VOW 2021 Match of the Year: #100-76

The Voices of Wrestling 2021 Match of the Year countdown officially starts with matches #100-76!

2021 MATCH OF THE YEAR ARCHIVES

• Introduction & Honorable Mentions: voicesofwrestling.com/2022/01/24/vow-2021-match-of-the-year-introduction-sadness-village/

VOICES OF WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR ARCHIVES

• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014
• 2013
• 2012

#100
Miro vs. Eddie Kingston
9/5
AEW

Overall Points: 11
Total Votes: 3
% of Ballots: 1.7%
Highest Vote: 4th

#99
Fuego Del Sol vs. Hook
12/10
AEW

Overall Points: 11
Total Votes: 3
% of Ballots: 1.7%
Highest Vote: 2nd

“This isn’t a bit. I’m dead serious. HOOK’s debut was the best debut in pro wrestling in decades. The first genuinely cool wrestler in forever. The look, the entrance, the swagger, it all combined to make a superstar in one night. HOOK is AEW’s next big thing and he’s shown that since match one. We all now live in a post HOOK world.” -Ed Kody

#98
Jun Akiyama vs. Kazusada Higuchi
3/28
DDT

Overall Points: 12
Total Votes: 2
% of Ballots: 1.1%
Highest Vote: 3rd

“I loved how completely the result of the pair’s previous match dictates the events of this one. Akiyama, having been caught off-guard by his opponent’s power and devastating Brain Claw finisher, is a champion and fear. This brings out desperation and fear in the champion as he viciously attacks Higuchi’s hand in order to neutralise his most deadly weapon. Higuchi, an unlikely KO-D champion, gives it his all in presenting himself as a danger and proving worthy of main events. Akiyama has been one of the best wrestlers in the world ever since his 1992 debut and can still hang with the best of them. That is incredible.” -Jack Groom

T-#96
Johnny Gargano vs. KUSHIDA
2/14
WWE (NXT)

Overall Points: 12
Total Votes: 3
% of Ballots: 1.7%
Highest Vote: 6th

“Probably the match we can look back on as one of the last Hurrahs for NXT 1.0 (Or Black & Gold) and Gargano’s NXT Run. The match far outperformed the feud leading up to it and the arm work by KUSHIDA on Gargano made you truly believe that the second he could lock in the Hoverboard lock it was over. Gargano played his role perfectly as the out of the ring goofy but in the ring technical wrestling heel. For sure KUSHIDA’s best NXT match and another classic Johnny Takeover match” -Kentucky210

T-#96
Suzu Suzuki vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
2/7
Ice Ribbon

Overall Points: 12
Total Votes: 3
% of Ballots: 1.7%
Highest Vote: 6th

“A match that I watched and reviewed outside of my usual wheelhouse, this one completely took me by surprise at the start of 2021. The action initially starts as a slow burn, with Fujimoto using her experience to find a way through to victory – with the younger Suzuki being worn down throughout. A delight to watch – and a match that I have a strong suspicion may be residing in Sadness Village this year.” -Ian Hamilton

#95
King Nakamura vs. John Morrison vs. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Ricochet vs. Big E vs. Riddle
7/18
WWE

Overall Points: 12
Total Votes: 3
% of Ballots: 1.7%
Highest Vote: 4th

“Just when you thought WWE was out of ideas for its Money in the Bank Ladder Match, along comes one that makes its way onto a top 10 match of the year list. This was a solid field of competitors going into the event, and the match lived up to expectations. Most importantly, it was a fun match that solidified Big E. as a top talent and was key in putting him over on his way to an eventual WWE title run later in the year.” -Greg Parks

#94
Sugiura-gun (Kazushi Sakuraba & Takashi Sugiura) vs. The Aggression (Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya)
3/7
Pro Wrestling NOAH

Overall Points: 12
Total Votes: 3
% of Ballots: 1.7%
Highest Vote: 3rd

“Kitamiya and Sugiura provided the best finish of the year. Off my sofa every time I watch this and Kitamiya headbutts Sugiura in the prison lock and a sickening streak of blood runs down his face. Lovely stuff.” -Gareth Hodgson

#93
CM Punk vs. Darby Allin
9/5
All Elite Wrestling

Overall Points: 12
Total Votes: 3
% of Ballots: 1.7%
Highest Vote: 3rd

#92
Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan
4/30
WWE

Overall Points: 12
Total Votes: 4
% of Ballots: 2.3%
Highest Vote: 7th

“Maybe slightly down from their Fastlane match because of the commercial breaks, but that didn’t bother me and pleasing to see Roman get a win without the help of Jey Uso interference (who is Roman’s cousin for those of you who aren’t weekly Smackdown viewers). Loved the targeted limb work by Bryan and Roman sold it tremendously. Big fan of the double ground and pound into powerbomb spots from Roman. With this loss, Daniel Bryan waved goodbye to WWE and I might as well wave goodbye to the company at the same time because the strike rate of WWE shows delivering something great drastically goes down with Bryan gone.” -Ed Mills

#91
Marcius Pitt vs. Gavin McGavin
4/17
EPW

Overall Points: 13
Total Votes: 2
% of Ballots: 1.1%
Highest Vote: 3rd

“Marcius Pitt is the most underrated wrestler in the world. Read more about this match: https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2021/12/21/for-your-consideration-2021-gavin-mcgavin-vs-marcius-pitt-i-ii/” -Kevin Chiat

#90
Darby Allin vs. Miro
5/12
AEW

Overall Points: 13
Total Votes: 3
% of Ballots: 1.7%
Highest Vote: 6th

“We got an appetizer into how good Darby defending the title against a powerhouse could be in the Brian Cage match, but against a more talented opponent, it’s no surprise it reached higher heights. Miro felt like a monster, he was aggressive and unrelenting and tossed Darby around like a doll. I’d go as far as to say this is his career best match. They fucked up the first 6 months or so of his AEW run with too much comedy and bad sports entertainment stuff, but early in the year he flipped the switch and became a serious guy with a vicious streak. Darby’s comebacks and hope spots were good, even if the Sting bro fist was a little corny. I LOVED the little touch of Darby pinching the nose of Miro when he had the sleeper locked on the outside to hamper his breathing. I also like that they didn’t go completely down the route of Ethan and Scorpio costing Darby the title, they avoided cheapening the title win for Miro.” -Ed Mills

#89
Lee Moriarty vs. Wheeler YUTA
5/6
Beyond Wrestling

Overall Points: 13
Total Votes: 3
% of Ballots: 1.7%
Highest Vote: 6th

“It’s a long one (north of 50 minutes), but this was one of the matches that underscored why both Yuta and Moriarty got signed this year. A largely even match until a questionable kick from Yuta swung things his way – leading to a tense finishing series. Well worth the investment of your time!” -Ian Hamilton

#88
Miyu Yamashita vs. Yuka Sakazaki
6/6
CyberFight

Overall Points: 13
Total Votes: 4
% of Ballots: 2.3%
Highest Vote: 7th

“Given the opportunity to showcase Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling on the multi-promotional Cyberfight show, the promotion’s two top performers stole the show. Sakazaki and Yamashita’s chemistry, the fluidity of the action, their electric intensity, all added up to a top-notch title tilt. Yamashita thrived as the cold-hearted assassin as Sakazaki did in the role of aerial warrior. Top it all off with a post-match slap and Yuka storming out because fuck a handshake.” -Ryan Dilbert

T-#86
Erica Leigh vs Edith Surreal
3/28
Butch vs. Gore

Overall Points: 14
Total Votes: 1
% of Ballots: 0.6%
1 First-Place Vote

T-#86
Serena Deeb vs. Riho
5/30
AEW

Overall Points: 14
Total Votes: 1
% of Ballots: 0.6%
1 First-Place Vote

“Once this match was over, I joked on Twitter, “Where were you when Riho and Serena Deeb saved wrestling?” It was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the elation and all-out fun everyone was feeling regarding Double or Nothing, the first major full-capacity show in the pandemic era. I, of course, loved the match at the time, calling it “the best pre-show match of all time” in my F4W writeup of the show. But as the year went on and people started discussing their Match of the Year lists, this one kept popping up in my head. It ticks all the boxes of truly great professional wrestling: a clearly defined heel (the ruthless Deeb) and babyface (the lovable Riho), stellar action with creative sequences and spots, and a molten hot crowd living and dying with every twist and turn in the match. The fact that it was two women doing this only added to the emotion, as it showed AEW had enough confidence in them to go ahead and sell the show. The ovation when Riho won brought tears to my eyes. We’re still technically in the pandemic, but as far as I’m concerned, this match was the turning point between a sad, lifeless, boring era of wrestling and one with so much excitement and potential.” -Parker Klyn

#85
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs. Destination Everywhere (Connor Mills & Michael Oku)
9/19
RevPro UK

Overall Points: 14
Total Votes: 3
% of Ballots: 1.7%
Highest Vote: 4th

“For my money, this was the best tag-team match of 2021. The bout grew in intensity as it went, with both teams throwing out big moves left and right, a ton of improbable kick-outs, the crowd living and dying with every near fall. It was an absolute war that appeared to totally exhaust all four competitors.” -Chuck Hodgin

#84
Go Shiozaki vs. Keiji Muto
2/12
Pro Wrestling NOAH

Overall Points: 14
Total Votes: 3
% of Ballots: 1.7%
Highest Vote: 4th

“Go Shiozaki has been a NOAH stalwart since the group’s debut, while Muto has bounced around in every major and some minor groups whenever possible for the past 20 years. After double knee replacement, it seemed like Muto’s days as a singles wrestler were over and in his late ’50s, that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world health-wise. However, he seemingly wanted to leave fans with the memory of one last top of the card run in a big company and with CyberAgent at the helm and wanting to rebuild NOAH to be stronger than it’s been, his legendary status made him a natural choice to be a short-term World Champion and he gave it his all. Whatever he could do well, he did and made the GHC Heavyweight Title feel like a top title in the world of wrestling once again.” -Jeremy Peeples

#83
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
10/10
Pro Wrestling NOAH

Overall Points: 14
Total Votes: 3
% of Ballots: 1.7%
Highest Vote: 2nd

“It took a while, but, finally, Nakajima got to where he belongs: the top spot of NOAH. This match was especially thrilling considering that you can’t really trust the promotion’s booking these days. They’ve made the right choice here, though.” -Evandro Furtado

#82
Tam Nakano vs. Saya Kamitani
12/29
Stardom

Overall Points: 14
Total Votes: 4
% of Ballots: 2.3%
Highest Vote: 4th

“The best title defense in Tam Nakano’s reign, and the best match of Saya Kamitani’s career. A great mix of their two styles, capturing the emotion filled storytelling of Tam matches with the high spots of a Kamitani match.” -Trent Breward

#81
Lochy Hendricks vs. Drunk Uncle Beej
4/2
WrestleRock

Overall Points: 15
Total Votes: 2
% of Ballots: 1.1%
Highest Vote: 4th

“Comedy match of the year. Yes, it’s worth a bloody spot on a MOTYC list. A perfect dose of comedy for me during some gloomy pandemic months earlier this year. The easiest way to kill the joke is to explain it, so head on over to YouTube and watch it!” -Semi Salmikannas

#80
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hiromu Takahashi
1/5
NJPW

Overall Points: 15
Total Votes: 3
% of Ballots: 1.7%
Highest Vote: 4th

“Did you know that Hiromu Takahashi is completely insane? We all know the history of Takahashi and what he came back from in order to wrestle once again so I won’t waste time rehashing all of that but on NJPW’s biggest stage Wrestle Kingdom Takahashi would find himself in the semi-main event on night 2 of the show as he challenged Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. This was another match at last year’s Wrestle Kingdom two nighter that I couldn’t wait for. This match more than delivered on the hype that it had surrounding it and lived up to all of the expectations that were set for it. You would think that Hiromu Takahashi after having a career-threatening injury that he had a while back that he would have modified his offense and anyone else who may have had the same injury happen to them probably would have but this is Hiromu Takahashi that we are talking about. Did I mention the fact Takahashi is completely insane? He displayed his daredevil tactics and at one point ran up the giant ramp and back at Ishimori who dumped him on his back on the ramp. The match would last roughly twenty five minutes and if you watch the match you’ll be amazed at how they accomplished the pacing that they did and didn’t burn out during the match. At the end of the match Hiromu Takahashi would hit Taiji Ishimori with the Time Bomb to pick up the win and become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Incredible match with a daredevil style what a sight!” -Nathan Neumann

#79
SB KENTo vs. Jacky Funky Kamei
10/17
Dragongate

Overall Points: 15
Total Votes: 4
% of Ballots: 2.3%
Highest Vote: 4th

“This is my #10 match, and while I certainly saw a handful of matches better than this that just didn’t make the cut, I can’t ignore the overwhelming significance this match had. SB KENTo is a prodigy, someone who could very easily be at the top of Dragongate by this time next year. His closest peer, dojo companion, and former bunkbed partner Jacky “Funky” Kamei is no slouch, but he’s also no superstar. For one night in Dragongate’s home arena in Kobe, JFK looked like the Mick Jagger to SBK’s John Lennon. This match, because of what it means for both men and their future, will be remembered for years to come.” -Case Lowe

#78
Amazing Red vs. Will Ospreay
11/12
House of Glory

Overall Points: 16
Total Votes: 4
% of Ballots: 2.3%
Highest Vote: 3rd

“Amazing Red is one of the most influential and underrated talents in North American wrestling history. Thankfully he was active in 2021 after a brief retirement in recent years. Here he finds himself in match against one of the most talented wrestlers in the world, that he himself inspired. This match showcases Amazing Red at his absolute best (even at age 39) against arguably the best wrestler in the world in Will Ospreay. Will clearly holds reverence for Red and is able to bring out the absolute best in him. Red is able to prove nothing Ospreay does would be possible without Red’s innovation (as well as founding the literal promotion they’re working for). This match is a beautiful generational battle of past, present, and future.” -Adam Berger

#77
Ricky Knight Jr. vs. Will Ospreay
9/19
RevPro UK

Overall Points: 16
Total Votes: 5
% of Ballots: 2.8%
Highest Vote: 5th

“One of the better feuds of the year blazed a trail in the ring with Ospreay allowing Ricky Knight Jr. to truly emerge on the world wrestling scene.” -Jacob Nelson

#76
The Lucha Brothers (Fenix & Pentagon Jr.) vs. El Hijo del Vikingo & Laredo Kid
10/9
AAA

Overall Points: 16
Total Votes: 6
% of Ballots: 3.4%
Highest Vote: 6th

“This match was my shit. An amazing nonstop spotfest from four of the best in the world. You will be in awe, you will cringe when Vikingo almost dies, then wonder what he’s made of when he gets up and jumps again, and you won’t be able to keep your eyes off the screen. This match would be higher on my list if it wasn’t for the referee. You had an older man that takes 10 seconds to make a 1 count. This is a match really dependent on breaking pinfalls and kickouts, and there are awkward moments due to the referee’s slowness. It is still worth watching.” -Abraham Delgado

VOICES OF WRESTLING 2021 MATCH OF THE YEAR
(282-76)