VOW 2021 Match of the Year (Introduction & Sadness Village)

Welcome to the 10th annual Voices of Wrestling Match of the Year Poll.

Origins of Voices of Wrestling Match of the Year

The brainchild of VOW owner Rich Kraetsch, it all started in 2012 with a modest four-person panel of Rich, Joe Lanza, VOW’s PWG reviewer “Boxing Robes” Larry, and Billy Carpenter of 4 Corners Radio.

We each selected our ten best matches of the year, wrote short blurbs on why each match was selected, and combined the lists to come up with a collaborative top ten.

This produced a fine list of matches, but a list that was the product of four voters who for the most part had very similar tastes in wrestling. There was a ton of crossover on the four lists, and while an impressive variety of five different promotions ultimately ended up being represented in our collaborative top ten, we were dealing with a tiny sample size of voters who essentially watched and enjoyed the same pool of matches over the course of the year.

For 2013, Joe approached Rich about expanding upon his original idea by extending invites to other wrestling critics. Each year in the world of film, there are media/critic polls ranking the top films of the year. There was nothing like those critics polls that had ever existed for wrestling matches. With that in mind, we sent ballots to dozens of journalists, bloggers, radio hosts, podcasters, historians, reporters, and critics who we knew loved wrestling, had a reputation for having a solid base of knowledge and strong opinions, and had quality endeavors that we could help expose to our readers in exchange for participating.

The results was exactly what we wanted as our list now featured the huge variety of matches and wrestling styles that we were seeking. 25 total voters responded by voting for over 90 matches from 23 different promotions.

The growth continued in 2014, with 67 voters voting for 156 different matches, from 35 different promotions.

The 2015 poll featured 97 voters voting for 199 different matches from 42 different promotions.

We once again shattered all previous records for the fourth consecutive year in 2016, when 117 voters checked in and accounted for the widest variety yet, with 239 matches emanating from 49 different worldwide promotions.

The 2017 poll saw the diversity grow yet again, with 54 different promotions represented.

2018 saw a record 68 different promotions represented across 282 total matches. Better yet: our voter base grew to 122 with voters representing 25 different US states and 16 countries.

For 2019, 136 different voters resulted in 290 unique matches, across a record-tying 68 promotions.

In 2020, despite a pandemic and wrestling looking, feeling and sounding different than ever: we shattered records with 170 voters representing 29 different United States and 18 countries. Match-wise, our balloters voted for 287 unique matches from 66 different promotions.

This year, with a pandemic still looming, we are pleased to announce another record-breaking Match of the Year vote! 176 voters represented 27 different United States and 17 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, India, Ireland, Kuwait, Mexico, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States) in this year’s poll. Of those who responded, 42 of our 176 voters were first-time voters in 2021. The average age of voters was 32.

Collectively, our voters nominated a record-breaking 310 unique matches from 63 different promotions from across the world (United States, Japan, Mexico, Australia, United Kingdom and more).

The poll continues to expand and is recognized by fans, wrestlers, and promoters as the most prestigious Match of the Year survey in the world.

Voices of Wrestling Match of the Year Archives

For a full archive of our past Match of the Year countdowns, visit voicesofwrestling.com/match-of-the-year/.

Voices of Wrestling Match of the Year Voters

We’ll get to the matches in a bit. But first, here is your panel of voters for the 2021 Voices of Wrestling Match of the Year Poll, followed by an explanation of how the results are tabulated (note – some voters chose to not include websites/affiliations and/or Twitter handles):

How the Voting Works

Each voter was sent a ballot and asked to vote for ten best matches of the year, ranking them from 1-10. We use the same weighted balloting system used by Major League Baseball for their Most Valuable Player voting, with a first-place vote worth 14 points, and a descending 9-8-7… scale from there, a system that places heavy emphasis on each voter’s choice for best overall match of the year.

The points for each match are then totaled, with any ties broken in the following order:

1.) Most total votes

2.) Match which received the highest singular vote on any ballot

For example, if two matches are tied in total points, with one match appearing on more total ballots, it will not require the second step tiebreaker. The match appearing on more total ballots would place higher.

If two matches are tied in total points and remain tied by appearing on the same number of ballots, the match with the highest singular vote wins the tiebreaker.

Each voter was also encouraged to add short blurbs explaining why they voted for each match. These blurbs give our panel a voice to explain why they voted for each match, and as we move deeper into the results, give the reader multiple perspectives of why a given match was great.

Our panel was free to vote for any worked match in the world that took place between January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021.

Our long-term goal is to become the most comprehensive and respected Match of the Year poll in all of wrestling while continuing to cross-promote the great ventures of our voter pool while exposing fans to matches that they otherwise never would have discovered.

We’ll begin today with a look at the honorable mentions (dubbed “Sadness Village” by VOW contributor John Carroll), with a new chunk of matches released each day (schedule below) until we reveal the Top 10 on Friday, January 28.

Early access to the Top 10 will be available in audio and written form on the Flagship Patreon $5 subscribers on Thursday, January 28. Subscribe today at flagshippatreon.com. On-going discussion of the VOW 2021 Match of the Year poll will take place on our official Discord at voicesofwrestling.com/discord. Look from the special match-of-the-year channel.

Voices of Wrestling 2021 Match of the Year Release Schedule

(Subject to change)

• Introduction & Sadness Village/Honorable Mentions (Monday, January 24)
• Matches #100-76 (Tuesday, January 25)
• Matches #75-51 (Tuesday, January 25)
• Matches #50-26 (Wednesday, January 26)
• Matches #25-11 / Top 10 Early Access (Thursday, January 27)
• Matches #10-1 (Friday, January 28)

1-3 POINTS

“This didn’t get the traction I thought it might but hopefully showing up on this prestigious list gets a few more eyeballs on it. Very much patterned after the famous Ricochet/Ospreay/Sydal vs Bucks/Cole trios from BOLA 2016 – these guys set out to make magic & provide something memorable for the limited audience in attendance. Even non-lucha fans will probably find this to be acceptable with more of the American/Michinoku Pro multi-man flavor to it. Any or all six of these guys could be the next breakout unknown stars from Mexico!” -RobViper on Toxin vs. Jimmy vs. Iron Kid vs. Los Mismos De Siempre & Demonio del Aire 

“While this match does have plenty to recommend it as a great match in terms of good chemistry between Brooks and Slex, memorable spots, nice drama and flow, it is probably not one of the ten best matches of the year. It’s a little too long and the setups to some of the furniture spots are a bit sloppy. What puts this on my ballot is that it was the main event of the first show with a full and vocal crowd I’d seen since COVID. Wrestling, at its core, is all about eliciting and playing off the vocal reactions of a live audience. After such a long period of empty arenas, virtual crowds and echoey buildings, partially filled with people not permitted to do more than clap, which still continues lesson the experience of many events, this let me know what I’d been missing. It was a much-appreciated return.” -Jack Groom on Adam Brooks vs. Slex

“I can’t say I was looking forward to this match. In fact, I was actively dreading it. I’ve never been a Dieno fan. So by the end when my heart was racing and my eyes were glued to the screen I was stunned at how invested I had gotten into the match. This is pretty much all due to Jun Akiyama who continues to prove year after year he is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, and just how adaptable he is in the medium.” -Paul Wedding on Jun Akiyama vs. Danshoku Dino

4-7 POINTS

“While I definitely had matches on my spreadsheet that were rated higher than this one, I felt like I had to put it on my Top Ten list. This was easily one of my favorite matches of 2021. The feud between The United Empire and the crew of veterans affectionally known as the New Japan Dads was one of the highlights of the first part of the year for New Japan. One match in particular that stood out from that feud was the No DQ Match between Will Ospreay and Satoshi Kojima. New Japan rarely does these kinds of matches, but Ospreay and Kojima managed to put together an exciting weapons brawl that had some pretty awesome spots throughout. The match served as a great bounce-back win for Ospreay following Wrestle Kingdom, and it proved that Kojima is still capable of putting on incredible matches when he’s called upon. This was simply a joy to watch.” -Sean Sedor on Satoshi Kojima vs. Will Ospreay

“One of the true feel good moments of the year was seeing Christian in the center of an AEW ring hoisting both TNA and Impact Wrestling titles after dethroning Omega in an excellent match on the debut episode of AEW Rampage. This match was another feather in the cap of a criminally-underrated talent. Despite what some wrestling journalists may think, Christian is STILL an elite worker.” -Jeuron Dove on Kenny Omega vs. Christian Cage

“GCW decided to tell a single story, and they did it perfectly. The RSP/Gage story was the most exciting thing in the independent wrestling scene in a while, and it finished just the way it should.” -Evandro Furtado on Rickey Shane Page vs. Nick Gage

8-11 POINTS

“I have a strong feeling that this match is going to be overlooked. Don’t. This match rules, with all three teams putting on the match of their lives. Do yourself a favor and go back and watch this.” -Slyguy46 on MSK vs. Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Legado Del Fantasma

“Maki Ito is a curious case. Her improvement in-ring, her own story in wrestling mixed with that eccentric personality is must watch wrestling in the women’s wrestling world. 2021 alone saw her lose to Miyu Yamashita at TJPW’s January 4 show, lose a title challenge in April, and lose tag title challenges with her rival Miyu left fans with a question. Would the fallen idol see success any time soon? Mizuki, in her own story, was a 2 time defending champion of the Princess Cup, and gunning for her own goal of finally winning the PoP title. This was after already 3 previously failed challenges. Mizuki defeated Miyu in a previous round and now the two clash here in the Semi Finals. Naturally, Mizuki and Ito have their own long storied past. Drama and anticipation was set. Ito and Mizuki were able to create a pace and in-ring story able to exemplify their own struggle to reach the top. Due to Mizuki already seeing much more success, this birthed a movement and emotion around Maki Ito for fans to rally and root for on an emotional level. Every submission, every double footstomp, each forearm, each scream of desperation was important and was felt in the audience. When the bell rang for Ito’s victory, “Do you believe in happy endings!?” Yes. Maybe a little.” -Jacob Woolley on Mizuki vs. Maki Ito

“This match came as close to a big European dream match as no other since the heavy cuts of Speaking Out, WWE UK destroying the British scene and the pandemic. Being live in attendance was an incredible treat as the atmosphere of WALTER returning home before departing to pursue other ventures felt special. What we saw was in many ways a classic WALTER performance of him completely destroying Cara Noir with his heavy strikes and ruthless throws. Noir on the other hand was the perfect underdog babyface for this situation, picked his spots wisely and survived WALTER’s heavy artillery to a point he even started chopping Cara’s bare sole of the foot. Why would you even go into a match with WALTER without covering your feet? Anyhow, this was great.” -STRIGGA on WALTER vs. Cara Noir

“Wild, Attitude era-style brawl.” -Joe Towner on Kenny Omega & KENTA vs. Jon Moxley & Lance Archer

VOICES OF WRESTLING 2021 MATCH OF THE YEAR
(282-101)