The Top 50 Matches Of The Year: 20-11
Credit: backbodydrop.com
This is a match that I didn’t expect to talk about this year, let alone think I’d ever see happening, this crazy main event of Live in London 63 is still one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had as a fan this year.
It all started when Kurt dove onto Ospreay before the bell rung and then proceeded to desecrate Ospreay’s jacket which just riled up Ospreay more, a lot of the start of this had Kurt outsmarting him before Ospreay laid in one shot to wipe out Kurt.
Now what I love about this match is its use of minimalism, there are large parts where Kurt is just selling and Ospreay is just talking shit in the Mic which does not work or to the crowd; now I do have to give this crowd credit, because depending on either side you were on, people were invested in who won this match and for once it was nice to have the Will Ospreay fans behave themselves after I’ve encountered and seen a lot of them, actively ruin people’s experiences at shows.
But back onto the match and why I love it, is the third act where Kurt gets some offence back and starts really riling Ospreay up, as he parodies Orange Cassidy (Cassidy vs Ospreay had happened the week prior), hits a Poison Rana and SEGA Mega Driver, plus even has some interference from RKJ to assist Kurt, before Ospreay finally has enough and just beats on Kurt’s neck with forearms, thus winning by Knockout.
This was an absolute wild ride of a match and got me out of my seat multiple times, so so good.
19. Gabriel Kidd vs Yota Tsuji - WrestleCarnival “Carnival of Champions” (30/01)
Credit: @theheaddrop/Wrestle Carnival
Gabriel Kidd had been away from the UK for the best part of three years whilst he was in Japan and returned back to his hometown against a man who had been in Japan with him over those years, Yota Tsuji who was actually a replacement for Eric Young, this ended up being a better opponent for Gabriel.
These two had a fairly respectful contest to begin with but with Gabe getting the better of Yota, Yota had enough and decided to batter Gabe right in front of his family, threw him threw the chairs were Gabe’s family was and shouted at Gabe’s mother in Japanese, this was a great showcase for the heel Tsuji which was such a revelation after seeing him as a babyface in RevPro for so long,
The match then becomes this hard hitting, proper Strong Style affair and this was a proper Strong Style contest, after I feel the saying has become Bastardised for so long.
This was an emotional hard hitting contest that saved this show from being forgettable in my opinion and also brought the best out of Yota Tsuji I feel.
18. Alex Windsor vs Rhio: Iron Woman of Resurgence Tournament Final - Wrestling Resurgence “Iron Women of Resurgence - Show 2” (12/03)
Credit: @theheaddrop/Wrestling Resurgence
As a part of University of Leicester International Women's Day celebrations, Wrestling Resurgence presented a great double header of shows showcasing some of the best women's wrestlers on this scene and they ended it with this tournament final between, for my money, the two best women’s wrestlers in the UK.
These two had very different journey’s to the final of the Tournament with Rhio dominating her way through Evie Madden and Alexxis Falcon whilst Windsor had to fight hard through Laura Di Matteo and Mercedez Blaze to get to the final.
These two didn’t waste any time and just went at it straight away, they both wrestled like they wanted to win which not enough wrestlers do these days.
They fought outside in the cafe area, Windsor threw Rhio onto a Row of Chairs and then they just threw bombs at each other like it was 1990's All Japan Women.
Windsor won in the end and the roof felt like it blew off the Attenborough Arts Centre as Windsor became Resurgence’s Iron Woman and really started what was a great year for her, as well as Rhio who has been a highlight of this year, a truly incredible match.
17. Ilja Dragunov vs Cara Noir - PROGRESS “Chapter 131: Ten Year Anniversary” (25/03)
Credit: @theheaddrop/PROGRESS Wrestling
This late-era PROGRESS feud with reignited with Ilja Dragunov making a special appearance against Cara Noir; now to be honest, I wasn’t a massive fan of their original rivalry but they do have good chemistry and this is my favourite out of their matches, maybe the live bias helps as well. But this was a hard fought match, with a great story underneath it to thread it all together.
Cara had lost his World Title a few days beforehand and was in a funk so Ilja basically punished him wanting the real Cara to face him, which he was able to do as these two went for it against each other.
This was a fantastic match, and a shame that Ilja is in the WWE system and not on the Indies having great matches like this; the type of matches that PROGRESS should be having on their shows.
16. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs Destination: Everywhere (Micheal Oku & Connor Mills): NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship Match - RevPro “Ten Year Anniversary - Night 1” (20/08)
Credit; RevPro/@britwrespics
This was the end of Destination: Everywhere as we know it as one day before the breakup, they faced off against the team they’ve never been able to defeat Aussie Open.
This had the added gravitas of it being for the brand new Strong Openweight Tag Titles, and Mills had pulled double duty on this show as he faced Tony Deppen and injured his neck which the Aussie Open made a target in this match.
Aussie Open were so great in this match, they acted like proper bullies against Oku and Mills, their targeting of Mills neck was brilliant and credit to Mills who sold it really well.
Oku’s hot tag as well as Sensational as he came in, this match did play into the upcoming Mills/Oku rivalry and showed why Aussie Open for my money are the Best Tag Team in the World, another brilliant match from these two.
15. Will Ospreay vs Mike Bailey - RevPro “Ten Year Anniversary - Night 1” (20/08)
Credit: RevPro/@britwrespics
This match doesn't require any backstory or history, it’s just two of the best wrestlers in the world against each other, which is something RevPro has done throughout their entire history.
This almost felt like a Non-Canon match for Ospreay as he worked more as a babyface instead of a heel here, but did target Bailey’s knee which as I’ve talked about before, Bailey can sell so well and his offence works around that as well; this was a special main event, and I’m so glad I was live there to be in person to watch this match.
14. Minoru Suzuki vs Yota Tsuji - RevPro “Live in London 66” (23/10)
Credit: backbodydrop.com
The 229 has been a very reliable venue for wrestling since shows returned, and its small room enough to make things special, so having Suzuki there was always going to be special as you’re seeing him up close like never before, and this was just so special from Suzuki, Tsuji has his opponent did a great job, even Lucian Phillips on the outside occasionally running interference performed well but this was all about Suzuki for me.
This may be an emotional pick for me but after not being able to go to shows for so long and having international talent over seemed impossible, but this was special honestly.
13. Alex Windsor vs VENY: SHE-1 Series Block A Match - EVE Wrestling “SHE-1 Series 2022 - Show 2” (18/06)
Credit: @a.clements1313
Normally with SHE-1, my favourite match always comes from the Block Matches leading to the final, and it was the same here with Alex Windsor and VENY having this great sub-ten minute match from the Saturday Night show of SHE-1.
Now I have a massive love of Sub-Ten Minute matches, I genuinely think there fantastic and can be more memorable than a match that goes north of half an hour, and this match is great proof; there is no stop at all, the charisma of VENY was amazing, the pace set by Windsor in her offence and power was sensational. I’m not sure what else I can say than - This match rules.
12. Gabriel Kidd vs Francesco Akira - RevPro “High Stakes 2022” (29/01)
Credit: RevPro
This had the appeal of it having two students of the New Japan and All Japan dojos respectively but I don’t think anybody expected the kind of match these two had at York Hall.
Gabe started this match with massive slaps and a Exploder Suplex before going for a pinfall immediately, then getting straight back up for a clothesline but with Akira superkicking him, which led to a Asai Moonsault and a Shotgun Dropkick on the outside both delivered from Akira; that’s only the first two minutes of the match!
From there, Gabe gave Akira an Exploder Suplex on the Ramp like he was 1998 Taz, there were huge strikes from both with Akira’s chest ranking about a 8 out of 10 on the Ilja Dragunov scale and some great shit talking from both.
I absolutely love this match, it's an absolute delight and at less than Fifteen Minutes, this match is easily consumable, a real cult classic for 2022.
11. RKJ vs Will Ospreay: RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship Match, if RKJ Loses He Leaves RevPro - RevPro “Ten Year Anniversary - Night 2” (21/08)
Credit: RevPro/@BritWresPics
BritWres is a funk right now where instead of a booming scene, it’s regressed into a burgeoning scene, with stars having gone elsewhere.
I think that’s why I still admire this match so much, because it feels like two big stars for British Wrestling head to head on the biggest stage possible and you could feel it when before the bell had even started, there was a rumbling atmosphere in the room which was incredible.
These two have incredible chemistry and showcased it in this match, it had high flying, striking, Oscar Harding got taken out with a Hidden Blade, Ospreay put RKJ through a Table.
This was the culmination of both men’s journey with the title and they went out in style in a killer main event to celebrate ten years of RevPro, the pop when RKJ actually won, was incredible, I was hugging people! Plus this is one of two five star rated matches by Dave Meltzer that I’ve seen live in 2022.
Check out entries 10-6 here