10. NXT Championship: Finn Balor (c) vs. Samoa Joe – NXT
TakeOver: Dallas
There were a few matches I was thinking about putting
here. I gave out three ***¾ ratings during WrestleMania weekend. One was for
Bayley vs. Asuka and one was for Matt Riddle vs. Tracy Williams at Mercury
Rising. I chose Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe from TakeOver: Dallas over them for a
few reasons. Balor and Joe’s first match at TakeOver: London in December came
off as a disappointment to me. I needed them to best it here and they did. This
felt like a fight between two guys that flat out didn’t like each other, which
is exactly what I wanted. Joe got busted open the hard way early on and it was
bad. The referees had to continually stop the match to patch him up. That was
the one thing that kept this match from four star territory. I understand why
it happened but that doesn’t mean that it was good for the quality of the
match. Outside of that, both men just went to war in one hard hitting battle.
Finn fired up near the end, showing something different in his demon persona,
before retaining the title with a counter to the Coquina Clutch. I think it was
Joe’s time to win it but this was still a really good match between two really
good performers. ***¾
9. WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match –
WrestleMania 32
It looks like we’re going to get a yearly clusterfuck
multi-man ladder match. Despite the buildups this year and last year, the
matches have turned out to be pretty damn good. I felt that this year’s, even
with less big names, managed to be slightly better. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn,
Dolph Ziggler, the Miz, Zack Ryder, Stardust and Sin Cara opened up the main
card of WrestleMania with a bang. This was exactly what it needed to be. A fun
filled spotfest. However, it was a very smooth spotfest. They set up their
spots in clever ways and made sure that the action never stopped in the ring.
Some of things done (Zayn’s dive through the ladder and Sin Cara splashing
Stardust through one specifically) were jaw dropping. I liked the fact that,
while everyone was given a chance to shine, emphasis was put on the Owens/Zayn
rivalry since it was the only real angle entering the match. While I disagreed
with Ryder winning, it was a true feel good moment in a Mania lacking them. It
also was a fun surprise that almost nobody say coming. ****
8. Ricochet vs. TJ Perkins – Evolve 58
WrestleMania weekend got kicked off by Evolve 58, which
aired rather early on Friday, April 1st. I didn’t catch it live but
saw it over the weekend on demand. Two matches stood out, but the first I’m
going to discuss featured Ricochet and TJ Perkins. Ricochet wrestles as Prince
Puma in Lucha Underground, while Perkins used to wrestle as Puma, which they
played into early on in a cool little comedy moment. Ricochet was out to have
fun and did so early on, but that bugged Perkins. Knowing that Ricochet is one
of the most athletic high flyers in the world, Perkins targeted his legs. It’s
such a great strategy that I love to see in matches involving a high flyer. It was
well done stuff that played into Perkins being a damn good mat worker. Ricochet
did well in selling it for the most part, as even when he hit a big move using
the leg, he’d clutch it in pain. Most importantly, it played a role in the
finish. Ricochet’s leg buckled on him, allowing Perkins to apply a heel hook
and force Ricochet to submit. It continued Perkins’ momentum and set the stage
for him to sign with Stokely Hathaway before announcing his intention to
compete in WWE’s Global Cruiserweight Series. ****
7. WWE Women’s Championship: Charlotte (c) vs. Becky Lynch
vs. Sasha Banks – WrestleMania 32
Yea, this is the highest rated match from WrestleMania
itself. Going into WrestleMania, I felt that the three women involved in this
match were more than capable of stealing the show and they proved me right.
Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Sasha Banks are immensely talented ladies with some
really good chemistry from their time in NXT. For the first time since Mickie
James wrestled Trish Stratus ten years earlier, we got a women’s match that
actually felt like it belonged on WrestleMania. This wasn’t women being given a
Mania spot to promote Playboy or some thrown together match to get everyone on
the card. This was three talented women with a history and a desire to be the
best. Sasha Banks and Charlotte got the big time entrances (especially Sasha)
and Becky got her eye messed up within minutes. That didn’t stop her as she was
damn good throughout this. There were one or two flubs, but they managed to
cover them up well and my only major issue with the match was the finish.
Charlotte retained after interference from Ric Flair, which has been done to
death. If ever there was a time for someone to win the belt and usher in the
new era of women’s wrestling, this was it and they fumbled that. ****
6. NXT Tag Team Championship: The Revival (c) vs. American
Alpha – TakeOver: Dallas
When NXT first started producing live specials, one thing
stuck out as a glaring weakness. The tag team division. Matches involved a way
past their prime Too Cool, the pairing of Kalisto and El Local and even some
early Blake and Murphy stuff were all rough. Over time, NXT has really built up
a really good tag team division and the two teams that stand out above the rest
right now are the Revival and American Alpha. The Revival entered this night as
champions and their “no flips, just fists” mantra rang true. They work so well
as an old school team in the vein of the Andersons. American Alpha is like the
World’s Greatest Tag Team, only better and with more charisma. NXT slipped up
in never giving Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady the belts, but on this night, they
made the right call with the most team on the brand. These four men wrestled a
classic, old school style tag team match with a hint of some new age flair. It
was the best tag team match in NXT history and was capped with a great moment
as we saw Chad Gable and Jason Jordan celebrate in tears. ****
5. Chris Hero vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Mercury Rising
The WWN super show of WrestleMania weekend was called
Mercury Rising. It featured competitors from Evolve, FIP and Shine. The show
started with a bang as Zack Sabre Jr. showed up to instantly call out his
opponent for the evening, Chris Hero. Sabre was completing his “Best in the
World” series, which he entered 3-1 in. Hero had knocked out Sabre on several
occasions, so a win over Hero would be huge for the Brit. He came in with a
game plan and fought harder than ever. He battled Hero with strikes, despite
being at a big size disadvantage. Sabre did his best and fired up a few times
after taking big shots. He took Hero to the mat, but Hero was ready with his
own mat work. It was a more even match than their past battles, but Hero still
seemed to have a slight upper hand. Try as he may and try as he might, Sabre
just couldn’t quite crack the code that is Chris Hero. Hero was able to knock
him out again with a barrage of elbows, walking out and calling himself the
“greatest of all time”. The match went a bit long to be a true classic, but it
was still pretty great. ****¼
4. Johnny Gargano, Kota Ibushi and TJP vs. Marty Scurll,
Tommy End and Will Ospreay – Mercury Rising
Sticking with the Mercury Rising super show, it was
headlined by a huge six man tag main event. Johnny Gargano, considered the icon
of WWN, TJP, who came in on a hot streak and Kota Ibushi is the hottest
Japanese free agent in the world. Marty Scurll, Tommy End and Will Ospreay have
been making waves for a long time now. Ospreay has especially been incredible. This
match was pretty much just pure joy. They went for twenty plus minutes at a frantic
pace and everyone got to shine. The interactions between Ospreay and Ibushi
were easily the best part and the crowd reacted as so. Both men even did
simultaneous dives off of a stage in the arena at one point. This was the definition
of a nonstop thrill ride. If you’re a fan of anyone in here, you’ll love it
because they all did their thing. Ibushi won with a sweet powerbomb to cap off
a chaotic main event. It was a fitting end to a super show and after the bell,
Gargano put everyone over, including the wrestling business itself in a promo.
Absolutely fun. ****¼
3. Number One Contender’s Match: AJ Styles vs. Cesaro vs.
Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens – Raw 4/4/16
One night after making the awful decision of having AJ
Styles lose to Chris Jericho at WrestleMania, the WWE looked to right the ship.
Roman Reigns, who got booed heavily as he won the WWE Title, came out and
actually acted like a condescending prick (which he seemed way more comfortable
playing). His confident open challenge led to Chris Jericho answering. AJ
Styles, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn followed, leading to a brawl. Shane McMahon
made a main event between the four but Owens took out Zayn. His replacement was
the returning Cesaro and man, it was great to have him back. Dude is almost a
guarantee to give you a good to great match on a weekly basis. These were four
of the best in the world just going out and having a great match for a title
shot. Cesaro showed no ring rust, Owens was magnificent at selling the prior
night’s ladder match, Jericho was continuing to excel in his new heel turn and
Styles was the all-around great that he is. I expected Jericho to win
considering he had momentum after Mania, but when Styles got the 1-2-3, I
marked out. Like a child that just watched wrestling for pure entertainment and
didn’t think about who was getting pushed or not. I just saw my favorite
wrestler earn a WWE Title shot in less than four months. It was glorious. So
was the match itself actually. ****¼
2. Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Evolve 58
When I first saw Will Ospreay, he didn’t wow me. He came
off as just another guy who could flips. However, I’m so glad I give people
more than one chance. Ever since then, this dude has impressed me more and more
each time out. He’s not just one of those guys that can do flips. Almost every
aspect of his game is already finely tuned and he’s only 22. Zack Sabre Jr. is
another prodigy, who is incredible at a young age. This was also part of
Sabre’s “Best in the World” challenge, as he was facing off against the
“flyer”. Everything these two men did was damn near perfect. When Sabre had
control on the mat, it was great. When Ospreay took to the air, my jaw dropped.
There were just so many moments throughout this that delivered. Sabre was so
confident in his ability, sometimes to a fault, which allowed Ospreay to turn
it around. The finishing stretch was my favorite all weekend long as Ospreay
kicked out of a Liger bomb at one, only for Sabre to keep hold and apply a
ridiculous looking submission to get the win. Not only was this a classic
match, but it could be huge in getting people to want to check out British
wrestling (PROGRESs and RPW have been really good from what I’ve been able to
see). Definitely a MOTYC. ****½
1. Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – TakeOver: Dallas
The third match from TakeOver: Dallas to make the list. The
hype for this match, Shinsuke Nakamura’s debut, was off the charts. There was
no way they could live up to it. And they didn’t. They exceeded it. Kudos to
CFO$ and the WWE for finding a way to keep Nakamura’s aura intact without his
infamous “Subconscious” theme song from Japan. As they’ve mostly done with AJ
Styles and Samoa Joe, the WWE allowed Nakamura to be Nakamura. This was very
much a Nakamura match, as it followed a similar formula to his biggest NJPW
bouts. I’m not saying that as a bad thing at all. It works and it was great for
a WWE audience that may not be used to it. Sami Zayn was excellent here,
adapting to Nakamura’s style. He did a lot of his key stuff and made sure to
sell for Nakamura in the best way. The match itself may only be even or
slightly above Sabre/Ospreay from a pure in-ring perspective, but the
atmosphere changed things here. The crowd was molten for everything done by
both men, but especially Nakamura. From their reaction to his entrance to
Nakamura’s mannerisms to the false finishes and finally to the closing stretch,
everything felt special. Nakamura won with his patented, but renamed Boma Ye,
capping off the best in-ring debut I can recall. *****
