Match of The Month (Feburary)

MOTM- February

Michael Oku vs. Will Ospreay

RevPro British Commonwealth Championship

RevPro High Stakes '24

 February is pretty much out the door and what a great month for wrestling.  As for this month's Match of The Month for February, it should come as no surprise that it, once again, comes from Mr. Ospreay.  Once again, he put on an all-time performance, and this already may be a MOTY candidate, and a highly probable one at that.  This one involved current British Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion, Michael Oku, as he defended the title against former multi-time champion, Ospreay, in his final indie match before shipping off to AEW for his new full-time career with the company. This all-timer took place at RevPro's signature annual event, High Stakes, which is also where their previous encounter took place at as well. The back story has Oku wanting to avenge his 2022 loss to Ospreay in one of the best matches of the entire year.  The storytelling involved was among the most praised within that year and showed how great Oku was, and how nicely he could hang with arguably the most gifted wrestler in the business today.  That was 2022.  Now, here in 2024, Oku wants to get that dark cloud from over his head by defeating "The Commonwealth Kingpin", even if that means putting up his Undisputed British Commonwealth Title.  Not forgetting at all how much their 2022 match took out of them, Oku appeared better than ever in this affair.  He knew the athlete Ospreay was, but also knew how low his actions could stoop, especially when it came to Oku's girlfriend, Amira.  In their 2022 match, Amira was kicked to the ground by Ospreay.  He did much worse here, as will get explained a little later.  Ospreay, as usual, was amazing here, both as the heel and his in-ring prowess.  However, Oku was able to counter or reverse several of Ospreay's moves within his arsenal.  The intensity was every bit as high as their 2022 bout and even more.  Also, much like the last affair, both men were bleeding, that didn't let up either man's assault against the other.  Unlike the prior matchup, Ospreay got his leg worked on during the second half of the match, thus making it difficult for Ospreay to execute some of his usual moves within his move set and counters, and Oku would end up taking advantage practically every time.  One of the biggest spots of this already epic matchup happened when Ospreay attempted his vicious Hidden Blade finisher onto Oku, only to strike Amira, who had come in the ring thanks to Oku pulling her into the ring as she held hands with Oku as Oku seemed like he was about to tap out to Ospreay.  This turned up the volume within Oku as he, understandably, went to town on "The Aerial Assassin".  Both men also delivered several Hidden Blades onto the other.  In yet another twist of fate, Oku would deliver Hidden Blades onto Ospreay and would stop the ref count by picking up Ospreay by his hair, only to deliver another one, just like Ospreay did to him in the last encounter. After Oku was kicking out of absolutely everything Ospreay was dishing pout to him, including a BRUTAL Storm Driver 93, a couple more Hidden blades, and a Storm Breaker, Ospreay even attempted a Styles Clash (inspired by one of his childhood idols, AJ Styles) after Oku kicked out from an aforementioned Storm Driver 93.  Oku kicked out of that as well. Ospreay, to his credit, survived a couple of his signature Frog Splashes from Oku as well. The end happened when Oku put Ospreay in a single leg crab and after nearly fifty extraordinary minutes, Ospreay tapped out.  

It's not hard to see why many have called this one of the greatest matches of the modern era of wrestling.  It was already a hard sell to get this match to be even better than their 2022 encounter that officially put Oku on the map, much like Flair did Sting in '88, but they not only met the expectations, they also far surpassed them, which is a feat in and of itself.  It was the type of match and storytelling that makes people, notably the casual fan, really understand why hardcore, dedicated enthusiasts love this game so much, both from a realistic view and an entertaining view.  After this legendary and emotionally charged encounter, both men showed rightful respect to each other, as Oku was virtually given the torch of RevPro by Ospreay.  It just so happened also that AEW President & Chief Booker, Tony Khan, was in attendance to watch this magical evening (Orange Cassidy made a surprise entrance to this event and defended his AEW International Title in a Fatal Five-way Match earlier in the evening).  As people chanted, "Thank you Tony", the two stars recognized the magic they created, and that they executed something very special.  While Ospreay is NO stranger to legendary and standard-raising matches such as his series of matches with Shingo Takagi, Zach Sabre Jr, and Kenny Omega, for the young Oku, this was next level career advancement.  He had to show the world he could not only hang with quite possibly the best wrestler this decade thus far, but that he could beat him.  He did just that.  

Matches like these, sadly, don't come around every day, but then again, nor should it.  That's what makes it special.  We never saw Steamboat vs. Flair every day, nor did we see Okada vs. Omega, Taker vs. HBK, The Fantastics vs. Midnight Express, or Tanahashi vs. Okada everyday either.  These are rivalries and matches that create moments, enduring moments that stand the test of time.  Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer gave it a VERY rare six-star rating, and others have already billed, within the industry, as MOTY or even the decade so far.  If there was a masterclass in athleticism meting excellent storytelling and psychology of today's times, you may not need to look any further than Michael Oku vs. Will Osreay from RevPro's High Stakes of 2024.  

Runner Up

Bryan Danielson vs. Zach Sabre Jr.

NJPW New Beginning in Osaka '24

2/11/2024

Much like the aforementioned match of Oku vs. Ospreay, for Bryan Danielson and Zach Sabre Jr, the bar was set incredibly high going into their much-anticipated rematch from AEW Wrestledream of 2023.  Their match was the proverbial "game of human chess" (God rest Gordon Solie) and it met every single dream bookers expectations, as it was not just one of the single best matches of the year, but one of the single best ones so far this decade and possibly ever in modern wrestling.  They would meet again, this time in Osaka, Japan at New Japan's New Beginning in Osaka card.  The event was already an emotional powder keg going into it, as this would be the last New Japan event for Will Ospreay and next to last one for Kazuchika Okada, as he's setting sail for (presumably) AEW as well.  In the prior match, in fact, Okada faced his most famous and notable rival, NJPW President and sure fire, first ballot Hall of Famer, Hiroshi Tanahashi in a match that reminded us of how well their chemistry is and has been throughout the past nearly two decades.  With that being said, it was go-time for Danielson and ZSJ.  If you saw their first encounter at Wrestledream, it was the same type of affair, only a little more physical than before.  The catch and chain wrestling styles were obviously the big story here, as the two best at their craft executed hold after counter hold, offense move countering that offensive move, and the like.  Both men were not afraid to get stiff with each other, and this definitely happened throughout the match.  When it comes to technical wrestling, Danielson has been considered the modern GOAT, much along the lines of the likes of Bret Hart, Angle or Benoit (for those that still give Benoit his professional props).  Sabre Jr is easily in that same category and then some, as his style is more along the lines of British mat legends like Billy Robinson and Johnny Saint more so than Bret Hart, although you can certainly tell Hart's influence in some of his move set and submission proficiency.  After just over thirty grueling and unbelievable catch and chain wrestling between the two and the rising physicality between them, Sabre Jr was able to avenge his loss to Danielson at Wrestledream by defeating him in this affair.  Easily every bit as masterful and brilliant as their prior encounter in Seattle, we witnessed a match worthy of another MOTY candidacy.  Danielson, later in the locker room, declared ZSJ as the new best technical wrestler in the world, but also wanted a Best of Three Falls match at some point in the future as well.  Time will tell if we do, in fact, get that match.  Will it happen in London at Wembley for All In: London? Makes sense being that it's ZSJ's backyard but will also likely be Danielson's last match, as he promised he would retire from full-time competition in the ring around the time his daughter, Birdie, turned seven, which is around June time.  

Compared to the iconic mat classic between Billy Robinson and Karl Gotch in '71, this match and the Dream match were definitely on par with it, at least according to those who actually witnessed the match.  With this year being Danielson's last hurrah as a full-time wrestler, he's going out in a profound blaze of glory, while ZSJ continues to make his mark as one of the greatest mat wrestlers of all-time, and he's still in his younger to mid-thirties.  If we do get a Two Out of Three Falls match between these two, it will likely be even more memorable than these two encounters have been.

Honorable Mentions

Mills vs. Sabre Jr/RevPro High Stakes '24

Jacobs vs. Gail/RevPro High Stakes '24

Volodor Jr vs. Romero/NJPW/CMLL Fantasica Mania Night 6

Belair vs. Stratton vs. Lynch vs. Rodriguez vs. Morgan vs. Naomi/WWE Elimination Chamber '24

Orton vs. Paul vs. McIntyre vs. Owens vs. Lashley vs. Knight/WWE Elimination Chamber '24

United Empire vs. BCWD/NJPW New Beginning In Osaka '24

Tanahashi vs. Okada/NJPW New Beginning In Osaka '24

Strickland vs. Page/AEW Dynamite 2/7/24

Danielson vs. Hechecero/AEW Collision 2/3/24

Harwood vs. Moxley/AEW Dynamite 2/14/24

What an incredible month of action in February.  January was already hot in the cold of Winter.  Now that Spring season is upon us in March, things will only start to warm up even more, with events coming such as AEW Revolution (which will see the final match of Sting's career), NJPW's 52nd Anniversary Show, their New Japan Cup tournament, TNA Sacrifice, Stardom's Cinderella tournament and the NJPW Academy Showcase.  Let's strap in for what could surely be a very memorable March!

A Year Of Tears

 

While 2023 was widely celebrated as one of the most incredible years for in-ring action ever seen in modern wrestling history (if not THE greatest), there was news within the business that made just as much of an impact, if not more.  From retirements from the likes of Tyrus and Keiji Mutoh (aka The Great Muta) to the on-again, off-again saga of Vince McMahon and his legal issues that carried over from the previous year, to the partnership between WWE and UFC's parent company, Endeavor, to become TKO, inc., no story hit the strings of the collective wrestling family more so than the sudden and tragic deaths of two of the sports brightest stars, Jay Briscoe and Bray Wyatt, plus the passing of one of the true icons and faces of wrestling, Terry Funk.

As one-half of The Briscoes, Jay Briscoe was seen as the all-around tougher Briscoe.  Along with real-life brother Mark, Jay was a thirteen-time ROH World Tag Team Champion, while they also held championships in New Japan, NOAH, GCW, Impact, and HOG.  As a solo performer, Jay was a former two-time ROH world Champion and considered one of the toughest bastards to step foot in any ring.  On 1/7/23, Briscoe, real name Jamin Pugh, was instantly killed when he was in a head-on collision in Delaware with his daughters in the vehicle with him. He was 38 years young.  They, too, were critically injured but thankfully survived.  The outpouring was swift and emotional.  Colleagues from all over the wrestling world paid respects and gave love to the memory of Jay and his brother Mark.  Their last televised match together was at ROH Final Battle '22, where they faced FTR for the ROH World Tag Team titles in an INSANE Dog Collar Tag Team Match.  Regarded as one of the greatest tag team matches of all-time in modern wrestling, this bloodbath was also hailed as the greatest Dog Collar match ever as well, as the match topped many year-end lists and won many year-end awards for 2022.  Former adversaries such as Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn all paid tribute to him wearing armbands and commenting on his death during podcasts and interviews.  Also, companies such as NJPW and Impact did ten bell salutes to Jay in his memory.  The tribute show on ROH's weekly show was wrenching, but everyone that gave their salutes to him were honest and clearly moved by his abilities in the ring and as Jamin the man.  On the 1/25 edition of AEW Dynamite, a driven Mark Briscoe came out to a standing ovation from the audience while chanting Jay's name.  He faced another Jay, in Jay Lethal, one of both Briscoe's most known adversaries throughout the years. A clearly grief-stricken Lethal struggled within the first few minutes of the match to keep himself together, as us viewers felt the pain of these men.  the match, however, was as competitive as we knew it would be in Jay Briscoe's honor.  Mark defeated Lethal with his brother's finisher, the Jay Driller, to finish this highly emotional match.  With Lethal back to tears after the match, as was Mark at this point, the entire locker room area came out to give love and respect to Mark and the Briscoe name in a very proud, yet tear-jerking, moment that we've sadly seen too many times in this business.  At the most recent Final Battle, Mark teamed up with, whom both Briscoes referred to as their "blood brothers", FTR, to face fellow Briscoe fans and friends, Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, and Claudio Castagnoli of the Blackpool Combat Club in a "Tribute to Jay" match. this blood-stained street fight that Jay would have clearly loved to witness, if not been a part of.  The impact Jay left behind is substantial, as Mark is a solo guy now, but the legacy of The Briscoes is one of pride and toughness, as they're arguably the best team ever seen in the business never signed to WWE.

* Peep this fight along against his brother in the Fight on The Farm match, with "Papa" Briscoe (their real father) as the special referee. *

From there, we didn't anticipate another death this rough to get through, but we were hit with the proverbial double whammy with the deaths of former WWE Champion, Bray Wyatt, and wrestling icon, Terry Funk.  Funk passed away at the age of 79 after several health-related issues, and the mourning was widespread.  Funk has been regarded by many as the greatest to ever do it.  His passion, knowledge, and in-ring ability was second to none, and his historic rivalries with the likes of Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, and Mick Foley helped change the business. Aside from his groundbreaking feuds with the previously mentioned, he was also in a few movies, and even had a country album get released in Japan, which was arguably his second home because of how revered he and his brother, Dory Jr, were over there.  He had a mid-life career surge once he went to ECW and became ECW World Heavyweight Champion while helping to elevate the prodigious company get to a higher level at the company's first PPV, Barely Legal.  He was then thrusted into another notorious moment within his already legendary career when fought Sabu for the World Title in a Barbed Wire Match that is, perhaps, the most infamous Barbed Wire match in wrestling history.  Never one to just fold his tent, Terry continued wrestling, even having a brief stint in WWE as Chainsaw Charlie, and it had him and Foley in his Cactus Jack persona winning the WWE Tag Team Titles from The New Age Outlaws at WrestleMania 14.  Literally if there was a wrestling promotion, Terry stepped foot in it, even if briefly.  His love of the business was rarely matched within his peers or even generations after his prime.  He and his brother, Dory Jr, were inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2009.  His last active match was reportedly in 2017 at a show in NC, but this time it was for good (he was notorious for off and on retirements).  The mourning of the passing of Funk was hard and very saddening, as the Busted Open Radio team of Bully Ray, host Dave LeGreca, and especially Tommy Dreamer were all audibly distraught over his passing and how much he meant to their lives, professionally, personally, and as fans.  

* Check out one of the greatest, and most violent, fights in Funk's career against Jerry "The King" Lawler in the legendary Empty Arena match from Memphis! Viewer discretion is advised! *

Not even twenty-four hours later, the wrestling world was hit with even worse news, as Windham Rotunda, known professionally as Bray Wyatt, tragically died from heart failure at the young age of 36. Reportedly, he had severe effects from COVID earlier in the year that exacerbated underlying cardiac issues he was suffering from.  Wyatt had just returned to WWE after just over two years being away from the company and was in the midst of his split personality angle as "Uncle Howdy".  Wyatt came on board in the WWE within their developmental system, FCW, as far back as 2009, but after some hits and misses with his character, along with Vince not being crazy of his heavy size (thus the Husky Harris gimmick for a brief span), he eventually came up with the character that would define the remainder of his career.  A partially supernatural cult leader, Wyatt brought with him Erick Rowan and Luke Harper (otherwise known as the late Brodie Lee) as The Wyatt Family, and they instant became mainstays within on the main roster.  Developing a cult-like following of their own, the group eventually embarked on a feud with another highly regarded trio faction, The Shield, which consisted of Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose (otherwise known as Jon Moxley), and Seth Rollins.  They had a match at the Elimination Chamber PPV in 2014 that still holds up as one of the most intense matches of that year, and certainly the best overall match of The Wyatts as a group.  Bray was getting more and more over with the fans up to where he faced John Cena at WrestleMania XXX.  While he lost in that match, the backlash from the fans was swift and noticeable.  He defeated Cena at the next PPV but in many people's eyes, the damage had already been done.  Eventually the Family parted ways and Wyatt was on his own, at least for a spell until he linked up with "Broken" Matt Hardy and they became an unlikely team that became Tag Team Champions.  This wasn't the first time Wyatt held gold, as he had been Tag Team Champions within The Wyatts when Randy Orton briefly was a part of the group, and in 2017, he won an Elimination Chamber match to win his first WWE Title.  He would lose the title the next month to Orton who had turned on the group the next night after Wyatt won the Title. 

 After being off television for a year or so, Wyatt returned to television with his most daring and ambitious role yet.  Instead of being the cult leader or his "Eater of Worlds" persona, he returned as a deranged and conflicted Mr. Rogers-type character, who was really hiding a monster within himself, that revealed itself to be known as The Fiend, an evil, malevolent manifestation of the rage within. This side of Wyatt resulted in him being among the most intriguing and spellbinding characters in the business.  It hit a detour, however, when he faced Seth Rollins for the Title in a Hell in A Cell match that received universal panning from fans and critics alike for the rather shitty booking of both men and the confusing outcome of the match.  Wyatt, once again, couldn't fully recover from this blow, even with him winning another WWE Title the next month in Saudi Arabia.  Although he was beginning to feel his momentum come back, he faced Hall of Famer, Goldberg, in another Saudi Arabia show just before WrestleMania 36, and lost to him in another moment fans were enraged over.  He ended up facing John Cena in a "Firefly Funhouse Match" that was regarded as one of the most original conceptual matches seen in modern wrestling.  With his Fiend persona going through a bunch of twists and turns that were making this persona look more and more baffling and confusing, Wyatt was off television again. 

 He was eventually fired in 2021, but we wouldn't hear or see the last of him just yet.  As rumors were going around that Wyatt was coming back, the song "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane would play during house shows in dark light with ominous red lighting appearing near the song's end.  Plus, random QR codes would appear during Raw and Smackdown with clues of his impending return.  Most were very cryptic, but we knew what everything weas leading up to.  At Extreme Rules '22, Wyatt returned with a building-rattling ovation and pop from the fans and what appeared to be a return to his original "Eater of Worlds" gimmick with a slight twist.  We were now introduced to another level of evolution for Wyatt, as he presented himself as this sorrowful, peace-attaining guy, who still was at war internally within himself and was seemingly being controlled by a force known only as "Uncle Howdy".  He embarked on a rivalry with LA Knight and the result was a "Lights Out Match" at the 2023 Royal Rumble, in which the lights would be out, and they would wrestle under special lighting.  The match was panned, as fans and critics were again confused about the direction of the match and how over the top it was presented (although Wyatt in the fluorescent, menacing paint was quite a visual).  This would be the last match Wyatt would have on PPV. 

 Wyatt was the son of famed legend, Mike Rotunda (early to mid-90s WWE fans would remember him as Irwin R. Shyster), the brother of another WWE star, Bo Dallas, the nephew of Barry and Kendall Windham, and the grandson of another Hall of Famer, the late, great Blackjack Mulligan.  Seen as one of wrestling's most fascinating and original minds, Wyatt was often misunderstood within creative and most, namely McMahon, couldn't seem to just have him direct and steer the direction of his own creation.  Outside of the ring, while obviously a brilliant creative mind, he was a family man with four children and was engaged to former WWE ring announcer, Jojo Offerman.  On the 8/25 edition of Smackdown, both Funk and Wyatt were honored, as the locker room emptied out and a ten-bell salute was given in honor of their memories.  The highly emotional visual of a tearful Braun Strowman (another former Wyatt Family member) and previously released Erick Rowan looking emotionally worn out and drained (as he had just lost his Wyatt Family tag partner Harper two years earlier) gripped our collective hearts.  Stories from the likes of Orton, Rollins, on-screen love interest and real-life great friend Alexa Bliss, and Otis all came in from social media and on the tribute show to fully represent how special of a character and a man Rotunda was.

* Check out this match against famed rival, Daniel Bryan (aka Bryan Danielson) *

The year also had unfortunate passings from other legends and icons within the wrestling world as well.  Among them were several former WWE Champions and Hall of Famers. Those include The Iron Shiek, Superstar Billy Graham, and Butch Miller of The Bushwhackers/Sheepherders.  Other significant deaths included "Leaping" Lanny Poffo (otherwise known as the Genius and "Macho Man' Randy Savage's real-life brother), former NFL player turned WWE Tag Team Champion Darren "Droz" Drozdov, Adrian Street, revered promoter (and father of Jeff Jarrett) Jerry Jarrett, Joyce Gable, former WWE star Mantaur, and Jeff Gaylord.  None more or less unfortunate than others, and any loss is sad and full of mourning.  

Very similar to the year of 2015 when both Dusty Rhodes and Roddy piper died within a month of each other, 2023 saw Briscoe, Funk and Wyatt pass within 6 months apart (with Funk and Wyatt not even 24 hours apart as previously mentioned).  Tears flowed, memories were abounded, and legacies secured.  Rotunda is highly being considered to be in WWE's Hall of Fame for 2024 and rightfully so.  While they're at it, put his father in the same HOF, as his contributions to the sport should never be ignored or overlooked.  Although never a World Champion as a single guy, he won numerous championships within his career, including an aforementioned Tag Team Title with Ted Dibiase, but also former NWA Television Champion on three occasions, NWA Tag Champ with the late "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, and multiple championships in Florida.

  As time passes, let's continue to give our legends their flowers while they're still here, and truthfully everyone that mean something special to us their flowers.  2023 was a very memorable year, both for the good and the bad, but for everyone we lost last year, they will forever be immortalized within our hearts and every time we have access to watch them in action through YouTube, Peacock or wherever you get access to them and their form of art and entertainment.  The Heavenly Wrestling Federation continues to expand its roster per year, but we will treasure them while they still remain here with us down here.  Until next time folks!

Match Of The Month (January)

 Starting now, we will start highlighting the best match per month throughout this year and what made it so special.  These past couple of years, especially, have been exceptional with matches that weren't just MOTY candidates, but all-time greats.  While there's no doubt this year will be any different, we will put a spotlight on those matches that stand out from the pack each month, but also give it up to those matches that were almost just as great as the match getting the distinction of Match of The Month.  With that being said, let's start with our first MOTM winner.

January's MOTM

Josh Alexander vs. Will Ospreay

TNA Impact!

1/18/2024

With the exciting news of Will Ospreay officially becoming "All Elite" in March, Ospreay still had obligations to fulfill, including matches in New Japan, RevPro, and even in the rebranded TNA.  This one match in TNA happened to be a rematch from this past November at an Impact Wrestling taping.  He faced former Impact Wrestling Champion, Josh Alexander, in a great matchup that saw these two athletes compete in a match that ranks among the best matches either man has had recently, especially Alexander.  Ospreay was on a brief TNA run in 2023 and it saw him face the likes of Eddie Edwards in a fantastic match and "Speedball" Mike Bailey, in a match that many considered the greatest Impact match ever, and the best match in the career of Bailey.  For Ospreay, it was a Thursday.  Now that 2024 has arrived, the question is, "how much farther will Ospreay set the bar for 2024?"  The answer may very well lie in this rematch with "The Walking Weapon" from Canada.  This match occurred during a taping of TNA Impact on 1/18/2024, and MY GOD! This match took place the day after their acclaimed PPV, Hard to Kill in Vegas.  Not only did this outdo their original matchup, which as was mentioned that match in and of itself was absolutely tremendous, but this is already a MOTY candidate.  Ospreay's unbelievable performing abilities beautifully coincided with the technical prowess of the more grounded and deliberate offense of Alexander.  As these two put each other through a bunch of tests of endurance, the level of intensity picked up several notches when "The Aerial Assassin" put the former Impact World Champion through a table using his Storm Driver maneuver (aka a Tiger Driver).  However, even that, along with Ospreay's frightening Hidden Blade finisher, didn't stop Mr. Alexander from coming back and showing why he's a bad ass of badasses in this game by not just delivering a Styles Clash (wink and nod to TNA/Impact legend AJ Styles), but also delivered a C1 Piledriver to Ospreay and defeating the insanely talented England native.  This match was just unbelievable and certainly was nearly thirty of the most legendary minutes in TNA history, much less on free television.  While Alexander might've gone down to Ospreay in their first encounter, Alexander refused to succumb to Ospreay a second time, and with tenacity and resilience, Josh Alexander pulled out a win and what has been referred to as the greatest TNA/Impact match of all-time, which considering the performance Ospreay and Bailey put on at Bound for Glory last year is a feat in itself.

Watch the match here!

Runner-Up

Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18

1/4/2014

This was tough.  This match was arguably every bit as up there with Alexander vs. Ospreay.  At AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door, Okada did something he's rarely done in his career: submitted to another man.  Granted, this wasn't any regular wrestler. This is a modern GOAT in professional wrestling, "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson.  What made that match, and its ending, special was the fact that Danielson broke his forearm during the match thanks to an Okada elbow.  Even with one arm, he was able to make Okada tap out.  Unsatisfied with this, Danielson challenged Okada for a rematch at Wrestle Kingdom 18 and to say this was even better than their first encounter is an understatement.  Fortunately, there were no apparent injuries in this match (other than Danielson's orbital bone injury going into this match) so these two could put on a performance worthy of the super high anticipation it had stamped onto it.  Two of the best to ever do it competed in a match where we saw the ingenious technical ability of Danielson on full display with counter after counter and stiff kick after stiff kick in this affair.  From the kicks to the suplexes to the slaps to the submissions, Danielson was not to be played with in this matchup.  Not to be outdone, Okada's finesse was at its best here as well.  Okada is one of the most adaptable wrestlers you can find (as is Danielson), and even though he's not necessarily in the same technical, mat game league as Danielson or the likes of a Drew Gulak or Zach Sabre Jr, he held his own and took the fight all the way to Danielson.  As complete of a wrestler as anyone in the business, Okada floated in this match, with grit and determination (not to mention those BEAUTIFUL Okada dropkicks).  At the end, Okada avenged his loss to Danielson at Forbidden Door '23 and mutual respect was shown with both men bowing down to each other in a great moment.  As Danielson's full-time career is coming to a close by the summer, he wants to go out being remembered among the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots, and this was just another day at the office for the Aberdeen, WA native.  With Kazuchika Okada, the former seven-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion continues to show why he's been in the world's best conversations for over a decade now.  Having legendary matches against the likes of famed rival, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ketsuyuri Shibata, Will Ospreay, Kota Ibushi, and especially Kenny Omega, Okada is in a league very few can be a part of within and amongst his peers.  The series is tied 1-1.  Where will the rubber match take place and when? Time will tell (especially with Okada rumored to be joining AEW, same home as Danielson), but for now, let's revisit this instant classic as it reminds the world about two if its most revered and respected stars.

Honorable Mentions

Jon Moxley vs. Will Ospreay vs. David Finlay/NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18

Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay/NJPW Battle in The Valley

SANADA vs. Tetsuya Naito/NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zach Sabre Jr/NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18

Momo Iwatani vs. Syuri/Stardom Ittenyon Stardom Gate

FTR & Daniel Garcia vs. House Of Black/AEW Collision 1/13/24

Jon Moxley vs. Shingo Takagi/NJPW Battle in The Valley

Darby Allen vs. Konosuke Takeshita/AEW Dynamite 1/3/24

Women's Roya Rumble Match/WWE Royal Rumble '24

Go Shiozaki vs. Kaito Kaiyomiya/NOAH Star Navigation Day 1

Mascara Dorada vs. Templario/CMLL Super Viennes

With February already starting off in awesome fashion, this looks to be another month where it'll be hard to come up with the best match of the month, but it sure will be fun seeing how the month turns out.  Until next month!

Greatest PPVs Of All-Time (Updated)

A few years ago, we did a list of the greatest PPVs (or PLEs) ever to be viewed.  While that was a very formidable list, times have also changed.  Some events have aged very well and remain quite revered and influential.  Some others have gone in the opposite direction.  Now, in 2024, it's time to update this list and see how far we've come in terms of in-ring style, storytelling, athleticism, and overall entertainment value. Events such as AJW Dream Slam I, WrestleMania X-Seven, When Worlds Collide, and the '94 Super J-Cup tournament continue to stand up within the test of time, while more recent ones such as AEW All Out '21, Stardom's All-Star Grand Queendom, and AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door '22 have made formidable contributions to the landscape in huge capacities.  Even events that weren't given as much credit and as many accolades as they should've gotten before such as NOAH Departure, ROH Driven, and NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling 2016 were underrated at the time but have since proved themselves to be impactful PPVs that vitally helped their respective promotions into the acclaimed manner they would rightfully deserve to be placed in.  These PPVs have been widely acclaimed and put on pedestals across the business and, with no further ado, we will get into this updates list of greatest PPVs of all-time.

 40. ECW One Night Stand '05

New York City, NY

6/12/05

We begin this list with one of the more fun WWE-related events of the early 00s. Paul Heyman's groundbreaking and revolutionary promotion, Extreme Championship Wrestling, was unfortunately declared bankrupt in 2001.  Vince bought it and fans perceived that ECW would be nothing more than a memory.  On 6/12/05, the idea came up for WWE to "revive" ECW for "one night only" as a means of officially saying thank you for their wildly dedicated support and fan base.  In came One Night Stand.  the event was set at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, a place very much revered within ECW history.  The event was aimed to do two things: remind their audience of what made them so loved (and so controversial) in the first place and attract a new legion of fans that may have heard of this renegade promotion but was never able to access ECW programming or events.  The matches were very reminiscent of ECW in its prime.  From brutal and vicious encounters such as Mike Awesome vs. Misato Tanaka to technical, yet fundamental, matches like Jericho vs. Lance Storm, to wild bloodbaths like Tommy Dreamer & The Sandman vs. The Dudley Boyz.  With ECW original commentator Joey Styles and ECW alum, Mick Foley, providing color commentary, and other originals/alum like RVD, Balls Mahoney, Axl Rotten, Sabu, Rey Mysterio, and even Steve Austin in the fray (not to mention an inspiring worked shoot from Heyman during quite the entertaining angle with ECW vs. WWE & Eric Bischoff when he was GM of Raw at the time).  The wild brawl at the end capped off one of the most fun and exhilarating PPVs WWE has ever put together.  Vince took a gamble allowing Heyman to run the show as he saw it, but it worked and worked like a hardcore charm.  

39. WWE WrestleMania 19

Seattle, WA

3/30/03

Seattle, WA was the home for Mania 19, and this Mania was one of the better Manias of that decade.  While most consider Mania 17 to be the holy grail of Manias from an in-ring and overall entertainment standpoint (see later), 19 wasn't too far behind.  Matches such as the instant classic between Shawn Michaels vs. Jericho, the match twenty years in the making with the bloody, yet highly entertaining, street fight between Hulk Hogan and Mr. McMahon, and the final encounter in arguably the most landmark rivalry in WWE history, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. the Rock (this turned out to be Austin's final match as he would end up retiring due to neck issues and The Rock left WWE for full-time acting career) were among the matches that really made this event stand out. The main event of Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar for the title was very good if not for nothing else, Angle wrestled with a neck that needed surgery and Lesnar suffered a brutal concussion when he botched an attempted Shooting Star Press.  This event was very reminiscent of what Mania 17 looked like in terms of it covered everything Mania was supposed to be for that generation especially: fun, compelling, incredible wrestling, equally compelling stories being told, and an overall exciting experience worth investing the time to watch or attend.  This definitely did all of the above.

38. WCW/AAA When Worlds Collide

Los Angeles, CA

11/6/94

When Mexican wrestling juggernaut, AAA, decided to have a PPV in Los Angeles, they acquired WCW to provide them with the production value for the event.  The event, When Worlds Collide, was less about WCW, and more about the excellent talent AAA presented.  With Mike Tenay and Chris Cruise providing American commentary, they called one hell of a PPV.  Stars that are legendary household names today that were involved in the event included Rey Mysterio Jr and the late, great Eddie Guerrero.  In fact, Guerrero was involved in what was easily one of the best tag matches of the year, as he and partner, the late Art Barr, faced two legends in their own rights of Octagon and El Hijo de Santo in a Best Of 3 Falls/Hair vs. Mask match.  The main event saw another important, iconic figure within Mexican wrestling, Konnan, face Perro Aguayo in a steel cage match that was as much of a fight as one could imagine at the time.  A big commercial and critical success, When Worlds Collide showed American fans what Lucha Libre was all about and gave us more of an appreciation of their form of wrestling, which dates as far back as the early 1920s with CMLL.  While many from this card have sadly passed away since (RIP to the aforementioned Guerrero, Barr, Aguayo, Espectrito, and Madonna's Boyfriend (aka Louie Spicolli), this event was truly one of the sport's most intriguing and engaging PPVs of the time.

37. NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling '16

Tokyo, Japan

10/6/16

The 2016 edition of New Japan's King Of Pro Wrestling event was one that saw shifts take place that would be seismic in later events the next year.  This event in itself throughout the series history has been home to some fantastic matches such as Okada vs. Naito from '14, Nakamura vs. AJ Styles from '15, and of course the epic Tanahashi vs. Okada from '13.  In 2016, they continued their momentum of this fire PPV series with scintillating matches like G.O.D. vs. Briscoes, Bucks vs. Ricochet & David Finlay, and the stiff and unsettling contest between Katsuyuri Shibata and Kyle O' Reilly.  Bullet Club leader (at the time) Kenny Omega had a thriller of a match against the ever tenacious and tough Hiroki Goto, which had Omega putting up his G1 briefcase on the line and the shot to face the winner of the main event at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in January on the line as well.  Speaking of the main event, it was Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Title against longtime NOAH star and champion, Naomichi Marafuji in a great affair.  The end of the match saw Omega and Okada have a stare down that would set the stage for what would be one of the single greatest bell to bell wrestling contests of all-time at WK11 between the two.  However, KOPW '16 was a hard-hitting and exhilarating event that easily was one of New Japan's best events all year.

36. NJPW G1 Climax 2017 Finals

Tokyo, Japan

8/13/17

The 2017 edition of the much heralded and regarded G1 Climax tournament of New Japan was among the best in tournament history as a whole.  Matches such as Ibushi vs. Tanahashi, Okada vs. Omega (before their ungodly epic series of matches over the title really started), Ishii vs. Ibushi, and Kojima vs. SANADA were all excellent matches that kept fans glued and for very good reasons.  However, it all came down to the main event, which was the Finals of the tournament.  The event leading up to it was intense and full of fire as it was, but then it was time for the winner of the A block (Naito) faced the winner of the B block (Omega), and BOY what a match this was! These two legends were involved in over thirty of the most engaging minutes in G1 Finals history, with Naito getting the win in a G1 Finals classic to say the least.  Regarded at the time as the greatest G1 tournament ever, it's not hard to see why that's the case. In the event of the Finals, the action leading up to the main event was power-packed, but the main event alone made it a standout event as a whole.

35. NOAH Departure '04

Tokyo, Japan

7/10/04

Let's shout out Pro Wrestling NOAH for a minute.  Considered the third of the Triple Threat of Japanese Wrestling, this promotion was founded by the late legend himself, Mitsuharu Misawa as he, and many others left All Japan Pro.  The promotion has been home to quite a number of wonderful matches and have made big stars within this promotion such as Marafuji and Go Shiozaki.  The event was their first event ever in the Tokyo Dome so of course this had to be especially significant, and it was.  It was an event that saw all three companies of New Japan, All Japan and NOAH represented here, as AJPW's Keiji Mutoh (aka The Great Muta) team up with Taiyo Kea to face Misawa and Yoshinari Ogawa in an excellent GHC Tag Team title match, and NJPW's Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama face Wild II for the IWGP Tag Team titles.  Also on the card, Kanemaru defeated IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, all-time great Jushin "Thunder" Liger for the title in a match that was just fantastic.  The main event had Kento Kobashi defending the GHC Heavyweight Title against the ever-tough Jun Akiyama in a punishing affair. This was an exciting PPV that had all the makings of one of NOAH's first true big time PPVs and one of their most acclaimed to this very day.

34. Stardom Dream Queendom '21

Tokyo, Japan

12/29/21

The sister promotion of New Japan is World Wonder Ring Stardom (or just Stardom).  Seen as the most revered and acclaimed all-women's promotion in the world currently going, Stardom has delivered some excellent matches that have made fans of women's wrestling sit up and take notice of how it should be done around the world.  The promotion is known primarily for their version of the G1 tournament, which is the 5STAR Grand Prix Tournament and their Dream Queendom PPV series.  This particular Dream Queendom event was different, as there was a limited crowd due to the ongoing epidemic at the time.  It didn't, however, stop the action from happening, as this was, top to bottom, a highly enjoyable affair.  Standout matches included Stardom legend, Tam Nakano, facing Saya Kamatani for the Wonder Of Stardom Title (their version of the I-C/U.S./TBS Championship), Takumi Iroha & another Stardom legend, Mayu Iwatane, against the team of the ever-physical Momo Watanabe & Hazuki.  Both damn good matches in themselves.  However, we hit an ENTIRE new level with the main event, as SWA Champion, Syuri, faced World Of Stardom Champion, Utami Hayashishita in a Winner Take All match, unifying the titles.  These two young ladies put on a hell of a wrestling match that really capped off what was an exciting night of wrestling. As a whole, Grand Queendom was a fun show, and showed why Stardom was, and continues to be, THE place for fantastic women's wrestling across the globe.

33. STARDOM Tokyo Dream Cinderella '21

Tokyo, Japan

6/12/21

We will stay with Stardom for a bit and mention their Tokyo Dream Cinderella PPV.  Much like New Japan has the New Japan Cup, which is a single elimination tournament to determine who's headed to Dominion, Stardom's Cinderella Tournament is much the same.  The winner of the tournament "makes a wish" as to whom the winner wants to face at a later date.  Typically, the event is a one-night affair, but due to the pandemic and Japanese health sanctions, the event was spread out over three days.  The tournament itself was tremendous, as stars such as Starlight Kid, AZM, Mayu Iwatani, Saya kamitani, Utami Hayashishita, and Syuri would compete in this tournament.  As competitive as the first two nights were, with matches such as Kimitani facing Konami and Syuri against Natsupoi, it was the Finals of night three that broke the wrestling Internet.  The third night, called Tokyo Dream Cinderella, was a very hotly contested event as it was leading up to the main event of Syuri against Utami Hashashita in a rematch of sorts from the aforementioned Dream Queendom match.  This one, however, was beyond words.  As great as their previous encounters had been, nothing prepared us for the level of AWESOMENESS they delivered.  Regarded as the greatest women's wrestling match of all-time by many, including Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer, and several other critics and insiders, these two delivered truly a match for the ages and set a bar never seen in women's wrestling since the nineties.  An over forty-minute masterpiece (they fought to a time limit draw, then the match was restarted, and both ladies were counted out), these two put a true wrestling clinic that has become the new blueprint for women's wrestling.  The Tokyo Dream Cinderella event was a spirited affair and one that will be remembered, but more so because of the all-time classic that was Hashishita and Syuri that will make this event go down as one of Stardom's greatest events.

32. NJPW Super J-Cup '94

Tokyo, Japan

4/16/94

The event that started a revolution for the junior heavyweights and cruiserweights in professional wrestling.  The '94 edition of New Japan's Super J-Cup was a one-night tournament filled with some of the most exhilarating and fascinating action seen at that time.  Regarded as arguably the most influential event for those that weren't over six feet tall and not over 240 pounds, this night was magical.  Participants such as The Pegasus Kid (aka Chris Benoit), Black Tiger (Eddie Guerrero in a mask similar to the Tiger Mask character), The Great Sasuke, Jushin "Thunder" Liger, Dean Malenko, and Hayabusa were all in this single elimination tournament that propelled these and the other participants to new heights within the business.  While NJPW hosted the event, other Japanese promotions such as Michinoku Pro, SWF, WAR, and FMW all had representatives here in this landmark tournament.  No time was wasted in any match of the evening, as match after match was of importance and high value.  Every single match was great to unbelievable.  The finals had Pegasus against Sasuke in a stellar match that saw both men, even after an already exhaustive night of high-quality wrestling, face each other in a match that still gets regarded today as one of the most phenomenal matches of the nineties.  The Super J-Cup of '94 was ahead of its time and showed that the under 240-pound club can deliver the goods as good, and truthfully better, than many of their heavier counterparts.  It also brought attention to Guerrero, Malenko, and Benoit, as they became stars within North America, more specifically the United States.  With stars of today such as Bryan Danielson, Malaki Black, Rey Mysterio, Rey Fenix, Zach Sabre Jr, and El Phantasmo showing that wrestlers of this weight class can be main eventers and huge stars, this event was the trailblazer that showed that it was possible, and in fact, became the norm.

31. ROH Glory By Honor- Night Two

New York City, NY

9/16/06

We start ROH's contributions highlighting one particularly awesome night of action in 2006.  It was the second night of the PPV Glory By Honor, which took place in the legendary Manhattan Center in NYC.  The first night alone was filled with damn good action with matches such as Roderick Strong vs. Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels vs. Nigel McGuinness and the team of KENTA & Maomichi Marafuji (representing Pro Wrestling NOAH) against The Briscoes.  As very fun as the first night was in Connecticut, the second was even better.  Matches like The Briscoes facing the team of Homicide and Samoa Joe, Roderick Strong & Austin Aries defending the ROH Tag Team Titles against The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli were simply the TRUTH together), and Nigel McGuinness against GHC Heavyweight Champion, Marafuji.  However, it was stiff and spirited battle between Bryan Danielson against KENTA that was one hundred percent worthy of the main event status it got placed in.  Danielson's ROH World Title was on the line and KENTA was as close as you could get to becoming champion this night, with a spiteful Davie Richards in his corner.  The second night of Glory By Honor was gritty and physical, providing some of the company's best matches during this time period.  There's no doubt both nights of Glory By Honor were awesome, but the second night shined even brighter than the first.

30. WWE SummerSlam '02

Uniondale, NY

8/25/02

WWE's summer version of WrestleMania is SummerSlam, and it has provided a ton of memories just like Mania has over the years.  There have been a number of good to great SummerSlams throughout time.  One in particular was the '02 edition of Summerslam.  Originating from Uniondale, NY, those sold-out fans witnessed one of the most complete and well-rounded SummerSlams ever seen.  The card had decent matches such as Flair vs. Jericho and Undertaker vs. Test, but the rest of the card was damn excellent.  RVD faced Benoit in a hell of a match for the I-C Title, while Edge and Eddie Guerrero had a show stealer of their own that night.  Rey Mysterio and Kurt Angle had a entertaining and appealing match as well.  The bigger stories were the final two matches of the night.  The first one was the "return" of Shawn Michaels in a wrestling ring (I use "return" because he was actually wrestling an indie show before this event and that was his real return to action) after a five year in-ring absence due to back surgery and also getting his life together with Christ.  He collided against Triple H in the personal match of the card by far.  The story going into the match was arguably the most compelling storylines in all of the company.  They had a FANTASTIC street fight and one that showed that HBK could not only still go but was possibly better than he was before.  An inspiring performance for sure, Michaels licked up the win over a truly bloody messed Triple H, plus getting hit with a sledgehammer after the amazing win.  It was very hard to follow that, but the main event was The Rock vs. Lesnar for the WWE Title.  Rock was on his way out the company to do movies, so the fans clearly was letting him have it that night, as they were clearly behind the young awesome upstart Lesnar, who had already been I-C Champion and King of The Ring that year.  He became World Champion for the first time, and this was the beginning of one of the most decorated careers in all of wrestling. This SumemrSlam was packed with tremendous moments and engrossing wrestling practically from top to bottom.  it's not out of the discussion to put this SummerSlam as the best ever.  If it's not, then what is??

29. NJPW G1 Climax 2020 Night 13

Namba, Osaka, Japan

10/10/20

Earlier, we discussed the G1 Tournament earlier from 2017.  Seen as overall the greatest (or at least one of) G1 Tournaments overall ever.  A lot of the same can be said for the 2020 version of G1.  This was a little different however.  In 2020, we were smack dabbed in the middle of the pandemic and everything in our society changed.  Usually the G1 takes place during the Summer, however, it got moved to late September due to the Olympics, which also later got canceled due to the pandemic.  While it was weird and honestly unsettling seeing such empty arenas due to health laws in effect, the participants still did their best to present worthwhile nights of action.  The best night of the tournament was far and away night thirteen.  This event was top to bottom one of the greatest nights the G1 Tournament has ever produced.  Jeff Cobb and Tomohiro Ishii had a donnybrook of a match where it was stiff and damn sure physical.  Newcomer, at the time, Jay White faced Yujiro Takahhashi in a very competitive encounter, while Will Ospreay faced TAICHI in a surprisingly very excellent encounter.  The final two matches were among the best matches all year, as Kota Ibushi faced Minoru Suzuki and Okada faced Shingo Takagi in a monster of a match.  This was a barnburner of an evening, with a few calling it one of the best nights of overall wrestling seen in a long time.  It hits even harder considering the state of the country at that time, and the world for that matter.  Not a single miss of the evening, the thirteenth night of G1 2020 will go down as one of the best bell to bell nights in recent memory for not just the G1 tourney, but New Japan as a whole.

28. NOAH Destiny '05

Tokyo, Japan

7/18/05

The first event actually produced by NOAH was Destiny in 2005.  After the success of Departure, it was time for NOAH to show and prove that they could carry their own weight and show the world, especially within Japanese wrestling, they had arrived.  The card was a great card, with matches like Kanemaru vs. KENTA for the GHC Junior Heavyweight title and the final encounter between long time celebrated rivals Kawada and Misawa.  Arguably the most punishing match of the night went to Kensuke Sazaki (a name longtime WCW fans will remember) and Kenta Kobashi, in a stiff contest from hell.  This was a success for the still young guns on the block in Japan, but Destiny showed that they were on their way to be a big name, and this was a great start in that direction.

27. NXT Takeover: R-Evolution

Winter Park, FL

12/11/14

In the prime "black & gold" days of NXT, they were known for their own special events called Takeover.  There have been very memorable Takeover events within NXT (a few more will be listed here).  the first one highlighted is NXT Takeover: R-Evolution.  The show was memorable for a few reasons in particular.  Sure, the action throughout the night was mostly great, especially the NXT Women's Title match between Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks, and the main event between Neville and Sami Zayn.  Charlotte and Sasha delivered an excellent matchup that would catapult them not only as two of the greats of modern women's wrestling, but one of the most celebrated rivalries as well.  While being a hard act to follow, Zayn and Neville (now PAC) did raise the bar with their wonderful main event for the NXT Title.  Zayn put his NXT career on the line if he didn't win the championship from a red-hot Neville.  As Zayn did win the title, here's where our story happens.  This night marked the much-anticipated debut of Kevin Owens, as he had just left ROH much like real-life best friend Zayn did a few years earlier.  An emotional Owens faced CJ Parker (now Juice Robinson) and even with a broken nose, he finished the match and looked devastating in his debut.  After Zayn won, he celebrated with his best friend, and in classic Owens fashion, turned heel on him and viciously attacked him.  Earlier in the show, Corey Graves had announced his in-ring retirement due to multiple concussions so while that started the event on a sad note, the rest of the show was fun and exciting.  NXT was definitely becoming the hottest place to go, and this event was another example of this.

26. AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door

Chicago, IL

6/26/22

The thought of AEW having a partnership with New Japan was music to the ears of hardcore fans of both brands.  With Tony Khan being as much a diehard fan as he is chief booker and president of AEW, he and NJPW President, Naoki Sugabayashi, came together to have a joint PPV called Forbidden Door.  Much like ROH's joint PPV with them, Global Wars, this would feature NJPW talent in matches with and against AEW talent.  Dream match scenarios were abundant with fantasy bookers pitching dream matches left and right.  Unfortunately, during this time, the injury bug struck many.  Bryan Danielson was originally scheduled to face Zach Sabre Jr in a definite dream encounter but pulled out due to a concussion he suffered at the previous event, Double or Nothing.  However, his replacement was the debuting Claudio Castagnoli to a THUNDEROUS ovation as he had just left WWE.  In another change of events, CM Punk was originally scheduled to face NJPW legend, Hiroshi Tanahashi, in another dream-esque encounter.  However, Punk suffered a foot injury that needed surgery and had to vacate the AEW World title, that Jon Moxley would end up winning.  Now, the main event would be Moxley vs. Tanahashi.  Folks, this PPV was unbelievable.  From start to finish, the crowd at the United Center was non-stop as they were witnessing one of the best supercards in recent years.  While many consider Orange Cassidy vs. Will Ospreay to be the match of the night, it could also be argued that the Moxley/Tanahashi affair was the best match.  Also, Toni Storm faced Serena Deeb in a struggle for the AEW Women's Title, the trip of Sting, Darby Allen and NJPW's Shingo Takagi faced Bullet Club member El Phantasmo, and BC OGs, The Young Bucks, in a very fun match. Also, Kazuchika Okada, Jay White, Adam Cole, and "Hangman" Adam Page competed in quite the competitive Fatal Four Way match for the IWGP Heavyweight Title. It also was the match where Cole was violently concussed and kept him out of action for several months.  Overall, the first ever Forbidden Door was an enormous grand slam for both promotions.  We all witnessed some of the best action all year long and was arguably the best PPV all year for AEW, especially.

25. NJPW G1 Climax 2018 Night 14

Osaka, Japan

7/4/18

Another tremendous night of G1 action was night fourteen of the 2018 edition.  While this wasn't the wall-to-wall epic the 2020 edition was, this was still an extremely strong night.  After the multi-man/team matches that always start these block nights, once the B block started their matches, they were ROLLING.  Juice Robinson and ZSJ had a very underrated match that evening, but definitely the match of the night (and of the single best matches of the year) involved Tomohiro Ishii against Kenny Omega in a PHENOMENAL match.  Anytime these two would face each other, it would be special one way or another, and this match may have been the best between them.  Afterwards was Ibushi vs. Naito in a match that also was quite tremendous in its own right.  The B Block matches this evening were overall wonderful and kept you compelled and thoroughly in tuned to each match.  This was a knockout night for G1 that night.

24. STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix '22 Night 20

Chofu, Tokyo, Japan

10/1/22

As we mentioned earlier, Stardom's version of the G1 is the 5STAR Grand Prix Tournament.  Throughout the years, this tournament has been the standard for women's wrestling tournaments all over the world.  This 2020 version was no different, in spite of the fact that this was in the middle of the world-shifting pandemic that altered everything in society.  Throughout the entire tournament, everything led up to the Championship Finals of night twenty.  This night was no joke.  Everyone involved put in work and showed heart and grit all throughout the night.  While matches like Momo Wantanabe vs. Suzuki and Mayu Iwatsni vs. Starlight Kid were excellent in their own right, it was the matches of Syuri vs. Risa Sera and the main event of Giulia vs. Tam Nakano that were the true highlights of the evening.  Nakano and Giulia fought like they had never fought each other before, in spite of the fact that they've had several thrilling encounters before.  One of the best matches you'd find all year; Giulia won the tournament and would go on to face Syuri and Grand Queendom in December.  This Finals night of the 5Star Grand Prix was an all-around exhilarating display of passion from each woman involved and was quite the night for Stardom, especially for Giulia.

23. ROH Man Up 

Chicago, IL

9/15/07

What has to be considered one of ROH's strongest PPVs ever came in the form of their first PPV Man Up in '07.  ROH was still considered that buzzworthy indie promotion that housed many of the best talent in the game under miniature lights compared to WWE and TNA at the time.  The event was tremendously competitive and had great matches throughout the show.  The Best Of 3 Series between The Resilience and The No Remorse Corps was a big thing here as Davey Richards faced Austin Aries, Rocky Romero faced Matt Cross (many of today's fans remember him from the wildly revered Lucha Underground show as Son Of Havoc), and Roderick Strong faced Eric Stevens.  As The Resilience defeated No Remorse Corps, these series of matches were good, and you got into them all.  Bryan Danielson faced off against the brutal Japanese import, Takeshi Morishima for the ROH World Title.  Morishima legit gave Danielson a detached retina in their last encounter as Morishima became the ROH World Champion.  This was the rematch, and boy what a rematch it was.  Ever the valiant and gutsy underdog, Danielson fought his ass off against the big burly Morishima and what a battle it was.  However, it was the main event that was the story.  The Briscoes defended the belts against former champions, Steenerico (Kevin Steen & El Generico) for the belts in a hellacious Ladder Match.  This match ranks up there among the brutal Ladder matches of the modern era and all four were worse for wear afterwards, as The Briscoes retained their titles.  The bigger story was after the match, as not only did we see the start of the breakup between Steen and Generico, but we saw the violent and bloody introduction of Jimmy Jacobs' new faction, The Age of The Fall, which included himself, Necro Butcher, and Tyler Black (later known to the world as Seth Rollins).  One of the most notorious endings to a PPV happened here, as a badly bloodied Jay Briscoe was hung upside down by his feet and ankles and raised a quarter of the way up, as streams and torrents of Jay's blood POURED onto the all-white outfit of Jacobs as he pledged havoc and chaos to the ROH locker room in truly an unforgettable, yet very graphic, moment.  The event as a whole was a great one and showed that ROH was not that promotion to keep sleeping on overlook.  There were for real, and they would only get better and grow.

22. PWG BOLA '16 Night Two

Raseeda, CA

9/3/16

Pro Wrestling Guerilla (or PWG) has been considered the best truly indie promotion in the States.  Known for their devout cult-like following, the company founded by Super Dragon, Joey Ryan and AEW commentator Excaliber made a company where there put on overall fantastic matches with superb audience reaction and participation from the SoCal area.  One event they're known for is their extremely competitive, Battle of Los Angeles (or BOLA) tournament, which is a two-to-three-day tournament to determine who will face the PWG World Champion at a later date.  Some of the absolute best matches you can imagine have happened from the BOLA tournament over the years, not to mention matches not associated with the tournament themselves.  One night that stands out as one of the single greatest bell to bell nights in PWG history was night two of the BOLA tournament in 2016.  Every single match that night was on fire.  From the opener of ROH star Dalton Castle vs. Tomasso Ciampa to The Lucha Bros vs. the quite damn impressive team of Chris Hero and Tommy End (aka Aleister Black aka Malaki Black).  The main event saw The Young Bucks & Adam Cole vs. Ricochet, Matt Sydal, and Will Ospreay in one of the greatest trios matches you'll ever witness.  High flying all over the place but absolutely incredible chemistry between everyone involved in the match.  Rarely do we see Trios matches measure up to this level to this very day, and these six men KILLED it.  Every match in between too was excellent and serves as one of the greatest nights in PWG history, and honestly that's saying a mouthful.

21. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10

Tokyo, Japan

1/4/2016

It goes without saying New Japan's Wrestle Kingdom is the raised bar every year within the business.  Being the first big event of the year has a ton of pressure with it, but with Wrestle Kingdom, they almost always deliver and deliver strong.  That was absolutely the case with Wrestle Kingdom 10.  Always originating from the Tokyo Dome, the Dome witnessed one hell of a night of intense and exciting action.  Having to follow Kingdom 9 was a tough task in itself, but not only did they meet Kingdom 9's awesome value, but they exceeded it.  Damn near top to bottom, this was a card to remember.  The Fatal 4 Way IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title match between The Bucks, Ropanngi Vice, Ricochet & Matt Sydal, and reDRagon alone was fast-paced, and filled with tons of high spots, as was expected.  Also, matches such as Goto vs. Naito, the HARD-hitting battle between Ishii and Shibata, and KUSHIDA vs. Omega were knockouts as well.  However, the final two matches were absolute MOTY contenders, as Nakamura faced AJ Styles for the IWGP Inter-Continental Title and Tanahashi faced Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Title in another classic match to be added to their very highly celebrated rivalry.  This Kingdom ranks among the greatest Kingdom PPV of all-time, and going out of your way to see this is worth all four plus hours.

20. NXT Takeover: New York

Brooklyn, NY

4/5/19

When you think back over some of the best NXT Takeover events, one that comes to mind instantly is NXT Takeover: New York.  Takeover in the Tri-state area up to this point was associated with Takeover: Brooklyn from 2015, which was the standard for any Takeover in that area due to the groundbreaking, legendary match between Bayley and Sasha Banks.  Four years later, they went back to Brooklyn, and renamed it Takeover: New York.  This crowd was electric the entire ride, and rightfully so.  From the very good pre-show matches alone, we knew this event would be fun, and in no way, shape, or form were we let down.  Matches like The War Raiders (now Viking Raiders) vs. Ricochet & Aleister Black for the NXT Tag Team Titles, Matt Riddle vs. Velveteen Dream, and the Fatal Four Way NXT Women's title match between Bianca Belair, Io Shirai (now Io Skyy), Kairi Sane, and then-champion Shayna Baszler were all engrossing enough to stay tuned in with.  However, this event also produced two matches that are considered not just two of the greatest in NXT history, but two of the greatest matches in WWE history as a whole.  What Pete Dunne did against WALTER for the NXT UK Title was simply magical and is placed among the elite of WWE matches this century.  The same can easily be said about the main event, which was Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole for the NXT Title in a Two Out Of Three Falls Match.  This nearly forty-minute epic was already having a hard time following what Dunne and WALTER did a couple matches prior.  However, this not only met that match, but maybe even exceeded it as well, which is huge.  While the first two falls were hotly competitive in themselves as both men had a fall a piece, it was the GOD AWESOME third fall that placed this match into the stratosphere (ummm...I mean STRATUSphere, right Trish?)  Amazing may be too light of a word to describe how that third fall was, as Johnny Gargano realized his hard-earned dream of winning the vacant NXT Title (Tomosso Ciampa had to vacate the title due to injury) in what could be placed as the best match of his career and considering his damn near equally classic battles with Ciampa and Andrade, that's saying a ton.  With Takeover: New York, this was one of those PPVs that made NXT the number one brand for WWE.  Not Raw, not Smackdown, NXT!

19. NJPW Dominion '15

Osaka, Japan

7/5/15

Earlier in the year, Wrestle Kingdom 9 took place and was very easily PPV of the year in 2015.  Having to repeat that acclaim would be tough, but the 2015 edition of Dominion made a damn great effort of replicating the acclaim Kingdom 9 received.  Osaka Jo-Hall witnessed some incredible encounters, most notably the simply fantastic main event between Okada and AJ Styles for the IWGP Heavyweight Title. At the time, Styles was Bullet Club leader at the time and the BC vs. CHAOS feud was the top feud in the company.  Okada, after going through a slippery slope of losing momentum against BC, finally got his act together in time for the match, and what a tremendous match they had.  Definitely among either man's best matches to this day, Okada came away once again IWGP Heavyweight Champion with a third reign.  Also, Hiroki Goto challenged Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental title in a fierce, back-and-forth match that was as excellent of a Goto match as we've ever witnessed, whereas Nakamura, he clearly was continuing to show why he was among the single best in the world.  Other matches such as KUSHIDA vs. Omega, Togi Magabe vs. Ishii, and the Triple Threat IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title match between The Bucks, reDRagon, and Roppongi Vice were all very exciting matches that kept you compelled and intrigued, especially the stiff struggle that was Magabe and Ishii. NJPW pulled the task of following up the exceptional gathering that was Kingdom 9 and made Dominion easily as strong of an event.  Definitely among the best Dominion events ever.

18. WWE WrestleMania 30

New Orleans, LA

4/1/2014

Thirty years of WrestleMania.  Mania has been the true staple of wrestling for (at this time) thirty years.  Certainly, the most lucrative and multimedia crossover event in the business.  New Orleans and the Mercedes Benz Superdome was the host to that year's thirtieth Mania, and it was filled with great matches and emotionally jaw-dropping moments.  The event was mostly centered around Bryan Danielson (whoops...Daniel Bryan here) against Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and The Authority, as they're trying to put the screws to him as he didn't look the part of being what "their" champion looked like and was "a B-plus player".  At the Royal Rumble a couple of months prior, the fans nearly rioted with Bryan not even being a part of the match to compete for a shot at Mania in the first place.  The match was won by a returning Batista, and boy that did NOT go over well with fans.  The original main event was slated to be Batista vs. Orton for the WWE Title, but with so much fan backlash, an angle was worked in where if Bryan defeated Triple H, he would be "inserted" into the match with Batista and Orton.  After a grueling battle, he did defeat "The Game", although got assaulted after the match by Hunter.  From there, matches such as the inaugural Andre The Giant Battle Royal (which Cesaro aka Claudio Castagnoli won) and New Age Outlaws & Kane vs. The Shield were keeping our attention.  However, even more than Bryan being included into the main event, it was The Undertaker vs. Lesnar match that provided the most astonishing and most historic moment, not just of the evening, but one of the most monumental moments in modern wrestling history, as Lesnar pinned a severely concussed Take, thus putting an end to the vaunted and historic "Streak" of Taker and now his Mania record was officially 21-1.  Also, John Cena faced and defeated Bray Wyatt in a match many felt Wyatt should've won, and rightfully so.  The main event did in fact become Daniel Bryan vs. Bataista vs. Randy POrton for the  Title, and the story was Bryan facing such underdog odds.  He hung in there and became once again WWE Champion to the massive delight of his "YES Nation".  From the unspeakable shock and awe of the Taker Mania streak ending to the roller coaster of emotions revolving around Daniel Bryan, this WrestleMania was a very good one, and checked off numerous boxes as one of the top Mania events ever.  

17. Stardom All-Star Grand Queendom '23

Yokohama, Japan

4/23/23

Stardom's Grand Queendom events are seen as some of the best events the company had to offer in itself.  In 2023, they raised it to another level with the All-Star Grand Queendom event in Yokohama, Japan. The event was a smash from top to bottom, as this event would present some of the fiercest competition and matches all year.  In one gripping angle, long time partners, Mieka and Himeka, squared off against each other as Himeka was announcing her retirement from in-ring competition.  This was one of her last matches and it was a good one.  Excellent match after excellent match followed, as matches such as Saya Kimitani faced Mina Shinakawa for the Wonder Of Stardom Title, Hashimoto faced Syuri in an, at times, unsettling Submission match, and Mayu Iwatane faced the IWGP Women's Champion, Mercedes (formerly Sasha Banks) Mone, in a match that saw Iwatane win the title.  The main event was Tam Nakano vs. Giulia in a match that was as physical and as intense of a match as you'd see in 2023, regardless of promotion.  They reminded the world of how special both ladies are and that their heralded rivalry can stand up with any other heated rivalry in the sport bell to bell.  Stardom had a great year, better than some past years, and this All-Star Grand Queendom event was quite possibly the best event all year for Stardom.  Certainly, ranks among the best Stardom has delivered in the past few years.

16. WWE Money In The Bank '11

Chicago, IL

7/17/11

The entire wrestling world was buzzing about the now legendary "Pipebomb" promo from CM Punk at the end of Raw on 6/11/11.  It was uncomfortable, controversial, and a career shifter for the fiery Chicago native.  Among things he covered such as his views on Cena, The Rock (or "Dwayne" as he called him), Vince McMahon, his family, and mentioning outside promotions like New Japan and ROH, he mentioned his contract was expiring the following Sunday at midnight, and he intended to leave WWE as WWE Champion.  The Sunday in question was the same day as WWE's Money In The Bank PPV, ironically from Punk's home of Chicago.  The event was red-hot but mostly due to the nature of the frenzied crowd who were all waiting to see and embrace the hometown hero, who intended to go out in a blaze of glory.  The event itself, from a bell-to-bell aspect, was nothing to sneeze at.  Both Raw and Smackdown had their own Money in The Bank Ladder matches, in which Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio would win for their respective brands.  Also, Randy Orton faced Christian in a competitive match that could've gone either way.  However, once we made it to the main event, the fans were more than ready.  As expected, normally, the highly hated Punk would be jeered everywhere else, but in Chicago, he's almost Michael Jordan status there.  He had an enormous pop and we even saw current best friend Ace Steel and former friend Colt Cabana in front row.  Obviously, when Cena came out, much different story.  The match itself was dynamite (no pun intended right Punk?) as Cena and Punk were engaged in one of the greatest, most compelling matches in many years within WWE.  Punk finally won the WWE Title after almost getting screwed over by Vince and John Laurinitis, but he and Cena pout on a match that stands as one of the best bell to bell matches of the decade.  As Punk blew a kiss to McMahon when he went through the crowd to celebrate with his Chi-town own, the world got to see an event that was memorable and controversial in the same breath. 

15. AEW Revolution '20

Chicago, IL

2/29/20

When one thinks of purely epic PPVs in the early 20s decade, it's impossible to not include AEW Revolution in the conversation.  Taking place on Leap Day in 2020, Revolution was arguably the best PPV (besides NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16) to emerge that year, especially considering it would be the last fully attended PPV of that year, as the world was about to embark on a global pandemic that crippled the entire world and its society.  The bar was set high already as Darby Allen faced Sammie Guevara in a very exciting match.  However, the event was more known for what many critics, insiders, fans, and journalists have called "the greatest tag team match of all-time on American soil", as Kenny Omega & "Hangman" Adam Page faced off against their fellow Elite members, The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Titles.  In thirty of the most stunning minutes of the past couple decades, these four men delivered performances that will stand the test of time for decades to come in wrestling.  Given the very rare "six-star" rating in Wrestling Observer, this match remains the only match to have been given this high of a rating within tag team wrestling.  As the card went on, as near impossible as it was to follow a masterpiece like that, the rest of the card wasn't shabby. Most notably the highly enjoyable match between Orange Cassidy and PAC, and the main event which saw Jon Moxley challenge Chris Jericho for the AEW World Championship. This would mark Moxley's first World Title win in AEW in a bloody, yet grueling, encounter with one of wrestling's true GOATs.  Tony Khan hit sincere paydirt with Revolution 2020.  Seen as easily the best Revolution of any of the three there have been thus far, this PPV put AEW in an even higher plateau than before and let the world know how serious AEW wanted to change the game.

14. ROH Driven '07

Chicago, IL

6/23/07

Ring Of Honor's first Driven PPV took place in 2007 and was a loaded and stacked PPV.  ROH was clearly a promotion gaining in followers, especially within the indie scene, and this was among their best PPVs during their rise.  With the feud between The Resilience and No Remorse Corps in full swing, we had a decent trios match between the two factions.  Meanwhile, other matches such as BJ Whitmer vs. NOAH's Marifuji, Matt Sydal vs. Claudio Castagnoli, and Nigel McGuinness vs. Chris Hero were very good and engaging matches that kept you enthralled in the action.  We pick things up quite a bit with Steenerico vs. The Briscoes for the ROH Tag Team titles in quite the competitive, hard-hitting affair.  You're slowly seeing more seeds being planted of Steen turning on the lovable, and gutsy, Generico, and as later events would unfold, this would turn out to be a pretty vicious foreseeable occasion.  Also, ROH World Champion, the ever tough and dominating, Takeshi Morishima defended against the gamey Jimmy Rave.  Rave was up for the challenge, but Morishima was just too overbearing for Rave on this occasion.  The main event saw two of the best in the sport collide, as Bryan Danielson faced NOAH's KENTA in an especially hard-hitting bout filled with unsettling stiff shots and very painful looking submissions and holds.  These guys beat the hell out of each other and stands as one of the most punishing matches you'll see to this day from either man.  This ROH PPV was for those that knew ROH was becoming something worthwhile in the game, as Driven was quite the focal point with their rise to being one of wrestling's most enduring and important promotions.  This event was one more step in that direction.

13. NXT Takeover: New Orleans

New Orleans, LA

4/7/18

Many regard NXT Takeover: New Orleans as the greatest NXT PPV of all-time for the brand.  It was this PPV where NXT showed that they weren't just a "developmental" brand, but a full-on brand that in many aspects upstaged their main roster counterparts.  This was the same weekend as WrestleMania XXX, and BOY was this going to be hard to overcome if you were on the main roster.  The opening match saw the unveiling of the North American Championship in a VERY memorable Six-Man Ladder Match to determine the first ever N.A. Champion.  The match saw Adam Cole, EC3 in his first match with the brand, Ricochet in his first match there as well, Killian Dane from Sanity, Velveteen Dream, and Lars Sullivan.  These guys laid it ALL out in (and out) the ring in a Ladder match that is among the greatest and most brutal in WWE history.  Following that was no easy task as Ember Moon (now Athena in AEW/ROH) faced Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women's Title, Aleister Black faced Andrade for the NXT Championship, which Aleister ended up becoming the new champion in an intense and spirited contest, and Cole (who had previously just won the North American Championship) came back out to defend the NXT Tag Team titles with fellow Undisputed Era mate, and friend, Kyle O' Reilly (Bobby Fish had just gotten sidelined with an injury that kept him out for a year) against Authors Of Pain and the team of Roderick Strong & Pete Dunne, in which Strong ended up turning on Dunne to join UE in a shocking turn of events.  However, the main event was the Unsanctioned match between former partners and longtime friends, Johnny Gargano and Tomosso Ciampa in one of the greatest NXT matches ever witnessed.  The story of Ciampa injuring his former friend and also having him "leave" NXT was quite the selling point going into this match.  If Gargano won, he could get reinstated into NXT, and to say this match was brutal was a slight understatement.  He did pick up the win, but not without delivering one of the gutsiest fights of his career in a match people still hold among the highest of regards in NXT's history.  Bell-to-bell, NXT Takeover: New Orleans was the greatest NXT PPV ever.  For only six matches throughout the night, not a single match was a waste, and every single match told a different story, which is what a special PPV is supposed to do.  We saw new champions, heel turns, dominant retention of gold, and an unsanctioned match that is as memorable as any match in the past decade within WWE as a whole.  While WrestleMania XXX was indeed special for its own reasons (see earlier), it was Takeover: New Orleans that was an even bigger show stealer than Mania.

12. AJW Dream Slam I

Yokohama, Japan

4/2/93

Before there were the likes of Stardom or Ice Ribbon, there was All Japan Women, or AJW.  This was the perennial go-to women's promotion within Japan, as some of the greatest women's wrestlers ever were produced in this promotion.  Stars like Aja Kong, Combat Toyoda, Bull Nakano (of mid-nineties WWE fame), and Masami Toyota came from this tremendous promotion.  On April 2, 1993, this promotion delivered what has to be considered one of the greatest nights of wrestling of all-time, regardless of gender, country, or promotion in Dream Slam I.  While not necessarily perfect, it damn near was.  Matches such as Plum Mariko & Hikari Fukuoka vs. Sake Hasagawa & Kaoru Ito, Chigusa Nagowa vs. Devil Mesami, and Dynamite Kensai vs. Yumiko Hotta were great matches by themselves, but the level would be raised from other matches that night.  Nobody will forget the bloodbath that was Shinobu Kandori vs. Akira Hokuto that told quite the story in this street fight that is still highly praised to this day.  Also, Cutie Suzuki & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Kyoku & Takako Inoue in a tag match that just simply tore the entire house down and was extremely hard to follow.  The main event was Toshiyo Yamade & Masami Toyota vs. Megumi Kodo & Combat Toyoda in a tag match that, although wasn't quite the spectacular nature of the earlier match with The Inoue sisters, was still quite the impressive showing for four of the promotions best.  Toytota would become arguably the greatest women's wrestler of all-time and the standard bearer for any and all women wrestlers to study after, as she's considered in the same breath as male counterparts such as Flair, Michaels, and fellow countryman, Misawa.  This was truly a very special night of wrestling and action as a whole.  To this day and time, Dream Slam I remain the standard to which all women's big events are measured up to.  Compared to other consistent nights of memorable action historically in the sport such as the aforementioned Super J-Cup '94, All In, Stardom All-Star Grand Queendom, and Mania 17, Dream Slam I is undoubtedly the greatest women's event in wrestling history.

11. Hana Kimura Memorial Show 2-Bagus

Tokyo, Japan

5/23/22

One of the great tragedies within the sport of wrestling occurred when on 5/23/20, the sport lost talented Joshi wrestler, Hana Kimura, at the age of 22 due to suicide as a result on cyber-bullying from her appearance on a reality show.  It sent shockwaves throughout the wrestling world as a whole.  One so young and very talented in the business taking her own life from cyber cowards.  It brought to life the dangers of what cyber-bullying can do, and how everybody, no matter how much you disagree with how they look, live, and think deserves to be loved and respected.  She primarily wrestled in Stardom but was also known in the promotion, Wrestle-1.  Tributes poured out from around the world to mourn the life of such a young and vibrant star in within Joshi wrestling.  Her mother, Kyoko Hamura (whom herself also a wrestler) decided to establish memorial shows in her honor within Japan.  All promotions were welcomed to participate and join in to celebrate the life of Kimura.  One of them was in Tokyo, called BAGUS (which means 'GREAT').  An emotional powder keg of a show, there was laughter, tears, and competitive spirits all throughout the evening.  In fact, Kyoko, herself, faced Jungle Kyona in a spirited, yet understandably emotional, match. Also, the tag team battle royal was a fast-paced, yet fun, matchup that saw the team of Mika Iwata & Chichiro Hasimoto win.  In a strange turn of events, the legendary Aja Kong fought Kyusei Sakura Hirota TWICE. The first time was done with a vicious slap to the face that would've knocked a full-grown man out and defeated her in about fourteen seconds.  Offended the match ended so quickly, Kong wanted the match restarted and this time Hirota gave Kong more of a challenge, only to be outwomaned once more.  ASUKA (not the one you're thinking of) faced Syuri in a back-and-forth match worthy of such a card for a talent like Kimura.  If you've never seen a Kimura match, look them up on YouTube if available.  She really was on her way to being a very big star within today's women's wrestling.  There were two other tribute memorial shows in her honor, and as you'll read, one of them especially was super touching and memorable.

10. WWE WrestleMania 39 Night One

Inglewood, CA

4/1/23

Earlier in this list, we gave props to WrestleMania 19 from Seattle as it provided a great balance of engaging in-ring competition, sensible entertainment, and an overall excellent product that kept the prestige of Mania in its rightful place within wrestling.  Practically a twin of this same philosophy was the first day/evening of WrestleMania 39 from Inglewood, CA.  The card, on paper alone, was enough to be excited about, especially with most of the angle and storylines going into the event were enough to keep you compelled to tune in.  While the Bloodline story with Sami, Kevin, The Usos, Cody, and Roman was the main appeal for both days, other stories and angles made you want to invest your time and they went to all lengths to make sure that happened.  The first day was incredible.  From the physical Fatal Four Way match involving the Alpha Academy, Street Profits, Viking Raiders, and the team of Ricochet & Braun Strowman (Titus O' Neal's enthusiasm in this match was entertaining in itself) and the much anticipated battle of Rey Mysterio (arguably the best entrance of the night with him coming into the arena in a low-rider with Snoop Dogg, Eddie Guerrero's theme playing briefly, and him leaping up from underneath the staging area) vs. his son Dominik to the FANTASTIC Smackdown Women's Title match of Charlotte Flair vs. the 2023 Women's Royal Rumble winner, Rhea Ripley, and the classic Tag Team title match between Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. The Usos, this was one of the greatest evenings of WrestleMania in years.  Where top to bottom practically, this was a non-miss event.  With the second day on the horizon, they had a lot to keep up with, as the first day of Mania 39 easily ranks among the most complete Manias of the past two decades.

9. NJPW G1 Climax 2013 Night Four

Osaka, Japan

8/3/13

It's become over the years a rather hard argument as to which G1 Climax tournament was the absolute best, as several years and nights make the conversation almost every single time.  The one that tends to come up almost every single time is G1 Climax 23 of 2013 and the fourth night of action.  Folks, frankly, this was one of the most outstanding bell-to-bell nights in modern New Japan history. Fantastic matches like Yugi Nagata vs. Shelton Benjamin (yes THAT Shelton Benjamin), Okada vs. Makabe, and Ibushi vs. Nakamura were absolutely awesome and helped to exemplify what the spirit of the tournament and its passion was all about.  Easily the most downright PHYSICAL match of the evening, and possibly the year, belonged to Ishii vs. Shibata.  Comparative to their BRUTALLY physical match at Kingdom 10, this was filled with stiff kicks, chops, forearms, and suplexes that were truly cringeworthy and showed astonishing toughness from both combatants.  There were few, if any, weak matches this night and the bar was set for future G1 matches going forward in terms of bell-to-bell nights of action.  There have been many unbelievable G1 nights, but this one sits up there at the very top to this very day, which is saying a mouthful considering the earlier mentioned Night fourteen of the G1 in 2018 and Night ten in 2020.  

8. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9

Tokyo, Japan

1/4/15

While the eastern part of the globe had heard of Wrestle Kingdom and the phenomenon it had become since the early thousands, the western world had heard about it, but there had been no way of visually experiencing what had made this event called Wrestle Kingdom the WrestleMania of the East.  This changed on 1/4/2015, when current AEW star/executive Jeff Jarrett was in charge of his post-TNA promotion, Global Force Wrestling, which was partnered with New Japan and was able for the first time to be viewed across North American traditional PPV services.  We were able to be treated to perhaps the best PPV event the entire year of 2015.  The card was certainly worthwhile, as matches such as Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Omega for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title, the shoot fighting match between Minoru Suzuki and former amateur & MMA Champion, Kazushi Sakuraba, and the equally stiff battle between Ishii and Makabe for the IWGP NEVER Openweight Title were worth your attention and then some.  At this point, the temperature was turned up, as The Good Brothers defended the IWGP Tag Team Titles against the team of Ketsuyuri Shibata & Hiroki Goto (collectively known as Meiyu Tag) in a fiercely competitive match, but it was the latter three matches that easily were up for MOTY candidates throughout the business.  Bullet Club leader, AJ Styles, faced Tetsuya Naito (pre-LIJ) in an excellent encounter.  This was followed by what's been considered a Kingdom classic, as Kota Ibushi, who had most notably been associated within the Junior division, faced Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental title in quite the memorable match and definitely a career turning point for "The Golden Star".  The main event was another match in the already widely heralded rivalry between Tanahashi and Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight title and it didn't disappoint whatsoever as they put on yet another wrestling clinic.  This event was just searing, and westerners were actually able to finally watch New Japan to see what all the fuss has been about when it came to this promotion regarded as the "best pro wrestling on the planet".  With Matt Striker and Jim Ross providing English commentary, this was also one of the best called bell-to-bell PPVs of this particular time.  Once westerners got a taste of this promotion, it's safe to say we were HOOKED!

7. NJPW Dominion '17

Osaka, Japan

6/11/17

Earlier, we compared Wrestle Kingdom to WWE's WrestleMania as the signature event of the year, while Dominion was the equivalent to their SummerSlam as their second biggest event.  That being said, there have been several tremendous and memorable SummerSlam events, but there hasn't been one that, from a bell-to-bell perspective, that have come close to these next two Dominion events (respectfully speaking).  The 2017 version of Dominion was packed with action and very delightful encounters that made Osaka-Jo Hall rock and roll.  This event marked Cody Rhodes' first official Dominion as he faced powerhouse Michael Elgin.  Also, The Bucks defeated Roppongi Vice, once again, for the IWGP junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles in another exciting match between the two teams.  While other matches such as War Machine vs. G.O.D. for the IWGP World Tag Team Titles, Goto vs. Suzuki in a Lumberjack Death Match, and KUSHIDA vs. Hirmou Takahashi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title were all intense, adrenaline-inducing matches worthy replaying frequently, as was Tanahashi vs. Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental Title, it was the main event that set an even higher bar than their prior encounter, which was pretty historic in itself.  Repeating the indescribable magic Okada and Omega displayed at Kingdom 11 (see later) was a near impossible task. Somehow, they managed to do it, as they fought to a, rarely heard of anymore, sixty-minute time limit draw.  The drama and suspense were off the charts at times, especially when Cody (who became a BC member not too long before) almost threw in the towel and would've costed Omega the title and would've given Okada the win.  The image of both men laying near unconsciously in the middle of the ring was stunning, as we witnessed another match that belongs in the Mount Rushmore of modern wrestling matches.  The event itself was an engaging affair throughout the evening, but Okada and Omega delivered true art in the ring and further made this event among the best of this or any generation.

6. All In

Chicago, IL

9/1/18

In the words of Biggie Smalls, "It was all a dream." In this case, almost a dare.  The legendary (or notorious) Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer stated that no arena outside WWE has ever sold out a ten thousand seated arena since the WCW days.  Seeing that as a challenge, Cody Rhodes, who was a free agent at the time, took that bet and he and good friends The Young Bucks, made a decision that would end up changing the landscape of modern wrestling.  They decided to put on a show that had no promotional backing (although ROH did provide production for the event) and was an all-invitational indie event.  To be hailed in Chicago, the event was called All In, and within almost an hour, the event was sold out at the Sears center. in fact, it became one of the fastest sellout events not affiliated with WWE in almost t wo decades in the U.S.  The promotion and marketing towards the event were outstanding and more and more matches were being introduced.  No storylines, just wrestling.  All the hard work and money these three put into the event paid off and then some, as the eleven thousand seated arena was nuts from beginning to end.  In an almost ECW-esque environment in terms of passionate fans and an equally passionate locker room, All In took place and it was simply and absolutely FUN.  Every match on the card was special and were highly anticipated.  From Omega facing Pentagon Jr. (now Penta El Cero Miedo) and "Hangman" Adam Page facing Joey Janela in a Street Fight, to The Fatal Four Way Women's Match between Madison Rayne, Tessa Blanchard, Dr. Britt Baker, and Chelsea Green, Okada vs. Marty Scurll, and Cody facing Nick Aldis for the NWA World Heavyweight Title (a belt Dusty held on three different occasions), this event was phenomenal.  Culminating with a THRILLING trios match between The Bucks & Ibushi vs. Bandido, Rey Fenix, and another surprising free agent, Rey Mysterio, and you had arguably the most wonderful indie PPV there's ever been.  Similar to the likes of ECW's One Night Stand in terms of crowd energy, this was an event for the hardcore, dedicated purist, and the non-stop fan excitement was palpable.  Of course, this event became the precursor to what would become AEW, but it was clear wrestling was in its renaissance period, and Cody and The Bucks were leading the way with All In, and this made Meltzer eat his words and then some.

5. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11

Tokyo, Japan

1/4/17

We won't waste your time here.  New Japan delivered, what some have considered, the greatest Wrestle Kingdom event of all time with Kingdom 11.  With Dominion pretty much being an event of rematches, the original encounters started at this event.  Roppongi Vice faced The Bucks for the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles, Tanahsashi faced Naito for the IWGP intercontinental Title, and KUSHIDA faced Takahashi for the Junior Heavyweight Title.  All these matches were tremendous and great to watch.  Others like the battle of friends-turned-enemies-turned-friends-turned-enemies again, Kyle O' Reilly faced Adam Cole for the ROH World Title and the stiff and intense Goto vs. Shibata for the NEVER Openweight Title were damn good as well.  However, this was the event where the main event caused the game to change and level up.  Okada defended the IWGP heavyweight Title against BC leader and winner of the prior year's G1 tournament, Omega.  This match helped change the landscape of the sport in a way we hadn't seen in a decade or two.  The story told by these two was phenomenal and, as stellar of a talent as Okada was, Omega showed more than ever that he was easily up there with him.  Although in a losing effort, Omega became the talk of the wrestling world based on his star-making performance.  This was the match that took omega to giant levels outside WWE and the western circles.  One of the true GOAT matches of all time, this capped off quite the show as there wasn't a minute lost in this unforgettable show.  NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 11 still remains, quite possibly, the greatest bell-to-bell Kingdom event ever.

4. Hana Kimura Memorial Show 

Tokyo, Japan

5/23/21

When the news of Hana Kimura's suicide hit the wrestling world, it hit with a force, even if you didn't know who this young lady was or were familiar with her work in and out the ring.  Earlier, we highlighted the second of the three tribute shows dedicated to this young woman put together by her mother, Kyoko Kimura, who's also a veteran wrestler.  While the later shows were very, very good nights of action and all centered around the spirit of the young Kimura, it was the first night of the tribute shows that tugged on every heart of everyone watching or in attendance.  This was also a very unique event, in the point where Kimura's favorite artist/DJ Hiroko Yamamura having a mini-concert in her honor (along with the performance of the all-girl group, Awaniko, which was the group she was a part of before her stint in wrestling) to get the event started at least with smiles on faces in what would be an intense and highly spirited, yet solemn and very emotional evening.  There were only four matches during the evening, but each match meant something special and each never wasted one single minute.  Various promotions from Japan such as New Japan, Osaka Pro, DDT-Pro, Ice Ribbon, Wave, Sendai Girls, and her home promotion, Stardom, were represented in very fine fashion.  There was a thirty-person Battle Royal that was intense and hard-hitting.  The eight-woman tag match of Oedo Tag & Konami & Death Yama-San (one of many personas Kaori Yoneyama displays, much like Foley with his Cactus Jack/Dude Love/Mankind personas) faced off against Syuri, ASUKA (again, not WWE's Asuka, but the star now known as VENY), Natsupoi, and Mio Momono in quite the fiery contest.  The main event saw ASUKA come back to face Kagetsu in a physical battle that capped off an event that was fitting for such an energetic young star like Kimura was.  Afterwards, Kyoko Kimura did a tearful eulogy of her daughter, followed by ASUKA and Kagetsu coming back in the ring to join her in the Tokyo Cyber Squad pose, in which Kimura belonged to.  With a tribute video that followed that was tear-jerking enough, several stars in various promotions such as Kenny Omega, Iyo Sky, Kairi, Asuka (WWE's star), Hikaru Shida, Keiji Mutoh, and Tajiri all saying "mata ne", which is Japanese for "see you later".  When one mentions wrestler tribute shows, many mentions timeless ones like the ones for Eddie Guerrero, Own Hart, Brodie Lee, and most recently the double tribute shows for Bray Wyatt & Terry Funk.  The inaugural Hana Kimura Memorial Show has to be mentioned in the same line in terms of being filled with both exciting in-ring action and heartbreaking tears and waves of emotion.  Hana Kimura was such a bright light within Joshi wrestling and had the future within her sights to be one of the best in the game.  The circumstances of how she died are alarming looks at how cyberbullying can provoke someone with fragile self-esteem to take their own life.  People like these are blatant cowards and personally, there's a special place in hell for these people.  In any case, rest well Kana.  

3. WWE WrestleMania 17

Houston, TX

4/1/21

The measuring stick for all WrestleMania PPVs has been Mania 17 from Houston's Astrodome.  While Mania 3 soared it to worldwide levels of commercial success, Mania 17 (or X-7 as it's been advertised) is seen as the best bell-to-bell Mania of all-time and for very good reason.  From the first match of the main card, Chris Jericho vs. William Regal, you know this would potentially be a special evening as this was a great way to start off the night. Kane, Raven, and Big Show had a fun Triple Threat Hardcore Title match, and the technical wrestling classic that was Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle were good balances for the evening.  Of course, the evening would get even better.  Obviously, TLC2 involving Edge & Christian, The Dudley Boyz, and The Hardy Boyz was every bit as much of a car wreck and unbelievable as their first classic TLC match at SummerSlam of the prior year, just more overbooked with interferences from Spike Dudley, Lita, and Rhyno.  Also, Taker faced Triple H for the first time on PPV in a very grueling and intense affair that we would see rev back up at Mania 27 in Atlanta.  Everything led up to the highly anticipated main event, which was the evolving feud of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. The Rock for the WWE title.  This was different than their prior contests in the fact that both guys were going in as babyfaces. The Rock was the number one guy while Austin was gone for a year due to injury.  This match was far and away the best match they've done and with tons of drama and edge-of-your-seat close calls.  This bloody battle culminated with the shocker of shockers, as Austin won the title with help from Mr. McMahon and ends up shaking his hand afterwards in one of the most shocking endings in WrestleMania history.  We've had fantastic Mania PPVs since then such as the aforementioned WM19, WM21, WM22, WM25, WM30, WM32, and most recently night one of WM39.  However, Mania 17 (or X-7) still stands atop of the WrestleMania mountaintop as the GOAT Mania.

2. AEW All Out '21

Chicago, IL

9/3/21

It's hard to make a case against AEW's All Out '21 as the best AEW PPV ever in the short history of AEW. AEW was red hot at this time, and this event was arguably the best example of how on fire they were.  This was a historic event for more than one reason.  The first one being how quickly the event sold out.  The event sold out in just under a day with eleven thousand seats sold in the ONE Arena.  It also marked the official in-ring return of CM Punk, who had just returned after being away from the sport for seven years at the time (his return appearance on AEW Rampage a few weeks earlier remains one of the most surreal moments in modern wrestling history). He faced Darby Allen in a very good match that, although Punk was a little understandably ring-rusted, showed Punk had a lot more miles in the tank.  Without question, the match of the night was the Steel Cage match for the AEW World Tag Team Titles between The Lucha Bros and The Young Bucks.  Regarded as one of the greatest steel cage matches in modern wrestling history, this bloody brawl was the best match these two teams have ever had against each other, which is high praise in itself.  Other matches such as Chris Jericho vs. MJF (with Jericho's career on the line), Eddie Kingston vs. Miro, and Kris Statlander vs. Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. were very good matches that made you get involved in the action.  The main event saw Christian Cage vs. Omega for the AEW World Title in quite a damn good match.  The event was also notable for their huge debuts.  While we earlier noted that Punk had his first match back in wrestling, three former WWE stars all had their debut appearances this evening.  The first being Ruby Soho (previously known as Ruby Riott in WWE), as she was the mystery participant in the twenty-one Casino Battle Royal.  As for the others, Adam Cole showed up after the main event to join in on the assault of Cage, Jack Perry, and Luchasaurus.  Right afterwards came "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson to an ENORMOUS reaction from the Chicago fans and he saved the aforementioned babyfaces from further punishment.  With all the fanfare of Punk's LONG awaited in-ring return, a classic AEW World Tag Team Title match, and the multiple debuts, AEW All Out '23 remains the most incredible AEW PPV ever and definitely one of the most talked about PPVs of the past few decades.

1. NJPW Dominion '18

Osaka, Japan

6/9/18

Going into Dominion '18, the wrestling world was on edge for two enormous reasons. One being that Chris Jericho was returning to New Japan to feud with Tetsuya Naito for the I-C Title, but also, we would get to see the fourth and final contest between Okada and Omega for the IWGP Heavyweight Title in a Two Out Of Three Falls Match with no time limit.  A year prior at Dominion '17, these two were involved in a true match for the ages that resulted in a sixty-minute time limit draw.  They wouldn't face each other again until the second to last night of the G1 Climax tournament of that summer in another astonishing match that further proved that this was perhaps the greatest rivalry in today's era of wrestling.  Let us not forget that the rest of the card was outstanding.  The first match of Suzuki-Gun members, El Desperado & Kanemaru, vs. Roppongi 3K for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles was a good way to start the event off, followed by other great matches like TAICHI vs. Goto vs. Michael Elgin for the IWGP NEVER Openweight Title, and a dream trios team of Rey Mysterio, Jushin "Thunder" Liger & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bullet Club members, "Hangman" Adam Page, Cody Rhodes, & Marty Scurll.  We had our first exceptional match of the night when Will Ospreay faced LIJ member Hiromu Takahashi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title, but then we had our main event.  What Okada and Omega did in this match rivals any all-time great match in all of wrestling history.  We didn't think they could possibly outdo their Kingdom 11 match. We, then, didn't think they could top their aforementioned their Dominion '17 match. Then came their G1 match and they had perhaps the greatest single non-Final G1 match of all-time, and then this match came.  For over seventy minutes, these two gave their ENTIRE heart and soul in the only "seven-star" rated match in Wrestling Observer history and a match many others have considered the greatest match in modern wrestling history. Omega finally did it. He finally won the big one, and with The Bucks and Ibushi crying and embracing each other in the ring, two things were undisputed. Okada was the greatest IWGP Heavyweight Champion perhaps ever, and Omega emerged as the best wrestler on the planet.  These two put on a historic performance to cap off one hell of an event that, although is mainly known for this main event, also carried with it a highly stellar card that only New Japan can bring forth.  When it comes to modern day wrestling PPVs, Dominion 2018 has to be considered, based upon worldwide appeal, consistently great to stellar matches, and one of the greatest main events of all-time, the greatest PPV of our age and generation.

Honorable Mentions

WWE WrestleMania 23

WWE WrestleMania 21

NJPW Invasion Attack '13

NJPW Sakura Genesis '15

NJPW Sakura Genesis '16

AEW Wrestledream

ROH Death before Dishonor '08

ROH Death Before Dishonor '22

ROH Supercard Of Honor '08

ROH Supercard Of Honor '06

ROH Supercard of Honor '22

Impact Slammiversary '19

ECW Heatwave '98

WWE Survivor Series '03

WWE WrestleMania X

WWE WrestleMania 25

TNA Turning Point '05

TNA Turning Point '08

TNA Turning Point '09

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn

AEW Double Or Nothing '19

AEW All In: London

WWE King Of The Ring '98

WWE King of The Ring '01

NWA Great American Bash '89

WCW Spring Stampede '94

AEW Full Gear '21

AEW Full Gear '20

AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door '23

TNA Bound For Glory '06

TNA Bound For Glory '07

TNA Sacrifice '07

WCW Bash At The Beach '96

WWE Extreme Rules '12

NJPW New Beginning in Osaka '20

WWE In Your House: Canadian Stampede

DGUSA Open The Historic Gate '09

WWE SummerSlam '01

TNA Unbreakable '05

AEW Revolution '22

AEW Revolution '23

NJPW Power Struggle '13

NJPW Power Struggle '17

WCW Slamboree '94

ROH Final Battle '22

ROH Final Battle '21

ROH Final Battle '05

ROH Final Battle '06

ROH Final Battle '07

ROH Final Battle '08

ROH All-Star Extravaganza 8

Impact Slammiversary '18

AEW All Out '23

WCW WrestleWar '92

WWE Vengeance '05

WWE No Mercy '02

TNA Turning Point '09

NWA Chi-Town Rumble

WWE WrestleMania 3

WWE No Way Out '01

ROH/NJPW G1 Supershow

WWE Armageddon 2000

WWE SummerSlam '13

WWE WrestleMania 20

WWE WrestleMania 31

WWE WrestleMania 6

WCW SuperBrawl

WCW SuperBrawl 2

ECW Barely Legal

ROH Manhattan Mayhem '05

ROH Mayhattan Mayhem '06

NWA Starrcade '83

Hana Kamura Memorial Show 3

WWE Royal Rumble 2001

WWE Royal Rumble 2000

WWE Royal Rumble '07

WWE Royal Rumble '92

ROH Unified '06

TNA Against All Odds '06

NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling '12

NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling '17

NJPW G1 USA Special '17

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night One

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom  14 Night Two

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19

WWE Backlash '23

Impact Under Siege '23

There is obviously a great deal more than these covered in the main list and in the honorable mentions list that have been such phenomenal and positive-impacting events especially within this century.  The game continues to evolve and the more that happens, the more we will continue to see these lists change and either age like fine wine or decrease in value.  With the PPVs, whether on the main list or on the honorable mentions, these are all highly favored and acclaimed PPVs that are absolutely going out of your way, if possible, to find and watch beginning to end (there are several PPVs where that may be hard to do but they're worth checking for overall).  If there are any you feel were missing from this list, feel free to comment.  Until next time!