Be sure check out our first two installments of 2018 Match of the Year including part one with background on the poll, our voter base as well as honorable mentions. Part two looked at matches 150-101 (well, sort of, there were a lot of ties). Part three will look at matches #100-76 (again, sort of). This year was filled with wild tiebreakers so it’s technically #98-76 but #100-76 looks and sounds better.

Thank you again to everyone who participated in this year’s poll!

2018 MATCH OF THE YEAR ARCHIVES

VOICES OF WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR ARCHIVES

#98

Rey Fenix & Rey Horus vs. Flamita & Bandido

4/5

Wrestlecon

Total Votes: 2

Overall Points: 10

Highest Vote: 4th

“This was such a wonderful match up. Four incredibly talented luchadores stepping it up in front of the world at WrestleMania weekend and having, by my count, the best match of the entire weekend. Everyone involved came out looking better than they went in and everyone involved has seen an increase in their bookings and mainstream wrestling exposure. That’s what a truly great showcase match does. This was one of the best of its kind in 2018.” -Arnold Furious

#98

YO-HEY & HAYATA vs The Backbreakers

8/5

Pro Wrestling NOAH

Total Votes: 2

Overall Points: 10

Highest Vote: 4th

“Admittedly I’m doubly biased here. A) I love Hajime Ohara and B) I was in Korakuen Hall for this event. This match sucked me in and I increasingly bought into the storyline being weaved through the match. You can likely hear me chanting in my gaijin voice for Ohara. This is the kind of main event that lets you walk away from an event feeling satisfied and fulfilled as a fan.” -James “NuclearConvoy” Snelgrove

#98

Fly Star vs Toxin

8/4

Mexa Wrestling

Total Votes: 2

Overall Points: 10

Highest Vote: 4th

“This is the death match of the year and the only match from 2018 I watched three times. A match so bloody I forgot it was mask vs mask. It’s the best of death matches and wild high flying daredevil spots. One of two matches this year that actually horrified me.” -Mongo Underscore Ebooks

#97

Shotaro Ashino vs. Manabu Soya

3/14

Wrestle-1

Total Votes: 2

Overall Points: 10

Highest Vote: 3rd

“Hell of a story here. Big, strong boys putting on a big, strong match.” -Andy LaBarre





#96

Will Ospreay vs. Matt Riddle

5/12

OTT

Total Votes: 3

Overall Points: 10

Highest Vote: 6th

“The last big european match of Matt Riddle was also one of his finest performances. Riddle had a special relationship with european wrestling, and this definitely feels like his way to thank the scene. There’s no better opponent for such occasion than Will Ospreay himself, a guy who can create a MOTY candidate by rolling out of bed. This was a big move-heavy match, Ospreay made a great job bumping for Riddle, who looked like a million bucks. But the thing that separates this match from other Ospreay affairs is that you can feel how much of a great time this guys are having in the ring, and that’s contagious. At the end of the day, pro wrestling is just a fun spectacle that we as fans love, but we sometimes forget that wrestlers love this too. Riddle and Ospreay are the perfect vessels to communicate this sentiment in the ring.” -Paco Silva



#95

Will Ospreay vs. Slex

8/18

MCW

Total Votes: 2

Overall Points: 11

Highest Vote: 5th

“During his tour of Australia Ospreay faced another of Australia’s brightest prospect in Slex, who had previously held his own on a stiff battle with Okada. This match allowed Slex to showcase his athleticism and was perhaps one of Australia’s best matches of all time.” -Jamie Apps

#94

Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair

4/8

WWE

Total Votes: 2

Overall Points: 11

Highest Vote: 3rd

“This match had a weight to it that I can never recall a women’s match in WWE have before. The company’s investment in Asuka made this a tough call beforehand, especially with Charlotte’s legacy and succes in the company up to that point. The two had the fan’s in the palm of their hand here and that’s a testament to not only the company’s decision to make this a major part of the show but also the skill set of both women.” -Rich Laconi

#93

LAX vs. OGz

7/22

Impact Wrestling

Total Votes: 3

Overall Points: 11

Highest Vote: 6th

“For my money, the best feud in all of wrestling in 2018 was LAX vs. the OGz. IMPACT tried something different with this feud, making this an issue more related to the illicit dealings of the two teams than the tag titles they were fighting over. The titles became more of a symbol of who owned the streets than a prize for the best tag team in the company. This particular match was the high point of the feud. The match felt appropriately heated and violent for the build, making this a brutal, frantic spectacle. In the best way possible, this reminded me of peak era ECW. You won’t find a better tag match in all of 2018.” -Kelly Harrass

#92

Jun Kasai vs Hyper Misao

5/3

Tokyo Joshi Pro

Total Votes: 3

Overall Points: 11

Highest Vote: 4th



“On paper this looks like one of the most bizarre mismatches of the century, but with a genuinely heartfelt backstory (Misao felt she was going nowhere in life until she began to watch DDT street fights, which included Jun Kasai. This inspired her to get out the house and become a pro wrestler) and a match crammed with memorable spots, this pretty much stole the show at Yes! Wonderland. Misao and Kasai fought all over the arena, and the magical DDT bicycle made an appearance to be ridden through a pyramid of chairs and down the staircase. In the end Kasai won with a splash off the ladder, but Hyper Misao, TJPW’s very own superhero, was a victor in defeat, fulfilling her dream and proving she could wrestle at this level.” -Ewan Cameron

#91

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream

11/17

WWE (NXT)

Total Votes: 4

Overall Points: 11

Highest Vote: 7th

“The Velveteen Dream was the breakout star of 2018, but after the incredible match against Aleister Black in 2017 he really didn’t have a ton of great work to add to his resume through this past year until he finally got his first title shot against Ciampa in November. You would be forgiven for thinking he was a fluke before, but certainly not after. The lengths he went to to try to win this match were absolutely incredible, and Ciampa was brilliant as a confident champion who got more and more desperate as the match went on. This was a test for both men, to see what they could do on their own. They passed with flying colors.” -Cewsh

#90

AJ Styles vs Daniel Bryan

12/16

WWE

Total Votes: 4

Overall Points: 11

Highest Vote: 7th

“Bryan is a great wrestler and a great heel wrestler. This match was just about perfect. I could watch these two guys wrestle each other forever.” -Dann Lennard

#89

Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Ben-K

3/4

Dragon Gate

Total Votes: 2

Overall Points: 12

Highest Vote: 5th



“Dragon Gate was particularly careful in how they protected Ben-K previous to this match. It’s obvious that they saw his potential: he had incredible physical charisma coming from his physique and select impactful maneuvers that draw upon that physique, but they were very careful with him in 2016 and 2017. Ben-K barely had any singles matches, and in tags he would have two or three minutes spurts. In his first Dream Gate match, they threw him into the deep end. Before this match happened, I figured it would be based around Mochizuki getting retribution for his startling defeat against Ben-K in a previous singles match. But this was something else entirely. This was the eras of the Dragon System clashing far before I ever expected they would. Usually after a first Dream Key, DG would back off on a young wrestler, but this wasn’t the case with Ben-K. He had another challenge at Gate of Destiny. It’s a new era in Dragon Gate, and most likely its standard bearer is Ben-K.” -Mike Spears

#88

David Starr vs. Joey Janela

1/1 – Beyond

Total Votes: 2

Overall Points: 12

Highest Vote: 3rd



“The first match on U.S. soil in 2018 was one of the wildest all year long. An example of a time where a table was set for a spectacle and the wrestlers went far beyond even lofty expectations.” -Dylan Hales

#87

Jun Akiyama vs. Naomichi Marufuji

4/25

AJPW

Total Votes: 3

Overall Points: 12

Highest Vote: 5th



#85

Angel de Oro vs. Cuatrero

3/16 – CMLL

Total Votes: 3

Overall Points: 12

Highest Vote: 2nd



“Between this and their title match a few weeks/months later it was hard to choose which match in this feud to give this number 2 spot. I went with this because… someone loses their mask here. I do really think the title match may be as good or better with a fantastic ending. My favorite lucha de apuestas of the year.” -lostinyourears

#84

Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy

7/3

WWE

Total Votes: 4

Overall Points: 12

Highest Vote: 3rd

“I don’t go out of my way to watch many 205 Live matches in part because there is so much more consequential wrestling to watch. But after rave reviews, I went out of my way to watch this, and am so glad that I did. While many have been on the Ali bandwagon for a long time, this seemed to be what put him on WWE’s radar.” -Greg Parks

#83

Zack Sabre Jr vs Darby Allin

1/14

EVOLVE

Total Votes: 3

Overall Points: 13

Highest Vote: 6th



“A perfect underdog story except this time the plucky upstart loses. The story of Allin sleeping in his car and having ‘Champ’ tattooed inside his lip been put away comprehensively by the technically superior heel champion really worked for me.” -Mike Daysley

#82

Jay Lethal vs. Jonathan Gresham

7/21

Ring of Honor

Total Votes: 4

Overall Points: 13

Highest Vote: 5th

“Without a doubt the best of their match series. Lethal was in the role of a touring world champion who came to the challenger’s town to put him over while at the same time he leaves with the championship. It’s a formula that’s rarely used these days, but it worked perfectly here. I loved every second of the match and going in I was ready for some great technical wrestling, but the final minutes really captivated me. I didn’t see that kind of drama coming as this match had one of the best Figure Four Leglock sequences I had ever seen with Gresham just not giving up even though he was in severe pain and Lethal on the other side eventually had to let go because his arm was in bad shape because Gresham worked it over. Brilliant approach to pro-wrestling.” -STRIGGA





#78

Toni Storm vs. Kagetsu

6/9

Stardom

Total Votes: 1

Overall Points: 14

1 First-Place Vote

“This was an awesome match, both worked hard and pushed each other to the limit in what I feel is the best bout of their respective careers. Intense, snug action throughout. Super Toni’s second wind and Kagetsu channeling senpai with the Death Valley Bomb were such great moments.” -aguakun

#78

Tessa Blanchard vs Mercedes Martinez

10/19

RISE

Total Votes: 1

Overall Points: 14

1 First-Place Vote

“This was actually the second Ironwoman match these two had this year and while the first one was a blistering 30 minutes, this was a more measured but no less intense 75 minute affair that showcased the talents of two of the very best wrestlers in the world.

This was a match of incredible storytelling and as it progressed, certain threads started to appear that would weave themselves through the entire match. Martinez took the role of teacher and showed the more principled Blanchard that she would win by any means necessary. Blanchard refused to be a student and rose to the challenge on her terms. Blanchard’s injured leg became a long running arc, and she sold it so well that even when she finally broke through the pain to launch a brave last minute fightback, you knew she wouldn’t be on both feet for long.

This was an entirely unique spectacle and incomparable to any other match I have seen in wrestling. The performers did not just ask viewers to suspend their disbelief, but compelled them to, such was the ability of both women to fully embody themselves in their roles as fighters. This was psychological wrestling at its best, and after 75 minutes, you wanted them to keep going. ” -Ewan Cameron

#78

KUSHIDA vs Will Ospreay

5/4

NJPW

Total Votes: 1

Overall Points: 14

1 First-Place Vote

#78

Hideki Suzuki vs. Takuya Nomura

6/20

BJW

Total Votes: 1

Overall Points: 14

1 First-Place Vote

“This is professional wrestling. This is what makes for a compelling story, full of heart and fire — not fluff and glitter. The classic tale of the student trying to best the teacher. If you go back and watch the matches between Suzuki and Nomura, you begin to see the flowering of Nomura as a wrestler. In each match, Nomura learns something new and applies it to the next, and with each new match, Hideki dominates him less and less. Nomura knows Suzuki better than almost anyone in Big Japan. Everything I love about wrestling, from competitive grappling, innovative counters (i.e. thumb to eye), stiff strikes, and suplexes.” -Brennan Patrick

#77

Takashi Sugiura vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima

10/4

Pro Wrestling NOAH

Total Votes: 3

Overall Points: 14

Highest Vote: 6th

“Takashi Sugiura is the guy that NOAH turn to, time and time again when another of their experiments falls on its face. Time and time again he bails the company out. Whether it’s doing a dumb heel turn to save an entire stable or carrying the company on his back despite being in his late 40s and broken down. Nakajima meanwhile is reborn as a dickhead who just loves kicking people and disrespecting them. Between them they had NOAH’s stand out match of 2018. It’s really, really, really good.” -Arnold Furious

#76

Rush & Dragon Lee vs. LA Park & El Hijo del LA Park

6/17

IWRG

Total Votes: 3

Overall Points: 14

Highest Vote: 4th

“Rush throws a rusty metal bucket full of beer at LA Park’s face.” -JR Goldberg





VOW 2018 Match of the Year Countdown (282-76)