2019 proved to be a monumental year in NXT history, one that saw TV tapings come to an end in favor of going two hours live weekly on USA. The exposure didn’t stop as major talents both appeared, and were featured, on main roster programming, and even won the brand supremacy battle at Survivor Series.
With all this important content and the consistently great TakeOver events, you would think the NXT Florida loop would have suffered. However, that definitely wasn’t the case. In fact, it opened more doors for fresh talent to find themselves and connect with the focus group level audiences of these small towns across the state. I was fortunate enough to attend a personal-record 61 live events this year and these are a few unique match ups that stood out.
The Women
Io Shirai vs. Deonna Purrazzo | Lakeland, FL | April 18
In what feels like another world ago, Shirai was still wearing her Stardom-inspired red gear with entrance mask for this one. The ring general Purrazzo was able to hold her own with Io and this one showcased two of the best at what they do.
Kay Lee Ray vs. Tegan Nox | Sebring, FL | August 16
Nox had just returned from her injury and was immediately tested by a longtime foe. They had an all-out battle that I could only imagine was to help Nox gain confidence. She still has it and this match-up is one they will definitely come back to someday on a larger stage.
Mia Yim vs. Io Shirai | Daytona Beach, FL | September 19
As we saw later in the year with this match making TV, these two have no fear and will probably be rivals for as long as they are in WWE.
Rhea Ripley/Mia Yim/Candice LeRae vs. Dakota Kai/Jessamyn Duke/Marina Shafir | Jacksonville, FL | December 5
This was the key match of the historic all women’s live event this December. As I wrote at the time it happened, this felt like something special. Every talent in this match has a path that I am sure will take them to heights we haven’t seen yet. This also showed the potential for Ripley vs. Kai long term in NXT.
The Men
Matthew Riddle vs. Punishment Martinez | Ft. Pierce, FL | January 11
This match was as great as you could imagine and will someday find its way to TV. On this night, what ended up all over the Internet was the outrage over the first ever NXT Live destroyer.
The Velveteen Dream vs. Matthew Riddle | Sanford, FL | March 21
This was possibly the hottest crowd we ever had for an NXT Live main event as it was the preview for their TakeOver match and some would even say it was better. The pacing was faster and the crowd was completely into this match at a level you would expect from TV. We can only hope these two can meet again someday to top their previous matches.
The Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong | Orlando, FL | June 15
This was arguably the best of their NXT Live series this year as these two main evented all over the state. I enjoyed this one the most of all that I was fortunate enough to see. Roddy was a force on the loop this year with countless main events and great matches with up-and-ccoming talents.
Adam Cole vs. Bronson Reed | Tampa, FL | August 24
The undisputed champion blessed Tampa with a main event match worthy of TV and truly showcased what Reed could do.
KUSHIDA vs. Roderick Strong | Gainesville, FL | September 7
This was as good as it gets in the ring, the main event of a Saturday show after the crew worked their entire loop schedule. Rather than just have a match, these two had a TakeOver-worthy match in front of a few hundred people in Gainesville. This match kept elevating as neither would quit. By the end, the crowd was on fire. These two are pro’s pros and there’s no greater compliment from a talent to the fanbase than effort. It doesn’t matter if it’s 200, 2000, or 20,000. The people who show up are your audience.
Mens Tag Team
Adam Cole and Bobby Fish vs. Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford | Sanford, FL | February 9
The least experienced combination of The Undisputed Era was in action against The Street Profits and it ended up being magic. The Sanford crowd enhanced the action and the men kept topping each other, one of the best matches of the year.
WALTER, Fabian Aichner, and Marcel Barthel vs. Jaxson Ryker, Wesley Blake, and Steve Cutler | Daytona Beach, FL | September 19
In the greatest surprise of the year, we had the incomparable WALTER show up in Daytona Beach, Florida, along with Imperium to go to absolute war with The Forgotten Sons. The crowd was in to everything and lost their minds when WALTER decided he was going to manhandle the huge Jaxson Ryker. This was a spectacle.
The Comedy
Rik Bugez vs. Brendan Vink | Daytona Beach, FL | August 17
In an honorable mention here, the entire crew was involved in this masterpiece. First of all, the audio guy played Bugez’s music in full which forced Bugez to air guitar for over three minutes straight. The referee was laughing in the corner as Bugez would try to look at him for help. Then, there’s Vink, an incredible character in his own right. The two exchanged sunset flip reversals until Bugez finally scored the pin, This was a team effort of greatness.
Editor’s Note: This is a free show. Just click below to listen.
Our four-part journey through the 2019 MMA year continues with Paul Fontaine and I sifting through April, May, and June.
On the docket for part 2:
On a pay-per-view headliend by two interim title fights, both delivered like “real” title fights as Israel Adesanya-Kelvin Gastelum and Max Holloway-Dustin Poirier provided a literal UFC 1-2 punch
Rory MacDonald won a fight and then questioned if being a religious man meant he didn’t have the will to hurt people anymore…then fought less than two months later
Henry Cejudo and Patricio Pitbull both became two-division champions in hard-hitting fashion
The increasingly rapid decline of B.J. Penn
A controversy over whether spiking someone’s head into the mat is legal
Sage Northcutt got his face crushed in his ONE debut
Big fights were made, guys got hurt, cards existed, and Dana White had his share of head-scratching decisions
As you well know, a lot happens in a year especially in sports and entertainment. When I do my year-end MMA review shows, I am always amazed looking at all the little things that happened in a given month that ended up being bigger things later on.
But, we had never really done a comprehensive month-by-month look at the year that was in pro wrestling, so here we are. I tasked website contributor Josh Molina to help me out and that’s exactly what he did.
There was so much that happened that I had to split this up into four separate posts. We begin by looking at January, February, and March.
January
Enzo Amore was accused of sexual assault and was later released by WWE
Ronda Rousey made her official WWE debut after the end of the women’s Royal Rumble, had her first ‘point to the sign’ moment
Asuka won the first WWE women’s Royal Rumble while Shinsuka Nakamura won the men’s Royal Rumble.
Rey Mysterio returned for the night in the Rumble match
Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas and Johnny Gargano put on an epic match at NXT TakeOver the night prior to the Rumble
Raw celebrated their 25th anniversary with a dual location show which was widely panned, especially from those at the Manhattan Center
Roman Reigns was tied to a $10 million steroid ring by an alleged dealer named Richard Rodriguez
Ricochet signed with WWE/NXT. He also lost the PWG title to Chuck Taylor.
In a match that at one point seemed improbable, Chris Jericho wrestled Kenny Omega at New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom 12, the same event where Kazuchika Okada retained his IWGP title over Tetsuya Naito.
Jericho announced the ‘Talk is Jericho’ podcast and The Jericho Network were moving from Podcast One to Westwood One
Wrestling historian and former announcer Larry Matysik was hospitalized
British heavyweight wrestling champion Albert “Rocky” Wall passed away
Emily Dole, who played Mt. Fiji in the 1980s GLOW promotion, passed away
To the surprise of many, Vince McMahon announced the return of the XFL for 2020
Negro Casas beat Sam Adonis in a hair vs. hair match at Arena Mexico
The WWE Mixed Match Challenge series on Facebook Live debuted
Longtime TNA/Impact Wrestling employee Jeremy Borash left the company for WWE
Rich Swann was cleared of battery charges against then-girlfriend, pro wrestler Su Yung
Jonathan Coachman returned to Raw to replace Booker T on the announce desk
Austin Aries debuted at a set of Impact Wrestling tapings and won the company’s World title
WWE wrestler Jey Uso was arrested on suspicion of DUI
February
All Japan Pro Wrestling announced their own streaming service
The Miz signed a new four-year contract with WWE
Ricochet made his debut at the NXT TV tapings
WWE announced their highest annual revenue ever at $801 million
WWE’s YouTube channel became the second-most subscribed to in the world behind T-Series
Ronda Rousey appeared on Monday Night Raw for first time
WWE and Impact reached a deal to air “Broken” Matt Hardy” footage on WWE Network which led to the character coming back in full
The longest single match in WWE history (106:55) happened on Raw as Seth Rollins survived a gauntlet match
WWE announced the end to dual-branded PPV events
New Japan Pro Wrestling toured Australia
Roman Reigns won the men’s Elimination Chamber to set up a Universal title match at WrestleMania while Alexa Bliss won the women’s Elimination Chamber
John Cena challenged The Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania. He also returned to TV in-ring competition and picked up a win over old rival AJ Styles on SmackDown
Tammy “Sunny” Sytch was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving
The Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi) reunited in New Japan Pro Wrestling
Taping began for the new Lucha Underground season
Apollo Crews briefly had to drop his last name because of the Parkland school shooter’s name (Nikolas Cruz)
March
Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle vs. Stephanie McMahon and Triple H were announced for WrestleMania
WWE and the Saudi General Sports Authority agreed to a 10 year exclusive deal for major live events
Members of The Elite announced All In for September in Chicago
Kazuchika Okada defeated Will Ospreay at New Japan’s 46th Anniversary Show
Jonathan Coachman’s name came up as part of a sexual harassment lawsuit against ESPN
Katsuyori Shibata was named head coach of the New Japan Dojo in Los Angeles
Lucha Underground sent cease and desist letters to reporters who ran TV taping results
Eddie Edwards renewed his contract with Impact Wrestling
Ric Flair announced that he will appear in his first movie, “Uncle Steamroller and Champion Rabbit”
Jim Ross underwent eye surgery to remove a cataract
Hillbilly Jim was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame inductee
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards were announced and Okada was named wrestler of the year
Jeff Hardy was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving
Rey Mysterio announceed he had a partially torn left biceps muscle and would miss some dates
Vader underwent open heart surgery
Konnan underwent hip surgery
Brian Lawler was severely beaten up by fellow pro wrestler Chase Stevens
Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat wrestled his first match in eight years
HBO debuted the widely acclaimed ‘Andre The Giant’ documentary
Kid Rock was announced for WWE Hall of Fame
Daniel Bryan was cleared to wrestle again
Due to scrutiny from sponsors and fans, WWE had to drop the Fabulous Moolah name from the women’s battle royal at WrestleMania
WWE attracted 13,000 people to Madison Square Garden for a house show
Mark Henry was announced for WWE Hall of Fame
Shane McMahon was diagnosed with diverticulitis
Jerry “The King” Lawler suffered a stroke
New Japan Pro Wrestling announced a July show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco
My annual look back at the year that was in MMA rolls on with a look back at April through June, a time when TV deals were signed, attractions were few and far between, and a lot of place-setting for the second half of the year was taking place.
Helping me examine those three months is first time guest Nick Baldwin of Bloody Elbow.
On the docket:
The chaos surrounding UFC 223 and finding a replacement to face Khabib Nurmagomedov, and the media day bus attack by Conor McGregor and friends.
UFC announcing one and then two TV deals with ESPN and their streaming service, ESPN+.
Bellator’s big June with their surprise DAZN streaming provider, the announcement of their middleweight grand prix, and more.
UFC 225 and Yoel Romero missing weight for a title fight again, the likely final UFC ride for CM Punk, and the temporary rise of Colby Covington.
And plenty more!
Click below to give it a listen, and check out part 1 while you’re at it.
To many, 2017 was a down year in MMA but the sport did have some fun moments in the final three months of the year and on this 90-minute Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, we walk down memory lane one final time to remember.
Joining me on this show is first-time guest and fellow MMAJA member Nathan McCarter of Bleacher Report.
On the docket:
– UFC 217 and the return of Georges St-Pierre, plus the triumps of TJ Dillashaw and Rose Namajunas
– Demetrious Johnson’s breaking of the all-time UFC title defense record in highlight reel fashion
– Conor McGregor being Conor McGregor in feuding with Marc Goddard and helping Bellator pop a good ratings number
– Anderson Silva gets flagged by USADA…again.
– The coronation of Cyborg Justino as the sport’s top active female star
– The great UFC 218 where Max Holloway, Francis Ngannou, Eddie Alvarez and Yancy Medeiros made big impressions
– Some quick hit thoughts on Ronda Rousey’s appearance at the Royal Rumble, Stipe-DC thoughts, and plenty more.
I asked our two intrepid MMA writers — Paul Fontaine and Ryan Frederick — to jot down some thoughts on 2017 while looking ahead to 2018. With the MMA year kicking off this weekend with UFC in St. Louis, MO, let’s take a gander back at the year that was.
When you think about 2017 in MMA, what comes to mind?
Paul:
I think of ‘What could have been?’ UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor didn’t fight in the Octagon. Jon Jones did what Jon Jones does and blew a potential mega-fight with Brock Lesnar. Ronda Rousey proved she still had drawing power at the end of 2016 with a million plus buy PPV and then proceeded to not fight in 2017. The only currently somewhat active person in UFC who is a big draw is Georges St Pierre and he will be out with an injury for the foreseeable future.
Ryan:
I see this as a year of missed opportunities, both when it comes to the UFC and the fighters. The UFC missed out on Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, Nate Diaz, and Brock Lesnar fighting. In the case of Conor, they made the business decision to let him box Floyd Mayweather which made them big money. You can’t fault them for that, but that meant UFC fans missed out on enjoying him in the Octagon.
With the case of Rousey, she appears gone for good. With Diaz, it was simply a matter of money as they tried and failed to get him to fight. With Lesnar, the drug test failure still looms. When it comes to the fighters, weight issues with Khabib Nurmagomedov plagued a fight between him and Tony Ferguson, which had the potential to be great. Demetrious Johnson turned down his biggest payday and the biggest fight of his career with TJ Dillashaw, opting to fight Ray Borg. The middleweight championship was in flux all year, with a lot of good potential title fights being stalled. There were opportunities to have a more action-packed year, but things just couldn’t come to fruition.
Josh:
One word comes to mind: dull. After a completely awesome 2016, the first few months of the year sputtered and every time we thought we were ready to turn a corner, we got more misfires. I think of the bad UFC PPV in Brooklyn where Germaine de Randamie edged out Holly Holm to win a title no one asked for, only to later drop it because she didn’t want to fight Cyborg. I think of a lot of injured champions and good fights that fell through. I think of the word ‘interim’. There were some great moments, but it was a 12 months where more of the fringe fans got shaved off due to boredom.
What was your favorite fight?
Ryan:
I have to go with the non-stop brawl that was Justin Gaethje against Michael Johnson at The Ultimate Fighter Finale in July. Both men landed big punches that likely would have knocked any other opponent out, and yet, they kept coming at each other. Gaethje showed why he was one of the most exciting UFC signings in a long time and one of the most exciting fighters at 155 pounds. Violence was expected, and violence was brought.
Paul:
It wasn’t necessarily the best fight, but my favorite was the Jose Aldo-Max Holloway rematch at December’s UFC 218. Holloway has always been one of my favorite fighters and on that night, he proved that he was the top featherweight in the sport and maybe one of the best of all time with a dismantling of the former dominant champion. Aldo still has it in him to beat just about anyone in the division, as evidenced by his one sided win over Frankie Edgar, but Holloway looked like he was in another league in Detroit.
Josh:
This one is easy: Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson II! Just kidding, everyone. I’m going to go with one that probably isn’t popular due to what happened afterward, but I still loved Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier II. It was the biggest fight of the summer and we got a lot of questions temporarily answered about Jones in his decimation of Cormier. Between the build, the result, and the post fight interviews, Jones appeared to have arrived back on the main attraction stage and we were dreaming about Jones-Gustafsson II and even a Brock Lesnar fight in 2018. Then, USADA checked in and everything went to hell.
What was your favorite event?
Paul:
UFC 217 that featured the return of GSP as he beat Michael Bisping and won the middleweight title. It also featured two other title fights, both with upset title changes, including what may have been the upset of the year with Rose Namajunas stopping Joanna Jedrzejczyk. You can’t ask for much more from a big show.
Ryan:
Honestly, it’s UFC 217, but I wanted to shine a light on the pay-per-view offering that followed it: UFC 218. You had two of the best fights of the year in Yancy Medeiros against Alex Oliveira, and the violence between Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje. You had Max Holloway systematically tearing Jose Aldo apart to declare himself the true king at 145 pounds. Last, but certainly not least, you had the most vicious (and one of the greatest) knockouts of all time when Francis Ngannou earned his shot at championship gold when he took out Alistair Overeem. There were a lot of memorable moments all around.
Josh:
I’m going to stick with UFC 214, headlined by Jones vs. Cormier II. Other than the Woodley-Maia co-main event which wasn’t the most thrilling, this show featured Cyborg Justino winning the women’s featherweight title over Tonya Evinger, the much-anticipated Robbie Lawler-Donald Cerrone fight, and another Volkan Oezdemir first round KO to open the PPV. The prelims were good with some interesting names picking up wins (Brian Ortega, Ricardo Lamas, Aljamain Sterling). There were a few standout candidates (UFC 217, UFC 218, but this was it for me.
Who was your Fighter of the Year?
Josh:
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m going with flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and perhaps not for a reason that you might think. Yes, he picked up wins over Wilson Reis and Ray Borg, but the way in which he beat Borg was my finish of the year. A German suplex into an armbar for the finish at the end of a fight? Get outta here.
But the big reason was what he did in June by publicly airing his grievances against Dana White and his attempts to make a fight with TJ Dillashaw that he didn’t want. He discussed how White threatened to eliminate the whole division and was open about his contract and other issues. It was refreshing to hear someone clearly bothered by the head of the UFC finally come out and discuss it. He really turned the corner for me after that, helping round out the character for the most dominant champion in the sport right now.
Paul:
I’m going with Francis Ngannou. With two first round KOs over two bonafide MMA legends, he went from obscure prelim fighter to the top heavyweight title contender in just over a year. I give honorable mentions to welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and strawweight champ Rose Namajunas.
Ryan:
It is a tough field as Robert Whittaker, Rose Namajunas, and Tyron Woodley could all earn the nod, but I’m going with Demetrious Johnson for this one. I was cageside for both of his fights this year, and as great as he comes off when viewing on television, he is just another level live. He is the best fighter in the sport, and the way he just outworked both Wilson Reis and Ray Borg on his way to submitting both was world class. Not to mention, he had the most incredible submission of all-time, throwing Borg in the air and locking in an armbar in mid-air. Myself, along with many other media members, lost our minds and were astonished by this cageside. It’s a moment I won’t soon forget.
What was the most disappointing (fighter, trend, event, news story) that happened in 2017?
Paul:
This has to be Jon Jones. He returns from a one year drug failure suspension and beats Daniel Cormier for the title he never lost, promptly fails another PED test, and is now facing a possible four year suspension. Not only did he single handedly destroy the credibility of the light heavyweight title, once the marquee belt in the UFC, he also messed up a potential record-breaking fight in terms of buys with WWE Universal champion Brock Lesnar.
Ryan:
Without question, it is the Jon Jones situation. When he was involved at the press conference for all of the summer fights in May, I was amongst those he talked to backstage. I truly gave him the benefit of the doubt that he was coming back for redemption. He defeated Daniel Cormier, reclaimed gold, and had it all taken away just weeks later in the same situation he has found himself in for the last several years. He could have gone down as the greatest of all-time, but the drug test failures, if they already hadn’t tarnished his legacy, they certainly have now.
Josh:
I’m going a little higher level and say the UFC in general was my most disappointing thing of 2017. We still don’t know what Endeavor (the former WME-IMG) is all about and what they hope to do with the sport. We got two new titles introduced to little to no fanfare. Interim title fights were abound. Head-scratching main events were made. Cards were thin while events were plentiful. Conor McGregor was allowed to box in a strictly financial move. For a group that is supposed to be the stewards of the sport, UFC leadership was often derelict in that duty last year.
What’s your biggest question(s) for the MMA year ahead?
Ryan:
I think, maybe not the biggest question, but one of the most important ones is how the new television deal is going to impact the future. They will announce a new deal this year, but how much they get and for what amount of content, is a big question mark. It is certainly going to have an effect on their business model, whether it’s positive or negative, and it may change how things are run, and how often we get fight cards, and what types of fights are booked. It is an interesting situation that needs to be followed.
Paul:
Can anyone break away from the pack of really good fighters to become a bigger than life star that people will flock to in droves to see fight on PPV? UFC has always had 2-3 such fighters since their business exploded in popularity in 2005. The biggest possibility would seem to be Francis NGannou should he beat Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title. Other contenders would be Rose Namajunas or Sage Northcutt if the latter could string a series of wins together.
Josh:
I really wonder where the sport will be at a year from now. It feels like 2016 was an anomaly and 2017 was the norm with what Endeavor’s vision is: a few loaded PPVs a year, some PPVs reliant on one or two fights, a lot of thin cards on free TV and Fight Pass, and “we gotta fill out a show” booking. I hope we are in a better place a year from now, but we’re going to need a few lucky breaks and some real forward thinking (less events in the new TV deal) in order to get there.
2018 is officially here, but if you didn’t have the opportunity to listen and/or read all of our 2017 pro wrestling and MMA year in review content, we got you covered with all the links:
Dave Meltzer’s Top-Rated Matches of 2017:
Omega vs. Okada 1 | 2 | 3
Omega vs. Naito
Naito vs. Elgin
Okada vs. Shibata
Naito vs. Tanahashi
Ospreay vs. KUSHIDA
WALTER vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Donovan Dijak vs. Keith Lee
2017 was a banner year for pro wrestling with plenty of shocking surprises, big news events, interesting matchups, and plenty more. And while it was a bit quieter for MMA, maybe the biggest pay-per-view spectacle of all time took place when Conor McGregor faced Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match.
We asked our group of writers and podcast hosts who won 2017 in their eyes: wrestler, fighter, promoter, or group.
Jeremy Peeples, 205 Live recapper
2017 was a massive year in pro wrestling, but no single person saw their star rise more than Kenny Omega. He began the year with a single opportunity: a main event at Wrestle Kingdom. At the time, it was an incredible feat simply because he went from being slotted as a junior to suddenly being thrust into AJ Styles’ role as the Bullet Club leader so quickly.
Omega seemed to take this in stride by not only upping his in-ring game, but also creating a character that was far more serious than before while also retaining a silly side to it. In doing so, he became someone who has almost become bigger than his core company, at least in America. The rise of The Elite as a whole has given New Japan its biggest level of mainstream popularity outside of its own country with the company’s merchandise now being sold in malls as featured items in Hot Topic stores.
Without Omega finding the best version of himself this past year, it wouldn’t have happened. As a result, the first-ever IWGP United States Champion may not have the company’s top prize in his possession yet, but he does hold the keys to the company’s popularity in America in his hands and that is something that has allowed him to make himself and his title more valuable than anyone could have imagined.
He began 2017 with a lot of hype after his first match with Okada and now ends 2017 with a feud with Chris Jericho that is bringing back the most serious version of Jericho since his legendary 2008 run.
2018 will begin with a single match at Wrestle Kingdom 12 that may not close the show, but the Omega vs. Jericho could catapult the company’s stock in the US to even greater heights, especially if they find a way to have a classic match that isn’t just a technical showcase. With the two men involved, it should be one of the best matches of Jericho’s career and could be something that changes the game if he winds up sticking around with New Japan as a part-timer.
Brian Denny, NJPW recapper and general writer
Who won 2017? Look no further than Cody, who revealed on Busted Open Radio that he had his first seven-figure year in pro wrestling. That happened outside of the WWE. He was the ROH World Champion, had successful tours in Japan for NJPW, appeared on several sold-out indie shows throughout the year, held multiple other championships, and is about to personally (with others) help fund the potentially biggest non-WWE pro wrestling show in the US since the end of WCW.
Alan Boon, UK scene writer
It’s difficult to consider any attempt to decide who “won” 2017 in pro wrestling without mentioning WWE. They always win by virtue of being in a position to consolidate their place as market leader.
Having said that, they haven’t had too many outright victories this year in things they’ve tried with the “Jinder Mahal as champion” experiment not paying massive dividends in India, the WWE UK project failing to get off the ground past a limp taping in Norwich, and the Mae Young Classic being an admirable but lackluster shadow of the previous year’s Cruiserweight Classic.
Outside the New York bubble, New Japan has made big strides in increasing their market share in the US, admittedly from very little to a little bit more (although the sales of NJPW-branded shirts at Hot Topic have been astonishing), and they’ve enjoyed another strong year at home with their in-ring at an extremely high level. Even limited or inexperienced wrestlers have had some outstanding main events, and there will be no one else attaining such a high level on a regular basis.
From my own backyard, British wrestling has continued to thrive, becoming possibly the hottest scene in the world when taken as a whole. What’s been especially surprising and welcome is that a few individuals have become genuine ticket sellers. Not only the WWE UK guys like Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate, and Trent Seven, but others like #CCK have become stars with long queues at the merch table.
So who won 2017? We all did. Never has there been so much top class professional wrestling so easily available from quality action in every town that can support a population of graps-hungry adults to the plethora of streaming services bringing the good stuff right into our front rooms. And you know what? There’s no reason to think 2018 will be any different. Yeah, the bubble is going to burst at some point but let’s enjoy the ride while things are hot.
Josh Molina, general recapper
At age 47, Chris Jericho continues to reinvent himself. He began 2017 setting the record for the longest cumulative time in the history of the Royal Rumble with more than five hours of ring time. He escalated his spectacular angle with Kevin Owens, advancing his “You just made the list!” gimmick into a WrestleMania match. Jericho entered that as United States Champion and although he lost, he established himself, again, as a legend and true icon of the sport.
Jericho left the WWE to tour with his rock band Fozzy and we all thought he’d be gone for awhile, but he reinvented himself again with another tremendous angle involving Kenny Omega in New Japan Pro Wrestling. He shocked the world by challenging Omega to a match which is now the scheduled co-main event of Wrestle Kingdom 12. Jericho has used some simple 1980s wrestling tactics to launch himself into arguably the number one angle the sport today.
Jericho somehow made himself more internationally relevant than any wrestler on the WWE roster and he is one of the most talked about guys in the industry as we close the year. Chris Jericho won 2017.
Paul Fontaine, MMA and wrestling recapper
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the capital of the wrestling world in 2017, and the city that I’m proud to call my hometown has a lot of buzz around it for a match that will happen in the first week of the New Year. In my opinion, the man who will defend his US title in a match against a fellow Winnipegger in the mecca of Japanese wrestling, the Tokyo Dome, is the clear winner in 2017.
Kenny Omega wrestled in only the second six-star match in history to kick off the year. He followed that up with two arguably better matches later in the year (all against Kazuchika Okada, who had a pretty good year himself) and along the way became the first ever IWGP US Champion with another five-star classic against Tomohiro Ishii in the tournament final. And the scary thing is that the best may be yet to come for one Kenny Omega.
Ethan Renner, NJPW recapper
Conor McGregor reportedly earned “around” $100 million for his August 2017 boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather. The common thread in pro wrestling and combat sports is drawing money, and McGregor drew enough of it to earn himself nine figures, and possibly an early retirement from giving and receiving punches to the face. He lost the Mayweather fight, but he certainly won 2017.
Jeff Hamlin, Raw recapper
It can’t be limited to this year, but there’s now more mainstream acceptance of pro wrestling from media sports outlets. Ric Flair’s 30-for-30 was the most watched show on cable for the night it premiered on ESPN. Wrestling podcasts are earning year-end awards for the best in all of sports, not just pro wrestling. Journalists are no longer afraid to say they’re wrestling fans. The reason is because many modern media critics, writers and journalists were teens (or younger) during the boom period in the late 90s.
The irony of it all is far fewer people are watching wrestling now compared to the 90s when it was still common to degrade wrestling and its consumers. For example, the coverage of Mike Tyson appearing at WrestleMania XIV saw some anchors and writers saying it was proof Tyson had hit rock bottom, evidently forgetting his rape conviction from 1992.
I wonder if WWE will work harder to entice bigger named celebrities for WrestleMania in the future, something that has steadily fallen by the wayside. From that standpoint, I suppose WWE’s marketing won the year.
Alan4L, podcast host and Figure Four Weekly writer
At the end of 2017 when you think about the impact players of the year and the men who “won” the year, you might think of names such as Kenny Omega or The Young Bucks. These wrestlers were on the tips of peoples’ tongues all year long. However, I’d like to think about this question in terms of what the answer might be when you look back at 2017 thirty years from now. That answer will be “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada.
The year that this man had was not built on buzz or shocking the system. Rather, it was built on creating a portfolio of work that will stand the test of time and be looked at in the future as one of the greatest in-ring years in wrestling history. An historic IWGP Heavyweight Championship reign saw Okada string together one classic defense after another, and even when he could have relied on his status to coast in the G1 Climax and let others carry the water, he went out there and killed it every night, arguably becoming the MVP of the tournament.
Okada is amazing, his 2017 was amazing, and he is the gift that just keeps on giving.
Mike DellaCamera, columnist
Who won 2017? The clear winner of 2017 is Chris Jericho, who provided the best moment in WWE with the Festival of Friendship and now is co-main eventing goddamn Wrestle Kingdom in Japan. But since he’s already been mentioned, I’ll pick someone who continued to do the best work of his career and still be underrated — The Miz as WWE wouldn’t have worked without him this year.
He continuously elevated every feud he was in, cut the best promos in the company, and made everything feel that much more important. He got people to react to Bo Dallas. He got people to react to Curtis Axel. He got us to care. There’s been a noticeable absence in the product since he’s been gone and everything will be better once he gets back. Here’s hoping 2018 brings us more of the Miz and provides him with a well deserved title run.
Josh Nason, editor and podcaster
The undisputed winner of 2017 is content.
I base that simply on the sheer amount of content available at the ready. From WWE Network to YouTube to the dearly departed FloSlam to traditional TV to various smaller streaming services to illegal streams to everything in between, you could easily spend days on end watching old and new content without repeating anything.
If you had told me in 1996 that I wouldn’t have to buy VHS tapes to see the best talent in the world outside WWE do their thing and could get those matches ASAP, I would have hugged you. The future is now for active fans, lapsed fans, and everyone in between. We’re all hugging everyone.
But that future does come with a slight conundrum: there’s too much available to us and quantity over quality is winning. Everything competes with everything now and what pushes through to our TVs, computers and phones depends on how badly we want to see it. For the content providers like WWE, they aren’t competing against ROH. They’re competing against Netflix, pro sports, Amazon, HBO, and everyone else. But their issue is to keep feeding the content (aka money) monster which is why Raw is three hours every week.
I expect more of the same in 2018: a mix of great matches and fights and a lot of very forgettable drivel along the way.
Joseph Currier, editor and Figure Four Weekly writer
While Kazuchika Okada’s in-ring work was unmatched this year, no one did more to improve their stock in 2017 than Braun Strowman.
Strowman’s push was already well underway at the start of the year. And him being successful was likely inevitable given that he’s exactly what Vince McMahon looks for in a pro wrestler, but it’s easy to forget that Strowman didn’t even have a featured match at WrestleMania this year. He was just involved in a pre-show battle royal that New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski ended up being the star of.
Aside from his completely underwhelming match against Brock Lesnar at No Mercy, Strowman proved himself capable of being really good in the ring. He was a valuable part of the fatal four-way main event at SummerSlam, which may have been the best main roster match of the year. His feud with Roman Reigns delivered. And his Raw matches against Big Show were even surprisingly good.
Strowman enters 2018 as one of the top babyfaces in WWE and will face Lesnar and Kane in a triple threat match for the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble. He’ll almost certainly have a top match at WrestleMania, and he’ll probably be in an even better position the year after that.
Editor’s Note: With more monthly PPV-esque events available to watch than ever, an elite group rises to the top when it comes to total pageviews on our site — a good indication of what moved the meter in terms of general fan interest for both pro wrestling and MMA. This is a list of those ten, starting with 6-10. Interestingly enough, a boxing fight made the list.
First, 11-20 (aka the honorable mentions):
20: NXT TakeOver San Antonio
19: WWE Clash of Champions
18: WWE Backlash
17: WWE Battleground
16: WWE Extreme Rules
15: WWE Money In The Bank
14: NJPW Dominion
13: WWE Elimination Chamber
12: NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11
11: WWE TLC
10) WWE Hell in a Cell | October
The Smackdown branded-Hell in a Cell emanated from Detroit and featured two Cell matches: The New Day defending the tag titles against the Usos, and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens. Jinder Mahal also defended the WWE title against Shinsuke Nakamura. Then-US Champion AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. Tye Dillinger, and Bobby Roode making his WWE PPV debut in a match with Dolph Ziggler rounded out the card.
The tag title match to end to Usos-New Day feud was a very stiff, well-worked match, continuing the string of quality matches between the four men. Corbin would get the pin on Dillinger to become the new US champion, while Roode defeated Dolph Ziggler. Much to the fans’ chagrin, Mahal successfully defended the WWE title against Nakamura with a little assistance from the Singh Brothers.
However, this show was all about the main event with McMahon taking on Owens. This match also was a falls count anywhere match which all but guaranteed that the match would not end in the ring. And, it didn’t. The finish saw yet another high risk move from McMahon going off the Cell to elbow drop Owens. However, Sami Zayn was hiding in a hoodie ringside to help Owens move out of the way, subsequently re-aligning the two former best friends. Owens got the pin to finish a 39-minute match and continue the problems between he and McMahon.
9) WWE No Mercy | September
The WWE did everything they could to make this “B show” an “A show” at Los Angeles’ Staples Center with a monster Universal title match between Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman as well as the first ever one-on-one meeting between Roman Reigns and John Cena. Enzo Amore, who had recently made the jump to 205 Live after the Big Cass injury, also took on Neville for the Cruiserweight championship in addition to former Shield partners Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins continuing their rivalry with The Bar.
Two champions retained as Lesnar succesfully defended the Universal title against Strowman after just one F-5 while Rollins and Ambrose also retained. However, Enzo surprised everyone by defeating Neville for the cruiserweight gold. Finally, it took 22 minutes but Reigns got a marquee win over Cena in his last match before another break.
8) Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather | August
This was the lone non-wrestling match to make the list and in a down year for the UFC, that’s not surprising. The fight generated over $600 million in total revenue that night, pretty good considering it featured one fighter who was retired and another fighter who had never boxed before. Still, that didn’t stop well over four million PPV buyers from plunking down $100 to to watch the spectacle unfold — a 10th round TKO win for Mayweather who is now attached to rumors of him entering the UFC. While unlikely, a year ago at this time, we thought Mayweather-McGregor was also unlikely too.
7) WWE Payback | April
As a result of the Superstar Shake-Up, this PPV featured RAW vs. SmackDown branded matches with title implications and history-making wins. This PPV also featured for the first (and hopefully last) time, a “House of Horrors” match between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton that Wyatt won, if you can call it that. The recently returned Hardy Boyz also successfully defended the tag titles against The Bar while Chris Jericho challenged Kevin Owens for the US title as their friendship had truly become unfixable. Jericho would go on to beat Owens and take the title with him to SmackDown.
Also on the show, Alexa Bliss beat Bayley to win the RAW Women’s title to become the first women to ever win both the RAW and Smackdown women’s titles. Finally, the main event saw Braun Strowman defeat Roman Reigns as their rivalry continued.
6) WWE Great Balls of Fire | July
Once you got past the odd name for this event (named after a Jerry Lewis song from the 1950s) there was a ton to look forward to. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman in an Ambulance match, The Hardy Boyz against The Bar in a thirty-minute IronMan match, and the first-ever meeting between Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe.
The Bar successfully defended their tag titles against the Hardys in a high scoring pinfall IronMan match (4-3) while Strowman defeated Reigns in an Ambulance match when Reigns dove into it trying to hit Strowman with a spear. After the match, Reigns took matters into his own hands by trying to end Strowman’s life by driving the ambulance through a semi-truck trailer. It took the jaws of life to pry open the smashed doors of the ambulance only to see Strowman climb out and stammer away under his own power.
In the main event, Lesnar retained the Universal title by defeating Joe in just six minutes in somewhat sudden fashion. It took just one F-5 to end the match which started the aforementioned trend of Lesnar winning his matches with just one F-5.
Tomorrow, we’ll finish up the top five with lots of potential candidates to go.
Thanks to subscriber Philippe Perez and voting on The Board, we present the finale of the Best of 2017 audio. In this two-hour+ kickoff, we go through the top 10 with stops on the Bryan & Vinny Show, Filthy Four Daily, Wrestling Observer Radio, and Wrestling Observer Live.
10. Misty Blue vs. Linda Dallas Was Porn – 26 Feb BVS 9. Randy Orton Commits Arson – 1 Mar FFD 8. The Worst Match Of The Year (I Thought Canek Was Dead) – 23 Nov BVS 7. Tom’s Christmas Songs/Tom is a Second-Class Citizen – 21 Dec 2016 FFD 6. The Wrestling Classic Review – 5 May BVS, 12 May BVS, 14 May BVS 5. The Music’s Too Loud/Bryan Tells on Granny – 10 Mar BVS 4. Did He Pull Out His D*ck Or Something? – 10 Oct WOR, 12 Oct WOL 3. Buddy Wayne Stories – 18 Jun WOL, 18 Jun BVS, 19 Jun WOL, 20 Jun BVS 2. Teaching Lana to Shotput – 3 Jan WOR 1. Dave Goes to Hot Topic/Dave’s Brother Learns a Wrestling Lesson – 28 Nov WOR
Editor’s Note: Every day this week, we’ll take you back to one of Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of the past year, starting with No. 10 and going through No. 1. What follows is an edited version of Dave’s writeup of that match from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter with the context relatively intact.
Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito
G1 Climax Finals | August 13
***** 3/4
The highest caliber G-1 Climax tournament in history had perhaps the most predictable ending.
From the announcement of the lineup, it looked like the A block would come down to Tetsuya Naito beating Hiroshi Tanahashi, the B block to Kenny Omega getting his first career win in his series with Kazuchika Okada, and that Naito would get revenge for his 2016 B block final loss to Omega, by beating him in the final. And that would set up Okada vs. Naito, the company’s most popular wrestler, for the Tokyo Dome main event.
That’s exactly what happened, but predictability didn’t matter. It wasn’t so much about who won and lost, because of match quality in the tournament, almost everyone won. Yuji Nagata was 1-8 and many had him as the tournament MVP. Omega had two of the best matches in pro wrestling history, both within a 21 hour period, and yet that wasn’t enough to stand out from a pack of the deepest pure talent pool in tournament history.
Naito vs. Omega was an insane dangerous classic. Most had this as the best match of the tournament, and in doing so, makes it a strong contender for match of the year. As far as an explosive emotional match goes, there was none better this year. I liked Omega vs. Okada more, because I thought it was superior when it came to athleticism, While also coming across far too dangerous, this match tread even more into that territory.
Tetsuya Naito pinned Kenny Omega in 34:35 to win the G-1 Climax tournament
Omega did a moonsault off the guard rail. Naito came back with a neckbreaker on the apron and a neckbreaker off the apron to the floor. A great spot saw Naito do the Tranquillo where he usually just lays there and poses, but then got up and hit a tope. Naito then went to piledriver Omega on the hard Japanese table, which is bad enough, but jumped up and somehow missed the table. We thought Omega was done for good. Believe it or not, no wrestlers were maimed making this match.
To his credit, after missing the table, Naito did protect him well on the way down. Omega sold like crazy. Omega later started working on Naito’s bad shoulder. The night before, the shoulder was all taped up but Naito wore a shirt so you didn’t know it. It probably would have been better to have been taped up here to add to the drama, but I guess he didn’t want to be seen as going into the match injured, even though he was. Omega went for the You Can’t Escape, but after doing it, he started selling the neck so he couldn’t do a moonsault. Naito used a Frankensteiner and Omega hit the Terminator dive. Omega followed with a missile dropkick to the back of the neck. Naito worked him over with a German suplex and a neckbreaker over the knee. He went for a German suplex, but Omega landed on his feet. Still, Naito hit a tornado DDT. He later went for the Frankensteiner off the top, but Omega reversed into a hot shot and a snap dragon suplex, followed by a V Trigger. Omega tried a Jay Driller, but Naito blocked it. Naito reversed a power bomb into a tornado DDT. After a series of moves, Naito went for the destino, but it was blocked and turned into a reverse crunchy piledriver by Omega.
There was a crazy spot where Naito went for a superplex, but Omega reversed it and DDT’d him on the post. I have no idea what they were doing, but that wasn’t supposed to happen quite like that and Naito could have been in a lot of trouble. Naito used a reverse huracanrana off the top rope but missed a stardust press. Omega hit the Jay Driller and two V tTiggers. Naito blocked the third one, but Omega hit the next one and hit a doctor bomb. He did a running V Trigger and went for the One Winged Angel, but Naito reversed into a reverse huracanrana. He went for the Destino but Omega hit the crunchy roll for a near fall. Omega was killing him with V triggers, and again went for the One Winged Angel, but Naito reversed and hit the Destino. Both were selling big and they teased a double knockout. Naito was bleeding from the mouth. They traded slaps and Omega hit another V trigger. Naito used a koppo kick and two Destinos and got the pin.
After the match, Naoki Sugabayashi gave Naito the G-1 trophy and Masahiro Chono, Mr. G-1, came out and gave him the flag and fist bumped him. Naito cut his usual promo with all his LIJ members and fist bumped everyone including Darryl.
In many people’s eyes, the DDT on the ringpost by Omega where it looked like Naito’s career could end and Naito’s piledriver off a table to the floor are what made it the best match of the tournament and those spots will probably always be associated with this match, even if they weren’t supposed to happen like that. The piledriver was supposed to be a piledriver through the table but for whatever reason when Naito jumped up, he missed the table and landed on the floor. To his credit, he was able to protect Omega going down, and the fear of injury and the selling like this was real. In each case, they went too far and were really hurt, but it added to the match.
Editor’s Note: Every day this week, we’ll take you back to one of Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of the past year, starting with No. 10 and going through No. 1. What follows is an edited version of Dave’s writeup of that match from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter with the context relatively intact.
Michael Elgin vs. Tetsuya Naito
NJPW New Beginning | February 11
*****
Tetsuya Naito pinned Michael Elgin in 36:17 to retain the IC title
The crowd was super-hot for Naito. Naito spit at Okada, who was doing commentary, so that’s for down the line. Elgin pressed Naito and held him up for a long time before dropping him. Elgin did a flip off the apron. Naito did a tope and Elgin caught him in mid-air and turned it into a delayed vertical suplex on the floor. Naito worked the knee including having Elgin in a kneebar and spitting at him. Elgin was doing ridiculously hard clotheslines. He also gave Naito a German suplex into the buckles, followed by another one.
Naito worked the knee and got a super near fall using a reverse Frankensteiner. He went back to the leglock and the crowd was really hot for the rope break. Naito spit in Elgin’s face again. Elgin used the Emerald Flowsion on the apron, as well as a power superplex into a falcon arrow. He did spinning elbows to the back of the head and the front of the head. Elgin kicked out of the first Destino attempt. Naito tried another Destino, but Elgin blocked it and used a Death Valley bomb into the turnbuckles, then a power bomb on the apron, and a power bomb on the barricade and threw Naito into the ring.
Elgin then did his Elgin bomb in the middle but Naito kicked out. The reaction was incredible. They traded more big moves including Naito getting out of a Burning Hammer and Elgin kicking out of a reverse DDT, until Naito hit another Destino for the pin.
At one point in the match, Elgin gave Naito a power bomb into the guardrail. Part of the magic of pro wrestling is the ability to do things that make you think guys are devastating each other, but are actually safe and perhaps these guys are so good they can do that spot safely. The problem is that in the quest to stand out, safety is often forgotten and risks are taken. But, Seth Rollins and Finn Balor likely thought the same thing. And unlike WWE, which is a machine that runs no matter what, a serious injury to Naito at this point would probably damage this promotion more than any single wrestler getting hurt right now would hurt any major company.
Overall, this was the second best match I’ve seen this year behind Okada vs. Omega. This was a step above John Cena vs. A.J. Styles at the Royal Rumble and Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki last week in Sapporo which is great company to be in. There have been so many great matches in such a short period of time which leads to healthy (and sometimes unhealthy) debate because the good thing about the four standout matches of the year thus far is all are completely different from each other.
The strengths of Naito vs. Elgin were Elgin’s power moves and selling of the knee, some strong creativity, the physical nature of the match, and Naito’s overall work, which was spectacular. Naito is clearly New Japan’s MVP right now, and has been a great wrestler for years, always praised for his layouts of big matches. Still, even though he and Omega had one of last year’s best matches in the G1, I always felt Naito was just underneath the best in-ring guys. As a babyface, he could do it all, but there were reasons he didn’t always connect. As a heel, he’s picked up greatly in the charisma department, and whether it’s desire to be at the highest standard, I now see him in that category with the big five or so main event singles workers in the world.
Thanks to subscriber Philippe Perez and voting on The Board, we present part two of the Best of 2017 audio. In this two-hour kickoff, we go through 31-50 with stops on the Bryan & Vinny Show, Dr. Keith Presents, Filthy Four Daily, Wrestling Observer Radio, Karl Stern, and Wrestling Observer Live.
30. Ryan’s Fake Names – 27 Aug WOL, 1 Sep WOL, 10 Oct WOL 29. Jericho Buries Bryan (Stupid Idiot) – 6 Sep WOR 28. Psycho Women (I’m Dead, Huh?) – 17 Jan WOR 27. Granny Doesn’t Like Dragon King Dark – 12 Jul DK 26. Johnny K-9 – 23 Feb WOR 25. Dusty Finish At The Oscars – 26 Feb BVS, 27 Feb WOR 24. Bryan Arrives In Vegas (The Airplane/The Elevator) 3 May FFD 23. What If La Luchadora Is Becky Lynch/I Was Like, Dude, That’s Alexa. I’d Know That Ass Anywhere – 4 Jan WOL, 4 Jan FFD 22. Todd Chrisley’s Opponent At Wrestlemania – 15 Mar WOR 21. Vladimir Petrov Is Horrible – 5 Feb BVS 20. Granny Gets Shot At/Who The Fuck Is Johnny Ocean? – 16 Apr BVS 19. Paisley invades WOL – 23 Aug WOL 18. Why Do You Watch Wrestling? – 19 Aug WOR 17. Granny Reads & Laughs At Knock Knock Jokes/Who Or What? – 3 Feb BVS, 25 May BVS 16. Craig’s Dusty Impersonation – 25 Jul BVS 15. Bryan Is A Size Queen/Cena’s Physique 8 Feb FFD, 15 Feb FFD 14. I Hate Wrestling/Face Finish – 25 May BVS 13. Dave Talks About Russo, Dixie & TNA – 21 Jun WOR 12. Bryan Superkicks Tom/Vegas Shenanigans with John From Memphis & Ed From San Antonio – 21 Aug WOR 22 Aug, 24 Aug BVS, 25 Aug FFD 11. Ric Flair’s Throne – 15 Aug WOR
NXT’s Florida schedule, known as “The Coconut Loop” to talent, recently wrapped up for 2017 and as we head toward another year of expansion for the brand, I took a look back at some of the highlights that stood out from the 36 non-televised live events that I attended.
These are the matches I consider The Best Of NXT Florida 2017.
Kassius Ohno vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas | January 6th | Largo, FL
This was a major surprise as Ohno had only appeared off-camera at the first NXT Full Sail TV tapings of the year earlier that week. Yet, there he was at a Largo house show wearing his Seattle SuperSonics “Chris Hero” gear and entering to his original FCW/NXT music, officially kicking off the return of Kassius Ohno to the Coconut Loop. This match, much like many other former indie talents’ first matches in NXT, was absolutely incredible. He and Almas did lucha spots, threw hard hitting strikes, counters, and worked at a pace that normally isn’t seen down here. Ohno set up the rolling elbow and set the future champion down for the count.
The Revival vs. Tye Dillinger and Roderick Strong | January 7th | Ocala, FL
This was The Revival, the best tag team NXT may have ever produced in a town that was molten hot for them every single time facing off against one of the most popular men in the promotion and the fresh excellent work of Strong to boot. This was as good as it gets. The crowd was at the top of their lungs yelling “You’re a chicken” at Dash and Dawson to the point that they actually left the venue and had to be chased down by Tye and Roddy. This featured some of the loudest chants in NXT Florida house show history that made this something special. The Top Guys will forever be missed by the Ocala Hilton wedding tent faithful.
Asuka, Heavy Machinery and Tye Dillinger vs. SAnitY (Nikki Cross, Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, and Killian Dain) | February 4th | Largo, FL
The first time Cross and Asuka faced off was in this eight person tag team main event. It was absolutely wild stuff from all involved as Heavy Machinery were just starting to catch fire, SAnitY were still the villains at this time, but their work was so good that many appreciated them. Dillinger was one of the most popular performers down here for years at this time so all of this together in one match created a superstar-driven moment. Here was the memorable post-match celebration.
Aleister Black vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas | February 18th | Cocoa, FL
Very early in the “Aleister Black” era, we were still getting a grittier version of wrestling on live events. Almas was finally becoming a sassier persona at this time as well. In what we may see as a NXT Championship match someday, this one was great and you could tell they’d deliver even more when the time was right.
Johnny Gargano (w/ Tommaso Ciampa of DIY) vs. Dash Wilder (w/ Scott Dawson of The Revival) | March 16th | Ocala, FL
In a better time for DIY when they were rolling together and The Revival were on their way up to the main roster, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa were treated as kings in the Hilton’s Ocala wedding tent. This venue has a history of being Anti Revival country with some of the loudest “You’re a chicken” chants I’ve ever heard from 300 people as a callback to the previous match on this list and the year before. Gargano and Ciampa celebrated with a fan’s sign that simply said “CHIKIN” because of course it did.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Tye Dillinger vs. Riddick Moss and “The Straggler” aka “El Vagabondo” aka “Bob Dylan” aka “Definitely Not Elias” Elias Samson | March 25th | Tampa, FL
Nakamure finished up his Florida house show run with a bang. “The Straggler” was out to sing to us about drifting and whatnot before Dillinger showed up to challenge him, Moss then got involved which lead to the huge Nakamura reaction. During this one, Shinsuke thought he had Elias figured out by removing his lucha mask, only to reveal a second underneath. Shinsuke then put on the first mask and proceeded to do lucha armdrags and floatover counters to everything El Vagabondo did, which felt like a callback to FantasticaMania. Moss was able to snatch the mask off of Shinsuke which garnered the most negative reaction of the night. This was all-around nonsense from all involved and a great send-off for Nakamura.
Drew McIntyre vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas (w/ Zelina Vega) | August 25th | Tampa, FL
As we’ve all seen from their TakeOver match, these two have an excellent dynamic between them. While they had worked before around the country and plenty in Florida, this was the first time we saw Vega added to the Almas act vs. then-champion Drew McIntyre.
Buddy Murphy vs. Lio Rush | October 27th | Sanford, FL
Murphy has been the unsung superstar of the Florida crew for well over a year, thus his self proclaimed moniker “The Best Kept Secret”. This wasn’t a match I had ever envisioned when Rush joined the company, but it was as good a pace as anything we’ve ever seen down here.
Women’s Halloween Royal Rumble | October 27th | Sanford, FL
By far, this was the funniest and most unexpected match of the entire year as the entire available female roster, along with two lovely men, took part in this spectacle the Friday before Halloween in a brand new venue for the promotion. Nikki Cross as No Way Jose, Rhea Ripley and Lacey Evans as The Street Profits, Wesley Blake as Liv Morgan’s pet pig, Riddick Moss as Sexy Batgirl, and many more were honorable runners up to the final two of Darth Vader Shayna Baszler and Where’s Waldo Ruby Riot(t). They had a toy lightsaber duel before Ruby had her hand targeted and was left hanging over the top rope before being released by Lord Baszler in a quality Star Wars tribute spot. Baszler also used The Force to chokeslam Moss.
**********
This year saw countless additions to the already competitive roster. Graduations to the main roster can come at any time and you never know who may show up or change their entire style down here in Florida. 2017 showed us that even with the television crew touring worldwide, The Coconut Loop would still be here creating memories for fans and talent. Everyone’s goal may be WrestleMania but the path to WWE goes through Largo and the Ocala Hilton wedding tent.
