In what may have been the most loaded month of 2015, July, offered many great matches from across the world, a number of worthy contenders as well as our highest vote count ever for Match of the Month and one of the closest races for first place yet. When it was all said and done, Kazuchika Okada and A.J. Styles from NJPW’s Dominion 2015 show took home the top prize with a 77.9% win percentage. Strangley enough, the only match Okada/Styles had a losing percentage against was our #2 match on this month’s list, also from NJPW, Kota Ibushi vs. Katsuyori Shibata. Though Ibushi vs. Shibata’s overall win percentage was 0.4% lower than our #1, Shibata/Ibushi held a winning record against every other match in our poll.

July’s list is dominated by New Japan who continues to have a stronghold on the Match of the Month project. The win of Okada/Styles marks the fifth NJPW match to win our MOTM poll with July’s list featuring six NJPW matches between the G1 Climax 25 and Dominion. Elsewhere on the list, WWE makes two appearance with perhaps the best Monday Night Raw match of the year between John Cena and Cesaro as well as Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor from the WWE Network special Beast in the East. Last but not least, another Japanese promotion — Dragon Gate — makes their presence felt coming in at #10 with Akira Tozawa vs. Eita for the Open the Brave Gate championship.

If you’re interested in seeing how each match performed in H2H matches (via our Elo voting system) please click to the drop-down arrow to the left of the header H2H Analysis. Thanks to Josh Engleman (@JoshEngleman) for collecting data throughout the process as well as all VOW contributors who wrote analysis. Last but of course not least everyone who nominated and voted this month, we can’t do it without you.

Previous Winners (2015)

  • January: Kota Ibushi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
  • February: Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii
  • March: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins
  • April: AJ Styles vs Kota Ibushi
  • May: Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch
  • June: KUSHIDA vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Kazuchika Okada vs. A.J. Styles
New Japan Pro Wrestling
July 5, 2015
Watch: NJPWWorld.com

[expand title=”H2H Analysis: 679-193 (77.9%)” tag=”h4″][easytable tblsorter=”true”]
Overall,H2H Opponent,W,L,Pass,Win%[attr sort=”desc”]
16,DG: BxB Hulk & Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk & Eita & Big R Shimizu,42,3,9,94%
9,NXT: Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor ,62,5,4,92%
13,NOAH: Minoru Suzuki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama,44,4,6,92%
14,RPW: Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll ,46,5,10,90%
12,DG: T-Hawk vs. Masato Yoshino,48,6,9,89%
10,DG: Akira Tozawa vs. Eita ,44,6,10,88%
8,NJPW: KUSHIDA vs. Kenny Omega,60,9,5,87%
11,BJW: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi ,40,7,11,86%
15,CMLL: Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi,47,8,13,85%
6,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba,49,15,3,77%
7,WWE: Cesaro vs. John Cena,44,15,6,75%
5,EVOLVE: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Roderick Strong ,39,21,11,65%
4,NJPW: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi,42,24,3,63%
3,NJPW: Kota Ibushi vs. AJ Styles,37,26,5,59%
2,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi,37,40,3,48%
[/easytable][/expand]

Match Analysis: Kazuchika Okada had long been on the road to redemption since his earth shattering loss to Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 9. Matters became worse for him when he ran into hard times this Spring with Bad Luck Fale. Finally remembering who he was (one of the aces of the promotion) he dispacted Fale and set his sights on AJ Styles and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. What ensued in this match was breathtaking action, flawless chemistry and a finishing stretch that will be legendary for years to come. Everything comes full circle for both men here as everything clicked into place and they end up producing not just their best match together but a true MOTYC. Ladies and gentlemen, this is pro wrestling in 2015 and these two make it look epic, effortless and most of all fun. What more could you want? -Rob Barry (@RobsBrutalWorld)

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi
New Japan Pro Wrestling
July 29, 2015
Watch: NJPWWorld.com

[expand title=”H2H Analysis: 696-203 (77.4%)” tag=”h4″][easytable tblsorter=”true”]
Overall,H2H Opponent,W,L,Pass,Win%[attr sort=”desc”]
16,DG: BxB Hulk & Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk & Eita & Big R Shimizu,47,3,13,94%
14,RPW: Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll ,58,5,7,92%
10,DG: Akira Tozawa vs. Eita ,41,5,9,89%
12,DG: T-Hawk vs. Masato Yoshino,59,8,6,89%
15,CMLL: Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi,43,7,12,87%
13,NOAH: Minoru Suzuki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama,49,9,7,84%
9,NXT: Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor ,64,13,4,84%
8,NJPW: KUSHIDA vs. Kenny Omega,51,12,4,81%
11,BJW: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi ,45,11,8,80%
7,WWE: Cesaro vs. John Cena,48,12,4,80%
6,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba,50,18,3,73%
5,EVOLVE: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Roderick Strong ,33,17,8,66%
4,NJPW: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi,38,20,4,66%
3,NJPW: Kota Ibushi vs. AJ Styles,33,29,3,53%
1,NJPW: Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles,40,37,3,52%
[/easytable][/expand]

Match Analysis: What I liked about this match so much is that it was completely different than anything else that the G1 had to offer so far. You could tell this from the moment the two started to wrestle. Slick back and forth mat wrestling, which is something you don’t normally see in a Kota Ibushi match, started it off. This match was also told the story of Ibushi mocking Shibata, including doing Shibata’s own penalty kick. Shibata’s response to that was awesome, which led to a match that had incredible intensity, heat, and offense. The slap heard around the world to end the match was truly a memorable moment as well. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, as Ibushi’s selling at times was, well, what it was, but I still thought it was awesome due to the performance of the two. I have no qualms saying it’s some of my favorite matches of the year so far, and I’d be stunned if it didn’t place in the top ten of best matches of the year. -Bryan Rose (@PuroUniverse)

Kota Ibushi vs. A.J. Styles
New Japan Pro Wrestling
July 26, 2015
Watch: NJPWWorld.com

[expand title=”H2H Analysis: 673-202 (76.9%)” tag=”h4″][easytable tblsorter=”true”]
Overall,H2H Opponent,W,L,Pass,Win%[attr sort=”desc”]
16,DG: BxB Hulk & Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk & Eita & Big R Shimizu,53,3,8,95%
12,DG: T-Hawk vs. Masato Yoshino,54,5,9,92%
14,RPW: Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll ,46,5,9,90%
13,NOAH: Minoru Suzuki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama,45,5,12,90%
8,NJPW: KUSHIDA vs. Kenny Omega,51,7,3,88%
15,CMLL: Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi,43,6,8,88%
10,DG: Akira Tozawa vs. Eita ,40,6,8,87%
11,BJW: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi ,54,9,11,86%
7,WWE: Cesaro vs. John Cena,62,12,5,84%
9,NXT: Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor ,50,10,6,84%
6,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba,46,19,2,71%
5,EVOLVE: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Roderick Strong ,43,24,7,64%
4,NJPW: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi,34,24,5,59%
2,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi,29,33,3,47%
1,NJPW: Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles,26,37,5,41%
[/easytable][/expand]

Match Analysis: Earlier this month I called this one of the most perfect wrestling matches I’ve ever seen and even in rewatch, I stand by that statement. Everything in this match was, well, perfect. Every step these guys took, every move they made meant something and there was literally no wasted motion. There was a quick pace throughout but it never veered into the vaunted “doing too much” zone that Kota Ibushi can sometimes find himself in. The finishing stretch was some of the best action you’ll see in a wrestling ring as Ibushi did everything in his power to avoid falling to the Styles Clash. I don’t know where exactly this falls on my Match of the Year list right now but I’d be shocked if this falls out of my Top 3 by the time January rolls around. This was wrestling perfection. -Rich Kraetsch (@VoicesWrestling)

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi
New Japan Pro Wrestling
July 20, 2015
Watch: NJPWWorld.com

[expand title=”H2H Analysis: 624-248 (71.5%)” tag=”h4″][easytable tblsorter=”true”]
Overall,H2H Opponent,W,L,Pass,Win%[attr sort=”desc”]
14,RPW: Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll ,51,2,13,96%
15,CMLL: Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi,54,3,11,95%
16,DG: BxB Hulk & Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk & Eita & Big R Shimizu,41,4,10,92%
13,NOAH: Minoru Suzuki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama,48,7,9,88%
10,DG: Akira Tozawa vs. Eita ,46,8,9,86%
12,DG: T-Hawk vs. Masato Yoshino,49,10,11,84%
11,BJW: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi ,38,9,12,82%
8,NJPW: KUSHIDA vs. Kenny Omega,44,13,2,77%
6,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba,43,15,4,74%
9,NXT: Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor ,50,18,4,74%
7,WWE: Cesaro vs. John Cena,56,22,4,72%
5,EVOLVE: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Roderick Strong ,38,26,7,59%
3,NJPW: Kota Ibushi vs. AJ Styles,24,34,5,41%
1,NJPW: Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles,24,42,3,37%
2,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi,20,38,4,34%
[/easytable][/expand]

Match Analysis: This past January Kota Ibushi officially joined the heavyweight division in New Japan. Ever since, Ibushi has embarked on a journey to earn acceptance. This journey took a stop at Night 1 of the G1 Climax when he would take on the “ACE” of New Japan, Hiroshi Tanahashi. Ibushi’s journey has seen him attempting to go toe to toe with his opponents, trying to defeat his opponents by wrestling their style. This has added a cocky sort of flair to Ibushi, yet has failed him every single time as well. In this beginning of this match Tanahashi was caught off guard immediately with Ibushi’s speed/ high flying ability. Tanahashi countered this with a relentless attack on Ibushi’s knee. Tanahashi masterfully took on a temporary heel role during this vicious attack as the ultimate babyface, Ibushi, had the fans exploding with adoration with every nearfall he had on Tanahashi. Tanahashi was finally able to finish Ibushi off with the High Fly Flow, but not before Ibushi earned Tanashahi’s respect for being a fighter. Ibushi’s journey to defeat one of the pillars of New Japan continues. He will be successful the day he realizes he can defeat these guys with what brought him to the dance, but not until he is humbled along the rugged road of Aces and Kings first.  – Taylor C. Mitchell (@MrTCMitchell)

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Roderick Strong
EVOLVE
July 10, 2015
Watch: VoicesofWrestling.com/WWNLive

[expand title=”H2H Analysis: 403-299 (57.5%)” tag=”h4″][easytable tblsorter=”true”]
Overall,H2H Opponent,W,L,Pass,Win%[attr sort=”desc”]
15,CMLL: Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi,31,6,14,85%
14,RPW: Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll ,26,7,16,79%
16,DG: BxB Hulk & Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk & Eita & Big R Shimizu,32,9,16,78%
13,NOAH: Minoru Suzuki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama,31,10,12,76%
12,DG: T-Hawk vs. Masato Yoshino,24,8,18,75%
10,DG: Akira Tozawa vs. Eita ,27,10,21,73%
11,BJW: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi ,29,13,19,68%
7,WWE: Cesaro vs. John Cena,25,16,12,61%
9,NXT: Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor ,30,21,7,59%
6,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba,35,26,12,57%
8,NJPW: KUSHIDA vs. Kenny Omega,26,20,7,57%
4,NJPW: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi,26,38,7,41%
3,NJPW: Kota Ibushi vs. AJ Styles,24,43,7,36%
1,NJPW: Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles,21,39,11,35%
2,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi,17,33,8,34%
[/easytable][/expand]

Match Analysis: To the critics of the “Grapple Fuck” style I present this match for your consideration. At EVOLVE 45, Sabre Jr. and Strong put on a match as compelling as any G1 contest and did so while spending majority of the match on the mat. ZSJ not only outwrestled Strong but he straight up  dominated him for large portions of the match in a display of brutal technical acumen. This one may not convert the naysayers but it does serve as an example that technical wrestling can be just as exciting as strong style. -Warren Taylor (@TeddyNoir)

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
New Japan Pro Wrestling
July 5, 2015
Watch: NJPWWorld.com

[expand title=”H2H Analysis: 428-398 (51.9%)” tag=”h4″][easytable tblsorter=”true”]
Overall,H2H Opponent,W,L,Pass,Win%[attr sort=”desc”]
15,CMLL: Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi,32,4,15,90%
13,NOAH: Minoru Suzuki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama,45,8,11,85%
16,DG: BxB Hulk & Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk & Eita & Big R Shimizu,41,9,11,82%
11,BJW: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi ,31,10,8,76%
12,DG: T-Hawk vs. Masato Yoshino,37,13,11,74%
10,DG: Akira Tozawa vs. Eita ,39,16,14,71%
14,RPW: Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll ,21,10,10,68%
9,NXT: Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor ,28,31,5,48%
8,NJPW: KUSHIDA vs. Kenny Omega,28,31,6,47%
7,WWE: Cesaro vs. John Cena,35,46,3,43%
5,EVOLVE: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Roderick Strong ,26,35,12,43%
3,NJPW: Kota Ibushi vs. AJ Styles,19,46,2,29%
2,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi,18,50,3,27%
4,NJPW: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi,15,43,4,26%
1,NJPW: Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles,15,49,3,23%
[/easytable][/expand]

Match Analysis: Whenever I see Kazushi Sakuraba I am reminded of his PRIDE glory, and how sad he seems to no longer be living in those days. He appears to prefer to have stayed at home to take a nap. Katsuyori Shibata is just the man he needs to wake him up. When Shibata comes to the ring you fear your life. He stares across with hatred. His hair is combed away, not wild or dyed. The man does not smile. Shibata spends most of the early part of the match putting his boot in Sakuraba’s face, finally annoying the MMA legend enough to cause him to mount a nearly emotive comeback made-up of knees, a plancha (from Sakuraba!) and culminating in a wacky back-mount submission that debilitates both of Shibata’s arms, requiring him memorably to reach a rope break with his teeth. From there the match is a fantastic battle of submissions and amateur takedowns executed for the sole purpose of attempting another MMA submission. Their styles finally fully mesh together at this point. Some submission counters flow together as they exchange. Shibata’s eyes roll back in his head as he nears unconsciousness. But it’s Sakuraba who is put to sleep and penalty-kicked and left in a heap of water bottles, young lions and MMA history. -Brandon Howard (@adecorativedrop)

Cesaro vs. John Cena
WWE
July 6, 2015

[expand title=”H2H Analysis: 453-425 (51.6%)” tag=”h4″][easytable tblsorter=”true”]
Overall,H2H Opponent,W,L,Pass,Win%[attr sort=”desc”]
16,DG: BxB Hulk & Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk & Eita & Big R Shimizu,46,8,13,86%
15,CMLL: Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi,36,9,16,80%
14,RPW: Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll ,42,11,14,79%
12,DG: T-Hawk vs. Masato Yoshino,38,12,11,77%
13,NOAH: Minoru Suzuki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama,41,17,12,71%
11,BJW: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi ,35,18,13,66%
10,DG: Akira Tozawa vs. Eita ,31,16,13,65%
6,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba,46,35,3,57%
9,NXT: Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor ,37,35,5,51%
8,NJPW: KUSHIDA vs. Kenny Omega,27,31,6,46%
5,EVOLVE: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Roderick Strong ,16,25,12,39%
4,NJPW: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi,22,56,4,28%
1,NJPW: Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles,15,44,6,25%
2,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi,12,48,4,20%
3,NJPW: Kota Ibushi vs. AJ Styles,12,62,5,16%
[/easytable][/expand]

Match Analysis: Every few years John Cena finds a dance partner who can be the Baby to his Johnny Castle. Edge, CM Punk, and now Cesaro. The theme of this match was pretty simple. Two freakish post-human athletes wrecking each other with everything in their arsenal. Their matches are Superman vs. Doomsday fights that level the surrounding area. Cesaro was presented as the physical equal of Cena and capable of beating him cleanly and instantly reentered the upper card singles scene in one match. Best Raw match of the year. -Sean Flynn (@spiffie6123)

KUSHIDA vs. Kenny Omega
New Japan Pro Wrestling
July 5, 2015
Watch: NJPWWorld.com

[expand title=”H2H Analysis: 404-386 (51.2%)” tag=”h4″][easytable tblsorter=”true”]
Overall,H2H Opponent,W,L,Pass,Win%[attr sort=”desc”]
15,CMLL: Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi,38,7,14,84%
16,DG: BxB Hulk & Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk & Eita & Big R Shimizu,36,7,15,84%
14,RPW: Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll ,33,8,16,81%
13,NOAH: Minoru Suzuki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama,36,11,8,77%
11,BJW: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi ,35,12,14,74%
12,DG: T-Hawk vs. Masato Yoshino,36,15,12,71%
10,DG: Akira Tozawa vs. Eita ,33,14,11,70%
9,NXT: Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor ,36,27,4,58%
7,WWE: Cesaro vs. John Cena,31,27,6,54%
6,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba,31,28,6,53%
5,EVOLVE: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Roderick Strong ,20,26,7,43%
4,NJPW: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi,13,44,2,23%
2,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi,12,51,4,19%
1,NJPW: Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles,9,60,5,13%
3,NJPW: Kota Ibushi vs. AJ Styles,7,51,3,12%
[/easytable][/expand]

Match Analysis: The subject of much debate about the merits of selling a leg, KUSHIDA vs. Kenny Omega was one of the more polarizing matches this month but a match that definitely deserves a spot in the top 10 list. The culmination of KUSHIDA’s rise as well as the conclusion of Kenny Omega’s “cleaning” of the junior ranks. Fresh off his tremendous Best of the Super Juniors final win over American import Kyle O’Reilly, KUSHIDA came in with a fire and tenacity not often seen from the TimeSplitter. Both men worked various body parts with Omega focusing on KUSHIDA’s legs and KUSHIDA focusing on Omega’s arms, particularly his shoulder. Both bits of limb work paid off in the end as Omega had issues holding KUSHIDA up for any suplexes or power maneuvers. Eventually, KUSHIDA reversed Omega’s One-Winged Angel finish into a sneaky Kimura to get Omega to tap and to win his second IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. -Rich Kraetsch (@VoicesWrestling)

Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor
WWE
July 4, 2015
Watch: VoicesofWrestling.com/WWENetwork

[expand title=”H2H Analysis: 418-444 (48.5%)” tag=”h4″][easytable tblsorter=”true”]
Overall,H2H Opponent,W,L,Pass,Win%[attr sort=”desc”]
16,DG: BxB Hulk & Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk & Eita & Big R Shimizu,39,6,15,87%
14,RPW: Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll ,47,8,17,86%
15,CMLL: Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi,41,10,13,81%
13,NOAH: Minoru Suzuki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama,40,14,9,74%
12,DG: T-Hawk vs. Masato Yoshino,39,17,8,70%
11,BJW: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi ,27,16,10,63%
10,DG: Akira Tozawa vs. Eita ,26,18,9,59%
6,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba,31,28,5,52%
7,WWE: Cesaro vs. John Cena,35,37,5,49%
8,NJPW: KUSHIDA vs. Kenny Omega,27,36,4,42%
5,EVOLVE: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Roderick Strong ,21,30,7,41%
4,NJPW: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi,18,50,4,26%
2,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi,13,64,4,16%
3,NJPW: Kota Ibushi vs. AJ Styles,10,50,6,16%
1,NJPW: Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles,5,62,4,8%
[/easytable][/expand]

Match Analysis: For an event that was heralded for being so different to your standard fare of the company this match was exactly what you’d expect from these two; it was very good. Owens did a tremendous job of playing a bully, antagonising the crowd and cutting Balor off every time it looked like he was close to gaining momentum and that all just added to the eventual successful comeback from Balor. Adding to all of this the Japanese crowd, while reacting very differently to the way you would expect the normal NXT Full Sail crowd to, completely ate up the entire match nonetheless. While I personally wouldn’t consider it a match of the year contender, the lack of a real hot finishing stretch hurt it in that respect, it really did a lot of things right and was the perfect place to do this title switch. I’m confident that a few years down the line that this match will be remembered as a great main event to this show, WWE’s first live show out of Japan, despite not even going on last. -Rob Reid (@TheRDouble)

Akira Tozawa vs. Eita
Dragon Gate
July 20, 2015
Watch: https://secure.live.nicovideo.jp/event/dragongate

[expand title=”H2H Analysis: 218-390 (35.8%)” tag=”h4″][easytable tblsorter=”true”]
Overall,H2H Opponent,W,L,Pass,Win%[attr sort=”desc”]
15,CMLL: Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi,19,3,21,86%
16,DG: BxB Hulk & Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk & Eita & Big R Shimizu,22,5,20,83%
13,NOAH: Minoru Suzuki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama,30,18,13,63%
11,BJW: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi ,19,12,24,62%
14,RPW: Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll ,18,15,27,55%
12,DG: T-Hawk vs. Masato Yoshino,13,13,22,50%
9,NXT: Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor ,18,26,9,41%
7,WWE: Cesaro vs. John Cena,16,31,13,35%
8,NJPW: KUSHIDA vs. Kenny Omega,14,33,11,30%
6,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba,16,39,14,29%
5,EVOLVE: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Roderick Strong ,10,27,21,27%
4,NJPW: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi,8,46,9,14%
3,NJPW: Kota Ibushi vs. AJ Styles,6,40,8,13%
1,NJPW: Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles,6,44,10,12%
2,NJPW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi,5,41,9,11%
[/easytable][/expand]

Match Analysis: Akira Tozawa has put on plenty of great matches this year, but none on a bigger stage than his match with Eita. The two were placed third on the card with stars such as CIMA, Ricochet, and Masato Yoshino to follow, yet despite their placement, they put on arguably the best match on Dragon Gate’s biggest show of the year. Tozawa’s charm and charisma clashed with Eita’s ferocity. Eita targeted Tozawa’s arm throughout the entire bout in an attempt to lock in and his dreaded submission, Numero Uno. Tozawa fought valiantly and was able to eventually put the youngster away in just over 15 minutes. You won’t find many Dragon Gate matches better than this in 2015. -Case Lowe (@_InYourCase)

Nominees Outside of the Top 10:

Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi
Big Japan Wrestling
July 20, 2015
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_h5rHfHn48

T-Hawk vs. Masato Yoshino
Dragon Gate
July 20, 2015
Watch: https://secure.live.nicovideo.jp/event/dragongate

Minoru Suzuki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
Pro Wrestling NOAH
July 18, 2015
Watch: https://youtu.be/HdGlEFbutXk

Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll
Revolution Pro Wrestling
July 20, 2015
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWlDnEPL2aM

Dragon Lee vs Kamaitachi
CMLL
July 25, 2015
Watch: https://youtu.be/YM-3dnNT9pw

BxB Hulk, Shingo Takagi, Akira Tozawa vs. T-Hawk, Eita, Big R Shimizu
Dragon Gate
July 2, 2015
Watch: https://secure.live.nicovideo.jp/event/dragongate

Others Receiving Nominations: 

  • Willie Mack vs. Cage (LU – Ultima Lucha Part 1)
  • John Cena vs. Kevin Owens (WWE – 7/19)
  • Chris Jericho vs Neville (WWE – 7/4)
  • Tetsuya Naito vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW – 7/26)
  • Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW – 7/24)
  • Sumerian Death Squad vs Hunter Brothers (PROGRESS – 7/26)
  • Kazuchika Okada vs Tomoaki Honma (NJPW – 7/25)
  • Roderick Strong vs. Jay Lethal (ROH – 7/24)
  • Daisuke Sekimoto, Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura vs. HARASHIMA, Yuji Hino & Yuji Okabayashi (BJW – 7/7)
  • Zack Sabre Jr. vs. TJ Perkins (EVOLVE – 7/11)
  • Katsuyori Shibata vs. AJ Styles (NJPW – 7/20)
  • Ricochet, Matt Sydal & CIMA vs Naruki Doi, YAMATO & Masato Yoshino (Dragon Gate – 7/2)