As has become customary at this point, June was another great month for wrestling fans. We had great matches from New Japan and NXT, as well as a couple of surprises. All in all, June was one of the best months of wrestling this year.
Honourable Mentions
Dragon Lee vs KUSHIDA - NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Night 12 ****
Hiromu Takahashi vs KUSHIDA - NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Night 13 ****
Flip Gordon vs Will Ospreay - NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Night 13 ****
Daniel Bryan vs Big E vs Samoa Joe vs The Miz vs Rusev (Gauntlet Match) - WWE Smackdown Live 19th June ****
Alexa Bliss vs Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair vs Ember Moon vs Lana vs Naomi vs Natalya vs Sasha Banks (Money In The Bank) - WWE Money In The Bank ****
Seth Rollins vs Dolph Ziggler (IC Title) - WWE Raw 25th June ****
Hiromu Takahashi vs El Desperado (IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title) - NJPW Kizuna Road Day 3 ****
Anthony Henry vs Timothy Thatcher - Evolve 107 ****
Matt Riddle vs AR Fox (Evolve Title) - Evolve 107 ****
Undisputed Era vs Moustache Mountain & Ricochet - NXT 27th June ****
Jay Lethal vs KUSHIDA - ROH Best In The World ****
Punishment Martinez vs Hangman Page (Street Fight) - ROH Best In The World ****
Fenix vs Mil Muertes vs Jeremiah Crane (Grave Consequences) - Lucha Underground S04E03 ****
Taiji Ishimori vs Bandido - PWG All-Star Weekend 14 Night 1 ****
Bandido vs Rey Horus - PWG All-Star Weekend 14 Night 2 ****
Keith Lee vs WALTER vs Jonah Rock (PWG Title) - PWG All-Star Weekend 14 Night 2 ****
Pete Dunne vs Kyle O'Reilly (UK Title) - NXT 13th June ****1/4
The Briscoes vs Young Bucks (ROH Tag Titles) - ROH Best In The World ****1/4
Hirooki Goto vs Michael Elgin (NEVER Openweight Title) - NJPW Kizuna Road Day 2 ****1/4
Braun Strowman vs Kevin Owens vs Finn Balor vs The Miz vs Rusev vs Samoa Joe vs Bobby Roode vs Kofi Kingston (Money In The Bank) - WWE Money In The Bank ****1/4
AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE Title, Last Man Standing) - WWE Money In The Bank ****1/4
WALTER & Jack Sexsmith vs South Pacific Power Trip - PROGRESS Chapter 71: F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.P.R.O.G.R.E.S.S ****1/4
Dragon Lee vs El Desperado - NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Night 13 ****1/4
Chosen Bros vs Young Bucks vs Rascalz (PWG Tag Titles) - PWG All-Star Weekend 14 Night 1 ****1/4
15. Moustache Mountain vs Undisputed Era (NXT Tag Titles) - WWE UK Tournament Night 2 ****1/4
14. Chris Jericho vs Tetsuya Naito (IWGP IC Title) - NJPW Dominion ****1/4
13. Travis Banks vs Zack Gibson (UK Tournament Final) - WWE UK Tournament Night 1 ****1/4
12. EVIL & SANADA vs Young Bucks (IWGP Tag Titles) - NJPW Dominion ****1/4
11. Velveteen Dream vs Ricochet - NXT Takeover: Chicago ****1/4
10. Ringkampf vs Violence Unlimited - PWG All-Star Weekend 14 Night 1
Ringkampf are an amazing tag team and Violence Unlimited really stepped up here, with Brody King particularly impressing. With his quality and ring style, King could be one of the breakout stars of the next 12-18 months. This was a hard hitting match that delivered above expectation. ****1/2
9. British Strong Style vs Undisputed Era - WWE UK Tournament Night 1
This was superb. Everybody came out of this looking a million bucks. The crowd was magnificent throughout too, pushing this even higher. They built on what they had already done and set up matches down the line. Excellent stuff all round. ****1/2
8. Undisputed Era vs Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan (NXT Tag Titles) - NXT Takeover: Chicago
Well, this was awesome. Lorcan and Burch have been a sneaky great team for a while but they absolutely cemented themselves here. This was given all the chance in the world to succeed and it certainly did that. Both teams looked great and the crowd was fully invested throughout. There were some great near falls and they did a good job of making me believe that the challengers could win. ****1/2
7. Pete Dunne vs Zack Gibson (WWE UK Title) - WWE UK Tournament Night 2
This was an engrossing back and forth match that did an excellent job of pushing Gibson as a potential champion and establishing Dunne as the very top of the mountain. The crowd was fully invested throughout and 'Shoes off if you hate Gibson' is an all-time chant. Gibson worked his way to utilizing the Shankly Gates but Dunne was just too good and retained his title. ****1/2
6. Masashi Takeda vs Isami Kodaka (BJW Deathmatch Title, Light Tubes, Giga Ladder, Panes of Glass Match) - BJW 20th June
I don't really watch many deathmatches as I usually find them to be lacking in structure or quality but I can't say that here. It is absurdly violent but it does have a real match at its centre, a really fucking good one. It honestly resembles a New Japan main event in terms of structure and layout, the only difference being that this involves glass and nail boards. Even if deathmatches aren't your thing, give this a try as it may well be the best pure deathmatch ever. ****1/2
5. Will Ospreay vs Hiromu Takahashi (IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title) - NJPW Dominion
This was a great match, especially down the finishing stretch, where they really really pushed it. These two are at the forefront of revolutionary wrestling and they are willing to do whatever it takes to entertain, even if that comes at the expense of their own bodies. I do worry about their long-term health though as I would like to enjoy their matches for many years to come. ****1/2
4. Will Ospreay vs Jordan Devlin - PROGRESS Chapter 72: Got, Got, Need
Jordan Devlin is quickly becoming someone that can be entrusted to put on great matches with whatever names you have. He has been killing it as OOT champ and is now a fan favourite in PROGRESS. This was probably his best match ever. Sure, it was a spotfest but it was one hell of an entertaining one. There are some sequences that are mind blowing on offer here and it really is a must see match. ****3/4
3. Hiromu Takahashi vs Taiji Ishimori (BOTSJ Final) - NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals
This is another outstanding match in a year absolutely chock full of them. The tournament as a whole was impressive but the final was the icing on the cake, just as it should be. The wrestling was tremendous, so was the crowd, so was the story they told. Also, it was bat shit crazy at times. Takahashi is a one of a kind human being that is too good for this world. An exceptional piece of wrestling all round and a definite must see. *****
2. Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa (Street Fight) - NXT Takeover: Chicago
I'm not going to lie, I went into this match with a bit of worry. I thought that the stipulation was too similar to their previous match and I was concerned that they wouldn't be able to tell a different enough story. I was wrong. Dead wrong. This was outstanding. The story they told here was spot on. They built on what came before and advanced it, with Ciampa being an amazing, violent asshole and Gargano feeling that he needed to lower himself to Ciampa's level to win. The visual of Ciampa removing Gargano's wedding ring, spitting on it and throwing it away was awesome and provided the perfect reason for Gargano to snap. Having Ciampa win in the way he did was the right call too. The Takahashi vs Ishimori match had better wrestling but this had more emotion. *****
1. Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega (IWGP Title, No Time Limit, 2/3 Falls) - NJPW Dominion
Every now and again there is a match that has the chance to define an era of wrestling. When you get those matches you hope that it delivers and, thankfully, this match was off the charts. It left me emotionally spent. If the purpose of wrestling is to tell great stories that get you emotionally invested and build to a wonderful closing stretch, then job done. If it is to put on matches that showcase athletic prowess that can't be seen in everyday life, then job done. Everything you could possibly want from a wrestling match was on offer for you here. The pacing was fantastic, the storytelling was perfect, and the wrestling was of the highest order. The callbacks to their previous matches were superb and the crowd bought into every last second of it. It was a masterpiece. *****
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