Match of The Month (April)

 April 2024 became quite the amazing month for wrestling, most notably due to the events of WrestleMania XL in Philly.  History was made all over the place and emotions were through the roof.  We saw some of the emotionally compelling images in modern wrestling history at this event. However, we also saw a modern wrestling masterpiece the likes of which blew away our already to the moon expectations at AEW Dynasty.  When you look at how the landscape became in April of this year, you'll realize this was the best month so far this year, but also a month that will be talked about for years to come.  Without further ado, let's get into the two best matches for the month of April.

Match Of the Month

Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson

AEW Dynasty

4/21/24

It can be argued that THE two best bell-to-bell competitors in the game today are Will Ospreay and Bryan Danielson.  Many have considered Danielson one of, if not THE, best to ever do it.  Several others consider Will to be the best in the world today.  When the announcement was made that we were having Ospreay vs. Danielson at AEW Dynasty, immediate MOTY visions were in the air.  Ospreay has had several of the ebst matches of the past few generations of wrestling just within these past four years alone. Danieslon, of course, is a technical genius. A Rembrandt of his squared circle canvas. A true wrestling artist.  No championships, but no hatred or grudge either. This match was simply to see if Ospreay was, in fact, the best on planet Earth today and Danielson was the one standing in his way of that accolade.  Although there was limited story building, one could say they didn't necessarily need one. This was a competitive story. One to see who ACTUALLY was the very best.  Once the match started, the fans were on their feet and "HOLY SHIT" chants started in an instant.  This was in fact the dream matches of dream matches.  The feeling out process was hot and intense by itself and within minutes, we knew we were in for something immensely special.  These two countered virtually everything the other man did in terms of their offense.  Both Ospreay's revolutionary offense and aerial maneuvers were complimented by Danielson's mat wrestling and unequivocal technical prowess that showed his veteran instincts on multiple occasions during this affair.  While there were unsettling head and neck landings and blows, the match became every bit the hot and heavy classic we expected.  One spot that caused a reaction was when Ospreay was attempting his Oz Cutter finisher and was met with a Bushido Knee Strike in the face from Danielson.  Brutal looking suplexes (the belly-to-back suplex from the top in which Ospreay landed on the back of his neck was especially brutal) were comfortable to watch, but so were Ospreay's Hidden Blade elbow strikes.  We wouldn't have a stellar Danielson match without the delightful statement, "I'M GONNA KICK HIS FUCKING HEAD IN!"  This he did for a short spell, only for Ospreay to counter that into a near-pinfall, only for Danielson to counter that into a Triangle Choke, only for Ospreay top counter that and lift Danielson off the canvas with sheer strength and slam him.  The finish saw Ospreay nail Danielson with his dreaded Storm Driver '92 and Danielson landed quite brutally on his neck (it was actually his shoulder, but he sold the hell out of it like it was his neck).  From there, Ospreay nailed the injured Danielson with his Hidden Blade in the back of the head for the pinfall.  The ending took a concerning turn when doctors at ringside came in the ring to check on Danielson, who was appearing to be severely injured from the Storm Driver, even more so than the Hidden Blade.  Opsreay showed concern over the health of a man he had deep admiration and respect for.  Overall, this match was everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, one would hope for and expect.  This could possibly be the greatest match in either man's career at this point.  This was a generational match that we will be talking about for decades to come, and came from the two best in the world, and certainly two of the greatest of all-time.  With Ospreay having KILLER matches so far against Takeshita, Oku, Okada, ZSJ and Josh Alexander, he's on pace to be Wrestler of The Year for another year. As for Danielson, his legacy is secured as a modern GOAT in this business.  When we look back a decade or so from now, the way we put Flair, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and Ricky Steamboat, Danielson will absolutely be in the same class and in the same caliber of all-time human chess game players.  These two created a modern-day masterclass in wrestling that's as beautiful as it is competitive.

Match Of the Month (Runner-Up)

Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns

WWE Universal Championship/"Bloodline Rules"

WWE WrestleMania XL

4/6/24

Few angles and storylines in wrestling can match up with the story of The Bloodline, the group comprised primarily of WWE Hall Of Fame manager, and "Head Council to the Tribal Chief", Paul Heyman, Solo Sakoa, and the longest reigning WWE Champion in over thirty years, Roman Reigns.  Reigns was having a run the likes of which hasn't been seen in modern wrestling and the list of those he had gone through was a who's who. From the likes of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, LA Knight, Brock Lesnar, and... Cody Rhodes.  The last name is the irony.  Rhodes had left WWE back in 2017 and started to rediscover his love of pro wrestling.  He hit up indies such as PWG, but also became a fixture in ROH and NJPW. He even became part of the notorious Bullet Club at one point.  When he, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks started AEW in 2019, Cody was one of the biggest names in wrestling. His shocking departure from the company he helped build from the ground up became a vision in his rearview. He returned to WWE in 2022 to overwhelming fanfare and became perhaps the most popular star in WWE. He emphasized the need to "finish the story", when it came to becoming WWE Champion, an accomplishment neither his iconic father, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes nor his widely known and respected brother, Dustin Rhodes, were able to obtain.  He knew in order to do that he would have to defeat seemingly the unbeatable in Roman Reigns.  The two collided at Mania 39 in a very good match, but Cody came up short that night to the surprise of many.  A whole year would pass, and Cody's path was anything but easy, as he would have feuds with the likes of Lesnar and The Judgment Day group.  However, as fate would have it, Cody would win the Royal Rumble match for the second straight year, thus going to Mania to face Roman. After a ton of shenanigans involving the massive, yet temporary, return of The Rock (in perhaps his most epic heel run ever in his career), The Usos splitting up, and Seth Rollins becoming a part of the mix, Rhodes faced Reigns for the title, this time with "Bloodline Rules", which basically meant anything goes and no disqualifications.  The prior evening, Rhodes and Rollins lost to the real-life cousins of Reigns and The Rock, in which this was his first full match in the ring since Mania 29 in 2013. The forty-plus minute match took a great deal out of the challenger, but he still came prepared to overcome any and all odds.  The match was more about the emotion and the drama than the actual in-ring action itself, which was very good already. Roman, for the most part, dominated and was the most aggressive in this encounter. Rhodes had to fight from underneath, as he typically tends to do. While it became an overbooked mess consisting of interferences by the likes of The Usos, John Cena, The Undertaker, The Rock, and a visibly injured Seth Rollins, Cody valiantly overcame the odds by doing what nobody thought was possible to do: pinning Roman Reigns for the Universal Title.  With seventy thousand plus fans setting Lincoln Financial Field on fire, Cody, with tears rolling down his eyes, proudly held the title over his head with a ring full of friends, family, and colleagues. With tons of pyro, and even ring announcer Samantha Irvin, visibly and audibly emotional announcing Cody as the new champion, Cody had accomplished what his dad nor brother could do.  A reign of over thirteen hundred days consecutively came to an end on the biggest stage in wrestling and had an ending nobody will ever soon forget. It was the evening Cody did indeed "finish the story"

Honorable Mentions

FTR vs. Young Bucks/AEW Dynasty

PAC vs. Kazuchika Okada/AEW Dynasty

Swerve Strickland vs. Samoa Joe/AEW Dynasty

Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable/WWE Raw 4-15

Sami Zayn vs. Gunther/WWE WrestleMania XL

Seth Rollins & Cody Rhodes vs. The Rock & Roman Reigns/WWE WrestleMania XL

Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre/WWE WrestleMania XL

Oba Femi vs. Dijak vs. Chad Briggs/NXT Stand & Deliver

Axiom & nathan Frazier vs. Baron Corbin & Bron Breakker/NXT Stand & Deliver

Bryan Danielson vs. Blue Panther/CMLL Super Viernes

Bayley vs. Io Skyy/WWE WrestleMania XL

Swerve Strickland vs. Claudio Castagnoli/AEW Collision 4-27

Chuck Taylor vs. Trent Beretta/AEW Rampage 4-27

Maika vs. Momo Wantanabe/Stardom All-Star Grand Queendom '24

Sareee vs. Mayu Iwatan1/Stardom All-Star Grand Queendom '24

Saori Anou vs. Hanan/Stardom All-Star Grand Queendom '24

Match Of the Month (May)

 What an unbelievable month April was. Between the pageantry and emotion of WrestleMania XL and the incredible bell to bell action of Dynasty (which included that otherworldly match between Ospreay and Danielson), April is so far the month to beat in terms of acclaim.  However, May wasn't far.  WWE had Backlash in France, and has the argument for best WWE crowd (non-USA) ever, or at least within the past couple decades.  AEW had a damn great Double Or Nothing event in Vegas, as they commemorated their fifth year in wrestling. Also, NJPW, NOAH, TNA, and AJPW had excellent events as well that keep fans excited and engaged.  Of course, there could one be one match that stands out from the rest, with another right on its heels.  Let's get into these two, shall we?

Match Of The Month (May)

Cody Rhodes vs. AJ Styles

WWE Undisputed Championship

WWE Backlash '24

When one mentions AJ Styles, there's never any doubt as to his legacy.  Besides arguably being the franchise and flag bearer for many of TNA's glory years, "The Phenomenal One" has had one of the most celebrated and decorated careers in all of wrestling.  A former NWA, IWGP, and WWE Champion (not to mention multiple other mid-card championships), AJ has secured his spot as a true all-time great, and with him likely going through with retirement come the end of his current WWE contract, he's aiming to go out in a blaze of glory, much like former adversary Bryan Danielson.  As for Cody Rhodes, "The American Nightmare" finally "finished the story" at WrestleMania XL, with one the most emotional wins in recent WWE history with his victory over the longest WWE Champion of the modern era, Roman Reigns.  Since then, he's been reveling in the glory of being champion, but while one crucial story finished, another one has started, as now he's gone from hunter to hunted as champion.  These two Georgia Bulldogs were set to collide at WWE Backlash, where they held the PPV (apologies...PLE) from France for the first time ever.  To say this crowd was boisterous was an understatement throughout the night.  Arguably the most spectacular crowd in WWE history (which is saying something considering how awesome last year's crowd in San Juan, Puerto Rico was at the same event), Cody and AJ performed in front of them in an incredible match. Before the match even got underway, the crowd rang into a chorus of a song that apparently gets sung every time someone is associated with the term 'phenomenal'.  Obviously this was off-putting to the heel challenger, but nevertheless it was a sight (and sound) to behold.  The action was back and forth, as neither guy is unfamiliar with the other.  The pacing and action-based storytelling involved in this match showed how these two are all too familiar with the psychological aspect of the business.  As stellar as this match was, with counter after counter, it was ultimately a hellacious Cody Cutter from the top rope onto Styles that ended up getting Cody the win in a marvelous encounter that showed how important both men are to the company and the business as a whole.  AJ is far from a stranger for putting on outstanding matches, as matches against the likes of Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Cena, Danielson, Nakamura (especially the match at Wrestle Kingdom 10), Rollins, and Davey Richards will attest to this.  Rhodes, in many ways, can say the same, with his match against Rollins at Hell In A Cell being heralded as a true classic by insiders and fans alike, as well as matches against the likes of Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, Sammie Guevara, and Brock Lesnar.  Here's to hoping we see another encounter between these two unbelievably talented athletes before Styles bows out for the last time.

Match Of The Month (Runner-Up)

Shingo Takagi vs. Gabe Kidd

IWGP NEVER Openweight Title

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku '24-Day Two

If we know anything about LIJ's Shingo Takagi, we know he's one tough SOB.  The twenty-year veteran has captured championships primarily from Dragon Gate, but has even been IWGP Heavyweight Champion.  Seen as one of the toughest and explosive technicians around, it's not hard to see why he's so highly revered. His series of matches against Will Ospreay, during Ospreay's time with New Japan, are among the most exhilarating matches in NJPW history.  There's legitimately nobody "The Dragon" can't hang with and deliver an outstanding match with. Just ask the likes of the aforementioned Ospreay, Ishii, Goto, Okada, Akira Tozawa, and Satoshi Kujima.  We also have Gabe Kidd, a very talented, yet highly physical, member of David Finaly's Bullet Club and formerly half of the Bullet Club War Dogs with now retired teammate, Alex Coughlin.  Kidd is a fearless and reckless competitor.  One who's not afraid to go unhinged and violent if need be, which is more often than he isn't.  These two competed for the IWGP NEVER Openweight Title, to whom it belongs to Takagi.  Takagi's Bret Hart meets Chris Benoit in-ring style collided excellently against the spirited and hungry grit of Kidd.  Going into the match, Kidd attacked, then challenged, Takagi for the NEVER Openweight Title, as he viewed the title as the heart and soul of the company.  Based on his performance, he showed it as well.  To be able to hang and bang with one of the company's most hard-hitting and relentless scrappers is a feat in itself.  From brawls on the outside to submissions to back and forth stiff shots and suplexes, these two wore each other out in exhaustive fashion.  This was far from a cake walk for "The Dragon", as Kidd came to play and play hard.  After a hard twenty minute struggle, Takagi survived, but this was a battle the likes of which both men would feel for weeks.  Kidd would later defeat Eddie Kingston for the NJPW Strong Openweight title at Resurgence in a brutal No Ropes No Holds Barred Match.  Both guys performed and fought aggressively and without any brakes pumped.  While there were certainly equally brutal matches in may, this one was perhaps the most engrossing on a bell-to-bell level.

Honorable Mentions

Kevin Owens & Randy Orton vs. Solo Sakoa & Toma Tonga/WWE Backlash '24

Jey Uso vs. Damien Priest/WWE Backlash '24

Bayley vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Naomi/WWE Backlash '24

Ricochet vs. Ilja Draganov/WWE Raw 5-6

Shaemus vs. Gunther/WWE Raw 5-6

Jon Moxley vs. Shota Umino/NJPW Resurgence

Eddie Kingston vs. Gabe Kidd/NJPW Resurgence

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Masa Kitamiya/Pro Wrestling NOAH Star Navigation '24

Bryan Danielson, Darby Allen, & FTR vs. Kazuchika Okada, Jack Perry, & The Young Bucks/AEW Double Or Nothing '24

Cody Rhodes vs. Logan Paul/WWE King & Queen Of The Ring '24

Will Ospreay vs. Roderick Strong/AEW Double Or Nothing '24

Swerve Strickland vs. Christian Cage/AEW Double Or Nothing '24

Adam Copeland vs. Malaki Black/AEW Double Or Nothing '24

Willow Nightingale vs. Mercedes Mone/AEW Double Or Nothing '24