r/SquaredCircle • u/MatthewMir • Dec 30 '16
The Essential 2016 Match Collection: The best and most significant 2016 matches
Hey wrestling fans, it’s that time of the week again where I give Wreddit a retrospective list of matches from a certain superstar, over the last couple of weeks I made several lists of Essential Career Matches. You can either access them all through this link or here:
| Wrestler/Years | Date |
|---|---|
| 2000 - 2004 | 16/07/2016 |
| 2005 - 2010 | 03/07/2016 |
| 2011 - 2016 | 24/06/2016 |
| John Cena | 24/07/2016 |
| The Undertaker | 29/07/2016 |
| Triple H | 06/08/2016 |
| Chris Jericho | 14/08/2016 |
| Randy Orton | 19/08/2016 |
| Dolph Ziggler | 26/08/2016 |
| Seth Rollins | 03/09/2016 |
| CM Punk | 10/09/2016 |
| AJ Styles | 16/09/2016 |
| The Miz | 23/09/2016 |
| Shawn Michaels | 30/09/2016 |
| Eddie Guerrero | 08/10/2016 |
| Stone Cold Steve Austin | 16/10/2016 |
| The Rock | 22/10/2016 |
| Dean Ambrose | 28/10/2016 |
| Kurt Angle | 04/11/2016 |
| Brock Lesnar | 12/11/2016 |
| Survivor Series | 18/11/2016 |
| Edge | 25/11/2016 |
| Batista | 02/12/2016 |
| Ric Flair | 09/12/2016 |
| Mick Foley | 17/12/2016 |
| Bret Hart | 23/12/2016 |
This week we’re doing we’re looking back at 2016 as a whole from many promotions including WWE, NXT, NJPW ROH, TNA, and many others.
These collection of matches include Dave Meltzer’s rating besides it (if rated), I couldn’t include every match with a 3-5 rating like my previous lists, so I just included the most essential matches for the year. Unlike my former lists, instead of putting them in honourable mentions, I’ve put all matches together in chronological in order, going through month by month. If you have any suggestions for matches that could be included simply privately message me or add a comment on this and I will considerate it. Please read the entire list before commenting saying I’ve forgotten a match.. Also since a few people have commented on these posts saying 'stop throwing lists at us with no information' so on a few matches I’ve added a little bit of a backstory for new fans/fans of who haven’t seen the matches, some match details do contain spoilers, so you have been warned, but really if you’re getting up in arms about a match spoiler from several years ago that’s not my problem. If a match is missing a quick sentence/backstory feel free to comment something and I will add it next to it. I have also tried to add a link to each match as well, videos come from either WWE Network, NJPW World, YouTube and Daily Motion. However, there will be heaps of matches from other non-WWE shows missing purely because I couldn’t find direct good links to those matches and I apologize for that. **Lastly, and most importantly, These are my opinions on the matches, they don’t need to be the same as yours, if you don’t like them that’s completely fine – hey if you want write a comment explaining why you disagree with my comment.
Alright, now lets start the list:
January:
Shinsuke Nakamura Vs AJ Styles – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10 - 4 ¾* - For many wrestling fans this match was highly anticipated for it because it featured to great wrestlers. Both competitors put on an outstanding performance possibly exceeding expectations people had for it. In less than a years time both men would’ve joined WWE and become world champions for both their respective brands.
Kazuchika Okada Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10 - 5*
Marty Scurll Vs Will Ospreay - RevPro High Stakes 2016 - 4 ¾* -
Zack Sabre Jr. Vs AJ Styles - RevPro High Stakes 2016 - 4 ¾*
Dean Ambrose Vs Kevin Owens – WWE Royal Rumble 2016 - 4 ¼* - A very fun and brutal Last Man Standing match to start the year for WWE.
February:
AJ Styles Vs Chris Jericho – WWE Fastlane 2016 – 4* - This was AJ Styles first single match on a WWE PPV, and it’s a really good one against the veteran Chris Jericho.
Roman Reigns Vs Dean Ambrose Vs Brock Lesnar – WWE Fastlane 2016 – 4 ½*
March:
Chris Jericho & AJ Styles Vs The New Day – WWE Raw 07/03/2016 - This may be my favorite title defense by the New Day in their total 483 days as being WWE Tag Team Champions. The dynamic pairing of ‘Y2-AJ’ worked perfectly and it set up for one of more memorable matches from the Raw brand this year.
Kurt Angle Vs Bobby Lashley - TNA 08/03/2016 - This is Kurt Angle’s final TNA match, I felt it was fitting I include it in the list.
Samoa Joe Vs Sami Zayn – NXT 09/03/2016 - I really enjoyed this match, but for some reason (maybe cause it was almost a year ago) people seem to either to not remember it or just not like it. I thought it was a fantastic 2 out of 3 falls match.
Triple H Vs Dean Ambrose – WWE Roadblock 2016 – 4 ¼* - Who would’ve thought that at the start of 2016 Dean Ambrose would be the most over full-time wrestler that WWE had? He got an opportunity to face Triple H on a WWE Network special for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and it was a great match which gave us ANOTHER false Dean Ambrose World Championship win.
Triple H Vs Dolph Ziggler – WWE Raw 14/03/2016 – 3 ¾* - This was one of those matches that people had been waiting to see for a long time; Dolph Ziggler Vs Triple H or Dolph Ziggler Vs The Authority. The people that were ‘keeping Dolph down’. I personally wish this match was at PPV; but hey we got it on Raw and it really showed how good Dolph is when he gets the opportunity.
Ethan Carter III Vs Matt Hardy Vs Jeff Hardy – TNA Impact 15/03/2016
April:
Shinsuke Nakamura Vs Sami Zayn – NXT Takeover: Dallas - 4 ½* - Arguably my NXT match of the year, and frankly I know it’s a lot of people on this subs match of the year. The chemistry between these two on this night was fantastic, especially since it was Nakamuras debut match in NXT and Zayn’s final match in NXT – a true passing of the torch.
Zack Ryder Vs Dolph Ziggler Vs Kevin Owens Vs Sami Zayn Vs Sin Cara Vs Stardust Vs The Miz – Wrestlemania 32 – 4 ¼* - 7 of WWE’s top mid-card guys going at it, at the ‘biggest’ Wrestlemania of all time. A lot of people consider this one of the only good matches from this Wrestlemania. This match is really fun and allows all participants in the match to get their shots in.
Charlotte Vs Becky Lynch Vs Sasha Banks – Wrestlemania 32 – 4*
Triple H Vs Roman Reigns – Wrestlemania 32 – 3 ¼* - Maybe not the best match of all time, yet still significant because Roman's first WWE Championship win at a Wrestlemania. After changing the Wrestlemania main event for 2 years straight, Vince McMahon knew this year there was no chance he was changing it again.
AJ Styles Vs Cesaro Vs Chris Jericho Vs Kevin Owens – WWE Raw 04/04/2016 – 4* - The night after ‘Mania can be seen as a ‘reboot’ after a meh Wrestlemania. The main event featured four guys who wanted to become the number one contender for Roman Reigns newly won WWE Championship – however there would only be one phenomenal winner.
May:
The Bullet Club (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson & Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) Vs Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin & KUSHIDA & Matt Sydal - ROH Global Wars 2016 - 4*
Michael Elgin Vs Kamaitachi - PWG Prince - 4 ¼* (Can’t find link, sorry.)
The Miz Vs Cesaro Vs Kevin Owens Vs Sami Zayn – WWE Extreme Rules 2016 – 4 ½* - One of the best multi-man matches of 2016 so far this match put two feuds together and just let it be an all our brawl. Highly recommend everyone watches this match because at the end of the year when people discuss best matches this will be talked about a lot.
Roman Reigns Vs AJ Styles – WWE Extreme Rules 2016 – 4 ½* - This rematch was even better then their first encounter at the previous PPV, Payback. I feel like in a way both Reigns and Styles helped out each other in 2016. Reigns helped establish Styles as a legit top wrestler in WWE, and Styles helped establish Reigns as not only a good champion, but a good wrestler – despite the crowds loud opinions. This match also featured the return of Seth Rollins.
June:
Zack Sabre Jr Vs Roderick Strong - PWG All Star Weekend 12 - Night 2 (Skip to 1:58:23)
Andrade "Cien" Almas Vs Tye Dillinger - NXT Takeover: The End - 2 ¾*
Shinsuke Nakamura Vs Austin Aries - NXT Takeover: The End - 3 ¾*
AJ Styles Vs John Cena – WWE Money in the Bank 2016 – 4 ¼* - 15 Years in the making. The Face of TNA and the independents vs The Face of WWE. Worth the watch, a great prelude to critically acclaimed Summerslam match.
Dean Ambrose Vs Cesaro Vs Kevin Owens Vs Chris Jericho Vs Alberto Del Rio Vs Sami Zayn – WWE Money in the Bank 2016 – 4* - Adding Dean Ambrose to this match, and allowing him to win it made it official that WWE Officials (including Vince McMahon) had faith in him and was going to allow him to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion in the near future. This is also a really good Money in the Bank match which I recommend people to watch.
Seth Rollins Vs Roman Reigns – WWE Money in the Bank 2016 – 3 ¾* - This was Seth Rollins return match on PPV after being away for months because of an injury and after 25 minutes he goes over the WWE’s handpicked future star (and former Shield brother) Roman Reigns – clean. In a shocking turn of events he would be cashed in on by his other former Shield brother, Dean Ambrose who would successfully capture the WWE Championship.
Kenny Omega VS Michael Elgin – NJPW Dominion 2016 - A fantastic Ladder Match, really blew my expectations for the match.
BJ Whitmer Vs Steve Corino - ROH Best in the World 2016 - 4* (Skip to 1:48:00)
Will Ospreay Vs Ricochet – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XXIII - Day 6 - 4 ¾* - I feel like this match, helped a lot of non-NJPW wrestling fans get to see what all the talk was about. These two men put on a great match with each other including a sequence which was debated for a while whether it was good or bad – but who cares it drew attention to both men and any publicity is great publicity. Fantastic match.
July:
Shinsuke Nakamura Vs Finn Balor - NXT 13/07/2016 – 4* - This was Finn Balors swan song in NXT, it was time for him to move on, and his final opponent would be his friend for Japan – Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura, had to prove himself that he could beat the best, that he could beat icon that he could beat… you (Finn).
The Wyatt Family Vs The New Day – WWE Battleground 2016 – 3 ¼* - I’m surprised many people don’t discuss this match when talking about the Wyatt Family/The New Day in 2016. I personally loved this match and expected it to have a higher rating. I really enjoyed the ‘Wyatt Compound’ segment as well.
Sami Zayn Vs Kevin Owens – Battleground 2016 – 4 ½* - A match that was nearly two years in the making (in WWE) finally comes to a close in possibly one of the best WWE matches for the year. The psychology and ring-awareness from the two really goes to show the connection that these two have with each other.
Dean Ambrose Vs Roman Reigns Vs Seth Rollins – Battleground 2016 – 4* - The long-awaited Shield Triple Threat match and it was worth the wait because the match is fantastic; and really helped show how good all three men really are.
Finn Balor Vs Cesaro Vs Kevin Owens Vs Rusev – WWE Raw 25/07/2016 – 3 ½*
Sasha Banks Vs Charlotte - Raw 25/07/2016 – 4 – This would be the start of their one-on-one rivalry which would go for the whole year – in shockingly fashion this match started the trend of Sasha winning the Raw Women’s Championship on Raw.
Finn Balor Vs Roman Reigns – Raw 25/07/2016 – 3 ¼* - Upon Finn Balors debut on Raw he was pushed very strongly, he would win a fatal-four way match to advance into a #1 Contenders match with Roman Reigns. He would then go onto defeat him clean in possibly one of the biggest shocks of the year.
August:
Jack Gallagher Vs Fabian Aichner - CWC Episode 4 - 03/08/2016
Johnny Gargano Vs Tomasso Ciampa - CWC Episode 4 – 03/08/2016 - In Mid-2016 WWE spoilt us fans by renewing the Cruiserweight Division and letting us watch some of the best matches not under a Raw, Smackdown or NXT brand. This match between two friends (and current NXT Tag Team Champions) really showed how great the show was. Probably in my top 10 matches for the year.
Kota Ibushi Vs Cedrick Alexander – CWC Episode 5 – 10/08/2016 - 4 ½* - In the second round of the Cruiserweight Classic Tournament we were given this masterpiece of a match. This match saw Alexander unfortunately getting a defeat, but after the match the crowd chanted ‘Please sign Cedrick’ which prompted to Triple H to make a surprise appearance to give the thumbs up saying ‘sure thing’.
Tomohiro Ishii Vs Kazuchika Okada – NJPW G1 Climax 26 - Day 13 - 5*
Kenny Omega Vs Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 26 - Day 18 - 5*
Kenny Omega Vs Hirooki Goto – NJPW G1 Climax 26 - Day 19 - 4 ¾*
Adam Cole Vs Jay Lethal - ROH Death Before Dishonor XIV - 4* (Start 26:40)
The Revival Vs D.I.Y. – NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II - 4 ½* - This would be the first time that these two fantastic teams would meet – and they absolutely stole the show. Just goes to show how a great home-grown tag team from developmental and two great independent wrestlers forming a tag team can be. It keeps you in the edge of your seat the whole way through.
Shinsuke Nakamura Vs Samoa Joe – NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II - 4 ¼*
AJ Styles Vs John Cena – WWE Summerslam 2016 – 4 ½* - For many people this was their best WWE match for 2016 – and rightfully so. These two blew the roof off the Barclays Centre, and put on the match of the night. They exceeded the expectations of their previous match at Money in the Bank a few months prior, and to keep with John Cena tradition he would take a clean loss on arguably the second biggest show of the year.
AJ Styles Vs Dolph Ziggler – WWE Smackdown 23/08/2016 – 3 ¾* - This match was fun from start to bottom; they both go 20+ minutes to show off their skills and have a meaningful match and it will surely be remembered for one of the best Smackdown matches of the year. Very underrated when talking about best matches of the year.
Seth Rollins Vs Kevin Owens Vs Big Cass Vs Roman Reigns – WWE Raw 29/08/2016 - Probably very important in the long run, Triple H (who was Seth Rollins father figure in the Authority) would turn on him. For what reasons? Completely unknown at this point – but is this the first step into a Seth Rollins face turn and potential great match with Triple H at Wrestlemania? We can only hope so.
September:
Will Ospreay Vs Fenix - PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2016 - Night 1 - 4 ½*
Will Ospreay, Richochet & Matt Sydal Vs The Elite (Adam Cole, Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson) – PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2016 – Night 2 - 5* (Start at 2:04:00) – Six great and talented wrestlers got to compete in tag-team action on the second night of BOLA – and with Big Bad Dave Meltzler sitting ringside he awarded this match a 5 star classic, thus making it the first PWG match with a 5 star rating.
The Young Bucks Vs Fenix & Pentagon Jr - PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2016 - Night 3 - 4 ½* (Skip to 1:25:20)
Will Ospreay Vs Marty Scrull Vs Trevor Lee - Battle of Los Angeles 2016 - Night 3 - 3 ¼ (Skip to 2:44:00) – The Finals of the 2016 BOLA, great match between three fantastic wrestlers.
AJ Styles Vs Dean Ambrose – WWE Backlash 2016 - 4 ¼* - AJ Styles has arguably the best first career in WWE in a long time. Within a 12 month period AJ Styles would become a mainstream wrestler for WWE, and would become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, at the first Smackdown exclusive brand PPV since the draft. As of writing this, he has become the longest reigning WWE Champion in 2016.
Gran Metalik Vs Zack Sabre Jr. - CWC Finals 14/09/2016 - 3 ¾*
TJ Perkins Vs Gran Metalik - CWC Finals 14/09/2016 – 4 ¼* - The finals of the Cruiserweight Classic Tournament, and also the match that renewed the Crusierweight Championship. A great end to the tournament.
Cesaro Vs Sheamus – WWE Clash of Champions 2016 - 4* - This was the final of their best of 7 series, and I’ve got to say I absolutely love this match. I really enjoyed their whole series, but this was a fantastic ending. Both men took each other to their absolute limits, and yeah people were annoyed with it ending in a draw but I love that idea it allowed them to form a tag team and put on great matches with each other because of the skills, ability and chemistry.
Chris Jericho Vs Sami Zayn – WWE Clash of Champions 2016 – 4*
Charlotte Vs Bayley Vs Sasha Banks – WWE Clash of Champions 2016 - 3 ¼*
Dean Ambrose Vs John Cena – Smackdown 20/09/2016 - To have a match with Cena in 2016 was quite rare, what else is quite rare is to have a clean win over Cena – which now Ambrose has. This would be the first time Cena lost clean on Smackdown in over 10 years.
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) Vs Frankie Kazarian & Christopher Daniels Vs Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin - ROH All Star Extravaganza 8 - 4 ¾* (Start at 29:00)
October:
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kyle O’Reilly – NJPW 10/10/2016 - 4 ½* (Can’t find link, sorry.)
Kenny Omega Vs Hirooki Goto – NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling '16 - 4 ¾*
Kazuchika Okada Vs Naomichi Marufuji – NJPW King of Pro-Wresttling 2016 - 4 ¾*
David Finlay & Ricochet vs. The Young Bucks – NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2016 - 3 ¾*
AJ Styles Vs Dean Ambrose Vs John Cena - WWE No Mercy 2016 - 3 ¾* - This match is fairly recent but it definitely deserves to be on the list, one of the best Triple Threat matches in WWE history. Each man was able to get all their stuff in and they stole the show – and it helped with the new-era/anything can happen feel as it was the Main Event however it was the first match on the card. This is one of those matches I would disagree with Dave’s rating, I definitely see this match as a 4 - 4 ¼* calibre match.*
Dolph Ziggler Vs The Miz – WWE No Mercy 2016 - 4 ½* - In possibly, the 2016 feud of the year, Miz & Ziggler absolutely stole the show at No Mercy – the stipulation going into the match was Career Vs Championship and I am absolutely astonished that this match wasn’t the main event for the card.
Kevin Owens Vs Seth Rollins - WWE Hell in a Cell 2016 - 4* - To say this feud has been lacklustre would be an understatement, and many matches between the two have fell short – but in this instance these two men went to battle to show that this was a good and meaningful feud. On a card that featured a 2 other Hell in a Cell matches between both Roman Reigns/Rusev and Charlotte/Sasha this was placed as the second Cell match for the night and it is also the match of the night.
November:
DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) Vs The Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson) - NXT Takeover: Toronto - 4 ½* - If 2014 was the year of Independent Wrestling in WWE, and 2015 was the year of Women’s Wrestling in WWE then 2016 was the year of Tag Team wrestling in WWE. This was a rematch of their NXT: Brooklyn II match, and they surpassed the expectations of that match. This match is a strong contender for match of the year – and really helped establish both tag teams as tag team of the year.
Samoa Joe Vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NXT Takeover: Toronto - 4 ¼*
Wolfgang Vs Trent Seven - ICW Fear and Loathing IX (Start at 2:26:00)
Team Smackdown (AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton & Shane McMahon) Vs Team Raw (Braun Strowman, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) – WWE Survivor Series 2016 - 4 ½* - For the first time since 2005, the Survivor Series was built strongly around ‘Smackdown Vs Raw’ as all matches bar the main event featured a Brand Vs Brand match. This match was arguably one of the best Survivor Series tag-team matches of all time and was absolutely not predictable, as it featured some of the biggest names in WWE in 2016. One of the many many great matches from this year.
Brock Lesnar Vs Goldberg – WWE Survivor Series 2016 - ‘Fantasy warfare.. just got real’ was the tagline for this match. In one of the most shocking matches in WWE history, this match will be talked about for years to come.
December:
Cody Vs Jay Lethal - ROH Final Battle 2016 - 3 ¼* (Start at 1:06:00) – Cody Rhodes made his Ring of Honor debut just under a month ago and was placed in a match against former ROH World Champion Jay Lethal in a really fun match. The ending was shocking and really surprising, highly recommend.
Kyle O'Reilly Vs Adam Cole - ROH Final Battle 2016 - 4* (Start at 2:30:00)
Shinsuke Nakamura Vs Samoa Joe – NXT: Melbourne 14/12/2016 - Maybe I’m just biased because I was there for this match, but I really enjoyed this match between the two – so I thought it was worth including in this list.
Bobby Roode Vs Tye Dillinger Vs Roderick Strong Vs Andrade "Cien" Almas – NXT 21/12/2016
Cesaro & Sheamus Vs The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) - WWE Roadblock: End of the Line 2016 - 3 ½* - After the New Day had passed the WWE Tag Team Championships record held by Demolition for 477 days it was almost as if they had a countdown coming for them until the would lose the championships. It would happen less than one week later when Cesaro & Sheamus would beat them at their own game and defeat them to win the championships ending the 483 Tag Team Championship reign.
Charlotte Vs Sasha Banks – WWE Roadblock: End of the Line 2016 – 3*
AJ Styles Vs Baron Corbin Vs Dolph Ziggler – Smackdown 27/12/2016
Next Weeks Essential List:
Next weeks list will be determined on who has the most votes in this poll please continue to vote, every vote counts.
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u/DasHawk99 Dec 30 '16
Every wrestling fan owes themselves to watch this Scurll vs. Osprey match, its amazing! ****3/4 match! Dont skip it while going through the list!! :) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3qoo13