Top Ten Matches of 2005
Posted by J.D. Dunn on 01.02.2006
Handpicked by celibate monks from the finest orchards in Tuscany.
This years awards were much more difficult than last year's. TNA really stepped up its wrestling, easily surpassing what the WWE was doing on a regular basis. RoH continued with its usual awesome string of matches, and this year, thanks to some great word-of-mouth, people actually took the time to track down their much-heralded match.
If this year taught us anything, it's that:
A) Tag team wrestling is pretty much dead in the WWE. Even in TNA, it's not the focus it once was.
B) AJ Styles has matured beyond mere spot-monkey and had a breakout year.
C) Samoa Joe is a Bill Brasky-level badass that can take a beating and shrug it off and also had a breakout year.
D) Shawn Michaels still has "it."
E) Sadly, and most controversially, Chris Benoit has fallen off since losing the title over a year ago. Of course, no one wants to say it, but the matches speak for themselves.
This year's list is a little out of whack. Last year, I included the TNA cage match between AMW and XXX, which happened in December. Because I wanted to streamline this, though, and start a little earlier, this list goes from December 1, 2004 to November 30, 2005. Let's just pretend that match happened in November of 2004 and never speak of it again.
Also, although I shouldn't have to explain it again, I got hate mail even after explaining it last time — if I haven't actually seen the match, I'm not going to list it. It would be silly of me to say that "#3 is one of the best matches I've never seen!" That's why Japan, RoH, and Velocity will seem underrepresented.
The Nominees are:
**** Matches
Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries — (ROH Final Battle 2004 — 12/26/04)
Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio — #1 Contender Match (WWE Smackdown — 2/10/05)
Edge vs. Shawn Michaels — Street Fight (WWE Raw — 2/28/05)
Triple H vs. Chris Benoit — (WWE Raw — 3/14/05)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio — (WWE WrestleMania XXI — 4/3/05)
Money in the Bank Ladder Match — (WWE WrestleMania XXI — 4/3/05)
Shawn Michaels vs. Shelton Benjamin — Gold Rush Tournament, (WWE Raw — 5/2/05)
Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka — (ECW One Night Stand — 6/12/05)
Samoa Joe vs. Chris Sabin — (TNA No Surrender — 7/17/05)
Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles — (TNA Sacrifice — 8/14/05)
****1/4 Matches
Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels — (WWE Vengeance — 6/26/05)
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels — Ironman Match, (TNA Against All Odds — 2/13/05)
****1/2
Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles — (TNA Unbreakable — 9/11/05)
Royal Rumble 2005 — (WWE Royal Rumble — 1/30/05)
****3/4
Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle — (WWE WrestleMania XXI — 4/3/05)
Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi — Ring of Honor (10/02/05)
10. Although we'd come to expect great things after their series at the end of 1999...that was 1999. Who would have thought that two guys known mainly for garbage wrestling would turn out a better performance than guys like Chris Benoit, Eddy Guerrero, and Rey Mysterio?
Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka (ECW One Night Stand — 6/12/05).
Joey Styles goes off on Mike Awesome, calling him a Judas and a piece of crap. He also says he hopes Awesome dies. Tell us how you really feel, Joey. Awesome gets a belly-to-belly and a springboard shoulderblock. He busts out a wicked over-the-top tope. Tanaka comes back with a chairshot. Foley ponders if the mullet was the source of Awesome's power. Styles runs down TNN as they set up a chair. Awesome delivers a running Awesome bomb through the table. A follow-up Awesome splash gets two. They do a sort of power wrestler Flair/Steamboat sequence that ends with an Awesome powerbomb. They go back and forth with chairs. Awesome gets three chairshots, all of which are no-sold by Tanaka. Tanaka blocks a charge and gets a Diamond Dust. Tanaka Tornado DDTs Awesome's face into a chair but winds up taking a gore. Awesome goes up and gets a chairshot off the top rope. Styles and Foley make fun of Awesome's WCW gimmicks as Awesome sets up a table. Tanaka reverses to a Tornado DDT for two. Even a drunken Bradshaw is cheering! They go up again, and Awesome POWERBOMBS HIM OFF THE TOP! That's the way he won back in 1999. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Awesome powerbombs Tanaka out of the ring, through a table and then planchas on top of him for the pin on the outside at 9:52. Foley puts over Awesome's performance and says he's redeemed himself after that horrible WCW run. This match didn't quite capture lightning in a bottle, but it came pretty close. I wouldn't be surprised if Mike Awesome got another run in North America. ****
Well, he didn't, but it wasn't from lack of effort. Say, Awesome vs. Samoa Joe would be pretty cool. Make it happen, TNA.
9. The last half of 2005 showed the surprising underachievement of Shelton Benjamin. Not as a worker so much as a character. He simply wasn't given that much to do. The following match, though, shows exactly what he can do when given the spotlight with another great worker. This match is known mostly for the finishing spot, which is unfortunate because there was some great work before the finish.
Gold Rush Tournament: Shelton Benjamin vs. Shawn Michaels.
This has possibilities. Lots of amateur wrestling to start, which Shelton dominates. Crowd is solidly behind Michaels despite his heeling it up. Michaels surprises him with a side rolling cradle for two. Shelton clotheslines them both to the floor as we go to commercial. We come back to Shelton countering a super backdrop suplex by shifting his weight and landing on Shawn. Shawn starts to battle back, but Shelton cuts that off with a Samoan Drop. Shelton gets two off his 3/4-Nelson backbreaker. Shawn hits the flying forearm and kips up. But Shelton kips up too! They run through the sunset flip series that finished Jericho last night. Michaels ends that with a chop. Shelton gets the Stinger Splash, but Michaels counters the T-Bone with a backdrop. Sweet Chin Music! NO! Shelton ducks and goes for his own kick. Shawn catches his foot, but Shelton hits the leg whip. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Shelton puts Michaels on the top rope, but Shawn shoves him off and delivers the elbow drop! He's tuning up the band! SWEET CHIN--NO! Shelton catches it and kicks Shawn Muay Thai-like in the face. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Shelton bounds to the top rope and delivers a flying cross chop to Michaels' head. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Michaels tosses Shelton to the apron to catch a breather. Shelton measures him and springboards towards him. Shawn sees him coming! SWEET CHIN MUSIC IN MIDAIR! ONE, TWO, THREE! Shelton's offense looked incredibly awesome here with Shawn bouncing all around the ring to sell it. The ending made perfect sense too as Shawn is the veteran who outsmarted the impetuous youth. Maybe Shelton's best singles match to date. ****
8. We next go all the way back to the end of 2004, in fact the "Final Battle" of 2004 to find a dominant Samoa Joe facing a challenge from a young upstart named Austin Aries. Although not the caliber of match that Joe had with CM Punk and later with Kenta Kobashi, this match nevertheless did RoH fans proud and told the great story of the passing of the torch.
ROH Heavyweight Title: Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries (Final Battle — 12/26/2004)
Aries attacks at the bell, but Joe flapjacks him and locks in a headscissors. Aries rolls through to the ropes and puts on his own headscissors. Joe gains the advantage, and Aries turtles. Joe blocks an Aries headlocks takeover and suplexes him, but Aries avoids a knee. Joe no-sells a shoulderblock and slaps Aries in the face. They criss-cross ending with an Aries dropkick to the knee. From there, Aries' strategy kicks in as he tries to take Joe's legs out from under him. He drops an elbow and segues to an STF. Joe's got a big weight advantage, though, so it's easy for him to crawl to the ropes. Joe counters a kneebreaker with an enzuigiri to take back the advantage. Joe nails the Facewash and starts casually beating the hell out of him. Aries comes back with a series of chops, but he can't get Joe up for the Brainbuster. Joe elbows him to the floor and blocks a tope with a boot to the face. He nails the Olé Kick and soaks in the adulation of the crowd. Another Olé Kick. The rule of three kicks in as Aries avoids the third and Joe catches his knee on the crowd barrier. Aries one-ups him, launching himself like a dart with a missile dropkick right to Joe's face. Aries springboards back in with an elbow, but Joe catches him in a chokehold. Aries rolls out of it but runs right into a powerslam. Joe blocks a huracanrana once, but Aries hits it anyway for two. Aries launches a few more dropkicks, but Joe unleashes an Island Driver (Running Emerald Frosion). ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Joe sets him up for the Muscle Buster, but Aries shoves him off the ropes and hits the 450-splash! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Joe elbows Aries to the floor, but Aries comes back in with a sunset flip into a Boston Crab! Aries blocks a lariat and gets an illegal modified wakigatame. Joe counters a brain buster and sets Aries on top. Muscle Buster? No! Crucifix bomb by Aries! There's your brainbuster! 450 SPLASH! ONE, TWO, THREE! Aries ends the ungodly long reign of Samoa Joe at 17:29. While this match had a decent storyline - the early legwork, Aries repeated attempts at the brainbuster - there were points where I just couldn't buy Aries offensive flurries. Unlike many other Joe matches in the past year, this one felt forced and artificial. That's not to say it's not a very good match, but that's the reason it's not a definite MOTY. ****
7. Samoa Joe would move on, and some would argue up, to TNA in mid-2005. There were some concerns about how he would be used, but those were immediately mollified when Samoa Joe came in and dominated the X-Division. In fact, as of this writing, he still hasn't been defeated in TNA and has finished off the top X-Division talent. Included among those is AJ Styles, who met Joe in the finals of the Super X-Cup.
Super X-Cup: Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles
X-Division Champion Christopher Daniels is on commentary. They tentatively hit each other with kick, and AJ sweeps the leg like good Cobra Kai. Joe returns the favor, booting AJ to the floor with a straight kick. AJ recovers only to get hit with a tope. Even Daniels looks to be in awe of Joe. AJ springboards off the crowd rail into a forearm. Back in, AJ snap suplexes him over for two and locks in the Muta-ish Indian Deathlock. He busts out the kip-up huracanrana, which is really a goofy move that probably needs to be retired. Joe hits the running knee and the Facewash. The paintbrush sets up a big kneedrop and a nonchalant two from Joe. Joe counters another Kipupcanrana to a powerbomb and a Boston Crab. As AJ starts to power out, Joe segues to the STF. AJ comes back with a desperation dropkick and a Quebrada Inverted DDT for two. Styles blocks the Musclebuster and gets two more off a springboard rolling senton. The Pele sets up a Styles Clash attempt, but Joe is too big. Joe disorients AJ with a rolling cradle, and AJ is so out of it he whiffs on another Péle attempt and lands on his face. See, now that's how you sell a move without turning it into a comedy spot. A Western Lariat gets two for Joe. They exchange a flurry of blows ending when AJ ducks a spinning backhand blow and nails Joe with the enzuigiri. AJ avoids the Musclebuster and drops Joe with an Argentine Cradle Bomb. Unfortunately, he also knocks the referee out on the way down. Daniels runs in and gives Styles an STO. Joe stares Daniels down long enough for AJ to recover and clothesline him out. That distraction is all Joe needs to finish with the Musclebuster and the Coquina Clutch at 15:06. What could have been a truly great match was marred by a few loopy spots from AJ and an unnecessarily clichéd ending. Still, it's 14 minutes of solid action, and that's pretty damned good. Thankfully, they would solve most of those problems and top themselves at the end of the year. ****
6. The next match also featured AJ Styles, this time taking on Christopher Daniels in a match that should have dissuaded criticisms that they were mere spot wrestlers with no sense of psychology or storytelling. While there are still a few critics out there, most people took notice that Styles and Daniels were now legitimate players in the wrestling world (AJ finishing in the Top Three of 411's "Wrestler of the Year" voting).
30-Minute Ironman Match: AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels (Against All Odds — 2/13/05).
First Fall: Mat wrestling to start. They reverse front facelocks over and over. AJ goes for a series of nearfalls, but Daniels stays ahead of him and ends the flurry with a lariat. Daniels avoids a dropkick once but gets cocky and runs into one on the rebound. AJ follows him to the floor with a huracanrana off the apron. They trade forearm blows before realizing they're going to get counted out. They go counter for counter off a series of Styles armdrags. Daniels appears to hurt his arm and bails. AJ feigns a springboard plancha before hitting it for real. Daniels actually gets back in first and blocks an AJ springboard with the referee. He elbows AJ to the floor before AJ can recover. Back in, Daniels knees AJ in the gut with a knee lift and backdrops him. AJ's injured ribs are definitely feeling the beating at this point. All of a sudden, AJ comes back with a rolling lariat and the Quebrada Inverted DDT for two. The suplex into a neckbreaker gets two more. Daniels catches AJ going up, but AJ counters a superplex and shoves Daniels to the mat. 450-SPLA-NO! Daniels gets the knees up and finishes the first fall with the ANGELS WINGS at 14:07. Daniels goes up 1-0.
Second Fall: Daniels goes after another pin as we hit the halfway point. When that doesn't work, he goes after AJ's ribs again. AJ comes back with a desperation backdrop. Daniels counters a hiptoss to an abdominal stretch, though. He keeps it from being boring by laying in shots to AJ's exposed ribs. AJ hiptosses out of it but gets hot shotted on the top rope. A front suplex gutbuster gets two for Daniels. AJ comes back with a handspring back elbow. AJ hits a fireman's carry backbreaker for two. SPRINGBOARD FOREARM! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Ten minutes left for AJ to tie it up. Daniels gives AJ his own Quebrada Inverted DDT for two. That's gotta smart. AJ kicks out of a Blue Thunder Driver. AJ ducks a charge and nails the Péle. AJ fires back but runs into a Samoan Drop right on those ribs. He avoids the Best Moonsault Ever and reverses an Inverted DDT to the Angels Wings! Tit for tat. ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Daniels kicks out of his own finisher! Daniels hauls AJ up and goes for a backdrop suplex, but AJ floats over him into a surprise schoolboy rollup for three! AJ ties it up at 23:58. Match tied at 1-1.
Third Fall: An incredulous Daniels knocks AJ to the floor and tells West and Tenay that that's his belt on their desk. He posts AJ, busting him open against the steel. Back in, Daniels zeros in on that open wound and batters it with right hands. Running STO by Daniels! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! A headbutt to the wound gets two more. Daniels goes for the Angels Wings, but AJ turtles. AJ fires back but runs right into the Flatliner into the Koji Clutch! Time is running down, though. AJ…just holds out for the time limit. (30:00)
Sudden Death: Daniels demands sudden death, and Dusty Rhodes grants it. A reverse bulldog gets two for Daniels. He shoves AJ to the corner and screams in his face. AJ shoves him away on a huracanrana. AJ tries his own off the second rope, but Daniels rolls through into a sunset flip. AJ rolls through that into the STYLES CLASH! ONE, TWO, THREE! AJ wins at 1:37 of overtime. Despite some moments of lapsed psychology (which is still better than most matches), this match was a coming out party of sorts for two guys who were maligned as nothing more than spot wrestlers. ****1/4
5. Sequels rarely live up to the original, and this match was no exception. Actually, I think I used that line last year, but it still holds true. Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle delivered one of the best one-on-one matches in the last five years at WrestleMania, so when they wound up on the same brand, it seemed only natural that they should meet up again at Vengeance. The result, while not as successful as their first match, wound up stealing the show.
Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE Vengeance — 6/26/05).
Angle rides him down, but Michaels makes the ropes. It's a very cautious match until Shawn gets a hiptoss and armdrags Kurt down into an armbar. Angle reverses to one of his own and knees his bicep. Shawn gives him a few stiff chops to the chest. Angle shoots the legs and grabs a single leg crab. Michaels is already in the ropes. Shawn gets a sunset flip, but Angle rolls through to the anklelock. Shawn squirms away and clotheslines Angle to the outside. Shawn follows him to the outside where Angle tries to Angleslam him through the announce table. Shawn slips away but misses a swing and Angle gives him a German Suplex on the table. Angle brings him back in and gets a series of two counts off a neckbreaker. The crowd gets on Angle as he corners Shawn and knocks him around with a pair of uppercuts. Michaels wins a slugout, but Angle boots him and throws him into the turnbuckle with a powerbomb. Ouch. Angle slows it down a bit with a chinlock. Michaels elbows out of it but misses a charge. Angle German Suplexes him for two. Michaels counters the Angleslam to an armdrag, but Angle levels him with a clothesline. Shawn blocks a super belly-to-belly, but Angle catches him with a regular one for a two count. Angle slaps on a naked choke. Michaels backdrops him for two. There's the flying forearm. Kip up! Atomic drop. Clothesline. Scoop Slam. Even the "smart" frat guys are behind Shawn now. FLYING ELBOW DROP! He tunes up the band, but Angle simply knocks him down with a clothesline. Angleslam? No! Shawn counters to a Tornado DDT. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Shawn tries a vertical suplex, but Angle counters to a German Suplex. A replay shows that Shawn gives Angle a particularly nasty elbow to counter another one. ANGLESLAM! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Shawn counters the Anklelock to a small package for two. Angle gets it for real, but Shawn rolls him into the referee. Angle backdrops Shawn over the top, injuring his knee. A pair of trainers run down to check on Shawn, but Angle pulls him back in. Shawn tries a surprise Sweet Chin Music, but Angle ducks and grabs the Anklelock. Shawn rolls through…Angle holds on. Shawn rolls through again…Angle holds on again. Shawn holds out long enough to roll Angle's shoulder into the ringpost. Kurt turns around into SWEET CHIN MUSIC. Both guys are out of it. The referee is about to count both men down, but Michaels rolls into a cover at a nine count. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Angle rolls his shoulder. He heads up to the top rope and comes off… INTO SWEET CHIN MUSIC! ONE! TWO! THREE! (26:12) Not quite on the level of their phenomenal WrestleMania match, but it's the best WWE match since then. ****1/4
4. For the second straight year, the WWE managed to put on a spectacular Royal Rumble match highlighted by match-ups you just don't see every day and a sense that either one of two guys could win the match, but no one knew which! Unfortunately, the WWE would botch that with a screwy finish that saw both guys win at one point before the match was restarted. But that whole mess in the final minute or so shouldn't derail what was 58 minutes of fine action.
Royal Rumble Match.
Eddy Guerrero is #1. It would be funny if Flair was #2. Oh, instead it's Chris Benoit at #2! Talk about bad luck. Ross says he could watch Benoit and Guerrero wrestle every day. JR for President! They actually choose to wrestle here. Big "Eddy!" chant. Daniel Puder is #3. He gets on the stick and promises the crowd that they'll witness history. That doesn't impress Benoit and Guerrero, so they turn their hostilities on the rookie. They take turns chopping him in the corner, one-upping each other along the way. Double suplex. Backdrop suplex by Benoit. Triple Verticals by Guerrero. Hardcore Holly is #4. Welcome to Fuckedville, California. Population - Puder. Holly asks Benoit and Guerrero to stand aside while he beats on the rookie. Finally, Benoit and Holly trade him around like a pack of smokes at an AA meeting. Alabama Slam on Puder! Holly tosses Puder. Hurricane comes down at #5 as Benoit and Guerrero team up to throw Holly out. Guerrero turns on Benoit but fails to eliminate him. Hurricane delivers the blockbuster to Guerrero. Benoit jumps Hurricane and whips him into Guerrero who backdrops him over, eliminating him.
Kenzo Suzuki is #6. Benoit and Guerrero set aside their differences once more to doubleteam Suzuki. Benoit turns on Guerrero this time and tosses him to the apron. Edge is #7. He spears Eddy in the corner. After a brief stop with Benoit, Edge goes after Eddy. Eddy hooks the ropes and hugs them for dear life. Edge gives up and goes after Benoit. Benoit makes him pay with a chop. Rey Mysterio is #8. He goes after Eddy and Benoit. Rey hits Edge with the wheelbarrow bulldog. Kenzo catches him, but Rey grabs the ropes and headscissors him over to the floor. Eddy hits tilt-o-whirl backbreakers on Rey and Benoit. IC Champ Shelton Benjamin is #9. He hits Edge with a reverse elbow. Backdrop on Eddy. This certainly is frontloaded in terms of workrate guys. Shelton tries to get Edge over. Rey chops his knee to break that up. Rey takes Shelton down with a headscissors. Booker T is #10. He goes after Edge with a spin kick. Benoit knees Guerrero in the gut. Rey takes Shelton over, but apparently neither man is eliminated. Eric Bischoff saunters down to root on his guys.
Chris Jericho is 11. He goes after everyone. Now, Teddy Long comes down. Looks like they might be booking something on the fly here. Luther Reigns is #12. Everyone separates into Raw guys vs. Smackdown guys and start snapping their fingers. Well, I made the finger thing up, but the crowd realizes what's going on and ERUPTS. It turns into a 4-on-4 brawl as Muhammed Hassan comes out at #13. Everyone in the ring stops and gangs up on the Muslim. 619 on Hassan. Everyone lifts him up in an oddly-Christlike image and tosses him over. Orlando Jordan is #14. OJ goes after Reigns to further the Angle vs. Bradshaw feud. Jericho lands on the apron, but Benjamin can't get him out. Scottie II Hottie is #15. The ring is starting to get too loaded here. Hassan jumps Scottie from behind and puts him in the Camel Clutch, taking his frustrations out on poor Scottie. Orlando gets tossed to the apron. Scottie never gets in, instead returning to the locker room.
Charlie Haas is #16. He goes after Benoit and Jericho. Booker T ends any momentum he had. Booker gets fired up and eliminates both Luther Reigns and Orlando Jordan. RUMBLEROONIE! Eddy doublecrosses him and pulls down the ropes, sending Booker over off a Rey dropkick. Eddy tries to smooth things over with Book as Benjamin hits Rey with the T-Bone. Rene Dupree is #17. He goes after Rey, but Charlie Haas breaks it up. Haas and Benjamin team up to hit the stretch into a vertical splash. That's great to see. Edge ducks under a Stinger Splash. Shelton lands on the top rope, but Edge pushes him out. Simon Dean is #18. Rey ranas Eddy down but misses the 619. Dean gets his headphones and weight belt on as Edge tosses Guerrero. Lots of heel heat for that. Shawn Michaels is #19. He clotheslines Dean over. Haas and HBK go at it as the crowd chants for Guerrero. Edge tries unsuccessfully to corner former partner Rey Mysterio. Tazz tries to get JR to say "quicker 'n a hiccup. Michaels tosses Haas. Kurt Angle is #20. He hits Benoit with a German Suplex. Belly-to-Belly on Rey. German Suplex on Jericho! Angleslam to Edge! HBK waits for him to turn around…SWEET CHIN MU-NO!! Angle counters to the anklelock. Michaels rolls through and superkicks Angle moments later. Michaels and Rey Mysterio go at it. Shawn needs to go to Smackdown!
Jonathon Coachman is #21. He hits Benoit once and scurries to the corner. If Coach eliminates Benoit, I will seriously riot in the streets. Well, it's kind of cold out. I'll glower. That's it. I'll glower. Mysterio and Jericho take each other to the apron but sneak back in. Mark Jindrak is #22 as Kurt Angle returns and apparently eliminates Shawn Michaels. He slams Michaels on the ring steps and puts the anklelock on him, setting up their dream match at Mania. Viscera is #23 as we enter the requisite "How do you eliminate him?" portion of the match. Jindrak throws Rey over, but he lands on the apron. Paul London is #24. He sprints to the ring and goes after Dupree. Dupree yanks him down by the hair and does the FRENCH TICKLER! Jericho interrupts the Tickler and tosses Dupree. Jericho tries to mock the French Tickler, prompting Tazz to get a nice dig: "He can't dance or sing!" John Cena is #25. He hits anyone and everyone. Cena and Vis go at it. Vis charges, so Cena backdrops him over, eliminating him.
Gene Snitsky is #26. He shoulderblocks everyone down. Paul London, of all people, jumps on his back with a sleeper. Snitsky dumps him to the apron. London avoids a swing, but a second one sends him spiraling off in a 360°. OH…DEAR…JESUS! Cena goes for the FU on Snitsky, but Snitsky slips out and boots him down. Kane is #27. He chokeslams everything in sight as the EMTs take London out on a stretcher. Jindrak goes over. Coach sneaks in a shot and runs away. Batista is #28, getting the Austin pop. There goes Snitsky. Demonbomb to Kane. Jericho flies at Batista, but Dave catches him and throws him over. Christian is #29, which makes Flair #30. Christian goes after Cena to continue their battle rap. Rey hits Kane with the 619. Cena picks Kane up and FU's him over. Cena and Rey seem to make a pact. Ric Flair is #30. Benoit has now survived from the beginning through #30 in two consecutive Rumbles. That's a pretty big achievement. Batista spinebusters Coach and lets Flair eliminate him. Flair whips Christian into another Batista spinebuster. Batista presses Christian onto Tomko. Benoit corners Flair with a series of chops. Batista makes the save with a spinebuster. Flair and Batista team up to throw Benoit out after nearly 50 minutes. Flair doublecrosses Batista but tries to convince him it was an accident. Edge and Rey team up to double dropkick Flair. Edge picks Flair up and eliminates him.
That leaves Batista, Edge, Cena and Rey as your final four. Edge spears Batista. He tries the same on Rey, but Rey leapfrogs him. Edge tosses Rey to the apron. Rey survives, but Edge spears him to the floor, eliminating him. Cena grabs Edge and tosses him moments later. That leaves Batista and Cena face-to-face. Cena picks Batista up in the FU, but can't quite get him over. Batista counters to the Demonbomb, but Cena holds on. They both spill over the top, landing at the same time. Ah nuts. The Raw refs think Batista won while the SD refs think Cena won. Vince McMahon stumbles out like a doofus and restarts the match after several false announcements. Batista blocks the FU and spinebusters Cena once more. There goes Cena. Batista is your winner!! One cluttered spot and a goofy finish held this back from last year's gold standard. The highs were higher, but the lows were lower. ****1/2
3. Although they didn't know it at the time, TNA threw together the three men who would carry the promotion's mantle through the last half of the year. The result was one of the best spotfests of the year.
X-Division Title: Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles.
Daniels was the longest-reigning X-Division Champion to that point. It wasn't from his sharp intellect, though, as he proves by talking trash to both guys early on. They decide to have a kicking contest with Daniels as the post. Daniels SCREAMS for them to stop kicking him, so they double kick him. That's a great spot, especially since Daniels does have a sort of weasally heel credibility. AJ suddenly goes hard and fast for the nearfalls on Joe, but he winds up in the Rings of Saturn. Daniels breaks it up and hits AJ with a flying kick. Joe tries to whip AJ into Daniels, but Daniels avoids. AJ tosses Daniels into Joe who gives him a Bossman slam. AJ fires stiff kicks at Joe and a flying forearm on Daniels. He tries the same with Joe, but Joe catches him in mid-air with a belly-to-belly. Facewash follows, but Daniels knocks Joe to the floor and follows him out with a moonsault. AJ sees them brawling and flies out on both of them with a springboard Shooting Star Plancha. AJ and Joe get back in, and AJ hits him with a dropsault. Joe whips Daniels to the corner who stops short and monkey flips AJ into a huracanrana on Joe. I appreciate the effort, but that's just silly. Looked cool, though. Daniels backdrops AJ to the floor, eliminating him from the match for a bit. Daniels tries a reverse rollup but rolls himself right into the Coquina Clutch. AJ sprints back up and breaks it up with the Spiral Tap. Daniels tosses him again and hits Joe with the Flatliner. AJ crotches Daniels as he's trying the Best Moonsault Ever. Daniels gets caught in the tree-of-woe and winds up getting kicked by both men. Joe boots AJ in the mush and drops a senton splash on him for two. Joe is frustrated. Daniels is groggy. AJ is a pancake. Daniels recovers and hits Joe with a Death Valley Driver. AJ breaks up the count. To the outside, AJ and Daniels take turns avoiding each others flying attacks. Joe sees them brawling and flies over the top with a corkscrew plancha. Back in, Joe sets up for the Muscle Buster on Daniels. They all three wind up on top, and Joe backdrops them all to the mat. AJ and Joe exchange strikes ending when Joe drops him on his head with a German Suplex. MUSCLE BUSTER! Daniels brings the belt in and swings it at Joe, but Joe catches him with a lightning quick powerslam. Daniels begs off and hits an enzuigiri to the belt into Joe's face. Joe falls to the outside. Daniels gets two off the Blue Thunder Driver on AJ. The Uranage sets up the BME, but Joe has recovered. Daniels knocks him out again with the Last Rights (Roll of the Dice). AJ Quebradas into an Inverted DDT for two. Daniels superplexes AJ, but they're both out. Joe gets two on Daniels then two on AJ. Joe's powerbomb on Daniels leads to an STF. That's a great sequence. Daniels makes the ropes. Joe sees AJ coming and goes after him, but AJ hits him with the Pele and the Argentine Slam. Daniels slams AJ onto Joe, but AJ comes back with an insanely complicated counter to the Styles Clash. Joe makes a dubious save and tosses AJ. Daniels avoids a Samoa Joe charge, sending him to the floor as well. Daniels picks up AJ for the Angels Wings, but AJ counters to a backdrop and holds on for the pin at 22:48. This match suffered from the usual Triple Threat problems (Hit a move. Make a save. Hit a move. Make a save.) as well as the regular X-Division problems ("Hey, didn't he just take a finisher a second ago?") but the innovative spots and intense work more than made up for the flaws. Samoa Joe didn't figure into the fall and is still undefeated, by the way. ****1/2
2. Only a brief period of listlessness about 1/3 of the way through the match dragged this down. In many ways, it's superior to the #1 match in that a viewer could come in cold and get exactly what was going on and why everything was happening. The action is unparalleled and, unlike many others on the list, it has that intangible quality of the crowd having a legitimate interest in the outcome of the match.
Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle (WWE WrestleMania — 4/3/05)
Shawn slaps him right in the mug to start! Angle takes him down into an amateur ride. They wind up in the ropes for the break. Shawn pulls him down into a side headlock. Crowd gets behind Angle. Angle backdrop suplexes him, but Shawn maintains control. Now it's a dueling chant by the crowd as Shawn rides him back down and gives him a cauliflower ear with the headlock. Angle forces to the corner, but Shawn takes him right back down. That segues to a short-arm scissors. Angle powers up, but Shawn counters to a sunset flip for two. Back to the headlock. Ross and Lawler marvel at how HBK has dominated the wrestling aspect against Angle. The ref has to pull Michaels off Angle as they wind up in the ropes. That enables Angle to blindside Michaels and put him in the anklelock. Shawn rolls out of it, and they go over the top. Shawn sets up the announce table, but Angle stops him and Angleslams him into the turnbuckle! Sick. Angle goes to work on the back and gets a series of two counts. He wraps his legs around Michaels in a bodyscissors. Shawn fights out of it but falls victim to a belly-to-belly suplex. Another gets two. They slug it out, and Shawn slaps him in the face again! Angle makes him pay by ripping his head off with a clothesline. Angle goes for a belly-to-belly off the second rope, but Shawn shoves him to the mat. Michaels goes up for the flying elbow drop…ANGLE MOVES! Angleslam? NO! Michaels armdrags out of it. Angle charges, so Michaels dips the shoulder and backdrops him over the top. Shawn follows him out with the FLYING CROSSBODY TO THE FLOOR! Crowd is rooting for Angle again. This is like the anti-Brock/Goldberg. Angle catches Shawn on the ropes and tries to German Suplex him off the apron through the announce table. Neither man budges, so the ref tries to pull them apart. Michaels lowblows Angle to a heel reaction. Angle winds up on the Smackdown announce table, so Shawn springboards into a corkscrew splash -- and the table doesn't break! Both men crawl back in before the ten count. Michaels wins a slugfest and gets the flying elbow. KIP UP! Crowd is split 50/50. Michaels with an atomic drop. He slams Kurt and goes up for the flying elbow drop. This time it hits! Michaels tunes up the band. SWEET CHIN MUS-NO!! Angle counters to the ANKLELOCK!!! Shawn crawls to the ropes but can't make it. He rolls through, but Angle hangs on. Shawn reaches for the ropes…and makes it. Mixed reaction for that. Angle goes for the Angleslam, but Shawn counters to a sunset flip. Angle rolls through that into the anklelock! Holy crap! Shawn rolls into a victory roll position! ONE, TWO, THRE---NO! Shawn with another attempt at Sweet Chin Music! NO! Angle grabs the ankle and reverses to an Angleslam! He goes up for the moonsault. MICHAELS MOVES! Angle is out, so Shawn goes up. Angle suddenly pops up and delivers the ANGLESLAM OFF THE TOP! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Michaels kicks out again. Kurt grabs Michaels by the face and yells at him to tap out. Michaels shrugs him off and hits SWEET CHIN MUSIC! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO? Kurt dubiously gets his shoulder up right at three, which Ross and Lawler pass off as the fault of a biased Smackdown referee. Shawn struggles to his feet. Suddenly, Angle pops up and grabs the anklelock. Shawn pushes him away, but Angle holds on. Again, Angle holds on. Michaels lunges for the ropes, but Angle pulls him back to the center. Michaels lunges again, but Angle lays down and scissors the leg. Michaels holds out as long as he can, but after a good forty-five seconds, he has no choice but to tap out at 27:25. Everything people expected and more. I'm not saying it was flawless, but it's a definite front runner for Match of the Year. ****3/4
1. Although exaggerated by some hardcore RoH fans as "the greatest North American match ever," the following match still managed to be refreshing return to wrestling without any goofy sidetracks. While it probably shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone who has been following these guys for any length of time, with the online community raving that virtually every RoH main event is ****+, there was a likelihood that this match would fall victim to the equivalent of RoH fans "crying wolf." The fact that it didn't should tell you just how good it really is. While not as accessible to the average fan (both in terms of content and actual availability), the #1 match is the year's best example of everything a wrestling match should be.
Kenta Kobashi vs. Samoa Joe (10/01/05).
A gentlemanly handshake starts us off, and it should become apparent that this is a different Samoa Joe than you see in TNA. From there, the geniality ends and we find ourselves with a very "All Japan in the late-1990s" sort of match right here on our soil. Joe sends a message right away with a few stiff kicks and a slap right in Kobashi's face. Kobashi responds with a stiff chop to remind Joe who he's in there with. Joe knocks him to the outside and follows with a tope. The "smart" crowd has already started a "This is awesome!" chant. Joe decides to cater to their whim, busting out a Stretch Plum (a favorite move of longtime Kobashi nemesis Toshiaki Kawada). He gives those in the front row a little knowing grin. Joe loses a battle chops and is forced to switch strategies with an enzuigiri. Figuring he had success earlier, Joe uses another Kawada move — the rapid-fire kicks to the face. Kobashi hulks up but Joe stays on top with yet another Kawada fave — the paintbrush kick/chop combo. You can't say Joe hasn't done his homework. Kobashi rolls to the outside where Joe sets him up and delivers the Olé Kick. Kobashi blocks a second attempt with a chop, though, and belts Joe all the way into the crowd. A DDT on the floor follows. Back to the ring, Kobashi gives Joe the Irish Whip Knees and gets two off a series of straight chops near the throat. Joe buys a breather by countering a suplex, and they trade blows. With each chop, a vivid cloud of sweat sprays off each man's chest. Kobashi wins the battle and locks in a stepover facelock. Now it's time for Kobashi to start running through his usual arsenal. He hits a series of chops to Joe's neck, but Joe counters a spinning chop to the STO and squashes Kenta flat with a Senton splash. Both men are spent. Joe recovers first and uses another move from an All Japan favorite; this time it's Genichiro Tenryu's punch and chop combination. TUNBUCKLE POWERBOMB! That leads to the Face Wash (running kick across the face). MUSCLE BUSTER! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Kobashi kicks out at two, frustrating Joe with his resilience as he has so many opponents over the years. Joe lays Kobashi out with a powerbomb and, when that fails to get the pin, segues to an STF. Kobashi scratches and scrapes his way to the rope, but Joe quickly cuts that off by switching to a Crippler Crossface to keep Kobashi's arm tied up. Kobashi reaches with his other arm, only to have Joe chickenwing it! With one last desperate motion, Kobashi lunges his foot onto the bottom rope. That's an incredible sequence that made this match in my eyes. Joe charges in for the kill but runs right into a chop from Kobashi. HALF NELSON SUPLEX! They tease a double countdown with Kobashi getting to his feet at 8. Kobashi turns Joe's chest into hamburger with a series of chops. I love how he slows down as if tiring out and then comes back with one last burst of chops. Joe's chest is starting to blister now. Kobashi hauls him up and delivers another Half Nelson Suplex. ONE, TWO, THRE-Joe gets his hand on the bottom rope. Yet another head-dropping Millenniumplex would seem to be enough, but it only serves to fire Joe up even more. He erupts with a series of slaps and charges only to have Kobashi catch him coming with the BURNING LARIAT. Kobashi gets the pin at 22:14. There were a number of things going against the match, not the least of which was the crowd's desire to get itself over rather than just sitting and watching a match. As with many great matches that have to overcome an apathetic crowd, this match managed to turn most of the "smarts" in the audience into cheering fanboys. Comparing this to a WWE match, where there are so many other factors at play, is like comparing apples to oranges. For that reason, the rating is compared to other like-minded puro matches and winds up at ****3/4.
