So, as is now tradition on the blog, this is a round-up of the best stuff reviewed on the site this year. However, due to some really terrible matches viewed this year, I've added a quick list of the worst matches I've sat through, as well as doing a separate list of the best matches I've seen live this year - previous years have seen live matches mixed with the taped matches, but I felt it better to separate them this year. Enjoy!
The Ten Best Matches Reviewed On The Blog This Year
10. Jeff Jarrett vs Christian Cage vs Sting vs Abyss vs Ron
Killings (Jeff Jarrett: King of the Mountain Disks 1 & 2)
The second of TNA’s King of the Mountain match, and they’d
improved the formula greatly from the first (not just limited to the fact that
they’d got the hook properly connected this time). Better bumps, better story,
great match.
9. Chad Malenko vs Jonny Storm (All Star Wrestling 14/03/01)
Proof that sometimes simpler is better. Worked in front of a
family-orientated All Star crowd, Malenko and Storm put on a fun little gem.
8. Low Ki vs American Dragon (ECWA Super 8 2001)
Would probably have been higher if not for Ki’s inconsistent
selling. Dragon was terrific here, with some lovely little touches and some
sublime chaining between moves. Only a few years into his career, and he’s
already something special.
7. Alex Shelley & Masato Tanaka vs Sonjay Dutt &
Dick Togo (Zero-One 18/03/2005)
Fun stunt-filled TLC match between two interesting looking
teams. Love the Togo hot-tag here and the end features a suitably nutty
collection of spots.
6. The Backseat Boys vs Nick Mondo and Ric Blade (CZW Cage
of Death 2002)
Considering the participants, you wouldn’t expect this the
be the more logically worked TLC to the above entry, but there is a solid
underlying story between the stunts. Mondo and Blade are risk-takers, but they
will hurt themselves to hurt their opponents, whilst the Backseats are a
regular team and their teamwork carries them through to a victory.
5. El Hijo Del Santo vs Negro Casas (Best of El Hijo Del
Santo Vol 1)
Wonderful hair-vs-mask match, and you can feel the real
desire to win from both guys throughout the match. Love the little things, like
Santo going for quick roll-ups to secure victory or the way Casas frantically
fights against the match-winning Camel Clutch.
4. Jeff Jarrett vs Kurt Angle (Jeff Jarrett: King of the
Mountain Disks 3 & 4)
Jeff Jarrett has always been Kurt Angle’s best opponent,
smart enough to work matches around Angle’s non-stop style. This was Jarrett’s
first match back after the death of his wife and was based around a story of
Jarrett trying to survive against the best wrestler in the company. A match
with a real feel-good ending.
3. Randy Savage vs Jim Duggan (WWF Mega Matches)
No carry job here, as a motivated-Duggan and the Macho Man
put on a little gem. Some lovely selling from Duggan throughout, making both
Savage AND Sherri look tough as nails. Some smoke-and-mirrors booking at the
end helps keep Duggan look strong and this is a really good match on a really
poor tape
2. Necro Butcher vs Toby Klein (Necro Butcher – Choose Death)
Great death match. Butcher takes some nasty looking bumps
and both guys trade vicious, hate-filled blows instead of setting up
overly-complex spots. The match ending Death Valley Driver onto an open chair
is suitably decisive.
1. El Hijo Del Santo vs Espanto Jr (Best of El Hijo Del Santo
Vol 1)
Violent, crimson-soaked brawl in another mask-vs-hair match.
There is so much I love in this match, from Santo’s long-period of
contemplation after losing the initial fall, to Espanto violently ripping at
the bloody mask of Santo. Some believable closefalls and some lovely dives make
this a deserved end-of-year winner.
The Five Worst Matches Reviewed On The Blog
5. Marty Jannetty vs Totoru (All Star Wrestling 14/03/01)
Reviewed at the start of the year, if you’d told me this
stall-fest filled with abysmal comedy would only just make my worst 5 of the
year, I might have cancelled the blog
4. Hell’s Belles vs Benji & the Smoke (WEW Celebrity
Ho-Down)
I’d like to be able to pin all the blame for this mess on
Benji, who clearly had no business being in a ring, but this squash main event
is terrible even when the more competent Smoke is having to zombie-sell for the
Belles
3. Veronica Caine vs Lizzy Borden (XPW Freefall)
A Buck Naked match, where the aim was to rip off all your
opponents clothes. This was never going to be good, especially with two non-trained
wrestlers in there, but adding a screwjob finish that only added to the
untrackable heel/face divide on this show made it unbearable.
2. Valerie Elizabeth Wyndham vs Francine (WEW Celebrity
Ho-Down)
Another match between two barely-wrestlers. All the moves in
this match looks terrible, and bonus shit-points are earned by the presence of
the PWO (sigh…the Pussy World Order) in Wyndham’s corner who contribute
absolutely nothing to the match.
1. New Jack vs Vic Grimes (XPW Freefall)
There’s a returning theme of non-wrestler’s in this list,
but these two were actual pro-wrestlers, with years of experience between them,
and they put out this scaffold mess. They wander about, hit some weapon shots
then arbitrarily decide to climb the scaffold from which New Jack nearly kills
Grimes by hurling him well away from the tables designed to break his fall.
Terrible AND incredibly fucking stupid.
5. Kris Travis vs Jack Jester (House of Pain: Evolution 9)
4. The Hunter Brothers vs Mark Andrews & Pete Dunne
(Southside Wrestling Menace II Society)
3. The Henchmen vs the Hunter Brothers (Triple X Wrestling
Clusterfuck III)2. Joseph Conners vs Dave Mastiff (House of Pain: Evolution 9)
1. Zack Sabre Jr vs Pete Dunne (Triple X Wrestling Clusterfuck III)
Absolutely sublime match, with every little movement and hold meaning something. Triple X have really pushed Dunne as a lead face this year and, though he didn’t pick up the win here, the quality of the match and the nature of the loss really elevated him in defeat. This was a bit special
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