Kevin’s Top 100 Matches Of 2021 (#50-41)

50. Best of the Super Juniors Finals: Hiromu Takahashi vs. YOH – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors x World Tag League Finals

Credit: NJPW

Typically, the finals of the Best of the Super Juniors delivers. Each one dating back to 2014 has received at least four stars from me, with last year’s finals actually topping the 2020 list. This year wasn’t quite as good as the 2020 finals but still a banger. YOH came in on a roll, winning seven straight matches after starting 0-4. That included an embarrassing 3-minute loss to Hiromu Takahashi, the reigning BOSJ champion. YOH made sure that he wasn’t going down quickly, matching Hiromu with strikes, slaps, and big offense throughout this. The stuff involving these two was great but the match had two glaring issues holding it back. One was the usual NJPW problem, which is that it went too long. 38:30 was just too much of this since it peaked before that. The other mistake was having SHO come out to attack them and try to get this thrown out as a no content. I get that it’s heat for him but it ruined the flow of the match. Other than that, this saw two of the best guys in the division putting on a show. YOH hit Hiromu with everything he had and survived a ton but Time Bomb II put him down, giving Hiromu another tournament win. [****¼]

49. WWE United States Championship: Damian Priest [c] vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus – WWE Raw 8/30/21

Credit: WWE

It seems like every year, there is a random and unexpected triple threat match on Raw that becomes one of the best matches of the year. This year, it was this bout for the United States Title that pitted Damian Priest against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. People don’t talk about it enough but Priest had an impressive run as champion with some standout matches. This was the best as it saw him take on two fellow big men who hit hard. I’ve mentioned in the past that sometimes, wrestling is really simple. If you have three tough dudes in one match, just let them beat the hell out of each other and that’s exactly what happened here. This wasn’t fancy or featured tons of high spots. Just bruisers being bruising. I liked the way the Sheamus/McIntyre feud from earlier in the year was utilized without overshadowing Priest’s involvement. That’s a tough balancing act but this match nailed it. There were great close calls down the stretch, including one where the Claymore was interrupted by a huge running knee. Priest countered a backbreaker into The Reckoning to retain his gold at the 21:30 mark. An underrated gem by many. [****¼]

48. Money in the Bank Qualifying Last Man Standing Match: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – WWE Smackdown 7/2/21

Credit: WWE

It’s not often than qualifying matches are great. That could be the case for Royal Rumbles, Survivor Series, Elimination Chambers, Money in the Bank, or almost anything else. They’re typically entertaining and get to the bigger match. However, an exception was this episode of Smackdown, which saw Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn reignite their rivalry in a Last Man Standing match. Given 23:31, Owens and Zayn had one of their great matches as the two really do not miss together. They spent the early portion setting things up, giving it a bit of a slower start than you might want but once it got going, it did not let up. Instead of holding things back and saving energy for MITB, these two went out and put on a brutal match. You believed they wanted to hurt each other and inflict as much damage on the other. Owens went through tables while Zayn took multiple powerbombs. There was a tremendous tease of a finish when Zayn hit three straight Helluva Kicks and Owens was out of it, only for him to roll outside to his feet and survive. It was smart and didn’t make it seem like he just popped up from big offense. After the three powerbombs that Zayn took (two through tables and one onto the apron in a fantastic callback to Owens’s NXT debut), he stayed down for the count and Owens advanced to another vicious match. [****¼]

47. Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: Grizzled Young Veterans vs. MSK – NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day

Credit: WWE

For the most part, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic has produced some quality matches since its inception. 2021 was no different on both the men’s and women’s sides. I gushed about how great TakeOver: Vengeance Day was and a big reason was that it had different styles all throughout. For the frantic match filled with wild high spots, you had this finals of the tournament pitting MSK against Grizzled Young Veterans. GYV work in the same vein as FTR in that they aren’t the fancy team that will do the big spots but they work incredibly well with those duos. That was the case here as they worked the technical more grounded style while still throwing in things like hard hitting offense and a few aerial spots. Meanwhile, they allowed MSK to showcase their skills, getting in almost countless high spots to make the crowd adore them. The final few minutes of this 18:25 encounter was absolutely breathtaking and helped cement that GYV are one of WWE’s most underrated teams ever and that MSK had potential to be a huge high flying tandem. Nash Carter did most of the selling while Wes Lee hit the ridiculous stuff to pop the crowd. MSK won with a Blockbuster/Hart Attack combo. [****¼]

46. Edge vs. Seth Rollins – WWE SummerSlam

Credit: WWE

Edge came out with the Brood theme, glasses, and fire entrance, which was dope as hell and set a great tone for this feeling special. He and Seth Rollins delivered in the early stages with some good exchanges that made you feel like they’ve wrestled against each other before. Edge busted out stuff that he hadn’t done in a while like top rope neckbreakers. Those are risky for him. Seth got going and did the superplex into the Falcon Arrow (he did the deal!) which got a great response from the crowd. Edge pulled out a Big E with a spear through the ropes in a massive spot. We also got cool stuff like Ede doing a Glam Slam and Seth catching a Spear into a Pedigree like he did to Roman at Money in the Bank 2016. Those are pretty fantastic moments. Their final exchange saw Edge avoid the Curb Stomp and turn his Edgecator over into a crossface. He slammed Seth’s head into the mat several times before getting the tap out in 20:34. An outstanding match built around the Curb Stomp being avoided and delivering in spades. Other than his first match with Orton, Edge has had nothing but bangers since returning. [****¼]

45. Kota Ibushi vs. Shingo Takagi – NJPW G1 Climax 10/3/21

Credit: NJPW

Their meeting in last year’s G1 came in at #13 on my list. Both Kota Ibushi and Shingo Takagi were slow to start here but in a way that felt like it was to not make the first mistake and not just done for the sake of killing time. Things picked up after just a couple of minutes when they got into an intense slap exchange. Ibushi came across like a man possessed like he knew a win could earn him a shot at the title he lost. From there they began throwing bigger offensive moves out like suplexes and dragon screws. They also had a kick exchange that nearly rivaled the slap one from earlier. Made In Japan and the Golden Star Powerbomb were both not enough to keep the other man down as they hit the 20 minute mark, making this a long outing for Kota following his illness earlier in the year. Shingo surprised me by kicking out of the Kamigoye and I haven’t paid enough close attention to remember how many people have done that. Shingo blocked a second and went for Last of the Dragon but Ibushi snapped off a poison rana. He added a knee and two more Kamigoye strikes to win after 23:57. [****¼]

44. WWE Universal Championship Last Man Standing Match: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Kevin Owens – WWE Royal Rumble

Credit: WWE

Right off the bat, these guys did a really good job of using the Thunderdome. They battled all over it and utilized most aspects from throwing Reigns into a screen to throwing Owens off a level and through a table. I loved Owens going after Roman’s legs with a chair since you can’t answer the 10 count if you can’t stand. Smart wrestling. Owens also got run over by a damn golf cart in what was a wild ass match that went all over Tropicana Field. Owens came back with a splash through a table and then a Swanton off of a forklift and through another table. It’s interesting to see how little of Tropicana Field is used for the Thunderdome. They fought back towards the arena where they got to do WWE’s favorite spot as Roman Speared KO through the stage setup. I loved how KO only beat the count because he slid off of where he was laying. I also dug the whole, “I CAN’T QUIT, THERE’S NO WAY I CAN GO HOME IF I QUIT” deal. The best close call was Roman getting handcuffed to the point where he literally couldn’t get up, only to take out the referee and stop the count. After a low blow from Roman, Heyman showed up to uncuff him. Reigns choked out KO with the guillotine and a new referee counted him down for 10 after 24:52. Another absolute banger from Roman Reigns. That man simply cannot miss these days. Match quality, character work, he’s nailing everything. [****¼]

43. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks – WWE Smackdown 10/15/21

Credit: WWE

There are just some pairings that work in every setting in wrestling and one of them is Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. Their matches at TakeOver: Unstoppable, Hell in a Cell 2019, and Clash of Champions 2019 were all great. This meeting on an episode of Supersized Smackdown would rank third among those and was something truly great. They headlined this episode, competing against Rampage and being commercial free. The only thing holding back this match was a flub here or there where things looked awkward. Other than that, this was incredible. The two of them threw out their signature spots like frog splashes and Bexploders but made sure to incorporate other quality aspects like arm work and spots involving the ring post. Even the finish, which involved Bianca Belair at ringside distracting Becky, worked in this case due to the feud and because it didn’t feel overly cheap like some other bouts. That distraction allowed Banks to hit a Backstabber and pick up the win in 18:37, which marked the first singles loss for Lynch since Royal Rumble 2019, which is pretty absurd when you think about it. Just two of the best ever, doing what they do best. [****¼]

42. Shingo Takagi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 31 9/23/21

Credit: NJPW

This was one of my most anticipated matches of the G1 31. Shingo got an early advantage and sent ZSJ out for a breather and he paid tribute to Naito, which was a cool touch since ZSJ put Naito on the shelf. The idea here was as simple as it is when Sabre Jr. has classics with Ishii. He’s the submission specialist who will grapple with anyone and use that to his advantage, while Shingo could send him back with his hard hitting style. Sabre would wear him down and Shingo would respond with a big move that sent him down for a bit. Sabre’s ability to just slip and wriggle free of Shingo’s grip gave him the upper hand so often. The intensity ramped up late, with Sabre Jr. avoiding Last of the Dragon and transitioning into submissions. Shingo went for a powerbomb but ZSJ turned it into a modified arm lock hold and made the champion tap after 27:17. An outstanding match that really played to both guys strengths and they told a hell of a story. Their rematch later in the year wasn’t quite as good. [****¼]

41. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair – WWE Survivor Series

Credit: WWE

The hype coming into this was that the former real life best friend had backstage heat. They came out with some PPV gear and this felt important even if I didn’t care much about the build. This ended up being right up there with their match at Evolution as their best together. It didn’t need the stipulation, to go 30 minutes, or to overdo stuff down the stretch. It was just an intense, hard hitting match between two women who can really go in the ring. Sure they did wrestling moves and some of their signature stuff but a lot of this match felt like a fight between two people who don’t like one another. They included lots of shouting swear words for the sake of it and Charlotte’s moonsault outside is still pretty terrible. Other than that though, this ruled. The finish saw Charlotte try to use the ropes for leverage on a pin only to be caught by the referee, so Becky turned it into her own rollup with the ropes, winning in 18:32. I loved this match and though the ending actually played well into their styles, especially with both being heels at the time. [****¼]