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Time to go home with this year's Best Of's...this year had some absolute classic matches at the top. Companies like the WWE, not necessarily known for their in-ring work, had incredibly strong years of in-ring work at all levels of their production. You had New Japan as the top company in the world with the best upper card in the world putting on fantastic matches every time out. The first quarter of the year saw All Japan really shine. The American Indie scene saw the rise of DragonGate USA which put on exceptional matches every time out whether they were in front of 100 people or 1000. The US also saw TNA become a legitimate #2 in the country with their best product, ever. My Best Of's featured matches from around the world...from ASW in the United Kingdom to AAA and CMLL in Mexico to DDT, All Japan, and New Japan in well...Japan, to here Stateside. So, whenever you get bored of Monday Night RAW or you can't find something you like, make sure you hit up these columns that showcase the very best the world of pro wrestling has to offer. If you can't find something you like, you aren't looking hard enough.
Last One Out
John Cena v. Brock Lesnar
Extreme Rules 2012
There is a special ranking for John Cena v. Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules 2012. I could have easily slotted it in my Honorable Mentions for the WWE and it would have just been there. But, there was something about this match. Maybe it was the aura of realism that Brock Lesnar portrayed in the match. Maybe it was the fact that John Cena looked like he got beat up outside of a bar in Philadelphia for two weeks after. Or, maybe it was, for 23 minutes, the most realistic MMA-Wrestling hybrid match we've seen. The crowd, too, was insanely hot. The crowd was out for blood, and Brock Lesnar gave it to them. Lesnar would come out in this match (the first he's been in the WWE in a decade) exactly as he did in his MMA career, like a pull in a china shop. Lesnar would elbow Cena within the first 15 seconds of the match and bust Cena wide open. The crowd would go bonkers. The presentation by the WWE was, too, fantastic. The consistant replays of watching Cena get busted open and Lesnar's violent onslaught made the event that much better. This could have been a Top 3 match of the year...unfortunately, booking decisions sometime kill potential perfection. The wrong guy won, and it was done so cliche. Fortunately, for 23 minutes, the match was so surreal, it kind of deflects attention away from the awful Cena flash win. It was a brutal affair that blurred the line of what is real and what is fake and it took the WWE to a place they just don't go.
10.
Johnny Gargano (c) v. Akira Tozawa v. AR Fox v. Ricochet
DGUSA Freedom Fight 2012
This is the best DGUSA has had a exemplory year. Delivering nearly every time out mixing the homegrown talent with the overseas stars as well as some new faces. It has grown to become, perhaps, the best American Indie promotion east of the Mississippi. Johnny Gargano has been their stalwart champion and perhaps their biggest star. Akira Tozawa is one of the best Indie wrestlers going. Fox and Ricochet are two of the US's finest high flyers. This match, along with #10 suffer from one thing...poor finishes...as in, the wrong guy won. Don't get me wrong, Gargano is an awesome champ, but the lead in to this match and in-match shenanigans should have left Gargano without the belt. Regardless, it was a great match featuring the best DGUSa has to offer. The crowd was hot. The action was insane.
9.
The Young Bucks v. The Super Smash Bros
PWG Death to All But Metal
A 20-minute War. The Super Smash Brothers would defeat the Young Bucks at DDT4 for the vacated PWG Tag Team Titles. A month later, they would meet in the rematch and it delivered on numerous levels. The Young Bucks have found themselves in string of weapons oriented brawls this year, but only one other would compare. This one is chalk full of wrestling awesomeness. Even the token ref bumps outside shenanigans make this match great. The crowd ate this match up and was dying over every 2.9 count. If you liked this match...wait for it...
You can see the entire PWG Pay Per view (it was one of the best of the year, so, go check it ALL out) HERE
8.
The Rock v. John Cena
WrestleMania XXVIII
Two of the biggest stars in the history of sports entertainment coming together for the main event in the biggest pay per view in the history of wrestling pay per views. Vince could not have asked for a better WWE Main Event Style matchup than what he got from these two huge stars. No, the match was not a technical masterpiece. No, the match was not a technical masterpiece. But, the match, and particularly, the ring work was concise, crisp, and told a story. Cena and Rock would work within their ability and together created a very strong match from a workrate perspective. When yo incorporate everything else, including the build, the result, the crowd, the venue, the storyline...it all worked. Despite a gassed Rock mid-way through the match, neither performance dipped. The crowd was A+ as the Miami crowd was hot for their hometown boy. This is why Vince McMahon created WrestleMania...for special moments like this.
7.
CM Punk (c) v. Daniel Bryan
Over the Limit 2012
Nothing short of a Wrestling Geek's dream match, CM Punk v. Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson, for my fellow American Indie Wrestling geeks) is a match I have wanted to see for YEARS. These two had some matches on RAW and Smackdown and while both were very good, they were matches that were used to push other storylines and thus, the finishes lacked. They would be put together in a bit of a mini-program over the summer and the results in the ring did not disappoint. This was a great example of what Pro Wrestling should be at this stage. They went around 25-minutes and each guy got over like a million bucks. Both guys came in very hot. Both guys left Death Valley hot. Great match and without question from these eyes, the best PRO WRESTLING MATCH the WWE offered in 2012.
6. and 5.
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) v. Kazuchika Okada
NJPW The New Beginning
Kazuchika Okada (c) v. Hiroshi Tanahashi
NJPW Dominion
My favorite feud (if you can call it that) of 2012 went to perhaps, two of the best going in the world today. Hiroshi Tanahashi is in the middle of a glorious, legendary title run. He has defended the IWGP Heavyweight Title - a title held by the likes of Big Van Vader, Tatsumi Fujinami, Shinya Hashimoto, The Great Muta, Kensuke Sasaki, Antonio Inoki, among others - more than anyone before or since. Here comes this young, curtain jerking upstart named Okada. Their first match would see Tanahashi portray the veteran, not taking Okada very seriously and as a result, making mistakes that Okada would take advantage of and ultimately win. It would snap Tanahashi's 11 match title defense streak and make Okada a made man super star overnight. They would meet again a few months later in Dominion. This match would come with the BIG MATCH feel. Tanahashi is Japan's Shawn Michaels. He always steps up to the plate and hits a home run on the biggest stage. This match was no different. Building on the first encounter, both men would learn and adapt for match number two. Great use of and booking of Okada's finisher in both matches. These two great matches would make a star, cement a legacy, and set up perhaps the biggest match of 2013 at Wrestle Kingdom 7 and wrestling's most organic Super Fight in over decade.
4.
The Super Smash Bros (c) v. The Young Bucks v. Future Shock
PWG Threemendous III
Holy fucking shit. First off, this is a GREAT. Yes, GREAT Ladder Match. Secondly, Holy fucking shit. Thirdly, this was a great brawl. Fourthly, Holy fucking shit. This match took place in front of MAYBE 500 people. MAYBE. And these three teams would nearly die trying to please them with perhaps the most ridiculous ladder match in years. The match is just an explosion of wrestling awesomeness. Creative and insanely stupid (in a great way!) spots. The Young Bucks have developed as a team and are incredibly over and hot. The Smash Brothers have been given the jetpack and are one of the hottest American Indie acts. This match is bananas from the jump. Within the first 2 minutes of the match, Matt Jackson of the Bucks ends up in the 12th row. They wrestle with no regard for human life around the ring. Surely, they expected to get sued by somebody. Chairshots were stiff (as well as everything else) and with not a single fuck given to the current concussion issues in professional sports. I really don't know how any of these guys were able to walk by the ten minute mark. All of this on ladders made of aluminum from your local hardware store that probably cost $29.99...not those reinforced special order ladders the WWE uses. Bonus points for the commentating and the crowd. Just awesome. I don't care if there is 500 people in the crowd and its just Kevin Steen swearing on commentary...its great. The referee gets clipped and knocked out in the match. There really was no need for a referee anyway...but I digress. This was a glorious train wreck.
3.
Kazuchika Okada (c) v. Tetsuya Naito
NJPW 40th Anniversary Show
There hasn't been a wrestler in the world that has improved more than Kazuchika Okada. There also hasn't been a wrestler that became a star to the level Okada has in 2012. He's a made man in Japan for the rest of his career. However, it wasn't simply because he beat Hiroshi Tanahashi. It is because during his title reign, Okada proved to be one of the best in the business. He's been booked like a million bucks. He's got a crazy "IT FACTOR". AND, he's been delivering in the ring. He legitimately hasn't had anything that approaches an average match all year. He's been on fire. He's got a finisher that is as well booked as a finisher has been in years. When he hits THE RAINMAKER...you die. Simple and effective. This was a great match against one of the top performers in all of New Japan for Okada. Great limbwork in this match, great psychology, and just awesome near-falls. Okada's first title defense versus Naito would cement his new found super stardom.
2.
Davey Richards (c) v. Michael Elgin
Ring of Honor Showdown in the Sun Day 2
Oh boy. Michael Elgin is perhaps America's breakout star of 2012. This was his breakout performance. An absolute epic match against ROH Champion Davey Richards. This was current ROH style personified. If you like it, you will absolutely love this match. If you don't, you will still like it. For as much shit that Davey Richards takes around the internet for his style, he certainly appears on plenty of "Best of..." matches every year. This match took place WrestleMania weekend, and was the runaway winner Match of the Weekend. If this match happened at WrestleMania, we would be talking about one of the greatest matches of All-Time. Elgin would play his role as "unbreakable" to a T. Davey played the resiliant champion perfectly. Everything was stiff and hard hitting. The nearfalls had the entire crowd shitting themselves. I was personally there at this event, and I fell out of my seat no less than 35 times. I jumped out of my seat approximately 66 times. Nigel's commentary on this event won him Ring Announcer of the Year, for me. He gets up out of his seat and does color for half the match. The crowd goes bonkers in this match, which is a testament to the performers in the ring, as the ROH event had several technical difficulties that took the crowd out of the event for a while. But, by sheer willpower, they grabbed the crowd by the balls and demanded they get the fuck up out of their seat.
1.
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) v. Minoru Suzuki
King of Pro wrestling 2012
There are a few matches that come along that I would say are the personification of the art of pro wrestling. In the same way we show future filmmakers and students films like Citizen Kane or On The Waterfront or The Godfather, can we show a match to a future wrestler and say this is how you present limb psychology or how you develop a complex match or how you generate sympathy. Of course you can. A few of these 101 level matches would be, for example Ric Flair versus Ricky Steamboat in 1989 or Steve Austin versus Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 or Shawn Michaels versus Razor Ramon at WrestleMania 10 or Samoa Joe versus Kenta Kobashi. They are matches that exemplify the art that is sometimes lost in pro wrestling. Tanahashi versus Suzuki is that kind of match. You can take these match, pop it into any DVD player at any wrestling Dojo in Japan and immediately show them what the art of in-ring storytelling is. Tanahashi regained his title earlier in the year from Okada and would face off again with Minoru Suzuki, a man the personifies "fucking crazy asshole" better than anyone in wrestling. He's just a dick. He yells out obscene things in the middle of the match. He bites and twists and really gives you an idea that this dude is legitimately violent. Kind of like your one double hard bastard of an Uncle or something. Either way, this match has been raved about around the 'net since it aired and for just reason. Great psychology, great SIMPLE storytelling, crisp ringwork, good spots. Just as straight forward a wrestling contest as you'll ever see. Really gives you hope that the art of pro wrestling is alive and well somewhere in the world. With all that said, I don't always like watching Citizen Kane on a Friday Night...sometimes, I love to pop in The Dark Knight or Heat...that's the Richards/Elgin match. If you ask me the same question again next week of which match was the best of 2012, I might tell you Richards/Elgin because I was there and it had be flipping out with near falls. But, for now, I prefer the subtlety and nuance of the this classic match.
Until next year!
Last One Out
John Cena v. Brock Lesnar
Extreme Rules 2012
There is a special ranking for John Cena v. Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules 2012. I could have easily slotted it in my Honorable Mentions for the WWE and it would have just been there. But, there was something about this match. Maybe it was the aura of realism that Brock Lesnar portrayed in the match. Maybe it was the fact that John Cena looked like he got beat up outside of a bar in Philadelphia for two weeks after. Or, maybe it was, for 23 minutes, the most realistic MMA-Wrestling hybrid match we've seen. The crowd, too, was insanely hot. The crowd was out for blood, and Brock Lesnar gave it to them. Lesnar would come out in this match (the first he's been in the WWE in a decade) exactly as he did in his MMA career, like a pull in a china shop. Lesnar would elbow Cena within the first 15 seconds of the match and bust Cena wide open. The crowd would go bonkers. The presentation by the WWE was, too, fantastic. The consistant replays of watching Cena get busted open and Lesnar's violent onslaught made the event that much better. This could have been a Top 3 match of the year...unfortunately, booking decisions sometime kill potential perfection. The wrong guy won, and it was done so cliche. Fortunately, for 23 minutes, the match was so surreal, it kind of deflects attention away from the awful Cena flash win. It was a brutal affair that blurred the line of what is real and what is fake and it took the WWE to a place they just don't go.
10.
Johnny Gargano (c) v. Akira Tozawa v. AR Fox v. Ricochet
DGUSA Freedom Fight 2012
This is the best DGUSA has had a exemplory year. Delivering nearly every time out mixing the homegrown talent with the overseas stars as well as some new faces. It has grown to become, perhaps, the best American Indie promotion east of the Mississippi. Johnny Gargano has been their stalwart champion and perhaps their biggest star. Akira Tozawa is one of the best Indie wrestlers going. Fox and Ricochet are two of the US's finest high flyers. This match, along with #10 suffer from one thing...poor finishes...as in, the wrong guy won. Don't get me wrong, Gargano is an awesome champ, but the lead in to this match and in-match shenanigans should have left Gargano without the belt. Regardless, it was a great match featuring the best DGUSa has to offer. The crowd was hot. The action was insane.
9.
The Young Bucks v. The Super Smash Bros
PWG Death to All But Metal
A 20-minute War. The Super Smash Brothers would defeat the Young Bucks at DDT4 for the vacated PWG Tag Team Titles. A month later, they would meet in the rematch and it delivered on numerous levels. The Young Bucks have found themselves in string of weapons oriented brawls this year, but only one other would compare. This one is chalk full of wrestling awesomeness. Even the token ref bumps outside shenanigans make this match great. The crowd ate this match up and was dying over every 2.9 count. If you liked this match...wait for it...
You can see the entire PWG Pay Per view (it was one of the best of the year, so, go check it ALL out) HERE
8.
The Rock v. John Cena
WrestleMania XXVIII
Two of the biggest stars in the history of sports entertainment coming together for the main event in the biggest pay per view in the history of wrestling pay per views. Vince could not have asked for a better WWE Main Event Style matchup than what he got from these two huge stars. No, the match was not a technical masterpiece. No, the match was not a technical masterpiece. But, the match, and particularly, the ring work was concise, crisp, and told a story. Cena and Rock would work within their ability and together created a very strong match from a workrate perspective. When yo incorporate everything else, including the build, the result, the crowd, the venue, the storyline...it all worked. Despite a gassed Rock mid-way through the match, neither performance dipped. The crowd was A+ as the Miami crowd was hot for their hometown boy. This is why Vince McMahon created WrestleMania...for special moments like this.
7.
CM Punk (c) v. Daniel Bryan
Over the Limit 2012
Nothing short of a Wrestling Geek's dream match, CM Punk v. Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson, for my fellow American Indie Wrestling geeks) is a match I have wanted to see for YEARS. These two had some matches on RAW and Smackdown and while both were very good, they were matches that were used to push other storylines and thus, the finishes lacked. They would be put together in a bit of a mini-program over the summer and the results in the ring did not disappoint. This was a great example of what Pro Wrestling should be at this stage. They went around 25-minutes and each guy got over like a million bucks. Both guys came in very hot. Both guys left Death Valley hot. Great match and without question from these eyes, the best PRO WRESTLING MATCH the WWE offered in 2012.
6. and 5.
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) v. Kazuchika Okada
NJPW The New Beginning
Kazuchika Okada (c) v. Hiroshi Tanahashi
NJPW Dominion
My favorite feud (if you can call it that) of 2012 went to perhaps, two of the best going in the world today. Hiroshi Tanahashi is in the middle of a glorious, legendary title run. He has defended the IWGP Heavyweight Title - a title held by the likes of Big Van Vader, Tatsumi Fujinami, Shinya Hashimoto, The Great Muta, Kensuke Sasaki, Antonio Inoki, among others - more than anyone before or since. Here comes this young, curtain jerking upstart named Okada. Their first match would see Tanahashi portray the veteran, not taking Okada very seriously and as a result, making mistakes that Okada would take advantage of and ultimately win. It would snap Tanahashi's 11 match title defense streak and make Okada a made man super star overnight. They would meet again a few months later in Dominion. This match would come with the BIG MATCH feel. Tanahashi is Japan's Shawn Michaels. He always steps up to the plate and hits a home run on the biggest stage. This match was no different. Building on the first encounter, both men would learn and adapt for match number two. Great use of and booking of Okada's finisher in both matches. These two great matches would make a star, cement a legacy, and set up perhaps the biggest match of 2013 at Wrestle Kingdom 7 and wrestling's most organic Super Fight in over decade.
4.
The Super Smash Bros (c) v. The Young Bucks v. Future Shock
PWG Threemendous III
Holy fucking shit. First off, this is a GREAT. Yes, GREAT Ladder Match. Secondly, Holy fucking shit. Thirdly, this was a great brawl. Fourthly, Holy fucking shit. This match took place in front of MAYBE 500 people. MAYBE. And these three teams would nearly die trying to please them with perhaps the most ridiculous ladder match in years. The match is just an explosion of wrestling awesomeness. Creative and insanely stupid (in a great way!) spots. The Young Bucks have developed as a team and are incredibly over and hot. The Smash Brothers have been given the jetpack and are one of the hottest American Indie acts. This match is bananas from the jump. Within the first 2 minutes of the match, Matt Jackson of the Bucks ends up in the 12th row. They wrestle with no regard for human life around the ring. Surely, they expected to get sued by somebody. Chairshots were stiff (as well as everything else) and with not a single fuck given to the current concussion issues in professional sports. I really don't know how any of these guys were able to walk by the ten minute mark. All of this on ladders made of aluminum from your local hardware store that probably cost $29.99...not those reinforced special order ladders the WWE uses. Bonus points for the commentating and the crowd. Just awesome. I don't care if there is 500 people in the crowd and its just Kevin Steen swearing on commentary...its great. The referee gets clipped and knocked out in the match. There really was no need for a referee anyway...but I digress. This was a glorious train wreck.
3.
Kazuchika Okada (c) v. Tetsuya Naito
NJPW 40th Anniversary Show
There hasn't been a wrestler in the world that has improved more than Kazuchika Okada. There also hasn't been a wrestler that became a star to the level Okada has in 2012. He's a made man in Japan for the rest of his career. However, it wasn't simply because he beat Hiroshi Tanahashi. It is because during his title reign, Okada proved to be one of the best in the business. He's been booked like a million bucks. He's got a crazy "IT FACTOR". AND, he's been delivering in the ring. He legitimately hasn't had anything that approaches an average match all year. He's been on fire. He's got a finisher that is as well booked as a finisher has been in years. When he hits THE RAINMAKER...you die. Simple and effective. This was a great match against one of the top performers in all of New Japan for Okada. Great limbwork in this match, great psychology, and just awesome near-falls. Okada's first title defense versus Naito would cement his new found super stardom.
2.
Davey Richards (c) v. Michael Elgin
Ring of Honor Showdown in the Sun Day 2
Oh boy. Michael Elgin is perhaps America's breakout star of 2012. This was his breakout performance. An absolute epic match against ROH Champion Davey Richards. This was current ROH style personified. If you like it, you will absolutely love this match. If you don't, you will still like it. For as much shit that Davey Richards takes around the internet for his style, he certainly appears on plenty of "Best of..." matches every year. This match took place WrestleMania weekend, and was the runaway winner Match of the Weekend. If this match happened at WrestleMania, we would be talking about one of the greatest matches of All-Time. Elgin would play his role as "unbreakable" to a T. Davey played the resiliant champion perfectly. Everything was stiff and hard hitting. The nearfalls had the entire crowd shitting themselves. I was personally there at this event, and I fell out of my seat no less than 35 times. I jumped out of my seat approximately 66 times. Nigel's commentary on this event won him Ring Announcer of the Year, for me. He gets up out of his seat and does color for half the match. The crowd goes bonkers in this match, which is a testament to the performers in the ring, as the ROH event had several technical difficulties that took the crowd out of the event for a while. But, by sheer willpower, they grabbed the crowd by the balls and demanded they get the fuck up out of their seat.
1.
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) v. Minoru Suzuki
King of Pro wrestling 2012
There are a few matches that come along that I would say are the personification of the art of pro wrestling. In the same way we show future filmmakers and students films like Citizen Kane or On The Waterfront or The Godfather, can we show a match to a future wrestler and say this is how you present limb psychology or how you develop a complex match or how you generate sympathy. Of course you can. A few of these 101 level matches would be, for example Ric Flair versus Ricky Steamboat in 1989 or Steve Austin versus Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 or Shawn Michaels versus Razor Ramon at WrestleMania 10 or Samoa Joe versus Kenta Kobashi. They are matches that exemplify the art that is sometimes lost in pro wrestling. Tanahashi versus Suzuki is that kind of match. You can take these match, pop it into any DVD player at any wrestling Dojo in Japan and immediately show them what the art of in-ring storytelling is. Tanahashi regained his title earlier in the year from Okada and would face off again with Minoru Suzuki, a man the personifies "fucking crazy asshole" better than anyone in wrestling. He's just a dick. He yells out obscene things in the middle of the match. He bites and twists and really gives you an idea that this dude is legitimately violent. Kind of like your one double hard bastard of an Uncle or something. Either way, this match has been raved about around the 'net since it aired and for just reason. Great psychology, great SIMPLE storytelling, crisp ringwork, good spots. Just as straight forward a wrestling contest as you'll ever see. Really gives you hope that the art of pro wrestling is alive and well somewhere in the world. With all that said, I don't always like watching Citizen Kane on a Friday Night...sometimes, I love to pop in The Dark Knight or Heat...that's the Richards/Elgin match. If you ask me the same question again next week of which match was the best of 2012, I might tell you Richards/Elgin because I was there and it had be flipping out with near falls. But, for now, I prefer the subtlety and nuance of the this classic match.
Until next year!
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