10 Insane Matches That You Forgot Happened In 2020

3. Becky Lynch vs. Asuka – WWE Royal Rumble 

After announcing her pregnancy in May, Becky Lynch was delighted to award the Raw Women’s Championship to Asuka. Battles like this one had convinced Becky that the title would be safe in The Empress of Tomorrow’s hands.

At Royal Rumble 2019, Asuka made Lynch submit to retain her Smackdown Women’s Championship. A year later, the duo had a rematch, for Raw’s top women’s title. 

After that high profile loss a year earlier, Lynch headed into the sequel determined to prevent history from repeating itself. With everything to gain, a confident Asuka was prepared to take Becky’s championship by any means necessary.

The duo picked up where they left off, grappling in this emotional encounter. This match became less about the physical accolade and more about proving superiority, as the battle-tested competitors went to war.

Royal Rumble 2020 is mostly remembered for Edge’s amazing return and Drew McIntyre’s hard-fought victory. This incredible match certainly deserves to be remembered just as fondly.

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2. DIY vs. Moustache Mountain – NXT Worlds Collide

Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa helped to transform NXT into the global phenomenon it is today. Tyler Bate and Trent Seven were important components to the formation of NXT UK. 

If one match-up was to personify ‘NXT vs. NXT UK’, it would be DIY vs. Moustache Mountain. 

What made this encounter amazing was the lack of animosity between the teams. Nobody hated each other (yet), this was just a test of talents between four exceptional athletes. 

The highlighted similarities between the teams was intriguing. Bate and Gargano tested their wrestling IQ’s against one another before Seven and Ciampa beat each other black and blue. 

The differences between the tandems led to some interesting sequences. While Moustache Mountain have always been friendly on NXT UK, Gargano and Ciampa have been both friends and foes. Because of their past successes, Trent and Tyler favoured team maneuvers. Because Ciampa didn’t know if he could trust Gargano, the members of DIY opted to go it alone.

This battle was a very cerebral encounter. Despite this, each competitor showcased their world-class athleticism, demonstrating why DIY and Moustache Mountain are the measuring sticks of NXT.

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1. AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan – SmackDown (June 12, 2020)

An empty arena doesn’t change the fact that Styles and Bryan are two of the best wrestlers on the planet.

Backlash’s marquee match, Randy Orton vs. Edge, was promoted as the ‘Greatest Wrestling Match Ever’. However entertaining you found the Backlash battle, what was ironic was AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan putting on a wrestling clinic 48 hours earlier.

In the finals of the 2020 WWE Intercontinental Championship Tournament, two expert grapplers battled for the vacant title. For over 30 minutes, The Phenomenal One and The Leader of the Yes Movement fought.

Both competitors exhausted every move in their arsenal, pulling out all the stops for one of WWE’s most prestigious championships. 

This bout took place before the introduction of The Thunderdome. Consequently, Bryan and Styles were performing with virtually no fans watching live. Wrestling at such a high level, without the crowd cheering you on, is an impressive feat.

This match often gets overlooked, as it took place on an episode of Smackdown, rather than at a pay-per-view. The June 12 Smackdown show deserves to be revisited for years to come, thanks to Styles and Bryan’s epic encounter. 

What 2020 match do you think is underrated? Let us know in the comments on Twitter or Facebook.

• Match of the Year
• AJ Styles
• 2020
• Daniel Bryan

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