Match of the Year 2013

[Reznor]

Punk vs Lesnar for me too. Slightly unusual in that I liked it the most even though the guy I wanted to win, lost. But what a half hour or so it was.

 

In Mexico, from memory alone it would probably be Park/Wagner in Santo's fed, Blue Panther v Averno at the anniversary show, or Guerrera Maya v Virus a few weeks ago. I'd probably be swaying towards the first one, but i'd need to watch them all again to be certain.

 

Some of these indie matches with the old timers that we only see clips of from terceraCaida, but which probably do exist in full courtesy of BlackTerryJr, will surely either be up there though, or at least would be in a better environment. Just in the past week alone we've had Solar I v Black Terry, Valiente v Negro Navarro, and a trios with Solar, Blue Panther and Super Astro v Negro Navarro, Satanico and Black Terry. How can you go wrong with stuff like that? Even Panther/Maximo v Villano/Cassandro looked like it might've been great from the clips.

 

Actually, the lucha moty might still be to come if they go with Rush v Negro Casas at the year end show - or failing that, their plain old singles match tonight.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Undertaker vs Punk edged Lesnar vs Punk and that edged Bryan vs Cena. I just thought with the horrible build up, the fact both were in agony (and Punk almost broke his hip on the table spot) and that everyone knew there was going to be one winner, they put on a shocking masterpiece. There was a lot of things going against them and it was just excellent. It was the match I enjoyed the most this year at least.

[Arch Stanton]

The SmackDown six-man tag where The Shield eventually lost to Bryan, Kane and Orton is right up there for me. The finish sequence was incredible and brought a monster pop from the crowd. I'll have to go back and review all of their matches when it comes to the end-of-year voting, but for me The Shield have been sensational considering this is their debut year on the main roster, they probably feature in at least half of my top ten matches of the year.

 

I will have to back-up Ian's opinion that this has been one of the strongest years for in-ring action ever in the WWE. For all the negativity that surrounds the product these days, one thing you can't argue with is the quality of the actual matches.

[Vamp]

Punk vs Lesnar for me too. Slightly unusual in that I liked it the most even though the guy I wanted to win, lost. But what a half hour or so it was.

 

In Mexico, from memory alone it would probably be Park/Wagner in Santo's fed, Blue Panther v Averno at the anniversary show, or Guerrera Maya v Virus a few weeks ago. I'd probably be swaying towards the first one, but i'd need to watch them all again to be certain.

 

Some of these indie matches with the old timers that we only see clips of from terceraCaida, but which probably do exist in full courtesy of BlackTerryJr, will surely either be up there though, or at least would be in a better environment. Just in the past week alone we've had Solar I v Black Terry, Valiente v Negro Navarro, and a trios with Solar, Blue Panther and Super Astro v Negro Navarro, Satanico and Black Terry. How can you go wrong with stuff like that? Even Panther/Maximo v Villano/Cassandro looked like it might've been great from the clips.

 

Actually, the lucha moty might still be to come if they go with Rush v Negro Casas at the year end show - or failing that, their plain old singles match tonight.

 

Park vs Wagner is the best shout I think, shame about the lame finish. Was there a Virus vs. Valiente match this year? I seem to remember them having a good match but I may have made it up. I remember really loving a Casas vs. Dorada title match. Actually, come to think of it, my lucha match of the year might be Rey Hechicero vs.Charles Lucero. A fantastic old school match.

[zep81]

Punk/Brock for me. Watched it about 4 or 5 times lol, even bought the SS DVD. :o

[patiirc]

Not watched much WWe this year, but Cena/Punk has to be up there. Also Trav vs Masters II from PCW and Zack Gibson vs Sam Bailey Renshaw Street Fight from Infinite Pro are other stand outs

[Reznor]

Punk vs Lesnar for me too. Slightly unusual in that I liked it the most even though the guy I wanted to win, lost. But what a half hour or so it was.

 

In Mexico, from memory alone it would probably be Park/Wagner in Santo's fed, Blue Panther v Averno at the anniversary show, or Guerrera Maya v Virus a few weeks ago. I'd probably be swaying towards the first one, but i'd need to watch them all again to be certain.

 

Some of these indie matches with the old timers that we only see clips of from terceraCaida, but which probably do exist in full courtesy of BlackTerryJr, will surely either be up there though, or at least would be in a better environment. Just in the past week alone we've had Solar I v Black Terry, Valiente v Negro Navarro, and a trios with Solar, Blue Panther and Super Astro v Negro Navarro, Satanico and Black Terry. How can you go wrong with stuff like that? Even Panther/Maximo v Villano/Cassandro looked like it might've been great from the clips.

 

Actually, the lucha moty might still be to come if they go with Rush v Negro Casas at the year end show - or failing that, their plain old singles match tonight.

 

Park vs Wagner is the best shout I think, shame about the lame finish. Was there a Virus vs. Valiente match this year? I seem to remember them having a good match but I may have made it up. I remember really loving a Casas vs. Dorada title match. Actually, come to think of it, my lucha match of the year might be Rey Hechicero vs.Charles Lucero. A fantastic old school match.

Not sure, but I don't think Valiente/Virus has happened this year, at least not in a real singles match. They did face off in one of those mini tournament matches but they only last a couple of minutes. There was Sagrado/Valiente v Virus/Casas which I remember reading was great, but i think it was just based on word of mouth as it was from Guadalajara and they don't have tv anymore. However good it was, it could've been better as i'm sure Sagrado was a sub for Panther.

 

We had Virus v Panther in a lightning match too, which was just a bullshit tease. If it had led to a challenge and full match the following week it would probably have been the best lightning match ever, but in the end, all it left you feeling was unsatisfied that we only got a primera caida basically, however great it was while it lasted. Lightning matches are shit, you can't win with them.

 

Was that match the one from Monterrey where the fat one took a header into the seats? Aye, that was fun stuff. The old guy definitely looked a lot better though. I had only saw him a few times before, one of them vs Blue Panther from those old LuchalibreAzteca shows from Gimnasio Nuevo Leon, and my vague memory of that was that it was real good too. Kinda sad to think there's all these local guys from the provinces who will have been around for decades, practically hidden from the outside world, and there's no doubt some cracking wrestlers, maestro types and all, in amongst them. Maybe not so much now, but moreso back in the 80s/90s.

[Vamp]

Yup, that's the one. Just a perfectly structured match, which isn't something there's been a lot of in lucha this year. The thing that pisses me off about CMLL booking at the moment (well, one of the things anyway) is that when they bring in maestros in they normally put them against their own maestros. Let the younger guys face them and learn something. God knows some of them need it.

[Richard]

Sami Zayn had two crackers against both The Real Americans on NXT. Speaking of Cesaro his match with Bryan on Raw when they went into a flurry of Europeans was delicious, as was Bryan vs. Rollins. Bryan was having belters every week on Raw throughout the summer actually.

[PunkStep]

What about that triple threat for the intercontinental title a few months ago? I haven't seen it, but everyone raved about it at the time. Miz vs Wade vs Axel I think.

[Arch Stanton]

What about that triple threat for the intercontinental title a few months ago? I haven't seen it, but everyone raved about it at the time. Miz vs Wade vs Axel I think.

A good one, but realistically it's probably not in the top twenty for the year. That's how strong a year it's been.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

This really highlights how great CM Punk has been this year, my top three are:

 

Punk vs Undertaker- Wrestlemania

Punk vs Cena- Raw

Punk vs Lesnar- Summerslam

 

Three high profile, very different opponents and matches. The Lesnar match gets an extra bump for how well Punk did the plucky underdog so well after years of being a despicable heel. Punk vs Undertaker is probably my top one, due to the stage and stakes involved, and also having pretty low expectations going in, considering how thrown together the whole program seemed. I'm off to re-watch Cena vs Punk to see if it edges past the Wrestlemania match though, haven't watched it since it happened.

 

Funny how Cena/Punk has probably become this generation's Austin/Rock, when WWE wanted Orton to fill that role for so long, and Punk is the antithesis of Orton.

[air_raid]

Funny how Cena/Punk has probably become this generation's Austin/Rock,

 

That's not even funny in how wrong it is.

 

The Rock and Steve Austin when both were at their peak had the fanbase arguing who was the top dog. Nobody is having that argument of Cena and Punk (or Cena and anybody) and if they are, they should be lobotomized. CM Punk was WWE Champion for over a year and yet still didn't main event if John Cena was wrestling Lesnar or Johnny fucking Ace or tagging with Dwayne to smash the Awesome Truth in the real main event. Remember how the Rock carried the main event scene for nearly a year in Austin's absence? If Punk was the Rock to Cena's Stone Cold, he would have been inserted into the WWE title scene during Cena's injury and shifting focus to the Big Gold Belt, rather than running some combination of Bryan/Orton/Show for twenty-seven PPVs in a row. The Rock vs Steve Austin was a special match that was a huge event every time it happened on a PPV for over two years, and the biggest match they had was the biggest match of their era. John Cena vs CM Punk is a collision that has been done to death, and the biggest match they ever had wasn't even the biggest match John Cena had on PPV in that calendar year. If you're asking to which Cena/Punk match I refer, pick one. The point will stand, whichever one you choose.

[The Cutting Edge]

Shane o Macs right imo, both bring the best out in each other and have cracking matches everytime they wrestle and they're natural enemies much like Rock and Austin

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

I'm not referring to Punk being on Cena's level in terms of being a mega-star, Cena obviously blows anyone out of the water. But in terms of rivalries, both men bring out the best in each other and have had classic matches. WWE had hopes of Orton to be the guy to stand alongside Cena and deliver all time great matches, but Punk's come closer than any other contemporary of Cena. I'm not saying Punk is as big as Austin or Rock, just that he brings out the best in the company's top star. I wouldn't be against seeing Cena vs Punk at a Wrestlemania some day.

 

John Cena vs CM Punk is a collision that has been done to death, and the biggest match they ever had wasn't even the biggest match John Cena had on PPV in that calendar year. If you're asking to which Cena/Punk match I refer, pick one. The point will stand, whichever one you choose.

 

Done to death? There's MITB, Summerslam and that Raw match. What else?

 

As far as not being the biggest match in Cena's calendar year, Cena/Rock at WM28 may have been a bigger box-office draw, but Cena/Punk at MITB was far more entertaining.