wrecking Crew (Prestige 2.25)
- vs. Wasted Youth (Action 4.04)
- vs. Jake Something & Mike Bailey (DPW 6.16)
- vs. Ace Austin & Chris Bey (TNA 6.29)
4.) Conglomeration (Kyle O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Rocky Romero, and Tomohiro Ishii)
Image via All Elite Wrestling
The ledger isn’t that wide, but the Conglomeration was incredibly important to AEW.
There was two or three months time that Cassidy, O’Reilly, and Briscoe were the only babyfaces working in the whole company, and their tag matches against Roderick Strong and his friends made for the only good AEW TV in that stretch. Things do get a bit rocky considering they do some of their best work against eachother, or just as singles competitors in general, but it’s hard to detach myself from this act in general. Great backstage segments, five wrestlers (six if you include Nightengale) that I like quite a bit, and great TV wrestling. Not a complex case, a wide one, or anything that’ll come close to scratching a Tag Team of the Decade list. The year was particularly awful for tag wrestling anyway, so giving it to a group of AEWs best sits just fine with me.
Factions are great when they can run off a vibe alone.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly & Orange Cassidy vs. Roderick Strong, Matt Taven & Mike Bennett (AEW 8.21)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Matt Taven & Mike Bennett (ROH 7.26)
- Orange Cassidy,& Kyle O’Reilly w/ Will Ospreay vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler YUTA, & PAC
- Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Claudio Castagnoli, PAC & Wheeler Yuta (AEW 11.17)
3.) Natural Vibes (U-T, Strong Machine J, Kzy, Flamita, BIG BOSS SHIMIZU, Jason Lee, and Jacky Kamei)
Speaking of which —
Natural Vibes, somehow, does it again. Kzy is still the best wrestler in Dragon Gate despite getting nothing in the form of booking, Shimizu, U-T, Jacky Kamei, and Flamita are some of the more consistent acts in the company, and Strong Machine J and Jason Lee have begun to grow on me. Not all of those names spend the whole year with the group, Shimizu is suspended by the promotion at the end of the year, Kzy steps back as leader, and both Kamei and Lee leave for other stables. Vibes wasn’t the focus onn the year as much as Z-Brats and BIG HUG were, but they easily put on the best work anyway. As the dust settles, there’s three main teams from the group that all pumped out quite a bit of great work. Jason Lee and Kamei are the tag from the first half of the year, replaced by Kzy and Flamita, while the Six man unit of Shimizu, J, and U-T hold the triangle gate belts for a solid before the aforementioned suspension. On top of that the entrance dance is still makes me smile everytime they do it, so yeah, Natural Vibes forever or something like that.
I know, I’m combining the work of three teams. It’s 100% cheating.
But it sure made picking through the barren wasteland of tag wrestling a whole lot easier.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- Jacky Kamei & Jason Lee vs. Kzy & U-T (Dragon Gate 3.18)
- Jacky Kamei & Jason Lee vs. Madoka Kikuta & Dragon Dia (Dragon Gate 3.24)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- BIG BOSS Shimizu & Jacky Kamei vs. Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda (Dragon Gate 1.10)
- Jacky Kamei & Jason Lee vs. Hyo & Luis Mante (Dragon Gate 3.06)
- Jacky Kamei & Jason Lee vs. Susumu Mochizuki & YAMATO (Dragon Gate 3.16)
- BIG BOSS Shimizu, Strong Machine J & U-T vs. ISHIN, KAI & Shun Skywalker (Dragon Gate 5.09)
- vs. Flamita & Kzy vs. Dragon Kid & Naruki Doi vs. Jason Lee & Shun Skywalker vs. Jacky Kamei & Luis Mante (Dragon Gate 7.21)
- BIG BOSS Shimizu, Strong Machine J & U-T vs. BxB Hulk, Minorita & Mochizuki Jr. (Dragon Gate 7.21)
- BIG BOSS Shimizu, Strong Machine J & U-T vs. Homare & KAI & Demus (Dragon Gate 11.3)
2.) Team 200KG (Yuu & Chihiro Hashimoto)
Onto the real tag teams.
They’re not perfect. Never as mean as I feel they could be, or booked as the obstacle for much of anything, both Hash and Yuu have carved out a niche as a steady hand more than anything else. They do the meathead schtick, with the signature crash into each other and flex spot being in all their matches, and they usually have Yuu carry the early control segment and Chihiro cover the finishing stretch. It’s not much of a interesting formula at times, but it just so happens to work so well because of what it invites out of their opponents. As a presence, and as wrestlers alone, Team 200KG must be overcome. They conjure up sympathy, add struggle, and when you someone like Hashimoto throwing bombs down the stretch, formulaic or not, it just works. Add in the fact they wrestled in the only tag heaven of Sendai Girls all year, it’s a pretty easy cut and dry #2 case this year.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Bobu Bobu Momo Banana (Sendai Girls 2.11)
- vs. Bobu Bobu Momo Banana (Sendai Girls 5.18)
- vs. Manami & Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls 9.28)
- vs. Bobu Bobu Momo Banana (Marvelous 10.27)
- vs. Mika Iwata & Sareee (Sendai Girls 12.08)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. Meiko Satomura & Takumi Iroha (Fortune Dream 6.12)
- vs. Lena Kross & VENY (Sendai Girls 9.11)
- vs. Starlight Kid & Mitsuyoshi Amazaki (Sendai Girls 9.13)
1.) Bobu Bobu Momo Banana (Yurika Oka & Mio Momono)
There are certain acts in wrestling that just work because of who’s doing them. These two wear oversized fruit hats, come out to a pretty very annoying theme, are constantly screaming and yelling, and all of that would normally annoy the hell out of me. I guess I’m just to serious of a person to be in on this particular joke on any kind of consistent level, but Mio and Oka have willed this 150% over the top silliness into my favorite act in wrestling.
Naturally, that starts and ends with the wrestling. These two are fireballs of passion and the drive to win. It’s palpable, you can feel it, that their goofy act is part cover to hide their desire of glory and part self inflicted facade to distract them from the pressure of winning. It makes them infinitely likeable, something most of their matches lean into, with great control segments and hot tags, and fiery (and fun) babyface comebacks. Classic stuff that makes tag wrestling special, you know?
When it comes down to the numbers, even all that feeling withholding, this wasn’t even close.
Being the better half of the tag rivalry of the year with Team 200KG is grounds alone for the #1 placement, but hell, there’s more too. Oka and Momono did it all, built confidence, lost it, got built up, broken back down against everyone and anyone, and made everyone look good just by being in it. They’ll laugh, scream, and cry, and if there’s anything in wrestling that’ll make you do those three things, you might as well do it right beside them.
2024’s Tag Team of the Year.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Team 200 KG (Sendai Girls 2.11)
- vs. Team 200 KG (Sendai Girls 5.18)
- vs. Mika Iwata & Miyuki Takase (Sendai Girls 5.19)
- vs. Chihiro Hashimoto & ZONES (Sendai Girls 9.13)
- vs. DASH Chisako & Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls 10.14)
- vs. Team 200 KG (Marvelous 10.27)
- vs. DASH Chisako & Mika Iwata (Sendai Girls 12.22)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. Manami & Ryo Mizunami (Sendai Girls 7.15)
- w/ Ryo Mizunami vs. VENY, Lena Kross & ZONES (Sendai Girls 11.17)
- vs. VENY & Lena Kross (Sendai Girls 12.08)
Wrestler of the Year:
25.) Mad Dog Connelly
There are others I considered for this spot. David Finlay was quite literally penciled in here at one point, but the first six months of his year doomed his case once I started looking at the numbers. Someone like Sami Zayn has a good year on WWE TV, but his big matches don’t go big enough, and on the flip side, Blue Panther, who had a bit of a career resurgence, doesn’t quite have enough in the margins. Even a case like Timothy Thatcher, didn’t quite feel right either.
So, I scratched my hot take.
I haven’t quite taken the Mad Dog pill just yet, but he’s one of the 25 best wrestlers on the planet, no doubt. The climb was always if he was going to have enough to get there, and as I look at it, I think he does. Now, when you read the WOTY cases to others will certainly publish on Mad Dog, you’ll see violence as a key to his year. Blood, brutality, dirt, grit, grime; all those words will be used. Those, while true, aren’t what I admired about Connelly’s year. Don’t get me wrong, the blood feud with Manders and the slice of carnage with Demus at DEAN~!!! certainly fit that bill, but to me, I’ve always appreciated Connelly’s ability to maximize things. One example is this promo he posted on Twitter leading up to what was a seven minute loss in DPW. A match that certainly just happens against someone I don’t find all that interesting, and Connelly’s went out of his way to make it feel as special as possible. Sure, the match was forgettable, but that promo stuck with me. It might just be amoung my favorites of the year.
On the other hand, his matches in SLA still manage to have that violent feel despite being in a weirdly bright venue filled with dull crowds, and the cast he often wrestles with are people you’ve never even heard of. It helps that he branched out into more notable places in the latter-half of the year, sure, and those are the matches I’m going to recommend you see. But seeing where Mad Dog practically started, and seeing any kind of quality from those shows, is something more admirable than I initially gave him credit for. And the future? Unbelievably bright.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Demus (ACTION 4.04)
- vs. Kevin Blackwood (DPW 12.15)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. 1 Called Manders (SLA 1.26)
- vs. Tank (SCI 7.12)
- vs. 1 Called Manders (WxW 10.04)
- vs. Fuminori Abe (WxW 10.06)
24.) Soberano Jr.
Soberano Jr. doesn’t exactly have a marquee year in the ring, certainly not the one he could’ve if he’d been granted more singles work, nor is his wrestling my favorite of the CMLL contingencies anyway. What he is though, is one of the only god-honest stars in professional wrestling. His adoration from the CMLL faithful (particularly the women) is genuine, his masks and presentation are unrivaled, and his character antics fit so well with the turn to rudo stemming from last year. He may not be a spreadsheet darling, but he’s a attention magnet in the best way possible.
That isn’t to say there isn’t quality. His long running work with Atlantis Jr. is usually good for a great match here and there, both when they were thrown together as a dysfunctional tag team, and as rivals. I can’t speak much to his efforts in six-man tag settings — I’ve mentioned earlier those aren’t my favored viewing of CMLL — but from what I can tell he brings his fantastic rudo work in those matches can go beyond the tiresome formula. But hey, if those tags are more of your speed, I can imagine wanting to have him higher. To each their own, but I take solace in knowing that Soberano’s low placement is more a damning statement on my tastes than on the year itself.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- w/ Templario & Euforia vs. Akuma, Villano III Jr. & Zandokan Jr. (CMLL 5.31)
- vs. Atlantis Jr. (CMLL 9.27)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. Templario (NJPW 2.18)
- w/ Atlantis Jr. vs. Hechicero & Stuka Jr. (CMLL 3.22)
- w/ Atlantis Jr. vs. Mascara Dorada 2.0 & Rocky Romero (CMLL 3.29)
- w/ Angel de Oro & Hechicero vs. Atlantis Jr., Mascara Dorada & Místico (CMLL 11.08)
23.) Mei Seira
The best thing in Stardom.
Maybe I’m coping with the amount of Stardom I gave a chance and shouldn’t of, and having even a single worker from one of the weakest promotions on earth is a bad idea. I do fully believe Mei is one of, if not the most endearing wrestler walking the planet despite all that, and I always find her efforts admirable. Most importantly, Mei seems to have a understanding of her character, and it’s the type of character I love. She’s this mix of a loveable underdog mixed with a eight year old kid that drank one too many juice boxes, all with a sprinkle of confidence on top. Her backstage comments consistently oozed a type of genuine positivity that was hard not to be drawn to, and as much as the volume of quality matches matter to me, sometimes someone shines brighter by being the best thing going on a larger scale. For Mei, she often felt like the only thing going right in Stardom. Whether is was her work early in the year alongside Suzu Suzuki as Crazy Star, having a majority of the very few good individual performances in the 5Star Grand Prix, or her trips outside of the Bushiroad hellscape, Mei found a consistency unmatched by her peers. While it is unfortunate she got let down more than picked up, I can’t hold that against her, of all people.
Anyway, often times, it’s about what you can do. Seems appropriate for someone like Mei.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Haruka Umesaki (Diana 4.29)
- vs. Saya Iida (Stardom 8.18)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. Hazuki (Stardom 2.4)
- w/ Suzu Suzuki vs. Hazuki & Koguma (Stardom 5.05)
- vs. Starlight Kid (Stardom (6.22)
- w/ Kohaku vs. Natsupoi & Saori Anou (Stardom 10.26)
22.) Sheamus
Image via World Wrestling Entertainment
Speaking of things that aren’t what they could be for promotional reasons, Sheamus.
I think there’s a world that exists out there where Sheamus is the best TV wrestler on the planet. That world probably has WWE as a consistent promotion of the year winner, so it’s not exactly a world I want to live in, but what I mean is that Sheamus has it in him. As with his whole career, all the good exists so long has you find it, and whoever is in charge of booking the Irishman can’t find shit. I was fooled into thinking that the two year on-and-off program with Gunther would finally break into some consistent appearances, but alas, I was wrong. Still stuck in the Intercontinental title picture, and still shackled with NXT tweeners, and not even a single IC title win to show for it. What Sheamus does anyway is have multiple very good to great matches with 2024 Pete Dunne, does the same with Ludwig Kaiser, gets the best match out of Bron Breakker despite a screwy finish, and once again, puts on something great with Gunther. He does all of this while missing time with a injury, getting non-constant TV time and little to nothing to build these feuds (The Breakker match is literally setup on WWE Speed), and shines through it all. None of his peers within the fed do anything near as impressive aside from a few single-night miracles, so even without a full year of work, Sheamus puts together a better 365 than any other performer in WWE.
Every time he’s called upon, Sheamus goes out there, hits hard, and usually ends up beating something decent into whoever he’s out there with. He’s made his own WWE-suited style of brawling, and not only is it admirable, it’s great. So, as easy it is to point as someone like Gunther, Zayn, or Gable as the best wrestlers in the WWE, efforts from year’s like this make Sheamus my go to guy from the fed. You won’t catch me missing a fight night anytime soon.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Gunther (WWE 5.06)
- vs. Ludwig Kaiser (WWE 6.03)
- vs. Pete Dunne (WWE 8.19)
- vs. Pete Dunne (WWE 10.07)
- vs. Bron Breakker (WWE 11.11)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. Ludwig Kaiser (WWE 8.05)
21.) Adam Page
Let’s go back-to-back-to-back on things on the “should’ve beens” shall we?
The root for Hangman is much more simple, and it’s the most major thing he did all year. The Swerve Strickland feud. Not the heel turn, not the work with Jarrett, none of that. The Swerve matches just aren’t good, sorry. The ideal version of that matc happened last year, and I get wanting to capitalize on the popularity of the whole thing, but there was nothing to actually capitalize on. But whatever, right?
In 2024, there was more than enough to like.
Again, none of the stuff with Swerve — minus him burning down his house, that was cool as hell — does much for me. But between all that, he has another solid showing with Danielson, has great interactions with Jarrett, and gets himself a Darby Allin match as well. There’s a real gem in the JD Drake match too early in the year, which stands as the most recent great babyface performance from Hanger. The thing that assured Page got here though, is the first Jay White match. There are a fair share of miracles in wrestling this year, but none are more impressive than that the one. Shame on them for doing a wildly boring duel leg work match their second go around, but God himself only worked so many miracles too.
No longer the heart and soul of AEW, Adam Page is much more than Hangman than anything else. Still, Page is still a great wrestler.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. JD Drake (AEW 1.13)
- vs. Jay White (AEW 10.12)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. Claudio Castagnoli (AEW 1.10)
- vs. Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland (AEW 3.03)
- vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW 7.10)
- vs. Darby Allin (AEW 7.31)
- Casino Gauntlet Match (AEW 8.25)
- vs. Jeff Jarrett (AEW 9.25)
- vs. Juice Robinson (AEW 10.02)
20. Atlantis Jr.
In 2024, it feels like Atlantis Jr. is finally seen for what he is. Not a breathtaking high flyer, a llave style expert, and most importantly, not his father. Gone are the over-zealous pushes, and the desperate threads connecting him to something he’s not. It’s not the year he had in ’22, or the year he had in ’23 either. There are more than 20 workers that are better than Atlantis Jr, and there are more than 20 that got more opportunities. The master of none even in the sphere of Lucha Libre, but for everything that he isn’t, he finds way to make up for it when it matters, and in that way, 2024 is the most important year he’s had yet. Right now, there’s always a extra trick in the bag, or a upswing in his matches that shouldn’t exist.
Like many of his other peers in CMLL, there isn’t much of anything in the upper-echelon in matches. There’s one example, the Hechicero match during the Fantastic mania tour, but that’s more of a personal favorite than anything else. The bottom line is that there isn’t many more workers that have matches that are as easy to watch, or performers that are as effortlessly magnetic. The mark of a great career isn’t how many opportunities a man gets, or how many titles they hold, or when they hold them. I could care less that Atlantis Jr was given the ROH TV title. Over the course of any great career those accomplishments even out, and the years like where it was fun to watch someone do something with nothing that’ll make the most difference.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Hechicero (NJPW/CMLL 2.19)
- vs. Soberano Jr. (CMLL 9.27)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- w/ Soberano Jr. vs. Hechicero & Stuka Jr. (CMLL 3.22)
- w/ Soberano Jr. vs. Mascara Dorada 2.0 & Rocky Romero (CMLL 3.29)
- vs. Mascara Dorada vs. Místico (CMLL 4.19)
- w/ Mascara Dorada vs. Gran Guerrero & Stuka Jr. (CMLL 6.01)
- Torneo Cibernetico (CMLL 8.23)
- w/ Templario & Titan vs. Los Guerreros Laguneros (CMLL 9.20)
- vs. Brian Cage (AEW 10.12)
- vs. Stuka Jr. (CMLL 11.02)
- w/ Mascara Dorada & Místico vs. Angel de Oro, Hechicero & Soberano Jr. (CMLL 11.08)
19.) Adam Priest
The beating heart of the American Independents.
Priest doesn’t have the year he’s had the previous two. As someone who avoided a sophomore slump after his breakout, that’s a bit weird to see a step into greener pastures knocking him down the list. Maybe keeping a foot in the Southeast hurts, can’t say the ACTION title scene matters too much anymore, and constantly being paired with Krule for a traveling version of a IWTV title match is far from anything even someone as great as Priest can make interesting. Whatever it is, the Alabama-native still rolls with the same strengths he did in the past. He’s the ultimate cynical heel, and he doesn’t need a world title to do it.
So, while Priests go to slogan has always been the same of his beloved Crimson Tide, it should probably be something to do with consistency.
Whether he was propping up LaBron Kozone, getting the best out of Kevin Blackwood, dragging something different out of Manders, finding what’s left of Masato Tanaka and KUSHIDA, or having a nice showcase with Slim J, Adam Priest always does the same thing, he cheats, he picks apart a limb, stooges it up, and win or lose, his matches feel rewarding, and they deliver.
Alabama football could never.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Slim J (ACTION 4.04)
- vs. Kevin Blackwood (DPW 5.19)
- vs. 1 Called Manders (SCI 9.07)
- vs. Manders (ACTION 11.22)
- vs. Labron Kozone (DPW 12.08)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. LaBron Kozone (DPW 6.16)
- vs. Kevin Blackwood (DPW 8.18)
- vs. Masato Tanaka (DPW 10.13)
- vs. KUSHIDA (DPW 11.17)
18.) Mark Briscoe
I wish Mark had a better year than it ended up being.
I wish he was positioned as one of the major babyfaces in AEW. I wish the Conglomeration had bigger opportunities, and I wish the ROH title reign had a more satisfying conclusion. The fact is none of that is the reality we lived through, and I wish a lot of things when it comes to the Tonyverse that simply aren’t going to happen.
Luckily, he comes on strong late, just a bit too late. Maybe I wouldn’t have that sentiment had I liked the ROH title win over Eddie Kingston early in the year, but the fact is I didn’t. Three months later there’s the fantastic match with Strong for the ROH championship, and sandwiched between that are Kyle Fletcher and Johnny TV title defenses, which, are skippable for obvious reasons. He then has two title matches to end the reign with Chris Jericho, one of which he loses, and again, for obvious reasons those suck. That frees up Briscoe for more time on AEW TV, meaning more matches with the Conglomeration and another Continental Classic run. All of that is a blessing in disguise, as Mark gets to work with better people, and flex his chops. The ultimate babyface, always a crowd-pleaser, and if he can find anyone to work across from that behaves, he’ll get something good. He even makes Kyle Fletcher behave their second match, beats the punk, and could be worth you seeing. Another one of those miracles I’ve spoken about, but really, the year Mark has nothing to do with luck. He makes good with what he gets, and even without his brother by his side, the remaining half of Dem Boyz showed he still has plenty left in the tank.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- w/ Darby Allin & FTR vs. Roderick Strong, The Beast Mortos, Matt Taven & Mike Bennett (AEW 1.08)
- vs. Roderick Strong (ROH 7.26)
- w/ Kyle O’Reilly & Orange Cassidy vs. Roderick Strong, Matt Taven & Mike Bennett (AEW 8.21)
- vs. Bryan Keith (AEW 9.18)
- vs. Daniel Garcia (AEW 12.07)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- Casino Gauntlet Match (AEW 8.25)
- vs. Lance Archer (AEW 9.06)
- w/ Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Claudio Castagnoli, PAC & Wheeler Yuta (AEW 11.17)
- vs. Kyle Fletcher (AEW 12.12)
17.) Orange Cassidy
The best babyface in AEW.
AEW has yet to strike the right balance with Orange Cassidy. For the second straight year, Cassidy is a consistent TV tag guy, and delivers a few real good PPV singles matches, and has his best match with Jon Moxley. Unfortunately, all the stuff with Trent Beretta ends up flopping pretty hard, and his off-again, on-again involvement with the International title was nothing short of lazy, but the result of all that is the formation of the Conglomeration, who do carry AEW television for a few months the last half of the year. The pursuing problem with Orange is that no matter how many times lightning seems to strike, AEW never fully pulls the trigger, and he quietly fades back into something that can feel novel. That’s not some great injustice though, Cassidy doesn’t need a world title or to be the key focus of a product, he just can’t be another guy, and for most of the year, I don’t think he was. The shift into the Death Rider storyline does him lots of good, and the darker ring gear and more serious take on his character gave him the next step into forming into a world championship level act.
At the end of the day, Cassidy has the aforementioned fantastic word title match with Mox, great singles efforts with Zack Sabre Jr. and Roderick Strong, along with all the tag stuff as well. It’s about the level I could ever reasonably expect from Cassidy. He’s never someone I expect to push into the top 10, and as an act I’ve always enjoyed, watching him be used (mostly) correct is a treat.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Roderick Strong (AEW 3.03)
- vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (AEW/NJPW 6.30)
- w/ Mark Briscoe & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Matt Taven, Mike Bennett & Roderick Strong (AEW 8.21)
- vs. Jon Moxley (AEW 11.23)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- w/ Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty (AEW 4.21)
- w/ Will Ospreay vs. Roderick Strong & Trent Beretta (AEW 5.22)
- Casino Gauntlet Match (AEW 5.29)
- vs. Kyle O’Reilly (AEW 6.08)
- vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Roderick Strong (AEW 8.14)
- Casino Gauntlet Match (AEW 8.25)
- w/ Kyle O’Reilly & Will Ospreay vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta & PAC (AEW 9.04)
- w/ Darby Allin vs. Claudio Castagnoli & PAC (AEW 11.06)
- vs. Wheeler Yuta (AEW 11.20)
16.) Hikaru Sato
The first volume pick.
I’m not sure what changed for Sato. There’s nothing tangible I can think of, Sato feels the same as he’s been for years. Somehow, there’s just more great stuff from him than he usually puts out in a year’s work, and even more miraculously, it’s more diverse than you’d expect.
Though, I do have a theory.
The year has never mattered to Hikaru Sato. He’s going to work in the barren wasteland of AJPW, and he’s going to do it too often. He’s going to do the weird comedy stuff in YMZ, he’ll run a handful of shows of his own, maybe show up in GLEAT, do his laps in Tenryu Project, and take a booking from DDT, NOAH, or NJPW if he comes across it. Lots of it won’t make film, but it doesn’t matter. From what any reasonable person will seek out, Sato will only do two things. Striking and Grappling. Hikaru Sato is very good at those two things. It’s not more complex that that.
If you must make it difficult, there is the diversity aspect. I guess you could say Sato wrestles other adjacent styles of matches with some more frequency. The Fighting Detectives-style match with Abe, the GLEAT idea of shoot-style with Ito, and the total grapplefuck with Keita Yano are nice little steps off the normal beaten path if you want to look at it that way. There’s fun performances against Dan Tamura and Zack Sabre Jr. that get it right by meeting in the middle. Really though, every good to great Hikaru Sato match focuses on those two things, and that’s not going to change any time soon.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Fuminori Abe (Hikaru Sato Produce 3.28)
- vs. Takanori Ito (GLEAT 4.17)
- vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW 6.10)
- vs. Dan Tamura (AJPW 7.15)
- vs. Keita Yano (Tenryu Project 7.17)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- w/ Hideki Suzuki vs. Mizuki Watase & Shigehiro Irie (Tenryu Project 5.20)
- w/ Dan Tamura vs. MUSASHI & Seiki Yoshioka (AJPW 6.24)
- vs. Mizuki Watase (Tenryu Project 8.22)
- vs. Kosei Fujita (Hard Hit 9.26)
- vs. Kosuke Sato (Kakuto Tanteidan 10.23)
15.) Yurika Oka
Not just Mio Momono’s partner, despite it appearing that way.
That and other things, Yurika Oka is the only person on this list that’s younger than me, one of the reasons Sendai Girls is one of the best promotions of the year, the best young babyface in the world, maybe the tag worker of the year, and sneakily, maybe one of my favorite women’s wrestlers on the planet.
I say that all because it is her year long run aside Mio Momono in Bobu Bobu Momo Banana that makes up the bulk of her work, but unlike other tag-centric wrestlers, Oka can do it without Mio too. She’s constantly wrestling tag matches on the midcard with the cast of names in Senjo, and is great in them all. With Mio, of course, she’s great. The perfect pairing, someone who can match Mio’s energy and silliness, but also someone who can look like an even bigger underdog. Generally, regardless of setting, Oka brings the constant heart and fire to every match she’s in, and while it’s more often that not she’s the one taking the pin or getting rolled over, it all serves to make her more magnetic. Not too shabby for a Banana.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- w/ Mio Momono vs. Team 200 KG (Sendai Girls 2.11)
- w/ Mio Momono vs. Team 200 KG (Sendai Girls 5.18)
- w/ Mio Momono vs. Mika Iwata & Miyuki Takase (Sendai Girls 5.19)
- w/ Mio Momono vs. Chihiro Hashimoto & ZONES (Sendai Girls 9.13)
- w/ Mio Momono vs. DASH Chisako & Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls 10.14)
- w/ Mio Momono vs. Team 200 KG (Marvelous 10.27)
- w/ Mio Momono vs. DASH Chisako & Mika Iwata (Sendai Girls 12.22)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. Sareee (Sendai Girls 4.14)
- w/ Mio Momono vs. Manami & Ryo Mizunami (Sendai Girls 7.15)
- vs. Miyuki Takase (Sendai Girls 8.24)
- vs. Haruka Umesaki (Sendai Girls 10.18)
- w/ Sareee vs. Mika Iwata & Miyuki Takase (Sendai Girls 11.09)
- w/ Mio Momono & Ryo Mizunami vs. VENY, Lena Kross & ZONES (Sendai Girls 11.17)
- w/ Mio Momono vs. VENY & Lena Kross (Sendai Girls 12.08)
14.) Jon Moxley
A full on WOTY case, but much, much too many holes.
Maybe what I’m doing to Mox is a bit unfair. The IWGP championship reign is awful — both Naito matches included, don’t kid yourselves people — through no real fault of his own, and while he’s the man to retire Danielson, the post match angle greatly overshadows the match, and again, not Mox’s fault on that either. You can even say the same thing about the non-commital nature AEW is taking towards the whole Death Riders thing going on to end the year too. All of those things individually, I have no problem waving my hand, and ignoring. But when poking holes at a full year’s resume, the whole “I forgive you” schtick gets old real quick, and Mox’s case in particular starts to drown. Who knows, higher peaks and maybe Mox’s top 10 case can swim, but this is the best I can do.
All that said, the resume should speak for itself. It’s more than good enough for this year. Mox got a lot to do in AEW and made good on most of it match-wise, while he is a big part of one of the high points in one of the best matches in Mexico too. Mox is still Mox, mechanically, there isn’t many better than the man, and there are multiple reminders of that throughout the year. A violent bully, a presence that’s unmatched at its best, and someone who feels as authentic as anyone else. Call him the best in the world, and I’d have no problem with it. Still, his worst year of the decade.
And that’s saying something.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- w/ Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson & Matt Sydal vs. Blue Panther, Místico. Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr. (CMLL 3.29)
- vs. Konosuke Takeshita (AEW 5.26)
- vs. Darby Allin (AEW 9.25)
- vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW 10.12)
- vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW 11.23)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. Shingo Takagi (NJPW 1.13)
- vs. Lee Moriarty (AEW 1.24)
- w/ Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Hechicero, Mascara Dorada & Volador Jr. (AEW 2.07)
- vs. Dax Hardwood (AEW 2.14)
- w/ Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli vs. FTR & Eddie Kingston (AEW 2.28)
- vs. Josh Barnett (Bloodsport 6.22)
13.) Konosuke Takeshita
On the flip side from someone like Sato, Konosuke Takeshita has nothing to do with volume, because Konosuke Takeshita is not a consistent wrestler. A bit more a asterisk by that statement nowadays, and besides, what he does have is one of the top five matches on the year, another in the top 15, two other really good matches, and despite being the worst part of all four of them, I cannot deny the truth.
Against anyone that matters, Konosuke Takeshita might just be the best big match wrestler in the world.
That’s sort of partial credit, but it’s not something I thought I’d ever say. This year though, Soup found himself doing some things that are different. The finest example is his take on the invader archetype in the G1, which ends up as one of my favorite stretches in wrestling last year. Back in AEW, there’s the Jon Moxley match, a very good, partially unrealised little piece of work where he puts on a focused and mean attack on a body part, something I never thought I’d see him having so much success at. That and his entrance into the Darby Death category in January was among the finest efforts in a category full of great matches. Even the first Will Ospreay match is something that I consider watchable too.
Sure, Soup has more bad matches than anyone else on the list. The two MLP main events against Josh Alexander and Mike Bailey are bad, as is the triple threat with Will and Ricochet, and of course, the two G1 matches against the two worst wrestlers in New Japan with Henare and ELP are worthless too. But for once all these suck not because he’s miscast, or because his energy lacking, it’s because he wrestled other people’s matches. Konosuke Takeshita is not a miracle worker, and he never will be. He throws bombs, the best damn elbow in wrestling, and it’s usually been up to his opponents to make that mean something. More often that not, things work out for him, and he climbs his way onto these lists.
This year though, there was a little more effort from Soup himself to will his way on here.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Darby Allin (AEW 1.03)
- vs. Jon Moxley (AEW 5.26)
- vs. Yuya Uemura (NJPW 7.25)
- vs. Hirooki Goto (NJPW 8.04)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- w/ Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Sting & Darby Allin (AEW 1.10)
- vs. Yuma Aoyagi (DDT 3.17)
- vs. Tommy Billington (AEW 7.10)
- vs. Masato Tanaka (DDT 7.21)
- vs. Oleg Boltin (NJPW 8.10)
- vs. Ren Narita (NJPW 8.14)
- vs. Yota Tsuji (NJPW 8.15)
- vs. The Beast Mortos (AEW 9.06)
12.) Jacky Kamei
This one will sneak up on you.
Jacky Kamei has always been someone who’s easy to enjoy. The type of guy who is perfect for the tag matches in Dragon Gate, and ever year, there’s always a clip of him going around doing something you’ve never seen before. It never dawned on me that Kamei would ever have a shot at a list like this; a Dream Gate run will likely never be in the cards, and whether it was true or not, he was always positioned as the lesser half of any unit or tag team he’s in
If anything, that worsened last year. Jason Lee turns on Kamei, breaking up the best team in DG, and Kami breaks off from Natural Vibes to join BIG HUG, where he’s positioned as the pin eater under both the Dream and Brave Gate champions. He at least feels like a important character, being the catalyst in the annual Dead or Alive apuesta, but again, that ends up being about the other members of the cage match as much as it is about him. Despite all that, Kamei has a incredibly wide resume. Great in tags as per usual, and quite good in shortened singles action as well. Almost all of his work manages to be exciting in some shape or form, and unlike some of his contemporaries in the same company, he doesn’t waste his time with pointless limbwork or absurd runtimes. Kamei knows what works — cool ass lucharesu spots and underdog babyface work — and there’s no one in DG who’s currently better at doing what works than he is.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Luis Mante (Dragon Gate 1.11)
- w/ Jason Lee vs. Kzy & U-T (Dragon Gate 3.18)
- w/ Jason Lee vs. Madoka Kikuta & Dragon Dia (Dragon Gate 3.24)
- w/ Luis Mante vs. Dragon Kid & Naruki Doi vs. Flamita & Kzy v. Jason Lee & Shun Skywalker (Dragon Gate 7.21)
- w/ Luis Mante & Hyo vs. Gold Class vs. Z-Brats (Dragon Gate 11.03)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- w/ BIG BOSS Shimizu vs. Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda (Dragon Gate 1.10)
- w/ Jason Lee vs. Hyo & Luis Mante (Dragon Gate 3.06)
- w/ Jason Lee vs. Susumu Mochizuki & YAMATO (Dragon Gate 3.16)
- Steel Cage Survival Five-Way Match (Dragon Gate 5.05)
- vs. Kzy (Dragon Gate 5.19)
- vs. U-T (Dragon Gate 5.25)
- w/ Riiita & Ryoya Tanaka vs. Home Economics Dragon, Pantera Jr. & U-T (Dragon Gate 11.07)
- vs. Hyo (Dragon Gate 12.01)
- w/ Ryu Fuda vs. Daiki Yanagiuchi & Hyo (Dragon Gate 12.03)
11.) Shinya Aoki
This is not a volume case.
Shinya Aoki had only wrestled five total matches before August, and ends the year with under 30 total. His KO-D title reign lasts less than three months, and he has to wrestle Chris Brookes and Tetsuya Endo for two of his defenses. All that, at Aoki almost cracks the top 10.
If he were to ever wrestle a full year, or if DDT would give him a lengthy title reign like they gave Yuki Ueno, I’m not sure he wouldn’t be the, or one of two or three best wrestlers of the year. What he does have in his little time active is the two of the three best title matches in Japan, a couple excellent preview tag matches for those title bouts, and even in those KO-D defenses against deeply unlikeable wrestlers like Endo and Brookes, he gets something decent. It’s a testament to his style — one which has become more unique than it ever should’ve — that he can pump out great matches. Aoki makes anyone he’s wrestling earn even the littlest things, with the centralized idea always being that Aoki can pin anyone for a three count at a moments notice. He wastes no time in his matches, and that fact alone makes him one of the most watchable wrestlers in the entire world.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Chihiro Hashimoto (DDT 4.07)
- vs. Yuki Ueno (DDT 8.25)
- w/ Yuya Koroku vs Yuki Ueno & HARASHIMA (DDT 10.03)
- w/ Yuki Ueno vs. HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada (DDT 10.13)
- vs. HARASHIMA (DDT 10.20)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. El Lindaman (GLEAT 7.01)
- vs. Tetsuya Endo (DDT 9.08)
- w/ HARASHIMA vs. Jun Akiyama & Keigo Nakamura (DDT 9.29)
- vs. Shunma Katsumata (DDT 10.20)
10.) Fuminori Abe
The ideal version is gone, but what’s left still feels great.
Fuminori Abe’s transformation into a deeply frustrating wrestler isn’t something I initially expected, was something I was initially annoyed by, but after thinking about it and looking at the numbers, reality isn’t so shocking. Abe’s always been the goofier half of the Astronauts, and someone who’s never been destined for the top of the Strong division in BJW. I’m guessing it’s around 2021 where Abe realised this, so despite being too loyal for his own good, and his continued exploits in Basara and AJPW prove it, Abe has branched out even more. More obscure indies, a trip to GCW and DPW stateside, and more exploits in Germany, Abe has become a man about volume. He no longer maximizes what he’s given. He’ll work the corny matches with MAO in DDT and do the even less funny stuff for the TV title in All Japan. But he’ll also tie up with Timothy Thatcher and Roderick Strong, wrestle Violence is Forever, and bully poor Kozo Hashimoto in BJW. It’s an interesting development, and one of the rare cases where someone does more by not being the best they can be.
In 2024, does a lot, has the highlights, had a wide case, and no matter how weird it both feels and looks, he’s the tenth best wrestler of the year.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- w/ Takuya Nomura vs. Violence is Forever (GCW 2.9)
- vs. Dan Tamura (AJPW 2.20)
- vs. Hikaru Sato (Hikaru Sato Produce 3.28)
- w/ Takuya Nomura vs. Chicharito Shoki & Kazumasa Yoshida (BJW 5.4)
- vs. Roderick Strong (DPW 5.19)
- w/ Yuki Ueno vs. HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura (DDT 6.16)
- w/ Takuya Nomura vs. Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu (Basara 6.21)
- vs. Timothy Thatcher (WxW 10.3)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (AJPW 3.12)
- vs. Yu Iizuka (Bloodsport 6.22)
- vs. Kozo Hashimoto (FLASH 6.30)
- w/ Takuya Nomura vs. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (Baka Gaijin + Friends 7.02)
- w/ Takuya Nomura vs. Daichi Hashimoto & Satsuki Nagao (BJW 8.25)
- w/ Takuya Nomura vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & So Daimonji (BJW 8.28)
- vs. Mad Dog Connelly (WxW 10.6)
- w/ Yuki Ishikawa vs. Kazunari Murakami & Takuya Nomura (Kakuto Tanteidan 10.23)
9.) Chihiro Hashimoto
More than anyone else, Chihiro Hashimoto invites the best out of anyone she’s paired with.
For the first time, that’s a bit of a problem for Big Hash. Looking at all of her notable matches on the year, I’m not sure she’s the best part of any of them. Often times that just means Sareee or Mio Momono are better, which, is a given for anyone else on the planet. What’s real is what’s real, but Hash still has the run alongside Yuu as runner-ups for tag team of the year, still feels like the reliable hand in the best promotion of the year despite being phased out in the main event, and is the same great wrestler as ever.
It’s never been a variety case for Chihiro anyway.
She plays the same role. She’s a obstacle, a freak combination of power and speed. As an mountain to climb, there’s no one better. Her very presence invites someone else to step up. The best of none, but part of many.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- w/ Mika Iwata vs. Mio Momono & Sareee (Sendai Girls 1.07)
- vs. Sareee (Sareee-ISM 1.16)
- w/ Yuu vs. Mio Momono & Yurika Oka (Sendai Girls 2.11)
- w/ Sareee vs. Saori Anou & Natsupoi (Stardom 3.09)
- vs. Shinya Aoki (DDT 4.07)
- w/ Yuu vs. Mio Momono & Yurika Oka (Sendai Girls 5.18)
- w/ VENY vs. Sareee & Mayu Iwatani (Sareee-ISM 9.02)
- w/ ZONES vs. Mio Momono & Yurika Oka (Sendai Girls 9.13)
- w/ Yuu vs. Manami & Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls 9.28)
- w/ Yuu vs. Mio Momono & Yurika Oka (Marvelous 10.27)
- w/ Yuu vs. Mika Iwata & Sareee (Sendai Girls 12.08)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. MICHIKO (GLEAT 3.13)
- w/ Yuu vs. Meiko Satomura & Takumi Iroha (Fortune Dream 6.12)
- w/ Yuu vs. Lena Kross & VENY (Sendai Girls 9.11)
- w/ Yuu vs. Starlight Kid & Mitsuyoshi Amazaki (Sendai Girls 9.13)
- vs. Sadie Gibbs (Sendai Girls 11.09)
8.) HARASHIMA
Go Ace.
There’s still lots of wrestling from the 2020’s backlog I need to catch up on, and since 2024 is the first version of this project I’ll be posting, it won’t sound like I’m repeating myself. The thing is, HARASHIMA’s case for this list is the same as it’s been since at least the turn of the decade, and probably since the mid 2010’s. He is not at the forefront of DDT anymore, he does not get the opportunities he should, and yet, he makes good on whatever he gets his hands on.
Because it turns out, at 50 years of age, HARASHIMA still rules.
This year, Mr. DDT does three things of major importance. He first wrestles Yukio Sakaguchi in his retirement match, the result in which is one of the best riff sessions of the year with a emotional punch. He then works a gods honest miracle with Yuki Ueno for the KO-D title, telling a tale of a aging ace trying to turn back the clock, in which spoiler, is one of the best matches of the year. He doubles down later in the year with Shinya Aoki in another brilliant title match, in what shines as one of the most efficient and gripping matches I’ve seen in Japan all decade. The gaps are filled in with the preview tags for all these things, as well as a detail oriented comedy match with Masahiro Takanashi that I enjoyed more than I had any business doing so. That’s it. No lengthy tournament runs, or many other singles matches to speak of. Like I said, he makes good on everything, so get used to it, because I’ll be saying it in year’s past, and I might be saying it in year’s future.
Here’s to hoping that the highly unlikely possibility of HARASHIMA getting more to do next year becomes reality.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Yukio Sakaguchi (DDT 2.07)
- vs. Yuki Ueno (DDT 3.17)
- w/ Keigo Nakamura vs. Fuminori Abe & Yuki Ueno (DDT 6.16)
- w/ Yuki Ueno vs. Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku (DDT 10.03)
- w/ Takeshi Masada vs. Yuki Ueno & Shinya Aoki (DDT 10.13)
- vs. Shinya Aoki (DDT 10.20)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- w/ Shinya Aoki vs. Jun Akiyama & Keigo Nakamura (DDT 9.29)
- w/ Keigo Nakamura vs. Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida (DDT 10.09)
7.) Roderick Strong
Photo via All Elite Wrestling
Strong’s placement at number eight starts the run of wrestlers that had truly complete years, and marks the start of wrestlers I’d be comfortable saying they’d make the top 25 in any year.
That aside, a return to form for Rod-dog. Far from his greatest year ever, but even shackled with Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Adam Cole, and a mostly un-funny comedy gimmick at different points in the year, it didn’t matter. Give him five minutes and someone decent on the other side of the ring, Roddy was going to get you something good.
Primarily, Strong spends the year being the bad guy. Programs with Kyle O’Reilly, Will Ospreay, and Orange Cassidy for the International title make up the majority of his major work in AEW, while the gaps get filled with a tags alongside the aforementioned Taven and Bennett. There’s some good babyface stuff in there too, with a real great TV match against Shane Taylor being the best example. His marquee work comes outside of his home promotion though. One of the best heel performances of the year against Mark Briscoe in ROH, a delightful slugfest against Fuminori Abe in DPW, and another lockup with Timothy Thatcher in Prestige all highlight his year. That isn’t even to mention that if not for some sick little freak in the same company, he’d probably be TV wrestler of the year too.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Roddy has been one of my guys for a while now, and to see him sink his teeth into a whole body of work once again was a delight. Because Roderick Strong is what he always was, and always will be.
A great professional wrestler.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- w/ The Beast Mortos, Matt Taven & Mike Bennett vs. Darby Allin, FTR & Mark Briscoe (AEW 1.08)
- vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW 3.03)
- vs. Kyle O’Reilly (AEW 4.21)
- vs. Fuminori Abe (DPW 5.19)
- vs. Timothy Thatcher (Prestige 7.12)
- vs. Mark Briscoe (ROH 7.26)
- w/ Matt Taven & Mike Bennett vs. Kyle O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy (AEW 8.21)
- vs. Shane Taylor (AEW 11.02)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. Bryan Keith (AEW 1.10)
- vs. Matt Sydal (AEW 1.20)
- w/ Trent Beretta vs. Orange Cassidy & Will Ospreay (AEW 5.22)
- vs. Will Ospreay (AEW 5.26)
- vs. Lio Rush (AEW 5.30)
- vs. Swerve Strickland (AEW 6.05)
- vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW 8.14)
- Casino Gauntlet Match (AEW 8.25)
- vs. The Beast Mortos (AEW 11.07)
6.) Darby Allin
Image via Bleacher Report/All Elite Wrestling
Far and away the TV wrestler of the year.
Darby Allin is the only wrestler on this list where it feels like I’m giving him a unfair placement. I mean, the dude has his own match style/category named after him, something in which I will not ignore. Darby Death is Darby Allin, and by god is it satisfying to watch the twerp get crushed. The little freak can have good matches with anyone so long as they commit to trying to hurt him. No one does it better, not even close, and no one does it more often. The only reason I’d tell you Darby isn’t the best underdog in wrestling is because he transcends that. He’s so good at losing that I don’t care if he doesn’t win, even if I’m rooting for him the whole way.
And I do wish I could go higher. Darby was one of the only must-see acts in wrestling all year. Good singles matches with everyone, with his peak coming in the Continental classic against Will Ospreay, something that stands as one of the best individual efforts all year. There’s others like the repeated efforts with Brody King, nice little gems like the match against The Butcher, as well as the more notable hits against Beast Mortos. Had the Moxley match not dragged for too long, or if he could’ve really put his back into a match with Takeshita or Adam Page, I do imagine he’d have a real shot at the number one spot.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Konosuke Takeshita (AEW 1.03)
- w/ Sting vs. The Young Bucks (AEW 3.03)
- vs. The Beast Mortos (AEW 7.20)
- w/ FTR & Mark Briscoe vs. The Beast Mortos, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett & Roderick Strong (AEW 8.01)
- vs. The Butcher (AEW 8.07)
- vs. Jon Moxley (AEW 9.25)
- vs. Brody King (AEW 10.12)
- vs. Brody King (AEW 11.27)
- vs. Komander (AEW 12.7)
- vs. Will Ospreay (AEW 12.18)
- vs. Claudio Castagnoli (AEW 12.21)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- w/ Sting vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Powerhouse Hobbs (AEW 1.10)
- vs. Jay White (AEW 3.13)
- vs. Adam Page (AEW 7.31)
- w/ Orange Cassidy vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Pac (AEW 11.06)
- vs. Claudio Castagnoli (AEW 11.20)
5.) Mio Momono
The best babyface is the world.
I don’t know if Mio Momono is the best women’s wrestler in the world, but given the other two candidates and the opportunities they received this year, it hardly seems fair to try to come to that conclusion.
Thing is, Mio still leapfrogged one of them. And once again, despite not getting what she has deserved for over two years now, Mio Momono has a year full of hits.
The most important part of Mio’s year is being the engine behind the tag team of the year, but also being the engine behind everything else she was a part of. She’s the highlight of the tag from Netflix produce show for the Dump Matsumoto, gets real good singles matches from YuuRI and Mika Iwata, and does what she can in her to Oz Academy title defenses that are all kinds of backwards for different reasons. Even back in her home promotion of Marvelous, Mio is able to drag a convoluted a #1 contendership three way into something good from her performance alone. She’s the very best version of herself at all turns, making anything look like a credible threat, but always having a little something left in the reserves.
A queen that’ll never get her coronation.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- w/ Sareee vs. Chihiro Hashimoto & Mika Iwata (Sendai Girls 1.07)
- w/ Yurika Oka vs. Team 200 KG (Sendai Girls 2.11)
- vs. YuuRI (Gan☆Pro 2.12)
- w/ Yurika Oka vs. Team 200 KG (Sendai Girls 5.18)
- w/ Yurika Oka vs. Mika Iwata & Miyuki Takase (Sendai Girls 5.19)
- w/ Maria, Riko Kawahata & Takumi Iroha vs. Chikayo Nagashima, DASH Chisako, Drake Morimatsu & Zap T (Netflix Produce 9.12)
- w/ Riko Kawahata vs. Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto (Sareee-ISM 7.29)
- vs. Mika Iwata (Sendai Girls 8.24)
- w/ Yurika Oka vs. Chihiro Hashimoto & ZONES (Sendai Girls 9.13)
- w/ Yurika Oka vs. DASH Chisako & Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls 10.14)
- w/ Yurika Oka vs. Team 200 KG (Marvelous 10.27)
- w/ Yurika Oka vs. DASH Chisako & Mika Iwata (Sendai Girls 12.22)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. AKINO (OZ Academy 1.07)
- vs. Mayumi Ozaki (OZ Academy 4.28)
- w/ Yurika Oka vs. Manami & Ryo Mizunami (Sendai Girls 7.15)
- vs. Riko Kawahata vs. Maria (Marvelous 9.09)
- w/ Yurika Oka vs. VENY, Lena Kross & ZONES (Sendai Girls 11.17)
- w/ Yurika Oka vs. VENY & Lena Kross (Sendai Girls 12.08)
4.) Zack Sabre Jr.
Image via New Japan Pro Wrestling
A career year for ZSJ, and deservedly or not, this king gets his crown.
Hold 2016 for the best year ever thought, maybe that’s the answer. Maybe this is the part where I’m supposed to tell you that Zack frustrates me sometimes too. That he’s a little too BritWres, that he jumps out of holds too quickly, or that sometimes he’s asked to do too much. I’ll beat that point in on other years, I’m sure. Zack has always succeeded either in spite of himself or the companies he works for, so despite not being perfect and never actually being the best technical wrestler in the world like he is so often heralded, ZSJ has his greatest 365 day stretch by being true to himself. He wrestles his match against anyone and everyone, does it in multiple places, and even gets the gold to back it up.
Like every year, Zack isn’t perfect. The SANADA match at royal quest is pretty bad, I couldn’t get into much of the Tag League stuff with Oiwa, and there’s the G1 matches with EVIL and stuff with Matt Riddle that is still on the ledger despite it not being his fault. Most disappointingly, the G1 final with Tsuji and the build towards Wrestle Kingdom with Umino are all incredibly empty. Normally that stuff kind of washes out someone from the top 5, but Zack just has too much to ignore. He’s a real surprising volume case, especially considering some of the names in the boerline list, even with how inconsistent he is in general.
Seriously, look at all the stuff below.
The trips to CMLL are great. The three way round robin with Hechicero and Bryan Danielson is fantastic on all three sides, the G1 run is quite good, and he even goes to Prestige to wrestle Daniel Makabe. I even liked his trip to DDT over WrestleMania weekend, despite the match running 30 minutes and featuring 3 other wrestlers less consistent than ZSJ.
Just a year that seems more bizarre and unlikely the more I think about it.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Bryan Danielson (NJPW 2.11)
- vs. Daniel Makabe (Prestige 4.14)
- w/ Bad Dude Tito vs. Hechicero & Virus (NJPW/CMLL 7.13)
- vs. Hikaru Sato (NJPW 6.10)
- vs. Hechicero (CMLL 6.22)
- vs. Virus (CMLL 6.24)
- vs. Orange Cassidy (AEW/NJPW 6.30)
- vs. Great-O-Khan (NJPW 7.20)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- w/ Kosei Fujita vs. El Desperado & Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW 4.06)
- w/ Chris Brookes vs. Yuki Ueno & MAO (DDT 4.07)
- vs. Kyle O’Reilly (AEW 6.26)
- vs. Jake Lee (NJPW 7.27)
- vs. Shingo Takagi (NJPW 8.03)
- vs. Gabe Kidd (NJPW 8.08)
- vs. SANADA (NJPW 8.12)
- vs. Shingo Takagi (NJPW 8.17)
- vs. Hechicero (RevPro 8.24)
- Casino Gauntlet Match (AEW 8.25)
- w/ Ryohei Oiwa vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI (NJPW 11.27)
3.) Hechicero
The best thing to ever happen to Hechicero is for the whole world to realize how great he is.
Unless you like Místico, CMLL is not the place that builds wrestlers up for spots this high. There just isn’t enough singles work for anyone, and outside of Apuestas, their tournaments and titles don’t provide enough stakes that can sometimes push flawed matches over the edge.
Maybe Hechicero realizes this, or maybe it was a stroke of luck.
Either way, he takes what his home promotions gives him, and does the same amount in other places around the world. The whole thing adds up to the wrestler with the most high peaks. Bonafide top 50 matches against Danielson and ZSJ, great stuff on the border, including the comfortably best Místico match, a homey-feeling classic against Blue Panther, and a couple great things from his trips to New Japan too. Forget what you’re going to hear from everyone else praising Hechicero’s year. Yes, he’s dazzling on the mat. Yes, he is the best thing in CMLL. Yes, he works as either rudo or Tecnico, and yes, the Anniversario victory is one of the year’s ultimate triumphs.
But if you payed attention, you’d know that all already.
And that’s the root of my argument. Hechicero puts himself on the map. Got over with every crowd, and looked like one of the coolest men on the planet while doing it. The aforementioned Anniversario crowd, the reactions during the Místico match, and how fast he’s able to garner the support of the American audiences against both Danielson and Lio Rush. He’s the ultimate presence, on top of being great. Everything is just seems so much cooler when he touches it, and while that is unquantifiable, the alchemist of CMLL would certainly lead if such a category existed.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Bryan Danielson (AEW 2.03)
- vs. Atlantis Jr. (NJPW/CMLL 2.19)
- vs. Blue Panther (CMLL 6.11)
- vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (CMLL 6.22)
- w/ Virus vs. Bad Dude Tito & Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW/CMLL 7.13)
- vs. Esfinge vs. Euforia vs. Valiente (CMLL 9.13)
- vs. Komander (AEW 11.20)
- vs. Místico (CMLL 11.29)
- vs. Lio Rush (NJPW 12.15)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- w/ Solar I vs. Negro Navarro & Virus (Freelance 1.27)
- w/ Mascara Dorada & Volador Jr. vs. Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley (AEW 2.07)
- w/ Stuka Jr. vs. Soberano Jr & Atlantis Jr. (CMLL 3.22)
- Casino Gauntlet Match (AEW 5.29)
- vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (RevPro 8.24)
- w/ Angel de Oro & Soberano Jr. vs. Atlantis Jr., Mascara Dorada & Místico (CMLL 11.08)
2.) Sareee
Image via this Twitter account, photographer unknown
I don’t know how many years you’d have to go back to find a women’s wrestler this high on the list. My educated guess would be the 1990’s. Let that sink in, it’s very likely that Sareee had the best year for a women in wrestling in over 20 years. I’m not saying that her year would measure up to a Aja Kong, Bull Nakano, or Akira Hokuto type year, (again, I’m just speculating) this is 2024 after all, the glory days of wrestling are in the rear view, and a top five spot requires less in both ways to achieve.
But still.
What a year for Sareee. Great tag matches in Sendai Girls against the best parts of their roster, she shows up in Stardom for their best match of the year, has well over half the good matches under the Marigold banner, and does it herself as the booker for her Sareee-ISM shows. There are genuine high points, there’s volume, and there’s no real holes. Beyond just numbers, bookings, and results, Sareee is great in everything and seemingly at everything. She hits harder than pretty much anyone else, is great as a crowd-favorite ace type babyface and as a invading bully, and whatever else she was required to do. Again, I don’t know who the best women’s wrestler in the world is. Some days it’s Hashimoto, others it’s Mio Momono. I wouldn’t fight you over either. The simple fact remains.
In 2024, it was Sareee.
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- w/ Mio Momono vs. Chihiro Hashimoto & Mika Iwata (Sendai Girls 1.07)
- vs. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sareee-ISM 1.16)
- w/ Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Saori Anou & Natsupoi (Stardom 3.09)
- vs. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom 4.27)
- w/ Mayu Iwatani vs. VENY & Chihiro Hashimoto (Sareee-ISM 9.02)
- vs. Nao Ishikawa (Marigold 11.14)
- w/ Aja Kong vs. Meiko Satomura & Manami (Sendai Girls 11.17)
- w/ Mika Iwata vs. Team 200 KG (Sendai Girls 12.08)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- w/ Kizuna Tanaka vs. Nanae Takahashi & Yuu (Masato Yoshino Produce 2.15)
- vs. Yurika Oka (Sendai Girls 4.14)
- w/ Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Hanako Nakamori, Hiroyo Matsumoto & Miyuki Takase (SEAdLINNNG 4.21)
- vs. Misa Kagura (SEAdLINNNG 6.12)
- vs. Nanae Takahashi (Marigold 9.23)
- vs. Bozilla (Marigold 9.28)
- w/ Yurika Oka vs. Mika Iwata & Miyuki Takase (Sendai Girls 11.09)
- vs. Nanae Takahashi (Marigold 12.13)
1.) Bryan Danielson
Listen, I too tinkered with the idea that someone else could be here. Hechicero for his peaks, Zack certainly felt like he had a chance coming out of the G1, and Sareee for a second there too. But there’s a right answer. Think about it for a second.
Duh, right?
I’m sorry, anyone who does not have Danielson at #1 has 100% taken his final run for granted. It was pieced together to be as great and as memorable as possible, was both at nearly every turn, and despite being 9 weeks short of a full year, Dragon goes out on top as 2024’s wrestler of the year.
The case is not complex. It’s all singles work against all the other best wrestlers on the planet, all of which don’t follow a formula, and stand out from one another. The fact that Danielson wrestles Okada at Wrestle Kingdom and that feels like just another match is insane. He ties up with Blue Panther, Hechciero, Zack Sabre Jr, Jeff Jarett, Jon Moxley, Shingo Takagi, Nigel McGuiness, Will Ospreay, and so much more. The stuff to end his career with Moxley is an all-time angle, and his promo work as champion was great too. He even wins another stadium main event, and his name is littered across the top 50 list. Say what you want about anyone else on the year, succeeding despite things or making do in places that mistreat them. Bryan Danielson was given what he deserved to end his career, a manufactured a WOTY case, and delivered. I’ll leave you with a quote from the jaws of Dragon himself:
I am the best fucking wrestler in the world. And I have been for the last 20 years.
-Bryan Danielson (8.21.2024)
- Notable Matches (Everything ***3/4 and up)
- vs. Kazuchika Okada (NJPW 1.04)
- vs. Hechicero (AEW 2.03)
- vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW 2.11)
- vs. Eddie Kingston (AEW 3.03)
- w/ Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley & Matt Sydal vs. Blue Panther, Místico. Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr. (CMLL 3.29)
- vs. Blue Panther (CMLL 4.05)
- vs. Pac (AEW 7.03)
- vs. Jeff Jarrett (AEW 8.07)
- vs. Swerve Strickland (AEW 8.25)
- vs. Jon Moxley (AEW 10.12)
- Borderline Matches (***1/2 Matches)
- vs. Yuji Nagata (AEW 1.27)
- w/ Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Hechicero, Mascara Dorada & Volador Jr. (AEW 2.07)
- w/ Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli vs. FTR & Eddie Kingston (AEW 2.28)
- vs. Shane Taylor (AEW 3.07)
- vs. Katsuyori Shibata (AEW 3.16)
- vs. Will Ospreay (AEW 4.21)
- vs. Adam Page (AEW 7.10)
- vs. Nigel McGuinness (AEW 9.25)
The 5 Worst Matches of 2024
5.) Great-O-Khan vs. Tanga Loa – NJPW Road To Sakura Genesis 2024 – Day 2
(3.31.2024)
The yearly reminder that the King is Dead.
I’ve probably said that too many times at this point, but I yearn for a great Lion Mark in the same way the children yearn for the mines. Bad joke, I know. I have to keep myself honest. That joke is to say my viewing of wrestling is probably better off with a bad New Japan product, but when there’s a glimpse of hope, or G1 season rolls around, I’m going to get suckered in. I can’t help it, sorry.
On the other hand, I have no damn clue why I watched this match.
Morbid curiosity is likely the real explanation, but this is the sort of thing that upsets me. Had this taken place in DDT, or somewhere on the indies I’m sure I wouldn’t have batted an eye. But when you plop at table in the middle of the ring with “King of Sports” etched onto its tablecloth and have one of your most well-rounded and enjoyable workers in O-Khan and someone who was simply going to fuck off at go to WWE right after, have them eat for five minutes in the middle of the match, yeah, I’m going to have a problem with it. It’s not funny, and never once did either man try to make it funny aside when they pretended like they’re going to puke a few times. The actual wrestling, if you can even call it that, is terrible too. Slow, uncoordinated, heatless, sloppy, and boring are the first five words that come to mind, because really, the majority of this match is two grown men having a tug-of-war match while pretending to have a stomach ache.
Good riddance.
4.) Ethan Page vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Shawn Spears vs. Trick Williams – NXT Heatwave 2024 (7.07.2024)
Image via World Wrestling Entertainment
I still can’t believe people are still pretending this is good.
With that, I think it’s important to determine what I’m doing with these five selections. If you read earlier in the methodology section, I don’t want matches because they’re bad. I’m not afraid to skip matches, I watch things that are hyped, or if I think they’ll be good. It’s probably fair to say the very worst quality matches happen at the smallest scale shows and likely aren’t on film, so when I’m picking the five worst I’m picking the things that are offensively bad. It could be like this one, where people swore it was good, or it could be something that simply shouldn’t exist, but most of all, all five are something that isn’t ignorable. There’s so much bad wrestling, more than there is good, so I’m just highlighting the things that stand out in the worst way possible.
Anyway, back on topic.
There are so many generic indie movefests, and they’ve been leaking into major companies for years now. There’s a pretty awful one between MAO and Yuki Ueno for the KO-D title last year, and Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher met for some heartless attempts at the same thing. The gross misunderstanding of them is to call the PWG-style matches, and because I don’t have the energy or enough understanding to correct you, so call them what you like. Stupid people are going to keep using that as a insult for stuff they don’t like anyway, and stupid people that do that are the same people that think this is good. Again, live in your own world, I guess. Personally, I would dare say NXT has watered down this style of wrestling into something disgustingly offensive, but that’s something else I’ll formulate at a different time.
This is the year’s worst of the worst.
All I see here is a terrible imitation of those same movefests that aren’t even good in the first place. Not only that, this never ever has the chance of reaching spectacle status simply by being a four-way, as in the WWE version of a multi-man match entails every single person in the match to have incredible convenient timing and lay on the outside of the ring for half the match. My favorite “spot” in the match is where Spears climbs to the top rope to meet Evans, and then just climbs on his shoulders because, y’know, they gotta hit a big move. Why even bother showing the struggle of earning it? The NXT faithful only wanna see movez baby!
I think I’ll just leave it at that.
3.) Jinder Mahal vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Monday Night RAW (1.15.2024)
Image via World Wrestling Entertainment
Internet wrestling discourse bottoms out early.
If you can transport yourself back in time to 12 months ago, the two billion dollar companies in North America decided to point fingers and call eachother names for the first time on the year, with the root cause being complaints over a booked Samoa Joe/HOOK match for the AEW title. In response to the criticism, and in a shocking moment of clarity, AEW stuck to their guns, and ran the match. The result was something quite good, if not great, that helped establish Samoa Joe’s reign on top.
In their never ending attempt to own the ratings, discourse, and whatever other things they can get their grimy hands on, Triple H decided he needed to book a match on RAW for the secondary cupcake world championship with then champion Seth Rollins, and Jinder Mahal. They do this with a fed fan backed slogan of “Don’t hinder the Jinder,” which, you know, is only something those people could come up with, completely forgetting they actually able to acknowledge he sucks not two weeks ago.
It goes exactly how you expect, filled with poor execution, directionless action, a botched run-in, and all kinds of cringe-worthy Seth Rollins antics. It’s bad, offensive for even existing, much less being hyped up, but it does end in hilarious fashion, with Seth Rollins injuring himself on a lionsault. All this just because Mr. Center of attention himself had his feelings hurt on Twitter.
Sometimes, you get what you deserve.
2.) MJF vs. Will Ospreay – AEW All In London 2024 (8.25.2024)
To be completely honest, I didn’t watch the 60 minute disaster on Dynamite. Had I have, I’m willing to bet it’d have made the list, but that sort of thing is water under the bridge. I do have a bit of a story about that match though, one that I think does this whole pairing justice. On that fine day in July, I get home from work, and on my way back I had saw some chatter about the match on the ‘ol Twitter feed, so it was no surprise I came home to see one of my roommates had it flipped on in our basement. I walk down the stairs and ask something along the lines of, “how’s the Ospreay match so far?” and get no response. Then I see it, my roommate, probably in the 40th minute of the match, is backfirst of the couch, starfish-style, snoring, and asleep. Got my answer right then and there.
And secretly, the second one is more offensive.
Not in a simple compare and contrast way, 60 minutes compared to 25 this one goes is probably night and day. But the gall and audacity to go out on the biggest show of the year and double down on something that wasn’t even good in the first place is the type of thing that brings out the negative emotions that lands on this list. There’s other flaming heaps of trash in here too, with Max coming out with his painfully unaware American patriot heel act, and while not offensive like Max’s, Ospreay’s entrance is a little too nerdy to be any kind of cool either.
Then the part there is no secrets about; the ring work.
I can’t even remember exactly what happens in this match, but I do remember Ospreay taking a tombstone or something on the apron and getting up quickly after, and I remember rolling my eyes. There’s moves for the sake of moves, and back all that with the valleys of both MJF’s heel and Ospreay’s babyface acts, and you get a real steaming pile of shit.
Without a doubt, the worst pairing in wrestling last year.
1.) The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins – WWE WrestleMania XL – Saturday (4.06.2024)
Image via Pro Wrestling Fandom Wiki
Night two of WrestleMania this year ended with Cody Rhodes thanking Triple-H and Vince McMahon underling Bruce Prichard after a match that can only be described as Marvel Cinematic Universe levels of cheesiness, and yet, this is still the main event I hate significantly more.
Let us start with performers from the Night 1 Main Event:
Seth Rollins. I mean this, no hyperbole, he might just be the worst wrestler ever. He’s certainly my least favorite, someone who everytime he performs, feels like he’s attacking everything I like about wrestling. He does too many moves, and they look like they’re in slow motion, he can’t sell a limb yet constantly insists on doing limb work matches, isn’t a good heel, isn’t a good babyface, looks like a dork, acts like a bigger one, and still gets every booking grace in the world. WrestleMania main events haven’t been treated with the level of respect they should be treated with in a long time, but his inclusion in one here, even if it is really only like 25% of one, still feels incredibly offensive.
The Rock. No ill-will towards Dwayne other than the majority of his films being underwhelming, but this is the first full match he’s wrestled in over 11 years, and it shows. This could’ve been easily hidden in so many different ways, but it’s so noticeable how tired and slow he looks. It’s a shame. On the other hand, his inclusion in the whole Bloodline saga is some of the most convoluted booking of the year, and unfortunately his involvement necessitated a tag team partner, which invites Seth Rollins to this match. So yeah, fuck that.
Roman Reigns. I’m not exactly sure what to make of Roman. I’ve never hated the guy, even as a casual fan during the heights of his initial push, but I haven’t exactly ever been in love with the current version either. Roman is a good wrestler when he wants to be, a good wrestler when it is necessity, which is to say he is not a good wrestler in this match. He makes a entrance, does some lazy brawling and character stuff, and hits his big offense towards the end of the match. That’s it. He’d have a nice performance that was in vain the next night, but his effort here was minimal.
Cody Rhodes. For the life of me, I can’t understand the love Cody gets. He’s a bland in-ring worker, only ever having great matches when paired with other great performers, and in his time since returning to WWE, has dragged down any other great performer he’s been paired with. Not that that matters, as for some reason he’s been positioned as the top babyface in the company, despite neither fitting the bill as an real-life superhero or blue-collar man of the people. He has bleached, slicked back blonde hair, dresses like the rich cronies that run the company, and has struggled to hide the fact that he’s a major Triple-H fanboy. Drape all that in the the colors of the good ‘ol star spangled banner, and Cody suddenly represents something something I can’t root for on both a personal and wrestling viewpoint. So the fact he gets two main events (and squanders both of them) doesn’t sit well with me either.
Then of course, the match.
It’s 45 minutes long. FOURTY FIVE. Not only does it not work on a fundamental or ideological level, it manages to be a colossal waste of time despite being on the show that on name value alone, should be worth the watch. Even the general mechanism of having the bad guys win on night 1 as some sort of cliffhanger misses, because again, why on earth would I care if Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes lose? When the match gets broken down, how easy it seems it could’ve been the worth while. Why not go full brawl? Why in the hell would Seth’s knee be the target? Why is The Rock getting the pin instead of Roman? What does the intertwined authority story do much of anything outside a low blow spot? Why does this set up nothing for the next night aside from the changed rules? WHY IS IT 45 MINUTES? There’s so many why’s, too many why nots, and the only thing this shows is that this WWE will laugh in your face, insult you intelligence, blatantly show you the company is bigger than any man, rub your face in the dirt, and tell you to like it.
The worst match of 2024.
Top 50 Matches of 2024
50.) Masahiro Takanashi vs. HARASHIMA – DDT Beer Garden Fight 2024 In Shinjuku – Day 1 (8.15.2024)
Back to a positive note, this is a drunken match, so that’s fun.
While I’m not sure exactly what the entails, it’s clear that it involves both men coming out under the influence, and continuing to drink throughout the match. A pretty basic idea that results in real simple and delightful slapstick comedy, with both HARASHIMA and Takanashi putting in clever shifts to support it. HARASHIMA works to midsection of his drunken foe, while Takanashi simply spins his drunk counterpart around on the mat. It’s a surprising there’s in amount of focus and detail is such a silly environment, but these two ideas support the punchlines so well. The highlight is easily HARASHIMA drunkenly whiffing on the Somato and crashing into the ropes, but this whole thing is a load of fun even outside of that.
Also, quick shout out to Matches Worth Watching for the recommending this one. A perfect way to kick off the list, from the most underappreciated wrestling content creator out there.
Have a drink, you’ll need it looking back on this year.
Rating: ❤️
49.) Go Shiozaki & Jun Akiyama vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura – NOAH Limit Break 3 Go! Go Shiozaki Debut 20th Anniversary Memorial (6.19.2024)
Image via Pro Wrestling NOAH
When this happened halfway through the year, I said I was going to find a way to include it.
I do not lie.
No need to waste your time and telling you this is anything complex. This one is about four old dudes hitting each other as hard as they can. You get a guest appearance from Kenta Kobashi and a cheery NOAH crowd, but this is about Shiozaki and his fellow senior citizens swinging with whatevers left in their old bones. Think something that’s the wrestling equivalent of eating your grandmother’s home cooking. Not as great as the first time you tried it, but great just because Grandma cooked it up. The hits are still hits.
Puro for the soul.
Rating: ***3/4
48.) GOLD CLASS (Ben-K, Mochizuki Jr. & Riiita) vs. BIG HUG (Hyo, JACKY KAMEI & Luis Mante) vs. Z-Brats (ISHIN, Jason Lee & Kota Minoura) – DG The Gate Of Destiny 2024 (11.03.2024)
Image via Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling
A rare Dragon Gate booking triumph.
The “Losing Unit Disbands Match” or “Unit Apuesta” as I’ve come to call it, is a Dragon Gate staple. A rare one of those match types that has the potential to be simultaneously hyper emotional and incredibly rewarding, all while existing as the same firework shows their best multi-man tag matches generally are. It’s fun to feel recognized for buying into all the units and keeping tabs on the booking of Dragon Gate almost solely because it makes these stakes feel so important. Wrestling matters when you care, and by this formula alone, DG has it right.
I am/was not attached to Z-Brats, Gold Class, or Big Hug.
Yet, this exists as a testament to said formula and the ability of everyone in this match making you feel like you should care. It helps that the action is great, but with the added stakes, everything feels more important. The Gold Class teams contrasting dynamics work better, Minoura, Lee, and ISHIN genuinely feel like one of the only interesting combinations Z-Brats can put together, Big Hug, for as disastrous as the group was, still gets by because Kamei and Mante can do some really cool shit.
Big Hug disbands, finally freeing Jacky Kamei, and suddenly it looks like DG is steering the ship in the right direction once again. If only other places could take notes.
Rating: ***3/4
46.) Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O’Reilly – AEW Dynasty (4.21.2024)
Image via All Elite Wrestling
A match made for my tastes.
It doesn’t really matter to me that they lose the crowd to start or that this goes too long. Watching these two chip into the disinterested crowd just by being themselves is easy way to my heart. Just the whole prospect of these two having a midcard title match in AEW is a bit of a miracle, one of the things I was genuinely excited for when it was announced.
Trust me, I acknowledge the problems with Kyle O’Reilly, he’s prone to forgetting limb selling, and he sometimes forgets to lean into what works, but he’s always been a favorite of mine. Same goes for Roddy too, but his flaws have usually come through little fault of his own. Both guys rule, can’t change my mind there.
Those problems with Kyle are there. He stops working the Strong’s arm, but his performance has just enough guts behind it to match what Roddy brings. These two trade, with Kyle brining some beautiful strike combos, and Roddy goes to work with his signature backbreakers. Wardlow runs in too, for reasons, I guess? That certainly doesn’t help things either.
But hey, I’m choosing to focus on the stuff I like, it’s only at 47 for a reason.
Rating: ***3/4
46.) Meiko Satomura & Manami vs. Sareee & Aja Kong – Sendai Girls (11.17.2024)
Image via Sendai Girls / Pepe Tanaka
A match that accomplishes a lot.
The first is the least important, but still cool. Meiko and Sareee wrestle. That’s happened before, as early as 2011 and as recent as 2022, but in Sareee’s time since returning to Japan, she’s reached her peak form. Watching them tangle up in the midst of her best year was great, as you’d expect. Secondly, Meiko and Aja Kong interactions. Remember a few entries ago when I said that the hits are still hits? You bet that applies here. Lastly, what this does for Manami. A career performance from her in this one, great sympathetic babyface selling, perfect execution of her shine, and willing the crowd behind her, all in match that was more about the other three than her. She’s generally still a bit goofy for my tastes, but I was pulling for the youngster in this one.
Of course the problem is everything in between alongside the fact this does too much. It could go longer, maybe, but that’s never a solution I like suggesting. There’s other obvious things too, Kong is slow these days, and Meiko’s homecoming practically ensures she’ll be the one doing the bulk of the work. The perfect version of this match is a pipedream, but what it was makes it the 46th best match of the year anyway.
Rating: ***3/4
45.) David Finlay vs. Taichi – NJPW Power Struggle ~ Super Junior Tag League 2024 (11.04.2024)
I do imagine this is a surprise to most, so hear me out.
Stripped down to its very core, wrestling is remarkably simple. There are established stakes, and there is a hero and a villain. The stakes add tension, and the obstacles our hero must overcome move the plot along. Most of all, we want to see our hero win as badly as we want to see the villain taste defeat.
Sometimes the villain wins.
If you can understand that very human idea, you can understand this match. I’ll tell you that this is great because Finlay is a great bumper, and a better chickenshit. That Taichi’s offense is perfect for his sparse comebacks and nearfalls. And that Finlay’s constant taunting of the crowd works because it doesn’t demand a complex selling performance from Dangerous T. All of this is true, but it’s the SANADA turn that makes this all work. One of the dullest people in all of wrestling, for a moment, feels like a big deal. His betrayal hurts more because it feels correct. No longer pretending to be a top guy, he screws the man who brought what he thought was the best form out of him in the first place. He costs Taichi the title, keeps Finlay on top, and as a viewer, that sucks. Again, sometimes the villain wins.
But that’s life.
Rating: ***3/4
44.) Demus vs. Mad Dog Connelly – ACTION DEAN~!!! (4.04.2024)
I initially drafted this up as a honorable mention after it happened because I had a feeling it might not make this list. That draft will never see the light of day, because the thing with that is, is that I knew it was good. Obviously the year lets me down, and this comfortably makes the list regardless, but deep down I knew. There was nothing else like this match. Sure, I do have problems with things not breathing, and the performance from Demus, but I’ll raise you this:
If I have to convince you that it’s worse than it seems, you know it belongs here.
It is a incredible display of violence, and that final punch with the chain is permanently ingrained in my head. Everyone knows this isn’t a match for the thinking man, it’s a match to satisfy a bloodlust, a craving for adrenaline, and one that has you pumping your fist and kicking your feet in the air like a manman. Maybe I just want to think more than others, or maybe both times I watched this I wasn’t in the right headspace. Whatever it is, it’s going to look like I’m selling this real short in comparison to others. So you know that means one thing:
A undeniable, scratch that, a bloody effort.
Rating: ***3/4
43.) Daniel Garcia vs. Mark Briscoe – AEW Collision (12.07.2024)
The closest the Continental Classic has ever gotten to replicating an ideal G1 match.
The best representation of that idea is where both men stand coming in. It’s not where you thought, with Garcia on a bit of a hot streak and the TNT belt, and Mark looking primed for another run as the field’s bottom feeder. Both men too, are cut and dry babyfaces. It starts respectful with a handshake, heats up, there’s some brawling on the outside, a couple big spots and potential match enders, and then Mark breaks out the cutthroat driver for the win. It all feels very sporty in the same way the best G1 matches can, and Nigel sells all of this wonderfully on commentary, so when it’s all said and done this feels like a natural upset, not a manufactured one.
A bit of a hidden gem as far as AEW goes.
Rating: ***3/4
42.) Haruka Umesaki vs. Mei Seira – Diana (4.29.2024)
Image via Diana World Women Pro-Wrestling
Yes, really.
I’m not sure there’s going to be a match on here that I’m going to have a harder time selling. I’ll admit now that if I lost you on giving Mei a spot in the Wrestler of the Year, I’m probably not going to rope you in for this one either. I say that because it’s her performance that makes this match so interesting.
So, hear me out.
As I stated in the WOTY section on Mei, I find her to be one of the most endearing underdogs in the world. This being her best performance of the year, has nothing to do with being a underdog, as it has her playing an invading heel. But she never strays away from the core of her character. There’s a playful energy and subtlety to her heel work, things like cheekily bowing to the referee, grabbing at Umesaki’s hair to gain an advantage, or breaking up exchange sequences instead of trading with the crowd’s hero. And like any good Mei match, she bumps her ass off. Everything Umesaki hits looks so much better than it usually does (to her credit, she throws a great forearm), and while not exactly a prudent selling performance, Mei’s attention is there when needed the most. Through that effort, all the big spots shine, the little moments matter, and the match classically escalates to a satisfying conclusion.
Not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but so much better than it ever should’ve been in the first place.
Rating: ****
41.) Blue Panther vs. Bryan Danielson – CMLL Viernes Espectacular (4.05.2024)
The most joyous of Mexican excursions.
This is not my favorite match stylistically. Blue Panther’s current form is not my thing, but at 64 years of age, seeing something this jubilant is something you’d have to be insane not to respect. Seeing him dawn the mask feels monumental too, as although I didn’t live through that initial loss, one can easily understand the gravity anyway. It’s all so wonderfully rich for the heart, a true showcase of what the llave-style is to Bryan Danielson. He’s fully committed to wrestling the same thing he clearly admires, and even if he brings in some of the striking to get the win, watching the celebration of the Panther and Dragon post-match makes that small vice mean so little.
Rating: ****
40.) Hechicero vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – CMLL Sabados De Coliseo (6.22.2024)
Then, the most intentful of the Mexican excursions this year.
As nice as it is to see the Mexican fans accept and embrace Bryan Danielson, or to see the New Japan faithful embrace the luchadors on the Fantastica Mania tours, there’s something so special about a total rejection. They’re only happy to see Zack because they want to see their guy tie him up, and like some of the best ZSJ matches from the past, he buys into being the bad guy. He is constantly shouting and mocking Hechicero, playfully riling up the fans, and going just a bit further with some of his holds on the mat.
The match itself is more llave-style than a ZSJ style riff session, and it’s all the better for it. All the falls build on one another, and as some of the strikes and fancier moves get mixed in down the stretch, this gets to be a exciting watch real quick. Maybe it takes a bit too long to get there, and I do wish Hechicero had basked in the serenade of the crowd a bit more, but as this is, a first-rate contest between two men who went on to have a hell of a year for themselves.
Rating: ****
39.) Daniel Makabe vs. Kevin Ku – Scenic City Invitational Tournament 2024 – Night 1 (7.12.2024)
I did mention all the way back at the start of this thing, that I made an effort to tighten the wrestling circle I inhabit. The intention of that is more or less to help filter out matches that aren’t worth my time, but every once and awhile, something jumps up that I wouldn’t have sought out otherwise. The placement of this, and the reason I even watched it in the first place, are the direct results of those efforts. When it comes to this project, high praise from the right people goes a long way.
For the most part, it delivered on everyone’s promise.
Do I think that I fully appreciate it? No. I don’t claim to be a big Daniel Makabe fan, nor a big Kevin Ku fan for that matter either. But stuff like the Makabe breaking out the big dive, the blood, and the tribute Death Valley driver are all self-explanatory, and they’re all great touches. Hell, Ku’s arm work was enjoyable as well, and the gravity of Makabe’s retirement always looms in the best way possible. It’s not all perfect though. The match can be a little too methodical at points, and there are moments in there where you can feel it start to drag. It certainly never feels like something I dislike, but consistently feels like something I don’t love. But as it stands now, this is at the very least, a feel-good exit for a wrestler who, while they might not be my favorite, is undeniably great, and important to the people I respect.
For my money’s worth, going out bleeding buckets wearing his trademark soccer jersey against one of your best friends is one of the gnarliest ways to do it.
See you around, wrestling genius.
Rating: ****
38.) HARASHIMA vs. Yukio Sakaguchi – DDT Into The Fight 2024 Tour In Shinjuku (2.07.2024)
A fitting send off.
On the other side of retirement matches, comparatively to the Makabe farewell, this feels like something I’m more attached to.
After twelve years as a pro wrestler, Yukio Sakaguchi called it a career on short notice. The limited fanfare, small venue, and quick turnaround, all as if to paint a picture of his own career. Never in the right place at the right time to truly succeed, and never enough appreciation for his work, but love and respect from his peers was more abundant than he ever knew what to do with. It isn’t until the locker room empties to join Sakaguchi in the ring that he may have realized it, but that only makes his final hurrah more special. It’s a rare show of modesty in a business that often fuels large egos and million dollar corporations, and louder than any sum of money can scream, Sakaguchi walks off into the sunset without making as much as a sound.
The match itself is nothing more than the old rivals playing the hits. An extended grappling sequence to begin, a lengthy, but stiff kick exchange of cliche variety, and a few bombs to end it. It’s as crisp and as smooth as both men’s best work, and a wonderful, albeit a little show-y riff session to end their rivalry. There’s an unassertive, if not humble quality to the work here, leading this to loop back to the circumstances in which Sakaguchi’s retirement takes place. Intentionally small scale and intentionally about others before himself. And yeah, they earn the little Michaels/Flair moment at the end too. A tiny grain of melodrama that feels too perfect not to have.
Cheers, Yukio.
Rating: ****
37.) Miu Watanabe vs. Miyu Yamashita– TJPW Grand Princess ’24 (3.31.2024)
What makes a great match?
More importantly, what does it take for a match to get on this list?
The simple answer is memorability. Not in the sense that something was solely unforgettable, but in the sense that something delivers a product that I remember being great. As roundabout as that may sound, hyper analyzing a match to determine quality doesn’t assure anything, details are details, but tangible things that stick in your head matter too. So, as I go through and rewatch matches that could potentially make this list, most of them are usually worse than I initially remember them. This one is no different, which, no real surprise there. It was a big main event with a satisfying conclusion, of course it would stick in my mind as something greater than it was in reality. But like it did on the initial rewatch, it still felt great at the most important moments. Sure, the structure is flat-out flawed, and the middle of the match suffers from some lackluster pacing and execution, and I don’t find Miu to be particularly interesting in control for the majority of the match either. But I’d be damned if the stuff you remember didn’t hit so well. The opening grappling is fantastic. Miu’s babyface fire is endearing as hell. Yamashita feels as dominant at the right moments. The finishing stretch kicks ass. Yamashita hits the best-looking Skull Kick ever. It has the right winner. Of course, the ups-and-downs aren’t exactly how I remembered it, and it isn’t as necessarily great from a pure ring work perspective, but still. Notable nonetheless.
At the end of the day, I’m only going to remember what this match got more right more than it got wrong. Well, that and the Skull Kick. Highs are highs, and not bottoming off the top of the mountain counts. Staying there though? Well that’s worth more than just something.
Hopefully all that made a bit sense.
In that memorability sense, the best TJPW match ever.
Rating: ****
36.) Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Daniel Makabe – Prestige Roseland 8: The 7 Year Anniversary Show (4.14.2024)
There’s such a homey feeling to this one.
Maybe, just maybe, this is Zack’s best pure riff session ever? I don’t know for sure, but with his tendencies to rush a bit too much, I feel this one is the one where he maximized what he was doing best. As for Makabe, he’s as steady as ever. More than game to match his British counterpart in wrenching on limbs and applying all the nastiest holds you can think of. Hell, both men even throw some real solid strikes in this one. No real character work or emotion required either, this is more or less a game of respect, with the only real difference being Zack’s selling of his ankle being a bit more subtle than Makabe’s. A great little match, and more than just a box for Dan to check on his way out the door.
Rating: ****
35.) Madoka Kikuta vs. YAMATO – DG Dangerous Gate 2024 (8.12.2024)
Madoka Kikuta does it again.
Well, kind of.
The best main-event wrestler in DG since his own Dream Gate run, Kikuta was once again tasked with competing for the company’s top prize. And like clockwork, Kikuta attaches himself with the best the belt has to offer.
As it should, this match lives and dies with his performance. It’s not perfect. You can tell Kikuta is actively trying to live in the selling of his arm, never missing an opportunity to shake or grab at it, and always wears a grimace on his face when using it. Gathering sympathy with that, coupled with the fact I like the guy, and with Kikuta’s offense looking as great as ever, his comebacks are exciting oo. On the flip side, YAMATO is dull, but effective. I think it works, even if not by design. His nonchalant arm work has this pessimistic quality to it in a way only the Dragon Gate legend could make work, and while it annoys me that he insists on doing exchanges with everyone despite to being not being believable, the arm works lends credibility to that here.
Again, nothing here is done exactly right. Perhaps Kikuta uses his damaged arm a bit too much, or YAMATO doesn’t hone in on that advantage as much as I’d like either. A good idea goes a long way, and it was certainly much better than their peers had to offer when served up main event singles opportunities. Or maybe none of that matters to you, and watching a big YAMATO Dream Gate match with a bunch of bombs is what you want. You can look at it that way too.
The best Dragon Gate match of the year, and a damn fine version of imperfection.
Rating: ****
34.) Calvin Tankman vs. Trevor Lee – DPW High Noon (8.18.2024)
Image via Deadlock Pro Wrestling
The best title match on the independents all year.
Most importantly, because I haven’t mentioned it yet, it’s nice to see Trevor Lee back after 4+ years. Immediately he feels like the adopted hero of the indies again, and seeing him try tackle the top guy so quickly after his return is great. Whatever ring rust he gathered in the fed is gone too, and for the first time in half a decade, it doesn’t feel like some kind of grave misunderstanding (of his talent) when he loses.
Otherwise, this has it all. A couple of wonderful nearfalls, a delightful little pro ‘wrasslin moment when Lee gets Tankman up for a Samoan Drop, and some great hard hitting action. What I find most impressive is that this is a match designed around, not for, an underdog performance from Lee. Don’t get me wrong, Trevor is a fantastic underdog, always has been, and is here. But the way Tankman survives leading to Lee’s failure is the exact type of thing DPW booking got correct so often last year. It’s refreshing to see someone of his size make someone as well traveled as Lee earn his offense. Trevor has to work to lift Tankman, has to work to knock him down, but no matter how hard he works, he can’t pin him. He gets close though, and that’s the fun of it all.
Rating: ****
33.) Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 (1.04.2024)
The best of what’s left of Okada, the American Dragon, and the Tokyo Dome.
It’s everything the Forbidden Door match wasn’t too. This is much more boisterous about it’s intent, Okada likely knew at the time it was his last go in the Dome, and he brings out the cocky and arrogant attitude that has defined all of his great work in the 2020’s.
For what it’s worth Danielson isn’t reinventing the wheel either.
So many of the greatest Okada matches — at least before he started to get lazy — feature his opponents working over the arm, or at least cautiously avoiding it. The rainmaker has a reputation, even if most big Kazu matches feature at least one rainmaker kickout, and that’s stuck. So, going after the arm feels natural, and its as mean and complex in all the ways you’d expect from Danielson. Okada respinds by working over Danielson’s injuries, gritting through the damage and making it work in only the ways he can, and puts Dragon in the dirt. He gets a Yes! chant in at the Dome before that though, so I’ll let you decide who the real winner was.
Rating: ****
32.) Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale – AEW All Out 2024 (9.07.2024)
The “dudes women rock” match of the year.
After multiple tries, Statlander and Nightingale finally had the match you know they wanted to. Everything, and I mean literally everything, lands so well. The fast start, to the table spot, the work on the stage, the light tubes, the thumbtacks. All of it. Hell even the transitional strikes that lead up to the big spots are nasty when they could’ve been cheap. It maybe could have had a better feeling of hatred, especially considering how long the rivalry had been running to this point, but the match itself is without any major flaws. No further comments needed, watch it, it rips.
Rating: ****
31.) CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre – WWE Bad Blood 2024 (10.05.2024)
Image via World Wrestling Entertainment
Sigh.
There’s certainly a few ways you can approach this match. You could attach yourself to the god awful storyline these two ran with throughout the year. You could chew into the theatrics this was presented with. Or whatever else from the perimeter of the landscape this exists in, you could theoretically like it. If this is what drama is to you, if you’re really so inclined, love it.
I couldn’t care less.
What works for me is nothing more than the obvious. Punk and McIntyre bleed, sell, and build something that escalates to an exciting finish. Sure, that feels more like a checkmark style of criticism than anything, but ticking all the boxes matters. It’s all structured so immaculately that not even the tongue and cheek theatrics and unpalatable commentary can ruin it. When things work, they work. At its very core this match gets everything correct, and only bothers to accomplish what it should. When WWE pay-per-view matches are so often something I wanted to turn off minutes in, this is 30 minute god-damner, only slowed down by the normal federation fat.
An undeniable effort.
Rating: ****
30.) Jon Moxley vs. Orange Cassidy – AEW Full Gear 2024 (11.23.2024)
Essentially, this is much of the same match that these two had the year previous, with upped stakes.
In that sense, I’m not sure where all the criticism is coming from. Complaints about chemistry or about the storyline at this point both feel mute to me, and besides, Mox is at his best when he’s the brawling bully, and Orange Cassidy is AEW’s natural babyface. There are no issues in concept here.
What’s great is that Orange starts urgent. The Orange Punch right as the bell rings is a great way to show what he’s learned from their matches in the past, and to show the danger of the new Mox. As it continues, Cassidy is even willing to match the violence too, biting and raking at his skin just as was done to him. His strategy works, only to have it crash down around him as this time around, Moxley isn’t afraid to have a little extra help from the outside.
A wonderful first act in the Death Rider storyline, and despite things trending downwards as of now, this still rises as something pretty great.
“No chemistry,” they say. Yeah, right.
Rating: ****
29.) Kosuke Sato & Takuya Nomura vs. Fuminori Abe & Kozo Hashimoto – BJW (9.15.2024)
Image via Big Japan Pro Wrestling
The best Astronauts match of the year isn’t actually a Astronauts match.
Spiritually though, this counts. Both Sato and Kozo Hashimoto are young, especially Hashimoto, and there’s more than a bit of space boys in each of them. This is a perfect little slice of what makes the original team of Nomura and Abe so great, a gleeful exhibition of violence in a short matter, struggling for things as simple as a slap, kick, or a snapmare. It’s what was missing from traditional Astronauts matches much of the year, and the BJW midcard in general.
It’s wrestling made for me. Shame it happens less often than it should.
Rating: ****
28.) Yuma Anzai vs. Hideki Suzuki – AJPW Dynamite Series 2024 – Day 1 (6.24.2024)
This is a pretty easy match to break down. Both men are at different points in their careers, Anzai is the promising super rookie who’s ascended to the the top of All Japan by winning the Triple Crown, and Suzuki is an aging man who hasn’t really found a home or purpose since his exit from WWE. That is until he scores a victory over Anzai in the Champion Carnival, landing him this title match.
So, yup, this is another puro ace vs. veteran match. This one sings from the performances of both men, and the issues arise when meshing together.
But first Hideki. His effort in wearing down Anzai is subtly one of my favorite efforts of the year. All those sickening forearms to the young champion’s midsection are brutal, one of those things I can still hear and feel the impact if I close my eyes and imagine it. He never does land a coup de grâce, which is where Yuma comes in. He’s surviving for the majority of the match. He can take more damage, has more to defend, and has more heart. Most of the match is spent waiting to land one of those signature jumping knees and something to follow up, and when it does, he finally has the upperhand. It’s satisfying to see him overcome, and while there’s some dead air and missteps in here, the committal nature of both men to their roles makes this one great.
Easily the best Triple Crown match in the last 2+ years.
Rating: ****
27.) Blue Panther & Místico, Último Guerrero & Volador Jr. vs. Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley & Matt Sydal – CMLL Homenaje a Dos Leyendas 2024 (3.29.2024)
The year’s only true spectacle.
To some, this year’s a spectacle would qualify something like the Wrestlemania main event. I’m sure numerous people will even have that match feature highly on their MOTY lists, so if you must see praise for that, go somewhere else. I certainly am not one of those people who have any praise to offer there. I’m not insulted by anyone claiming a match made them feel a certain way, or if you thought that particular bout deserves either greatest or worst as an adjective when describing it. I can’t help that I didn’t like it. Sorry. And if you thought that match was the grandest thing in the squared circle all year, fine, you’re wrong, and let me point you in a similar (and much better) direction.
Arena México. Inside its hallowed halls on the 29th of March, eight men told the classic story of heroes versus villains. In lucha terms, a tale as old as the pastime itself: Rudos vs. Tecnicos.
It’s truly stunning what the result is. Not because I find all of the in-ring substance to be remarkable, but because the whole time you find yourself swept up in every little thing along with the crowd. Signature spots feel fresh and exciting, and watching team BCC heel it up is almost as enthralling as watching them lose. If you need any more proof that Bryan Danielson can work any style of match he wants, or if you’ve forgotten how great Claudio Castagnoli is, look no further. If you’ve ever wondered why Blue Panther or Último Guerrero are so beloved you’re in the right place. And if you wanted consistently good professional wrestling in 2024, you came to Arena México.
Rating: ****
26.) Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin- Prestige Combat Clash PDX (7.12.2024)
The year’s best riff session.
Here, the Motor City Machine Guns face off for what is likely their last match against one another. The match they have, supports that idea of finality. The obvious part is how great these two make chain wrestling look. It’s nearly perfectly executed and abundantly clean in a way that only a Shelley/Sabin match can look, while also giving you some fun moments with each man contorting in gross ways. More importantly, it also happens to make perfect sense. The idea that these two are familiar with each other is supported by the way they’re both able to escape and navigate holds, but that familiarity also lets the audience know they’re on equal footing. I love that these ideas are only obvious if you watch the match too. How easy it could’ve been to book a time limit draw, but instead Sabin steals a win to cap off this chapter of the MCMG story.
Talk about getting it just right.
Rating: ****
25.) Team 200KG vs. Bobu Bobu Momo Banana- Sendai Girls (2.11.2024)
Image via Sendai Girls / pepe tanaka
Nothing I’m going to say here hasn’t already been said. It’s the first meeting these teams had on the year, and it’s the best. A bit of a Yurika Oka breakout in this one, as she’s the main babyface in perfil, and get’s to breakout some of her bigger offense, but aside from that this is the same great match they’d have twice more on the year. The Hash/Mio pairing is great, Yuu is always great in the early control, and the energy is present from both teams. It’s fun, and as great as any tag match between established teams got last year.
Rating: ****
24.) Eddie Kingston vs. Bryan Danielson – AEW Revolution 2024 (3.03.2024)
Image via All Elite Wrestling
The Kingston/Dragon series was never something I got into.
Though, through the build and other matches, this is something that was never not going to be great. Every other match they’ve had feels like it lead to this one, at least in hindsight. Danielson finally is here to win, not prove a point, and he wrestles Kingston equipped with strategy and purpose for the first time. That does sweeten the eventual win, but I quite like how they get there too.
On one hand, a dueling limb work match is usually a risk for my tastes, but only because it’s rarely done well. Kingston is pretty much the ringleader when it comes to selling in modern wrestling though, and having Dragon be the bad guy allows more shine in moments where Eddie has to power through. Not only that, but in true King’s Road style, this features the big bumps and a ravenous crowd too. Seriously, among all of the Yes! chants Bryan would start this year, the Revolution crowd really gets some thunder behind theirs, and those nasty bumps come in the form of a gross suplex to the floor. It’s not perfect, I do think this dared to be a bit too much, and I’m not sure I love that I had to watch this multiple times before the intricacies became clear, but for the Mad King finally felling the American Dragon alone, this is worth your time.
Rating: ****
23.) Atlantis Jr. vs. Hechicero – NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2024 – Day 7 (2.19.2024)
Photo via Lucha Central & New Japan Pro Wrestling
If you really wanted, you could place the big Místico/Hechicero match on here, one of the sneaky good Soberano Jr. performances, or perhaps the Hechicero/Xelhua Lucha Memes match into this slot. I certainly wouldn’t have a problem with someone wanting to represent those matches on their own top 50. Those matches are all at least good in my eyes, and I can certainly see people thinking some of the are great. This match is comfortably great. An ideal type of showcase-style match, never demanding much complexities from either performer, and wastes so little of your time. But, won’t lie to you about why this one made the list either. It’s in Korakuen Hall, in a New Japan Ring. Those things don’t matter literally, but by having both things be the case, all my gripes I could’ve had sort of just fade away. No ⅔ falls, my favored style of production, and an atmosphere I’ll never not enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with events inside Coliseo Coacalco or Arena México. Quite the opposite, but we all have our favorites. The twitter bio reads “puro fan” for a reason. Can’t reprogram my brain, sorry.
If nothing else, a perfect storm, where two of my favorite luchadores collide in a more comfortable setting to put on one the most watchable matches of the year. I already told you why I have it on my list. It’s certainly not the top Lucha match of the year, or something that pushes a rich narrative. Just a good ass time.
Sometimes a match doesn’t need to be anything more than that.
Rating: ****
22.) Esfinge vs. Hechicero vs. Valiente vs. Euforia – CMLL 91st Aniversario (9.13.2024)
In the wrestling landscape of 2024, there often felt like there was so little to believe in. Wrestling just found itself being meaningless so often, with very few exceptions.
This is one of those exceptions. Probably the exception. Is Esfinge in the anniversario apuesta be my first choice? Far, far from it. Valiente isn’t exactly interesting to me either, and he’s only here because it seems logical enough that he might lose his mask. This whole thing would almost certainly function better as a singles match with Euforia and Hechicero, but despite all that, this is magic.
So while it’s not the singles apuesta you might want, and the lineup is shaky, but that still matters so little. All four men understand the gravity; someone is about to lose their identity, and everyone here is determined to make the action as great as they can. There’s nothing better than the sense of finality that comes with the stakes, the crowds feels it, the workers feel it, and you can feel it too. The greatest strength though, is through the efforts of one man.
Hechicero.
Finally backed by a one-night 100% committal push, he rewards that rare faith by turning in the type of thing that feels perfect for someone who went stretches feeling like the best wrestler in the world last year. Esfinge has his weaknesses masked, and both Valiente and Euforia turn back the clock. Hechicero overcomes an injury, pins everyone, and gets back at Los Infernales. The whole thing is about him, and god damn, does he ever shine bright.
A real magical effort that you can only describe with one word: Wizardry.
Rating: ****
21.) Natsupoi & Saori Anou vs. Chihiro Hashimoto & Sareee – Stardom Cinderella Tournament 2024 – Day 1 (3.09.2024)
Image via World Wonder Ring Stardom
One of the best all-star tags in a while.
For the second straight year, Chihiro Hashimoto takes a trip to Stardom and instantly offers up a match among the best in the company. She teams with Sareee this go around, and they are tasked with doing on simple thing:
Kill Natsupoi.
The match isn’t much more than that. If you were able to get around to the Poi/Hashimoto match in SENJO the year previous, this is pretty much a extended version of that beatdown. Not as air tight, but the idea is the same. Poor Poi tries, putting in a great babyface performance, but loses in the end. And yes, Anou’s kind of just there for the ride, but this being about the other three women was the right call. If you like neck drops, meaty strikes, and bombs, this one is for you.
Rating: ****
20.) Nao Ishikawa vs. Sareee – Marigold Winter Wonderful Fight – Day 1 (11.14.2024)
Image via Dream Star Fighting Marigold
I’m telling you, this wrestling thing doesn’t have to be that complicated.
This all came together after Nanae Takahashi gets hurt prior to her title match against Sareee, so Nao Ishikawa steps up to take her place on the card in a non-title match. Now, Nao Ishikawa isn’t someone I’m familiar with, but as far as I can find she’s been wrestling for four years, loses quite a bit, and bounced around even more than that before landing in Marigold. She doesn’t seem to be all that special of a worker either, but all that matters so little. This match isn’t about Nao, it’s about Sareee putting her in the dirt. Ishikawa has no other job other than getting run over, and from the second I saw her tearing up in fear during her entrance, I knew she understood her role.
Naturally, I find all this quite delightful. Sareee taking this piss out of Marigold and its roster rocks because (1) that glorified fed operation sucks, and (2) Sareee is genuinely so much better than everything there that it’s a disservice when she doesn’t. Her performance here is so damn good, gleefully destroying Nao with foot stomps, forearms, and pestering kicks. She’s taunting both her and Nanae the whole way, but never misses a chance to help the crowd get behind Nao. Ishikawa kicks and screams, but in the end, she dies, and only has an example made out of her. As it should be.
The match that won Sareee women’s wrestler of the year, and to this point, easily the best Marigold match ever.
Rating: ****
19.) Bryan Danielson vs. Swerve Strickland – AEW All In London 2024 (8.25.2024)
The Dragon delivers in another stadium main event.
Maximizing what can be done with an audience that has already bought in is one of Danielson’s most underrated talents. What could’ve easily felt melodramatic and overdone with anyone else, felt like a masterclass from Dragon. The pacing and timing feels incredibly pristine, even on a rewatch, and the transitions are pretty seamless as well. Every time Swerve tries to get a little too cute, Danielson is there to punish him. No need to overstate his abilities as an underdog either, his work as a hero has been anything but understated, and rightfully so. The blood is great, the babyface fire is there, and the selling is consistent. Typical greatness from Bryan.
Quietly though, a career performance from Strickland as well. Don’t get me wrong, Dragon winning another stadium main event is the coolest shit ever, but it’s not entirely fair to sell Swerve short. He did have this incredibly forced year where AEW wanted him to be something he wasn’t, but here his heel work was simple, and his performance feels supplementary in the best way possible. Even in the little moments, like the damage to Dragon’s arm and leg, or him working the cut stood out as good ways to fill a heel control segment. I’d blame him for the stuff with Bryan’s family, but whether people want to admit it or not, it’s clearly Bryan’s idea. Most importantly though, Swerve committed to being booed, and he went about it the right way. God honest heat, true and authentic, which was exactly what this bout deserved. If the plan was always Danielson winning, it was always going to feel like a big moment, but Swerve put in the work to make it as special as he possibly could. Is Strickland perfect? Of course not. He’s the worst worker of the two here, comfortably so, but I’ll credit a career best when I see one.
The most tangible emotional high point of wrestling in ‘24.
Rating: ****
18.) Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Ryohei Oiwa – NOAH N-1 Victory 2024 – Day 2 (8.09.2024)
A match about commitment.
Initially, I think I wanted this match to be more than it ever was. Seeing Oiwa work a headlock for 15 minutes and having the NOAH crowd invested felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity to commit to that idea fully, so seeing the bombs come out down the stretch and Oiwa stop selling the leg was a bit of a bummer.
Yet, this is still great.
The struggle radiates from this match. It’s gripping, and maybe the best match this year where a match has almost nothing to do with the wrestling, but instead about the emotion both men can convey. Kaito getting cut off in those headlocks but staying true is the exact thing you want to see from an ace, while Oiwa getting hooked in that figure four was a level of intense in ways you don’t see the spot being anymore. Both men do nail that emotional part, the most important part, and I think that’s what ended up hooking me in. Even isolated, the big finishing stretch at the end breathes too. It feels unnecessary, but really, it doesn’t come close to undermining the entire product.
Rating: ****
17.) Fuminori Abe vs. Roderick Strong – DPW Limit Break (5.19.2024)
I’ve come to two realizations when trying to sell this match for you.
(1) There’s nothing I can say to you to make you watch this if it doesn’t sound appealing to you on paper and (2) if this somehow doesn’t sound appealing to you, consider the fact that maybe wrestling isn’t for you. DPW was the quintessential indie last year, both Strong and Abe are the two quintessential hard-hitters from opposite sides of the world, and. they hit each other hard in DPW ring. That fuckin rules. No need to paint this as some kind of complex mat classic or air-tight shoot style exhibition, it kicks ass because for once a dream match presents itself as something you’d actually dream about.
Kick rocks if you don’t like it.
Rating: ****
16.) Hechicero vs. Bryan Danielson – AEW Collision (2.03.2024)
An ideal dream match.
I say that despite hating that term. It’s something that gets said much to often to the point where when it’s used in a build it actively takes away from the match. Things that are dream matches are supposed to be unlikely, stuff you dream about, right?
On paper, this counts.
Then there’s the match itself. There’s the clever bit of Dragon’s fun little sparring session turning into a disaster, and what that does for Hechicero even in defeat. But what this plays out as is something that represents the ideal TV dream match. It’s a riff session and a showcase, with the extra story bits on the side if you want. That’s why this is captivating, you can see the AEW audience buy into Hechicero in real time, and then looping back, you get to watch Bryan get completely owned by someone who might actually be his equal. I’m not claiming it’s perfect. Danielson’s first real go at some honest llave-style riffing isn’t pitch perfect, and Hechicero’s more or less in presentation mode. That’s mainly just to say this isn’t exactly what it could be, but I find it hard not to love what is exists as regardles.
Rating: ****
15.) Hikaru Sato vs. Fuminori Abe – Hikaru Sato Produce Indie Junior Festival ~ We Are All Alive 3 (3.28.2024)
Far from the first Abe and Sato match, but their only one that dared to be anything other than good.
More often than not, these two get it right. There’s some of the goofier sides of both men that rear their ugly head at points, and that could take away from the griminess this thing has depending on who you are, but still, this is pretty much as authentic as you’ll find a shoot-style match these days, with more classic pacing and a constant fight for leverage. The bombs and heavy strikes come more frequently as this thing rolls on, ensuring they never lose you, and this thing ends before it can go on too long.
Like I said, any seasoned shoot style afficanado and have some adverse opinions of some of the material in here. Be that if you want, but I’d argue most fans haven’t earned being that nitpicky. Focus on that mat and striked-based goodness, it’s like 90% of the match.
Rating: ****
14.) Darby Allin vs. Will Ospreay – AEW Dynamite #272 – Holiday Bash 2024 – Day 1 (12.18.2024)
This feels like the match AEW should be having more often.
Maybe not to the heights this particular match reaches, but with the habits of over half their rostered members trending in the incorrect direction, it’s nice to see the flagbearer of those people get dragged back into the ideal version of himself. All it really takes is a little more effort selling and a simple headlock from Darby.
Now to be clear, I don’t hate Will Ospreay.
I wasn’t there to watch him become the worst version of himself, the Ospreay that exists is always the one I’ve known. I admire his ceiling, and truthfully, I find him deniable in the best way possible. I respect you can know beforehand whether a Willy match will be good based on who he’s wrestling. In that sense, he respects my time.
This is a perfect example.
Matched with the TV worker of the year, this is magic. It still fits in the mind bending sequences, the devilish bumps, and silly facial expressions. But it’s grounded, sensible. It never asks Will to do anything but hit his offense, and he delivers. The match is made by Allin, he carries all the selling, has the babyface comeback, and is the one to add credibility to his eventual win. It’s his calling card performance of the year, and the best Ospreay match since the Omega one at Wrestle Kingdom last year.
Rating: ****1/4
13.) Chikayo Nagashima, DASH Chisako, Drake Morimatsu & Zap T vs. Maria, Mio Momono, Riko Kawahata & Takumi Iroha – Netflix Produce Gokuaku Joo Release Commemorative Event ~ Very Evil Pro Wrestling (9.12.2024)
No, really, wrestling doesn’t have to be complex.
This is in spirit of something great and of something simple. A real classic heels vs. babyface type of thing, with the bad guys anchored by Chisako cheating at moments notice; weapons, playing numbers, and distracting the referee, you name it. There’s little things from the heroes as well, particularly from Mio Momono, who feels as enduring as ever, bumping and selling before making a fiery comeback. There isn’t much in the way of overt details, as the memorability from this event comes from the entrances and speeches that surround this match, but the whole show is contingent on this getting it right — and as something both fun and moving — boy, did they ever.
As pro wrestling as pro wrestling gets.
Rating: ****1/4
12.) Jay White vs. Adam Page – AEW WrestleDream 2024 (10.12.2024)
I’m still floored at how good this is.
Like so many things AEW booked, this is overthought and dissaragned before the bell even rings. Page comes in still playing his new deranged heel character, and has no real beef with White, who on the other hand, has shifted away from the only thing he’s ever been in a calculating heel. It’s all a bad idea, and their second match proves it, but for a sliver of time, this peaked for what it ever could’ve been. Hanger puts in a hell of a shift, selling his knee while never dropping that physco act, and lending credibility to White’s sniveling offense by being to brash. The New Zealander on the other hand, despite his infuriatingly dull style, actually appears like the “smart” wrestler his often built up as.
Now, I’m not suggesting you buy into that narrative, or the whole counter wrestling thing. It’s stupid, quite literally the major reason why so many of White’s matches are so damn boring, but with a shortened runtime, opening match placement, and a hell of an effort from Page, maybe, just maybe, they way people talk about White might have some merit.
Miracle of the year.
Rating: ****1/4
11.) Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yuya Uemura- NJPW G1 Climax 34 – Day 4 (7.25.2024)
Speaking of stupid narratives, you have the newly christened New Japan musketeers. Of all the things that feel forced, crowning Ren Narita, Shota Umino, and Yota Tsuji as the future of your company might be the lord of forcefulness. That isn’t even considering that the best of those three is stuck doing a cartoony and lazy heel gimmick in House of Torture, or that the worst of them in main eventing the Tokyo Dome next year, or that Yuya Uemura, far and away the better than those three, wasn’t even included in the initial discussions of pillarhood.
The best part of this match is that it feels like Yuya is walking all over that oversight.
In this one Yuya takes an example of a golden child and takes him to school. His approach to all of his matches, even one as against one as bombastic as Takeshita, is to wrestle. Chain wrestling to start, transitioning into arm drags, into drop kicks, limb work, and then a finish. The kid sells and bumps his ass off along the way too. He practically wills out one of the best (only behind the Moxley match) performance from Takeshita all year, forcing Soup to think about the ways his momentum and power can be halted. There’s some great stuff in here will his weapon of choice in the elbow doesn’t put Yuya down like it did others in the tournament, and of course, the final moments with Uemura trapping both arms for the Deadbolt win. If you take nothing else away from this match, the Japanese commentary call of that final suplex is 100% worth your time.
The most important feeling win for any of the young guys in Japan all year.
Rating: ****1/4
10.) Sting & Darby Allin vs. The Young Bucks – AEW Revolution 2024 (3.03.2024)
Image via All Elite Wrestling
Conceptually, this match is a wreck. Someone takes a big bump, lays absent for the majority of the match, while the cartoon heels are overcome by the hero. Casting the 2024 Young Bucks in this type of match also seems like a really bad idea for whatever two cents that’s worth. And this isn’t one of those things where I can boldly exclaim that in spite of everything it works, either. It doesn’t work. This match is incredibly dumb, and the whole idea of something so cheesy and thinly strung turns me off from something like this. I have not shaken this feeling almost nine months later.
But, and you knew that but was coming, I’m not sure that matters. I can’t remove myself from appreciating what this match did as something to be consumed live. As I sat and watched this with two of my roommates, removed from the internet and opinions online, this match felt like the most engaging thing in the world. Saying goodbye to Sting hit with the punch it should’ve, the immediate damage control all our brains did when Darby took the glass bump where were saying, “Oh that couldn’t of been real glass,” or “Maybe the ladder wasn’t as high as it looked,” and then watching Sting go over on top of all that is an experience like none other I’ve found watching this stupid thing called wrestling.
It’s only when I think about it that I have problems, and sometimes, it’s best to just stop thinking all together.
So I will. So long, Stinger.
Rating: 🦂🦂🦂🦂🦂
9.) Mark Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong – ROH Death Before Dishonor 2024 (7.26.2024)
Almost too cliched in its own greatness.
You have Roderick Strong and Mark Briscoe, two of the most work-centric authentic pro wrestlers, not just of the year, but of their time. Both men sink into their natural roles, there’s a simple dynamic to follow, and they hit all the right notes a title match needs. At their very core both guys are so damn likable simply because of how good they are, and as a human being, you can’t help but find yourself rallying behind Mark. The man is defending his title and his home, and when Roddy makes it even more personal by hitting a Jay-Driller, he’s fighting for his family too. That all enables Roderick Strong to get as close as he’s ever been to tapping back into the all-time heel act he had in PWG, and a decade later, even seeing glimpses of that brilliance is great.
There’s bits and pieces here and there that feel a bit off, and I sort of despise the interference in this scenario in particular, as having a team like Taven and Bennett associate with something so pure feels more than a little gross, but that only drags this down so much. It’s everything you want from pro wrestling and the stories it can tell, maybe with just a bit too much extra. Things often can be a little too perfect to be authentic, but to hell with it, when you’re right, you’re right.
Dem Boyz and Mr. ROH forever.
Rating: ****1/4
8.) Yuki Ueno vs. Shinya Aoki – DDT Summer Vacation Memories 2024 (8.25.2024)
Shinya Aoki lands a correcting, albeit temporary, blow to the KO-D title scene.
In an effort to not waste much air, I’m not a big fan of Yuki Ueno. His output in 2024 includes being the worst part of two of the best matches on the year while producing some of the dullest and overdone main event matches in the world, with the match against MAO at Peter Pan just missing the top 5 worst list.
When he looks back on his 2024, he’ll always have this though.
The key presence is Aoki. He commits to drawing in Ueno and grounding him, forcing him to pry his way out of a simple collar-and-elbow tie up, or struggle through a knuckle lock. The contrast that brings when Ueno does get to break out his hyper-athletic offense makes those ending moments hit so well, with the standing dropkick looking absolutely gross, and like a potential match ender. But as this thing begins to wind down, Aoki goes to what he’d go to throughout his reign. He traps Ueno in the ring, drowns the young ace on the mat, and proceeds to suffocate him. It’s a decisive victory, kicking off the best title reign of the year and ending the most disappointing one. It’s a return to roots, bringing weight back to the top of the DDT card for the first time since Higuchi’s reign in 2022, and the eighth best match of ’24.
Rating: ****1/4
7.) Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW The New Beginning In Osaka 2024 (2.11.2024)
Initially my match of the year, believe it or not.
Through the rewatch process, and the natural comparisons to their match last year, this one slid a bit. There’s little things you can nitpicking about, Zack jumping in and out of holds a bit too quickly, his leg selling, or maybe you might have problems with Bryan not fully matching the in-house style. Mechanically, this is a imperfect match when you’re looking for some kind of mat classic, but like so many of Bryan Danielson’s efforts on the year, it’s his take on a different style that makes this match so special.
Just seeing the Osaka crowd buy in the same way the crowds in Mexico would buy into Danielson feels so special. It’s a genuine pleasure to see these two riff — and strike too, those are surprisingly great —and while I realise this is a unpopular opinion, I actually like Zack in the adopted hero role here too. It feels good to see him power up and try to match Dragon, and through raw effort from Danielson, this always stays grounded. There are issues, some cliches of “great” technical wrestling here and there, and the magic fades a bit the second time around. But for what this is, what exists between all the issues, this is still one of the best of the year. Oh, and sue me, the right man wins too.
Rating: ****1/4
6.) Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Sareee – Sareee Produce Sareee-ISM Chapter III (1.16.2024)
For both, a harbinger of the year to come.
Everything I’ve said about other Hashimoto and Sareee matches from the year apply to to this one. Their matches have always been about the stiff strikes, big suplexes, and other bombs, but as always with these two, they maximize that simple idea. There’s that ever important tinge of struggle that radiates throughout all those nasty shots, and the opening mat work feels a bit more essential than when they’ve done it in the past. When things slow down a bit during the middle parts of the match and the action spills to the outside, the equally lively and eerie atmosphere at Shinjuku FACE provides the match the path to skate on before they amp of the violence and tense nature of the bout down the stretch.
This whole thing is exactly what one should want from a wrestling match that isn’t about the details. If you love sick headbutts, nasty suplexes, and crunching elbows, there wasn’t two workers better than Big Hash or Sareee at making those highlights work in 2024.
Rating: ****1/4
5.) Chihiro Hashimoto & VENY vs. Mayu Iwatani & Sareee – Sareee-ISM Chapter V (9.02.2024)
Easy to appreciate for what is.
After missing with her previous main event, Sareee hastily put together a star studded lineup for the final Sareee-ISM show of the year. And like great main events from the productions past, the baseline for all of this remains the interactions between Hashimoto and Sareee. There’s a way in which Hash works that makes some of the poorer tendencies from someone like Mayu, and even Sareee, work just that much better. The extended exchange sequences never lose their steam with Chihiro, and even the most cliche fighting spirit spots keep my eyes from rolling when she’s involved. And unlike some of the lower levels Sareee had to stoop to in Marigold, it feels more than reasonable when Hashimoto is the one to push back. Then, there’s VENY. A real delight to her performance here, bringing a level of spiteful roughness unmatched by even Sareee. She never missed a chance to land a kick or a big slap, and the constant poking and prodding of her during the down moments of her control segments keeps the match moving at points where it really needed it. It’s not lost on me that she threw the two best forearms in this match either. A sick feat with the three people surrounding her.
Of course, Stardom’s golden girl is riding in the same ship too. Not to discredit Mayu, but she’s the least important part of the match. The big hot tag never comes like I felt it should, but she does make the most of her time by taking some nasty bumps and feels solid in the role of support. Even something unintentional like the all the friendly fire, both accidental and planned, feels a bit more lively because Mayu’s the one doing it. She’s the weak link for sure, but you can’t hold any disdain over her for it.
The overall structure is where I find myself a little frustrated. The match is packed with a ton of cool and mean stuff (That headbutt from Sareee, my god), but everything in between has some trouble supporting all the memorable like it could. In the end, this comes remarkably close to being an all-timer, falling short through faults that felt easily avoidable considering who’s all involved here. A bit fustrating that it ends up at number 5 for all the obvious flaws too, but that is the year we lived through. Nothing even dared sniff perfection.
For what it is though? A good time, at the very least.
Rating: ****1/4
4.) Bryan Keith vs. Eddie Kingston – AEW Collision (2.03.2024)
A delightful little struggle, this one.
Perhaps there’s a little bit of a dulled feeling because this is exactly what you’d expect with a match from these two, but there’s little details in here that make it so great. Both men hit hard, yes, but Kingston puts in the work selling and bumping to make it feel as monumental as possible. It’s a match that radiates such a focused energy that I find it hard not to love, with the added bonus of AEW nailing the presentation of Keith being announced as All Elite to end. It’s one of those things that instantly has the key to my heart; a real slugfest sporty-style of match where all’s well that ends well, and if you know me, again, that’s getting dangerously close to checking all the boxes for a great match, at least in my book.
Quietly, yet comfortably the TV match of the year.
Rating: ****1/4
3.) Hirooki Goto vs. Konosuke Takeshita – NJPW G1 Climax 34 – Day 10 (8.04.2024)
Handcuffed by a few things; Takeshita in a long form match, the fading magic of the New Japan product, a bit of a slow start, sure, all that’s true. Doesn’t matter. This match is pure jubilation, pushing all your chips to the middle and putting your eggs in the wrong basket, and despite the foolishness and odds against you, you reap the rewards. This match is Hirooki Goto, breathes through him, and for once he’s on the right side of something unlikely.
Because, y’know, for whatever reason, people forgot what the G in G1 stands for.
In 2024, time has started to catch up to most of our favorites from the past. The G1 field didn’t feature Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, or Hiroshi Tanahashi. Not even a name like Taichi or YOSHI-HASHI made the cut, but the one man bearing the flag for the old guys from a brighter age was the man who never even saw the fruits of profit in those days, was Hiroki fucking Goto. Yeah dude, the G in G1 stands for Goto.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Rating: ****1/4
2.) Shinya Aoki vs. HARASHIMA – DDT God Bless (10.19.2024)
Easily the most appreciable match all year. A match all about struggle, and a match that wastes absolutely no time. Though with any familiarity with either man, this thing gathers up a more complex and rich feeling than you’d expect. This isn’t the flashy grappling you get from someone like Zack Sabre Jr. or Hechicero, there’s still some intricacies, yes, but it’s all very steady and sensible.
Like all of his title matches, Aoki is only aiming to pin his opponent’s shoulders on the mat. Unlike his previous challengers though, HARASHIMA is more than competent in the ground game. He’s able to survive by playing Aoki’s game until the game gets to the stand up, and learning from his last title match, he breaks out the bombs early. He gets the advantage after a big poison-rana, but when push comes to shove, Shinya Aoki is the one who can survive. A couple of sick punt kicks and a overzealous celebration later, Aoki goes back to his reliable strategy from the start of the match, trapping the ace in a full nelson pin to retain. It’s the second crushing defeat for HARASHIMA on the year, and would’ve been the match of the year, if not for himself.
Rating: ****1/2
1.) HARASHIMA vs. Yuki Ueno – DDT Judgement 2024 (3.17.2024)
It wasn’t always in the #1 spot, but as I dug a little deeper into my feelings on the match-based medium, this is the one that stood out.
This is a simple generational clash in practice. A story pro wrestling in Japan has told on multiple occasions in different ways for decades now, a type of formula where if the audience is invested in both the old and new guard, emotional investment and drama are easy to come by. What Ueno was at the time of this, is the third edition of DDT’s golden boy, behind the lineage of Konosuke Takeshita and Kota Ibushi. But unlike the previous two, Ueno seemed to have ursupred the role of company ace. He’s every bit as explosive, athletic, and dangerous as the other two, no more, no less, but most importantly, he’s as young as they were when they sat atop DDT. HARASHIMA on the other hand, despite being as reliable and great as ever, has aged. Life isn’t fair in that regard. Coming into the match, Ueno has already been delt three of the four aces in the deck. And the beauty of this take of the clash of generations comes from HARASHIMA playing a character who realizes it. He turns Ueno’s general lack of focus into a meaningful narrative strung throughout the match, he’s smarter, but he’s far past being 29 years of age. His work on the midsection is mean and desperate, a perfect strategy, and yet Ueno survives of of pure ability alone. Given a crumb, the reigning champion makes his comebacks. HARASHIMA’s strategy begins to fade, he gets desperate, and in the end, fails to turn back the clock one more time.
The point of this match isn’t about a result in question. This is about believing, putting your faith into one of the defining figures of the last decade, getting caught in the whirlwind of an upset. Why not bite on this nearfalls? Why not strap up the ace on last time? I’ve said as I’ve gone on throughout this project — or at least I’ve hinted at — the beauty of pro wrestling when you’re bought in. It’s the matches and moments under that umbrella that stick with you. And nothing stuck with me more than watching one of my favorite wrestlers, aged 50, put on the best individual performance of the year, only to see what might’ve been his last shot at glory slide though his fingers. It hurts, but it shows not even our mightiest heroes are invincible. Time comes for us all, and in the case of Ueno, there’s always someone more appreciated, appears more talented, and more respected, whether they deserve it or not.
But like I said, the real beauty is believing, even if time always wins anyway.
Your 2024 match of the year.
Rating: ****1/2
At 31,293 of words, that is your 2024 edition of the Pro Wrestling 100. If you came this far, or even if you just scrolled through, I appreciate it. I hate to reiterate this point, but I don’t get paid to make stuff like this. If you’re so inclined to even follow me on my socials, or repost or share this in any way, I’d appreciate it. I’ll see ya next year.
Kyle Ginsbach 
