Best Matches of November 2017


The year is coming to an end and we are approaching the time of year where big matches become more and more sparse. This list isn't as stacked as some others but there are still some great matches here.

Honourable Mentions

Travis Banks vs Keith Lee (PROGRESS Title) - PROGRESS Chapter 56: La Danse Macabre ****

Travis Banks vs 'Bad Bones' John Klinger (WxW Unified Title) - WxW Fight Forever London ****


CIMA & Dragon Kid vs Ben-K & Big R Shimizu (Open the Twin Gate Titles) - Dragon Gate Gate of Destiny ****




15. Pete Dunne vs Johnny Gargano (WWE UK Title) - NXT 29th November

This is pretty much as good as you can hope for from a 9 minute match. I would absolutely love to see these two get 20 minutes to show what they can do. Two of the best wrestlers around today. ****

14. Masaaki Mochizuki vs Susumu Yokosuka (Open the Dream Gate Title) - Dragon Gate Gate of Destiny

Mochizuki is having a career year at the age of 47 and this was another great match for his resume. Yokosuka has spent the last 5 years as Jimmy Susumu and this was his first major match since the change. Mochizuki's style is a great counterpoint to Dragon Gate's mostly high paced wrestling. ****

13. Travis Banks vs Matt Riddle (PROGRESS Title) - PROGRESS Chapter 58: Live Your Best Life

Banks has been defending his title, successfully, against everybody that beat him in the run up to his title win. Riddle pretty much never puts on below par matches, which makes everyone forget that he has only been wrestling a few years. These two combine well. ****

12. The Shield vs New Day - WWE Survivor Series

I don't think there are many more nailed on good matches in wrestling than this. There was no way it could fail. All 6 of them are really good wrestlers, it was the Shield's PPV return, and New Day have been thermite hot recently. It got the PPV off to a great start and is pretty much the antithesis of the main event. ****


11. Ilja Dragunov vs Mark Haskins - WxW Fight Forever London

Dragunov is having a breakout year and I am hoping that the 24 year old Russian can start to get some more bookings worldwide. He joins with another underrated wrestler here to put on a great match that would have been the best on most shows, but not this one. ****1/4

10. Zack Sabre Jr vs Will Ospreay - RevPro/NJPW Global Wars Night 2

If you have seen these two wrestle before you know that they have superb chemistry. They could honestly have matches like this in their sleep at this stage. ****1/4

9. Drew McIntyre vs Andrade 'Cien' Almas (NXT Title) - NXT Takeover: WarGames

McIntyre has had a great couple of years to rejuvenate his career and Almas is one of the best things in wrestling since he got Zelina Vega as his valet. This was probably the best NXT Title match since Zayn was champion and I look forward to seeing what Almas can do with the title. ****1/4

8. Kenny Omega vs Trent Beretta (IWGP US Title) - NJPW Power Struggle

We are at the stage now where it isn't really a match of the month list without a spot of Kenny Omega. This served as a first big match for Beretta after his step up to the heavyweight division and it was a good choice to have that against Omega. Even though it was always likely that Omega would win, they did a good job of having a competitive match. ****1/4

7. Best Friends vs Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin - NJPW World Tag League Night 10

For the most part the WTL has been a disappointment. Good matches have been few and far between, but out of nowhere there was this excellent match. Cobb & Elgin are the big man team with the Best Friends having the speed advantage and both teams play their roles to a tee. It's always nice when a great match comes out of nowhere. ****1/2

6. Undisputed Era vs SAnitY vs Authors of Pain & Roderick Strong (WarGames Match) - NXT Takeover: WarGames

While it may not have been the WarGames match of old, that could have honestly been for the best as it allowed for them to have a wild brawl that also included high spots. It was a blast to watch and that suplex off the cage was nuts. ****1/2

5. WALTER vs David Starr - WxW Fight Forever London

I have been putting together a top 100 wrestlers of the year list and I originally left out Starr but the more I thought about it, the more I realised that was a daft idea because he is great. WALTER's chops are fucking evil, and half the story is seeing if Starr can survive them. The second half of this match is spectacular. ****1/2

4. Tomohiro Ishii vs Keith Lee - RevPro/NJPW Global Wars Night 1

Well, shit, this was awesome. The crowd loves Ishii, as they should, and they lose their mind when he gets Lee up for the brainbuster. This match is like one tank against another slightly smaller tank and it is a thing of beauty. The finishing stretch features a ton of great near falls. ****1/2

3. Brock Lesnar vs AJ Styles - WWE Survivor Series

I don't think many people thought this would turn out this well but it was perfectly booked. They knew people would fear the worst when Lesnar was completely dominant for the first portion of the match and it made Styles' comeback feel even more impactful. Styles is the best in ring talent of this generation. Yes, even better than Daniel Bryan. ****1/2

2. Aleister Black vs Velveteen Dream - NXT Takeover: WarGames

The wrestling on show is really good here but that isn't what puts this match so high on the list. What made this stand out was the quality and attention to detail put into the story being told. Very rarely will you hear a crowd react so vociferously to one wrestler saying the name of the other, but that was the quality of the build, and execution, here. Enjoy infamy, Velveteen Dream. ****1/2

1. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kota Ibushi (IWGP IC Title) - NJPW Power Struggle

Hiroshi Tanahashi may be approaching the portion of his career where he has to slow down a bit and suffers from more injuries but you wouldn't know it from watching his matches. Every single time he is put in a main event situation he delivers. Kota Ibushi is a singular talent too. This match marries athletic prowess with in ring storytelling to create a fantastic title match. ****3/4

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