wrestling / Columns
Pantoja’s Top 100 Matches Of 2025 (#50-41)
Image Credit: WWE
Click here for part five of the Top 100 Matches Of 2025, looking at #60 through 51.
50. AJ Styles vs. John Cena – WWE Crown Jewel
I have admittedly been out on WWE since SummerSlam, outside of checking to see what most of the women of the company were up to. They’re really the only thing I care about but I made sure to, for the sake of this list, watch any matches that were getting major acclaim. This was one of them and I loved the AJ Styles/John Cena series in 2016 and 2017. Of course, that was a long time ago and neither man is exactly in their prime anymore. However, for 27:12, they went out and had one of their better outings together. The main thing we’ll all remember here is how this was a tribute to their old rivals. The signature moves of Chris Jericho, Bray Wyatt, Christopher Daniels, Rusev, and so many others were hit. I know some people have said this was more of a tribute than a great match and while I understand that criticism, I do appreciate that this felt like looking at the histories of two of the all-time greats. That was special and something that’s hard to replicate. As a fan of both guys for decades, this meant something to me. Cena ultimately won in what was the best match of his final year. Two legends doing legendary things. [****½]
49. WWE United States Championship: Ilja Dragunov [c] vs. Carmelo Hayes – WWE Smackdown 12/26/25
Merry Christmas to us. The Smackdown the night after Christmas saw Ilja Dragunov agree to defend his title against Carmelo Hayes after their previous bout ended in controversy. These two had a stellar, underrated rivalry in NXT and are fantastic together. This was no different. Their styles mesh so well and play off each other perfectly. Ilja brings the violence and the vicious strikes while Hayes uses his quickness and agility to hit him with something high flying and change the course of the match. The crowd was way into everything they did to the point where you’d think Hayes was actually booked well in 2025. The spot where Hayes turned a superplex into a cutter was one of the best, smoothest moments in all of wrestling in 2025, which is saying something. The slow motion shot of it is stunning and the fans bit on it as the finish. When Hayes caught a leaping Ilja with a Codebreaker and then hit his finish to win the title in 20:52, the fans erupted. A phenomenal match and a special moment. [****½]
48. G1 Climax Semifinals: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW G1 Climax 8/16/25
They opened with the expected high quality feeling out process. ZSJ was in control as this was a technical section of the match, putting the focus on Takeshita’s right arm. That was smart as it made it so elbows and forearms from him had little effect. On top of that, ZSJ also focused on the leg, really handicapping Takeshita here. One of his leg submissions looked absolutely brutal and got a good reaction from the crowd. That set Takeshita up as something of a face in peril, especially when Sabre embraced his inner dickhead. Takeshita’s comeback was great because he would get bursts like a Blue Thunder Bomb and then Sabre Jr. had a way to stop his momentum, only for Takeshita to get going again. It made for some great back and forth. The closing stretch was fantastic and then the biggest spot of the night came, when Takeshita delivered a Brainbuster while they were fighting on the ropes. It was one of the wildest things I’ve seen in 2025. Takeshita added Raging Fire to win in 26:46. Spectacular wrestling between two of the best. [****½]
47. Women’s World Championship: Naomi [c] vs. IYO SKY vs. Rhea Ripley – WWE SummerSlam
Naomi’s father played the guitar for her entrance, which was really cool. The 8K camera was built for these women, they all looked incredible during introductions. Naomi tried to stall and let them fight at the start but the other two decided to team up and go after her for a bit, though Rhea hit IYO with a big boot soon after. That set up a segment where Naomi kind of dominated. She held serve over IYO and then again over Rhea, with Barrett even calling out how impressive that is. When they rallied over Naomi, it included them both doing the IYO point taunt, making this almost feel like a handicap match. After they tossed Naomi aside, Rhea and IYO got to relive their Evolution classic. Their chemistry is next level. Everything they did was fantastic, they should be a top rivalry for the company for YEARS to come. Magic every time. Naomi got back involved and the pace stayed fantastic. We got close calls on IYO’s moonsault and when Rhea hit Riptide but IYO broke it up. Naomi also showed off a pretty sick pump knee during this stretch. IYO caught Rhea with a powerbomb outside onto Naomi, which is a callback to Evolution. Rhea hit an avalanche Riptide on IYO only for Naomi to sneak in and roll her up to retain in 16:23. As expected, a mighty opener. Just outstanding stuff, though that finish is SO tired and overdone. [****½]
46. AEW Women’s World Championship: Kris Statlander [c] vs. Jamie Hayter – AEW World’s End
These two had my favorite stories of rising to the Women’s World Title. The early goings were designed to show us that these two were evenly matched. Unfortunately, they flubbed the stereo kip-up spot but I kind of like that because it feels more realistic than always nailing something like that. Things got more aggressive as this went on, with some vicious strikes and some brawling on the outside. They were really starting to get into it but the Chicago crowd decided now was the time to chant about football. That’s when the offensive moves got bigger, including stuff like a Package Piledriver and an avalanche Exploder. Hayter got dumped on her head with a huge move by Stat but she rallied and went for her big lariat. Stat ducked it and did some gymnastics to get going but they continued to have counters for each other. They hit each other’s finishers and both were down. Hayter had one final shot but Stat escaped her grasp and hit Saturday Night Fever to retain in 18:07. That ruled. Just two of the best throwing bombs at each other in what felt like a true epic. [****½]
45. Ryohei Oiwa vs. Yuya Uemura – NJPW G1 Climax 8/7/25
These are two of the most promising prospects in New Japan, so I was excited to see them go at it here. The crowd, like me, was pretty split on this. With the last match being so short, this was given a fair amount of time and they made good use of it. They worked the mat in the early stages, trading arm drags and holds. Ryohei was the first one to really showcase something outside of technical work, using a shoulder block to take Yuya down, but he went right back to a crossface on the mat. Things really got going after Ryohei busted out a Doctor Bomb and a splash off the top. Yuya responded with big moves of his own, including a back suplex. The spot where Ryohei hit Chaos Theory (a move I love) and went for the discus lariat, only for Yuya to catch it and turn it into an armbreaker was tremendous. From there, we got the big closing stretch with close calls on both sides and I was totally in, unsure of who was going to win. Ryohei hit a big lariat but Yuya caught him soon after the Deadbolt to win after an awesome 18:22. I think that’s my favorite match of the tournament. THIS is what this company needs to focus on if they want any chance of being good again. [****½]
44. NXT Championship: Oba Femi [c] vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Trick Williams – NXT Stand & Deliver
Evans used his quickness right off the bat, flying around and avoiding any big shots from his opponents. In fact, I’d say the first third or so of this match was something of an Evans showcase. Oba got to do his thing too, picking up both men for one double Samoan Drop at one point. Trick also showed off a flying cross body from the top though that had much less of an impact than the stuff Evans and Oba were doing. Maybe it’s because we saw several cross bodies off the top earlier. Evans’ moonsault off the bottom rope when they attempted to throw him inside was really cool, as was him bouncing up after the spot. Oba really got going late, busting out his usual brand of impressive offense. He’s ridiculous. The spot where Je’Von countered an Oba chokeslam into a cutter was great and it made for a damn good near fall, as did his Sliced Bread No. 2 right after. He kept trying high flying stuff but his double jump springboard saw Oba cut him down with a sick forearm. The close call on the leaping cutter was even better. The camera kind of missed it but Trick took out the referee as Je’Von got close to winning. In a huge moment, Trick put Oba through a table and that felt like it opened the door for a new champion. Trick Shot connected but the referee was still out and when he tried to get in, Oba managed to stop him. Je’Von hit a double leaping cutter and had this won but he took another Trick Show. Oba then powerbombed Trick onto Je’Von and added another powerbomb on Evans to win in 16:55. Outstanding match where everyone shined, they gave us some great drama, and it felt like a big deal. Yeah there was some inconsistent selling here but that’s kind of par for the course in 2025. [****½]
43. AEW Unified Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega – AEW All In
Some call this the best rivalry ever. I think it’s great but wouldn’t go that far. I rate their matches like this: Wrestle Kingdom 11 (****¼), Dominion 2017 (***½), G1 27 (****¾), and Dominion 2018 (****½). The crowd lost their shit as soon as the bell rang. They went back and forth for the first seven or so minutes until Don Callis got involved with some cheap shots. Omega had to weather that storm and hit a tope con hilo to turn the tide. Kenny’s midsection was a problem throughout that kept costing him moments and Okada took advantage. Kenny looked like he was really struggling with it around the 20 minute mark. Omega’s comeback after that was a high point as he started in with bigger moves like the V-Trigger and the insane top rope Dragon Suplex that he busted out. Okada was laying in the big shots by this point, like a discus lariat that looked more vicious than any Rainmaker. When Omega got going again, Rocky Romero ran out for a distraction but got taken out by Kenny’s boyfriend Kota Ibushi. Omega hit the One Winged Angel, only for Don to pull the referee out of the ring. Omega survived a Rainmaker and the two traded blows, only for Okada to drop down and hit the midsection. Omega countering the Rainmaker into a small package was 10/10. That was his last shot though as Okada went on a quick spurt that ended with the Rainmaker, winning in 30:31. They’re now 2-2-1 against each other. They told a story around Kenny’s diverticulitis history, didn’t really overdo anything, had the right amount of interference, and left things open to continue the story if they want. [****½]
42. ROH World Championship: Bandido [c] vs. Hechicero – ROH Death Before Dishonor
I do not follow ROH closely. I appreciate that Tony Khan bought it, kept it running, and has given jobs to so many people. The weekly show just isn’t for me as it’s a lot of matches for the sake of it with no real reason to care about anything. That said, I make sure to check out the biggest matches and Bandido was on a tear in 2025, having one of the best ROH World Title reigns since the days of Bryan, Joe, and Nigel. On this night, he went to war with the other luchador to shine under TK in 2025, Hechicero. For 36:58, they put on an epic. The first half was relatively slow, like a New Japan Okada match, but they were clearly building to more. Once we hit about the halfway point, this was unbelievable. The barricade suplex, the height on Bandido’s cross body, the F5 off the apron. I could go on and on about the spots in this match. I do think they did the thing that far too many matches today do, which is that it missed its peak by a bit. They were exhausted by the end as Hechicero blocked the 21 Plex, so Bandido did an O’Connor roll into a German to retain. [****½]
41. Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay – AEW Summer Blockbuster 6/11/25
Again, AEW’s ability to put on such high quality matches each week on TV is such a gift. Their roster is something special. For their 4-hour Summer Blockbuster special, Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland had their second meeting in the company after a tremendous match at Forbidden Door 2024. While the stakes weren’t as high here (that was a World Title match), the fact that Will got bloodied so early added a different kind of intensity to things. They worked through not one but two commercial breaks and at no point did this ever feel like it had a major lull. My only major gripe with this match was that they didn’t need to do the finisher kickouts they did. Other than they, this was stellar with some absurd exchanges. Will was still teasing the Tiger Driver at the time, which opened the door for Swerve to hit a Vertebreaker, one of my favorite moves ever. He added the House Call but was too tired to cover, and soon after, this ended in a 30:00 draw. Not quite on the level of their PPV classic but an excellent second match between two top guys. [****½]
