Best Matches of October 2017


As usual, dates of consideration are based on when the show was shown live or had it's DVD/Blu-Ray release. This month is incredibly heavy on PWG matches as Battle of Los Angeles was a stacked weekend, but there are plenty of matches from elsewhere too.


Honourable Mentions

Jaka vs Zack Sabre Jr - Evolve 94 ****

Zack Sabre Jr vs Tracy Williams (Evolve Title) - Evolve 95 ****

Matt Riddle vs Fred Yehi - Evolve 95 ****

Hiromu Takahashi vs Jay Lethal - ROH Global Wars Columbus ****

Kazuchika Okada vs EVIL (IWGP Title) - NJPW King of Pro Wrestling ****

Johnny Mundo vs Prince Puma (Lucha Underground Title) - Lucha Underground Ultima Lucha Tres ****

Marty Scurll vs Flash Morgan Webster - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 1 ****

Rey Fenix vs Rey Horus - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 1 ****

The Elite vs Rey Fenix, Penta El Zero M & Flamita - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 1 ****

Flamita vs Ricochet - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 1 ****1/4

Rey Fenix vs Zack Sabre Jr - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 2 ****1/4

Travis Banks vs Ricochet - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 3 ****1/4


15. Team Janela (Joey Janela, Chuck Taylor, Mark Haskins, Flash Morgan Webster & Flamita) vs Team Trevor (Trevor Lee, Brian Cage, Sami Callihan, WALTER & Jonah Rock)

I have always been a fan of the annual BOLA clusterfuck match. It's always clear that everyone is having a great time and it makes it one of the more enjoyable matches to watch. Chuck Taylor is always great in these matches and you get to see things that never happen any other time. It's just good fun. ****1/4

14. AJ Styles vs Finn Balor - WWE TLC

This match went about as well as a late replacement match could and even though it was 19 minutes long it flew by. It certainly helped out a PPV that was otherwise just okay. If they had some time to prepare these two could have a blinder of a match. ****1/4


13. Will Ospreay vs Flip Gordon - ROH Global Wars Chicago

It's one of the flippiest wrestlers in the world against a guy called Flip. When Ospreay is on, which is pretty often, he is one of the world's premier performers. Flip came out of this looking fantastic, as he went toe to toe with Ospreay and never missed a beat. ****1/4

12. Matt Riddle vs Penta El Zero M - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 3

This is one of those matches that you didn't even think about until it was right in front of you. It was what you would expect too, with both men hitting some vicious chops along the way. PWG has a habit of putting together matches like this and it is much appreciated. ****1/4

11. LDRS (Marty Scurll & Zack Sabre Jr) vs Ricochet & Matt Sydal - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 2

Scurll and Sabre have become such a good heel team that it's almost unfair to other heel teams. There was almost no chance that this wouldn't be good. Matt Sydal is someone you never really think about but he always puts in good performances. ****1/4


10. Matt Riddle vs Michael Elgin - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 2

I'm a big fan of double hard bastards beating the shit out of each other and that is exactly what this was. I really want to see Riddle get a run in New Japan at some point because there are so many great match possibilities. ****1/4

9. Fenix vs Marty 'The Moth' Martinez (Mask vs Hair Match) - Lucha Underground Ultima Lucha Tres

While this might not be the best wrestling match on this list, it is probably the one that tells the best in ring story. It not only told the story of the mask vs hair stipulation, it also told the story of Marty's obsession with Melissa Santos and the relationship between Santos and Fenix. It is really well executed. ****1/4

8. Keith Lee vs Ricochet vs Jeff Cobb (BOLA Final) - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 3

This was a great way to finish a fantastic tournament. These are three of the best wrestlers that are currently doing the rounds on the indies and they put on a great exhibition of their skills here. As Ricochet may well be headed to WWE soon, it's nice to see him having matches like this before he goes. ****1/2

7. Will Ospreay vs KUSHIDA (IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title) - NJPW King of Pro Wrestling

This was a great match that had callbacks to their previous encounters. Both of these two guys can put on spectacular matches and are two of the best high fliers on the planet. This was pretty much guaranteed to be great. It isn't their best match this year but it is certainly worth a watch. ****1/2

6. Joey Janela vs Sammy Guevara - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 2

This match was completely mental. Joey Janela is an actual lunatic. This will definitely not be to everyone's taste, due to the sheer amount of crazy spots in it, but as a piece of pure entertainment it is superb. ****1/2

5. Matt Riddle vs Keith Lee (WWN Live Title, Last Man Standing Match) - Evolve 94

These two have been on similar paths with regards to their career development, with both men ready to take the step up to the big time. The stipulation was used brilliantly too. There wasn't a great deal of waiting around for 10 counts, they kept it moving along at a good pace and it really helped. ****1/2

4. Tetsuya Naito vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW King of Pro Wrestling

Naito is amazing. Ishii is amazing. 'Nuff said. ****1/2

3. Chosen Bros (Matt Riddle & Jeff Cobb) vs Monstars (Donovan Dijak & Keith Lee) - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 1

This was a delight. Three of these men are incredibly athletic giants, and the other is Matt Riddle, who has crazy strength. It was great fun to see them switch between doing high flying moves, to suplexing everything in sight, to slapping the shit out of each other. All of these men deserve a shot at the highest level and I wouldn't be surprised if in the next few years all of them are seen on WWE/NXT TV. Dijak is already in NXT. ****3/4


2. Keith Lee vs Donovan Dijak - PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 3

This was a spectacular match. I know a lot of people preferred their matches in Evolve, but for me this one was better. Some of that is because I feel like matches come across better in PWG and part of it is because it was better. This is one of those matches that has everything in it. High spots, finisher kick outs, tons of near falls, a great crowd and real drama. It's fucking great. ****3/4

1. New Day vs The Usos (Smackdown Tag Titles, Hell In A Cell Match) - WWE Hell In A Cell

This feud has been the best thing on WWE TV for the last few months and this was the perfect way to top it off. Every match they have had has been great and this was the best of the lot. They used a whole host of spots that haven't been seen before, which is impressive given the amount of cell matches there have been. This was the best cell match since Undertaker vs HHH at Wrestlemania 28. Superb. ****3/4

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