The 2017 Voices of Wrestling Match of the Year countdown continues with our look at matches #50-26 as we draw closer to the final 10 and the 2017 Match of the Year.

2017 Match of the Year Archives

Voices of Wrestling Match of the Year Archives

#50

South Pacific Power Trip vs Ringkampf

1/29

PROGRESS

Total Votes: 5

Overall Points: 18

Points Per Vote: 4

Highest Vote: 4th

“Everyone has that wrestling sweet spot. That type of match that’s extremely your bag and it scratches that itch that no other match does for you. South Pacific Power Trip and Ringkampf was that for me. I want a tag match that breaks down in to a complete mayhem sprint. This was my first exposure to SPPT and Dieter, and they blew me away. Everyone played to their strengths: WALTER was this bruising behemoth that couldn’t be taken down by sheer will alone, Dieter, a tremendous Regal-esque jerk torquing the New Zealanders for their lunch money, Cooper, an absolute dickhead of the highest order who took some insane risks, Banks played the hot tag and the terminator trope he overdid later this year to the T. And that’s not to forget Dahlia Black. It’s really a shame how much of 2017 was lost for Dahlia (and TK for this matter). Breaking her leg, her visa expiring, then TK breaking his ankle robbed the complete South Pacific Power Trip of nearly nine months. Dahlia was incredible on the outside and took an insane bump when the time called for it. An absolute banger of a match.” -Mike Spears

#49

Minoru Suzuki vs. Sanshiro Takagi

6/1

DDT

Total Votes: 3

Overall Points: 19

Points Per Vote: 6

Highest Vote: 3rd

“DDT has for years wanted to run the Tokyo Dome as part of a big anniversary celebration but it was always just a pipe dream for them. So trust Sanshiro Takagi to find another way to wrestle inside the Dome by setting up a Falls Count Anywhere Empty Arena match with Minoru Suzuki. The visual of Takagi and Suzuki fighting around a baseball field is funny enough but what makes this match is the amount of extra gags and cameos thrown in. Aja Kong demands the attention so she can sing the national anthem, Jun Kasai is working in the hallway as a janitor, Genichiro Tenryu is coaching baseball to other wrestlers, Meiko Satomura throws horrible pitches from the mound, Ken Ohka is begging the Dome staff to let him book a show inside the building, Gota Ihashi gets kicked down stairs at every opportunity, two people impersonating Tanahashi and Nakamura try to get involved. It is as much a 30 minute sketch comedy as it is a goofy wrestling match.” -Jamie O’Doherty

#48

SUWAMA vs. Kento Miyahara

10/9

AJPW

Total Votes: 4

Overall Points: 19

Points Per Vote: 5

Highest Vote: 5th

“I loved the Miyahara vs Ishikawa series but this match stands out in the greatness that was 2017 AJPW. This is the best match I have seen from Suwama and I feel he went from good to great this year. Miyahara is one of the best wrestlers in the world and this might also be his best match.” -Dave Musgrave

#47

KUSHIDA vs Hiromu Takahashi

1/4

NJPW

Total Votes: 7

Overall Points: 20

Points Per Vote: 3

Highest Vote: 5th

“Hiromu Takahashi is my MVP of 2017 and this is what kickstarted it all. The ticking time bomb’s absolutely explosive move set proved to be too much. The kicks, the flips, the near falls… all the spots were perfectly executed and this is what makes it my JR match of the year and one of my absolute favourites.” -Sarah Flannery

#46

Masaaki Mochizuki vs Susumu Yokosuka

11/3

Dragon Gate

Total Votes: 3

Overall Points: 21

Points Per Vote: 7

Highest Vote: 3rd

“Dating all the way back to when Massaki Mochizuki defeated Susumu *MochizukI* (no relation!) in a match where the loser would have to change their last name to their hometown, these two wrestlers have been intrinsically linked. Though they can sometimes go years without facing each other in a singles match, when they do finally meet up it’s almost always really good. With the Dream Gate on the line these two put on a PPV main event that was above even their own lofty usual standards, a match that was quite easily the best of what was otherwise an extremely down year for Dragon Gate. It’s fundamentally a very simple story, with Mochi working on Susumu’s arm to stop his famous lariats and Susumu working on Mochi’s leg to weaken his trademark kicks, but they executed it in such a way that it came across as a truly epic encounter. A must watch even if you don’t normally pay attention to DG.” -John Carroll

#45

The New Day vs. The Usos

8/20

WWE

Total Votes: 4

Overall Points: 21

Points Per Vote: 5

Highest Vote: 4th

“It was damn near criminal that this match was relegated to the kickoff show, but it apparently motivated the two teams to have the best match of the night at the Barclays Center.” -Vaughn Johnson

#44

WrestleCon 10 Man Tag

3/31

WrestleCon

Total Votes: 4

Overall Points: 21

Points Per Vote: 5

Highest Vote: 2nd

“I don’t think there was any other match this year where it was so obvious that everyone involved was having such a delirious amount of fun. Team Ricochet vs. Team Will Ospreay began with everyone exchanging dance partners and running through rapid fire, super hot sequences, the kind you’d usually find in the closing stretch of a match. Then there was a dance off. And then there was another joyfully frenetic stretch of wrestling with dive trains and big, silly, gleeful synchronised segments where everyone would start doing Cheeky Nandos Kicks and Ace Crushers and what have you. If you’ve not already seen the match, you’ll probably know by now whether you’ll love it or loathe it. I loved it an awful lot. It was daft, but it was endlessly exciting and crackled with energy and joie de vivre. It really was just ten friends enjoying themselves and trying out all the cool shit they could think of, and there wasn’t a single moment in the whole thing where nothing eye catching was happening. A pure popcorn match, but popcorn’s tasty, and so was this.” -Jack Stevenson

#43

WALTER vs David Starr

3/10

wXw

Total Votes: 5

Overall Points: 22

Points Per Vote: 4

Highest Vote: 2nd

“Overshadowed by WALTER’s own work against Dragunov two days later, this match was the perfect pay-off to an excellent build between a beastly final boss and a scrappy underdog. It’s an odd pair, but WALTER and Starr have incredible chemistry and use their differences in size so effectively in structuring their matches. WALTER just ground down Starr, letting Starr get huge reactions whenever he got a modicum of offence in.

The great accomplishment here is that they never actually gave many big Starr moves away. Just a few moments of vulnerability from WALTER here and there got the crowd going mental far more than any generic indie back-and-forth could ever have, which allows these two to have many more matches in the future where Starr gets closer and closer and closer to beating WALTER, something which he has still been unable to do – Kawada/Misawa style.

The build was so right for Starr to win here, but his size disadvantage was unassailable this time round. WALTER looked like a killer and Starr always shows he cares about losses and lets them sink in as setbacks. Definitely not one to overlook.” -Oliver Court





#42

Keith Lee vs Donovan Dijak

9/3

PWG

Total Votes: 6

Overall Points: 22

Points Per Vote: 4

Highest Vote: 5th

“Donovan Dijak and Keith Lee have had matches in various promotions such as AAW, Beyond Wrestling and Evolve throughout 2016 and 2017. All of those matches delivered in a big way but the one from PWG BOLA might’ve been their best. This was Dijak’s last match before heading to WWE and it might’ve been one of his best.” -Luis Perez

#41

Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

6/11

NJPW

Total Votes: 4

Overall Points: 24

Points Per Vote: 6

Highest Vote: 2nd

“While the first Tanahashi/Naito match this year was a Cerebral Masterclass with superb psychology, this one was a FIGHT. Naito had spent the better part of the year, abusing the Intercontinental Title, throwing it around and at one point even trying to pay with it at a convenience store. Tanahashi could not stand this and wanted to avenge his loss at Wrestle Kingdom where Naito symbolically put the final nail in Tanahashi’s coffin. The story was simple. But, its execution was FLAWLESS. The moment Tanahashi did Nakamura’s signature pose signifying that he was going to restore the glory to the Title, this match hit me on an emotional note that only few can. The psychology was unrivalled. The pacing was tremendous. The valiant hero finally vanquished the arrogant villain.The official result might have been a referee stoppage. But, the layers hidden in Naito’s soft tap conceal a much greater story.” -Wrestling Guru

#40

Mayu Iwatani vs Io Shirai

6/21

STARDOM

Total Votes: 3

First Place Votes: 1

Overall Points: 25

Points Per Vote: 8

Highest Vote: 1st

“I began watching STARDOM this year and Mayu Iwatani quickly becoming my favourite. A unique and very loveable babyface, perhaps the best in the business. This match ended years of her chasing Io Shirai and finally toppling her to become the ace. An emotional contest that I cared more about than any other match this year.” -Steven Graham

#39

Authors of Pain vs. DIY

5/20

WWE NXT

Total Votes: 5

Overall Points: 26

Points Per Vote: 5

Highest Vote: 2nd

“The end of one of the most compelling story in NXT’s history: Ciampa & Gargano, the guys from the indies (ROH & WWN), coming into WWE from the backdoor, earning their way into NXT’s bright lights through awesome character work and standout matches, failing once again to get their belts back… And one of the best heel tuns of the decade with Ciampa destroying Gargano while the copyrights were rolling, destroying his own knee/shoulder in the process.” -Ludovic Leleu

#38

Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay

5/18

NJPW

Total Votes: 6

Overall Points: 26

Points Per Vote: 4

Highest Vote: 3rd

“The peak of the Ospreay vs. Ricochet rivalry. This was next level stuff. Only these two could have had this match and they proved here that they do what they do better than anyone else. Ospreay breaking out the Cielo Perfecto Uno right before the finish was mind-blowing. A rarely attempted maneuver that he and Ricochet made look amazing.” -Alan4L

#37

Zack Sabre Jr vs. Michael Elgin

5/6

AAW

Total Votes: 5

Overall Points: 27

Points Per Vote: 5

Highest Vote: 4th

“As one of the most prolific wrestlers in the world in 2017, Zack Sabre Jr. put together an incredible body of work across 12 restless months, with this clash of styles one of his finest moments. Sabre worked with a chip on his shoulder, which means he was at his most compelling. Big Mike was excellent, too. ZSJ attacked his arm with surgical precision, effectively immobilising it towards the end, though Elgin’s power was enough to see him through the obligatory ‘big bombs’ phase. Coupled with the white hot crowd, his selling plus Zack’s fire helped elevate this become textbook power vs. technique territory, creating something special.” -Andy H. Murray

#36

Chuck Taylor vs. Zack Sabre Jr

7/7

PWG

Total Votes: 6

Overall Points: 33

Points Per Vote: 6

Highest Vote: 3rd

“PWG gets lambasted nowadays. Shows without substance. Dream matches for the sake of having dream matches. The storytelling aspect of wrestling thrown away, leaving just the pure spectacle and exhibition. Excess delivered to 450 fans who paid exceedingly high ticket prices and are crammed into a room the size of a baseball infield. A distribution model straight out of 2004. I’d be damned if I didn’t admit, though, that Zach Sabre Jr. and Chuck Taylor didn’t accomplish some of the best in-ring storytelling in the United States since the Sapolsky era of Ring of Honor. The story took eight years to complete, when Chuck Taylor finally won the PWG World Championship. Think of where you were eight years ago. Think about what you were doing. Where you were as a person. That seems so distant. I don’t think it was PWG’s intent to string out Chuck Taylor’s story that long, maybe they only came to it late in 2016. But the ability to weave that long story into a chase for a championship was remarkable. This wasn’t just a story-driven match. Sabre dismantled Taylor at every opportunity. When Taylor would go for a reliable drastic measure, setting up chairs on the outside to torment Sabre or calling back to how his matches with Trent had thumbtacks, Sabre would brutally use it to his advantage. Soon Sabre grew tired of Chuck getting the bottom rope for a break and he forced a ring crew member to take it apart. But Chuck Taylor would still not give up. This concluded with Taylor finally overcoming his mistakes and Sabre’s attacks and winning the World Champion. Big Dust won the Big One. It’s a pretty great story, and the best match in the United States this year. And it happened in the cradle of excess, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.” -Michael Spears

#35

Chip Day vs. Trevor Lee

3/25

CWF Mid-Atlantic

Total Votes: 5

First Place Votes: 1

Overall Points: 35

Points Per Vote: 7

Highest Vote: 1st

“There may have been better matches in 2017 (though I’m not sure of it), but there was no match quite like this one for me personally. I traveled cross country with my girlfriend to attend the Kernodle Cup live. This match was on Night 2 as a buffer between the semi-finals and main event of the tag tournament. I knew it had a chance to steal the show. I did not expect it to be the most dramatic and emotionally fulfilling wrestling match I’ve ever seen live. But it was. It was paced like a New Japan main event, but it was hardly an attempt to work that style. Instead it was a Trevor Lee Sportatorium main event, with Chip Day flare. Lots of little things early would probably be lost on casual viewers, but even in a vacuum the dramatic moments of this match are hard to deny. The match includes three of the best false finishes I’ve ever seen, the best counter of an apron spot I can remember seeing, and by far the best one count spot I’ve ever seen (it really helps when it’s in promotion that never does them, and the person who does it falls just moments later). Over the course of the match the energy in the room went from no one thinking Trevor could possibly lose, to maybe there is an outside chance despite all logic, to people treating it like a prize fight they had money on where they were either desperately for or against his retaining and emotionally exhausted by the end of the match. It was a special and authentic moment, in a modern wrestling landscape that so rarely delivers anything like that. When I think of wrestling in 2017 this will be the first match I think of. It’s my match of the year.” -Dylan Hales

#34

Tomohiro Ishii vs Keith Lee

11/9

RPW

Total Votes: 8

Overall Points: 35

Points Per Vote: 4

Highest Vote: 3rd

“This was the wrestling equivalent of two rams going head-on into each other for about 15 minutes. This was the MANLIEST match I’ve ever seen, as these two just beat the shit out of each other. Lee’s beatdown was spectacular and flashy, but Ishii’s beatdown was methodical and unrelenting. In the end, Ishii’s beatdown worked better. THIS WAS FUCKING GREAT.” -Suit Williams

#33

Velveteen Dream vs Aleister Black

11/18

WWE NXT

Total Votes: 8

First Place Votes: 1

Overall Points: 35

Points Per Vote: 4

Highest Vote: 1st

“Great match with a great story. Aleister Black was undefeated going into the match, and had been built as an unstoppable force. Velveteen Dream was the young upstart desperate for recognition. In the run up to the match, Velveteen Dream had become increasingly fixated on getting Black to say his name, while Black treated him as a bothersome child having a tantrum. By the end of the match, Black had proved he’s the legitimate superstar anyone who watched him pre-NXT already knew he was, and Velveteen Dream had arrived. It ended as a rare win/win situation, with the victorious Aleister Black uttering the words – ‘Enjoy infamy Velveteen Dream’ – finally giving the youngster the recognition he craved.” -Amanda Why





#32

Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar

4/2

WWE

Total Votes: 11

Overall Points: 36

Points Per Vote: 3

Highest Vote: 2nd

“In a year marked by the long epic matches, WWE delivered the exact opposite. In less than 5 minutes, Goldberg and Lesnar were perfectly able to tell a story that had been building for years: two absolute powerhouses colliding and doing their best to absolutely destroy each other. There was no added fat or excess here; every spot was perfectly placed to get the absolute most out of it. Brock jumping over the spear was an incredibly great spot. It’s rare that a match that is 4:45 can leave fans fulfilled, but no one was complaining after this.” -Kevin Hare

#31

Hiromu Takahashi vs. Dragon Lee

2/11

NJPW

Total Votes: 9

Overall Points: 37

Points Per Vote: 4

Highest Vote: 2nd

“As close as you will come to seeing two men actively try to kill each other in a simulated sport. Recommended.” -Mark Robinson

#30

WALTER vs David Starr

10/28

wXw

Total Votes: 9

Overall Points: 39

Points Per Vote: 4

Highest Vote: 4th

“Some of the best stories in pro-wrestling tell the story of one dominant wrestler and the up and coming guy who is tryinhg to beat him, but who’s getting more and more frustrated along the way because he is just not able to put him away. After three losses to WALTER in 2016 David Starr thought he knew how to finally put WALTER away in 2017, but at 16 Carat Gold WALTER surprised him with his new finishing hold, the Gojira Clutch. At the World Tag League it was yet again WALTER who beat Starr in the finals to increase Starr’s level of frustration. With his partner Jurn Simmons not making it for wXw’s London show Starr felt he finally had to overcome the odds. He challenged WALTER to a singles match and magic happened. Not only was the match intense, full of energy and excitement, these three descriptions also led to the crowd being highly invested into the story of Starr just not being able to get the job done. Starr played the underdog babyface who tried it all and got hope spots with his fast offense while WALTER’s role was defined Starr bravely with devotion.” -STRIGGA

#29

Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata

1/4

NJPW

Total Votes: 11

Overall Points: 41

Points Per Vote: 4

Highest Vote: 4th

“Another wonderful story – the high school friends who became tag champs together now face off in a heated rivalry. Goto always chokes on the big stage. Shibata is flying the flag for the violent style that has now become synonymous with the NEVER title. Shibata is angry with his former friend for his perceived apathy, for phoning it in, letting his talents go to waste and disrespecting the sport that Shibata holds so dear. Shibata isn’t going to let Goto phone this one in though, and from the very first lock-up that ends in a vicious slap to the chest of Goto, what follows is fifteen minutes of violence and brutality. Shibata, maybe deliberately, stirs up something deep with Goto that pushes him to his extremes, wakes his fighting spirit and inspires Goto to win the match.” -Joel Abraham

#28

Konosuke Takeshita vs. HARASHIMA

3/20

DDT

Total Votes: 6

First Place Votes: 1

Overall Points: 43

Points Per Vote: 7

Highest Vote: 1st

“An intergenerational epic that headlining the biggest show in the company’s history. In the tradition of the Kota Ibushi match from 2009, HARASHIMA put up his KO-D Openweight title against the challenger who was looking to take his spot as the ace of the company. The match was captivating from start to finish and a great example of DDT’s big match formula, with dueling limb work and interesting transitions leading to high impact, modern highspots that make sense in the context of the match. HARASHIMA worked to hit his reverse frankensteiner, playing off of previous encounters in tag matches, and Takeshita used signature offense from past DDT greats to help finally defeat the promotion’s stalwart, ushering in a new era for the company. This was some questionable legging selling away from a perfect match in my opinion, and a very emotional match that resonates with me like few big time main events do.” -Drew Wardlaw

#27

Authors of Pain vs. DIY vs. Revival

4/1

WWE NXT

Total Votes: 9

Overall Points: 43

Points Per Vote: 5

Highest Vote: 2nd

“The crafty heel workhorses. The never give up babyfaces. The monster duo with no qualms about destroying either of them (or both). Despite the use of a modern match format, this played in many ways as a love letter to 1980s tag team wrestling. It was a fitting way to send the Revival off to the main roster, to further the discontent amongst DIY and to cement AOP’s status as the top tag team in NXT.” -Michael Levy

#26

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi

11/5

NJPW

Total Votes: 12

Overall Points: 45

Points Per Vote: 4

Highest Vote: 2nd

“Tanahashi’s reign with the Intercontinental Title in 2017 was viewed as an anomaly because of his prior biceps injury. Each title match was always expected to be the last. None were more intriguing in this regard than his match with Kota Ibushi though. The enigmatic star freelancer was coming off a stellar showing in the G1 Climax, and the possibility of Ibushi working for New Japan full-time (regardless of whether he won or lost) was an exciting prospect. With that backdrop, Ibushi and Tanahashi put on the best match (thus far) of Tanahashi’s second Intercontinental title reign. With Tanahashi playing the grizzled veteran trying to win with his wiles and Ibushi as the hungry predator trying to take advantage of the old man’s shortcomings, this match came together to tell a beautiful story that both men were advanced by.” -George Atsaves & Chris Colgan