Kevin’s Top 100 Matches Of 2021 (#30-21)

30. WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Edge – WWE Money in the Bank

Credit: WWE

There was a big fight feel here and this felt special. Both of them nailed everything little thing including the mannerisms even before the bell. Though they started with a relatively even back and forth, Roman took control and began wearing Edge down with his usual power-based offense. He did his trash talking in between though it wasn’t a clear with a live crowd to drown him out. Every Edge rally was snuffed out by Roman delivering a big strike or move. Edge countered the Superman punch into a backslide that sent this into next gear. He started his rally with his signature moves but none were enough to keep the champion down. Edge slapped on the crossface that nearly beat Roman at WrestleMania and Roman started to power out but couldn’t. Instead, he had to get to the ropes to survive. He responded with the Guillotine but Edge sent them outside to break it. After Roman went through the guardrail on a spear, Edge stopped the countout and Speared Roman through the other guardrail. A ref bump led to Roman bringing in the broken piece of a chair, which Edge turned around and used on him for the Crossface. The Usos were cut off by the Mysterios, only for Seth Rollins to show up and superkick Edge, breaking the hold. Edge still hit a Spear but the referees stupidly weren’t around so it gave Roman time to kick out. Another Seth appearance distracted Edge enough to fall to a Spear in about 33:13 but my feed cut out at one point so the time might not be right. [****¼]

29. NXT United Kingdom Championship: WALTER [c] vs. Tommaso Ciampa – NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night One

Credit: WWE

Remember when Tommaso Ciampa tried growing out his hair and it looked really odd since he was still bald in the center? Thankfully, he went back to the fully bald look on this night, making him look like a total badass which he needed to be since he was going up against arguably the most impressive badass out there, WALTER. I didn’t come in with high hopes since Ciampa hadn’t been back to his pre-neck injury level but he proved me wrong on this night. He went to war with WALTER and though his plan was to avoid chops and big blows from the start, he didn’t shy away from getting into the physical stuff. Ciampa knew he was outmatched so he resorted to things like biting WALTER’s hand in an attempt to get any kind of upper hand against the large champion. They didn’t go overly long, ending this after 16:58 of wild action, which was a plus. Ciampa came close with a middle rope Air Raid Crash and the bridge he did with WALTER on him was one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen. From there, WALTER threw big blows with powerbombs, a half nelson suplex, and finally retaining with a massive chop. WALTER is just the best. [****¼]

28. AEW World Championship: Kenny Omega [c] vs. Hangman Page – AEW Full Gear

Credit: AEW

Two years of storytelling led to this. There was a big fight feel here. Kenny was up to his usual antics early, having Don Callis interfere a handful of times. That was the setup for the first third or so of this match. Hangman would get going, Kenny would cut him off and then distract the referee as Callis got in cheap shots. Kenny hit a ridiculous sunset flip bomb off the top and snapped off V-Triggers but Hangman survived. Hangman rallied and clotheslined Kenny through a table before signaling for the Buckshot Lariat only for Kenny to back away from it. He finally hit it but Kenny pulled the referee in the way. They mostly avoided shenanigans as Hangman took out Callis. They began trading big shots and offense with Hangman firing up despite eating knee strikes. As we neared 25 minutes, the Young Bucks strolled out. The Buckshot Lariat was met with V-Trigger but Hangman escaped One Winged Angel and hit Kenny with it for two. Hangman hit the Buckshot Lariat to Kenny’s back as Nick didn’t grab the leg like he did in the past. He went for it again to the front and stared at Matt, who nodded at him. Hangman connected and won the AEW World Title in 25:11. A great match and remarkable finish to some quality long-term storytelling. The Bucks stuff at the end actually meant a lot. A true feel good moment. [****¼]

27. Andrade El Idolo vs. PAC – AEW Rampage 10/22/21

 

Credit: AEW

The first match between these two on Rampage was something pretty special but it got brought down a bit by a lame finish where Chavo Guerrero hit PAC with an iPad. The idea of the cheap finish was fine but the execution and the iPad as a weapon were lame. Andrade dumped Chavo and we got a rematch several weeks later that was far superior. The idea was that Andrade was out to prove he could beat PAC without help. That allowed them to have a great one on one encounter with no BS throughout. It was good to start but after the commercial break, this became truly spectacular. They started throwing out wild moves that seemed like they would wreck each guy. We’re talking ranas off the apron and into a chair as well as PAC hitting a goddamn top rope Brainbuster that looked sick. That led to some strikes and a series of pin attempts where PAC used an inside cradle to win this after 16:20. One of the best television matches of the year because PAC and Andrade have remarkable chemistry that is so good it doesn’t even make sense. The Andrade/Malakai Black pairing that formed after the match was dope though Cody getting involved was kind of lame. Still, this match itself was spectacular. [****¼]

26. KUSHIDA vs. Pete Dunne – NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver Night One

Credit: WWE

I’ve explained many times over about my simple tastes in wrestling. I don’t need things that are overproduced, overly long, and meant to be billed as something epic. Just give me quality wrestling for 10-15 minutes and I’ll be captivated. That’s just what this opener for TakeOver: Stand and Deliver was. They put two of the best wrestlers in the world together and let them do their thing. The entire thing was built around KUSHIDA and Pete Dunne both having a claim to being the best technical wrestler in the world. The match was simply 10:38 of two guys exchanging mat wrestling and holds. That might sound boring on the surface but when done right, it can be beautiful and that’s what this was. Some of the transitions and limb work was incredible and everything they did mattered. KUSHIDA kept going for the Hoverboard Lock but Dunne did whatever he could to avoid it or reach the ropes. To combat it, he went after the hands of KUSHIDA, stomping on them often. It made it so KUSHIDA’s fastball punch was something he couldn’t capitalize on. Dunne added the Bitter End and secured the victory. Not enough people talked about how outstanding this was. [****¼]

25. KENTA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 31 10/9/21

Credit: NJPW

For the most part, the G1 Climax this year was a letdown. While there were plenty of good matches and a few that cracked the four-star barrier, there weren’t many that were truly special. So, I was pleasantly surprised when we got one on night 13. Zack Sabre Jr. had dominated the tournament to this point, winning five matches by submission, beating the IWGP World Champion, defeating the back-to-back G1 winner, and only losing one contest. However, KENTA came in almost even cockier, They traded strikes but when KENTA would get the upper hand, he added in taunts. Sabre Jr. was sure to respond with his own asshole moves like simply kicking away at KENTA in annoying fashion near the end. Sabre Jr. looked to catch strikes into submissions, yet KENTA could also apply his Game Over submission to even the score. Sabre Jr. caught a Busaiku Knee and rolled it into a kneebar in one of the best spots of the year. When that wasn’t enough, KENTA ultimately sent Sabre Jr. into an exposed turnbuckle and then delivered the Go to Sleep to take home the win in 22:24, which also put him ahead of ZSJ in the standings. Just great pro wrestling. [****½]

24. WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Daniel Bryan – WWE Smackdown 4/30/21

Credit: WWE

At the time we weren’t sure what Daniel Bryan was going to do with his future but all we knew for certain was that he was giving us bangers on the road to wherever. He and Roman Reigns had a tremendous match at Fastlane and with the addition of Edge, we got another outstanding match at WrestleMania. A few weeks later, Bryan had one final shot at the Universal Title but with the caveat that he put his career on the line. There was a big fight feel here and it changed up the formula from their previous encounter. At Fastlane, Bryan was confident, knowing he was a better wrestler and using his brains. However, after failing against Reigns twice, there was desperation in his work here. Reigns kicked his ass at points in this 27:18 match but Bryan kept coming back for more. You got the sense that he was going to give in and would do anything to remain alive in this battle. One issue that I had with some Reigns title defenses was the interference aspect but that wasn’t around here. He pretty much just was the better man and won when Bryan passed out in the guillotine. I know this ended up being Bryan’s last match for WWE but it’s also notable because Roman debuted his phenomenal theme music here. [****½]

23. IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Championships: Tetsuya Naito [c] vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night One

Credit: NJPW

Tetsuya Naito and Kota Ibushi are known for nearly killing each other in the ring. Surprisingly, this got off to a rather slow start. Ibushi went after the leg, while Naito seemed to enjoy this pace against a guy like Ibushi. Of course, they would quickly snap off something that kicked it into the next gear like Ibushi’s sweet rana. Things started to get into the dangerous area with a neckbreaker on the outside. The first 15 minutes here flew by because these dudes are so phenomenal at what they do. The snap rana off the apron was the stuff of legend and looked incredible. The same goes for Naito’s super reverse rana. It was clearly time to throw caution to the wind. It progressed into more of a slugfest with every slap and strike heard clearly thanks to the smaller crowd. As one would expect, the closing stretch was spectacular and saw the two throw bombs at each other. Destino obviously didn’t end it and when Ibushi finally won with the Kamigoye after 31:18, both men were out. You almost got the sense that it was just the next man to hit a big move that would’ve ended it. A stunning main event that was better than what we got in last year’s headliners but a notch under Tanahashi/Omega from 2019. [****½]

22. NXT United Kingdom Championship: Ilja Dragunov [c] vs. A-Kid – NXT UK 10/14/21

Credit: WWE

I say it whenever a match makes this list from NXT UK but it’s a shame that the brand is often overlooked or forgotten about. They’ve weathered the storm of some truly questionable people being on their roster (some of whom are still there) and deliver a quality show almost weekly. Ilja Dragunov as champion has continued to be a highlight who consistently has great matches. A-Kid is another bright spot of the brand and a rising star. Putting them together had magic written all over it and they lived up to the hype I had for them. This TV main event was one of the best of the year even if next to nobody saw it. It was cool that this was the first match back with fans at BT Studios. Throughout this 19:21 affair, A-Kid targeted the champion’s arm and Dragunov retaliated with some leg work. Both did their actions with vigor, helping to really add to the intensity of it all and intensity is a trademark of Dragunov matches. A-Kid was outmatched in a few ways but gave Dragunov everything he had while also surviving plenty of offensive moves himself. He might have taken it with a triangle choke into an omoplata. Dragunov escaped and delivered Torpedo Moscow twice to retain in his first title defense. Go find this bout. [****½]

21. Men’s Money In The Bank: Big E vs. Drew McIntyre vs. John Morrison vs. Kevin Owens vs. Ricochet vs. Riddle vs. Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – WWE Money in the Bank

Credit: WWE

I remember when Peacock died during this match. This got off to a great start, with bodies flying everywhere and a short showdown between Big E and Drew McIntyre. The crowd chanted “Johnny Drip Drip,” so maybe we should go back to the Thunderdome. I liked some of the smaller angles throughout this, like Morrison and Rollins partnering up against Owens and Ricochet. Owens continued to take wild bumps, including the double suplex onto the ladder. He’s good for like two of those per ladder match. Drew had a great run in the middle with Claymores, a sick slam on Ricochet, and a dive outside, only to get stopped by Jinder Mahal’s henchmen. Ricochet got the highlight of the match, turning the ladder being knocked over into a sweet springboard dive. We got a wild finish with guys hitting finishers, Morrison using the drip stick, and more. After Seth powerbombed Owens through a ladder, Big E took him out with a Big Ending off the ladder before pulling down the briefcase in 18:13. Fantastic match that ranks among the best Money in the Banks ever. That pop for Big E’s win was surreal and well-earned. This was creative, exciting, and peaked at the right moment. [****½]