Found it really interesting that when discussing WWE matches, it's a lot of talk of feeling and build and story. But when talking about the AEW and NJPW matches, it's spots and physical story telling that get discussed. Neither is wrong, it's just a different flavour of wrestling. Also, yes there will be exceptions, but in general this is what I noticed.

Happy birthday Pete!

I’d love a day of just chillin with Luke, sharing spreadsheet story’s, chatting formulas and pie chats. Mans a hero for doing these lists in this way

I'm honestly surprised that Hangman vs Moxley didn't make it onto the list, especially considering Hangman vs Swerve did make it

Top 5 WWE 1. IC Triple Threat 2. Roman vs Sami 3. Rhea vs Charlotte 4. Usos vs Sami & KO 5. Bianca vs Iyo Sky Backlash Top 5 AEW 1. MJF vs Bryan Danielson 2. Will Ospreay vs Kenny Omega 3. Swerve vs Hangman 4. MJF vs Adam Cole 5. Orange Cassidy vs Jon Moxley All Out

Tempest rating Mike Bailey number 1 last year is what sold me the ticket to see him and witness the rebirth of TNA. So thank you for that

It's nice to see Tempest return from his trip in Canada just to fly all the way back

My top 10: Honourable mention to Fuminori Abe vs Takuya Nomura, Danielson vs Bandido, Mascara Dorada vs Rocky Romero, and Roman Reigns vs Sami Zayn. 10. FTR vs Bullet Club Gold (Collision July 8th) 9. Darby Allin vs Samoa Joe (Dynamite January 4th) 8. Sheamus vs Gunther vs Drew McIntyre (Wrestlemania) 7. Hangman Page vs Swerve Strickland (Full Gear) 6. Jon Moxley vs Hangman Page (Revolution) 5. MJF vs Bryan Danielson (Revolution) 4. Will Ospreay vs Kenny Omega (Forbidden Door) 3. Bryan Danielson vs Ricky Starks (All Out) 2. Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay (Wrestle Kingdom) 1. Bryan Danielson vs Zack Sabre Jr. (WrestleDream)

It's crazy that earlier this year we were talking about how good the Hangman vs Moxley deathmatch was, and then the swerve match was so good that it essentially erased the Revolution match from everyone's memory.

I genuinely love every “best of the year” video you guys put out every year

For me, my MOTY was MJF/Cole From All In; a perfected blend of storytelling, work rate and comedy. Hoping it makes the top 10 Edit: to shout out a couple matches that were underrated this year, the Hayes/Dragunov PPV duology (just a phenomenal set of matches; loved the first one for some of the spots), Vikingo/Komander (ROH Supercard of Honour; just good lucha things) and Elite/BCC at Anarchy in the Arena (hot take: this was better than last year's iteration. Just pure fun pro wrestling violence)

For me i thought this list was very accurate for the year but also very tough as 2023 has been one of the better years of wrestling matches. I think for me the only thing that kinda made me sad is that there wasnt any NXT matches as i felt NXT delivered some bangers this year like Wes Lee vs Dijak, the fatal 5 way at Stand and Deliver, Dijak vs Dragunov, Carmelo vs Dragunov 1 and 2 although i prefer 2, the mens iron survivor match to name a few. But all in all very great list

2023 was a wild year when it comes to match quality throughout all of wrestling. Let's hope it stays this way in 2024

Its a bit annoying no nxt matches where mentioned because i genuinely feel nxt desevered at least 1 NXT matches shouldve made the list with the mens iron survivor the north american championship 5 way from stand and deliver any of the melo vs draganov trilogy dijak vs draganov hell even melo vs breakker from battleground

This is the first time I'm agreeing with no 1 in both moty and woty lists since 2018 Kenny and ospreay are just something else Goats

AW really had the top Iron Man 2/3 Falls and death match possibly of all time this year.

It's a testament to how good this year was that there were so many more nominations floating around in my head that I was surprised didn't even crack the top 15 let alone the top 10. Ospreay vs Naito, Omega vs Vikingo, Omega vs MJF, Page vs Moxley, the Four Pillars 4-way, the Forbidden Door 4-way, House of Black vs The Elite, and that doesn't even crack the surface cause I know there was wayyyy more great stuff I didn't get around to watching. We seriously live in the best time to be a wrestling fan and I think I take that for granted too often.

Gunther's matches this year are exactly why I love wrestling. For me, he's done what Reigns has struggled with; make matches that elevate the title and the challenger as well.

Witnessed the "Number 1" match "live". It blew everyone's mind in the arena and took everyone's breaths away. Simply amazing

I legitimately applauded and stood up when you said Swerve v Page! My personal fave

Taking peoples’ nominations, totalling them up and putting them in order, IS actual science.

I agree mostly with this list but I felt that the four pillar four-way also deserved an honorable mention just for the match

One gunther match on this list is a crime.

I am not a big death match fan, my god. Hangman vs Strickland, Texas Death Match, was a gory brutality masterpiece. With the phrase “I am going to f’ing KILL YOU” scratched into every move

If my vote were to count, the triple threat at Mania would have gotten my vote for number one

What a year for in-ring action, regardless of how you feel about some of the booking. For me: #1 - Danielson vs MJF because nothing had me more ready to run through a wall than the last 5 minutes of that match. #2 - Omega vs Ospreay (Wrestle Kingdom 17) - All time great babyface performance from Will and Kenny at his absolute best. Told an insanely good story for two guys that get accused of not being good at that. #3 - Oedo Tai vs Queen’s Quest (Steel cage match) - Another story rich match with an incredible babyface performance, this time from Utami Hayashishita. #4 - Danielson vs Zack Sabre Jr. - Been a dream match for me for ages which delivered and then some. The pinnacle of technical wrestling #5 - Adam Page vs Swerve Strickland (Texas Death Match) - I’ve never seen a match quite like this. Gruesome violence but I adored it. Just insanely absorbing to watch. Honourable mentions to: Drew vs Gunther vs Sheamus Ospreay vs Umino Shirakawa vs Kamitani Dijak vs Dragunov Kingston vs Castagnoli (the ROH one)

this list made me realize even more that it was really danielsons year

What a goddamn year for pro wrestling. Can we just celebrate that???

What a damn year for pro wrestling. Great stuff across the board. My top 5 would be 5.) Flair Vs. Ripley 4.) Ospreay Vs. Omega II 3.) Reigns Vs. Zayn 2.) GUNTHER Vs. Sheamus Vs. Drew McIntyre 1.) Ospreay Vs. Omega I

I think 2023 was definitely Bryan's best year in his AEW run, dude was working out of his ass since the Revolution match against MJF.

well here is my TOP 10 of the Best/Favorite Matches of 2023 (+5 Matches in the HM section) 1: Kento Miyahara vs Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH One Night Dream) (15/07/2023) 2: Arisa Nakajima vs Sareee (SEAdLINNING 8th Anniversary) (25/08/2023) 3: Queens Quest vs Oedo Tai (STARDOM Sunshine) (25/06/2023) 4: Swerve Strickland vs Hangman Page (AEW Full Gear) (18/11/2023) 5: Kazusada Higuchi vs Yuji Hino (DDT Sweet Dreams) (29/01/2023) 6: Kaito Kiyomiya vs Kenoh (NOAH The New Year) (01/01/2023) 7: Fuminori Abe vs Takuya Nomura (Kakuto Taniteidan: We are Fighting Detectives) (12/10/2023) 8: Syuri vs Chihiro Hashimoto (STARDOM Grand All Star Queendom) (23/04/2023) 9: Miu Watanabe vs Rika Tatsumi (TJPW Grand Princess) (18/03/2023) 10: Takuya Nomura & Kento Miyahara vs Naoya Nomura & Yuma Aoyagi (22/01/2023) 11: Violent Giants vs Strong BJ (AJPW Dynamite Series: New Age Mania) (17/06/2023) 12: Yuji Okabayashi vs Yuya Aoki (BJW Endless Survivor: Infinity Independent) (04/05/2023) 13: Saya Kamitani vs Hazuki (STARDOM Triangle Derby Finals) (04/03/2023) 14: Kento Miyahara vs Yuji Nagata (AJPW Excite Series Night 2) (19/02/2023) 15: Yuma Aoyagi vs Kento Miyahara (AJPW Raising an Army Memorial Night 4) (21/10/2023)

Solid list to me personally Zayn & KO vs The USOs at WrestleMania 39 is my match of the year

Going to give my takes on the top ten, cause why not: 10) This came from outta nowhere for me; the most brutal strap match I've ever seen and one that I respect a lot. Starks looked like a star coming out of that match 9) Hot take, but I wasn't as keen on FTR/BCG 2 out of three falls as everyone else; actually preferred the first match. Can see why it was voted, just not for me 8) The best woman's match of the year by far; loved that it cemented Ripley as a megastar and that Charlotte didn't win again lol 7) The best tag match of the year; the most emotionally satisfying result of the year and loved Sami/KO's attire for the match 6) Honestly shocked Ospreay/Omega 2 wasn't either 1 or 2, but the Callis stuff was a turn off for people, so I get it. Still a cracking match tho despite that bit 5) As someone who isn't too fussed on technical wrestling, I loved Danielson/Sabre Jr; everything being done so intricately was incredible to see 4) THREE BEEG MEATY MEN SLAPPIN MEAT(with minor story wrinkles between Sheamus and Drew)! Put some respect on Titus' commentary, he added to the match imo (Call the police is the call of the year) 3) -MJF unintentionally throwing vodka on a kid? Perfect- just lovely wrestling for an hour; the tombstone onto the broken table made me mark out massively 2) The most brutal Texas Deathmatch of the year; the first ten minutes alone will be stuck in my head forever. Swerve stapling his chest VOLUNTARY cemented himself as a megastar imo 1) Omega/Ospreay 1; completely fair and deserved. So many crazy spots that I've seen before, fully deserved. Not my favourite match of the year personally, but it's my number 2.

Despite the stupid cinnamon toast crunch crap, I really love Rey vs Dom at mania and hope there's a rematch

So crazy to think that while AEW and Njpw have had the better matches overall but WWE is the overall promotion of the year bcoz of how consistently good they have been.

Best trio reviewing best matches like it should be 😊

You know there are a lot of fantastic matches left off this list, and thats a good problem to have.

A solid list here For a solid year Haven't been following wrestletalk for most of the year Took a well needed break from several Wrestling ytube channels in January just after the rumble Came back in September for the all out review Been on and off since then But as I think I wrote last year Really enjoy these end of the year lists

Your voters vote for matches from COLLISION & IMPACT but don't watch ANY NXT PLE Matches??? 1. Dragunov vs Hayes I 2. Dragunov vs Hayes II 3. Dragunov vs Dijak 3 absolute bangers which deserve to be Top 10 Matches of 2023. Just absurd that weekly matches from AEW make it to your list but NXT PLE Matches don't.

I'm surprised nobody has brought up Ospreay vs Naito at the G1, amazing match and match of the year for me.

Glad swerve and hangman got number 2, class match

i believe the Bad Bunny and Damien Priest match should of been higher. Probably like 10 or 9. The atmosphere and the way Bad bunny performed was crazy. Either way it’s a good list

It is a travesty that Roman vs Cody didn't even crack the top 15. I watched the match live, it felt like 20 mins, and I couldn't believe when I checked later that it was nearly 40 mins long, that's a high praise. The electricity in the air in that match was rivaled by very few other matches imo. Screwy finish aside, that match fucking excellent.

THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN

Ospreay Vs Omega II was by far my favourite. Ospreay finally avenging his Wrestle Kingdom loss was such a cathartic moment

Imo, this is one of the best lists you guys have made. I can't dispute really any of it and I'm on board with the top 6 basically in that order. I ordered New Japan world just to watch wrestle kingdom specifically for the ospreay vs omega match. And much like Luke, after that match I said "well, we're 4 days into the year and I've already seen the match of the year" lol great list guys.

I've been a fan of Swerve and Orange Cassidy for a minute now, but this year I became BELIEVERS in both those wrestlers. GodDAMN, they have had such a wild year completely separately from one another.

I completely forgot about Swerve nailing himself in the chest, that was so badass, that 100% made him a top guy. He didn’t even flinch, he just no sells it like an absolute badass.

Watching this now and I can't even fathom what other matches could top #6. Like, I've got an inkling of ONE that could top it, but 5 others? No way.

So I was torn between two matches... between MJF vs Bryan Danielson and Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn vs The Usos... I am going with the latter.... both outstanding matches however (and this may have to do with me being more pro wwe than pro aew) is that the Tag match wasn't just great technical pro wrestling. It was a great story being told during the build during the match and a bit afterward... that was a fun match to watch... i teared up in happiness during the end and the tribute to Jay Briscoe after by Kevin and Sami really made feel like i had butterflies (honourable mention at 3 would be the Blood line civil war)

I was watching a video before this on 1/2 speed and when I clicked on this video I thought Luke was drunk as fuck lol

Ironically, I remember that most people hated the men's royal rumble. I loved it, but people were moaning about how predictable was 😆

They’re the monster trio of wrestletalk.

Bryan v Mjf was an amazing match. Was my match of the year

Obviously including every pick would make the video too long, but could we get the full list of voted matches in the description or a pinned comment or something. Even the matches that only get 1 point are interesting to see

Roman v Sami deserved better 😭 Great list though!

Recency bias, possibly -- I think Athena vs Billie Starkz is the best women's match of the year. Also my top five: 1) ZSJ vs Danielson (some bias because I was here live for this and it was just electric) 2) Kenny vs Will at Forbidden Door 3) Danielson vs MJF 4) Hangman vs Swerve TDM 5) Kenny vs Will at WK I'd also go on to say that this might be the best year for bell-to-bell action... at least in the last decade? If not maybe... ever?

neither of the hayes vs dragunov matches being mentioned at all is a disgrace

If Cody/Roman had the right finish I could see them on this list, but my favourite match is the triple threst mania match

I honestly believe That Ilja Dragunov was Wrestler of the Year and Him vs Dijak or Carmelo should be in the top 10 matches

I genuinely think my favourite matches of the year were the Chad Gable V Gunther series.

Shame that Sareee vs Arisa Nakajima, Giulia vs Tam Nakano, QQ vs Oedotai cagematch and Hazuki vs Saya Kamitani didn't get a mention. All guaranteed top 10 matches. Hell Suzu Suzuki vs Maika might blow the doors off on the 29th 😊

Best trio

Roman V cody is so affected by the finish, its crazy. Its top 3 imo

Well for the 2024 list, New Japan already has two contenders in Okada vs Danielson 2 and Sanada vs Naito (which is slightly better)

Nice to find the 3 guys still watching aew

Its the most listy-ful time of the yeeeeaaaaaar! Love these end of year videos :-)

This last month has had some really great wrestling. Any thoughts on making the awards start next year to include all of December or perhaps have an "honorable mentions" section? Just have a follow up survey a couple days into the year to end in the first week, and any matches that get multiple responses get a shout out.

Von Wagner v. Bron Breakker

Given the context of the last 4 months and even the fact that Roman retained, so the whole 2 night main event sweep never even happened, I actually do wish Rhea and Charlotte main evented, the match was just as good as the tag imo and unlike the Bloodline narrative that died in August, Rhea is one of the hottest acts and most over people in the company. Just seems like a waste now

Titus doesn't ruin the drew Sheamus Gunther match for me it elevates it gahd

Love these again

1. Swerve Strickland vs. Adam Page-Full Gear 2. Bad Bunny vs. Damien Priest-Backlash 3. Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa vs. The Usos-MITB 4. Swerve Strickland vs. Adam Page-Wrestledream 5. Brian Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr-Wrestledream 6. Brian Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada-Forbidden Door 7. Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus-Wrestlemania 8. MJF vs. Brian Danielson-Revolution 9. Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay-Forbidden Door 10. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. The Usos-Wrestlemania 11. MJF vs. Adam Cole-All In 12. Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn-Elimination Chamber 13. Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay-Wrestle Kingdom 14. Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada-G1 Climax Finals 15. Jon Moxley vs. Adam Page-Revolution 16. Anarchy in the Arena 17. Stadium Stampede-All In 18. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns and Solo Sokoa-Night of Champions 19. Jey Uso and Jimmy Usos (replaced by Sami Zayn) vs. Judgement Day-Raw 20. Blood and Guts 21. El Desperato vs. Francesco Akira-Battle of the Super Juniors 22. Men's War Games 23. Ilja Draganuv vs. Dijak-Battleground 24. Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair-Wrestlemania 25. Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay-G1 Glimax 26. Carmelo Hayes vs. Ilja Draganuv-Great American Bash 27. Bianca Belair vs. Iyo Sky-Backlash 28. Jon Moxley and Homicide vs. Jun Kasai and El Desperato-NJPW Independence Day 29. Women's War Games 30(a). Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus-Payback 30(b). Will Ospreay vs. KENTA-G1 Climax

My prediction for next year Osprey is champion heading into all in. Comes out on dynamite “who’s next bruv?” Music hits: I hear the battle cry Under the devil's sky The one winged angel screams It fuels my hopes and dreams The best battle machine

Perhaps Sami pinning Jey is the predictable finish on paper, but with WWE booking how it has been and can be, what isn't predictable is if they will actually give the fans that outcome.

I like their list. My only surprise is how low the Omega v Ospreay - Forbidden Door match was ranked. I would have had it at #5, and move Gunther v Shaemus v Drew match down.

No real arguments here. I knew in January 4 what match of the year was as well

My number 1 is your number 5. For me, it is my favorite style of wrestling in the world. I think it's beautiful.

I want the shirt Luke was wearing! That is amazing!

Can’t wait for AEW and New Japan to take up the top 5 Plus one Gunther match Edit: Hadn’t watched it yet, nailed it!

Support WrestleTalk!

I am absolutely perplexed that the Four Pillars 4-way match was never even mentioned here... That was probably my MotY, tbh Omega vs Osprey from Forbidden Door would've likely been my #1 if that Callis run-in didn't happen - it just took me completely out of the match, unfortunately (it's honestly up there with Fiend/Rollins for one of the most baffling agent/booking decisions I've ever seen in wrestling... Seriously, who thought that'd be a good idea?!). And their WrestleKingdom match was great but not near my top 10 for this year (too many stronger matches imo)

I wonder which match Markerson chose. Probably one of his 17 star matches 😂

Birthday Pete, birthday Pete, BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAY PETE

Sami & Kevin vs. The Usos is #1 for me. Had the outcome been different, Roman vs. Cody definitely would’ve made the list

5 Gunther matches❤

The match of the year should be Omega v Ospreay at Wrestle Kingdom, but im going to give it to SANADA vs Okada at Sakura Genesis because SANADA gas always been my dark horse favorite and him winning the belt made me cry. The match is also super good

Roman vs Sami was too low, it's like one of Roman's best title defense and the Montreal crowd made the match even better.

He drank his blood

Happiest of birthdays chopper

Full Gear main event cant be Hangman v Swerve for the belt next year, because Will is gonna take the belt from Swerve in Wembley.

First match that comes to mind is Cody Lesnar at Summer Slam. I will see if it makes the list.

Happ birthday dude

Something I don't understand, that maybe someone at Wrestletalk can confirm for me: #1 pick got 10 top-level nominations from 14 nominations total, but how many nominations were there? I seem to remember you said 30 people at some point. Does that mean that 16 people didn't even have that match in their top 5??

Ilja/Dijak should have been #1

Shocked that Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley didn't make it for me it's better than swerve vs page

Say what you want about aew but they're killing it bell to bell

I'm not joking when I say hardy v Jarrett Texas deathmatch is my #1. It's so stupid so batshit insane so hilarious. It's peak entertainment. It was genuinely the most fun I've ever had watching wrestling through tears of laughter. It's so bad it's good. AND IT DIDN'T TAKE UP PPV TIME THAT YOU HAD TO PAY REAL MONEY FOR how dare anyone compare that to the army of the dead lumberjack garbage is ridiculous. PRESIT WAS THE FUCKIN US CHAMPION TF ARE YOU ON ABOUT?

Lol Umino vs Ospreay is my MOTY

How on earth do people think that horrendous "death match" was the second best match of this year? The match itself breaks every single basic wrestling rule on logic. Think about it, Swerve and Page used so many "weapons" and survived over 30mins of it. Now every single regular match they have they should be able to win every single time because no amount of physical wrestling will cause as much damage as those weapon shots. So Swerve can get through that death match but couldn't beat Moxley? "Death matches" belong in the bin along with Nick Gage