August was another great month. a fact that really no longer needs to be said. We got the end of the G1 Climax and Buddy Murphy was once again WWE's best main roster competitor. This list is gonna be pretty crazy at the top end.
Honourable Mentions
Travis Banks vs WALTER (PROGRESS Title) - PROGRESS Chapter 74: Midweek Matters ****
Chris Dickinson vs Tracy Williams (No Holds Barred) - Evolve 108 ****
Darby Allin vs Matt Riddle - Evolve 110 ****
WALTER vs Anthony Henry - Evolve 111 ****
Shane Strickland vs DJZ (Evolve Title) - Evolve 111 ****
AR Fox vs Joey Janela vs Austin Theory vs Darby Allin - Evolve 111 ****
Tracy Williams vs Chris Dickinson & Stokely Hathaway (Career vs Career) - Evolve 111 ****
Hirooki Goto vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW G1 Climax Night 12 ****
Kenny Omega vs Zack Sabre Jr - NJPW G1 Climax Night 12 ****
Kazuchika Okada vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW G1 Climax Night 13 ****
EVIL vs Kazuchika Okada - NJPW G1 Climax Night 15 ****
Juice Robinson vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax Night 16 ****
SANADA vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW G1 Climax Night 16 ****
The Miz vs Daniel Bryan - WWE Summerslam ****
Cage vs Pentagon (Last Man Standing) - Lucha Underground S04E11 ****
Seth Rollins vs Kevin Owens (IC Title) - WWE Raw 27th August ****
Buddy Murphy vs Kalisto - WWE 205 Live 28th August ****
David Starr & Ilja Dragunov vs Ringkampf - wXw X PROGRESS Hamburg ****1/4
Adam Cole vs Ricochet (North American Title) - NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 ****1/4
AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe (WWE Title) - WWE Summerslam ****1/4
15. Shuji Ishikawa vs Zeus (AJPW Triple Crown) - AJPW Summer Explosion Series Day 9 ****1/4
14. Buddy Murphy & Tony Nese vs Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado - WWE 205 Live 21st August ****1/4
13. Matt Riddle vs Shane Strickland (Evolve Title, Hardcore Match) - Evolve 108 ****1/4
12. Joey Janela vs Darby Allin (WWN Live Title) - Evolve 109 ****1/4
11. Tomohiro Ishii vs SANADA - NJPW G1 Climax Night 18
This will not be the last match from Night 18 of the G1 that appears on this list. The card was nuts. Ishii is the sort of wrestler that makes everyone he gets in the ring with look like a million bucks. SANADA was the recipient of that rub here and it provided a brilliant match that set the tone for what was to come later in the night. ****1/2
10. Matt Riddle vs JD Drake - Evolve 111
If you like seeing two men beat the piss out of each other then this is the match for you. It started with a chop exchange and it just built from there. The finishing stretch was particularly great and Evolve will be a worse place for not having Matt Riddle in it. ****1/2
9. Kota Ibushi vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW G1 Climax Night 14
These two had a fantastic match at last year's G1 and while this didn't quite match that effort it was still wildly entertaining. Naito, in particular, was at the top of his game. The only thing holding this back from being much higher on this list was Ibushi's refusal to sell anything for more than two goddamn minutes. ****1/2
8. Undisputed Era vs Moustache Mountain (NXT Tag Titles) - NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4
Well, this was fucking delightful, wasn't it. Every time that it seems that the NXT tag division is going to take a step back they find a way to produce something wonderful. Both of these teams are amazing so the fact that this match almost stole the show is no surprise. More great tag wrestling, please. ****1/2
7. Zack Sabre Jr vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW G1 Climax Night 18
More action from Night 18, here. This was a rematch from their NJ Cup match earlier in the year and much like that match, it was pretty fucking great. The story they told was really good too, with Zack finally managing to hit the Zack Driver that he had been teasing throughout the tournament. It was all very good stuff. ****1/2
6. Tommaso Ciampa vs Johnny Gargano (NXT Title, Last Man Standing) - NXT Takeover Brooklyn 4
It speaks to the craziness of this month's matches that this match is down at number 6. While this was the weakest of their three matches this year, that is splitting hairs really. It was still a near perfect end to their trilogy. They continued to throw in a bunch of callbacks to their previous matches and carried on telling an engrossing story mixed with brutality. ****3/4
5. Jordan Devlin vs WALTER (OTT Title) - OTT Wrestlerama 2
This match features one of the best pre-match hype videos I have seen in quite a while. This match felt like a big deal, with Devlin having not lost a singles match in the best part of 2 years in OTT, and WALTER being the monster that he is. All of this made the crowd rabid for everything that happened and they were given a wonderful match in return. The finishing stretch was a thing of beauty and the sense of shock when WALTER picked up the win was palpable. Check this match out. ****3/4
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada - NJPW G1 Climax Night 17
If you have seen any of the matches that these two have had against each other, and there are many, then you know that it is near impossible for them to put on a bad match. They have an uncanny knack of putting together matches that build gradually throughout until they are something truly special. This was that. Watch it. *****
3. Kenny Omega vs Kota Ibushi - NJPW G1 Climax Night 18
This is the last match from the stellar 18th night of the G1. I have been waiting for another match between these two for such a long time that there was a worry that they wouldn't be able to live up to what I had in my head. I needn't have worried. This was balls to the wall stuff from the go and there wasn't any point where I wasn't thoroughly entertained. This would have been number one in most months and I look forward to seeing them do this again in the future. *****
2. Kenny Omega vs Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax Night 14
This match was fucking incredible. Two of the best wrestlers on the planet putting everything they have into one of the best matches this year. Which is crazy, as it isn't even the best match this month. You need to see this match. The physicality of this match was something else and it created a truly special occasion. Ishii continues to put on incredible matches all the time. Absolutely wonderful. *****
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kota Ibushi (G1 Climax Final) - NJPW G1 Climax Finals
It was going to take something exceptional to top that Omega vs Ishii match, and that is exactly what we got here. Tanahashi is an absolute master of telling stories on massive occasions and that is exactly what he did here. Ibushi played the subtle heel as the crowd was fully behind the Ace. Ibushi was so damn vicious in this match. This was everything you could want from a modern day wrestling match. It was a thing of beauty and it will be in the conversation for MOTY when the time comes. Do yourself a favour and watch this. *****
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