1) Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles, IWGP Intercontinental Championship – Wrestle Kingdom X
The match itself was fantastic. With no prior history to work with it was like watching two artists painting on a blank canvas. It started out slow as both men jockeyed for position and grappled with one another for control. The match eventually sped up and both men went for their trademark finishing moves but were easily dismissed. AJ did his Bullet Club pose and "shot" at Shinsuke who caught the imaginary bullet in his hand and ate it. The crowd ate it up, as did I. AJ hit a picture perfect dropkick and I swear one of these days he's going to get such good rotation that he will actually land on his feet. Shinsuke took control of the next portion of the match but AJ, who it was well known was suffering from back injuries at this time, feigned a back injury - the referee forced Nakamura to retreat to a neutral corner and AJ took advantage, dominating the match after this. AJ focused his attack on the neck of Nakamura, weakening him for the Hollow Point, Bloody Sunday and/or Styles Clash. Shinsuke fought back and his focus was clearly AJ's back. Some amazing sequences followed including one where AJ went for the Styles Clash but Nakamura attempted to counter with a Back Body Drop only for AJ to re-counter into the Calf Killer. The match just kept getting better and better. Shinsuke hit a Boma Ye but AJ kicked out and then hit a Boma Ye of his own. AJ hit a 450 Splash but Nakamura kicked out in a great near fall. Shinsuke caught AJ coming in with his patented Flying Cross Armbreaker, eventually AJ managed to pick Nakamura up whilst still in the hold and hit a Styles Clash but Shinsuke kicked out again! He hit Bloody Sunday and then looked like he was going for a top rope Styles Clash but Nakamura reversed and hit a top rope Landslide. He followed it up with two consecutive Boma Ye's for the pin and the victory. Post-match both men bumped fists and showed respect to one another.
There's not much more I can say about this. It's two of the best wrestlers on the planet right now going up against each other and creating an absolute masterpiece. A truly special match and I can't think of two people more deserving of getting the big break they have got in the WWE than these guys. Magic.
2) Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens, Last Man Standing Match, Intercontinental Championship – Royal Rumble
One of the most heated WWE rivalries of the past six months came to a violent end in Orlando, Florida at the 2016 Royal Rumble event as "The Lunatic Fringe" Dean Ambrose defended his Intercontinental Championship in a Last Man Standing match against the man he defeated for the belt last year "The Prizefighter" Kevin Owens. I love both of these guys and their work but if I'm being honest I hadn't been overly enamoured with any of their previous meetings so my expectations were not particularly high for this one. But with Royal Rumble fever in my belly and a pub full of rabid wrestling fans at The Southfield in Middlesbrough my anticipation heightened. These two did not disappoint.
The match was a brutal affair that saw these two open the Royal Rumble pay-per-view with an almighty bang. We started out with a lot of brawling with both men launching attacks at the other. Eventually Owens took control and started dominating Ambrose with chops to the chest. Ambrose turned the tables on Owens though with a chop of his own and took control. Owens rolled to the outside in an attempt to slow Ambrose's momentum but without delay Ambrose hit a tope suicida to the outside knocking Owens over the announce table. He threw Owens into the steep steps and then brought a Singapore Cane into the equation beating Kevin mercilessly with it. Owens rolled to the outside and Ambrose followed but when he swung the cane Owens ducked and hit a Superkick knocking Ambrose towards the ringside barricades. He then hit a Cannonball on Ambrose, breaking the aforementioned barricade in the process.
Owens set about gaining a measure of revenge by beating Ambrose down with the same cane Ambrose had beaten him with, eventually breaking it in half deliberately and using the splintered edges to stab Ambrose in the chest with. Clearly bored with the cane Owens decided to introduce some steel chairs into the match, beating Ambrose down with one and setting two more up in the ring. Owens tried to put Ambrose through the chairs but Ambrose fought out and hit Owens with the Nigel. Some back and forth followed until Owens tried to put Ambrose through the chairs again but once again Dean fought out and went for the Nigel a second time. This time though Owens put a stop to it with a swift kick to the mid-section. Owens went for a powerbomb through the chairs, thinking third time might be the charm but Dean hit a Back Body Drop sending Owens crashing through the chairs.
This allowed Ambrose time to recover but he made a mistake by going for another tope suicida and Owens took full advantage, catching him before ramming him into the ring apron and then repeatedly throwing him into the steel steps. He then sets up two tables one on top of another outside the ring before going to the top rope and attempting to Superplex Ambrose through. Ambrose fought out though eventually launching a chair which caught itself around Kevin's neck. Ambrose punched the stuck chair into Owens' face a few times before launching into a Violence Party on Kevin. Owens eventually fought back with a Superkick before throwing Dean off the ropes going for his patented Pop-Up Powerbomb but Dean turned it into a hurricanrana before swiftly hitting Dirty Deeds. Owens made it back to his feet though so Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds this time onto a steel chair but Owens rolled out of the ring and used his momentum to get up before the count of ten in a clever moment. Dean set up yet another table outside of the ring and hit a Diving Elbow Drop from the top rope sending a prone Owens through the table.
Somehow Owens beat the count of ten again so Ambrose continued the all out assault with some more chairs. He set up a table inside the ring this time before heading up top for an attempted Superplex but Owens reversed it and hit a Spinning Fisherman Suplex on Ambrose through the table. Ambrose makes it up but Owens hits a Pop-Up Powerbomb. Ambrose again makes it up before the count which Owens can't believe. He builds a contraption of roughly six steel chair in the centre of the ring before lying Ambrose on them and heading up for what appears to be a Moonsault attempt but Ambrose recovers and pushes him off the top to the outside through the earlier set up two-high tables. This time there is no recovering and Ambrose picks up the win, retaining his Championship in the process.
A great match with some great psychology and selling despite the amount of punishment that the two men continued to get up from. It didn't feel like they overdid it but they also didn't sell short the violence and brutality of the feud and match. It was really well done and everything I hoped it would be.
3) reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. The Kingdom (Adam Cole & Michael Bennett) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Philadelphia Street Fight – ROH Wrestling (16th January)
This match is not a particularly story driven one or something with a great deal of hatred to it. This is just a fun match. The Young Bucks, The Kingdom and reDRagon - three of the premier teams in ROH took each other on in a Street Fight. This match was crazy from top to bottom and I'm not going to try to recap it in the usual way. More just hit the high points.
The Bucks attacked reDRagon as they were walking through the curtain and then hit a Superkick on the third member of The Kingdom - Matt Taven, who was on crutches in the ring. Adam Cole set up a chair in the ring, sat Matt Jackson down it, ran the ropes a few times and then put on a chinlock. I love it when Cole does that but this may be my all-time favourite version of the over elaborate chinlock. Nick Jackson accidentally superkicks play-by-play announcer Kevin Kelly as his commentary colleague "Mr. Wrestling 3" screams "SUPERKICK!" at the top of his lungs (I feel like I've heard someone else say that before. The Young Bucks attempt to start a Superkick Party with Michael Bennett the unassuming host. They sit him down on a chair and complete him with a party hat but before they can give out the presents of Superkicks Maria got in the ring and low blowed both Jackson brothers. Bennett looked to take advantage with the chair but AJ Styles grabbed it from him and hit him with it. Nick Jackson seems conflicted but eventually aids Matt in hitting Maria with a Meltzer Driver. The Bucks and Styles then hit their Fatality Combination on Bennet for the pin and the win.
Like I said earlier, there isn't a great psychology to this match, it's not built on a story (whether self-contained for the match or part of a longer terms feud) but it a fun way to spend 15-20 minutes of your life. And that's something pro wrestling isn't often enough - fun. It was a fantastic match and well deserving of its position in this top five.
4) Adam Cole & Jay Lethal vs. reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) – ROH Wrestling (30th January)
As the match starts O'Reilly wants his hands on Cole, Lethal tags him in but Cole tags straight back out showing no desire to face off with O'Reilly. The initial portion of the match saw reDRagon showcasing their superior tag team skills by cutting the ring in half and wearing Lethal down as Cole looked very reticent to get involved. Cole eventually did tag in and Lethal took advantage of a distraction to throw Fish into the barricade. After this Cole and Lethal dominated but they weren't without their problems as Cole found the time to taunt his own tag partner in Lethal. Eventually Fish got the hot tag and O'Reilly came in like a house of fire. He beat both Cole and Lethal down before applying the Cross Armbreaker to Lethal but Cole broke it up. Lethal and Cole double teamed O'Reilly until O'Reilly low bridged the top rope which sent Cole to the floor and allowed Fish to spear him into the barricade.
reDRagon then took control of Lethal in the ring with a series of their infamous tag team combinations. Lethal fights out though and pushes O'Reilly into Fish before Cole hits a bicycle kick on O'Reilly. Lethal and Cole then hit a Superkick assisted Lethal Combination followed by a Shining Wizard for a near fall. Lethal follows up with Hail to the King for another near fall. Lethal and Fish fight back and forth until both men are down. O'Reilly and Cole both get tagged in and we finally get those two heated rivals one-on-one. Lethal and Fish get back in which results in a flurry of moves which included O'Reilly destroying Lethal with the Nigel only to be nailed with a Superkick from Cole. Cole tried to hit Fish with a Superkick too but was unsuccesful and was handed an Exploder into the corner by Fish. With all four men still in the ring Lethal eventually hits a Superkick on O'Reilly and goes for the Lethal Injection but Fish throws Cole into this own tag partner knocking Kyle out of the way and Lethal accidentally takes out Cole unknowingly before being taken out by Fish and O'Reilly. reDRagon then hit Chasing the Dragon on a lifeless Cole to pick up the big win.
This match was not only great fun to watch but it set up the story for the big Three-Way Dance main event for the 14th Anniversary Show. It also stuck to my rule that tag teams should always beat singles wrestlers (no matter how good the singles guys are) in tag team matches. There was everything you could want in a wrestling match here, it built - slowly but surely - from a slow-paced match to a frenzied one, it had long-term storytelling as well as ring psychology and to boot it was just fun to watch. Great stuff, although I would expect no less from these four.
5) Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takashi Sugiura, GHC Heavyweight Championship – Great Voyage in Yokohama
Now to the final match on our list but don't think that it's an average one because it's not. Pro Wrestling NOAH - in my eyes at least - is the best it has been in years. In fact the booking of the company at the moment (and, yes, I do know who is running things right now) is light years ahead of how NJPW is booked. I know it's not perfect but they are making a solid effort of things. The main storyline over the past year has been how New Japan native Minoru Suzuki has invaded NOAH with his group Suzuki-gun. They have dominated and destroyed NOAH at almost every turn and Suzuki had a good, long reign with the belt. At the final big show of 2015 Suzuki-gun's reign of terror seemed to be near an end. First Taiji Ishimori won the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship from Suzuki-gun's Taichi then Marufuji unseated the group's leader Minoru Suzuki as the GHC Heavyweight Champion. It seemed to be a perfect night for the NOAH fans and wrestlers - even though Yoshinobu Kanemaru had betrayed NOAH and joined Suzuki-gun - until long-time fan favourite Takashi Sugiura who had been fighting with NOAH every step of the way in their attempts to end Suzuki-gun turned on his home promotion and joined forces with Suzuki-gun. His jealousy towards Marufuji and the fact that Marufuji always seemed to end up being the hero of NOAH made Sugiura snap and turn his back on his own. That led to this match where, in his first defence, Marufuji put his title on the line against his former friend.
In the tour shows building towards this match Marufuji had almost punished Takashi for turning his back on NOAH by chopping him viciously at every opportunity. That meant Sugiura's chest was a tapestry of destruction heading into this match and sure enough it took about 90 seconds for a Marufuji chop to open those scabs up again and Sugiura's chest was bloody once more. The match from then on was your stereotypical Pro Wrestling NOAH main event. Very story heavy, less move heavy - which I've always liked and it's a style that Marufuji really established within the company when he first had his run on top. Unfortunately the New Japan influence has been quite clear in one aspect of NOAH, the over-done-to-death very un-traditional not-Japanese like interference and ref bumps. This, once again, plagued a title match at the top of a Japanese promotion. After all the interference Sugiura eventually got the referee back into play and hit Marufuji with the Olympic Yosen Slam to pick up the win and end Marufuji's short run as Champion.
Suzuki-gun do their typical post-match heel stuff, beating on ringside attendants and Marafuji. Suzuki also holds up a Pro Wrestling NOAH flag before laying it on the floor and stepping all over it. There is a quite nice moment where Shuhei Taniguchi and Go Shiozaki come out to Marufuji's aid. Shiozaki returned to NOAH in November after deserting the company for All Japan. He has been met with distrust and hatred from most of the locker room. His only supposed friend - Kanemaru - turned on him earlier this evening although his old partner Taniguchi came to his side. Since November he has tried to regain acceptance back into NOAH and finally Marufuji shakes Shiozaki's hand, accepting him back into the fold. Marufuji is clearly still devastated though and hands Taniguchi the NOAH flag almost saying "I have failed, it's someone else's turn" and if NOAH decide that Taniguchi is that man and not Katsuhiko Nakajima I will be furious - but why Nakajima should be the one to dethrone Sugiura is a whole different article.
The match was good - could have been great had it not been for the outside interference dragging things down, but it feels like I've said that about almost every Japanese match in the past three years. The post-match stuff was really special too and NOAH could really go places if they build on this. Overall though it was just a really good match that deserved its place on this list.
