Top 50 Matches - The 2016 Edition

It's New Year’s Day so welcome to 2017 everyone, here’s hoping this year is a damn side better than 2016 was. Talking of 2016 it’s time for my annual edition of the Best 50 Matches of the Year. 2016 was a mixed year for pro wrestling but the overall match quality was pretty high. There were many matches I absolutely loved that didn’t make the Top 50 and that just shows how good this year was in-ring wise.

As I seem to remember saying last year I think I’ve watched less wrestling than I have in recent years in 2016. It’s a product of getting older I suppose and life getting in the way of the important things, like wrestling. That being said I still caught every episode of NXT, ROH and Lucha Underground but I saw very little of Monday Night RAW this year as my will was broken before WrestleMania season even finished that’s how bad the show was. I did catch every WWE PPV before the brand split though and everything SmackDown related post-brand split. I also saw every ROH PPV and special event as well as every PWG event, any New Japan matches that stood out (including the entirety of the G1 Climax), every big Pro Wrestling NOAH show and any independent shows that caught my eye. I've also placed an asterisk next to the match from ROH’s Reach For The Sky Tour event in Leicester that made it onto the list as I was there to witness that great show live which I always think can cause a great deal of overrating.

After such a great year for women’s wrestling last year, this year failed to deliver to anywhere near the same level. They had 5 matches, including an 11^th place, last year but this year not a single match made the Top 50 (although two were really close). This year I decided to add some statistics as well as the list including how many times promotions and wrestlers appeared as well as what would be the theoretical best match between the most appearing permanent wrestlers in any given company or brand.

                                                            

As always, I feel the need to remind you guys that the date range for this list was anything that aired between the 1^st January 2015 and the 31^st December 2016. So, for example, (it’s always a PWG show) PWG’s Mystery Vortex IV which was taped in December 2016 haven't been released on DVD yet and therefore will be considered for the 2017 list instead of this one. Finally, I’d like to drop a little plug for my End of Year Awards blog which will be landing (hopefully) later today. I’ll post the link here when it is uploaded. With all that nonsensical rambling out of the way let’s get onto the real reason anyone might be here – to read the list so here it is:

Best Matches of 2016:

1)      Hirooki Goto vs. Kenny Omega, G1 Climax Final – G1 Climax: Day Nineteen

2)      Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – NXT Takeover: Dallas

3)      Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – Battleground

4)      Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito, B Block – G1 Climax: Day Eighteen

5)      The Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson) vs. DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa), Two out of Three Falls, NXT Tag Team Championship – NXT Takeover: Toronto

6)      Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles, IWGP Intercontinental Championship – Wrestle Kingdom X

7)      Triple H vs. Dean Ambrose, WWE World Heavyweight Championship – Roadblock

8)      Roderick Strong vs. Zack Sabre, Jr., PWG World Championship – All Star Weekend 12: Night Two

9)      The Addiction (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) vs. Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Ladder War VI, ROH World Tag Team Championship – All Star Extravaganza VIII

10)   Jay Lethal vs. Kyle O’Reilly, ROH World Championship – ROH Wrestling (23^rd July)

11)   Mil Muertes vs. Fenix, Lucha Underground Championship – Lucha Underground (16^th March)

12)   New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) vs. Y2AJ (AJ Styles & Chris Jericho), WWE Tag Team Championship – RAW (7^th March)

13)   Candice LeRae, Chris Hero, Joey Ryan & Mike Bailey vs. Mount Rushmore 2.0 (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & The Young Bucks [Matt & Nick Jackson]), Guerrilla Warfare – All Star Weekend 11: Night Two

14)   The Revivial (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson) vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa, NXT Tag Team Championship – NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II

15)   Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly, No Holds Barred – Supercard of Honor X: Night Two

16)   Aztec Warfare II, Lucha Underground Championship – Lucha Underground (23^rd March)

17)   Kyle O’Reilly vs. Marty Scurll – All Star Weekend 12: Night One

18)   The Miz vs. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn, Intercontinental Championship – Extreme Rules

19)   Marty Scurll vs. Dragon Lee vs. Will Ospreay, ROH World Television Championship – Final Battle

20)   Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles, WWE World Championship – Backlash

21)   Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly, No Disqualification, ROH World Championship – Final Battle

22)   Takashi Sugiura vs. Go Shiozaki, GHC Heavyweight Championship – Great Voyage in Osaka

23)   Matanza Cueto vs. Mil Muertes, Graver Consequences, Lucha Underground Championship – Lucha Underground (11^th May)

24)   Cedric Alexander vs. Kota Ibushi, Second Round – WWE: Cruiserweight Classic, Episode 5 (10^th August)

25)   The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler, Career vs. Title, Intercontinental Championship – No Mercy

26)   The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. Marty Scurll & Will Ospreay, ROH World Tag Team Championship – Reach For The Sky Tour: Leicester*

27)   Fenix & Pentagon, Jr. vs. Heroes Eventually Die (Chris Hero & Tommy End) – Battle of Los Angeles: Night Two

28)   Aztec Wafare III, Lucha Underground Championship – Lucha Underground (16^th November)

29)   AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose, TLC Match, WWE World Championship – TLC

30)   Jay Lethal vs. Adam Cole, ROH World Championship – Death Before Dishonor XIV

31)   Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Kyle O’Reilly, PWG World Championship – THIRTEEN

32)   AJ Styles vs. John Cena – Summerslam

33)   Takashi Sugiura vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima, GHC Heavyweight Championship – Great Voyage in Korakuen

34)   The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. Fenix & Pentagon, Jr., PWG Tag Team Championship – Battle of Los Angeles: Night Three

35)   Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll, ROH World Television Championship – Reach For The Sky Tour: London

36)   Bullet Club (Adam Cole & Matt Jackson) vs. Team NJPW (Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii) vs. Team ROH (Jay Lethal & Roderick Strong) – War of the Worlds: New York City

37)   Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, NXT Championship – NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II

38)   The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. The Briscoes (Jay & Mark), ROH World Tag Team Championship – Final Battle

39)   The Brian Kendrick vs. Kota Ibushi, Quarter Final – WWE: Cruiserweight Classic, Episode 8 (30^th August)

40)   Austin Aries vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – NXT Takeover: The End

41)   Kazuchika Okada vs. Naomichi Marufuji, A Block – G1 Climax: Day One

42)   Takeshi Sugiura vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima, GHC Heavyweight Championship – Great Voyage in Yokohama Vol. 2

43)   King Cuerno vs. Mil Muertes, Death Match – Lucha Underground: Ultima Lucha Dos: Part Two

44)   Jay Lethal vs. Lio Rush, ROH World Championship – Supercard of Honor X: Night One

45)   Momo no Seishun Tag (Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada) vs. Hajime Ohara & Kenoh, GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship – Great Voyage in Korakuen

46)   Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – Payback

47)   Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takashi Sugiura – Winter Navigation

48)   Jay Lethal vs. Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly, ROH World Championship – 14^th Anniversary Show

49)   Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens, Last Man Standing Match, Intercontinental Championship – Royal Rumble

50)   DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs. Akira Tozawa & Tajiri, NXT Tag Team Championship – NXT: Osaka (28^th December)

Statistics

Number of Top 50 Matches by Promotion

ROH – 12

WWE – 12

NXT – 6

PWG – 6

Lucha Underground – 5

Pro Wrestling NOAH – 5

New Japan Pro Wrestling – 4

Number of Top 50 Matches by Wrestler

Adam Cole – 6

Kyle O’Reilly – 6

Matt Jackson – 6

AJ Styles – 5

Jay Lethal – 5

Nick Jackson – 5

Dean Ambrose – 4

Kevin Owens – 4

Marty Scurll – 4

Sami Zayn – 4

Shinsuke Nakamura – 4

Takashi Sugiura – 4

Fenix – 3

Johnny Gargano – 3

Mil Muertes – 3

Roderick Strong – 3

Tommaso Ciampa – 3

Will Ospreay – 3

Chris Hero – 2

Dash Wilder – 2

Katsuhiko Nakajima – 2

Kazuchika Okada – 2

Kenny Omega – 2

Kota Ibushi – 2

Naomichi Marufuji – 2

Pentagon, Jr. – 2

Scott Dawson – 2

The Miz – 2

Zack Sabre, Jr. – 2

Akira Tozawa – 1

Alex Shelley – 1

Atsushi Kotoge – 1

Austin Aries – 1

Big E – 1

Candice LeRae – 1

Cedric Alexander – 1

Cesaro – 1

Chris Jericho – 1

Chris Sabin – 1

Christopher Daniels – 1

Daisuke Harada – 1

Dolph Ziggler – 1

Dragon Lee – 1

Frankie Kazarian – 1

Go Shiozaki – 1

Hajime Ohara – 1

Hirooki Goto – 1

Jay Briscoe – 1

Joey Ryan – 1

John Cena – 1

Kenoh – 1

King Cuerno – 1

Kofi Kingston – 1

Lio Rush – 1

Mark Briscoe – 1

Matanza Cueto – 1

Mike Bailey – 1

Samoa Joe – 1

Tajiri – 1

Tetsuya Naito – 1

The Brian Kendrick – 1

Tommy End – 1

Tomohiro Ishii – 1

Triple H – 1

Best Match/Best Possible Match

Overall: Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Matt Jackson
Lucha Underground: Fenix vs. Mil Muertes

New Japan Pro Wrestling: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Matt Jackson

NXT: Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

PWG: Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Matt Jackson
Pro Wrestling NOAH: Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takashi Sugiura

ROH: Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Matt Jackson

WWE: AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn