Kevin’s Top 500 Matches Of The 2010s (#130 – 121)

130. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Dragon Lee [c] vs. Will Ospreay – NJPW Dominion 2019

Image Credit: NJPW

I wasn’t too happy when Will Ospreay won the Best of the Super Juniors. I appreciated Shingo Takagi moving to the heavyweight division and I understand that Will is a notable name. However, all was forgotten when we were treated to this match. These guys have wrestled before but this was different. They were seemingly determined to put on their best outing together. Right off the bat, my issue with the match was the opening quick paced exchange. It’s a trope matches fall victim to often. With that out of the way, I can praise the rest of this. It was kind of like the insane Hiromu Takahashi/Dragon Lee matches. A ridiculous pace and some of the wildest spots you’ll ever see. Lee’s tope suicida as Ospreay was seated on the guardrail was one of my favorite spots of the entire year. Another highlight was Lee blocking the Oscutter with a knee strike. These guys can blend freakish athletic moves with stiffer strikes than you’d expect. It’s kind of just what I want from this division. Ospreay hit the Oscutter and added Storm Breaker to become champion after 20:07. Once again, Willy stays in that 15-20 minute range and shines brightest. Lee is always awesome.

129. TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Bobby Roode [c] vs. Austin Aries – TNA Destination X 2012

Image Credit: Impact Wrestling

The whole “Option C” concept in TNA really only worked to perfection here. Bobby Roode was reigning as a pretty dominant TNA World Champion for most of 2012. Meanwhile, Austin Aries was on fire as the X Division Champion. Aries had the opportunity for a shot at Roode if he gave up the X Division Title. When they met in the main event of Destination X, it proved to be something special. The crowd was molten hot for Aries and he actually won in a great match. It was a case of TNA pulling the trigger at the right time. This match doesn’t hold up quite as well considering Roode’s lackluster career afterward and Aries being a total undesirable these days. Still, this was a fantastic 22:18.

128. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Kota Ibushi [c] vs. Ricochet – NJPW Dominion 2014

Image Credit: NJPW

Sometimes, a match is really easy to book. Just put two of the best and most athletically gifted wrestlers in the ring together and let them do their thing. That’s what NJPW did in 2014. After Ricochet won the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, he earned a shot at Kota Ibushi’s Jr. Heavyweight Title and the two put on a classic. The feats they pulled off were out of this world and honestly, way better than anything that Ricochet did with Will Ospreay even though those got way more appreciation and love. The whole thing only lasted 13:37 but it’s filled with non-stop action to the point where you’re blown away and a bit exhausted by how great it is. Ibushi retained and it’s the kind of thing that almost anyone can actually appreciate.

127. ROH World Championship: Jay Lethal [c] vs. AJ Styles – ROH Final Battle 2015

Image Credit: ROH

I saw these two wrestle during their TNA run but this was something different. Both men have not only evolved as performers, but they’ve matured and are better than ever. In the opening video package to the show, they discussed the fact that AJ Styles is a pioneer for ROH, yet has never worn the top prize. Jay Lethal considered himself to be the best in the world, but his title run up to that point had been largely disappointing. They worked the kind of start I expected, feeling each other out. Lethal had to go out and talk strategy with Truth Martini, so when he went back in, the focus turned to AJ’s injured back. Not only was the attack smart, but the things done here worked so well. Lethal was so well prepared that he had a counter for nearly everything AJ did and still focused on the back. Hell, even when AJ nearly got the Styles Clash and looked to be rallying, Lethal launched him outside through a table. The Clash was very well protected too, as Lethal never got to kick out of it. Lethal needed two Lethal Injections and a Cradle Piledriver, complete with smack talk to Jerry Lynn on commentary, to finally keep Styles down after 22:12. Not only was the match itself fantastic, but Styles did what no other challenger in the Lethal World Title reign had done and that was lose cleanly. This marked a massive win for Lethal as he beat the top star on the indies, fair and square, sending him off into 2016 as absolutely the man to beat. When wrestling is kept simple and done right, it can be beautiful.

126. IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi [c] vs. Kazuchika Okada – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9

Image Credit: NJPW

This is one of the greatest rivalries in pro wrestling history. Each time these two meet, it’s pretty much a guarantee you’ll get something that is four stars or better. Their match at King of Pro Wrestling 2013 is a top three match that I have EVER seen. This wasn’t quite on that level, but it was still a fantastic main event. With this being the main event of the biggest show of the year and featuring the top two guys in the company, it was given 30:57. They made sure to use as much of it as possible, going through a long feeling out process. It wasn’t the most exciting thing but it made sense given how well they know each other. Getting an advantage was a struggle. Tanahashi hit a massive High Fly Flow to the outside in the biggest highlight of the match. The second half of this was spectacular. Okada was a dick at times, so Tanahashi was one right back to him. Tanahashi had Okada and the Rainmaker in particular, very well scouted. When he finally got hit with one, he kicked out. This wasn’t your ordinary finisher kickout. This was how it should be because the Rainmaker is such a protected move that when someone does get up, it’s a big deal. A flurry of High Fly Flows made Tanahashi 2-0 against Okada at Wrestle Kingdom after an all-around awesome match.

125. Tomoaki Honma vs. Katsuyori Shibata – NJPW G1 Climax 24 8/3/14

Image Credit: NJPW

Going into this, I knew it would be awesome and it delivered. The crowd is always molten hot for Tomoaki Honma. The start of this match was intense, as Shibata beat the f*** out of Honma with some shots, only for Honma to just scream at him and take it like a man. The mixture of the hot crowd with the vicious hard hits of the match made for something really enjoyable to watch. Near the end, Shibata hit a sick slap on Honma but Honma came right back with that headbutt. Honma caught the Penalty Kick attempt so Shibata lit him up with slaps only for Honma to hit one major one of his own that took down Shibata. Shibata then finally won with a GTS and PK, ending a fantastic match in 10:47. The more I watch Shibata, the more I like him and I can honestly say the same for Honma. The fans just eat up everything Honma does and they buy into the possibility of him winning, hook, line and sinker. He did have some really close calls here too. I feel like I’m going to have bruises just from watching this. It was two guys who didn’t let up and worked the whole match at a fantastic breakneck pace

124. WWE United Kingdom Championship: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Tyler Bate – NXT 12/20/17

Image Credit: WWE

After killing it in their first two matches, Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate had one final meeting in 2017, with the score tied at one. This got off to a methodical start, with neither guy wanting to make a mistake. Dunne was more aggressive and mutilated Bate’s arm and fingers in horrible ways. I cringed at how brutal some of it looked. Once Bate began his comeback, this truly got going. Their suplex off the steel steps spot was great, as I’d never seen it before. They went nuts as they traded huge lariats and strikes with the fans on their feet. There was a great moment where Bate might’ve won by countout, so he hit a sweet tope on Dunne to break it up and try to win the title inside. Bate survived the Bitter End, while Dunne kicked out of the Tyler Driver ’97. When Bate tried using a super German suplex, Dunne landed on his feet and delivered the Bitter End to retain the title in 22:48. Another incredible chapter in this rivalry. This capped off the best trilogy in history. Yes, not just 2017, but in all of history. The only competition it has is Flair/Steamboat. It’s that good.

123. Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Climax 26 8/6/16

Image Credit: NJPW

In 2013, these two had a damn good G1 Climax match but disappointed against each other in last year’s tournament. Here there broke out with what was easily their best outing together. Coming into this match, the seventh for each guy, Kazuchika Okada had been coasting through the G1. A lot of lackluster matches with minimal effort from Okada but that all changed on this night. Okada looked like he was going to take his CHAOS stablemate lightly but Ishii woke him up with an early lariat. Both men countered each other’s finishers within the first minute, setting the tone for the match. Ishii laid in the chops and Okada tried to man up and take them but he’s no Shibata or Honma, so he couldn’t. In one of my favorite moments all year, Okada’s Rainmaker pose was interrupted by a chop from Ishii. Sometimes you just gotta shut the cocky prick up. The fans and commentators lost their minds several times as Ishii just is a master at getting you emotionally invested. Having the champ well scouted, Ishii countered three more Rainmakers and nailed two headbutts. He followed with the Owen Hart Driver and a lariat for an insane near fall. Ishii nailed a brainbuster to finally score the win at 18:47, defeating the IWGP Heavyweight Champion in arguably the match of the tournament. Instead of giving us a rematch, Gedo chose to book Okada vs. Fale again the following month. Tomohiro Ishii is incredible and a top five wrestler in the world.

122. Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 27 7/21/17

Image Credit: NJPW

It’s the match everyone expected to be the Cruiserweight Classic Finals. They both had excellent G1 openers, with Zack Sabre Jr. beating Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi losing to Tetsuya Naito in a phenomenal effort. They both went to their strengths early. Sabre took it to the mat, while Ibushi delivered stiff strikes and kicks. Sabre took much less damage than Kota on night one and it came into play. Each time Kota found an opening, all Sabre had to do was attack the neck and regain control. He caught a moonsault into a submission and though I’ve seen him do it before, it’s always cool. The fans popped for heel Sabre slamming Ibushi by the leg and going right into one of his trademark pins, purely because it was awesome. Near the end of the 15:51 runtime, they just battered one another. Sabre caught a Pele into an ankle lock, because he’s awesome like that. When he locked in a triangle choke, Ibushi powered out with a fantastic Last Ride to score the victory. Simply amazing. They did what works best for them and it blended into an excellent match that more than lived up to the hype. A top five G1 match of 2017.

121. KUSHIDA vs. Kyle O’Reilly – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5/21/16

Image Credit: NJPW

In my opinion, the two best junior heavyweights in New Japan Pro Wrestling were KUSHIDA and Kyle O’Reilly until Kyle moved to heavyweight. In the finals of this tournament last year, these two faced off in the finals. KUSHIDA won and went on to win the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title because of it. In the first main event of this year’s tournament, they had their big rematch. Their finals match went 30 minutes so both guys tried for their signature submissions out of the gate. I loved the way O’Reilly altered his game after losing last year. He didn’t just go after the arm, instead adding in some leg work to hurt KUSHIDA as much as possible. Their work is so smooth together that watching them catch each other in various submissions is a thing of beauty. That even played into possibly my favorite spot of the year, when O’Reilly sat KUSHIDA in a chair and leapt off the apron to attack him, only to get caught in a mid-air armbar. It sounds so difficult to pull off but they nailed it perfectly. After some spectacular counter wrestling and playing off past matches, O’Reilly nailed a Brainbuster and took the kickout right into stomping on KUSHIDA’s face. He turned that into an armbar and made sure to grab at the leg, again playing off earlier work. KUSHIDA fought hard but fell into a tough position and had to tap at 20:08. Unfortunately, O’Reilly didn’t even make the finals, so we never got the NJPW tiebreaker. Still, this is a tremendous must see match.