Match of the Year Tracking Thread 2017

[hbk4eva]

I would have to say The Usos vs The New Day from Backlash. Those two teams just know tag team wrestling. The match was excellently paced, the near falls were nicely portrayed, and the finish was something special.

 

[Bernkastel]

Brock vs Joe vs Roman vs Braun - Universal title match - Summer Slam.

Holy Jesus, what a hoss fight. It was a real barnburner. It was pretty much everything that you could have wanted, seeing these four powerhouses just beat the shit out of each other. The ending may have soured the match for some, but I thought it was the right call. And Strowman looked to be worth his weight in gold.

 

[Dmbfantomas]

Brock vs Joe vs Roman vs Braun - Universal title match - Summer Slam.

Holy Jesus, what a hoss fight. It was a real barnburner. It was pretty much everything that you could have wanted, seeing these four powerhouses just beat the shit out of each other. The ending may have soured the match for some, but I thought it was the right call. And Strowman looked to be worth his weight in gold.

It was the greatest thing I have ever seen.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Another match worthy of consideration is Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito in the finals for the 2017 G1 Climax finals. I finished watching it on YouTube a few minutes ago and I thought it was much better than any of the Okada/Omega matches. While they were very good, I do think they're overrated and came off like matches that went unnecessarily long.

One complaint I had about Omega vs. Naito, and really for a lot of New Japan matches, is that they can be extremely sloppy when it comes to protecting themselves and each other when it comes to head and neck trauma. There were several instances in this match in which both men land right on their heads and necks, which is due to some spectacular though unsafe looking spots. I've seen lots of that in some of Omega's matches and I don't see how he can't have had a lot of concussions or a history of neck problems.

 

[wewanttables]

I would like to say that the match of the year for the WWE is the Asuka vs. Nikki Cross falls count anywhere match. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole thing. They had a good build. If it is not this match, I don't know how WWE gets match of the year to this point.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

For me, it's between the john cena vs aj styles match at the royal rumble and the roman reigns vs john cena match at the september ppv. But while I did like the story that the reigns/cena match told, I have go go with the aj vs cena match from the rumble. The story told in that was just perfect and the fans connected to the match from beginning to end

 

[ISkye]

Okada versus Omega 1. is much more than likely the best match of the year overall objectively from any promotion. No single match can compare in long term significance, buzz, praise from people in the business, the rather large crowds engagement and emotional connection to both wrestlers, the storytelling, the athleticism and physicality, great booking, and where it stood on the card it was in. As a standalone match there may be something better and if there is. It is another Kenny Omega or Okada match.

WWE isn't going to top it. NJPW might, but I don't expect it until next year.

Also. After Hell In a Cell. It's notable to mention Shane McMahon versus Kevin Owens and especially Uso's versus New Day. They weren't anything above something like an AJ Styles versus Cena at the Rumble, but that gap really isn't THAT huge. For sure somewhere within the top 25 of any promotion, but even that may be cutting it close on whichever one you'd consider worse. Possibly the last WWE match I'm hoping to break their normal limitations for the year is that ridiculous Shield Vs. Braun Strowman / Kane / Miz / Sheamus / Cesaro match at TLC.

I haven't gotten a chance to watch Keith Lee versus Donovan Dijak on Day three of the BOLA tournament for PWG. Also I slept on that Katsuhiko Nakajima versus Brian cage match that they had on day 8 of NOAH Summer Navigation. Heard the latter match was better than Donovan versus Keith, but considering the match took place at BOLA I won't assume anything.

Not sure what my personal favorite for this year is going to be. There are a few matches I really enjoyed watching at the time they happened, but completely forgot about like a day later. I'll probably end up having several for different reasons.

 

[ShinChan]

I would like to mention AJ Styles Vs. Finn Bálor. Plus, Dante Fox Vs. Killshot from Lucha Underground. The latter is the most hardcore match I've ever seen and it actually made sense instead of illogical violence.

AJ Styles Vs. Finn Bálor was damn good. There was no feud so I'm expecting even better when they eventually feud.

 

[#hamler]

Aleister Black vs. The Velveteen Dream probably surpassed Cena vs Styles for me as my favorite match of the year. While not a technical masterpiece, the match is what storytelling is all about in wrestling. Dream's tights, his mid match fake dive out copying Black - everything played out perfectly. Let these two try this again for the NXT title.

 

[Cena Is A Punk Rocker]

Well for me it is now AJ/Brock. No story. No gimmicks. And the fact that Brock sold like a mofo for AJ was awesome. I thought it was a masterpiece.

 

[ztwhite]

Aleister Black vs. The Velveteen Dream probably surpassed Cena vs Styles for me as my favorite match of the year. While not a technical masterpiece, the match is what storytelling is all about in wrestling. Dream's tights, his mid match fake dive out copying Black - everything played out perfectly. Let these two try this again for the NXT title.

Don't know if it was MOTY, but it was really enjoyable. Definitely the highlight of Survivor Series weekend when it came to both PPVs.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Black vs. Dream, the WarGames match and Styles vs. Lesnar are all worthy contenders. Black vs. Dream is a perfect example that simplicity during a build is the way to go, which is usually what NXT does anyway. The WarGames match was a perfectly beautiful piece of chaos and, in my eyes, was an improvement on the WarGames concept. Styles vs. Lesnar...well not much really needs to be said, though I think it may well have been the best had it been 3 to 5 minutes longer with AJ Styles winning. While I know it won't win, McIntyre vs. Almas deserves a mention as it was the best NXT Championship match in quite some time and Dunne vs. Gargano from NXT this past Wednesday also deserves a mention as the best match seen for the NXT television show in quite some time. All in all, Survivor Series weekend produced a number of killer matches from WWE

 

[Wolf Pac]

Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Dream - Great storytelling and psychology

AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar - Great David vs. Goliath contest

Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman - Great hoss fight

Either of those three for me as MOTY.

Honorable mention is Lesnar vs. Joe at Great Balls Of Fire. Short but sweet fight.

 

[Black Anaconda Vise]

An older match (from March I believe), but with WALTER’s stock skyrocketing recently it should be noted that he had an awesome mean-guy match against Ilja Dragunov in the finals of the wXw 16 Carat tournament

They just pummeled each others and Walter’s chops are absolutely insane