Every 4 1/2+ star match I see all year goes into this space; in addition, all of the 4 star WWE/TNA matches will also be ranked. With NOAH's near collapse, last year was a sizable step down in the number of matches that hit a 4 1/2 star level.
I do not anticipate a better match than Kenta/Sugiura will come at any point in the year; it may have been a couple of years since there's been a better match.
This is updated through August. No G1 matches made it; there were a half dozen, maybe eight 4 star, 4 and a quarter matches, but I didn't go all the way to 4 1/2 with any of them.
Now it's done. This is the final list.
1. Kenta v. Sugiura NOAH (May) 5
2. CIMA v. Shingo DGate (July) 4 3/4
3. Go v. Suwama AJPW (July) 4 1/2
4. Kotaro/Kanemaru v. Nakajima/Ibushi Diamond Ring(Aug) 4 1/2
5. Fujita Jr. Hayato v. Koji Kanemoto Mich Pro (June) 4 1/2
6. Marufuji v. Sugiura NOAH (June) 4 1/2
7. Ricochet/Doi v Tozawa/Hulk DGate (July) 4 1/2
8. Tanahashi v. Okada NJPW (Apr) 4 1/2
9. Kenny Omega d. Harashima DDT (Feb) 4 1/2
10. Kenta v. Marufuji NOAH (July) 4 1/2
11. Sugiura v. Nagata NOAH (Oct) 4 1/2
12. Kenta/Sugiura v. Nagata/Sekimoto NOAH (Nov) 4 1/2
13. Young Bucks v. AR Fox/Samuray Del Sol PWG (June) 4 1/2
14. Davey Richards v. Kyle O'Reilly ROH (Jan) 4 1/2
15. American Wolves v. Forever Hooligans ROH (Mar) 4 1/2
WWE
1. Brock Lesnar d. CM Punk (Aug) 4 1/4
2. MITB - Heels (July) 4 1/4
3. Daniel Bryan d. John Cena (Aug) 4 1/4
4. CM Punk v. John Cena (Feb) 4 1/4
5. MITB - All Stars (July) 4
6. Brock Lesnar v. HHH (Apr) 4
7. Daniel Bryan v. Antonio Cesaro (July) 4
8. Daniel Bryan v. Seth Rollins (June) 4
9. Kofi Kingston c. Antonio Cesaro (May) 4
10. CM Punk v. Chris Jericho (June) 4
11. CM Punk v. Undertaker (Apr) 4
TNA
1. Bad Influence d. Young Bucks (Jul) 4 1/4
2. Austin Aries v. Bobby Roode v. Jeff Hardy (Jan) 4
3. Austin Aries v. AJ Styles (Aug) 4
2 comments
Hard to argue with these lists - I'm going to try though! Personally I loved the Smackdown MITB match, but I felt the RAW MITB match was a bit disjointed and stop-start. I may have to rewatch.
How would you rate the Gauntlet match from RAW if it was presented as ONE match - i.e. Bryan vs Swagger/Cesaro/Ryback?
Finally, one honourable mention to the Ziggler/Cesaro match from Main Event a couple of weeks ago. Not sure it would make the top ten, but it was pretty damn good for a TV match!
Hmmmm, I don't know...maybe 4 1/4? The finish, which isn't really a big deal in the context of just Bryan/Ryback would be more of an issue if it were the culmination of the entire match.
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