BritWres Matches Of the Year: #10-6
Well, we’ve finally cracked the top ten. Over the last week Iwan Mackenzie has been delivering his top 30 matches of 2021 and now we’re down to the nitty, gritty. Take it away Iwan, kick off the top ten…
10. Mike Bailey vs Luke Jacobs – RevPro “Live at Not the Cockpit 55” (07/11/21)
Credit: BackBodyDrop.com
As mentioned previously, the ending portion of the British J Cup between these two was fantastic so, with Francesco Akira being unavailable due to Injury on this evening, RevPro decided to slot Luke Jacobs in against Speedball.
This turned out to be a wise idea as for just over ten minutes, these two beat the absolute hell of each other and it was glorious.
Lariats were thrown, kicks were hit, and Speedball destroyed his knees again; they did all of this in ten minutes. It was such a perfect sprint of a match that I could watch over and over again. Brilliant work from both men.
9. Alex Windsor vs Jordynne Grace – WrestleCarnival “Pure” (09/10/21)
Credit: Ringside Perspective
One of the biggest matches to happen on the BritWres scene this year due to it having a prominent name star in Impact Wrestling’s Jordynne Grace up against one of the best British wrestlers of 2021, Alex Windsor.
The match had a big fight feel from the off with the hype video, fantastic ring introductions from Jade Walford with the lighting being the equivalent of the old Takeover events.
A brilliant match with Jordynne using her power to control the match with Windsor and Windsor using more her technical skills to try to take advantage of Grace’s weakness. All leading to a brilliant finish that I won’t spoil because you should check this match out, and with it being on YouTube, there’s not an excuse.
8. United Empire (Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs The Dream Team (Callum Newman, Robbie X & Lee Hunter) – RevPro “Live at Not the Cockpit 55” (07/11/21)
Credit: BackBodyDrop.com
This was originally supposed to feature Dean Allmark teaming with Robbie and Lee, but he couldn’t make it, so Callum Newman took his place instead. This actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise as this created a story for this match.
Before the match Ospreay tried to persuade his prodigy, Newman to join him in United Empire but Robbie and Lee talked sense into him. So, when Ospreay turned up the dial calling him “Budget Will Ospreay”, he lit a fire into Newman as he hit a John Woo to kick off the match in fast style.
What we got here, was a PWG style six-man tag team match with amazing action from everyone, with such a strong through line of Newman proving himself to be equal to Ospreay now.
This did have one of my favourite chants of the year as we all chanted “You’re just a Shit Callum Newman” towards Ospreay. And shoutout to Robbie X who the casual/New Japan fans didn’t know about going in but Robbie showcased himself well here and shut those people up.
7. Emersyn Jayne vs Alex Windsor: International Championship #1 Contenders Match – EVE “EVE After Queendom: Beers, Brawls and Badass Bitches” (02/10/21)
Credit: Pro Wrestling EVE
EVE’s first show at Signature Brew wasn’t a great experience for me, it was crowded due to the crowd only being allowed on one side of the ring, it was hard to see, even for a big lad like me, most of the matches were average and forgettable, and the toilets were horrendous.
However, this match stood head and shoulders above the rest, as these two produced an absolute banger and for 20 Minutes had the crowd in the palm of their hands.
Great chain wrestling, plenty of suplexes, and near falls that after it surpassed the 15 minute time limit, got five more minutes to decide a winner that eventually led to a Draw. One of the best matches I’ve ever seen from EVE and I can’t wait to see if 2022 draws these two paths back together.
6. Will Ospreay vs RKJ: RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight & RevPro British Heavyweight Championship Unification Match – RevPro “High Stakes 2021” (19/09/21)
This was probably RevPro’s biggest match for 2021, on RevPro’s first York Hall show since Valentine’s Day 2020. There was no love lost between these two as for over 30 Minutes, they waged war against one another, with the goal to call themselves the true RevPro champion.
Despite all the rightful criticism Will Ospreay has received, you can’t deny that he is a great wrestler. But, I do feel that this match was more of a showcase for Ricky Knight Jr.
He truly did arrive to the Top-Level Main Events of Major shows in this country, he carried himself so well here and he’s still only 21 (as of time of writing).
Fantastic match that flew by despite it going past the 30 Minute marker, with some fantastic wrestling, memorable spots involving tables and a finish that will lead to being paid off further down the line.
To emphasise how good this match is, it has a 4.42 Average on the GRAPPL App out of 78 Votes, which is pretty high for this current BritWres scene, but it deserves the plaudits.
So that’s another five matches down, tomorrow we finally reveal the top five matches of 2021!
Check out the other entries below: