Voices of Wrestling 2025 Match of the Year: #3 (Adam Page vs. Will Ospreay – May 25)

Adam Page and Will Ospreay delivered an all-time great performance in the Owen Hart Cup finals—#3 on Voices of Wrestling’s 2025 Match of the Year countdown!

Voices of Wrestling 2025 Match of the Year Countdown

• Introduction, Project History, Voters/Media Outlets & Honorable Mentions
• Matches #100-76
• Matches #75-51
• Matches #50-26
• Matches #25-11
• Match of the Year Statistical Analysis & Top 10 Early Reveal (FlagshipPatreon.com)
• Match #10 (Sareee vs. Syuri – March 10)
• Match #9 (El Desperado vs. Jun Kasai – June 24)
• Match #8 (Bandido vs. Konosuke Takeshita – July 11)
• Match #7 (Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano – April 27)
• Match #6 (Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – February 11)
• Match #5 (Toni Storm vs. Mariah May – March 9)
• Match #4 (Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley – July 12)
• Match #3 (Adam Page vs. Will Ospreay – May 25)
• Match #2 (Mistico vs. MJF – September 9)
• Match #1 (Kenny Omega vs. Gabe Kidd – January 5)

Voices of Wrestling’s 2025 Match of the Year Voter List

Here is the distinguished panel of wrestling media members who voted in Voices of Wrestling’s 2025 Match of the Year poll.

(Note: some voters chose not to include websites/affiliations and/or Twitter/X/Bluesky handles)

Wrestling Media Representation in Voices of Wrestling’s 2025 Match of the Year

Below are links to the many outlets participating in Voices of Wrestling’s 2025 Match of the Year voting.

Please support them!

Want to vote in next year’s Match of the Year poll? 

Request a ballot for the Voices of Wrestling 2026 Match of the Year poll at https://forms.gle/crM45dMVGRB8pF3d6

#3
Adam Page defeats Will Ospreay
05/25
AEW

Overall Points: 676
Total Votes: 81
Percentage of Ballots: 39.71%
18 First-Place Votes

That was simply phenomenal. It’s rare that babyface versus babyface matches work, but these two managed to pull it off in spectacular fashion here. The one thing I enjoyed most about this match, above all else, is how both men sold the importance of what was at stake. Coming in, they knew that a future World Title shot was on the line, and they had said many times just how much that would mean to them. In this match, they backed up their words and wrestled like the fate of the world was on the line.

There was a clear distinction between both men from the beginning of the match. Both men wanted to fight for the people that supported them, but Ospreay emoted to them much more here. Hangman was laser focused on one goal: winning. He knew he had the fans support, and he didn’t need to cater to them here. He just had to keep his mind on the task at hand. It tells a story that maybe Ospreay isn’t as confident as he’s led us to believe.

It was a battle of brute strength against athleticism, as Hangman’s power game often beat out Ospreay’s crazy offense. It was only when Ospreay played Hangman’s game and hit him really hard that he had any chance of winning. Intentional or not, I saw this as a modern day version of Misawa against Kobashi. Hangman was Misawa, with his trusty elbow/forearm that cut Ospreay off many times in this match, while Ospreay was Kobashi, the plucky underdog who gave everything he had until he couldn’t anymore.

There was a lot of great counter sequences in this match that made it entertaining. I loved the tension throughout. They both knew how important this win would be, and they wrestled like they were on high wire. It did a lot to sell the importance of not only getting a title shot, but also the tournament itself. This tourney is all about honoring the late Owen Hart, and they showed great technique here that he would appreciate.

Hell, even the botched table spot helped to sell that added tension in the match. This was just a wonderful match up, and easily one of the very best to happen all year long. It put over both men as extraordinary athletes, and it helped to really cement Hangman Page as AEW’s main character. He’d use this win to go to All In: Texas, where he’d vanquish Jon Moxley and reclaim the AEW World Title. But, that’s for another review. – Daniel Everhart (DanTheWrestlingFan)

An awesome match filled with the highest quality of work with the level of drama and exciting action that you would expect from a high end AEW PPV main event. – Jason Turner (WhiteTail Wrestling)

Hangman’s triumph over Jon Moxley at All In is a jubilant moment, but I wouldn’t describe it as a particularly tense one. We all knew who was winning in Texas.

This match though, to determine Moxley’s challenger, is where all that tension lay. Not just a physically impressive match between two of the best in the world, but a masterpiece of the face vs. face genre. – Jack G. King (Jack the Jobber)

I like to point to this match as the catalyst for AEW’s monumental booking improvement in the past year. Moreover, it showcased the caliber of a card that should be a focus. This set up Page’s momentum at All In swimmingly. – Corey Michaels (Wrestling Observer Network, Last Word on Pro Wrestling, BodySlam)

Loved how big this match felt. You knew whoever won this match was going to be the next babyface AEW world champion. – Jays Retro (Chilling with JR and Blair (podcast) )

Ospreay and ‘Hangman’ was wrestling in rarified air. A great & simple story was told in the build, with a shot at the ultimate prize for the winner.

A split crowd and the highest level of drama and athleticism. A match that legitimately made me sweat and kept me on the edge of my seat until the, personally gutting, result. Regardless of that, it made a three decade plus fan feel at the top level – beyond a masterpiece and one of the best matches that has ever taken place in the United States. – Stephen Coriander (Random Wrestling Review )

I love tournaments, so this match being the final of the Owen Hart Cup gave it an immediate advantage. Beyond that, like many of AEW’s major matches in 2025, it was a crucial chapter in the Death Riders storyline and the pursuit of Jon Moxley’s championship.

The finals determined who would challenge Moxley at All In, and you could make the assumption that the winner of this match would go on to dethrone him. While it may seem obvious in hindsight that Page was the choice, at the time there was a legitimate case for Ospreay as well. We entered this match with two credible outcomes, both of which fit the broader narrative, a rarity in modern wrestling.

With all that behind it, they had everything going for them to have an all-time match, and they delivered in spades.

While the match bordered on melodramatic, which I normally don’t like, it didn’t take away from the hard hitting, incredible in ring action. Ospreay took the more antagonist role, which gave the match a unique feel, while still living up to his incredibly high standard.

Page does have a tendency toward melodrama, and this match was no exception. However, he wrestles with such intensity and snugness that he often earns the benefit of the doubt. He brought everything that makes him great to this performance, including strikes that made it look as though Ospreay owed him money.

This was the best match to emerge from the entire Death Riders saga, surpassing the All In title match for me. Where the All In bout leaned heavily into sports entertainment, this match represented what that final could have been without excessive interference and overt storytelling.

This match is the epitome of what the AEW main event style was in 2025, and I believe a showcase on how AEW wants to present professional wrestling. – Kristian Scheurer (Backbreakr)

With this match determining who would go on to face Jon Moxley at All In, it was (to me) even more important than the title match that would take place two months later.

It was certainly more unpredictable than the All In match, and that’s what makes it better in my opinion (also it was just a more impressive match from a technical in-ring perspective).
With the unofficial tagline of “Redemption vs Ascension” it really was a match that would define where AEW would be heading in the future. Both men were worthy winners and you could see the reasons for either one winning. Hangman being the “main character” of the promotion with previous title win being a motivating factor for him to get back on the saddle and ride back to the top of the mountain. Ospreay being the clear cut “heir to the throne” of AEW in terms of their top star/ace of the promotion made the possibility of him winning very high too. We all know he will be a future AEW World Champion, but will it be now?

All of this made every single near fall so believable to me, especially in a promotion that normally has some fairly predictable outcomes to their matches.

The match was heavily focused around the emotional state of each wrestler. Coming into the match Hangman was extremely determined and focused on winning the match at any cost, whereas Ospreay started by pandering to the crowd, almost hoping to get permission from the crowd to beat Hangman and take the spot against Moxley. This allowed Hangman to get the advantage early and attack the back of Will and take control, but after a while on top Page started to get a little cheeky and went for the BME, which he fumbled a little which allowed Ospreay to get back into the match.

From there they went all out and put on some of the most amazing wrestling sequences you’ll ever see, even using the moves of their biggest rivals before Hangman eventually got the final Buckshot to put Will away for good. Ospreay got more and more frustrated as the match went on and the fire eventually reached the point where he resorted to using the V-Trigger and attempting the One Winged Angel, which Hangman countered into Big Pressure leading into the finish. It felt like a all timer main event for the promotion and after the final bell everyone was on their feet, either celebrating (most of the crowd) or politely commiserating (a visible portion), which I think is a really healthy reaction to a babyface vs babyface match with the stakes at play.

Fantastic match, one of the best in AEW history. – Adam Darwin (Dragonscrew Wrestling)

Nothing touched this for me in 2025. The build up. The high stakes of the Owen Final and a Title match at All In. A first time meeting between both men. Just a beautiful wrestling match. – Dan Watson (Wrestling with Reviews)

Lost in the scope of the entire year was the brilliance of this match. AEW felt different at Double or Nothing. The unique lighting and camera angles elevated this match to a different level that we haven’t seen before. More unique backdrops please! – Tyler Forness (Voices of Wrestling)

An AEW match where you didn’t know who was going to win and two guys at the top of their game. They packed in a ton. – Eric Krol (Pro Wrestling Torch)

Going into this match, we all knew what the outcome would be. Hangman Page would come up short, Will Ospreay would continue his ascent towards the top of the company. And yet, Page defied belief here, showing that he had mastered his emotions and could direct them towards showing that he, not anyone else, was the man to beat Jon Moxley in Texas. He was no longer the anxious millenial cowboy, or the rage fuelled pyromaniac of previous years, he was the man who had grown to meet his potential and walked with purpose. Ospreay was magnificent here, but Page showed he had a few more steps to go on his path. – Chris Gannon (Social Suplex Newsletter)

Have you ever been so distrustful of the story being told that you couldn’t believe the outcome you desired was going to happen? The build to this match was one part Hangman with blinders on, totally certain of what he wanted, and another part a Will Ospreay who couldn’t decide what kind of person he wanted to be. Storywise, Hangman should have been the favorite. But why? History told us he would get sidelined at the worst possible moment. And yet…we had hope! That’s what made this match so great. Hangman at his most motivated, Ospreay one of the best in the world; it was absolutely the greatest possible stakes. I remember thinking to myself, I could handle a loss to Mox, but I could NOT handle a loss to Ospreay. That would eat me alive. And they pulled out one of the best matches I’ve ever seen on that emotion alone. – Emiliana Rico-Toro (Social Suplex Newsletter)

I don’t even know if Ospreay is better when he wins or loses—and that’s why he’s the best. MAXIMUM effort every time. Buckshot vs Hidden Blade was THE moment of the match. That Buckshot Lariat sell at the end? Absolute beauty. – Floyd Johnson (All Things Elite on Social Suplex)

This was everything you could want in professional wrestling: the two best in the world fighting for the right to challenge for the grandest prize. Both were seeking redemption and were willing to leave everything they had in the ring to get it. The fact that there was no clear winner before made every near-fall that much more dramatic and the ending was exceting – yaron kfir (top 7)

A match my review at the time likened to being as good as anything in what we call New Japan’s 2013- 2019 “Golden Era.” Amid the uncertainty of Hangman fans who are a little too precious about their cowboy and the exasperation of those of us who simply want to see high level wrestling, this match unfolded with both stakes and logic, standing out to me as the best match of this year. The match had credible stakes in the form who would be the man to displace Jon Moxley and become the new face of AEW. It had callbacks to other matches, callbacks to other WRESTLERS, and even tied into the now years-long storyline of Will Ospreay being afraid to use the ultimate move, the Tiger Driver ’91 (a story that chafed for some and excited others). Two young wrestlers, already at the top of their craft, performing and DELIVERING on a level only a handful of people in the world can achieve.
– DJ Convoy (La Zona Muerta)

May was a reminder that these things come in threes. On the 11th we lost Sabu, one of the most important wrestlers to me, a guy who I was obsessed with as a young kid first discovering non WCW or WWF wrestling. On the 18th, an Uncle by marriage passed away, the man was a minister and had performed the ceremony when I married my wife. On the 25th I woke up to the news that a dear friend of mine for over 20 years, a legend in our local music scene, had also passed. It felt like death was all around me, I turned into Double or Nothing that evening looking for escape more than anything else. A good show to lift my spirits would have been more than enough, but instead I got a memory I hope I carry for the rest of my life.

Will Osprey seemed like the obvious choice to me. From the moment he debuted in AEW, the crowds have been wild for him, his matches have been excellent, and he’s the exact kind of high energy babyface that AEW feel like they would love to push as the face of the company. I’ve been a Hangman guy forever, and while I wanted him to win, I was realistic, and assumed that he would eventually reconcile and team with Swerve. Something main event level, but not for the belt. Us Hangman fans got our moment in 2021, and it was great, but it was done. Osprey is the new hot hand, and I didn’t begrudge them for going with him, especially because I figured the match would be phenomenal.

The early portion works so well, with Hangman establishing himself, and Osprey choosing to play heel. This tips off those of us watching closely that maybe I was counting my guy out prematurely. They proceeded to pay homage to those that got them here, Osprey using the Styles Clash and V-Trigger and Hangman hitting an Angel’s Wings. This amps up even more when Hangman counters a One Winged Angel and hits Big Pressure. This is the “storytelling” so many people claim doesn’t exist in AEW. This is a company that rewards you for watching and paying attention, even more so if you pay attention to wrestling outside of AEW. Everything these two did was done with intention and thought behind it, and that is the highest compliment I can pay a match in today’s world

These two put on a match that kept my eyes glued for 40 minutes, past midnight after 6 hours of wrestling already. Every twist and turn had me living and dying, and by halfway through, I had started to convince myself that maybe Hangman had a chance. By the time they stood across from each other for the “shootout” I was on my feet, yelling and screaming for Hanger to finish him off. When the last Buckshot landed and it was finally over, I felt a visceral relief, and immediately tears started flowing. It wasn’t just the match, it wasn’t just the outcome, though in a world that is increasingly hard to have heroes in, it felt like a true victory for the nature of Good. Wrestling is at its best when you can believe in something, and It felt like I had finally gotten a win, in a month where I desperately needed one. – Jamie Sessions (Raised by the Ring)

The perfect final at the perfect time and helped kick off AEW’s best stretch since 2021 – Paul Fontaine (F4WOnline)

No match had a bigger “big fight feel”, both in kayfabe and amongst the fanbase, who were divided on who should win. The vibes here were great, with the low lighting bringing atmosphere and two of the best in the world in their peak bringing it hard. It helped that they chose the right winner, though this should be chapter one of a major rivalry. – Conor McFall (Social Suplex)

An incredible back and forth match between two of the best wrestlers in AEW. We get some nice standard offense early on with the story being weaved into the action so well. Page is the tougher and harder hitting wrestler of the two while Ospreay is faster, more agile and able to string together offense more quickly than Page. Both men go for their biggest shot early, the Buckshot Lariat and Hidden Blade respectively, and both are able to be avoided. From there, we get a fantastic back and forth pace to the match with Page trying to just hammer Ospreay into defeat while Ospreay looks to weather the storm and chip away at Page. A great but simple spot is Ospreay backing Page into the corner with elbows only for Page to drop Ospreay with one stiff elbow. Ospreay is able to fight Page, but Page has the power to drop him with one big shot. The back and forth exchanges keep coming as both men start going for the bigger bombs and even pull out some different moves. Page tries for Daniels’ Best Moonsault Ever but slips on it, allowing Ospreay to nail a Hidden Blade only for Page to roll to the apron and avoid the pin. Ospreay follows and hits Page with a Style Clash from the apron to the floor! Holy shit! Page just beats the count getting back in the ring, only to be hit with an Oscutter and yet he still kicks out! Ospreay starts to get frustrated at Page’s tenacity and tries to put him through the announcer’s table. Page is able to reverse Ospreay and hits Dead Eye as the table collapses, so Page hits a second one on the rubble for good measure. Page gets Ospreay in the ring and sets up for the Buckshot. Ospreay locks eyes with Page and readys the Hidden Blade. The two men charge! Page hits the Buckshot Lariat! Ospreay kicks out! Page tries for another Buckshot but Ospreay is there with the Hidden Blade this time! Stormbreaker! Page kicks out! My God! Ospreay tries for another Hidden Blade to the back of Page’s head but Page collapses at the last moment for Ospreay to miss it. What a spot! Ospreay hits a V-Trigger and even goes for the One-Winged Angel, only for Page to block and counter with Big Pressure but Ospreay gets a foot on the ropes. Awesome touch of these two using offense from their greatest rivals. Page again goes back to the Buckshot but Ospreay blocks again and tries for the Stormbreaker. Page slips out and nails a big Lariat. One final Buckshot Lariat! Page does it! Page wins the Owen and is going to All In! What a match! The slow build of these two starting out with different strategies but on even footing. Ospreay slowly realizing that he is not able to out-strike Page and having to try for bigger and bigger offense while Page stuck to looking for the Buckshot all match as the Ace up his sleeve. In the end, Page was able to deliver a decisive Buckshot Lariat to get the win. A damn near perfect match. – Alex Kalil (Spot Monkey Pro)

This is one match I waited for some time. Since Ospreay joined AEW, I wanted to see what would he do against Page. You don’t need a world title match on a PPV, when you have a main event like that. Both man put on everything they had on their arsenal. The finishing sequence alone makes your heart get out from it’s place. – Kaan Ünverdi (Tokyo Merkez Podcast)

About 18 months ago I watched a Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe match from 2004. I’d seen the match multiple times, but watching it the most recent time, it sent me into a panic. I could no longer focus on the sheer brilliance of Danielson and Joe. Instead, I became overrun with fear that even the best modern-day wrestlers were incapable of having a match like that one. Not to say that in 2025, wrestling can’t be great, or that there aren’t great wrestlers, but Danielson vs. Joe felt as scientific as it did violent. It had a slow but engaging pace to it that felt completely absent in modern wrestling.

Then, I watched Page vs. Ospreay.

This might be the only non-Danielson AEW match in history that has had this sort of pacing. This match was long, but I was hooked from the very beginning. The way it slowly built to a feverish finishing stretch, one that harkened back to a classic NWA World Title match or an iconic King’s Road-style bout, had me completely in awe. There have been dozens of great Ospreay matches that I’ve voted for in this poll over the course of the last decade, but none of his matches have felt quite like this one. This wasn’t the best match of his career, but it might’ve been his most complete performance ever. H’es an all-time great and matches like this, to me, make that claim undeniable. – Case Lowe (Voices of Wrestling / Open the Voice Gate)

Did we honestly expect anything less? Will Ospreay is absolutely one of the best big match wrestlers of all time. Hangman Page is underrated and always rises to the occasion. This man has been part of the best rivalry in AEW and has been a part of a few of the greatest AEW matches ever. This match is loaded with some nasty transitions and some of the dopest sequences and near falls you’ll ever see. Hangman Page has the best arc for any character in AEW and he has a chance now to close it out. Stories can be told in the ring and this match tells you everything you need to know about these two without needing vignettes or watching anything leading up to this. A main event masterpiece. Hangman unintentionally dodging the Hidden Blade by collapsing? Cinema. What a finish. – Noveliss (Noveliss.bandcamp.com)

The word that came to mind before the match was special. I thought they did a tremendous job on the go-home show to make this match feel like the biggest match in the company all year, and one that really could swing either way in it’s result. I expected a special match, and that’s exactly what we got. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen babyface vs babyface executed this damn good. I loved that they never took the cheap option of having one guy cheat – when Bryce was arguing with Will and Hangman lined up the Buckshot I was worried that a ref bump was coming and shenanigans were about to go down. I blame 4 years of Bloodline main events for that PTSD. They went with the deliberate slow build epic match, and at just shy of 40 minutes they had a lot of time to fill but I never felt bored for one second. I came very close to 5 stars, but there were just a few minor hiccups in the second half of the match like the botched BME tribute to Daniels and the table breaking before the deadeye could hit. The Omega/Swerve tributes were also a bit too cutesy for me but I understand they have their audience. It would be a win for all wrestling fans if we could get back to world titles being fought for in THIS type of a match. – Ed Mills (WrestlingClique)

A perfect wrestling match. After a period where AEW had too many run ins and too much gaga two of the best in the world went out there at the end of an incredible tournament and blew away the field. – mongo_ebooks (The Monumental Podcast)

It is Will Ospreay. No one better! – Joel Yentis (Strong Style Stories)

I know everybody else is going to talk about the match itself (and rightfully so), but let’s just take a moment to acknowledge the perfect lighting and camera work for this bout. Between that and the expert pacing and storytelling by Page and Ospreay, it *felt* like the biggest match of the year. – Ryan Largent (WrestleWatch)

Holy hell, what a ride! On paper, this had all the makings of an excellent match and it absolutely delivered. That said, there were a few moments that could’ve thrown things off track, but they were handled with such finesse that the flow remained intact.

Ospreay and Hangman are two of the most ring-aware wrestlers in the world today. Not only did they seem to execute the match almost exactly as they envisioned it, but they did so with a level of precision and fluidity that’s rare. What really stood out was their attention to detail, subtle tweaks to familiar moves, thoughtful sequencing and perfect timing elevated everything. Every choice felt deliberate and impactful.

A complete, high-level match between two of the best in the game right now. – Dan Duca (Wrestling, Examiend)

This match was almost ruined for me, as right before it started I got a visit from a drunk friend in need and I needed to drive him back home. On the way back, I was fearing pressing PLAY back on my TV, knowing 100% that for half a second, I would see a shot of what was happening LIVE at that moment. I would have been so salty had the match been over. Thankfully it wasn’t.

A clash of the 2 biggest faces in AEW. Each one with an equal chance of winning. No Gimmicks, no interference, no ref bumps, no bullshit. They have to throw everything at each other. It rocks. It’s a classic. Tremendous. Loved it. Go watch it. – Matthew Lovallo (The Monumental Podcast)

A masterpiece for both Page and Ospreay, and given their bodies of work these last several years, that’s saying something. A match performed at this level in a vacuum would easily make this a MOTY contender, but the stakes, the unpredictability of a winner and the surge of momentum being ridden by both men coming in vaults way up to near the top of my list for the best of the best. – TDE (TDE Wrestling)

The finals of the Owen Hart Tournament and this was going to determine who was going on to challenge Jon Moxley at All In and thus probably save the company from the Death Riders. And the thing about it was that either guy could have won and it was a real back and forth match. Both men’s best performance of the year which I think covers a ton of ground. – Erika Warrens (Wednesday Night Fake Fights )

An absolutely phenomenal in-ring encounter between two valiant babyfaces gutting it out & leaving it all in the ring for the right to save the company & AEW World Title. High stakes, drama, emotion & thrilling in-ring work with the element of unpredictability not often seen in big time main events. – Sid Pullar III – SP3 (Tru Heel Heat Wrestling / Sports Illustrated / Fightful)

There was a lot of anticipation for the match and once they got in the ring they told a great story – Frank Peteani (Pro Wrestling Torch)

Adam Page’s road to Jon Moxley was a crucible, intended to either break him before even reaching the champ, or refine him into the challenger capable of dethroning the champ. This match against The Aerial Assassin was the final moment within that crucible, and had it been anyone other than Hangman in that ring, they would have broken under the unbearable weight of talent that is Will Ospreay. The tension of this match was so palpable, you could almost taste it. These two men respected each other so immensely that they both brought their absolute best to bear that night. In a straightforward contest such as this, there are a scant few that can go step for step with Will Ospreay’s best. But it was clear as the match progressed that Hangman had one advantage – the implacable fire burning in his veins, driving him to ascend the throne and rip the AEW World Championship away from Jon Moxley. That fire raged with such heat that even Young Will couldn’t stand beside it, and after 36 minutes and a resounding Buckshot Lariat, Hangman Page emerged from his crucible, an unbreakable diamond sharpened into the weapon that could defeat Jon Moxley. This match was one of the best storytelling moments of the entire year in wrestling.
-Chris Colgan – George Atsaves/Chris Colgan (Two Guys One Sport)

What a perfect way to end the Owen. Two of your top babyfaces putting out an absolute epic. What a great match. – Filip Pejic (Fil Me In Podcast)

The final of the Owen finally feels like a truly big deal with the story heading into this match of Hanger’s redemption vs Ospreay’s ascension. The match wildly overdelivered on my already elevated expectations. The timing of so many of this match’s high paced near misses was insane. The athleticism on display was absurd. And the man I wanted to win won in a way that made me feel like both guys got the shine. Fuck I love wrestling. – James “NuclearConvoy” Snelgrove (Nuclear Convoy Productions)

Trying to create a pure face vs. face match-up is incredibly hard to do; look at, for example, All In 2024, where Swerve had to show off his heel credentials to put the crowd firmly behind Danielson. Even harder is building two white-hot main-event babyfaces who could both plausibly win the match and go on and main event All In six weeks later. Yet, it’s a simple story: Hangman is searching for his redemption, and Ospreay is searching for his ascension, and that’s how it becomes more powerful in the end. As a fan, I was firmly behind Hangman, and yet, throughout the month-long build and even during the match, I was dragged towards Team Ospreay multiple times. And this isn’t taking into account the quality of the match itself, which reminds you of the Styles and Daniels classics of mid-2000s TNA or Omega and Okada’s epics in the mid-2010s. A perfect encapsulation of what the “AEW style” is. – Sarah Noble (Cagematch)

Crisp and crunching. Top notch work and excitement from bell to bell. – Jacob Nelson (sleeperawakened.com, Dispatch Ajax podcast)

For AEW, this match was just…different. It was lit different. It was shot different. Deep in the malaise of the Death Rider storyline, just as a main event between two men fighting to see who was better with no bullshit, it felt different. And all of this made it something really special. A super dramatic high stakes main event for the ages that further solidifies The Owen as one of the most prestigious prizes in wrestling. – Jeff Ahmed (Voices of Wrestling)

Winner of this match was a coin flip at the time and you could have made an argument for either guy and this match came down to the last straw as well. Easily the best Owen finals match to date – Doug Marsh (Wrestling Marshland)

When you get a first-time match between two of the best wrestlers in the world, you run the risk of being disappointed because it didn’t live up to your expectations. That was not the case here. This was everything I wanted a match between Hangman and Ospreay to be, and it should be put in the pantheon of all-time great wrestling matches, AEW or otherwise. – Andrew Rich (Voices of Wrestling / Music of the Mat Remix)

Will Ospreay and Hangman Page had an outstanding main event that blended top-tier athleticism with compelling character work. Hangman leaning into his toughness and grit against Ospreay’s explosive speed created a great dynamic, with Ospreay spiking Page with brutal offense and Page repeatedly refusing to stay down, fighting through the punishment to keep the crowd invested in every near fall. The closing stretch, highlighted by Ospreay throwing out big bombs and Page finally hitting the Buckshot Lariat to secure a massive Owen Cup victory. – Jeremy Donovan (Social Suplex / Keepin’ It Strong Style)

Voices of Wrestling 2025 Match of the Year Countdown