Hello and welcome to WrestleTalk - I’m Oli Davis.
Just four days into the year, Dave Meltzer broke his own ratings system by awarding Kazuchika
Okada vs Kenny Omega 6 out of 5 stars. According to him, it was the finest match he’d ever
seen. Until June, where he gave their second encounter 6 and a ¼ stars.
Sticking to a consistent semi-objective ranking system is hard. What happens when the entire
artform levels up? If I thought Elias vs Kalisto was a four star match on Raw, how much was
that to do with me being drunk at the time? So take my 10 best matches of 2017 with a
proviso: this is very much a subjective list, and I’m an idiot.
10. Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg, WWE WrestleMania 33
Lesnar vs Goldberg had an otherworldly sense of star power, their feud masterfully booked
since Lesnar’s shock 1 minute 26 second defeat at Survivor Series 2016. Their WrestleMania
33 match was Ironman levels of duration in comparison, going an incredible 4 minutes
45. But that’s exactly what it needed to be - an explosive brawl, big move after big
move. This was unlike anything else on the card, and was one of WWE’s last real Megastar
dream matches. But anything WWE can do, Ring of Honor can
do more patiently over an even longer period of time.
9. Christopher Daniels vs. Adam Cole, ROH 15th Anniversary Show
Goldberg and Lesnar’s rematch had a 13 year build from their WrestleMania XX encounter.
Christopher Daniels becoming Ring of Honor’s world champion was two years longer.
Daniels wrestled on Ring of Honor’s first ever show in 2002. A decade and a half later,
he had a chance to win the promotion’s top title for the first time, but the odds were
stacked against him. He was going against the Bullet Club’s Adam Cole - meaning the
rest of Bullet Club would probably interfere. And they now counted Daniels’ long-time
tag partner Kazarian amongst them, who had turned heel several weeks before.
The match told a terrific story, with some brilliant twists and turns, and a raw, feelgood
ending. 8. Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Dream, NXT
TakeOver: War Games While Goldberg and Lesnar told their action
through physicality, and Daniels and Cole through emotion, Aleister Black and Velveteen
Dream had a fascinatingly cerebral encounter at NXT TakeOver: War Games using psychological
oneupmanship. From Dream’s Rick Rude-inspired, mind game-playing
tights, to the resolution in the post-match angle, Black and Dream told a brilliant, character-based
story, with both men ending the night more over than they were coming into it.
7. AJ Styles vs. John Cena, WWE Royal Rumble 2017
Several weeks after Okada and Omega had the Best Match of All Time (Dave Meltzer-trademarked),
AJ Styles and John Cena went out to go one better. And they came pretty darn close.
John’s big-match template of finisher/kick out/finisher/kick out was given new life by
AJ’s in-ring skill, and Cena tied Ric Flair’s fictional record at 16 world championships.
It’s just a shame it was a transitional reign, as he dropped it several weeks later
at Elimination Chamber. 6. Keith Lee vs Tomohiro Ishii, RPW Global
Wars: Night 1 Yes, I’m that guy. I’ve put in a match
from an independent show I went to in London. But if you were there, too, you’d probably
be screaming at me for not ranking this higher. Keith Lee is 6 foot 3 and 330 pounds. He’s
built like a fridge-freezer unit. Tomohiro Ishii is 5 foot 7, 220 pounds. He’s built
like a pitbull. Meaning I saw a fridge-freezer unit do a moonsault
of the second rope. I saw a pitbull suplex a fridge-freezer unit. I saw a pitbull and
fridge-freezer unit chop the hell out of each other. I’ve never seen anything like it.
5. Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada, NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo
We’re in the top 5 now. Which means a lot of this guy, Kazuchika Okada.
Just one month after having his 6 star match with Kenny Omega, Okada had a completely different
kind of fight with the insanely captivating presence that is Minoru Suzuki.
Their New Beginning match was almost performance art, where Suzuki destroyed Okada’s knee
for 40 minutes. That’s a long time. But it worked, because Okada’s selling is so
good. When everyone was screaming at Okada to give up when Suzuki had him locked in the
match’s 20th knee bar - including the referee - that’s up there with some of my most cherished
wrestling memories. 4. Marty Scurll vs Zack Sabre Jr., RPW High
Stakes 2017 Watch out. It’s that guy who’s including
indie show matches he went to again. Marty Scurll vs Zack Sabre Jr. went over 40
minutes at Rev Pro’s High Stakes show in January, and it’s amongst the best matches
I’ve ever seen live. It was absolutely captivating action throughout from two of my favourite
wrestlers in the world. 3. Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate, WWE UK Tournament:
Night 2 LUKE: Erm, Oli - you’ve spelt NXT TakeOver:
Chicago wrong? Go away, Luke. This isn’t your list.
While many people much prefer Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate’s NXT TakeOver: Chicago match,
personally, I absolutely adore their UK Tournament final.
This isn’t really a standalone entry, though, as it’s the culmination of two nights worth
of story. Dunne had injured Tyler’s arm before the match, so when Bate need to use
that arm to power out of a submission, the entire crowd got on their feet to will him
on. It was incredible and unforgettable babyface booking.
2. Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega, NJPW WrestleKingdom 11
Here it is - the match that broke Meltzer. Okada vs Omega in the main event of an already
very good WrestleKingdom show. And they still stole it. The dragon suplex off the top rope,
the moonsault to the outside, the table bump. They were all awe-inspiring spots. But those
final 15 minutes of back and forth action were something else. It wasn’t already just
match of the year - only 4 days in on January 4th - it was supposedly the greatest match
of all time. Until they wrestled again… 1. Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega, NJPW Dominion
2017 The Empire Strikes Back. The Godfather: Part
II. Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania. All sequels that outdid their predecessors. And now, Okada
vs Omega at New Japan Dominion. How do you top a six star match from just
earlier that year? By wrestling a full 60 minutes with the same pace and ferocity that
Lesnar and Goldberg did in 5. Okada and Omega put on a transcendent match, with the emotion
of Cody nearly throwing in the towel for Kenny, The Bullet Club cheering from outside - and
my spot of the year - Omega fainting, luckily dodging a Rainmaker from Okada. Absolutely
incredible. Check out more of our awesome videos by clicking
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I’ve been Oli Davis, and that was wrestling.