Pantoja’s Top 100 Matches Of 2025 (#100-91)

It’s time for the 11th iteration of this list, which is just wild to consider. As always, we’re here to celebrate the best of the year, so whether you agree or disagree, let’s just appreciate how much great wrestling we got again this year. I do want to note that I stopped watching WWE full time in August but I made sure to find highly touted matches to review for myself. The same goes for ROH, which is on the list yet isn’t a company I watch consistently. The list includes AEW, STARDOM, WWE, NJPW, ROH, and Marigold.

These are the honorable matches. Matches that I gave ****1/4 but didn’t make the cut for the Top 100.

• AEW International & NEVER Openweight Championships: Konosuke Takeshita [c] vs. Shingo Takagi [c] – Wrestle Kingdom 19
• AEW International & NEVER Openweight Championships: Konosuke Takeshita [c] vs. Tomohiro Ishii – Wrestle Dynasty
• Hechicero vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Battle in the Valley
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado [c] vs. Kosei Fujita – Road to the New Beginning
• NEVER Openweight Championship: Konosuke Takeshita [c] vs. Boltin Oleg – The New Beginning in Osaka
• Artist of Stardom Championship: AZM, Miyu Amasaki and Starlight Kid [c] vs. Lady C, Ranna Yagami and Tomoka Inaba – Nighter in Korakuen
• AEW World Title #1 Contender’s Match: Ricochet vs. Swerve Strickland – Revolution
• NEVER Openweight Championship: Konosuke Takeshita [c] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – Windy City Riot
• Best of the Super Juniors Finals: Kosei Fujita vs. YOH – BOSJ 6/1
• AEW International Championship: Kenny Omega [c] vs. Brody King vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mascara Dorada – Fyter Fest
• IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Hirooki Goto [c] vs. Shingo Takagi – Dominion
• IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship: Gabe Kidd [c] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – New Japan Soul
• WWE Women’s Intercontinental Title #1 Contender’s 2 Out of 3 Falls Match: Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria – Raw 7/14
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Starlight Kid [c] vs. Saori Anou – Sapporo World Rendezvous
• Konami vs. Sareee – 5STAR Grand Prix 7/27
• Konosuke Takeshita vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – G1 Climax 7/30
• Sareee vs. Suzu Suzuki – 5STAR Grand Prix 8/9
• Mai Sakurai vs. Miku Aono – Dream Star GP 9/14
• Women’s World Championship: IYO SKY vs. Stephanie Vaquer – WrestlePalooza
• IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Konosuke Takeshita [c] vs. Hirooki Goto – Final Homecoming
• No Holds Barred Match: Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly – Full Gear
• Kazuchika Okada vs. Kyle Fletcher – Dynamite 11/26

 

100. Iron Survivor Challenge: Jordynne Grace vs. Kelani Jordan vs. Kendal Grey vs. Lola Vice vs. Sol Ruca – NXT Deadline

Image Credit: WWE

I admittedly was way out of WWE happenings in the back half of the year but I made sure to check out the Iron Survivor Challenges. It’s a really cool match concept that they’ve done really well with in recent years. Kendal Grey, who is from EVOLVE and has gotten rave reviews from her early appearances on NXT, started against Kelani Jordan. Their exchange was fine but it was after the opening five minute interval that this picked up and never really slowed down. Everyone was given ample time to showcase their stuff from Lola Vice’s strikes to Kelani’s athleticism to Grace’s power and more. Grey was the first to two points and when Sol Ruca entered last, Kelani attacked her instead of going into the penalty box, injuring her. Alas, Sol was not to be denied. She returned from the back, took out Kelani and hit a double Sol Snatcher to score two points and tie things up. In the waning minutes, Vice, Jordan, and Grace all tied things up. With two minutes left, we had a five-way tie. That made those last few minutes incredibly dramatic. Kelani nearly stole this but Grace cut her off, opening the door for Grey to hit Shades of Grey and surprise everyone by winning in the final few seconds. 25:00 of action with great late drama. These matches just work. [****¼]

99. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita – AEW Winter is Coming

Image Credit: AEW

History was made here as the CMLL World Champion faces the IWGP World Champion for the first time. Also, the winner takes first place in the league. This was a case of two bad motherfuckers going toe to toe. Everything early on was a fight for momentum and each guy could turn the tide on a dime with a simple knee strike or European uppercut. However, you could kind of tell they were going to go long as the pace never felt all that urgent. Kyle/Speedball teased the time limit but never felt like it was headed that way. Anyway, Claudio hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker outside going into commercial break. Takeshita rallied upon return and hit a tope con hilo, sending this match into its next gear. They started trading big blows down the stretch and it was as epic as I wanted. There was a moment where they were deadlifting each other and it was some of the most impressive power based stuff you’ll see anywhere. They just continued to throw bombs until the final minute when they battled over big moves and Claudio countered Raging Fire into the Neutralizer. That only got two and time expired at 20:00. They kept brawling after the bell and had to be pulled apart. That was a hell of a match. Not the best of the tournament and it feels like these two have a better match in them somewhere, yet this still ruled. [****¼]

98. Marigold World Championship: Sareee [c] vs. Utami Hayashishita – Marigold First Dream 1/3/25

Image Credit: Marigold

The big one. Sareee was in the conversation for the best wrestler of 2024, regardless of gender, while Utami always felt like the woman Marigold was meant to build around. It felt like a big deal and was the perfect main event for a big show like this. Utami looked to start hot but a diving double stomp put Sareee in the driver’s seat and she proceeded to wear down the challenger. Utami rallied and that’s where things really picked up. Her superplex was answered by headbutts and an avalanche Fisherman Buster from the champion. Then, it was time to trade Germans with both getting up after each, ready to deliver the next big blow. It was turning into the heavyweight clash between two of the best that you wanted and expected from these two. The strikes they were laying into each other sounded brutal and both threw some that floored the other. Down the stretch, there were big counters to their best moves, while never overdoing it with things like a bunch of finisher kickouts. Utami taking a headbutt and immediately applying a sleeper despite feeling the damage was dope. Utami couldn’t get it done with the Shocking Baszler or Torture Rack Bomb, yet finally pulled it off with a spinning crucifix bomb in 22:23. This was just two of the best going out there and doing what they do best. [****¼]

97. Shingo Takagi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 8/5/25

Image Credit: NJPW

As one might expect, this was one of the more anticipated matches of the tournament for me. These are two of the best on the planet for a minute. Shingo was more than game to battle ZSJ on the mat but did find himself in trouble so he resorted to striking and hitting his bigger offensive moves. That was kind of how a lot of this played out. ZSJ had the technical side of things while Shingo had the impactful moves to combat him. ZSJ targeted the arm, grabbing it into submissions, snapping it between his legs, and stomping on it. Smart as it also takes out some of Shingo’s power-based offense. The spot where ZSJ hit the Zack Driver, only for Shingo to respond with his own Zack Driver was pretty cool. That triggered the quality of the match hitting the next level, as we got to a closing stretch that included lariats, submission attempts, and Shingo coming close with moves like Burning Dragon and Last of the Dragon. In fact, it was Last of the Dragon that I thought ended this, only for ZSJ to roll the pin over and get a surprise win at the 20:53 mark. A hell of a match, and one of the best of the G1 this year. [****¼]

96. Wonder of Stardom Title #1 Contender’s Match: Ami Sohrei vs. Saya Iida – STARDOM Nighter in Korakuen 12/8/25

Image Credit: STARDOM

The winner gets Konami at Dream Queendom. Saya has always been a little powerhouse, while Ami has focused on her power game since returning. That set the stage for a hard hitting match where they tested their strength against each other and that was for the better. Despite shaking hands before the bell, they were beating the hell out of each other from the opening bell. Within minutes, we had a wild spot where Ami suplexed Saya on the apron and she took a NASTY landing. It’s one of the craziest bumps I’ve seen this year. Saya was up surprisingly fast from it (I do wish it was sold for more of the match) and they just kept at it. You’d have thought these two hated each other with the bombs they were throwing. I liked that it helped sell how important the title shot was. I thought Saya had it won with a dragon sleeper late but Ami found a way to fight and get to the ropes. The drama picked up late with some close calls, especially when Saya slipped out of Ami’s finisher and right into a tight pinning combination. A battle of lariats ended this with a bang before Saya finished Ami off with a Brainbuster in 20:23. Way better than I expected. A hard hitting, action-packed main event that was all kinds of awesome. [****¼]

95. AEW World Championship: Hangman Page [c] vs. Jon Moxley – AEW Dynamite 7/30/25

Image Credit: AEW

Given how incredible Hangman Page vs. Jon Moxley was at All In, it was a tall task to have them run it back so soon after and one an episode of Dynamite at that. Even with this not being the main event of the episode, Page and Moxley put on another banger. With everyone barred from ringside, that gave this a different one-on-one feel to their PPV match. They still found a way to incorporate some run-ins by the end of this 26:11 affair but I liked that security tried to stop them and that a ref bump was involved. It makes sense that they’d try to find a way around the stipulation. The action itself was hard hitting and you really felt like these were two guys who straight up don’t like each other. The one thing I think this match lacked was drama. Although there was one particular near fall that was expertly done, I don’t think anyone really believed Hangman was dropping the title so soon. Darby Allin helped clean house of the Death Riders, allowing Hangman to nail the Buckshot Lariat and retain in one of the better title matches on TV this year. [****¼]

94. New York Street Fight: Ethan Page vs. Je’Von Evans – NXT Roadblock

Image Credit: WWE

First, I love that they wore street gear. I hate when people show up for these matches in regular attire. They went right into it, fitting of a feud with this much animosity. Chairs were brought into play for some shots but the biggest move hit on one early was a Blue Thunder Bomb by Evans for two. Like the rest of this card, the post commercial break stuff was where this really shined. Page held serve through that and got two on the flashback to Vengeance Day spot where he hit a diving Evans right in the jaw. That sparked a big run by Evans that included a really cool rebound kick. He followed that by diving over the ropes and hitting Page with a cutter from the apron through a table. Granted, Evans took most of the brunt but the idea was dope. His springboard twisting splash also came off so well. Evans countered Twisted Grin into a cutter on the chair, then put Page’s head in a chair and hit a springboard cutter to win in 14:41. A fantastic street fight. [****¼]

93. World of Stardom Championship: Saya Kamitani [c] vs. Suzu Suzuki – STARDOM Supreme Fight

Image Credit: STARDOM

The first title defense for Saya Kamitani and it’s against a former Grand Prix winner. They were slugging it out to open rather than moving quickly from spot to spot, giving it a methodical pace. Saya annoyed Suzu by continuing to bail outside and then hit a dive onto her, outsmarting the challenger. I liked that when Saya sat on a chair inside to taunt, Suzu responded by sitting in a chair outside and flipping her off. Big matches need personalities, not just people doing moves. Various HATE members gave Suzu the boot from the chair, which put Saya in the driver’s seat. Suzu didn’t stay down for long, continuing to level Saya with some vicious shots. This was one of those matches where it felt like the two participants genuinely didn’t like each other. Saya also was a hit with her heel persona, even going as far as to embarrass Suzu by pouring water over her head. Her underhanded tactics did well whenever she got into trouble trading blows with Suzu. They were going all in on big spots like the avalanche German Suplex. Suzu looked to capitalize on that with more suplexes but Saya kicked out. The final few minutes had some stellar exchanges from counters to straight-up strikes to each hitting a Poison Rana. In the end, Saya retained with the Star Crusher in 18:23. A fantastic main event that lacked a bit of drama since I couldn’t imagine Saya losing the title so soon. Still, this was filled with some great stuff and helped set the tone for Saya’s stellar title run and Suzu’s split from Neo Genesis. [****¼]

92. Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita – AEW Collision 12/6/25

Image Credit: AEW

Both guys came in undefeated in singles matches on Collision. This was a pretty major match for the tournament and for TV. They opened the match that way, with this feeling like a big time, heavyweight fight from the opening bell. Takeshita targeted the leg, which isn’t something we see often from him. That allowed this to feel different than expected in a good way. Moxley did a hell of a job selling the leg as well. It impacted his offense as well. I wish more people did it that well. Takeshita held serve throughout the commercial break and really put Moxley on his heels. Upon return, they picked things up and when they did dual lariats, the crowd came to their feet. As part of his rally, Moxley also went after the ankle, setting up his Ankle Lock. I liked when Takeshita couldn’t do a dive but then basically gritted through the damage to hit one anyway. It was a cool way of really showing how adrenaline gets you going. He then did a Blue Thunder Bomb through the announce table, nearly taking a countout win. I also love that when Mox beat the count, Takeshita immediately hit a Frog Splash. Mox playing possum for an inside cradle was also good stuff. They threw more big shots late but Moxley’s ankle gave out, allowing Takeshita to hit a pump knee, add another knee, and win with Raging Fire in 17:29. Best match of the tournament to this point. An absolute war between two of the best. [****¼]

91. WWE Intercontinental Championship: Bron Breakker [c] vs. Finn Bálor vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta – WWE WrestleMania 41

Image Credit: WWE

Judgment Day worked together early but both Penta and Bron are good enough to weather that storm and get their shit in. Bron did a ridiculous leaping shoulder block that looked incredible. Bron also German suplexed Penta as he hit Finn with a suplex of his own. I swear, Bron Breakker isn’t human. In a lot of ways, this was the Bron Breakker show because he was dominant and killed in every incredible spot he had. The crowd wanted Dom at some points, getting mad at Finn for interrupting a hot run he had going. Carlito got involved at ringside, opening the door for a Dom rollup near fall and then saved Dom from losing to Penta. That was there to set up Bron Spearing Carlito through the announce table. Bron hit Penta with a Spear only for Dom to hit him with the 619. The crowd wanted Dom to do it but Finn crotched him up top. Finn hit the Coup de Grace and then Dom came off the top to hit both with a Frog Splash, winning the title in 10:30. Fantastic, super fun match with tons of action and everyone looking good. And the right winner. My only major gripe is that they had used that finish two matches prior. [****¼]