Voices of Wrestling 2024 Match of the Year: #8 (Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay)

The #8 match in Voices of Wrestling’s 2024 Match of the Year is the Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay from Forbidden Door!

VOICES OF WRESTLING 2024 MATCH OF THE YEAR ARCHIVES

• Introduction, Voters & 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: Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland
• Match #9: CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre
• Match #8: Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay

VOICES OF WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR ARCHIVES

• 2023
• 2022
• 2021
• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014
• 2013
• 2012

#8
Swerve Strickland defeats Will Ospreay
06/30
NJPW/AEW

Overall Points: 269
Total Votes: 45
Percentage of Ballots: 22.17%
1 First-Place Vote

“I turned 39 in 2024, and I’ve been a pro wrestling fan for nearly 35 years. Forbidden Door was the first time I attended a major company PPV (excepting a couple of the ROH taped PPVs in 2008), and for it to end in this match was an incredible experience. Was the Don Callis-tinged finish a bit on the melodramatic side? Sure. But this was Will Ospreay being the best dang wrestler on the planet and Swerve Strickland cementing himself as THE GUY in AEW at that moment. Best match I’ve ever seen live, and No. 2 isn’t particularly close.” – Adam Shinder

“The biggest win of Swerve Strickland’s year, his title reign showcased how Swerve is a notch above everyone in the business when it comes to putting emotion and character into his storylines and matches. Swerve’s feud with Hangman Page set the two apart as the protagonists of the promotion. Swerve’s reign wasn’t a victory lap, it was the best world title reign in company history. The continued story of Swerve coming to terms with the person and wrestler he became against Hangman is one to watch and his win over Ospreay was its brightest chapter. ” – B.J. Bethel

“This match was the impetus for what would become the best stretch of Swerve’s 2024 title reign. He finally felt like the rightful champion by the final bell, following a match filled with brilliant creativity and brutal offense. Only the momentum-stifling involvement of Don Callis prevented this from reaching the level of the absolute greatest matches of the past decade.” – Lionmark Luke

“A brilliantly built main event title match with Ospreay having yet another MOTYC. Brilliant action throughout with the typical great sequences you would expect in a match of this quality. The final few minutes were what took this match to the next level with some awesome drama and for a guy that can’t sell Ospreay’s selling was just brilliant. They had the whole Don Callis thing trying to get Ospreay to use a screwdriver with Ospreay refusing to use the weapon and although it didn’t lead directly to the finish it did in some ways cost Ospreay the match. Great storytelling Ospreay lacking the cutting edge while Swerve was willing to do anything to get the job done and having to do so.” – Jason Turner

“An incredible match that solidified Swerve as the top guy in AEW heading into All In.” – Dan Ball

“A defining moment for both competitors and of of my favorite matches I’ve ever seen in person.” – Mike Charlip

“Swerve’s booking has sucked but his matches have not. This was off the charts. These two should be the focus of AEW with Fletcher, Omega, and Okada right there.” – Jeff Schwartz

“This was great not only because of the in ring, but the result is one that was actually a toss up. There was a genuine 50/50 chance of any man winning and it definitely adds to the intrigue. Watching it live was a roller coaster ride.” – Abraham Delgado

“This match had to battle the perception that an AEW vs AEW match shouldn’t main event Forbidden Door. They delivered huge. This was Swerve’s best match as AEW Champion, and hopefully only the first of many more bouts between these two. ” – Jays Retro

“Excellent match. Going in, it felt like this needed to do some heavy-lifting on a show that felt rather cold. It certainly did just that. Both Ospreay and Strickland were masterful, in full command of their offense and the crowd. guiding them through ups and downs with expert acuity. This was an incredibly important night for Swerve, and I thought he exceeded expectations. On a night where the meteoric rise of Will Ospreay’s star could’ve out-shined Strickland’s slow burn to the top, I thought the two co-existed in rarefied air together.” – Brandon LeClair

“This is the moment where, Swerve proved itself to me. I knew that he was a top level performer, but only couple of people can do it on Ospreay’s level. Swerve going toe to toe with Will convinced me about his talent level. ” – Kaan Ünverdi

“While it was a little disappointing that the third edition of Forbidden Door wasn’t going to be headlined by a true AEW vs. New Japan match, I had full confidence going into the show that Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay for the AEW World Title would absolutely deliver in that main event spot. When the time came for the main event, these two knocked it out of the park with an absolutely awesome match that was so cool to see live in person. The closing stretch of the bout was nothing short of outstanding, and while some chicanery near the end involving Don Callis did take the match down a tad, it ultimately didn’t hamper things too much. What this match also did is help solidify Swerve Strickland’s World Title run, as well as his role as a top-of-the-card player in AEW. One of the best matches that I got to see live in 2024.” – Sean Sedor

“For whatever reason, I recall a lot of teeth gnashing about this match, what it represented and ultimately, who should come out on top. You couldn’t stall the progress of Will Ospreay but what about the organic groundswell of support around Swerve Strickland? There was a lot of debate… and all of it needless. The correct outcome was Swerve Strickland winning and being elevated to Ospreay’s level… being shown to be someone who could not only hang with Ospreay, but overcome him as well. A masterclass in working a big match for a big room. You could maybe knock it a little for the manager run ins and shenanigans, but I think those lesser sins were fairly overshadowed by the quality of the work. Just writing about it makes me want to watch it again. ” – DJ Convoy

“The AEW audience has changed. The Long Island crowd got a lot of shit from fans watching at home for not being active during the show. However, when the match featuring two AEW stars hit the ring at the end of a marathon show, the crowd was as hot as any crowd you could ask for. This was an AEW crowd, not a Forbidden Door crowd. There was a point where those things were one in the same, however the last several months of AEW TV has changed that. Forbidden Door crowds of the past would’ve been into the ZSJ/Cassidy match and would have given Naito something to work with in the body of that dogshit IWGP Title match. This is a different crowd that was here to see the AEW guys and not much else.

At least those AEW guys gave them something to see. Swerve and Ospreay built this match up very well, adding some heat to the match without turning either of them. That work in the build-up paid off in spades, as this crowd was molten hot at the bell for these two. I’ve spoken enough about Ospreay and will get another chance to do so in a minute, so I’ll use this blurb to speak on Swerve.

There had been a lot of wondering if AEW had missed the window with Swerve’s title reign. The title win over Samoa Joe was fine, but he had been playing second fiddle to Will Ospreay’s entry into the promotion. He fell even further behind once the Elite storyline went into overdrive to build up Anarchy In The Arena. With Wembley coming up, many pundits had it a fait accompli that Ospreay would be going into the All In main event. Swerve was doing good work but was being overshadowed as World Champion.

That changed with this match. Swerve showed the world that he was not only on Ospreay’s level, but a level above it. The match was bonkers, with these two doing unbelievably risky spots to perfection over and over again. The springboard stomp Swerve did to counter an OsCutter, the piledriver on the barricade, the stomp from the top rope to the announce table. These two kept escalating and escalating and somehow never went over their skis.

But what made this match for me was the ending. After a ref bump, Don Callis gave Ospreay the Big Turn Screwdriver to hit Swerve with. After some wondering, Ospreay said no and ran right into a House Call and a Swerve Stomp. But Ospreay kicked out and fired up. With the last bit of energy he had, he went for one last Hidden Blade to bail him out. But he had nothing left, and just fell into Swerve. Swerve patted him on the head, hit another House Call, then hit Big Pressure to win. By the end of this match, there was no question and no doubt. Swerve had definitively beaten this man and was definitively a top guy in AEW now.

This was Swerve’s Top Guy moment. This was his main event, his marquee match, his chance to show that he was everything the company and the fans wanted out of a World Champion. He took that chance and ran with it, and now can stand across the ring from your Moxleys and your Omegas and your Hangmans and feel every bit their equal. This was someone grabbing the brass ring and making it theirs, and that’s why this match was so special.” – Suit Williams

“In a situation where Swerve, the newly-crowned champion needed to be solidified as THE champion, WIll Ospreay, the man that many arguably considered to be the TRUE uncrowned champion of AEW, was set to take on Swerve. The minute Swerve won the belt, people began asking how long before Ospreay took the belt off him. Ospreay, understanding this situation, allegedly insisted that he lose to Swerve, in what not only was one of the best matches of the year, but in THE match that solidified Swerve as a top contender when he could have quickly slipped down the card. Great match and great booking.” – Douglas Fowler (Skeach101)

“This match is an incredible demonstration of personal growth and maturity. These guys went from wrestling years ago and having a dance contest (which admittedly worked for the crowd they were wrestling in front of) to being two legitimate main eventers given the responsibility of headlining a big show. This still has all the high-flying crazy choreographed acrobatics you’d expect for better or worse (and I love all of that when done well) but done in a way that it works as a heavyweight title fight. The drama in this reaches an unbelievable level and, watching it live, I had no idea who would win. This was my favourite match of 2024 that didn’t connect with me on a deeper emotional level and just ruled and was incredibly exciting for its entire duration.” – Travis McNeill

“It’s been roughly six months since this match has taken place but it feels like eons ago in the fast-paced pro wrestling world. This was an incredible world title match that more than lived up to people’s expectations. My only wish was that Ospreay would have won and remained champion for the rest of the year. Alas, AEW had other plans…” – Bryan Rose

“This was the match that truly elevated Swerve to a top level in AEW. For the first time, he was being counted on to draw in the main event as a champion. And everybody that bought Forbidden Door was treated to an absolutely top-level match that firmly established Swerve as a worthy champion and THE main eventer of AEW. ” – Jeff Ahmed

“Will should have won the AEW Heavyweight Championship within 6 months of joining the promotion but what’s done is done. These two ment had a classic and swerve earned his flowers in 2024 as one of the best wrestlers in the world.” – Jeremy Finestone

“Wrestlers like Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay are undoubtedly the future of this promotion and deserve to be at its center. This match reaffirmed my earlier statement. Neither man emerged from this contest as a loser; instead, they showcased their strength and earned the recognition they deserved, ensuring that the spotlight would now, then, and possibly forever, follow their every move.” – Brie Coder

“A defining title defense for Swerve. After finally winning the AEW championship, the company signs the hottest free agent in all of pro wrestling. How long could they keep Will Ospreay out of the title picture and was Swerve a transitional champion? A storyline that saw Swerve question Ospreay’s killer instinct led to a match that proved Swerve was an absolute superstar of a World Champion and Will Ospreay was everything we thought he was. One of the most important matches in Swerve’s AEW run and one of the best AEW championship matches ever. Who’s house?” – Noveliss

Voices of Wrestling 2024 Match of the Year
(305-11)