2 – Men’s Royal Rumble Match – Royal Rumble (Jan 26)
The Royal Rumble is the best and the most creative gimmick matches in all of professional wrestling and when done right can be one of the best things that any wrestling fan will see in their life. That was the case with this year’s men’s Royal Rumble match. It had everything. The match started with the big beefy Bork Laser entering at number 1 and wrecking a bunch of people that we knew weren’t going to win(including Keith Lee which was a surprise) before Ricochet entered. Ricochet had been bullied by Lesnar in the weeks leading up to it so it was fitting that he was involved in the Farmer Incarnate’s elimination. When Drew entered, people were a bit confused as to how to react because people didn’t know whether Vince was sure of pushing the Scottish Psychopath as he was heading straight up against the Part-Time Player. All doubts were washed away as within seconds of his entry to the ring, the babyface of the year, Drew McIntyre clocked Brock’s head off throwing him over the top rope and out of the ring. The crowd erupted in joy. A star had been made at that very moment. Drew had jumped into the main event level within a matter of seconds and that is something that we rarely see happen in WWE. WWE actually created a true Superstar at that moment. From thereon the match became a free-for-all but deep inside everyone was rooting for drew. The match had another very special moment. One which, for me, is one of the best moments in all of the professional wrestling – It was the elimination of Matt Riddle at the hands of Baron Corbin. Just Kidding, no one actually cares about that. It was the return of Edge after 9 long years. It was emotional, surprising and joyous all in one. How could it get any better? EDGE WAS BACK. That really made fans across the world happy. WWE could’ve ended the match right there with no winner and people would have gone to bed satisfied. The match had some amazing wrestling with Drew McIntyre, the right winner, coming out on top. I don’t see how this match would be missing from anyone’s matches of the year list. It was perfect and it would have been number 1 if it wasn’t for:
1 – Kenny Omega and ‘Hangman’ Adam Page vs The Young Bucks – Revolution (February 29)
More than perfect. I’m confident in saying that this match is the best tag team wrestling match that I have ever seen bar none. A tag team match would rarely be the match of the year but here we are. This is everything that a wrestling match has the potential to be and more. The story going into it was very close to reality, with the dispute between the Elite pushed by Hangman’s insecurities of him not being as good as his peers. Unfortunately for Omega and Page, they had the championships and the Bucks wanted them. The match told a story which words cannot describe so I’ll leave it up to you to watch the match. The wrestling in this match was immaculate. Everything was adding to it. The commentary, the setting and even the audience were major players in making this the match of the year for me. There were too many superb moments in this like Omega kicking out at one from the BTE Trigger to which the crowd and everyone at home lost their minds and Hangman hitting the one-winged-angel which was broken up at the very very last moment. People watching knew that it was something special and after the match was over everyone was on their feet, applauding. JR’s words summed up what this match stood for “That’s tag-team wrestling”. Indeed it is. This is always what legends like Midnight Express and The Road Warriors believed tag-team wrestling could be. This was the best thing that I have watched all year inside and outside of wrestling. It was flawless, it was excellent.
So, guys, I hope you enjoyed my top 10 matches of the year. Tweet us at @TWMWrestle your favourite matches of 2020. It was an amazing year for wrestling despite the pandemic’s attempts of plaguing it (pun intended) and I hope that 2021 is even better.