Fake Fighting Frenzy: Top 10 Wrestling Matches of 2016
There's no way around it. 2016 sucked. Donald Trump is the president. All our idols are dying. Dwyane Wade plays for the Bulls. It's been an unmitigated disaster. But if there has been one bright spot about 2016, it's that it has given us some of the best wrestling matches we've ever seen. With NXT surging and providing the WWE main roster with loads of talent and Lucha Underground constantly evolving and forming itself into the best damn wrestling show EVER, the quality of wrestling we've been treated to is seemingly unprecedented, at least in the modern era. Looking back at the sheer number of high quality matches we've been treated to this year and trying to whittle that list down to a top 10, I really came to appreciate how much the wrestling gods have blessed us this year. So, without further ado, Vundablog's Top 10 Wrestling Matches of 2016!
Honorable Mentions
Honestly, it's amazing to me that these matches didn't make the top ten. Any other year, they probably would have but this is 2016, so...
The Revival v. American Alpha -- NXT TakeOver: Dallas
What a moment this was. I don't think a single person in the building wasn't rooting HARD for American Alpha in this one. The match was as amazing as you would expect from these two tag team virtuosos and when AA pulled it off, the crowd erupted. I'll never forget jumping up and down and high fiving total strangers in the row behind me.
Sexy Star v. Marty "The Moth" Martinez v. Mariposa v. Killshot v. Night Claw v. Daga v. Siniestro de la Muerte (Gift of the Gods Match) -- Lucha Underground Ultima Lucha Dos
For those who aren't familiar with the concept of the Gift of the Gods: it starts with seven ancient Aztec medallions. Throughout the year, wrestlers compete to gain possession of one of these seven medallions in a variety of matches. When the Gift of the Gods match rolls around, each wrestler places their medallion into one of the seven empty slots on the Gift of the Gods title belt and they all fight for it. The winner of the belt gets a guaranteed shot at the Lucha Underground championship which must be announced a week in advance (because Dario Cueto likes to promote his championship matches). This match, like most multiple-person matches in Lucha Underground, is bonkers. Night Claw is a newcomer here and it's a shame we haven't really seen him since because he's NUTS. Killshot is great, too, and probably one of the most underrated guys in Lucha Underground. The main focus here, though, is Sexy Star v. Mariposa and Marty the Moth, who are the last three left. Sexy gets through Mariposa and it comes down to her and her main tormentor, Marty. She ultimately vanquishes him and wins the Gift of the Gods. Great stuff.
The Miz v. Cesaro v. Sami Zayn v. Kevin Owens -- WWE Extreme Rules
It kinda kills me to not put this match in the top ten because it was one of my favorite matches of the year. There are so many great things going on here from the word go. Sami starting the match by IMMEDIATELY hustling over and Helluva Kicking Kevin Owens's face off was just perfect. Also the fact that Owens costs Sami the match, leading to their Match of the Year candidate at Battleground is great, too. This is probably the first match where I actually thought to myself that The Miz might actually be getting a lot better in the ring--which is saying something when he's in the ring with three of the best in the world. Great match all around.
AND NOW FOR OUR MAIN EVENT...
10. Pentagon Dark v. Black Lotus Triad (Gauntlet Match) -- Lucha Underground
This match was set up at Aztec Warfare III but the story goes back to Ultima Lucha Dos (the season two finale) when Black Lotus and El Dragon Azteca Jr. were set to go to war over Black Lotus straight up murdering El Dragon Azteca Sr. but then WHOOPS a powered up Pentagon Dark (just transitioned from Pentagon Jr. after beating up spooky alternate versions of himself in a cave) shows up and breaks both their arms just to prove a point. Weeks later, at Aztec Warfare III, Black Lotus would exact her revenge, returning with the Black Lotus Triad in tow to f*ck up Pentagon's Christmas and get him eliminated. This leads to this match.
The match itself spans the entire episode and it is perfectly paced and booked. All three ladies in the Black Lotus Triad are badass but Pentagon is still like ten times more badass so when he's not brutalizing them, he's strutting around, taunting and mugging, allowing them to sneak in some pretty sick offense. I love that Pentagon is not the least bit afraid to hit these women as if they're, y'know, actual legitimate wrestlers instead of treating them like babies because they're women like SO many wrestlers do in intergender matches. The building of energy is really great, too. The first match is fun and we get to see Doku's sick elbow drop but then she goes for it again and Pentagon catches her by the arm and breaks it for the TKO. The second match starts amping up the violence a bit but eventually Yurei flips right into Pentagon's arms and gets caught in a package piledriver which is SICK. He breaks her arm and that match is over. Next up: HITOKIRI
This lady is NO JOKE. She's noticeably thicker and tougher than the other two ladies and not only does she get in some believable offense on Pentagon but he roughs her the F*CK up. She also becomes the first woman to ever dive off the roof of Dario's office. Not only that, but in one of the shockers of the year, she reverses a package piledriver into a monster Canadian Destroyer and PINS PENTAGON DARK. And it totally works because she's such a tremendous badass and because Pentagon has already been through hell. But his night is far from over. He still has one more opponent: Black Lotus. She shows up flanked by Doku and Yurei and instead of trying to do any actual wrestling, just straight up cuts the foreplay and breaks Pentagon's damn arm. That would have been a perfect ending BUT WAIT here comes El Dragon Azteca Jr. to break Pentagon's OTHER arm. Amazing. And, by the way, as of the end of 2016, it's been a month since this match and we still haven't seen Pentagon since it happened. Perfect.
9. #DIY v. The Revival (2-out-of-3 Falls Match for the NXT Tag Team Championships) -- NXT TakeOver: Toronto
It was really hard for me to decide which of the two DIY/Revival matches I liked better because they're both tag team masterpieces. Easily two of the best tag team matches I've ever seen. This one is the happy ending. The one where all the elements of the story that have been building over months and months come together for one shining moment and DIY finally reach their goal of vanquishing The Revival and becoming the new tag champs.
The match itself is classic tag team wrestling that The Revival has made their specialty over the last year or so. Too many great moments to recount them all. A lot of really great callbacks like the injury Gargano sustained in the Cruiserweight Classic (and cost DIY their first shot at the belts) being aggravated when The Revival try to use the belts to win and he ends up kicking one of them with his shin. The money shot, however, is the ending, which sees both Gargano and Ciampa catching Dash and Dawson in their submission finishers and Dash and Dawson grabbing each other's hands back and forth to keep each other from tapping out before finally tapping out simultaneously. Just beautiful, beautiful stuff.
8. The Revival v. #DIY (NXT Tag Team Championship Match) -- NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II
This is a tag team masterpiece. It was hard to put this over the match with so much more story but it's just so perfectly orchestrated and the crowd is just molten hot for the whole thing, popping for so many great moments and biting down HARD on nearfall after nearfall. I can't say enough about this match. This is how tag team wrestling is done. This might literally be the best tag team match I've ever seen in my life. Do yourself a favor and go find it and watch it right now.
7. Roman Reigns v. AJ Styles (Extreme Rules Match for the WWE Championship) -- WWE Extreme Rules
A lot of people think that AJ "carried" Roman Reigns in this match but I don't see it the same way at all. Certainly AJ is the best damn wrestler on the planet and it would be difficult to not have a great match with him but, to me, this match proves that Roman Reigns is a MUCH better wrestler than people give him credit for. Not only is his chemistry with AJ is excellent but his timing and storytelling and psychology in this match is top notch. The two go to WAR and it's a beautiful dance that neither could ever "carry" the other to. I LOVE the callback to AJ Phenomenal Forearming into a Superman Punch with AJ Phenomenal Forearming into one of the best-looking spears of the year. And to top it all off, SETH FREAKING ROLLINS finally returns and Pedigrees Roman Reigns to a HUGE pop. Just...wonderful.
6. AJ Styles v. John Cena -- WWE SummerSlam
This match was just so well done. The story outside of the ring was there, with AJ wanting to be the face of the New Era but John Cena doing his usual "the road goes through me" thing. The in-ring story, however, is masterful. No matter what Cena does, AJ seems to have an answer for it. He's countering everything Cena throws at him and he's refusing to stay down for the stuff he doesn't counter. Cena is the old guard and he's probably lost half a step and Styles is the New Era and he's at the top of his game and has been preparing for this for over a decade.
The climax comes when Cena hits the Super AA. This is Cena's trump card. The move that has never, ever failed him when he needs to put someone away and nothing else will do it. Only this time, for the first time ever, it does fail. This shatters Cena's world. This has never happened. He's come face to face with the twilight of his career. For the first time in years, he simply cannot put his opponent away. He stands in the ring aghast, staring at AJ in disbelief for what feels like at least a solid minute, giving AJ time to recover, reverse another AA, hit the Styles Clash and get the pin. After AJ leaves, Cena sits in the middle of the ring contemplating his mortality and then takes off his "Never Give Up" armband and leaves it in the middle of the ring. To this day, AJ insists on being announced as "the face that runs the place." THAT is how you pass the torch.
(Side note: two nights later, AJ showed up on Smackdown with the armband around his head. Amazing.)
5. Sexy Star v. Mariposa (No Más Match) -- Lucha Underground
What this match lacks in technical skill and precision it MORE than makes up for in sheer intensity and emotion. The viciousness and sense of urgency from both performers goes a long, long way toward making this look like a real fight and everything looks like it hurts--from Sexy hammering a chair between Mariposa's legs with another chair to Mariposa dragging Sexy up the steps by her HAIR and ripping her mask and making her bleed and everything in between. I've seen a lot of people complain about how they went up to the rafters only to not do anything with it but I think those people completely missed what happened up there. One of my favorite moments of this match is Mariposa attempting to throw Sexy over the railing and literally kill her in order to get her to say "no más." There's even a moment where Sexy's legs are literally dangling over the railing. It's SO intense. But the most intense moment of the match comes when Mariposa locks Sexy in a modified Indian deathlock and the referee asks her if she wants to say "no más" and Sexy screams "FUCK YOUUUUU!" I don't know if it was originally aired unedited but the recording I saw was and the impact it makes is indescribable. That was just one of the most perfect moments I've ever seen. It's the moment when Sexy says ENOUGH after everything she's been through at the hands of Mariposa and her brother Marty the Moth (more on that later). My only complaint about this match is that Sexy wins with a freaking armbar (and not by, I dunno, dragging Mariposa up the steps by her hair and threatening to throw her from the rafters) but it's fine. This is still quite possibly the best women's wrestling match I've ever seen.
4. Sami Zayn v. Kevin Owens -- WWE Battleground
This was to be the final chapter of a rivalry that has spanned from the independent wrestling scene to NXT to Monday Night Raw. The paths of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn had been crossing for most of the first half of 2016 (and most of 2015). Kevin Owens took Sami Zayn’s NXT title that he worked for 18 months to get his hands on. He (kayfabe) put Sami out of commission for 9 months. They cost each other the Royal Rumble. They cost each other the Intercontinental title at WrestleMania. They cost each other Money In the Bank. They both knew they needed to end this rivalry and get on with their lives--at least for a while.
THIS thing. Oh man. So this probably needs a little scene setting: At the end of season one, head honcho Dario Cueto, Black Lotus, and Dario's brother, the Monster Matanza Cueto (who they have been teasing since literally the very first episode but has never appeared on screen except for one tiny glimpse at the very end of season one) have to go on the run after Black Lotus murders El Dragon Azteca Sr. (which, according to Dario, starts a war) and control of the temple falls to Catrina who is now managing the Lucha Underground champion (Mil Muertes) as well as the Trios champions (Disciples of Death). When Fenix takes the title away from Mil, she retaliates by putting him #1 in Aztec Warfare and puts Mil Muertes as the final entrant at #20.
So the match is about to begin. Fenix comes to the ring #1. And who else is #2 but REY MYSTERIO, JR.!!! It's hard to overstate the gravity of this moment. Rey Mysterio is the reason any of this exists. He paved the way for lucha libre to become popular in the United States. He is the spiritual godfather of Lucha Underground in so many ways. Fenix marking out like a little kid only adds to the moment because you just know he watched Mysterio when he WAS a little kid and this is probably the highlight of his career. Not only that, but their symmetry in the ring is unmistakable and mesmerizing.
There are so many other great moments. Famous B and Beautiful Brenda in the crowd handing out business cards. Joey Ryan showing up and handcuffing himself to the guard rail. Prince Puma coming out with STRAIGHT FIRE (that springboard shooting star press is just...breathtaking). Puma, Mysterio, and Fenix stomping Jack Evans and Johnny Mundo trying to join in, only to get beat up--then pulling Jack to safety and Taya coming out next setting the stage for Worldwide Underground, who then face down the tecnicos and brawl (PJ Black also later works with Jack). El Dragon Azteca Jr. making his debut with HOT FIRE. Aztec Warfare always does a great job of tying all the current feuds together: Cage and Johnny Mundo. Drago and Jack Evans. The Mack and Marty the Moth. The Mack and Cage. It's like a symphony. So many component parts coming together to make a coherent whole.
When Mil Muertes enters at #20, things get really interesting (well, more interesting). Everyone in the ring stops and waits for the destruction to come. But then, something no one expected happens: Pentagon Jr. (who is not in the match) shows up and WRECKS MIL'S SH*T with a steel chair and Mil gets pinned immediately by Mysterio and Puma. Catrina is incensed. She gets up in Vampiro's face (him being Pentagon's dark master, as revealed at the end of season one) and screams at him and smacks him in the face. The crowd, who hasn't liked the way Catrina has been running things already, reaches a fever pitch in their dislike for her. Just then, the buzzer unexpectedly goes off, indicating that there is actually one more entrant in Aztec Warfare...and Dario appears at the top of the stairs to a HUGE pop. He announces that he has come to take back his temple (HUUUGE pop) and there is one more entrant in Aztec Warfare: THE MONSTER MATANZA
Matanza then proceeds to absolutely lay waste to the field, pinning guys with a variety of devastating moves: German suplexes, powerbombs, gutwrench suplexes, chokeslams, STANDING SHOOTING STAR PRESSES, and a hesitation tilt-a-whirl powerslam that would become known as the Wrath of the Gods. Ultimately, it comes down to Mysterio and Matanza, the two newest faces in Lucha Underground (this will be important later so remember this detail). Mysterio goes for a 619 and gets caught but he wiggles out and hits the 619. He goes for his finisher but Matanza is too strong. He catches him and flips him into a Wrath of the Gods for the pin.
What else can I say? Aztec Warfare is always a masterpiece and this is no different. Just brilliant on so many levels. And its next installment only builds on that brilliance. More on that later.
2. Shinsuke Nakamura v. Sami Zayn -- NXT TakeOver: DallasHonorable Mentions
Honestly, it's amazing to me that these matches didn't make the top ten. Any other year, they probably would have but this is 2016, so...
The Revival v. American Alpha -- NXT TakeOver: Dallas
What a moment this was. I don't think a single person in the building wasn't rooting HARD for American Alpha in this one. The match was as amazing as you would expect from these two tag team virtuosos and when AA pulled it off, the crowd erupted. I'll never forget jumping up and down and high fiving total strangers in the row behind me.
Sexy Star v. Marty "The Moth" Martinez v. Mariposa v. Killshot v. Night Claw v. Daga v. Siniestro de la Muerte (Gift of the Gods Match) -- Lucha Underground Ultima Lucha Dos
For those who aren't familiar with the concept of the Gift of the Gods: it starts with seven ancient Aztec medallions. Throughout the year, wrestlers compete to gain possession of one of these seven medallions in a variety of matches. When the Gift of the Gods match rolls around, each wrestler places their medallion into one of the seven empty slots on the Gift of the Gods title belt and they all fight for it. The winner of the belt gets a guaranteed shot at the Lucha Underground championship which must be announced a week in advance (because Dario Cueto likes to promote his championship matches). This match, like most multiple-person matches in Lucha Underground, is bonkers. Night Claw is a newcomer here and it's a shame we haven't really seen him since because he's NUTS. Killshot is great, too, and probably one of the most underrated guys in Lucha Underground. The main focus here, though, is Sexy Star v. Mariposa and Marty the Moth, who are the last three left. Sexy gets through Mariposa and it comes down to her and her main tormentor, Marty. She ultimately vanquishes him and wins the Gift of the Gods. Great stuff.
The Miz v. Cesaro v. Sami Zayn v. Kevin Owens -- WWE Extreme Rules
It kinda kills me to not put this match in the top ten because it was one of my favorite matches of the year. There are so many great things going on here from the word go. Sami starting the match by IMMEDIATELY hustling over and Helluva Kicking Kevin Owens's face off was just perfect. Also the fact that Owens costs Sami the match, leading to their Match of the Year candidate at Battleground is great, too. This is probably the first match where I actually thought to myself that The Miz might actually be getting a lot better in the ring--which is saying something when he's in the ring with three of the best in the world. Great match all around.
AND NOW FOR OUR MAIN EVENT...
10. Pentagon Dark v. Black Lotus Triad (Gauntlet Match) -- Lucha Underground
This match was set up at Aztec Warfare III but the story goes back to Ultima Lucha Dos (the season two finale) when Black Lotus and El Dragon Azteca Jr. were set to go to war over Black Lotus straight up murdering El Dragon Azteca Sr. but then WHOOPS a powered up Pentagon Dark (just transitioned from Pentagon Jr. after beating up spooky alternate versions of himself in a cave) shows up and breaks both their arms just to prove a point. Weeks later, at Aztec Warfare III, Black Lotus would exact her revenge, returning with the Black Lotus Triad in tow to f*ck up Pentagon's Christmas and get him eliminated. This leads to this match.
The match itself spans the entire episode and it is perfectly paced and booked. All three ladies in the Black Lotus Triad are badass but Pentagon is still like ten times more badass so when he's not brutalizing them, he's strutting around, taunting and mugging, allowing them to sneak in some pretty sick offense. I love that Pentagon is not the least bit afraid to hit these women as if they're, y'know, actual legitimate wrestlers instead of treating them like babies because they're women like SO many wrestlers do in intergender matches. The building of energy is really great, too. The first match is fun and we get to see Doku's sick elbow drop but then she goes for it again and Pentagon catches her by the arm and breaks it for the TKO. The second match starts amping up the violence a bit but eventually Yurei flips right into Pentagon's arms and gets caught in a package piledriver which is SICK. He breaks her arm and that match is over. Next up: HITOKIRI
This lady is NO JOKE. She's noticeably thicker and tougher than the other two ladies and not only does she get in some believable offense on Pentagon but he roughs her the F*CK up. She also becomes the first woman to ever dive off the roof of Dario's office. Not only that, but in one of the shockers of the year, she reverses a package piledriver into a monster Canadian Destroyer and PINS PENTAGON DARK. And it totally works because she's such a tremendous badass and because Pentagon has already been through hell. But his night is far from over. He still has one more opponent: Black Lotus. She shows up flanked by Doku and Yurei and instead of trying to do any actual wrestling, just straight up cuts the foreplay and breaks Pentagon's damn arm. That would have been a perfect ending BUT WAIT here comes El Dragon Azteca Jr. to break Pentagon's OTHER arm. Amazing. And, by the way, as of the end of 2016, it's been a month since this match and we still haven't seen Pentagon since it happened. Perfect.
9. #DIY v. The Revival (2-out-of-3 Falls Match for the NXT Tag Team Championships) -- NXT TakeOver: Toronto
It was really hard for me to decide which of the two DIY/Revival matches I liked better because they're both tag team masterpieces. Easily two of the best tag team matches I've ever seen. This one is the happy ending. The one where all the elements of the story that have been building over months and months come together for one shining moment and DIY finally reach their goal of vanquishing The Revival and becoming the new tag champs.
The match itself is classic tag team wrestling that The Revival has made their specialty over the last year or so. Too many great moments to recount them all. A lot of really great callbacks like the injury Gargano sustained in the Cruiserweight Classic (and cost DIY their first shot at the belts) being aggravated when The Revival try to use the belts to win and he ends up kicking one of them with his shin. The money shot, however, is the ending, which sees both Gargano and Ciampa catching Dash and Dawson in their submission finishers and Dash and Dawson grabbing each other's hands back and forth to keep each other from tapping out before finally tapping out simultaneously. Just beautiful, beautiful stuff.
8. The Revival v. #DIY (NXT Tag Team Championship Match) -- NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II
This is a tag team masterpiece. It was hard to put this over the match with so much more story but it's just so perfectly orchestrated and the crowd is just molten hot for the whole thing, popping for so many great moments and biting down HARD on nearfall after nearfall. I can't say enough about this match. This is how tag team wrestling is done. This might literally be the best tag team match I've ever seen in my life. Do yourself a favor and go find it and watch it right now.
7. Roman Reigns v. AJ Styles (Extreme Rules Match for the WWE Championship) -- WWE Extreme Rules
A lot of people think that AJ "carried" Roman Reigns in this match but I don't see it the same way at all. Certainly AJ is the best damn wrestler on the planet and it would be difficult to not have a great match with him but, to me, this match proves that Roman Reigns is a MUCH better wrestler than people give him credit for. Not only is his chemistry with AJ is excellent but his timing and storytelling and psychology in this match is top notch. The two go to WAR and it's a beautiful dance that neither could ever "carry" the other to. I LOVE the callback to AJ Phenomenal Forearming into a Superman Punch with AJ Phenomenal Forearming into one of the best-looking spears of the year. And to top it all off, SETH FREAKING ROLLINS finally returns and Pedigrees Roman Reigns to a HUGE pop. Just...wonderful.
6. AJ Styles v. John Cena -- WWE SummerSlam
This match was just so well done. The story outside of the ring was there, with AJ wanting to be the face of the New Era but John Cena doing his usual "the road goes through me" thing. The in-ring story, however, is masterful. No matter what Cena does, AJ seems to have an answer for it. He's countering everything Cena throws at him and he's refusing to stay down for the stuff he doesn't counter. Cena is the old guard and he's probably lost half a step and Styles is the New Era and he's at the top of his game and has been preparing for this for over a decade.
The climax comes when Cena hits the Super AA. This is Cena's trump card. The move that has never, ever failed him when he needs to put someone away and nothing else will do it. Only this time, for the first time ever, it does fail. This shatters Cena's world. This has never happened. He's come face to face with the twilight of his career. For the first time in years, he simply cannot put his opponent away. He stands in the ring aghast, staring at AJ in disbelief for what feels like at least a solid minute, giving AJ time to recover, reverse another AA, hit the Styles Clash and get the pin. After AJ leaves, Cena sits in the middle of the ring contemplating his mortality and then takes off his "Never Give Up" armband and leaves it in the middle of the ring. To this day, AJ insists on being announced as "the face that runs the place." THAT is how you pass the torch.
(Side note: two nights later, AJ showed up on Smackdown with the armband around his head. Amazing.)
5. Sexy Star v. Mariposa (No Más Match) -- Lucha Underground
What this match lacks in technical skill and precision it MORE than makes up for in sheer intensity and emotion. The viciousness and sense of urgency from both performers goes a long, long way toward making this look like a real fight and everything looks like it hurts--from Sexy hammering a chair between Mariposa's legs with another chair to Mariposa dragging Sexy up the steps by her HAIR and ripping her mask and making her bleed and everything in between. I've seen a lot of people complain about how they went up to the rafters only to not do anything with it but I think those people completely missed what happened up there. One of my favorite moments of this match is Mariposa attempting to throw Sexy over the railing and literally kill her in order to get her to say "no más." There's even a moment where Sexy's legs are literally dangling over the railing. It's SO intense. But the most intense moment of the match comes when Mariposa locks Sexy in a modified Indian deathlock and the referee asks her if she wants to say "no más" and Sexy screams "FUCK YOUUUUU!" I don't know if it was originally aired unedited but the recording I saw was and the impact it makes is indescribable. That was just one of the most perfect moments I've ever seen. It's the moment when Sexy says ENOUGH after everything she's been through at the hands of Mariposa and her brother Marty the Moth (more on that later). My only complaint about this match is that Sexy wins with a freaking armbar (and not by, I dunno, dragging Mariposa up the steps by her hair and threatening to throw her from the rafters) but it's fine. This is still quite possibly the best women's wrestling match I've ever seen.
4. Sami Zayn v. Kevin Owens -- WWE Battleground
This was to be the final chapter of a rivalry that has spanned from the independent wrestling scene to NXT to Monday Night Raw. The paths of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn had been crossing for most of the first half of 2016 (and most of 2015). Kevin Owens took Sami Zayn’s NXT title that he worked for 18 months to get his hands on. He (kayfabe) put Sami out of commission for 9 months. They cost each other the Royal Rumble. They cost each other the Intercontinental title at WrestleMania. They cost each other Money In the Bank. They both knew they needed to end this rivalry and get on with their lives--at least for a while.
And that they did. This was their masterpiece. Two of the best in the world throwing everything they have at each other and refusing to give in. No wasted motion, not one second that isn’t full of purpose and meaning. Hatred radiating out of their being and infecting one another and every person watching with all the emotion of the years and years they have poured their blood, sweat, and tears into this.
The ending is their crowning achievement. Sami hits the Helluva Kick and Owens collapses into his arms. Sami almost seems to hint at a moment of mercy, of regret. As though he might actually pick Owens up and embrace him, rekindling a deeply meaningful friendship that has been ripped apart ever since Owens debuted in NXT. Zayn picks Owens up, props him in the corner, walks back to the opposite corner, takes one final mental picture of this moment, staring daggers into his former best friend, and finishes him off with one more Helluva Kick. It’s the kind of time-stands-still emotional climax that few are capable of and Sami Zayn specializes in. And it was truly special.
3. Aztec Warfare II -- Lucha UndergroundTHIS thing. Oh man. So this probably needs a little scene setting: At the end of season one, head honcho Dario Cueto, Black Lotus, and Dario's brother, the Monster Matanza Cueto (who they have been teasing since literally the very first episode but has never appeared on screen except for one tiny glimpse at the very end of season one) have to go on the run after Black Lotus murders El Dragon Azteca Sr. (which, according to Dario, starts a war) and control of the temple falls to Catrina who is now managing the Lucha Underground champion (Mil Muertes) as well as the Trios champions (Disciples of Death). When Fenix takes the title away from Mil, she retaliates by putting him #1 in Aztec Warfare and puts Mil Muertes as the final entrant at #20.
So the match is about to begin. Fenix comes to the ring #1. And who else is #2 but REY MYSTERIO, JR.!!! It's hard to overstate the gravity of this moment. Rey Mysterio is the reason any of this exists. He paved the way for lucha libre to become popular in the United States. He is the spiritual godfather of Lucha Underground in so many ways. Fenix marking out like a little kid only adds to the moment because you just know he watched Mysterio when he WAS a little kid and this is probably the highlight of his career. Not only that, but their symmetry in the ring is unmistakable and mesmerizing.
There are so many other great moments. Famous B and Beautiful Brenda in the crowd handing out business cards. Joey Ryan showing up and handcuffing himself to the guard rail. Prince Puma coming out with STRAIGHT FIRE (that springboard shooting star press is just...breathtaking). Puma, Mysterio, and Fenix stomping Jack Evans and Johnny Mundo trying to join in, only to get beat up--then pulling Jack to safety and Taya coming out next setting the stage for Worldwide Underground, who then face down the tecnicos and brawl (PJ Black also later works with Jack). El Dragon Azteca Jr. making his debut with HOT FIRE. Aztec Warfare always does a great job of tying all the current feuds together: Cage and Johnny Mundo. Drago and Jack Evans. The Mack and Marty the Moth. The Mack and Cage. It's like a symphony. So many component parts coming together to make a coherent whole.
When Mil Muertes enters at #20, things get really interesting (well, more interesting). Everyone in the ring stops and waits for the destruction to come. But then, something no one expected happens: Pentagon Jr. (who is not in the match) shows up and WRECKS MIL'S SH*T with a steel chair and Mil gets pinned immediately by Mysterio and Puma. Catrina is incensed. She gets up in Vampiro's face (him being Pentagon's dark master, as revealed at the end of season one) and screams at him and smacks him in the face. The crowd, who hasn't liked the way Catrina has been running things already, reaches a fever pitch in their dislike for her. Just then, the buzzer unexpectedly goes off, indicating that there is actually one more entrant in Aztec Warfare...and Dario appears at the top of the stairs to a HUGE pop. He announces that he has come to take back his temple (HUUUGE pop) and there is one more entrant in Aztec Warfare: THE MONSTER MATANZA
Matanza then proceeds to absolutely lay waste to the field, pinning guys with a variety of devastating moves: German suplexes, powerbombs, gutwrench suplexes, chokeslams, STANDING SHOOTING STAR PRESSES, and a hesitation tilt-a-whirl powerslam that would become known as the Wrath of the Gods. Ultimately, it comes down to Mysterio and Matanza, the two newest faces in Lucha Underground (this will be important later so remember this detail). Mysterio goes for a 619 and gets caught but he wiggles out and hits the 619. He goes for his finisher but Matanza is too strong. He catches him and flips him into a Wrath of the Gods for the pin.
What else can I say? Aztec Warfare is always a masterpiece and this is no different. Just brilliant on so many levels. And its next installment only builds on that brilliance. More on that later.
I already wrote extensively about this match in my earlier post about TakeOver: Dallas, which I attended live. I will say that now, nearly nine months later, although just a tiny bit of the luster of this match has worn off, it is still one of the greatest wrestling matches I've ever seen and probably the stiffest match I've ever seen. The story is a little thin but, as I mentioned before, the story that this is Sami's last match in NXT and Shinsuke's first, a sort of passing of the torch from the heart and soul of NXT's recent rise to popularity to the unique superstar who would carry it into the future, is all the story I need. Moreover, the story in the ring is simple and beautiful: two of the best damn wrestlers on the planet with everything to prove, absolutely killing each other to prove who is the best in the world. It's a fight for ultimate supremacy and a fight for literal survival all rolled into one. The sense of urgency is turned up to 11 and the viciousness of every strike and every move is unparalleled. On top of that, it's taking place in front of one of the most molten hot crowds I've ever seen. I don't think I've ever seen a crowd so completely and all-consumingly stoked for a wrestling match. It was truly a magical moment and it was one of the great privileges of my life to have been a part of it.
1. Aztec Warfare III -- Lucha Underground
This is, hands down, the most socially important wrestling match I’ve ever seen.
Eight days before the airing of Aztec Warfare III, a misogynistic, anti-immigrant, willfully ignorant, fascist demagogue was elected the 45th President of the United States. Twelve days later, a 49-year-old who hadn’t wrestled in over 12 years was booked to beat one of the most unbeatable, legitimate characters in wrestling history in 86 seconds. Two and a half years of booking went out the window in less than a minute and a half and the mother of all rubs was handed to the least deserving person possible instead of, oh, I don’t know, one of the guys who works their ass off 300 days a year and is going to have to carry the company for the next 10-15 years. This happened twelve days after the least qualified presidential candidate in history defeated quite possibly the most qualified presidential candidate in history--and did it, in large part, because she’s a woman (and pro-immigrant, for that matter). Goldberg v. Brock Lesnar was, in a sense, a metaphor for this election.
Aztec Warfare III was a brash, defiant repudiation of it.
Before I get to Sexy Star and glass ceilings, let me run down everything else that made this match the best match of 2016 and one of the greatest American wrestling matches of all time. Aztec Warfare has always been a centerpiece of Lucha Underground. It’s the gravitational force that pulls together all the stories in the solar system of this show and sets everything in motion for the rest of the season moving forward. Aztec Warfare III was certainly no exception.
First of all, the show starts off with Johnny Mundo showing up (with Taya in tow filming a documentary about him) and telling Dario Cueto that if, by some miracle, he doesn’t win Aztec Warfare, he wants to formally announce his intentions to cash in the Gift of the Gods title on whoever does win. He even shows off his number in Aztec Warfare (#12). Dario, like pretty much everyone else, is tired of his shit, so he rips the number in half and tells him that since he's so damn confident, he’ll now be entering at #2--with Matanza at #1. The best part about this is that we find out at the beginning of the match that Sexy Star was actually supposed to be #2 (damn, Dario, that’s cold) and now gets to enter #12. More on that later.
Meanwhile, several other key plotlines move forward. The Black Lotus Clan shows up and destroys Pentagon Jr. as revenge for him breaking Black Lotus’s arm at Ultima Lucha Dos. Matanza ANNIHILATES Mascarita Sagrada, much to the delight of Famous B (who he was feuding with), and then Famous B gets his from Mysterio. Joey Ryan, who tried to win Aztec Warfare II by handcuffing himself to the guard rail in the crowd before Matanza showed up and ripped the damn grate, decides to handcuff himself to the handrailing on the steps before Mil Muertes enters and rips the handcuffs off the railing. One of the most beautiful cinematic moments of the match was Matanza and Mil Muertes getting simultaneous pins and then staring into each other’s eyes and slowly rising to their feet to throw hands.
But, of course, hands down the biggest B-story of Aztec Warfare III was REY MYSTERIO PINNING THE MONSTER MATANZA CUETO. As I mentioned earlier, this show has been building up Matanza from day one. He started as a mysterious thing Dario Cueto kept locked in a cage and kept the key around his neck. One-and-a-quarter seasons into the show, after countless off-screen murders--including at least one instance of literal face-eating--Matanza FINALLY debuted at Aztec Warfare II and absolutely obliterated the entire field--including Rey Mysterio, who also debuted at Aztec Warfare II. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, Mysterio and Matanza were the last two combatants in Aztec Warfare II.
At Aztec Warfare III, it all comes full circle. Unlike last season, the field is prepared for Matanza. He’s been eating guys alive for months (sometimes literally). Tons of guys, who might not have otherwise have gotten a chance to, wrestle him one-on-one thanks to Dario’s Dial of Doom (a big spinning wheel Dario devises to randomly pick opponents for Matanza because no one can beat him and he needs some new competition). They know it’s going to take all of them to eliminate him so, midway through the match, every wrestler left just starts throwing bombs at him. He’s staggered but Mysterio still has a lot of work to do. He hits him with a 619, goes for another one and gets caught but this time he reverses into a sunset flip powerbomb and scores the flash pin--and the Temple comes unhinged. It's a HUGE moment because Matanza has been built up and protected for nearly a year. And it also still leaves a few big moments untouched--the first time someone kicks out of the Wrath of the Gods as well as the first time someone defeats Matanza one-on-one.
And it also totally works because while, yes, Mysterio’s best days are behind him, he has proven night in and night out in Lucha Underground that he is still one of the best and also has been portrayed as perhaps the most powerful character on the show besides Matanza. On a show full of supernatural characters with great powers, Mysterio, as the one guy who, more than anyone else, paved the way for all of this, is perhaps the most powerful--and it still takes like every other wrestler in the match throwing non-stop bombs to even get Matanza’s health bar low enough to where Mysterio has a chance. And what happens next is even better: an enraged Matanza throws a tantrum and wrecks Mysterio’s sh*t and then pushes Dario down and storms off in a rage. It’s the first time we ever see Matanza rebel against Dario and it happens in the most perfect possible circumstance, coinciding with the first time Matanza has ever faced any real adversity. And it sets up one of the most epic rivalries in the show’s history. Beautiful.
Admittedly, I definitely did not think Matanza was going to lose. It just seemed like a foregone conclusion to me that he would make it through in order to keep building him up so he could give someone on the roster the mother of all rubs at Ultima Lucha. After he and Mysterio knocked each other out, I started wondering about who was going to win the match. I started doing the math and suddenly a light clicked on in my head. Sexy Star is still in the match. “The wouldn’t. They couldn’t.” (in the words of Joey Styles) My heart started beating a little faster. If Sexy Star wins this match, I thought, I’m going to cry.
The story of Sexy Star has been one of the best parts of Lucha Underground from the beginning--a survivor of domestic violence who set out to prove to every woman that she is strong, that every woman is sexy and every woman is a star (hence, Sexy Star)--but took a major turn in the season 1 finale when she was abducted by Marty “The Moth” Martinez and his sister Mariposa, held captive, and tortured for months. When she returned to the Temple, she wasn’t the same. She was visibly shaken, suffering from PTSD, and had to lean on friends--namely The Mack--to get back on her feet. She fought back and tasted redemption when she defeated Mariposa in an incredibly intense, emotional “No Mas” match. She fought through Mariposa and Marty--with an assist from The Mack--to complete her redemption by winning the Gift of the Gods match and a shot at the Lucha Underground championship. But then, tragically, that opportunity was stolen away by three more undeserving assholes: Johnny Mundo and Worldwide Underground.
So back to Aztec Warfare III. Johnny Mundo and Worldwide Underground are doing their thing, stealing pins and hiding under the ring and generally just being tremendous assholes. Mundo pins Pentagon when he gets got by the Black Lotus Clan. He pins Mysterio after Matanza tears him a new one. Jack Evans and PJ Black are eliminated, but they just come back and help Mundo because why not, it’s a no disqualification match. They’re ganging up on Sexy Star and they’re about to put her away. Suddenly, as if he descended from the heavens, Angelico--the insane motocross daredevil who was injured by Worldwide Underground when they slammed his leg in a car door at the end of season 2--returns the only way he knows how: by jumping off of Dario’s office and into the ring, taking out all three members of Worldwide Underground. Sexy Star crawls on top of Johnny Mundo for the pin, Mil Muertes disposes of The Mack with a BRUUUTAL Flatliner, and just like that, it’s down to Mil Muertes and Sexy Star.
At this point, I am literally screaming at my television.
“COME ON, SEXYYYYY! COME ONNNNN!!!” I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about a wrestling match. Not even the main event of WrestleMania XXX--and I LOVED Daniel Bryan; I cried when he retired. But I’ve never wanted a wrestler to win this badly in my entire life. I was literally standing inches away from my TV, screaming encouragement. “COME ON, SEXY! GET THE ROCK FROM CATRINA! YOU CAN DO THIS!” It was one of the most unforgettable moments I’ve ever experienced as a wrestling fan--and I’ve been to the last two WrestleManias and TakeOver: Dallas. When Sexy got the pin I let out the most primal roar of victory I could muster and sobbed uncontrollably. I’m literally crying right now just thinking about it. It was a perfect wrestling moment at the perfect time. The first ever female world heavyweight champion of a major American wrestling promotion. A Mexican-American woman broke the glass ceiling eight days after Hillary Clinton bounced off of it, bloodied and broken. Eight days after women and Mexican-Americans across the country were told “no you can’t,” Sexy Star and Lucha Underground and El Rey Network screamed back in one clear, coherent voice: “SI SE PUEDE.”
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