Pantoja’s Top 100 Matches Of 2024 (#90 – 81)

90. Bron Breakker vs. Ilja Dragunov – WWE Raw 6/10/24

Image Credit: WWE

It seemed like the easiest to guarantee a great match on Raw in 2024 was to put Ilja Dragunov in it. The guy was on fire before his injury, having a slew of tremendous TV matches. Among them was this clash with Bron Breakker This is one of those cases where two guys almost seem destined to be opponents because Bron is an ass kicking machine and Ilja can take a hell of a beating. That’s basically what this match and their feud was. Ilja needing to be killed to stay down and Bron doing everything he could to kill him. And for 16:02, Bron really did try to end this man. Early on, things were kind of even with them throwing big chops and strikes at each other. Then, the bigger moves came with things like a coast-to-cast dropkick from Ilja, a big lariat from Bron, and an H-Bomb. They fought outside and kept things physical with guys getting sent into the ring post, announce table, and barricade, all with hard shots. Bron delivered two Spears, including on the floor, but Ilja refused to stay down. He beat the countout only to take another Spear inside that finally ended a physical war. [****¼]

89. Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes [c] vs. AJ Styles – WWE Backlash

Image Credit: WWE

The reaction for this from the start was something to behold. From the celebratory song whenever “Phenomenal” is heard to the singing of Cody’s theme after the music cut was incredible. The wrestling was kept basic to start as they had a feeling out process, which lines up given they don’t have a history in the ring. They progressed slowly to bigger spots but it worked because of how into everything the crowd was. I was a bit more into the crowd than the match at point but things picked up in a big way with the powerbomb by Cody through the announce table. That led to some stiffer shots and bigger offensive moves being hit as this went on. The fact that AJ can still cleanly hit that springboard 450 at his age is nuts. I may not have liked a lot of his work after 2017 but he still has that. They went into the expected big kickouts like AJ surviving the Cody Cutter and Cody kicking out at one at one point, yet they didn’t overdo finisher kickouts or things like that. It was more based on signature moves. Cody’s double jump Cody Cutter was a great idea even if it didn’t come off totally cleanly. Cross Rhodes ended it afterward at the 27:17 mark. They built that up so well and delivered one of AJ’s best matches in years. Cody is on a heater and has never been better than this WWE run. [****¼]

88. Bozilla and Saree vs. Giulia and Utami Hayashishita – Marigold Fields Forever 5/20/24

Image Credit: Marigold

The big money main event. Giulia and Utami are both incredible wrestlers and while I didn’t like Saree in NXT, I was blown away by her appearances in STARDOM. Bozilla is 20 years old and was listed as the “biggest kaiju” in a video package. Right off the bat, Bozilla impressed. She might be young but she absolutely understands who she is and what she brings to the table. She is a big, immovable powerhouse and uses that. While everyone interacted, the focus seemed to be on building the Giulia/Saree match and on Utami trying to overcome the force that is Bozilla. The fight spilled outside, with Giulia getting thrown around by Bozilla but never backing down. I also really liked when Utami and Saree mixed it up. Every interaction in this match had something going for it and each was a big different from the rest. Utami showed off bits of personality that I hadn’t seen before. Meanwhile, Giulia was bringing her A game, which wasn’t always the case down the stretch in STARDOM. Her and Saree were waging war. This kept getting progressively better, with the final few minutes being something special. The near falls and late drama were so well done while never going overboard, which is a hard line to toe. Then Bozilla hit a moonsault and I was like “with some time, she could be a Vader-like monster.” Saree then dropped Giulia on her head with a vicious suplex and scored the win in 28:06. An outstanding main event that only got better. I ended up excited for the singles matches that stemmed from this, interested in more from Bozilla, and saw greatness from the other three. [****¼]

87. IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. [c] vs. Shingo Takagi – NJPW Power Struggle

Image Credit: NJPW

I’ve been vocal about the fact that I don’t think New Japan has done much right in the past few years. People say it’s been the COVID era but I think their issues started way before that and things got rough in 2019 for sure. That said, the best thing they’ve done in years is put the title on Zack Sabre Jr. (even if it was a few years too late). His style stands out in Japan and he kind of works well with everyone. Putting him in there to headline a major show against another one of the company’s MVPs in Shingo Takagi was just asking for it to work. And work it did. The exchanges during this 29:28 encounter were as great as you’d expect but they excelled at the little things. The build to Shingo desperately hitting Last of the Dragon was great, boosted by the fact that it didn’t work. His leg was too damaged for him to capitalize and ZSJ rolled away from him just the right amount. It did a lot to add drama to a match that didn’t have much since everyone knew ZSJ would retain. Of course, he did keep the title after nailing the Zack Driver, capping one hell of a championship match. [****¼]

86. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Saori Anou [c] vs. Hanan – STARDOM All-Star Grand Queendom

Image Credit: STARDOM

There was a simple story to tell here and they did it well. Saori is the established top star while Hanan is the hungry up and comer who earned a shot by winning the Cinderella Tournament. She had to prove that she could hang with the champion and Saori basically dared Hanan to step up. Hanan came out with fire but the veteran Saori weathered the storm and once she got going, it was a test to see if Hanan had a response. She had one, rallying with some big moves that the crowd ate up. She’s very easy to root for and feels like a top babyface of the future. I will say that the pacing of this was a bit off for me. Saori singles matches often feel like New Japan’s stuff where it starts very slow before picking up, which I understand but the issue is that the early stuff just isn’t interesting. You can do slow and interesting. As stated though, Hanan fighting back made it worthwhile as you just want to see her get a big win. Those final five minutes were breathtaking as Saori going into killer mode against the resilient Hanan is something that just works. Hanan came close with a few suplexes before Saori beat her with a bridging backslide in 21:24. A hell of a match that was only held back by some pacing issues. Otherwise, it’s just great stuff that gave Saori her best singles match since the Grand Prix and Hanan’s best and biggest outing to date. [****¼]

85. Blackpool Combat Club vs. FTR – AEW Revolution

Image Credit: AEW

Sometimes, you can just look at the people involved in a match to know exactly what it’s going to be like and know that it’ll be right up your alley. That was the case for me with this one. I appreciate good tag team wrestling and the combination of FTR and these two members of the Blackpool Combat Club (or any duo from the stable actually) meant that we were going to get some no nonsense wrestling. They delivered in spades, just firing on all cylinders for 21:47. It felt like an old school, hard hitting fight fitting of being on the card the same night as Sting’s final match. I know a lot of people are down on FTR (myself included) but that’s more for a lack of character growth and development. Their in-ring stuff always works because they keep it simple. Classic tag team tropes from cutting the ring in half to playing up the desperation spots to knowing the exact moment to pick things up. Things got more intense as this went on, as there was even a moment where Dax spit in Moxley’s face. The close calls on things like the Shatter Machine and Neutralizer were so well done and the crowd bit on them all without them ever overdoing things. Moxley choked out a bloody Dax to win via ref’s decision, capping a fantastic tag match. [****¼]

84. Mayu Iwatani vs. Momo Watanabe – STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 8/15/24

Image Credit: STARDOM

This is one of those pairings that always delivers. It helps that Mayu was on a tear at the time and Momo had an interesting story going with her being a HATE member who wasn’t doing a bunch of cheating and it had her at 0-3. Apparently she knew it too because she jumped Mayu during her entrance, they brawled outside, and yes, Momo threw her into a bunch of chairs. Mayu brought the fight, whipping Momo into the chairs herself with some force. Mayu is the kind of babyface who can make HATE stuff work because she brings so much fire, always gets the crowd behind her, and is willing to hit back as hard as she gets hit. That made it so when the members of HATE got involved, it worked for the story and didn’t feel like the drag it can often be. The first half was good here but it was the second half where things really got going. The air Mayu got on her frog splash was impressive and Momo’s work on the leg was actually interesting, Unlike SLK in the previous match, couldn’t connect on some of her high flying stuff because of the damage done. Momo looked on the verge of winning when Mayu whacked her with her own bat, then found the strength to deliver her Prettiest Poison Rana Ever for the victory after 12:55. Outstanding pro wrestling with some great drama, lots of action, and a tremendous finish. [****¼]

83. King of the Ring First Round: Ilja Dragunov vs. Ricochet – WWE Raw 5/6/24

Image Credit: WWE

There were a lot of good episodes of Raw in 2024 as it was a strong year for WWE overall. That said, the May 6th edition feels like it stands out as likely the best for a few reasons. One of them is this match between Ilja Dragunov and Ricochet. What made this work was that they played to their strengths. Ilja can just wreck people with his hard hitting style and Ricochet bumps like a madman, so it came together so well. When Ilja snapped off a German or hit a big forearm, Ricochet looked like he was on the verge of death. For 16:35, they gave us one of the best TV matches of the year and one of the better King of the Ring matches in general. They worked through two commercial breaks but kept up an impressive pace throughout. The final few minutes saw Ricochet snap off a reverse rana and Ilja counter his aerial offense with vicious strikes. Ricochet got a great near fall with Recoil before Ilja hit a superplex and advanced with the H-Bomb. A hell of a match and another example of how good WWE was at times in 2024. [****¼]

82. AEW TBS Championship: Willow Nightingale [c] vs. Mercedes Moné – AEW Double or Nothing

Image Credit: AEW

Anyone who has followed my reviews and these lists over the years knows that I’m a huge Mercedes Moné fan. Hell, she topped the very first edition of this list in 2015. But I and many others haven’t loved her AEW run. Some matches have missed the mark and the CEO character feels like a retread of The Boss. That said, when the bell things in big matches, she can still go and she delivered in her big AEW debut. Willow Nightingale is someone who had a great year and Mercedes is especially good against very talented workers. Together, they put on a show for 18:04. A hell of a back and forth match that reminded everyone of how good Mercedes can be and showed again that Willow is a legitimate star. The crowd was heavily invested in everything these two did though it did lack some drama because everyone knew Mercedes was walking out as champion. What really worked here though was that Willow is great at throwing big bombs out there and Mercedes can bump with the best of them, making for a combination that screams success. Mercedes took home the inevitable win with the Moné Maker even if that move almost never comes off well. [****¼]

81. Nanae Takahashi vs. Sareee – Marigold Dream Star GP Night 7

Image Credit: Marigold

This is a big one, especially in the middle of the card. The top of the block is up for grabs and it’s the top champion against the veteran who somewhat runs things around here. Nanae ran her over at the opening bell and they went right at each other from that point on. They took things outside, sat in chairs across from each other, and proceeded to trade slaps. It was that kind of match and it was all the better for it. Nanae is always out to bring passion out of her opponents but Sareee isn’t someone who lacks that in the first place. She could match Nanae in whatever was dished out. When they were done with strikes, they moved onto submissions and though I like technical wrestling, I do feel this section of the match was lesser than the rest. They managed to keep up the intensity though. I will say, some of Sareee’s selling was inconsistent. Nanae worked her legs and then she used those legs to block a Nanae splash, so they really should’ve been hurting yet she was pretty fine when she had to make a late rally. The closing stretch was electric and they both hit their finishers late yet time expired at 15:00 before they could truly capitalize. The match of the tournament to this point. [****¼]