The Top Ten Blog Matches of 2012

So, for the third year running, I try to sum up the year on this blog with the 10 best matches reviewed this year. This year has seen me venture to more wrestling shows than in previous years, which is represented by the presence of several SWE matches on the list. Without further ado, here is the big 10...

10. James Storm, Sting & Hulk Hogan vs Kurt Angle, Bully Ray & Bobby Roode (TNA Maximum Impact Tour in Nottingham)
A bit of a self-indulgence here. While I accept this match isn't a mat classic, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Hogan and Sting team up in person. The epitome of a crowd-pleasing main event.

9. Awesome Kong vs Gail Kim - No DQ (TNA Knocked Out)
The TNA Knocked Out DVD featured 3 matches from the Kim/Kong series of 2008. This No DQ encounter was my favourite of the three, a hard-hitting PPV encounter which used the stipulation to enhance the match.

8. Psychosis vs Super Crazy (XPW Fallout)
From the much-maligned XPW comes this rather terrific match. Admittedly, it doesn't take much booking smarts to put these two together and end up with a great result, as the the luchadors put on a great match to totally steal the show.

7. Kid Kash vs 2 Cold Scorpio (Hardcore Homecoming 2005)
Another card-stealing match. On a surprisingly good ECW reunion card, these two combined some slick mat-wrestling with some hard-hitting action. I also enjoyed the contrast of Scorp dominating in the ring, and Kash dominating outside.

6. Stixx vs Mark Haskins (SWE vs HOP Ill Manors)
Great last-man-standing main event in the Southside/House of Pain interpromotional show, which saw two of the best workers in the UK put on a war, where they cleverly worked around the size difference between the two to leave both men looking strong at the end.

5. Gregory Helms vs Matt Hardy (WWE No Mercy 2006)
From one of the great forgotten WWE PPV's of the 00's comes this terrific opener, where two longtime friends put on a clinic in their home state in a battle of the OMEGA veterans.

4. El Ligero vs Ego Dragon (SWE Menace II Society II)
If Stixx/Haskins was a war, then this...fucking Hell. The two men fought all around the Rushcliffe Arena, with chairs, ladders, tables and even the ring ropes being used as a weapon. A vital part of my favourite feud in wrestling in 2012.

3. James Storm vs Bobby Roode (TNA Bound For Glory)
TNA has been on fire this year, but one of the few things they've messed up has been the Storm/Roode feud, which has seen the Cowboy look like a chump far too often. That wasn't the case here though, a bloody, brutal, beautiful match. If they'd left it here, it'd have been just perfect.

2. Mikey Whipwreck vs Kidman (The Best of Mikey Whipwreck)
So, Mikey Whipwreck, ECW icon....had the best match on his "best of" tape in WCW. Here positioned as the roughneck bully of the Cruiserweight division, he dominates this match in a taster of what Mikey's WCW career SHOULD have been like. Kidman battles from beneath like a great underdog champ, and both men leave the match more over than when they came in. Tremendous.

1. The Predators vs Project Ego (SWE Menace II Society II)
A fantastic tag encounter between two of the best teams in the UK today. The Predators are one of the fastest rising duos in the country, with Joseph Connors specialising in the art of being an unlikable dickhead in the ring, whilst Malen is just vicious. Paired up with the slick, confident Ego team, we got a great battle where their two styles just meshed perfectly. A bit of comedy, a bit of classic tag-formula and some swank highflying lead to my match of the year. A great advert for UK wrestling.