Monday, April 17, 2017

2017 MOTY Candidate List

With a bit more than a quarter of the year behind us, here's an updated list of great matches I've seen in 2017 so far.

****+ Matches by company

WWE
WWE World Championship:
 AJ Styles [c] vs. John Cena - Royal Rumble - ****3/4
NXT Tag Team Championship: The Authors of Pain [c] vs. #DIY vs. The Revival - TakeOver: Orlando - ****3/4
WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament Finals: Pete Dunne vs. Tyler Bate - UK Championship Tournament - ****1/2
WWE World Championship Elimination Chamber: John Cena [c] vs. AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz - Elimination Chamber - ****1/2
AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon - WrestleMania 33 - ****1/4
WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament Semi-Finals: Mark Andrews vs. Pete Dunne - UK Championship Tournament - ****
NXT Tag Team Championship: #DIY [c] vs. The Authors of Pain - TakeOver: San Antonio - ****
AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose - Smackdown 1/31 - ****
NXT Women's Championship: Asuka [c] vs. Ember Moon - TakeOver: Orlando - ****
WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Neville [c] vs. Austin Aries - WrestleMania 33 - ****

NJPW
IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Katsuyori Shibata - Sakura Genesis - ****3/4
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito [c] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - Wrestle Kingdom 11 - ****1/2
RPW British Heavyweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata [c] vs. Will Ospreay - New Beginning in Osaka - ****1/2
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi [c] vs. Dragon Lee - New Beginning in Osaka - ****1/2
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito [c] vs. Michael Elgin - New Beginning in Osaka - ****1/2
New Japan Cup First Round: Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii - New Japan Cup - ****1/2
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: KUSHIDA [c] vs. Hiromu Takahashi - Wrestle Kingdom 11 - ****1/4
IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Kenny Omega - Wrestle Kingdom 11 - ****1/4
New Japan Cup Semi-Finals: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii - New Japan Cup - ****1/4
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi [c] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi - 45th Anniversary Show - ****
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tiger Mask W - 45th Anniversary Show - ****

PROGRESS
Flash Morgan Webster, Jimmy Havoc and Mark Haskins vs. Pete Dunne, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate - Old Man Yells at Cloud - ****1/4
PROGRESS Championship No Disqualifications: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Jimmy Havoc - Galvanize - ****1/4
PROGRESS Atlas Championship: Matt Riddle [c] vs. Trent Seven - PROGRESS: Orlando - ****1/4
No Disqualifications: Pastor William Eaver vs. Sebastian - Old Man Yells at Cloud - ****
PROGRESS Tag Team Championship: Trent Seven and Tyler Bate [c] vs. The South Pacific Power Trip - Galvanize - ****
Fans Bring The Weapons Loser Leaves PROGRESS: Jimmy Havoc vs. Will Ospreay - I Like To Chill Out Here and Shoot Some Dinosaurs - ****
JML vs. The South Pacific Power Trip - PROGRESS: Orlando - ****
PROGRESS Championship: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Mark Haskins - PROGRESS: Orlando - ****

Evolve
Chris Hero vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - Evolve 77 - ****1/4
Evolve Championship: Timothy Thatcher [c] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - Evolve 79 - ****1/4
Donovan Dijak vs. Keith Lee - Evolve 81 - ****1/4
ACH vs. Matt Riddle - Evolve 76 - ****
Keith Lee vs. Ricochet - Evolve 80 - ****
Fred Yehi vs. Matt Riddle - Evolve 81 - ****

Pro Wrestling NOAH
GHC Heavyweight Championship: Katsuhiko Nakajima [c] vs. Go Shiozaki - Great Voyage in Yokohama - ****1/4
GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hajime Ohara [c] vs. Daisuke Harada - The First Navigation 1/21 - ****
GHC Tag Team Championship: Go Shiozaki and Maybach Taniguchi [c] vs. Kenoh and Masa Kitamiya - The First Navigation 1/21 - ****
Eddie Edwards vs. Go Shiozaki - Spring Navigation 3/25 - ****

Dragon Gate
Big R Shimizu vs. Takehiro Yamamura - Open the Truth Gate 2/2/17 - ****
CIMA, Dragon Kid, Eita, Naruki Doi and Takehiro Yamamura vs. Cyber Kong, El Lindaman, Punch Tominga, Shingo Takag and T-Hawk - Glorious Gate 3/8/17 - ****

RevPro
RPW British Heavyweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata [c] vs. Matt Riddle - RevPro High Stakes - ****1/4

Style Battle
Anthony Henry vs. Fred Yehi - Style Battle S1:E1 - ****

FIP
FIP Championship
: Fred Yehi [c] vs. Brian Cage - Ascension - ****

ROH
Bobby Fish vs. Jay Lethal - 15th Anniversary Show - ****1/4
The Briscoes, Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay vs. Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks - Honor Rising - ****
ROH World Television Championship: Marty Scurll [c] vs. Lio Rush - 15th Anniversary Show - ****

BJW
BJW Tag Team Championship:
 Twin Towers [c] vs. Strong BJ - Big Japan 1/2/17 - ****