The Voices of Wrestling 2025 Sicko Match of the Year

The Voices of Wrestling Match of the Year poll is the most prestigious match of the year poll in wrestling.

Voters far and wide list their favorite matches of the year, building a consensus that can serve as a reference for years to come.

Within the voting pool are the true sickos of wrestling.

Not just a marketing tagline, the VOW voters scour the entire world looking for the best wrestling out there, no matter the promotion, arena, or scale.

Each year, there is usually one match that comes out of nowhere, completely niche from the normal wrestling mainstream, but absolutely beloved by the hardest of hardcore fans.

For the first time, it is time to crown the official Voices of Wrestling Sicko Match of the Year.

Here are some general requirements:

The match needs shouldn’t be in a major promotion (although it may be in an adjacent one – more on that later)
Produce shows and small venues help (but are not required)
Is a wrestler all over the MOTY list in other matches? They may not fit in here
Basically, you know it when you see it (and let’s be real, this is my article and my award – I know it when I see it)

Last year, I decided to go back and celebrate these matches. I looked at every poll previously and pulled out the Sicko Match of the Year (retroactive). Mexico and Japan have previously dominated the list, with five matches from Mexico and four from Mexico. Some years have stronger pools than others – yes, Blue Demon Jr. vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. was on Triplemania, but that year, there just wasn’t another strong contender.

Here are the past winners, given retroactively:

Year	Match	Promotion	Date	Place in MOTY Poll
2013	Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. LA Park	TXT	2013-05-11	10
2014	Virus vs. Titan	CMLL	2014-01-28	15
2015	Shuji Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Sekimoto	BJW	2015-03-31	22
2016	Trauma 1 vs. Canis Lupus	IWRG	2016-09-04	8
2017	WALTER vs. Ilja Dragonov	WXW	2017-03-12	7
2018	Masashi Takeda vs. Isami Kodaka	BJW	2018-06-20	7
2019	Blue Demon Jr. vs. Dr. Wagner Jr.	AAA	2019-08-03	10
2020	Villano III Jr. vs. Aereo	AAA	2020-03-01	13
2021	Team Sendai Girls vs. Team Marvelous	GAEAISM	2021-06-13	26
2022	Jun Kasai vs. El Desperado	JTO	2022-09-12	8
2023	Fuminori Abe vs. Takuya Nomura	We Are Fighting Detectives	2023-10-12	8
2024	Mad Dog Connelly vs. Demus	ACTION	2024-04-04	11

This year, not one, but two sicko matches finished in the top 10!

Sareee vs. Syuri (Sareee-ISM Chapter VII, 3/10/25) and Jun Kasai vs. El Desperado (Death Pain Invitational, 6/24/25) were both strong contenders with their own bubbles of support.

Sareee vs. Syuri took place on a Sareee-produced show in Shinjuku Face with no commentary. For 30 minutes, both absolutely pummeled each other, eventually ending in a draw.

Kasai vs. Desperado was a rematch of their esteemed (and previous Sicko winner) 2022 match. While it did technically fall under the NJPW banner, no one would mistake this as anything but a sicko match. A sold-out Korakuen Hall watched the greatest deathmatch wrestler of all time battle the man who has possibly turned into his most famous rival.

Both had strong showings and are worthy winners.

However, there could be only one…. and this year, with a 9th place vote in the overall poll, the winner is….

JUN KASAI VS EL DESPERADO (6/24/25)

A beautiful match (and one that I voted #1) that is a worthy winner. But no shade cast to Sareee vs. Syuri, another great match that transcended the confines of its bubble.

Will there somehow be a third Kasai vs. Despy match to vie for contention next year?

Will SareeeISM produce next year’s winner?

Is there a match happening in a basement somewhere next weekend that will become absolutely beloved? Personally, there’s nothing in wrestling that makes me happier than finding out.

Until next year!