By no means is this meant to be a fully exhaustive list of pro wrestling in 2015. I don’t watch a ton of Ring of Honor. I haven’t seen any of Chikara’s shows from this year. There’s a lot of wrestling in the UK that goes unnoticed by me. This list entails what I’ve seen: the best of WWE, NXT, New Japan, and Lucha Underground… with a PWG match thrown in for good measure.
If there are matches that I failed to include by virtue of not having seen them – by all means, let me know! Let’s spread the love for quality wrestling as we get ready to take on 2016.
Honorable mention:
Brian Cage vs Uhaa Nation vs Chris Hero vs Drew Galloway
IWF World Heavyweight Championship
IWF The Chosen One – WATCH
I had to include this match, though I’d honestly put a handful of other matches that didn’t make the cut, above it. But watching this match is the most fun I’ve ever had watching any wrestling in person. Four of the most talented wrestlers in the world came together to fight for a meaningless championship belt in a random Mesa, AZ, strip mall venue. They could’ve half assed it, but they sure didn’t. The match spilled into the crowd, through the concession stands, and even the women’s restroom. To catch it all, you had to leave your seat and run around with them. It was nuts. It’s why I love wrestling. Cage,
Uhaa (now Apollo Crews), Hero, and Drew… THANK YOU for that.
12. ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey vs Roderick Strong
PWG World Heavyweight Championship
PWG Mystery Vortex III – WATCH
All right, now on to the matches that you may have actually seen. I made an impulse decision to buy tickets to a wrestling show with no announced card, and it was one of the best things I did in all of 2015. I got to take a fun road trip with Derek to see our PWG friends, saw the formation of Mt Rushmore 2.0 (fuck those guys), and took in a LOT of quality wrestling action. Not the least of which was Speedball Bailey vs Roddy Strong. I’d heard the name ‘Speedball’ but I never saw him in action until this night. The sight of this scrawny white guy with a farmer’s tan wasn’t exactly intimidating. But then came the kicks. And the near falls. And holy crap, I was hooked.
11. Fenix vs Mil Muertes
Grave Consequences Match
Lucha Underground – WATCH
Lucha Underground quickly became a welcome addition to the world of pro wrestling, with a fresh take on storytelling and action that’s just a little different than we’re used to.
With Grave Consequences, Fenix and Mil Muertes held a different kind of casket match. They told a story through brutality and mind games, and it’s one of the first things that comes to mind when I think of how cool LU is to watch.
10. The Usos vs The Lucha Dragons vs The New Day
WWE Tag Team Championship
WWE TLC – WATCH
Going into this show, WWE had gotten pretty bad to be quite honest. RAW was really hard to watch, and so we didn’t expect much. These six men set the bar for the night VERY high. Unfortunately, no one else on the card could come close, but this memorable match – from Kalisto’s Salida del Sol to the antics of The New Day – made that night worthwhile.
9. Togi Makabe vs Tomohiro Ishii
NEVER Openweight Championship
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 – WATCH
Ah, Wrestle Kingdom 9. This isn’t the last you’ll hear of this event on my Top 12 list. Only four days into the year, and we had multiple MOTY candidates. This one wouldn’t ever win the top spot, but deserves recognition as one of the stiffest things I’ve ever seen (insert penis joke here). Chest chops, and forearm shots, and headbutts… Oh my!
8. Kyle O’Reilly vs KUSHIDA
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors – WATCH
Originally, it was rumored that KUSHIDA’s partner, Alex Shelley, was a favorite to win this year’s BOSJ. But with an unfortunate injury, it was time for KUSHIDA to step up. At the same time, O’Reilly was arguably one of the hottest wrestlers in the world going into the BOSJ finale. These two did not disappoint, in a match focusing on a mix of high flying and submissions.
7. Brock Lesnar vs Seth Rollins vs John Cena
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
WWE Royal Rumble – WATCH
Big fight feel. That’s what you want out of a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match. That’s what we got out of these three guys. Not just a spot fest, this match showed the best from each of them. By the time Seth channels HBK with that elbow drop, the crowd couldn’t sit down anymore. I don’t blame ’em! Bonus: did you notice that John Cena did a pop up powerbomb? Foreshadowing his big feud later in the year…
6. Pentagon Jr vs Vampiro
Cero Miedo Match
Lucha Underground Ultima Lucha – WATCH
Brutal. Brutal brutal brutal brutal brutal. This match was painful to watch at times, in a good way. And the story that was told? AMAZING. Can’t wait to see more from these two in 2016.
5. Brock Lesnar vs Undertaker
WWE Hell in a Cell – WATCH
Throw in the towel, Undertaker is DONE. That’s what I thought as we headed into this match, at least. But then came the rubber match with Brock Lesnar, and he convinced me otherwise. These two pushed each other and put on a heck of a show.
4. John Cena vs Kevin Owens
Champion vs Champion
WWE Elimination Chamber – WATCH
If Kevin Owens has been anything since joining the main roster, it’s that he’s been consistent. He’s a dick. He’s a brawler. He is driven, and doesn’t care what others think. And he backs it up. We thought he stood no chance in this match. He proved otherwise. I’d be remiss for not crediting Cena with the US Open Challenge series of matches – which this one was right smack dab in the middle of.
3. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kota Ibushi
IWGP Intercontinental Championship
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 – WATCH
Many people have this as their MOTY pick. I can’t fault them for that. Nakamura is a wrestling god, and this match made me a believer in Ibushi.
2. Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 – WATCH
Not going to lie. I had a hard time not putting this match as #1. In a bubble – wins, as a phenomenal showing of in (and out of) ring ability. But to be 100% honest, I’m not emotionally invested in either of these guys. I mean, maybe Okada.. He’s got an amazing dropkick, that guy.
1. Bayley vs Sasha Banks
NXT Women’s Championship
NXT Takeover Brooklyn – WATCH
This match had it all. The build up. The psychology. The spots. Expectations were high, but even they were exceeded. These ladies went all out and delivered not only the match of the year, but arguably the best women’s wrestling match ever. We’ll save THAT discussion for another day…
I’ve been excited about Bayley for some time, but she proved to me she is among the best in the world RIGHT NOW. After this match, she’d go on to perform in an Ironman Match with Sasha, she’d have a watchable match with Eva Marie, and she’d carry Nia Jax to a match worthy of 4+ stars. 2015 was a hell of a year for her, and one could say that I’m cautiously optimistic about her future on the main roster in 2016.
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Baley and sasha banks? interesting pick, but I would never have gone that way. AJ Styles Vs Okada at Dominion, and then again at King of Pro-wrestling were absolutely amazing. Personally, Johnny Mundo vs Prince Puma “all night long” with Lucha Underground was the MOTY for me. Followed by Tanahashi vs Okada at WK9.
Styles / Okada was awesome and I feel bad now about now having Styles in any of these matches. He’s been really really good.
#AllNightLong was a solid match, too, but I liked my other LU choices. This is hard!